'Food banks, now bedding banks'

growstuff

Zuki

I left an abusive relationship and went into a refuge with a
Three year old over twenty years ago We started of sleeping on the floor I had enough to deal with supporting my child through the changes and coping in a new town and having to leave the job I had previously We weren't provided with furniture
or anything The amount we had to live on was just as low in comparison as it is now The minimum amount t for wages and benefits are no worse now But I think yes Mps should just be Mps
So they actually have time to be helping people I also don't get why our Labour mp never goes to parliament U thought it was part of the job Other jobs would expect you turn up sometimes

It's not true that working age benefits are no lower than they were 20 years ago. They have not risen in line with inflation and the gap between benefits and average incomes has widened. It has also become more difficult for people to be eligible for help such as crisis loans. The Local Housing Allowance system has meant that many unemployed don't have their rents paid in full and most have to pay a percentage of Council Tax.

I agree. Benefits haven’t risen anything like in line with inflation and in addition most benefits have been reformed, do not offer the same level of support and have been made much harder to qualify for, so that they no longer bear any resemblance to those in payment 20 years ago.

No, I am all in favour of a windfall tax on oil/gas companies when the price of the raw material rockets, as it has, especially as all they are doing are taking the raw material from the ground, processing it and selling it on. Heavy investment is needed to do that, but essentially they are making big profits because oil and gas is scarce and in high demand

I was thinking more generally of all the myriad other industries in this country, retailers to the ordinary consumer, will often take a cut or be perforce too because they will lose too much market share if they do not, and for many companies, extra profis can provide the caapital for expanson and growth.

Monica
I know little about economics but this doesn't seem right.

www.scotsman.com/business/shareholders-to-cash-in-as-soaring-energy-prices-inflate-shells-profits-3553071

Didn't the UK government give itself an 8% payrise last year?

Many companies do take a hit on profits when prices are going up. read the business pages in the newspapers. They want to keep or increase their share of the market.

Companies reinvest a lot of profits back into the company in new processes, new equipment and if demand for their product rises new jobs as well.

Zuki

I left an abusive relationship and went into a refuge with a
Three year old over twenty years ago We started of sleeping on the floor I had enough to deal with supporting my child through the changes and coping in a new town and having to leave the job I had previously We weren't provided with furniture
or anything The amount we had to live on was just as low in comparison as it is now The minimum amount t for wages and benefits are no worse now But I think yes Mps should just be Mps
So they actually have time to be helping people I also don't get why our Labour mp never goes to parliament U thought it was part of the job Other jobs would expect you turn up sometimes

It's not true that working age benefits are no lower than they were 20 years ago. They have not risen in line with inflation and the gap between benefits and average incomes has widened. It has also become more difficult for people to be eligible for help such as crisis loans. The Local Housing Allowance system has meant that many unemployed don't have their rents paid in full and most have to pay a percentage of Council Tax.

Farzanah

Yes indeed Pammie
What concerns me is that food banks have developed from being an emergency help in times of need, towards becoming institutionalised, and the next step will be incorporation into the welfare system, as in the US.
Unfortunately this seems to be the direction that the government is moving towards in many aspects of health and care.

I agree. To a certain extent food banks are already institutionalised by the issue of vouchers to access them. You don’t have to dig too deep to see the direction in which we’re travelling. Unfortunately I think the worst is yet to come and the system is going to be pushed to its’ limits over the next few years.

nadateturbe

I agree. Why does the customer always take the hit. Why can companies not take a reduced profit. Perhaps someone who understands economics could explain.

I was agreeing with MaggsMcG

I have seen blankets left out side clothing banks, getting very wet !

I agree. Why does the customer always take the hit. Why can companies not take a reduced profit. Perhaps someone who understands economics could explain.

Treetops05

My daughter and her partner got a Housing Association home, and nothing else, with a 5 month old. No white goods and no flooring or furniture. Her Gdad paid for cooker, fridge, washer. We bought dryer, bed, gave a sofa and basic household stuff. No carpets, bare boards, young baby.

As it is supported housing she was told, oh because your baby is small you get a grant for flooring. Then Covid hit, 18 months later told they didn't qualify as baby was 2! Even though it was their delay.

She now has a few rugs and managed to carpet the stair from a friend's offcuts...So FREYA5 yes - money is there but they don't like to spend it...

Yes I do know that. Depends where you live maybe, our local charities, where all sorts of goods donated, as long as they are in good condition, have only to be contacted and the goods will be delivered. Reminds me of when I was a young mum of tender years, old rug covering brown concrete floor, donated sofa, no washing machine, just a donated dolly tub, posher and an electric boiler, beds etc from family, so yes I do know. No official help in the 60s. So don’t tell me, it’s worse now.

Bluecat I wrote to Sunak weeks ago expressing my disgust at the cost of living crisis. I’ve had no response.

Pammie1 well said! ???

Zuki, how do know your MP doesn't go to parliament? Not all MPs seek the limelight of PMQS and many do sterling uncelebrated work in committees.

The NI rise is badly needed to help pay for the NHS and Social Care. However the fuel and utilities rises are not. The companies themselves should be looking to decrease their share holders profits for a couple of years to help. Plus a reduction in VAT for a few years would also help.

I left an abusive relationship and went into a refuge with a
Three year old over twenty years ago We started of sleeping on the floor I had enough to deal with supporting my child through the changes and coping in a new town and having to leave the job I had previously We weren't provided with furniture
or anything The amount we had to live on was just as low in comparison as it is now The minimum amount t for wages and benefits are no worse now But I think yes Mps should just be Mps
So they actually have time to be helping people I also don't get why our Labour mp never goes to parliament U thought it was part of the job Other jobs would expect you turn up sometimes

My daughter and her partner got a Housing Association home, and nothing else, with a 5 month old. No white goods and no flooring or furniture. Her Gdad paid for cooker, fridge, washer. We bought dryer, bed, gave a sofa and basic household stuff. No carpets, bare boards, young baby.

As it is supported housing she was told, oh because your baby is small you get a grant for flooring. Then Covid hit, 18 months later told they didn't qualify as baby was 2! Even though it was their delay.

She now has a few rugs and managed to carpet the stair from a friend's offcuts...So FREYA5 yes - money is there but they don't like to spend it...

The price of fuel adds to the problem of poverty and will get worse when the price cap is raised (not to mention the effect of the war in Ukraine.) Age UK is asking pensioners to write a letter to Rishi Sunak, saying how the rising prices will affect them and why his proposed help is not enough. They hope that, if they can deliver a massive postbag to the Chancellor, he will have to listen. I am not convinced but it is worth a try. The address is FREEPOST, Age UK Campaigns and the deadline is March 10th.

Such a comfort to know that our MPs will be getting a very satisfactory pay rise in April - wouldn’t want them to go cold or/and hungry.

This cuontry is a disgrace. When will we have a government which actually cares for people?

At the beginning of the pandemic crisis in 2020, a lady near where I live, started putting outside her house books (both children's and adult's) she sanitised them and hung them on her fencing in clear plastic bags, people who passed took what they wanted......this then escalated to DVD's when children were off school in lockdown. She then got people asking if she could provide some sort of food as they couldn't afford to but too much. Fast forward to March 2022 she is still providing food parcels, but it's now for around 40 families a week, she got help from a local church that had background of providing for the needy, and they help her to this day. She also has a couple of "regular" donators who go and buy food near the end of shelf life at local supernmarkets and deliver to her, She does this almost every day of the week, she gets NOTHING for doing it, but feels that she can't stop it now without letting 40 families down !!
The extra fresh food she has over she puts outside her house for anyone to take if they need it. Of course you have the people who spoil things by trying to take everything that is there, but she has CCTV and can identify the offfender's and she then "bans" them from taking anything. She also has Clothes days, (last week she had a day of winter coats, to suit every age and shape going, all again provided from the community) School uniform days, Baby equipment days.
And this is the 21st century not Victorian days and people are having to wear hand me downs, it really annoys and upsets me that this is happening all over the country and it shouldn't be happening AT ALL The community are behind her, and local councillors have assisted over the past two years but what started out as a "helping hand" has turned into a full time unpaid job !!

Yes that is probably a better option MOnica I agree.
However many prospective MPs have had extensive experience prior to being elected.
I take your point that some are career politicians who progress from local politics or education to political researcher or similar, with little other experience.
I just think it would be better for our politicians to be drawn from a broader section of the population, without the barrier of the necessary financial means.

Farzanah that would mean politicians being politicians and having absolutely no other experience than politics.

It is quite bad enough as it is, they are so out of touch with normal life. Having doctors who still do the odd shift in A&E (they have to to keep their registration), even a lawyer keeping their hand at the criminal bar are keeping a foot in the real world.

I think any restriction on the work they do outside Parliamen should be limited by time. The equivalent of one day a week or similar, including in recesses. Like most people they do not work 24/7 so what they do in times outside Parliament or weekends is nobodies business but theirs - and their families.

When we downsized we had beds and bedroom furniture to spare which we tried to donate to a local charity which I new gave furniture to people in need. They turned down everything a) because their store was already overflowing and b) they wouldn’t accept mattresses, duvets etc even though they were in new condition. So I put everything on Gumtree and sold the lot in a day. The charity said people were being very picky about what they took!

I think MPs should be paid a decent wage BUT to level the playing field, additional paid jobs should not be permitted.. This would ensure that being an MP is not a hobby for the elite. Many MPs hardly attend Parliament because they are too occupied with outside business interests.

Yes indeed Pammie
What concerns me is that food banks have developed from being an emergency help in times of need, towards becoming institutionalised, and the next step will be incorporation into the welfare system, as in the US.
Unfortunately this seems to be the direction that the government is moving towards in many aspects of health and care.