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Comments (7)

1. Name withheld wrote:

   Thought this website and its contents great and relevant to our time. Have two young grandchildren on a residence order for three years now, and along with other grandparents in the same situation (our children ended up addicted to drugs)we all have more or less the same problems, we walk in, the govt, walks away and, we struggle very badly with no help from social services. Please see what you can do for this vunerable group of young people and their not so young carers, we have no legislation to give our plight a platform and so want these children to not follow in their parents way of life but, we need financial and emotional support. Thanks for this opportunity.

   #1 – Posted on 02-Dec-06 at 12:29 am.

2. Steve Rivers wrote:

   Poverty by definition in this country is relative, for instance we don’t see people starving on the streets nowdays. However the poverty trap you mentioned is very real. I was recently working for a local authority housing department (a very good one) housing homeless families, the poverty trap here came about because a) the accomodation we let to homeless families had a very high rent, nearly £200 per week, if the family was on benefit then this was ok as it was met by housing benefit apart from a small amount for water or sevices charges (plus their energy bills of course) but if a family was working or a member was then it was uneconomic for them to be in the accomodation as frankly they could not afford the rent and very quickly got into serious debt. Debt like this often means that their claim for housing is suspended until the debt is cleared, this I suggest puts the whole family including the children into an even more poverty stricken situation that affects life chances etc. so what is the answer? Those services do cost a lot of money to provide but local authorities (in the main) cannot or will not pay for temporary homelessnes accomodation from the public coffers. The government needs needs to come up with an answer.

   #2 – Posted on 08-Dec-06 at 2:50 pm.

3. Colin jones wrote:

   It is unclear to me why those on Income Support are not rewarded for working over and above the £15pw threshold level. Many would choose to work more but what incentive is there if they receive no financial benefit from it and stand to lose the relative safeguard of non-means tested Housing benefit etc. Why is a taper not considered in this area. Likewise it is unclear how many parents on benefit will choose to take money from their childs “father” even if a higher disregard is brought in through the CM&E comission as either they will have to come through the process anyway due to having no knowledge of where the other parent lives. I think the new scheme oversimplifies the real lives of a lot of the CSA’s client base and underestimates the task of its reform.
   All I see it doing is letting some fathers get away with not paying due to the mothers indifference, and increasing the social security bill by waiving the CM premium to such a level that most clients will receive full I.S. again.

    Jim Murphy responded:

   Please see my response to David on this subject.

   #3 – Posted on 13-Dec-06 at 2:26 pm.

4. Len Archer wrote:

   The title “Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission” for the new body is very longwinded and a mouthfull for staff to keep repeating. Shortening it to C-MEC makes it sound like a chemical company! Furthermore, the word “enforcment” in the title will immediately turn off many, just as the name “speed enforcement cameras” did with drivers, which is why they are now referred to as “safety cameras” - unfortunately too late as the initiative had been lost. A short snappy title without reference to enforcement is needed if the new commission is not immediately to be seen as the son/daughter of the CSA, with the same disresept & disregard now held by the majority.

   #4 – Posted on 15-Dec-06 at 2:00 pm.

5. miss paula mitchell wrote:

   i have been a single parent for 4 years now, i can understand how hard it is to get on in this life, i have health problems, but my latest one is, 4 years ago my twins were born and i have never got any letters from CSA ABOUT MAINTERNACE from their father, i phoned 2 weeks ago because my children will be going to school next sept and wanted to get back into work, the CSA said thier father had been paying up till 2005 and the file was now closed, how can it be closed when they are both live and kicking.I am reg as disabled and find it hard to find work let alone keep it, i have been reg as disabled since 2001 and i’m getting worse everyday and the doc’s say i will never get better so finding a job i can do is getting harder.but i want to do my bit, as i dont want to sponge off the tax payers, but the fathers that are not around and dont want anything to do with their children get away with it and the poor fathers that want to be apart of thier kids lives, and hand over money to thier x’s get punished, as the CSA spend time going after them instead of the fathers that dont do anything for their children. I have been fighting to keep my kids healthy and well, but the money i get from income support MAKES IT HARD. i saw shocked when the lady at CSA said i was aloud to get £10 off the fahters mainternce payments, no body told me this and i have never got any of it. you need to get the CSA WORKING PROPERLY, all the mother and fathers that could of had a bit of extra money from their x’s . £10 a week mite not seem much to you but every little helps, i would of got more fruit and veg for them, as healthy food is very expencive to buy, as well as everything else. do you know a good pair of shoes for children starts at £25-£45, just so your children can have healthy feet, let alone anything else,. My disability passes down to my children and good supporting shoes are a must, so if i want my 3 children as i have a older child as well,to have the best start in life, i pay for 3 pairs of good shoes every 6-12 months at a cost of £90 a time, and i dont get any help for that. your paula

   #5 – Posted on 22-Dec-06 at 9:02 am.

6. Name Withheld wrote:

   i am well aware of the poverty, but if you are trying to stamp it out could you please tell me why i am bringing my five year old daughter up on child benifit and child tax credit whitch only comes to about £50 and that is for both of us as i can not prove that my ex-husband and i are apart, so have had a stop put on my benifits

   Jim Murphy responded: Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure from your post whether you and your ex-husband are living in separate accommodation or whether you’re still housed together but no longer live as a couple. Although I can’t comment on your particular situation, I can say something more general about disputed benefit claims. Decisions on whether there’s an entitlement to benefit are taken by decision makers who have to make a careful consideration of all the relevant circumstances. For example, people who share accommodation and claim Income Support as individuals would not be assessed as living together as husband and wife, or civil partners, merely because they share accommodation.

   If people feel that an incorrect decision has been taken about their entitlement to benefit, there are well-established review and appeal procedures for them to look to. If you haven’t already done so, you can get advice on this from your local Jobcentre Plus office or Citizens Advice Bureau. 

   #6 – Posted on 20-Jan-07 at 11:20 am.

7. Robert wrote:

   Dear Mr Rivers,

   Why oh why do you and the others seem to think if your on benefits you get rent and council tax payment, the vast majority of disabled people who get £200 a week to live on are actually over the limit for these benefits. Despite being on Incapacity Benefits I am still over the limit for housing benefits and for council tax benefits. I now pay £58 a week rent and of course £18 per week council tax.

   People always think they are on benefits they get everything free, I pay for dental treatment if we had a dentist, we pay for everything so stop spreading these idea we are all benefits spongers.

   I fractured my back causing a lesion of the spinal cord.

   I have been looking for work for four years sad to say I trusted Blair a big big mistake.

   #7 – Posted on 06-Mar-07 at 8:19 pm.

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