Liz Kendall says some people on sickness and disability benefits are ‘taking the mickey’

If you have some medical conditions you can still get some payment.

What has happened was the energy payment had been stopped as a universal benefit for been aged over 65.

I do agree it had to stopped for comfortably off pensioners, who say used it it for overseas holidays etc
 
r00fie1 said:
You have to "qualify" for pension credit and the average wait time for a decision is over three months [BBC].
The number who qualify for Winter Fuel Payments [Max £300] has fallen by 10M to 1M eligable.
Political decision, not financial.
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You missed the point I was making. Some people trot out that Labour “cancelled” the Winter Fuel Allowance. That is not true. It can be claimed by people with another eligible benefit.

In Scotland not every pensioner will receive the Winter Fuel Allowance anymore which was up to £300. Instead a State Age Winter Fuel Payment will be paid and limited to one per household not to every pensioner. And most will get £100 not £300 - it is means tested.
 
Chemicalworker said:
I’ve never read such ridiculous rubbish for a long time
Utopian balderdash
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You'll need to be more specific. Are you saying David Graeber's theory is ridiculous, or the bit I wrote about UBI, or both?

UBI is growing in popularity in quite a few countries along with the idea that MMT is a much better way to describe national finances when dealing with 'the economy'.
 
Zoophonic said:
You missed the point I was making. Some people trot out that Labour “cancelled” the Winter Fuel Allowance. That is not true. It can be claimed by people with another eligible benefit.

In Scotland not every pensioner will receive the Winter Fuel Allowance anymore which was up to £300. Instead a State Age Winter Fuel Payment will be paid and limited to one per household not to every pensioner.
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Good afternoon.
When the number elligible for winter fuel payments [max £300] drops from 11M to 1M, thats a consideral axe to take to payments. Lets not forget, the vast majority of that 11M have worked, paid National Insurance and Income Tax most of their lives. Its not a freebie.
Its a distraction.
 
r00fie1 said:
Good afternoon.
When the number elligible for winter fuel payments [max £300] drops from 11M to 1M, thats a consideral axe to take to payments. Lets not forget, the vast majority of that 11M have worked, paid National Insurance and Income Tax most of their lives. Its not a freebie.
Its a distraction.
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I’m not disagreeing but thank you for confirming my point.
 
Redwurzel said:
If you have some medical conditions you can still get some payment.

What has happened was the energy payment had been stopped as a universal benefit for been aged over 65.

I do agree it had to stopped for comfortably off pensioners, who say used it it for overseas holidays etc
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Well it’s 66 now but thats immaterial
I would have been eligible this year but there’s no way I needed it
Most of the people I know on a pension don’t need it either
So taking it off people who don’t need it seems a great idea to me
 
r00fie1 said:
Good afternoon.
When the number elligible for winter fuel payments [max £300] drops from 11M to 1M, thats a consideral axe to take to payments. Lets not forget, the vast majority of that 11M have worked, paid National Insurance and Income Tax most of their lives. Its not a freebie.
Its a distraction.
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Distraction from what?
 
Scrote said:
You'll need to be more specific. Are you saying David Graeber's theory is ridiculous, or the bit I wrote about UBI, or both?

UBI is growing in popularity in quite a few countries along with the idea that MMT is a much better way to describe national finances when dealing with 'the economy'.
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Just keep trotting out other peoples theories
Great as a concept unworkable as a reality but I guess quoting them makes you feel superior to us mere mortals
It’s something I would have done when I was 19 and my polytechnic lecturer had convinced me however discarded when I’d got experience of the real world
 
Chemicalworker said:
Just keep trotting out other peoples theories
Great as a concept unworkable as a reality but I guess quoting them makes you feel superior to us mere mortals
It’s something I would have done when I was 19 and my polytechnic lecturer had convinced me however discarded when I’d got experience of the real world
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Does your level of condescension only come with age too?
 
Chemicalworker said:
Just keep trotting out other peoples theories
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What's the unique concept that you've come up with then?

And how would you react if someone else thought it was a good idea and tried to get behind it?

Chemicalworker said:
I’d got experience of the real world
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Real world experience is the driver behind MMT - the whole point is that it represents what actually happens much more closely than the "Tax & Spend" and "household budget" mantras we've been using for the past 50+ years.
 
Chemicalworker said:
Distraction from what?
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I refer you to a comment I posted earlier:

"When you reach a certain age, you know politicians are picking on the poorest as a distraction from other more important policy failures. Mention Immigration, boat people, benefit scroungers, Local Councils, racism and cyclists on the pavements and red-lights; you can keep a Talk radio station phone-in going for months. The "News" papers and social media are full of it, backing up the false narratives.
It's a complete distraction. When the economy is in crisis and a Government is failing, out comes the same blame cards."
 
r00fie1 said:
I refer you to a comment I posted earlier:

"When you reach a certain age, you know politicians are picking on the poorest as a distraction from other more important policy failures. Mention Immigration, boat people, benefit scroungers, Local Councils, racism and cyclists on the pavements and red-lights; you can keep a Talk radio station phone-in going for months. The "News" papers and social media are full of it, backing up the false narratives.
It's a complete distraction. When the economy is in crisis and a Government is failing, out comes the same blame cards."
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But means testing WFP isn’t picking on the poorest and isn’t distracting anyone from anything
 
festa5 said:
Aside from anything else is she F***ing thick? (don't answer that, it's rhetorical).

On the list of people's priorities benefit fraud must be pretty low down other than for, I imagine, daily mail reading comfortably off pensioners who have nothing better to worry about.

And they ain't going to vote Labour no matter how much they try and demonise parts of society.
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Don't think it's a simple benefit fraud beat up. Britain has a serious productivity problem and the people on sickness benefit has risen from 2m to 3m people since 2020. That is a serious structural problem for an economy that has low productivity stats and a problem for the people of that country if it reflects genuine health of the population. It is right to look deeper into the issues. All I've seen is that the biggest rises in sick benefit recipients are from the 18-34 yr old demographic with mental health being the largest contributing factor. That is an issue that needs exploration I'd say.
 
Boro said:
Don't think it's a simple benefit fraud beat up. Britain has a serious productivity problem and the people on sickness benefit has risen from 2m to 3m people since 2020. That is a serious structural problem for an economy that has low productivity stats and a problem for the people of that country if it reflects genuine health of the population. It is right to look deeper into the issues. All I've seen is that the biggest rises in sick benefit recipients are from the 18-34 yr old demographic with mental health being the largest contributing factor. That is an issue that needs exploration I'd say.
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Exploration and treatment. Not just the targeting of benefits as a punishment for daring to be ill as seems to be the plan.
 
Boro said:
Britain has a serious productivity problem
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Based on what? GDP has been on a steady upwards trajectory since the financial crash with a minor blip due to covid. What are you measuring productivity on?

A big part of the mental-health problems come from the fact that rising productivity hasn't been followed by rising wages - the disparity from Reagan/Thatcher taking power to now is stark. Housing costs vs wages prevents most people without family wealth from getting on the housing ladder - rent goes towards making rich people richer. What incentive is there for younger people to grind themselves into the dirt for nothing?
 
sherlock said:
Exploration and treatment. Not just the targeting of benefits as a punishment for daring to be ill as seems to be the plan.
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Why lie though?

Kendall told ITV, external: "I think what the survey shows today is that despite all the myths, a lot of people who are currently on sickness or disability benefits want to work."

When asked if people on benefits were "pretending they can't work", she added: "Many of them have either just lost jobs that they desperately miss, or really want to get back into to work once they've got their health condition under control.

"So I think that there are many more people who want to work. I have no doubt, as there always have been, there are people who shouldn't be on those benefits who are taking the mickey and that is not good enough - we have to end that."

As per your response is this survey not part of the exploration phase?
 
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