Supplementary benefit reform – Social Security hears from expert
Tuesday 16th February 2010, 2:29PM GMT.
A MAJOR reform of Guernsey’s benefit system is under way.
The Social Security Department has started the project because of the ‘limitations’ in the current set-up.
Questions had been raised about people living on supplementary benefit when they could be working.
Welfare expert Professor Dan Finn recently came to the island to highlight systems used in other jurisdictions and Social Security minister Mark Dorey said the department had learned a great deal during his presentation.
‘The department is very aware of the limitations of the supplementary benefit system and is actively working on a major project to reform the system so that it focuses on incentivising people to work if they can and makes sure that there is adequate support for those who can’t,’ Deputy Dorey (pictured) said.
‘It was for this reason that we recently invited Professor Finn to the island to share his expert knowledge of welfare work strategies from the UK, Australia, the United States, the Netherlands and other countries.’
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An overhaul of our out of date benefits systems is long overdue. It was brought in as a measure to help the genuine needy but has been abused for decades.
It’s all well and good saying the system is going to be looked at and those who could be working should be but it won’t stop those who have had years of practice at pulling the wool over SSD’s eyes. People will continue to abouse whatever system is put in place. If they don’t want to work then they won’t. SSD must start being tough.
Those genuinely in need are fair enough but too many lazy people are getting away with claiming benefits which they don’t deserve as, in many cases,they have contributed little or nothing by way of a stamp. Will these people or their children be knocking on my door to hand over part of their wages in a few years when I am a struggling pensioner? I don’t think so but that’s what I’m effectively doing.
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Please Mr Dorey, ignore any advice which points towards utilising welfare ideas currently practised within the UK
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C-O i agree with you- i work very hard for a living and still find it tough at times.
I know of 1 woman who is 40 has 1 daughter who is in her twenties that dose not live with her. This woman is on benafits and has bean for a long time she owns a horse two cars gets her rent paid goes on holliday 1 a year goes out twice a week buys new cloths every week and just bought a dog for 800 pounds i complained and nothing was done.I do not get it i work hard yet could not afford all this
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Coco – neither could I. I too work hard for a living and struggle to make ends meet. There are no luxuries in our house. No wide screen TV’s, laptops, we don’t have a car and haven’t had a holiday since 2004.
It’s precisely the sort of person you mentioned who doesn’t have a valid reason to be on benefits. Sadly there are too many similar scenarios and I fail to understand why the SSD have not done anything about it.
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I know of several families consisting of two, sometimes more generations, living under one roof having their rent heavily subsidised and all living on benefits.
There’s a woman in her early 60′s who has never worked, her daughter is late 30′s in and out of jobs (currently unemployed, grandaughter is 19 and hasn’t had a job since leaving school. The daughter’s latest boyfriend is also living there. They are all on benefits. How can this be allowed?
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C-I I wish they would do something it is our money that is keeping these ppl. I am self employed so if i am off sick or have no work they do not give anything for weeks.. i dont understand it makes me so angry, i pay my tax and insurance what have these ppl put into the system (nothing they just take)
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Coco – I do receive sick pay, I wouldn’t be able to survive on what SSD expect you to when you are ill, it wouldn’t even cover my rent. Luckily I am rarely ill enough to not work.
A lot of people I know are sick to the back teeth with the money-grabbers (the politest term I could think of) on benefits. There are people who do need SSD’s help but don’t get it yet the ‘storytellers’ are laughing all the way to the shops/pubs/travel agents with our hard earned cash. Unfair system methinks……
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C-O At least we have pride and we can be poud of ourselves ; ]
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could not agree more with all that has been said about the people who deserve to get help and those who are just using the system…its about time the whole benfits system had a complete overhaul……
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Yes Coco we do.
What should happen with benefits is instead of cheques, which are then cashed, a voucher system should be introduced.
At the moment many of those on benefits cash thier cheques and spend it any way they choose. Be it on the latest fashions/technology, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, holidays, cars, horses the list is never ending.
A voucher system would ensure those in need got precisely what they need – e.g a voucher for groceries and coal which are necessities. For essential bills such as electricity or gas then SSD could arrange direct payment of these bills. This would also work for payment of States Housing rents as there have been many cases of non payment of rent in Petty Debts so what have those on benefits been doing with the money? I am old enough to remember when if the states/social security helped those in need they would not be able to fritter the money on alcohol or cigarettes.
The genuine needy would be grateful for the help and the scroungers (jobseekers as Mark Dorey laughingly calls them) would then soon find a job to pay for all the luxuries they’ve been used to. Only problem is they’d soon realise that us hard workers often have to do without to make ends meet.
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