Dispatches- Britain’s Benefit scandal

[Sunnywalker]

Anybody watched this? It’s made me so angry. Some highlights include a company that can’t recruit an apprentice on 26k because sickness benefits would amount to 24k so it wouldn’t be worth it. 500,000, 25-34 years old on long term sick, a woman who has never had a FT job and claims 35k in benefits, this lady would like to work but says will never achieve the same income if she worked.

This country is bankrupt, public services crumbling! What is going on? Why isn’t there an overhaul!

Do you have a source for this?

Get away from this thread with your logic and reason. It's only been started to generate a froth for the media to pick up on and right wing commentators to use as "proof" that they aren't tax dodging cunts but concerned citizens.

If any posters want to push back against this trend, rather than bringing facts and reason into the "debate", I'd suggest you would be much better off bringing even more examples of obvious bollocks until it becomes meaningless and of no use to the Daily Mail (other right wing rags are available).

Watch out for my next post.

How do you fit an entire family in a place like this?

Either way, at the moment, the UK is NOT poor.

You're splitting hairs.

I watched it and quite agree.

Near where I am, there are a whole family of field mice that have been diagnosed with ADHD and get all the disability benefits so they can be ferried around in a brand new Tesla just to avoid cats.

All the disability benefits.

They aren't even British field mice either.

Why is the rate of my taxes relevant here. Doesn't matter if I pay 10p or £2000 pm.
It still irks me.

It will be interesting to see data re benefits in Scotland post the changes in 2021 when funding for early years increased from 600 to 1,140 hours a year. One of the objectives was to increase opportunities to work and train. I can only speak for my local area but I’ve not noticed an increase in women working.

Are you joking?
My parents did not live in the UK when I went on benefits in my early twenties... but I was born here and lived all my life here.. I am British!! I would not have been able to work in the country my parents lived in... and I had no relationship to them at that point having left home at 16. So there was no way I could just 'go home'
Many people do not have family homes to return to.

You can Google this.

That’s the problem… it’s always the “squeezed middle” that suffer in these debates.

They're not unlimited.

Ive not read the thread, but I think that alot of people dont realise that a fair whack of that benefit money they have is a housing element - so that goes to a landlord, not in the pocket of the recipient.

the amount they have for day to day living is going to be far below that.

If anything, benefits are propping up both the high rents and the low pay, as any 'extra' is due to a shortfall in income.

If they have sickness benefits on top, they may get LCW / LCWRA, which means they get up to an extra £380ish a month. But likely wont be working as too unwell.

If they get PIP - well thats not means tested, is bloody hard to get and is because it costs more to be disabled - its about the extra help you might need to pay for to help you do things, like dress/eat/get around. And often the difference between being able to work and not being able to work.

Dont forget that these programmes are designed to make you froth with anger, and to look down on people on benefits as workshy scroungers. Its a them and us game. And it seems to be working. There are lots of people entitled to help who dont claim it due to shame. And the biggest benefit bill of all are the state pensions.

That’s always been my understanding as well @SatsumaDog. I don’t really believe that there are that many people ‘living it large’ at the taxpayers expense. Maybe I am being naive. I worked for years in schools in deprived areas. Many of the parents were on benefits. It always looked a miserable existence for them and their children to me. Another issue is who would actually employ many of these people? Many sad to say are unemployable whether due to low intelligence, MH issues, addiction and a myriad of other issues.
As a civilised society do we financially support some people who are actually not very pleasant and live their lives in a disagreeable way? How do we educate and engage people to want to be decent members of our society?
Added to which even you don’t suffer from the issues I mentioned previously. Even the most basic roles are often ridiculously difficult to get into and a crap wage into the bargain. I get cross with the ‘loads of jobs’ brigade. Many unemployed people wouldn’t stand a chance of obtaining these roles. Maybe the firms with excess vacancies should be forced to take whosoever the Job Centre deems they should?

😚👌🏽

Perfectly put! This people cost the country so much more money.

so what you’re saying is that minimum wage is so low that the taxpayer effectively subsidises employers. So we derive zero taxable income from a person working 40 hours a week on minimum wage because any tax he pays comes back to him in tax credits. There is an argument for raising the tax threshold to 15k and do away with all paperwork. I’m a higher rate taxpayer and I’d happily pay an extra 1 or 2% if it would improve outcomes for the nhs or benefit the lower paid.

Bear in mind the way out of all these issues is growth, put money in people’s pockets and they’ll spend and increase tax revenue. Tax cuts for billionaires or the so called trickle down method has never been proved to work but it’s what’s repeatedly been tried.

Income support doesn't exist anymore. I find it helps to have the facts before you start casting judgements.

What a ridiculous comment. Halving the benefits of chronically sick and disabled people won't get them jobs.

Don't forget the record breaking waiting lists - people not treated for much longer - plus Long Covid; poor diets - 10 x as many Brits hospitalised for Anaemia and other severe nutritional deficiencies than 20 years ago.

Yes there will be some who play the system - which these types of programme seek out. But the majority of people claiming benefits due to disability/chronic illness (and are often in part time work) would much, much rather be fit and healthy and working more.

Why do people say on Mumsnet 'just remember a lot of the benefits people get are going on rent it won't be going in the pocket to spend'

Surely that's the same as the people not on benefits. That's also going on rent or mortgage so not for them to spend.

But that's still the amount that whoever gets

If you comparison is Guyana and Poland then we are currently better off than them but getting poorer every year.

How do you fancy the benefits system Poland has in 5 years time or the one Guyana has in 10?

That's what's coming if the UK doesn't sort itself out

That is pretty much the case.

All the single parents that I know including myself gets a UC top up. (We work full time) I earn £29k and still get UC.

Most of the people I know who are on benefits are unemployable. Schools need to be more proactive in giving students vocational training (and not just training them to wipe other people's arses). Why should those who aren't as academic be consigned to wiping bums if they don't want to?

That hits the nail on the head. People can't understand why you would work hard to achieve when you see everyone around you not doing anything.

It simply should not be allowed to have a life on benefits.

The government are about to announce a big crackdown on benefits and PIP. I think it'll dwarf anything the Conservatives would have considered. It's long overdue for some people but I feel for people in genuine need who will be the collateral damage of a sweeping change.

All the disability benefits.

A lifetime pass to "The Great British Bake Off"