A message from Harriet Harman - Minister for Women and Equality - how is the credit crunch/recession is affecting you and how do you think Government can help?

[JustineMumsnet]

Harriet Harman writes:
We want to protect families from the credit crunch with real help. And we want to hear what Mumsnet are concerned about during this recession; what you want us to be doing about it; and what you want to see changed for the future. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is hosting an international Economic Summit in London (which President Obama will be coming to) in April to agree with other countries how we work together to get the global economy back on its feet and growing again. I want to hear from you and feed your views in to this summit.

Opinion polls tell us that women are more concerned about the impact of the recession than men, is that your view?
Is the recession affecting your family life and if so how?
Are you getting the advice and information you need if you ask for help?
What do you want to see government doing to help with that?
What do you think about bonuses?
How can we help women who want to start their own businesses?

Is the recession affecting your family life and if so how?
no - well some consumables and pretrol are cheaper - bonus. but i work in an industry that is there to provide for people in a crisis.

it flickered across my brain to vote tory, as things were going so well and that wouldn't do at all for my job security.
however this recent F.U.B.A.R of the economy
ensures my job security for many years to come. thanks.

Are you getting the advice and information you need if you ask for help?

n/a
What do you want to see government doing to help with that?

n/a
What do you think about bonuses?

think its a bit crass in the economic climate - but i think this question is a misnoma - red top stylee!
if the banks dont pay those traders who make them money - they will feck off else where and we will be left with shite traders.

there must be a middle ground - where the govt could cleverly cover up the crassness of the bonuses by sugesting to the banks that it give the bonuses - but in a different way - i don't know what way - but really, with all the think tanks available someone should.

How can we help women who want to start their own businesses?

i really want to set up business with my son. i have very recently been looking into premesis etc, contacted business link ( not v. helpful)

courses such as food hygeine and fist aid should be free - regardless of employment status.

an advisor at your loal council that will make an appt with you to go over your rough business plan. this isn't available in my area.

licences - ae a complicated business - gambling,music, prs, copyright, trading, its a bloody mine field - no i don't want to give my business money to someone else to explain it to me

simplify the system.

start up grants not loans! IF you are young - you can get a small princes trust grant.

if you have been unemployed for a period of time - you can get something or other (i forget)

but if your working - nada.

so when you say women - do you mean SAHMS? unemployed - or do you really mean helping me to change jobs

and whilst i am in this 'changing jobs' mode

please note that i cannot re-train as a social worker becuase i cannot have the time from my full time job to do the required work placement.

if i left my place of work to go into my own business or into a sector where people are really needed - then someone down the chain gets a job.

help me RE SKILL - not upskill

Bonuses- Let them pay whatever enormous bonuses they want, and tax them at the rate of at least 70%, permanently. Pass laws to regulate the way bonuses in the financial sector are paid, so that they discourage short-term risk taking. When the banking sector stabilises, have a large-scale inquiry into the way the financial sector is set up incl. hedge funds etc, CSD etc and the role they play in the British economy, the risk it represents to us, and then regulate the sector such a way that it is more sustainable and does not represent 4 times our GDP. Do not give in to the pressure to create new jobs quickly by trying to get back to 'business as usual'- think about the long term future of the country.

Have a 50% top rate of tax for the top earners, and start addressign the increasing gap between richest and poorest.

I would like to see some thought going into what the bedrock of our economy is going to be when the financial sector, manufacturing, and North Sea oil is gone.

Childcare- if my ex leaves the country (only a matter of time; and he has the children 2 working days a week so I only have to pay 1 day of childcare at present) I can't afford to carry on working unless I (1) get a high-paying job involving v. long hours and endless stress- not great for my children or (2) move across the country to family support (and rubbish schools.)

(note: am considering becoming a physics teacher but long hours for, initially at least, low pay is putting me off a bit, considering I am a single mother. given the paradigm shift in our economy, we need to be putting money into education if we're going to be able to have any kind of economy.)

'there must be a middle ground - where the govt could cleverly cover up the crassness of the bonuses by sugesting to the banks that it give the bonuses - but in a different way - i don't know what way - but really, with all the think tanks available someone should.'

not knowledgeable in this at all really but surely if banks paid salaries that remained competitive within the sector (and yes I think it is inevitable they would rise somewhat), then staff retention would be possible wihout having to rely on bonuses paid for risk taking behaviours.

Fridascruffs: "Do not give in to the pressure to create new jobs quickly by trying to get back to 'business as usual'- think about the long term future of the country."

Well said, girl. Bloody well said. This is a great opportunity to do something creative that has a positive long-term impact on everything about the way we live in the 21st century. I appreciate that we are a global village, but if the French can get along with policies that e.g. protect French businesses (I'm sure this is still the case?) whilst remaining members of the EU, why should we not buck other trends and do what we know will best benefit our society?

I am using this opportunity of economic gloom to do something radical and creative with my life. I would like a government that is brave and inventive enough to do the same. Step 1 of course would have to be: Get rid of the PM.

Opinion polls tell us that women are more concerned about the impact of the recession than men, is that your view?

No - but I think women are both more vulnerable (because of often being employed part-time and taking lengthy maternity leave therefore typically a target for redundancy - this has happened to me in the past and to many other women I know) and more aware of how much prices for daily basics like groceries and utilities have skyrocketed. Anyone who shops in a grocery store knows that the idea that inflation is in the low single digits is a nonsense.

Is the recession affecting your family life and if so how?

Yes, my husband and I are both not receiving raises and my firm has made a number of people redundant and transferred me to a much higher pressure and more demanding job at no salary increase - and told me I was lucky to have this. Our savings are earning no interest, and the tiny bit they earn is taxed away. Our pensions have lost 30% or more of their value. In the meantime our childcare and commuting costs have gone up significantly and our taxes are about to go up too as the new NI banding kicks in.

Are you getting the advice and information you need if you ask for help?

Not really relevant for us - yet. I would be amazed if I don't get made redundant in the next 12 months though. Neither of us works in a public sector job so no protection.

What do you want to see government doing to help with that?

I am pretty shocked that there has been no effort at all to mitigate the effects of the recession for non-home owners. We rent and I have seen any number of very well-off acquaintances whose mortgage payments have dropped by literally 100s of pounds because of the interest rate changes. So they are in fact doing fine. For us our rent has not gone down at all, nor will it, but now our savings earn no interest, so we are very significantly worse off. I feel the government has adopted policies that favour the better off and those on benefits, while people in the middle like us get squeezed to death.

What do you think about bonuses?

100% agree that they should not be paid, to anyone, in any bank that would have gone bust without taxpayers' money. If my company goes bust, the government will not bail us out, because we're not a bank. These guys already got a very lucky break, paid for courtesy of the taxpayer. It's ridiculous to say they also deserve huge taxpayer funded bonuses just because they got big bonuses in the past or because "otherwise the talent will leave". If this is the talent, frankly, we'd all be a lot better off iff they DID leave. There will still be plenty of more-than-competent and eager-to-work banking execs who will fill their places, I can guarantee you.

How can we help women who want to start their own businesses?

Subsidised childcare would be good, but to be honest I can't see why this is more critical for someone running her own business than for any other working mum. It seems a little unreasonable to say women should get different assistance from men in starting a business.

we bought our flat at the height of the property boom and now have to remortgage this summer so worried about that. i got made redundant in november and so far have managed to get ONE interview even though i'm educated to degree level and have 10 years experience. we've had to reduce my sons hours at nursery as can't afford to keep him there but can't afford to lose his place when i do get a job. have never had a pension as still have college debts even though i'm now 34.
so what do i think? subsidised childcare is a must and bonuses should not be paid. am i worried about the future? HELL YES!

My husband worked for a bank for 14 years before being made redundant last month. Luckily we have some savings but we bought our house in 2004 and have a hefty mortgage. I have increased my working hours to keep us all afloat. Our savings earn next to no interest and our other investments are on the way down. The government has been useless and I feel totally disengaged from politics. What I've learnt from this credit crisis is that you have to look after yourself and don't rely on the government to provide as all they are interested in is short term actions in order to get themselves elected. If politicians were really serious about helping people they need to think longterm. For starters people should be given a real incentive for saving for a rainy day(ie. increasing interest rates+tax relief on the interest earned), boosting pension pots by giving tax relief on them, providing proper apprenticeships for youngstes who are never going to be academic rather than pushing everyone onto debt-ridden mickey mouse university courses.

Yup, recession definitely affecting us. I could only afford to be a SAHM due to interest on savings. They're now gone so I have to go back to work.

I also want to go back to work, DD is about to start school anyway but what the hell do I do with her in the school holidays?? It's not that holiday provision is expensive in our area (though it is) it's that there are simply not enough places for everyone who needs them. The jobs I'm qualified to do and WANT to do don't offer me 12 weeks holiday per year.

I can't even retrain for the one job that would give me those holidays (teaching) because I already have a degree in a subject (law) that isn't one that pgce providers will let me specialize in teaching. A new degree isn't an option because the changes to higher education fees mean that I would have to pay £12k+ pa just because it's a second degree. Support for reskilling the workforce my arse.

I agree about the cost of childcare. I work part time at the moment and by the time I take into account childcare and travel to work, we are only breaking even. I love my job and luckily have a contract until next year, but who knows after that?

Is the recession affecting your family life and if so how?
Yes, we are both under a lot of pressure. Its possible that DH will be made redundant in April and, being self-employed and just coming out of maternity leave I simply can't get enough work at the moment, and I have had to cut my rates.

What do you want to see government doing to help with that?
How about you all stop bickering and start consensus politics - take the best ideas from anyone - be they tory, labour, lib dem, German, American, whatever. There is no point in in-fighting, when people are losing their jobs and houses.
Most importantly, we need tax-free childcare. We spend more on that than we do on our mortgage.
Can you do anything to help businesses retain staff?

What do you think about bonuses?
Disgusting. If you don't have the balls to stop it in bailed-out banks, then at least tax it heavily.

I haven't worked since having my children so the credit crunch has mainly affected us with worry over the stability of my husband's job.

I know this will seem like an old fashioned idea but I think the tax system should make it easier for women to stay at home and look after their kids, not be forced back to the workplace if they don't want to. We get told we should get back to work practically straight off the labour ward, then we get blamed when our kids become delinquents because they're shunted from before school club to school to after school club and heaven knows how many relatives and friends during holidays. I'm not saying of course that all kids whose parents work are delinquents, but when they come to play you can usually tell which ones spend their time competing for attention in childcare institutions of some kind.

As for banking bonuses - dh works for a bank, not in any high up capacity, and after having been told all year he's doing a good job, now it's come to bonus time his appraisal grade has suddenly dropped to below the level where he'll get a bonus - not the first time this has happened.
The little people rarely get rewards for doing a good job.

I'm not sure I agree with all aspects of Nightinglaes posts but certainly it seems to me it would be very wie, when thereis a noted job shortage, to make it easier for thsoe women or men who do want to be a stay at home aprent for a while- seems ridiculos to force people out competing fr jobs that aren't even there and making them feel like 'unsuccessful job hunters' rather than 'great stay at home parents'.

nightingale - substitute "one parent" rather than "women" in that sentence .

First of all I would like to say having a summit in April is way too late by the time this discussion is held and an action list is drafted up and implemented may be too late for a lot of families.

One thing that is affecting my family life is the CSA chasing my husband for money for 3 children that he does not get to see. My husband also has another child who he does see and pays mainteance directly to her mother but this is now having to go through the CSA because he cannot pay both huge amounts of money and this could have potentially risked him not getting to see his daughter but luckily enough for us his former partner said she would not stop him having contact. What I would like to say thou is now this child will get less and that is not on. We both know he has a financial obligation to provide for the other children but tell me this. Why is there not a law giving fathers more rights over their children. My husbands option is why should he pay for children that he does not get to see, where is it written that this is right?

Please don't say oh go to lawyers etc because I have worked with them for about 14 years in the past and they are useless he's been there done that some women just play a game to the detrement of their children and this type of behaviour needs to be stopped for the sake of the children.

I also want to see more regulation on the banks and not by the FSA, their risk profile has been stupid and I know this as I am a qualified accountant, RBS knew the ABN Amro take over was stupid but what I want to know is why are NED's (non executive directors) not taking a more active role? We need people on these boards that are going to stand up to these exec directors and tell them a flat NO when it is necessary!

As for the bonus structure in these organisations I feel that these should almost follow a SOX approach if the company makes bad decisions / losses Exec directors should either get no bonus or have to repay the bonus, contracts for directors need to be realistic achieveable but at the same time rewarding, there should never be a reward or incompetence! I do however feel sorry for the more junior staff in these organisations as they have no say on how the organisation is run but have to suffer the consequences of the stupid decisions that the board makes. I also feel Sir Fred Goodwin should repay any bonus that he has received over the last few years since RBS started to fail, that will make him less cocky!

As for women starting their own businesses, I think a lot of women will avoid this due to the risky climate at the moment and always wanting to put their families first, perhaps some free childcare arrangements / tax breaks will perhaps encourange them more.

I hope my comments help and I will watch to see what will come out of the summit.

hatwoman - good point!

I've just heard the wonderful Robert Peston on Radio 2 and he was saying that the biggeset part of the blame for this has to go to the Government. They knew, or should have known, that the City was making massive profits on the back of risky credit/debt portfolios bought by hedge funds and private equities out of all proportion to the value of the fund or the risks involved. This drove up share prices and property values as bonuses swelled and people were able to pay and demand more for property.

He and others knew that this was unsustainable back in 2004.

The Government should have known it too. Either they didn't know (in which case they are inept) or they chose not to because politically Labour rode high on a feel good factor which won them re-election in 2005, and because fiscally the Treasury was reaping in the tax on corporate profits, share deals and property transactions.

In other words Ms Harman, this whole thing suited you and yours when you were doing well out of it, just like the banks.

We have been affected by the increasing cost of diesel which is still more than 12p a litre more than petrol. Why?! Everywhere else in the world diesel is cheaper than petrol. The more DH has to spend on fuel to get to work the less we have for food

Our food costs have shot up, and our gas/ electricity bill has doubled. Like other people have said, on paper we have a good joint income but it just doesn't cover the essentials.

I am in the public sector. Contrary to popular belief we are not sitting pretty. Our "employers" had this bright idea to move thousands of jobs out of "London and the South East", which has translated to less London and more the areas where people actually live, rather than commute. We are talking normal, ordinary people on salaries less than the national average, not fat cats on megabucks. The little people who do the work, in other words.

We have been waiting for news about our jobs now for 2 years and know we face being moved somewhere in the next 12 months with no actual information about when and where. At best I will face an extra hour's journey each day. At that point I will have to cut down my working hours because DD's nursery is only open from 8am-6pm so I can't fit in a full day plus 2+ hours commute.

An increase in the amount of salary sacrifice for nursery vouchers would be a help. It's been £55 a week since they were brought out.

Harriet, thank you for asking.

Is the recession affecting our family life? Yes, like many others we feel the pressure of increased costs of pretty much everything - except our mortgage which has gone down but not enough to offset all the other expenses, e.g. fuel.

I work in the public sector, part-time management. I am concerned about my job - not just losing it but what the job has become. The organisation is cut to the bone at the "coal face" and yet most senior management still persist in wasting (public) money on things like special projects and consultants to see how we can improve performance.

Also, if the cost of living rises much more then I may have to consider giving up my job because of the cost of childcare. My salary hasn't gone up significantly for years but everything else has. Most of the arguments and points re this have been well put already. Cannot stress it enough though. I don't think childcare is too expensive (this work must be properly rewarded). If society/government wants mothers - it's usually mothers who are primary carers - to work, then we need more tax breaks.

And not just in the "early years". My daughter isn't in the EY bracket anymore but the childcare costs just as much and I don't earn any more. Indeed, get less because our Tax Credit seems to have dropped dramatically this year.

Others have pointed out the need for more long term thinking. Get so tired of all this short termism. Pretty much anyone with a bit of sense could see that the situation over last few years was due for a mega fall. Houses costing'silly money', easy mortgages and the buy to let boom, too many new cars on the roads, generally too much consumerism, tragic wars, etc.

Like others I am worried about my pension and about further education for my child. I count myself as very lucky to have had a full grant, otherwise I probably wouldn't have got to Uni. Something must be done about the further/higher education system. How I yearn for the days when going to university and getting a degree meant something. Our society supported this with grants to ensure that people got to university on merit. I worry that I may have to tell my child that she cannot go to Uni. because we cannot afford it. I always voted labour to avoid such scenarios. What a mug!

And another thing .. whilst what you say to Obama is important, America is America and this is England/Britain. Part of why we are in the state we are in is because of America. We need them but we need Europe more.

Firstly I'd like to say thanks for asking us.

Opinion polls tell us that women are more concerned about the impact of the recession than men, is that your view?

Yes, I think that for fear of making a generalisation that men are often more able to fly by the seat of their pants. We women tend to be more practical.

Is the recession affecting your family life and if so how?

Yes - my husband's company (aprox 25 staff) are fighting hard to avoid making redundancies, this means that they are not hiring and not taking on the regular freelance staff that they used to. In turn the existing staff are working much, much longer hours and our children rarely see their father Monday - Friday. That's without taking into account how the stress effects my dh who has only recently recovered from cancer.

Are you getting the advice and information you need if you ask for help?

There is no help.

What do you want to see government doing to help with that?

Bribe the media to stop talking up a storm.

What do you think about bonuses?

Bonuses are not an effective way of rewarding hard/good work. I used to do a job where I was given a profit share, this was a great way of ensuring I did my best to bring in as much profit as possible, but also rewarding staff for their efforts - or not.

How can we help women who want to start their own businesses?

I now run my own business, the biggest help would be to make childcare tax deductable. I have three children and it costs me £30 for the three of them per session to go to an after school club till 6pm. I cannot set this cost against tax and yet it is only because I need to work that they go to the after school club in the first place.

Childcare childcare childcare...

Scrap the Trust Fund and the 190 pound pregnant ladies will receive if they are due after the 6th April 2009 and invest this in decent childcare available to all.

1. Improve the child care tax relief as it is a 2nd mortgage

1. Make Childcare vouchers available to everyone as it is very unfair when an employers has blinkers on

1. Provide additional help to those SAHMs who want to come back to work but cannot afford the childcare because it costs more in childcare than many jobs on offer

1. Improve the under 3 childcare provisions for everyone, affordable creche facilities etc

1. Free nursery places from your childs birthday as opposed to fit in with term time

Just some thoughts Harriet....

The full cost of childcare should be tax deductable, because I cannot do my freelance work without it. I can claim for other essentials, such as my computer or my phone calls, why not childcare? At the very least, childcare vouchers should be available to the self-employed - I can't get them at the moment. If I can't have them, I should be able to claim back the same value on my tax return.

Abolish tax credits and raise the tax threshhold to £10,000 for everyone.

More help for childcare for middle income earners.
I will probably get flamed for this but I resent the fact that I have a hard, technical, stressful job but when you take off childcare from my salary (which isn't that brilliant to start off with) I'm basically paid the same as a shopworker. And some who earns the same as a shop worker gets most of their childcare paid for so they are not that much worse off than before they had a baby. Makes me wonder why I bothered going to university, work hard to get promoted and take on other work based study to get where I am today!

Better support for families where one adult stays at home to look after the children.
Teh government should take a long term approach not short term measures which appear to work at the time but actually make things worse. There should be cross party consensus on a recovery plan

Allow children and SAHM/SAHD to have their own independent tax allowances, which can be transferred to the main breadwinner if necessary.

Ditch tax credits. Everyone hates them, they are more unfair than they appear, and if tax allowances were generous enough you would not need them.

Consider making childcare and student loans fully tax-deductible.