Young bear brunt as state aid ends in Third World Britain

I WAS angered and upset, as I am sure were many of your readers, on reading a new report by Save the Children on child poverty (Yorkshire Post, September 5) that says children are going without at least one hot meal a day, parents are cutting back on food for themselves to ensure their children have enough to eat 
while many thousands are 
unable to afford warm coats 
and new shoes at the start of the new school year.

This is not some shanty town in the Third World but 21st century Britain.

This Conservative-led government is pursuing policies which expose poorer people to the worst effects of the recession, so increasing inequality while doing little to tackle the greed and irresponsibility which produced the economic crisis.

For the first time in its history, the charity Save the Children, is launching an appeal to raise money to help the poorest families here in Britain to survive the recession.

Given that the vast majority of children living in poverty have at least one parent in work, the Government must take greater responsibility for their welfare.

Firstly, they should encourage more employers to pay the living wage, so parents can earn enough to lift their children out of poverty.

Secondly, they must strengthen the new Universal Credit by allowing working parents to keep more of their earnings before benefits are withdrawn.

Thirdly, in order to help parents afford to work, they must provide extra childcare support so that 80 per cent of the costs are covered.

If “we are all in it together”, I expect to see George Osborne reverse the disgraceful tax cut for the rich and instead use that money to help those who need it most.

From: Dominic Rayner, Gledhow Avenue, Roundhay, Leeds.

DON Burslam writes (Yorkshire Post, September 7) that those receiving state benefits should be grateful for them. Yes they should, but are today’s young people really getting such a good deal from the state? In some ways they can expect less assistance than their parents had.

The value in real terms of state benefits is currently being cut, there is no longer any prospect of free university education or a student grant and while mum or dad might have a decent occupational pension when they retire that will not be the case for those starting work now.

Meanwhile, the housing bubble means most young people have no chance of buying a house. Young people do have one thing to look forward to though – through the taxes they pay over the next 40 years they will help to fund the social care costs of their grandparents and parents.

Perhaps that is a new hand-out that Mr Burslam believes the state should provide, as a right?