Means testing Reviews

When a government pushes means-testing it has one simple remit: to fleece people's savings, especially pensioners. My mum has a few quid in her bank account that she has been saving for a rainy day, but now finds herself constantly dipping into it to meet the bills. With all these increasing utility bills and council tax demands these days its ...  Read the complete review

One of the most ludicrous parts of the whole means testing system has to be the way that students are assessed for their financial status. I'll take this in stages.... 1. From the age of 18 it's a fact that the law no longer regards your parents to be responsible for you. They are under no obligation whatsoever to provide for you, ...  Read the complete review

Okay, sorry folks - the headline is a little misleading! I for one certainly believe we should live in a society that protects the genuinely needy, while at the same time encouraging each individual to maximise the contribution they make to that society. Firstly, I'll let you know from what position I am writing. I live in a nice ...  Read the complete review

There are so many different benfits in our society today aren't there? Tax benefits, income benefits, debt benefits, credit benefits, student benefits (or are there?), low income benefits, child benefits, health benefits - the list goes on and on. How does the government decide if you are eligable? By assesing your income. But is that the ...  Read the complete review

Being unsure of quite where to start putting my feelings on ‘means testing’ down. I decided to dig out some old diaries. (Keep meaning to transfer the tatty things to disc, but you know how it is, never enough time, etc.) I keep them, because they contain a great deal of family history. Little anecdotes of what life ...  Read the complete review

The Government have abolished the married persons tax allowance and say they have replaced it with a childrens tax credit. I understand what they have done but the system they have in place for assessing who receives it is grossly unfair. I have a decent job, and yes I earn a fair wage, just over £42000 per annum. My wife does ...  Read the complete review

For some reason, most people tend to think that to be in receipt of state benefits, you need only visit the Benefits Agency, hold out your hat, shed a few tears, and money will start rolling in every week. In my experience, it isn’t that way at all. My son has severe learning difficulties. He is incapable of taking ...  Read the complete review

Let me just start by stating a few thnigs about what I don't believe in - I don't believe in the 'welfare state', I don't believe in socialism and I don't believe in redistributing wealth through taxation. I do believe in freedom, free enterprise, the right (or freedom) to own property and the obligation ...  Read the complete review

Means testing seems, at first sight, a logical way of providing money to the genuinely needy....but quite frankly, the aspects of it that I have experienced within this family show that the whole thing is the greatest money supplier in the country for all those who know how to fiddle the system. Several years ago a family member walked ...  Read the complete review

I have a view on means testing and the benefits system in general which will probably incur the wrath of a great many readers but I will air it anyway. I spent the first five years of my working life in an apprenticeship at pay rates you would not believe. This was not too long after the apprentices' parents stopped paying the ...  Read the complete review

I have read with interest some of the ops about means testing, and they have all been very well argued and presented. Means testing is something which I feel offers pros and cons, and to roughly quote a fellow dooyoo'er, benefits the irresponsible and penalises the responsible. Sadly, I feel there is an awful lot of truth in this ...  Read the complete review

I am not a fan of means testing. Like many people, I find it degrading, often unfair and very unhelpful. Some of the forms are huge and hard to answer. Just filling them in can make perfectly worthy and entitled people feel like they are sponging. But, all these issues aside, how much does means testing cost? Firstly, someone designs the ...  Read the complete review

I’ve always been sceptical of means testing as a method of delivering government services. The administrations costs and the delay in processing applications often outweigh the potential benefits. The present government have claimed that its reform of the welfare system is necessary to help those most in need. Cynical people might suggest ...  Read the complete review

I know that local authorities have guidelines that they must follow to work out entitlement to housing benefit. This is based on the persons income and savings. If your savings are above £8.000 you are not able to claim any sort of reduction in rent or rate rebate. Anything below that is used on a sliding scale to determine how much rebate a ...  Read the complete review

There is a strange attitude in this country that everyone should get something for nothing. The wealthy squeal 'I've paid my taxes! This is my money I'm getting'. For those who are poor and supported by the state, benefits are a stop-gap and sometimes discourage people to better themselves for their own sake. Means ...  Read the complete review

The core issue in the debate between universal and selective social security system is that the former requires a massive increase in public spending. Let us all note that to keep things balanced, we could easily hike up taxes on the richest, but then isn’t the current piecemeal reform distorting the labour market enough already? ...  Read the complete review

All 18 year old students applying to go to university who will need financial support must first be means tested by the local government (council). This basically involves looking at how much the student and the student's parents earn to determin what that student should recieve. Personally I think that means testing is a bad ...  Read the complete review

Why should the poor subsidise the rich? We all pay taxes to fill the treasury coffers, then the Government dole out money to rich and poor alike on such goodies as pensioners heating allowance, and children's benefit (or whatever the PC wording is now). Of course means testing is essential to ensure this money goes to those in need, ...  Read the complete review

Means testing is a necessity in administering welfare within society. There really is no other way that comes to mind that would ensure a more equitable distribution. Therefore I have no problem with its existence. Having read some of the opinions though the discussion seems to have moved back to the point of whether people should get ...  Read the complete review

I am totally in favour of having means testing for all benefit claims, whether it be a student wanting a grant, or the unemployed wanting income support, or even the old wanting a pension (although there I am willing to be more lenient). I work hard for my salary and when I recive my pay slip each month I have a large hole in it where the ...  Read the complete review