Just been on a course about new benefit system

I think we just have different opinions Amber. We simply cannot afford the status quo. That is absolute fact which no-one aside from the economic flat-earther's can deny. So the question is where do you make the cuts? You have to draw the line somewhere. The pot is not unlimited and we cannot make the pot big enough by merely shouting 'tax the rich'

The examples I have given are known to myself so it's up to others to decide if either I am lying or my friends have lied to me.

I'm sure we all know people who have questionable claims. There simply is a MASSIVE amount of people who receive a lot of benefits and as a result have little incentive to better themselves or work. In fact often they find themselves trapped.

My main points are that the current system is very inefficient, can be improved and in it's current form is unaffordable.

We can all find examples which we feel are unjust but that doesn't prove that the system is perfect. Quite simply it isn't.

Whether or not you believe Universal Credit is the answer I guess will largely depend on your politics. Personally I feel that whilst not perfect, it's a step in the right direction and better/fairer than the current system. But given the majority automatically assume anything the Tories do must be bad, i accept I am possibly in the minority.

Sorry if this is mentioned up thread (I saw similar question but not answer):

Who ran this course? Who were the speakers on it? What was its aim?

Who was on the course?

Were any political parties, or other particular organisations involved, and if so, which ones?

Thank you :)

There is a lot of propaganda being spread by all sides. I wouldn't treat it all as gospel truth, much of the time they are painting worst-case scenarios in order to stir up opposition.

The unspoken truth (and I wish the govt would have the balls to just admit it) is that DLA is available to too many people and in the current climate needs to be cut. Ditto with IB

That's bollocks.

Luckily for you that you haven't had to claim it for your child so you wouldn't know the first thing about it other than 'my mates uncles dog gets it for an ingrown toenail' type anecdote.

Why do you think you know so much about it all anyway? It wasn't so long ago that I had to correct you in your thinking that DLA is an out of work benefit. You didn't realise that getting it enables some disabled people to work.

You had better hope that you and yours never need it.

the spare rooms thing might, at first glance, seem reasonable. But actually it will force foster carers to give up fostering. They MUST have a separate bedroom available for a foster child - that's an essential requirement. Yet as soon as a foster child leaves, a foster family waiting for another child will be penalised if they live in social housing. This glaring problem was not only pointed out to the government but the House of Lords corrected it - yet the government put it back in again. Pure spite. And that's just typical of this government's spiteful self-defeating 'reforms' that will end up costing us even more money in the long run - just on different budget lines and from different departments. Still, what does it matter if even more children in care are dumped in children's homes, as long as a bunch of wealthy Tories get to grandstand about how they've slashed disability benefits because disabled people are all scroungers?

that's ok olivia t'was expected

Josephine has disappeared.
EXACTLY. I still stand by my Tory HQ comment.

Josephine has disappeared?

What i meant by "bout fucking time" is because i have seen disabilist comments by that particular poster before but the response from OliviaLMumsnet was bloody swift so thanks again MN HQ

Sorry, but I feel it is more than a bit irresponsible saying all this is coming into effect and sending people into a panic. I am reading on here that child benefit is to be paid for only up to three children and no subsequent children get benefit. Is this true?

Disability and I'll health are not things to punish for what is wrong with some people?

That is the first time I have been on a thread with disablist comments here. I have read threads with them on...but never been on one when it happened.

God i feel sick. I didn't think I would actually feel physically ill.

I wonder if Josephine when ill later in life will then hang her head in shame.

Josephine is not a Tory.

Olivia, nice and swift, thanks.

Josephine you better tell your mates at Tory HQ that the thread derailing didnt go quite as planned.
Oh and to Mumsnet ......thankyou. Bout fucking time!

Thank you Olivia.

Nice, I am worth less than someone working, I worked for years, been a sahm for years and volunteered for years... well that tells me.

Good call OliviaMN. I was starting to feel a bit nauseous and was about to hide my very first thread since joining.

Nice, I am worth less than someone working, I worked for years, been a Wagner for years and volunteered for years... nice