crappy government

[coccyx]

Me, me ,me.

 

[xemmax]

I pay tax, but as I have been on both sides of the fence I know how hard some people do struggle. I won't be getting the £500, but some people really do have absolutely nothing. X

the point is that you should have access to details of expenditure and feel that you can express your opinions on this, being as you are providing for that as a taxpayer. you shouldn't just "not care" where the money is going.

 

[aob1013]

I agree though, that the £500 should be given in voucher form, maybe mothercare, food etc you know, that sort of thing?

 

[Mummy2Asher]

from reading the posts most people say the CTF isnt really needed and i agree, as a single mum ive saved nearly 4grand for my son, he did get £500 CTF but to be honest it wouldnt of made any difference to me if he hadnt of got it as ive saved myself.

the hip should go, its a waste of money, i dont think anyone spends it on healthy eating. i eat healthy already so what would i spend mine on?! we have all the baby things and the extras so the money is just being saved.

 

[clairibell88]

Well I've been totally done but the governemnt , they employed me on a fixed term
And promised permanacy but paid me off my last day is Friday, I work in a jobcentre! So now four months gone I'm struggling to find a job and also I won't be working long as I'm high risk pregnancy, so with no maternity pay coming , I have to sign on jsa for 45 pound a week ??? And that's meant to pay for me a house that I still need to find as can't stay with parents and nor having much luck from the council, etc ! So the 500 would of helped me get all things for baby , I feel totally used and now I'm not going to get the 500, no house, no job, no mat pay , nothing

 

[sherple]

I dont really give two hoots about the CTF but i do care about the HIP, we've bought every single thing for this baby second hand except 1 pack of baby grows and 1 pack of vests. All of the the other clothes have been second hand. I was planning on using my HIP grant to buy paint and nappies ect for our baby as this cant be bought second hand. If this was means tested we wouldnt be entitled to it as we both work but are on such low wages.

 

[Mummy2Asher]

the voucher thing seems like a good idea but when i had mine when i had my son, i bought alot of things from ebay shops, so still new and saving alot of money so i could afford everything.

i do admit i know people who get the £500 and dont buy anything for the baby as they already have children and just spend it on other things.

 

[polo_princess]

I dont really give two hoots about the CTF but i do care about the HIP, we've bought every single thing for this baby second hand except 1 pack of baby grows and 1 pack of vests. All of the the other clothes have been second hand. I was planning on using my HIP grant to buy paint and nappies ect for our baby as this cant be bought second hand. If this was means tested we wouldnt be entitled to it as we both work but are on such low wages.

The HIP grant is supposed to be for healthy eating its not supposed to be to buy your baby stuff?

Do you mean you really needed the £500 SS grant, which is there to help people who need it buy essentials for their baby?

 

[Jody R]

i agree no child should go without HOWEVER the government didn't tell people to go have babies ......

YOU have a child YOU take responsibility

if I go out next week and get a dog, i don't expect the government to pay for it, so why should the government pay for my child?

I agree to a point but generally they do want people to have babies. We live longer and are being forced to work longer. Because we have an increasing population of elderly people and a decreasing birth rate we have an unsupportable pension system too. The babies born now are the future tax payers that will keep the country afloat.

Currently the retirement age is being increased and Joseph will have to work until he is 68 but that limit could still go up.

Which is why I would be very upset if they do decide to tax his trust fund. We are paying the maximum possible into it and he has two other savings accounts, because we want him to have as much savings as possible and I intend to bring him up with a good work ethic so he adds to whatever we can give him.

I'm more upset that my alcoholic BiL gets extra money from the govenment because he has a drink problem and my FiL and MiL get disability money, a bungalow and a car when the only reason they can't work is that they made themselves disabled through an unhealthy lifestyle.

I'd rather that money wasn't being wasted on people like them than being taken from children, especially by a potential tax on their CTF.

 

[xemmax]

the voucher thing seems like a good idea but when i had mine when i had my son, i bought alot of things from ebay shops, so still new and saving alot of money so i could afford everything.

i do admit i know people who get the £500 and dont buy anything for the baby as they already have children and just spend it on other things.

exactly. in principle the voucher system sounds great but what about things which you need which you can't prove are for the baby?

we could really, really do with a tumble dryer - we live in an apartment with no garden, no radiators and very limited space (especially with all of the baby stuff!) and we intend on using re-usable nappies. we already find washing a massive ball ache so we're preparing for this to get a lot harder when baby arrives.

(i'm not entitled to SSG - just using this as an example)

 

[veganmum2be]

the voucher thing seems like a good idea but when i had mine when i had my son, i bought alot of things from ebay shops, so still new and saving alot of money so i could afford everything.

i do admit i know people who get the £500 and dont buy anything for the baby as they already have children and just spend it on other things.

exactly. in principle the voucher system sounds great but what about things which you need which you can't prove are for the baby?

we could really, really do with a tumble dryer - we live in an apartment with no garden, no radiators and very limited space (especially with all of the baby stuff!) and we intend on using re-usable nappies. we already find washing a massive ball ache so we're preparing for this to get a lot harder when baby arrives.

(i'm not entitled to SSG - just using this as an example)

i know what you are saying, i too live in a flat, no garden, no radiators, so i can totaly see where you are coming from.

but a tuble dryer isn't a necessity, its a luxury whichever way you look at it.

i do think the voucher idea would be great.
just as i think the healthy start vouchers are a much better idea than the HIP.

 

[xemmax]

the voucher thing seems like a good idea but when i had mine when i had my son, i bought alot of things from ebay shops, so still new and saving alot of money so i could afford everything.

i do admit i know people who get the £500 and dont buy anything for the baby as they already have children and just spend it on other things.

exactly. in principle the voucher system sounds great but what about things which you need which you can't prove are for the baby?

we could really, really do with a tumble dryer - we live in an apartment with no garden, no radiators and very limited space (especially with all of the baby stuff!) and we intend on using re-usable nappies. we already find washing a massive ball ache so we're preparing for this to get a lot harder when baby arrives.

(i'm not entitled to SSG - just using this as an example)

i know what you are saying, i too live in a flat, no garden, no radiators, so i can totaly see where you are coming from.

but a tuble dryer isn't a necessity, its a luxury whichever way you look at it.

i do think the voucher idea would be great.
just as i think the healthy start vouchers are a much better idea than the HIP.

of course, i do agree. but i just mean in the same principle, there are things which are not so obviously for the baby but are, if you know what i mean.

maybe there should be some kind of system where purchases can be proved to be for the baby, through testing.

 

[Jody R]

am I being dumb here or are people actually saying that because you agree the CTF should be scrapped it is double standards to claim the HIP grant?

I think scrapping the CTF is a good idea and WILL be claiming the HIP grant because the help is nice. I will be spending it on things for my baby BUT I have to say if I was working I wouldn't bother because we wouldn't really need the help

No, I think they are saying it's double standards that some people have said the HIP grant should be scrapped but until it is they will claim it even though they don't agree with it.

 

[bubbles]

I dont really give two hoots about the CTF but i do care about the HIP, we've bought every single thing for this baby second hand except 1 pack of baby grows and 1 pack of vests. All of the the other clothes have been second hand. I was planning on using my HIP grant to buy paint and nappies ect for our baby as this cant be bought second hand. If this was means tested we wouldnt be entitled to it as we both work but are on such low wages.

The HIP grant is supposed to be for healthy eating its not supposed to be to buy your baby stuff?

Do you mean you really needed the £500 SS grant, which is there to help people who need it buy essentials for their baby?

I know how to be healthy in pregnancy so next best thing for me is things for baby. TBH I don't think I would bother claiming it had this LO been a boy as I already have all the boys stuff I need

 

[Jody R]

as much as it pains me to say this! I think we should respect the government, they are doing a very difficult job in very difficult times, They have to look at the 'bigger' picture which many of us fail to do, we refuse to look past the end of our noses, but we have to, if we care for our children we can't look at the here and now, we have to look to their future!

also much respect to them, they all took a pay cut the day they came into power, they are cutting back on their own expenditures as well (expenses/first class travel tickets etc) They are leading by example which in my opinion is what we need from a government

But isn't this the government (well some members at least) that saw nothing wrong in claiming for ridiculous things in expenses not so long ago! Yes they should bloody well cut back on them, i wish someone paid for my husband to watch porn in a hotel room for me (might stop him snoring in my ear at night so i can get some sleep) and i know it was members of all parties so some of them will have a hand in making these decisions

Appologies if i am wrong i'm not all up on my political info mainly because i believe they do things in a particular way to confuse us! but in my opinion double standards should accompany the word government in the dictionary!

they claimed them yes and it was wrong, but it was because the guidelines were wrong, they have done exactly what many of the girls on here have said 'it's there so i'll take it even if i don't need it' The guidelines have now been changed

No, these are meant to be intelligent people capable of running the country.

No matter what political party they are representing they ought to know that porn is not an expense they are entitled to claim back from the taxpayer even if the guidelines are not clear.

If they can't see that or worse, they can see it but do it anyway, they are not fit to govern the rest of us no matter which party they are from.

 

[katie-lou]

as much as it pains me to say this! I think we should respect the government, they are doing a very difficult job in very difficult times, They have to look at the 'bigger' picture which many of us fail to do, we refuse to look past the end of our noses, but we have to, if we care for our children we can't look at the here and now, we have to look to their future!

also much respect to them, they all took a pay cut the day they came into power, they are cutting back on their own expenditures as well (expenses/first class travel tickets etc) They are leading by example which in my opinion is what we need from a government

But isn't this the government (well some members at least) that saw nothing wrong in claiming for ridiculous things in expenses not so long ago! Yes they should bloody well cut back on them, i wish someone paid for my husband to watch porn in a hotel room for me (might stop him snoring in my ear at night so i can get some sleep) and i know it was members of all parties so some of them will have a hand in making these decisions

Appologies if i am wrong i'm not all up on my political info mainly because i believe they do things in a particular way to confuse us! but in my opinion double standards should accompany the word government in the dictionary!

they claimed them yes and it was wrong, but it was because the guidelines were wrong, they have done exactly what many of the girls on here have said 'it's there so i'll take it even if i don't need it' The guidelines have now been changed

No, these are meant to be intelligent people capable of running the country.

No matter what political party they are representing they ought to know that porn is not an expense they are entitled to claim back from the taxpayer even if the guidelines are not clear.

If they can't see that or worse, they can see it but do it anyway, they are not fit to govern the rest of us no matter which party they are from.

Thank you you put that in far better wording than i could have!

 

[minime2009]

am I being dumb here or are people actually saying that because you agree the CTF should be scrapped it is double standards to claim the HIP grant?

I think scrapping the CTF is a good idea and WILL be claiming the HIP grant because the help is nice. I will be spending it on things for my baby BUT I have to say if I was working I wouldn't bother because we wouldn't really need the help

No, I think they are saying it's double standards that some people have said the HIP grant should be scrapped but until it is they will claim it even though they don't agree with it.

See, I think it's a case of everyone agrees the HIP is useful and as it is the one thing that everyone can claim, why shouldn't they?

What I understood from other comments was that given the financial state of the country, if they have to make cut backs then the HIP should go as no one uses it for what it is intended - i.e. Healthy Eating. I don't think any/many people can disagree with that. Given the number of previous posts asking what everyone was spending their grant on not one person said healthy eating.

Good debate everyone, am enjoying reading this thread

 

[buttonnose82]

in regards to the porn movie ..... she didn't know it was on there, it was her husband behind her back

i am not defending the government and their expenses claims, all i am saying is they did exactly what many of the girls on this thread have said they have done 'it's there so i'll take it regardless'. yes they are intelligent people but I would also like to think that many of the girls on this forum are intelligent also, however they are doing exactly the same.

Noone is perfect, we all make mistakes, they are learning by their mistakes and trying to rectify this

They ARE changing this however and at least they are now TRYING to lead by example

 

[minime2009]

am I being dumb here or are people actually saying that because you agree the CTF should be scrapped it is double standards to claim the HIP grant?

I think scrapping the CTF is a good idea and WILL be claiming the HIP grant because the help is nice. I will be spending it on things for my baby BUT I have to say if I was working I wouldn't bother because we wouldn't really need the help

No, I think they are saying it's double standards that some people have said the HIP grant should be scrapped but until it is they will claim it even though they don't agree with it.

I think it's a case of everyone agrees the HIP is useful and as it is the one thing that everyone can claim, why shouldn't they?

What I understood from other comments was that given the financial state of the country, if they have to make cut backs then the HIP should go as no one uses it for what it is intended - i.e. Healthy Eating. I don't think any/many people can disagree with that. Given the number of previous posts asking what everyone was spending their grant on not one person said healthy eating.

Good debate everyone, am enjoying reading this thread

 

[Mum22GTTC]

am I being dumb here or are people actually saying that because you agree the CTF should be scrapped it is double standards to claim the HIP grant?

I think scrapping the CTF is a good idea and WILL be claiming the HIP grant because the help is nice. I will be spending it on things for my baby BUT I have to say if I was working I wouldn't bother because we wouldn't really need the help

No, I think they are saying it's double standards that some people have said the HIP grant should be scrapped but until it is they will claim it even though they don't agree with it.

Can I just add, as I am one of the one's that think it should be scrapped, or at least means tested, but will be claiming it this time (I haven't in previous pregnancies though - how long has it been around??).

That I won't be getting any form of maternity pay from the Government, so although I would obviously cope without it, the HIP will be a help to me. I am self employed and can only afford to take leave a few weeks free in my diary to have my baby. It'll then be business as usual for me - can't complain about that, as obviously it's my choice to have a baby.

But before you use the double standards card, just bare in mind that in comparison to lots of you on here, regardless of whether or not you will be claiming your HIP - I will actually be getting alot less from the government than most of you.

So I do not feel that I should be turning away that £190 - that will be my form of maternity pay for the 4 weeks I plan to take off work.