Silhillvilla
Vital Football Legend
Fair play Rashford. I was a bit sceptical about PR motives but I think it's genuine
Fair play Rashford. I was a bit sceptical about PR motives but I think it's genuine
If the government are to be pushed into some form of support re meals they should re open the school halls and canteens and feed the kids proper food.Some friends of ours have a kid on free school meals. In the summer holidays just gone (throughout which the scheme was extended) they received vouchers to the value of £90 (or £15 a week, the equivalent value of the weekly school meals).
The voucher was in the form of an e-voucher which they could redeem for a gift card from selected supermarkets (Tesco, Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury's I think). It was clearly stated that the purchase of alcohol and cigarettes would not be permitted, and rightly so, of course.
All of which required internet access and potentially access to a printer (if you wanted to redeem in-store), neither option is available to everyone, not least the very poorest for which this system was designed. But I digress.
The point I'm making is that there is nothing wrong in principle with extending the system in the current circumstances, as it will assist the most disadvantaged who are most likely to remain furloughed, have seen their hours cut or even lost their jobs, so as @david-avfc alluded to above, how will they magically have money for meals in the holidays as opposed to term time?
I totally agree that the state should not have to pay for 'bad' parenting, but that's not the issue at hand here. This is about poor families being made to struggle even harder while, for instance, MPs and Lords continue to enjoy their subsidised catering in the Palace of Westminster (as well as looking forward to a potential pay rise of £3k).
The government managed to find the thick end of £600m for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme in the summer, so why so hard to find £60-70m to feed genuinely hungry CHILDREN for a bit longer?
If the government are to be pushed into some form of support re meals they should re open the school halls and canteens and feed the kids proper food.
For a number of years I worked extensively in peoples homes on some of Brum and the Black Countries most deprived estates and there are parents on those estates who should never be let loose anywhere near a child.
Opening the schools would ensure these children got fed in a safe, supervised environment.
There is a theme in the western world where the rich and wealthy, certain members of the Royal family, rock stars, celebrities etc tell the rest of us how we should live our lives, what causes we should support, how to spend our money, how to vote, etc,etc,etc.
I've just been out in the front garden picking up all the crisp packets and sweet wrapper pop cans and takeaway cartons that have collected there since the poor starving children of Smethwick returned to school over the last few weeks.
You will have to excuse me if I don't actually think there are many starving kids even in an area like this. There are however a lot of feckless parents
yep very expensive block paved oneThey have front gardens in Smethwick ?