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Hi
Having watched the spending review/cuts yesterday, there was metion of a 12 month only jobseekers allowance, I have read some articles that say disabled people will be definitely unfairly disadvanteged by this but can find no clarity as to lone parents being treated the same way.
The reason I ask is that there must be some people who have been on jobseekers now for almost a year since the rule change, how on earth will they manage?
Also with the cuts, there is little hope of more childcare being provided so again how are we going to manange if they do apply the 12 month rule to lone parents.
The other obvious one is of course with lots of redundancies looming, where are all these jobs we are expected to take up?
I find it so worrying.
It's worrying for the next generation of children too, especially those coming up to entering the job market.
Only 12 months on Jobseekers? Then what do we do? OMG
Changes to council housing too, but only to new tenants. I expect this will cross over to housing associations too.
Affordable rent will be the thing of the past, never mind the hope of buying one.
What has also made me cross is that it appears that the Government are trying to sort of shift married ladies back home to parent their children but for us lone parents our children cant have that!!!!
I posted much the same thing about two parent families being helped to have a stay at home parent, in the media requests section the other day, tired mum!
Ok guys do not panic.
At the moment contribution based JSA is only paid for six months (for those who have been working) and after that, if they are eligible they move to income related JSA, which provides exactly the same amount, and indeed the same as Income Support, except with the obligation to look for work. The reason contribution based JSA exists at all, is that people who have working partners or some savings are still entitled to six months JSA by virtue of their own National Insurance contributions over the last 2 years....and once this six months has expired they may have too much household income/too many savings to get the income related JSA and therefore get nothing. Those who do not have the savings/working partner move onto income related JSA, as above
The change that was put forward yesterday was for people who would be coming on to the old Incapacity Benefit (not exisiting claimants, just new claimants) and who find that the new equivalent of Incapacity benefit is called Employment Support Allowance (ESA) The new rules for ESA are that it will only be paid for 12 months, and thereafter claimants will revert to JSA or IS as appropriate. ESA can be up to £30 a week more than the other two benefits. So the people who are affected are those who are long-term sick, although it is to be hoped that DLA would also be given in these circumstances.
For lone parents coming off Income Support because of the age of their child, there will be Income Related JSA so finances will NOT change; what WILL change (as we already knew) is that you will be asked to look for work.
Hope that clears things up.
Thanks Louise 
Thank you for that, it helps a lot.
I have just been reading more on the housing changes and housing benefit will only be paid to under 35`s when they share accomodation, that seems so unfair but what concerns me more right now is the 80% market rent for social housing, yes I appreciate it doesnt affect current tenancies(yet), the National Housing Federation is saying that at present an average 3 bed socail housing rent is £85 per week, this could treble to £250 per week.
How long do we think it will be before our rents are put up to meet everyone elses?
Then there is the cap on housing benefit to take into account ie they are only going to pay x amount for a certain size of property, I think we are headed for a massive increase in homeless people.
I had my six monthly, now changed to three monthly.. interview with my single parent adviser at the Job Centre on Tuesday, she told me that as a single parent when I am put onto JSA or what ever they are calling it, I'm confused.. but anyway, she said that where as I will be 'expected' to look for work I wont be expected to look for work such as shift work or jobs that involve weekend work... words to that effect anyway. I was left with the impression from what she said that where as there are services available for morning and after school care for children there isn't and they don't expect me to arrange, over night care or weekend care.
So that made me feel a bit better and I'm set to start class room assistant 'training' in the new year, unfortunately I don't speak welsh and most school around here expect you too.
Hi Bubblegum
I have my interview on the 8th Nov and then have to sign on on the 3rd Dec or thereabouts, thats when I recieve my last income support payment anyway.
I really hope that they dont suggest that I work with children, dont get me wrong I love children dearly but having had 5 of my own well I just couldn`t
I dont know if anyone else has the same problem as I have but I have absolutely no idea of any jobs that fit around term time, dinner ladies not enough hours, crossing patrol the same, there is no childcare here at all for either before or after school.
I am though quite nervous of being labelled difficult, if they offer me courses etc, computer ones I dont need, confidence building no dont need that either.
Really not looking forward to going on the 8th at all
Glad you feel better though
I think the unknown with what lies ahead can be stressful in itself.
Bubblegum, my brother would have loved to have come to live in North Wales with his family, but his wife isn't a Welsh speaker. I'm afraid the insistance on Welsh is something I'm strongly against when it comes to work - even though I am very much a supporter of the Welsh language. I think North Wales must have lost a lot of good potential employees because of it.
I do not fully understand all the implications about the Housing Benefit changes re the "shared room rate" extension. It does not apply to single parents anyway but I agree, tired mum, there are massive effectspossible with respect to homelessness from the proposed HB cap and the 80% social housing rule. Will this then force new tenants on benefits into the private sector, leaving social housing for those who are not so badly off? Or is it a back-door way of decreasing social housing demand and boosting the private housing market by making buy-to-let even more profitable for landlords? Hmmmm.
Re the jobs issue, it depends what employers are in your area. I have a friend who works for the local Inland Revenue term time only, and many larger retailers have a system whereby parents work in term time and students do their jobs in the holidays. Banks are often keen to have people acorss the busy lunchtime period and anything catering-wise, such as pubs, cafes and restaurants need people in the middle of the day. Don't forget it is posssible to patch two jobs together: another friend got a clerical job for 15 hours a week and (as I was working fulltime then) she did work for me including gardening and ironing to get the extra hour she needed. My own working schedule once included three cleaning jobs (at two hours each) and a 10 hour clerical job and all that fitted round the children.They had to come with me to the cleaning jobs in the holidays, though.
Interesting comments about the Welsh-speaking! I had not realised that it was so widely spoken.
I'm not sure if people need to experience what I have with my children though to appreciate the housing situation. I certainly had no idea how things were, nor how desperate things would get with us.
No one should have to face that. And I do think that there should be affordable provisions for people to have a space to call their own - and not have the "no point unpacking that box if we might be moving again in a few months".
My oldest is the only one who doesn't speak Welsh, which was down to a very sarcastic teacher in Year 4. I went into the school and complained to the Headmaster. My son has a bit of an impediment (like Jonathan Ross'), and was very self-concious because of that anyway (such an issue made of it by a speech therapist when he was small). But yes, if they want to stay here, then Welsh is a must, more or less, as so many employers expect it. Did I say employers?? The council and teaching do... Written Welsh too...
Hi Louise
The new housing benefit rules will affect lone parents, it will make it much more difficult for our children to become independant and to leave home.
It worries me greatly that our teen generation will become so despondant, no matter how hard they try in college, university etc, what is actually out there for them?
I have 2 teen daughters, both in college at present, doing very well so far, but they are already starting to question what will there be at the end of it, the news is so full of doom and gloom isn`t it, it is bound to have an impact on them.
Sparkinglime, thats awful that your son should have been made to feel like that, I also didn`t realise that Welsh was so widely spoken these days.
Hi tired mum
Good point! I was thinking of it from the parents' point of view, but of course if our young people cannot leave home then that does affect the parents as well! 
My eldest is at Uni at the moment and works 30 hours a week in a clothes shop so he lives on his wages and his student loan. He has two more years at Uni and he says that it is likely he will stay in his present job once he graduates, not on an accelerated graduate scheme or anything, just in his present position but more hours....and he could have done the job without A levels or a degree.
Hi all. Does anyone know if this is the new proceedure before the switch over to JSA. I find it a bit strange, but anyhow. I have received a new claim form for Income Support. On the actual form, it says that it is being sent because their records show I have been claiming IS for a while now. Just wondered if anyone else has received this, and then once completed and checked, they then make the changeover maybe????
Hi alisoncam
I haven`t received a new IS form is all I can tell you, I have the interview on the 8th Nov followed by signing on sometime in the 3 weeks after that, the letter I did receive told me that my IS would cease from the 3rd Dec.
I have not heard of this, it seems very silly!!
Doesn't it just!! Thankyou anyways
This is quite worrying on the one hand but if Simon Hughes does as he says it could be good news?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11616741
I had no idea till I read this that if you are on job seekers for a year then you housing beneift would be cut by 10%, how on earth would that help anyone at all?
Yes, when I heard this I wondered if there was going to be any safety net for people with children. The intention is, I think, to give those on JSA a sense of urgency about finding work and to make sure that people are better off in work then out of it. However, the policy clashes so much with their plans to reduce child poverty that there is a chance it will not be approved by Parliament. If approved, the policy would come into effect in 2013. There will be loads of people getting into arrears, in my opinion.
So frightening.
Hi alisoncam
Yes it is, I am really worried about it all.
The biggest problem I think could be that yes you might be able to if you are really lucky find a job that fits around a 7 year old and if again you are really lucky find childcare, what though happens when your child turns 8/9 the childcare evaporates at this point so what do you do then?
Hi tiredmum. I have been volunteering at my 8 year olds school. Am desperately hoping a job will come out of this. I do know others that have done it, so fingers crossed.
Hi alisoncam
I do hope that it works out for you.
I still cant think of a job that I can do that wil fit around my son who is 9, I couldn`t contemplate working in a school its just not for me, someone suggested cleaning jobs, well lets just say my friend fell about laughing, cleaning and I have a difficult relationship, I am not saying I dont claen up, I do every day but it is the least satisying thing ever for me, ironing is another thing that I dont get along with, I very rarely iron anything, not me being lazy it was actually born out of time saving when my 5 were all little, something had to give and it was the ironing that went!!!!
I would like to start my own business and do have some ideas for that but that again is sooooooo scary, it means putting everything on the line from a security point of view and at my age dont know if I have the bottle for that.
I did look into cleaning, but when I mentioned school hols, straight away I was told I couldn't take C with me. As I have no one to look after him, I obviously couldn't go for it. The only option I do have really is the school, but I must admit I do enjoy being there. I looked into working from home, but they all seem to want money before you get started, so that was definately out.
Hi
My youngest is six, he'll be seven next summer. I get income support but also disability benefit because of a temporal lobe tumour. Will I have to go back to work then? I home educate my sons.
xx
Hi homeedmum
What disability benefits do you get? Is it DLA? I recommend you consult our specialist financial section, who offer a free, 1-2-1 advice service, click here to see it.
Alisoncam I would urge caution with the working from home adverts that you see. As you say, they often involve a financial outlay and secondly, I have seen many people not earn what they were promised from these schemes.
If anyone wants to have their own business, it is all about thinking about your talents. Could you be a childminder? have you a skill you could teach to other people? (I used to give music lessons here while the boys were upstairs in bed) What will other people pay for even in these hard times? Could you offer a shopping service? Even if you are like tired mum and hate housework it is honestly not as bad doing it in someone else's house and getting money for it. It's not easy, as I well know, having done it myself.
This just gave me a chuckle, Paul O`Gradys take on the cuts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE88U5CocpM
He does swear a couple of times so you might want to watch is out of earshot of the children
I fear for my children too, and the decisions they're heading for with social housing, I feel, is awful.
Hi sparklinglime
Yes me too, it is a terrible legacy for them to have to be left with isnt it?
Having spoken to many people over the past few days I do thnk that there is going to be a period of quite ugly revolt, strikes and protests and probably race riots again as there were years ago.
I really hope that the race riots wont come again but given the strength of feeling up and down the country it would not surprise me at all and that is very worrying indeed.
As someone said on the programme on BBC2 at lunchtime (not sure if it was today or yesterday!), but if people find they are able to leave social housing, they do. I know that two who lived close to me have been able to buy houses.
I'm guessing we'll all fall in to a new routine of acceptance in the end? The most shocking thing to me was when Labour got into power and didn't change anything that the Conservatives had started...
The government are pshing through plans for lone parents to work, yet they haven't even considered childcare. Not every one lives by their family!
I have always worked but childcare has been a real headache. My fantastic childminder moved home and although I found a kids club, my kids weren't happy there. We had to move house and then the whole childcare problem reared its head again.
Once children turn 12, there is no childcare at all. Not all children are mature enough to be left at 12 for long periods of time. What happens to these children then?
I live in a city too so you would think that childcare would be easy! I get really angry when I see these plans as it isn't so simple just to get a job.
I agree about the age 12 thing, there is absolutely no provision and not all children are Ok to be left at that age. I would like to believe that "market forces" would compel the setting up of teen centres but I am not going to hold my breath. This is not just a problem for single parents but for ALL parents who go to work.
I have just called IS regarding the new claim form they sent me. I am really apprehensive in sending it off, as I know what this department is like!!! A few weeks back, for no reason, my money wasn't in my account. When I rang, they kept saying something about me changing my surname. ???? When I called them just now, I asked for the reason for sending me this form. I could tell she didn't know the answer really, as she said it is normal proceedure. I told her I haven't had to do this in the 8 years that I've been claiming so why now? Also said that I shall be switching to JSA soon, so it doesn't make any sense to me, and that I was concerned that once they received my form, somehow or other, they will mess it up, and I will find no money in my account in a few weeks time, and that is a huge worry for me. Assured me this wouldn't happen!!!! Of course it won't, because the IS never cock things up!
I share your concern, alisoncam. It seems nonsensical to me if they are going to switch you to JSA anyway. I wonder if they have to have up-to-date records before the switch? If so, why not just say?
I thought of that too Louise, about having an up-to-date record before switching, but no-one else seems to have had a newal form. Very strange indeed
That sounds strange. Which I know is no help.
Is the form an A2 form? If it is, JCPlus tell me that from time to time they do ask for update info if you have been claiming for a while, they then update any out of date info.
They also tell me that if you are due to come off income support because your youngest child is coming up to 7 years old the procedure is to send you a formal invite to attend a Lone Parent Obligations interview. They tell me attendance is voluntary but most lone parents attend .
This interview is to explain when your income support claim will end and give you the option of making a claim for JSA or Employment Support Allowance. The claim for JSA or ESA will start the day after your income support claim finishes.
Hope this helps. You can contact us through the one to one advice service if you have any specific questions.
sorry typo, "mention"