Can the UK government do this?

[Squiglet]

Can the UK government really do this?... Can they send mothers back to work when their babies are 1 or stop benefits? Seems a bit harsh? http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/p ... 299325.ece

I remember Tia's nursery fees were extortionate and I was lucky as I was at Uni so got 90% of the fees paid... Here, nursery is quite cheap (Lil miss could go to her nursery 8:45am till 8pm, mon/fri with fully cooked dinner included for 240€ per month) plus if we work, we get 100€ a month to pay for child care and its just given to us, we don't need to prove our kids are in registered childcare centres just prove we are working

When I tell Spanish mums, though, about what you can get in the UK for having kids and not working, most are like , we only get that 100€ a month till they are 3 years old, then we get nothing else, no child benefit, no tax credit, which is why most people won't have more than a 2 kids, basically we can't afford them and school books can cost 300€ per year per child... so imagine if you had more than 3 kids .. but considering the UK has a higher rate of living I would assume that you would need that extra dosh

So if the government did bring this in, what would SAHM mums do without the extra help? Is it a good thing? Should people like Sharron Matthews mother be allowed to have several children and live off benefits?..

I personally don't think its fair on working parents.. I think they should be helped more... But what do others think? What does Prime Minster ZS have to say on all this because shes just brilliant

 

[LisaJ1986]

My sister has 3 children. They are 4, 2 and 8 months. They have stopped her benefits to force her into work already! Yet at the current climate there is seriously nothing round here. Even the woman at the job centre say so. It's scary and she is now a single parent.
We're in extreme circumstances yet no one will help us! We're living of child tax credits, child benefit and OH job seekers. We get no other help to live.

 

[daftscotslass]

I don't know what to think about that to be honest. We're really stuck between a rock and a hard place because we both earn semi-decent salaries but not enough to survive on comfortably should I stop working or go part time.

I would say that the government here needs to make it cheaper to get childcare (because not all of us are fortunate enough to have relatives help with care) but I think it needs to be made easier for parents to be given the opportunity to work AND care for their child themselves. We get childcare vouchers and tax credits but it doesn't come close to helping cover the exorbitant nursery fees we have to pay.

 

[LisaJ1986]

The nursery i have to take Angel to when i go back to work (if they don't make me redundant) is £667 a month 8am-6pm Monday to Friday! To me that is crazy!

 

[lauramumof2]

I work part time but thats all I can do. If I do more hours I lose the benefit in earning more by paying more childcare and I lose tax credits because Im earning more. So in a nutshell, its not worth my while doing more hours.

 

[daftscotslass]

The nursery i have to take Angel to when i go back to work (if they don't make me redundant) is £667 a month 8am-6pm Monday to Friday! To me that is crazy!

That's pretty average and just about £20 more than what we pay. She is never in longer than 5, either, and even though I am off for the best part of 2 months in the summer I have to pay it then as well as they don't offer a retainer fee. Sucks

 

[helsekia]

I think there are pro's and cons on both sides.
on 1 hand there are people that have been playing the system for years.i know of 1 woman who has 3 kids and has no intention of going out to work and she has never been with the father (apart from to get pregnant).she does very nicely from the state and freely admits it.i know another woman who has been claiming sick with a bad back for 4 years,she has 3 kids and she laughs because she gets money without having to earn it.another woman i know intentionally got pregnant to get more money.she has 4 kids also.these are people that are draining the state and so the people that really need help cant get it.

on the other hand there are people that genuinely want to work but cant because of childcare costs and childcare itself.and some single mums genuinely cant work.some people genuinely need and want help and deserve it and that help should be there for them.the question is how do you decide the genuine people from the not so genuine?and who would want to do the job?

maybe childcare should be cheaper to enable more people to access it?

I think its a very difficult thing to decide on and someones gonna lose out either way.

 

[Krystal]

If the government used the money it saved to provide free childcare to those who worked it wouold be good. not really thought about it and tired! may offer better reply tomorrow

 

[reallyoldmum]

The thing I think is sad is that it will be the people with the best intentions that get hit hardest - I have to say in our family we have one member that is a disgrace - she has 5 children - the last one was a calculated "one night stand" - has a 4 bedroom council house that she openly says she will buy when she is eligible for the full discount on it!! Has never worked a day in her life and is in real terms much better off than anyone else - She really knows how to play the system and has recently had the whole house re-carpeted, a new cooker and her fence and back garden sorted..... She started the same open university degree as my sister in law who had to pay the full price - couldnt be bothered to put much work in but has got funding for the 2nd year and my poor sister in law did so well in her first year exams but they just couldnt find the money for her to continue to finish it.... We are all convinced that she will just go on having children so as to maintain her lifestyle. She has absolutely no intention of working for a living - and as she is realitively bright I am sure she will find away to "play this new system too!!"

just writing this makes me mad - I honestly believe it is the small minority that spoil it for the genuine people who dont want to be in the situation and as I said to begin with she will soon work out how to avoid getting away with it - even if it means having another child or two!!

Jane x

 

[lauramumof2]

The thing I think is sad is that it will be the people with the best intentions that get hit hardest - I have to say in our family we have one member that is a disgrace - she has 5 children - the last one was a calculated "one night stand" - has a 4 bedroom council house that she openly says she will buy when she is eligible for the full discount on it!! Has never worked a day in her life and is in real terms much better off than anyone else - She really knows how to play the system and has recently had the whole house re-carpeted, a new cooker and her fence and back garden sorted..... She started the same open university degree as my sister in law who had to pay the full price - couldnt be bothered to put much work in but has got funding for the 2nd year and my poor sister in law did so well in her first year exams but they just couldnt find the money for her to continue to finish it.... We are all convinced that she will just go on having children so as to maintain her lifestyle. She has absolutely no intention of working for a living - and as she is realitively bright I am sure she will find away to "play this new system too!!"

just writing this makes me mad - I honestly believe it is the small minority that spoil it for the genuine people who dont want to be in the situation and as I said to begin with she will soon work out how to avoid getting away with it - even if it means having another child or two!!

Jane x

It pisses me off that the system is 'playable'.

 

[Suzie and Faith]

I don't really understand it I think I am too tired to understand that article

So who would face a benefit cut and why?

I am not going back to work but I have my reasons.
a) I was never in a full time job - I was at uni but decided to leave as I didn't think I could do both (being a mum and a student).
b) My part-time job that I still am technically employed in is now unaccessable to me due to the location and the hours.

I have no career as such as my job was purely a part-time whilst studying job.

I wish to be a teacher when I get my degree and do my training and so my hopes are that when I am on a decent wage the taxes I pay will help make-up for the money that we get in benefits.

We get tax credits and child benefit. And with this and OH's wages we earn enough to just about cover living costs.

 

[nickilubs]

I don't quite understand what they mean by benefit is that Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Rent?

 

[CH0C0H0LIC]

Not relevant

 

[kalia]

I don't quite understand what they mean by benefit is that Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Rent?

Not Tax credits and child beneift but all other benefits - income support, housing benefit etc.

It says mothers of children aged 7 and over would have to work and that is probably fair enough as they can work while their children are at school. Mothers with children aged 1-6 have to do training or voluntary work and it suggests that they will help with childcare. If they genuinely do provide suitable childcare then I think this is fair enough. If they train one mum to childmind she could take 2 other children and those 2 other mums could do something else. Somehow I doubt they'll do things in a sensible way though!

I am far more concerned for those disabled people who are currently struggling to do anything much would have to volunteer, work or lose all their income. I have a friend in this situation and I am very worried for her