The Great British Benefits Handout

The lump sum financial leg-up concept is very interesting and bold concept to alleviate the despair and hopelessness of poverty and living on government handouts.

In the US, there is a lot of talk how a "guaranteed income" may help pull people out of poverty. However, this series shows how most living on low-income/survival benefits is actually so crippling to one's self-esteem and mental well-being that it stunts all upward mobility.

The idea of a lump sum payout is revolutionary as many of the participants opened small businesses that became successful or just had enough of a little self-esteem push to go out job hunting.

It is a complicated problem and one with few tangible solutions.

Was not expecting to like this show at all. As an American, the entire concept of single people living "on the dole" who don't have children is very foreign, indeed. We have nothing like that here, and all of the people in the UK who are childless and living entirely on benefits would be homeless in the United States, which is obviously not any better. Also seeing nearly all of these people on the show with expensive smoking habits while simultaneously complaing they have "nothing extra," was fairly reprehensible. How can anyone complain of not having enough while spending a couple thousand pounds a year on their cancer sticks...that also give secondhand smoke to all of their children and loved ones. Despite those disheartening details and a bit of "reality tv editing," this was still a very enjoyable series.

In was enlightening to see that nearly every participant stated that the depressed mental state they were in from being completely dependent on govermnet benefits (that were just enough to keep them alive), had held them back from enacting changes that would make them more upwardly mobile. Proof positive that a guaranteed (low) income/survival benefits is not an answer to anything besides abject poverty or houselessness.

Instead, the lump sum payment provided a tangible leg-up for participants to start a new business or better their lives enough to light a fire under their feet to enact real changes.

Very happy for the people who changed the entire trajectory of their lives and futures for the better, and especially the ones who become completely independent from government benefits. Good for them!!

While I greatly enjoyed watching this interesting program and it's concept, I was a bit disappointed at what seemed like, lack of guidance for the beneficiaries of the lump sum of money. I had great empathy for all involved in the program & high hopes for their success, but my hopes started to dwindle as I saw some of them splashing out cash on unnecessary items such as $600 on an X-Box & games for a grown young man that should have been working, $70 on candy for 4 children, $100 on perfume, over $2,000 on more reptiles for the husband's menagerie (when he's a licensed electrician & could have been self-employed), and the sport motorcycle for the husband after they'd bought bikes for 6 kids.... I would've liked to see these families receiving instruction & counseling on budgeting, spending wisely, having an emergency fund, and the importance of prioritizing monthly bills, taxes, etc. Before treats were purchased, PRIOR to them being given any money; also, much needed counseling by a psychologist to be screened for any disabilities, depression & possible needs for medication. All of these folks could have greatly benefited from financial and mental evaluation/counseling. I very much enjoyed the program and would love to see another like this, as well as a program with updates on all of those that participated. I sincerely hope they've all been able to stay off benefits and be gainfully employed.

The idea sounded really hopeful but the implementation of this experiment was awful! Why on Earth weren't these lovely families given good financial advice from Day 1, including education in realistic budgeting, counselling on easy record-keeping, instruction on planning ahead for future bills, etc, etc??? This would not only have set them all on good, realistic pathways but it would have also educated many viewers in these crucial aspects of daily living. Lessons like these that should have been taught at school for all students! Logarithms and algebra, reading ordnance survey maps or learning about physics or chemistry are hardly crucial for ordinary daily living! These families should also have been offered advice about the type of work or business ventures that would suit their particular strengths & abilities, with straightforward education in their chosen pathways and the proper assistance given, in the real hope of them actually achieving those goals. Eg. Business planning, including possible grants that may be available for them. All that together with helpful advice on purchasing larger items, such as a car, and the pitfalls to watch out for. This would have helped them much more and your viewers too. One of the participants actually said they felt like a kid in a candy shop and that's exactly how the participants were treated! I felt this was like a spectator sport, where these vulnerable people were just put on display to be criticised and ridiculed. These innocent human "guinea-pigs" being left to their own devices to cope with a life-changing opportunity without being given the tools to make the best possible use of it and not having the experience to deal with it either. Don't know if I can even bear to watch the whole series.