£20 per week Universal credit changes

[FlatteredFool]

I've been worrying about the £20 a week extra stopping for a while although I can't say I noticed an increase in the amount I was given. Today I've looked at the breakdown of the benefit and discovered that the extra was taken off me anyway due to the benefit cap. If I didn't get child maintenance, not that he pays the right amount, then I'd be scraping by at best. The benefit cap takes £380 a month off. During the top up times it was £460. So the actual amount I get hasn't changed. How can the government say they are helping when they aren't at all?

What pisses me off is every time it is mentioned to an MP theyre like oh we will support people into work! Do they forget that most on UC are in paid full time employment and cannot physically earn any more?!

What's your source for " most are in full time employment "

@Dishwashersaurous

What's your source for " most are in full time employment "

Am disabled. Happily would take assisted suicide but not allowed here. If not allowed assisted suicide, not fault of disabled if need money to live off.

@JasonMomoasgirlfriend

Well if she wants the money she might have to do something to get it if he is being an arse to give it to her. Yeh.

But if the opportunity is to get money that's rightfully hers from the father why wouldn't she?

I think getting extra money isn't up to the government if it can come from somewhere else first (job, child maintenance or whatever)

On the contrary, the govt should be adequately enforcing reasonable payments from feckless fathers as well as ensuring companies pay their staff an actual liveable wage. I suppose all low-wage earners could move (as is often suggested) but who would clean, collect rubbish, stock shelves, provide care (you know-how low paid jobs), etc, if they did.

Benefit cap doesn't apply to disabled

Latest official statistics show that approximately 40 per cent of universal credit claimants are in work.

Not all of these are in full time work

There's no doubt a real debate to be had about suffices levels in the welfare state and how it should be targeted.

But the debate does need to start with facts

It does. Rent in private more expensive than what given in benefts. Also the £20 cut is for all benefits including if disabled. Landlords even less likely to take benefits tenants cos of the cut. Is why some women get murdered. Am domestic violence victim and hard to leave if end up homeless and no money.

Domestic violence victims on legacy benefits are punished if leave cos they have to change to universal credit.

The 20 cut does not apply to legacy benefits. Pip is not being cut

Know cut not apply to legacy benefits cos never given in first place but it does apply to disabled on universal credit. Also if domestic violence victim on legacy benefits, punished for leaving cos have to change to universal credits.

*To maintain the £20 uplift would require one of the below:
Doubling the National Insurance rise
Putting 1.25% on every Income Tax band.
Reducing the personal allowance by £1,600
Raising VAT by 2.5%

Which one of those would you choose and if you did would you rather the UC uplift was retained, or that money went into healthcare, social care, education, policing?*

I have no idea what would be best and I'm glad it's not my job to decide. Perhaps looking at MP's salaries and expenses would be a start. I just think it's a shame it has to go!

@FlatteredFool did you read my previous post? The government never claimed to be helping families like your s . You only received the £20 because their IT systems are crap. If they could have avoided paying it you they would have.

The news reports and information about the uplift have been really clear that the benefit cap has changed. Therefore people already at the benefit cap wouldn't benefit.

No one has ever claimed that benefit cap people would benefit.

@drpaddington

*To maintain the £20 uplift would require one of the below: Doubling the National Insurance rise Putting 1.25% on every Income Tax band. Reducing the personal allowance by £1,600 Raising VAT by 2.5%

Which one of those would you choose and if you did would you rather the UC uplift was retained, or that money went into healthcare, social care, education, policing?*

I have no idea what would be best and I'm glad it's not my job to decide. Perhaps looking at MP's salaries and expenses would be a start. I just think it's a shame it has to go!

If you paid MPs nothing and allowed them to claim no expenses you could keep 1.2p of the UC uplift.

To maintain the £20 uplift would require one of the below:
Doubling the National Insurance rise
Putting 1.25% on every Income Tax band.
Reducing the personal allowance by £1,600
Raising VAT by 2.5

None. They could close the loopholes that they created and collect billions from all the big tax dodging multinationals or they could invest a few million and get some more tax fraud investigators.

Tax fraud costs about 20 Billion and benefit fraud costs approx. 2 Billion (most of which is official error by the DWP). Benefit fraud has so many more employed as investigators than the tax office. Benefit fraudsters are 23 times more likely to be prosecuted than tax.

It's almost as if they don't want to catch the tax fraudsters.

Tax fraud costs about 20 Billion and benefit fraud costs approx. 2 Billion (most of which is official error by the DWP). Benefit fraud has so many more employed as investigators than the tax office. Benefit fraudsters are 23 times more likely to be prosecuted than tax.

I knew I'd read something along these lines recently but didn't know where. It's all about looking after their own isn't it! While making sure the general public believe that all UC claimants are lazy unemployed scroungers who didn't deserve £20 in the first place. When in fact around 40% are working, then there's however many who can't work due to disability, then another group who can't work due to caring responsibilities...

presumably if you get a high enough paid job you wouldn't need UC at all, so that bits irrelevant
A lot of people in receipt of UC are working anyway, so again irrelevant

Lots may be in work but many of them still only work part time or have a non working partner.
Many who don’t claim benefits have to work more hours, take a second job etc.

@drpaddington

Tax fraud costs about 20 Billion and benefit fraud costs approx. 2 Billion (most of which is official error by the DWP). Benefit fraud has so many more employed as investigators than the tax office. Benefit fraudsters are 23 times more likely to be prosecuted than tax.

I knew I'd read something along these lines recently but didn't know where. It's all about looking after their own isn't it! While making sure the general public believe that all UC claimants are lazy unemployed scroungers who didn't deserve £20 in the first place. When in fact around 40% are working, then there's however many who can't work due to disability, then another group who can't work due to caring responsibilities...

It is ALL about looking after their own. I think it was George Osborne father or one of the other slimy Tories who was one of the people to write in the tax loopholes so they could all keep most of their money.

If most of the people who spout off about benefits actually knew a bit about them, they'd be horrified at what the government in the past decade plus has done to the poor and the disabled. A hell of a lot of wrong assumptions and wrong 'knowledge' on this thread.

It's been said that it's not really a cut because it was always going to be temporary, well - BENEFITS HAD BEEN ALREADY FROZEN FOR NEARLY A WHOLE DECADE BEFORE THE UPLIFT. WHILST THE COST OF LIVING ROSE AND ROSE AND IS NOW RISING SHARPLY.

All the shit about oh well that doesn't apply if you're disabled - GOOD LUCK TRYING TO GET THE DWP TO RECOGNISE YOU CANNOT WORK - IT OFTEN TAKES MANY MONTHS OF HARDSHIP AND APPEALS, AND THEN YOU LIVE IN FEAR OF THE 'REASSESSMENT' LETTER DROPPING THROUGH THE DOOR. Yeah, great way to live. The pre pandemic United Nations report stated that the UK had created a 'hostile environment' for disabled people.

Full rent and council tax paid?? ERM, NOPE. NOT FOR MANY ON UC.

Enough to live on?? Not for many.

Don't kid yourselves, the government don't care about the poor whilst they are having the time of their lives. The only reason they brought in the £20 a week uplift was because of the vast number having to claim for the first time due to the pandemic. Couldn't have them knowing how low the frozen level was before. That was the reason.

The only reason they brought in the £20 a week uplift was because of the vast number having to claim for the first time due to the pandemic. Couldn't have them knowing how low the frozen level was before. That was the reason

This is true, they have never been so generous, can't have all the gammons realising that actually, it's not living the life of riley on benefits.

The only reason they brought in the £20 a week uplift was because of the vast number having to claim for the first time due to the pandemic. Couldn't have them knowing how low the frozen level was before. That was the reason

Exactly this.

To maintain the £20 uplift would require one of the below:
Doubling the National Insurance rise
Putting 1.25% on every Income Tax band.
Reducing the personal allowance by £1,600
Raising VAT by 2.5%

Where do these figures come from?

can't have all the gammons realising that actually, it's not living the life of riley on benefits.

As if the gammons were the ones claiming….

The only reason they brought in the £20 a week uplift was because of the vast number having to claim for the first time due to the pandemic. Couldn't have them knowing how low the frozen level was before. That was the reason

I always thought this was the reason for furlough. Many other comparable countries didn’t need a special scheme as their benefits system was already sufficient.

I recently found out that Pension Credit is now UC, so the 40% of claimants in work is probably a higher proportion of the working age claimants.

Unemployment is fairly low too @ 4.6%. I think economists class that as full employment.

The benefit bashing is old media troupe, the reality is different.