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)

A driver licence is a skill she could be a delivery driver. They earn good money you have to do your homework on who to work for. They need people with a licence.

Ickle You are jealous of a disabled person? WOW

People in the real world know the benefit system inside out.
They put up with it for decades.
They worked full time and were ahead.
They arent anymore.
That is why they seek change.
That is why Labour is losing the working class.
Live amongst it, feel it, be it.
Put down The Guardian.

Rabbits So who will do the care work in care homes so that people can attend their high paid jobs and not have to take time off to help an elderly relative go to the toilet if every single person aspires to do the higher paid work.

Rose, I'm also no Daily Mail reader. The welfare system now bears no relationship to what it was set up for. I've known (too) many people who are now calculating how they can maximise what they can get out of it, whilst resenting any suggestion that they should pay into it. The very idea! Meanwhile there is less and less money for those who are in the most need. People calculating what the nicest house HB will cover, or how few hours they can get away with working in order to get maximum tax credits. I know figures say benefit fraud is really low, but I know umpteen people working the system who should actually be working.

If nobody wants to take elderly relatives to the toilet then carers jobs will become very lucrative it's all about supply and demand

Seriously Ickle?? Having disabilities costs money, a lot of money in many cases. Dla/pip/access to work fund etc barely covers the cost for most people. But they are there to bridge the gaps to help people with disabilities access normal opportunities like employment.

Pp- even if money is taken from 'people who can't be bothered' it won't be given to those with disabilities who need extra help, this government and the coalition have massively disproportionately targeted people with disabilities, this won't change. Also don't forget that many people with serious disabilities are having their benefits pulled from under them- when this happens they are then subjected to the cap, it can take years for appeals to go through and that is years for them and their families to struggle and be labeled as not bothering work. Dwp's own figures show dla has the lowest fraud rate of all benefits at 0.5%, yet dc himself admitted that pip was brought in to cut that by 20%, even though disabled benefits claimants make up a mere 3% of all claimants so hardly much money saved by screwing us over.

Jealous Helena hell no. Surely the elderly is in more need of a disabled person work full time,that can go to their heating and proper food? Didn't word it right.

Is that an attempt at a Haiku user?

Helena - That's the attitude to have! People should not aspire to be the best they can be! Some people (I'm assuming you have a criteria - catchment area maybe?) should only aspire to a low wage job! What about people actually getting properly qualified in care work? Then being able to have a better wage due to that? Then we might not have all these horror stories about what actually happens in care homes!

Rabbits

Most jobs don't pay enough to live, that's why we need benefits.
If we all just went for the high paid work, so many jobs would be without workers
People who do low paid jobs have as many marketable skills as those who do better paid jobs, sometimes they have more.

But maybe you believe that only well paid jobs are worthwhile.
I hope you don't need care for any of your family, yourself, your kids.

Seriously Ickle?? Having disabilities costs money, a lot of money in many cases.

True. Then again, one of my old colleagues had a disability. She was very well off. From a rich family, private school, etc.

She was on a very hefty salary and yet had a freedom pass because of her disability. She didnt even need an annual zone 1-6 pass for London because she live in Zone 1/2. She got the bus to work. That pass costs about £2000 a year and she a) didnt need it and b) could afford £3 a day for buses.

Rose
The people I know who were in care homes are trained and qualified wtf are you talking about?

Keeptrudging - I know exactly where you are coming from! And I get really annoyed that if you dare question the unfairness of the benefit system you must be some complete idiot who knows nothing and obviously reads the Daily Mail!

ideally, the entry level caring jobs will pay lesser amounts, and you can then do qualifications and earn more money as you get more senior in your career. Maybe also people who want to work only part time in their 60s will do pt less well paid caring jobs. I do see a problem with never figuring out how to improve your skills so that by the time you've got dc you've got more ability to pay for your larger bills.

Rabbits has a point- it is possible to have a more skilled workforce, it doesn't mean there are no min wage jobs (although in many countries that enjoy a highly skilled workforce such jobs are done by immigrants)

work, not were

"And I get really annoyed that if you dare question the unfairness of the benefit system you must be some complete idiot who knows nothing and obviously reads the Daily Mail!"

Then stop repeating opinions gleaned from it then. Simple.

It's not just about the rent though, is it? As trudging says, she might be able to get rid of the car, get a job there.

It's also about the long term plan. When I first went back to work after maternity, I was paying out more in childcare than I was earning. (Yes, DH did contribute some of the childcare, but if you take the net figures, we were worse off with me in work).

However, I still went back because I knew it was only temporary, after DD turned 2 her nursery bill dropped (charged more for under 2s because ration is higher). Then when she turned 3 it dropped again (funded hours). When she starts school it will drop again as I will only need wraparound care, not the whole time I am at work.

So perhaps the OP is better off spending 2 years paying off a loan that enable her to move house, so that after that point she is better off each month? (And that's ignoring the other potential savings she could make, just looking at rent costs)

Gilly sorry I'm talking about the thousands of 'No experience needed!' Care jobs I see advertised ALL THE TIME!

With you on that one Chronic you have to think of the future.

Rose the pay for care work aint going up anytime soon.

And you have insulted a lot of hard working people with that post. Would you have said the same about the healthcare assistants working in hospitals.

Pure classism.

And ppl like you would be the first to moan if care home fees increased to accomodate this.

Well I think it's safe to say I've had my arse handed to me on this thread

That's ok. I'm a big girl! You'd don't know me. Well actually you do. I'm just like you, well I was anyway. I had the husband and the two cars and the nice holiday each year. I'd never claimed benefits and would probably be one of you saying why not just move, just find a job, lower your expenditure. But real life doesn't work like that. I hope you never have to find that out. Thanks for all the replies good and bad. Thanks for the lovely supportive messages.

I'm going to go now, this is all a little out of my depth.

Love to you all.

Smallfox I have no idea what is written in the Daily Mail as I don't read it. I am only repeating observations I have seen in real life.

come on, it can't be true that people doing poorly paid jobs have just as many marketable skills as people earning more money. That doesn't add up. My point is just that it shouldn't be anybody's life plan to earn a low wage and not try and improve it so that they can fully support themselves.