Just been on a course about new benefit system

[buggyRunner]

Christ it's a big shake up.

I say this as someone who won't be personally affected- it is harsh.

Basically if you claim any benefits other than child benefit you're probably going to have a loss.

[me23]

What I don't get is have they can say 2 children have to share regardless of size of the room? I don't receive hb but hypothetically if I did it wouldn't be possible for 2 people to fit into my 2nd bedroom which is a box room not even 6ft wide with slanted ceilings so cannot fit bunk beds it is physically impossible. What about people in the same situation?

[buggyRunner]

Doesn't matter- if it's classed as a bedroom they have to share.

[HaitchJay]

I was told the same as buggy regarding losing part of HB so you'd be making up more.

me I'm working with a family in a house like yours at the moment. Housing class it as a half room yet expect two to share.

[buggyRunner]

I work in supported accommodation for a housing association (hence the training) btw

Also all claims have to be submitted over the Internet, without exception.

I would say ok use the library- but aren't a lot of them closing

[Scarredbutnotbroken]

Any idea about CTC? I don't get anything else apart from CB but CTC for me is £600 a month and pays mu child are etc. I am a lone parent.

[Scarredbutnotbroken]

I work with young homeless people - I knew about the claims changing and the bedroom
Thing. It's making it do difficult for our young mums to get social housing because now they are the same need as a family with 2 kids up to 16!! Plus LHA has dropped off.

[talkingnonsense]

I can see where they're coming from with the spare room thing- we have had threads on here where people can't get a 3 bed because none are available, but they are occupied by one person ( only applies to council/ social housing I suppose). But the dla thing is awful, why waste all that money reassessing when the rate of fraud is so low? Mind you I think it costs more to administer the cut in cb for high earners than it saves, so where was the logic in that?

[PlentyOfPubeGardens]

There are so many changes coming from so many different directions. It must be useful to get an overview. Can you point us at any useful resources, buggyRunner?

[CuriousMama]

When I was on IT and HB I couldn't have a spare room. Also HB paid into bank acc.

[SerialKipper]

All claims over the internet? Surely that breaches the Equality Act because there will be people who can't access it because of disability?

Not that the DWP would care mind, they've been in breach of the Equality Act for years, summoning disabled people to mandatory interviews, under threat of removing benefits, at Jobcentres that aren't wheelchair accessible...

[niceguy2]

But the dla thing is awful, why waste all that money reassessing when the rate of fraud is so low?

The unspoken truth (and I wish the govt would have the balls to just admit it) is that DLA is available to too many people and in the current climate needs to be cut. Ditto with IB

I have a friend who receives DLA for her daughter who has an nut allergy. Now of course I understand that she will have extra expenses etc as a result and it is a real shame that she has this. But at the same time we have to ask ourselves if we can still afford to give money to people for such conditions (and many more). The pot of money isn't endless and tough choices have to be made. I'm just glad I don't have to be the one to draw the line.

Similarly I have a friend who until recently was claiming IB and is now being moved to ESA. A young guy with back problems. Medically he does have back problems so him claiming would not be classed as fraud. But at the same time it doesn't stop him from volunteering at schools full days, having sex, paintballing and he even did a 8 mile walk with me. In my book he can and should be looking for work. Suitable work nonetheless but he can & should be working. At the age of 24 we shouldn't be saying to him "Here's some money....don't bother working anymore"

Oh and that's before another guy I know (not really a friend) who had a work accident resulting in him having to claim IB. Again back problems as well as now reckons he has photosensitive epilepsy yet happily uses flash on his camera all day and has even bought himself a professional flash system. Again I doubt he'd be classed as fraud even though in my mind it almost certainly is.

My point is that the fraud rate is so low because the reasons for claiming are so wide. It's right that the government are tightening up the rules. The hard part is coming up with a fair system to separate the genuine from the workshy. Because I bet each of those examples above would be unequivocally sure that their claim was 'genuine'.

[SerialKipper]

"I have a friend who receives DLA for her daughter who has an nut allergy."

Sorry, don't believe you.

I know the tests for DLA. Unless she has an awful lot more than that going on, she simply won't get it. And she may indeed have a lot more going on, and you just don't know about it.

[Scarredbutnotbroken]

I work with kids who have a disability who are on care orders. They qualify for a specialist carer who has to be available full time and costs the LA thousands. These young people are also entitled to DLA. I don't begrudge them anything but DLA is either for cars or mobility or both - these needs are met by the highly paid carer already - why double up?

I also have families where one partner cars for the other but does not make the threshold for carers allowance - then they need to look for work in my opinion. I don't know when I became such a Tory. Sorry

[CuriousMama]

I thought DLA was for living and mobility for cars etc..?

[Scarredbutnotbroken]

DLA has 2 elements; card and mobility. Each has 3 tiers depending on assessed need.

[SerialKipper]

DLA is indeed for living care and mobility.

The first thing the local council said to me when I asked about social care was, "Have you applied for DLA?"

I was told to apply for DLA first, then if I still had needs that weren't being met to ask the council again and I'd be assessed separately by their team.

This "two agencies" thing is where both gaps and overlaps can happen, and is one of the very few places where there is a genuine need to reform DLA. But even then the "reform" just consists of getting the agencies to co-ordinate. I'm not sure, but iiuc some councils already charge service users the amount of the care DLA; others iiuc don't.

[helpyourself]

buggyRunner what course did you go on? The changes have big implications for my work (employment advisor for a charity) and I'm applying for a new job within the organisation. Without wanting to sound cynical I could do with a heads up. Thank you!

[GossipWitch]

back to the housing thing, do they expect you to put 3 children of the same sex in one bedroom too? i have a 10 year old ds a 6yr old sds at weekends and a 3 year old ds but we would eventually like to move in together but lack the room for a third bed in bedroom

[ASillyPhaseIAmGoingThrough]

What an interesting thread. I get cb, ctc and dla, so won't be badly effected.

[niceguy2]

@Serialkipper. Well that's what she tells me. I couldn't really believe it either but apparently so. Not sure what she's actually told them. She could of course be embellishing the truth a bit?

[garlicbutter]

These changes were announced last year. I can't believe the extent to which they've been totally ignored by the mainstream media.

This is what we were all frothing about - our blog's fallen into disuse now, but the info and rants are still there.

I received advice about the 'bedroom tax' from my LA in February. My HB has already been cut and will go down again next April. I have one spare room and a private landlord.

[SerialKipper]

ASilly you may lose your DLA.

The intention is to rename it PIP and cut the bill by 20%. They plan to do this by changing the thresholds for qualifying - eg one mooted change, again iirc, was that people who go 200 m in a powerchair didn't need PIP because they clearly no longer have mobility difficulties...

(I think that one may have been dropped after it was pointed out that the DLA often pays for the frigging powerchair...)

[SerialKipper]

niceguy, maybe she just doesn't discuss the full medical situation with you? Given the attitudes you're not at all shy about displaying on MN, you wouldn't be my first choice for a confidant.

I mean, "now reckons he has photosensitive epilepsy"? Yes, because that'll be something he's self-diagnosed, won't it? Not been told by his neurologist. And how great that he can do some photography on days when he's well - which presumably doesn't involve looking at the flash as it goes off and certainly not multiple repeated flashes. But actually I don't know what his condition-management strategy is - and neither do you.

[ASillyPhaseIAmGoingThrough]

I know, I warned my friend recently, as her whole life relies on benefits. Her Dh is dla for life, she on goodness knows what since she gave up work and sold her house, no equity left. Her kids over income support level, she seemed to think she won't be effected.

[garlicbutter]

Niceguy, of course she hasn't got DLA for a nut allergy! She may have a nut allergy but, if she's got an allowance, she also has a more serious condition.
Have a look at the DLA Child application form.

Here's the eligibility checklist and the
adult application form
... and for the people who tell me I get "loads of money" for a lower-rate mobility condition, here are the current rates.

The PIP criteria will be narrower, and the DWP has been open from the start that its objective is to reduce the disability budget by 20%.