How out of touch the government and civil servants are?

[Good Plan Ted]

Currently in the South East we are being bombarded with adverts to change our boilers to heat recovery pumps, nothing about costs or upheaval and just wondering how much this propaganda costs, when this was spotted in East Sussex yesterday. Is there anywhere in the country you could get a flat for £450? You would struggle here if you added a £1,000.

[Zetec-S]

I think when an MP gets elected they should have all their assets frozen and made to find a place to live and survive on universal credit / benefits for 6 weeks.

[Tom8]

Zetec-S said:

I think when an MP gets elected they should have all their assets frozen and made to find a place to live and survive on universal credit / benefits for 6 weeks.

Or people on benefits could try working and see how it suits?

[Ian Geary]

£450 a week would be good going.

Plus of course, when in work you actually have to do the "work" bit too.


Some people enjoy the sense of fulfilment and purpose they get from gainful employment but it's obviously not everyone's cup of tea.

[Far Cough]

Maybe ask all those who bought a diesel car a few years ago how they feel taking the advice of the government.

[Zetec-S]

Tom8 said:

Or people on benefits could try working and see how it suits?

[boyse7en]

Tom8 said:

Zetec-S said:

I think when an MP gets elected they should have all their assets frozen and made to find a place to live and survive on universal credit / benefits for 6 weeks.

Or people on benefits could try working and see how it suits?

The majority of people on benefits (if you don't include the State Pension as a benefit) are working. The low-wage economy that has developed over the last few decades has only been possible due to the government's willingness to make up the shortfall in wages with benefits, to the cost of the national economy and the advantage of the big businesses

[BoRED S2upid]

£450 is a tad cheap try £550 and you will find plenty. There is life in the north of England! Christ you could live in Scotland probably get a castle for £500 pcm up there.

[Bill]

Why would anyone work for effectively £6.57 an hour when they could work for cash and not tell the benefits dept?

[chrispmartha]

Good Plan Ted said:

Is there anywhere in the country you could get a flat for £450? You would struggle here if you added a £1,000.

I was just going to reply - yes round where I live - but I haven't checked rental prices for a fair few years, and I was surprised to find that the cheapest small flat I found to rent was £575 per month!

House rental prices are really crazy aren't they!

[andy43]

Good Plan Ted said:

Currently in the South East we are being bombarded with adverts to change our boilers to heat recovery pumps, nothing about costs or upheaval and just wondering how much this propaganda costs,..

With a £7500 grant plus an extra kickback to the registered installer from the manufacturer from what I’ve been told, it’ll cost you almost nothing on a standard 3 bed semi type install. Until winter anyway.
The grant money must be coming from somewhere though…

[hidetheelephants]

chrispmartha said:

Good Plan Ted said:

Is there anywhere in the country you could get a flat for £450? You would struggle here if you added a £1,000.

I was just going to reply - yes round where I live - but I haven't checked rental prices for a fair few years, and I was surprised to find that the cheapest small flat I found to rent was £575 per month!

House rental prices are really crazy aren't they!

Because the govts have been making being a landlord less attractive, so those who can exit are doing so; supply goes down, price goes up. This is surprising to no one at all other than the govts.

[chrispmartha]

hidetheelephants said:

chrispmartha said:

Good Plan Ted said:

Is there anywhere in the country you could get a flat for £450? You would struggle here if you added a £1,000.

I was just going to reply - yes round where I live - but I haven't checked rental prices for a fair few years, and I was surprised to find that the cheapest small flat I found to rent was £575 per month!

House rental prices are really crazy aren't they!

Because the govts have been making being a landlord less attractive, so those who can exit are doing so; supply goes down, price goes up. This is surprising to no one at all other than the govts.

I'm just glad that I was very very fortunate to have bought a house in the early 00s for less than I have available on a credit card these days!

I remember not even wanting to buy at the time as I was worried about the debt (29k for a 2 bedroom 3 story victorian terraced house) which seems crazy thinking about it today.

[mac96]

That 'Better of in work' calculation also ignores the costs of going to work- travel, possible child care, need to present respectably. That £5k can easily shrink to little or nothing. The issue is poor pay, and AIUI that there is a sharp benefit cut off at 15 hours discouraging working anything between 15 hours and full time.

[Silvanus]

What's it got to do with civil servants?

[boyse7en]

mac96 said:

That 'Better of in work' calculation also ignores the costs of going to work- travel, possible child care, need to present respectably. That £5k can easily shrink to little or nothing. The issue is poor pay, and AIUI that there is a sharp benefit cut off at 15 hours discouraging working anything between 15 hours and full time.

The increase in Zero Hours contracts has also made it even more of an issue. Working 14 hours one week and 16 hours the next could lose you hundreds of pounds in benefits, so there is little incentive to take teh "risk" of working on a contract where you don't have a guaranteed income.

[andyA700]

There are properties out there if you look.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find....

[mac96]

boyse7en said:

mac96 said:

That 'Better of in work' calculation also ignores the costs of going to work- travel, possible child care, need to present respectably. That £5k can easily shrink to little or nothing. The issue is poor pay, and AIUI that there is a sharp benefit cut off at 15 hours discouraging working anything between 15 hours and full time.

The increase in Zero Hours contracts has also made it even more of an issue. Working 14 hours one week and 16 hours the next could lose you hundreds of pounds in benefits, so there is little incentive to take teh "risk" of working on a contract where you don't have a guaranteed income.

System seems full of disincentives. I am sure I remember reading of people working exactly 15 hours being caught out because the cut off is 15 hours, so you should actually not work more than 14 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds to avoid benefit reductions. Ridiculous.

[Zetec-S]

andyA700 said:

There are properties out there if you look.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find....

No there isn't. A quick scan and I couldn't find anything suitable for a single parent with 2 kids for anywhere close to £450 p/month.

[EmBe]

mac96 said:

That 'Better of in work' calculation also ignores the costs of going to work- travel, possible child care, need to present respectably. That £5k can easily shrink to little or nothing. The issue is poor pay, and AIUI that there is a sharp benefit cut off at 15 hours discouraging working anything between 15 hours and full time.

The cut is the killer for most people. Work 15 hours and not a minute more legitimately, risking having your benefit stopped if you go over, or work cash in hand for whatever rate you can get in the hope it makes you enough to get by, or just stay on benefits and do nothing.

None of those choices is good for the claimants or the country.