It isn't really possible for a single, work-capable adult to live alone on benefits. They would need to live with family or share accommodation. It would, for example, be much more possible for 3 unemployed adults to share a 3-bedroom flat... Splitting bills and possibly even combining food budgets.

Disabled people get more as do people with children.

Not that I think it's a good situation but really there's no reason for someone who isn't disabled and doesn't have childcare responsibilities to be long-term COMPLETELY unemployed. If they have a learning disability, mental health issue or addiction issues then they'll most likely be able to claim disability benefits not just rock-bottom unemployment UC.

Again I'm not defending our benefits system here - it's woeful - but just that it's a very unusual situation for a single "unencumbered" adult to be long term unemployed for no reason.

At least, not one who chooses to or has to live alone. There are of course many unemployed adults who live with family.

AGAIN not really judging - I technically was one of them for 18 months at age 18 to 20... Dropped out of my first attempt at Uni at 18 and a half, went back for my second run at it when I was 20.

I did literally **** all in the 18 months between those dates :joker:... :umm2:.

Yes, when I was unemployed it was really hard to manage to pay my bills. That was 10 years ago.

I've only been "properly" unemployed as an adult once, for about 5 months when my wife was expecting our first, as we made the (as it turns out, ill advised) decision to move to England to be near her family. We were also a very low income household for I'd say the first 2-3 years of parenthood (one full time minimum wage income).

I remember it being extremely tough paying rent and bills - and our rent was pretty cheap (we were in a coronation street-chic Lancashire redbrick terrace :joker: ) and I swear gas and electricity was only something like £75 a month.

I have no idea how people in that situation survive now. We're happily on a much higher income now but Wtf does a young family on minimum wage do with a £400 gas/electricity bill? I think I'd have been off a bridge somewhere :shrug:.

In fact... My wife's aunt had a huge house and lived alone and kept offering to move us in. Realistically, if this situation had been happening back then, I think we'd have had no real choice but to take her up on that.

I have prepay on electric and gas. I find it a lot easier to manage that way.

Two old coal-fired power plants have begun generating again as the UK expects to see its coldest night of the year so far.

The plants had been put on standby in case of shortfalls, but started feeding power into the grid this afternoon.

National Grid blamed high demand and a shortage of electricity from other sources.

The coal plants began operating in 1966 but were due to close last September.

However, operators have kept them open for an extra six months at the request of the government, amid fears of possible power shortages.

Temperatures are expected to drop to -15C (5F) in some parts of the UK on Tuesday evening, with snow sweeping parts of the country.

The cold snap is expected to last for the next few days, with weather warnings in place across the UK.

[The energy rebate scheme - paid direct
to customers in six instalments of
£66 and £67 a month -
has not been extended
and will end this month.]

SkyNews Site

Extending this would have actually helped people as it would have put people in credit ahead of next winter ...the price cap is meaningless

the idea was that it helped people over the winter months when they used most electricity, but as most people pay monthly DD and always pay the same amount, it's completely stupid

Its arse-backwards, people turtle up in Winter and (Christmas aside) actually have more money available for things like bills. In the warmer/summer months people actually want to do more with their money.

Sensible Sallies like me will have no gas at all to pay over the summer because we've swallowed those huge winter bills in a defiant show of strength.

I agree.

I think this was an important across the board help to all.

That £60+ monthly help was urgently needed when the prices rose.
Those costs still remain now.

Had they gone ahead with the price cap increase.
A need for more to be added to that £60+ monthly assistance would have been more likely needed.

So to scrap that assistance completely now is a very bad move I agree.

Hopefully we will have nicer weather in April and won't need to put the heating on that much.

Sky News Text
[Suella Braverman has been using taxpayer
money to pay her energy bills.
The paper alleges the Home Secretary has claimed
nearly £25,000 in expenses for her London home,
while living with her parents
when she isn't staying there.
There is no suggestion any
of this is outside the rules
around claiming expenses].

https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/l...4486182c85.png

So she claims £5 grand a year on her London (work) home but she lives at home with her parents when not in London for work.
Where exactly is the ruddy story here. :shrug:
Where do her husband and 2 little kids live?
Maybe she doesn’t want to live on her own when in London for work.

Sounds to me like she claims that her parents address is her permanent residence and her place in London is work accommodation and thus eligible for expenses claims ... when in fact her "work home" is in reality her main residence and she just goes to her parents house to collect her mail at the weekend.

There should be stricter criteria on what can and can't be considered a work expense. Either that, or the govt. should provide University Halls style residences for all MP's free of charge, and if they want anything more than that then it's out of their own pocket. Quite amusing the thought of them all having to fight over the toaster :laugh:.

i have no problem with them tightening up on loop holes exploited by mp's

She has two kids aged about 2 and 5 and a husband, can’t see them all shacking up with her parents as a permanent address.:shrug:

This is not right :fist:

Exactly but apparently there are no rules against her calling it her main address, e.g. she probably gets banking/financial/vehicle registration and other official stuff sent there. A lot of students do that while at Univeristy for example; barely set foot in their hometown for 4 years but parent's address will still be their official address (for their GP, voting, banking etc.).

For MP's I reckon it should be simple enough; if you spend 51% or more of the days in a year at one address, that's your main residence.

SkyNews text :
[New rules governing what energy firms can
and cannot do with domestic customers' meters
is The Guardian's lead.]

https://liveblog.digitalimages.sky/l...04df094cd.jpeg

BBC News Text :
[The government's plans to develop hydrogen gas
as part of its net zero drive will add nearly
£120 a year to the average household's energy bills,
according to the Daily Telegraph.
The scheme, which is expected to cost £3.5bn
a year between 2030 to 2040, could add
£118 to household bills, the newspaper reports.]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cp...ph-nc.png.webp

If the Tories want to send me some money, then they can buy my vote if they want. I know Labour won't give me anything.

Energy bills for a typical household are expected to fall by nearly £450 from July, according to new forecasts.

Consultancy firm Cornwall Insight predicts bills could drop by as much as £446 under a new official price cap set to be announced by Ofgem on 25 May.

A typical user pays no more than £2,500 a year for their energy because of the Government's Energy Price Guarantee.

Analysts predict the new price cap will be set at £2,054 for July.

Then it is expected to fall further in October to £1,976.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65655866

Good news for a changec