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It's bloody Barnards Castle all over again.
According to my lovable Daily Mail reading family member, because even if they can’t spend the voucher on booze and fags, they sell them to the local drug dealer for £15 of drugs. Even the drug dealers need to buy food, so they then make the profit on the drugs and a commission on the transaction. Win win.
by the same logic, "poor parent" could spend the £30 (or rather £5.30) they would have spent on that amount of food, on booze and fags*, cutting out the drug dealer completely.
*or other things like rent and electicity
Someone on Twitter pointed out that they could spend £20on fags and booze and still double the food they bought.
I dont care for football at all, but hes a good egg that Marcus Rashford and no doubt it will set a good example to his young followers that standing up for what you believe in can result in change.
Plenty of “if you can’t afford to feed your kids maybe you shouldn’t have had them” type comments on this story on my local newspaper’s facebook page. There really are some unfeeling heartless bastards out there.
Even if you feel like this it still makes sense to feed their kids now as it's cheaper for society in the long term. It's not like the kids can help who their parents are either.
I'll put my head above the parapet and say that I voted Tory last time out, I had what I believed to be good honest intentions at the time for what I thought was right for myself and my family, not voted too many times before, once for Lib dems and then the Eu vote which was a remain. Its not really until you have situations like this which being in pandemic has highlighted more of what is going on in the whole country not just in 'my bubble' so to speak which is how I have previously lived. Been through two recessions previously and maybe because I was younger and not bothered in voting but just cracked on I never really noticed what was happening in the general population. Over the last year what I have seen from the people that I suppose I put in place has not been good to watch (mildy put), I can honestly say I'll not make the same mistake again, so for that I do apologise.
Back on topic, chaterwells have been a shower of sh*t for a while now so this is no surprise
With Asda we get free delivery for £6 per month,
Alright pedant, I'll rephrase that, we get unlimited deliveries per month for £6, seeing as we use it for my mother in law, us, daughter in universtity accommodation, it works out around 50p per delivery, not exactly expensive.
As for G4S, bunch of utter *******. We use them and are actively trying to move to a smaller provider, I spend more time checking their invoices and demanding credit notes than I do with all my other suppliers put together. Mind you I work for a private company where we expect out suppliers to deliver and if they don't we won't pay the invoice.
I’ll put my head above the parapet and say that I voted Tory last time out, I had what I believed to be good honest intentions at the time for what I thought was right for myself and my family, not voted too many times before, once for Lib dems and then the Eu vote which was a remain. Its not really until you have situations like this which being in pandemic has highlighted more of what is going on in the whole country not just in ‘my bubble’ so to speak which is how I have previously lived. Been through two recessions previously and maybe because I was younger and not bothered in voting but just cracked on I never really noticed what was happening in the general population. Over the last year what I have seen from the people that I suppose I put in place has been good to watch (mildy put), I can honestly say I’ll not make the same mistake again, so for that I do apologise.
Takes a lot to admit that you went against the general consensus on this forum, so well done.
I've voted for every major party (in England) at some point. In 3 different constituencies, 2 of which actually were worth bothering in.
I'd describe myself as financially conservative but socially progressive, and a remainer; so you can see how my loyalties are torn.
I voted for labour last december, purely for their brexit stance. My opinions at the time on their ability or lack thereof to handle a once in a century pandemic or indeed any other huge global disaster can hand on heart be described as absolutely non existant.
I'm not a fan of the idea that anyone can use the fact that they voted for <anyone but the current government> as a smug way of personally absolving themselves of all responsibility for anything.
BTW, I'd level the same critisism to any Tory who said a similar thing during Blair/Brown rule.
pjm60 that response on Twitter is funny- "Well, yeah it's £5 of food but we only charged £10.50 not £30, so #BLOWN!"
Must confess I've succumbed to "why should I feed your kids?" thinking in darker times but after all the money-spunking since 07/08 the value proposition for well nourished poor kids (improving concentration for learning etc etc) looks amazing by comparison. Like Gribs mentioned it's good investment for future society.
£3/day is enough for a great kids lunch at supermarket prices [edit:but a struggle if >50% is lost on admin, packing and distribution]
ayjaydoubleyou that describes me to T, traditionally I should be a conservative voter, i voted for Corbyn despite my intense dislike of him and his policies because there was no way I was voting for the divisive and destructive policies of Johnson. Would have voted libdem but that would have been a wasted vote.
pish well and truly boiled today, I really have had enough of this shower of sh1t.
letter to local MP (labour so there is bot all she can really do) and I'm looking forward to 2021 protests.
Even if you don’t agree with feeding children, surely you still want the government to get good value for money.
The kids are the future. Future workers, working with and for the country.
TheBrick
Free MemberI think stumpyjon has it. Seems like a really poorly implemented idea.
It's been implemented perfectly tbh
Mister-P
Free MemberPlenty of “if you can’t afford to feed your kids maybe you shouldn’t have had them” type comments on this story on my local newspaper’s facebook page. There really are some unfeeling heartless bastards out there.
It's bloody awful isn't it. Now of all times- "Well, I could afford to feed them, when I had them. But then we had the longest period of wage stagnation since the napoleonic wars, a decade of austerity, and now we're having a massive recession due to coronavirus and loads of people are either losing jobs or losing wages. And we're about to add brexit on top of that. So should I travel back in time and warn my past self not to have kids because despite my hard work the economy's going to get tanked by stuff totally beyond my control?"
I wonder how much worse it has to get before the Us Vs Them starts to break down.
£3/day is enough for a great kids lunch at supermarket prices
That’s a prepackaged sandwich / pasta bowl / sushi etc , snack and a drink at a supermarket. Does for me if I need a lunch out and about.
letter to local MP (labour so there is bot all she can really do)
What’s the point ? Our local self serving Tory MP doesn’t have a mind of his own , just does what his bosses higher up tells him to do anyway.
There’s probably a good reason why his office is just round the corner from the local Nick
See you next Tuesdays.....
Yay. Go UK!
Another day another Tory scandal https://imgur.com/gallery/Gbfylqt
I saw all this kicking off yesterday.
There are those who think that the money will go on booze and fags and not food for kids. Yeah OK, maybe there are a few who will exploit the scheme. But that's a flaw in the scheme, not a flaw in the people who may desparately need the money.
However, when you give the money to those who need it directly, they won't be spending some of it on the costs of procurring the food. They won't be paying someone to pick and pack the food, send it to their house. They go to a shop and spend it on the food they need.
the efficiencies of privatization in action
why have the state spend the money directly (which is effectively what vouchers were doing?)
when you can involve a chain of contractors and subcontractors, all of who think they should be able to cream 51% off as profit.
I find it wildly frustrating that in these situations (this one, and many like it, PPE for example), no one has actually broken any laws. The scumbag at the top of Chartwell, along with a few layers of management below them, should have their heads on spikes.
pjm60 that response on Twitter is funny- “Well, yeah it’s £5 of food but we only charged £10.50 not £30, so #BLOWN!”
What do you think it costs to buy, package and deliver the £5 of food, while paying workers, buildings etc etc and make a margin while paying all relevant taxes?
Seems the answer is nearly £5 per parcel.
The real question, is where has the £19.50 gone?
This is a proper failure -and it reflects the culture in our public services and politicians leading it.
FFS Matt, please don’t tar civil servants with he same brush as the Tory scum.
My former labour MP (like Harry in Bury South we also have a new, useless Tory) posted this up. This is what is presently going out to parents in Bury. Its an absolute insult. Someone is making an awful lot of money, profitting from other peoples misery. How very Tory.
https://twitter.com/JamesFrith/status/1349018460068712453?s=20
@intheborders - not sure if you're misunderstanding Chartwells' Twitter response and/or my post but:
1. Yes all the admin/packaging/delivery/tax/margin/whatever might really amount to more than the cost of the food here (£5). I do not retract my LOL.
2. The "£19.50" suggested initially is presumably still with the government and hasn't "gone" anywhere.
Edit: I think/hope we agree £5.50 on top of £5 (>100%) of food is stupid from a VfM PoV. The half onions and little bits of (presumably weighed out) pasta seem crazy.
and hasn’t “gone” anywhere
Well, it hasn't "gone" to the parents struggling to feed their kids, that's for sure.
I’d describe myself as financially conservative but socially progressive, and a remainer; so you can see how my loyalties are torn.
That's pretty much the demographic of the forum.
This was always a job for those experts in supply. The supermarkets would have done a fine job if asked. Save people the trouble of hunting for products in the store. Make up standard package. Use economies of scale. Deliver as needed via their services. It's what they do. I bet they weren't asked.
Morrisons did something in the first Lockdown, I believe.
Yeah, we used the Morrisons (paid for) food boxes in the first lockdown, and they were far more nutritious and bountiful than those Chartwell boxes (they didn’t deliver via their own services though, but rather ice packed boxes via courier). And I shared a Manchester supplier of boxes for school dinners earlier in the thread that are doing a great job… they are forgoing a profit though. Not sure how it’s preferable to parents being given the funds to buy food for their kids though… funny how the Conservatives moan about the “Nanny State” one minute, but seek to remove agency from parents the next.
2. The “£19.50” suggested initially is presumably still with the government and hasn’t “gone” anywhere.
Which bit of Govt procurement mismanagement/corruption during 2020 passed you by?
My mum could do better, shes in her 80s.
For most of her working life she ran a school kitchen for 5 to 12 year olds
Plus the were the hub for 4 other smaller primary schools where the food was delivered hot in latge alumimium trays
Pre Jamie putting his oar im she had a buget of around 90p per head per day.
Hence why Turkey Twizzers, semolina, mash potatoes had to be on the menu. The money simply wasnt there for anything extravagant.
This skills are still there, the supply chains in place. You may need to re purpose school dinner ladies into box packers but they are on short hours n. m. w. Contract or furloghed.
Zip lock bags, ppe and some labels.
Get on with it.
I think this is how the conversation would probably go with any of the Tory MP's ( apart from a small handfull )
Warning, Piers Morgan Content 😉
https://twitter.com/GMB/status/1349281032646881280
https://twitter.com/i/status/1349281812657430529
My Tory MP is busy retweeting self-styled bread detectives who are pointing out that these pictures might be fake.
Such a strange petty man.
Which bit of Govt procurement mismanagement/corruption during 2020 passed you by?
Haha depressingly little I think. Mismanagement/corruption/cronyism are different to money simply vanishing though so I don't get your point. If you're saying the Chartwells claim (of billing us £10.50 for 5 days) is a lie that's fine, no issues 🙂 But it would be a double lie- i.e. food for 5 days (not 10) and £10.50 (not £15.00) and that should be easier to check.
Just to be clear I support FSM and think even £10.50 (let alone £30) for £5 of supermarket food is poor value for my investment in society. On other hand, transparency can also be lacking on the left as well as right (yes I am still scarred from Corbyn's traingate affair :p)
What's that sound I hear? Must be another screeching BoJo u-turn after having his arse handed to him in PMQ's as the government's own guidance on what constituted a reasonable food parcel was dangerously close to that provided by Chartwell
Looks like once again the governemnt have been shamed into action by Marcus Rashford
https://twitter.com/marisajbate/status/1349311903579975681?s=20
in fairness, Jack Monroe was pushing this earlier, but Rashford has a bigger profile. Not that that's a bad thing for him to use it to good effect.
Morrisons did something in the first Lockdown, I believe.
Yes, I did it for a while in addition to home deliveries and I believe they have relaunched the scheme in selected areas now for this lockdown too. My store had a dedicated van, dedicated shoppers to get the goods and it was all done at cost of the goods purchased with card payment on the doorstep. You had to phone a special number they gave out to place your order and you originally had a choice from a basic shopping list of items but this was increased on a store level as they could. It was really tough to go round people who were isolating and hadn't left their homes for weeks or even months towards the end but very satisfying to do. It was eventually absorbed into the normal home delivery schedules as the numbers decreased and normality started to come back. Some stores had the 'Box' scheme too that kelvin mentioned but nationally it was mainly the dedicated vans.
Wouldn't take much for a similar scheme to be set up for these school meals as deliveries would only need to be done for each household once a week or so. 3 drivers, one van and a few extra picking staff per store and it would be easily achievable.
I dont care for football at all, but hes a good egg that Marcus Rashford and no doubt it will set a good example to his young followers that standing up for what you believe in can result in change.
It's having an effect. I was out for a walk in the local park a few weeks ago and there were kids having a kick-around doing the usual thing of pretending to be their favourite players. There were a few arguing about who was going to be Rashford, I've also seen a few people wearing footie tops with his name on them too. Like you I don't follow football at all so for me to notice this means he's having a very positive effect on the next generation.
Ah Matt Hancock. Not so busy with covid that he can't find the time go on national TV and completely humiliate himself
in fairness, Jack Monroe was pushing this earlier, but Rashford has a bigger profile. Not that that’s a bad thing for him to use it to good effect.
He's not letting up is he? It's brilliant to see. Though a tad embaressing that our Prime Minister is having to phone a footballer to get told what to do about feeding disadvanteged kids and maybe stop his private sector mates from profiteering off the backs of them
I just wish Ole would stop playing him on the right. He's much better on the left with Martial in a more central position
It’s having an effect. I was out for a walk in the local park a few weeks ago and there were kids having a kick-around doing the usual thing of pretending to be their favourite players. There were a few arguing about who was going to be Rashford, I’ve also seen a few people wearing footie tops with his name on them too. Like you I don’t follow football at all so for me to notice this means he’s having a very positive effect on the next generation.
He's an amazing human being. If you've not watched the BBC documentary on him then its well worth a viewing. He comes across as an incredibley mature and throughtful person who genuinelly cares about these kids and is happy to talk about his own experiences of poverty
Marcus rashford - Feeding Britains Children