David Cameron welfare reforms-no family will receive more than £25,000 a year.

[Hammy02]

Good idea? I think so. I can't believe a single family receives this much already in benefits. It is about the same as the average income so it would be ridiculous for any one family to have more in benefits than someone that works?

'Look on the bright side. Dave's games have brought crawling out of the woodwork those who would see the sick and disabled starve in the gutter.

They were masquerading as decent people, but now we know what they are don't we.'

Nail hitting head.

Yay to expat

You could amend the system rather than a blunt cut. How about benefits can only come in the form of vouchers or a special card that looks like a debit card and you would only be able to buy pre approved things. So for example you could buy food (but only healthy food), kids clothes, Books (only good educational ones), kid's shoes. NO booze, fags, newspapers etc... Adsult clothes and shoes would be very limited.

I would then make it a very generous amount. If you opt out of this system you will get far less.

Sounds like 1984!!!

Ever read The Handmaid's Tale?

teddyruxpin

Thank you for stepping back and realsing that being disabled does carry hidden expenses that most people do not think of.

Wouldn't work, drosophila.
Different families have different needs.

Some children with cardiac problems have to eat unhealthy food for example. I could pick it apart further....

Biggest mistake is really lumping in housing costs with the calculation. Ok it's not a bottomless pit like paying thousands a week for a property, but there has to be some balance to accommodate national differences in living costs. Also energy suppliers/insurance cos weight costs according to area.

'Why should I be taxed to give money to people who have more money than me?Who could never earn the amount they receive
'

can I ask why you think I could not earn that much please?

Am in possession of a good degree, management experience in my chosen sector, not far off an MA. Dh was amde redundant but certainly earned more than that and has since accrued 2/3 of his degree and his business has started to turn a profit.

Unfortuantely I have shite genes, and didn't realise until after breeding (I admit it would be better for the state had I died at birth and never had such a chnce; my brothers did all die at birth and maybe that ws genetic). As a result I have a child with autism, one with asperger's, one bing assessed for autism, one for ADD (all the same genetic apthway). Sadly autism is a late diagnosis disorder and we thought we had some decent genes to apss on when we had ds4 (we knew we were higher risk but not how cpnclusive it would be). We were of course an employed family, independent. As a matter of basic pride.

But I am now needed as carer; I had expected to start back at work shortly but unfortunately the last two have been referred in the last two months (aged 10 and 3) so am back to being astounded and mortified again.

Whilst I know getting back on the ladder pushing forty is going to be a tough call i've done my best to keep up and have accrued quals and voluntary work as best I can (erratically) whilst caring. And I;ve not wasted my time a s carer either: i've studied the boy's conditions and I think I have managed to find a way for ds1 to not only be independent but crucially for him, successful. he is anyway at school and will be getting a high achieving but specialist education from September.

And DH? Worked his ass off in a high stress job, getting top reviews even when he was dreadfully ill with a related disorder. that's what you do right, when you are a parent? Then the Government decided to open up competition in a related sector, his employers wanted to take a punt and mo ved to the otehr side of the UK, merging with the other 3 local companies as they did it. We're in a really vulnerable area much hated by the IMO horrid Welsh Minister and we get used as an example of where there are no chances. the Sn eans we can't move, so Dh is retraining and has been plugging away at his pown business.

Now I recognise that I was a shit mum not realising the additional issues the last two referrals had, that society would truly be best off if I did not breathe. But you know what? not being able to earn £32k between us? yeah fucking right, as if! If we didn't have the Sn we'd be off to london where DH's industry thrives like a shot. We do ahve the Sn, we've had a run of bad luck and faced down every bit with energy and determination.

thehumancatapult- I have to say that I am ashamed as I to had completely disregarded the 'hidden cost'.

It makes tough reading to see how hard it is just trying to get through each day.

Glitter there are plenty of areas only the rich can live,come down to the SW. Masses of towns/villages empty most of the year due to 2nd home owners. It's shit but it's life and it isn't new. There isn't an answer,you can't socially engineer places or pay people vast amounts of benefits in order to live there,it doesn't make economic sense.There will always be places the rich can live in and the rest of us can't.

I do think though the gov should have a long term plan/commitment to affordable housing in these areas though.In the mean time people will just have to poke up with it.

Masses of people not on benefits can't afford to live near family in London/Cornwall/Devon and have to accept it.I don't think it's fair that the rich and the poor should get to live in these places but the squeezed middle should just have to accept they can't. If not living near family is good enough for one section of society it's good enough for all.If those on benefits get money in order to live near family we all should(particularly those who pay for said benefits) which is of course impossible.

"Nail hitting head"-how exactly???

yep ds3 follows a high fat/calorie diet as does ds2 .

I for example ok I do not wear out any shoe leather ( look on the brigh side) .But i do wear out clothes as i have to wash them more than most people I have had to change my clothes 4 times today .

I do not smoke nore do I drink .so that well is no problem .Erm by law ds 2 is still a child by size he is in adults clothes and shoes 6.1 at 14 and a size 11 shoe is very much adult clothing .

No newspapers but for some how would they keep up with what is happeing in the world .Who decides what book is considered educational ?.

Glitternickaz you are right .I want to cry when I see oil prices going up but i have no choice bar to pay the increased amount . No oil means no hotwater or no heating

Pride is what keeps us going; if we get benefits in the form of shame-vouchers then I will give up.

Or hand the kids over at a cost of about £400- £800k a year.

Ther are positives in teh system coming in; the idea that people will be able to take on a shift ehre and there on cover (God bless 0 hour contracts eh?) without having to close their entire claim then wait 3 months for the new applciation to be processed- that's sold. there's shit in tehre too though.

The shit is the stuff that bands everyone together as one homogenous lump, that instaead of promoting pride seems to want to steal it. We are desperately trying to cling onto our prevcately rented home, cut much income and that won;t happen. Another knock. How many exactly am I owed? What the fuck exactly DID I do wrong in my last life?

"Some people with cardiac problems have to eat unhealthy food"-why????

Mila you are a south west alss? good. I hold to evidence the estates of my home town where I was raised, Bridgwater: a palce where the estates were designed for the famillies that nobody else could cope with (Dad's was one of them in the fifties) and where I used to pound my beat for work. Where Dh was told never to chase a burglar again as they carried machetes, and where you can find a pretty great example of the absolute hopelessness that massing everyone together causes.

My home town has moved on; it ahs expanded but certainly in the 80's and still in the middle of the pooresta reas it is an example of what we should aim to avoid not create. Places where nobody knows anyone who studied after school but plenty who take drugs; where domestic violence is accepted and people feel free to give up becuase it is no different than doing the same as everyone around you.

Pride gets people off benefits; a lot of that is from not wanting to be different to people around you. mixing people promotes acceptance, tolerance and opportunity.

I'm not just talking about people solely on benefits here though. The working poor still need to claim lha, they're being driven out of their homes and possibly away from their jobs, when rental rates and house prices are no fault of their own.

Mila if you don't know do the bloody research yourself.

tiredemma

Thank you .No need to be ashamed you are at least willing to read and to learn and that is always a plus point in my book

Milamae

Just put up with it if no LHa housing .Can you please try something for me go to your bathroom ( since guessing you have no wheelchair I will allow you to walk ) sit on dining chair in your hall ask someone to tie your legs together .then without using youe legs get of the chair get into your bathroom and work out how you are going to get on to the toilet and clean yourself up then do the same in reverse .shall spare you the bit where you need to have soiled yourself.

I get no socail help yet you suggest me moving maybe somewhere else , have you found me a 4 bed bungalow yet that fits in with LHA for that area that is even partly wheelchair accesible ? .

Just trying to point out it is not always clear cut when your talking of benefit cuts majority did not choose to find ourselves in this postion despite what Dc has people believing

twinklypearl.. even a single parent withg one child will get benefits to the value of £17,000 a year, that translated to taxable pay is a lot more than £20,000

Mila

Sometimes they need the extra calories or the extra fat .2 of my ds one needs 3000 calories a day ds2 requires 5000 calories a day to maintain his weight ( oh and he is not anywhere near chubby he is just over 8 stone and 6.1 in height)

Well before my time involved with the CSA Herbietea, I have no idea what the rules were then. I have to say though, years ago when I was on benefit after redundancy I was forced to use the CSA, they were rubbish. Now I dont have to use them as the rules have changed but without them hell would freeze over before i'd get a payment out of my ex. I wouldn't be happy trying to scrape together £100 to keep my case going because if he'd pay what he was supposed to i'd have no need to use them in the first place. Not to mention it has taken them years to get anything from him despite me giving them his address, place of work and everything else they asked for.

Oh and the cuts

I have it in writing from Maria Miller- anyone wanna tell me she is not fully informed?

OK so DLA- any person who sleeps between 11 and 6 most nights with wakes under 20 minutes, no matter how severely impaired, gets middle rate care. maria tells me any family getting MR care will see adrop in benefit income.

This is because we currently get a payment with tax credits that we use for family linked disability costs (eg heating), costs that we are not legally allowed to take from the DLA, as that has to be for direct benefit of recipient. That gets used for the car to get to the SNUs, occasional respite etc.

That will be cut by 2/3 under UC.

But hey says Maria, it'll be staged so that's OK.

As if the rises in food, rent etcx will be satged then drop!

But hey ASd is curable eh?

Really?
DS2 is awake from 4am and we only get middle. Barstewards

Glitter no that's an assessment that breaches their guidelines and is grounds for appeal.

peachy

Yep same situation here for ds3 we get mid care and high moblity .Ironic i will proably get hrc and hrm not a definte but yes ds declares morning at 5am and still wakes odd nights but could not befussed to asrgue i may now have to

It's fun when DD is up til 2am wheezing then ping ds2 up 2 hours later.
That's when DH takes over school runs.

The human I don't in anyway think those with disability should just put up with cuts, I thought I made that clear when I asked and was shocked to hear allowances won't be made for those with a disability. I am amazed no allowances are going to be made for families such as yourself and certainly don't think this is right.Not all families are having to live with disability though.

Re social engineering Glitter plenty of people are being driven out of their homes not just the working poor.

Peachy I don't think giving non disabled families more than 25K mixes communities. The rich can live in said places and so can the very poor but what about the huge band in the middle or don't these people count?