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A little more is emerging about David Cameron's commitment
to reducing social inequality, should his Conservative Party be elected to
power this year. Yet his proposals, spelled out to the independent think tank Demos yesterday, seem incompatible...
The unofficial pre-general election campaign got under way
this week with both Labour and the Conservatives targeting specific groups,
suggesting that social care could have a more visible presence over the months
ahead. Read More...
In a cracking interpretation of redistribution of wealth, a
Church of England vicar has recommended shoplifting for those who are living in
poverty. Read More...
A book I have focuses on deprivation in Hackney in east
London. In a chapter entitled Schooling for Failure, the author discusses the
cramped conditions in which rather too many children live and the effect on their
development both at play and in study...
David Cameron has been turning his thoughts this week to
poverty - and also to the voluntary sector which he sees as key to reducing it. Read More...
Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published some challenging
findings about the relationship between work and poverty. Read More...
Cuts and welfare have dominated the news this week - and I
fear this is more than a coincidence. Read More...
On the day that think-tank Compass urged the setting up of a high pay commission , another organisation published an audit of the UK's low earners. And guess what? Social workers
were among them. Read More...
Perversely, it was probably a good thing that two court
hearings concerning loan sharks coincided yesterday. One alone could have given
the impression of an isolated case. Read More...
There is no doubt that some people are doing very well in
what for many are cash-strapped times: namely those on well-paid jobs whose
mortgage costs have dipped quicker than the economy. Read More...
As Budget day nears, politicians and groups such as Age
Concern and Help the Aged are pressing chancellor Alistair Darling to address
the issues that they hold dear. Read More...
It's Maundy Thursday, when the Queen traditionally hands out alms to
some of Britain's poor. This year, 166 pensioners in Bury St Edmonds,
Suffolk , are the beneficiaries. Read More...
Last week I pondered the Tory epiphany moments : when top Conservatives realise it is time to review the nonsense they have been spouting for aeons. Read More...
The teenage pregnancy figures are out today and show a rise
for the first time since 2002 . Read More...
Barely a month goes by without yet another pessimistic
statement on child poverty. Read More...
There was a certain paradox in David Cameron's choice of
word that sits at the heart of his poverty battleplan. Read More...
Every now and then Labour comes up with scheme so
hare-brained that it insults the people the party purports to support and plays
into the hands of the Conservatives. Read More...
The Daily Mail called it "the day New Labour died" ; The
Guardian saw it as a "gamble" . Whichever you prefer, chancellor Alistair
Darling yesterday made clear his intention to protect those most in need during
this economic downturn...
Who said this in June? "I was disappointed that child
poverty rose last year. This is a sign we have to redouble our efforts." Read More...
So pleased was I to read an article headlined "Social
mobility on the rise" that I felt compelled to find out when it was last not
"on the rise". Read More...
Joseph Rowntree Foundation is doing an admirable job at
keeping child poverty on the social agenda. This week it released a report
showing the economic costs of allowing the UK's children to remain below the
poverty line. Read More...
We no longer have a shoe shop on every corner. We don't
even have a corner shop on every corner. But in most high streets you can be
sure of a betting shop on the corner. Read More...
Two news stories at the weekend encapsulated attitudes to
income inequality and the power of celebrity. Read More...
Amid the mass hysteria that surrounds the latest crisis of
capitalism and the uncertain futures of the moneybags who run our western
economies, it is easy to forget that there is one group of people who do badly
in both boom and bust. Read More...
It's definitely catching. Last month Call-me-Dave Cameron
launched a verbal blitz on overweight people. Now his health spokesman Andrew
Lansley is at it . Read More...
In social care circles, Scandinavia, particularly the
Swedish bit, is often cited as the holy grail for professional practice. Few
would dispute that social care is well funded and well run in the Nordic
countries. Read More...
When scientists calculate as early as July that the
following winter is likely to be colder than the ones we have been used to ,
news of soaring gas and electricity costs merely heightens the sense of
foreboding. Read More...
You have to hand it to them; the Tories are in rampant mood as they make inroads into traditional Labour territory. Whether it concerns the emergence of an underclass (credit, Iain Duncan Smith ), families and inequality (credit, Michael Gove ) and our...
By Mike McNabb There are more than 700,000 homes lying empty in England
alone and the number of households living in temporary accommodation is about 83,000 . Read More...
By Mike McNabb So, all you single social care workers earning more than £13,400 a year: stop complaining and get back to your caseloads. Read More...