To be seriously worried the new govt are looking at cutting child benefit...

[cherrymama]

to 'middle class' families?What does that mean?We both work but have four kids and losing that income will seriously affect us...so please tell me IABU and that it won't happen!

Certainly finding a job that fits round school hours/term time is pretty well impossible. I have to work at home 8 hours a week, and look after the kids at the same time.

If I were to try putting the little ones into nursery, I would be spending more on childcare than I could earn.

Oh yes, like the Tories would have regulated their super rich banker friends.

I am utterly furious. Like most ordinary people, I have done nothing to cause this, yet I'm the one being screwed over, personally and professionally (I'm a nurse and we are already running at the bare minimum of staff).

It's wrong. So, so wrong

Panic not! 'We will preserve child benefit, winter fuel payments and free TV licenses. They are valued by millions.' George Osbourne, Oct 6 2009. However tax credits and child trust funds are in their sights (families joint £50,000 plus). BTW to avoid confusion, tax credits, including child tax credits and the child care element of working tax credits are meanstested. Child Benefit (prev. Family Allowance ) is not.

Yes, Geek, that should happen. But I know growing up there were some weeks when my mum, with her superior budgeting and lack of a drink problem, completely managed to get food on the table because there was money she had access to without having to ask my dad for it.
That wouldn't be the case in my family, ever. But on mn I see many threads that remind me of that time, women who manage to keep things going without another massive row about money when times are very tight because they've got just enough going in to their own accounts to get by that week.
I'd rather see universal cb and a rise in income tax. Simple and cheap to administer.

That's it - we didn't cause this mess, as a family we have always been ultra careful. But guess who's going to have to sort it out? Not the bankers....

ImSo - this is not confirmed in any way. It's one possibility on a list that was drawn up some months ago by civil servants in the Treasury, according to the Guardian.
I agree it will cause huge upset, and for that reason I suspect that a lot of other things will go first.

OP - I couldn't find anything on the DM about it, can you link?

"I wonder if they've thought through the fact that for a large number of women in this country, child benefit is the ONLY income they have coming in that
is independent of their husband/partner?" It's not the government's responsibility to provide an income for women who stay at home though.

If a woman chooses to stay at home with the children then surely that should be a decision that is made jointly as a couple, and if the woman is then expected to manage on the child benefit alone that surely says more about the relationship and the balance of power therein.

It's quite simple really, if you can't afford to stay at home once your childre are school age then you go to work.

Shall we have the Guardian link then?

Far too much DM on here as it is...

It is always the people in the middle who get squeezed. The bottom third get looked after, the top third look after themselves and those in between get crushed between the two.

"Too many people had children and then relied on state benefits to provide for them "

Gosh that's right! So let's punish the children by putting them in poverty where they belong!

I'm so glad we've got a lovely new tory govt.

Ali - I've found a link on the guardian site

attempting to find the DM link

'I am utterly furious. Like most ordinary people, I have done nothing to cause this, yet I'm the one being screwed over, personally and professionally (I'm a nurse and we are already running at the bare minimum of staff).

It's wrong. So, so wrong '

It is. I mean, trust me, I know, I had to lump George Bush, Jr.!

We're going to have to get creative with work.

The hotel and care industries, for example, are 24 hour schedule and we're going to need to swap out shifts.

It is what it is, though.

They got in, they're going to make cuts, there's no election for 5 years, rich people will probably get off, working poor like us will get screwed.

Do what you can with making your feelings known to your MP and local councillors, get politically involved, try to train for a higher-paying job if possible, swap shifts, cut back.

I dunno. It's like living in this flat, there's nothing we can do about it just now, so we need to make the most of it and try to do what we can to move on.

On wednesday I was feeling very optimistic about this coalition, which as a Tory-detesting sourpuss is a big admission for me.

Now I have this terrible sense that my gut instinct that we're all doooooooomed was, in fact, spot on.

damn. too slow

I won't be happy to go to work in a hotel or care home in the middle of the night and have to start studying on top of that and juggle 3 kids and be 40 as well.

But there's no help for it so there's probably little point in whingeing anymore. It won't come across well in interviews, for one .

They'll be out in 5 years and the Scottish elections are next year.

Sorry, the last line of my last post should have read "we're all doomed unless we're one of Dave's rich mates, in which case carry on quaffing your Pimm's and oysters as you were."

'The bottom third get looked after'

No, they don't. The working poor get screwed. Big time.

Much of their work involves looking after others, too - cleaning, care home, hotel, retail, tourism, etc.

Realistically there would have been cuts whichever party gor power.

I wouldn't panic about it just yet, it usually turns out that means-testing these benefits is more expensive than just giving them to everyone. Eg the winter fuel allowance, which my aunt uses to buy new outfits for her cruises.

I suppose they could roll it in with CTC in some way, if the database is already there.

I do get tired of the whining on here that "Oh there are no jobs which are just school hours and not in school holidays." No, because life/work goes on outside of these times. I have always worked full time and had a very tough period when I was paying two lots of (allegedly subsidised) nursery fees, and once I had paid these and half the mortgage, I had £28 left over for the rest of the month. It was very, very difficult, but I hung in there, because I had the long term view of my career - progress up the ladder and earn more. And now, yes, because I did that, we are a lot better off than we would have been if I had put my career on hold or gone part time.

We did nothing to cause this. We were even offered a mortgage 10x our gross income back in 2003 and didn't take it because it seemed financially irresponsible.

Now we'll be renting forever. There's NO chance of anything else.

We didn't rack up tons of debt, go on expensive holidays, take big risks, etc.

But we're going to pay, pay, pay.

I can see it coming. but to be fair whilst I am a LP I earn well over £50k and if the government wants to take away my child benefit and not cut CHB for someone worse off then that is probably the right thing to do. I do accept that it is one of the few benefits that goes directly to the resisdent parent but I cant see any justification for me keeping it given the mess we are in.

I think it's a good idea to stop paying it to higher earners. We get it, and don't need it, in fact I haven't a clue which account it goes into.

A cutoff of £50k would be reasonable imo.

mrsS how did you pay the bills and pay for food out of £28?

OUr bills come to hundreds each month

VAT on essentials like electricity and gas to heat your home.

That is really going to effect us.

We live in a damp old council flat with electric storage heating, so we cna't change it to something more efficient.

Nor afford carpets.

And it's not a warm place.