Who should be entitled to what ?

[tonyb]

Fair point, well made.

[Tineathers]

My sister lived in Australia for a while & when her marriage broke up she was desperate to come back to the UK as she would have family support.When she arrived and claimed Income Support she was turned down as she didn't satisfy the Habitual Residency Test.She and her daughter stopped with myself and hubby & she was eventually awarded benefit after about 6-8 weeks.Luckily she soon got a job to support herself & moved into private rented accomodation. I'm not sure if they still have this rule to stop people claiming straight away on entering the country, probably not within the EU anyway.

[Ovacikpeedoff]

The influx of foreigners is not all down to the excellent benefits that they get here. A great deal is down to the failure of the Blair government to pass appropriate legislation on immigration prior to the last major expansion of the EU. Only 2 countries did not pass legislation one was Ireland and the other being the UK.

The problem is that no government has taken appropriate action to stop the abuse of the welfare system. It is not only the foreigners but many Brits are also abusing the system. People claiming disability and they play 36 holes of golf every day or they run the line at footie matches. The punishment does not fit the crime. Steal £60k in a benefits fraud and get a 6 months suspended jail term or a 100 hours community service.

I will be accused of talking like a Tory but there is a case for a full review of the welfare system.People should be encouraged to take more responsibility for themselves. There is too much of go and see the social and they will sort you out.I wonder when the welfare state was formed did the founders ever want to create the monster that it has turned into.

[Piscoe]

I understand that opening up new markets brings immigration. But I do not recall a whole new set of markets being opened in Africa,the Middle East and Asia. In saying that I am not at all against immigration. It is actually good for the country. What I have an issue with is those people being permitted into the country with no means of supporting themselves and immediately being eligible for a whole load of benefits.

Once they have these benefits do you think for one moment they have any intention of looking for work? Of course not. If they went to work on minimum wage they would have a take home pay of £214 per week which is a whole lot less than the total sum of their benefits. They don't have to work and if they did it would be wholly uneconomical to do so.

There are two problems. One is the non-existent immigration policy. The whole idea that we could allow people into the country to live on our benefit system is ludicrous. The second is that our very own sponger set are allowed to milk the system for years on end unchallenged. The government often come up with initiatives targeting long term unemployment. The majority of which are long term employed because they choose to be. These initiatives are as about as effective as being savaged by a dead sheep!

Rant over, good day to you all.

[Karennina]

Just for the record as was pointed out to me "my friend's neighbour" has nothing to do with this topic but it was announced yesterday she is pregnant again, god help this third child with a mother like her but yet another amount of money for her to be eligible for from taxpayer's money:(

[janmack]

We had a very short period (thankfully) of both of us being unemployed about 2000/2001 period.  Both of us went very reluctantly to the signing on office.  Horrible experience and then got a letter telling us we were not eligible for any benefits and to "look to family for financial support".  So, for the record, working and paying your taxes and NI and whatever does NOT guarantee you any support when you need it.  WTF...Great Britain??? Seriously???

[Ray1951]

In Scotland, you have to be under 25 or over 60 to be deemed "priority" homeless which would propel you to the top of the list. If you qualify then you must take the first place they offer you otherwise you are on your own. Also if you have a drug or drink dependency then that also gets you additional points.  I became homeless due to marriage breakdown a few years ago and was told that I could reside in a homeless unit for a maximum of 28 days whilst my situation was assessed. As none of the above applied to me, I was told to "find private rented accommodation" myself.  All private landlords wanted two months rent up front and the Benefits Agency would not help.  I asked if they thought it acceptable to allow a lone woman in her 50's to sleep rough and they shrugged their shoulders. I find it astonishing that any local authority can just offer houses/flats to people at will. I actually went abroad to work, saved a deposit and moved into a private rented flat.  I may add that the Benefits Agency did not give me anything towards the deposit nor did they give me a grant for furniture. I received NO help and NO money.  How some people do it I do not know.

[Karennina]

Gosh it is all so wrong, I think that was the point I was trying to make in my original posting on the other thread that how do some people manage to do it, your story Ray sounds awful but pleased to  hear you had a happy outcome through your own hard work.
Yes totally agree Janmack Great Britain indeed:(