Governors only hear about the children whose experiences get as far as GB meetings. They have no dealings with the day to day, common or garden teenagers who are being fed by staff because they've fainted. Or have put on a smile and said 'I'm not hungry' or 'I ate my lunch at breaktime'/'I've got cash, so I'm going to get something on the way home where I'll get more for my money' where it's been referred to the DSL but there's not enough proof to do anything yet.
Governors also tend to be rather wealthy in my experience. Well, the row of shiny Mercedes and even a Bentley or two in the car park for meetings suggests a certain standard of living and experience beyond that of the children (and most of the staff).
People have to wait for UC. People can find out that their employer has closed without notice, there's no redundancy and their last month's salary isn't coming, either (it's usually payday when businesses decide to close). They can be dismissed for any reason within the first two years - which adds extra time on to the lead time, especially if the employer isn't helpful by giving a letter that can be shown to the JCP or answers calls from them. With ZHCs, if they have a written contract (and employers are shit at doing this, even though it's law), they could be required to obtain confirmation from the employer that there is no work, rather than their refusing to work.
At present, Hackney (I think) council has an IT problem where housing benefits for those who aren't on UC and council tax benefit hasn't been paid. In the case of rent, the landlord doesn't have to care and can demand full rent. Even if they're in social housing, they could find out only when the direct debit takes full rent from their account rather than the usual amount or there just isn't enough money in there to cover it. And the second a council tax payment is late, you have to pay or they will demand the entire year at once and proceed to recovering it through the courts and bailiffs. Doesn't matter if it isn't your fault, you have to pay it out of nothing and they'll knock it off your later payments if you manage to get it reinstated.
What do you do then? Bump the rent, let the electricity go off, hope it'll be sorted out before you get demands that will be enforced of paying up £1500 within 28 days?
I've read this morning that people told to SI through the app rather than track and trace don't qualify for the so called extra £500 payment. Can nobody imagine a situation where somebody already barely managing loses their pay because they're not working and are only told afterwards 'that money you were promised? Not going to happen. You downloaded the app, it's your problem'.