Nearly 1 million children faced destitution in the UK in 2022..

Sure start was a brilliant scheme which was non judgemental and made a big difference tomsmy struggling families. As had been said trashed by the tories,

Sure Start - Babies were accepted at 6 weeks I think.

😄 no but it did give long term and professional support to families in difficulties or where there was poor parenting.

I have no doubt that Holland, as well as giving the sort of support that used to be common place in the U.K. immediately after birth, also has long term plan for pre-primary school children and parents.

Www2 I didn’t think that Sure Start gave 8 days support to all new parents?
I have noticed that the very quick turnaround from delivery of a first baby to going home without established feeding can have an adverse effect on any new mother. And if the delivery has been long or difficult, the Nhs doesn’t always recognise maternal psychological distress.
I don’t know if the divorce rate in Holland is the same as here but I can have a look.

I’ve worked as a support worker with new mums and families absolutely none of them were feckless, they just faced difficulties and isolation due to a whole host of reasons. None had much outside family support which I think makes a difference

growstuff

ronib

I think it would be good if the Dutch system of maternal aftercare was adopted here. New mothers are given 8 days solid support at home by a trained person. How very different to the current approach here. I am sure this reduces stress for new parents and offers a good start for all children. Calm parenting pays off.

So-called feckless parents need more than 8 days and those who do know what they're doing would possibly ignore the support anyway.

Sure Start was set up with this in mind.

Trashed by the Tories.

I think that the point is that we know that the U.K. tax burden is the highest it has been for decades. (Probably since Thatcher)

However - if you compare the overall tax burden in the U.K. with other developed countries it is BELOW AVERAGE, particularly in relation to the social security taxes (in U.K. NI)

Germanshepherdsmum

Well, Lucky thinks that the well off have had riches heaped on them, but hasn’t said what these riches consist of. I have a suspicion that she might be thinking of lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses - but the banks are heaping those riches on the bankers, not the government. The government is happy for them to do so because it’s good for the economy.

That doesn't really address the issue.

ronib

I think it would be good if the Dutch system of maternal aftercare was adopted here. New mothers are given 8 days solid support at home by a trained person. How very different to the current approach here. I am sure this reduces stress for new parents and offers a good start for all children. Calm parenting pays off.

So-called feckless parents need more than 8 days and those who do know what they're doing would possibly ignore the support anyway.

I think it would be good if the Dutch system of maternal aftercare was adopted here. New mothers are given 8 days solid support at home by a trained person. How very different to the current approach here. I am sure this reduces stress for new parents and offers a good start for all children. Calm parenting pays off.

Well, Lucky thinks that the well off have had riches heaped on them, but hasn’t said what these riches consist of. I have a suspicion that she might be thinking of lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses - but the banks are heaping those riches on the bankers, not the government. The government is happy for them to do so because it’s good for the economy.

Who has riches heaped on them?! Not the parents of destitute children, that's for sure.

Germanshepherdsmum

Those are things we paid for through tax and NI, growstuff. They weren’t riches heaped on us.

Nor is the WFP!!

Those are things we paid for through tax and NI, growstuff. They weren’t riches heaped on us.

GrannyGravy13

Germanshepherdsmum

What riches are you saying this government heaped on the already well off Lucky?

From personal experience the only gift I have received from the Government was an ever growing tax bill…

Have you never had NHS care, education for your children, roads, police, army, family allowance?

Yes, the WFP - but the cost of means testing would be enormous. I don’t have a bus pass - no buses round here to use it on.

Germanshepherdsmum

What riches are you saying this government heaped on the already well off Lucky?

Sir Alan Sugar got a bus pass
And presumably a Winter Fuel Payment like the rest of us oldies.

Me too.

Germanshepherdsmum

What riches are you saying this government heaped on the already well off Lucky?

From personal experience the only gift I have received from the Government was an ever growing tax bill…

Germanshepherdsmum

There is no assumption whatsoever on my part that everyone in difficult circumstances is at fault, nor have I even implied that that is the case. The thread turned to people who have many children and I gave an example of one such couple. Suddenly that becomes ‘it is all their fault’. In the case of that couple, yes it was.

I know all about men who refuse to pay for their children after deserting them, and the ruses they employ. I was married to one.

I wasn't criticising what you said, just emphasising that, more often than not, we see desperate single mothers on the TV when the subject of child poverty is raised and the question is - where is the father!

In several of the cases I know, living with another woman, hiding his income, whilst his ex-partner struggles to feed and clothe his children from their relationship.

What riches are you saying this government heaped on the already well off Lucky?

biglouis

*Self-employed status enables a wider range of deductions before tax than ordinary employment*

Self employed people dont have the safety net of a salary coming in at the end of every month or a nice little employer contributed pension adding up in the pot. They have to go out and hustle for business. And they dont get holiday or sickness pay and have to make their own provision for retirement. All that is taken care of for you as an employee.

Most companies have ditched final salary pension schemes so they pay their retirees lower pensions than previously and some companies have failed to honour commitments: remember Robert Maxwell. Of course the self-employed have to undertake tasks which employees don't but against that employees are faced with difficult bosses, harassment, unexpected redundancy and so on.

I know no-one who thinks this GrannyGravy13 and I doubt whether you do.

I do of course know of many people who are sickened by the complete absence of integrity of our current politicians and recognise that there needs to be change.

ronib

CG13 it’s naive to think that a tanking economy will help the poorest in our society. It is the task of government to ensure a baseline so that the poorest are helped - it’s not the job of multinational corporations to assign benefits. They just pay the taxes.

I tell you what is even more naive is those who think that Sir Starmer will be a knight in shining armour and cure all the ills of the poorest in society of the U.K.

there - not their!