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Original poster

Have you noticed the opoor seem to be getting a better deal in Scotland and Wales?

65 replies

GabbyLoggon · 04/03/2011 13:25

Presription changes. And the government dont nick their houses when they are old.

This happens to about 40,000 householders a year in England. "Gabby"

OP posts:
Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 05/03/2011 12:54

Its Nothing to do with where you live

Did you mean It SHOULD be nothing to do with where you live.

Because if you live in the North East, say, you will get a very raw deal.

If you live in Hampstead or Richmond Hill in London you may get a better than average deal. (Even though you probably start off well-heeled.)

We do have rich areas and poorer areas in England.
In broad terms the experts says the South gets a better deal than the North. (Thats historical)

cheers "Gabby"

OP posts:
Minkyjj · 05/03/2011 13:03

Yes sorry Gabby, that is what I meant - that it shouldnt be affected by where you live.
I really wish we could get to be a fairer and more equal society but the reality is that we live in a very self-protecting, distrusting and self seeking world and until we all start to think in a different way and put others before ourselves we cannot achieve fairness.

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 05/03/2011 13:07

minkyjj
Can you and I change things together.? I am joking, but we can just a little bit. Cheers "Gabby"

OP posts:
Minkyjj · 05/03/2011 13:18

That would be good - If we all just put someone else before ourselves in even a small act every day things would be so much better. Have a great day hon and go and change something!

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 07/03/2011 10:49

Minkyjj

Nice idea, and we certainly need more nice ideas

OP posts:
glasnost · 07/03/2011 12:42

With you all the way Gabby. Why don't you stand as a candidate...Cheers "glas"

Concordia · 07/03/2011 12:46

Tis true. all an attempt to keep scotland, wales and northern ireland sweet to the cost of the north of england. the government really don't give a monkeys about anyone in the north of england at all really Angry

expatinscotland · 07/03/2011 15:34

Oh, yes, because they so care about Scotland and NI. Hmm

Ooid · 07/03/2011 15:41

I think there's a lot of history lacking here.
This has never been one nation, it has always been 4 nations muddling along politically while it's been worth someone's while that they do.
It's unravelling very slowly and a bit messily right now.

It's all very well thinking that Scotland and Wales are getting a better deal, but let's go back to the early 80s and think about what an utterly shit time they had then. Of course they have given this a lot of thought and political time and the result is that they think they are better off devolved.
If you don't like it gabby, you are of course free to move. I doubt either country is some sort of Utopia, though!

Grandhighpoohba · 07/03/2011 16:23

Different countries have different priorities, in Scotland, the government decides to spend its budget on say, free prescriptions, England spends that money on say, administration costs for SATs which we don't have. England is not funding Scottish choices.

The Scottish NHS is separately run AFAIK, so our not paying prescription charges makes not a bean of difference to patients in England.

If you think it is unfair, get in touch with your MP and campaign for free prescriptions in England.

Concordia · 07/03/2011 21:32

i sometimes wonder if it is all a big conspiracy to split the uk up, get mps not from england to vote on english laws etc. Not that the english would actually get any say in anything, definitely being punished for the sins of our forefathers.

Concordia · 07/03/2011 21:32

sorry i meant that if the uk was being split up everyone woudl probably get a vote on it but the english!

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 09/03/2011 11:37

I think there may be a conspiracy which is keeping the conspiracy theories going.

Seriously: I am inclined to beleieve in the cock=up theory of government.

OP posts:
Jacaqueen · 09/03/2011 12:24

Just to clear up the free prescriptions:

England, NI, Wales and Scotland all have a certain amount of money allocated to them to spend on Health.

Not sure what happens in NI, but in England it is the Westminster Gov who decides what they want to spend their budget on.

In Wales and Scotland the decision is made by the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Both have decided to use a proportion of their Health budget to fully subsidise the cost of prescriptions. This will be at the cost of something else. Maybe the amount spent on hospital food or patient transport for example. They could have decided to charge more for prescriptions and therefore have more money avaliable to spend on equipment or uniforms.

The overall amount of the Health budget given to Wales and Scotland will not change because they have free prescriptions.

mozette · 09/03/2011 13:25

Scotland free prescriptions are just Alex Salmonds way of winding up the English - just a bit of pay back after Scotland got the pleasure of testing out the Poll Tax a year before England

Minkyjj · 09/03/2011 14:27

Dont some areas of the UK get a higher budget per head though than others ?

dreamingofsun · 09/03/2011 14:44

minkyjj - according to the gov report i've just read yes - expenditure on services last year is listed at bottom of my note. this explains why wales/scotland get free perscriptions, free school breakfast clubs, cheap hospital car parking, cheaper care for the old and low/no tuition fees and student grants (remember those things we used to get?!). they obviously don't need this level of gov money if they can afford to provide so much more than we get in england - or perhaps we need more money in england to address the imbalance?

8399 england
9895 scotland
9418 wales
10463 NI

mozette · 09/03/2011 15:30

But surely it is up to those devolved countries how they allocate their budgets?

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 09/03/2011 15:37

but as someone has already pointed out there are lots of things we don't have in scotland - e.g. We don't have SATS or grammar schools.

Also AFAIK scotland pays back more in taxes to the westminster government than it recieves. And then of course there is the oil revenue...

Jacaqueen · 09/03/2011 15:39

DONT MENTION THE OIL!

dreamingofsun · 09/03/2011 17:49

itsallgoing - many areas in england don't have grammar schools and even where they do exist its very hard to get into one - even if you are top 20% of class.

How about we swap and you have SATS and we'll have all the free stuff i listed in my previous thread

Mozette - yes its up to them how they allocate their budgets - the unfair thing is that their budgets are so much higher than englands to start with.

Concordia · 09/03/2011 18:26

and that scottish and welsh mps vote on the english budget, so they have no duty of care to their constituents and just vote for what is cheapest!

mhk1 · 10/03/2011 10:58

Simply put, the Welsh and Scottish parliaments have far less tories voting on issues like this, therefore poorer people there are always going to benefit more than they would in England.

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 10/03/2011 11:09

mhk1 Yes, I think that is it in a nutshell.

the Tories have a history of being a bosses party. (The City did not give them eleven million quid for nothing)

The Lib Dems have 2 wings. Clegg Tory...Ashdown ,
Kennedy and some others are nearer to Labour.

OP posts:
thereiver · 12/03/2011 00:39

lisa mca i draw your attention to the following research as reported in the Times
a recent calculation estimates that just 163,000 Scottish taxpayers, from a population of 5m, make any net contribution to the British exchequer. The rest receive more than they pay out in reliefs, subsidies and benefit

80% of money spent by the scottish Government comes from England. i am sure they could make this money up, mainly by a 5p in the pound (minimum) tax rise , and massive cuts and cost increases