A Moral Dilemma

[mad?]

In my experience I would always question the veracity of the pre teen/teen bush telegraph in the first place. Secondly, wondering about what is fair and how people can afford to do things and so on and so forth (and trust me I have myself) never ever improves your quality of life, nor that of others, so try to forget it. I doubt you would feel any better if 'justice' was done and the parent either had to pay the fees or the child leave the school, so try to ignore it... and her, if that's what it takes.

[no_ball]

Conversely justice is on the decline in our society and sense of fair play, as long as facts are correct

[mad?]

Conversely justice is on the decline in our society and sense of fair play, as long as facts are correct

Hence my first comment.

[Chelmsford mum]

I have just caught up with this thread.I would definitely not act to get this child's bursary removed.Unless you are 100% sure of all the facts, it could be absolutely catastrophic.Maybe the boyfriend has huge debts? Maybe some of the lavish gifts the child has, come from extended family? Who can know -for sure?

[doingmybest]

A "single" mother receiving a full bursary for her child actually boasts that she has bought a house with her partner, with her half in her father's name. She claims to be renting it and living alone so gets the full rental allowance from the govt. She has one 12 year old and works the minimum hours a week, about 20 I think, to get full tax credit income. She is permanently tanned from the 4 holidays she takes a year, and her partner regularly collects the child in a brand new porshe.
I know of so many people cheating the bursary system, particularly the self-employed that I am amazed that there could be any money left for those in genuine need. But, even if it is beyond the means of the bursars shouldn't the DHSS pick up on this kind of abuse?
And no, I would never grass her up, but a full time working single mother who really struggles is coming close.

[cairo]

OP - As others have said, living with a rich boyfriend may not necessarily be something that is taken into account in the particular bursary scheme in question. If he's not the child's father or step-father then the school may not include his income in their calculations. So I would definitely avoid getting involved, unless you are absolutely sure of the facts.

However, the fact that (apparently) the child has been told to keep hush about it, does suggest an element of guilt on the mother's part. It may not be primarily the school bursary she's concerned about - if she's not told her ex-husband or the tax credit office she's living with someone, they could be paying her too much too. Bizarrely, the tax/legal system seems to encourage single mothers to stay single rather than co-habiting or re-marrying. At one point I decided not to move in with a boyfriend, on the basis that the loss of spousal maintenance and tax credit would make it financial suicide. (I never contemplated moving in and then lying about it though )

A "single" mother receiving a full bursary for her child actually boasts that she has bought a house with her partner, with her half in her father's name. She claims to be renting it and living alone so gets the full rental allowance from the govt

Sorry - but that is fraud, pure and simple. No different from stealing. And you might not feel able to tell the DHSS, but I would.

[Waiting_For_Godot]

If I had a friend who was doing this I would probably tell her that I feel uncomfortable being friends with her when she is doing this as it goes against my morals. I wouldn't report her but the wicked side of me would get enough satisfaction from the fact that she was sweating that I may report her!

[mystery]

Oh who knows how true the boast is. If her half of the house is in her father's name it isn't her half is it? Maybe the lie is the boast, and her father is the landlord, and she truly has to pay him rent. You'd have to be pretty silly to pay for half a house and put it in someone else's name wouldn't you?

I can't imagine being friends with such a person, but I can't imagine "shopping them" either on the basis of this stupid sounding statement. If you were to go round "shopping" everyone who was infringing the law in some way you're going to be jolly busy. Just imagine how many people are paying cash for things knowing that the person providing the goods / services is not paying income tax as a consequence and that's why the want paying cash.

[tabasco]

As all indies are registered charity for tax purposes, they are oblige to award certain percentage of their income toward scholarships and bursaries. If a particular DC is considered being bright and will be an asset to the school I don't think they will bother to do much if they want to keep that child.

[Reading Mum]

not sure I agree with that. They are have public benefit obligations but these do not have to be met by scholarships/bursaries - it is just an obvious choice. There is certainly no percentage of income commitment. If they are bright enough then maybe they deserve a scholarship - being dishonest to hold on to a means tested bursary is a whole different issue.