Tories Only tell you what to Spend if you’re Poor

jaynelinney

Mark Harper the Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions was on Radio4 Today this morning, talking about Cameron’s promise to protect pensions; in his discussion he stated “we can’t tell people how to spend their money“!

Where then does this leave the vow from IDS that he is “testing prepaid cards, onto which we will make benefit payments, so that the money they receive is spent on the needs of the family”? ‘Given the total contrast between Ministers statements, who can we believe, Harper’s – we trust the public or Ids – the poorest must be told where to shop and what to buy’?

Maybe the Tories believe that only people who have retired can manage a budget? Or is it, much more likely in my opinion, the pensioner promise is more about the Conservatives feeling worried they might lose their traditional voting base, by means testing the additional support such as…

View original post 57 more words

Advertisement

The Danczuks, The Dangerous Dogs Act & Those Enduring Myths About Lone Parents #GE2015 #RaceForNumber10

“In a political arena in which words are carefully chosen, PR narratives carefully designed, and human frailties rarely admitted, the Danczuks stick out.  They both come from broken families, in which dependence on benefits was par for the course.

Karen, one of five children, was the only one to carry on her education after school and says she lives a life that her siblings wouldn’t recognise.”

“Danczuk has been an outspoken critic of politics geared towards the metropolitan elite.  On welfare, he and his wife agree that Labour isn’t tough enough.  “Instead of people being sat around on benefits, if they are capable of work why not have them make a contribution locally and keep them in mind for work,” Simon says. “If you want to call it hard-line, so be it.” ”

“The reason people should listen to them, they say, whether it is on child abuse or the problems of welfare, is that their views come from experience.  “If my mum had been forced to work and not live her life as a single parent on benefits, she would have had a job and friends and a better life, which would have benefited me,” Karen says.”

We’ll keep telling it like it is on welfare, immigration and the liberal elite

Well, Karen, in my experience your kind of subjective approach to policy making leads to Dangerous Dogs Act outcomes.  Personally, speaking, again from experience, I think we have already had quite enough of that sort of ‘informed’ approach to Social Security and Welfare to Work.

Alas, for Simon and Karen, I am not a member of the metropolitan, liberal elite, although I do live in a metropolitan county.  I was, though, Birmingham and Solihull’s lead Employment Service Implementation Manager for New Deal for Lone Parents in 1998 and a deputy Childcare Partnership Manager for the same area in the late 2000s.  I know a fair bit about Children’s Centres, I have worked alongside Gingerbread and the National Council for One Parent Families, I have worked with groups supporting lone parents, groups of lone parents and I have even interviewed a fair few lone parents in my time.  I suspect that gives me as much, if not more insight than the Danczuks into the challenges facing lone parents, but I would not say enough of an insight to be able, on my own, to draft policies addressing those challenges.  I may know most of the questions to ask, but few of the answers to them.  I know my limitations!

In over two decades I only ever came across one person who regarded herself as married to the State.  Frankly, I was gob smacked that anyone would want to be a lone parent until they claimed their State Pension at 60, but this person was very much the exception to the rule.  I did segue into the dependant on the State line on the grounds that surely she would not want to bring up more children on just Income Support.  What about their quality of life?  I say more children as she was in front of me, because her youngest child had reached 16 and so she had no option, but to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance.  She seemed more than a bit put out by the requirement to be both available for and actively seeking work.  She took the line that at 40 or so it was too late to take up employment hence the discussion of possible alternatives to paid work.

Now, Karen and Simon would it really be a good idea to build our party’s (that is Labour’s, by the way, and not ukip’s) policies for lone parents on that interview alone?  You certainly seem to think that your personal experiences are representative evidence of the behaviour of the typical (tabloid) single parent and thus the basis on which to formulate a tougher Social Security regime for lone parents.  Or would it be better to adopt an evidence based approach?  One starting with the facts (listed below) about single parents, courtesy of Gingerbread, an organisation that thinks discussions about lone parents (a very diverse group) should be based on reality and not myths.

Incidentally, Karen is Simon’s second wife and he had two children with his first partner so I guess he knows a bit about making lone parent families (see fourth bullet point in the list below), if nothing else about them.  A policy of tough on lone parents, but not tough on those who put many in that position, eh, Simon?  And what happened to sticking with one’s husband or wife through thick and thin until death do you part, eh, Simon?  Surely, a big problem is the ease with which one may get divorced, eh, Simon?  Now is it not the liberal elite which was responsible for making divorce easier, eh, Simon?  Shame on you Simon, a working class boy, for allowing yourself to be seduced from the path of righteousness into the path of divorce.

Simon, some days I wish I had been born a decade or so earlier than I was so I might enjoy the experience of living through the 1960s first hand.  I get the distinct impression that you (like Farage, Howard and Blair) wish that decade had never happened.  Well it did, get over it and move on.  And, I have no problem with your divorce or the divorce laws, but I do with your hypocrisy.

Roy Jenkins was a real Socialist when it came to addressing the social issues of the 1960s.  He saw through Parliament, when Home Secretary, the permanent abolition of hanging, the relaxation of the licensing laws, the ending of theatre censorship and introduced a ground breaking Race Relations Bill.  He secured government time to ensure the passage of Private Members’ Bills on both homosexuality, finally legalising it and abortion.  He ended flogging in prisons.

In 1976 he told the Police Federation conference that for many prisoners, prison did not work.  He urged them to look at the evidence and to recognise how little the widespread use of prison reduces crime or deals effectively with the individuals concerned.  Faced with concerted booing, he gave his hostile audience a lecture on democracy.  The rule of law in a democratic society did not mean our pet prejudices, but the rule of Parliament as applied by the courts.  One cannot have a rule of law while dismissing with disparagement Parliament, the courts and those who practise in them.  The job of the police and that of the Home Secretary, he told them, is to apply the law as it is and not to decry it.

Roy Jenkins was one of the most reforming Home Secretaries of all time.  He was in favour of evidence based policy.  I understand you think people like me are in the wrong party, because we are proud not only of his bringing in such liberal legislation, but because we want to do more?  That our liberal tendencies makes us less socialist than you?  Personally, I think you would be more at home in ukip with its net curtain twitching, back to the 1950s, knee jerk attitudes than in a party which is at its best when it bases policy on evidence not anecdote.  Evidence, Karen, tinged with more than just a little empathy for those worse off than ourselves.

And now for those facts about single parents

There are 2 million single parents in Britain today (1) – they make up a quarter of families with children, a figure which has remained consistent for the past decade (2)

Less than 2 per cent of single parents are teenagers (3)

The median age of single parents is 38.1 (4)

Around half of single parents had their children within marriage – 49 per cent are separated from marriage, divorced or widowed (5)

63.4 per cent of single parents are in work, up 19.6 percentage points since 1996 (6)

The employment rate for single parents varies depending on the age of their youngest child.  Once their children are 12 or over, single parents’ employment rate is similar to, or higher than, the employment rate for mothers in couples (71 per cent of single parents whose child is 11-15 are in work) (7)

Who are single parents?

There are 3 million children living in a single parent household (23% per cent of all dependent children) (8)

Around 8 per cent of single parents (186,000) are fathers (9)

The average duration of single parenthood is around 5 years (10)

Only 6.5 per cent of all births are registered alone, and 10 per cent are registered to two parents who live apart (11)

Single fathers are more likely to be widowed than single mothers (12 per cent of single fathers are widowed, compared with 5 per cent of single mothers), and their children tend to be older (12)

Just under half of couples divorcing in 2009 had at least one child aged under 16.  Over a fifth (21 per cent) of the children in 2009 were under five and 63 per cent were under eleven (13)

The proportion of single parent families has increased since the 1970s, but it hasn’t changed much in the last ten years

In 1971 just 8 per cent of families with children were single parent families (14)

In 1998 24 per cent of families with children were single parent families (15)

In 2011 26 per cent of families with children were single parent families (16)

Single parent families and poverty:

Children in single parent families are nearly twice as likely as children in couple families to live in relative poverty.  Over four in every 10 (42 per cent) children in single parent families are poor, compared to just over two in 10 (23 per cent) of children in couple families (17)

Paid work is not a guaranteed route out of poverty for single parent families; the poverty rate for children in single parent families where the parent works part-time is 30 per cent, and 22 per cent where the parent works full-time (18).

The median weekly income for working single parent families doing 16 hours a week or more is £337, compared with £491 for couple families with one worker and £700 where both parents work (19)

43 per cent of single parents are social housing tenants compared to 12 per cent of couples (20)

71 per cent of all single parent renters receive housing benefit compared to 25 per cent of all couple renters (21)

Single parent households are the most likely to be in arrears on one or more household bills, mortgage or non-mortgage borrowing commitment (31 per cent) (22)

38 per cent of single parents said that money always runs out before the end of the week/month compared to 19 per cent of couples (23)

63 per cent of single parents have no savings compared to 34 per cent of couples (24)

Work and childcare

Where single parents are not working, this is often because there are health issues that make work difficult: 33 per cent of unemployed single parents have a disability or long-standing illness (25) and 34 per cent have a child with a disability (26)

Over half of single parents are in work (59.2 per cent), up 14.5 percentage points since 1997.  In the same period, the employment rate of mothers in couples has risen three percentage points to 71 per cent (27)

Single parents rely heavily on informal childcare.  Of those using childcare, 46 per cent said it was informal. (28)  For single parents working 16 hours a week or more 34 per cent had a childcare arrangement with the child’s grandparents, and 17 per cent had an arrangement with their ex-partner (29)

Working single parents paying for childcare are much more likely than working couples paying for childcare to find it difficult to meet childcare costs (32% compared to 22% of couples where one partner is in work, and 20% of couples where both work) (30)

Child maintenance

Only two-fifths (38 per cent) of single parents receive maintenance from their child’s other parent (31)

For all those with an agreement for child maintenance (both through the CSA and private arrangement) the median weekly amount received is £46 per family (32)

The average amount of child maintenance liable to be paid through the CSA is currently £33.50 per week (£22.50 if all cases with a weekly assessment of zero are included in the average). (33)  Among parents with care in receipt of income-related benefits, the average amount is £23 (excluding cases with a weekly assessment of zero) (34)

Of single parents receiving child maintenance through the CSA, 40 per cent receive less than £10 per week, 38 per cent receive between £10 and £50 per week and 22 per cent receive more than £50 per week (35)

Family life

At least 9 per cent of single parents share the care of their child equally, or nearly equally, with the other parent (36)

The majority of children have face to face contact with their other parent.  71 per cent of resident parents said that their child had direct contact with the other parent (37)

65 per cent of those with contact said this included overnight stays, usually at least monthly (38)

Only 20 per cent of all resident parents say that their child has no contact with their other parent (39).  Of these, 63 per cent said there had been no contact since the parental relationship ended (40)

Parental separation by itself is not considered predictive of poor outcomes in children (41)  Parental conflict has been identified as a key mediating variable in producing negative outcomes in children.  A comparison between couple families experiencing high levels of conflict with single parent families found that children fared less well in conflicted couple families, demonstrating that family functioning has a greater impact than family structure in contributing to child outcomes (42)

Parental separation and the resulting single parent status often leads to financial hardship.  That resulting poverty may be a significant factor in explaining poorer child outcomes rather than family structure (43)

References

1. Families and households 2014, Office for National Statistics, 2015
2. Families and households 2014, Office for National Statistics, 2015
3. Figure produced for Gingerbread by the Fertility and Family Analysis Unit, Office of National Statistic and derived from the Annual Population Survey (APS), (Labour Force Survey plus boost), 2009 data
4. Lone parents with dependent children, January 2012, Office for National Statistics
5. Lone parents with dependent children, January 2012, Office for National Statistics
6. Working and Workless Households, 2014, Table P. Office for National Statistics, October 2014
7. Families with children in Britain: Findings from the 2008 Families and children study (FACS), Table 3.2. Department for Work and Pensions, 2010
8. Households Below Average Income, An analysis of the income distribution 1994/95 – 2009/10, Table 4.1ts. Department for Work and Pensions, 2011
9. Lone parents with dependent children, January 2012, Office for National Statistics
10. Leaving Lone Parenthood: Analysis of the repartnering patterns of lone mothers in the U.K. Skew, A., Berrington, A., Falkingham, J. 2008, on data from 2005
11. Derived from Households and Families, Social Trends 41, Table 6 & 7. ONS, 2011. Data from 2009
12. Analysis of Labour Force Survey data from June 2006 produced for Gingerbread by ONS
13. Divorces in England and Wales 2009. ONS Statistical Bulletin, February 2011
14. General Household Survey 2007, Table 3.6. ONS, 2009
15. General Lifestyle Survey, 2009, Table 3.6. ONS, 2011
16. Lone parents with dependent children, January 2012, Office for National Statistics
17. Households below average income (HBAI): 1994/95 to 2012/13,Table 4.14ts. Department for Work and Pensions, 2014
18. Households below average income (HBAI): 1994/95 to 2012/13,Table 4.14ts. Department for Work and Pensions, 2014
19. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 6.3. DWP, 2010
20. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 9.1. DWP, 2010
21. English Housing Survey, Household Report 2009 – 10, Table 3.6. Department for Communities and Local Government, 2011
22. Wealth in Great Britain. Main Results from the Wealth and Assets Survey 2006/08, p.108. ONS, 2009
23. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 8.8. DWP, 2010
24. Family Resource Survey UK, 2008-2009, Table 4.10. Department for Work and Pensions, 2010
25. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 3.2. DWP, 2010
26. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 12.5. DWP, 2010
27. Working and Workless Households, 2012, Table P. ONS Statistical Bulletin, August 2012
28. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 16.5. DWP, 2010
29. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 16.1. DWP, 2010
30. Childcare and early years survey of parents 2009, p.83. NatCen/Department for Education, 2010. Research Report DFE-RR054
31. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 15.1. DWP, 2010
32. Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 15.4b. DWP, 2010
33. Child Support Agency national statistics, June 2011. CMEC/DWP, 2011
34. Parliamentary Question, Hansard 24/03/2011, col 1242W
35. PQ response to Karen Buck, March 2011, Letter from Stephen Geraghty (CMEC), 17/3/11 Col 566W
36. Problematic contact after separation and divorce. Peacey, V., Hunt, J. Gingerbread, 2008
37. I’m not saying it was easy…Contact problems in separated families. Peacey, V., Hunt, J. Gingerbread, 2009
38. I’m not saying it was easy…Contact problems in separated families. Peacey, V., Hunt, J. Gingerbread, 2009
39. Problematic contact after separation and divorce. Peacey, V., Hunt, J. Gingerbread, 2008
40. I’m not saying it was easy . . . Contact problems in separated families. Peacey, V., Hunt, J. Gingerbread, 2009
41. Impact of Family Breakdown on Children’s Well-Being. Mooney, A., Oliver, C., Smith, M. Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, 2009
42. Impact of Family Breakdown on Children’s Well-Being. Mooney, A., Oliver, C., Smith, M. Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, 2009
43. Impact of Family Breakdown on Children’s Well-Being. Mooney, A., Oliver, C., Smith, M. Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, 2009

#ukip’s great working class lie

Ukip’s great working class lie.

#ukip’s Great Working Class Lie #GE2015

Van Rants

Lately, we have been hearing a lot from farage and other toffs in his party harping on that ‘ukip are stealing working class, labour voters, as well as tories’, and indeed you do hear it often parroted by their supporters.

But what positive proposals has ukip come up with to support the average worker? Apart from their snake-oil ‘leave the EU’ line, I am unaware of ANY concrete proposals which, when compared to the other parties, would benefit the average worker!

The claim that ukip is supporting the working man is never qualified or explained, yet some people seem to be gobbling it up! The narrative seems to be;

“Ukip are the party of the working man”

“Why, what proposals do you have to better the average worker’s life?”

“Look at this pint! Look at this cigarette! You like pints and cigarettes and having a jolly good laugh don’t you?…

View original post 995 more words

The death of JC+ The birth of JS+

The death of JC+ The birth of JS+.

The death of JC+ The birth of JS+

Diary of an SAH Stroke Survivor

I expect most people claiming either JSA or ESA have been subject to a sanction or a threat of one and this has a snowballing effect on other help and support and ultimately leading to eviction.

With little over 80 days until #GE2015 and our chance to have our say via a vote we must continue to fightback against this inhumane practise of belittling the poor and less well off and everyone involved with it whether that be central or local government should hold there heads in utter shame that too applies to anyone who supports it.

I have already been unfairly kick off ESA so the threat of a sanction will not affect me, but I still not help thinking about all those who have, indeed the future scares the hell out of me.

Anyway getting back to Job Centre Plus it was once a place I felt proud…

View original post 298 more words

Why Nigel Farage Should Be Taken Seriously When It Comes To The Military

In laughing at ukip we should not lull ourselves into thinking that the party have not formulated some policies that will stimulate the erogenous zones of the electorate and cynically obtain a political advantage thereby.  They have and the following one from their Policies for People deserves serious attention:

Honouring the Military Covenant

1. We will resource fully our military assets and personnel.

2. UKIP will guarantee those who have served in the Armed Forces for a minimum of 12 years a job in the police force, prison service or border force

3. UKIP will change the points system for social housing to give priority to ex-service men and women and those returning from active service.

4. A Veterans Department will bring together all veterans services to ensure servicemen and women get the after-service care they deserve.

5. Veterans are to receive a Veterans’ Service Card to ensure they are fast tracked for mental health care and services, if needed.

6. All entitlements will be extended to servicemen recruited from overseas.

7. UKIP supports a National Service Medal for all those who have served in the armed forces.

ukip has a strong contingent of ex military types amongst its supporters, it is attracting voters from across the political spectrum who fit the profile of people most likely to approve of this policy and, given the fact that those often opposed to war feel our soldiers, sailors and air force personnel are unfairly treated when they return to Civvy Street then this is a set of policies with mass appeal.

Imagine for a moment that mini manifesto set out in the pages of the Sun, the Daily Star, the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph then ask yourself whether or not the readers of those newspapers will be more or less inclined to look favourably on Nigel Farage.

Too often the Left in UK politics have failed to recognise the affection that people across the political spectrum have for our armed forces.  An affection that seems to be increasing as the numbers employed in our armed forces falls.  We seem to commemorate Remembrance Day much more than we did in my youth.  We have new, high profile charities dedicated to raising money for ex forces personnel.  We do not have a Prussian military style culture, but we do seem to be importing the mind set that the USA has towards its military into our way of life.

If you think I am exaggerating then take a look at the suicides resulting out of the Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment process reported in the Daily Mail.  Most of the ones I have read involve ex forces personnel and are, therefore, a minority of the total.  The Daily Mail is a cheerleader for IDS and his campaign against those on Social Security.  It is not opposed to the ESA/WCA process, but only the way it is being applied to a specific group, if its coverage of cases is any guide.  It is the people who implement the process ‘wrongly’ that are at fault not its designer.  Lefty public servants, pen pushers etc are unfairly picking on people by virtue of their background and so it is not a coincidence that those cases where the policy has been mis-applied, in the Daily Mail’s view, involve ex armed forces personnel.  In other words, these cases are the exception not the rule, not the fault of IDS and conveniently confirm the prejudices of the average Daily Mail reader about those working in the public sector.  A sort of two for the price of one outcome.  Now look at points 4 and 5 above.

Point 6 sets out a policy of which Joanna Lumley would approve.  Imagine what her endorsement of this approach would get ukip in terms of publicity.  There is a view abroad that successive Governments have failed to honour the Military Covenant and it runs across the political spectrum.  No one seems much concerned to enact a similar covenant for any other part of the public sector which is surely significant in itself.

ukip is not outflanking the political parties on the left or the right, it is driving its tanks right down the centre on this issue.  And many on the the Left, with its particular take on the military are not well placed to hold their ground let alone counter attack for fear of being seen as both unpatriotic and even hypocritical.  A portion of the Left are traditionally conflicted in being opposed to the military, but supportive of the working class rank and file.  And the working class has often been at odds with the Left over defence.  Look up the derivation of the word, jingoism, to discover how conservative the working class has been in regard of the use of military force and imperialism.  Then remember the reactions of the vast majority towards the sending of a task force to recapture the Falklands.  And note the proposed, plans post independence to increase the number of infantry in the new Scottish Army.  No one loses votes by being strong on defence and point 1 above recognises that.

We should not stop laughing at ukip, quite the opposite, but we should not ignore the fact that by formulating populist policies like those above it does speak to a wide spectrum of the population.  Imagine once more, in this case Nigel Farage in a tv debate being asked a question that allows him to set out the policies above.  Then try to tell me ukip’s popularity ratings would not rise the following day, particularly in contrast with any responses made by the other parties, including the Greens, Plaid Cymru and the SNP.  No part of the UK does not have strong connections with the military.  No part of the UK does not have War Memorials.  Few in the UK oppose the commemoration of the First World War whatever their views on whether it should have been fought and how it was fought.  You only have to look at the responses to those critiquing the poppy display at the Tower of London to see how the public reacts to any suggestion of disrespect towards the fallen.

If you think I am scaremongering in saying we should treat ukip seriously in this regard then reflect on the fact that part of ukip’s rise is down to adopting the (non political) pavement politics pioneered by the Liberal Democrats and what is more above politics than the Military Covenant?  And that migration only a few short years ago was not a big issue for most of the electorate.  It was certainly not high amongst their priorities when deciding for whom to vote, but it is now.  I would hazard a guess that more people would approve of the policies above than share Farage’s take on migration and they, despite what some would like to think, are talking about migration more and more in public.

Finally, imagine canvassing for your party and going up to the door of a house where there is a Help for Heroes sticker in the window, being told by the householder they are voting ukip and, when you ask why, because of those policies above.  Got any response that might change his mind rather than having the door slammed in your face?  Charlie Chaplin lampooned his look a like, but his look a like knew how to tug at the heart strings of the electorate when it came to cynically playing the military card for electoral advantage and look where it got him.  You think Nigel Farage does not know about how that card was played then think again.  He referenced it in a little reported lecture he gave around the time of Remembrance Day last year.

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.  Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story.  Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.  Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.  Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.  But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.  Be yourself.  Especially, do not feign affection.  Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.  Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.  But do not distress yourself with imaginings.  Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.  You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.  And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

The common myth is that the Desiderata poem was found in a Baltimore church in 1692 and is centuries old, of unknown origin.  Desiderata was in fact written around 1920 (although some say as early as 1906), and certainly copyrighted in 1927, by lawyer Max Ehrmann (1872-1945) based in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Desiderata myth began after Reverend Frederick Kates reproduced the Desiderata poem in a collection of inspirational works for his congregation in 1959 on church notepaper, headed: “The Old St Paul’s Church, Baltimore, AD 1692” (the year the church was founded).

Copies of the Desiderata page were circulated among friends, and the myth grew, accelerated particularly when a copy of the erroneously attributed Desiderata was found at the bedside of deceased Democratic politician Aidlai Stevenson in 1965.

Whatever the history of Desiderata, the Ehrmann’s prose is inspirational, and offers a simple positive credo for life.

Further background on the poem may be found here.