Tag: deaths

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Studies Show Childhood Hunger Seriously Effects Children’s Mental And Physical Development

An ever increasing number of children are now living in poverty as a result of the cost of living crisis, increasing energy costs, result of parents losing their jobs and DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) issues such as benefit sanctions.

As we are seeing this huge increase of people living in poverty little has been said about the effects of hunger upon children and their learning abilities.

It sounds like commonsense that childhood learning and hunger are both interconnected issues that are faced by many children in the UK. If you’re hungry it’s very hard to concentrate on anything else.

Recent studies have shown that hunger and malnourishment can have a severe impact on a child’s mental and physical development, which can ultimately affect their academic performance and life opportunities.

According to the End Child Poverty coalition, 4.2 million children in the UK are living in poverty, 2.4 million of whom are living in severe poverty. Poverty is a significant driver of hunger and food insecurity, with many families struggling to afford and find healthy and nutritious food.

Research by the Trussell Trust food bank network found that over 1.2 million emergency food supplies were given to children in the UK in 2020. This highlights the extent of hunger faced by children in the country and the need for action from the government.

The effects of hunger and malnutrition on a child’s learning can be very profound. Children who experience hunger often find it difficult to concentrate and focus, affecting their memory and cognitive abilities.

This can also lead to behavioral issues, affecting their interactions with others and their overall development.

Moreover, poor nutrition can significantly affect a child’s physical development, leading to a lack of energy, poor growth, and an increased likelihood of illness.

One recent study found that children who experienced hunger were more likely to have lower academic performance and to struggle with basic literacy and numeracy. Children who eat more healthily and more varied diets also have better cognitive abilities, and in many cases have better academic outcomes.

There is evidence, however, that basic interventions can help address these issues. Breakfast clubs at schools have been shown to improve pupils’ behaviour and academic performance. This is particularly noticeable with children that come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Whilst charities and organizations are also working to provide food parcels and other forms of support to families and children who are struggling with hunger, the food offered to them are usually of low nutritional standards but they do quench their hunger.

Childhood hunger and malnutrition in the UK continues to have a huge impact on a child’s learning and development.

Whilst there are interventions such as breakfast clubs and food banks that can help alleviate these problems, and it is vitally important for policymakers, schools, and charities to work together to ensure that all children have access to the resources they need to thrive.

Sadly at the time of writing the government is very reluctant to help at all. Instead the cost of living crisis and rising energy costs are continuing to increase plunging more children and their families further into poverty.

Is the government doing this purposely? It certainly makes me suspect this. The health and wellbeing of working class children appears to be unimportant to them and the less they learn the better for them.

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DWP Job Coaches With No Academic Qualifications To Potentially Make Life Changing Decisions For Disabled People

It’s been revealed in the publication of a government white paper and a subsequent report by John Pring from Disability News Forum that job coaches with no academic qualifications could be tasked with making life changing decisions as to whether a disabled person must carry out work related activities as part of their DWP commitments.

This is dependent upon whether the government goes ahead with its plans to scrap the “fitness for work” test.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has told Disability News Service (DNS) that there are no minimum academic qualifications required to undertake the role of a work coach in a Jobcentre.

It has also been revealed that it will be these work coaches who will be given the task of deciding if disabled claimants in receipt of universal credit are able to carry out tasks such as attending training courses or work-related interviews.

Read the full report here. https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/work-coaches-with-no-gcses-could-decide-on-fit-for-work-activity-dwp-admits/

Many thanks to John Pring for his continued hard work in revealing the latest news from the DWP and their scurrilous plans to hurt disabled people even more.

I’ve got no doubt that the government will try and push their plans through because as we already know they care little, if at all about the welfare of disabled and poor people.

They’ll continue to persecute disabled people until they’re out of government making sure that they can create as much damage as possible until they’re forced to leave.

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DWP plans reveal That PIP Claimants Could Lose Support Group Status In 2026

According to new DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) plans existing PIP (Personal Independence Payments) claimants may lose their right to be in the support group.

Under these new plans they could also lose their LCWRA ( Limited capability for work and work related activity) status and be transferred to the universal credit health element.

Once there they may be required to carry out work-related activities, as early as 2026.

The government also announced plans in March to axe the work capability assessment (WCA).

Under the new proposed plans, claimants who get any element of PIP and who claim UC will automatically be eligible for an additional health element.

Sounds good doesn’t it…..

Shockingly at the time of writing the new system won’t automatically recognize any claimant as being unable to carry out any work-related activities.

Claimants might find themselves forced to undergo voluntary and mandatory work-related requirements by an appointed work coach.

Once there they could be subject to benefit sanctions if they don’t meet the mandatory requirements as set by their work coach.

At the time of the new plans announcement the government made a statement that current claimants would not begin being transferred to the new system until 2029 at the earliest.

Apparently only new claimants were said to be affected initially, with the system being rolled out by geographical area between 2026 and 2029.

Despite this announcement evidence given to the commons work and pensions committee by the DWP contradicted the above claim.

Conservative MP Nigel Mills asked: “What happens if I get a called for a new PIP assessment every couple of years and I get one of those in 2027? Does that drop me into the new rules or do I stay under the old ones?”

A senior DWP official responded:

“With the way we will roll this out, we start from 2026 with new claims only, but we will do it in a geographical, staged way. It would depend which area you were in in 2027. Yes, some people might come in under the new rules, and that means they would automatically get your UC health payment and would automatically get the support.”

As an ever increasing proportion of England and Wales will be moved to the UC health element beginning in 2026.

This suggests that thousands of existing PIP claimants when subjected to a review of their award will find themselves being forced onto the UC health element earlier than 2029.

So once again the DWP are lying.

However this does give us time to start campaigning against the new proposals but this needs to start now.

We need to prevent the DWPs plans to subject existing claimants to the attention of work coaches with targets to meet even though they deny this.

The government and their hench people will never stop persecuting disabled and poor people for their very existence.

Many have the view that they deserve to be persecuted like this. They’ll never change their opinions but we can fight them all the way.

Huge thanks to everyone that reads and shares my blog posts. This makes a massive difference in making people aware of matters such as this.

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Secret Sanction Report Proves Sanctions Don’t Work

After many months of waiting and pressure from organisations and campaigners the DWP finally relented and published the secret sanction report that I’ve reported on previously.

This report concerned itself into the effectiveness of DWP (Department of Work and Pension) sanctions, afterall it’s a cruel tool used by them for a long time.

However in true DWP style they released it hours before the UK was closed to business for the Easter bank holiday.

The report shows that sanctioned claimants do take longer to move into paid employment and when they do so they’re most likely going to accept lower paid jobs than claimants that haven’t been sanctioned.

It also reveals that there’s no evidence that sanctions are effective in any way at all.

According to the report claimants that have been sanctioned also have 8% shorter UC claims than claimants who were not sanctioned.

The report proves that the majority of claimants with shortened claims disappear, they do not move into paid employment which is very worrying.

Claimants who are sanctioned and who eventually move into PAYE work then take longer to do so than those were not sanctioned and earn an average of £34 a month less than those not sanctioned.

The DWP rather unexpectedly argue in a ‘context note’ within the report that the research cannot be relied upon because it did not take into account the value of the ‘deterrent effect’ of the sanctions regime.

The DWPs ongoing theory is that claimants are more likely to meet their obligations because they fear being sanctioned thus sanctions are an effective tool.

In the three years since the draft report was created the DWP have chosen not to commission any independent research to test the truth of their deterrent effect theory.

Instead they intend to introduce a much harsher sanctions regime, when the only hard evidence they have about sanctions proves that they don’t work.

DWP Sanctions can and should be appealed however this takes a great deal of strength and determination of which not many have due to being completely worn down by the system.

So there we have it, the DWP once again ignoring important information that have a direct negative effect upon sanctioned claimants and their well-being.

The amount of people that decide to take themselves off the system when sanctioned is very concerning.

Don’t expect the DWP to care though, this is exactly what they want to happen and a claimants well-being isn’t even thought about let alone be a concern.

How many more deaths will there be as a result of being sanctioned before the cruel sanctioning system is forced to stop.

I predict thousands because not one political party is willing to campaign against this and apart from a few good MPs such as Debbie Abrahams they’re silent

Sanctions do kill and this report needs to be acted upon ASAP. One death is a death too many.

No one should be forced to suffer in this manner it’s inhumane and cruel.

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I really couldn’t do this without you though. To say I’m struggling at the moment is an understatement.

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I’ve got my internet bill to be paid as well as my top up for my mobile phone that I rely upon to help people.

This week I’ve heard some truly awful stories of people suffering and I’ve done everything I can to help those that need it.

Thank you.

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UK Mortgaged Homeowners More At Risk Of Arrears Than Other Developed Countries

Fitch Ratings a top credit ratings agency has warned the government that mortgaged homeowners in the UK are now more at risk of falling into arrears than in any other major developed country.

They also warn that the share of mortgaged homeowners missing more than three months of mortgage payments is most likely to double in 2023 to 1.5% as a result of high rates being charged to borrowers.

These figures are based upon the current number of residential mortgages in the UK which adds to approximately 135,000 households facing mortgage repayment arrears.

Research conducted by Fitch reveals Thar banks in the UK are more exposed to the housing market than in any of the 10 developed markets ranked by Fitch which include Canada, the USA, Germany, Australia and Italy.

A statement issued by Monsur Hussain at Fitch reveals “The UK scores the worst in terms of borrower risks.”

Fitch have also forecasted that the Bank of England will most likely raise the Bank Rate to a peak of 4.75%, up from 4% currently by May this year.

Jessica Hinds, director of economics at Fitch, said: “We have seen much bigger increases in mortgage rates, the Bank of England started tightening much earlier, and we have shorter mortgage terms than in other countries.”

Rather shockingly British borrowers fix for short periods of time either two or five years, buyers in the US commonly fix for around 25 years.

Mr Hussain from Fitch went on to say that in the year to November 2022 the average mortgage rates in the UK jumped by 4.5 percentage points compared to 3.5 points in the US.

As a result of this the UK’s housing market has come under immense pressure after mortgage rates increased dramatically when Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget was revealed inciting chaos in financial markets.

Even though rates have since started to fall concerns about the cost of living crisis and ever increasing energy bills have deeply impacted employment stability and less money available to pay mortgage and everyday household costs.

This has already had a massive effect upon mortgage repayments and is undoubtedly resulting in many being forced to sell their homes with many being repossessed and then becoming homeless.

Although this might not be seen as an important issue for some it is indeed a massive problem for not only people becoming homeless but for local authorities that are already massively underfunded being forced to bear the burden of this.

I can’t see this getting better and a housing recession could well be on the cards in the near future.

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1 In 7 Universal Credit Claimants Sanctioned

According to statistics released by the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) the rate of universal credit recipients hit an all-time high of 6.86% in October 2022.

This total decreased slightly to 6.51% in November 2022.

The statistics released by the DWP show that sanctions have risen by 4.16 percentage points in the last 12 months.

Sanctions given to universal credit recipients can be and are not excluding other reasons for failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview, failure or inability to complete their online journal or being seen as not to be looking for work enough in their time allotted to do so.

Over the last year over half a million claimants were sanctioned which includes a total of 98.4% of all sanctions given for not attending an in-face or telephone interview.

Needless to say most universal credit recipients do not purposely miss important interviews and there is usually a good reason for doing so which are often not taken into consideration by the DWP.

At a time when most people are struggling because of the current cost of living and energy cost crisis the DWP continues to financially punish the most vulnerable.

It’s abhorrent that the DWP continues to do this, they extend a person’s punishment to such an extent that they can’t see a way out.

It needs to stop before even more people die as a result of the DWPs actions and decision making.

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A huge thanks to everyone that does this!

A huge thank you to everyone that reads, subscribes to and supports my blog and the work that I do.

I really couldn’t do this without you and I can’t thank you enough.

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Thank you so much!

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New Cruel Universal Credit Sanction Traps Exposed

I’d like to say I was surprised upon hearing about a new sanction trap for Universal Credit (UC)) claimants but I’m not, afterall it’s not exactly the first time they’ve done this to unsuspecting claimants.

This time it’s been disguised as supposed help to move claimants into work.

The new scheme which has surprisingly been condemned by members of the DWP staff union PCS despite jobcentre workers are being offered a £250 ‘incentive’ to implement it.

The newly named Additional Jobcentre Support scheme requires UC claimants being forced by the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) to attend their allocated Jobcentre 10 times over a two week period.

Claimants that are unable to attend or failing to participate in one session will highly likely to lead to a sanction.

Undeterred however by the cruelty of this new scheme the DWP are being ‘trialed’ at 60 jobcentres across England and Scotland.

As already proven by myself and many other like-minded campaigners these so called trials are usually the start of a national roll out regardless if they’re successful or not.

To add incentive to roll out this terrible scheme the DWP are offering a £250 bonus in the form of a voucher “to recognise and reward jobcentre teams who furthest exceed their aspirational targets.”

These vouchers will be given to each member of staff in the best performing jobcentres.

No explanation has so far been given as to what the alleged “aspirational targets” consist of and if this involves taking people off benefitif claimants have failed to comply for whatever reason. Nor has the DWP commented if it involves sanctioning claimants or forcing claimants into unsuitable and insecure work.

The PCS union, which represents DWP staff commented saying that they have no doubt that the main purpose of the scheme is to make life harder for claimants, saying:

“Our members will see through this pilot for what it is – a government hellbent on making it more difficult for people to claim benefits and which will increase the risk of poverty for those customers who fall foul of this pilot. Asking more customers to travel more often into jobcentres does nothing to help our staff or their workloads and does nothing to help the customers find the work that they need.”

However as I have already stated this isn’t the first time that the DWP have issued financial targets to incentivise cruelty.

Previous examples of this are ‘Sandras Stars’ which consisted of a Jobcentre manager giving DWP employees a star on a leaderboard for every employee that ‘offloaded’ sanctioned a claimant.

https://wp.me/p1Awq-2cd Sandra’s Stars

And who could also forget this example back in 2015. Of course they denied that this happened but the truth was all too obvious.

If there’s one thing that the government likes doing the most is implementing cruelty to the poorest and most vulnerable the very people.

The government and their henchpeople the DWP target social security claimants the most because they’re less likely to fightback and demand they’re treated fairly.

Most are worn down with the constant compliance requests that they’re hounded with.

They know that people claiming any form of social security are already paying the highest price for the cost of living and energy bills prices.

Many are primarily focused upon trying to get by from day to day and are less likely to know their legal rights and how to appeal DWP decisions.

Let’s hope that the PCS DWP staff members rebel against the mandate given to them from the government and their managers. If they do they deserve our support.

Please read, share, tweet and email this blog post. It’s vital that we raise awareness on this subject and many of the others that I have published previously.

Also a huge thanks for the support that you my subscribers and readers have shown me in the last week. I really can’t thank you enough, I couldn’t do this without you and I appreciate it.

Huge Rise In People Rehoming Pets

The charity the Dogs Trust has reported a huge rise in the number of people trying to rehome their pets.

The RSPCA have also seen that animal shelters and rehoming organisations have also seen a massive rise in animal rehoming saying that they are ‘drowning’ in animals as the cost of living and energy crisis continues to hit hard.

According to figures given by the Dogs Trust the number of pet owners attempting to rehome their dogs had risen hugely last year and continues to do so. Many shelters are now experiencing long waiting lists. Also seen is an increase in setting up pet food banks to help prevent people from having to re-home their pets.

Between 1 January 2022 and 31 October 2022 the Dogs Trust received 42,000 inquiries from dog owners about rehoming which is a rise of almost 50% on the same period in 2021. Sadly these figures show no sign of decreasing.

Amanda Sands, centre manager at Dogs Trust Leeds, said she had never seen such high demand in three decades of working at the shelter.

There’s people bringing in their dogs that at one time would’ve said: ‘I will never give my dog up.’ And they meant it,” she said. “And now they’re faced with the situation where they have no choice. To have to say goodbye to your friend, it’s unbearable. It’s unthinkable.”

The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH), in conjunction with ITV’s Tonight programme, surveyed more than 60 animal shelters across the country about how they were responding to the cost of living crisis.

The figures showed 92% of shelters were seeing more people wanting to hand over a dog compared with pre-pandemic levels, and 88% were seeing more people wanting to hand over cats.

More than half were planning on opening pet food banks to respond to the crisis, and 30% were thinking about providing low-cost or free veterinary care.

Sadly these numbers are increasing as people can no longer afford to buy food for their pets. They are also finding it near impossible to pay for any vet bills that may occur.

The RSPCA also reported in 2022 a 24% increase in pets being rehomed as shelters report that they can’t keep up with rehoming requests.

Also back in 2022 75 families were using a food bank at the Blue Cross Animal Hospital in Grimsby every week.

Mark had been using the food bank for several months to help pay for specialist dog food for his staffordshire bull terrier Roxy. This has helped him save £60 a month on food. “She’s part of the family. We’d sooner go without ourselves then give Roxy up,” he told the Tonight programme.

Meanwhile a YouGov and Dogs Trust poll that was made in conjunction with the Tonight programme found that 48% of dog owners were saying they now are now finding it more difficult to provide their pets everything that they need because of the cost of living crisis.

Understandably vet bills topped the list of concerns which was followed by the rising cost of dog food and pet insurance costs.

Roll forward to 2023 I can only imagine that these figures are rising. It’s difficult to find a foodbank that provides dog and cat food although there are some that do.

No one wants to rehome their pets, it’s a decision that is usually made when they’ve exhausted all other means of providing the essentials for their pets.

As the cost of living and energy cost crisis continues there’s no doubt that the most vulnerable will undoubtedly pay the highest price.

Photo by Ahsanjaya on Pexels.com

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An Observation Of Life On The Streets Of Manchester

My ramblings.

First published a few years ago but nothing much has changed.

I notice a young homeless girl living on the street. She has her blankets and bags next to her ready for the night ahead.
She should be excited about life but instead she looks lost. She has a can of beer next to her, she says to numb the pain and cold.

She’s sat with a group of men, also homeless but seems detached from them. I ask her if she is ok, and she says that she is and that there’s safety in numbers.
She needs to keep safe. As a woman living on the streets life can be very dangerous. Even if you don’t like the people you are sitting next to you stay with them she says. They are her protection.

She wants to make enough money for a b&b for the night, but says she has given up all hope of finding a permanent home because she has addiction issues and feels unable to deal with them. She will one day she says.
After saying this her facial expression changes as worry weighs down heavily on her mind. A weight that she feels can’t be lifted at the moment.

Whilst we are talking a young man rushes past, earphones on looks anxious. Perhaps late for an appointment. He doesn’t notice the homeless girl sat near him. He’s self consumed with himself and his journey. She says that she sees this all the time.

Her wish, she says is that people would be nice to one another. She would like more people to say hello, but they don’t and she looks down again.

A lady walks past walking her dog. People stop and compliment her on her dog. They don’t notice the young girl, but they notice the dog. I feel that this is rather sad. A vulnerable human life appears to be less important.

A teenage boy stands next to the homeless girl. He says hello to her and asks her if she would mind if he plays some music and starts rapping. She welcomes it.

His rapping consists of the story of his life, that he has encountered prejudice, loss and also some lovely things.
People start to give him money, but instead of keeping it himself he gives it to the homeless girl. He tells her that she is important, that she is loved and not to give up.

He tells her that one day, life will get better because his did. She smiles and thanks him.
Maybe, just maybe that one act of kindness gave her the strength to carry on.
I’d like to think that she kept warm for that night.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, loose women, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, safe hands,, sanctions, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people February 9, 2023

I Struggle To Feed And Keep My Kids Warm. Real Life Stories From The Public.

As the never ending cold winter and the ever increasing cost of living and energy costs continues once again I took to the streets and interviewed several people in my local town Ashton Under Lyne.

Ashton Under Lyne is a typical northern working class town, drained of money by the government and the majority of people living in differing stages of poverty.

Mortality rates are amongst the highest in the UK and there’s a higher rate of people either being unwell or living with some type of disability.

Like any other northern working class town it doesn’t have a lot for people to aspire to despite the positive changes that Tameside Council are implementing and trying to introduce.

Years of government forced austerity policies has been and continues to cause a lack of funding for essential services with most things already stripped to the bare minimum.

As I headed off into the cold I spoke to a young woman that had two young children with her. I introduced myself and asked her how she is coping with the cost of living and the ever increasing energy crisis.

As I asked her this I could see that she was upset, telling me that she thinks that she’s failing her children because she can’t give them the things that she used to be able to do.

“We’re living in a cold house trying to keep turning the central heating on at a bare minimum. I usually turn the heating on for an hour in the morning and again in the evening at bedtime, that’s if I’ve got credit because I’m on a prepaid meter”

She went on to say that her health is suffering most likely because she’s cold and because she often doesn’t eat meals, if she does it’s a bare minimum. “I can’t afford to eat as well as my children and they always come first”

I asked her how she keeps warm when the heating isn’t turned on. “I wear layers of clothing and I have a thick blanket that we all snuggle under. I’ve got a little fan heater that I use just to keep the chill off because I don’t want the children to become ill and even that’s a struggle. Once I run out of credit on my meter that’s it it’s gone and I can’t afford for that to happen”

She told me that she often takes the children to the library that has a warm area and her children can have a look at some books and she can have a free cuppa.

However she continued to say that sometimes she found this very difficult because she doesn’t always want to be around other people..

I asked her if she had visited a food bank recently and she said yes she has and is now dependent upon them even though it’s still a struggle saying that they’ve been a lifeline for her and her children.

But despite getting help from food banks they don’t cover all of her food and every day living costs so she has to try and fill the gaps in.

“I’m always topping up my energy meters, I’ve never had this problem before. It’s bad, really bad I just wish that it wasn’t like this”

I signposted her to several organisations that might be able to help her but this is only a sticking plaster.

Whilst the government sits back and causes the suffering of those most vulnerable her experience is going to be repeated time and time again

Their inhumane policies will undoubtedly cause malnutrition and hypothermia related illnesses and worse.

Undoubtedly there will be recorded deaths of those suffering like this but how many will actually be reported as so.

Every death related to this needs to be reported and spoken about in parliament. The government is knowingly causing the suffering of thousands if not millions and they need to be reminded of this every single day.

This shouldn’t be happening at all.

I will continue to share the experiences of those that I interview in future blogs, hopefully weekly.

If you would like me to use your story get in touch I’m happy to do so.

Let’s be clear no one should be forced to live like this.

Please read, share, tweet and email this blog, it’s vitally important that we get these stories out there in the public domain.

Believe it or not there are still people that aren’t aware that this is happening.

A huge thanks to everyone that does share my blogs it makes a tremendous difference.

I don’t get paid for any of the work that I do and I would like to continue to report on these stories.

If you would like to contribute to keep my blog and campaign going there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

By doing so I will be able to help others more.

Thank you xx.

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