Labour are lifting the 2 child UC benefit cap - Thread 2

[PuppyKeep]

First thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5419758-labour-are-lifting-the-2-child-benefit-cap?page=1

AIBU to think lifting the cap will be bad for Britain?

Unaffordable and continues the depressing cycle of state dependence.

There is so much misinformation on these threads. Here are some facts about UC which people tend to skim over and ignore:

Your children are only entitled to free school meals if you earn less than £7400 a year.
UC is designed to reward work, so people will generally speaking be better off if they work more hours.
Most UC claimants do not get all their rent paid. They get a proportion paid in line with the local housing allowance rates.

Anyone claiming otherwise has been misinformed.

Those are the rules but the real life application is very different.

In real life there are plenty of people working just shy of the capped hours so they can continue to claim benefits, most people do not see being £70 a week better off as a good trade for working full time.

Secondly, PIL and DLA. I work in a job where I see people claiming benefits every day and they explain their circumstances. There are a staggeringly high number of people claiming these benefits alongside UC - more than not, in my anecdata, although I don’t know if this is factually correct. PIP and DLA are a gateway to all manner of other benefits and discounts.

The £7400 earnings are after tax and do not include any income from benefits.

People renting from housing associations don’t come under LHA so will get their full rent paid excluding some service charges in specific cases.

In cases where someone’s rent exceeds the LHA, there is funding available to cover the difference via a DHP which is intended to be temporary but in reality people apply and are approved year on year as it can be classed as a housing prevention action by the council and funding is provided.

Yes, I’m aware the £7400 is earnings from work only. Many people seem to think that anyone on UC gets FSM, this isn’t correct.

I’m in UC groups where people can’t make up the difference from the LHA rates and don’t get any additional help. So not everyone gets the funding.

In my experience it’s a minority of people who claim UC alone. There’s nearly always disability at play, and in many cases, multiple disability claimants without a household. This is the ‘lucrative’ part - not UC. Nobody living off UC alone is rich.

Its a deeply cynical move to court the Muslim vote, at the expense of the taxpayer. To my mind, Cameron was right to raise the question of women in work, but he was eviscerated for doing so.

I think this will bite them in the arse! even on these polls it looks like majority 3/4 of people disagree with them lifting the cap.

Most people are in support of state benefits, when we fall on hard times etc…however, like most things there are limits and caveats. Most people would say it’s reasonable for the government to help those financially who are on the lowest incomes etc when they have children.

So the reasonable part is to say how many children should the government help support? 1? No, because most people have more than one so why should the poorest be penalised, so 1 seems a bit harsh.

2? Well yes as that’s the average so being poorer isn’t seen as barrier to having children as the government help. This is more than reasonable.

3? This is where it becomes unreasonable as having a 3rd is a big decision for families who don’t need government support, but many people chose to stick with 2 because they can’t afford a 3rd, so that’s where it becomes problematic and unfair.

So 2 is the magic number where most people wouldn’t begrudge people help, but to take that cap off isn’t fair on other families who also have to make choices and live within their means and make choices as such. Having a 3rd child is a lifestyle choice and that’s fair enough but the tax payer shouldn’t be funding it.

So I think he’s shit in his own nest with this one! I’m sure that was their downfall last time when they had no benefit cap and you could have 6 kids and get benefits for each one and that didn’t sit right with the public.

My experience is exactly the same, families with both parents (if they’re together) on PIP for mental health issues, multiple kids (if they’re still in their care) on DLA for ADHD, bringing in thousands a month, far more than I’m earning working with them, to spend on drugs.

Thats really awful and ignorant to use a Neurological Disorder to make your point!!! For a child to get a diagnosis of ADHD it’s not straightforward so get your facts righy before you post shit. Maybe you could have done better at school yourself if you want a wanted a better wage… and I’ve just realised you said you worked with these families. Shame on you for being so judgmental, looks like you’re in the wrong job.