Feeling really overwhelmed at the moment with half term and hospital appointments and kids birthdays and filling in forms and applications and then to hear that the government is considering removing ehcps for children in mainstream is the icing on the cake. Taking from disabled people, children or adults is simply wrong.

Without his Ehcp my son would become a school refuser, he wouldn't have access to his 1 2 1 and his key worker. The school would simply suspend him as opposed to help him and honestly right now I feel this government do not have any of our best interests at heart. I suppose if I had money I'd be able to privately educate or home educate him but that's not a luxury I have at the moment.

This government is pushing our children deep past the poverty line and removing any accommodations and support that would otherwise make this bearable.

This has a knock on effect on my mental health and that of my children. When the future looks bleak and you already fight every day to simply survive it's easy to sink into negative thoughts and worries to spiral.

I’m currently stuck in a private rented flat, I can’t afford to start work when my child turns 3. I am better off on benefits than I am working, with no security in my housing.

It's difficult but just get through though costs especially food, it's shot right up

I, like you, previously rented private properties, because I preferred the sense of choice of location and the type of home we lived in.

Obviously, private renting generally comes at an increased cost compared to social housing prices. We were fortunate to have stayed at one property for sixteen years the rent increased during the first 3 years then after that it stayed the same for the rest of the time we lived there, although it meant the property wasn't maintained as much as it needed. For instance I went halves with the landlord on a new shed when the old one started collapsing. Then out of the blue the landlord announced he needed to sell the place. That's not to say I didn't keep the place looking clean and tidy. I repainted the walls and replaced his old cooker, but generally I didn't carry out more expensive alterations or repairs. For example, we never had new carpets. I couldn't see the point of spending my money on replacing expensive items like this for if we were to need to leave it wasn't something we could take with us. So I would buy second hand rugs to preserve them and carpet cleaner to maintain the appearance of them.

So, over the years the house became shabbier and shabbier because I certainly didn't have the spare funds to update the place. Also the landlord did less and less maintenance as the years went by. Although, if it was an electrical issue or when he decided to replace the tatty fascia boards or have the 10 foot hedge chopped down, we thought it was a miracle. So much so, by the time we left the place, the bath panel, which I had repeatedly repaired and repeatedly requested he but a new one, was held together with industrial tape of a completely different colour just to stop it cracking or from hurting ourselves on the sharp shards.

Now because the landlord gave us the choice to either quit living in that house after sixteen years as soon as we could or stump up a further £150 for six more months before being turfed out on the street with no 'safety net', we rushed to get the first available property we could get our hands on.

Again it was a privately rented property, and again the rent was increased during the two years we lived there. Also some repairs were carried out initially over the first twelve months we lived there, in fact we were given a new cooker within the first six months. Only after this time we were either gaslighted about the issues with damp, mould and guttering problems, or we were expected to put up with problems that started to become apparent after living there for longer. For instance the electric kept tripping out when using certain appliances. The extended kitchen would flood during heavy rainfall, and there was a dreadful problem with the front door not locking or the key getting stuck.

All in all, we were overjoyed to finally be offered a property with social housing.

Although the initial moving in here was costly, I used the deposit from the previous property towards costs and I was fortunate to have help paying for moving costs and a reconditioned cooker from the St Vincent de Paul society.

I had no real choice but to buy carpets for the place, as we aren't likely to be moving again anytime soon so I had to stomach the costs for them.

As for furnishings, we previously bought second hand goods at the old address, and they have fitted here at the new one.

The difference we pay in rent has made it far more doable for us.

Thankfully my neighbours each side have already taken care of the fences all bar one panel which is broken but still standing, so until it really needs replacing I'm not worrying about it until the time comes.

Also, as we had to downsize our bills are also a tad cheaper than they were. So over the long term we are saving money a little bit on energy payments.

However, the biggest upside to social housing for me has to be the fact we now have a more secure tenancy than we used to have. So the security makes the extra cost worth the while. Even with the renters reform bill going through, I doubt we would have benefited from the perks of it. In my experience landlords tend to be very shrewd. I dare say they will find ways to bend the rules and regulations regarding private renting.

Overall, there hasn't been anything here we have needed to replace or repair that isn't covered by the housing association.

The only other outlay I have is with storage and furniture. This is the first time in years I've had to purchase wardrobes. I had some backpay which I've used for this.

I imagine my money will always be spent on replacing appliances or furniture as and when they break no doubt. But I would have had to do this in privately rented accommodation anyway.

I am a council tenant. At first of every month, I put aside some money for rent and then council tax and energy bill which is priority bills. I will spend the rest after paying the essential bill and others. Sometimes it is very difficult to live on with the rest of the money as everything's price gone up within the last few years. So tried to cope with the limited saving at the moment.

Hello, good morning. I'm sorry. I have to respond to this late. I'm about where I stay. Yes, it has had a bad impact on my opportunities.

The local Council I stay. There are no places for children to play for free. There are no explore Wishin for the children. There are no free studies for myself. So I had to go to another council. Another Borough which is very far for me to study for free because I'm not eligible to go to college now. And another thing, I

I could remember is that there is an apprenticeship course going on in another borough another area entirely and very far for me. I couldn't go because I have children to look after

And. Even if I want to pay for the child care for them is going to cost me a lot, because I have to calculate the travel cost and the travel time to add for the child minder to look after them. But if it was in my area, I know I'm going for just two hours and I'll have to pay the Childminder for two hours.

But going far away from where I stay. At least two or three hours. I will be heading to the two hours because I have to travel down there for like one hour or two hours before I could get there and my coming back, so, it's a lot. And when I calculated it, I lost that opportunity. It was very painful to me. And I learnt that my borough, there are wealthy people there, so that is why we don't have enough food

banks and other Lookout Services. Thank you very much, hopefully it will be fine.

Hello, I'm so sorry, I'm doing this late because I just have the time now about the advice support for mental health, I think. And I had that GP help. I have no issues on Mental Health before though, there are anxiety stress and some little little symptoms, but I

I refuse to speak out because I have kids and I heard that they take kids away from you, where you are facing mental stress, but I am able to manage myself. Now, some people say they go because I do workshops in the late and I hear people's experiences. So some goes to the GP and people refer them or ask them.

Not even refer. They asked them to go somewhere to go to somewhere for the right support. And when they get there they is either. There are long waiting list or they start asking you questions that we make you remember the past I think the GP should take note of your complaints and refer you straight and they should stop asking a lot of questions because

Asking a lot of questions, remind us about what we are going through and we will start the anxiety disorder from stage 1. Again, thank you so much. Mental. Stress is heavy way. Thank you.

Hi, good morning. Thanks so much for the big question of the week about the housing. I'm actually in temporary accommodation and surely. There are some extra hidden costs which is like its Utilities and all of that. But I don't know if I can share, one of my sister's experience. She moved from a house to another apartment which is a private accommodation. And suddenly all the extra bills didn't want, switch are not saying before keeps on coming in and because of the benefit curve, the council refused to pay all the event and has car to sorts out. They be balanced. So, I'm so shocked, like why would they do that? Then all everywhere. She was going, she couldn't get

Extra support about that. So she's really, really struggling and the most surprising thing is that she had to pay for the other bills like the light water electricity, and council tax. And all of that, all of a sudden Obie's, keep coming in coming in and they cancel refused to pay the full payment of the accommodation.

And how. So they they, they have to reduce the she had three kids and they had to reduce the benefit for all the three kids to True kids. So a lot is going on within that and hopefully maybe the government can see to ease and let us leave a stress free accommodation. Thank you.

One of the main issues we have faced has been which problem is the responsibility of the Housing Authority, and which is our responsibility. The door handles were constantly broken, within 2 weeks of moving in they had almost all fallen off and it was impossible to close the bathroom door. When I asked if the Housing Authority could help, they said the door handles were considered a 'gift' and it would be up to me to not only replace the handles, but also the doors unless they are fire doors. That kind of cost is extortionate and so we now have a bathroom door which doesn't work properly. Rent increases are also an absolute nightmare as you have to make sure Housing Benefit are aware well in advance of changes or else you have to find the additional money yourself.

As an asylum seeker in the UK, housing is provided, but there are still hidden costs and challenges that many people don’t see. We don’t pay rent, but we’re often placed in shared accommodation with very little control over conditions or location. Sometimes the housing is overcrowded or not properly maintained, and it’s hard to get issues fixed. We receive a very limited allowance (just a few pounds a day), which has to cover everything else — food, hygiene, travel, phone credit — so even small extra costs can be overwhelming. Managing is incredibly difficult, and budgeting means going without a lot of basic things.

It’s month end, I got paid but still I don’t have enough money for this month's expenses and necessities. I will def go into overdraft then end up borrowing money from family or friends .

I'm in a private rental and my rent has gone up for fourth time in over four years. I have one year of 2021 to 2022, and one year of 2024 to 2025 where local housing allowance covered my rent. I consider myself one of the lucky ones, as previously and currently I only have to make up £50 a month. I have known people have to make up over £250 a month, when their rent increases. I do get worried every year about how much they will put the rent up and whether I can afford it. The local housing allowance is laughable really, as there are literally only like one or two properties available in the whole of Cardiff for that price. Most two beds in Cardiff go for at least £900 to £1000. Local housing allowance for two bed in Cardiff is £800, so yes I feel lucky my rent has only gone up to £850 a month.