Absolutely rinsed in this budget - almost £1k a year worse off.

It's around 250 per child per month . Youre thinking of child benefit. At least the ones that get to keep it. Most of the non working families will have it removed By the overall benefit cap.

You’re not middle earners and you know it. Get an absolute grip. If you don’t want to pay road tax, stop using the roads. Your EV uses the surface just like my petrol vehicle. Take your children out of private education if it’s all such a squeeze.

You lose sympathy as soon as you describe yourself as a middle earner.

It's completely shit that we're all worse off right now. But at 140k between you both are still far better off than the majority. 140k a year is a huge amount of money but I do understnad that people spend based on what they earn and to feel squeezed when you should be feeling extremely comfortable is maddening

How on earth do you afford private school on that salary?

why aren’t you getting your 30 free hours for nursery?

OP You’re being hit from so many angles at once, and it makes total sense you’d feel frustrated and worn down by it all.

When you’re doing everything right and still getting squeezed, it’s incredibly disheartening. It’s completely understandable you feel this way

Yes, I read it would be charged alongside road tax so that makes sense

@WatchThisGladys the best way to get children out of poverty is to have parents in work. This government has done an extraordinary job in collapsing jobs growth and economic activity in general.

Well, it's nice to see a politician thinking further ahead than the next election, even if that runs the risk of another party taking the credit for the results.

I live in the SE and therefore have the exact problem you describe. But there are still choices and people who choose to get a massive mortgage that they can just about afford are in a risky position if things change. One person might get sick, or worse, a job loss, a big inflation increase. Why take the risk? What I see is people buying property and then building massive extensions, hence huge mortgage. That’s not ‘necessary’ that’s a lifestyle choice.

She said in her speech that lifting children out of poverty meant the tax payer wouldn't have to pay for them later on . I think she meant things that poverty affects, like health, education and therefore life prospects.

Where do you live and have a much are your mortgage payments?

We do have some targeted support for pupils on low income (pupil premium). The area I work has lots of children's centres. Although many are under threat of closure currently (under a labour council and labour government).

However, my question wasn't do we or don't we have these things. But whether lifting the benefit cap the best way to improve life chances for these children. The post I was replying to stated that children are struggling due to being born to 'uneducated families making poor choices'. Will these families use the extra money in a way which breaks the cycle? The poverty trap isn't just about pounds and pence, it's about attitudes. Families I work with, yes the extra money will hopefully enable the children to have a better quality of life day to day. But will it make a difference to their outlook, aspirations, long term prospects?

No, you have to apply for it. DH and I both have the same disability at a similar severity. Only I claim, and that took me many years to do - partly due to challenges in process and also applying meant I had to admit to myself that I had a disability. DH doesn't claim despite being eligible - my PIP generally covers the specific additional costs incurred due to both of our disabilities so we didn't feel right for both of us to claim.

Because those services no longer exist on the whole

thanks to the last govt

But the question is will this extra money break the cycle? It will be interesting to see if there are measurable benefits in term of school attendance and achievement, health measures, social services involvement etc. I think it would be a very hard hearted person who would resent children getting money which funded clear improvements in their quality of life, health prospects etc. The concern I think some may have is will this money make a real difference, or would it have been better used in school to support targeted interventions, given to food banks, to services which support children with disabilities and other needs, to targeted health support and children's centres for early intervention.

Come on now ladies where are your hearts? I’m sure we could all put a bit of change in to a Gofundme for the private school fees?

You are not classic middle earners, and have a very high household income. If you are feeling the squeeze on £140k then you are doing something really wrong. Also, the years when you are paying for childcare are always tight, and this will lessen as they get older, provided they are not going to private school of course.

Our household income is around £100k and we have a very nice life. I feel like we are very lucky to be able to absorb any tax rises and to not always be worried about having enough for basics. I would rather contribute more if it helped people who need it.

No! Absolutely not.
I know plenty of people who live with disability but don't qualify. Some conditions are very poorly understood and harder to get it for. Some just dont quite hit the threshold.. but that doesn't mean they are magically able bodied!!
So no, it is far from the case that everyone with a disability gets PIP

Lots of us keep struggling on working with additional costs but no additional help. And we should not be being asked to fund someone's luxury brand car

Yes if there’s an impact that costs them money to bring them to same people without disabilities would spend

ie needing to pay for a taxi to go to inaccessible places

You have no idea of the houses people live in. None at all

NO!!!

But don't all disabled people get PIP?

“Have a massive mortgage” aka you have a luxury house that you OWN. Tired of rich people pleading poverty lmao

I don’t hate middle earners. Or high earners, like the OP. It would be wildly hypocritical of me. I reserve my distain (not hate- I only use that word for people who I know about personally) for people who are in those categories and who whinge about it.

Well Labour can’t win on that can they - people like yourself not wanting it as a universal benefit and then comfortably off pensioners daring to get their knickers in a twist if a benefit is stopped -strangely it seems lots of them are ok with benefits , provided it’s ones they can get