To believe £780 month lone parent benefits income is adequate to live on.

[goldfacegreen]

There's some myth busting required at last I think.

As a lone parent of two under 6, I receive a total of £780 a month in benefits:

Income Support, Child Tax Credit, Child Benefit, CSA (£5 a week).

I receive full housing benefit for a two bedroom house (£75 shortfall which has to come out of my income support, currently being paid via Housing Discretion Award) which doesnt go into mybank account, it gets paid direct to landlord, and £16 a month council tax shortfall also has to be paid out of income.

I'm on meters and gas and electric are around £20 a week each, some of which pays off accrued debt. Water is deducted directly from my income support via an 'attachment of earnings' type court order.

I don't have loans or credit cards, no landline, no satellite tele, no car, no travel expenses, no socialising costs, don't smoke, my Internet is paid for by someone else although I should have organised a bill swap ages ago and I run an old phone on £10 month contract. My other costs are regular swimming, yoga, wax salon, and I buy school uniform and children's clothing as and when required.

Childcare such as nursery (pre-school), morning and after school clubs are free to those on income support, school holiday clubs are heavily subsidised, as are school meals, dentistry, doctor's prescriptions, council run leisure centre swimming and gym classes, and many other recreation facilities.

My budgeting skills are atrocious but having recently done some sums, I actually have around £250 a month 'spare' from all benefits income. Although for the past year or two I've been constantly overdrawn by around £500 so whenever income is credited, I'm always 'one step forwards, two steps back' amd because of this will never get back in the black again.

So, with better budgeting (I don't buy a regular weekly food shop for instance, instead spend a fortune every few days buying dinners and sundries at the overpriced local Tesco Metro) I just don't understand how so many lone parents claim they can't afford to live on these same benefits.
Even if you have debts, there are features in place to reduce your debt payments to just £1 a week or even write them off altogether as a last resort.

Also, the father of my children earns thousands but fraudulently claims benefits, so he is only required to pay the minimum £2.50 a week per child direct from his benefits. Many lone mothers receive full child support which isn't deducted from their other benefits income, so can be receiving up to £800 a month on top of their benefits depending on what the chikdren's father earns. I have noticed that rarely will lone parents on benefits state this fact or include it in their income along with their complaint.

Yes, it is a struggle trying to support myself and two young children on £780 a month (but mostly because I can't get over this overdraft debt shackle) but on paper, budgeting well, it is entirely doable, and if you are frugal, you could even save a little too.

Why does the Daily Mail stereotype exist that single mothers are rolling in handouts, given the above figures? Just under £195 a week is an adequate income for one adult and two young children, surely..

[shanelle5]

I have been reading this since its start with interest and itching to comment on the child maintenance issue before now too.
I think almost all of us lone parents on benefit can only dream of getting "up to £800" of maintenance on top of our usual benefit. I was as to why she picked that particular figure, and actually why it was capped at that ("Up To") I dont know if Im typical (if there IS such a thing as this thread has done wonders to highlight each and every one of us has a situtaion that is unique to us alone) but the figure mentioned of up to/around £200 per week is actually quite a bit more than I get a month for 4 children so that smarted a little...

[IneedAsockamnesty]

According to gingerbread the majority of lone parents receive either nothing or £5 per week no matter how many kids.

[DizzyZebra]

parents need to stop passing the buck onto schools and expecting them to pick up the slack. Schools should be educating about subjects not teaching children how to live.

Is it passing the buck though? A lot of parents themselves are clueless when it comes to budgeting. I think it would be good for children who aren't going to learn skills at home to have some sort of access to them in school.

It's a shame ESA was taken away as i thought that went some way to teaching kids how to budget. Certainly for the people i knew on it.

[DizzyZebra]

I don't know anyone who gets more than the bare minimum child support. I have heard of one person getting £1500 a month, but that was on the internet so could well be total bollocks.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

When I was at school we had cooking and budgeting lessons and sewing,and a cookery lesson did not consist of go buy a Swiss roll and cover it in chocolate or buy some dried pasta and boil it.

[happytalk13]

£800 a month?! Another chuckle - I'm racking them up! We get sod all and I don't know a single mother who get's more than a few pounds a week.

[CalamitouslyWrong]

I get much closer to £800 than the minimum in child support and I know someone who gets in excess of £2000 a month. But, I'm not sure why anyone would imagine that was common. The vast majority of people get very little in the way of child support (unfortunately).

[shanelle5]

calamitous in EXCESS of £2k a month maintenance?? Was she married to a footballer of something

[DownstairsMixUp]

Blimey I get £5 a week child support, it's so much, I have to plan in advance what to spend it on!

[CalamitouslyWrong]

No. But her ex is seriously wealthy. Her situation is certainly unusual.

[jakjakscot]

Right now I'm in receipt of esa, after my previous dwp budget loan payments I get £108/fortnight. Which gets stopped every 5months since I lost my son, I always fail the medical. I've been suffering from depression and anxiety for years and it seams that if they can't see a physical manifestation of your condition then to them your able to work.
I failed last time as they put it, "she has a very good understanding of her condition, got to the medical alone (all my family deceased and no friend to come with cause I don't go out to meet any) and I was clean and tidy and answered questions clearly." I have another medical this week.
1st question: Am I eligible for any other financial help? I do get housing/c.tax benefit but must pay bedroom tax. I can't afford to pay my bills and my house hasn't been decorated since I moved in, 2005.
Question 2: I'm awaiting a decision on budget loan application (this is first time I've been receiving esa for the 6mth needed to be able to apply) and I fear that when I go to the medical this week, my esa will stop and I'll no longer be entitled to a budget loan. Then the whole thing will start again, I'll need to apply for esa, then wait another 6mth till I can try again for a loan.
My credit rating was ruined years ago when my ex left me with a lot of debt.
Can I find out the decision on web?? I have no home phone/pc/laptop, and my mobile can't make calls as it broke when I dropped it, only the web works.
Can anyone help, I'm loosing the will to go on.