Universal credit 'will destroy people'

[SueEllen]

I found out today that this experiment was tried before a few decades ago and didn't work.

Generally those particularly in London who are able to get social housing are the particularly "vunerable" or more useless with money. That's due to the shortage of council and housing association properties in lots of boroughs means unless you get enough points due to being very vunerable you have to rent with a private landlord.

So the tenants will get their £3,000 for the rent that month and spend it on booze, fags and drugs. It will then take the councils/housing associations 8 months to evict them using the courts, which we pay for.

Once they are evicted because they are "vunerable" we have to pay for them to be put up in B&Bs.

[vetran]

I thought that up until now, the housing benefits went straight to the landlord without the benefitee ever seeing the money.

Isn't one of the wondrous IDS bright ideas to abolish that?

nope its see sawed back & forth for decades. Every party has had a go both ways. If its direct to Landlord you will probably get your money eventually.

If its direct to tenant then its six months to evict with no rent.

But then when the council don't pay for 4 months due to administrative issues you can see why Landlords don't like DHSS tenants at all.

[VectraMan]

"If you don't manufacture sommat, you can't sell it, to make profit" - one of the experts on the programme.

[VectraMan]

nope its see sawed back & forth for decades. Every party has had a go both ways. If its direct to Landlord you will probably get your money eventually.

I might end up claiming unemployment and housing benefit in a few months time (never have with previous spells on the bench but with hindsight maybe I should have). If it happens, I'd much rather my Landlords knew nothing about it and the state just paid me. I don't see that it's any of their business.

[northernladuk]

Interesting thought, but surely people have to take some responsibility for their own actions.

I mean some element of their budget comes in cash at the moment anyway. What happens when people come along and say 'I spent all me food budget on special brew and fags.' Does the council/government keep handing out cash?

Serious question, I don't know how it works.

Well there was that 'scandal' where a housing association hinted at budgetting better and not having sky etc and there was uproar...

Housing association suggests giving up Sky, alcohol, cigarettes, bingo | Metro News

[vetran]

I might end up claiming unemployment and housing benefit in a few months time (never have with previous spells on the bench but with hindsight maybe I should have). If it happens, I'd much rather my Landlords knew nothing about it and the state just paid me. I don't see that it's any of their business.

lend us £8000 then.

don't worry I'm good for it. As a tenant its intrusive to check your credit rating.

[VectraMan]

Also, are you saying that people should stay where there is no work? That's a strange view considering the concensus here should be that everyone moves to london as its the only place with a decreasing unemployment rate?

Are you saying that people who live in London should move to preston where there is even less chance of getting off the benefit trap?

It's a good point, but are the people on long term benefits in London the people likely to get London jobs? It's often true that with London prices, they'd have to earn too much to make it worth coming off benefits - which can only lead to the conclusion that the current system is broken and isn't helping anyone. Perhaps with a lower cost workforce, Preston would thrive, and without housing benefit propping up rents and house prices, London would become more affordable.

Easy to say I know.

[DodgyAgent]

Bring back workhouses

[Gibbon]

Housing association suggests giving up Sky, alcohol, cigarettes, bingo | Metro News

Forget morality or responsibility, there’s a good self interested reason for the likes us to allow those in the underclass, who have not the ability nor the aspiration to escape it, to have their Sky TV and stella. It keeps them happy and ignorant of the dross of the life they’re leading. If we screw enough of them right down to an existence devoid of entertainment or an escape from reality, they may start to want what we have and you will have nourished the seeds to violent rioting and social upheaval. What we must always ensure is that there is a route out for those that chose it and should never deride those unfortunate enough not to have the ability to do more than a menial job, if they are working hard then they deserve a decent living.

[DodgyAgent]

Forget morality or responsibility, there’s a good self interested reason for the likes us to allow those in the underclass, who have not the ability nor the aspiration to escape it, to have their Sky TV and stella. It keeps them happy and ignorant of the dross of the life they’re leading. If we screw enough of them right down to an existence devoid of entertainment or an escape from reality, they may start to want what we have and you will have nourished the seeds to violent rioting and social upheaval. What we must always ensure is that there is a route out for those that chose it and should never deride those unfortunate enough not to have the ability to do more than a menial job, if they are working hard then they deserve a decent living.

So do we accept then that these people will never work or contribute anything towards their own upkeep?