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Divorce/separation

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Original poster

Single parent universal credit

37 replies

anonforpost · 14/07/2022 14:10

My sister's parter just left her. They have a 2 year old child. She is SAHP and doesn't know how she is going to cope with the rent, food, bills, etc. I have used the entitled site to check if she can get any help. I've got the following numbers:

UC 579.49 monthly
Council tax support 111.97
Housing benefit 1100 monthly
Child benefit 94.47 monthly.

So it appears the rent and the council tax is almost fully covered. She will have 579.49 + 94.47 = 673.96 pounds for everything else. She said the electricity, gas, water and broadband is around 200 pounds leaving 473.96 pounds for food, travel, recreation, mobile phone, petrol, car insurance, MOT, etc. Does it seem right to you? Is it enough? It appears very low for two people. thanks in advance.

OP posts:
BetterFuture1985 · 16/07/2022 13:24

AyeUpMeDuck · 16/07/2022 06:08

Its also worth highlighting to some people that unemployment doesn't cost the economy that much in the grand scheme.

It's a media tactic to make people believe it does so that people get mad at Ms Bloggs raising her kid on a £1000 a month instead of focussing on MP TuggingPud who's claiming £180k in expenses, £90k in wages, £200k in rental income, £150k in consultancy fees etc.

Unemployment makes up 1-2% of welfare payments.
(For comparison, pensions make up over 40% of welfare.)

Indeed, if you want to get angry about people taking more out than they paid in, focus on pensions, not unemployment.

GCHeretic · 16/07/2022 13:39

That’s the same as the take-home pay for someone full time earning £30,000 per year, so it’s more than enough to get by.

FilePhoto · 16/07/2022 13:48

It's more than I have after bills for me and 2 teens so I suspect she'll be fine. It might seem a little daunting at first if she's used to having more disposable income. But it will be fine.

lonelydad2022 · 16/07/2022 16:03

FilePhoto · 16/07/2022 13:48

It's more than I have after bills for me and 2 teens so I suspect she'll be fine. It might seem a little daunting at first if she's used to having more disposable income. But it will be fine.

Sorry to ask but if we take the housing cost out, you have 600 for you and two teens?

gfwantsmoney · 16/07/2022 16:08

ComtesseDeSpair · 14/07/2022 14:38

A significant part of most people’s income is housing costs. But somebody earning £50k a year doesn’t say that they actually only earn £30k because £20k of it goes on the rent/mortgage, do they?

£500 a month after all other bills for one adult and a toddler in a city where you don’t actually need to own a car and pay for petrol, which seems to be your friend’s main concern apart from food and a mobile phone, sounds like she’ll do just fine.

Show quote history

Yes. But most people can adjust the percentage of income they use for rent. In her case, moving to cheaper accommodation won't change her position. Its not the same.

gfwantsmoney · 16/07/2022 16:15

AyeUpMeDuck · 16/07/2022 05:52

UC is made up of elements.

Standard - for the unemployed adult of £343 a month.
Child - £290 a month
Rent - dependant on LHA Rates
Childcare - upto 85% childcare paid in arrears with a max payment of £646.35 for one child

If you rent private in, for example, Coventry then the most help you'll get for a 2 bedroom accommodation is £132.33 a week. (Multiply by 52 and divide by 12: £573.43 a month)

f your childcare is £1000 in April, you apply and you could get upto £646.35 back in May.

Some people see the high figures of UC and kneejerk reactions start before they realise that rent makes up a huge part of it.
Some may say it was designed this way to encourage other people to misunderstand and get mad at UC claimants... Would the Tories design things in such a way as to make people cross with each other?... Maybe..

Truth is, unless you live in a cheap Social Housing estate where the rent is £400 a month, like I do, then the Rent element of UC is always going to be high and artificially inflate UC total.

The rent element keeps a roof over people's heads. It's not money the UC claimant gets to spend on necessities, It goes to landlords to pay their mortgages.

What the UC claimant gets, and is expected to live on, is £343 a month + £290 for a child.

To pay:
Rent shortfall (LHA is rarely all of rent, if rent is £800 and LHA pay £573, the shortfall has to come from somewhere)
Gas
Electric
Food
Council tax
TV license
Insurance
Internet
Water
And so on and so on

This is why foodbank usage is approaching 3million and homelessness is a real concern for a lot of people.

Thanks. People are getting crossed for the high amount but most of the money she won't receive. 1100 directly to landlord and the council tax directly to council. The question was is 674 was enough for everything else (food, utilities, petrol, etc). It is going to be for a few weeks until she finds some kind of work. She has already applied to UC, applied for child maintenance and now looking for part time job to increase her income.

FilePhoto · 16/07/2022 17:01

lonelydad2022 · 16/07/2022 16:03

Sorry to ask but if we take the housing cost out, you have 600 for you and two teens?

Show quote history

I said after bills not just housing.

The relevant bit of the OP was this

leaving 473.96 pounds for food, travel, recreation, mobile phone, petrol, car insurance, MOT, etc. Does it seem right to you? Is it enough? It appears very low for two people. thanks in advance.

That's what OPs sister has left after rent. CT. Utilities Inc broadband.

After I've paid the same I have less than £473.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 16/07/2022 17:16

That housing element is very generous @anonforpost . Where does she live? Also is won’t be housing benefit. It will be housing element of universal credit. Her housing element will be capped at at 2 bedroom house rate ‘Local Housing Allowance’. LHA. That’s average rental but that includes social housing rent. Round here you get approx £450 pcm. You’d struggle to find anywhere non-social housing wise for that.

snowballupahill · 22/07/2022 17:15

Don’t forget single person council discount x

CornishTiger · 22/07/2022 17:19

Also free prescriptions and free school meals. Claim even if child is under the universal offer. Some councils are using their cost of living hardship fund to award additional payments based on free school meal offer.

Also check if eligible for any water rates reduction - its watercare and water sure here in Cornwall.

CornishTiger · 22/07/2022 17:20

Reduced broadband rates of on UC. Google it. MSE has a good guide.

vivainsomnia · 23/07/2022 13:43

Why does she need a car? It seems a wasted luxury if in London and not working.

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