^^That explanation makes more sense.
I’m on Universal Credit, reading these threads and wondering how on earth people get so much! We don’t receive anything like this.
Until very recently, we only got the standard allowance which is roughly £600 for us both, plus a further £600 roughly as we have two DC. That’s £1200 total. That’s all we got for years (until I applied for DLA for the DC this year).
DP had a well-paid job in IT until he collapsed four years ago. He’s been told he’ll never be able to work again - but he doesn’t qualify for PIP.
I am self-employed. I had a senior position in a FTSE 100 company until DC were born prematurely and with disabilities (twins). I had to stop working in my very well-paid job and set up my business to keep a roof over our heads (I wasn’t with DP at this point - he’s not the bio father). I also had to care for my dearly departed dad single-handedly (who had Huntington’s disease and had deteriorated) at the same time as setting up a business and being a single mum to premature twin babies, both with disabilities.
I now care for my DM who has cerebral palsy, dementia, and cancer, who lives with me, plus I still obviously care for my two disabled DC. At age 16, one is still in nappies and both need assistance with showering, eating, and are unable to even cross a road alone. This probably won’t ever change and I doubt they’ll ever live independently. Oh, and I also have to help my DP with daily life as his condition is never getting better.
I work between everything else, as much as I can. I’m still up working now at 4am, and taking a break while I eat biscuits 😂 I’m taking mum to the hospital in the morning.
I have been providing care around the clock, literally 24/7, for 16 years now. I haven’t had a holiday in 12 years. I work - in my business - really bloody hard alongside providing constant care.
People seem to think I’m raking it in on benefits. £1200 was all we received in benefits. Not a penny more. And if I earned over £600 in a month from my self-employment, that £1200 was reduced.
I have no clue how some people get so much in Universal Credit!
For everyone that’s raging about those on Universal Credit, please understand that a) many of us are in really difficult circumstances that aren’t linked to a poor lifestyle or decisions and b) that many of us get a much smaller sum than you have been led to believe.
Oh, and to the PP that suggested we all spend our benefits on alcohol and cigarettes - I don’t drink or smoke. And neither does DP. Sorry.