To notice the 10% benefit rise and know I'm on the bones of my ass

[Letspovertyplayagain]

I know it's tiny. But when you are properly skint after everything you notice this tiny rise will mean some strawberries for the kids or some fresh milk instead of uht. This is for the people who complain they are poor or feeling the pinch when they really have no idea. And define their poverty as not going on holidays....

10% increase in child benefit is not that significant for people on a breadline.

What benefit is the op talking about?

UC?

The people posting on this thread prove my point really well. People who live this life, and people who think they know better than us about our life!

The issue is that the benefit rise last year was smaller than it would have been due to the pandemic. But people on lower incomes have had higher increases in costs for energy and food prices. Buy own branded say MP's but not only have they not been available but more people have switched to them.

It also depends where you live and which supermarkets are near you, our nearest stores are both Co-op, which is expensive. Otherwise you're on a bus into town.

Exactly the same as me, nearest supermarkets are Waitrose and M&S or it's a 15 min taxi ride to Lidl

@bellabasset I'm lucky as if I can walk half hour / 40 mins or get a bus if I can afford the fare. I can get to Aldi, Lidl. But some aren't that fortunate. I would love to have the luxury of a car!! Takes 3 buses to get to doctors £6 bus ticket.

It's expensive to be poor.

I was listening to the Money Programme on Radio 4 yesterday and they were highlighting the low take up of the Healthy Start payment for pregnant women and children under 4. Apparently in Wales, which has the best take up , over one in four families who could claim are not applying for it, and the figures for England and NI are even worse. I know there are restrictions re people who are receiving UC and earning, but it seemed that it is one of those benefits that are kept on the low down and need to be really publicised so that everyone eligible gets it. One of the women they interviewed at a soft play centre went on line and was awarded it while they were recording.

But child benefit isn’t intended to make anyone feel well off. It’s a small top up benefit to help with the costs of kids, it’s not supposed to feed a family or pay your rent.

Child benefit isn't your only source of income though, is it?

Basics seem to be now same price in M&S as in cheap shops though.
It's weird times

There's no increase in housing benefit to cover the effects of inflation on rents, though. For many in rented accommodation, the 10% on UC and child benefit will be swallowed up by rent increases.

And some

10% as an increase of anything is a good amount.

The issue here is we are talking about small amounts. You say your rent is going up by £8 a week OP, surely that's less than 10%?

When you factor in inflation is it even a rise at all?

10% of a small amount to start with is still a small amount. So you cant compare 10% of UC at less than £350 per month with 5% extra for nurses on approx £35,000 as someone mentioned upthread.

Its long overdue. Im glad for you OP. You shouldn't have to live like that.

10% rise is double what I have received from work ( low income, no benefits )

@Willyoujustbequiet

Depends on the yearly value of the benefits really

And why they're being claimed

Some people on benefits will be getting the equivalent of 35k

Not many Uc recipients are just getting £350 though, only if you have no housing costs and no health conditions and basically live alone. May people get well over £1000 a month.

Agree OP.

A single person on UC having a rent increase of £8 a week would see that 10% completely wiped out and that's before everything else going up.

Why can’t it be compared? Plenty of people on benefits will be receiving a similar amount to what full time nurses take home in a year. It would be ludicrous to justify more than a 10% increase on benefits while denying anything higher than 5 for those working and on the government payroll.

There are many thousands of people on UC who get less than £350 per monrh and some of those have mortgages for which there is no help (only a loan that kicks in after 9 months and only covers interest not the actual mortgage payment).

Its a pittance and many simply cant survive on it.

A single mother of 2 kids on UC is going to receive an increase higher than £8 a week. You’re comparing rent to child benefit not UC. Child benefit is not there to pay for rent. It is a small top up benefit to help with additional costs of raising children for non working and working parents, it going up by 10%. But UC is also going up by 10% and the majority of people on UC will be receiving a lot more in UC than CB.

@Willyoujustbequiet

A single person on UC having a rent increase of £8 a week would see that 10% completely wiped out and that's before everything else going up.

That wasn't the point it was making.

You would be comparing an increase of less than £35 a month to £150 plus a lump sum equating to at least another £100 so minimum of £250 total increase. Hardly the same.