People seem to forget the benefits system went under some major changes under the Tories to force people back into work and if they didn't show evidence of seeking work, there benefits were stopped or reduced. 143,000 people had their payments suspended, a further 6,000 received nil award, I don't know if this is yearly total or since it came in, see more below... Some figures I found here documented in 2022, to show I'm not bullshiting: https://www.workrightscentre.org/ne...universal-credit-claims-must-stop-this-is-why. A lot of people on Universal Credit are already working, then when the Tories were last in power, Rishi Sunak increased, I think more or less doubled the number of hours they had to work, remembering those original hours were set by IDS in the first place! Not to forget a lot of these are mothers with children, trying to make ends meet. Then DWP went about a campaign of moving people from PIP over to UC as well, which then began convoluting what was going on. Remembering these were probably the same people hit by the Tory bedroom tax and the last lot of **** chucked at them. And here we are again beating the same people, because despite this constant victimisation, they are supposedly cheating what is a relatively new system, yeah right, as I said, I don't know anyone that is doing that, not one person, because the system has changed so much. This isn't the late 70's and early 80's anymore. There may well be fraud, but dare I suggest that may well be bogus people from other countries, we can all chuck stupid narratives about, who knows, I certainly don't, but that's not the same as what we are talking about here. As I said was it yesterday, or a couple of days ago, all that will happen is this will put more pressure on GP's, more pressure on the NHS frontline ie nurses, all to cover for a defence budget, that Rachel Reeves now wants to boast about, but was forced into by Trump, certainly not voluntarily. It's lies, lies and more ****ing lies all the time, and people keep sucking it up, with the same ole, oh yeah let's look at them over there. Starmer is supposedly putting a billion quid into support for the transition to work, yet I've no Idea where any of this money is supposedly going. We've been here before and in another four years, we will go all over the same bolloxs again, guaranteed, by the next group of ****ers trying to get into power. However, I tell you what they could have done with that billion quid, given it to foodbanks! For the whole of the UK, it would have paid the equivalent of what they recieve in a year for donations...and then still receive the donations - A real aid to poverty that could have been, but instead as per usual we are chasing shadows and throwing more money down the drain, or at the very least pretending that money is going somewhere, rather than being used on the most needy. Afterall with Trumps tariffs, everyone's taxes will be going up in October either way, to pay for the shortfall again, in the meantime we will use the sick and disabled as a distraction and Starmer will keep pointing, saying, look at them over there. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have already called this out for what it is...not a Labour party they have ever known.
It just goes to show what we really think of the needy and how we treat them, it's ****ing disgusting and needs to be called out.
My kids do can drives for their school that gets taken to food banks- you'd be surprised at how much of the cans people donate is long-time expired. I wouldn't donate anything I wouldn't be willing to eat myself.
It's the same ole mate, we have billions for war, while we feed our needy with out of date food. If something is a best before date, I would still eat it within reason, but I hopefully wouldn't have bought something that gets to that stage, but it happens. Whereas use by dates is exactly what it says on the packet use by. If you store veg and fruit correctly, and it was in good quality when you bought it from the supermarket, you could probably make it last beyond it's best before date, examples, potatoes, onions and even tomatoes. A lot of soft fruit will not keep past its best before date, but you just inspect it before you eat it. Stuff I'm really fussy about with it's date is chicken and shellfish, because if anything will put you in hospital that latter will.
Yeah, a lot of it is common sense, as I said, something like chips or biscuits, it's probably fine after the printed date on the label... I eat stuff that's past best before date. Veggies, as you say, you can see if it's good or not. Meat- **** no, that's not worth risking... cans... probably actually safe for a while after date, but I wouldn't risk it. Not unless starving and no alternative, and hopefully the food banks arn't THAT desperate.
Again, I don’t disagree. One key point here is working people needing UC. That shouldn’t be happening and goes back to a point I made about a living wage. Stop companies/corporations using the system to top up the wages they are paying(people needing help when grafting) JC would have been an interesting option as PM. Certainly wouldn’t have done any worse than what we have had.
I'd like to get a better understanding of foodbanks, but I suppose the only way to do that is to work in one. Not sure if anyone on here has. Last I understood it was people who were needy and were directed to a foodbank, by a governing body, so for example, your local dwp office - I don't know if people can just turn up, without being referred. I don't ever rememeber there being foodbanks in my day, you either had money for food or went hungry, simple as. Hence why I'd like to know what makes this whole set up tick, and then for the government to decide how they are going to fix it. I researched that UK foodbanks take just under a billion a year in donations, so this is something the government could throw a billion into, if we can afford missiles we can afford a one billion. At least then the standard of food can be improved, simple things, just to help people, it's not asking too much is it?
The post earlier with supermarkets flowing their out of date food to food banks is dreadful. Wonder if it is a way for them to not have to pay for landfill/disposal etc.
I eat a lot of fruit and veg, so I have a pretty good knowledge of what keeps and what goes off quick. It's the stage where sometimes you can't have what you want to eat on a particular day, it's what needs to be used up first, simply because I hate wasting food, even if I can afford it.
I'm not sure how UK tax for that works- but in the US you don't owe money on taxes for anything you donate to charity. So if you throw away £100k of food, you pay taxes on that £100k if you donate £100k of rotten food- that's £100k you don't pay taxes on. Grocery stores in the US frequently run a "donate" scam where they ask you to donate money to some charity... only they take half that money for themselves as "administrative fees" and then claim back on taxes for the money YOU donated for themselves. (far better for the charity if you donate directly).
There is a food hub in our village that anyone can use, linked to more in the area It’s made up from donations and from things given from the bigger supermarkets. Anyone can use it as its non profit, you get a bag with an assortment of things in it for a minimum price, if you can pay more then that goes back in. Not the essentials some may need that food banks help with. One of the local councillors will also drive out and deliver to the ones unable to get to the hall.
Oh yeah, I have heard about those places, I forgot about them tbph. Think I might have seen some short documentary on something like this, quite a while back though.
I said a proper one mate, one that will pay the rent as well as the food. How much is rent now, over £1k a month? Also the more wages go up, the more food prices will follow, so it's just a vicious cycle.
Rents and housing costs have to be brought under control, housing is an absolute emergency. Which the government recognises; whether they can do anything about it, we’ll have to wait and see, but again, at least they see the problem and are taking action. https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-rights-bill/guide-to-the-renters-rights-bill https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...-and-affordable-housebuilding-in-a-generation
I just wish sometimes in these documents they were clearer about what they meant by social and affordable housing, as it can mean a variety of things to different people, and to say you deliver one may not mean you are delivering the other...such as cheap rental homes, they need to be tied down to exact numbers. They say 18,000....but of what, how is that figure made up....then you have that massive obstacle called NIMBYs and Infrastructure. I suppose I'll have to wait and see, as the proof with be in the pudding, but yeah it's better than what the Tories delivered, IF it is cheap rental homes.
Yeah, the word “affordable” needs defining, for sure. I believe it should mean, affordable for people earning the average wage, but in practice that hasn’t always been the case at all.
