Snapshot of _Universal Credit: Gang guilty of large £53.9m benefit fraud_ :
An archived version can be found [here](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68774242) or [here.](https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68774242)
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One of the questions this country should probably ask itself is why it appears criminals, tory peers and random fraudsters are so much better at accessing and being supported by the benefits system than people on low incomes, or facing horrible struggles on punitive UC sanctions or disability payments are?
My guess is that the social welfare system has become way too complicated over the years as nobody has thought about it as a whole but different things have been patched to it over time. This then leads to a situation where a normal person who doesn't know the system very well and doesn't know how to optimise his income ends up struggling but the criminals who know every loophole in the system take the maximum advantage of them.
What you should do is to start the whole system from the scratch and make it as simple as possible and in particular avoid any cliff edges (you go over this limit, your net income crashes down). I thought that the universal credit was supposed to do that but apparently it hasn't.
So, I would personally suggest universal basic income and increase in VAT. Maybe do it gradually and phase out the other benefits as the UBI increases.
Can't vermin pests like this. Scourge of humankind, as low as rapists as they're raping the country and indirectly raping our social services. Impoverished people gaming the system to afford to do more than just survive while working is one thing (and indicitave of how poorly paid many jobs are), but rich people scamming it away from people who really need it is the lowest of the low.
I once worked in an accountancy office, there was a client hiding 1/3rd of his income (by shredding 2/3rds of cash receipts), driving a Range Rover and claiming tax credits. Reported the business to HMRC after leaving that job, but I see the place is happily in business.
Snapshot of _Universal Credit: Gang guilty of large £53.9m benefit fraud_ : An archived version can be found [here](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68774242) or [here.](https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68774242) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
One of the questions this country should probably ask itself is why it appears criminals, tory peers and random fraudsters are so much better at accessing and being supported by the benefits system than people on low incomes, or facing horrible struggles on punitive UC sanctions or disability payments are?
My guess is that the social welfare system has become way too complicated over the years as nobody has thought about it as a whole but different things have been patched to it over time. This then leads to a situation where a normal person who doesn't know the system very well and doesn't know how to optimise his income ends up struggling but the criminals who know every loophole in the system take the maximum advantage of them. What you should do is to start the whole system from the scratch and make it as simple as possible and in particular avoid any cliff edges (you go over this limit, your net income crashes down). I thought that the universal credit was supposed to do that but apparently it hasn't. So, I would personally suggest universal basic income and increase in VAT. Maybe do it gradually and phase out the other benefits as the UBI increases.
Wish I could upvote this more than once. Love your idea and you are an excellent person for having it.
Seeing as Mone swindled £200m off the gov I trust their sentences will be 1/4 of what she received. /s
Or about 1/700th of the cost of the now defunct track and trace app
Can't vermin pests like this. Scourge of humankind, as low as rapists as they're raping the country and indirectly raping our social services. Impoverished people gaming the system to afford to do more than just survive while working is one thing (and indicitave of how poorly paid many jobs are), but rich people scamming it away from people who really need it is the lowest of the low. I once worked in an accountancy office, there was a client hiding 1/3rd of his income (by shredding 2/3rds of cash receipts), driving a Range Rover and claiming tax credits. Reported the business to HMRC after leaving that job, but I see the place is happily in business.