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!

Don’t waste your breath. That poster thinks that having disabled children is lifestyle choice. I would have said empathy bypass but on seconds thoughts, I think Top Gammoning covers it.

1999 is a long time ago. So your experience is pretty irrelevant to today's situation. And completely irrelevant to the situations of people on benefits and in the current social housing system.

We can't have the sick and disabled living comfortably!

BTW, lower rates of PIP do not add up to £600/month as the pp was implying (lcwra and UC is about £700/month) so they are talking utter shit.

You don't get universal credit if you own other property.

PIP isn't a means tested benefit. You wouldn't get council tax paid.

This is so much rubbish, it is just laughable. People making stuff up, as they go along.

Yes but people who rented just lived like hermits to save and / or had second etc jobs
We had no life for years trying to save
Its about taking personal responsibility
And yes I do think people should make that effort, even if it’s, no life for a period

To answer the question about additional Costs when you are disabled.

I was in an accident and am now disabled.

Additional costs:

Wheelchairs. I have three. One manual that I can push myself. Two electric, one the folds to go in the car and one that is big and hefty for going locally. I have three because the one that goes in the car only has a small battery so only has a small range and won't get me to the shops in my village. The hefty one I use for train journeys as well - eg going to see family by train.

I've been told some people manage to get wheelchairs on the nhs but I've not been successful at that and mine are all cheap second hand ones.

Bathroom. I got my bathroom refitted with supports etc.

Physio and hydro. After my accident I couldn't walk. I was told I was entitled to 4 one hour sessions of physio. Obviously that makes very little difference. Fortunately my insurance paid out and I was able to have a year of intense physio and hydro at 100 an hour for hydro and 60 an hour for physio. I can walk a few paces now which makes a massive difference. I'm now ten years down the line and go to a weekly physio class run by a charity which is ten pounds a tome.

I also can only wear a couple of specific brands of shoes. I get cold easily so like to keep warm - I have heat pads and hot water bottles mostly.

I can't clean the house myself so I have a cleaner.

I recently got PIP and am planning to use it to pay for a carer to come in once a day and cook me some hot food - omelette or scrambled eggs or something because it's hard to cook from a wheelchair.

You might think that if you have an accident/stroke/heart attack that there is support, there isn't. NHS physio and hydro is basically non existent. Everyone I know with a wheelchair either bought their own or got it through motability. In the last 5 years I've never heard of anyone getting a wheelchair from the nhs.

And now people are suggesting there should be MORE stigma around benefits?! As if there isn’t enough stigma around disability, mental health and unemployment! Let’s just shame and blame people even more!

A shameful amount of ignorance in this thread.

She obviously hasn’t declared her second property and if she bought before the second property tax there’s no way this could be discovered.

Financially, my life on UC is very generous.

• 393 standard allowance
• 1950 for rent
• 575 for kids
• 312 disabled kids element
• 198 carer element

That’s every month and doesn’t include CB, DLA and maintenance from their dad. However, as you can see, I have not one but two disabled children. As much as it’s lovely to not have to worry about money. I rather not have disabled children and go back to work full time. It’s shit really but I do agree that the benefits system is very generous.

I also rather have a council property than basically 2000 going straight from the taxpayers into a private landlord’s pocket. I can’t see anything ever changing though

Do you know the full extent of her condition ? Are you privy to/qualified to interpret her medical reports ? Are you with her 24/7 to see how the condition affects her ? Do you understand how PIP works and why it’s paid - as well as the elements of disability it looks at to determine how severely affected the claimant is ? If not, you’re not really qualified to judge are you?

PIP isn’t paid for simple anxiety and depression treated by a GP with standard anti depressants and anxiety meds. The claimant has to present evidence of second line, consultant led mental health treatment - the mental health assessment of PIP is one of the hardest to get through, so she would have to have robust evidence to back up everything she claims.

And PIP is nothing to do with the ability to work. That assessment is entirely separate and the assessment criteria are totally different. As with PIP, it isn’t the disability itself which qualifies the claimant - it’s the way in which they are affected.

Your point is irrelevant. PIP isn't means tested, it's not an out of work benefit.

It's to help pay for supports and services disabled or chronically ill people need to carry out the activities or daily living.

Did you consider that without PIP, she might not be able to work full time as she might not have supports or services she needs to make her life manageable?

Also, just because someone works for doesn't mean they are not disabled. It may, however, mean that working full time is exceptionally hard for someone than it is for others who are not disabled. Especially so without support or services paid for by PIP.

Unfortunately not - it was a few years ago now, and I'm sure it's probably too late to appeal 😕 I literally saw the nurse for about 20 minutes in the assessment at home, and her report based on the visit showed i was as cognitively sound as the next person. As my involuntary movements wax and wane, and go into remission, they tend to either be mild or not as severe as when I'm having a horrible flare up.

So even if i saw a nurse on a day after I'd had a wave of bad symptoms, she'd most likely say i was OK based on that good day. And as I don't need help with mobility/toilet needs/getting around etc, again it's not going to get me any points. But, absolutely I'm not saying I'm more deserving of the next person, only that as I have a chronic illness as valid as something like depression or anxiety, isn't it in some ways something that can be helped with financial support too?

It sucks, but there's not much i can do. 😢😞😫

Sorry don’t understand this comment. Is this a dig aimed at me? For claiming free childcare as a working parent?

My DH and I work close to 100hrs a week combined. We claim 30hrs free childcare for one child. Is this “claiming insane levels of childcare?” Do you think I should feel ashamed? Working parents get the 30hrs when your child turns three. Best believe we spend thousands on nursery over the years before our children turned three.

I have not sneered, and I have not labelled anyone a scrounger. Some people on this thread are having genuine and open conversations. It’s people like you, coming on and trying to shut down discussion, who are hurling these kinds of words around.

Still doesn’t alter the fact that PIP isn’t means tested and as a stand alone benefit doesn’t qualify the claimant for council tax benefit.

Pensioners get less than that and people moan about them getting their state pension.

OMG. You’re one of them.
So, given your mum started work at 14, that would indicate that the University degree you mentioned came to you courtesy of the tax payer, not at the cost of circa £47k debt as it would today, and no doubt opened up opportunities to you that many now do not have. But you think everyone should be a little more self sufficient and responsible for themselves? After receiving that kind of hand up? Christ, have some self awareness.
My irony klaxon just fucking exploded.

I mean, people can fill pages and pages on MN about what should happen and how it should be executed but Labour has so many seats in Parliament that they'll get through whatever they want. Even if the Tories wanted to object, which of course they don't, they wouldn't be able to.

The disability payments were always on the chopping block because it was assumed that they would rise from 22bn to 36bn between now and the end of the Labour term otherwise. And now it will be expedited because borrowing costs have forced their hand.

So, it's inevitable.

I wasn’t commenting on that.
My comment referred to the UC and second property.

They're not real. People just pluck figures out of the air to demonise poor people. If you could get 5k a week because of 'anxiety', most people wouldn't work.

"£35k will mostly be for their rent. Private landlords taking the piss chucking up the rents."

Massive transfer of public money into private hands. This is one of the real benefit scandals.

Which benefits are likely to be cut?

Disabled pensioners don't, they get more than that.

No, sorry, should have made myself clearer - wasn’t a dig at you at all. Your post just reminded me of how many of these threads I’ve seen which mostly degenerate into bun fights and I’ve often seen posters who will declare in excess of £1000 a month in childcare go on to berate people who are actually claiming a pittance for disability. And I’m not trying to shut down discussion believe me - the whole system isn’t fit for purpose and needs a complete reboot.

Yes I think this would be better