A million WORKING adults face benefits cuts next year.

[Darkesteyeswithflecksofgold]

If they cant find additional hours or higher wages they will have to do direct mandatory activity.

www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/oct/04/million-working-adults-benefits-cuts?CMP=twt_fd

I think it's not black and white. There are many people who need the support of benefits but there are also many who rely on benefits to supplement their incomes rather than earning more through work.

The thing is most of us on Mumsnet are a certain demographic: mainly women, most have children, a high proportion have young children. One of the biggest issues is the cost of childcare: what you earn as the minimum wage after tax and NI should always be more than the cost of childcare in my opinion. Other countries such as France can fund childcare properly.

It also varies massively on where you live. I have trouble with many people in London and the South East who say they can't find work. Other parts of the country are seriously short of work and it's no coincidence that they've chosen a deprived area of the NW to pilot it in (coincidentally a Labour stronghold). If they really wanted to test the model, they should pilot it somewhere like Woking.

I do agree with other posters though that this is largely ideological, wish they'd target tax evasion first.

Just heard on the news that 53 pc of people now take more from the state than they put in. 47 pc put in more, only 20 pc put in significantly more

Where are these statistics from? Are pensioners included? Does the "taking more than they put in" refer to contributions made over a lifetime or just to the person's current level of national insurance/tax etc?

Well I cannot increase my hours at work, most jobs advertised here are part time and I cannot take them as the hours do not fit into childcare hours and I have nobody to have dd for me, so I am very worried as to what I am supposed to do.

My DH works 37.5 hrs and I work 19.5 hrs - hoping won't be any changes for us ? Are those working over 16 hrs per week going to be left to get on with it in peace ? Mornings in a pre-school plus looking after my family is more than enough to handle thanks ! Not everyone who works P/T is looking for F/T hours ... even if they were available for everyone ! P/T ers make a significant contribution. Our work should be valued too

Diana, it was on the BBC, Radio Five. Yes it does include pensioners which will certainly explain some of it. I believe it's current balance sheet income - outgoings.

MrsSalvo -think targetting tax evasion before worrying about massing around with the income of vulnerable people.

messing

err - it is not either or - both should be addressed - this thread is discussing benefits - if you want to discuss something else, how about starting a thread on that subject?

is there going to be an election before this kicks in? i saw DC on the news yesterday saying there would be more cuts after the next election.

And not everyone on benefits vulnerable - if you hijack the 'v' word for whatever suits your purpose, you are harming those who really are vulnerable.

Sorry juggling - no peace for you I am afraid-unless you stop claiming UC you could be potentially hounded from job to job until you reach the level of £812 per week the equivalent of working full time at min wage level. However, you will probs be ok because you will be afforded transition protection - just dont go making changes AFTER October 2013.....

MrsSalvo thank you for your suggestion but no my points are directly relevent and I will continu to make them..

Vicar - the next election must be within 3 years (they came to power in 2010) so in 2015 or before

Universal credit being trailed in NE next April 2012 with the view that it will go to new claiments in October 2013 then rolled out for everyone else over the following three years up to 2017

Ike I suspect a typo there! :)

Don't you mean something more like £218?

I certainly considered myself vulnerable when I was left alone with little children and no obvious income and many people will be left vulnerable without access to a decent standard of living because of UC...perhaps you would like to volunteer you sevices to CAB see what the mess is going to be made of out welfare benefits system. I am going to be spending any spare time doing just that.

Well to be absolutely accurate from the OPs original article £212.80 pw.

Soz lol yes there may have been a very minor over calculation!!!

All that will happen with this is that more people will go on the dole - it's impossible to live, pay rent, pay bills etc if you are working on a low wage part-time without an income top-up. So expect to see yet more people unemployed and the welfare bill to rocket.

Diana2000 The statistics come from the Centre for Policy Studies, and the vast majority of those households are pensioners.

time to vote with the feet then?

if this lot get back in after all this then we have the government we deserve.

Bloody didnt vote for these buggers! lol

Can't wait until the bastards are voted out.
Its all very well making cuts but taking it on the poor really takes the biscuit!
Having just gone on Jsa myself i can tell you it's not good money!-we keep a roof over our heads, pay our bills, eat ok enough but i wouldn't want to stay on benefits but with hardly any full time jobs out there in my area, the future looks bleak!

Not only that they have chose to pick on large families on benefits.
Well Mr Dick Head, i had my 4 dcs whilst my dh was in a Full-time secure job with decent wages.
Is it our fault he was made redundant?- so now MY family have to suffer because we didn't have a crystal ball when we concieved our very much loved family!

Thanks very much, 3 more years of this crap goverment

I have doubts about who will be voted in next time as we never voted this lot in last time as no party got a majority

We got the coalition we deserved - there are more party's out there and if we choose we could vote them in and make them main stream and let them lead us and lead the country.

Thats the problem thought, most work is part-time & if you don't do atleast 24 hrs you get no working Tax credit anyway.
But in my area atleast 95% of the jobs on offer are either 8-20 hr jobs or temporary.
Now my dh is redundant i know how bad the job market is.

It's all very well critising those who work part-time but that is mostly whats on offer.
If my dh got a full-time permenant job tomorrow i would jump for joy but with so little to actually apply for he still has no job.
People are applying in droves for full-time so much so my dh hasn't even had one interview yet.