Need to know basis
š° Universal basic income. What would happen if the government handed us all a big sum of cash each month? Well, campaigners are trialling it in the UK. A total of 30 people will receive Ā£1,600 a month for two years (for free). Hereās how it will work.
āļø Cash for women. On a similar note, this is an interesting read from the New York Times: How to lower deaths among women? Give away cash. It argues that cash grants made directly to poor families or individuals have led to fewer deaths among women and young children worldwide.
š“ó §ó ¢ó ³ó £ó “ó æ A big Scottish plan. The Scottish Government has published a plan towards ending the need for food banks. It will strengthen availability, coordination and access to cash-first support, and help get money into peopleās pockets when they face crisis.
š¬š§ An even bigger UK plan. Chris Stephens, the SNP MP for Glasgow South West, presented his Food Poverty Strategy Bill in the House of Commons this week, calling for the UK government to publish a plan to eliminate food bank use by 2030.
š§ø Disproportionately affected. Disabled children are being forced to go without electricity or heating because their families are so affected by the cost of living crisis, according to a new report from The Childhood Trust. The charity has launched its Champions for Children appeal aiming to raise Ā£3.5m to support disadvantaged children.
š¼ Below the line. The End Child Poverty Coalition revealed to Channel 4 News that more than half a million kids have dropped below the poverty line in the UK in the last year. It is calling for an end to the two-child limit to benefits, which it claims would immediately lift 250,000 children out of poverty. The policy itself has failed to push parents into work, the Guardian reports.
š¬ Carersā rights. Emily Kenway, a writer and researcher who has published a book on crisis in the care system, argues that we need legal rights for people caring for older family members who become ill or disabled. That includes proper financial support.
š¢ On the frontline. The cost of living crisis is pushing frontline homelessness services over the edge of a financial cliff theyāve been facing for years, writes Homeless Linkās Nye Jones. He calls for all major political parties to commit to a new system that doesnāt leave services extremely vulnerable to an ever-changing economic climate.
ā° Ticking time bomb. Nearly half of electricians and gas engineers have been asked to tamper with meters in the last year as people struggle to afford their energy bills, Sky News reports. Citizens Advice has information on what to do if youāre struggling to pay your bills.
š Age of greedflation. This is an interesting analysis from Will Dunn in the New Statesman about how corporate greed is driving up inflation. He writes that so-called āgreedflationā is driving a wedge between affluent consumers and people who can barely afford to eat.
š¼ In sickness and in health. The Resolution Foundation published a report into the prevalence of youth worklessness due to ill health in different parts of the UK. The number of young people not working due to ill health has nearly doubled in a decade.
