to think that £3640 plus housing benefit is not enough to live on.

[martini84]

Sorry another thread prompted by that nick and margaret programme.
I am getting more and more angry with that stevie person.
Not even watched part 2 yet.
Obviously the programme makers must have had an agenda in picking a single person with no bills to pay.
But really stevie £3640 is npt enough for a person to live on even if you don't pay rent. There are still gas electricity water rates telephone bills to pay and food of course. O and tv licence and house insurance. Council tax too in many areas.
Also how dare she say voluntary work is not valuable if you don't have e paid employment too. So the 14 hours my sister does a week has no value because she is on jsa.

[Darkesteyes]

Agrre with you about young people Notta Especially those coming out of care and have got nobody.

[TabithaStephens]

It's enough to live on. Is it enough to buy luxuries? No.

[Darkesteyes]

martini im NOT saying your friend should or would do this but i can certainly see a lot of women in her position going into the sex industry out of desperation.

[Darkesteyes]

Nottalotta they have to pay council tax now on JSA In your eagerness to benefit bash you have not made yourself cognizant of the facts. But i guess in your world youve been "mugged" so yr neighbour should be "mugged" too.

[martini84]

Most young singles though would live at home though I guess. I just get so cross. All her bills seem huge. She never goes out. Doesn' have a mobilr or broadvand. Well doesn't even have a computer.
Once she retires things will be easier if she doesn't find work before than. But they have moved that goalpost again.

[ShellyBoobs]

Their rent is paid by housing benefit whether its a council flat, shared house etc and they pay little to no council tax. And yes bills have to be paid to which doesn't leave a lot but it can be done.

What if they own (well, have a mortgage on) a house?

If a single person is made redundant and happens to be buying their home, they're basically screwed. The mortgage interest benefit is rubbish and only available for a limited period.

I think that contribution based JSA should be just that - the more you've paid in tax and NI (over perhaps the last 3 years), the more you get back for a period of time (maybe 6 months).

That way, someone who had a job and was managing to pay a mortgage etc, doesn't have to lose everything whilst they're trying to get another job.

Gearing everything up around waiting until people are forced out of their current, mortgaged, home and into HB-funded rented accommodation does nothing for anyone.

It's definitely much more difficult for people without children, too, as there is a huge imbalance in what is available to people with children and those without.

I'm not certainly not saying those of us with DC should get less, if we were to ever need to claim, but that there should be a more level playing field and singles should get something more.

[issey6cats]

it is possible to pay everything on £71 a week, i work part time and bring home £76 a week and out of £304 a month i have to pay, £70 a month rent due to shortfall in HB, £6 a month council tax due to new rules, £29 a month water rates, gas and electric comes to around £60 a month, £15 a month television license, £25 a month broadband and phone no tele package have freeview, this leaves me £110 a month for food and clothes and yes its grim but by being very careful with my moneym, walking to and from work and not going out i manage not to get into any sort of debt

[Sparrowlegs248]

There are plenty of people on £71 a week who do manage. I'm not saying its easy but it is the standard jsa rate. Their rent is paid by housing benefit whether its a council flat, shared house etc and they pay little to no council tax. And yes bills have to be paid to which doesn't leave a lot but it can be done.

Re school meals - why shouldn't they have school meals and a hot meal at night? Simple answer, because they can't afford it! People who work on low incomes can often not afford it either.

The people who have it worst are the young single people who£56 jsa and a tiny amount of housing benefit, it literally cannot be done.

[martini84]

Sorry according to stevie her 14 hours of voluntary work has no value.

[martini84]

Exactly manic. Although grim for everyone. My sister is in her late 50'S and has also been shafted by the retirement age changes. She went to work straight from school. Stayed in the same factory job fofr 25 years and would still be there. However, company was brought out and they got rid of all the staff. Contribution based benefits stopped so she had to live on redundancy until that ran out. Situation is really grim. My mum used to help but she passed away 2 years ago. Has only worked intermittently since despite trying and of course accorning to steviecher 14 hoursvof volutary work has no value.

[manicinsomniac]

I have a single friend with no kids on jsa of 71 pounds a week. She bought a house before losing her job so she gets no hb and has to contribute to council tax too.

She has 2 degrees and works in a very specialised field so has been out of work for 2 years.

Imo her benefits are not livable. She barely scrapes by and has to do things like get her parents to insure and mot her car and eat at friends houses several times a week. She can hardly afford to go anywhere and every extra thing that needs buying or paying for, even if it costs a couple of pounds, is a nightmare.

It might be ok for a young graduate living at home but for a well qualified, independent person in their 30s it is humiliating and miserable

[pumpkinsweetie]

Exactly Martini that posh woman was really stupid and that lady was doing the best she could to make sure she brought good food to the table.

[martini84]

Yed. My dd has school dinners half of the week and still eats a cooked meal in the eve so why shouldn't her kids.

[pumpkinsweetie]

I felt quite sorry for the single mum with 2 kids, that tax payer woman was awful begrudging her a whole chicken and insisting her children don't need a school dinner aswell as a cooked meal in the evening!!
After bills, rent, and food is paid it doesn't leave alot and she hardly seemed to be living the life of luxury!!

I know some people work the system but some of tax payers had no clue how little they actually do have. There was only one tax payer that had empathy on that show & that was the fellar that used to be redundant.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Sorry I tell a lie one of the areas do

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Not one of the areas I work in exempt those with under 5's but I wouldn't know about single people with no children as I don't tend to work with those

[martini84]

Or with children under 5

[martini84]

£5 for a single person is a much higher percentage though than 5 to 8 pound for a family.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

And out of the 4 counties I work in it works out at about £5-8 per week.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Most areas are only giving full ct reduction to vulnerable households I.e those in receipt of a DLA pip or a disablement pension.

So a family with children on a very low income would still have to pay some ct

[martini84]

O and add on the £5 every 2 weeks she has to pay to sign on since they closed the local office. When she mentioned it to the staff they said "we hzve to pay it too".. nice!

[martini84]

How do you apply not to pay it? Her letter basically said we can't possible charge those with dc under 5 etc etc so you are going to have to subsidise them.

[martini84]

She has to pay £5 per week in the south east.

[Szeli]

Even in the most expensive area tho its not going to be more than £3.5 a week or so and you can apply to not pay that too. It's a maximum of 8.5% of your bill and you can still get a single persons reduction. It's not quite as bad as the papers are making out.

Although the way benefits have changed this year I'm £800 a month down on what I was told I would be receiving before the changes. First time in needing the help and I missed out on the good bits, darn it ;)

[martini84]

I think the annoying thing is that my single sister now has to pay council tax out of that £71 has to pay council tax. Yet a family of 4 take home over 3 times as much doesn't.