Cap on benefits to 26k- am I missing something?

[buggyRunner]

As far as I can gather it's the normal benefits ie housing/ cb and wtc. This seems like a large sum. Is it accross the board or does it include disability related benefits? Are the figures misleading?

Just as an aside from all the competitive 'I've got it worse than you' going on here: personally I think anyone able to post on here outside library opening hours doesn't have it that bad. They obviously have Internet access. And if someone else is paying the monthly bill for you, then lucky you. And for those saying Internet is 'essential for childrens homework 'etc- nonsense- my teenagers know a few children in their class who don't have internet or even a pc at home. They manage by using the school computer suites and public library.

tshipstuff, I think the key words in your post regarding DLA were "government statistics show...."

I make a point of NOT believing anything THIS government tells us - there is always an agenda with them. My belief is that as long as they and their rich cronies are safe then the rest of us can go stuff ourselves. Quite frankly they do not give a fig for anyone who might be struggling.

Simply put I hate them and despise all they stand for. Taking money from disabled people - it beggars belief. But then again they have prepared us well - all those headlines about fraud without mentioning ONCE that DLA has the lowest rate of fraud going at just 0.5% of claims. They would do better focusing their resources on rooting out those who ARE claiming fraudulently and streamlining the 40 page claim form.

Is that maybe because there ARE NO JOBS FOR THEM?

That tired old excuse.

Firstly the fact there isn't as many jobs as jobseekers isn't an excuse for not at least looking.

Secondly there are jobs out there if you look. My DP returned to work recently and it took her over 12 months to find a job. At her company they are crying out for SUITABLE people. No qualifications needed. Full training given to the right candidates. All you need is a caring responsible attitude, friendly and a degree of flexibility on hours.

Listening to some of the horror stories of people who are rocking up for 'interviews' makes me shake my head in disbelief. There are those who can barely string a sentence together. Those who reek of alcohol. Not forgetting those who can only work between 9.30 and 11.30 then 2.30pm - 4pm, don't even bother asking if they can work weekends. Oh and lastly those who think the fact they turned up for an interview is enough to impress you.

And that's before you discount the ones who couldn't even get a CV together without spelling mistakes or txt spk.

I love the snidey little dig at Hunty about the internet- the bitch is lucky to have any crumbs from the table at all, of course. No matter that she's already explained the prohibitive cost of travel to the local library in the thread. Given the low cost of lots of broadband deals, it probably works out cheaper even if she were paying for it herself. But never mind that, let's use it as a stick to beat the inconvenient with.

TillyMinto, thank you for being the only one to give a straight answer to the question about whether this is worth paying extra for. Fair play. Personally, I don't see how spending money to boot the poor out of Central London can really be justified when there are so many cuts to a lot of other things you mention. It isn't worth a single penny of my tax money, when there are CABs closing every month due to funding cuts. Its good that you'd be willing to put your money where your mouth is and pay more tax, though. Good for you. Me, I don't think I could afford to. Perhaps there should be a voluntary system where people who want to remove the poor from more expensive areas can pay a surcharge to fund it, in return for the warm cuddly feeling. The government could charge them more than it costs, so this could actually raise revenue.

If that's directed at my post then read what I wrote. It's a general comment. I know plenty of people who can't afford the Internet, pc, laptop or iPhone. And so what? They aren't essentials. If you have access to any of those you are pretty privileged frankly

rshipstuff of course it couldbe because more babies are living
or that there is better dx for disability now.
no of course not.
fuck off

Oh I read exactly what you wrote callmemrs and that's why I wrote the response that I did. Hunty is, of course, a near perfect example of deserving poor, and a walking rebuttal to some of the more idiotic arguments. So she's got to be brought down a peg or two, undermined. That's what you were trying to do. If you were making a general comment, you wouldn't have so clearly referenced her in it.

And you're still trying to muddy the waters now. Do you think you need an IPhone or a laptop to access the internet? I assume you know you don't. Yet you still mentioned them.

Corine thank you for that. We did apply and OT recommended both girls have their own space due to dd2 behaviour, and her waking at 3-5am dd1 is obbessive about tidy and routines, dd2 is like a wirlwind and gets aggressive.
Sadly our home isn't big enough to make 3 rooms without moving whole staircases which they cant fund

Why not get a couple of disabled kids, spike...then you can get LOADSAMONEY.

And a free car.

DLA has followed the demographics. As the population ages, we have a larger percentage in the older groups which are more likely to have health problems.

And of course DLA is also slowly replacing Attendance Allowance - there used to be a different benefit for the over 65s. So it's pointless to look at DLA figures alone; you have to look at DLA + AA.

If DLA eligibility weren't going up along with the pensions bill, it would be very strange indeed.

(That's before we get onto the very much higher rates of survival because of improved medicine. And the campaigns by cancer charities to get people to actually claim the DLA to which they're entitled - govt's own estimate is that DLA is underclaimed by approx 40%.)

lisa

even in council housing now if tehy say there isa medical need for extra bedroom .They will not provide or cover the HB.Only exception they may consider is if you need a over night carer who by law must have a room

ok doing the sums and taking out the act im disabled and ds3 is so inact we are protected o took out DLa etc and done it if was single parent with 4dc

.Im fortunate that am out of private rented now .£26000 straight away 13200 would have gone to the LL .

so thats £12800

left .Discount Cb as peoplle up to £40000 can earn so tale away £3534 approc

so im now down to 9256 .Tale away council tax Benfit thats me down to £7886 .

thats then down to £151 a week
they will then tale of teh free school dinners have 3dc that entitled ( only 1 has but they will do the sums based on what they are entitled to ) so £6 a day times 5 is £30

£121 left take of £15 for water £20 for gas and £20 for electric bearing in mind most wil be on card/key meters taht charge more

would leave me £56 a week for food and clothes and any extras

Now relook at the figures again that im in h/a at £126 a week my hb is £6652

so think the problem lies when your forced into private rented a large amount of your money is swallowed up by Hb .And remember not all LL will takke Hb so often you pay a preimum for sometime substandard accomidation as they are aware that people can not move

And lets also remember those that are working in low income of £18000 Pa will also recieve top ups too of CB , WTC and CTC

opp i not include dmy mainteance in there but figure £20 a month is not going to make a big dent in it

callmemrs

infact the internet is essential to me , I cna not just pop to the bank or pop to the shops to do my food shopping

This is just a general post, not in reply to anyone in particular, btw -

A breakdown example of a family receiving weekly benefits at the capped level from the huffpost

"£392.31 for rent (the allowable rent for Tolworth, typical of a cheaper property)
£39.06 for council tax (Kingston Council, Band E)
£28.18 for gas and electricity (DECC English average + 20% for large family, in 2011 £s
£7.21 for water (OfWAT UK average + 20% for large family)
£6.00 for telephone/broadband - the cheapest BT anytime package

Starting from £500 means that you have £26.23 per week left over for the family, which is 62p per person per day to the nearest penny.

We can argue over these exact figures. Clearly the family could choose to be cold, or to shower infrequently to save money. But against that, private rented housing is typically less well insulated, the family are at home every day, so energy bills may be larger still. I have not included a mobile phone, or any calls to mobile phones, or to 08 numbers not included in the basic package.

In any case, even after rent and council tax, the family has only £1.64 per person per day to live on. No alternative figures will make any difference: this is simply not a living income for a family with four children in private rented accommodation in a cheap part of outer London"

The vast majority of claimants are not 'lifestyle' claimants, and frankly who the hell would want that as a lifestyle?

This example family could easily be a family affected by the constant redundancies that are ongoing, ergo they had their children back when they could afford to.

spike

but you cna then get people moving away from support or cheap childcare and £1200 every 4 weeks is by no means expesive here and or in West Essex .that is the reality of living in the SE

you then need to thin how would tehy save for deposit and rent in advance and the moving costs to

oh and the family mentioned it is the one working that will be penalised they move away how do they get to work

All the nasty-assed dog-in-a-manger types on here would do well to remember they're just a redundancy payment away from benefit dependency.

For every vacancy, there are 10 people chasing it, and the job market is contracting, so your chances of finding work are limited. Most of the positions available are part time or temporary so no job security either.

If you have a mortgage then you don't get any financial help with that for 9 months, then you get mortgage relief which will pay 70% of your interest only. If you rent then HB will probably cover two-thirds of your rent if your landlord is willing to continue renting to benefit scrounging scum like you.

Payment plans, overdraft facilities and credit cards will rapidly vanish, and you'll be left with Brighthouse and loansharks when your cooker needs replacing.

If you envy the benefits lifestyle so much, then jack your job in, default on your mortgage and join us untermensch at the bottom of the pile. Free goats for all who apply.

I think Spike's comment about Hunty is pretty much what we can expect to see when healthcare vouchers ("Personal Health Budgets") eventually cover all treatments, too.

Instead of seeing it as so much chemotherapy received, so much kidney operation received, it'll be £70,000 treatment received.

And we'll start hearing the "She got more than me! Wah! Not fair."

Because of course it's only Fair if the monetary value is the same.

What a ridiculous comment Nilgiri.

Wanting benefits capped to the level that a working person can expect to receive is not the same as wanting people's medical treatments limited if they have needed a lot.