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▼ Found 660 entries
31 Jul 2024
Q&A

Precious D

What do you want to see in the King's Speech?

I would like to hear proposals for creating more jobs and provision of career progression training.

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31 Jul 2024
Q&A

Precious D

What are your hopes and fears for the summer holiday?

I feel hopeful about summer holidays. I am a single parent of 5. I try to save money for summer holidays by booking free-cancellation places around autumn time and pay by instalments. We tend to holiday rent self-catering accommodations to save money so we can afford buying tickets for places like Zip World, museums to visit whilst on holiday.

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31 Jul 2024
Q&A

Precious D

What do you think the proposed changes to the Department for Work and Pensions made this week?

The plans sound very promising. I will hopeful that positive changes will be implemented. My concern is particularly about young people finding suitable work to keep them out of trouble.

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31 Jul 2024
Q&A

Charles K

What do you want to see in the King's Speech?

For me and the king speech, I would like to see some form of proposal to rules, the disability benefits, Pip, etcetera, that we're not all suddenly going to be getting these stupid vouchers. How that works. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. He's treating us like we're children. We're not children. We've got different, different abilities, um, and all that, but, you know, a lot of us are still going to mental capacity. It's absolutely ridiculous. And also around SEN as well, with young adults, it seems there's a lot more geared up for. For SEND young people, preteen, um, pre secondary. They get secondary, it's a bit wobbly. And then it also seems to fall off the chain when our young people with special additional needs get leaving secondary. Start in college. And once they've left college, even though an EHCP goes up to 25, as soon as they've left college, that EHCP disappeared into dust. I would like to see some form of ongoing care and support for SEND young people up to and beyond the age of 25 and having their rights and stuff protected.

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31 Jul 2024
Q&A

Charles K

What are your hopes and fears for the summer holiday?

Summer holidays is always an interesting one in our house of a single parent to three, two of which at university, one's moved out and two come back. One's just left secondary school. The only thing that gets you through summer holidays, unfortunately, is credit. It's my credit card. So I'll be splitting the payments up over at least minimum of two credit cards from my overdraft, unfortunately, and getting into debt. And then hopefully that is cleared by Christmas. And then we start all over again with Christmas. And it can be a bit of a never ending story or cycle of in debt, out of out of debt. But I'm hoping this year is not as bad and I'm hoping to get, to get it all cleared a lot quicker. But unfortunately, yes, I foresee me getting through this summer holiday on just lines of credit.

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31 Jul 2024
Q&A

Charles K

What do you think the proposed changes to the Department for Work and Pensions made this week?

In theory, yes, I think it's a good idea. We need to get a lot more young people into training and get people into the careers and industry. What we used to have used to produce a lot in this country and manufacture a lot. Unfortunately, that went by the wayside in the seventies. I think it's a good idea on paper and on principle. How much it's going to cost and how the government implement it could come at a cost to other things. It could come at a cost to us disabled people as well, that would be forced into other sanctions or being forced into work that we're not physically able to or capable of doing because someone in an office believes we can. But ideally, yes, more apprenticeships and internships for younger people going forward should get the country back on its feet. Hopefully.

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31 Jul 2024
Diary

Gracie E

Well today I'm very grateful for anyone who donates to food banks etc. I received a voucher of £25 each for each of my 3 children for asda for summer clothing or school uniform.

I have already sorted all the uniform but socks and underwear are so blooming expensive that I was able to buy that.

Having 2/3 kids now in adult clothing sizes has increased the price massively so I'm very grateful.

I'm also grateful to have been referred for help from LEAP with making my private rented home more energy efficient (which is fantastic) also they will help me with an air fryer after mine has set on fire

Having to swallow my pride to accept help has become a regular occurrence but I'm eternally grateful for the help I am receiving

😀
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30 Jul 2024
Q&A

Roxy N

What do you think the proposed changes to the Department for Work and Pensions made this week?

I do like the idea of help into better positions but I also feel like they are saying people in low paid jobs need to find better jobs but it is not as easy as that a lot of people in low paid or part time jobs are in those roles as the hours suit around children etc. Maybe they should work on improving work places making them more inclusive and less bullying tactics so people can have better quality jobs.

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30 Jul 2024
Diary

Beverly W

So my son's transition from school to university has well and truly caught us on a back foot here.

I did the right thing by getting a benefit check then informing UC of the change of circumstances, as the school year ended and he was leaving. Obviously, I contacted child benefit about it too.

I know child benefit is due to continue until the start of the new school term on the first of September. I assumed we would be OK until September. However I wasn't aware that UC has been engineered to finish paying us the child element the month after he leaves school. So technically as of now. This leaves us with in the region of £550 less to both live on. That means from August till mid September we'll have approximately £100 ish less per week to live on as though his current and future welfare doesn't matter one bit anymore. Either that or I'm expected to support him in the meantime.

In my opinion the expectation that he is, to leave school then walk into a job the following day, is unlikely unrealistic and unbelievably short sighted of the dwp.

Frustratingly I've spent easily triple that amount so far on kitting him out with essentials for student life, even with the purchase of cheap or second hand goods. And we all know how unwise and uneconomical it is if you "buy cheap, buy twice". But that's all we could afford on top of driving lessons/ tests and prom gear I paid for. It just never ends. He already needs an entire wardrobe as he's out growing things, and worn his trainers out, Not to mention exam results day looming, and as any loving parent wants to do so, there's an opportunity to shower their child with treats to celebrate exam success or console failure.

We haven't even factored in how to transport all of his belongings to the campus in one small vehicle yet. I had hoped to stay overnight somewhere cheap before returning home the following day. It will be too much for me to do everything otherwise.

How the dwp automatically expect him to have a, job to support himself with, only a few days after leaving education is ludicrous. Indeed he's been applying for work only nobody is willing to take him on with him moving away in September.

In addition we've applied for every scholarship and bursary available to us and I've just submitted another application for a DHP so fingers crossed, we get something from somewhere, because he still need pots and pans etc, a full week's grocery shop a deposit on student accommodation. Not to mention transport to get him and all his belongings there.

So there it is, a deliberate mess and another bit of meanness from the powers that be.

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30 Jul 2024
Q&A

Howie N

What do you think the proposed changes to the Department for Work and Pensions made this week?

I think it is going to be the exact same thing as we have at the moment but a different title. Merging careers advice at the jobcentre is only to save money. And the carers advice is rubbish and it should be carefully monitored and the government should be questioned about this such as if you want to be a professional athlete or the next prime minister what advice are they going to give you to ensure you achieve this goal or are they going to say it is a rubbish job and career to have. The issue with this new way of jobcentres is going to be the exact same as what we have know the government are not providing the correct help and support to get into work and stay in work and are threatening use with sanctions all the time. That’s why Liz Kendall as already prepared a care of duty prepare the launch of the new jobcentre. But I hope charities and organisations speak out and allow individuals to speak about there experience at the jobcentre which then can be told in parliament as soon as possible.

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30 Jul 2024
Diary

Bessie J

To reach full potential in the Olympics, it helps if you have wealthy parents to pay for the training.

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30 Jul 2024
Q&A

Ana Q

What do you think the proposed changes to the Department for Work and Pensions made this week?

I like the new government's DWP's initiative to increase employment rate of 80% by supporting its citizen to provide training for the quality job and apprentice offer for the young people.

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