Are you watching the Prime Minister speaking live on news channels?

If you start your journey fit and well, well educated, good nutrition, thought processes all fine perhaps you can " live" off this low amount of money for a short period of time.

If however ,through no fault of your own ,your heath is not good, you make poor choices which lead to more poor choices which lead to sleep deprivation and terrible food and so on the money is pitiful.

That’s ok with me.

typo. £94.25.

Lemongrove your world is very different to mine as you do not appear to be able to understand the facts of living your life on low pay. I know you will tell me you have "been there" but obviously your "there" is not what it is for some.

Being insured does cost money but so does starving people and making them homeless which is going to be the outcome for many trying to live on £94.25.

I cannot understand the mindset that says £94.23 is enough for each and everyone whether you have something to fall back on or not. It just seems totally out of touch with reality or callous to the extreme and I have no way of knowing which.

The low paid can hardly afford to meet the costs they have to meet - rent, food, heating, clothing, etc, etc. The better paid, and in particular the very well paid, can not only easily meet their basic needs but probably are able to save, and have a reasonable amount of savings and investments that can be used to tide them over for a while.

Being ‘ insured’ costs money GGM3
Sick pay is not just for the low paid, but for everyone, so although you may not think it enough, is a level playing field.
There is good reason to bump it up for this year.

It's a great pity course work was more or less abolished in schools.

It was done to appease all those who wanted the education of the past for this generation, rather than the education of the future, Graymar. Like so many things it has come back to kick them where it hurts (hopefully).

I’m hoping the same WW it has to be explained in the best possible way by parents, as a sort of treat and an adventure!

It is ridiculous Lemongrove. Other countries use a percentage of recent pay to work out what someone needs for Sick Pay. We could do exactly the same deducting the NI. Very few people will be paying for their medical treatment in other countries. They will either be insured or come under a low-income scheme.

You need to compare like with like not make it up to paint the last ten years, when the Conservatives could have done more for the low-paid and less for the wealthy, as the fairy-tale that suits you but no one else would recognise.

It's a great pity course work was more or less abolished in schools.

I do hope all those looking after these children make it seem like a privilege and fun for them, perhaps ease up on uniform requirement or slots of fun etc.

My vulnerable young teenage DGS is hopping mad that he still has to attend school.He was hoping for many months off.
His parents are mightily relieved though.

We can definitely put the shortage of public servants in every area down to the last 9 years of Conservative austerity. I'm not criticising Mr J's response to the crisis, I don't know enough to dismiss the plans he's making on the advice of experts. I'm relieved he's keeping schools open for 'vulnerable children' and arranging for a school meal to available for those children on free school meals.

I'm certainly criticising austerity and I fear the government is now unable to deny that slashing public services and failing to invest in the NHS has negative connotations.

So many experts on GN

I’d rather watch and listen to the ones standing next to BJ

Boris has been in charge for four and a half months, so you really can't blame him for the NHS. Perhaps if there hadn't been so much interference in the Brexit process some of the extra money promised might now be working in the NHS.

Blame the expensive hospital managers for the shortages of necessary equipment. Too many staff and not enough direction.

Blame GPs; too many part-time, and the Practices seem to have opted out of the coronavirus crisis and pushed everything on to 111, paramedics and the hospitals.

What we also need to do as much as possible is to reduce our water/energy use. Try to throw out as little as possible. There will surely be problems with key workers in most industries being ill. What I did find sad today was that someone told me that there was an increased demand for plastic; just at a time when many of us were trying to reduce how much plastic we use.

I am not a “Boris hater” but I do think cutting back of the NHS and social care over the last 10 years is showing the gaps in the system. Why have we got 5x fewer ventilators/ICU beds than Germany and half those of Spain and Italy? Why haven’t our staff got enough masks and equipment compared to others? Who can say this has been a sensible measure?

Yes Labaik that is a worry I am concerned about. People returning to work or shopping before they are fully recovered.
I have been self isolating since last week, because of health issues, I really don't want to go out, just in case!
I was listening to Jeremy Vine today and an infected 40 year old lady phoned in. My God, she could hardly speak because of the constant coughing, literally constant. It frightened me. How on earth she and others with the virus cope I don't know. It is going to be a long haul and we are all in it together. Keep safe GNs

I think a later result of all this will be people that will die because they are choosing/having to ignore symptoms that should probably necessitate a doctors appointment.

I have come in late in this thread. My personal feelings are that Boris is quoting the advice given by medical experts, these are not his own decisions. NHS, no matter how efficient and well funded, would definitely be struggling. This is a crisis, and it has to be managed. If you Boris haters have better advise for everyone, then feel free to give it.

There have been lots of pictures of empty A & E waiting rooms all round the Country posted on social media. I wonder if this has been a kick up the backside for some who have been using the NHS A & E Department for minor things needlessly?

Sorry merlotgrani jumped in without reading previous comments

Patrick’s on now he’s taken over from BJ uk schools to close

Schools are going to close on Friday, Thank God but it's not clear who will be looking after the children of key workers. Will teachers still have to go in?

From the Lancet

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/18/coronavirus-uk-expert-advice-wrong