PMQs and the alignment of parties after the Budget.

DaisyAnneReturns

Not all have paid in what they get out though. It would be interesting to know whether, on average, the system "pays back". Like so many of our systems the original would not be fit for purpose now. So it's had a lot of tweaks

NI payments only pay for part of health cost of pensioners, in fact even the contributions from today’s workers cannot keep pace. Current health spending is over £320 billion plus £32 billion care costs from council tax.
NI payments total £200 billion the rest from general taxation.

Not all have paid in what they get out though. It would be interesting to know whether, on average, the system "pays back". Like so many of our systems the original would not be fit for purpose now. So it's had a lot of tweaks

From what I understand pensioners have a least paid in?

Mollygo

David49

The welfare system is widely exploited by the black economy and single parent families where support is being given to mothers by men but not declared.

I don’t know about your niece, but our Labour MP admitted that the issue of black economy and undisclosed money being given to anyone, not just on benefits, and not just single parents is one of the hardest things to monitor. He talked about multiple bank accounts besides the cash in hand aspect.

It’s impossible to monitor, the system that single parents only get benefit if they are sole occupier of a dwelling has so many disadvantages

David49

The welfare system is widely exploited by the black economy and single parent families where support is being given to mothers by men but not declared.

I don’t know about your niece, but our Labour MP admitted that the issue of black economy and undisclosed money being given to anyone, not just on benefits, and not just single parents is one of the hardest things to monitor. He talked about multiple bank accounts besides the cash in hand aspect.

David49

The welfare system is widely exploited by the black economy and single parent families where support is being given to mothers by men but not declared.

My niece does just that, has never worked, will invent any excuse to avoid employment, the boyfriend visits at weekends, she’s far better off than working single parents.

I understand the concern about welfare misuse, but the idea that the system is widely exploited, especially by single parents, simply doesn’t match the evidence. Actual welfare fraud is very low, and single-parent families are already one of the most monitored groups. Most people receiving support are following the rules and dealing with real financial pressures. If the system needs improvement, the focus should be on better administration and addressing wider economic issues, not on stereotyping entire groups.

The welfare system is widely exploited by the black economy and single parent families where support is being given to mothers by men but not declared.

My niece does just that, has never worked, will invent any excuse to avoid employment, the boyfriend visits at weekends, she’s far better off than working single parents.

Allira

Only in certain circumstances is it allowed

Benefits such as Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit do recognise a small number of polygamous marriages which took place in a jurisdiction where polygamy is permitted. This number is very small and declining, since the Immigration Act 1988, it has not been possible for people polygamously married overseas to bring second wives to the UK through the spouse visa route.
Question for Department for Work and Pensions
22/5/2024

Thanks for the clarification Allira.

The UK does not permit or legally recognise polygamy, but still acknowledges the practical reality of individuals’ lives for welfare purposes to prevent destitution. This is not a recognition of polygamy as a legal marriage structure; it is a safeguard to protect individuals already here.

Only in certain circumstances is it allowed

Benefits such as Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit do recognise a small number of polygamous marriages which took place in a jurisdiction where polygamy is permitted. This number is very small and declining, since the Immigration Act 1988, it has not been possible for people polygamously married overseas to bring second wives to the UK through the spouse visa route.
Question for Department for Work and Pensions
22/5/2024

As second and subsequent wives are only allowed entry to come to the UK as individuals in their own right and polygamy is illegal in the UK, why then can benefits be allowed?

It seems to be a contradiction.

Polygamy in the Mormon faith is illegal in the USA too (but tolerated in Utah) but a man could claim benefits for multiple wives here. Why?

Thus does sound as if it's becoming an attack on ethnicity.

petra

DaisyAnneReturns

JamesandJon33

I read in the paper today that the government pay benefits to households who practice polygamy. Extra wives mean extra money. Is this true ?

I wonder which paper that was, and who owns it?

It’s true. The UK recognise polygamy= more benefits.

The Express is a long way from being a reliable source. If it's true there should be other, reliable and substantive sources - like the law.

It’s government’s job to balance economic growth with welfare for those who really need it.
Get it too much either way and things go wrong.

Mollygo

But keepingquiet
all the children in poverty because of those self inflicted or unforseen circumstances are already being punished by their parents, either deliberately or by accident.

Or, of course, you could see it as them having been punished by the Conservative government's who took the benefits of their parents insurance away from them.

Or by life which put good parents in the unenviable position of not being able to cope.

Or you could blame those whose contemptible sense of entitlement puts them above others.

Five interest rate cuts haven't done me any good and I don't believe what they say about the economy. As for pensioners on benefits, the old age pension is not a benefit but an entitlement.

"All this earnestness and righteousness is going to get them absolutely nowhere." We had Boris Johnson making everything a bit of a laugh, but that didn't do much good, did it? It is time for some serious thinking, which needs earnest thought about what is right, for once. Otherwise we will end up in a copy of Trumpia, the land where governing a country is for profit by those who do nothing in earnest and are far from righteous in their political or their private lives.

GrannyGravy13

Labours comms team is sadly lacking.

Even their Ministers rolled out each day for the morning news slots often look
like rabbits caught in headlights
Usually having to answer questions far from their intended brief 🤷‍♀️

I had high hopes when they appointed a new head of communications, but things really haven’t improved. They are stuck in very old styles of communication and need to recognise the world has completely changed. And how you talk to people needs to completely change. All this earnestness and righteousness is going to get them absolutely nowhere.

Get more idle people out to work. Since when has a government had to feed people's children 🤔 or not make it harder to claim for every little thing going where is the British back bone gone. Never been so ashamed of our country!!!@

Sounds like this was written by the Labour Party press office.

Elegran, most people understand that. I said the same sort of thing earlier.

Sadie5803

If you can't afford children, then dont have them, its call takeing responsibility for yourself and not expecting other people to pay for them, hubby and I worked all our lives, had 2, couldn't afford anymore.

What if you have your children when you CAN afford to raise them, and then a catastrophe strikes - such as a chronic debilitating illness like MS which is progressive and puts paid to the career you are just starting to make headway in. MS is often first diagnosed in people in their thirties, when people have a young family and are both working to pay a mortgage.

But keepingquiet
all the children in poverty because of those self inflicted or unforseen circumstances are already being punished by their parents, either deliberately or by accident.

Children are not monetary units.

What happens if you take out a massive mortgage you can't afford?

Or buy a really expensive car that guzzles petrol and harms the environment?

What happens if you max out on your credit card and struggle to pay it off?

What if you lose your job, get divorced, need major surgery or cancer treament?

What if your spouse dies, or they beat you up, or develop an addiction?

There are so many variables here that happen in people's lives and none of them are the fault of the children, so why should they be punished???

I waited 64 weeks for an opthalmology appointment. The appointment lasted all of 2 minutes and the consultant took 15 seconds to declare problem. Waiting list for treatment another 15 months. Decided to go private (as I did for cataract rather than wait a year).Consultant had copy of letter NHS consultant had sent. Private did some tests and declared NHS diagnosis was way way wrong, I need surgery on my nose. So I paid privately to have a diagnosis NHS didn't even bother to test for. Yes waiting lists may be down but at what cost. Now awaiting NHS response to private consultant's diagnosis. Optician who had referred me said I should go with private diagnosis as more qualified and experienced than NHS.