Poverty in the UK

[Rosie1958]

It is very evident from comments on this forum that some do not realise how much poverty there is in the UK at the moment. Changes in the way that benefits are paid and indeed delays in payment being received has meant that some of the more vulnerable in our society are starving and are now sadly resorting to shop lifting, which has a knock on affect. The rise in the cost of living has also meant that others, particularly that are on a lower income are really struggling to make ends meet. The number of food banks run by churches has dramatically risen in this area recently, as no doubt in other parts of the country too.

The situation appears to be getting worse and is affecting single people, couples and families. I work hard, have a nice home and I am always thankful for what I have but there are many others less fortunate than ourselves, often through no fault of their own. Food banks are run by volunteers and they are always grateful for what they receive in the way of dried and tinned food (especially pasta, rice, tinned meat, tinned fruit, tinned vegetables, biscuits, crackers, fruit squash, tea, soup, etc.) If you are able to, please do consider making a food donation, you never know when it might be you, a family member or a close friend that might be in need of help ………

[andy222]

I agree rosie in our jobs we see everything however I think some on here live in their own little world.

[joebloggs]

no it's 'I'm alright jack' and either they wrongly believe that everyone else is alright or they don't give a about people worse off than them, after all, they all must be on the dole and scroungers and its all their fault

[bigmarco]

Excellent post again Rosie. Alas the system doesn't allow me to give you another rep but I'll owe you one.
We live in a Country where there's more unemployed than vacancies
We live in a Country where some people work part time because there's no full time jobs
We live in very selfish times where it's acceptable to label the unfortunate as scroungers. Where newspapers or tv identify the occasional scrounger and try to have us believe that all benefit claimants are the same.
We live in a country where I pay a higher percentage of Tax than the owners of The Daily Mail, Google, Starbucks and nobody is up in arms.
We also live in a country which considers itself amongst the leaders of the free world and yet some of our citizens have to go to a food bank to get their dinner

[Terpe]

The food banks in my area have very very strict eligibility rules.
Much tougher than UKBA

Seriously though, the vast majority are the most vunerable of society.

Glad you posted that Rosie.
It been said that most folks could only last 2 missing pay days before seeing bankruptcy as a real possibility.

[grahamw48]

Fortunately we have a (very expensive and comprehensive) social security system geared to taking care of anyone in GENUINE need, both locally and nationally, plus a plethora of charities.

It would help the situation if supermarkets were charged for any food they threw out...or offered to give it to the starving, in return for a small amount of labour.

It would also help if we all took steps to reduce food waste from our own households, and endeavoured to waste as little of the planet's valuable and finite resources, as I do.

Educating people about the perils of debt, and closing down the rip-off 'payday' loan companies would be a good idea too, IMO.

[Terpe]

Fortunately we have a (very expensive and comprehensive) social security system geared to taking care of anyone in GENUINE need, both locally and nationally, plus a plethora of charities.

Quite right Graham, we do have a system you describe. Sadly it's not always as simple as it should be and this adds to the already existing, but preventable, problems in the welfare system.

FareShare is a national charity dedicated to fighting food poverty and food waste.
Tesco has committed to provide an annual 7 million meals (equivalent) to the hundreds of charities FareShare works with by diverting all surplus fresh food from its distribution centres and online grocery centres to support the charity.

Of course the fact that there are more and more foodbanks means more and more people using. No doubt there's cheating too, but there is a real and genuine need that's not being met by the welfare system for all sorts of reasons.

Anyone who has been in hospital for a time, say for a major operation, may easily find that after being discharged their benefits have been stopped or delayed.

There needs to be a proper investigation as to why we, a highly developed society, have such issues. It's not all down to scroungers and cheaters

[Arthur Little]

... there are many others less fortunate than ourselves, often through no fault of their own. Food banks are run by volunteers and they are always grateful for what they receive in the way of dried and tinned food (especially pasta, rice, tinned meat, tinned fruit, tinned vegetables, biscuits, crackers, fruit squash, tea, soup, etc.) If you are able to, please do consider making a food donation, you never know when it might be you, a family member or a close friend that might be in need of help ………

... "food for thought", Rosie.

........... ... in a literal sense! Excellent thread; hopefully, its wise wording will "strike a chord" with ... and serve as a "wake~up" call to, complacent, well-off, "I'm alright Jacks" who, it would appear, are all too ready to dismiss those less fortunate than themselves as being mere "dregs of Society".

[tiger31]

ok of course there is poverty in the u.k but its not until you come to places like the philippines where the word poverty has a whole new meaning. One of the reasons I came here is because its so much cheaper to live and I don,t have to worry what my next gas bill is going to be .Although i,ll be returning at some point I will hopefully have the missus with me and i,ll put her to work to lessen the burden of living costs but jokin aside Its getting more and more difficult just to live an ordinary life you need both partners to be working to live an average lifestyle .

[grahamw48]

Maybe I am being a bit harsh today.

Sleepy and bad-tempered. Compassion is one of the attributes that differentiates us from lesser life forms after all.

[Arthur Little]

Its getting more and more difficult just to live an ordinary life you need both partners to be working to live an average lifestyle.

Not necessarily! ... I'm retired ... and my wife (who taught senior High School students for 22 years in the Philippines) cannot teach in the UK because her BSc degree isn't recognised by either the NUT or the Scottish Education Department. Equally, she's deemed as being over~qualified for a great many (dare I say?) less academically skilled occupations ... thus rendering her sort of "piggy in the middle", in the employment stakes. Most frustrating!

But really, the point I'm trying to get across here, is this:

Despite neither of us being employed, we, as a couple, manage to live comfortably on an income comprising my weekly State Pension and my [modest] Occupational Pension (paid monthly). Which, when combined, is considerably lower than the minimum financial requirement - since a year past July - for sponsoring a non-European partner from abroad.

So ... ... there you go!

[stevewool]

charity begins at home they say,

[Ako Si Jamie]

Not sure 'poverty' is the correct word to describe the situation here, as the U.K isn't a third world country such as the Philippines where the poor survive eating pagpag. Yup, people are skint and just exist day to day instead of living a life which is demoralising, but it's not poverty in the true sense.

[stevewool]

what some of would call skint others would not, i am lucky i know but i make my own luck too, there are some people i know well who earn very little they have families and they get some sort of benefits too, but i dont know which ones, but here comes the problems to me, they have the best phones, paying silly money for there contracts, drive around in better cars then i have , have all the sky channels you can throw a stick at and smoke like chimneys, yes its there life and they can do what they want too, but they complain about they never have enough money to buy food and pay the gas and electric,
Not everyone is the same i know and i am not tarring everyone with the same brush either, just these few idiots

[gWaPito]

I agree rosie in our jobs we see everything however I think some on here live in their own little world.

I can assure you I live and see the real world. ...being a regular Tesco customer I donate to these many food banks. ...I know there are many wasters amongst then but also I would hope a great deal more genuine deserving folks as well. ...tesco also donates to womens shelters etc. ...I don't judge anybody. ..not my place to. ..I also see the beggars with their dogs outside the metros in city centres. ..They beg and plead. ...what do they do. ..They wait until they have enough to buy booze. ..This is what I see. ....like Steve, im not tarring all with the same brush.
For a few. ...unemployment is a choice. ..like I said earlier today. ...you have to start somewhere. ..taking a job what you are not happy with is a start. ..I did it. ...forget the grand qualifications. .If there's nothing doing lower your expectations and build up. This is what serious folks do if they really want to work. ...

[tiger31]

Not necessarily! ... I'm retired ... and my wife (who taught senior High School students for 22 years in the Philippines) cannot teach in the UK because her BSc degree isn't recognised by either the NUT or the Scottish Education Department. Equally, she's deemed as being over~qualified for a great many (dare I say?) less academically skilled occupations ... thus rendering her sort of "piggy in the middle", in the employment stakes. Most frustrating!

But really, the point I'm trying to get across here, is this:

Despite neither of us being employed, we, as a couple, manage to live comfortably on an income comprising my weekly State Pension and my [modest] Occupational Pension (paid monthly). Which, when combined, is considerably lower than the minimum financial requirement - since a year past July - for sponsoring a non-European partner from abroad.

So ... ... there you go!

arthur, if your house is paid off then that makes a big difference in living comfortably as you put it on your pension. The average rent in the u.k now stands at 720 quid a month add all the utilities and everything else to the list, its a very scary figure.

[les_taxi]

I don't buy into the Poverty in the Uk much.
I don't live in my own little world as I drive all over the place - it's funny when I see people moaning about how hard up they are, they are generally overweight, smoking, drinking and have mobile phones, plus a roof over their heads!
Thats not poverty to me - like others have said things are much worse in the Phils - that's real poverty

[gWaPito]

I don't buy into the Poverty in the Uk much.
I don't live in my own little world as I drive all over the place - it's funny when I see people moaning about how hard up they are, they are generally overweight, smoking, drinking and have mobile phones, plus a roof over their heads!
Thats not poverty to me - like others have said things are much worse in the Phils-that's real poverty

Exactly Les. ...no little world for me either. .I got my truck.

Rep on it's way

[les_taxi]

Thanks gwapito

[gWaPito]

Thanks gwapito

I just got back home to my little world, be it only for 6 hours..then to do it all again ....We got it easy Les

[les_taxi]

I started work at 11am sat, ok been home a few times but i just got back now from manchester airport dropping sister off for free - weather was terrible aquaplaning like crazy on way back quite scary, well deserved bed now

[tiger31]

I started work at 11am sat ,ok been home a few times but i just got back now from manchester airport dropping sister off for free - weather was terrible aquaplaning like crazy on way back quite scary, well deserved bed now

I quite understand les you having to work all those hours to pay me gotta pay brian gotta pay brian lol

[Rosie1958]

There have been some excellent responses raised in this thread so thank you to everyone for your contributions.

Sadly, there are so many vulnerable people in our society who are struggling like they have never struggled before because the social welfare system has let them down or they find it impossible to make ends meet. Unfortunately, there are flaws in the system that are causing a lot of misery and there is a lack of support These are the genuine people that are vulnerable and cannot work because they are elderly, too sick or infirm, mentally or physically disabled, caring full time for someone else who is sick, homeless and without an address (which these days makes it impossible to get a job), and so the list goes on.

Understanding that poverty exists in the UK is hard to comprehend, unless you have seen it for yourself. Although deprived areas are visible, actual living in poverty cannot be seen from the road. Unfortunately, I have seen it for myself whilst visiting people in their homes, I know that others in this forum have done too. It is heart-wrenching and I find it hard to swallow that many others in the country that are in a position to help just do not want to know or ignore it.

It is a sad fact that places of poverty exist all over the world where people don’t have the means to feed themselves. Without help from others, they will not exist. Fortunately, there are some wonderfully giving people in this country who do help both abroad and here in the UK as we also need to look after our own too. I find it incomprehensible that people prefer to help animals through the support of charities rather than helping human beings in crisis.

Food banks have been set up and are growing fast as there is a need. To obtain food, people have to be in contact with an “agency” (citizens advice, GP, etc.) that can help them and some form of token is issued. I believe they are given out in emergencies and are not regularly given to subsidise the cost of living. It’s all about giving your neighbour a helping hand, without judgement.

[Terpe]

Well put Rosie.....

According to a report on our local radio station, those providers of welfare benefits/payments have also sent folks to food banks out of sheer frustration with the 'system' they're supposed to work with.

Last week groups of children from the local primary school went about the village with baskets of food for the elderly as part of the harvest festival activities.
Some of the teachers were so shocked at what they found in a few cases that Adult Social Care were immediately contacted and it was they who organised additional 3-day 'packs' from local food banks for some.
Seems even the neighbours had no idea. Sign of the times I guess.

On the positive side a neighbourhood group has been formed with the aim to ensure that at least twice weekly visits will be made to the vunerable elderly. Not all of whom are living alone.
It made me feel ashamed, especially having been a carer for my dad and knowing just how difficult simple things can become.

I've joined the group, but not been asked to make any visits just yet.
Maybe that will come as some volunteers drop out.

[Rosie1958]

Well put Rosie.....

According to a report on our local radio station, those providers of welfare benefits/payments have also sent folks to food banks out of sheer frustration with the 'system' they're supposed to work with.

Last week groups of children from the local primary school went about the village with baskets of food for the elderly as part of the harvest festival activities.
Some of the teachers were so shocked at what they found in a few cases that Adult Social Care were immediately contacted and it was they who organised additional 3-day 'packs' from local food banks for some.
Seems even the neighbours had no idea. Sign of the times I guess.

On the positive side a neighbourhood group has been formed with the aim to ensure that at least twice weekly visits will be made to the vunerable elderly. Not all of whom are living alone.
It made me feel ashamed, especially having been a carer for my dad and knowing just how difficult simple things can become.

I've joined the group, but not been asked to make any visits just yet.
Maybe that will come as some volunteers drop out.

What a sad and shocking situation, thank you for sharing that Terpe. I applaud you for helping in the way that you are and I am also taking a personal initiative too.

Even the police are visiting the food banks to obtain parcels for those in desperate need. It isn’t their role to do so but thankfully human kindness and a compassion for others creeps in.

[Ako Si Jamie]

what some of would call skint others would not, i am lucky i know but i make my own luck too, there are some people i know well who earn very little they have families and they get some sort of benefits too, but i dont know which ones, but here comes the problems to me, they have the best phones, paying silly money for there contracts, drive around in better cars then i have , have all the sky channels you can throw a stick at and smoke like chimneys, yes its there life and they can do what they want too, but they complain about they never have enough money to buy food and pay the gas and electric,
Not everyone is the same i know and i am not tarring everyone with the same brush either, just these few idiots

That's a good point Steve. Too many people try to keep up with the Jones' thus making a rod for their own backs. If they had better money management skills and lived within their means they wouldn't be in the position they're in. I just feel sorry for the ones who go out to work and live frugally and are still struggling.

[robbie bobby]

I don't buy into the Poverty in the Uk much.
I don't live in my own little world as I drive all over the place - it's funny when I see people moaning about how hard up they are, they are generally overweight, smoking, drinking and have mobile phones, plus a roof over their heads!
Thats not poverty to me - like others have said things are much worse in the Phils - that's real poverty

I agree completely mate well said Rep point on its way

[SimonH]

Well put Rosie.....

According to a report on our local radio station, those providers of welfare benefits/payments have also sent folks to food banks out of sheer frustration with the 'system' they're supposed to work with.

Last week groups of children from the local primary school went about the village with baskets of food for the elderly as part of the harvest festival activities.
Some of the teachers were so shocked at what they found in a few cases that Adult Social Care were immediately contacted and it was they who organised additional 3-day 'packs' from local food banks for some.
Seems even the neighbours had no idea. Sign of the times I guess.

On the positive side a neighbourhood group has been formed with the aim to ensure that at least twice weekly visits will be made to the vunerable elderly. Not all of whom are living alone.
It made me feel ashamed, especially having been a carer for my dad and knowing just how difficult simple things can become.

I've joined the group, but not been asked to make any visits just yet.
Maybe that will come as some volunteers drop out.

What a sad tale, but unfortunately an all too familiar one. A lot of that generation are too proud to ask, the total opposite to a lot of the scum today who hold their hand out whether they need it or not

[robbie bobby]

What a sad tale, but unfortunately an all too familiar one. A lot of that generation are too proud to ask, the total opposite to a lot of the scum today who hold their hand out whether they need it or not

While we have a system which is vulnerable to abuse there will always be those who will benefit.I know of many who get benefits and still work cash in hand. We are all paying for it in some way or another in our taxes. Surely if you are on benefits you shouldn't have enough to buy the latest phone, shouldnt have enough to have a nice car. I was on benefits for a few months a while back and I can tell you it's no holiday. I HAD TO get the weekly shopping in from Iceland. I HAD TO walk everywhere coz I couldn't afford a bus and I barely had credit in my phone. I don't care what anyone says, if you are on benefits and still manage the luxuries in life YOU ARE FIDDLING!

[grahamw48]

As I stated in a previous post, my occupation....handing out grants to people in 'fuel poverty', amongst others, involves me calling on people in their own homes every day of the week, (maybe 8 or 10 a day), and has done so for the past 10 years. They are on a wide variety of benefits, over 70, etc, so I do have my finger on the pulse.

What is sad these days, is that the previous tradition of taking care of your own elderly relatives seems to have been lost. Too many selfish people around.