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.

Do you genuinely think that they are taxed at 40% on all of it? So a net income of 60k? Surely you know that's not how it works

This article is from last year. But there’s interesting data there.

https://archive.ph/DWQBX

(link no paywall)

@EasternStandard are you looking for an argument or simply confused?

You replied to my post asking a question, I just answered it 🤷🏻‍♀️

but the demand is also the highest its been and growing .

Until we start to make (very profitable) companies, pay decent wages, instead of lining the pockets if shareholders, we will continue to be in the situation. Nobody, working full time, should need to get a tax payer top up.

What's the point of constantly reassessing people? I'm due to be reassessed this year for pip just in case I've been cured of the incurable disabilities I was born with. I was even told I was cured when they originally assessed me. I was told when I was diagnosed that there's no cure and there still isn't

I'm more concerned about people constantly being denied benefits and then having to appeal. 70% of people who go to a pip tribunal win. That's got to cost an awful lost. Why can't we look into why this is happening instead of trying to take money off the most vulnerable?

Who are you to say that it should have no relevance? You aren't the MN police. People can read the post and decide themselves if him being a drug user is pertinent.

You accused them of lying and they weren't.

Neither. Idk what you’re on about here tbf

Tax is high already ie the tax burden, if you want spending to go up you’ll need a way to do it. Borrowing is already maxxed out.

tiger yes, I've been moved over from tax credits to universal credit recently. I think everyone will be moved over by the spring.

Im not sure how I feel. It sounds a big increase but my understanding is this is a rise from 10% of gdp to 11% of gdp which doesnt sound as scary. I think the scary bit is that this is when people have been trying to reduce the bill so even when trying it seems to get higher.

‘Families on benefits can be better off than those earning £70k’

That shouldn’t be a thing. People shouldn’t be better off on benefits than working. What a mess.

When the Government was first talking about reforms, regarding PIP, one would have thought that the way assessments are being carried out, and who is overseeing them, would have been under scrutiny. No such luck, and pointless continual assessments, and tribunals, for some claimants, will continue, at a colossal cost to the taxpayer.

It just was not relevant, and was posted to get people frothing.
You can be on PIP and work.
You can be on PIP and be a drug addict.
You can work and be a drug addict.

@topicalaffair

How does the article break that down though? Is it due to high rental and childcare costs? Disability payments?

Its total madness. They should have brought in those welfare reforms when they had the chance. Worse than that they reversed the two child benefit cap. Now we have no money for increase in defence spending. I wonder what benefits are like in Putins Russia.

<Deep breath> - my mother's-sister's-neighbour's-nephew's-daughter is claiming PIP for acne plus UC. DWP also pay for a support monkey and a goat. And of course she has a free Range Rover to cart the animals about.

It is outrageous.

Have fun on MN @topicalaffair Always good to have a fresh benefits bashing thread from a fresh name.😊

🤣 I knew you would be all over this like a case of measles, viv.

DH worked 40 years ? and you ?. The attitude that " I payed my dues " is usually flawed. Unless you (nevermind your DH he was paying for his own retirement) were a higher rate payer you haven't put in what you will take out.

Tax is high already ie the tax burden, if you want spending to go up you’ll need a way to do it. Borrowing is already maxxed out

@EasternStandard but what does this have to do with my post about austerity and a lack of investment?

What do you think are some of the factors as to why we have had nearly 2 decades of low productivity?

This. Housing is the problem here. Your tax is going to private landlords instead of back into a social housing system. We need a government willing to accept that houses genuinely need to be built for social rent or nothing will change.

Most renters wouldn't mind paying somewhere between what they pay now and a social rent. It doesn't have to be dirt cheap, just affordable and secure.

I would like to know this too. Where can we find out how much is being spent on each aspect of welfare? Is there a pie chart or something that shows this in a way that will make sense to, ahem, relatively innumerate people such as myself?

That line very much gives away your agenda.

You should try getting your "news" from sources other than Twatter.

https://obr.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlooks/

I’m the first in the queue to criticise Starmer. Can’t stand the hypocritical misogynistic man. However as you allude to, he did try to get some benefit reform through. Sadly he was thwarted by his looney left back benches.

The only three certain survivors after nuclear apocalypse will be cockroaches, Twinkies and Vivienne's shit welfare opinions.