Irritated that families on UC get heavily discounted entry

[happybug1234]

feel very aggrieved this afternoon to find out that people on UC get heavily discounted entry to popular attractions:

London Zoo
London transport museum
science museum wonderlab
Cutty Sark
kew Gardens
St Paul’s cathedral

As a mum with a professional career, with both husband and I working full time, paying a mortgage, paying a fortune in childcare for 2 under 4’s I seriously despair! From experience of people I see around me, families on UC seem to have more disposable income than us as their rent is paid, have no childcare costs and all their costs subsidised on social tariffs etc.

why is the government getting away with this and why are more middle class/income people not up in arms about it! At the moment I can’t see how us working hard and being self sufficient has benefited us as a family.

See I've cross posted

Possibly? one of the 4, yes.

You said you chose a feckless husband, you didn't say he became suddenly feckless, but leaving that aside £43k is a bloody fantastic salary. You don't say what your UC is but I'd be amazed if it doesn't take you into or cloae to higher rate tax payer territory.

So yeah, you can see how people with "normal" incomes might be a bit pissed off at people who are getting higher rate tax income, not paying 40% tax on it, not having child allowance clawed back like other higher rate tax payers and then getting free entry to places on the basis they're under privileged.

They have autism (?) but get to the head of the queue at theme parks, onto a plane first, into a museum free. It's madness

Your use of a question mark - do you not believe that they have autism or something?

Is a person who accesses services using a wheelchair lying because they can actually get around (if only on wheels)

Could you explain the dishonesty because your ignorance is just staggering.

So people using disability aids are lying and cheating? Are people who struggle to walk not allowed to use wheelchairs either?

How would you even know?

Why do you think the government decide how much is charged at attraction?

The organisations set their own prices and looking at how they can attract a different types of visitor to their typical middle-aged middle-class customer.

And just because the discount is offered doesn't mean that the people can afford it.

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Can’t believe 50% of posters agree. Grim. Myself and DH both work and have a disabled child, I still don’t begrudge the poorest children in society, who are already going to have less opportunities and more barriers in life, a day out!

Poor people know your place!
What kind of hateful mind came up with this thread.
If you've never had to be on benefits then you're lucky..it doesn't take much,redundancy(50+)relationship breakup ,health problems,disability.
Most on benefits don't have a life of Riley.

Who on earth can afford the full price of the zoo though? We both work full time on decent wages, get no benefits and we certainly can’t. My parents took the kids 5 years ago though so they’re lucky in a way. I often wondered why it was so expensive and now I know - the zoo set the prices so high so they can offer ridiculously cheap rates to those on UC. Their financial strategy must work for them but it does exclude so many who cannot access a discount and cannot afford full rate.

Possibly 🙄
Thought so. You know jack all about them, and instead making assumptions and acting like a nosey, jealous bat.

The person has 4 children, no partner. All 4 have some additional needs. Nobody is in a wheel chair.
I can't understand how they can access Disneyland and extras.

Well don't you worry. Reform are going to stop it. How dare people be poor eh

I know them. Please don't call me names.

Why should their life style be facilated by the state?

Exactly, why would anyone want to compare themselves negatively to someone on benefits and /or with health conditions that usually come with them?!
Anyone could end up on them - relationship breakup, job loss or whatever

Some of these posts are downright bizarre. What does the government have to do with businesses choosing to give discounts?

It’s no more their business than if the cafe on the corner gives pensioners cheap fish and chips on a Friday.

Places are also not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They’ll be bringing in people who wouldn’t otherwise go (and making money from anything they spend) and hitting some targets they have in their constitutions or charitable status set up.

One place I know of has in their constitution that they’ll offer 1000 low cost tickets annually to people on low incomes, or face other disadvantages. Using the UC scheme (which covers multiple benefits, not just UC) they can cover that without requiring a tonne of staff doing admin checking people’s eligibility. It gets them a whacking great amount of funding, which is why they do it.

Because they have disabilities... just because they're not as visible as using a wheelchair doesn't mean they don't exist. Does it make sense yet?

People on uc don’t have more disposable income because uc pays very little. Rent might be paid by housing benefit but housing benefit rates are nowhere near what à landlord actually charges and that includes social housing so people have to top up their rent out of their uc, plus pay all their bills etc, it’s a very rare thing to be genuinely better off on benefits now.
don’t forget that many in receipt of UC are actually employed, even those in ‘professional careers’.

Have they told you that they're faking autism?
Your "possibly" says you don't know at all, you're just bitterly assuming.

I'm more upset about the Royals living in luxury than someone on UC getting into Kew Gardens at a discount.

They have disabilities, they have no working parent or parents but they can go abroad?

Reasonable adjustments and things like losses defenders are disability aids in the same way wheelchairs are.

But where does it end? All the things people ‘don’t begrudge’ them add up - all the freebies - and it disincentivises work. People forget how to be self reliant, they forget that being self reliant is a good thing and dependency on the state becomes ingrained. We’ve got to show there are benefits to working.