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The country is on the way to a “perfect storm of dread” that will see an increase in homeless people, starving children and poor families unable to cope unless the government reconsiders its support for the most vulnerable, its former adviser warned. homeless.
Dame Louise Casey, who led the government’s emergency program to tackle the hard dream earlier this year, warned that a host of economic pressures were now in danger of colliding. He said that while the campaign led by England and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford had provided hope, he urged ministers to act.
“What we face here is a perfect storm of dread,” he told the Observer. “The whole world has been affected by Covid, millions have seen their income fall and even those who can bear that are thinking twice. Rashford has brought everyone together on the key and compassionate theme of making sure children don’t go hungry or their parents don’t have to go hungry to feed them. The spirit of Thursday applauding to show our support for the NHS and care workers lives on in their kind and honest leadership.
“The British public really cares. The increasing levels of homeless and [with] With universal credit shrinking on the horizon, it’s hard not to feel sad about this winter. Rashford and those who support his campaign give me hope. Now is not the time for political division and tribal loyalty, it is time to unite all of us again. The government must pay attention to the mood of the country and act now. Children should not go hungry, people should not be on the streets and the elderly only deserve the best care we can provide.
His intervention came when the head of the CBI asked the government not to ditch the £ 1,000 increase in the basic universal credit allowance that will be phased out in April. In a rare move, Carolyn Fairbairn said that “having a strong safety net will be absolutely vital” in the coming months.
“A period of impoverishment in our country is unthinkable,” he said. “I think the idea of the £ 1,000 supplement being sold out in March is something that really should be rethought. It is also about justice. There will be some people who have stayed at work through variations of the employment support scheme and others who are not so lucky. The gap between those two positions shouldn’t be that big. “
Fairbairn is also calling for a new National Commission for Economic Recovery, involving businesses, unions, government and civil society, to plan how to revive the economy after the virus.
Official figures from last week revealed that there was an increase in the number of 16-25 year olds sleeping on the streets in London between July and September, from 250 last year to 368. The previous quarter saw a similar increase of 48 %.
The pressure on the government for child hunger continues to mount. A coalition of more than 50 public health directors, health professionals, charities and local government figures have signed a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak in support of a key element of Rashford’s child poverty campaign. They are demanding a major expansion of the Healthy Start program, which offers young pregnant women and low-income families with young children free vitamins and food stamps to buy vegetables, fruits, beans and milk.
They want the scheme to be improved and offered to more people, an increase in the value of the vouchers, and an advertising campaign to ensure it reaches those in need. “We are ready to help in whatever way we can,” they write. “We know that the nutrition and health of mothers and young children will have profound and lasting consequences for the future of children. A fair start in life should be a key tenet of the government’s ‘leveling’ agenda. Now is the time to act. “
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “We are fully committed to supporting the lowest paid families, increasing social support by £ 9.3 billion in response to the pandemic, as well as introducing income protection, mortgage holiday and support schemes. additional tenants and constantly keep these measures under review. “
