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pet premiums?
For those clients with loads of stray moggies;
Working Cats Credit
A long time ago i was seeing a new client and filling in a checklist covering everything as one does
In the childrens section we listed 5 and then i asked for Dates of birth i became a little concerned as there was less than 9 months between
Being CAB and not appearing to question ( adoption maybe i thought) we finally established they were dogs and very large ones at that
The client became a long term client and her children ( dogs) came up regularly as they cost a lot in food and so on we regularly needed to explain that ‘perhaps’ Income support wasnt meant for a single women and five very large dogs
She did advance a very understandable view that if she chose to have animals not kids then why couldnt she get extra
Unicorn Credit. On time and on budget.
Pig Independence Payments. Proof that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
Disabled Lion Allowance. For lion cubs requiring substantially more care than average or those kings of the jungle unable to migrate before pension age.
Ferret Income Supplement.
Snarers Allowance. For rabbits requiring more than 35 hours care p/w as a result of their injuries.
It’s not all good news though; fairness has to be shown to hard working families of animals. Welfare reform has introduced the hated Bat Room Tax for those with unused loft space. And those under 35 minutes of age will be subject to the Single Room Rat of LHA.
Crap Allowance - for clearing up the (all be it very slowly) growing pile of Universal Crap produced by the Incredibly Diverse Species for which the other benefits mentioned above are available.
Many years ago I did a talk to a group of magistrates about means tested benefits in the context of their detemining an appppropriate level of fine for a miscrient on benefits. The first question they asked was how much a claimant got for a dog - the majority really did believed there was such an allowance!
This is up there with beer tokens - the amount of people that don’t believe i know what i’m talking about when i confirm there is no such thing….
I’ve encountered both on many occasions too. It’s up there with the other Great Myths (including free holidays, cars & TVs, ‘illegal immigrants’ that can claim significantly more than whoever I am speaking to is entitled to/earns and that your boyfriend can stay up to 3 nights per week) isn’t it?
Strange isn’t it? When I first worked at CPAG, our then legal officer Stewart Wright (now Judge Wright of course) was talking to me about test cases and the need to avoid the “my dog’s dead” type of appeals, where people tried to get more benefits on those type of grounds. It would appear that he wasn’t actually talking in the abstract quite as much as I thought at the time…...
Strange isn’t it? When I first worked at CPAG, our then legal officer Stewart Wright (now Judge Wright of course) was talking to me about test cases and the need to avoid the “my dog’s dead” type of appeals, where people tried to get more benefits on those type of grounds. It would appear that he wasn’t actually talking in the abstract quite as much as I thought at the time…...
But he was only referring to appeals under Income Support. Under Supp Ben there were of course AR’s* (Animal Requirements). Some readers will recall the massive take up campaigns around AR’s in the run up to the abolition of Supp Ben.
*Additional Requirements.
Strange isn’t it? When I first worked at CPAG, our then legal officer Stewart Wright (now Judge Wright of course) was talking to me about test cases and the need to avoid the “my dog’s dead” type of appeals, where people tried to get more benefits on those type of grounds. It would appear that he wasn’t actually talking in the abstract quite as much as I thought at the time…...
But he was only referring to appeals under Income Support. Under Supp Ben there were of course AR’s* (Animal Requirements). Some readers will recall the massive take up campaigns around AR’s in the run up to the abolition of Supp Ben.
*Additional Requirements.
That would have been in addition to the Single Payments for items like dog bowls and blankets and the like….
I’d propose Mousing Benefit
Now needed more than ever ....
Landlords charge ‘pet rent’ to recoup losses after ban on unfair fees
Do NOT start this all over again! 😊
I’d propose Mousing Benefit
Now needed more than ever ....
Landlords charge ‘pet rent’ to recoup losses after ban on unfair fees
Would they get an extra room for the pet or still be subject to the Baaaadroom tax and be forced to Mooooove house to find chirpy-chirpy-cheeper accommodation?
Sorry couldn’t resist. I’ll get me coat (or should that be goat?)
Sigh.
I understand that sheep farmers can now claim Eweniversal Credit to help with the upkeep of their female sheep. But the ram-ifications for the male sheep are less clear.
And honey farmers who use the tops of their houses can claim Bee-roofment benefit… (Sorry)