The figures below are taken from Oldham Councils “The impact of welfare reform in Oldham” report, a more appropriate title would be The financial & social impact of high fertility communities. The out of work cap on benefits is £26,000 per year & Oldham has seen some benefit payments reduced by £150 per week meaning that before the Conservatives capped benefits these families were in receipt of £33,800 per year in benefits. Almost all affected are large families with 4, 5 or more children. There is no cap on “in work” benefits & “in work” in Oldham is defined by working 16 hours or more per week, volunteering or caring for a relative. Gone are the days when the mean for “in work” was working 35 to 40 hours per week.
It is the same wards in every data-set contributing the least, costing the most & getting disproportionate funding, grants and improvement spending from Oldham Council. These issues of over-population & inadequate financial responsibility need addressing. It is not the responsibility of every sustainable ward in Oldham to suffer disproportionate cutbacks or be sacrificed on the alter of Labour Oldham’s socialist vote gatherers who shy away from tackling communities where fertility rates are rooted in religious doctrine or wards with multi-generational families who see their status as parents as a career choice.
oldham benefit caps by ward