Bonfire of the Benefits

So, the much anticipated spending review is now in. Working within the third sector, any cuts in welfare benefits is of particular importance to me, and my clients.
Once again it appears the current generation of pensioners continue to reap the rewards, whilst the young are penalised. Those who are 60 (or approaching this age), will be those who benefited from free University education, from generous public sector pension schemes, and from the now-controversial 'right to buy' scheme.

Anyone unfortunate enough to be of school age now has to contend with :
- ever-rising debts if they choose to go to University, and possibly a sub-standard service due to the job in government support for higher education
- joblessness & a cut in support if they do enter Uni - as many 'Connexxions' (advice/training providers for the youth) are being axed
- a fiercely competitive job market filled with qualified & newly unemployed public sector workers
- a never-ending battle to save up enough money to buy a house, with prices inflated & greedy buy-to-let investors snapping up all the 'starter' homes
- endless bureaucratic hoops to jump should they, woe betide, find themselves ill or without a job & at the mercy of the Jobcentre Plus.
- low rates of housing benefit compared to those over 35 (a bar that has been raised from 25)

An under-25, who finds themselves unemployed is expected to live from £51.85 a week. The maximum they will now get towards any rent is £51.85 a week. Exactly what property can be rented for this meagre amount? A shed in the outer Hebrides?
The poverty threshold in the UK is said to be £100 a week - this is what needs to be left over after paying rent, council tax, water charges. This figure of £51.85 is meant to provide heat, food, clothing, (and no doubt also have to be chipped into for extra rent payments) & other essentials for a young person everyweek.

Compare this to what a single Pensioner receives from the State as a bare minimum. State Retirement Pension, usually at the very least £58 a week. This is then topped up with Pension Credit to £132.60 a week. They are given another £132.60 a week towards rent, maximum.
Based on this scenario, they can actually have £27,000 in savings before their full housing benefit is stopped.
Pensioners moan & cripe about having to sell their homes/use their savings to fund a move into a care home, and conjure up various loopholes to avoid having to do so - this older generation seem to take no responsibility for the current financial climate we are facing, and believe they should be exempt from the pain.
Keeping the winter fuel allowance of a minimum of £250 a year for every pensioner (regardless of how many thousands of pounds are sitting in their bank accounts) is a pathetic and unaffordable attempt to sweeten the generation most likely to vote. There should be more lobbying at the major gas/electric company's for social tariffs (NOT just for the old, but the less well off as well), rather than the government taking responsibility for high prices. If the government insist on such handouts, they should be in the form of vouchers - not free money.

I think for now, I am done, but this is a subject I have a lot more to say about in the future - when we can see how these cuts really unfold.