Thoughts on the U K benefits system

Oh for goodness sake !   There is so much I want to say on this subject - it makes me really angry and the unfairness of the system.
My late husband was French but I just cannot believe if we had relocated to his country we could have been supported by the State in this way, it wouldn't have happened.  
I don't think this is fair and I don't think it should be allowed.  I do have compassion for those who are homeless, sick, and stateless but this doesn't seem to fit here.  
In this instance quoted I question why can't this gentleman's studies be carried out in his home country, does the UK
have training that other EU states do not, I am happy to be corrected though.
I have to shut up.

AndyB wrote:To me this shows two things: Firstly there appears to be a difference in the level of expectation between here and the continent. In France they clearly expect to be treated with dignity and have a home that is large enough to comfortably accommodate the whole family. Here, poor people are demonised and made out to be scroungers who should be grateful for the crumbs that they get from the rich man's table. We live in one of the richest countries on the planet - why shouldn't everyone have an expectation of a reasonable standard of living?

Secondly, it demonstrates the inadequacy of the social housing stock in the UK, which has now passed crisis levels. Of course neither of these points are brought out in the article's successful attempt to make the family out to be the problem rather than the UK's Victorian social policies.

I'm quite disgusted with the lack of compassion shown in this thread and the readiness with which people are ready to join the witch hunt against people that are different from themselves

I thought you were joking to begin with AndyB.

How can anyone show compassion to a couple who have had EIGHT children. If he wants to live in a civilized country, he should behave in a civilized manner and wear a johnny on his stupid dick if he`s sexually incontinent. Oh I forgot, we have to respect his religion don`t we.

Mimi wrote:
How can anyone show compassion to a couple who have had EIGHT children.  If he wants to live in a civilized country, he should behave in a civilized manner and wear a johnny on his stupid dick if he`s sexually incontinent.  Oh I forgot, we have to respect his religion don`t we.

Catholic?

Well, we don't know what religion (if any) the family is, Mimi, and, trying to be fair, they have only had one more child since coming to live in the U K. It does appear that prior to then Mr S was working and supporting his family himself.

I'm certainly not happy with his attitude now though, that he is entitled to have everything for nothing.

Hi unreorganised no I have nt, more's the pity, this is a beautiful place but I am mostly housebound. That is strange though.
HOW do you get to turn down a house like that? Are the council's mad? There should be no choice. Why are all these couples slaving away to pay their mortgages with their children in daycare? The family hardly see each other. Why bother working?

I would give ANYTHING to be able to get out into the world and work after 5 years of university, but a boy racer put paid to that. Life is so bloody unfair, why bother trying, pushing yourself way beyond your limits, ahhhh1

Andrew wrote:It makes you even more disgusted when you read something like this:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/elderly-couple-each-others-side-9164416

An elderly couple who have been by each other's side for 70 years are being 'forced apart' by social services - as they 'don't meet the criteria' to live together.

Jessie and Ray Lorrison, of South Shields in South Tyneside, have spent nearly every day of their lives together since they first met in 1946 - but have now been told they must live separate lives.

Ray, 95, is living at Westoe Grange Care Home in the town, while his heartbroken wife Jessie, 88, is in hospital after being told she 'does not meet the criteria' to join her husband.

Their daughter Cheryl Bates, 60, is desperately trying to reunite them in the care home.

Today she slammed South Tyneside Social Services' treatment of her parents as "disgusting".

Mum-of-three Cheryl said: "It is heartbreaking - and so cruel!

"Why should they be apart after all this time? What gives social services the right to play God?

At least they have seen sense after the pressure and newspaper headlines and some good news...

Family win fight to keep Ray and Jessie Lorrison together
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-37837577

That is really good news

Yes, fantastic news indeed.

Ah I'm so happy the old couple got to stay together. It sickens me they had to go to these lengths to get to stay together. What kind of a cruel world would split up an elderly couple? It's just awful.

As for the French family, what got me about that story is the mans attitude, he sure thinks the council owe him doesn't he. He should have been greatful for the three bed he was in in the first place. Beggars can't be choosers. Bugs the hell out of me when the unemployed and students think the world owe them. and I include even my own kids in that, one of my own kids use to think we owed her everything because we forced her to be born It took us a while to prove her wrong and show her the error of her ways.

So from their 4 bedroomed detached, and all the benefits they receive to this heart rending story....


More than 120,000 British children will be homeless this Christmas, says charity


More than 120,000 children across Britain face spending this Christmas homeless and in temporary accommodation, according to analysis by Shelter.
The charity, which used government data to make the findings, said the estimated figure is the highest since 2007 when over 133,000 children were living in temporary accommodation by the end of March that year.
It also calculates that the number of of families living in emergency B&B and hostel rooms has risen by a "worrying" 18 per cent in the space of a year, standing at 7,475 by the end of June 2016.
Its report said: "The devastating results of our housing shortage are now being felt by over 120,000 homeless children in Britain - the equivalent of four children in every school."
Shelter also carried out interviews with 25 families currently or recently living in emergency B&B's, hostels or sofa-surfing. It said many felt their accommodation was unsafe and the worst accounts involved exposure to drug abuse, fighting and strangers sleeping in corridors.
Every family interviewed lived in a single room and over half of parents also had to share a bed with their children.
One family interviewed by Shelter was sharing a two bedroom terraced house with three other families.
Many families also reported having to share toilet and bathroom facilities with other residents, according to Shelter, which has launched a Christmas appeal.
It said examples of disrepair in the accommodation families were staying in included dirty or broken mattresses and beds as well as serious hazards like sparking electrical sockets, mould, and windows that would not close.

Eighteen of the 25 families interviewed said their children's mental and emotional health had been badly affected, with accounts of children becoming anxious, isolated from their friends and struggling to sleep. Over half of parents said their children's development was negatively impacted.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: "Fifty years since Shelter was founded, too many families still need our help.
"Almost daily we hear from parents desperate to escape the single cramped room of a B&B or hostel that they find themselves struggling to raise their children in. Imagine having to eat all of your meals on the floor, share a bed with the rest of your family, or being too frightened to leave your room at night - these are things no parent wants their child to endure.
"That's why we urgently need the public's support to help us be there for the thousands of families who'll need us this Christmas."
A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: "Temporary accommodation ensures that no families with children are ever left without roofs over their heads.
"This Government has invested £500m to tackle homelessness - including prevention funding and £40m for councils to help rough sleepers.
"Just last week, this Government announced it would be backing Bob Blackman's Homelessness Reduction Bill - which will also provide vital support for many more people."
John Healey, shadow secretary of state for housing, said: "Tory ministers should hang their heads in shame over these shocking figures showing over 120,000 children are facing homelessness this Christmas.
"These are the children that can't go home and after six years Conservative ministers can't dodge their responsibility for this scandal."

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/more-than-120000-british-children-will-be-homeless-this-christmas-says-charity



Heart-breaking    How is it that some can get so much and others suffer appallingly!!

It would make a body want to cry reading that in this day and age.. Bless the homeless.

I don't know what it's like over there in UK but suspect it's very similar to here in Ireland.
But here, if the family or person is black the authorities bend over backwards to help, and I know for a fact here in my town they pay their hairdressers bill for braids weaves etc, the pregnant ladies get all new prams, cots etc, something Irish citizens don't get even if unemployed. I think the authorities fear the race card been thrown and bend over backwards to help all black foreigners. It wouldn't cost me a thought if they were doing the same for their citizens as well, but no, the poor Irish struggle. No wonder there are so many racist people about. Our authorities incite it by showing preference to colour. They should be leading by example and treating everyone equally.

I can't understand how that French family can complain, I looked at one of the paper links on this thread and it showed a pic of their house in France, their three bed house over there in U.K. would be luxury compared to what they were use to. the demands they make are a disgrace especially reading that post about all the families that will be homeless this winter. Grrrrrrrrr

And here is what I was talking about front page tomorrow.....

candyfloss wrote:And here is what I was talking about front page tomorrow.....

Hats off Candyfloss, it's not every day you see somebody quoting the Morning Star!

Yeah,  so, but it is true though isn't it!!  it makes me so angry that senior citizens die of cold with no money to heat their homes,

candyfloss wrote:Yeah,  so, but it is true though isn't it!!  it makes me so angry that senior citizens die of cold with no money to heat their homes,

It's OK, I've heard that the world is getting imperceptibly warmer year on year, and that by as soon as the year 2002 there will be wildebeest and giraffes roaming the home counties. So I'd imagine that by about 2010 your old folks will have nothing to worry about.