LBC – Landlord’s Heartbreaking Take On The Hell Of Universal Credit

Whilst watching the commons debate on U.C. I really am fed up hearing the words 'vulnerable people'. On this planet they are not 'vulnerable' as many don't pay their rent, fiddle the utilities, sublet, and work on the QT and are very comfortable!

Reply to the comment left by Rod at 24/10/2017 - 13:55
That's the group I was too chicken to name. More accurately single parents with children.

Reply to the comment left by Rod at 24/10/2017 - 10:09
Totally missing the point, whether a labour government could do better or not is irrelevant to the fact the UC is causing a loss of housing stock to a large section of people, as landlords get caught up in the mess!

Reply to the comment left by Rod at 24/10/2017 - 15:42
You are mixing up the subsets . The people you describe belong to a different subset of people and I agree there are many of those types who set out to rip the state off .
Some of them are of course also vulnerable

But in the Commons debate the MP`s were referring to a large contingent of people ( over 400,000 ) who are rightly classed as vulnerable. The list would include addicts/ physically disabled / deaf / blind / dumb / mental heath issues / young pregnant girls / victims of abuse / elderly / terminally ill etc etc .
I don`t think you should get fed up of hearing about vulnerable people.

They often cannot speak up or act for themselves so that`s why the MP`s are there to act as their voice in the House of Commons

Reply to the comment left by Jay James at 24/10/2017 - 13:48
Pensions are not benefits, they are earned by making NI contributions to the state for 35 years to earn the full pension. They are also taxable as income, unlike welfare benefits.

Reply to Jonathan, True, most on your list are vulnerable apart from drug addicts who bring it on themselves and deserve no help as they're a burden on the state in my view. I've had the opportunity for drugs many times through my life and kept well away. It also would be wise to cut off benefits for 'all' after a certain length of time e.g. 5 years as one I know has been on benefits for 45 years with no intension of working and will soon qualify for state pension! Benefits include - money in your pocket, free housing, free council tax, free school meals, free everything! No free car though, poor things!

Reply to the comment left by Rod at 28/10/2017 - 09:55Its a view - but one i don`t hold as decisively as you . You are clearly of strong enough character to resist. That is to your credit. Not everyone though in this world is of such similar strong character. Some yes are strong but they choose to take drugs anyway and yes there should be ramifications for them I agree . Some think they can handle it as a bit of recreational fun - but get in too deep then find out they cant exit that world
There are many who do not have such a strong character as you or me. There are many varied reasons why they take drugs and are lured by them and then fall under its spell . Some for example have a predisposition to addictive behaviours due maybe to genetics or physiological reasons . They are vulnerable as a result and can require societies help .
Its a complex issue

Mick Roberts mentioned how expensive the phone charge is for ringing the number to see where your benefits are. What people don't seem to remember, is that the job centre and benefit number under Labour was 0845 number. I always wrote to my MP about that as he was a Labour MP. When the conservatives got to power in my area, I wrote to them. The number was changed to a cheaper number. Why are the Tories getting blamed for everything? It is the same with Food Banks. They were about when labour was in power, but Labour would never let big organisations like the job centre tell the people about them. As soon as the Tories got to power, they told the job centre to tell people about the food banks, that is why a lot more people are using them now.

People are referred to food banks from a multitude of different professional sources . I don`t know if there are any stats to show where the breakdown of the % of referrals come from and from which agency . But for example these type of people refer when they see a problem
GP - notices malnutrition in a child / adult
Social worker - sees no food in the fridge
Teacher - notices malnutrition in a child at school.
Police / Church / Probation Officers all refer
Governments of all persuasions fail to tackle poverty adequately. We have the 5th largest economy in the world but we still have food banks. Politicians in the UK are just not very good at distributing the wealth of the country fairly. In fact politicians in the world is not very good at distributing food fairly even though there is easily enough food in the world
36 million people will die of hunger this year
This live counter on this web site is a sobering visual reminder of how we don`t look after our fellow humans very well
http://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/global_hunger_statistics/how_many_people_die_from_hunger_each_year
29,710,764 have died this year as i type.... and rising .
see what it is when you click on it

True Jonathan,
I've said it many times. We are all different. Renting out to HB tenants for 20 years teaches this even more.
No matter how many times I tell 'em Sky TV at £70 per month is expensive, £840 per year, they say Don't be ridiculous. We got to have Sky for the kids. Took me 30 years of working to get Sky-And that's only 'cause got forced to for the F1 live while Sunday dinner.
I can remember the 0845 number & I moaned about that too.
I ain't super old, but us HB Landlords know the Tory's are super bad for DWP. They under the illusion everyone can should wants to has to MUST work.
Who would strip a woman of 7 kids, 1 month old baby-My tenant on Panorama Benefit Cap programme-of ALL HER HB? Yes, shun't have 7 kids etc., I hear u say, but do we make her homeless?