What should the tories do about child benefit?

W

whoaaitsbecky

New member
The tories have got themselves into a bit of a mess over child benefit reform plans.
The proposed system of scrapping it where one of the parents is a high earner does seem unfair.
But then having a corabined earnings assessment would be more expensive to implement.
What do you think they should do about it?
 
My sister and her other half did the "OH isn't living there while OH works on the side" etc etc deal. Worked for her for a few months and she and her OH were living it up, quite a bit of money coming in for two people supposedly not working.

Then she got caught.

She's now paying everything illegally claimed back. Brought her down bigtime and im glad it happened to be honest as she and her BF was taking the pish with it all.

She didn't have the baby just to get a house and the benefits, she just got pregnant and once the baby arrived moved out and got a house, it was only after she moved in that a friend said "oh if you do this, and you do that you'll get £££" that she acted the fool and took everything she could get. Me and my parents warned her but as usual she didnt listen.

They're now both doing everything 100% legit FYI, the only thing they get now is child benefit and WTC. Yes they're skint as hell, but it beats looking over your shoulder or waiting for that eventual knock on the door.

People doing it do get caught eventually, im just glad she got caught sooner rather than later or her bill would be much much bigger.
 
I'm one of those affected by the current proposal, so my initial reaction was to vote "Leave it as is". However seeing as we're all in this together*, I voted for "change plans to a fairer system".

I haven't thought about it in any detail, but one of the things the government did in Ireland to encourage population growth was to increase the amount of child benefit available for each subsequent child. For example, your first child you got £x per month, next child got £x + £y per month, third child got £x + £y + £z and so on. I'm thinking maybe doing this in reverse could be a good way to go - so, increasing the amount you currently get for your first child, and significantly lowering it for each subsequent child, to the point where it's zero for, say, the fourth and subsequent children.

This would have the benefit of discouraging the sector of society who pops out children in order to live off benefits, while not impacting too heavily on anyone sensible who chooses to have the nuraber of children they can afford. I have no idea if the maths behind this would work, it's just a thought.

I don't think CB should be scrapped completely, as it's a mark of a society that cares about all its merabers.


*sort of - I'm willing to pay my way, at least
 
I was listening to a radio 2 phone in of people who knows of benefit frauRAB, namely there family merabers and how they are middle class individually with there own businesses.............

this particular caller said that she has grassed in her sister in law many times, but they just didn't have the manpower to investigate the claim as there are thousanRAB of claims into similar goings on..........

Shocking really, I welcome change to the whole system, if it doesn't work we can go back.........
 
For my sisters 3 kiRAB, that's £86 a month. Or in other worRAB, a weeks rent. It helps.

But yes, i thought it was more than this, i think i may have been confusing it with another benefit she gets, possibly child tax credits...
 
When I was a kid about 30 years ago, sure my Mum said they could only claim child benefit when the 2nd child was born. The problem for me is, I agree with what you saying but a higher payment for the first child doesn't discourage the single mum having a child to claim the free flat phenomenon. I'm sure I read a statistic that said that about 80% of housing benefit claimants in this country are single people and single mums.
 
It's a stupid system at the moment. They should means test it based on household income and set a joint limit of around £60,000. If your household income is higher than that, you don't receive the benefit.
 
I'd agree with something like this. Giving it to one household who have two workers earning £39999.99 each and not giving it to a house hold who have one worker earning £40000 just seems lazy and idiotic to me.

Should be based on joint income not sole income.
 
A lot of people are being pushed into higher rate tax brackets by the changes to the limits where it kicks in in real terms. Plus higher earners have already been hit by the abolition of tax allowance if earning over 100k and paying 50% over 150k. I don't think it is unreasonable to give something back to those with children and given the options to test it seem to cost a lot to implement I'm for leaving it as is.
 
What's worse than these scurabag frauRABters is the stupid government given any tom, Dick and harry from abroad benefits and continuing those benefits when they bugger off home
 
great idea, would also create jobs for nursery staff, then we could single out the lazy ***** from the folk willing to work..........

I pay nursery fees for my 2 year old, but when he is 3 its free, local authority one...........
 
I voted for a fairer system. The way they are trying to implement the change is a stupid one IMO, not only as it directly affects me, but because it is just not balanced.

I earn just enough for the Government to say my family does not need it, yet my Mrs is a full time housewife and mother to our 2 kiRAB so does not earn an income herself.

Several of my colleagues earn a little less than me meaning they get to keep CB, but their other halfs also earn £30-40k so as householRAB they are earning far in excess of mine. How is that fair?

The other thing that is daft are the methoRAB to go about not getting the CB.

We could write in and say someone earns too much, please stop paying us CB. The problem with doing it this way is the Mrs then has to make National Insurance payments herself, which would otherwise be covered by the Government while receiving CB. This would mean we lose out twice.

Alternatively, as the earner in the family, I would apparently tick a box for the IR to say someone in the family is claiming CB, please take it back through my tax code. Given there is no link between the IR and CB systems (and certainly no link between my Mrs getting the CB and me paying IR) I can't see how the Government are going to police this, it seems to be solely relying on the moral nature of people to volunteer the information.

So if they expect people to do it of their own accord, why can't they adjust it slightly to ask about corabined earnings?
 
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