General Discussion

Do working people think that all people on benefits NEVER worked. That they have always spent their life on benefits. REALLY? Well there are highly qualified people on benefits. There are people who have paid their taxes for years. People who have paid into the system so that other people don't starve and have support. Hard-working people. Then one day something happened that turned their lives upside down. A road accident, an illness, depression, an elderly relative getting sick that they had to look after, were made redundant, etc..

 

NO-ONE can guarantee they won't be in this situation themselves one day. Can you? If you can't then stop and think for just one minute about where that help will be when you need it and think about whether you were right voting for any government that only wants to take this support away from you. You are voting against the help you may just need yourself tomorrow.

You or a member of your family may be in receipt of one of the benefits listed below already even though you are "working" but getting paid such a low amount that your money is supplemented.

 

Society has been conditioned, people have been brainwashed into believing and buying into, quite literally, a material world. This alters the way people think. Nowadays you need the best phone, the best computer, Sky TV, a HDTV, a nice car, a big music collection, a tablet, a nice house, at least one holiday abroad a year and nights out at fancy restaurants. To fund this you need to work 9-5, five days a week for 40 years. This mindset makes people care less about the suffering in the rest of humanity and more about the pound in their pocket. Once you do that the hard work is done. Tell the people that you will benefit only "hard working people" and they will back you.

 

Fine if you can guarantee you or your family will NEVER need the help yourself. One day you may just find yourself on the bottom rung of the ladder too through no fault of your own. The austerity marchers are not just marching for themselves, they are marching for the YOU of tomorrow.

 

There are many forms of benefit .. for both employed and unemplyed people (see below) all of which you may just need one day or already be in receipt of. They are all classed as "welfare" and as such when you vote for or talk about austerity cuts it means all of these benefits and cuts to public services.

 

FOR your information and to put you straight about the lie that people are getting more money on benefits than working people, here's what you presently get before the cuts in July 2015. Could you live on it or, indeed, CHOOSE to live on it:-
 

Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) (looking for work)

Contribution-based JSA (i.e. if you have previously worked)

Age	JSA weekly amount
18 to 24	up to £57.90 (£3010.80 per year)
25 or over	up to £73.10 (£3801.20 per year)

You’ll get contribution-based JSA if you’ve paid enough Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) in the 2 tax years before the benefit year you’re claiming in. A benefit year runs from the first Sunday in January to the Saturday before the first Sunday in January of the next year.

That means you must have:

·                                 worked for 26 weeks in one of these years earning at least the lower earnings limit for that tax year

·                                 paid class 1 contributions or received National Insurance credits in both of those tax years that amount to 50 times the lower earnings limit

£ per week	2012 to 2013	2013 to 2014	2014 to 2015	2015 to 2016
Lower earnings limit, primary Class 1	£107	£109	£111	£112

Income-based JSA - (i.e. if you have not worked previously)

Age	JSA weekly amount
18 to 24	£57.90 (£3010.80 per year)
25 or over	£73.10 (£3801.20 per year)
Couples (both aged over 18)	£114.85 (£5972.20 per year)

You’ll get income-based JSA if one of the following applies:

·                                 you were paid less than £153 per week on average when you were employed over the last 2 years

·                                 you’ve been claiming contribution-based JSA for over 182 days

·                                 you haven’t worked over the last 2 years

 

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) (i.e. Sick)

Financial support

You’ll normally get the assessment rate for 13 weeks after your claim. This will be:

·                                 up to £57.90 a week if you’re aged under 25

·                                 up to £73.10 a week if you’re aged 25 or over

After that, if you’re entitled to ESA, you’ll be placed in one of 2 groups and will receive:

·                                 up to £102.15 a week if you’re in the work-related activity group (£5311.80 per year)

·                                 up to £109.30 a week if you’re in the support group ie. cannot work due to ill health, for which you will have to have a medical assessment (£5683.60 per year)

If you’re in the support group and on income-related ESA, you’re also entitled to the Enhanced Disability Premium at £15.75 a week.

 

The following benefits people in work can claim - all of which come under the term "benefit" :-

 

Benefits for families

·                                 Apply for free school meals

·                                 Benefits calculators

·                                 Care to Learn

·                                 Carer's Credit

·                                 Child Trust Fund

·                                 Childcare Grant

·                                 Claim if you were injured while serving in the armed forces

·                                 Contact Sure Start

·                                 Guardian's Allowance

·                                 Healthy Start

·                                 Maternity Allowance

·                                 Maternity pay and leave

·                                 Parents' Learning Allowance

·                                 Sure Start Maternity Grant

 

 

Child Benefit

·                                 Child Benefit complaints

·                                 Child Benefit for children in hospital or care

·                                 Child Benefit if a child or parent dies

·                                 Child Benefit if you leave the UK

·                                 Child Benefit if you move to the UK

·                                 Child Benefit if your child lives with someone else

·                                 Child Benefit number and proof you qualify

·                                 Child Benefit payment dates

·                                 Child Benefit rates

·                                 Child Benefit tax calculator

·                                 Child Benefit when your child turns 16

·                                 Claim Child Benefit

·                                 Claim and deal with Child Benefit for someone else

·                                 Contact the Child Benefit Office

·                                 Guardian's Allowance

·                                 High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge

·                                 Repay Child Benefit overpayments

·                                 Report changes that affect your Child Benefit

 

 

Tax credits

·                                 Changes that affect your tax credits

·                                 Child Tax Credit

·                                 Child Tax Credit when your child reaches 16

·                                 Childcare vouchers: better off calculator

·                                 Claiming and dealing with tax credits for someone else

·                                 Correct a mistake on your tax credits claim form

·                                 Find out if you qualify for tax credits

·                                 How tax credits and other benefits affect each other

·                                 How to claim tax credits

·                                 How to renew tax credits

·                                 Renew your tax credits online

·                                 Tax credits calculator

·                                 Tax credits checks

·                                 Tax credits if you have a baby

·                                 Tax credits if you leave or move to the UK

·                                 Tax credits overpayments

·                                 Tax credits: appeals and complaints

·                                 Tax credits: working out your childcare costs

·                                 Tax credits: your payment dates

·                                 Working Tax Credit

 

Heating and housing benefits

·                                 Appeal a Housing Benefit decision

·                                 Apply for Council Tax Reduction

·                                 Cold Weather Payment

·                                 Complain about the Green Deal

·                                 Council Tax Reduction

·                                 Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)

·                                 Find energy grants and ways to improve your energy efficiency

·                                 Get a free or discounted TV licence

·                                 Green Deal: energy saving for your home

·                                 Help from your energy supplier: the Energy Company Obligation

·                                 Help paying bills using your benefits

·                                 Housing Benefit

·                                 Housing Benefit information from your council

·                                 National Concessionary Fuel Scheme

·                                 Non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)

·                                 Register as a biomass supplier

·                                 Renewable Heat Incentive calculator

·                                 Renewable Heat Premium Payment

·                                 The Warm Home Discount Scheme

·                                 Warm Front Helpline

·                                 Warm Front Scheme

·                                 Winter Fuel Payment

 

Death and benefits

·                                 Benefits calculators

·                                 Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow's Pension)

·                                 Bereavement Payment

·                                 Child Benefit if a child or parent dies

·                                 Funeral Payments

·                                 Guardian's Allowance

·                                 War Widow(er) Pension

·                                 Widowed Parent's Allowance

·                                 Your benefits, tax and pension after the death of a spouse

 

Carers and disability benefits

·                                 Access to Work

·                                 Apply for Carer's Allowance

·                                 Attendance Allowance

·                                 Become an appointee for someone claiming benefits

·                                 Benefit enquiry line

·                                 Benefits calculators

·                                 Blind Person's Allowance

·                                 Carer's Allowance

·                                 Carer's Allowance: report changes

·                                 Carer's Credit

·                                 Carers UK

·                                 Check how Personal Independence Payment (PIP) affects you

·                                 Coal health compensation claims

·                                 Complain about the Disability and Carers Service

·                                 Complain to the Independent Case Examiner

·                                 Contact the Carer's Allowance Unit

·                                 Disability Benefits Centre

·                                 Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for adults

·                                 Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children

·                                 Disability Living Allowance (DLA) rates

·                                 Disability premiums (Income Support)

·                                 Disabled Facilities Grants

·                                 Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)

·                                 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

·                                 Financial help if you're disabled

·                                 Find out about changes to care and support

·                                 Help if you have a disabled child

·                                 Incapacity Benefit

·                                 Income Support

·                                 Independent Living Fund

·                                 Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

·                                 Reduced Earnings Allowance

·                                 Severe Disablement Allowance

·                                 Vaccine Damage Payment

·                                 What to do if you become disabled

·                                 Work Choice

 

 

You can check on all this information at https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits

Maybe burnside, Paul and wondering will check all this info out and realise what these cuts mean to what is a very low amount of income, but I wont hold my breath !!!!

We have been here over and over they don't even believe the goverments own figures, so unemployment benifit is 0.9% of goverment spending the same as Foreign Aid. Housing Benifit takes 4.2% and most claiming this are in work, Tax Credits take 4.4% again most are in work and now comes the rub PENSIONS FOR FOLK LIKE ME 16.5%. So the question is why don't they cut pensions well we all know why because a large proportion of torie voters are retired and all hell would be let loose.  They could cut Foreign Aid and save the total amount spent on unemployment in one go charity starts at home comes to mind.

I thought the idea was to cut benefits but also cut income tax for low earners so that those on WTC shouldn't be disadvantaged?

 

As Cameron said, the situation as is (i.e. to take with one hand whilst giving with the other) is pretty ludicrous. 

 

I may be reading this all wrong though so put me right if I am.

To be honest I am totally fed up with wasting my breath trying to warn and educate people just what is in store.

 

I have come to learn that people only want to take their head out of the sand when it is forced out and they too find themselves in need of help, or something they rely on is no longer there.  

Over the coming months it will be very interesting to see just how many people, who never thought they themselves would be affected by these austerity cuts, find themselves without money or a service. The moaning has already started about things like grass verges not being cut because the funding to local government (Devon County Council & Teignbridge DC) has been severely cut and we are less than 2 months into this government. Just wait until the emergency budget is announced in July and then the normal budgets to come.

My intention with the original post above was to just try one last time to get people to actually sit down and think what these cuts mean and will mean without drawing on the biased information in newspapers or TV.  Think how it will affect you or a family member.  See that the amont of money you get in benefits is NOT a lifestyle to be envied.  Find out ALL the things that austerity cuts will affect. If you don't know the answer to questions, there is plenty of information on google.  

There are also plenty of sites that will try to help you should you find yourself in need of help or information. They may be especially important if you lose your working tax credit, child benefits, housing benefit, carers allowance, etc..

http://www.benefitanswers.co.uk/
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/
http://www.adviceuk.org.uk/benefits-advice/

If you are risk of losing your home:- 
http://www.shelter.org.uk/

 

I hope some of this information helps.

@ Huw with the best will in the world that will not equate
 unless the tax bracket is drastically increased. Most people in this part of the world are on minimum wage and pay little or no tax now

The solution to in work benifits is simple increase wages to £15.86p per hour that will take everyone out of in work benifits now thats what Cameron was hinting about last night will it happen my thoughts probably not he will upset to many of his torie mates. 

I think Ive seen the living wage needs to be £11 per hour that would mean somebody working 40 hrs per week would give somebody a realistic £1906 per month to keep a family on. That is just about below the benefits cap of £23000 a year,so no need for in work benefits then.

Glad to see they are cracking down on benefits cheats

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/23/benefits-transparency-dwp-crackdown-disabled-man

You did mean that sarcastically I hope flo

Keep at it Sarah.  I believe I saw a few days ago that there is an interesting trial starting in Finland of the idea of a civil wage.  I think the idea is that everyone has a role to play in society and that role should be recognised by everyone receiving a minumum salary which also replaces the whole benefits system so you start to combat socila injustice at a stroke by just removing it. The civil wage would not be luxurious, just enough to provide the necessities of life - food, water, shelter, energy.  No one need worry about being at any time unfortunately not able to work but when they do work they pay for this social justice through their increased ability to pay taxes.  It will be interesting to see if/how this works.  Th Green Party has a similar philosophy.

And that is why the Green party has only one MP, in Brighton of all places, which says it all.