David Cameron calls poor families "neighbours from hell"

[Himalaya]

Sorry this isn't quite 'in the news' as it is a couple of weeks old. Apologies if it has already been done.

Last year David Cameroon gave a speech on "troubled families".

"That?s why today, I want to talk about troubled families.Let me be clear what I mean by this phrase. Officialdom might call them ?families with multiple disadvantages?. Some in the press might call them ?neighbours from hell?. Whatever you call them, we?ve known for years that a relatively small number of families are the source of a large proportion of the problems in society. Drug addiction. Alcohol abuse. Crime. A culture of disruption and irresponsibility that cascades through generations.We?ve always known that these families cost an extraordinary amount of money??but now we?ve come up the actual figures. Last year the state spent an estimated £9 billion on just 120,000 families?"

As this blog points out DC was very explicit in saying that these 120,000 families cause "disruption and irresponsibility" and "a large proportion of the problems in society".

So who are these families? It turns out that they are identified in the official statistics as families that satisfy 5 of the following 7 criteria:

a) no parent in work
b) poor quality housing,
c) no parent with qualifications,
d) mother with mental health problems
e) one parent with longstanding disability/illness
f) family has low income,
g) Family cannot afford some food/clothing items

Nothing to do with disruption, irresponsibility, crime, drug addiction or alcohol abuse there at all. Plenty of people who are just poor, or fallen on hard times.

WTF?

David Cameron for example........

Ha, 1 second cross post!

I'm one of those families btw. Tis good to know my asthma causes so many problems for my neighbours

Oh hes such a c@#t isnt he.

He really does hate poor people and wont stop until everyone else does.

To have five of those things makes you more than just a 'poor family' imo.

Not that I am siding with that idiot though. But most poor families wouldn't tick 5 or more of those criteria.

As a child I qualified for all 7 of those criteria. What do I win?

Disclaimer: while my mother may be troubled I am in no way following on her footsteps!!!

I have 5, a, b, d, e and f.

I don't cause anyone else problems that I know of.

Why is it just a mother with mental health problems? Are father impervious?

I qualify as one of those families, but I am certainly not a hellish neighbour, I'm a disabled single mum to two.

And surely mental health problems should come under "one parent with longstanding disability/illness", why exactly have women and mental health problems been singled out there?

Because I'll bet the fact that the father has buggered off is taken as a given.

Because it's all the fault of the evil women of course.

I have disability and mental health problems, if you call being treated for depression, due to disability, mental health problems.

Also low quality housing, I live in temp accommodation on a scheme.

What is DC going to do about it? How is he going to help my family?

His idea of poor is probably people scraping by on only £1million a year, or with only one nanny and housekeeper.

Whoa a fine example of taking a statement and some statistics and twisting it conpletely!
Have you any idea how stupid some of this is?

Theyre not saying that everyone who is unemployed or in poor housing is a troubled family or family from hell.
But they are saying that the minority of people who ARE neighbours from hell fall into 5 of those categories, which is probably true!

I do disagree with the 'mother with mental health problems' point though, thats just a twatty statement

ha, ha, I can go one better. I grew up fitting all those criteria and I was in care up until age 12.

I have never been a neighbour from hell unless you count the chickens clucking in the mornings after they've laid an egg

Mosschops30 - I agree that the statistics are twisted, but it is whoever wrote DC's speech who did the twisting -

"Up to now we?ve talked in terms broad numbers ? 120,000 troubled families across the country. Today we are announcing, council by council, our estimate from data, mapping where these families are. To give you an idea of the scale of the problem, there are an estimated 4,500 of these families in Birmingham, 2,500 in Manchester, and 1,115
here in Sandwell."

The problem the statistics identify are families that are struggling financially and with health problems and disability.

The problem he talks about are families with drug and alcohol problems and involved in crime.

Yes there is likely to be some overlap in the populations, but that's not what he said.

I completely agree with mosschops30 here.

For more information...

DC hasn't a scooby.

My estate is a new development, therefore 25% of it is social housing, of which some of the families will meet 5 or more of the criteria. I am social housing and only meet 1.

Who are the neighbours causing criminal damage on the street, vandalising the neighbourhood, allowing children out late at night causing noise pollution (noise and language) etc?

There's 3 families (we have street watch). All 3 of these families privately own their houses and therefore are unlikely to meet many of the criteria.

Neighbours from hell are just that neighbours from hell. Some of them nationally will meet the criteria but if you look at areas and then set the criteria (in this case the 2 being different - problem crime - criteria - disability) there will always be a correlation

Looks at list.... ticks boxes..... Oh my God I grew up in a neighbours from hell family and I never know

Mans a twat

As has been known in this country for hundreds of years a "small number of families are the source of a large proportion of the problems in society. Drug addiction. Alcohol abuse. Crime. A culture of disruption and irresponsibility that cascades through generations.We’ve always known that these families cost an extraordinary amount of money"..... to keep and continue to lord over the hard working honest law abiding British people, despite years of dishonest, opportunistic, selfish anti-social behaviour they continue to not only be tolerated by the rest of society but actively encroach on it by absorbing more and more land and increasing their own wealth at the expense of others.

I can top all of you, i am a SW and at one time, when i was caring for my dying husband, i fitted into 5 the list.

Lets, face it, DC and his ilk, don't have a clue.

Maybe the speech was recognising the criteria ( the top 9 factors) so that something could be done to help them ?

He'd be dangerous if he had any power. What?......oh shit.