Curbs on EU benefits to come into force on 1 January!

[DavidinSouthampton]

The Labour Party are such a Mickey Mouse shower of shite now it's no joke.

After 13 years of an "Open Door" policy they have the temerity to criticise the government for leaving this new measure too late in the day. Yet earlier this week they promised to double the building and construction in this country to build new homes. If people think a lot of Romanians and Bulgarians will arrive here in 2014 and thereafter the numbers will be a mere fraction of what it would have been if "Open Door" Miliband and "Building Jobs For All" Balls were running the country.

We do not have serious housing shortages in this country primarily because of immigration. It is more to do with the number of families which are splitting up and then needing two homes and other social issues.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

You would get my vote!

As for food banks, I cannot understand why they are needed when the benefits in this country are adequate.

Which country are you talking about? France , Sweden or Germany, at a guess.

 

[keaton]

You have kind of proved my point that benefits are enough.

So you have a mortgage but have no job? erm you cannot afford the house. I do think they help with the interest on a mortgage though.
As for car insurance etc, thats taking the pish. Some people who work cannot afford to run a car so why should someone on benefits expect to. If you are left with less than a fiver a day for food because you choose to run a car then you are a fecking moron

If you're under 25 you'll only get £53.
Wouldn't having a car be beneficial to finding work?
They'll also need a phone and internet to search for jobs, and medicine because if they're sick and miss an appointment they'll be docked some weeks benefits, leading to them needing a Crisis loan which will have to be paid back out of your next benefits.

 

[CP 0 3 BHA]

I thought this was a thread on Alan Curbishley's failure in management.

So did I! And then everyone ruined it by entering into a serious political discussion. There's just no point in trying to second-guess NSC!

 

[EDS]

To many quotes to respond to, but I could easily look for work without the internet and a car, I done it 19 years ago and I could do it now.
The reduction in rent is significant, you only need to look at a local authority's housing allowance. I still maintain that someone on benefits should not be able to run a car unless they have mobility problems. I was 24 before I could afford a car and I was working full time.
Nobody should be using food banks unless they are either greedy or do not know how to budget properly

 

[Westdene Seagull]

To many quotes to respond to, but I could easily look for work without the internet and a car, I done it 19 years ago and I could do it now.
The reduction in rent is significant, you only need to look at a local authority's housing allowance. I still maintain that someone on benefits should not be able to run a car unless they have mobility problems. I was 24 before I could afford a car and I was working full time.
Nobody should be using food banks unless they are either greedy or do not know how to budget properly

I really hope you don't lose your job because that isn't how the real world works now. The internet had barely been around 19 years ago - now it's a must if you're unemployed and looking for work. Many employers and agencies will only communicate with you over email.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

You'll get a negligible amount, no more.

We already have a large number of Romanians living in the UK who have entered the country and claimed asylum as Roma gypsies and those who were classified as illegal immigrants until the Government granted an amnesty because they didn't have a clue how many were here. They have been able to claim benefits as EU nationals since 2007.

 

[El Presidente]

To many quotes to respond to, but I could easily look for work without the internet and a car, I done it 19 years ago and I could do it now.
The reduction in rent is significant, you only need to look at a local authority's housing allowance. I still maintain that someone on benefits should not be able to run a car unless they have mobility problems. I was 24 before I could afford a car and I was working full time.
Nobody should be using food banks unless they are either greedy or do not know how to budget properly

There are feckless people who abuse food banks, just as there are similar people who abuse the benefits system, and plenty of rich individuals and corporations who abuse the tax system.

However, the people in greatest need of food banks are (1) those just above the benefits threshold, and (2) pensioners, who spend a greater proportion of their income on energy costs and therefore are most vulnerable to energy inflation running at two to three times CPI.

I don't celebrate Christmas as such and more foodwise, so I will be going to a supermarket and filling up a trolley (or Mark McCammon as it is more commonly known) for a food bank, because I can, not because I feel guilt, and there are people in far greater need than me.

As for the hundreds of thousands of penniless Romanians and Bulgarians coming over here to claim benefits, it's a scare story put out by lazy journalists and opportunist politicians. As I have mentioned before, they have no entitlement under current legislation, and there is limited evidence to support the claim of them actually wanting to be here anyway.

Most of the Poles and Baltic States migrants who came here over since the single market came into being have an excellent work ethic, and if you actually review the statistics, as opposed to the prejudice, you find a lower proportion of them claiming benefits than the indigenous population. But as this is NSC, never let the facts get in the way of a wailing.

 

[EDS]

I really hope you don't lose your job because that isn't how the real world works now. The internet had barely been around 19 years ago - now it's a must if you're unemployed and looking for work. Many employers and agencies will only communicate with you over email.

What about a company that wants you to email them your CV, fill in application forms online? I suppose you will suggest the post for that and you might get away with it (if you managed to find the company in the first place). But, what about if they ask for something like a skype interview? Bit screwed then aren't you.

Not really, I would go to a library or an internet cafe. But that would involve me getting off my backside and forsaking my home internet and car.
I realise that we take such things for granted but benefits are not there for that.

 

[EDS]

There are feckless people who abuse food banks, just as there are similar people who abuse the benefits system, and plenty of rich individuals and corporations who abuse the tax system.

However, the people in greatest need of food banks are (1) those just above the benefits threshold, and (2) pensioners, who spend a greater proportion of their income on energy costs and therefore are most vulnerable to energy inflation running at two to three times CPI.

I don't celebrate Christmas as such and more foodwise, so I will be going to a supermarket and filling up a trolley (or Mark McCammon as it is more commonly known) for a food bank, because I can, not because I feel guilt, and there are people in far greater need than me.

As for the hundreds of thousands of penniless Romanians and Bulgarians coming over here to claim benefits, it's a scare story put out by lazy journalists and opportunist politicians. As I have mentioned before, they have no entitlement under current legislation, and there is limited evidence to support the claim of them actually wanting to be here anyway.

Most of the Poles and Baltic States migrants who came here over since the single market came into being have an excellent work ethic, and if you actually review the statistics, as opposed to the prejudice, you find a lower proportion of them claiming benefits than the indigenous population. But as this is NSC, never let the facts get in the way of a wailing.

Not sure about pensioners to be honest but I am obviously sympathetic towards them.
I just think that nowadays to many people have a sense of entitlement and consider things that I used to consider as little luxuries as basics and that they have a right to them.
Don't get me started on migrant workers, I would be all day on that.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

Not really, I would go to a library or an internet cafe. But that would involve me getting off my backside and forsaking my home internet and car.
I realise that we take such things for granted but benefits are not there for that.

the amount of time the job centre demand that you spend looking for jobs per day is more than the internet allocation at a library. internet cafes aren't cheap

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Not really, I would go to a library or an internet cafe. But that would involve me getting off my backside and forsaking my home internet and car.
I realise that we take such things for granted but benefits are not there for that.

My local library is open limited hours for three days a week. As for internet cafes - very expensive. You'd easily rack up more than a connection would cost you at home in a month. It is vital, for anyone serious about getting a job, that they have cheap and almost constant access to the internet.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

when I was looking for work I tried to spend a "working day" searching. If you were in an internet cafe from 9-5 every day it would cost you an absolute fortune. Probably your weeks budget gone just from that.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

when I was looking for work I tried to spend a "working day" searching. If you were in an internet cafe from 9-5 every day it would cost you an absolute fortune. Probably your weeks budget gone just from that.

Indeed - when my partner was out of work ( she hated the term unemployed ! ) she spent around 4 hours a day searching the internet for jobs, sending emails, filling in endless online application forms, ringing agencies and employers. Without fail, almost every job required to to complete an online application and upload your CV - no way of doing via paper or post.

I'd suggest anyone who thinks that it is either easy to find a job currently or that JSA is "adequate" hasn't been out of work recently.

 

[Billy the Fish]

It's about £75 a week. You're assuming that someone on JSA rents - what about those with mortgages ? Regardless, the average would be about £325 a month. Now remove around £100 for gas and electric and another £25 for water. So you now have £200 for a whole month. Most people have a car - and many need one for gain work - so another £20 on car tax and another £35 on insurance. Now down to £145. We'll ignore things like servicing the car or boiler. So you're left with less than a fiver a day for food, clothing and any incidental costs such as getting to the job centre every other week or going to interviews.

Personally I wouldn't call that "adequate" - it's the absolute minimum.

For a couple of different reasons I actually had to cut back massively at this time last year for a couple of months and lived on about that much. It was a self imposed budget but I managed it because it was a choice of that or go into more credit card debt which I would then have struggled to pay off.

It's easily do-able. £100 a month is about double what you need to spend on gas and electric if your really thrifty about it. My shopping budget was £35 a week for everything and I managed that as well, I just ate shit loads of vegetables and learned how to make nice things out of them, the odd cheap cut of meat was a treat.

I think your radar is a bit off in what constitutes "adequate", it's amazing how much you can cut out when you really need to.

 

[EDS]

when I was looking for work I tried to spend a "working day" searching. If you were in an internet cafe from 9-5 every day it would cost you an absolute fortune. Probably your weeks budget gone just from that.

Maybe London is different as there are more places to use. Regardless of internet, nobody can expect benefits to run a car.

 

[EDS]

so by your logic should benefits only allow people to live like basic cavemen who do not even have the luxury of fire?

No, but neither do I expect people to be able to run a car on benefits when some people whom are working cannot afford to. Maybe we should pay for holidays etc.

 

[EDS]

I think that says more about lower paid jobs than anything else. Some people require a car for their job, so if they can't afford a car on benefits how can they get a job? I do understand not all will need one.

Get a different job.
Out of interest how much do you think benefits should be? so far we have food, heating, internet and car, anything else?

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

I would actually agree. In a place like Brighton I'd describe a car as non-essential. If I was unemployed it would be the first thing I'd get rid of

luckily, one of the perks of having seizures is that I'm not really allowed to drive....saves me a sizable chunk of money!

 

[El Presidente]

Not sure about pensioners to be honest but I am obviously sympathetic towards them.
I just think that nowadays to many people have a sense of entitlement and consider things that I used to consider as little luxuries as basics and that they have a right to them.
Don't get me started on migrant workers, I would be all day on that.

As the child of two migrant workers, I'd be interested to know what you think was so wrong about my parents to be honest.