To be frightened about the Government’s plans for benefits reform?

[PilgorTheGoat]

I am one of the millions of people currently on long term sickness benefits. I receive the LCWRA element of UC and PIP due to poor mental health and autism. I have severe anxiety and depression and I am awaiting an appointment to see if I also have PTSD due to sexual abuse in my childhood.

I have tried every element of support offered to me. I’m maxed out on 2 different types of antidepressants. I have had back-to-back (excluding the 6 month wait in between) 12 week sessions of counselling offered via the NHS. I am on a waiting list for intensive CBT due to my possible PTSD. I am currently having twice weekly private, video counselling appointments.

I can’t leave my house alone due to panic attacks. I struggle to meet my own care needs and my husband has to do a lot of the work for us both (although he works full time). I have a very understanding friend whom I force myself to go for a short walk with twice a week in order to stop myself becoming completely imprisoned at home but I find this very distressing and we have to take the same route each time.

I am so, so scared about the government’s plans to end sickness benefits for people like me. We don’t have a load of spare cash, we’re just about getting by. There is no support available. I’ve taken everything offered and my husband has been very proactive in seeking out other services for me to be involved with. I’d love to be better, I’d love not to live in fear but there is no help.

It’s easy for me to say don’t worry - but it is just pre-election crap.

I hope things gradually get better for you.

WRONG! people with kids got extra help if their wages were low. It was people WITHOUT kids who got nothing more. thats why WORKING tax credit was brought in to even things up between those who reproduced and those who didnt.
And pre tax credits and pre minimum wage there were jobs advertised in the JC at £50 a WEEK back in the 90s with NOTHING MORE if you DIDNT have kids. My weekly HA rent then was £48 a week So £2 left for food council tax gas bill etc.

And no it wasnt a temp training position like some posters tried to gaslight and insist it was when ive posted about this before. The 90s were shit for a lot of us.

Please tell us all on this thread where people who want to work can work.

There are currently 908,000 job vacancies in the UK.

How many are full time, with proper contracts/sickness/holiday? How many of those jobs will take someone off benefits?

How many will let someone with a disability have reasonable adjustments so they can consistently and safely carry out the job?

My mum has her own cleaning company, and has a ad out for a job that is over NMW but is just 2 hours a week. That will be one of those 908,000 vacancies.

How much was the job paying? Enough to run a car or enough to pay for taxis as a lot of public transport doesnt run at night. Is the job paying enough for a single person to be able to do this. Not everyone has a partner who is working.

That may be the case. But how many would really be suitable for people who may have certain restrictions, need adaptations etc... There could be 5 million jobs, that are totally unsuitable.

Tell me where. Tell me they are jobs that aren’t zero hours. Tell me they aren’t minimum wage which has to be topped up with benefits anyway. There will always be people that don’t fancy working, I get that but what honestly do you suggest the incapacitated do? People who are wheelchair users? I also feel that huge numbers of people have jumped on the disability bandwagon for basically unprovable illnesses. What do we do? How do we weed these people out?

Could you work for your mum? Surely she would be understanding of your struggles and you say you have experience cleaning.

Been there and done that. She had to fire me! She is not understanding of MH issues at all (I still love her though).
I also live 50 miles away now.

Why don't you take a look at what's available, rather than immediately rejecting the idea?

With almost a million jobs available, I'd expect there to be something suitable for everybody.

I was referring to before this period.
As I said, when all you got was the dole if you were unemployed. ( Plus family allowance if you had kids )

Exactly

Why don’t you just give it a rest? The pile on and bullying of two very unwell posters on this thread is absolutely appalling. Please just leave them alone.

🙄

As i predicted they are coming after the poorest/those on benefits to pay for their lockdowns.

Agree @Blossomtoes its disgusting. @SabreIsMyFave your posts describes the 90s well

I agree with @BIossomtoes .

The OP and Xeno have handled the barrage of questions about their very real illnesses with absolute class on this thread.

All parties would have had lockdowns during Covid. It was the only wise move at the time.

Not so much ‘their’ lockdowns as ours. To save lives.

They have indeed but they shouldn’t have had to. It’s been horrible to watch, God knows they they’ve felt.

But their proposals show they value some lives more than others, And the working poor certainly came in handy for delivering the laptop class their shit during the lockdowns. Now as i predicted its back to the default setting
All in this together 🙄

Unfortunately I don’t see any party, as yet, coming up with a massive brain wave to sort out the financial mess this country is in.
Nothing proposed so far is fare or workable.

Looking forward to seeing what they all come up with though .

‘working poor came in handy for delivery their laptop class’ ……do you mean teachers doing online classes?

Im talking about the delivery drivers and workers who work bloody hard yet still have to claim UC and now they have to listen to this benefits crap

Ok
I get it.
I didn’t understand the term ‘laptop class’, I’ve never heard that one before