To think that children in 21st century UK should not be living like this?

[mrspear]

See this report from the BBC

Apologies if this has already been mentioned

Well, it took 11 posts to blame feckless smokers.

But I agree the "news" item is a thinly disguised ad for the telly programme, and it's hard to know what to make of snippets of these children's stories.

I agree many people on benefits do the right thing.

I know a voucher system is degrading but if you let your kids go hungry to buy booze/fags (on the state) I'm sorry you get what you deserve.

FFS not everyone who lives in poverty spends money on fags and booze.

Self induced poverty , why don't we just bring back the work house for the undeserving poor?.

What we need is constructive policy and real political will to break the cycle of poverty in this country, improve life chances and social mobility.

If they can do it in Norway,where if your father is a Somalian/Pakistani/Irish whatever new immigrant to the country, or a Minister in the Norwegian Government, your life chances are exactly the same.

If they can do it there, why can't we do here?

I smoke meditrina - but if I had to chose between that and giving my DS lunch money, I know what I would do.

Good idea mailamae, it's just so sad these people don't want better for their kids their are people on benefits that are doing their best to try and get out of the poverty cycle but their are many who are not .

And giving more benefits is not the answer the only way to stop this is to get these people in to work now labour tried carrot that didn't work now its time for some stick

Voucher system?

MilaMae you get what you deserve These are ultimately children we are talking about, you know our future society. Fuck it, here have this.

Work houses chance would be a fine thing the way some parents have their kids living the work house would be too good any one who smokes but would have the cheek to say they have no money with a straight face deserves it

I'd say I agree that benefits allow you to feed yourself, pay your bills and rent, but that's pretty much all they do. You'll have a tiny amount left over if you are able to save, and it goes in a flash.

There isn't enough council housing, that, and it is very difficult to rent privately if you are on housing benefit. Quite a lot of mortgage companies and landlords won't accept it.

I don't think everyone should have to have vouchers, only those who choose to spend their money wrongly. Parents who are doing fine should be allowed to, as those with vouchers may be discriminated against or humiliated which is unfair.

What is very unfair though is that this again became a benefit debate, there are plenty of working parents who neglect their kids and these kids also live in poverty.

I wrongly believe that no one should receive school clothing grants or free meals. All children should be provided with a standard school uniform and all kids should receive a free school meal. This would help avoid inequality in school. This may initially cost more but long term we will have healthier, more well balanced individuals entering the workforce.

I agree with the posters who pointed out that even if families were given food and clothing vouchers, they would find a way of swapping them for cash to buy other things.
I wonder if the people featured in the show are all on benefits or if any are working but earning a low wage as sometimes people have more disposable income on benefits than if they are low earners having to pay rent,council tax, etc.

Sorry strongly believe not I wrongly believe stupid autofill

Yes no were talking about feckless parents and this is why they keep getting to be feckless because anytime you try to get them off their arse they say well my kids will starve.

Even if you gave these people 1k their kids would still be living like that I am afraid.

If your kids living in poverty can't motivate you to work nothing will

The kids should be removed if theirs plenty who want a child

God these threads depress the fuck out of me

maypole you are an idiot

awaits deletion

And yet you are on the thread very sad to here you agree with parents spending their money on fags then pleading poverty

People on low incomes can also claim benefits and not everyone on benefits chooses to be, what about carers, disabled, very often available social housing is only available in high unemployment areas. Not everyone chooses to be on benefits some genuinely have no choice, some do the very best they can with the little they get, can I also say that very few people on benefits are living luxorious lives.

Benefits do allow a decent standard of living. IF you are housed decently.

They are designed to cover basic food and utility bills from week to week not the expense of sorting out damp and mould.

As for clothing, I bought some shirts for DD in Asda today, two for £5, mainly to see which size she will need in September. I am going to keep them as spares and buy more from M&S / BHS because they are utterly shit with threads coming off them and they won't last a few weeks let alone a term. Cheap stuff is often a complete false economy but many people don't have a choice.

You really don't have a fucking clue do you ,maypole1

Thepathan yes it is children we're talking about,children I've taught coming into school starving hungry not having had breakfast with parents puffing fags outside the school gate.

If you'd read my post you'd understand "you get what you deserve" is in ref to parents suffering the degradation of getting benefits in the form of vouchers. Most parents wouldn't get vouchers as most parents put their kids first. You're talking about a minority. Parents that put themselves first get what they deserve.

I'm not the slightest bit interested in parents suffering but children going hungry. Anybody that lets a child go hungry in order to spend £50 odd quid a week(maybe more) on fags/booze or anything else sorry I have little empathy so you can keep your .

I agree with you maypole. I see it all the time round where I live. My own next door neighbour a prime example of this feckless parenting.
She manages to buy booze and cigarettes every day, but her daughter has no sheets on her bed, just a mattress. How much does it cost to buy a fitted sheet FFS? She dropped her premature baby on its head when she was pissed up to the eyeballs, the children were taken into care, and I saw her the next week on the bus with new false nails and a new tattoo of her baby that she dropped on its head's name. I want to weep for her poor children

So whats the answer ladies yet more benefits so you hope the parents can afford fags and clothing or should be force these people to work.

We lived in house as damp and mouldy as the little girl in the video for 6 years. It was a private landlord and they would do nothing about it, there also wasn't adequate heating either. I had to bring both my dds home from the hospital to that horrible hell hole. Environmental health wouldn't do anything because the houses were old and due to be knocked down as they were in renovation area. Thankfully that actually saved us. We couldn't possibly afford to move as 3 bedroom houses in the private sector were twice the price we were already paying. And DH was (and still is) working full time.

Because the houses were due to be knocked down we were rehoused (in the same area) in to a gorgeous new build HA house. The rent is a bit higher than we were paying but it's worth it.

But as skint and as hard as things are/were money wise my kids have always been well fed and had clean clothes that are in good condition. I agree that when it comes to being fed, clothed and washed children in this country certainly shouldn't be starving and wearing rags and not be clean. The benefits aren't high enough but there is enough to feed the kids. Isn't that what any decent parent does feed and clothe their kids before they feed and clothe themselves.

usual more like doesn't have a fucking brain.

We lived in house as damp and mouldy as the little girl in the video for 6 years. It was a private landlord and they would do nothing about it, there also wasn't adequate heating either.

We lived in a house like this, but only for a year thank God before the council housed us (which I thank my lucky stars for). I'm sure that's the reason why my son has terrible croup attacks, because of the damp room we had to sleep in.