I honestly didn’t get that impression today but I am multitasking at the moment, so I could well be wrong (probably)
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Why am I not surprised by that.
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£15 voucher it is
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I appreciate your comments, however, I still think a voucher scheme is the most appropriate method of ensuring that the intended target benefit.
With regard to your point 2; this would require additional systems to be put in place over and above those to administer the basic scheme at a time when systems are already stretched. The money would be better spent overcoming the issues you raise in point 3.
As for your point 4, the advantage of the voucher system is that it is relatively easy to administer; the schools already know which children/families are entitled to free school meals, and therefore are best placed to distribute food vouchers. No other systems are required.
The voucher scheme minimises the opportunity for the money to be misspent. Some parents might abuse the voucher scheme, but I suggest that the number of cases of abuse is more likely to increase if parents were to be given the cash. It certainly would not be less.
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Bought wisely, you could beat that for £3. Whoever is in charge of that company needs a blindfold and solid wall.
That’s why you tie them to picture ID and impose severe punishments on anybody found trading them.
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Shame it’s not free in a huge number of places then.
If I could be arsed (I can’t and I’d probably be accused of faking it) I’d export the cctv footage I have of being screamed at by two young mums (both pushing £1000 Bugaboo prams) who each had big flash smartphones and what I’m sure they consider to be nice clothes. They were screaming at me because the food bank next door was shut and I had to do something about it because their babies were hungry.
Not the first time, but non of my experiences count as they can just be dismissed.
@Mascot I agree with most of your post. The problem is not adults pissing their benefits away, it’s when parents do it. That’s why they should have the critical things given to them, not cash.
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which again ties into the point i made to you yesterday about lack of (photo) ID amongst poorer people (when speaking about wider benefits).
I think Lack of access covers 3 factors;
Not having wifi, not having internet capable devices, not knowing how to use it. Any or all of those factors can apply to the most vulnerable people who are most likely to be needing this support.
Sure there are places offering ‘free’ wifi. But that is no good if you have no phone or laptop capable of using it. Or you dont know how to. Or the place you could get free access (the library for example) is closed, or expects you to pay for a coffee or a beer to stay there while using it.
From what i recall the government when launching Universal Credit had a similar belief to you as to how easy it would be for people to make their claims online. Since it launched however, it has had to do more via phone than it expected, and pay lots of money to organisations like Citizens Advice to have them help people make their claims.
In the meantime it seems that pretty much everywhere the super-rich are getting even richer during the pandemic.
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Which as I pointed out is not a problem that can’t be overcome.
Let me paint a picture for you. I work in a diverse range of schools. From very nice areas to areas of extreme (shall we say) issues. It’s fair to say that every child in every school now has access to the internet and a computer. Accordingly, so do the parents. I’ve been working crazy hours of late setting up laptops and sim card wifi hotspots which go to those without. This is then the perfect time to use this inclusive digital infrastructure. The days of “I don’t have access” are frankly gone.
And if you don’t have kids then not having access to the internet is not the fault of the government. You can buy a smartphone for £30 and 10Gb a month for £10. That’s within anybody’s reach if they prioritise.
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Missed the last bit. Having been supporting remote learning for months, people ALWAYS pick up the phone rather than actually having to follow simple instructions.
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Adults pissing their kids food money up the wall would be a tiny minority of recipients. When struggling parents receive cash they spend it on their kids. That’s what the except from the study posted above showed.
The problem with giving parent the critical things, is who decides what is critical? Or do poor kids not get to have allergies, dislikes or preferences? A lot of the replies to the Jack Monroe campaign the other day were from Parents with kids with Autism or learning difficulties who just would not eat the food a contractor had decided to ration them.
That’s not to mention the indignity of being sent a bloody food parcel. It’s not going to help people getting out of poverty if they are made to feel like a prisoner.
We’ve been drip fed a bullshit narrative for years, through the right wing media, that poor people are irresponsible, feckless, idiots who can’t be trusted with money. This is simply social conditioning, to justify the cuts and demonisation of the poor.
I’m always in favour of just providing cash. It’s easy, convenient, gives people agency and it treats people like responsible grown, If there are problems with a few families to the extent that their are literally taking food out of their kids mouths, that should be the domain of social services anyway.
If we can’t give cash, for fear of upsetting the ghouls at the Daily Mail, then vouchers are the next best. But their are still problems with access to voucher schemes.
But food parcels are a particularly horrible way to address basic needs. It’s like being told that someone else is going to decide when you can have your heating on. What clothes you should wear. It’s dehumanising, but I suspect that’s partly the point.
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So you have footage of two women with expensive prams and smart phones agressively looking for free food, therefore everyone on benefits is likely to waste their money on expensive prams and phones at the expense of their childrens’ welfare. That’s the sort of garbage broad brush tarring that i was referring to that we have been drip fed by the scummy right wing media for years. Very little mention of the billions that the tories have handed out to incapable contractors (usually tory connected) at the stroke of a pen during the current pandemic without a word of contrition or shame.
You sound very like a gobby tory boy that got banned from the old TIA from Epsom… no, you couldn’t be, could you ??
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No, he’s not and I’m fairly certain he’s spoken out against any government corruption. He’s just passing on his own lived experiences, not everyone’s will be the same.
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Just on this topic, has anyone ever considered that some people at the lower end will be more prone to cheat at a few things here and there simply because they have to?
I think a few gobby tory boys were banned from memory back there. Ah well, it’s hard to keep up sometimes.