Benefit cuts will cost the economy.

UC is a compensation for not being able to work though, although it works out at £800 per month which is significantly less than someone on NMW. Plus, if a couple live together and neither are able to work, only one of them can claim LCWRA.

Year! Ffs, this is infuriating

Okay same answer to you.

Special diets, supplements, physio, bandages and supports…. All these things are costs, but not “equipment”.

Is the 4k per month? Per year?

But benefits aren't a kind of compensation for being disabled, they're to cover the additional costs of being disabled. There's quite a difference!

Even a special diet can cost £££s, which is the kind of thing that isn’t “equipment” but is a substantial cost.

Supplements and OTC medicines are similar. I pay about £60- 80 a month for supplements that help my joints. I also have to pay for private physio because NHS physio is barely extant. I couldn’t afford that, even with PIP, if I wasn’t working. People must be incredibly frugal to make it work on low incomes.

Ok,

the statement is
“disabled people are the biggest takers”.

so let’s look at the government budget.

in this financial year the government is expected to spend 1.266 billion pounds.

of this social welfare is 379bn. The rest is health, education, defence, transport etc. social welfare is by far the largest expense with health running it a close second.

of the social welfare budget pensions is the largest expense by a long way. This is predicted to be 55% of the social welfare budget in 2025/26

so from the data pensioners are the biggest takers.

data from here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-information-and-guidance/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-information-and-guidance

If £7000iah per year IS what we pay a family with multiple disabilities because affordable housing and SN childcare isn’t available, I think that absolutely fine, actually. More than happy if my taxes are used for that. I’d been even happier if a house building scheme was inaugurated promptly to give people back the possibility of being self sufficient in not-for-profit housing.

I haven't RTFT, so don't know if you mean me or if others said the same but I did say not for employees earning 100k/200k. I'm talking about obscene wealth - the sorts of amounts that couldn't be spent by one person in a lifetime. I know its a bit vague, sorry, just my opinion

I dont see the point in comparing the incomings of a household that has a lot of disability with a working household that has none.
Whatever the figures are, the disabled household is living with significant disabilities that have an impact on their daily life - and that could be life limiting illness, ones that cause a lot of pain or fatigue just to name two examples. I could write a whole list. The working household does not have that to deal with.
But I get the feeling some people will still put their fingers in their ears and wail it is not fair that disabled people are somehow better off than them. To them I say - your health is priceless. Being able bodied is only temporary.

Except you’re wrong - it may be a comfortable life on that amount if you didn’t have the disabilities that qualify you / your dc for the dla and pip. Having illness and disability makes living much more expensive. So whilst it may look a lot on paper the added expenses due to having disabilities means that this type of family are likely still struggling.

So about two thirds of the UC figure goes to rent, leaving £800 to live off?

The child benefit, carers, and DLA aren’t lavish and the adult PIP actually comes out at £330ish a month, suggesting a significant disability.

I think this illustrates two things; we need more affordable housing - much more - and we need far more special school places, units attached to mainstream, and also far more SEN nurseries and holiday clubs. Then more parents of disabled children could work.

Rent on a two or three bed council house is closer to £500 a month than £1500.

If we sort out SEN provision and affordable housing, that benefits bill will reduce.

Sigh, people have explained the myriad of aids, that they may need according to their disability, read some of the threads on disabilities. Having higher food bills, due to aversion to some textures, etc. Having to use the washing machine more than would be usual due to rituals to do with having OCD etc, which may include having to have multiple showers a day which means higher water bills. Not being able to use public transport, due to having Autism etc, resulting in having to rely on expensive cabs. Go, and read up on it, you may even find yourself being educated!

I think it would be useful for people saying that the rich should be taxed more to say what they mean by rich - £50k, £100k, £200k?

Additionally it’s important to point out that benefits amounts quoted are tax free so are equivalent of a much higher amount if you are working.

It does surprise me how many are adamant that benefits should not be touched. Many don’t seem to get enough from what I can see yet others get it when their ‘disability’ is very manageable. I’m talking about ND and MH type conditions.

Oh! So the severity of your disability doesn't prevent you from working. That's fortunate! So it's not that you choose not to claim benefits, it's that you dont need to.

Glad that's cleared up 🙂

Private.

Didn’t see it. I cover my costs as I work.

Social rent or private?

I put £1,500 rent, as again I didn’t want to underplay the costs.

No, it isn’t very easy to understand.

Are you saying you’ve listed four monthly figures with one annual figure also in the list?

I despair and give up. Hopefully another poster can help you as even if they disagree with me they seem to understand it.

No but there will be that expectation in the future.

The benefits bill change is in part to stop people start to claim enough without having to work, unless they are funded or looked after by their household.

That is where the savings will start to be seen, with the younger 18-25 claimants being vastly reduced. It's there in the bill, the PIP, what will make that more difficult to claim for mental health illness.

Fewer people going into the system. Or fewer on disability, unemployment is much cheaper.

Young adults needing support to live independently will be the group most affected first. It will be another thing that will become two-tier, parents who can afford private supported living, their children will progress, ones who can't will have to keep them at home.

I love that you're pretending not to have read my post asking you to share how you cover your living costs, seeing as you're disabled but nobly choosing not to claim benefits.