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

www.the-pool.com/news-views/opinion/2017/42/frances-ryan-on-universal-credit-and-women-financial-abuse

leftfootforward.org/2017/10/exclusive-people-on-universal-credit-are-being-refused-prescriptions-and-dental-care/

I was considering starting a thread asking if it will be Teri's (TM) poll tax. But there's not enough outrage yet!

Another interesting article

www.redpepper.org.uk/universal-credit-isnt-about-saving-money-its-about-disciplining-unemployed-people/

This thread has opened my eyes.

Can I ask (a possibly stupid!) question?

If you already claim and are passed over to UC do you have to reapply and then also wait for 6 weeks? Or will the payment just suddenly become a 4 weekly UC credit payment?

Re. prescriptions.

You have to tick box for JSA or you risk a fine. But you also have to have no earnings or earnings below £435 in previous month (£935 if a parent). And that is EARNINGS not income

Watch Daniel Blake. It's all there. It's absolutely disgusting.

Also watch Broken.

Well if we have no money, we can't eat.
Can't eat, we can't live.
Kill us off and suddenly less people to claim benefits.

Does anyone remember the documentary from a few years ago where an MP (or someone) lived on the breadline for a week/month? She said it was easy to do. But then it was pointed out she was living off her prestocked freezer.
I think this shows the same amount of naivety from those in power

Wrt free prescriptions & dental care, you get issued a card to show you’re entitled.

My replacement arrived today automatically, before it runs out; no re-applying etc reqd.

I agree there are problems with the implementation of UC, but there really is a lot of unhelpful & untrue scaremongering going on.

Faith my post of 21.42 was copied and pasted from a UC advisor.

I really do hate it when people who haven't been badly affected by the shitshow that is UC, dismiss other peoples' suffering as 'scaremongering'. No, it's just the truth. It just hasn't happened to you. We need to talk about it regardless!

I urge you all to join the group Universal Credit Survival on Facebook. I joined in preparation for our area's rollout. I'm terrified. We're literally gathering supplies like squirrels, putting money, kids' clothes and food by for when we're transferred over.

It's a complete shower of shite!

That phrase 'disciplining poor people' is 100% it.

The idea is, you wait six weeks for money, you can't pay your bills, you panic, you take any job you can possibly get, hey presto you're employed and isn't that better for you. Aren't you glad we made you that stressed?

That is literally the logic.

And if you're working part time and still getting UC, it won't really be enough (not as much as you'd've got before) but it's more than you'd have if you were unemployed so that's still motivation to work and if you want a better wage work more.

Unfortuantely that one complete misses the idea that there are COSTS to having a job, eg childcare fees above what you can get funded, transport costs (especially if you have to run a car) etc which can still mean it's not financially viable to work without a significant credit to go with your wages.

I don't want to say, we bloody told you so. But this was ALL in the welfare reform bill from 2011 and people on MN and loads of other people tried to get the word out, and no one would fucking listen. Even the left wing papers weren't interested in printing stories about it most of the time.

Please, please, email or write to your MP and tell them that you're worried and what are they going to do (not just for specific families but for everyone).

Whirlwind I remember those threads well. Many MNers tried really hard to draw attention and got pooh poohed and told to stop scaremongering.

I dont think its scaremongering..........................................................................................

twitter.com/blueannoyed/status/921416645553385472

What do a government privately educated and from wealthy backgrounds know about the day to day struggle that is life?

Huntycat/Cardymow wrote reams and reams on this. She had health problems Wherever she is now i hope shes ok.

Is everyone going to be switched from tax credits during 2018, or is it just new claimants and those with changing circumstances?

Just new claimants and changing circumstances scrabbler.

For people who are on (for eg CTC) already, the changeover isn’t happening until 2019 at the earliest.

I really do hate it when people who haven't been badly affected by the shitshow that is UC, dismiss other peoples' suffering as 'scaremongering'. No, it's just the truth. It just hasn't happened to you. We need to talk about it regardless!

When I said some people were scaremongering, I was referring specifically to the notion that people will face problems with obtaining free prescriptions/dental care. This is false: I get this due to extremely low income & I have a card issued automatically every few months.
I also said that about the post that claimed child benefit was included in UC (it isn’t).

I at no point said that ‘dismissed other people’s suffering as scaremongering’.

I don't want to say, we bloody told you so. But this was ALL in the welfare reform bill from 2011 and people on MN and loads of other people tried to get the word out, and no one would fucking listen. Even the left wing papers weren't interested in printing stories about it most of the time.

Agree with this. I wasn't on mumsnet then but was on another talk forum and it was the same there.

People didn't get the tax credits thing or the part time work thing. They thought it wouldn't affect them.

Everyone on anything this govt deems a benefit (and I don't put it past them to change the rules to inc child benefit) is to be changed over by 2019 April I think.

It's GRADUALLY being phased in now and already people are waiting over 6 MONTHS to get a penny, the 6 weeks is MINIMUM and is policy not practicality.

If you work less than or earn less than 35hrs nmw you have to prove you are looking for more hours/better pay within 90 mins commute each way (calculated by car not public transport), regardless of childcare or other caring responsibilities BUT you don't get money to cover the commute for childcare purposes.

It's a fucking mess!

There are v few MP's (of any colour) that have ever experienced anything approaching hardship. Majority are privately educated and privately wealthy, none of this will ever affect them.

I believe the gradual rollout ISN'T to fix mistakes BUT so that there aren't huge numbers of people across the country facing the shit storm at the same time and causing an uprising - which is exactly what happened with the poll tax - they're not daft!

Faith the prescription/optician/dentistry issue IS affecting people because not all pharmacists/opticians/dentists have been properly informed of how the new system works and so people ARE being denied treatment they are entitled to receive for free.

Faith there are people in UCS fb group who have been slapped with a £50 prescription fine from Caernarvon House because its so bloody complicated and the system cant keep up.

Graphista it's 2022 that the the roll out will be completed. Current tax credits claimants will start in 2019.
Most likely it will be later than 2022.