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[bored bigyin54]

I said several weeks ago that when the Government Benefit Cuts started the Philrich household would be in deep do-do! Well from today I am Officially classed as being fit for work despite having no Medical assessment! Unfortunately as i'm not fit for work in the 'real' world, I would be commiting Fraud if I tried to claim Jobseekers Allowance or whatever it's called these days! I've Appealed the decision but despite the best mediocre efforts of my GP in trying to put right his previous ballsup answering the ESA Inquisition letter, they wont change their decision and the Appeals System is running months behind schedule so we will be forced to survive on a near 50% cut in our Benefit income for the forseeable future with little or no guarantee of winning the Appeal. As from today we are to all intents and purposes Bankrupt as we cannot meet our Mortgage or other outgoings by a Country Mile! We have had our home on the Market since just before the World went Financially tits up this last time, as I saw which way the wind was blowing and had hoped to sell up & buy a little 2 up 2 down outright so we at least had the peace of mind of having a secure roof over our head. Any savings we had have slowly leaked away keeping  our head above water, I was paying almost £60 a month for Prescription medicines and appliances until I contracted the Big C and became eligible for free prescriptions for 5 years. I have 2 years left of this much appreciated & very welcome financial respite but when it comes to an end I will have the original drugs etc to pay for plus the extra stuff I now need to manage the after effects of my latest surgery. With any luck ( and i'm not joking in the slightest!) I will die in my sleep sooner rather than later as i'm worth more dead than alive and swmbo would have the house paid for. Whatever your views on the Welfare State, NHS or 'Benefits' in general, your life could be turned upside down at any time by accident, illness or circumstances beyond your control and the 'safety net' which we've paid into to cushion us in time of need is no longer there for the majority who are deserving of it. This Pathetic excuse for a Government & their equally Pathetic predecessors couldn't organise a pissup in a brewery! It makes me ashamed to be British!

i was told 8 years ago i would never be called for an assement again . but now i have to go through it again i dont go trough a gp , its the specalist who treats me . thats why i cant work cant lift and carry stuff .so what job can i get at my age

[Vamps]

I said several weeks ago that when the Government Benefit Cuts started the Philrich household would be in deep do-do! Well from today I am Officially classed as being fit for work despite having no Medical assessment! Unfortunately as i'm not fit for work in the 'real' world, I would be commiting Fraud if I tried to claim Jobseekers Allowance or whatever it's called these days! I've Appealed the decision but despite the best mediocre efforts of my GP in trying to put right his previous ballsup answering the ESA Inquisition letter, they wont change their decision and the Appeals System is running months behind schedule so we will be forced to survive on a near 50% cut in our Benefit income for the forseeable future with little or no guarantee of winning the Appeal. As from today we are to all intents and purposes Bankrupt as we cannot meet our Mortgage or other outgoings by a Country Mile! We have had our home on the Market since just before the World went Financially tits up this last time, as I saw which way the wind was blowing and had hoped to sell up & buy a little 2 up 2 down outright so we at least had the peace of mind of having a secure roof over our head. Any savings we had have slowly leaked away keeping  our head above water, I was paying almost £60 a month for Prescription medicines and appliances until I contracted the Big C and became eligible for free prescriptions for 5 years. I have 2 years left of this much appreciated & very welcome financial respite but when it comes to an end I will have the original drugs etc to pay for plus the extra stuff I now need to manage the after effects of my latest surgery. With any luck ( and i'm not joking in the slightest!) I will die in my sleep sooner rather than later as i'm worth more dead than alive and swmbo would have the house paid for. Whatever your views on the Welfare State, NHS or 'Benefits' in general, your life could be turned upside down at any time by accident, illness or circumstances beyond your control and the 'safety net' which we've paid into to cushion us in time of need is no longer there for the majority who are deserving of it. This Pathetic excuse for a Government & their equally Pathetic predecessors couldn't organise a pissup in a brewery! It makes me ashamed to be British!

Phil, I am in drink so comments are limited, I can, as you know empathise with your situation.....   I did not realise free scripts, which I also get, were time limited...
Speak with your local government welfare rights people, they may be able to advise, they are expecting an onslaught of clients yet no additional funding has been provided by Government.....

I anticipate loosing benefits, but will be a couple of years; I have said a number of times, I can understand what the government are trying to achieve, well intentioned but not at all thought out, going to hit many innocent applicants.....

[Marks DTM Calib]

I was paying almost £60 a month for Prescription medicines

So why on earth did you not get a pre-paid prescription certificate?

I have to say everybody sits and moans about cuts but nobody ever comes up with an answer as to where the money is coming from to if the cuts are not made!

[Terbs]

I was paying almost £60 a month for Prescription medicines

So why on earth did you not get a pre-paid prescription certificate?

I have to say everybody sits and moans about cuts but nobody ever comes up with an answer as to where the money is coming from to if the cuts are not made!

[/highlight]

I know exactly what you are saying, Mark....but all the cuts seem to be hitting the least well off all the time. I am lucky in my situation that it does not affect me ( only standard fuel rises etc, etc)

But in my observations, I fail to see where anyone with a bit of wealth is giving up anything or suffering in any way.
The system itself is silly. As regards free prescriptions....my wife gets free prescriptions (has done for years)....but my son who suffers with asthma, which can be life threatening, does not. As my wife says, she would have willingly given up hers so my son had free prescriptions.
If there was proper independent audit on the government itself, what they award themselves, what they spend within government itself on vehicles, decorating, entertainment etc, etc, I bet there there would be millions that could be saved.
They should learn to make do with Tesco Value, the same as the rest of the population are expected to.
Did you see I.D.Smith spouting about how he could make do on £53 per week. He soon got off of that subject!!!!!

[jonnycool]

There wouldn't be a problem with welfare in this country if the money was genuinely given to the people that needed it, unfortunately though, I reckon more than half of all the claimants are spongers that are knowingly taking money off taxpayers. Looks like we've saved a fair bit of money on the 900,000 people that didn't want an assessment though eh? Wonder why 

[Terbs]

There wouldn't be a problem with welfare in this country if the money was genuinely given to the people that needed it, unfortunately though, I reckon more than half of all the claimants are spongers that are knowingly taking money off taxpayers. Looks like we've saved a fair bit of money on the 900,000 people that didn't want an assessment though eh? Wonder why 

Does that mean the 900,000 are now off benefits, or accept a reduction ??

Irrespective, I think the assessment process should be more 'hands on, personal' than I understand it to be Just giving out willy nilly 'fit for work' notices is out of order imo

[flyer 0712]

Wether you like maggie thatcher or not.....the people of our country stood up against the poll tax (good or bad as it was ) and she had to back down..so if as a nation  if we all stood up to this cameron shower surely he would have to think again on his idiotic changes to the welfare state and bring in a more fairer way of sorting the scroungers from the genuine claiments and then the monies would go to the most deserved people where it should go.After all isnt that why we have a welfare state in the first place......not for this load of pratts to to deprive the genuine sick.....disabled...unemployed people of our country.....disgusted......

[cleggy]

I was paying almost £60 a month for Prescription medicines

So why on earth did you not get a pre-paid prescription certificate?

I have to say everybody sits and moans about cuts but nobody ever comes up with an answer as to where the money is coming from to if the cuts are not made!

[/highlight]

I know exactly what you are saying, Mark....but all the cuts seem to be hitting the least well off all the time. I am lucky in my situation that it does not affect me ( only standard fuel rises etc, etc)

But in my observations, I fail to see where anyone with a bit of wealth is giving up anything or suffering in any way.
The system itself is silly. As regards free prescriptions....my wife gets free prescriptions (has done for years)....but my son who suffers with asthma, which can be life threatening, does not. As my wife says, she would have willingly given up hers so my son had free prescriptions.
If there was proper independent audit on the government itself, what they award themselves, what they spend within government itself on vehicles, decorating, entertainment etc, etc, I bet there there would be millions that could be saved.
They should learn to make do with Tesco Value, the same as the rest of the population are expected to.
Did you see I.D.Smith spouting about how he could make do on £53 per week. He soon got off of that subject!!!!!

Of course he can eating and drinking in the susidised House of Commons

[ted_one]

He's a prime example of what a bunch of smug corrupt tossers that they ALL are

[ozzycat]

the goverment have decided what they are going to do and they dont care who or what it dose to people that need help as far as fhey are concerned the sooner we are dead the better for them

[Marks DTM Calib]

I was paying almost £60 a month for Prescription medicines

So why on earth did you not get a pre-paid prescription certificate?

I have to say everybody sits and moans about cuts but nobody ever comes up with an answer as to where the money is coming from to if the cuts are not made!

I know exactly what you are saying, Mark....but all the cuts seem to be hitting the least well off all the time. I am lucky in my situation that it does not affect me ( only standard fuel rises etc, etc)

But in my observations, I fail to see where anyone with a bit of wealth is giving up anything or suffering in any way.
The system itself is silly. As regards free prescriptions....my wife gets free prescriptions (has done for years)....but my son who suffers with asthma, which can be life threatening, does not. As my wife says, she would have willingly given up hers so my son had free prescriptions.
If there was proper independent audit on the government itself, what they award themselves, what they spend within government itself on vehicles, decorating, entertainment etc, etc, I bet there there would be millions that could be saved.
They should learn to make do with Tesco Value, the same as the rest of the population are expected to.
Did you see I.D.Smith spouting about how he could make do on £53 per week. He soon got off of that subject!!!!!

Thing is its not millions we need to save, its tens of billions.

Bottom line is that the welfare costs are huge:

http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/year_spending_2014UKbn_12bc1n_4049#ukgs302

and clearly some are abusing the system.

If we are to maintain education and healthcare spending then the rest has to suffer.....so which is it to be.

Tax the very well off and they will bugger off or simply offshore so that wont work.

It pains me to say it but, for me (note my opinion), if you are out of work and on benefits then it should be just enough to live on and the evidence I see walking through the school where the wife works demonstrates that this is not the case.

And clearly there are special cases due to illness and disability which should get extra's, I have no issues with this.

Also, anybody who thinks any government which gets in is going to alter this is in cuckoo land, we are deeper in the Poo then most can comprehend due to a legacy of Mr Blair and Brown buying votes by bowering cash (and not the scape goat bankers as the spin doctors would have you think).

[Mr Skrunts]

I was paying almost £60 a month for Prescription medicines

So why on earth did you not get a pre-paid prescription certificate?

I have to say everybody sits and moans about cuts but nobody ever comes up with an answer as to where the money is coming from to if the cuts are not made!

A 12 month PPC costs £104.00 and will save you money if you need more than 14 items in a year (2 months @£60 and you would already be saving)

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/PPC.aspx

[Lizzie_Zoom]

I feel for you all the way Phil....its a bloody disgrace.

Does Cameron really think he has a hells hope of getting back in (on the supposition he lasts that long)

+1

[albitz]

Its a job that badly needs to be done,but unfortunately it seems to be getting done badly.
I actually have some respect for IDS,and I think he has initially put a lot of time and thought into the problems,but once the civil servants,councils,companies hired in to do the work etc. have got their hands on it,the whole thing has gone badly wrong.
I was surprised to see that IDS stated last week that the whole exercise isnt actually going to save any money in the end,as the reductions on one thing are going to be swallowed up by increases on another thing.He gave the impression of someone who had almost given up trying.

[albitz]

I have also heard it said in the media several times in the last few days that the majority of people recieving benefits are actually in work.If true,that to me indicates exactly what is wrong with this country.Its not welfare,its state control and redistribution of peoples own money.
Rather than tax people to the hilt and then pay them benefits,just simply tax them much less in the first place,and trust them to be the best person to utilise the money they have earned.
That would mean a lot less pen pushers sitting behind desks on good salaries and index linked pensions though,so I dont suppose it will ever happen.Even under this supposedly Conservative govt.