The Budget

There’s “relative poverty” and “actual poverty” Nanna. Having travelled extensively in India I’m sure in my own mind which is which.

Icandoit

It's time they looked more deep into the Disabaility Car scheme. I know they have now stopped the option to contribute to purchasing 'luxury' cars but I do think they should look seriously into who really is entitled to this scheme. There are many who def don't. Such a waste of resoures.

I know 2 women who lost their disability car in the past 2 years.

You certainly can’t generalise reality based on your experience foxie48.
Our house was certainly cheaper, but with no relatives to do child care, I had to work evenings to cover expenses. Even that still left us with less than £10 for a weekly shop (yes I know £10 could buy a lot more) and DH mostly walked the 4 miles into and back from work to save on bus fare.
Then the interest rate soared!
I can’t say we felt deprived though in retrospect I suppose we were. In those days you just got on with it.

Difficulties we didn’t have that parents are faced with today were the constant look how good everyone else has it adverts that flood our TVs, expectations of expensive devices, the must have holidays, etc. on top of the soaring prices of food, transport, fuel and clothing.

The biggest cost faced by in work parents who rely on universal credit, which is the majority of claimants, is accommodation costs. So many rent, at what we would consider extortionate rates compared with income, and have little left over. They have very little chance of ever entering the housing market.

foxie48

"Many of us "boomers" have not faced the same difficulties that many young families face today."

See above Allira I have not presumed anything, just stated my experience, which I know is shared by many of my contemporaries. First husband was a police officer and we were both from working class families so we had no leg up on the housing ladder. However, the cost of housing, whether owned or rented is a huge issue in this country, much more than it was in the 70's and that is causing huge problems for our young, especially if they don't have access to help from parents. This is creating a huge divide in society which is unhealthy and extremely unfair.

Do you think I'm stupid, foxie48?

The cost of housing might have been easily affordable for you but perhaps you lived in an area where housing was relatively cheap.

Why do you assume others may have had a leg-up on the housing ladder? Admittedly, some young couples did live with parents while they saved up to try to buy their own house if that's what you term a leg-up. We couldn't.

Casdon rents in my area are extortionate.

Builders are building flats starting at over £350,000 (2 beds), lots of large 4 bed detached, very few 2/3 bed semis. Looking at planning applications, more of the same.

House prices are remaining very high, season tickets into the City, daylight robbery!

The council has built a handful of new social housing units.

The many joys of living in the S.E. 🤷‍♀️

Casdon

The biggest cost faced by in work parents who rely on universal credit, which is the majority of claimants, is accommodation costs. So many rent, at what we would consider extortionate rates compared with income, and have little left over. They have very little chance of ever entering the housing market.

I'm feeling sorry for care leavers. There needs to be more help for them all round. They are getting a really rawl deal.

Mollygo

You certainly can’t generalise reality based on your experience foxie48.
Our house was certainly cheaper, but with no relatives to do child care, I had to work evenings to cover expenses. Even that still left us with less than £10 for a weekly shop (yes I know £10 could buy a lot more) and DH mostly walked the 4 miles into and back from work to save on bus fare.
Then the interest rate soared!
I can’t say we felt deprived though in retrospect I suppose we were. In those days you just got on with it.

Difficulties we didn’t have that parents are faced with today were the constant look how good everyone else has it adverts that flood our TVs, expectations of expensive devices, the must have holidays, etc. on top of the soaring prices of food, transport, fuel and clothing.

I can’t say we felt deprived though in retrospect I suppose we were.
Looking back, we were although I just thought we were hard up, not deprived as we weren't bombarded with adverts for all the must-have stuff. I don't think our children realised although DD, aged about 7 at the time, always wanted an outfit bought from a shop, not homemade or from the school jumble sale! When I got my crappy evening job, I took her to Tammy Girl and let her choose something.

But that's anecdotal 😁

Allira I am very sorry that I seem to have upset you, certainly not my intention but nowhere have I suggested that I think you are stupid. Neither have I said that we found the cost of housing "easily affordable". We didn't and I also did some part time work around my husbands shifts but I didn't feel it was necessary to mention that. Money was tight but like most working class kids, I was used to that.
My point is and still is that it was "doable" whereas for many young people these days, it is not doable, especially if they are having to pay rent, which we were having to do prior to buying. They also have little choice about both partners continuing to work if they have a family and although that brings in money it also costs so I'm pleased that the budget will potentially help those families

It's ok, foxie48, it just brought back a very difficult time in our lives. It was hard keeping the children happy, warm, fed and clothed but we did.
After seven years we were able to move and things got easier.
So I do understand what it's like.

Allira

It's ok, foxie48, it just brought back a very difficult time in our lives. It was hard keeping the children happy, warm, fed and clothed but we did.
After seven years we were able to move and things got easier.
So I do understand what it's like.

I agree Allira and it was hard for me and ex DH with two little girls living in London to make ends meet.We bought food in the market where it was much cheaper.I remember wanting a new pair of shoes and I couldn’t afford it.Children’s clothes were all second hand as were the pram and buggy and cots.
We had far far less than young parents today have and yet they think themselves hard done by!

Oreo
Your last paragraph sums up part of the problem.

Incidentally, we did rent 3 upstairs rooms in a house (shared front door) for quite a few years whilst we saved up the deposit. Renting a flat or house was out of the question.

Mollygo

Oreo
Your last paragraph sums up part of the problem.

Incidentally, we did rent 3 upstairs rooms in a house (shared front door) for quite a few years whilst we saved up the deposit. Renting a flat or house was out of the question.

We did too!

The lovely old landlady used to wait near the bottom of the stairs for me to get home from work; she loved to have a chat.

Wyllow3

Icandoit

It's time they looked more deep into the Disabaility Car scheme. I know they have now stopped the option to contribute to purchasing 'luxury' cars but I do think they should look seriously into who really is entitled to this scheme. There are many who def don't. Such a waste of resoures.

I dont know much about the scheme at all. who is getting it (ie under what grounds) who dont need it?

Please dont forget what are called "hidden disabilities
I am very fit and go to the gym but my Mental Health problems means I am fearful of and have been unable to use public transport for a very very long time. it terrified me getting on a bus and "not being able to get back home", ditto going th places I dont know.

My car feels a safe haven like a little bit of home going out with me.

So do be careful of whom you are referring to?

My daughter in law is 55 and has worked since the age of 16, so has my son, they have no children. Two years ago she was diagnosed with inoperable breast cancer, went through chemotherapy and because of the position of her tumour she has lymphedema in her right arm and has lost the use of her right arm and hand so has had to give up work as she needed to be able to write, use a computer and drive. After chemo she sought help from MacMillan to see what benefits she would be entitled to, she was entitled to ESA and PIP and the total of these benefits is a fraction of her previous earnings. She had to sell her car as she could no longer drive it and could have had a Motability car specially adapted to her needs but she would have had to give up the mobility part of her PIP which is £77 a week. Motability cars are not the freebies people think they are, people give up part of their PIP which is equivalent to the cost of leasing a car.

This is what AI says about the proportion of income spent on rent.

In the UK, the percentage of income spent on rent has significantly increased since 1980. In 1980, private renters spent an average of about 10-12% of their income on housing, but this has risen to around 30-32% today, and is even higher.

For people on below average earnings, the proportion spent on rent is obviously higher.

Do you think you had less than your parents had Oreo?

I saw a headline about a week ago saying 'If there's one thing worse than raising taxes to save the NHS it's raising taxes and not saving the NHS.
Where is the extra funding so desperately needed for public services going to come from? Our hospitals, schools, roads, utilities could all crumble into dust before the next election.

Smileless2012

[confused[ doesn't that have to be paid back if someone's income including their pension is £35,000?

Don't let facts interfere with the story.

Mollygo

Walking through town today, it’s quite obvious who will benefit from the removal of the 2 child cap.

Well yes, the people with more than two children.

Icandoit

It's time they looked more deep into the Disabaility Car scheme. I know they have now stopped the option to contribute to purchasing 'luxury' cars but I do think they should look seriously into who really is entitled to this scheme. There are many who def don't. Such a waste of resoures.

I don't know why people keep saying this. You qualify for a motability car (if you want one) if you get higher rate mobility. Surely it is qualifying for higher rate mobility that is the issue.

theworriedwell

Icandoit

It's time they looked more deep into the Disabaility Car scheme. I know they have now stopped the option to contribute to purchasing 'luxury' cars but I do think they should look seriously into who really is entitled to this scheme. There are many who def don't. Such a waste of resoures.

I don't know why people keep saying this. You qualify for a motability car (if you want one) if you get higher rate mobility. Surely it is qualifying for higher rate mobility that is the issue.

The allowance was being used to purchase more expensive premium cars rather than reducing the cost of ordinary cars for example buying an expensive Audi rather than the more practical Skoda. Or a BMW instead of a Ford.

Oreo

Allira

It's ok, foxie48, it just brought back a very difficult time in our lives. It was hard keeping the children happy, warm, fed and clothed but we did.
After seven years we were able to move and things got easier.
So I do understand what it's like.

I agree Allira and it was hard for me and ex DH with two little girls living in London to make ends meet.We bought food in the market where it was much cheaper.I remember wanting a new pair of shoes and I couldn’t afford it.Children’s clothes were all second hand as were the pram and buggy and cots.
We had far far less than young parents today have and yet they think themselves hard done by!

Many of were in just that situation when we were children, of course at the time we didn’t realize how hard our parents had to work to feed the family.
In the 1950s it was a tin bath in front of the fire, a copper wash boiler in the kitchen a pump in the yard for water and a privy down the garden. Clothes were mended until there was nothing left to mend, all were handed down.

We were actually very lucky living in a village with no industrial pollution

DaisyAnneReturns we have five children, four out of five definitely have more than us at comparable ages.

The fifth will by the end of 2026.

If people of our generation have done well financially we can help our children to get the best education, get on the housing ladder, and with life’s unpredictables. They are the lucky ones. The statistics though, reflect the average - and demonstrate that this generation is less well off.

I don't know why people keep saying this. You qualify for a motability car (if you want one) if you get higher rate mobility. Surely it is qualifying for higher rate mobility that is the issue. (*theworriedwell*)

People often criticise those who receive mobility support because certain news sources present them as the latest target for public frustration. That narrative shifts over time. More recently, attention has been redirected toward families with more than two children. The narative is similar against all these groups.

Whether these families receive National Insurance benefits or not, whether the are justified in getting mobility help, some people feel confident making assumptions about who is ‘deserving,’ just from a glance.

What I struggle to understand is this: if political movements that favour reduced democratic accountability continue to gain influence, supported in part by some of the media, why do people assume they themselves will remain exempt from the consequences? When votes are no longer needed, older people may risk being viewed primarily in terms of cost rather than contribution, and that should worry all of us.