To not understand benefits of £7k a month!

[CoastalWave]

Awful story in the paper today (apologies, Daily Mail! But I'm sure it's in others)

Beyond distressing what has happened to the children (and the dogs) and I'm delighted this pair have been jailed.

But what also stood out, was the comment that they received £7000 a month in benefits.

How?

When my DH lost his job during cover and we only had my part time wage to live on, we were told that £1k a month was absolutely fine for a family of 4 to live on and we were entitled to nothing. Zero. Nada. Out of that £1k a month was our £600 mortgage, £200 council tax, £150 gas/electric etc etc. Basically there was no bloody chance we could live on £1k a month. We lost all of our savings and we're still paying back the debt we accrued now.

How do scumbags like this even just get handed that amount of money per month? And moreover, no one is bloody checking up on them clearly. Those poor children.

link

Can someone please enlighten me as to how these even happens/is allowed? What on earth is £7k benefits made up of? Are all families with 7 kids and not working getting £7k a month because if they are I'm sacking off work and popping out a few more children.

The quote says frittered away 7k per month, not that the 7k were in benefits.

Oh come on now.

I'm not going to click on the story. I'd be surprised that they were getting £7k a month. Even if they were getting benefits for all those children, you wouldn't as there's now a wholly punitive 2 child limit for benefits.

In any case, isn't the real story the abuse and neglect the children suffered and the lack of any intervention by anyone else?

No, as others have said, nobody comes to your house. However, the process of application for disability benefits is ‘robust’ - lots of evidence needed. They don’t just award it based on what the claimant says.

To get £7k in benefit payments there must be quite a few family members with disabilities, I suppose if it’s related to the children the press wouldn’t be able to report on it.

Not sure why it’s the benefit payments and not the neglect and abuse that is the shocking part though.

£7k in benefit payments is understandable, that level of neglect is unbelievable and inhumane. Surely that is more headline/thread worthy than the fact people receive benefits?

Absolutely that's the real story. But I suppose my point is, given the state of the country, how are we just handing out huge sums of money to one family and there's no checks in place? If there were checks in place, then these children would have been picked up much earlier? (one hopes) £7k a month is eye watering amounts, never mind for two people who don't work. It's a joke and an insult when so many working families not claiming benefits are struggling massively.

I"m actually quite surprised now at people saying there are no checks for PIP etc. Surely very easy to commit fraud then?

Horribly sad story. I’m wondering how they stayed under the radar of social services, schools etc. Also it said 10 people in a 3 bedroom house. Parents plus 7 kids and maybe an adult child they were also claiming benefits for??

Nobody is saying there are no checks for PIP.

I"m actually quite surprised now at people saying there are no checks for PIP etc. Surely very easy to commit fraud then?

Nobody said this.

People have said there are no home inspections for pip, not that there are no checks...

Of course there are checks OP, in the time it’s taken you to start this thread you could have found out just how ridiculous the process of applying is, and how many people have to go to appeal in order to get what they are entitled to.

And surely the benefits are a red herring, this could have happened whether or not they were on benefits. It should have been noticed by school, neighbours etc that something was going on.

Why should parents who are on benefits be subject to more checks for neglect etc than parents who do not claim?

The benefits are a red herring really

Other reports say that schools had been voicing concerns about the children, it just seems nothing was taken further.

But I suppose my point is, given the state of the country, how are we just handing out huge sums of money to one family and there's no checks in place?

You are correlating benefit claimants and neglect here which is not ok.

Disability benefits are really hard to get! Too hard. Many genuinely disabled people do not get the benefits they should be getting.

Benefit fraud is pretty uncommon, despite what the Daily Mail might have you believe.

I am hugely sceptical that that family had £7k a month from benefits.

Yes my understanding was that the process is robust (and actually quite stressful to go through in the first place)

So who wrote theirs? Two idiots who cannot even care for a dog, never mind their own children, and we're supposed to believe they wrote sufficient evidence for a PIP application?

So have to presume someone helped them? Why was this person not aware of what was actually going on in the household?

I think the level of money is relevant as it just shows that we literally throw money out of the window and zero checks are made. Because if even minimal checks were made, these children could have been saved much sooner.

*So who wrote theirs? Two idiots who cannot even care for a dog, never mind their own children, and we're supposed to believe they wrote sufficient evidence for a PIP application?
*
That's the thing with medical evidence, you don't write it yourself. You provide it. When you answer questions on the form you have to be able to back it up with evidence.

Yabu, systems aren't perfect and mistakes/failures/ineptitude/etc happen in virtually all.

Yabvvvvvvu to take an article from a rag that deliberately seeks out the tiny minority of extreme cases and misrepresents them as a common occurance in order to spread anger and hate.

I'm actually getting really annoyed at you OP, as a disabled person claiming disability benefits that you think I should be subject to home checks and treated like a potential fraud because these disgusting people mistreated their children.

Councils will often have departments such as Welfare Rights to help with benefit claims; there's also Citizen's Advice and other groups.
Appointments with them are generally face to face wherever they're based, or by phone. Again, no home visits involved.

There are loads of checks for PIP/DLA, it's a really rigorous application process and you have to provide evidence from medical professionals/ school etc.

I still find the £7K a month figure hard to believe. Even if all 10 people who were living in the property were classed as severely disabled it wouldn't be that figure.

Why are you more shocked and upset at the benefit payments than the neglect and abuse OP?

I was horrified by the whole thing, not the money, just the general state of the house and those poor kids and dogs having to live like that. One of the kids aged 7 was wearing a soiled nappy and was asleep on the sofa with a dead dog.

I think the level of money is relevant as it just shows that we literally throw money out of the window and zero checks are made.

Checks are made but they don't come to your house.
Medical evidence is required and access to your medical records is required.
This couple neglected their children and their pets. The failings do not lie with the benefit system in this case. It lies with those who saw the children daily and are responsible for safeguarding.

Would this story be less MN worthy if they had neglected the children and pets but inly claimed £200 pw benefits?

Hear hear. It’s outrageous.

There’s nothing to say the benefits were claimed correctly.

They could have had fraudulent claims running.

They could have been claiming a shitload in childcare then not paying.

They could also have been claiming a large chunk in housing benefit.

Plus they have blatantly been neglecting their children. So if they did have disability claims for them they’re not necessarily fraud. They’re just neglectful pricks on multiple counts.

They won't have been checked as people claiming carers allowance aren't required to have any regular contact with the Jobcentre. We used to have three yearly interviews with them as a welfare check but they were removed.

I personally think carers should at least be seen yearly for their own welfare. Sometimes they are not in contact with any other services and are at the end of their tether or need advice.

I don't care how much they were receiving in benefits, I was just so sad for those children and animals.