Housing Benefit for under 25s

Rose, I left school at 16. I did not go to college until I was old enough to be called a mature student. We lived with my parents until my first son was nearly a year old.

I was talking to my hairdresser today about her son, who was thinking about going to university, but has instead decided to go on an apprenticeship scheme. That's probably what I would suggest to my granddaughter today. However, I only ever told kids to go to university if they enjoyed learning, not with the idea of getting a better job.
Nowadays that's even more so. We did not start our working life with a debt of £27000 plus hanging round our necks.

DJen The situation has changed quite radically since we were that age. If you could, going to university was the first rite of passage, and usually people went a long way from home

Those of you who were lucky enough to go to university forget that in the early 1960s very few school leavers did go to university; probably about 5% did go, and less than half of them would be women.

Many of us stayed at home, attended local colleges or worked and went to night school. However poor our parents, a lot of young people did stay at home until they got married. Parents stayed together - perhaps it is a general breakdown in society and an acceptance that single mothers are the norm through choice, or neglect of responsibility by younger men.

I do remember when someone I am close to was working with young offenders, he was upset because one young person about to be released was crying because he did not want to leave the YOI and go back to whatever constituted his 'home'.
Young people like him, and children coming out of the care system, are the ones the resources should be concentrated on to help them find their way in society.

I do think that businesses could well be employing - and training - more young people. They have a responsibility to society as well, it is not just the responsibility of government. They should not be employing them on zero hours contracts either.

Thank you for your kind comment HollyDaze.

Another very good post Gracesgran (Mon 15-Sep-14 14:43:39)

Nonnie

I am getting very confused about ethel and durham they each seem to be answering the posts I address to the other

It would be best if people's names were used so that confusion doesn't happen but not everyone likes to put names (I suppose it depends on if you are commenting only on what has been said rather than actually addressing that poster in particular).

Pay no mind to it, I thank you for your comment anyway

jinglbellsfrocks

You don't know the story behind that hollydaze. And the towel was probably to protect the child from the sun. And hand held devices for two year olds are us u ally educational.

I don't care what the story behind it is, there was no need for her to eff and blind at people who are just doing their job (if she has a beef about it, she needs to take it out on the decision-makers not someone sat at a counter). It wasn't sunny - this was in January so no doubt you can excuse it by saying she was keeping the boy warm, no hang on, there's central heating in that building ...

It was not an educational toy - I could hear it.

You are being judgemental.

Based on factual evidence that I witnessed - which you didn't.

How do you know she was 16?

She wasn't 16 but she would have been 20 or just under. My apologies, it didn't register that you had stated 16 in your post.

This is so hard. Because a system that truly cares for the less able and those who 'fall down' for whatever reason/s is so much more humane - and yet it also leads to the system being taken advantage off by the unscrupulous, etc. Just do not know what the answer is.

It's clear that there are much less teenage pregnancies in countries where the system is much less generous or supportive. But is that what we want???

I do think we should not complain about the people involved but look at the system that encourages some of the behaviour. To be honest, even if not one young person had ever had a baby to get a flat/house I would decry a system that might encourage them to do so.

I think I wrote elsewhere that I think we should have a modern version of a Mother and Baby home. Somewhere where young mums could be taught parenting, where there was a nursery/child care facilities and where the mother could be guided into completing education or working.

Universal Credit has just rolled out to our town today apparently. Just been reading a short interview between our local rag and Lord Freud (because y'know he'd know all about youth unemployment and stuff, being a general down to earth sort of chappie!)

Here's a couple of quotes from him on the subject of Universal Credit.

"We are really hoping that this helps boost young people into finding out what they want to do with their lives and what career path is right for them".

And a little further along he explains himself and his ideas further:-

“It can be hard coming on and off Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) so with Universal Credit, you could try a job for a week and then if you don’t like it, try another job and see which suits you best.”

hahah, just what planet is this man off. Can you imagine going back to your local jobcentre and saying I'm not that keen on the job you gave me so I'll go back on Universal Credit while you sort me out with something I might like a bit better.

Tsk.

I think you might be a bit out of date. Full time education (school, college or an apprenticeship) is mandatory for all up to 18. Teenage pregnancy is falling.
Most housing benefit claimants are working. How is it not discrimination to say that you can have help with your housing costs when you are 26 but not when you are 24?

I have experience of helping a young relative, a few years ago, to get benefits that they were entitled to. The delaying tactics and outright lack of knowledge of their own systems, at the DSS, were enough to make us want to yell & swear, although we didn't do that.
I'm not surprised that some people, who might be less articulate, could be driven to yelling and swearing.

I am getting very confused about ethel and durham they each seem to be answering the posts I address to the other

And so am I by posting that. Oh well...

You don't know the story behind that hollydaze. And the towel was probably to protect the child from the sun. And hand held devices for two year olds are us u ally educational.

You are being judgemental.

Nonnie, Im not arguing with you or anybody just I say things as I see them. In a fair and just world we would all have a super house and good standard of living but this world is not fair and I live near a council estate and see what goes on and hear opinions and do find that people are resentful of what others get. This is human nature. I just think that those of us who are more distanced from poverty see things a little differently and are perhaps more charitable.

Please don't accuse me of arguing. I am not and you are just being unpleasant again durham I really think you were nit-picking about whether anyone knew if she was 16 or not. What does it matter?

where is the incentive to work if a young person can leave home at 16 and get a rented house free.

From an earlier post by Ethel, Nonnie. But carry on, I do not mind if you argue among yourselves!

Lets face it we are or almost all are mothers ourselves and at 16 no-one is mature enough to run a home , look after it properly and manage money without some sort of supervision. We all know that.
Like I said earlier they should be encouraged to live at home until they are more mature, it doesn't matter what the parents think, as a parent you have to 'get on with it' and support our kids.

What have I done to you today ethel? I was talking about the post asking how you knew she was 16 not yours. That's twice in one morning.

Ok there are many older people who tell lies and work all kind of fraud to get a council house.
The discussion was about housing benefits for the young and all I said was that they get pregnant to get a house.
You are the nit picker Nonnie

Does it matter how old she was? She was young. nit-picking

I was told by a young girl who admittedly had little education, that the only way to get a place of your own was to get pregnant, which she subsequently did, she got furniture and all she needed, she has never worked since and had several more children by various fathers and is now kept at home by looking after her kids. There are many more like her.

This is a sad fact of British life if all a persons ambition is,is to have kids.

How do you know she was 16?

Ethel, I do not recognise those 16 year olds that you are talking about, the ones who want to be given a free house. I do not know any. Does anyone else?

I witnessed one such person not too long ago. I had the misfortune to have to visit the DHSS offices and whilst I was waiting in the queue, a young woman came in with a baby in a pushchair - the child would probably have been no more than two years old. The mother ignored the queue and strutted (quite literally) up to an empty window and shouted for attention.

The pushchair, up to this point, had been covered with a large bath towel (so the child was not actually visible) but the child started to make noises, the mother removed the towel to see to the child and he was playing on a hand-held computer game. She sorted him out, put the towel back in place and turned back to the clerk who had come to the window. She then shouted 'where is my f-ing money for the deposit on the flat, if you lot don't move your arses, I'm going to lose the f-ing flat'. The clerk assured her it was being dealt with and 10 minutes later, she left with a cheque in her hand. If that can happen on my one and only very short visit and the staff didn't bat an eyelid, it's a fair assumption that the behaviour of that young woman was not considered unusual.