What should be free but isn't

[mummyrabbitpeppapig]

I'll start. Sanitary protection and condoms.

The prescription thing is all wrong. I get my epilepsy medication free (fair enough) but people having to pay for asthma inhalers is outrageous. And I know someone with early Parkinson's who has to pay for all hers - her condition is now and always will be more debilitating than mine, it's not fair at all.

As many others have said...nothing is free as someone (the tax payer) has to pay for it.

However...I think medication for lifelong life threatening conditions which are genetic and you haven't inflicted on yourself such as Cystic Fybrosis (I am AMAZED this isn't free) or lifelong serious asthma should be free. I know if you have a lot of prescriptions you can pre pay etc but my ED and YD are just under the threshold for that. Why is diabetes free and not CF, asthma , even serious depression medication? As they will cost the National Health a lot more to recover if meds aren't taken.

I don't agree with some of the things which people say should be free ..personally I don't agree with free school meals for everyone..unpopular choice perhaps but...if you can pay you should, or provide sandwiches and I am happy to chip in for those who genuinely can't afford it.

I don't agree with totally free uni education..sorry , another unpopular choice perhaps, but it IS a life choice. However I certainly don't agree with the amount it costs now...£3000 or so a year was a lot plus living expenses but £9000?! My kids will NEVER get out of debt...plus a mortgage. Cost wise I think companies ought to contribute...they are the ones who benefit and want employees with degrees so they should pay towards. Two of my kids wouldn't have gone to uni had they been able to do the jobs they wanted to without degrees...they didn't enjoy the work particularly and I have to say some of their essay questions were essays for the sake of essays.

Health wise...Tesco do free eye checks and many other opticians such as Boots do £5-£10 offers at times. So if you want free you can choose. Condoms..again...can get for free. Sanitory products, hell yes, these should be free...bad enough to have the monthlys without having to pay for them too!

Finally, although I am sure there are many other things which I could think of....one thing which does annoy me is people saying they don't have the money for basic items/services but it's not that they don't have it, it's that they don't choose to have the money to pay for it...spending it on expensive phone contracts, SKY tv etc. I speak from experience as I used to go somewhere where I paid (I didn't sign on so had to although money was tight) but many didn't....and they all had better phones, brand new pushchairs (which I couldn't afford), nice clothes and designer trainers etc. Sorry..just had to get that off my chest too!

I hate going for cervical smears. If I had to pay, I don't think I would get one. Short sighted I know, but I know I would just put it off even more than I do.

Free dental care won't give people good teeth as it's not the dentist who gives you good teeth... it's what you do to look after them.

Unfortunately, that's not a popular thing to say and so it's easier to ask for free dentists. Even when I did work as a "free dentist" giving free oral health advice, tips, free samples and so on as to how to keep teeth healthy, well over 50% of people just assumed that the advice didn't apply to them. "It's only a sweetie" and so on. You only need to read threads about snacks on here to understand that people don't want to address the root cause but would rather the NHS fixed the problem later on.

Even if every dentist wanted to work for the NHS, they couldn't as the NHS not only don't want them to, they couldn't pay for it. See also physios, teachers being forced to work for the state to pay back their degree and so on. People really should think about the second order effects of their bright ideas.

There isn't enough money and even if we paid more tax, it almost certainly wouldn't go to the areas that people would want.

Water

Sunscreen

I agree with that about dentists. But I also know that people who can afford good dental treatment have better teeth than those who dont. I neglected my teeth as a very depressed teenager. Actually ate very well, but did not brush my teeth. 40 years later I still have fillings and get treatment for that neglect. I now look after my teeth, but can not turn the clock back.

Why sunscreen? There are other ways to avoid kids getting burned in the UK, it's not that much of an issue here (in fact, there now seems to be a rising problem of people not getting enough sun so you'd probably have to add free vitamin D supplements). The rise in skin cancers is largely associated with fair skinned people holidaying in sunnier places - presumably you don't mean sunscreen free for people choosing to go abroad on holiday?

Hilarious post for a few days from peak UV in the UK. You can get burnt here from April to October, you see it all the time .

Slightly different direction but I think the referencing/renewing tenancy/credit checks etc etc with letting agents and so on should be free. You can get absolutely shafted with these costs when you rent, which most people only do because they have no choice. Rents are extortionate anyway in most places and having to pay and extra 200+ per person just to press a few buttons to check you have an income/click a mouse to re print a tenancy agreement is bloody ridiculous. That sort of stuff should be part of a letting agent's job surely, why should you pay extra for it?

Slightly different direction but I think the referencing/renewing tenancy/credit checks etc etc with letting agents and so on should be free. You can get absolutely shafted with these costs when you rent, which most people only do because they have no choice. Rents are extortionate anyway in most places and having to pay and extra 200+ per person just to press a few buttons to check you have an income/click a mouse to re print a tenancy agreement is bloody ridiculous. That sort of stuff should be part of a letting agent's job surely, why should you pay extra for it?

HRT, double prescription charge to feel anywhere near normal.

Sure, you can get burned in the UK, but there are usually alternatives (hat, longsleeved shirt - which can be cooler), staying in the shade. Few people really need to be out in the sun around midday^^ with exposed skin. If it's necessary to your job then the employer should provide it in the same way as safety equipment.

schools (all sort), all universities, professional qualifications, dental care (and I mean proper not just amalgamate or nothing), ...

Nothing is "free". Stuff we don't pay for is still being paid for - just by someone else.
Where would you stop? "Free" housing, "free" transport, "free" holidays?
Those sort of socialist nirvanas soon run out of other people's money.

It is very easy to get C grades at A level. I went to an average sixth form and everyone bar 2 or 3 got above that. Even those from very poor families. When you apply for universities anyway most ask for a minimum of As and Bs anyway

I don't think universities should be free, coming from someone who is currently at university at the moment. You should also be fined for missing Medical appointments unless there is a valid reason as there are already long waits as it is.

I don't think public transport should be free but a lot cheaper. People should be able to buy a pass that covers all transport such as trains and buses for a cheap price

Agree about hospital parking, or a low flat rate. Trying to work out how much time I needed to pay for, and find the change, when my DM had died in the night and I was there, alone, to see her for the last time, and collect her effects, was something people shouldn't have to do.

I think some of the things that are free or heavily subsidised for the unwaged should be free for those on low incomes as well.
I'm on benefits so my kids get free school meals, uniform grant, etc. My friends who work aren't entitled to those and can seem worse off for it.
Also free bus passes for kids to get to school; especially where councils close or merge schools, and pupils have to travel further because of it.

Pay and display parking in hospitals is the worst. Because of course when you go to a and e you can predict how long it will take...

Alder Hey is the best for parking charges I have found. They charge a flat rate £2 no matter how long you are there for. Having to pay isn't ideal but I don't resent paying £2

Calphurnia I'm truly shock is medication for cystic fibrosis not free?

That's absolutely awful

I think that £10.40 per month or 28p per day isn't too much to ask as a contribution towards prescriptions. Why should they be free??

Those of you worrying about cycatic fibrosis meds etc the max you'll ever pay surely is £104 for a prepayment certificate. ThTs £2/ week. Less than a Starbucks coffee.

£29.10 for 3 months. Over £100 is a lot to fork out at once for many people. And no, not everyone has the credit rating to pay by direct debit.

I have paid a fortune on hospital car parking. For the clinic I go to there are 2 free spaces as people have to go so often. But often I still have to pay. And treatment takes a minimum of 2-3 hours.