Hi there I don't think they R doing enough for the cost of living

Sparklebright63
Sparklebright63 Scope Member Posts: 171 Contributor
Hi to all,

I don't think they R doing enough for the Cost of living they need to increase benefits and make sure people are having more money for Heating ect:

My Son who is Working is Comming home this week because he cannot afford to stay in his flat due to the cost of Living Crisis a good job we have a spare room


Sparklebright63.

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Comments

  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,715 Championing
    @Sparklebright63

    I'm sorry to hear your son's been particularly impacted by the ongoing crisis, I'm glad he has a home with you and I'm sure you'll be there for him as much as you can.

    If he hasn't already, I'd recommend trying the Turn2us benefits calculator to make sure he's getting everything he's entitled to benefits-wise. 

    You aren't alone and I think we'll all eagerly be awaiting the end of month announcement about benefits uprating. 
  • racyguy
    racyguy Community member Posts: 560 Empowering
    Hi to all,

    I don't think they R doing enough for the Cost of living they need to increase benefits and make sure people are having more money for Heating ect:

    My Son who is Working is Comming home this week because he cannot afford to stay in his flat due to the cost of Living Crisis a good job we have a spare room


    Sparklebright63.

    Sometimes I question as to why people are expecting the State to keep on giving or increasing welfare benefits beyond the level of general wages increases.
    In your son's case instead of looking to the State to give more in handouts surely it is for him to ask his employer to increase his wages.

    A worker who receives a 5% increase could quite rightly be annoyed if everyone receiving welfare benefits receives increases of 10%+
  • elahrairah
    elahrairah Scope Member Posts: 48 Contributor
    There's been help but it doesn't touch the sides.  The trouble is, the state can't fix it without changing fundamentally, reorganising to be about helping people be the healthiest and happiest they can be rather than about shareholder profits and military supremacy.  It doesn't want to do that because the people involved have vested interests in it staying the same, so poor people have to suffer. 
  • Sparklebright63
    Sparklebright63 Scope Member Posts: 171 Contributor
    Hi there,

    Well it Shouldn't be Allowed to Stay the same why should disadvantaged people not have the same amount of money as wealthy people you cannot have one rule for 1 person and not the same for all this is what I hate about this country everyone should be treated aqual.

    Sparklebright63.
  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,537 Championing
    The State can’t really afford to give people any more than they have, including the energy cap costs they’ve spent or will spend billions. They should do a u turn on the recent mini budget though which would help ease some pressure on upwards prices and mortgages etc . They could also put in place a windfall tax on energy companies larger than the one they already have but there’s not much they can do about petrol prices which have been exacerbated by OPEC recently. It’s a complex situation.
  • racyguy
    racyguy Community member Posts: 560 Empowering
    All public state employees are to receive around 5% pay rise. They too have had real cuts in pay with little or no increases for years.
    Why should someone on UC who works the minimum hours (16pw) to maximise their benefit income get 10%+?


  • racyguy
    racyguy Community member Posts: 560 Empowering
    Hi there,

    Well it Shouldn't be Allowed to Stay the same why should disadvantaged people not have the same amount of money as wealthy people you cannot have one rule for 1 person and not the same for all this is what I hate about this country everyone should be treated aqual.

    Sparklebright63.
    WOW Are you actually suggesting that everybody should have the same income and capital resources as the wealthiest person has?
    Please tell me how you would go about doing that and more importantly how much would it cost?

    There have always been those at the bottom of the pile and those at the top with so much money that they do not know what to do with it. It's called a capitalistic society. 
  • Cartini
    Cartini Community member Posts: 1,107 Trailblazing
    There's been help but it doesn't touch the sides.  The trouble is, the state can't fix it without changing fundamentally, reorganising to be about helping people be the healthiest and happiest they can be rather than about shareholder profits and military supremacy.  It doesn't want to do that because the people involved have vested interests in it staying the same, so poor people have to suffer. 
    It`s not about military supremacy, it`s called protecting the home front. I, for one, will always support an increased budget for military protection.

  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,005 Championing
    edited October 2022
    woodbine said:
    I don't think anyone in govt. has suggested that UC will increase by 10%, I hope they do but if not I hope the increase matches the rise in SRP.
    Rish Sunak when Chancellor had promised that benefits would be increased by Sept CPI (which would therefore be around 10%). Unfortunately no one amongst those now in government have confirmed whether or not they will stand by that promise. In theory it’s the same government but it clearly isn’t..
  • CharlieRose256
    CharlieRose256 Community member Posts: 68 Contributor
    racyguy said:
    A worker who receives a 5% increase could quite rightly be annoyed if everyone receiving welfare benefits receives increases of 10%+
    As a ex nurse I where your coming from, but as a disabled person who is no longer able to work, I would hope others would have a bit of compassion when I say I can’t afford to heat my home, and I have no option but to rely on welfare benefits 
  • L_Volunteer
    L_Volunteer Community Volunteer Adviser, Scope Member Posts: 7,925 Championing
    It sounds really difficult that you can't afford to heat your home @CharlieRose256. Would you like to tell us more about how you are feeling at the moment?

    I can hear you are struggling. Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can do anything to help, even if that's just listening to you  :)
  • CharlieRose256
    CharlieRose256 Community member Posts: 68 Contributor
    It sounds really difficult that you can't afford to heat your home @CharlieRose256. Would you like to tell us more about how you are feeling at the moment?

    I can hear you are struggling. Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can do anything to help, even if that's just listening to you  :)
    Ah sorry, I wasn’t particularly wanting to make a pity party 😅 Personally, I’m okay, just relying on lots of blankets and staying at my parents during the day 
  • racyguy
    racyguy Community member Posts: 560 Empowering
    racyguy said:
    A worker who receives a 5% increase could quite rightly be annoyed if everyone receiving welfare benefits receives increases of 10%+
    As a ex nurse I where your coming from, but as a disabled person who is no longer able to work, I would hope others would have a bit of compassion when I say I can’t afford to heat my home, and I have no option but to rely on welfare benefits 
    I too am disabled and if they increase all of my wife's and my own benefits + the State Pensions by at least 10% that would give a weekly increase of just under £63 a week.
     That would be ridiculous - where on earth would the government find that level of money for everybody across the country?
    Our benefits are all disability related that most others get. My wife doesn't even get the full pension she just gets 60% of the old State pension as she hardly paid any stamp due to bringing up two children as well as caring for me and, in my case, caring for her but neither of us get anything for those caring duties.
    Personally, I would be happy with just the 10% for our State pensions and 5.5% on everything else.
      

  • racyguy
    racyguy Community member Posts: 560 Empowering
    That sounds a bit like "I am all right Jack"  Why should Pensioners get 10% and disabled people not on State pension only get 5.5% ?  
    Simply because the triple lock is a system to ensure that State pensions don't deteriorate in value as they did for many years. The State pension in this country is still the lowest when compared to the majority of EU States.
    Such a mechanism does NOT apply and never has done to any other benefit. I understand that PIP is required to increase it annually by the level of inflation and nothing else.
    Finally, those of working age disabled or not have the best opportunity of working and earning - 80-year-old pensioners like myself would be restricted, not just by disability but also by age and what that brings to the table. In my case up to this week I had two voluntary jobs. I decided that one had to go for health reasons. I retired from it - in fact I have never retired fully and don't intend to do so. I still put in over 20 hours a week.
    Would I be worried if they cancelled the triple lock this year again? No, I would accept without question just 5.5% as I did this year when we only received 3% whilst wages were up by 8%. There is only so much money that can be given away by the Treasury.

     
  • Cartini
    Cartini Community member Posts: 1,107 Trailblazing
    That sounds a bit like "I am all right Jack"  Why should Pensioners get 10% and disabled people not on State pension only get 5.5% ?  
    It sounds nothing of the sort;  Racyguy was explaining his position.  "All right Jack" would be racyguy saying "I`ve got loads of pensions and loads of income", but he didn`t.

  • Cartini
    Cartini Community member Posts: 1,107 Trailblazing
    racyguy said:
    The State pension in this country is still the lowest when compared to the majority of EU States.

     
    It`s my understanding that some (I`m not sure which) countries pay more tax to get a better pension on retirement.

  • racyguy
    racyguy Community member Posts: 560 Empowering
    woodbine said:
    racyguy said:
    That sounds a bit like "I am all right Jack"  Why should Pensioners get 10% and disabled people not on State pension only get 5.5% ?  
    Simply because the triple lock is a system to ensure that State pensions don't deteriorate in value as they did for many years. The State pension in this country is still the lowest when compared to the majority of EU States.
    Such a mechanism does NOT apply and never has done to any other benefit. I understand that PIP is required to increase it annually by the level of inflation and nothing else.
    Finally, those of working age disabled or not have the best opportunity of working and earning - 80-year-old pensioners like myself would be restricted, not just by disability but also by age and what that brings to the table. In my case up to this week I had two voluntary jobs. I decided that one had to go for health reasons. I retired from it - in fact I have never retired fully and don't intend to do so. I still put in over 20 hours a week.
    Would I be worried if they cancelled the triple lock this year again? No, I would accept without question just 5.5% as I did this year when we only received 3% whilst wages were up by 8%. There is only so much money that can be given away by the Treasury.

     
    There was a good reason why wages went up last year people coming off furlough and back on full wages, that was why the triple lock wasn't applied, you have told us many times that you cannot be bothered claiming pension credit and yet you put in 20 hours a week voluntary work, it seems to me that one contradicts the other. Most SRP in other EU states are even more complex than that in the UK. 
    I do wish sometimes some people on here will get their facts right when attempting to quote what I have said as regards Pension Credit. I am more than able to complete a PC claim form and if need be, answer questions raised by the Pension Service. However the problem I have is (a) obtaining the information they require on a weekly /monthly basis and (b) putting all of the information as well as evidence in a report for each of my private pensions - that's writing to the 5 pension companies each month asking for a payslip of what I had been paid , deductions etc, printing off the relevant bank statement for each company then putting all of that together in 5 separate reports to be sent to the PS. The cost of postage alone amounts to £4.25; Each pension is paid on different dates of the month. That's what the Pension Service want.
    All of that is beyond my capabilities' and is far too stressful.
    What that has to do with my voluntary work I have no idea - it's certainly not as taxing, tedious or stressful as what the PS are demanding of me. 
  • Lisatho11987777
    Lisatho11987777 Scope Member Posts: 5,874 Championing
    I am happy with what I get I think we have a better life than most ,  disabled people get alot of money compared to some we all go on about money example the people of Ukraine,  homeless people  I am grateful I have a home and money comeing in we in my opinion should be grateful  and for all the money support we are getting from the government and local counciol payments we are lucky that we live in a country thst pays benefits and we have a national health service and in wales we have free prescriptions 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 59,054 Championing
    edited October 2022
    disabled people get alot of money compared to some

    Not all disabled people receive what you do. Edit to add, being disabled doesn't automatically entitle anyone to any benefits, or extra money.
  • Cartini
    Cartini Community member Posts: 1,107 Trailblazing
    edited October 2022
    Ooops - finger trouble