£12bn Welfare Cuts - Speculation and Information

[olgaga]

I've been reading the recent threads about this on here with interest. I came across this article by Robert Joyce of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Do have a read. We won't know the full extent of what is planned until 8 July when we hear the new Budget, but we do know that Tax Credits and Housing Benefit are in the firing line, along with an expected reduction in the Universal Credit Cap of £26,000 to £23,000.

I haven't posted this to provoke an argument, more to try to provide some authoritative information for those seeking possible answers, and to express my sadness at what I fear will be the impact.

Here are some of the highlights of the article, in my words:

Yes there will be an extension of free childcare, to enable you to work longer hours in your min wage job to make up for SOME of the shortfall caused by the withdrawal or abolition of WTC, whuch currently costs £30bn.

That's if you can find a childcare provider, and succeed in obtaining additional working hours.

No doubt they will also raise the tax threshold - but that will benefit higher earners just as much as the lowest paid.

Child benefit may be cut more quickly by lowering the cash terms threshold, so the number of families who reach the threshold will increase more quickly.

Or they might cut the amount for the first child, or for the number of subsequent children.

Or it may be abolished altogether and be included as an element of means tested CTC.

Cuts to housing benefit seem inevitable, as this makes up £26bn of the welfare budget - and not just for 18-21yo. This may be achieved by cuts to the LHA, or introducing a percentage co-payment (say 10-20% of rent) for tenants in both social and private rented housing. Worth bearing in mind if that might necessitate a move to a cheaper area, and possible loss of employment.

Disability and incapacity benefits, carer's and attendance allowances, at £37bn, are also likely to be affected. Whether by taxing, means testing, or simple abolition.

I think the Tories' position on welfare in the run up to the 2010 election was misleading. Certainly here, on thread after thread in the run up to 2010, people were declaring that the problem of the welfare bill needed to be tackled, but believed the Tories would only tackle so-called "career claimants".

It seems to me that all that "hardworking families" "strivers v skivers" stuff was designed to divide and rule. I don't blame people for believing it, but the Tories have always been the Party of low taxation, small state and individual responsibility - and that's not about to change.

Anyway, that's just my view. I'm sure there are still plenty of people who think lower taxation and a smaller welfare state will be beneficial to the economy.

But it's clear that a lot of people, and many, many children, will suffer when these benefit lifelines are taken away.

Babyroobs and other PPs who have suggested CM be counted as income. If that happens it would enable a financially abusive ex to continue to exert control by starting and stopping paying at will.

Also how much maintenance is usually paid to a single parent?

info from Gingerbread:

Single parents’ risk of poverty has fallen over the past decade, yet those in single parent families are still nearly twice as likely to be in poverty as those in couple parent families.

Less than half (38 per cent) of single parents receive child maintenance

The average weekly maintenance due to be paid via the Child Support Agency is £34 (excluding cases assessed to not be liable to pay maintenance

I get £7 a week.....that's to be shared between 3 children. yes,i see,its plenty isn't it?

My DD is an adult now but in the 17.5 years I was a single parent I received a total of £0.00. If I count everything he bought for, every scrap of food, toy or piece of clothing then it's £0.00.

Why is it so totalitarian on here?

Obviously if you need to claim then the facility should be there to enable you to claim. But for families where huge sums of money are handed over (and I know of 2 personally who get more in CM than I do as salary) they should be means tested.

Also in the UK at the moment there seems to be a prevailing attitude of 'not my problem. Someone else should fix it' for everything. People seem so reluctant to help themselves they'd rather be done to than do.

I know of people on my estate who, rather than doing simple cheap repairs like replace a toilet seat or reseal the bath, would rather wait weeks for the HA handyman to come out and fix it and then moan about the cost of the service charge on the property and the length of time they have to wait.

It baffles me why people are so happy to live like this.

The main reason I support the government is because if those who can do, then those who can't get help faster.

The main reason I support the government is because if those who can do, then those who can't get help faster.
But the services have been cut for those that can't. Carers allowance is a taxable allowance, and it's removed from any other benefits, counted as money you already have coming in. The ILF is being axed.
The battle too, is grim. Dd went for assessment last week, it took us 45 minutes to walk the 200 metres from carpark to asssessment centre (no disabled parking, genius). We had to prove how long it took us and they were still insistent that she could walk. She probably won't get her mobility allowance and we'll have to go to appeal. Dh's appeal took nine months. I get £65 quid a week for this, and my respite care has been cut to 0 hours per month.

The main reason I support the government is because if those who can do, then those who can't get help faster

What colour is the sky on your planet ?

Massivetonsil It might help you be less annoyed to know that if people do repairs on their HA homes which don't work properly, aren't up to professional standard or could otherwise be considered to have made the damage worse, they would be liable to pay for a tradesperson to do it to the HA's standard. It is rarely about 'can't be bothered'.

There should be a more efficient way of collecting maintainence from NRP and then deducting it from benefits. many nrp pay good amounts willingly and reliably month in , month out and are adequately supporting their children financially. It is ridiculous that the state then pays again in the form of tax credits because only the rp's income is counted rather than the nrp's contribution too. Of course those lone parents who get no maintainence should be supported adequately as they currently do..

I think it was rebranded in 2010. It's now The Big Society. Any ideas for a logo? I'm thinking Oliver Twist...

:o so true! :(

Dawndonnaagain, I don't think people have any idea what being a carer for someone with a severe or significant disability actually means.

I gave up work 2 years ago as my own health was suffering. I exist and everything else I do is for someone else with a severe disability. My daughter needs 24/7 care and I often function on a few hours sleep a night. I have to do all personal care for a very severely disabled person, which is heavy work. I feel that carers allowance is an acknowledgement that I actually exist and do something important and worthwhile as it is a thankless task. But no, we are lumped into the scrounge section because some prat knows someone on a council estate somewhere who won't reseal their bath. We claim no other benefits, not even cb or ctc. My daughter claims dla, but it's to pay TOWARDS the extra costs involved due to her disability.

Anyway, I have to go and drive the 20 miles, 40 mile round trip to pick her up from a council run group that parades under the caveat of respite

Earlier on the thread it was mentioned that nurseries and childminders are having to subsidise the 15 soon to be 30 hours of child care. How does this work? (My own children are older and I don't know what is going on.)

Ah, I see. How much is it? Is a child minder allowed to ask for a top up? Can a child minder turn down a client?

I am not surprised they don't want to take a child for £3.10. That seems very low. I think running out of childcare provision is real worry here.

I've just finished the 'routine' from getting back from 'respite'

Massive there are massive amounts of us sharing your views and we voted in the Tories because we are very much in favour of personal responsibility and driving out the entitled culture. Don't worry just because a good few benefits claimants hang out on mumsnet does not mean they hold the majority UK view.

So instead of tackling the cost of living - private energy companies fucking over people on prepayment meters, high transport costs/train fares, sky high rents - they just hammer the poor. That really works.

Whattodonow

Yes that's how I understand it. CMs and smaller nurseries survive on the "unfunded" hours on average say about £4.00-50 ph CM, around £5 ph for nursery (or more, depending where you live).

More "funded" hours around £3ph will mean many nurseries (with staffing/premises costs) will go under, and many CMs (wiith much smaller capacity) will just give up.

So lotuslight, do you believe someone who has given up a well paid job because they can no longer pay for care as its too expensive and/or the person's they care for needs are not being met by the care they they can afford, do you think they shouldn't be entitled to a small allowance to cover their loss in earnings whilst they care for someone? With high care needs (as that's all you can get it for) are carers not hard working people? Are their partners not hard working people? Or have been in the past?

The daily mail article types won't be affected by austerity measures from what I can comprehend (I have a degree and everything)

I haven't said anything about care or rates - just that most people in the country want cut backs because we want the nation to live within its means. Even had Labour got in they envisaged massive cuts.

But it's care that has been and will still be affected.
Does it not bother you?

Would you be able to give 24 hour care for 7 days a week with 2 nights respite?
Would you expect some kind of allowance for that if you had had to give up your job?
Would you want you national insurance contributions protected?

Owllady agree with everything you are saying. Are you aware once you receive your state pension you are not allowed Carer's Allowance! I get £72/week pension and cannot claim CA!!
As you say Cameron and Co are lying hypocrites!!!!