to worry that some people on benefits won't manage when payments are made monthly

[SuedeEffectPochette]

Of course, many people on benefits are doubtless great at managing a budget, but at the moment people are paid weekly, so if money runs out, it's only a day or so (still bad enough). But when payments are monthly, some people may have a couple of weeks of no money - what is going to happen to them? Also Housing Benefit won't be paid direct to landlords any more, which will lead to a massive increase in homelessness if that money is not passed on. If you have run out of money for food, you won't be paying any to your landlord will you? I think the government should stick to weekly payments.

Also, the going abroad thing seems to apply to DCs too. If the child of someone on UC gets an opportunity to go abroad, why should they be stopped?

How is that in the best interests of the country?

Rhiannon vast numbers of people exist on low wages, and get top ups from the government. The main two reasons for this are the high cost of housing, and low wages - both things that government has the power to make a difference in.

If vast numbers of hard-working people need top-ups from the state just to make ends meet e.g. to be able to afford a home (as is the case now) then there is something wrong with the system. It's not that we have a huge army of the feckless (this is spin!) the reason we have so many people reliant on the state is because of the failure of successive governments to address housing issues and low wages. We are now into a triple dip recession because this government are hell-bent on following policies which are steering us further into the red. (The cuts are not working!)

If you tell vast numbers of people they will lose their means to support themselves and their families - possibly putting their homes at risk, than I would say that is restricting the movement of the poor.

No, no one is standing at the border refusing to let them out, but cutting off their means of survival is not far off don't you think?

Rhiannon

People are on the breadline because of the very government that is claiming its helping them.

Osborne was warned by the IMF. He was told his cuts wouldnt work. He went ahead anyway. They know they are stagnating the economy and they dont care aslong as their mates are alright.

And you are buying into their drivel because its easy to blame the poor isnt it? Why dont they just earn more eh? They dont deserve a holiday do they? The care assistants, the cleaners, the lorry drivers, the classroom assistants. The people who keep the country functioning. They should just shut up and get on with it shouldnt they!!

Rhiannon I need a holiday. I work an eighteen hour day, seven days a week, no time off for good behaviour. If offered the chance of a holiday, I take it. That doesn't make me feckless, lazy or anything else. It makes me a carer of four people with disabilities.

rhiannon

have you even tried to properly understand other poster's comments or get a grasp on what these rules actually mean? because you do seem to be struggling to get it. what is it you're having trouble with and maybe someone could explain it for you?

Rhiannon why should it be for the likes of you, or the government to say whether people go abroad or not?

How about the following:

• A teaching assistant whose elderly parents live in Spain and are now too old to travel. She saves and get enough money to get a cheap flight to visit in the summer to visit them.

• A teenager whose school has arranged a (very cheap) field trip to France, to support their History GSCE

• A child who's dad lives in Holland. The father is also on low wages but he has saved to pay for the coach and ferry so his daughter can visit.

• A nurse who has worked saving lives for 40 years. She works part time so that she can look after her elderly mum, her husband with dementia and her adult son with special needs. The only reason she can still work part-time is other members of the family help so she can continue to go to work. She never gets any time off, she is caring for people from the moment she gets up to when she goes to sleep. Her family have saved to send her and her daughter on a week's holiday, and arranged care while she is gone. It will be the first time in years she's had any time to herself.

Why should these people not go abroad?

FWIW I made the first 3 up, but the last one is someone I know in RL.

(The RL person is not quite as old as I made her out to be! Hope she doesn't read this Her caring responsibilities are exactly as I described in the example however. She never gets a break, I don't know how she does it)

Fucking hell! I'm at the holiday thing! that's utterly disgusting.

Also I know the thread has moved on, but it's always been the case that when you transition from in work to out of work or vice versa, or any other change of circumstances like a partner moving in or out or a child being born or even changing job, it takes them 6-8 weeks to sort this out in which time you receive absolutely nothing aside from child benefit. It's extremely difficult.

And exactly - some people have family who live abroad. You can't cut someone off from visiting their family!

Plus school trips etc - utterly unfair to say that DC cannot go on overseas school trips if the parents are receiving benefit, even if a grandparent pays or the DC has saved up themselves, perhaps from a paper round or birthday money or something. It reminds me of that scene in Robin Hood where the tax collector comes and takes the boy rabbit's birthday money

Err if universal credit is to include child benefit? And i think it is going to? Then that means anyone who.gets child benefit cant go abroad on holiday?! Or child tax credits? You dont have to be a low earner to get those... Tho i am nloody shocked that if you are on jsa you cant go abroad, if you budget and pay for it or its a gift from a relative etc its not up to the government to dictate if you can leave the country?!

What about children on school trips etc?

And yes it includes anyome getying carers allowance or dla?

I thought the idea that all benefots and tax ctedits and child benefit etc are included in the new universal.credit? Thats a hell.of a lot of people who then cant go abroad. And what uf they need to go abroad for their job?!!

yes 5mad it's because JSA is supposed to be a payment received in return for job seeking and if someone is in spain they are unavailable to attend job interviews (that probably wont materialise) in the UK so aren't entitled to the money.

If you are on the breadline, where the loss of any money is putting your home at risk, you should not be going on holiday!

Do you remember the swine flu? When Britain had run out of ECMO beds and someone had to be sent to Sweden?

Should their benefit (if they were claiming) be stopped? Do you think a family member might want to be at their bedside?

What about Granny in Pakistan getting near death and the family fly out to be with her, but on one is on benefits, so a brother/sister/cousin pays - should that risk the person's home.

Or my friend I posted about earlier, she could not afford childcare, it was cheaper to put her son on a flight to Spain.

School trips?

Medical Treatment?

OK let's get really silly now. What about someone working on a cross channel ferry, or one to Ireland or Spain. Should they have their CTC stopped because they have got a job that involves them leaving the country.

My parents are travelling to France soon, my mum wants to go before she dies (terminal cancer) my dad has a car funded through DLA/motorbility, should they not be able to go? Should my dad's car be taken away from him?

Sas,

Medical reasons for traveling outside the uk are allowed.

Everybody else.

I fund holidays abroad each year for certain low income families why the bloody hell should they not be able to have them.if I'm funding them.

5madthings just to provide a small glimmer of good news, neither DLA nor child benefit will be included in UC.

But you're absolutely right, if this is to be applied to all people on UC then that's a hell of a lot of people who then can't go abroad, as it will include:

? Child tax credit
? Housing benefit
? Parts of the social fund

? Working tax credit
? Income support
? Income-related employment and support allowance
? Income-based jobseekers allowance

It's not clear whether this will apply to everyone or not (if people make enough fuss about it hopefully not!) but in the document linked to above it certainly sounds like that's what's intended.

Well we get the basic level.child tax credit so we would be affected as would a lot of people. Its madness.

Glad that dla is not included.

What is the threshold for child tax credit, its quite high isnt it and about £500 a year for a child and then.payments go.up depending on income?

This has been an interesting debate. Bogeyface do you like in a high unemployment area?

live i mean

Well traditionally, no. But recently there have been hundreds and hundreds of redundanies so the town is now suffering for it. There are hundreds of applicants for every job, which is why we are not getting any responses. DH has 30+ years of experience but isnt even getting interviews :(

We are also in a high immigration area which is obviously contributing to the problem. There arent enough jobs to go around as it is although that said, there is a shift going on where the large Polish community is shrinking, probably due to the lack of jobs.

Actually where I live is a bit odd. There is now lots and lots of unemployment, but also has a larger than average proportion of high earners. I live just down the road from the owner and CEO of one of the largest engineering companies in the UK!

THere is lots of money here, but its all in the same few pockets, so lots of poverty too.

Rhiannon, every employee in the UK is entitled to paid holiday. While they are on that holiday, they are still employed by their employer. Therefore, they still satisfy the criteria for the benefit they receive.

So what gives the government the right to put restrictions on where they can go during their holiday period?