Cost of nappies

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I was reading this article in today’s Guardian in which a couple going through the asylum-seeking process were talking about the high cost of having a baby.

The man is quoted as saying “a pack of 24 nappies is gone in 5 days!”. I checked and you can get 50 newborn nappies in Tesco for £1.80. Also, my son is out of nappies now, but I remember how eye-wateringly expensive Pampers were compared to supermarket own brands, and how corner shops/Tesco Express etc never seemed to stock the cheap ones or larger packs, so you might not even know they existed if you weren’t able to get to a large supermarket. I couldn’t help but think that, while it’s obviously important to highlight financial pressures, surely nappies should not be pushing people over the financial brink? I wondered if someone needed to give them some advice about buying cheaper brands in larger packs.

Seems to be a big assumption on here that everyone lives within easy reach of an Asda/Aldi/Lidl? I certainly didn't growing up and if I didn't have access to a car and couldn't afford the bonkers expensive public transport, it would have been a Tesco Local or a Sainsbury's. Neither of which are particularly cheap.

Do love how many cloth fans there are!

I’ve got 3, almost 4 children in nappies and the cost is eye watering but we’re lucky that we can afford it. Annoyingly we have tried every brand of nappy for each of ours and the only ones they have ever gotten on with have been Pampers! Anything else either seems to leak terribly or give them really sore bums

Something as simple as waiting for a newborn to wee on contact with air before putting on the new nappy can save nappies. Catch with old nappy, face cloth, or hold them over the loo. Seemed like common sense to me but later realised not everyone did it.

This is absolutely not true though. I work in this field and support families in this situation. Whilst they face a really tough time for a variety of reasons, this article is very misleading.

People seeking asylum, who are entitled to asylum financial support in dispersed accommodayion receive:
~£45 per week per adult
~£45 per week + £5 top up per baby
~ £45 per week + £3 top up per toddler or when pregnant

This is in addition to free rent, council tax, unlimited energy costs and health care costs.

New mum's also get £300 per child born whilst in asylum.

I think you've misunderstood.

It's a £5 top up to the base rate of £45 per family member payment.
So baby's get £50, mum gets £45, dad gets £45.

not loads, but actually it's definitely do-able given that asylum seekers in accommodation don't pay any housing costs or utilities, so it's just for food, toiletries, transport and mobiles.

Do they have beds/fridges/washing machines @DeedlessIndeed amd are you talking about those applying for asylum or those that have been granted asylum?

These are people who are currently applying for asylum.

Yes, the properties are furnished to a basic standard - white goods and furniture are provided (some may be second hand from a previous tenant, but cleaned professionally)

Everyone gets new bedding, cooking and dining equipment and utensils.

For babies; cots, cot mattresses, sterilisers, a baby bath and baby bottles and a high chair are provided as standard (all new).

I work to support asylum seeker families so I also work with local charities to arrange any additional support (baby clothes, formula, nappies, wipes etc etc, all dependent on a case by case basis.)

Well then the cheapest option will be cloth nappies.