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?

HuntyCat, I had a closer look at the age-based figures - you're right you can generally trace people from group to group. E.g., the 122,000 DLA claimants in the 11-17 groups in 2002 become 134,000 in the 18-24 group in 2009. Which is a rise of 10% over the period, which, while significant, doesn't seem as ridiculous as the 65% rise between 18-24 in 2002 and 2009.

There appears to be a bit of a 'bulge' in claimants at some points. The 30-34 group peaked at 110,000 in November 2003, and in 11/2008, the 35-39 group peaks at 152,000. Presumably there was some policy change, at some point in the past, that particularly affected this group, as the number of claimants aged 30-34 actually fell 10% from 2003 to 2008, though it has since risen again. It could have happened 20 years earlier, I suppose.

Governments use sickness benefits to hide unemployment so they can wow us with their excellent management of the ecomony......

now they want to wow us by reducing the same figure.

Sorry. I'll try to stop shouting now. Maybe take a break from this thread for a bit!

Have fun proving that Tilly. Do you know how strict the rules are to get disability benefits?

Actually Hunty I didn't think you were shouting at all - I thought you were using caps for EMPHASIS, the same way that I do - I'm not very impressed that the level of debate has dropped to "stop shouting".

I think your posts make for uncomfortable reading and should be there for people to see the realities behind the statistics.

TeWihara - its commonly accepted. it was a way of hiding the unemployment caused by closing the mines etc in the 1980s.

the rules have become stricter recently, becausse the govt want to reduce the figures.

It might be commonly accepted by you, but I think you'll find disabled people don't agree.

I think what gets me about all this is how misleading it is. Somebody on the average wage who was deemed to have high needs (large numbers of children in a high rent area) would be in the receipt of a top up in work benefits (housing benefits, tax credits and the like) so will still be substantively better off than someone receiving a sum total of £26,000 in benefits.

"Hidden unemployment is still quite significant in areas such as South Wales where a lot of ex-miners survive on sickness benefit. "

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3514549.stm

this was just the first thing i found....

Being disabled and recieving (some kinds of) sickness benefits doesn't mean you can't work.

i am taking about governments seeking their own advantage by hiding unemplyment, not whether someone can work or not.

Shirley, I'm on side and certainly have not asked Hunty to stop shouting simply to win an argument that I am not having. I am not in this argument, I am stating my own position and then I suggested a few things to Hunty.
I saw it as shouting, but apologies if I misunderstood.

However don't try to involve me in any argument or try to implicate that I wanted to stop Hunty's pov. Read my posts and you can clearly see this is not the case.

Perhaps they do and perhaps they don't, I'm sure there is manipulation of figures to some extent.

But it's not done by signing healthy people over to disability benefits, which are as I say, extremely difficult to get, so difficult that in order to cut the number of people claiming they have started taking the rather bonkers attitude that if you can self-propel your wheelchair that's the same as being able to walk, right? And other interesting total bollocks claims.

i am talking about the 1980's and it was used to park people not help them.

Not ATOS.

Yes I know, I have no idea what the criteria was in the 80s, but they will have all been reassessed since then, so it's not really relevant.

I'm really confused by all this.
My DP earns 15k. I get carers allowance, child benefit and ctc. My oldest two kids get hr dla. I get some hb and council rebate.
Does this mean that my benefits will be capped to 11k? I'm still going to have the extra costs relating to two disabled kids.
Can someone explain in simple terms please

^I am very sorry for your loss.

But the cuts aren't supposed to affect you as you are working. If you lost your job you would have six months to find a new one before the cap sets in. If you couldn't find a new job in that area you would have to look elsewhere and move. Thats just the same as if you weren't on benefits.

Also I'm not sure why moving would mean you would have to stop working? You would have to use childcare instead of family perhaps, but that is the reality for most people.

I think I need to go off and have a think. This is all making me into someone I dont' like. I dont' WANT to be snippy about people. But it all seems so unfair and stupid.^

Hi Spike It affects me because I am in temp housing - the council want half as I'm in a council block and the Housing Assc want half as they manage the flat so my rent is £500pw. If I was in a perm flat I would pay about £150 pw which I could manage. I'm in temp housing because after my partner died I had a difficult pregnancy and had a lot of time off work through grief and illness and was eventually made redundant. I was also evicted from my flat because my LL wanted to sell up. (Not a good year) so I had to turn to the council. So I went from a lovely 2 bed flat and garden earning £40k to single mum on benefits in B and B in a space of 6 months.

If I had to move to a cheaper area away from family and friends I would have to earn shed loads of money to afford cc for 2 children. My job in London pays 12k what would it pay o/s London? I couldn't afford rent and childcare on a salary of 10k. I can't afford cc now which is why when my dds is ill my mum or friend can look after them - if I need to work longer hours I can do that all I have to do is phone a friend last minute to arrange - I couldn't do that if they were not close by.

Please everyone knocking benefit claimants - I was living the perfect life - lovely man 2 gorgeous girls, a good job, car, holidays we had everything....until a drunk killed my beautiful partner and my life changed from that moment. it could happen to anyone of you a split second that will turn your lives upside down and then you too will be needing all te help and support you can find. I never thought I would be here and I can't stop crying I'm so scared, and damn it yes I feel bloody sorry for myself and my beautiful girls who soon may be torn away from loved ones like their father was torn away from them......Please stop and spare a thought for the real people here - not the figures.

Tea break over again - back to work so dry me tears and soldier on....

That's so 1980s, Tilly. Doncha know these days it's going the other way and the politicians are relabelling the disabled as unemployed?

Cos being unemployed's a result of personal moral terpitude and can safely be stigmatised. (Job losses being more distributed at the mo, unlike the 80s mass closures of heavy industry.)

£26000

£13200 to the Landlord

£1950 council tax benefit times 12

1065 free school dinners £7.10 a day.

Eletric £1040

gas £1040

Water £720

outgoings of £17950

£375 add in dinners for ds1 at collage consertive £2.50 a day

£240add in his top of £8 bus fares

rent top of £1200 a year

someone ele can checik as doing on paper but ima round £21515

no i have not addd CB to it becuase thats include din teh cap I cna not have more than £26000 in benfits including CB

o infact thats quite scary what have left from £26000

now divide that by 52 weeks a year £4485 -£86 to feed and clothe us all

TeWihara
or retired before? if you were 35 in 1980 you would be in your late 60s now

Nilgiri
yes now they are reversing it - because it suits govt - i am not commenting on anyone claiming disability benefits now or then but i am commenting on how govt spins it

...yes? But sickness benefits have been changed between the 80s and now. Labour made changes in fact with Work Capability Assesments.

These rents are truly shocking.

£500 a week for a flat? Someone is making a huge profit out of that and the tax payer is paying for it.

I do agree though that the govt/councils must build low cost affordable housing for people.

Work Capability Assesments came in 2008.