Lettings agents have been flagging danger signs for years now, with the average property rental being between £450-£600 for a one bedroom house or flat. While that might not sound like a lot, Experian credit services are advising landlords not to rent properties in that price bracket to anyone who earns less than £21,000. Yet the average single persons wage in the UK is just £15,000-£18,000. The average mortgage figures fall under the same price brackets too (dependant on deposit size).

Taking the top bracket as an example £18,000 lets look at the break down of that wage.

£18,000 split across 12 months is £1500 a month.

£500 Rent

£100 Council Tax

£275-£300 National Insurance / Income Tax

£100 Gas/Electric/Water

£80 Telephone/Mobile/Broadband

£100 Transport

Total:- £1180 is the total amount you are pretty much guaranteed to spend over the course of a month, and while £320 might not sound too bad, you still have to factor food, clothing, and any sort of medical issues. Car owners not commuting to work via public transport must also factor in car insurance, road tax, and maintenance fees whether they use their car or not.

Neither are seasonal issues factored into this, such as more energy used in winter, and more money invested in travel whereas you might walk in the summer.

Many singles are being forced into flat/house sharing, which although they might save money, can cause emotional and psychological problems as 1 in 3 shared property situations end in a less than satisfactory way.

While being part of a couple, this does not effect me, it would should one of us be out of work, it’s a frightening thought that for most people in the UK there is absolutely no money at present even for the most minor of luxuries.

The Militant tendency in the UK set up the All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation in November 1989, this included many unions that were against the Poll Tax. The Community Charge was introduced the year before in Scotland and had proved to be far from popular, the Saturday before it was be implemented in England and Wales the mass demonstration was planned for central London.

Trafalgar Square was to be the location of the planned march to end, and the police realised that the numbers  expected to attend would to many times that which Trafalgar Square could safely accommodate. Three days prior to the march the Metropolitan Police asked the Department of the Environment for the march to be moved to Hyde Park, permission for this move was authorized.

People began arriving at Kennington Park in South London and estimates were put at between 180,000 to 250,000, although the police report a year later said it was 200,000. The Labour party in opposition to the government at that time had planned an event but it was cancelled so possibly numbers were swelled by that cancellation.

The march progressed through the streets of the capital and by 2.30pm Trafalgar Square had reached its capacity of numbers able to congregate there. Many of the marchers were still along Whitehall and worried about security so close to Downing Street the police closed Whitehall with the intention of removing those already in that street. There were a number of anarchists from various groups in that part of the march stopped in Whitehall and they became annoyed at the heavy handed tactics employed to move people away from that location, in particular over one man in a wheelchair who had been arrested.

Those marchers at the back of the parade had been prevented from entering Whitehall and were in effect now a separate march and un-policed, they took their own route and arrived into Whitehall through a small street that had been overlooked by the police, instead of dispersing the crowd from Whitehall particularly close to Downing Street the crowd was growing.

The decision was made to bring in riot police, some of them on horseback and attempts were made to clear Whitehall, with most exits blocked by police there was no where for the crowds to go except into the already over crowded Trafalgar Square. Scuffles and fights broke out between demonstrators and the police. By 4pm with the demonstration almost at an end officially some of the mounted riot police were in amongst the crowd in Trafalgar Square, this was looked at as being provocation and a heated atmosphere erupted into anger.

The next tactic used was to drive riot squad vans into the crowd in an attempt to disperse the mob, the vans were attacked by the crowd using whatever they could as weapons. The decision had been made to close the Underground stations close to the area and with many exits blocked off it was almost impossible for those that wanted to disperse to do so.

By 7pm people were being allowed to leave after the exits had been opened by the police, some groups were shepherded towards the West End, here vandalism and looting of shops and cars took place along some of the most famous of shopping streets of central London. The order to close all pubs in the area was given. The demonstrators some clearly intent on confrontation were now mixed in with others out for a Saturday evenings entertainment. By midnight there had been 113 people suffering from injuries and 339 arrested. Many of the targets of vandalism had been picked out, expensive cars were set on fire while others were untouched, the same with many of the stores.

Later investigations into the disturbances were mixed, some claiming it was the work of anarchists, others it was self defence against the brutality of the police.

Margaret Thatcher had defended the tax when only 2% of the population were in favour of it. When John Major replaced Mrs. Thatcher later that year he announced that it would be scrapped The methods used by the police for dealing with protests on that level were questioned.

The Poll Tax was to be replaced by the Council Tax, this took the view of the ability to pay the tax while the Poll Tax hit many of the low earners the hardest. The new tax was not affected by income but on the value of the property where each householder lived. It replaced the old rates system which had been scrapped in favour of the Poll Tax, the Council Tax is still in existence today yet many refer to it as the Poll Tax.

One of the first items on the list was to inform the Housing Association, who managed the bungalow where she lived. They told us that we would have a period of 4 weeks to clear the property of all furniture, fixtures and fittings. We mentioned the fact that as she had only lived in the property for 16 months, and that the carpet was new when she moved in. Would they like us to leave it for the next occupants as it may save them an unnecessary outlay? They initially insisted that it was removed and that the property must be left as a basic shell. But when realising that they had actually paid for the carpet themselves, in a re-location grant to Betty, they had a change of heart.

Today, I went to the bungalow to collect any mail, and found a letter from the Housing Association, dated 1st March 2010, informing that her rent was to increase at the beginning of April. I rang them to tell them how crass and insensitive I thought this letter was and did they realise it was still February? I spoke to a rather snotty member of their staff, who insisted that being as they had not yet seen a copy of Betty’s death certificate, her account had not yet been closed. In fact, they only actually requested to see this certificate, 2 days previously and have now been furnished with a copy. In answer to the post-dated letter, I was informed it was a mistake.

I then opened the next letter. This was an invoice from the local council, for home care visits in the month of January. Betty was in hospital from 3rd January until her passing and the visits were suspended from the beginning of the year, until such a time as she may return home. Why had an invoice been sent? I rang the Council, who stated that they were aware of her death and was unsure how this mistake was made. I must admit the lady I spoke to, was very apologetic and compassionate. To her distinct credit, she stated that the account would be immediately closed and that they would confirm this in writing.

We pay a very high charge in council tax in this country for our local services. The question has to be asked, what exactly do we get for it? Very little it seems, except for a fairly inept local council, who are totally incapable of much at all, except employing poor contracting companies and making mistakes.. Obviously, updating databases is beyond them and it is clear that one department cannot and does not communicate with any other. Their choice of a housing management contractor seems to be a very big mistake also.

Now please don’t get me started on rubbish collections!

Link to “Our NHS is Still 1st Class”: http://healthmad.com/medicine/our-n-h-s-is-still-first-class/

Please do not reproduce this article, in whole or part, in any form,

without obtaining my written permission.

http://www.ukwriter.co.uk

The government states that you need as a single non working individual, a grand total of up to £800 a month, which is essentially what you would receive in terms of state funded benefits including council tax and housing benefit. Unfortunately a lot of recent studies say that you actually need around 1/3 more than this to have an acceptable standard of living.

So what makes an acceptable standard of living? Well the ability to finance food, living accommodations, appropriate transport, and the occasional cinema ticket is considered an acceptable standard of living according to the Joesph Rowntree Foundation (JSF). This has caused a stir within the business environment as many employees at lower levels are not paid this amount, which has been calculated at £13,500 annually before tax.

Whilst a majority of the population is on at least £13,500, there are still massive steps which will need to be taken in order to meet the governments own targets to bring all children out of poverty and therefore ensure that all parents/carers are earning or receiving at least this magic £13,500 a year.

So what do you call an acceptable standard of living?

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the jobcentre. It was fascinating. The decor is neutral. The job seeking machines are high-tec. I walked down the newly carpeted three stairs. There is no waiting area, perhaps by design; you do not want job seekers waiting when they could be seeking. You do not want to pay thousands for hi-tech machines if the seekers are waiting and not seeking. However, the seekers have cheated the system and are sat down on window sills, leaning against walls, chatting on the mobiles, or just stood up, waiting for personal employment advisers.

The initial introduction caught me by surprise the first time. There is a wooden pulpit in the middle of the room. Behind it stood two men. One man was well over six foot, both ways. The other could have stood directly behind the pulpit and been completely invisible. The twins. I had named them in my head before I had the pleasure of hearing the security speech.   

“You got an appointment?” blasted the security ‘guard’ (I have no idea what the security guards are protecting, the jobs? Maybe?)

“No…I….” I spluttered, taken aback by the fact everyone in the building also heard my introduction.

 “Well, What you here for?”

“I was told to come by the benefit people on the phone.” A simple explanation, easily understandable, I thought.

“Have you got any identification?”

“Excuse me?” I was unaware I had tried to buy alcohol or indeed claim any money or, not yet, applied for any job.

“Just need to see some ID.”

“Fine.” I prove that I am not trying to apply for jobs under a false name. Heaven forbid.

“Fine.” (He gestured towards the ever decreasing gaps in the mythological waiting room.)

“Fine.” I waited.

And waited…

http://www.socyberty.com/Work/Jobcentre-Distractions-2.672849 (part 2)