Universal credit increase budget 2021

[LittleBirdy1]

Have I missed something with this announcement? Papers all reporting how people will be worse off and it makes no difference to peoples pockets. I think the changes should make a big difference to people, tapper rate lowered to 55p work allowance up by £500 a year.
500%12=41 41+293=334 new work allowance if you rent.

Take home pay of £2500-334=£2166
2166x0.55=£1191.30
£2000

• £1191.30

—————- £808.70 universal credit

Old workings out
£2500-293=£2207
£2207x0.63= £1390.41
£2000-1390.41=609.59

Based on a family of 2 adults, 3 dc, rent of £595 take home pay of £2500

[quote PumpkinsandTea]@danni0509 The school uniform grant is a measly £20 and is only available in some areas. It's not guaranteed by any stretch [/quote]
@PumpkinsandTea
It wasn’t me who mentioned it, I was requoting somebody’s post, I fully empathise with your situation. I don’t work myself x

As PP said. It's not a race to the bottom. The government can't afford to tackle everything at once and have started with those working on low income. I am a single parent working full-time and yes, this change in UC will benefit me. In an ideal world no one would need to struggle financially if they are unable to work due to disabilities but sadly that's not the case. I've never been in a situation where I am unable to work and it must be horrible to not be able to support oneself financially. There definitely needs to be more support available. No one should not be able to heat their house in 2021!!

Those on universal credit, who are UNABLE to work, are going to face terrible hardship soon, as food and energy prices are set to increase. It’s tough to survive on universal credit as it is.

I’m really glad those who bust their guts for shite pay are getting a little extra help, though.

I don’t know if you can get UC on £2500 take home.

I do know a lot of people on UC take home far, far less and genuinely struggle.

The government can't afford to tackle everything at once and have started with those working on low income.

Read about system justification.

This is self-delusion. The government have no interest in tackling inequality.

The government have taken from the poorest, and are giving tax cuts to banks etc.

@stingofthebutterfly

My daughter gets UC. She's disabled and can't work. She's had £80 a month taken from her while the cost of living is increasing rapidly. She, and many others, are definitely worse off.

If she's disabled and can't work, does she get PIP?

[quote GrandDuchessRomanov]@selflove Maybe educate yourself before posting bollocks on the internet.[/quote]
Indeed, warm home discount is NOT provided by all energy suppliers by any means. The "core" group of the elderly is often the only one eligible. This competitive nature of who is the worst off, and who deserves it most, is repulsive and damaging.

The winter fuel allowance only happens if you have your own separate fuel bill. If your electricity is to the building and paid by the landlord but you're on a meter to the landlord (who is overcharging but that's a whole other matter) then you cannot get it

@selflove I am a carer for my disabled child, can't work and a single parent. I don't qualify for anything that you've said apart from free school meals. She's year two so would get that anyway.

I don't get the warm home allowance either as I am on a gas and electric meter @selflove

On the warm home discount front, I've applied every year for 5 years and officially eligible based on criteria. We were

Denied 2016
Awarded 2017
Denied 2018
Denied 2019
Denied 2020

Received an email 00.32 last night to let us know we were awarded this year. Two years of 6 being eligible we have actually received it.

@Graphista MIL has one of each of these, and since I bought them has not stopped her getting into any can or bottle, she has low grip and cannot twist lids off
www.lakeland.co.uk/12399/Zyliss-5-Way-Bottle-Opener---Green
www.lakeland.co.uk/26371/Kuhn-Rikon-Gripper-Jar-Opener
www.lakeland.co.uk/7706/Jarkey-Screw-Top-Jar-Opener

[quote Graphista]@ToastCrumbsOnAPlate oh wow! Thank you

I don't even have a normal tv! It bust maybe 3 years ago? Couldn't afford to replace it at the time

@worriedandannoyed wow! Way to miss the point - and contradict yourself

I don't think people do think that at all... Benefits shouldn't pay for sky tv, cigarettes, alcohol or any luxuries. That's what going to work pay for.

I'm not saying should pay for huge luxuries but are you really saying we don't "deserve" the odd bit of something nice/fun when we CAN'T Work?

Fwiw I've never smoked, very rarely drink (like 2 or 3 times a year! Couple glasses wine at Christmas that kinda thing), can't drive on meds so no car, no tv though I do watch streaming services but quite honestly this gets me through the sleepless nights as an anxious chronic insomniac of 20 years!), I also don't have false nails or gamble or any of the usual tripe that's spouted - I don't even have a free goat!

@flirtygirl well said

My chronic/long term health conditions are :

Endo - born with this apparently, some of the effects inc losing 3 babies inc ectopic complication. Also several surgeries required

Asthma/eczema/hayfever - also born with

Mh issues - mainly due to a fucked up childhood inc csa

Physical disability - thanks to car accident in which I was stationary at traffic lights and a numpty texting hit me!

Various allergies to meds plus the delightful effects of dizziness, brain fog, memory issues etc

But yea...I'm just a lazy scrounger!

[/quote]
Graphista you write very well.

A friend of mine was unable to work last year, but took on some social media work to top up his money. Just local stuff, doing a couple of social media posts per day for a couple of companies. Kept the wolf from the door, and he's now upgraded his iphone to a laptop and carrying on with it now back at work full time because he's enjoying it and he can treat himself to extras. Is this something you could add a small amount to your budget? There is a small amount you can earn before benefits are affected isn't there?

1.9 million of us will feel the impact of this and it will be nice to go to work and have that bit extra each month rather than it just going on bills/childcare.

We will be better off.

This month our UC award was £0 because OH and I had both done a bit of overtime (and we had minimal childcare costs on there.) And of course the £80 uplift had stopped, if that had still been there our deductions wouldn't have been more than our award.

If we have the exact same take home pay in a few months time after the changes are made, we will be entitled to about £140- plus any childcare costs.

That free eye test is a great help when the boiler breaks.

@nosafeguardingadults well said! I've been homeless 4 times and each time I've had to get advocates from shelter to help get a home cos the councils try and weasel out of their responsibilities.

Private renting is very poorly regulated and even though it's now effectively illegal to refuse to rent to people on benefits it still very much goes on as they use other excuses

Because they don't give a shit.

I really don't understand how non wealthy people who vote Tory can't see this!

@Bingbong21 also well said!

The government can't afford to tackle everything at once

1 but they can afford tax breaks to bankers?!

2 yes they can! This is NOT and never has been about what can be afforded it's about what they BELIEVE in - their ideology and Tory ideology has ALWAYS been that poverty is a moral failing of the poor and that the poor simply "won't" work or don't work "hard enough" when the likes of bankers have never done a days graft in their lives! It's despicable

@rrhuth that's interesting is that why people who are being hammered by the tories still vote for them? I don't get that at all

This competitive nature of who is the worst off, and who deserves it most, is repulsive and damaging.

Hear hear!

@Ariela thanks I have that kinda thing too some work some don't I just had to replace my ring pull opener as old one broke

Thank you for the compliment too

The kind of work you are describing I would perhaps be interested in but I get anxious about doing any work because of possible impact on benefits and I can't always manage to concentrate (partly illness, partly meds can make me "foggy" some days and I'm about to start on a new med which I don't know how it's gonna affect me yet)

That free eye test is a great help when the boiler breaks.

Well exactly! Honestly some of the utter tripe spouted by those agreeing with/supporting the tories is quite staggeringly ignorant!

Wait am I the only one that was not aware you can earn 2.5k a month and still be on UC? Is that actually correct, it makes no sense to me, what are the

Wait am I the only one that was not aware you can earn 2.5k a month and still be on UC? Is that actually correct, it makes no sense to me, what are the

There's no set income limit, it all depends on your circumstances. A family with high rent and/ or high childcare costs for example (or maybe a number of children born before the April 2017 two children cap) could earn far more than 2.5k before they are no longer entitled.

@rainraim

Wait am I the only one that was not aware you can earn 2.5k a month and still be on UC? Is that actually correct, it makes no sense to me, what are the

Yes but it is dependent on the area you live in and the cost of rent and childcare. For example my rent is £1200pcm and childcare is £800pcm, if you bought home a salary of £2.5K that would leave you with £500 for bills, groceries running a car etc. People living in those high rental areas will have a higher entitlement when compared with someone living in an area where the rent is cheaper. It is all circumstantial and there is no income cut off point because the government recognises it is more expensive to live in some areas than others.

@rainraim yeah, you can. We earn just short of 3k between us and we get a payment due to childcare costs.

@selflove

For those who don't get the warm homes discount payment - you are all entitled to it if you are on UC and not working. Just go to your energy supplier page and search "warm home discount". They give you £140 on your bill.

If you're entitled to UC and working, you benefit from the new measures introduced by the budget.

Clearer?

You’re only guaranteed to get the WHD if you’re in the ‘Core’ group; and that’s pretty much only pensioners getting guarantee pension credit; anyone in general benefits (whether legacy or UC) only qualify to apply for a share of the pot given to their utility provider and only if they meet additional criteria / s as if, this year many are likely to miss out due to the collapse of their utility companies