Cut benefits before increasing council tax

[Bonde]

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/reeves-council-tax-hike-5HjdMrJ_2/

As an increase in income tax is now out the window, the government will have to look at other ways to fill the gap by increasing a dozen smaller taxes. One option, I think they will opt for, is to apply a surcharge for homes in bands F,G&H. It would be politically expedient to do so because many people will assume those in such homes are wealthy.

We purchased our band f property earlier this year at £550k. We live in London and didn’t want to uproot our family, and move jobs, so decided to buy our 2.5 bed house.
After mortgage and bills, we have £100 to £200 left over, but some months have nothing. An increase would be so difficult to manage.

Why can’t the government have the courage to cut benefits. You can buy a BMW or Mercedes on the Mobility Scheme! Why?

You’ve never had crippling anxiety then…..

I don't think many posters here felt it was empathy you were lacking .....

Bring back the workhouses

I know that of course. But it also doesn't mean that it's not the case that everyone with anxiety (as a standalone issue) wouldn't be better off in work, and this is the focus of this discussion.

I do know people who claim PIP for this and I do not think they need it. They could perfectly functionally work. I also know those who claim it and definitely need it.

I do know what level it has to be at to claim PIP. I do think it's open to abuse.

Would you cut any benefits in an ideal world, if so where from? Or wouldn't you?

You can’t buy a car on the motorbility scheme and this is coming from someone that drives a punto.

cutting benefits would leave more people that cannot work on the street would you like that? I work 20 hours per week all that I can afford and still claim benefits. Someone else I know works 40 hours per weeks still claims benefits because she’s entitled to it as support to function with the living costs. All you lot that are hating on people who have to claim have issues. We all can’t work 90k a year jobs to suffice this no matter what you think. I also don’t want to send my child to childcare like she was until the age of 3 and have to pay £££ however again I was entitled to the 85% childcare fee back scheme… so you’re argument is poor and always attacking the benefits through pure hate that they are allowed and entitled to it.

in an ideal world we’d all earn 70k plus in a two parent household being able to pay childcare by yourself and everything that comes but it isn’t possible.

100% true. It is ridiculously difficult to claim benefits, and moreso if they are for mental health reasons.
I suffer from PTSD and psychosis and have decent medical evidence to prove that and it is still insanely hard to go through the process and prove my point.
I expect to provide this, and describe my symptoms clearly, but there is alot more to the process and the system is genuinely unfair.
If it's difiicult enough for me to have recognition in these terms, mere low level anxiety that doesn't affect your life in a big and limiting way will not make its way through the point scoring and assessments.

No one has any idea what houses will be worth in 20 years time but it is incredibly unlikely that you will see anything like the asset price inflation, in real terms, that the person who bought 30 years ago enjoyed.
My sympathy is all with the person who has just been forced to borrow heavily to buy a home, who has been forced to take on a huge mortgage and then is told about an increase in tax in addition to their large monthly repayments. The person who bought 30 years ago is fortunate, both because they were able to buy for a much more affordable price and because they will now have paid off their mortgage and have a valuable asset. They have lots of choices, the person with the huge debt and v possibly children to raise has a lot less.

You couldn’t make this up.
The OP might as well have said “I live in a house worth well over half a million - I can’t really afford it though. So when council tax goes up I’ll be screwed.
So, I think people on benefits, especially the disabled, should not be able to have Motability cars. Then I’ll be ok”.

Sadly for the OP if Motability cars were cancelled tomorrow it wouldn’t make her any better off. The PIP component which pays for a Motability car would still be paid. However, because so many cars on the road are Motability then a huge number of jobs would vanish. Every job on the scheme would go, thousands of garages would have to lay off admin, cleaners, salesmen and mechanics. People involved in the building of cars, those involved in importing cars. People involved with the insurance, Kwik fit forvthe tyres and the RAC.
Car manufacturers use the motability scheme to ‘offload’ cars they are struggling to sell and to launch new cars to get them seen on the roads. There’s a choice -not every manufacturer is on the scheme and those that are do not have all of their cars on the scheme. There’s also, unless you get a small car, a rather large ‘up front’ cash payment which can’t be spread and has to be paid upfront. This can be £1500 or £8000. You don’t get this back and three years later you have the same payment to make for a new car. Some of the necessary modifications have to be paid for too.
Most disabled people who need equipment have no option but to choose a car with an upfront payment. My husbands wheelchair and rollator wouldn’t fit in a fiesta.
It’s really nice to blame disabled people for the state of the countries finances .
How terribly metropolitan of you @Bonde .

I didn't say the OP should be affected unless the average band tax is more than she currently pays.

I'm talking about those who own castles, palaces, 10 bedroom houses.

I have. in fact I still do and as such I don't get on well in jobs, and I've tried and tried but they have on numerous occasions threatened to ruin or end my life due to it.

I had no choice but to persevere. Now I am freelance and it's much better, but I still need benefits to top up my income.

I could probably be on PIP but I'm not, I'm on UC.

😁

Yup..... my house I bought for 180k falls under band f at £315 a month! Rural scotland.... its a joke!

I also have diagnosed PTSD. I know how difficult it is. I didn't say it wasn't. I said it is open to abuse, and it is. I said it may be the best to cut, theoretically.

Would you cut any benefits or would you not touch them? Theoretically.

It's also really specious to reason if someone is criticising something that they must never have experienced it.

This is rarely the case. Do better.

All those people in your close social circle who share the detail of their conditions with you?? I don’t know anyone who claims PIP. Or who admits to it. And you are suitably qualified and have carried out appropriate assessments on all those you consider don’t need pip?

Yes - the same issue applies. Some local councillor did a lazy job and based it on the fact we had tourists in the 70s. He/ she basically dumped all the listed buildings in the same band so families in tiny cottages are paying over £3K for houses worth modest sums when we have no public services.

mumsnet….

The only place where every single person who is claiming benefits is deserving of them.

No one has an issue with genuine people in need of benefits. But I know of at least two people who have a brand new car on lease through the mobility scheme one has metal health issues and one has epilepsy. How is that right? Why is it for brand new cars too? This scheme is being abused.

I know them well yes. Of course there will be a level of inference on my part, but that's why this is my personal opinion, which is open to change upon receipt of reasoned counter-arguments, instead of just 'you've never experienced it then so your point is invalid bye'.

I don't think the people who carry out the assessments are qualified to do so actually.

Only way out of our mess.

Echoing what others are saying that BMW and Mercedes not being on motability would save absolutely no money. People would still receive mobility payment. The car they choose would most likely still take up their entire mobility component. The only way people are getting such cars on motability is with a large (couple of k) deposit. And as PIP is a none means tested benefit people are allowed to do this as lots of disabled people do work, PIP supports lots of people to do this.

The motability scheme has cracked down on the grants they are giving people and even before that they wouldn’t give grants for these types of cars. You had to prove what car was right for your condition and never in my life have I seen them suggest a luxury type car. I worked for CAB doing PIP forms for years.

People lying to get benefits and steal ‘your’ tax money is a right wing myth made up to get you to hate the disadvantaged of society. The fact is, we do not pay nearly enough into the system for those with disabilities to live a comfortable and dignified life and you are privileged to be in a position where you can earn money to pay for your lifestyle. The least you can do is offer some of that up to the less fortunate you miser.

You can buy a BMW or Mercedes on the Mobility Scheme! Why?

You cannot buy any kind of car on the Motability scheme.

You lease cars through Motability. If it costs more than your PIP rate then you have to pay toward it.

You don't get more PIP if you choose a bigger car or more expensive car.

If someone is entitled to High Rate Mobility on pip that's what they get - regardless if they spend it on a motability car, physio, taxis or whatever. Insisting they can only pick from certain cars won't change the cost of the PiP bill one bit.

How many workers have experienced traumatic personal lives, attempted suicides but carry on in automatic pilot. Why, because they know they would lose their house and everything.

MH is experienced by everyone to some degree but to succumb to it is only an option for the wealthy or those able to rely on benefits. I speak from experience as I have witnessed harrowing examples. I find this so upsetting.

Wow...the ignorance on this thread is insane.

From what I've seen in the job I do the vast majority of people on benefits work full time - in over half of the cases we see both adults in the house are working full time - and yet they do not earn enough to live, so they are topped up by benefits.

It's incredibly selfish to sit and say that those who are working full time and just scraping by should have to suffer more simply because you don't want to have to suffer at all.

Benefit fraud makes up less than 1% of benefit claimants - but the rich people who run the press keep convincing the middle classes that people on benefits are the issue.

Honestly - all of you need to do some research and stop blaming the poor, who already have nothing, and start looking at the super rich who continually benefit whilst vilifying the very people they're taking from.
How people constantly fall for it is beyond me. Open your eyes.