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Government want to abolish ESA WRAG

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    BigAndy99BigAndy99 Posts: 3,277
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    That means that those people who downsized because of bedroom tax will now have to pay something! They wasted their time and money moving


    If they downsized then the rent is likely to be cheaper.

    Downsizing will therefore have paid off - for them and the taxpayer.
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    annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    If they downsized then the rent is likely to be cheaper.

    Downsizing will therefore have paid off - for them and the taxpayer.

    mine`s a fiver more a week in a one bedroom flat with no outside space at all from a big three bedroom house with a large garden about two minutes round the corner.
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    StarpussStarpuss Posts: 12,846
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    Just when you think they can't sink any lower. :(>:(
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    BigAndy99BigAndy99 Posts: 3,277
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    mine`s a fiver more a week in a one bedroom flat with no outside space at all from a big three bedroom house with a large garden about two minutes round the corner.

    Oh, i can't argue with that then annette.

    But surely, on the whole, won't a smaller place be cheaper than a larger one?
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    EbonyHamsterEbonyHamster Posts: 8,175
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    If they downsized then the rent is likely to be cheaper.

    Downsizing will therefore have paid off - for them and the taxpayer.

    They'd still have to pay
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    BigAndy99BigAndy99 Posts: 3,277
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    They'd still have to pay


    And ?
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    annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    Oh, i can't argue with that then annette.

    But surely, on the whole, won't a smaller place be cheaper than a larger one?

    i just asked my friend who`s d/sized from two to one two weeks ago, hers is £8 more a week.

    i think my council tax is higher here too.

    money saving cuts my arse.

    it`s cheaper to run in other bills though obviously.
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    EbonyHamsterEbonyHamster Posts: 8,175
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    And ?

    And that was my point, they moved to avoid it and they are still hit with it
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    aspijackaspijack Posts: 1,202
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    I was on ESA WRAG from July 2013 until May this year I found a part time job, and moved into my own flat in April and the full rent was covered but I have to pay 48.69 a week now and don't receive Amy council tax reduction I get tax credits with the disability premium.
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    BigAndy99BigAndy99 Posts: 3,277
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    And that was my point, they moved to avoid it and they are still hit with it


    Well no i don't think so.

    They (will be / are likely to be) are lumbered with something else.
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    EbonyHamsterEbonyHamster Posts: 8,175
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    Well no i don't think so.

    .

    Well I do
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    BigAndy99BigAndy99 Posts: 3,277
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    i just asked my friend who`s d/sized from two to one two weeks ago, hers is £8 more a week.

    i think my council tax is higher here too.

    money saving cuts my arse.

    it`s cheaper to run in other bills though obviously.

    OK, understandable.

    I suppose it's due to rent going through the roof in England.

    When i left the army i worked away from home (the things you have to do to find work eh), until last year actually, i rented rooms in houses - paid up to £450 a month just to sleep and live in small bedrooms - horrible!

    They could always increase the rate of repatriation of foreigners here to alleviate the housing shortage i suppose?

    Or, as i suspect, they could keep building thousands more houses.

    While letting in millions more people...
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    milliejomilliejo Posts: 2,230
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    So, the government have finally got ballsy enough with cuts that they want to strip away ESA WRAG (work related activity group) altogether, leaving just the ESA support group.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33347511



    God help the sick and disabled if this actually goes through. I didn't think it could get any more insane.

    They'll pull the whole welfare state away next (except pensioner benefits of course). No money for anyone (except the elderly). Then we'll really be f*cked.



    For anyone to get ESA (WRAG) or Support they have to be proven to be unwell. Most GP's only sign off the genuinely sick, and then a person still has to got to a WCA.
    I think the problem is that WCA has shown that people are genuinely ill, it isn't even about the money, it is showing that a person is not fit too work and to protect them from the DWP and sanctions.
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    annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    OK, understandable.

    I suppose it's due to rent going through the roof in England.

    When i left the army i worked away from home (the things you have to do to find work eh), until last year actually, i rented rooms in houses - paid up to £450 a month just to sleep and live in small bedrooms - horrible!

    i don`t think it is as i only moved literally two minutes round the corner. five at best.

    rents in cambridge are ridiculous.

    i know, i had to work two [three if you count the sometimes weekend agency waitressing] jobs for a long time while bringing up four kids on my own, i was gone from 8am until 9-10pm, it was a massive mistake in retrospect for many reasons but mostly for my children because they only had me. if i had my time again i wouldn`t do it.
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    BigAndy99BigAndy99 Posts: 3,277
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    i don`t think it is as i only moved literally two minutes round the corner. five at best.

    rents in cambridge are ridiculous.

    i know, i had to work two [three if you count the sometimes weekend agency waitressing] jobs for a long time while bringing up four kids on my own, i was gone from 8am until 9-10pm, it was a massive mistake in retrospect for many reasons but mostly for my children because they only had me. if i had my time again i wouldn`t do it.


    True about Cambridge. But what a beautiful place!

    But yes, it's because of increased rents. If you lived at your old place for well, however long, they possibly wouldn't have put the rent up so much. Go and look at the rent there now - i'll bet it is much higher.

    Then, when you move in to a new place, that's the chance for the landlord to hike the rents.
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    milliejomilliejo Posts: 2,230
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    I ASSUME IT`S BECAUSE OF THE ASSOCIATED EXPENSES [sorry, accidental cappage] of being sick like transport to appointments and various other care needs.

    Also heating which maybe essential for some. Running a car because they can't get around any other way or don't have frequent buses around. And if they are on WRAG they will need to get to DWP appointments too. The extra £30 doesn't mean they eat much better.
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    annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    True about Cambridge. But what a beautiful place!

    But yes, it's because of increased rents. If you lived at your old place for well, however long, they possibly wouldn't have put the rent up so much. Go and look at the rent there now - i'll bet it is much higher.

    Then, when you move in to a new place, that's the chance for the landlord to hike the rents.

    i don`t know what the rents are now, but it won`t be higher our rents go up by a percentage across the board, it`s a council property.

    cambridge is horrid, a lot of locals avoid the centre and go elsewhere, it`s more for tourists than residents, it used to be lovely. and now they`re raping the architecture via brown envelopes to boot.
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    BigAndy99BigAndy99 Posts: 3,277
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    i don`t know what the rents are now, but it won`t be higher our rents go up by a percentage across the board, it`s a council property.

    cambridge is horrid, a lot of locals avoid the centre and go elsewhere, it`s more for tourists than residents, it used to be lovely. and now they`re raping the architecture via brown envelopes to boot.


    Brown envelopes?

    Of course, i was just an occasional tourist - i lived in Brampton for a few years recently - very nice indeed! :)

    So how come the council are charging more for a smaller property?
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    annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    BigAndy99 wrote: »
    Brown envelopes?

    Of course, i was just an occasional tourist - i lived in Brampton for a few years recently - very nice indeed! :)

    So how come the council are charging more for a smaller property?

    they`ve been ripping down beautiful old buildings to build shite like this:

    http://li.zoocdn.com/6aafb90d70ce4be1fa9a395225528315b7dcfffc_645_430.jpg

    and worse. we`ve got a labour council again now in the city so hopefully it will stop.

    brampton`s nice.

    i don`t know why my rent is higher, it`s a newer property by about 30 years, perhaps it`s that. my friend has moved two villages down, they have more facilities there i don`t know if that`s why, same council.
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    SuperAPJSuperAPJ Posts: 10,402
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    francie wrote: »
    'Housing benefit currently covers the full cost of rent.'

    My housing benefit doesn't cover the full cost of my rent...
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    HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
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    SuperAPJ wrote: »
    My housing benefit doesn't cover the full cost of my rent...

    Indeed.

    When I was on benefits housing benefit never covered the full cost of the rent.

    I know from others that the allowance has recently been lowered as well, so if I was still on benefits they'd be paying even less (somewhere in the region of £200 a month).

    My rent is £575 a month.

    AND benefit claimants on ESA WRAG are already expected to pay something towards council tax (about 10%). Only support group claimants are entitled to complete reduction - although this is a local policy, it varies from area to area.

    The whole thing is just ridiculous.
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    shaddlershaddler Posts: 11,574
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    The full cost of my rent is covered, it's just under a hundred quid a week. I pay £14 a month council tax. Currently in Support Group.
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    soap-leasoap-lea Posts: 23,851
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    so can someone tell me what ESA is and how it differs from JSA?
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    shaddlershaddler Posts: 11,574
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    soap-lea wrote: »
    so can someone tell me what ESA is and how it differs from JSA?

    JSA is for people who can work. ESA is for people who can't. ESA has two subgroups: Work Related Activity Group for those who may be capable of moving into some sort of work with support via interviews and training, and the Support Group for people who can't work at all and are too unwell to attend interviews.
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    tiacattiacat Posts: 22,521
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    soap-lea wrote: »
    so can someone tell me what ESA is and how it differs from JSA?

    ESA replaced incapacity benefit
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