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.

TWICE! Yet a lot of families who aren’t on UC wouldn’t even be able to afford it once a year - even with all the discounts!
This is where the unfairness lies.

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Most of the money claimed on UC doesnt go direct to the claimant, it goes to their landlord.

UC doesnt give people a huge amount of money, it gives people who cant afford to pay their rent, thanks to BTL profiteering landlods, a roof over their heads.

Its not their fault that there is no such thing as affordable housing anymore (thank you boomers), not their fault that is hardly any social housing anymore (thank you Thatcher), not their fault that despite most working just as hard as non clamaints they can barely touch the sides of their costs.

I claim UC and I work and I am a carer. I can barely make ends meet, I dont live in an expensive area and luckily paid off my mortgage before this all began, I would really struggle if I had to make rent top up payments.

I save the state a lot more than I cost them in terms of what I do with caring responsibilities. I get paid less than £2.50 an hour for being a carer (at carers allowance levels) maximum. How much would carers cost for a minimum 37 hours week? A hell of a lot more!!

If you’re a TA, you’d probably get UC. I know TAs with children who qualify. Unless you have a high earning partner, it’s worth checking your entitlement.

Or get a £14 a month subscription like we did 🙄

Two visits over two years. We wouldn't have been able to afford it either otherwise. What's your point?

Well to be consistent let's make it one individual to match the policy on Child Allowance.

And I was suggesting equivalent of higher rate tax payers as the absolute upper limit. I'm happy for it to be much lower than that. What I'm less happy about is to give it to people who are in UC but not to people who with the same or lower incomes but don't qualify for UC.

Isn't this hilarious. People are describing people on the equivalent of £100k plus salaries as underprivileged or poor and then describing giving free entry to working people on half that as unsustainable. Says it all.

Stop working then and lead a life of luxury on UC. Sell your house, spend all the money and present yourself to the council as homeless.

Alternatively, stop being so bitter about people who are much worse off than you and begrudging children from low-income families being able to have a day out at a London attraction.

The thread about it was spectacular.

Amazing that so many couldn’t see it for what it was and thought Chester (and tbh the other places) suddenly decided poor children were deserving of a zoo trip, rather than a money and funding earner for them.

The brain is neuroplastic. They can learn new skills.

Most of the money claimed on UC doesnt go direct to the claimant, it goes to their landlord.

Most of the money earned by people who don't get UC goes to their landlord or mortgage lender.

pp and I both have disabled children.

You can have my discounted zoo tickets but your child can have my child's disability which is the reason why I get UC.

Only fair, right?

Ludicrous. “Don’t bother with qualifications, Noah. Just claim UC. You’ll only get £80 a week to live on, but you’ll get free entry to the Tower of London, so that’s worth it”

My rent still isn't 400 pounds a month. It's 380. I live in Scotland. My personal UC allowance was 400. Are you trying to call me a liar. You know everyone's circumstances on here just because you don't like people on benefits - you don't. I can assure you of that

I've no idea but it seems you get UC if you get a certain amount but earn £1 more then nothing. Making the person who earns too much for UC worse off

Stop working then and lead a life of luxury on UC.

Which is exactly what people are doing. Or moving abroad.

No it doesn't. Around a quarter of my brothers wage goes to his mortgage - which is 500 pounds a month

These threads are always split into:

• people on UC or wealthy enough to afford it otherwise who are indignant, accuse all other posters of being cruel and wanting poor people ‘locked away’ or offer repeatedly to trade their disabled children for theirs which is just gross.
• those in the middle who on paper should be doing ok but are watching every penny, saving for what would have been a standard thing (meal at pizza express, takeaway, day out etc). but because their joint income seems a huge amount to people on low income/UC they get no sympathy and people ‘can’t believe’ they’d be struggling.

it’s tedious. Those tiny discounts, subsidies, credit payments etc add up. I’m a nurse and band 7, my HCA on a band 3 salary income and her partner on similar income have more disposable income than us due to benefits (albeit they’re claiming falsely that they live together but I know loads of people personally and professionally that do that so assume it’s just ‘a thing). It’s really depressing to be honest

Who is on £100k?
Not those on UC?

I think I made it!

I'm disabled and currently on an equivalent salary of around 20k. Not 100k

Not everyone can…people do have different capabilities, and the circumstances around them can impact learning ability too.

You sound very ignorant.

and complaining about unfairness to parents of disabled children isn't gross?

For anyone in Edinburgh or the surrounding area:

https://www.nms.ac.uk/events/makkin-it

@PyongyangKipperbang all of what you say is correct particularly Rtb and BTL.
Kind of in the same boat as yourself regarding being a carer.
I used pension money to try and avoid the benefits system .I applied for hundreds of jobs but age was against me (55+) and had to admit defeat and apply for UC.
My disabled wife still does 16 he cleaning but it's getting harder for her osteoarthritis and will have to see a way for her to stop work.
It's not what we envisaged or wanted from life.