DHSS scroungers

I wouldn’t claim and wouldn’t evade tax, but I would do anything possible to avoid working for someone else. I think I’m ok now for money, but if I decide I need more at any stage I will work for myself. Being owned by someone else has felt wrong since my first thoughts on it and my feelings have only gotten stronger.

I don’t like scroungers, but I ultimately blame successive governments for creating the opportunity to make more from doing nothing than you can get from working.

Honestly don't know what the answer is, especially in London were rents and properties are so expensive. I am a believer in people working for their money, but not 12 hour shifts just to earn enough to live. 8hrs a day, 5 days a week and you should be earning enough to live.

I used to do three 12 hour shifts and a 13 hour shift a week, in an underground cold storage warehouse. Take home was £95 a week. An LP cost £7.99. That was 25 years ago though.

It wasn't so bad. Used to have laugh on there, real knockabout stuff. And we had the radio on all day for entertainment.

There's no such thing, actually. The DHSS ceased to be more than 30 years ago. It was replaced with the DSS (Department of Social Security) and in 2001 that was replaced by the DWP (Department of Works & Pensions). And their claim to fame is their role out of Universal Credit. Anyone heard of it? Must have. It's had tons of press coverage. A single benefit replacing 5 (I think) and the brainchild of Ian Duncan Smith.

So why has it been in the press so much? Well, mainly for the havoc it's been reeking. Government ministers think that the lower orders will be happy to be paid monthly as in the way of a salary. It means that you have a 5/6 week wait before you receive any payment. This wait has resulted in some landlords refusing to let to anyone in receipt of Universal Credit. You've had some families where the worker has become unemployed and made homeless as a result of the introduction of UC.


Wherever it comes into effect foodbank use rockets. 2019 and some people find themselves having to resort to charity to exist. During school holidays schools are remaining open just to provide a meal to kids that would otherwise go without. Something that was never heard of.

2 Years ago I was unlucky enough to be made redundant (at 60). There wasn't any other option but to make a claim. Everything is done on-line now; you can't simply just call in at your local job centre. 10 weeks later (just over 1/5 of a year) I got a payment. I did have about £275 saved up which I lived on during the 10 weeks. There wasn't any to pay the rent with. The house belongs to a housing association and they were aware of the process, but each week I got a computer telephone message telling me I was in arrears with my rent.

Because I didn't know what my income was going to be, I couldn't claim Council Tax Rebate, so that still had to be paid; £22 a week. The only good thing was that I'd paid the quarterly gas & electric at bills just before I lost my job. For anyone over 25 the standard rate was/is £317 a month - £79 a week plus £290 for rent. It meant that I had £14 to put towards the rent. So, £65 to live on. And there's no back-dating of payments for anything if there's an error. On the other hand, if you're somehow overpaid, you have to pay it back.

In order to claim UC you have to be actively seeking employment. You're expected to spend 35 hours a week (5 hours a day 7 days a week) looking for and applying for jobs - even if realistically there there isn't any in your area. It's all on-line so can be checked. Even if you're working part-time, you're still expected to be looking for a full-time job. And if you're late for appointments or appear not to be looking for work you can be sanctioned losing part of your allowance. Thankfully after 5 months I managed to find a job with the help of the local college; agencies weren't interested as soon as my age became known. And I was pretty grateful.

Benefits have been frozen for the past 3 years and will be untill 2020. Did you know that? So despite the hike in fuel costs in that time benefits haven't be compensated. Anyone who thinks it's a lifestyle choice should try it for a couple of months and see if they still think so. During the miner's strike the Conservative Matthew Parris swapped places with a miner and he had his eyes opened. He left politics some time later and went into journalism; now and again he's on Radio 4.

You'll always get a minority that will abuse the system.

yeah yeah wotever..so explain to me how a paraplegic bloke my wife treated held a job down his entire life even though he couldn't move from his neck down..so you think everyone else should work so u can have everything for free..i promis u this thay are changing the system daily and soon you'll be forced to work 

Admin: No playing the man.

Admin edit, I said I wanted this to stop.

Your choice, Rudi. I can’t set a rule and then let it only apply to some. Sorry but I’m not moving on that.

Just for enlightenment.

The Government quite recently thought they could cut the benefit budget with regards the disabled. People were taken off DLA (Disability Living Allowance) and had to be re-assessed for the new benefit PIP, (Personal Independent Payment). The majority were made worse off, a minority were better off and a further minority lost their benefit. One bloke was considered fit enough to work, despite his own doctor going to the assessment with him to say he was suffering from a number of ailments and in no way was he capable of working. A few weeks later the bloke died. The Government was actually taken to court as their action was regarded as illegal. They lost and benefits had to be reinstated. Not sure if there was compensation as well. And the cost of it all to the tax payer? 2 Billion.

Don't have one.

It was in the news and covered on Radio 4 for quite some time.

The ruling that The Government's action was illegal, was made this year.

Well, either it really was announced on Radio 4 as I've said (it's all I have on). Or - I'm deluding myself.

Take your pick. I don't mind, either way.

The 2 Billion was the cost of reinstating benefits plus compensation. The whole point of the new benefit was to cut the numbers on DLA, which was achieved with assessments done by the private sector - unfairly as it turned out, on appeal.

It's usually some dodgy University study.