A decent budget for low paid workers.

[Sickoffrozen]

Aibu to think that overall the budget was good news for the low paid with a big increase in minimum wages announced?

Seems like a decent idea to me.

But I stand to be corrected.....

There's plenty of people on less than £30,000 paying full market rent right now. People that has always worked to keep a house over their head and so haven't been been able get a social/council house.
Social housing should be for people who really need it and I think eligibility should be assessed regularly.

It isn't going to be £9.00 per hour until 2020. At the moment £7.85 is the living wage, and yet Osbourne is suggesting £7.20.

As for removing the extra monies from the work related activity group, bearing in mind that many, many people are wrongly put in this group upon initial assessment, I am disgusted, unsurprised that these bastards would make life even more hellish for people with disabilities, definitely disgusted.

Am I right in thinking that any family who claim tax credits will face a reduction in the payments they receive? Or does this just apply to new claimants from 2017?

I agree it's not straight away but it looks like a good move to me long term. My niece earns £6.50 an hour currently and works really long hours for that. As a young single person living at home, I would have thought her and her peer group will be loving this news.

I agree it's not so good for people claiming tax credits but won't the increase in MW in the long term offset some of this? Also free childcare for 30 hrs seems a step in the right direction.

There's no way nurseries will survive doubling the free hours though. so another thing that people will budget around and plan around is likely to just be pulled out from under them

Sorry for being stupid, but can someone explain to me how this will affect people with disabilities exactly?

I have just accepted a job but I am also a carer to a child with SN and a disabled husband who can't work right now or in the foreseeable future.

Sickoffrozen
People with disabilities get tax credits, too.
What about families with children who wish to go to university. All those currently in parliament benefitted from free higher education. Why should those wishing to teach our children and heal our sick have to pay for the privilege?

Sounds good in theory nut many employers won't be able to afford to pay £9 an hour

85% of workers on current NMW are employed by organisations with a turnover in excess of £100m.

So most will be able to afford it, but maybe that 99p cheeseburger will have to go up to £1, and that £30 hotel room might now cost £32.

those currently in parliament benefitted from free higher education. Why should those wishing to teach our children and heal our sick have to pay for the privilege?

Free higher education? I saw this on another thread too but didn't get it. Surely an Oxbridge education comes with a fairly large price tag?

I'm a low paid worker - my TC will be frozen and my public sector pay capped at 1% so no not good for this worker

Not when people got 100% grants

Also the care leavers I work with lose entitlement to housing benefit and higher education grants

I presume this will involve the public sector looking at rebanding and payrises as I am on ?8.91 as a Band 3

Public Sector worker.

A bit shit at my end.

Well I'm being down graded a band - which is nice - due to massive cuts in funding

Free higher education? I saw this on another thread too but didn't get it. Surely an Oxbridge education comes with a fairly large price tag?
There were no fees in those days. Fees started in 1998.

Ghostly What area are you in?

My DH is NHS and in his office their are 'managers' on band 8 who do nothing but sit around and email jokes to each other all day. While DH's aunt is an experienced theater nurse working all the hours under the sun- shes being downgraded!

Surely front line hospital staff should be protected and useless dead wood administrative staff on really high bands should feel the effect of the cuts more.

I am really confused by the wage thing.

from the BBC website
"In a surprise announcement at the end of his speech, he said workers aged over 25 would be entitled to a "national living wage" from next April.
The current minimum wage, which applies to those aged over 21, is £6.50. Those entitled to the "living wage" will get £7.20 and that will rise to £9 an hour by 2020."

If there is going to be a higher living wage - or is it just the minimum wage renamed - why on earth wouldn't it be paid to those between 21 and 25?

There were no fees in those days. Fees started in 1998.

Oh shit I stand corrected there then

I have only just seen this over 25 thing so looks like that age group 21-25 may not be accelerated by as much as first thought.

The estimate is that meeting this is going to lead to 60k people losing their job (because not everyone produces enough in an hour for an employer to be able to justify the new living wage for them).

The public sector announcement seems a bit bonkers given today's situation on the London Underground. They are immediately setting a precedent to break it with 2% already rejected.
I don't understand why there isn't more public sector wage bargaining in this country. If it exists it seems to have a very low profile.

It's all as clear as mud really so it must be quite terrifying if you live life close to the financial edge especially with kids.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11725850/How-well-off-are-Londons-tube-drivers-and-why-are-they-striking.html
Still tube drivers in council homes will have to pay market rental rates I suppose [silver cloud and all that]

Since when can childless people claim wtc?!

Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits are two seperate things.

Google it.

actually, it occurs to me that the 21-25 difference may be a way of making that age group look more attractive to employers but if that's the thinking, he does need to say so....

No worries Ollie