To think the benefit cap is going to plunge families into poverty

[Firsttheworst]

Next month the benefit cap comes in. It sets out the maximum that can be claimed in a week across all benefits. This doesn't include disability or wtc. Its aimed purely at women (mostly) claiming income support. You can only claim income support if you have a child under 5 and don't work.

The benefit cap is in the government owns words designed to get IS claimants out to work. The cap is currently £500 and will be reduced to £384 a week.

This includes, housing benefit, CT benefit, tax credits, income support. So all in total cannot be more than £384 a week. Over a 30 day month that comes to £1645.

From that £1645 I need to pay

rent £900 a month (no I can't move, its impossible to rent on benefits as it is, not giving this house up and its below market rent as it is)

CT - £60 a month

Electricity £80

Oil £80

Diesel £ 120 (rural don't drive anywhere other than school runs and supermarket/town once or twice a week)

Car insurance £49

Car tax £19.99

Phone/internet £40 (thats a basic mobile and broadband)

House insurance £13

TV licence £11

That leaves 272 a month to pay for food, clothes, car breakdown, school trips, birthdays, miscellaneous and god knows what else. For one adult and 3 children.

AIBU to think that the government have just decided that if they starve us out for long enough we'll be forced to go out and find a job? Like I said rural area so jobs are rarer than hens teeth and believe me i'm looking. It is pure discrimination against single mothers with small children (i doubt many men claim income support)

first how much cash do you want to be given? You are saying £1600+ isn't enough.....so how much do you expect the government to give you?

"All of you who say you'd just work or carry on with your jobs. Take any help you get from your family out of the equation. Take any help or childcare you get from your DH out of the equation. Just you on your own.
Can you still do your job?"

Yes. Never had any family help . Always had to pay for full time childcare include as a single mother without a spouse paying or doing even a day of childcare a year. So yes many of us do live like that working full time to ensure lots of women work part time or don't work. That is the rub - that so many people or women's husbands on here clear the same amount in net pay as those who don't work at all. The benefits cap is very popular indeed. It is also an after tax sum so even more valuable tha it seems.

Indeed- why should people who have worked very hard to be in the top
5% have their wages MASSIVELY increased? Just so more people can sit on their arse watching JK? I don't understand this Robin Hood way of thinking? People who are on those salaries work bloody hard! Long hours, don't take lunches, never leave on time, rarely get to have family time - I think it's rediculous that they should then pay even more!

I'm sorry OP but unless you are out on the street handing out CVs to local shops / buisinesses or going through the phone book asking people if they are hiring, you are not actively looking. Scrawling through Reed is not the only way to look for a job and in my experience is the worst way to get your name out there.

What I know from my own experience with child support pissing, is that somehow my exh has never had CM assessed at a rate higher than £5pw in the 14 years between our divorce and DC1 leaving sixth form.

This is despite the fact that I have periodically supplied evidence of his businesses, reported him to the HMRC for tax fraud more than once, chased CSA and their successor every few months and even hired a PI at one point.

It's not an unusual story. Lots of women are in the same boat. I'm just incredibly fortunate that were a two include me household and font desperately need CM for my eldest.

And actually your posts are making it sound as though all your suggested solutions to OP's hurdles are very easy. You're taking a very breezy, impatient tone.

Not sure where else I can cut.
Why are paying for home insurance when you rent?
why are you paying £188.99 month for your car?

Two income household

You aren't ALLOWED to just move to a new area and claim housing benefits.

Yes you are. My neighbour is on housing benefits, she's moving 600 miles next week.

Assume it's house contents insurance.... you need it

Manumission I'd still take the fiver - if he had 10p to his name I'd want 50% of it because I didn't make these babies by myself.

And no it's not easy, but it's not impossible either.

And the point is moaning about gets you nowhere - God knows I've moaned on here - didn't make me feel better tbh but you do need to take steps yourself too

SuramarMom sorry I didn't mean to be snippy, but the gentleman concerned has never taken a penny in benefits in his life, is bloody inspirational and if you met him you'd cringe at any excuse any of us ever make for not working because believe me if he can we all can.
No we can't. Some people have mental health problems, some have physical disabilities and pain conditions so severe that they are unable to work. Some disabled people are lucky enough to be able to work, that's great, but don't use them to bash the rest of us please.

I don't know any totally single parents (no family) who work. There's a couple at the dc's school and I don't blame them for staying at home, working has nearly finished me off. I cost the nhs a fortune working as a lp, heart, bowel and MH are having stress related problems.

"5% have their wages MASSIVELY increased? Just so more people can sit on their arse watching JK? I don't understand this Robin Hood way of thinking?"

More equal societies function better, have lower crime rates, and people are generally happier - there is evidence of this.

Can i ask a potentially stupid question? If OP moved wouldn't her housing benefit payment just go down, leaving her no better off? Because people don't get the same level of HB, they get what they need to pay their rent

OP, I've done my job for 20 years with no help from ex or family. I've also had no huge issue finding childcare. For DS, I had to walk 1/2 hour to get there as I didn't have a car. I'm no longer a single parent, but I was for 16 years, during which time I worked, because it was my job to provide for him. Vicky Pollard was probably incapable of getting a job due to her limited life skills/education. You, on the other hand, have work experience, plus your time on the PTA, and a presumably decent standard of education. You've got no reason to be unemployed. Poor Vicky does, unless the state helps her get some training.

Op, I don't think yabu at all.

I was a single mum of 2 on benefits for years. I was unfit to work but wasn't getting much more than you in terms of ESA/Income support/JS and I got no housing help at all. Life was really hard.

I love how your solutions seem to be:

Move miles away to somewhere you have no support
Use your ex as childcare (clearly not doable if you have moved miles away)
Get your ex to pay money to you (not an easy thing if they don't want to pay)
Sell your car (and leave yourself with less chance of getting work)
Find a job in a school (because obviously there are millions of those)

You know that life needs to change but I also understand it's not that easy. If you still need to ferry your dc about to and from school (and I've been in that position as well) then you either need to start funding transport for the dc or pay for childcare.

I don't think it's helpful for anyone to say they have less/more/same income as op after their dp has worked 700 hours a week. Whatever. Everyone's circumstances are different. Op is a single parent and while your dp may work leaving you to do the school run and food shop and all the rest of it, the op doesn't have someone to back her up. She's there, doing it all on her own and probably drowning.

Of course, if you are that jealous people, just give up work and pop yourself onto benefits. You can then get your free £384 a week. See how easy it is to live on that.

Of course take the fiver (if the ex even pays the assessed amount- another hurdle) but let's not pretend £5 will solve anything much.

And what's wring with moaning or panicking out loud? OP is in a scary corner.

Far more trivial, needless grumbles get far more indulgence every day on MN.

I get there are waiting lists for clubs. Ds is due to start reception in sept and we have been told he won't get a place at breakfast club until the following year when he's in yr1 But I am not " oh no that's going to be really hard I ll give up work" it s a bloody pain in the arse and both sets of grandparents won't/can't do it. So we are having to explore other options. It just seems to me the OP is very quick to say it's hard to juggle these things so she won't and I think this is the problem where state benefits allows this to happen.

I am also thinking of going back to training and working pt. at that time I will have a 5yo and a 3yo and it will be bloody hard. I would love to do the training without having to work pt to and trying to juggle this around the dcs will be hard but if you want it enough you do it. So if you feel that strongly about staying where you are, being near dcs dad and keeping them in their schools you may need to work hard.

I think there are a fair few jobs that do for in with school hours. Shop jobs, till work, cleaners, work in schools, nurseries etc.

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They can deduct the fathers salary at source, they just need the other parent to call them - which seems to be too much to ask of some people - probably because they are still in love with the twat from what I've seen in real life

Csa not got anything out of my ex in. 8 years. I chase on a regular basis.

Maybe before spouting such bollox you educate yourself as to how maintenance works and where the very numerous loopholes are?

Of course, children have the right to see their dad, and it's probably easier all round if you're living close to him, but if he were that upset about them moving away then he'd stick his hand in his pocket and actually pay you a decent amount so that you wouldn't have to; so put it to him.

OK, I know that you can't move anyway, with no deposit etc, but one day you may have to face moving - maybe for work when your youngest is at school - and why close your mind to the whole of the rest of the country just because you think you have to keep the children close to their dad.

There are many parents who are prepared to travel to see their kids. My friend's ex travels every fortnight from Kent to Nottingham to spend the w/e with their son.

Lets just give every working person 2k per month in benefits, we are a rich country, they say, we can afford it. Nasty Tories!
Lets just print it and spend the money on magic money tree seeds.
Lets just print it, and add it to the massive debt mountain.
Hello Gordon

minifingerz- i would be interested if that is based on societies where there is a narrower range in what people earn or societies where large sums a redistributed from rich to poor via taxation and cash handouts.

The important difference, yummy, is that you are not a lone parent.

"Lets just give every working person 2k per month in benefits, we are a rich country, they say, we can afford it. Nasty Tories!
Lets just print it and spend the money on magic money tree seeds.
Lets just print it, and add it to the massive debt mountain.
Hello Gordon"

Utterly fallacious, but slightly higher than your normal standard of debate.

Dawndonnaagain the gentleman I'm thinking of has no arms and no legs, do you think he hasn't been depressed or had mental health issues ?
I have no doubt there are exceptions but I also bet there's plenty could do with getting themselves something to do which would increase their self esteem

I think there are a fair few jobs that do for in with school hours. Shop jobs, till work, cleaners, work in schools, nurseries etc

PMSL at the idea work in schools is something that fits around children. Never worked in a school have you?!
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