Is the cap on welfare - well, fair?

[Notsoyummymummy1]

A £500 a week cap on the total number of benefits that households can received (not including disability benefits) is being rolled out today across the UK. The cap applies to parents and single parents whereas single childless people get just £350 a week. So basically you're better off living separately from your partner rather than living together! It's supposed to be motivating people to get back to work but it still doesn't deal with the problem of the lack of jobs, the cost of childcare and the fact that £500 goes a lot further in some places than others. It just seems to imply that most people are on benefits as a lifestyle choice when it's not the case - people are usually on benefits as a last resort and lots of families are going to seriously struggle now.

That's not being provided by benefits though, is it, sonly?

If they really do have those things, either they're on the fiddle, or things like the laptops are gifts from grandparents, etc.

And they must have a very unusual landlord to provide a top of the range kitchen for bottom of the range rent, which is all the family will get in housing benefit. Maybe you just meant "new kitchen to replace 1970s one"?

I visited her house with a friend one who is a nurse her husband is a builder with his own company she said to me she's got the kitchen I wanted but couldn't afford!

parsing from what I've read, £26k is the average wage of a working family. I believe the average working wage is around £21k.

Implementing principles is always where it gets tricky, I agree. The definition of people with disabilities who are excluded should be wider, and carers should also be excluded.

I don't agree that the larger a household, the less reason there is for the adults to work.

That's the swings and roundabouts of buying vs renting, regardless who's paying the rent.

But if it's any consolation, many renters get very poor conditions as well as not being able to build capital in the property.

I beg your pardon, Queen, yes, 26K is median family wage for working families. But not median family income, which is higher for working families.

I'm not suggesting adults in large households have less reason to work. I'm suggesting people who are unable to work because of disability (of themselves or someone they're caring for) are more likely to form larger households - adult children living with parents, granny living in the household, etc.

The exemptions for disability are very narrow, so I'd expect the cap to affect these people.