Universal Credit

[Kizzy]

North West England are you ready for universal credit in april?...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9531622/Iain-Duncan-Smith-told-millions-will-struggle-to-claim-universal-credit.html
QUOTE:
''The universal credit includes a new requirement to apply for benefits online, the replacement of weekly with monthly payments, and a single handout per household''

''Testimony from Citizens Advice said: "The new universal credit system risks causing difficulties to the 8.5 million people who have never used the internet and a further 14.5 million who have virtually no ICT [internet and communications technology] skills."

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare-reform/universal-credit/
QUOTE:
It will be launched in 2013 and will replace:

income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
Child Tax Credits
Working Tax Credits
Housing Benefit.

The following benefits are changing:

Disability Living Allowance will be replaced by Personal Independence Payment from 2013
Council Tax Benefit will be abolished in April 2013 and replaced by a system of localised support
Pension Credit will be amended from October 2014 to include help with eligible rent and dependent children
Social Fund is also being reformed to introduce new local assistance

[joeysteele]

They won't, however this Govt really needs to think again on this one, groups are rightfully pointing out the problems of these changes.
They don't sound that well thought out to me from what we've heard so far.

[arista]

This has to be done
infact New Labour started it but got scared and their DWP MP
left saying he did not want Brown as the leader.
And that wrecked it.

[Vicky.]

Monthly payments will screw a lot of people IMO.

There are many many flaws in this system.

However, again I do think something needed to be done about the current benefits system, to make people better off from being in work than on benefits...but this idea doesnt seem to make much difference. Using an online UC calculator, I have discovered that (current job aside) if I work 40 hours in a minimum wage job I am only £40 per week better off than if I worked 16 hours. If you apply travel costs and such, this means I am more likely to be worse off from working more hours.

Also, I'm worried about what this will mean for the 'sanctions' idea. I'm pretty sure that it means sanctions will also be applied on housing benefit and council tax benefit. Meaning if you are unfortunate enough to end up with a sanction (a lot of the time through no fault of your own) you could lose your home :/

[Vicky.]

As an afterthought, wont a load of people lose their jobs as a result of this also? Generally I have not much sympathy for those who work for the DWP, but with it all being online, there wont be much need for as many face to face advisors and such.

[Kizzy]

Monthly payments will screw a lot of people IMO.

There are many many flaws in this system.

However, again I do think something needed to be done about the current benefits system, to make people better off from being in work than on benefits...but this idea doesnt seem to make much difference. Using an online UC calculator, I have discovered that (current job aside) if I work 40 hours in a minimum wage job I am only £40 per week better off than if I worked 16 hours. If you apply travel costs and such, this means I am more likely to be worse off from working more hours.

Also, I'm worried about what this will mean for the 'sanctions' idea. I'm pretty sure that it means sanctions will also be applied on housing benefit and council tax benefit. Meaning if you are unfortunate enough to end up with a sanction (a lot of the time through no fault of your own) you could lose your home :/

As a single parent this used to drive me batty! and I unlike some had the opportunity to work more if I wanted but like you say I would be worse off as it would impact on everything else...
full rent, council tax,school dinners, not nice to know nothing has changed!
Oh... and i'm reeeally trying to be sympathetic to the workers at the DWP...truly I am haha

[Vicky.]

http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/how-universal-credit-will-destroy-part-time-work/

Part timers(which will include me :o ), I really feel for you :(

Despite this Universal Credit seems tailor made to punish any minimum wage worker who cannot find work for 35 hours a week. Under the new regime those earning less than 35 hours a week will face ‘work conditionality requirements’ that may mean obtaining or keeping part time work is impossible. Claimants will be forced to attend work related interviews and carry out intensive job search to find full time work during any hours they are not currently working.

Workers will face brutal sanctions for non-compliance. Under the new rules a part time workers must be prepared to attend an interview for a job with longer hours within 48 hours of being dictated to do so by the DWP. Should they fail to attend then they will face sanctions. Should this happen more than twice then they will be sanctioned for up to three years, even if they have children to support.

Part time workers will also have to be prepared to hand in their notice and leave as soon as legally possible should they be offered a position with longer hours.

It is clear that this will lead to anomalies. Someone working 30 hours a week may be forced to immediately leave and take up a 32 hour a week job. The same will apply to someone working 10 hours a week, who may be forced to leave to work somewhere else for 12 hours. Until the magic figure of 35 hours a week is reached, claimants will be continually hounded in and out of work.


And quite unfairly...

As ever these new rules are to be strictly targeted at the low paid only. Part time workers who earn enough to meet the weekly income threshold – which is to be the weekly amount earned by someone working minimum wage for 35 hours a week – will still be eligible for in work benefits without being forced to look for longer hours.

Therefore a professional worker, who earns for example £20 p/h for eleven hours a week, will be exempt for these new rules and still eligible for in work benefits without harassment from the DWP. A supermarket workers who works 30 hours a week however will be under constant pressure to increase their hours or leave their job.

[Kizzy]

Ooh look what I found :)
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare-reform/legislation-and-key-documents/welfare-reform-act-2012/welfare-reform-draft-regulations/

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/universal-credit-full-document.pdf
QUOTE:
''We want to ensure that people are encouraged to take jobs of only a few hours
a week if this is all that is possible for them in the short term. To achieve this we will allow some groups to earn significantly more before their benefit starts to be withdrawn. The level of these earnings disregards will reflect the needs of different families to ensure that work pays.''

Which groups.. Why are some families treated differently?
I don't agree with this if one family is allowed to work with no sanction to benefit awarded then they all should.

[Mystic Mock]

There's so much wrong with this idea that I can't put it into words.

[joeysteele]

There's so much wrong with this idea that I can't put it into words.

It is badly thought out Mockinator, few would disagree that the benefits system needs looking at and also chngaes made where necessary and of course it is right to assess if people are entitled to the benefits they are getting.
However, so much change, so much confusion is not the wisest way forward. I am personally amazed the Lib Dems have been able to support this and I am now sick of hearing Lbe Dem councillors and party workers saying these changes are wrong and go too far.
They blame the parliamentary Lib Dems for supporting these policies.

All I can see is confusion, people losing this benefit and that benefit,then the introduction of this universal credit,a lot of battles going on, appeals made and endless costs sorting the mess out.
I also think it wrong that those on benefits will 'have' to have their payments monthly too. Unless they do it as 2 weeks in arrears and 2 weeks in advance.

I am sure as some others have implied all these measures are designed to in part help make further cuts in the workforce of the DWP.
All I can see are problems with the whole plans, since all this will hit too at the end of 2013 and the chaos registers in 2014,hopefully it will be another nail in this now rather poor Coalition Govt.

Whatever the answers should be as to full benefit reforms this plan certainly is not one of them in my view.

[Vicky.]

Benefit claimants should pay for tax cuts to rich...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/13/slash-welfare-cut-taxes-says-liam-fox

Fox called for capital gains tax, currently set at 28%, to be suspended and reintroduced after three years at 10%. These should be paid for by benefit cuts, said Fox, who resigned from the Ministry of Defence last year after questions were asked about his working relationship with his friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty.

This is getting WAY beyond a joke now.

This is slightly offtopic but I have been making way too many politics threads recently and I think people may be getting sick, so thought I would put it in a slightly related thread instead :p

[Kizzy]

Benefit claimants should pay for tax cuts to rich...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/13/slash-welfare-cut-taxes-says-liam-fox



This is getting WAY beyond a joke now.

This is slightly offtopic but I have been making way too many politics threads recently and I think people may be getting sick, so thought I would put it in a slightly related thread instead :p

You can blame me vicky, i'm boring the arse of everyone I think with them haha!

This quote was interesting..
''Fox said other measures needed to make Britain more competitive included making it easier for bosses to fire workers.

"We should simply throw down the gauntlet and say that we are cutting our taxes, we are making Britain more competitive, we are going to reform our labour laws, make hiring and firing easier and do what we know works because it's worked before," he said.''

When did it 'work before' 1899! Maybe bosses should flog those who don't work hard enough...Or take their first born sons?...

Surely they can't deny now they are trying to create an 'us and them' society?

[arista]

"Surely they can't deny now they are trying to create an 'us and them' society?"


No Kizzy
you are going back to 1974

[Kizzy]

"Surely they can't deny now they are trying to create an 'us and them' society?"


No Kizzy
you are going back to 1974

Explain....I don't have the first clue what you are on about...(as usual)

[Kate!]

"Surely they can't deny now they are trying to create an 'us and them' society?"

This is how I have always felt. They want it to be the very affluent and the very poor and have no qualms about grinding the working classes down, we are nobodies to them, they do not give a stuff.

[arista]

Explain....I don't have the first clue what you are on about...(as usual)

Back then Labour created a
Us and Them

[arista]

Kate that was Kizzys words not mine

[Kizzy]

Back then Labour created a
Us and Them

Back when....Can you substantiate your comment with any facts to support it?

[Mystic Mock]

What I don't get is why are The Tories trying to piss off the working class? don't the idiots realise that the majority of the country is working class?

[Kizzy]

This and employment is to be covered on PM questions on BBC2 now.