No benefits if unemployed for more than a year and other ways Sunak wants ti tackle the Benefits system

[cakeorwine]

This are the headlines - I can see some massive issues here for people - it's easy to say there are job vacancies - but what if they aren't in the area people are and there is no transport to get there. How does that work? I can see a lot of exploitation here.

There's also the other rules here around PIP payments, part time workers etc.

I wonder how much personal experience Sunak has of such things?

This is an outline from the Daily Mail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13330045/Benefits-axed-year-stop-lifestyle-choice-Prime-Minister.html

12-month rule for unemployed

Tory manifesto plans will see people on the dole have their benefit claims closed after a year unless they can convince Jobcentre staff they are actively looking for work and willing to accept any reasonable job offer.

Personal Independence Payments

Hundreds of thousands of people with anxiety and depression could lose access to payments worth up to £700 a month and instead be offered therapy to help them back to work.

PART-TIME WORKERS

New rules will require part-time workers on Universal Credit to look for more work. Anyone working for less than the equivalent of 18 hours a week on minimum wage will have to show they are actively seeking more hours.

Disability rules

The work capability assessment rules, which govern who is eligible for sickness benefits, will be tightened to require 424,000 with milder mental health conditions to start looking for work.

Sick notes

GPs could be stripped of their role in signing off people as sick and replaced by 'specialist work and health professionals' who will focus on what work people could do with support, such as flexibility to work from home.

Benefit Fraud

Investigators will be handed new powers to tackle benefit fraud, which hit £6.4 billion last year. In future they will have similar powers to those investigating tax fraud, including the ability to make seizures and arrests

While waiting to see a specialist there are many proactive steps people can take to improve their mental health such as exercise and diet, cutting down on alcohol and processed food etc, mindfulness, meditation etc, etc. All things any good mental health professional will also tell you.

There are a lot of self-help books out there and one which I can personally recommend and still dip in and out of is 'Mind Over Mood, Second Edition: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think'.

People experience mental health problems for different reasons and the key is to try and identify what is triggering yours, what helps, what doesn't help and what steps you put in place to manage it and enable you to live a more productive life - the life you want and deserve.

And before anyone jumps on me and declares it's not easy, I know it's not bloody easy, but you have to start somewhere.

How far should a commute be for a minimum wage job?

Get a season ticket to London for a NMW job from York?

3 hours a day on a bus service that if you miss it, you have to wait another 2 hours?

It's about pay and working conditions when you compare with what others get abroad. I work in this field. It is a difficult job done by poorly paid people working under the most difficult conditions.
My friend used to cover an entire hospital as the one doctor on site overnight. In some hospital she was the only doctor on call over night all week and couldn't go home 24/7.

@cakeorwine why are you asking me? You do what you need to do for your family. I drive 2 hours + one way to my place of work.

Because you said

"Bottom line if presented with a job, and you are able to work you should work - that includes commuting etc."

So it's a reasonable question:

You do what you need to do for your family - but at what point does it become unworkable - for you and your family?

You drive 2 hours one way to your place of work. That's 4 hours out of your day. For some people, that might be impractical. Childcare, school run, not having a car, the cost of running the car is expensive.

@Sirzy The field has become increasingly challenging and mentally taxing for those involved. The job is tough, and it's no surprise that some are opting to work abroad where the pay and conditions are better.

In many private healthcare facilities, there's a tendency to employ doctors from Africa and other developing countries because it's more cost-effective. These doctors often work under poor conditions and inadequate contracts. In contrast, UK-trained doctors are typically more expensive to employ, which explains their absence in these settings. There are reports, including a lawsuit against a private hospital group for patient deaths linked to inadequate staffing. The hospital reportedly has just one doctor covering overnight shifts for an entire week, they aren't permitted to leave the site. The living conditions provided, including meals, are substandard.

Moreover, these doctors often have little to no experience with the NHS and may lack essential skills required in the UK healthcare system.
The fact that hospitals choose to hire foreign staff over British staff due to financial constraints is telling. This issue is compounded by the fact that NHS patients are frequently redirected to these private units due to lack of capacity in public hospitals. This situation underscores broader systemic issues within healthcare provision.
in general.
Most sensible UK workers will choose a different specialty or go abroad.

So are you saying you are failing to understand that everyone's circumstances are different? I do what I need to do for my family. Benefits will not cover my expenses. I have chronic illnesses but the meds I am on are keeping me going for now.

If I were disabled, or unable to work due to illness then I would be at the mercy of the system. I would hope that if I could never work I will have the support I need. However if I could work, I would hope to get help to find something that suits my illness/ circumstances.

Asking me how far anyone should travel is pointless. We are all different. I have to pay my bills and feed my kids. It may not be what other people choose / can choose..

It's like you have finally understood what the problem is with the soundbite dog whistle politics Rishi is proposing

@cakeorwine Many years ago I have a very poorly paid minimum wage job. I used to catch 2 buses to get to work. It used to take me about an hour 20 mins or so. I had no other choice.

Nothing changed - If you can work go to work.
I will always support this!

We all know the challenges this country is having. There are nearly 14 million adults of working age not paying taxes in the UK.

Great.

But you said that everyone who can get a job should "Bottom line if presented with a job, and you are able to work you should work - that includes commuting etc"

But it's complicated for people - so maybe it's not as easy for some as it is for others.

For a whole range of reasons.

Not as simple as the soundbite you came out with.

What about if the cost of going to work is more than the cost of childcare?

You have to start somewhere - If you can work go to work.
So MANY excuses

And you lost the point again, so close yet so far

14 million not paying taxes.

How many are women who are working part time so they earn less than £12,750? Is that ok in your book?

What about older people who work part time and earn less than £12,750?

Is that ok in your book?

Just because someone isn't paying taxes does not mean they are not working.

It happens - it's not a unique problem, in my first year of work my money paid for childcare I had £200 left monthly. I needed the experience so I carried on working. My husband paid the other bills but it was difficult. As I said everyone has their struggle - you do what works for you.

The sad thing is that those lobbying for VAT on fees means nurseries will be more expensive.

I will personally back a policy that encourages and supports people to go work.

No, it’s not ok.

Because it means you’re being funded by others.

Pensioners are obviously exempt from that morally because they’ve completed their working life (or most of them have)

What about the self employed as well?
They probably don't pay much income tax but they pay other taxes instead such as corporation tax.

Maybe your statement about 14 million people not paying taxes is more complicated than it first seems.

@cakeorwine I don't come up with the numbers - check the gvt websites.

By others?

You mean....their husbands or wives?

The horror!!

But what does that mean though.

It is probably correct that 14 million people don't pay income tax.

But what does that mean about those people though. Why aren't they paying income tax?

I am sure there are some people on MN who don't pay income tax. Do people have a problem with that?

If you only had 200 left after childcare you were highly unlikely to be a net contributors anyway for all of your superiority

I used to not pay income tax. But I did pay Corporation Tax.

I am sure I was one of those statistics in the 14 million people.

I have a problem with people who choose not to work over benefits because they can't be bothered to go to work. As I said I know a few people like this. One has recently gone back to work. Yes I have a problem with that.

I can't physically make these type of people work, but will support this policy. It's something I am willing to back.