Housing benefit?

I have just helped a friend of mine fill out his housing benefit and council tax form, he's disabled and cannot work, his rent is 拢85 per week, the council in it's wisdom are giving him 拢87 per week, even though they have seen his tenancy agreement, I also spoke to a woman with children on benefits and she told me her flat is 拢100 per week, yet once again the council pay her 拢120 per week?? Why would the council do this? I have a sister who has 2 children aged 12 & 13 and works hard, she does not live off the state, she claims family tax credit, but i believe she cannot receive child tax credit, and pays towards her rent and council tax, and every year the same housing benefit office sends her overpayment letters, leaving her in severe hardship, even though she informs them immediately if her wage goes up or her tax benefits go up, How does this work?????? Why doesn't the council help people like my sister, instead of giving more money to benefit claimants

Also my sister gets no help towards school dinners or school clothing, yet if she sat on her **** and sponged off the state, she would get these things, where is the incentive?
My sister wants her children to be brought up to understand work ethics. I sometimes wonder why she bothers, when i see her struggling.

What a disgrace, us hard working honest people are being Sh*t upon all the time. I have worked since I was 16 and paid all my taxes and bills for the last 36 years and I am angry. No wonder my council tax is going up every year abve inflation if this is going on. Good question.Lets start harrassing our MP,s about this we can email them so I think I will right now.
God Some times I get so angry !

The reasoning behind the tenants being given more than their contractual rent each week is down t o the new housing allowance

It has become nationwide. The local authority now determine the rent value of private rented properties and give that amount to the tenant.....regardless of how much they have to pay the landlord

The tax credit system is so complicated that the staff cannot work it out half the time.

The problem is that unlike the previous system where the award was for 26 weeks, the tax credit system works on a current earnings basis. That means that if you earn more than average one week you have automatically been overpaid.

As it is impossible for anyone to change their claim on a weekly basis over payments are the norm.

When you start work the amount you are paid is based on the benefits you got in the previous 26 weeks.

If you are earning more than you were getting in benefit then you will be overpaid.

To give an example of how shambolic the system is, if a mother with 2 children below school age gets a job for 30 hours a week at minimum wage, and puts her children into childcare full time, after she pays her 20% contribution to childcare she will be about 拢35 a week better off, but will no longer qualify for things like free dental treatment, free prescriptions and when the kids start school, free school meals. That means that for the sake of perhaps 80p per hour her children have been deprived of parental care.

The cost to the treasury will have risen by almost 拢200.

If that is an example of Gordon Brown's "financial prudence" then we are in BIG trouble!

If instead she had her benefit raised by 拢50 a week she would be in a much better position to provide for her children, and the treasury would have saved 拢150!

One of the major problems with the benefit system is that there is no transitional support. If you earn just more than the benefit rates, you get no help and as you lose entitlement to a lot of things you frequently end up worse off.

Many parents are forced into not taking work because they would be worse off and you have to do what is best for your children.