To ask you to watch Panorama re Universal Credit

[longwayoff]

God, this looks grim already. Look what we're allowing to happen.

Sounds absolutely horrendous. I don't understand why the government seems to be ignoring the misery they are inflicting with this terrible system.

They don't give a shit and think the poor deserve to be punished.

I guarantee that this system will not, in the long term, save money.
Socially, the cost of implementing this is not only economic, but personal as well.
Universal credit will shatter society. People will commit suicide. Children whose lives have been marred by poverty will grow up to be criminals and with mental health problems, and be subsequently unable to work which prolongs the trajectory of unemployed families.
Crime levels will rise in disadvantaged areas. Drug and alcohol use will soar. People will lose pride in where they live. City centres will become shut up shops because people can't afford to spend.
Simple pleasures will become things like smoking or crap food because that's all they can afford. Costs to the NHS will increase. People will become homeless, and children be taken into care, because their parents cannot house them. The need for council housing will increase, but demand will not be met. People will be expected to be grateful for poor housing provided by bad landlords because they have been good enough to let someone on benefits live in their overpriced houses.
Riots and unrest will occur, because these problems will become pervasive and penetrate not only the council estates where we are taught to believe people are lazy and deserve to be poor, but the middle earners who are made redundant, those who become disabled, those with special needs children. Schools where once a minority of children were pupil premium or free school meals, will see at least half of their children in need. That impacts on the ability of the whole school to educate all children, due to the associated costs of poverty; poor attendance, lack of parental support, lateness, distractibility due to not eating breakfast or sleeping because it's cold. That impacts the richer kids as well.
The public schoolboys playing politics who have no experience or concept of poverty, should be careful when they pretend they believe this is ethical and moral. Because they will have people's lives and children's childhoods on their conscience.

The thing is, Steak, the ones who have decided and insisted to implement this don't care, they're not doing it to save money but to punish people for being poor. They believe this is morally correct.

Steakandkidney exactly what you said. I wish more people would sit up and pay attention and also that they would realise that this system could be inflicted on them or a family member.
I think that UC could be brought down, if enough people applied. There isn't any actual criteria in order to do so (at least that is my understanding and if everyone who was motivated to, did, then the system would come crashing down around their ears!

@Dontwalkaway if you get a job and are forced to switch to UC make sure you submit the claim smack bang in the middle between paydays, so abouy two weeks into your new job, if you're being paid monthly.

I submitted my claim on the day following my payday and it's all fucked up now. I get paid UC every other month because according to them I receive too much money in wages every other month. They work off 30 day assessment period and every other time I get two wages in one period. To them it means I am loaded.

If you are to be paid weekly or fortnightly from your future employer then it might be not as drastic but you will still not know how much you'll get in UC until a week before payment day.

It's a mess...

I don't claim housing benefit because it will trigger UC. I'm not entitled to much but it would really help.

Petbear, sorry, my reply to you hasnt posted. As u probably know by now, bbc1, 8pm.on iplayer.

No 7.30

Interesting watching. Felt for the single dad and the family. They fell in hard times. The older men seemed to forget that they are adults and are responsible for themselves eg going to appointments, budgeting etc. Was irritated by them.

And more and more people will turn to sex work.

I felt more sorry for the older guy. Yes he had missed messages and things but it sounded as though he wasn't computer literate so maybe that was a factor. Must be horrible reaching that age and worrying about being potentially homeless.

I didn’t manage to catch all of it. Did they ever explain why they weren’t getting their full benefits?

The problem is that many people don't get the full rent element anyway because their rent exceeds the maximum for their local authority. So if you are in private rented accommodation and they deem you to only need two bedrooms but all you can find is 3 then you will have to find the excess rent. Sometimes there are problems when people split up and the partner is still on the tenancy agreement, UC will only pay half the rent etc. Then there is the issue that even if you get your full amount of Uc there will be deductions possibly for overpayments of other benefits, advance repayments etc, so the amount you start off with may be severely reduced anyway.

And more and more people will turn to sex work.

Or crime. I mean, think on it, if you go to prison, you don't have to bother about fucking UC.

Also people get sanctioned although that can only be taken from your personal element and not from your housing element. On jobseekers you used to be able to perhaps do a few hours job searching a week , now it is 35 if you have no caring commitments and health problems. that is quite hard to do and people get sanctioned for perhaps not applying for enough jobs or uploading evidence etc- for many people living chaotic lives or with limited internet access this can be problematic.

" City centres will become shut up shops because people can't afford to spend"

Yes This will affect stores like B&M and Wilko

Whenever DH and i see news reports on high street shops closing , internet shopping is always blamed. We are always shouting "bollocks" at the screen. Because its also down to the fact that people have less to spend Once ppl on UC have the square root of fuck all shops like the one ive mentioned will be in the shit Our area went full service UC in Oct last year so last Christmas a lot wont have fully felt it yet,

This Christmas will be a different story.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/universal-credit-launched-grenfell-tower-13510929

"Universal Credit launched for Grenfell Tower survivors just days before Christmas

Poor residents in Grenfell's blackened shadow will start being put on the benefit from December 12 - leaving them facing a Christmas with no payment"

didn’t manage to catch all of it. Did they ever explain why they weren’t getting their full benefits?

In the case of the single dad, a systems glitch. If he hadn't gone to CAB he'd never have figured it out. He spent 6 months on foodbanks. That's fucking barbaric.

Fair point @dontalltalkatonce.

Alok Sharma pissed me off too. #

He also sat on the Victoria Derbyshire show days after the fire and told the Grenfell residents to e mail him when they were sat right in front of him.

he has also been around the country and spoken to tenants who have had problems with UC and obviously didnt take any of it in.

I've just applied to go on it today... I feel sick now I just watched that

I only get wtc, ctc and cb. Would I be put on uc and expected to job search? Both me and dp are on zero hour contracts but some weeks we don't get any work. Other weeks we can have 60 hours.

Darkesnight _ many people do not have any problems with Uc at all. I think it's important to educate yourself as to what elments you are entitled to and make sure they are on your statement. Keep an eye on any journal messages or anything on your to do list so that payments aren't delayed.

campaigns.macmillan.org.uk/page/32682/action/1?ea.tracking.id=bbcp