The U.K. in 2019 -

Whitewavemark2
It's unbelievable that in Belgium, the minimum hourly rate is 7 times more than we get in the UK.
Are you really saying that their hourly rate is roughly £56 ph?
If you mean unemployment benefit, are they receiving circa £1,005pm?
If you're talking about SP, is their basic pension circa £1165 pw?

It is reported that a United Nations Committee against Torture is meeting in Geneva to look at the uks record on the treatment of immigrant detention, rendition and prison overcrowding.

We ratified the convention in 1988.

There has been evidence submitted to the UN, that the U.K. has broken this convention in a number of ways.
1. The U.K. is the only European country with no time limit on immigration detention. (My question- does habeas corpus not apply)
2. It is noted that torture survivors are amongst those detained immigrants.
3. The U.K. government has failed to establish an independent judge-led inquiry into allegations of torture overseas, despite there being “*strong and credible*” evidence of U.K. involvement in the torture and ill treatment if suspects held by other states in counter terrorism operations.
4. Alleged policy of outsourcing torture and ill treatment to avoid involving U.K. officials.
5 In England and Wales, prisons are extremely overcrowded.
6 Assaults in prison are at their highest ever levels
7 Deaths in prison are at highest for years.

We await the outcome of this report.

It doesn’t look good.

What a country we have become.

Do not despair WW. We are still in the EU and we may yet stay in the EU and move on from this dreadful part of our national history.

In a way what is so worrying is how easy it is to find disaster everywhere you look. It really is probably one of the worse periods we have lived through.

not this grandparent varian, nor any grandparent I know and love

How could any grandparent vote to make their grandchildren so much worse off?

Another area which directly affects most of our grandchildren is the state of our schools as a result of Tory austerity over the past nearly decade.

Just some figures

21% has been cut from 6th form colleges since 2010

£374990 was the average deficit of English maintained schools in 2016/7 rising from £292822 in 2010/11

£2.8bn has been cut from school budgets since 2015

91% of schools are facing billions of further budget cuts

8.9% will be spent on cumulative costs including pay, national insurance and pensions in 2019/20. Up from 3.4% in 2016/17

9000 schools will receive insufficient funding toncover the staff pay rises.

What does this all mean in practice. How does austerity impact on the staff.?

Here is some evidence from just 3 head teachers.

Emily Proffitt
As well as her full time responsibility as head teacher, she has also taken on the role of
Catering manager
Premises manager
Safeguarding lead and deputy as well as head
Cleans toilets
Tends the school garden
Gives up holidays to attend to various necessary stuff at her school. This means that her own children have to attend with her.
All her paperwork is now done in her own time.

Clem Coady
I have started doing every role that I can now in my school in order to avoid making my staff redundant.
I have ended our maintenance contract and have taken on that role
I have fixed cupboards, leaky taps, door handles,. I’ve painted the school twice inside and out
I maintain the garden
I’ve cleaned up sick and unblocked lavatories.
I’ve reformatted computers
Built the school website
Taken on all HR work
Spend 90 minutes a day working as classroom assistant.
In March there wasn’t enough money in the bank to pay the staff
Money for children with special needs hasn’t arrived

Jules White

Listen to the government who say that there is more money in education than ever before.

The government is completely disconnected from what is actually happening.

She listed the same issues as the other heads. This is happening throughout the country.

This will be having a direct impact on our grandchildren. Time given to unblocking toilets is time taken away from teaching. Multiply this throughout the country and the picture is grim.

How can this government not care about the young?

Figures taken from the Observer 28/4

Reading Varian's post and Iam's that led from it I keep coming back the Basic Income.

varian Fri 26-Apr-19 18:29:17

Good post!

This is the forum you need, GG54

www.gransnet.com/forums/pedants_corner

That quote, cut and pasted from the Economist, is a grammatical and error strewn disgrace.

So 90% have adequate space and are not overcrowded and 70 % of their homes are in good condition. I am sure those figures are much better than the beginning of the century

It is, however, of concern that 8.5 million are impoverished by high rents. This can best be dealt with by more LA homes at affordable rents.

I think we must first stop this brexit nonsense, then we must set up a Royal Commision to examine our democracy and make radical recommendations for change. Their remit should be wide ranging to include relocating parliament and having a different more democratic PR voting system.

I agree varian but what do we do now? I feel despondent, an unusual place for me to be. I agree that Gordon Brown's attempt to ensure people weren't worse off working than on benefits meant that employers were able to get away with paying minimum wages, which were topped up by us the tax payer rather than by the multi nationals who make a fortune and avoid taxes.
GB meant well and I know a number of young women, single parents, who were enabled to continue to work their 16 hour week yet support their children as a result of Brown's initiative. I can't condemn it out of hand because for these young women, their mental health benefited from being able to continue to work whilst still having (almost) enough energy and money to care for their children.

So - what do we do? We have a PM whose own party want her out but their processes mean she is safe, for now. We have a LP leader who is hugely popular amongst some people, much less imo, with the majority of the electorate. WE need a labour government today. It's no secret I'd prefer a different Labour leader but that matters much less than the country's need for a government with compassion and policies for 'the many not the few'. I'm not scared by the accusations that Jeremy is a Marxist. some of my best friends and relations are Marxists, they aren't scary at all. they're intelligent, sensitive, caring and compassionate people with a good knowledge of history and politics.

Sorry went off on one there. I still ask - what do we do?

Well said varian

We, as a uniquely privileged generation, have let down our children and grandchildren by not doing enough to stop the forces of evil which could blight their futures.

Most of us are not bad people but bad people have had far too much influence over our country. It is time to stop the madness while we still can.

Latest figures just out from the Trussell Trust.

1600000, food parcels given out last year.

Up by 19% on previous year.

I am just so cross that people like Osbourne and those who share his ideologies who have done so much damage to so many people but I shouldn't have jumped down your throat - sorry Joelsnan.

Gracesgran
My post: Sat 20-Apr-19 19:11:36
Was intended to highlight how, in part, the massive difference between many managerial positions and workers arose, and again it was not benefits bashing...far from it.

I don't actually disagree that it should be employers claiming benefits to ensure employees are well paid. They would then have to show they need it and cannot pay otherwise. However, I do not think this is what caused the issues I highlighted in may post 17:45:48

maryeliza
If you care to read my post again you will note that in no way am I criticising the benefit system, only the way it has been implemented and the detrimental effect it has had on the lower paid and indeed taxpayers whether wealthy or
poor.
The current system has encouraged companys to slash their full time decently paid employees and resulted in a massive surge in part time jobs with hours just below the income tax payable level and just enough to enable the employee to receive housing, council tax and other benefits. The IMF also attributes sluggish wage growth to the rise in part time work.
My point is the governments (whatever colour) have enabled this and rather than company's employing full time staff which in the main used to be the norm, paying them a decent wage from which they could pay rent, mortgage, council tax, prescriptions etc, company's now pay minimal wage in many cases for 15hours per week resulting in a wage of £123.50. This is probably under the PAYE level and would result in minimal NI deduction. Additionally employer would not pay employer tax and minimal employer NI contributions amounts into the treasury subsequently depleated, this resulting in raises in direct or indirect taxes to make up the shortfall.
Of course these payments are needed by the poor paid minimal hour employees. But this should not be the case. The tax payer should not be letting employers off the hook by supplementing their employees salaries and allowing them to be fat cats.
Tax credits is another issue.

What is it you are actually esposing JN?

Joel you are wrong in what you post about ‘income support benefit’. I think you are trying to make the point about benefits supplementing low wages. The first one of these was Family Income Supplement brought in in 1970 by Heath and remodelled in 1988 by Thatcher as Family Credit. This basic principle of supplementing low wages was then further extended with the tax credit system brought in by Blair. Income support replaced supplementary benefit in 1988 and is nothing to do with supplementing low wages. It really is helpful if you are going to criticise the benefit system to actually know what you are talking about and to use the correct nomenclature.

GracesGranMK3
Think what you want however,. I suggest you do a little research.
I am no conservative and have no intention of shifting blame. These are the realities like it or not. I agree austerity was wrong, but so was the implementation of income support. companies should have been made to pay workers a decent wage then rather than taxpayers supporting the rich to get richer.

No, Joelsnan the problem is the completely c* economics. You can try and shift the blame as much as you like with your personal stories but you do not starve a crashed economy.