What chance of still getting the £10 Christnas bonus?
It's obvious who she's targetting, so what'll be next? At least I can still use my bus pass to see a junior doctor - for now.
|
A mean little trick that should cost them a few million votes next time around.
Every cloud...
|
cost them a few million votes next time around
Did that many pensioners even vote labour this time?
|
The poorest pensioners keep their heating allowance as they will already be getting their State Pension + additions.
The Pensioners I am sorry for are those with a small employers Pension that takes them just above the threshold for top ups from the State.
There has to be millions in that area, especially older pensioners who have a small pension that has been eroded by inflation.
"Just Managing" pensioners the loss of £200 / £300 means their State Pension Increase in April has seen a huge clawback.
The State Pension is the same all over the UK but if you live North of the Central Belt of Scotland the winters are much harder and last a lot longer. NO Gas, Heating is Oil/Electricity in most cases.
ASHP do not work when it is around & below zero even if you have the £££ to install one in the first place.
|
>> ASHP do not work when it is around & below zero even if you have
>> the £££ to install one in the first place.
>>
I think they are popular in Scandinavia, i think they work fine in Scotland.
|
>> ASHP do not work when it is around & below zero even if you have
>> the £££ to install one in the first place.
I'll put this on the table. Media article so not strictly evidence:
www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/22/do-heat-pumps-work-at-freezing-temperatures
Is there anything that supports the contention, as you say, they don't work?
I'm aware of a house on Harris with an ASHP though long sub zero spells there are probably a rarity.
|
>>ASHP do not work when it is around & below zero
Complete and utter cobblers.
|
|
Mind you I suppose the JD and others in the public sector will be happier 4.75 - 6% payrise.
|
SWMBO said they've also removed the cap on care costs for old people but I can't see that anywhere at a quick glance.
EDIT: After a slightly harder look I found this www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3g9m7p199no
Last edited by: smokie on Tue 30 Jul 24 at 09:30
|
>> SWMBO said they've also removed the cap on care costs for old people but I
>> can't see that anywhere at a quick glance.
Is that the cap on the lifetime amount one might have to contribute?
Boris Johnson's so called solution to the social care crisis which did nothing about the real problem of the cost of care but helped people retain some of their assets.
Everybody knew it was unaffordable which was why the outgoing government kept kicking the start date down the road.
|
That's it.
The Beeb article includes
"Labour's manifesto did not commit to a date for introducing the cap, but during the election campaign Mr Streeting said his party would introduced the spending cap if it won the election."
Feels like a U turn then :-). Still I suppose they can just blame the Tories and the (plain-for-all-to-see) hidden £20bn black hole, for this and anything like it, for the foreseeable.
It also includes "The Conservative government had already delayed the plans by two years and got rid of the National Insurance rise which was meant to fund them" so presumably it would have been affordable, or at least partially funded.
|
The basic state pension should be uprated to cover the heating allowance.
If pension + other income pushes a pensioner into tax they should simply pay tax as normal. That the current allowance is close to the pension can be dealt with separately - eg: age allowance for all over retirement age.
This would mean that the wealthiest pensioners pay most tax, most pay 20%, lowest income no tax. It also gets rid of all the admin and error associated with the current scheme, and means none lose out through failing to claim pension credit.
|
The emergence of a black hole was utterly predictable long before the election:
- an inevitability that any incoming government seeks to blame its predecessors
- the huge gap between aspiration (not hard promises) and reality in Labours manifesto.
In fairness all manifestos painted a future more rosy than the reality - but Labour as the likely victors with their commitment to transparency should have been more honest.
Much of the black hole relates to acceptance of the pay review not available pre-election. The forecast pay increase would be obvious to Reeves who chose to accept the recommendations. I think she was right to do so but dishonest to assert it came as a surprise.
Another large part of the black hole £6.4bn undisclosed asylum and immigration costs. The figure would have more credibility if actually disclosed rather than remaining in ignorance.
Her saving on heating allowance is generally fair. Other changes to non-dom tax, windfall tax should come as no surprise, although no detail at present.
Other cost savings could have been drawn from past episodes of Yes Minister - cancel projects which have been announced but not yet started. The illusion of motion whilst standing still!
Overall assessment - predictable, unremarkable, but disappointed that honesty and transparency seem to take second place.
|
www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7290yxw8q4o
Might be more then the winter fuel allowance by October.
|
>> Much of the black hole relates to acceptance of the pay review not available pre-election.
>> The forecast pay increase would be obvious to Reeves who chose to accept the recommendations.
>> I think she was right to do so but dishonest to assert it came as
>> a surprise.
I think the 'surprise' is that the outgoing administration had not provided (a) an affordability criteria in the remit given to the review bodies and (b) for the possibility that as a consequence the bodies might say inflation + AND that government might have to accept that.
That failure is consistent with others that point to the outgoing government 'salting the fields' for their successors.
>> Another large part of the black hole £6.4bn undisclosed asylum and immigration costs. The figure
>> would have more credibility if actually disclosed rather than remaining in ignorance.
Do you mean she's not published the numbers as to how £6.5 billion is arrived at?
>> Her saving on heating allowance is generally fair.
I agree. The sort of means testing that would mean that some people outwith Pension Credit eligibility got it but there was still a cut off for others would be complicated and expensive and have just as many vocal victims as the KISS solution Reeves has adopted.
|
|
A 20% cut of university fees would bring in a few pounds. About 5 billion based on present numbers, ignoring the higher fees for overseas students.
|
|
Seriously not being flippant but could you please explain how that works?
|
>> Seriously not being flippant but could you please explain how that works?
I suspect it would be the effect of charging VAT on uni fees.
|
That's my Winter fuel allowance gone - Clk Sec
