The Magic Money tree blooms

[Workingman]

... and sheds its blossom again.

According to the latest statement from Sunak there will be £400 for all households, plus £650 for those on the lowest incomes, £300 for pensioners' winter fuel and an extra £150 for the disabled.

I am sure the payments will be appreciated but why are they for everyone and why not means tested? I can only assume it is because it would be a bureaucratic nightmare to manage. However, by doing that the money that would go to those who do not really need it could go to more of those in desperate need.

[medsec222]

I am sure this will be welcomed by many pensioners Frank but it is bizarre that even the wealthiest amongst us will be getting a hand-out. I suppose the difficulty could come if there was a cut-off point - at what point to you place the cut-off.

Personally I would have liked to have seen a rise in the Personal Allowance to at least £15,000 which would take a lot of low income workers and part time workers out of the tax system altogether and it would be permanent and would benefit those who are earning the least. Likewise, I am not sure at which point the additional NI insurance kicks in but to me everything earned below £30,000 should be exempt from the new NI increase.

Probably there are other ways of helping those on low incomes that don't necessarily give away taxpayers money to those at the top of a scale who don't necessarily need the extra help.

[Kaz]

It should be means tested! I would feel guilty getting a £400 handout when so many are really struggling

[cromwell]

I'm conflicted by this.
On the one hand people who need help will get it, on the other people who don't need help will also get it!
As Kaz says, it should be means tested.

But there is something else.
In the pandemic the media was squawking about the lack of NHS beds. So the government built the Nightingale hospitals.
Then they were going on about the need for enquiries into partygate and lo, enquiries there were.
Now with the cost of living the media asks the government what they are doing to help families.
And the government responds with the help package.

It's reactive government. The media prods and a panicked government responds.

I hope that government is looking to address the causes of inflation, not just thinking that free money will get them off the hook.

[victor]

I agree ref means testing BUT anyone who doesn't need it can surely pass it on to families that do need it.

[Workingman]

It should be means tested! I would feel guilty getting a £400 handout when so many are really struggling

Me too.

I am not rich by any stretch, just comfortable.

The £700 I will receive will pay for all my gas and a month or so of my electricity. I have looked at my spreadsheets and added the increases and this year my gas will be paid by the hand outs with a bit left over for a month or so of my electricity. I will "pay" something like £130 for my energy bill this year. I am in pocket and don't need to be, though the freebies will help with food, and that is also not a big problem, yet.

There is no doubt that some people desperately need this help, but not all of us do. Some things need to be means tested.

[saundra]

It's a personal choice to be fair if you need it accept it if not give to a charity or what ever
These big price rises won't go away tho

[cruiser2]

The couiple next door are both working. She has a big BMW car and he has is own plumbing business. So they should not need the extra £400.

I will get what a pensioner should receive. Will pensioners who are in care homes but still own their own house get it?
There willbe alot of anomolies.
Saw it on TV about payments to people who have second homes.

[TheOstrich]

Contrary view here.

I have no guilt whatsoever over taking a handout from the Gov't. As far as I am concerned, they owe it to me.

They reneged on the triple lock pension increase when it suited them; I pay a huge amount of council tax to DCC for an abysmal service; the NHS I pay for through my increasing taxes is a shambles.

Call me selfish if you like, but no, I'll bank any cheque offered if it helps offset rising costs and diminishing income.

[saundra]

Ossie I had a laugh yesterday in 80 next week with a 25 p pension increase
So yesterday I got a letter from the council I now have to pay an extra £2-14 extra poll tax per year it was 8pages long