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!

What!? Why is it disgusting that disabled people with care and support needs are recieving benefits? I think it's actually a relief - many disabled people do not get the benefits they desperately need so I'm glad some people do.

You do realise that disability benefits reflect the fact that life as a disabled person can be extremely expensive, right?

Exactly this. It incenses me to see healthy people like my DH's friend claim benefits for 16 years when others who have illness and injuries get nothing

This^
There is a strata of society that are willing to claim benefits and never actually get off their arses to find a job because they can claim near as much on benefits. They’re also the ones that know how to circumnavigate the benefits system to get maximum dosh and the way the benefits system is set up it allows them to do so.
On the other side I know and have worked along side people especially carers and cleaners that are willing to work in a very underpaid job with fantastic dedication. If people want to work, they will.
If wages were higher to start with it would (possibly) encourage benefit claimers to go out there and get jobs.
I am not including people in this that can’t work due to disability, illness or where they on that threshold due to insane childcare costs where they can’t work.

You "bought" a "wreck down South"?

Honey, I live down South. Beach huts cost up to 50 grand. The cheapest studios cost 200 grand.

Your friends "hired vans"?

So you all had money in some quantity to throw at the problem.

Have you ever tried getting social housing or help from the council with housing? Ask me how I know that it's a punitive process and leads to destabilisation of families creating yet more costly social issues. You won't want to believe anything I have to say of course because the reality of being poor, even in the relative sense goes against the right wing rhetoric that everything wrong with the UK is down to the economically disadvantaged and brown people. And free goats.

My dm would have been 80 now had she not died early. When I was a kid in the 1970's/80's probably one of two out of the mums on the street i grew up in worked. The vast majority did not work. These are the women i now see regularly in my job as a benefits advisor for the elderly who have very low state pensions and are reliant on Pension creidts.

No nerve at all I just honestly can’t understand it
It’s just such an incredible amount of money most people would feel that

Agree Jennifer and Feeling
my mum worked to 74 when she was diagnosed for the second time with Hodgkins. She died at 80.
She started full time work at 14.

I used to run my own business before I retired. I employed a lady with 3 kids. Mainly weekend work on a decent wage. First question was could I pay her cash in hand because she was on benefits. When I refused she worked that shift then said she couldn’t work any more. On seeing her a few weeks later she quite openly told me that she went for interviews as she had to because of claiming of benefits but always got turned down for jobs when she said her available hours were 10 til 2 with no weekends or school holidays. Her children were older not toddlers. She or her husband have still never worked as I see her regularly. They have 2/3 holidays a year and 2 cars on benefits. How does this work?

Getting advice is simply good practice imo. I have 2 daughters who both get PIP. I adopted them as children with additional needs. One has epilepsy and can't work as a result but the PIP process has to be gone through every few years and I am always scared I will answer questions incorrectly and she will be denied the benefit. Her sister was originally turned down when she transferred from DLA to PIP and we had to appeal and it was basically because the PIP assessor had no understanding of her condition and misinterpreted her answers. This is why people take advice. I cannot understand how anyone can falsely qualify for PIP as they make it as difficult as possible. I have years worth of evidence for both daughters, including a genetic deletion, hospital records, specialist schooling, ehc plans and STILL they say no.

Huge and massively unfair generalisation. Many benefit claimants live in areas where there are little or no shops, or the amenities we would take for granted, and those that do exist can be at least a bus ride away. The betting shops and takeaways move in because it’s a captive audience.

There are plenty of them around. Sitting around on benefits for years until they become completely unemployable. meanwhile those of us who have been working and paying tax for 40+ years expecting with our taxes expected to support more and more people are just getting fed up with it. I honestly am thinking of jacking in work soon because why should I carry on. I have health ailments myself but carry on each day. I won't be claiming benefits but will just take a pension early and live a frugal life.

The only way I could afford is to lease a car. In the long term a lot more economical than buying a second hand car (which itself can cost a couple of thousand pounds).

Leasing is by far the most expensive way to run a car, the most cost effective is to buy new, maintain it well and run it for as long as humanly possible. I’ve just replaced my 12 year old car bought new for £20,000 it’s just started to cost money for repairs. If I take repair costs and purchase price, less it’s trade in value it’s cost me around £120 a month over the life of the car, you’ll not get a lease car anywhere near that.

£1,600 for childcare is insane!

If one parent doesn’t work, and the other only works 24hrs a week, then why do you need childcare? (if you don’t mind me asking?). (Unless I am getting my posters mixed up!) Do you not get the 15 free hours of childcare?

At least you will feel a lot better off when the nursery phase is over.

But this is not the norm. Genuine benefit claimants playing by the rules and being honest, by and large can’t afford three holidays a year and to run two cars.

Anyone seen this?

Bravo!

I know many can and do work and claim PiP - BUT the example/anecdote/context in the programme was not of that profile a claimant. The woman had a stick but only in 30s and no cognitive issues - going to work would well lower her High rate of PiP based on her newfound ability to work. They would investigate why someone on high rate PIP of her profile and need can suddenly get a job in a supermarket or retail. Why would she take the risk just to work a job she doesn’t want or need? That was the premise/inference of the example in the dispatches.

I agree, with the amount of benefit bums around there should be a single scrap of litter, bit of graffiti, blade of grass uncut, in this country

Oh believe me, I’m sure she would have thought about that. She’s obsessed by her health and is always seeing private consultant after private consultant chasing a diagnosis. Apart from fibro, EDS and asthma she doesn’t actually have one. But obviously if she tells her doctors her EDS means she can’t dress herself they will take that on face value…..it doesn’t mean it’s true. I know she dresses herself!

If I reported her she’d probably know it was one of us at work and the fall out could be horrific. And unless they sit outside her house 24/7 to see that her and mum don’t live together I’m not sure how it could be proved that her mum isn’t dressing her (although her mum is in a wheelchair as well) 🤷‍♀️. So I don’t think reporting would actually achieve anything. She has given a false address in a different town to them, so that’s the house where her mum lives, but she’s made sure her names are on the bills. I don’t actually know the house number of the house where she does live so again I can’t report as i can’t tell them her actual address (but could give directions I guess) and the officials certainly don’t know the address as she hasn’t given it to them. I guess they could sit outside the other house and see she doesn’t go there?

im sure she’s not the only one who does shit like this.

Yes agreed, maybe pension credit better as gateway to other benefits

This is what was / is being looked at
ie Can the services be offered directly eg physio to save the cash being paid out.
No, idea how that idea is panning out

We are living too long. The state pension was based on us living much shorter lives. I watched a news article on the oldest living British man dying at 112 recently. He began drawing his pension in the 1970's and lived to 2024. His retirement was almost as long as his working life!

I’ve seen my share of benefit bashing threads on MN and they all tend to deteriorate the same way. One of the more interesting elements is that MN’ers who are claiming insane levels of childcare are sneering of other benefit claimants, mostly labelling them as scroungers.

That was 3 disabled people and a carer and wasn't all coming from benefits.

‘Top-rate gammoning’ is absolutely apt, I will be stealing.