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Essential support for under 25s
Essential support for under 25s
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Its more than I had. EMA wasn't around when I was a student and I bought most of my own things. I lived off my part-time wage of £90 a week.
I understand where you are coming from and I realise some students can't work for various reasons but tbh, if their situation was that bad, they'd claim income support and study a course part time or something.
Oh and Blagsta. I'm not being petty - she's commiting benefit fraud which is a crime.
How has she managed to do that? Aren't they both dealt with in the same office?
I take it, you see nothing wrong with the system as it is?
Just because there are problems with the current system, that doesn't justify people conning the system.
Claiming while studying is not "conning the system". As you know, you can claim JSA if you study under 16 hours/week. If someone is studying 16 1/2 hours, does it suddenly become immoral? Most FE colleges will write you a letter stating you are studying less than 16 hours/week, even if it's more. Most jobcenter staff know this. Are they all "conning the system"?
I'm not 100% sure but I get IS with a couple of premiums added (disability premium and severe disability premium - both paid on the basis that I get DLA which can be claimed whilst working). I assume that if I became well enough to work but still "disabled" in the benefit sense that I'd get JSA plus IS minus the amount paid as JSA but I might be wrong. I know that my IS level is higher than IB so if I qualified for IB I'd be paid that and then the IS minus the amount received for IB i.e. I'd get the same amount of money so it wouldn't make any difference to my income anyway.
If you must know, I do feel as though there should be a bit of leeway regarding how many hours you study but yanno, rules are rules. They should be abided by.
In this case though, it just seems as though this girl is conning the system for everything she can get.
For instance (these aren't actual benefit rates)
The Gov. says you need £50 a week to live on. You have a disability so they add a premium of £25 a week so your Applicable Amount is £75 a week. Your income is £65 a week so they pay you Income Support of £10 a week.
You managed to say what I was trying to say in a much more consise way :thumb:
This seems rather contradictory.
Except we don't know anything of the sort - we just have a few confused posts from Ilora-Danon.
However, you can't claim JSA and IS at the same time AFAIK.
I don't think you could claim them both in a fradulent way but surely the JSA amount comes off the IS so with premiums on the IS then you could?
as far as I know
That i don't know. I know the rate of JSA is higher than IS so if you were claiming JSA and had no disability, kids etc then you would definitely not get it. But as Random pointed out, you might get premiums added to your applicable amount, making it possible.
Haha, thank you
However, benefits rules are complex and JCP workers always seem to give different answers, depending on who you ask.
Income support is about £10 a week more than JSA is for under 25's. Currently stands at about £57.45 a week. I have heard of Income Support being paid in place of Incapacity Benefit when the claimant has insufficient National Insurance Contributions but you basically get either JSA or IS. The two benefits contradict each other and so are never paid together.
I personally believe that no-one should claim than they are more entitled to - threads like this are an easy way to get everyone fired up. I know that its the huge businesses and company directors that cos the government more tax wise in the year than the single mum working on the sly as a cleaner.
I've seen many DWP interviews under caution through work. The rubbish people come out with is unbelievable sometimes but if the investigator believes that the claimant honestly knew no better then all they will do is seek to recover the overpayment rather than drag it through courts.
I think you find some students have to pay for these things. I have to pay for my travel & buy own clothes and books.
Which is impossible because I only get 2 and a half days off school a week (jncluding weekends) and I have homework to do. Besides, most jobs want you to work Saturday & Sunday - that would mean I'd just spend my whole week working/studying.
It would appear that it's what you think from your posts. I would also add, that there are plenty of adults in FE education as well.
So you don't pay rent, bills or food. Sounds like you have it very cushy then.
I know how much of a struggle it is, both from personal experience and from being employed as an education & employment advisor for 3 years. A lot of people do study over 16 hours and claim, colleges collude with it, so do jobcentres.
Rent and bills is the main expense out of that. There is no way anyone could live on £30/week - which was my original point.
If you are in FE college rather than uni, you can't get a student loan. So people are encouraged to stay in low-wage jobs rather than go back to college and study.
Having said that, I don't agree with benefit fraud. But there should be some sort of help for people who want to study to better themselves, maybe some sort of loan system similar to the student loan for university.
So? I only had weekends off, whats your point? Its hardly "impossible". Infact, alot of students do it :rolleyes: I worked Friday night then all weekend whilst studying my A Levels. Most students do it, I did. I didn't have a choice, I needed the money.
I fit my homework in my free periods and ALL 6th form students have (and anyone who claims they are in college lessons 40 hours a week is lying) free periods. Its about managing the free time you do actually have.