Benefits Cap

[vetran]

If they push the claimants to cheaper/less popular areas like the north-east, prices here will increase and bingobob will be even more incensed at how much 'benefits' I receive

yes but it might force them to tackle 'no go areas' up north and attract business and wealth to those areas. Currently they just lay idle ad become druggy alleys with a few pensioners unable to move out because their house is worth 10% of what they paid for it.

Agree about the social housing - they seem to believe that forcing rich & poor to live side by side will make everyone live nicely together. I bet they don't encourage their problem tenants to live in the councillors road?

[vetran]

More sensibly where unemployment blackspots exist change them to new business hot spots by subsidy if needed.

I have no objection to subsidising small business by discounting PAYE by a similar amount to benefits during start up. If they remove people from benefits then they are cheaper to run in employment no job seeking advisors etc.

If they were getting £10,000 benefits and you discount the employers costs to the same figure its still a win. Do that for the first 3-5 years in a new business and it will pay for itself.
.

[KimberleyChris]

After being on the bench for so long, what I dream of is this:

1. I go to the job cantre and put my name on a list.
2. My CV is automatically circulated to every job centre in the country.
3. Where there is an appropriate job for me, I must go for it.
4. I get a return travel warrant to go to the interview.
5. If I get the job, the Government then relocates me, and I pay back the housing deposit / rent-up-front / tranny-van hire etc over the next six months.

Sense??

[d000hg]

yes but it might force them to tackle 'no go areas' up north and attract business and wealth to those areas. Currently they just lay idle ad become druggy alleys with a few pensioners unable to move out because their house is worth 10% of what they paid for it.

There is a distinction between areas which are heavily populated by benefits claimants, and the real slums. Two can look pretty similar, but they're not... our house is in the former so while a bit rough by middle-class standards, it is still populated by regular families and so on.

[Notascooby]

A huge problem is the complete abuse the housing benefit system is open to. There's a huge number of council flats / houses being sub-let where a couple are sharing a private flat (claimed as single or single parent occupancy) and the partner living there renting out their council house. I've known of both people living at a private flat (on housing) whilst both renting out their council houses.

Then there are the guest houses that have every room being rented out at over-the-odd rates to claimants but still have the vacancy sign lit as they take a % for receiving the mail and cheques whilst the claimant doesn't stay there.

A quick transposition error in NI and you can get away with a couple of years claiming in multiple councils.

Another scam is reducing your hours for the desired timescale to prove your low salary to submit with your annual review of benefot before returning to full-time employment for the remainder of the year - easy to do for those paid by the hour.

Get rid of the scammers and you'll slash the budget and free up a large amount of social housing stock too.

[vetran]

But if they needed houses they would police the empty streets and turn them into habitable areas again. Currently its cheaper & easier to abandon them. Once there is a shortage of homes in the area and the daily wail etc get on the case things will change.

Chris it makes perfect sense which is why it would never happen.

I would go so far as to suggest that initially you are given an option to relocate but it doesn't form part of your 3 refusals ( Is it still 3 refusals & your benefit gets stopped?) until you have been out for a year. Again I have no problem subsidising relocation for long term unemployed.

[The Spartan]

A huge problem is the complete abuse the housing benefit system is open to. There's a huge number of council flats / houses being sub-let where a couple are sharing a private flat (claimed as single or single parent occupancy) and the partner living there renting out their council house. I've known of both people living at a private flat (on housing) whilst both renting out their council houses.

I've seen that happening, I'm so tempted to report it online as well grrrrrrr

[KimberleyChris]

Chris it makes perfect sense which is why it would never happen.

Thanks.

Also, I have on two occasions lived very happily in mobile homes (i.e. large static caravans, or really, prefabs) on private sites.

Instead of just having them for trevellers, why not have proper ones for workers?.

That way you could take your home with you lock-stock-and barrel when you get a new job, and the Government wouldn't have to build new houses. They would only need to build the underground infrastructure and bases. Sites need not be permanent, but could be built near to large projects like, say , power stations, and then ripped-up when the workers move on to the next big job.

[vetran]

one of our manufacturing sites is next to a caravan park.
All of the temps are gorgeous Polish girls not a Brit amongst them.

doesn't always work the way you expect.

But hostels for long term unemployed near popular work areas makes sense. You could offer support (someone keeps saying to you for the first few weeks 'yes you are doing a good job, no you aren't on the scrapheap' - been there done that, needed that) and subsidised meals for the first few weeks so having two houses on the go is not crippling.

So if you get a job somewhere and you need to relocate, you can stay down for a few months before you move the family down.

[KimberleyChris]

"one of our manufacturing sites is next to a caravan park.
All of the temps are gorgeous Polish girls not a Brit amongst them.

doesn't always work the way you expect".

Well, build more, and somebody shut the b***dy door!

Nice people, the Polish, but they were meant to come and augment shortages in our working population, not displace it!