General Chat

I am not saying that evryone who doesnt have a job is on cosy benefits but I know several people who live in rented houses/flats. they dont work, get their rent paid and yet they have all modern things.Yes huge 50 tvs, decent clothes and never seem to go hungry. They drink & smoke too.

When my children were younger, i couldnt work. My ex was a self employed fisherman. When the boats were tied up during bad weather, he got no wages. Apart from the child benefit, we didnt get any help whatsoever.
He would sign on, but you didnt get anything for the first 3 days.
Because we owned our house, we didnt qualify for any housing benefit or anything else other than unemployment benefit which was something like £55 per week at that time.

We struggled and there were no food banks to help us then.

I do know of a family down south and they have an 18, 15 and a 10 yr old.Neither parents work and come up with all sorts of excuses, sore back, shoulder etc.They get around £1500.00 a month in UC etc. They both drink and smoke and never seem to go without.

I know there are a lot more people using food banks now and a lot of people who are struggling and yes the government should do all it can to help these people but there are a lot of scroungers too

The street beggars in Glasgow could be organised slavery I agree.

I remember walking past the shop doorways near Charing Cross station in London around 8pm one evening. Young people bedding down with cardbord boxes and a thin sheet. I was quite young then and what an eye opener.

I just sometimes think, charity begins at home

Florence in the hebrides

I think it was the French Interior Minister being interveiwed yesterday on the BBC news programme at 5pm,he made it quite clear France considered it a UK problem,not a French one and they were doing what they could!

One intersting thing he said (and one of maggies comments is relevant) the 16 yr old who survived, when asked why they wanted to get to the UK replied "it is easier to work illegally there" !!

Perhaps if Priti Patel concentrated on banning illegal working practices,instead of trying to stop them coming,they would not want to come?

They do seem to have a very odd view of life here.

People emigrate because there is a better chance of finding work abroad & will return home when there is an improvement there.

Really!

Indeed!

Unemployment benefit in the past was at least a survivable amount!.
It's difficult to properly calculate, but last year, approximately £2.3 billion was due to wrongly paid benefit - some was fraud.

However, last year, approximately £35 billion wasn't collected in tax.
£12 billion is attributed to tax evasion, avoidance and organised crime.

So who's the real 'baddy'?

I agree, Florence, charity does begin at home, unfortunately the Government has different ideas!

Interestingly, on R 2 just now they are discussing the topic of this thread.

Florence in the hebrides

French authorities are now saying the 16 year old boy was actually 28.

So the answer is ..... non.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/aug/20/eu-rejects-british-plan-for-post-brexit-return-of-asylum-seekers