Welcome to Benefit Changes and You.
This online group is a space for us to discuss all the upcoming benefit changes and how it is going to affect you.
We can discuss any concerns you have moving from Income Support to Job Seekers Allowance and what will be expected of you.
9:00pm, Channel 4
Thursday 20 August 2009
Channel 4 is doing a documentary where single mothers who are on benefits are to be persuaded to go back to work. This week, cameras follow a group of ten single mothers, referred from the Job Centre, during their intensive six-week course to prepare them for work.
To start this group off, we want you to watch the film and come back tomorrow and let us know what you think!
Look forward to hearing your comments. :)
Hi sparkling lime, thank you for that! Very interesting reading.
You're right, childcare was hardly mentioned and yet it is the number one barrier to work for a lot of parents, partnered or single.
Even the tutor resognised there was something wrong with the system when people are worse off in work! In my view (drags well-worn soapbox out from behind very flimsy curtain....) one thing that is really hard for lone parents returning to work is that suddenly almost all help with Council Tax and rent is withdrawn. If an automatic subsidy of, say, £50 a week was given per family for 12 months toward these things, this would give the parent enough time to get sorted and deal with some of the financial hangovers from having lived on the poverty line for so long. it would still be cheaper for the Government than paying Income Support to that person!
The one really positive thing I took from the programme was seeing the self-esteem of the parents go up. Going out to work is not the be all and end all for raising self esteem though; some decent treatment from the rest of society would achieve that too! :D
Hi there
Aaagggh, 4OD is not showing the programme on their site, I am going to root around and see if I can watch it elsewhere.
Sparklinglime, thank you so much for you comments, they are invaluable to us, you make some fantastic points and I really appreciate you staying up so late to watch it and giving us your feedback.
A few people that I work with that are single parents, were dumbfounded by the programme, apparently there was very little mention of childcare and how although you will be helped with 80% of it, they negate to mention that you have to find the money upfront.
I was also told that there were no positive images given of single parents and they failed to mention that 75% of single parents do work, it might not be full time, however there is a keeness to be out supporting your family.
Louise, have you heard of (IWC) In Work Credit?? See this link: http://www.onespace.org.uk/articles/work/benefits-available-when-going-back-to-work
If you go back to work for more than 16 hours a week, after being on Income Support you can claim for IWC, which is £40 a week for the first year you work. But as we have discussed in the office, you have to remember that this will be cut after a year. Shocking and pretty scary all over again.
I am going to leave a message on the 4OD discussion board as there are many comments there about the programme.
Once again, thank you so much for your participation sparklinglime, our research team will find them very useful I am sure.
The tutor also said that all child care was paid for - which, of course, it isn't.
Their self-esteem did improve - but could this have been down to the fact that they were with other women, getting to know each other and having chats and a laugh? I know how much better I feel from doing Scouts.
I did work out how much "worse" off I'd be with the lone-parent advisor, and she agreed. With the loss of free school meals, and predominately your housing and council tax benefits, I would be a lot worse off (can't find my calculations, but know their somewhere) with a job around the minimum wage. The £40 a week (which is available to those self-employed) would not cover this, and as you say, wow, what a loss at the end of that 12 month period.
With the driving school lark, with that income then you are better off in work. It's being able to get the finance to train in that situation (that's where my student loan equivelent could come into things - very low interest rate, unlike the career development loan).
I do think that those who are good parents should be respected in the role we have in raising our children. Bad eggs everywhere - and that will never change.
As Anna said, there was no positive mention of lone-parents or the fact that the majority do work.
I know how awful the woman with the four children felt when she pointed out that she would be worse off working - that's how I felt with the job I wanted to apply for...
My sister was a branch manager with a building society (now self-employed as she was made redundant), and she told me that I had to be able to say to an employer that I had 100% reliable child-care in place.
I’m not able to say that.
With a son with special needs, my situation is considered different, as I’m classed as a carer rather than a lone-parent. I have to say that as my son gets older, his issues seem to be more obvious. He is the one that I would not be happy leaving alone at home. What’s the answer to that situation?
Good question! Shortly Sally C will be on board, she is working with our Research and Policy team and will be moderating this board, hopefully she might have some ideas!
I have finally watched the programme. It wasn't as bad as I originally thought it might be, I would be really interested in talking to the women now to see if they are still working at Poundland or have moved on, or what their thoughts are. Maybe that is something I will look into :?:
I think it is really good for single parents to be out working, it gives you a sense of pride and means you get to hang out with other adults! But I am absolutely in the boat that for the future generations of this country, main carers should only have to work during school time or have adequate childcare provided. Or in your case sparklinglime as and when you want, as you are more importantly needed at home.
I hated the way that benefit scrounger and lone parent were put in the same category :o As if they are one and the same, tut, tut.
I look forward to discussing this further.
Hi Anna
Thanks for the link about the "In Work Credit", yes I did know about that, it was more that the housing and council tax costs can come as a dreadful shock to those newly working so I think there should be ANOTHER £40 a week for that! (soap box again). Also there are things to consider about working that are often not factored in, like travel costs to work, decent clothes and shoes to work in and maybe make-up.
This is being discussed on other forums.
Now I feel extremely guilty for being as I am. :(
Sparkling lime what other forums?
Lone parents are what is called "a soft target". There are inaccurate beliefs about them as a group, mainly due to the media and Government campaigns play on that. I have worked with lone parents for eight years now and almost all of them that I have encountered merely want tthe best for their kids and are quite prepared to work when their circumstances are appropriate. Feeling guilty is NOT NECCESSARY, sparkling lime. You look after four children, one with special needs and you also contribute to the well being of the community with your Scout work and to our online community with your wisdom and experience. In years to come, when your family grow up, you will bring your considerable talents back to the workplace again. So just stop that right now young lady or it will be the naughty step for you (AGAIN!) :shock:
Do you really think so though?
I've never been able to get over this feeling, even though I know I am sort of stuck, yet I feel that really it's because I don't try hard enough.
You really are so kind with your posts to me.
No good... Made me cry!!
No more tears, sparkling :(
I honestly think you are doing the right thing for your family right now and I also honestly think that you have a good future ahead of you with your talents and enterprise when the time is right. :D
Louise, Sy - I think you need to stop being kind. I'm not used to it.
I'm sorry I'm such an emotional and needy person.
Thank you though.
If you're not used to people telling you that you're fab then I understand that can provoke lots of emotions. Eventually you will be able to tell yourself! :o
Hi Sally, it's great to have you here :D I am sure that everyone will be really glad of your input!
Hi Sally C
My son has middle rate DLA, so I know that in a way I have no pressure on me - which is a relief as I don't seem to be able to cope too well with pressure at the moment.
I'm happy to offer support though in anyway I can to lone-parents who are going to find this difficult. My oldest was 12 when I stopped working - and I'm glad I was here for him totally while he went through his crisis (that is very self-praising there, sorry - he might have sorted it quicker without me! 8-) ).
I have been fortunate in that there's an excellent lone-parent advisor in our local Jobcentre. Personally, I still think it's appalling that the government is moving this work from the Civil Service to private agencies - who are clearly seeing the project as a money-making venture.
Did anyone see the second episode of the CA documentary? it was looking at people in Hull who have been unemployed longer-term. It was a bleak picture and the two people who got jobs (and threw their hearts and souls into them) were laid off again shortly afterwards and had to wait weeks for their new benefit claims.
Do you think this is a barrier to work for single parents too?
The more I think about it, the more offensive I consider it - especially when they show the money the director made from the venture.
The women were found minimum wage jobs at Christmas - when, to be fair, there is more retail work available for a temporary period.
It was very unbalanced.
I missed the second one as I was doing Scouty stuff!
The second one was quite sad, sparkling lime, as it showed long term unemployed people in Hull. They showed two people getting new jobs, two people who stood out from the crowd as being very keen. Both of them were laid off again within four weeks and then had to wait ages for their benefits to restart. Even the advisers were in despair about the whole thing.
Are you going to be able to watch the last episode tonight?
I watched the programme, and I’m not quite sure how I feel!
I do agree with what the woman running the course was saying, and yet I felt she was talking down to the women. She was using all the demeaning terms that we feel anyway, and I don’t see how that can actually move people forward. She did succeed though, to be fair.
Its ok saying that ‘this is about you’, but I do think that a lone-parent does need to put the child/ren’s needs first. I had six staff at the jobcentre (I used to work in the old DHSS, so I know them) on the computer, making phone calls etc, to try and work away around childcare issues for me to try for a job I really fancied! There were no solutions. But then I have four children (older two would be fine with a door key), one who has special needs and another is ten. I wouldn’t be happy leaving either in the house for any length of time.
Whether they have looked into personal circumstances of these parents before referring them to the course, I’m not sure. I know I have no help with childcare. No parents or relatives who could help, or friends who are at home – fortunate to have parents who do help them…
Also, I don’t think that getting someone into “any” job should necessarily be considered an achievement. I think getting someone into a job that they would like to do would be. Ok, I’m referring to me here, and the financial obstacles (shan’t talk about the leg!) in the way of me being a driving instructor. I think my argument for the equivalent of a student’s loan is a fair enough one. The income would also mean no tax credits and I’d be a tax payer again.
I was open mouthed at seeing the house the director of the business owned. We actually used to have Civil Servants who did this work – or if they didn’t they could have been trained to. They’ve lost their jobs and have been replaced by private enterprise – who clearly are making millions – Civil Servants would have been a lot cheaper! But then not many people would care about Civil Servants loosing their job anyway…
One of the mothers stated that she felt she was getting too much benefit for doing nothing. Until I spent a fortune trying to fix my car and ending up with a debt that I can pay, I used to say the same… My friend assured me I wasn’t and that I was doing an important job raising my children – she still does! They showed the mother of four children towards the end showing that she was going to be worse off financially working. I have worked out that I would be worse off working than benefits.
However bad I feel about benefits though, I’d hate to think of my children living in poverty (I would like to point out that I don’t have the full sky package :D ). No child should be raised in poverty, yet you can’t make a parent be responsible either with an income – benefits or earned.
Having worked for 22 years though, I do know that colleagues (I’ve learnt that colleagues are different to friends) bring so much to your life. Being with adults somehow makes you feel better about yourself.
I don’t think this programme has done any favours to lone-parents. I think it was giving more attention to the private company and the money they’re making from it.
I don’t think it addressed issues regarding child-care – especially at holiday times and those lovely teacher training days that trip so many parents up.
Maybe – just maybe, the same attention should be given to good parents who are at home doing an important job of raising their children. Maybe it’s society’s attitude that should be changed, with attention drawn away from the “scroungers” to those who actually do a lot of good being at home with their children. There are “lazy” people in all walks of life, and that won’t ever change. Media has so much to answer for, choosing what could be classed as ‘easy targets’.
I don’t agree to the changes being made with the age of the youngest child. My eldest went ‘off the rails’ when he was 15. Possibly, that has been when he needed me the most. In hind sight, I’m so glad I was here. As big-headed as it sounds, I think my being home saved him – even if it was only being here to see the truant officer (can’t remember his actual job title) when he came knocking at my door to see if I knew eldest was missing school…
1.38am
Bed time now!! I’ll read this back in the morning and probably delete the waffle and start again!!