To be cheesed off with Universal Credit entry fees?

[MaturingCheeseball]

I know it’s been done before, but…

I thought I’d like to visit Chatsworth House with (teenage) dd. The cost is £33 each PLUS parking at £7.50. So £73.50.

Then I saw the universal credit/pension credit/pip etc price. THREE POUNDS. And free parking! So £6.00 for two adults (age 17+).

I do not have 12 times as much money as someone on these benefits. I doubt many people do. I’m not begrudging the disadvantaged a day out, but come on! The price differential is ludicrous.

When I saw the £73 price I just decided we couldn’t go, and so be it. But upon seeing the potential for a £6 entry, it made me feel mugged off.

That's not directly comparable to the OP's situation - I specifically did it so that expenses and income could be approximately levelled - otherwise you're comparing apples with oranges.

Nobody would like it in my day job if I said 'yeah, but I couldn't be arsed to actually try to find a statistically and mathematically coherent comparison and just said X is bigger than Y when X relates to 100,000 incidences and Y is a single individual'. So I researched an appropriate comparison between the aggrieved OP and somebody in the same situation.

You are being petty OP.

Quit your job, go on UC and see how you like it...

I don't see anything wrong with people on benefits and their kids getting a bit of support to b able to access culture and leisure.

Sorry, I get mixed up with so many people seething with the same jealousy. Then again, I am on UC, so who even needs to read properly anyway, too busy having free days out at the tax payers expense just for funsies.

What price wouldn’t have prevented you from going?

I don’t know, I can’t bring myself to begrudge people whose lives are such that they qualify for UC and the attendant reductions on days out etc. In any case, it’s not their fault they get these reductions. It’s the system. OP, you sound annoyed with recipients of benefits but they didn’t set the rules?

I’m a higher earner and pay 45% tax. My savings are also taxed (yay). I’m not clear on what I’m paying for tbh. I can’t see my GP without a 6 week wait and there are no NHS dentists with availability in my area so I pay privately for both. Obviously, and correctly, do not qualify for any state benefits. Never received CB. I think I pay in more than I take out. It is what it is.

I would not swap places with someone in receipt of UC as I imagine their lives are much more restricted than mine in so many ways.

Whether a property abroad affects UC or not depends on the residency status of the claimant. If they are considered a resident in the UK, the value of the property abroad would potentially be disregarded, depending on the circumstances. Any rental income generated from it would have to be declared to UC though, as it counts as income.

If it's too dear for you then don't go. I don't believe in these subsidised entries so I wouldn't support this. Fair enough a pound or two discount. But lots of people outpriced so some can get it dirt cheap - just no.

Well no she didn’t because she couldn’t afford the trip at £70, that’s the whole point.

Again, that isn't how it works. It is charity funded.

There are a lot of people on here who have got their information from years of daily mail benefit bashing. UC and tax credits with housing benefit before them are subsidising everyone.
First up home owners your houses are keeping their values because of the high rental prices which are subsidised by the government in the form of housing benefit.
Look how the 1990s removal of rent controls forced the property markets to explode.
Secondly yes prices are soaring but they are not as high as they should be because tesco et al don't pay their workers enough and there is the national insurance loophole which means they prefer to employ part timers.
This in turn means people who cant find full time well paying jobs get subsidised by the government. Which keeps the prices of your products down.
But yeah its all the fault of the feckless and lazy people.
Also how many entry level jobs have just dissapeared. All the self serve stuff means jobs have been cut by 250,000 in the uk. So less work less hours and not enough pay.

But don't think about that, think about a family getting a cheaper day out than you, while you live in your long term investments and live off cheap food and fast fashion

Don't be dense

Well you shouldn’t but if you don’t declare it how would DWP know particularly if the property is overseas?

Cast pearls before swine" means to waste something valuable or offer good advice to someone who cannot appreciate or understand its worth.

That poster thinks that people on benefits wouldn't be able to appreciate a visit to a stately home as they are too uncultured, uneducated and ignorant. Sheer snobbery in fact.

Erm, £20 each? And the house had better be darn good for that!

Because they watch your bank accounts they can see what money you have coming in and if its more than you are expected to have then uc will stop

The income limit for FSM until 1st September is £7400.

The holiday clubs and vouchers funding is ending on the same day (there will be separate provision that the individuals will have to claim for).

When the FSM scope is widened, only those who fall under the £7400 income will have pupil premium eligibility, the others will not.

We are of course assuming that the friends of a friend are also actually in receipt of UC and aren't NRPF (where the children would receive FSM and PP funding as part of specific provision set up by previous governments to avoid the situation where they could go hungry at school as well). Or that they understood the vagaries of English where 'We've got a house in x' can mean 'We personally own a house in x' and 'My Mum and Dad's house is in x' when talking to this truly reliable reporter who then reported it completely truthfully on here.

In contrast, I had a stroke, after working for 40 years I now can't & I claim pip. I'm not able to claim anything else as I own my own home (except I don't, largely the bank does, I just pay a mortgage instead of rent so don't qualify for any housing help) I can't downsize unless i buy a rabbit hutch.

I don't have a private pension, so will be reliant on the state pension in a few years time & will have used up my small amount of savings trying to get through the next few years until state pension kicks in.

we are not all your EX.

So you have no idea how many concession tickets are available but you are assuming that it could save you money if they were scrapped?

The numbers are very limited on these schemes. No idea how many each day are available for London Zoo but weekend slots sell out quickly in advance and £1 tickets on the same day are the equivalent of cheap theatre tickets for that day’s performances from Leicester Square ticket office.

I do know a couple of smaller attractions participating in these schemes - you will be thrilled to know the numbers are small enough that it doesn’t affect the price of regular tickets. As the tickets can only be used off peak it brings them footfall they would not otherwise have which reduces the overall run cost and therefore the cost of your much more important full price ticket.

For some attractions, the cost of the cheap tickets is funded fully by a charitable grants.

So enjoy the zoo trip knowing that you are not helping plebs to see the animals.

I think that the big reductions for people on benefits are given for that reason. Most things in our society are not based on the same principle, obviously, it's mostly a 'free market'. Therapists sometimes have sliding scales according to income and financial responsibilities.

If they both have UK residency they can potentially own homes abroad and claim UC - depends on the circumstances, but the value of the homes would be disregarded in the calculation for UC. Any rental income generated from them would need to be declared as it’s regarded as income. DWP and HMRC share information so it would be pretty stupid not to declare it.

I don’t know if this has been mentioned, and not really the point of the thread, but parking is free if you pre book. Also, I presume your daughter is older than 16, as child entry is £11. Still, it is a very expensive day out and I wouldn’t bother going at the moment as I think the water steps and fountains are currently turned off.

I don’t have an issue with people on benefits getting a discount. However if I want to visit Westminster Abbey the ticket costs £31. Someone on UC pays £1. I don’t earn 30 times more than someone on UC! A discount, yes fine, but it’s ridiculous and people are entitled to be angry and disappointed.

It’s not jealousy. It’s the unfairness of it all. Poor children getting a day out is one thing. I’m all for the welfare state being a safety net. I do not want children to be hungry.
However, two able bodied parents with a huge brood who can’t be arsed to work because( or only work min hours ) they KNOW they honestly will be no better off is another thing. And the entitlement? No you do not have a right to the same standard of living as workers. You do not have a right to a council house, you do not have the right to demand anything if you do not contribute anything.
I think votes should be allocated to tax payers only or at least those with a work history. Too many shirkers voting Labour. Labour is on its way out though so at least that’s something to applaud.

How very imaginative. I never cease to be amazed at the myriad ways people can dress up good old fashioned benefits bashing threads on here . 😂

DWP also data share with HMRC so if you’re paying tax on income you haven’t declared for benefit purposes, you’re pretty much bound to be found out eventually.