"So your estimate of £500 + house is complete and utter bollocks."

As per my experience you are absolutely spot on Don. I've seen both sides. Came from a poor "but working" family then found myself as an adult being relatively well off. However I worked in financial services (for the co-op insurance) on a home service basis with many less well off clients and I don't recognise the idea that they are all in the lap of luxury. In my experience most truly had to juggle from one week to the next.

Likewise on a personal level during the initial part of the credit crunch (I am a mortgage broker in partnership with my wife) our personal income went through the floor for several years. Mine at the worst point was just £2500 and my wife's was only slightly higher. The only income we had was child benefit which amounts to £33.70 per week as we have two kids and thankfully we qualified for both chid tax credit and working tax credit which was at its highest point came to about £700 per month. We were very pleased with that bit in truth it still wouldn't have kept us afloat. The bank of Mum and Dad did. Thankfully we got through it, business has partly recovered and we diversified elsewhere but had it not been for help from the oldies we'd have lost everything.

We tried to claim for the reduction in council tax and quite frankly it was a nightmare. It took ages as they went through every minute detail of your income, savings etc. After months we finally did get it but then the following year as our position was improving they claimed it all back in one fell swoop. Quite honestly it would have been easier just to not get it in the first place.