Author Archives: Megan Jarvie

Megan Jarvie

The Independent View: Save our safety net

By Megan Jarvie | Thu 20th November 2014 - 11:54 am

Four children are left home alone for five days. Social services step in to move the kids out to live with their father. But there’s a problem: the council have found a flat for the newly formed family, but it is unfurnished. The dad lives on a low income and does not have the savings to buy five beds and mattresses, and all the other furniture that is needed. If the property isn’t adequately furnished, the children will have to be taken into care. (See case study here).

Situations like this exist up and down the country. In this case, the family were awarded a loan from the local welfare provision (LWP) scheme run by their local authority which allowed them to start again after this period of massive instability. But if they lived in a different part of the country their local provision might not have been as generous, or the local council simply may not have established a scheme at all. And with central government funding to councils for LWP currently under threat, support of this type is likely to be even more limited in the future.

Continue reading »
Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Big Tall Tim
    What Michael says. Thank you....
  • James Brough
    As people have said, there seems to have been something behind the scenes to which we are not privy. It's very worrying to think that the party has decided that...
  • Amanda Clark
    I share everyone's shock and disbelief about the way in which Christine has been treated by some of her local party. I moved up to Scotland, with my family four...
  • Julian Brookes
    Wow, this is a surprise. I would like her local party to confirm whether she has been selected and their reasons. I've always had the greatest respect for Chris...
  • Institute of Urban T
    A wonderfully sharp op-ed dissecting how two ongoing wars are radically redrawing the global map of oil refining and driving up everyday fuel costs....