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.

It's possible they may not have even paid for Disneyland.

We were able to access Disney World through a charity due to my son's disability. I didn't even have to pay for passports. Many charities are out there and the government doesn't control who they support.

Disabilities aren't always things you can see, like a broken leg or whatever.
Should they stay at home and never go anywhere?

We have a reasonable household income yet these sorts of attractions (and many other local places) are becoming unaffordable. E.g. Local aquarium £70 for w kids, grandparents and me. That's one of the cheaper ones!
I understand their costs have most likely spiralled but it still annoys me..

Is a reasonable adjustment a foreign holiday?

The demographic with the highest disposable income are the retirees so it makes absolutely no sense to give them a discount!

Governments have severely cut funding to the more 'educational' attractions and subsidies are paid in order to reduce £ to improve accessibility. Museums, NT, EH etc etc.

Do you not know that a chunk of these 'attractions' would go under without public funding?!

As for they just 'decide' how much a middle.class.customer wants to pay. Funny.

Oops sorry didn't mean to quote that post.

Oh no, poor people in a cathedral! Jesus would not like that!

No, but adults should take responsibility and not take handout after handout.

And £1 for every Southwark resident. Dulwich Picture Gallery - free for all kids under 18 and 2 for 1 adult entry for Southwark residents. What's your point?

This annoys me. People (or the Daily Mail) take a rogue example of a family with 12 kids or something who are all disabled, work out an enormous amount of UC that they’d receive, and bandy it around like every UC claimant is getting megabucks.

The UC bill is £65B per year. There are 8.3 million UC claimants. So the average claim is £652 per month.

Depends on the reason why you are on UC imo. DH and I have been on income support/UC for the last 15 years, we are in our mid fifties. DH has a progressive degenerative eye disease that has now caused total blindness and I have become his carer. We both worked full time until at the same time he was laid off and also registered legally blind. I refuse to feel that we are not worthy of UC and the help we need. But on the other hand we both believe that in the last few years the scope of what is considered disabled has become far too broad. Conditions that were temporary and treatable are now placed as life long and life limiting but it’s a catch 22 cos the medication and therapy is not available due to lack of funding.

I would imagine they get carers allowance and pip which they budget for such things. It amazes me that you don't see that this is because they need significant care. Not wanting to come across in any way ableist but I'm very thankful my child won't have certain struggles related to disability in his life and I'd take that over access to pip any day. Because that's the tradeoff you're begrudging them here.

it was always ever so. Fat people, single parents, benefit claimants, anyone with a disability….

Aids to being able to do things everybody else does like going on holiday are.

Sensible folk use points like club card etc…others like me can afford it ..if they wanted to go

I’d love to know what people who don’t like these kinds of discounts actually think the government could, or should, do?

Are folks actually seriously suggesting the government should be able to involve y in the prices that private companies and charities charge?

How far are folks wanting that to go? The soft play in our town offers a discount if you bring more than 4 kids. The country house nearby offers pensioners who have a bus pass or proof of being of pension age half price entry on Wednesdays. Are they both allowed or should the government also be getting involved with them?

They make sure more children arrive. At roughly 7 year intervals.

Not everybody else goes on holiday, just like not everybody else goes to the Tower of London.

I hope that’s sarcasm.

Some people don’t have the qualifications for lower paid jobs, some people don’t have the capacity for higher paid jobs.

I work full time. It doesn't benefit me in any way to harp on about some bloody zoo discounts, would I somehow be better off if low income households didn't get a discount? No...it would make no difference to my life...I stay in my lane & don't worry about such things. I think it's good to make these attractions more affordable. I'm childfree but it doesn't take an expert to know the school holidays must be damn hard to fill up with fun things in this economy...it's good for kids to get out and about & make memories. The anti-benefits crew just suck the fun out of life for us all!

This thread reminds me of the mean lawyer in Jurassic Park who wants to have a coupon day for ppl who can't afford £10k a day 😆 in the words of Richard Attenborough OP, everyone in the world has the right to see those animals 😆

Some of those assertions are nonsense.

Even those who are workless through ill health cannot rely on their rent being paid - see Local Housing Allowance for private renters. They also have to pay, in most of England, a big chunk of their council tax.

They only get childcare costs when in work and not all of them.

Social Tariffs for water are a decent reduction but taper off pretty smartly if there are earnings.

Could you, under the constraints above, keep a couple and two kids fed warm and clothed on £1600 a month?

Yep austerity policies have long term costs

And it should also be remembered that a part of the “jump” in UC recently has been because of the migration of those on ESA into UC.

Its about the ability to do things if you don’t have a disability. Reasonable adjustments and aids facilitate the disabled to do things.