Legacy Benefits, Legacy Housing, ppl have no clue

[JeansNTees]

AIBU to think that 90% of the "advice" given on here recently bears no relation to the current reality? That people in their 20s now have not a lot in common with those in their late 30s+.

Legacy benefits that some people are still hanging on to are so much better than UC. So people saying that you should be able to survive if only you can stretch a chicken to last a week, are thinking of the days when WTC and TC were still available.
Need someone to sign for your passport, just ask your HV (we don't have local HV any more, almost impossible to get an appointment, and many of them won't sign, same as teachers not wanting to give out their home address).
Overcrowded, just go to the council and get on the housing list (someone actually said this to me and was shocked to find that a) our council no longer runs its own housing dept, it was outsourced to a company years ago and b) we wouldn't qualify as our circumstances are nowhere near extreme enough to be in the top levels of need).

Things really are so much more difficult now. There are more examples but these stuck in my mind after reading advice on here from people who were helped by a better safety net even a decade ago.

Ah was scratching my head Underthecedartree about your question of setting DD up, LOL, I meant Direct Debit not darling daughter. The local academy asks for a minimum direct debit to be set up but also says that this is a minimum and still asks for specific projects like new furniture, contributions for sports, drama, and the usual stuff like food tech.

Underthecedar I'm not quite sure why we are disagreeing if you are in that position. Because my AIBU was about how much better the safety net was even a decade ago than it is now. You are struggling under UC, that is my point! The wait for benefits under TC/WTC was only the time it took to do admin and set up a direct debit, not a 6 week wait for no good reason.
Someone who is 20 right now and ends up single with kids, will have an entirely different experience than that same situation 10 years ago. Women are having to pay a fee for the CMS to take money directly from paycheques of dads who refuse to pay child maintenance otherwise. Literally paying monthly for justice since 2012.

I think unless a universal income is introduced any welfare system is going to be seen as unfair by some.

I would be better off if I rented than if I had bought my own house. We're both on low wages but although a mortgage is cheaper than renting, by being home owners our UC gets wiped out and the childcare that we need makes us "worse off". We will eventually get a house (in theory) but as I've seen you never know when you'll be made redundant. I had to live off my divorce settlement as it took me a while to find a job and I didn't make enough to get a mortgage.

I briefly received TC and I think that at least in principle UC seems to try to be fairer.

But that is for all parents with children at school - not just those in their 20s. Most parents with a child in school will be in their mid/late 30s or older.

YANBU!

A lot of people are finding out the hard way, too, that they cannot afford to leave or divorce a partner or spouse.

@JeansNTees - because you make out people in their 30s have no idea how hard it is now and therefore give bad advice. I'm in my 30s and well aware how hard it is. People in their 30s had high house prices in their 20s, had to pay contributions to nursery, couldn't get social housing, had to be refered to Food Banks. People in their 30s get UC so yes, I do know how hard it is and am able to give advice even though I am in my 30s. Single friends with children in financial problems in our 20s got emergency housing at best. Benefits only til DC were at nursery. Maybe the benefit rates were higher - as I said I remember CTC being double for babies under one. But I completely disagree that in respect of benefits/living costs that those in their 20s have nothing in common with those in their 30s.

@JeansNTees - and maybe you think that because you make incorrect judgements about people in their 30s like you did to me?

DLA is still available for children Op my son has been getting it since he was three he's now nine they change to PIP is from 16 he also goes to a special school, my town is,rather unusual though in that there are two special primary schools and two special high schools plus two ASD hubs ( primary) and two ASD( secondary )