To ask you to watch Panorama re Universal Credit

[longwayoff]

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

I will indeed longwayoff.
Musereader hopefully it would buy enough time for the UC to be sorted out. As it stands, he likely to be out before Christmas (that's if he hasn't jumped off a bridge first)!

Only new claims are on UC at the moment, no one on a legacy benefit will go over yet as parliament have not yet approved the order in which this will be done.

We live in a full-service area and according to the council website, if you have any 'triggering event' you get moved onto UC.

Yes if you have a triggering event that moves you off the legacy benefit, you need to make a new claim and that will force a UC claim, the paragraph quoted is about people on legacy benefits that do not have a change until the order is approved

In your opinion.....its beginning to look like they are using the situation with UC claimants to make money! It's not a fact.

so why dont they change it then

if it was anything else or any other group being affected it would have been done a long time ago.

It is a common misconeption that i hear everyday that dwp will 'automatically' transfer your benefits without you having to lift a finger, we send out 3 warning letters that claim wilm end on chikds 5th b'day uet i still get claimants calling to ask why benefits stopped, totally unaware that IS stops at 5 and that they need to take steps to make the appropriate claim themselves.

Also a misconception, that letting tax credits kow about change of address/new child means that dwp know, nope does not happen.

Having all the benefits rolled into one will make thing simpler in that you will only have to inform one person

I'm in two minds about UC. I'm in Scotland so we have had it for a while and within my job I support a lot of people on it. The benefits I have saw have been by streamlining the process people are more likely to get all that they are entitled to. I also think being in control of paying your own rent is a good life skill and I know a few families who have been helped in to part time work thanks to tax credits etc. That being said wages are that low for a person with little skills and experience they are actually better off on UC than in a menial job. Especially if they are 18-21. I also know that the system itself takes far too long to process leaving people without anything for up to 6 weeks sometimes longer with sanctions that are often due to errors with DWP or the online system. I think welfare is a complex issue but by comparison to other countries the UK isn't too bad.

The switchover terrifies me. I’m on WTC, CTC and I get a small amount of HB. I am a single parent with two school age children, and I pay for after school care. I currently work 28hrs a week, does anyone know if I’ll be forced to work more when I get switched to UC?

Cupboard stop trashing helena, there's a link upthread to the relevant article...

Nearly 600 posts now on a thread about a fucking anorak.

You will likely be forced to look for more work on UC, Rino.

Age of your youngest child

Your responsibilities

Under 1 You do not need to look for work

Aged 1 You do not need to look for work. You need to have interviews with your work coach to discuss plans for moving into work in the future

Aged 2 You do not need to look for work. You need to have regular interviews with your work coach and do work preparation activities (for example, writing your CV)

Aged 3 or 4 Work a maximum of 16 hours a week (or spend 16 hours a week looking for work)

Aged between 5 and 12 Work a maximum of 25 hours a week (or spend 25 hours a week looking for work)

13 or older Work a maximum of 35 hours a week (or spend 35 hours a week looking for work)

No Rino won’t, assuming her school age children are under 13 the max she can be asked to work is 25 hours at minimum wage and there is some flexibility in that. I posted the link up thread.

Whew! Glad to hear it for Rino. Still think UC is a shower of shit.

@rinochicken, school age is that under 13 or over 13, because if under 13 you are already doing more than required as you are only required to do 25 hours a week if the children are between 5 and 12

and those hours are actually minimum wage for those hours so you could do less hours if you are paid more eg 25 hours per week at min wage is £10,179 per year and 35 is £14,250 so if you earn over that you are golden

Im not trashing anyone, but putting the fear of God into someone who is on/going on UC is wrong. Faults with the system are opinion or fact and described as so.

I've just found out if my ESA gets moved to UC I will loose money for 2 of my kids :(

It doesn't sound all bad news, people can still choose to work part time so it's not that harsh and capping at two children is still very generous as it should be down to the parents anyway to support their children, no one else.

People don't have to claim it, they can support themselves but if they can't or won't then they have to live by the rules.

If you manage to make it to managed transition without a chnage that forces ESA to close you will get the same money as you were on before the transition due to transitional protection laws, (cold comfort i know because you will not benefit from any increases that happen after untill they go above the amount you would be getting)

The thing about the prescriptions is not limited to UC, i send out proof of benefit letters every week to people who have the prescription penalty notice and that is on IS

UC worries - that is not true. If you get tax credits for all your kids now you will continue to get the child element for them on UC.

Nearly 600 posts now on a thread about a fucking anorak.

And? There are loads of threads about loads of things some may find trivial. Are you going to post the same on all of those?

@TheBigBangRocks Do you use a childminder or have a cleaner Do you pay enough so they dont have to claim tax credits or UC.

and if not you would be happy for them to just walk out with no notice if they found a better job elsewhere and had to start straight away.

No problem right?

Yes the 2 child cap only applies to children born after april 2017 which is the reason you cannot currently apply to UC with more than 2 as they are still trying to write the software to cope with paying for more than 2, fix for that is supposes to be with us feb 19