UK benefits system - what would you change?

[Galactico]

Just a bit of curiosity, really.

Many people agree that the benefits system isn’t fit for purpose now. Whether that be because they feel it’s too easy to get them and so there’s a lack of incentive to work for some people, or because people are subject to degrading assessments and the constant threat of being sanctioned/removed.

Any opinions?

that is good. Unemployment is low. Who is Obody? They should keep their bullshit to themselves. I blame brexit

Too many people only working 16 hours , not an hour more , in order to get the free housing benefit etc

I have been in a position where I was trying to cover overtime , offering extra shifts , extra money , yet these members of staff were comfortable doing 16 hours a week and no more or else they would lose their benefits.

So those of us who were not on benefits were stressed trying to pick up all the shifts to the detriment of our family lives and thinking what the hell …

I would change the PIP system entirely. It’s utterly useless and does not take into account any invisible disabilities, and the absolutely gruelling process to get anywhere with it is just ridiculous. So ill that you can’t get out of bed half the week but you put your socks on and went to the toilet by yourself on Monday? 0 points for you!

That is a full time monthly salary for a Band 5 nurse. You’d get that for not working? I don’t fucking think so

Major overhaul to make things better for disabled people. Neither PIP nor LCWRA are fit for purpose. They are humiliating and degrading systems which routinely leave disabled people without the support they need.

Major overhaul to support the safe formation of new families. People on benefits do not have the same luxury as everyone else when they form new relationships to take things slowly. Everyone else has the luxury to stay over a few nights a week but not move in, or move in but keep finances separate etc. in case things don't work out. But if you're on benefits it's all or nothing. You are not allowed to keep separate finances from the day the DWP decide you are a couple. This leads to people (mostly women) being pushed into very dangerous situations where they are completely finacially reliant on their partner, or alternatively, keeping everything very casual when they would prefer to settle down as a family.

Major overhaul to support co-parenting for separated parents. Currently only one parent can claim benefit for a child even if there is a 50/50 arrangement. The biggest issue here is that housing costs follow the benefit decision so the non-resident parent may only be entitled to a single room.

Tories are traditionally the party of the family but they have failed to show it.

Ooh mocking an obvious typo, how very edgy 🙄

Totally agree about the pension, it is the silver lining to my job.

And yes, of course it is both mine and my husband’s responsibility to pay for childcare. Both of our wages are paid into one account and treated as household money. So in the short term, if the amount one of us puts into the pot is totally eaten up by childcare costs it does make you question if that is the right thing for your family, especially when you are our of the house and therefore away from your children from 7am until 5.30pm each day and spend most of one of the days at the weekend in the study. It just seems a shame that other countries get it so right and have systems that really encourage women to go back to work and yet ours does not.
Of course, ultimately I had two children close together, for reasons that I won’t go into. However, there are 1000s of women who are in the same predicament with the cost of one child in full time childcare.

Exactly ! I can’t believe some people believe that non working people deserve 1500 a month to do fuck all ! It’s honestly mind boggling
That’s more than someone working flat out physically on minimum wage.

People gaini g benefits for just working 16 hours a week is madness. It should be a minimum of 24 hours a week. Children are at school for those hours and up to 30 hours subsidised childcare should only be for those woman working for the 24 hours each week.

@AzureOrchid That figure is less than what some people recieve now, if you include housing benefit. The benefit cap is between £1600 - £1960 a month.

The current state of the benefits system is the failue of successive governments to manage the state correctly. The majority of people do not want to claim benefits but due to the rampant increase in prices for the basics. It has made it necessary to survive.

More affordable/social housing needs to be built.
Free childcare for workers 30+ hours from 9 months.
Ban foreign nationals from owning residential property.
Change zero hour contracts to minimum hour contracts at a living wage.
Stop energy companies from creating huge profits. Renationalise if necessary.
Work with large employers to create part time WFH opportunities for disabled people/over 50s and provide training for these roles.
After 9 months on benefits, non-disabled people should complete community jobs 3 days a week and job search 2 days a week. After 18 months, if not on training course, remove cash benefits from under 50s and replace with food vouchers.
Up 16 hour rule to 20 hours.
Government should move more departments around the county, away from London and the South East.

The point of UBI is that it's not for the 'not working ', it's for everyone. And trials have shown that more people take paid or voluntary employment when receiving it.

"A universal basic income is the way forward."

It would need to be higher for those with disabilities.

Go back to doing it on paper and contacting GPs who know more about a claimants health. Although I've had GPs say they don't know much about their needs.

What if, like me, it is very difficult to get your employer to increase your hours and give you another shift? Guess my children aren't going to nursery and will start school without that experience then. We need funded hours for every child. Maybe more for the working parents but every child should get it.

“That is a full time monthly salary for a Band 5 nurse. You’d get that for not working? I don’t fucking think so“

@giggly i think scarily some on benefits come out with more, especially when you take into account the freebies, it’s shocking! It also disincentives working as they are scared they will lose benefits because they know they get a better deal by not working than working on a low wage. This needs to change asap so that anyone who works is significantly better off than anyone who doesn’t. There should be no choice not to work in the long term. Benefits should be generous for those who get made redundant etc but short term only..l

Yes definitely agree with this. But there also needs to be more subsidised school holiday clubs too, as not everyone can get jobs just in the school term.

Benefits only for disabled? Surely that would put children in poverty? I imagine they would need supporting too?

I think a lot of people need to challenge their own fundamental prejudices around concepts of ‘working’ and ‘not working’. Otherwise it’s impossible to have this conversation without people steaming in with a load of half-truths and vague prejudices, many lifted straight from the discarded dangleberries of the Daily Mail.

Well for a start just put it back to whatever it was before the total disaster of universal credit! Tax credits and income support, IIRC. It worked fine then. It wasn't perfect, nothing is, but UC is inhumane and seems designed to induce shame rather than being an actual safety net as it is supposed to be.

Take away the 5 week waiting period for UC and make it equal to your pay period for your last job, rather than assuming everyone gets paid monthly.
Then, for in-work UC, make payments at the same frequency as the claimant is paid, be it weekly, fortnightly or monthly. That would be responsive enough to keep the claimant afloat on weeks where the work is scarce but not too flush on busy weeks.

UBI would work best if it was about 1/3 median household wage per adult per and 1/6 per child, but the tax free allowance was removed, so every pound everyone earns is taxed at say 40-50% (I haven't done the full maths on this but that seemed to be the gist in a podcast I heard a few years back). I don't see a way from the current government "hate the poor" stance to a UBI anytime though.

Exactly ! I can’t believe some people believe that non working people deserve 1500 a month to do fuck all ! It’s honestly mind boggling
That’s more than someone working flat out physically on minimum wage.

Unless non working due to disability or caring allowance, a person on benefits should never get more than someone working.

The first thing I would change is the financial responsibility men have towards their children. Too many are walking away and not paying anything or having any involvement.
Society should look at these men in a negative manner.
(Of course, men who are violent and abusive shouldn't have involvement but should still pay)
Make childcare affordable so people can work.
Make salaries realistic. They're far too low currently.
Then benefits should be addressed.

Ensure absent parents pay the minimum cms. Introduce payment via a tax return, and fines for those that don’t declare correctly. Make the absent parent responsible for ensuring they are paying the correct amount each year. Any missing payments should be payable for life and taken from the estate on death with increasing financial penalties.

Payments should be based on previous career/income to stop loopholes.

I can’t imagine any other bill being treated in such a way. There’s a reason they deduct student loan from wages.

Another UBI vote here.

So many ways the current system doesn't work and isn't fair.

DH earns £80k. I earn £10k in a part time role. Combined income is £90.

We're not entitled to child benefit.

A couple each earning £45k brings home more of their pay thanks to the current tax system than we do because DH pays so much more tax. And that's before they get their child benefit claim.

I'd like to see households taxed rather than individuals, with allowances for children and other dependents such as elderly relatives etc.

But generally, I'm in favour of UBI. So much admin would be scrapped if everyone got the same regardless. It would almost pay for itself.

Means tested yearly gas & electric payments. My IL's and my Father and his partner got £300.00 per person towards there gas & electric. These couples own a property each & have savings in excess of £30,000. It is ridiculous.