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JSA Couple Rate Should It Be Reviewed ?
1TrueNorth
Posts: 4,001 Forum Member
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I've just learned that the Couples rate of JSA is £113 a week paid Fortnightly into one persons bank account. I was thinking how unfair this is. when the weekly rate for a single is 70ish quid a week. So 140ish if your single and 113ish (each) if your living with an unemployed partner fortnightly. Firstly paying both peoples money into one account could throw one half of the couple into poverty if the claimant does not give them any money. It also potentially makes an abusive partner much better off. It's not hard to imagine how this could be abused. For instance an abusive husband/boyfriend could keep every penny and use it for drink or drugs.
Also if a couple are living together they are being forced no matter how close they actually are to give up massive chunks of independence and individuality making one person utterly reliant on the other.
It also creates a situation where it is easier and finacially better for the couple to live apart and have two council houses/rents paid via Housing benefit.
There seems to be two answers to this
1) Have the state legislate that two unemployed people living apart in a relationship MUST move in together after a set period of time or
2) Award couples the same rate of JSA as singles.
There are also potentially human rights issues with the current set up ie Privacy (a couple may want to keep bank details and NI numbers private from their partners).
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Also if a couple are living together they are being forced no matter how close they actually are to give up massive chunks of independence and individuality making one person utterly reliant on the other.
It also creates a situation where it is easier and finacially better for the couple to live apart and have two council houses/rents paid via Housing benefit.
There seems to be two answers to this
1) Have the state legislate that two unemployed people living apart in a relationship MUST move in together after a set period of time or
2) Award couples the same rate of JSA as singles.
There are also potentially human rights issues with the current set up ie Privacy (a couple may want to keep bank details and NI numbers private from their partners).
.
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Comments
When there's only one house/flat then there's only one electric bill, one TV Licence, one water bill, one washing machine.. etc
It's cheaper for two people to share all of these things rather than them having one each.
i.e.
£142.70 for a single person and £217.90 for couples
Ain't going to happen, under this government or any other government, including a potential Labour government. JSA is designed as a temporary benefit for people between jobs. State pensions are all some people have to live on in their retirement.
You will always end up giving up some of your independence if you live with someone (lets say in a joint tenancy arrangement), that is only going to reflected in benefits as well.
What I dont like is the idea that the money goes into one count, the two people should have separate claims, and the money split into their bank accounts.
Certainly in terms of an abusive partner, what about sanction, if one person in the couple gets a sanction, will that effect the other person, either whilst they are a couple, or even after they are a couple?
Could you for example, split up with your partner, (not) do something to warrant a sanction, get a job, and sign on yourself, but leave your former partner serving your 6 months sanction?
Actually for some people claiming as a couple works better than single claims - for instance when I claimed JSA at the beginning if the year I assumed I would just get the basic JSA, however due to the fact that my Husband is over pension credit age and was only working 12 hours a week I was able to claim a couples JSA.
That was £222 .05 per week less £64 my Husband earned , therefore my JSA was £158.05 per week. And due to his age my Husband was exempt from 'signing on' himself.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10892142
As the Government takes into account the greater expense of living alone and that not every person can find a partner, they give more to a single person than a couple. Now if only they could extend this thinking to the Single Occupancy Discount.
It's about the only concessions singles get, normally get the raw deal compared to "hard working families".
What would you suggest then?