David Cameron to axe housing benefits for under 25's

[roverstillidie91]

What does everyone think to his latest scheme ?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2163773/David-Cameron-axe-housing-benefits-feckless-25s-declares-war-welfare-culture.html

Radical new welfare cuts targeting feckless couples who have children and expect to live on state handouts will be proposed by David Cameron tomorrow.

His bold reforms could also lead to 380,000 people under 25 being stripped of housing benefits and forced to join the growing number of young adults who still live with their parents.

In a keynote speech likely to inflame tensions with his deputy Nick Clegg, the Prime Minister will call for a debate on the welfare state, focusing on reforms to ‘working-age benefits’.

David Cameron gives an exclusive interview to Mail On Sunday editor Geordie Greig (centre) and political editor Simon Walters (left)
Among the ideas being considered by Mr Cameron are:

Scrapping most of the £1.8 billion in housing benefits paid to 380,000 under-25s, worth an average £90 a week, forcing them to support themselves or live with their parents.
Stopping the £70-a-week dole money for the unemployed who refuse to try hard to find work or produce a CV.
Forcing a hardcore of workshy claimants to do community work after two years on the dole – or lose all their benefits.

Well-placed sources say Ministers are also taking a fresh look at plans to limit child benefit to a couple’s first three children, although Mr Cameron is not expected to address this issue directly tomorrow.

Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Cameron said: ‘We are sending out strange signals on working, housing and families.’

He argued that some young people lived with their parents, worked hard, planned ahead and got nothing from the State, while others left home, made little effort to seek work and got a home paid for by the benefits system.

 Mr Cameron plans to stop the £70-a-week dole money for the unemployed who refuse to try hard to find work or produce a CV
‘A couple will say, “We are engaged, we are both living with our parents, we are trying to save before we get married and have children and be good parents. But how does it make us feel, Mr Cameron, when we see someone who goes ahead, has the child, gets the council home, gets the help that isn’t available to us?”’
‘One is trapped in a welfare system that discourages them from working, the other is doing the right thing and getting no help.’

Asked if he would take action against large families who were paid large sums in benefits, he replied:

‘This is a difficult area but it is right to pose questions about it. At the moment the system encourages people not to work and have children, but we should help people to work AND have children.’

His plan to axe housing benefit for the under-25s will have exemptions for special cases, such as domestic violence, but he said: ‘We are spending nearly £2 billion on housing benefit for under-25s – a fortune. We need a bigger debate about welfare and what we expect of people. The system currently sends the signal you are better off not working, or working less.’

He also favours new curbs on the Jobseeker’s Allowance, demanding the unemployed do more to find work. He said: ‘We aren’t even asking them, “Have you got a CV ready to go?” ’ A small minority of hardcore workshy, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000, could be forced to take part in community work if they fail or refuse to find work or training after two years.

The Prime Minister wants to show he is committed to radical policies, but his speech could exacerbate strains with Coalition partner Mr Clegg, whose Lib Dems oppose drastic welfare cuts.

It follows the row over plans to revive O-levels and will fuel rumours the Coalition could end long before the 2015 Election. ‘As leader of a political party as well as running a Coalition it’s right sometimes to make a more broad-ranging speech,’ said Mr Cameron.

A Government official said: ‘Decent folk are fed up with the increasing abuse of the welfare system. Responsible people who work damned hard, often on low incomes, to support themselves, are sick and tired of seeing others do nothing and live off the state.

‘Labour threw ever greater sums of money at the problem and made it worse. If we want to encourage responsibility we have be bold enough to tackle these issues. We suspect some of those who refuse point-blank to seek work are working on the black market and claiming fraudulently.’

But a Labour source said: ‘It is easy for rich Tories with big houses to have grown-up children at home while they find their feet. It’s different if you live in a tiny council flat and your daughter is a single mum.’ Ministers said curbs on housing benefit for the under-25s, had helped slash the welfare bill in Germany and Holland
 ‘It’s easy to plough on and say it’s too embarrassing to do a U-turn. If the facts change it’s braver to make changes. No one thinks this is a weak government’


What about all the foreigners coming in will they make them live on the street ??

I'm currently unemployed and under 25 and i want to live with my partner but i want a job first before i get my own place.. which is impossible at this moment in time.

Like the toffee boys would understand what it's like coping with hard times ie money etc

No doubt they will hit the English where it hurts  :headbang

[mjdgreg]

What about all the foreigners coming in will they make them live on the street ??

I'm currently unemployed and under 25 and i want to live with my partner but i want a job first before i get my own place.. which is impossible at this moment in time.

Like the toffee boys would understand what it's like coping with hard times ie money etc

No doubt they will hit the English where it hurts  :headbang

Well done Dave. It's time to make people stand on their own 2 feet and stop the something for nothing culture. The foreigners will either get a job and rent a house or they'll not come over here. I have a lot of experience with Polish immigrants and they all tell me it is a piece of piss to get a job if you really want one.

Trouble is the English won't do certain types of jobs and then moan they can't get a job. Cutting their benefits will make them cop themselves on and get a job and stop relying on the rest of us for a cushy life on welfare.,

[MrFrost]

I can see the logic behind it.

There are far too many people happy to sit there claiming benefits, spit out a few kids rather than go out and get a job.

Whether it can be implemented without causing absolute carnage, I doubt very much. Something does need to be done however about those who would rather live from the state than earn a living.

[MrFrost]

What about all the foreigners coming in will they make them live on the street ??

I'm currently unemployed and under 25 and i want to live with my partner but i want a job first before i get my own place.. which is impossible at this moment in time.

Like the toffee boys would understand what it's like coping with hard times ie money etc

No doubt they will hit the English where it hurts  :headbang

Well done Dave. It's time to make people stand on their own 2 feet and stop the something for nothing culture. The foreigners will either get a job and rent a house or they'll not come over here. I have a lot of experience with Polish immigrants and they all tell me it is a piece of piss to get a job if you really want one.

Trouble is the English won't do certain types of jobs and then moan they can't get a job. Cutting their benefits will make them cop themselves on and get a job and stop relying on the rest of us for a cushy life on welfare.,

I agree. There is always work if you want it. Whether you clean bogs or work in a call centre. I know plenty of call centre's in South Yorkshire absolutely crying out for staff. Yet you get these uni graduates who refuse to work in one because they reckon it is beneath them, then moan they can't find a job. And I am speaking from experience who people I personally know there.

[roverstillidie91]

I can see the reason for it and i agree with it

but what happens for instance if, the parents aren't alive or situations such as where someone under 25 has a house with someone but gets made redundant and he/she parents have for instance moved to a smaller house

or it will get to point where there will be people being made homeless as they can't afford food and rent

[MrFrost]

I can see the reason for it and i agree with it

but what happens for instance if, the parents aren't alive or situations such as where someone under 25 has a house with someone but gets made redundant and he/she parents have for instance moved to a smaller house

or it will get to point where there will be people being made homeless as they can't afford food and rent

That's one of the issue's with implementing it. I can't see how it would work.

[roverstillidie91]

To be fair if employers gave the 1 out of 4 under 25's a chance to ply their trade in work maybe things would be different plus not everyone who is out of work is lazy and can't be bothered

i just went for an interview for Asda Stainforth for 16 hours a week but found out i was unsuccessful so to be fair its just employers thinking youngsters are lazy due to the fact i have an idea the other people who were in their 40's, 50's probably got it

Why doesn't Cameron stop giving billions to India who don't even need it then we might actually agree with some of his policies which include looking after your own which he clearly doesn't stand it for.. the supposed big society we're in it together

[mjdgreg]

Why doesn't Cameron stop giving billions to India who don't even need it then we might actually agree with some of his policies which include looking after your own which he clearly doesn't stand it for.. the supposed big society we're in it together

There is still unremitting, grinding poverty in India that makes the lowest of the low in our society seem like a king. We should always do our bit in the rest of the world. One day it might be us that needs a helping hand.

[DonnyRTID]

My daughter & her partner had a baby 12 weeks ago. They're moving into a rented property, by the time the rent & bills are paid they'll have about £80 a week to live on and he works 6 days a week. Some people on benefits or those that work part-time and get their wages topped up with tax credit are better off. Something needs to give.

[Donnywolf]

What about all the foreigners coming in will they make them live on the street ??

I'm currently unemployed and under 25 and i want to live with my partner but i want a job first before i get my own place.. which is impossible at this moment in time.

Like the toffee boys would understand what it's like coping with hard times ie money etc

No doubt they will hit the English where it hurts  :headbang

Well done Dave. It's time to make people stand on their own 2 feet and stop the something for nothing culture. The foreigners will either get a job and rent a house or they'll not come over here. I have a lot of experience with Polish immigrants and they all tell me it is a piece of piss to get a job if you really want one.

... even YOU cant have 50 Butlers surely

[mjdgreg]

My daughter & her partner had a baby 12 weeks ago. They're moving into a rented property, by the time the rent & bills are paid they'll have about £80 a week to live on and he works 6 days a week. Some people on benefits or those that work part-time and get their wages topped up with tax credit are better off. Something needs to give.

Fair play to your daughter and partner for trying to make a go of it without relying on benefits. They have my sympathy for the situation they find themselves in. Sounds like they have many years ahead of them of just scraping by on a low standard of living.

It's difficult to comment on their circumstances but I would make the following general points that may or may not apply to them. In Doncaster it costs much less to buy a house with a mortgage than it does to rent. Why don't people save up for a deposit and then buy a house instead of renting? Why have a baby before you've bought your own house and can properly afford it?

It never entered my head to ever rent a house as I have always considered this to be dead money. Owning your own house, eventually without a mortgage is a no-brainer compared to paying ever increasing rent. It never entered my head to have a baby before I had bought my own house and got the mortgage under control. It seems a lot of people don't understand basic economics.

[DonnyRTID]

The baby wasn't planned. Re the buying over renting, i totally agree. I offered to put them up whilst they saved up but guess the heart ruled the head.

The thing that makes matters worse is my Daughter should be getting £120 a week maternity pay, but because she didn't have any wage slips &  her ex employer (who she's currently in dispute with) refused to sign a declaration of earnings, they wont entertain her claim.  

[MrFrost]

My daughter & her partner had a baby 12 weeks ago. They're moving into a rented property, by the time the rent & bills are paid they'll have about £80 a week to live on and he works 6 days a week. Some people on benefits or those that work part-time and get their wages topped up with tax credit are better off. Something needs to give.

Fair play to your daughter and partner for trying to make a go of it without relying on benefits. They have my sympathy for the situation they find themselves in. Sounds like they have many years ahead of them of just scraping by on a low standard of living.

It's difficult to comment on their circumstances but I would make the following general points that may or may not apply to them. In Doncaster it costs much less to buy a house with a mortgage than it does to rent. Why don't people save up for a deposit and then buy a house instead of renting? Why have a baby before you've bought your own house and can properly afford it?

It never entered my head to ever rent a house as I have always considered this to be dead money. Owning your own house, eventually without a mortgage is a no-brainer compared to paying ever increasing rent. It never entered my head to have a baby before I had bought my own house and got the mortgage under control. It seems a lot of people don't understand basic economics.

I rent. But that is mostly down to my ex fleecing me for everything I had.

[Thinwhiteduke]

Mr Cameron plans to stop the £70-a-week dole money for the unemployed who refuse to try hard to find work or produce a CV
‘A couple will say, “We are engaged, we are both living with our parents, we are trying to save before we get married and have children and be good parents. But how does it make us feel, Mr Cameron, when we see someone who goes ahead, has the child, gets the council home, gets the help that isn’t available to us?”’
‘One is trapped in a welfare system that discourages them from working, the other is doing the right thing and getting no help.’

Asked if he would take action against large families who were paid large sums in benefits, he replied:

‘This is a difficult area but it is right to pose questions about it. At the moment the system encourages people not to work and have children, but we should help people to work AND have children.’

His plan to axe housing benefit for the under-25s will have exemptions for special cases, such as domestic violence, but he said: ‘We are spending nearly £2 billion on housing benefit for under-25s – a fortune. We need a bigger debate about welfare and what we expect of people. The system currently sends the signal you are better off not working, or working less.’

Don't agree with that man on much, but on this I do, wholeheartedly.

[Filo]

Stopping the £70-a-week dole money for the unemployed who refuse to try hard to find work or produce a CV.

My lad must be getting short changed then, he only gets £53 a week!


It`s alright Cameron hitting the unemployed, but if there`s no jobs about or companies don`t reply to job applicants how are the young supposed to get work?


My lad now applies for every job advertised on the jobcentre website, even the ones he knows he has no chance of getting, he very rarely gets an acknowledgement of the application, let alone an interview, I`ve even paid the cost of him getting his SIA Door supervisors Licence at £220, in an attempt for him to get work, he`s applied for various security jobs and still, no one will give him a break! It`s alright Cameron and his cronies telling people to find jobs, but they don`t understand the real world from their ivory towers!

[MrFrost]

Stopping the £70-a-week dole money for the unemployed who refuse to try hard to find work or produce a CV.

My lad must be getting short changed then, he only gets £53 a week!


It`s alright Cameron hitting the unemployed, but if there`s no jobs about or companies don`t reply to job applicants how are the young supposed to get work?


My lad now applies for every job advertised on the jobcentre website, even the ones he knows he has no chance of getting, he very rarely gets an acknowledgement of the application, let alone an interview, I`ve even paid the cost of him getting his SIA Door supervisors Licence at £220, in an attempt for him to get work, he`s applied for various security jobs and still, no one will give him a break! It`s alright Cameron and his cronies telling people to find jobs, but they don`t understand the real world from their ivory towers!

How is he wording his applications?

[Filo]

Stopping the £70-a-week dole money for the unemployed who refuse to try hard to find work or produce a CV.

My lad must be getting short changed then, he only gets £53 a week!


It`s alright Cameron hitting the unemployed, but if there`s no jobs about or companies don`t reply to job applicants how are the young supposed to get work?


My lad now applies for every job advertised on the jobcentre website, even the ones he knows he has no chance of getting, he very rarely gets an acknowledgement of the application, let alone an interview, I`ve even paid the cost of him getting his SIA Door supervisors Licence at £220, in an attempt for him to get work, he`s applied for various security jobs and still, no one will give him a break! It`s alright Cameron and his cronies telling people to find jobs, but they don`t understand the real world from their ivory towers!

How is he wording his applications?

In English, I think that`s where he`s going wrong!


In fact he`s just this minute gone out, with his SIA licence on him to trawl around factory sites and construction sites in an effort to gain employment, he`ll be happy if he comes back with some contact address`s to work with

[Mr1Croft]

But the difference is Filo your lad is trying, this plan to scrap the dole is for those who refuse to work.
But on the subject of under 25s getting council houses or rent paid for by the government I do agree. Me and my partner are living at her mums, we are engaged, im at University and she is just finishing her level 3 childcare course. Because were both students we don't get a Penney from the state. I have just finished 2 weeks of temporary employment in a William Hill call centre.
I just dont think it is fair, I was told when I younger to work hard, get the qualifications you want and get a good job. Yet here I am with my 15 GCSE's, 4 A-Levels and 2/3s of a BA Politics degree and yet someone with only half of them qualifications has their own house paid for by the state. Okay i get £90 a week in the form of a student loan from the government, but the difference is I have to pay that back.

[mjdgreg]

Aldi have got a load of jobs on offer at the moment. Big advert at their store on Barnsley Rd.

[redwine]

Aldi have got a load of jobs on offer at the moment. Big advert at their store on Barnsley Rd.

....but they don't seem to want anybody.

my lad applied there a month or so ago. Despite his 13 GCSE's, 5 A levels and a M.Eng in Aerospace engineering and he never got a reply. It couldn't have been anything to do with the quality of his application as they do degrees in CV completion at Uni.

Guess their aerospace section is fully staffed..............lol

[mjdgreg]

my lad applied there a month or so ago. Despite his 13 GCSE's, 5 A levels and a M.Eng in Aerospace engineering and he never got a reply. It couldn't have been anything to do with the quality of his application as they do degrees in CV completion at Uni.

It's an absolute disgrace that the last Labour government left the country in such a mess that highly qualified graduates can't even get a job at Aldi. My two children graduate at the end of next year so it looks like I'm going to have to set them up in their own businesses and help them out with deposits on their first homes. That numpty Gordon Brown has got an awful lot to answer for.

[MrFrost]

my lad applied there a month or so ago. Despite his 13 GCSE's, 5 A levels and a M.Eng in Aerospace engineering and he never got a reply. It couldn't have been anything to do with the quality of his application as they do degrees in CV completion at Uni.

It's an absolute disgrace that the last Labour government left the country in such a mess that highly qualified graduates can't even get a job at Aldi. My two children graduate at the end of next year so it looks like I'm going to have to set them up in their own businesses and help them out with deposits on their first homes. That numpty Gordon Brown has got an awful lot to answer for.

Why are you going to have to do that?
You said a few posts back there is work for everyone if you look hard enough. I presume you wouldn't want them in a call centre or working at Aldi?
For me, handing out money on a plate to your children isn't the answer. How can they appreciate the value if it is just handed on a plate?

[mjdgreg]

Why are you going to have to do that?
You said a few posts back there is work for everyone if you look hard enough. I presume you wouldn't want them in a call centre or working at Aldi?
For me, handing out money on a plate to your children isn't the answer. How can they appreciate the value if it is just handed on a plate?

There are jobs out there if you want them but I don't want my children doing crap, boring, low paid, dead-end jobs. I don't subscribe to the myth that having any job is good. There are plenty of jobs that are rubbish. It seems to me that many people are prepared to take any job without thinking if there is an alternative. Far better to start your own businesses rather than live on benefits.

They won't be handed money on a plate. They'll be given a loan (because the banks are currently a waste of space) and will have my expertise to help them become successful. I intend to make money out of the venture and so will they. It will be a win win situation. In this day and age I think more parents should be helping their children get a decent start in life.

The deposits on their houses will also be a loan. No way would I just give them money. No way am I going to see them end up lining the pockets of landlords like me. Whilst we perform a vital public service, being a landlord is like having a licence to print money. I intend to use some of this money (and from my other businesses) to get my children a good start in life.

[MrFrost]

Why are you going to have to do that?
You said a few posts back there is work for everyone if you look hard enough. I presume you wouldn't want them in a call centre or working at Aldi?
For me, handing out money on a plate to your children isn't the answer. How can they appreciate the value if it is just handed on a plate?

There are jobs out there if you want them but I don't want my children doing crap, boring, low paid, dead-end jobs. I don't subscribe to the myth that having any job is good. There are plenty of jobs that are rubbish. It seems to me that many people are prepared to take any job without thinking if there is an alternative. Far better to start your own businesses rather than live on benefits.

They won't be handed money on a plate. They'll be given a loan (because the banks are currently a waste of space) and will have my expertise to help them become successful. I intend to make money out of the venture and so will they. It will be a win win situation. In this day and age I think more parents should be helping their children get a decent start in life.

The deposits on their houses will also be a loan. No way would I just give them money. No way am I going to see them end up lining the pockets of landlords like me. Whilst we perform a vital public service, being a landlord is like having a licence to print money. I intend to use some of this money (and from my other businesses) to get my children a good start in life.

I wish my child was as lucky as yours. I also wish I was as fortunate and didn't have to "line the pockets of landlords like you"
Many people have no choice but to take the first job that becomes available, and if their job is deemed by yourself to be rubbish, doesn't make them any less of a person.
I'm interested - what businesses do you run?

[mjdgreg]

I wish my child was as lucky as yours. I also wish I was as fortunate and didn't have to "line the pockets of landlords like you"
Many people have no choice but to take the first job that becomes available, and if their job is deemed by yourself to be rubbish, doesn't make them any less of a person.
I'm interested - what businesses do you run?

The first job I ever took was 'rubbish'. However I worked hard, saved some money and used what I learned in the future to make myself successful. I don't think taking a rubbish job makes anyone less of a person. It can do them a lot of good and spur them on in the future. The key phrase to take out of this paragraph is 'saved some money'. Most people these days spend every penny they get without a second's thought about the future. Then they wonder why they end up scraping by.

I'm semi-retired now (without a pension) but keep my hand in at being a professional gambler, property developer, landlord and teacher. These days I prefer to work when I want to on something I enjoy and not work whenever someone else wants me to on something I don't enjoy.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

To any young graduate unsure about what to do, I took a low paid job with the big plc I work for on not much above minimum wage, which is disappointing after 4 years at uni.  But it was worth it, after 8 months I was offered a job I wanted and earnt on proper money, they also pay for further professional qualifications and tuition etc for me.  I wanted that straight away and was told despite being good enough I needed experience.  So despite the low pay I got experience and made a difference.  So what if I have to drive 26 miles each way to work, so what if I still live at home (though only for another month), in the long term it'll be really worthwhile.

Jobs are there if people want them, we have problems filling ours sometimes, some of the ludicrous salary requests we get from applicants have to be seen to be believed.  We can't get cleaners for example as the rate for a cleaner often means it's better for them to stay on benefits, that's a sad fact but ultimately it is true.

[DonnyRTID]

Give me the name of your company. You're one of the lucky ones. My Daughter did an apprenticeship for 3 years  but when they heard she was pregnant they got rid of her, she worked 43 hrs a week for £95 (-£15 a week busfare) to gain a qualifacation yet she's gonna struggle to get a job now because she's in dispute with her ex employer so doesn't even have a reference to rely on.

[mjdgreg]

To any young graduate unsure about what to do, I took a low paid job with the big plc I work for on not much above minimum wage, which is disappointing after 4 years at uni.  But it was worth it, after 8 months I was offered a job I wanted and earnt on proper money, they also pay for further professional qualifications and tuition etc for me.  I wanted that straight away and was told despite being good enough I needed experience.  So despite the low pay I got experience and made a difference.  So what if I have to drive 26 miles each way to work, so what if I still live at home (though only for another month), in the long term it'll be really worthwhile.

Jobs are there if people want them, we have problems filling ours sometimes, some of the ludicrous salary requests we get from applicants have to be seen to be believed.  We can't get cleaners for example as the rate for a cleaner often means it's better for them to stay on benefits, that's a sad fact but ultimately it is true.

Well done BFYP. A fine example of what can be achieved with the right attitude.

[ditch_drfc]

Totally agree with it. I'm under 25, just recently got a job after being out of work for over a year. Anyone that thinks it's "a piece of piss" to get a job is just a nob that has never been in that situation! I hate when people say it's easy to get a job, it isn't easy at all. It's probably the hardest thing i've ever done. It's like a full time job in itself.

[mjdgreg]

Anyone that thinks it's "a piece of piss" to get a job is just a nob that has never been in that situation! I hate when people say it's easy to get a job, it isn't easy at all. It's probably the hardest thing i've ever done. It's like a full time job in itself.

It is a piece of piss to get a job. It's not a piece of piss to get a good job. It should be a full time job getting a job if you haven't got one. Why would you expect it not to be? If you don't like the job situation start your own businesses.