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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Or is it unreasonable to complain about overcrowding in free accommodation?

161 replies

SomeGuy · 29/07/2009 22:56

Just caught end of local news, they had a feature about overcrowding in London council housing. They showed a council flat, not quite sure how big it was, but it was occupied by three generations of an Asian Muslim family (a couple were wearing jilbabs), 8 in all, but apparently they count as 6 1/2 people for overcrowding because children under 1 don't count (not sure where the 1/2 comes from).

Anyway my wife's response was 'if they don't like it, they should go back where they came from' (DW is an immigrant, and shared a bed with her sister growing up - they had 7 people in two bedrooms, some would sleep on mats on the floor), given that much worse/more cramped conditions are I'm sure completely normal where they came from. If DW's parents had they wanted a bigger house they'd have to pay for it, though they'd tend to spend the money expanding their business rather than home improvements.

They had an exterior shot of the flat, which is very prime real estate, central London, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to buy, or several thousand per month on the open market.

Apparently Boris has promised to half overcrowding in 20 years, but it seems odd to me, obviously a family of 8 is fairly normal in Afghanistan/wherever (in large part because they don't see personal space as so important and so you can fit a lot of people in to a small place) but it really doesn't fit into central London, especially not when the taxpayer is footing the bill.

OP posts:
MissSunny · 29/07/2009 23:47

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famishedass · 29/07/2009 23:48

i also think this thread is crap so I'm going to put "Doubt" on my computer. Did you know you could watch DVDs on the computer. I only just found out. I thought that sticky out thing was a drinks holder

No-one answered my question though, what should we do if people have large families already and then need financial support?

MissSunny · 29/07/2009 23:49

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chegirl · 29/07/2009 23:50

Well its easy. Sell the kids and use the money to buy a house. Madonna pays a fair whack per child and she hasnt got a light brown one yet.

MissSunny · 29/07/2009 23:51

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FAQtothefuture · 29/07/2009 23:51

if someone has entered the country -and is elligble for social housing - then unless they're an illegal immigrant they'll already have had to make those arrangements before their visa is issued.

MissSunny · 29/07/2009 23:53

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SomeGuy · 29/07/2009 23:54

The problem with our housing/whatever policy is that essentially there is a free market. In other words we are 'competing' against other countries in immigration terms. For whatever reason the UK is seen as a better option than say France.

See for instance news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6553677.stm

So evidently we do have an issue. Either France gets better or we get worse, but either way I don't think this situation is positive. Immigration is positive in many respects. The US approach of encouraging talented immigration makes sense. But being the Waitrose of the asylum shopping world does not.

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FAQtothefuture · 29/07/2009 23:54

MissSunny - she's asking what if they HAD the large numbers of children before they needed the help.

MissSunny · 29/07/2009 23:55

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FAQtothefuture · 29/07/2009 23:56

lol @ using the US as an example with millions of illegal immigrants

chegirl · 29/07/2009 23:58

How do you know they lived in a 'filthy' orphanage?

Not all orphanages are filthy. Many are well run and staffed by dedicated, loving people. Children are fed and given education.

And yes as you ask I think those children should have been left in their own county with their own family. I am not against international adoptions as a whole. However I am no keen on spoilt, vain superstars collecting children whilst in the middle of a divorce and a world tour.

in2minds · 29/07/2009 23:59

I do think it's a damn cheek to complain but I think it's cheeky where ever they orginated from and lets face it the UK has enough of it's own white trash to deal with never mind moaning about the immigrants who do generally work a damn sight harder.

famishedass · 29/07/2009 23:59

If we don't house them, we'll have children sleeping on the streets like the situation that's happening now in Calais, because they won't house them.

Would you be comfortable kissing your children goodnight and tucking them in their soft warm beds knowing that immigrant children in your own country were sleeping on the streets?

FAQtothefuture · 30/07/2009 00:01

most visa for entering this country BAN you from claiming ANY state benefits at all for an extended period after entering the UK.

EU citizens (I believe) are entitled to the same as us (as are we if we go to their countries). I believe that very few EU citizens come to the UK without means of supporting themselves, either with family already here, or friends.

We were prevented from even going on the council waiting list when we needed to as DH was on a spousal visa. Had I been single then I would have been high up the list (funnily enough we were living in overcrowded accommodation - 5 adults, 1 baby in a 3 bedroom house - with 2 of those adults receiving DLA and the presence of a baby and related paraphernalia presenting a risk to them - had letters from the GP, HV etc confirming that we needed to be housed ASAP because of the risk to them and overcrowding and we couldn't even put our names down).

MissSunny · 30/07/2009 00:02

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in2minds · 30/07/2009 00:03

"most visa for entering this country BAN you from claiming ANY state benefits at all for an extended period after entering the UK."

That may well be the case but you are not telling me that we turn away people with children who are homeless and have no means of support ?

FAQtothefuture · 30/07/2009 00:03

\link{http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jul/07/social-housing-immigration-bnp\only 1.8% of immigrants living in social housing have moved here in the last 5 years)

Nancy66 · 30/07/2009 00:03

didn't the Commission For Racial Equality conduct an investigation into the supposed scandal of immigrants jumping the queue for housing? I'm pretty sure the findings were published in the last month and it was found that, by and large, British born nationals were given priority.

SomeGuy · 30/07/2009 00:04

Well the US depends on illegal immigration to an extent. I would imagine they're pretty unlikely to be claiming benefits/social housing if they're illegal. Quite different from asylum shopping.

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in2minds · 30/07/2009 00:04

"They should all have to prove they have somewhere to live and a way of supporting their family before be allowed in the country."

Would that apply to those coming from war torn countries that "we" illegally invaded then ?

MissSunny · 30/07/2009 00:04

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FAQtothefuture · 30/07/2009 00:05

try again

\link{http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jul/07/social-housing-immigration-bnp\1.6% of immigrants living in social housing have moved to the UK in the last 5 years)

and if people have children and want to move to the UK and have no means to support themselves they won't be given a visa. Aslyum seekers obviously a different category

FAQtothefuture · 30/07/2009 00:08

no - the adults were

2 in their 40's
3 in their 20's.

1 double bedroom, 2 singles. 1 (tiny) living space.

1 in their 20's and 1 in their 40's both claiming higher level DLA and being severely affected by the over crowding.

MissSunny · 30/07/2009 00:08

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