Welfare spending to rise by £73.2bn to £406.2bn

[topicalaffair]

Over the next five years, the OBR is forecasting that UK welfare spending will rise by £73.2bn to £406.2bn.

How does everyone feel about this? I’m livid because I pay lots of tax. I don’t mind paying tax to maintain a civilised society - but this? This is surely taking the piss and will result in weaker and weaker services as the amount of £ available reduces day by day.

YANBU - it’s totally deranged. The every growing uk population can’t function effectively on such a benefits for all basis.

YABU - this welfare spending bill is truly representative of need.

I've been saying this about rents for years.

My pensioner MIL lives in a council house and her rent is £135pw, covered by housing benefit. The identical house next door to hers was bought under right-to-buy and is now rented out for £1,500 a month, nearly £1,000 more.

Someone on benefits renting that house could get up to £356pw UC towards their rent, over £10k a year more. And as social housing is cost neutral in the medium-long term, building more of it makes a lot of sense.

The turkeys are voting for Christmas again, and if they get what they want, they'll be back on TV whining that no one warned them Farage was lying.

I don’t think it does lose them votes anyway as one of the few times they dropped in the polls was when he talked about removing the two child cap.

Perhaps this will help
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/07/martin-lewis-two-child-benefit-cap/

It's very misleading.

That can only be possible in very few circumstances such as living in central London with several disabled children.

Otherwise the benefit cap applies.

What I find hard to understand (apologies for continuing with this patronising phrase), is that as I have to pay tax on my SP, why aren't all other benefits taxable? And before I get shouted down, my SP is about 15k a year so more than the basic.

@Allseeingallknowing I understand they are separate?

as the article says re child benefit, I think “higher earners” shouldn’t have to pay it back.

“"Plus, there is another restriction on Child Benefit that depends on what the highest-earning parent earns. So, once they earn £60,000 or more, then the Child Benefit is clawed back through the tax system via what's called the high income Child Benefit charge. If their income is over £80,000, then that charge is the same as the Child Benefit – so, effectively, you do not get any Child Benefit”

Still waiting for the OP to tell me how to become a high earner...

@Lifestooshort71 not everybody pays tax on their SP, it depends on other things.

I had a quick look at this and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but it’s not quite what I was looking for. I’m interested in a clear, simple breakdown of what’s spent on:
Pensions, pensioner benefits, universal credit, disability benefits, housing benefits, child benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, any other benefits or supports included in welfare.

And as social housing is cost neutral in the medium-long term, building more of it makes a lot of sense.

People don’t want houses built near them

Maybe a breakdown of UC too. UC covers several benefits.

I'm sure this was debunked on the last benefit-bashing thread. I think the numbers add up if you use a disabled woman, raising three disabled children, in private rented housing in London.

Honestly, if a disabled single parent can raise 3 disabled children on her own, she deserves a lot more than £70k p/a, but in reality, how many families like this actually exist?

Yes, I’m certainly noticing a “forked tongue” in much of the ordure coming out of Labour. Talking a good game about PIP spending, but too frit of their own back benchers to do anything. Lots of mood music and smooth talking about supporting SEND kids, while removing their parents’ legal rights.

As my dear departed nanna would say, “they’ll piss on you and tell you it’s raining”.

@Frequency hardly any, even the article says it’s highly unusual

I don’t get this attitude. This rise in welfare is economically unsustainable. Surely you know that? You cannot be that foolish. It cannot keep increasing because the entire country will be bankrupt.

This issue isn’t talked about on here nearly enough if you think it’s funny. Whenever anyone goes through some sort of tougher time half the posters say ‘oh apply for x, y, z benefit as though that should be a natural port of call. It’s nonsense. Claim disability benefit only if the alternative is that you’d be on the streets, not because you want a bit of extra cash. The triple lock should have been binned 10 years ago. Along with public sector defined benefit pensions.

Too many pathetic governments are too scared to confront the electorate about the mindblowingly scary financial situation we’re in. And so despite my husband and I and lots of other hard workers paying over £100k of income tax last year the country is fast tracking to financial annihilation.

https://www.facebook.com/mrmartinlewis/posts/an-important-clarification-pls-sharethere-is-no-two-child-cap-on-child-benefitiv/10159537016696540/

Pretty sure that 'calculation' was either the Mail or the Torygraph, and they don't have an agenda at all, oh no.

The two child cap is about benefits

Aren’t the benefits reforms coming in for new applicants but not current ones?

@Allseeingallknowing why do you think I don’t understand that?

I don’t have an issue with removing the cap and as a separate point I think all incomes should receive child benefit.

it’s ridiculous that a household bring in up to 70k still gets the winter fuel but look at the outcry

IMO it's ridiculous to keep the triple lock too, but nobody seems prepared to touch it

And that's coming from another pensioner ...

No. Labour backbenchers decided it wasn’t a kind thing to do, displaying just how thick they are.

Yes, people getting LCWRA from April will be on a lower rate.
There was also talk of LCWRA being linked to PIP, as in you wont get LCWRA if you do not get the Daily Living element of PIP. Which makes no sense at all as PIP is not an out of work benefit.