To ask what one or two policies you think could make the biggest difference to the U.K.?

[whatkatydid2013]

To me the big one is social housing. I feel like if we could build up a large supply of social housing at reasonable rates all over the country the benefits would be massive. It would make life affordable for many more people and lead to them being less likely to need in work benefits. The affordable rents would cover maintenance and could keep large numbers of people in stable employment doing said maintenance (as well as creating administrative roles). It would make it less challenging to staff key worker roles in more expensive areas. In the short term I appreciate it would be a massive expense but it seems like in the long term it would cost less than our current system on a going basis and it would make many people a lot more financially secure. I find it disappointing that all main parties seem so focused on home ownership in their policy statements. I know there are many important policy areas but this just always feels like one that’s very central and totally glossed over by all parties. Maybe because there isn’t a quick, easy fix?

Cheap public transport 100%.

I would be happy to do 80% of my journeys with public transport if it was cheaper and more regular. I'm sure there are plenty of others who are the same

A wholesale tax reformation -

Clamp down aggressively on evasion.

Simplify the tax banding, what can be claimed and what cannot.

Allowances for those who Do The Right Thing

Bring back legal aid for parents in custody battles. Mandatory mediation in cases without domestic violence. Harsher punishment for those who don't pay child maintenance. Actually use the powers that the CMS has at their disposal (like taking away passports and vehicles of non paying parents etc). Make it known to parents: children are not pay per view and that YOU are responsible for their upkeep. None payment means prison time.

Better social housing/social care.

The NHS is broken and cannot continue in its current state. All political parties need to acknowledge that it needs reform and they need to put party politics to one side to come up with a plan for the future with consultation with the public.

There needs to be a commitment to all work towards this future vision long term and not for a four year political cycle.

Maximum number of pupils in primary classes capped at 15 and at 25 for secondary.
Regulation of the private rental market with minimumstandards for properties, landlords to obtain a licence to permit them to rent and regular inspections.

Just two?

Bring back NHS dentistry

Scrap IHT and SDLT

Bonkers idea. We need landlords for students and young people who want to move out of home and flat share etc.
There needs to be regulation yes but not eradicate rentals altogether😳

Just thought of a third one, which might help with immigration.
ID cards/registration for all, as they do in France and Germany. Requirement to de- and re-register when moving.
Could easily be automated and also provides bona fidae photo ID for all, no need to fork out for a passport, which doesn't have your address on it anyway or apply for a provisional driving licence.

Social housing. So much of our taxes go towards Housing Benefit / UC payments - and thus end up subsiding the investments of Private Landlords (to whom the rent is paid). It’s these Landlords who are the benefit recipients, not their struggling tenants. That money could be invested in building decent housing for a reasonable rent.

Second I’m torn between better support for the NHS and public transport.

@FelicityFlops I’m pretty sure you have to regester with the local police when you move around anyway if you are an asylum seeker or refugee.

I read something the other day about how someone thought companies should claim universal credit rather than the individual. Makes perfect sense coz anyone working full time would be lifted off benefits, people would have less stress knowing their job was paying a wage. In turn they would be happier at work, make less mistakes and would have disposable income.

What does this mean in practice? Will parents no longer be allowed to SAH? What counts as a "positive contribution"?

Have much tougher policies about Job seekers forcing more into employment or their JS allowance is stopped. This creates swathes of jobs and fills lots of job vacancies.
How does forcing people into employment create jobs? Surely the jobs have to be there before the people can be employed? And forcing people into unsuitable jobs doesn’t help anyone.

There needs to be a four-pronged approach.

1: Force employers to offer proper permanent jobs with decent reliable salaries and proper benefits. Not zero hour contracts designed to offer insecure employment, unreliable income, and cheat people out of pensions and maternity pay etc.

2: Some people are unemployable. Employers don’t want them and can’t be forced to take them. There needs to be support systems and rehabilitation for these people, not jobseeker benefits.

3: More focus on helping people to undertake work experience and short term contracts and training. These things can lead to employment, but are virtually impossible under the current system. You aren’t allowed to do unpaid work, you aren’t supported to do unpaid work, and they make it very difficult to sign off for a bit then sign back on again. This shouldn’t be the case.

4: Create jobs where the unemployed people are. People won’t move away from their families and communities for jobs. Make it attractive for businesses to set up in deprived areas that need jobs. Incentivise employers to hire the people who need it most.

How do you pay the childcare providers then?

Definitely more social housing building. People need stable affordable housing not being at the mercy of greedy landlords. It benefits society to have basic stable housing. Tax multiple home owners so high it will become not worth their while ( awaits outcry from multiple mumsnetters owning 10+ houses).

Universal credit is a disaster. It actually puts people off working at all. Reform it. I don't see why I'm paying tax for it.

How does it put people off working ? It tapers off gradually so people get to keep more of their UC when they start work and people get up to 85% of their childcare paid ? They are constantly reforming it although I sometimes think at times for some people it has become too generous - I'm not talking about for single people and those too sick to work. You only have to read the constant threads on here about the amounts people are getting.

For everyone? No limits?

Free care for the elderly then?

@Throwncrumbs The Government pays them and the Government is remunerated by more people being in work. Lots of countries offer this.

@Babyroobs - agree not for single people and those sick. For everyone else, including the housing element, there needs to be a good look at who qualifies.

Are you really thick or are you just trolling?

They're not talking about buying a second home for their child as a student, they're talking about their child having access to a rental market in a university town.

@morelippy They're obviously two different things but you go right ahead and bundle them together.

Introduce the Community Charge

'Real' prison sentences and more prison spaces

Capped childcare costs - Europe manages to have very affordable childcare so why can't we

Any medical treatment you pay for privately should be tax deductible - like fertility treatment

Everyone should have a legal right to an NHS dentist

Legal right to obtain a GP appointment when you need one - not call centres or waiting 3 weeks and hope you don't die in the meantime

Social housing for sure. I was struck by a R4 programme some time back pointing out how it is cheaper to run good quality housing than not - the rents paid cover the upkeep and modernisation of the stock and private rents don't have to be paid for.

It is so incredibly sad we've sold it all off and not invested in more. So many benefits come from people having (and children growing up in) safe stable property that they can put roots down in.

My second would be strong environmental protections and real development in green tech. At this rate we're all going to be bleeding by money (and power) to other counties who got here first.