squidge
22-Jun-10, 22:36
Frank Field is heading up a review of poverty here is my advice to him
Young families need support. Many of them dont even know how to budget or cook a basic meal and so they never eat together. Society has become fractured and people have become isolated and the creation of support systems for parents who are struggling has to be a priority. Use volunteers, older mums with babies who have common sense and practical solutions and who have managed to feed a family of four on fifty quid a week. Older mums have often brought up children and dealt with behaviour issues and learnt how to discipline their children. Ths can be really valuable to new mums. Use people like this to encourage mums to become more self sufficient and more reliable and therefore improve the health and well being of their children.
Think about increasing the benefit for couples to slightly more than two singles. I know that this is spending when we are supposed to be saving but people just lie and live together anyway.
Weight the child benfit to the early years and then increase it again if a child stays at school after 16. This will allow mum and dad to stay home if they want when the children are small but also encourages kids to stay at school after 16.
Make sure it pays to work and ensure that DWP and HMRC have promptness targets which mean that in work benefits are paid promptly and dont cause hardship for someone moving into work or onto benefits.
Affordable quality childcare. Childcare is expensive and difficult to afford - especially if you are on a low wage. Tax credits help but it can still be a stretch.
Housing - no child should be living in below standard housing. Housing has a huge impact on health and achievment and so housing must not be disregarded when considering how to improve the situation children are in.
The benefits system needs reform. Make the reforms supportive not punitive. This emphasis must be on getting people work not simply stopping benefits.
Re introduce local fraud officers - the local knowledge and the ability to identify and swiftly deal with benefit cheats was second to none. Today Fraud officers work away from local offices and miss out on quick referrals which produce results and give the message that fraud will not be tolerated much better than waiting weeks for referrals to be followed up.
Anyone else any ideas?
Young families need support. Many of them dont even know how to budget or cook a basic meal and so they never eat together. Society has become fractured and people have become isolated and the creation of support systems for parents who are struggling has to be a priority. Use volunteers, older mums with babies who have common sense and practical solutions and who have managed to feed a family of four on fifty quid a week. Older mums have often brought up children and dealt with behaviour issues and learnt how to discipline their children. Ths can be really valuable to new mums. Use people like this to encourage mums to become more self sufficient and more reliable and therefore improve the health and well being of their children.
Think about increasing the benefit for couples to slightly more than two singles. I know that this is spending when we are supposed to be saving but people just lie and live together anyway.
Weight the child benfit to the early years and then increase it again if a child stays at school after 16. This will allow mum and dad to stay home if they want when the children are small but also encourages kids to stay at school after 16.
Make sure it pays to work and ensure that DWP and HMRC have promptness targets which mean that in work benefits are paid promptly and dont cause hardship for someone moving into work or onto benefits.
Affordable quality childcare. Childcare is expensive and difficult to afford - especially if you are on a low wage. Tax credits help but it can still be a stretch.
Housing - no child should be living in below standard housing. Housing has a huge impact on health and achievment and so housing must not be disregarded when considering how to improve the situation children are in.
The benefits system needs reform. Make the reforms supportive not punitive. This emphasis must be on getting people work not simply stopping benefits.
Re introduce local fraud officers - the local knowledge and the ability to identify and swiftly deal with benefit cheats was second to none. Today Fraud officers work away from local offices and miss out on quick referrals which produce results and give the message that fraud will not be tolerated much better than waiting weeks for referrals to be followed up.
Anyone else any ideas?