Universal Credit WTF?

[CoolCarrie]

Just watching a young woman who had to wait 6 fucking weeks to get her money, so lost her child's nursery place and her job!

It's a fucking disgrace and hopefully May's own side will rebel

Are you? I'm not (hopeful that is). They're approaching this just like Brexit - hands over ears, post fact, all's well, la la la.....

There was a young woman called Holly Sargent on BBC News last week who was still waiting for her first payment after EIGHT MONTHS.

There was a brilliant poster called Huntycat on MN 5 or 6 years ago who has been proved right.

"...six fucking weeks" is the minimum time lapse between claiming and receiving. This isn't incompetence, it's policy.

bytheMoonlight Sat 17-Mar-12 10:42:19
I think it does include child benfit.

HuntyCat wrote this:

If you have read the Universal Credit Policy Briefing Notes and the Welfare Reform Bill in its entirety, including all amendments, it shows just what a steaming truck-load of shit will rain down on the hard-working but low-paid people that make up the majority of those claiming Tax Credits in just over a year's time.

You are all up in arms about the discrepancies in the Child Benefit thing where a single-earner on £42k will lose Child Benefit - but what about those who will be losing their Child Benefit who earn just £12k for working FT?? No-one has said a murmur about THEM and THEIR children. And it will be the Child Benefit that is lost first when you go over the cap - because Rent help, and help with childcare costs are taken into account FIRST under Universal Credit, then help with basic living costs (that would currently be covered by WTC and CTC). So the Child Benefit will be the last thing added to your benefits, so it will be the thing that you lose when you go over the £26k cap.

I hope that helps some of you to be more informed about WHY some of us on MN are denouncing the Welfare Reform Bill as hurting those who it's aims were to help - the 'hard-working' people that David Cameron promised he would take care of in his election manifesto.

It shocks me that some people think it is a travesty that a couple who have a single earner on £42k will lose their Child Benefit, but it's neither here nor there when a couple with a sole earner on £12k (or even a combined family income of £18k for 1 FT earner, 1 PT earner) loses their Child Benefit.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/brexit/2017/10/woman-no-resources-woman-who-can-t-leave-why-universal-credit-feminist-issue

It’s a horrible, horrible, despicable package. Disgusting. Read an article today about Inverness where they have been trialling it for a year. Seems designed to get people into arrears.

Have a read of this.

www.mirror.co.uk/money/how-could-survive-month-fresh-11362565

Helena, it doesn’t include Child Benefit.
From the gov.uk website:

^Universal Credit will replace the following benefits:

Child Tax Credit
Housing Benefit
Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Working Tax Credit^

I did not realise that at all

Just explained it to dh who is equally flabbergasted

We disagree about the cap but are both agreed that child benefits should not be included...that's ludicrous

It doesn’t include child benefit Rufus - that’s needless & unhelpful scaremongering from other posters.

And now faith has posted and im back to having no idea

Cross post!!

Thats wouldve been shit!!

Now im confused...

To get back to the original post, designing a system where people in poverty have to wait 6 weeks for the first paymennt is either conjoured up by people so out of touch with real life they don't deserve to be anywhere near a position of power of other people's lives - or it's plain evil and designed to make people suffer.

The justification for it is that they pay it in arrears to make it "like work" but loads of people going on to Universal Credit don't get paid monthly in arrears. It doesn't have to be like that, they made it like that.

People are already being made homeless because of this. Who in their right minds would think it a good idea?

Lol Rufus! Crosspost

Universal Credit is, in essence, a good idea - claiming benefits is complicated & a mess in its current form - the fear is always there that you’ll work too many hours or be overpaid & then have to pay it back.

The current system also keeps people in a week-to-week situation with money (for some of the benefits) which is harder to do than a monthly income is, so a monthly universal benefit payment will be more like getting a monthly wage in that respect.

Also, it’s paid in arrears (like wages are) unlike the current benefit system, which is again a better thing as it means when you’re no longer entitled (for whatever reason) you don’t owe money that you’ve been effectively paid in advance.

Unfortunately, to pay a month in arrears it means that people who start a new claim have to wait a month to get the first payment although I’m not entirely sure where the extra 2 weeks comes into it tbh )

Why are poor people being made to shoulder the economic MESS of this hateful government?

How come Theresa May and her hideous cronies able to spout nonsense regarding 6th richest country and their strong economy when folk are SUICIDAL about their debt?

Why.

Why do we keep voting for this shower of shit.

It has been planned like this for years. Long before the last election, or the one before that. It's been in the pubic domain. It's because of the sorry state of our media that this wasn't better known about before the elections.

People keep voting for this shower of shit because our media is mainly propganda for them. People believe the bullshit. And when you call them out on it, they say "well that's why we voted Brexit, you keep calling us stupid". FFS. The people who voted Brexit are going to suffer for their choice along with the rest of us. Regardless of whether you think being in the EU is a good or bad thing - we're not taking back control - we're handing it to this bunch of fucking out of touch imbeciles who are so incompetent or evil they think a 6 week wait for UC is no problem. And they're not even going to keep control - they're they're quickly going to sell the control of this country off to foreign corporates. There are going to be a lot of very disappointed racist Brexiters when they realise what they've done is sell the country off to the rest of the world. Or maybe they won't realise, perhaps the Express, the Mail and the Sun will distract them by whippign up hate of - - whoever.

Why the fuck do people keep voting for them indeed. People are so easily manipulated. I work in marketing, trust me, we all are.

I reckon we should have media education in schools alongside teaching critical thought to help people identify exactly how we are manipulated. The thing is no one likes to admit it, they like to think their ideas and preferences are their own, and that means Murdoch and his ilk - those who want to manipulate us - can carry on unchallenged.

People are so easily manipulated.

We are. As people as VOTING TWATS we are so so soft in our heads. We don't know our own minds.

I know pensioners who have NOTHING who voted for this government. I know working people utterly dependent on the NHS and tax credits who didn't bother voting AT ALL because they think all politicians 'say the same rubbish'.

WTF.

It's an absolute shit storm

"I reckon we should have media education in schools alongside teaching critical thought to help people identify exactly how we are manipulated. The thing is no one likes to admit it, they like to think their ideas and preferences are their own, and that means Murdoch and his ilk - those who want to manipulate us - can carry on unchallenged."

You might be interested to know that in Scotland we do have this type of education. Note how few votes the tories get up here

Op - where have you been?! Even if you don't normally watch the news or read newspapers or read news online or have social media you ARE on mn where there's been TONS of threads about this on here.

The 6 week wait is MINIMUM and its POLICY - ideological not practical.

Most are having to wait around 3 months resulting in as you've been shown, lost childcare places = lost jobs = lost homes

Suicides, poor physical health (inc malnutrition), evictions have sharply increased

Society can only be bent so far before it snaps, and I feel the hands over ears & basic repeat technique approach will be a further catalyst to the ever growing dissent.

The role of social media allows people to protest in unprecedented numbers and ways to protest, hence the farce of the Tory Conference in Manchester.

Can plasters heal critical wounds? - I think not - grow some balls Mrs May & do what is right for this country, we all would respect you more!

You might be interested to know that in Scotland we do have this type of education. Note how few votes the tories get up here

Good point Graphista

We're thinking of bringing the DC up on Scotland as it happens. Not only because there are so few Tories there but it's certainly a plus.

Joking aside I have a feeling of dread and worry about my DC's future that wasn't here a few years ago.

It's been growing since the Tories got back in. I was trying to ignore it but I can't any more. I'm really worried the shit is going to hit the fan. I don't know what it'll be, but this lot don't have the interests of the people at heart. They haven't got a fucking clue.

My thoughts exactly, the Tories day in the sun is waning, I actually do quite like TM, but not the sheer denial of the catastrophe of various policies, and unwillingness to listen, there is strength as a leader (needed for Brexit) and then there is blind stupidity (returning the country to Dickensian Poverty, Health & Services) whilst giving billions away.

I am very very worried for everyone moving onto universal credit. How can anyone wait a minimum of 6 weeks with no money?

May agrees to get rid off 55p a minute helpline, which should have been free in the first place, but full steam ahead with UC despite several warnings about its impact from various sources.

Just like brexit. Full steam ahead despite grave consequences.