Well OT - The apprentice has feally f****d it up this time

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You're missing the point, Charles. It being that many think a single mum on benefits can live well.

Could you live well on just the OAP? Which as I pointed out is rather more?

[Bill Taylor]

Really? The claim made above gives a total income of £142.54 per week (plus rent paid and probably some reduction in council tax). At the moment the state pension is £115.95 per week.

(Not that I see being a single mother living off the state a desirable situation to be in.)

[Tim Streater]

Ah but I do, y'see, being friends with her Dad. Mum was a drunkard. Dad brought the bacon home and looked after the two daughters. One girl went to Uni and is doing well, the other hooked up with a feckless boyfriend and now has a kid. Dad used to bring the grandchild to church sometimes because its parents needed some "space".

Fuck off Woddles.

[Tim Streater]

What has that to do with whether or not girls who get pregnant are offered flats and various extras? Several of us here have seen it happen.

[Tim Streater]

It's not whether *we* think that, Dave. It's whether the girl thinks that before getting pregnant. At 15 they are hardly going to be budgeting hotshots. So they find out they'll get a flat and all these bennies, then think that means they'll be in clover.

[tim...]

If there aren't any council flats available they will get HB for a private rental.

Of course it's not a life of ease, bringing up a kid on your own is never going to be, but their problem is not going to be want of money

tim

[tim...]

But not in Barnsley

go and look at the rental offerings and you will see many with "first month's rent free"

London crisis this is not

tim

[tim...]

read it again

she was working for him before she got married

(and presumably stopped doing so when the sprog came along)

tim

[tim...]

which will be immediately "spent"

tim

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Doesn't surprise me. ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

For two people. Mother and child.

For a single person.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You can't be given a council flat if there are none to be given. Simple, innit?

In many places such a mother and child would end up in a pretty grotty private bedsit with shared facilities.

But don't let what you believe get in the way of reality.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Well, all the bullshit we read here and in much of the press is simply going to confirm that view.

They'll find out all too quickly what reality brings.

[Tim Streater]

These girls read uk.d-i-y and newspapers do they? What *are* you smoking, Dave?

[Clive George]

That sounds wrong to me. Benefits don't give you a comfortable lifestyle.

[ARW]

But I work in Doncaster:-)

[spuorgelgoog]

You'll be able to give him a lift then.

Owain

[Dave Liquorice]

Sproglet has yet to put in appearance, 12 weeks to go... Is there help with energy bills as well? Meaning that £142 is pretty much all available to spend on what ever rather than all the normal household bills.

16 yo apprentice rate is £3.30/hour gross. I doubt either get paid for lunch though so make that 35 hours paid...

Quite, work your socks of an end up less well off than slobbing out in front of daytime telly...

[Adrian]

In message , The Natural Philosopher writes

It might have been wishful thinking, but I thought I saw that the system was being changed so after some date (next year ?), you only get benefits for the first two, any that appear after that are your problem.

Adrian

[RJH]

You've actually missed some things there, and neglected to include fixed-cost outgoings. As for variable costs, I'm not sure if you or Joe Joe think that overall, that comes to 'furniture and a nice weekly handout'.

And where does the council flat magic itself from?