An alternative to food banks?

It was tongue in cheek when I wrote it, River. However, thinking about it ..........

GillT, is an actual ammount if money though, it isn't a cheque in the post but it leaves you with £500 - £600 a year in your bank account , this is real money

A little comment about the employer's NIC: Yes, the threshold for not paying this has been raised, but it is not a rebate or actual amount of money, it is the threshold under which an employer does not have to pay employers NIC to HMRC. For a small employer like me, with 8 part time staff, this saves me a welcome £500-600 per year, but at the same time as it was announced last year, there was also an 'under the radar' change to SSP regulations. Previously, as an employer, I paid an employee SSP and then claimed 80% of it back against my next HMRC payment. This no longer happens so if like me, you have two members of staff off for 6 weeks and 9 weeks respectively after planned surgery, then I pick up the whole bill for the SSP, far in excess of the amount of NIC that I dont have to pay. I know this is off topic a bit, but not all employers are fat cats being subsidised by working tax credits, we too are being hit and expected to pick up more and more of benefits which (pensions, SSP) were once paid by the state.

Sorry DJ meant tongue-in-cheek regarding Sikh immigration.

The Gurdwaras in London have long been a source of hot food for those in need, of whatever faith or none - from what I understand they never turn anyone away and are extremely busy.

DJ can answer for herself but I expect she's being tongue-in-cheek.

Whether we like to admit it or not, and for whatever reason, there are many people in need of foodbanks/soup kitchens.

A friend lives near a mosque in north London that serves hot food to all-comers.

durhamjen Wed 22-Jul-15 11:36:41

Are you for real.

theconversation.com/from-the-temple-to-the-street-how-sikh-kitchens-are-becoming-the-new-food-banks-44611

Perhaps we should encourage more Sikhs to migrate to the UK.

feedbackglobal.org/

Some frightening statistics on here.

The supermarket law now has over half a million signatures.

www.change.org/StopFoodWasteEurope

Absent

I apologise I thought you were in Australia too.

Oh. I thought she lived in Australia. My mistake. Sorry.

Is Absent an expert on Australia? I'm just wondering why she's being asked about food banks and poverty there .

She lives in New Zealand.

Does anybody really believe George when he talks about a "living wage"? It wasn't that long ago that the conservatives were saying a minimum wage would ruin businesses and opposed its introduction. Mind you they have now renamed everything- smoke and mirrors as you say dj, either that or we are on our way to living out 1984 (the novel!)

absent. Why do you think there is poverty now in Australia too?

I said somewhere else that the reason he's changing the name of the minimum wage is because they said in their manifesto that nobody working 30 hours on the minimum wage will have to pay tax.
If it's not called the minimum wage they can tax it. 30 hours a week on £7.20 an hour will be more than the tax threshold.
Of course, those under 25 will still be getting the nominal minimum wage.

Smoke and mirrors again in Osborneworld.

I am irritated by the claim the minimum wage will become the living wage next year which means an increase from 6.50 ph to 7.20 ph. Not true , the minimum wage is to increase this October to 6.80 ph. so the rise will be .40p not .70p, and there would have been an increase in the minimum wage come October 2016 anyway , all that's changed is the minimum wage will be known as the living wage - which it is not

Anniebach he is probably operating several years behind the rest of us. Maybe that explains his policies-he actually thinks it's 1895 or something!

POGS I have no idea about the numbers of food banks in Australia and Tasmania. I don't even know the number where I live, although I am aware that child poverty is a serious cause for concern and that large numbers of children in some areas of the country go to school without any lunch, having not had any breakfast either.

Oops sorry. Posted in the wrong topic. ^^

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33429390

"From April 2016 the income threshold will go down from £6,420 to £3,850, meaning that far fewer people will be eligible to claim. "

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, having analysed the figures, has now said that the rise in the living/minimum wage will in no way compensate low paid workers for the reduction in tax credits and may well leave them up to £1,000 a year worse off.

When you speak to him would you mind reminding him his living wage of 7.20 which he brings in next year was the recommended living wage in 2011 and is now 7.85

I was thinking of Scroungers Resettlement Hostels, but the Big Society would be good. So Big Society Scroungers Settlements! Must tell George now.

True no rest allowed but the big society doesn't exist so what's another untruth

Surely there won't be any rest allowed!