Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Hays so your just dismissing your own partys finding s are you as outlined above post 37625??????????????

Hays takes the 'PLANK OF THE YEAR AWARD'.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh dear make no wonder this country is so screwed up under the present government.

And heres more evidence just out.........

Benefits blunders forcing thousands to use food banks says TORY think tank
posted in Uncategorized by argotina1

Ministers have denied links between welfare reforms and the 170% increase in emergency handouts in 2013

Up to 68,000 people are wrongly having benefits stopped every year and the blunders are fuelling rising demand at food banks, says a think tank set up by TORIES.

Ministers have denied links between welfare reforms and the170% increase in emergency handouts in 2013.

But a study by Policy Exchange, created by Tory ministers Michael Gove and Francis Maude, today says so-called benefit “sanctions” are leaving claimants too poor to buy food.

Jobseekers can lose up to four weeks’ money for missing an interview or other requirements. Around 5,600 people sanctioned each month have the decision overturned on appeal.

They get the money back after long delays, leaving them dependent on food banks, the think-tank found.

Author Guy Miscampbell said: “Four weeks without any money is driving people to desperate measures including a reliance on food banks.”

Shadow Work Secretary Rachel Reeves said: “David Cameron’s favourite think-tank has shown how government incompetence is leading to thousands of people being forced to rely on food banks.

“Ministers need urgently to fix the broken sanctions system to cut the number of decisions which are later overturned on appeal.”

The damning think-tank findings come after Cardinal Vincent Nichols reopened his row with David Cameron about benefits yesterday.

Britain’s most senior Catholic, who was elevated to the College of ­Cardinals by Pope Francis last month, said it was a “fact” coalition welfare policies are punishing the poor.

Some MPs had suggested Nichols was “naive” when he recently warned people were being left destitute.

But yesterday, the Cardinal insisted: “Evidence is there that people are living in destitution. That’s a fact: I’m not naive to state facts, it’s accurate.”

Meanwhile, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones blamed benefits cuts for an 11% increase in shoplifting offences to 30,000 in the West Midlands last year.

Mr Jones said: “We’re seeing ­shoplifting of food in particular.”

A BBC Panorama probe tonight also shows the hunger crisis is so great that more than a third of local authorities are now having to subsidise food banks.

The show found that 140 councils are now funding food banks to the tune of almost £3million.

The evidence is overwhelming..........

Up to 68,000 people are wrongly having benefits stopped every year and the blunders are fuelling rising demand at food banks, says a think tank set up by TORIES.

says a think tank set up by TORIES

I did a few calculation on the statistics from the food banks themselves. A food bank will have a catchment area. It might be 2 miles or maybe even 5 miles. If there is a certain number of food banks then there will be a number per food bank being supplied. People from Sunderland won't be visiting food banks in Nottingham. The numbers per food banks are pretty constant and haven't changed over the years. Therefore as you open more food banks, you get more customers. It doesn't mean the demand is growing. In fact it show the demand as constant over the last 10 years. It is still the same underlying demand for free food. In some cases that is a demand and in some it is a need. Either way the pattern hasn't changed.

Ohhhhhhhhh shut up Hays your making a fool of yourself.

The evidence from your own party as been presented to you.

Go chill out and think over your actions of the last few days.

Filtering Fred is very unlike you. Perhaphs you need a break?.

Your a good chap really and I mean that but the last few days as been very uncharacteristic of you.

Go out for a few days a mini holiday, we all get a bit worked up at times, were just human beings mere mortals.

No, I am using information released by the Trussel Trust. The number of people served per outlet has remained constant over the years. The only difference is the number of outlets. That means the problem existed in 2000 when they started in Salisbury and has not got worse since then.

i give up with you 3 guys
you're all totally incapable of discussing like adults, but every single time, immediately revert to your entrenched political positions
these are both utterly blinkered in their own way

in a brief sentence or two.....

Foodbanks
are they necessary?
regrettably yes

do they have a worthwhile function?
yes

is their creation the "fault" of any particular political party?
no

is their growth generally due to the deep recession of the last several years?
almost certainly

===============

i really can't be bothered to write more (and sensibly), as for sure it will just get unwarranted and somewhat abusive response and furether, will be immediately drowned by the maelstrom of verbiage that you 3 persistently chuck around

But GF,.

Little Lord Fauntleroy knows everybody in high and low places and those on the social/success ladder.

Which rung does he see himself I wonder?

But, I like being filtered reminds me of coffee!

The growth has nothing to do with the recession as the numbers served by each food bank is constant over the years and the same as before the recession. All that is happening is the proportion of the population making use of food banks is being more fully reached due to the wider spread of the outlets.

If you have one food bank in say Burnley and then open one in Southampton you will get twice the customers and twice the food banks. The use of food banks appears to have increased, but it hasn't.

absolute rubbish!
clearly you didn't pay attention last night or on any other occasion
all 3 of you bear striking similarities to ostriches

Now now c, dont get cross :-)

Hays you are wrong. How do you account for ..........

Up to 68,000 people are wrongly having benefits stopped every year and the blunders are fuelling rising demand at food banks, says a think tank set up by TORIES......ends

Sanctions have only become active under THIS government.

They were minimal before 2011

Your theory doesnt even get over the first hurdle never mind the Chelthenam mile.

And your OWN commisioned report concluded.......

It concluded that there was “growing demand” for emergency food because of increased need. This directly contradicts the position of Work and Pensions minister Lord Freud, who claimed last summer that the expansion of charities such as The Trussell Trust had driven the demand.......................ends


Cant be any clearer than that.

A lot of last night's programming was nonsense. I have used the Trussel Trust's own figures and it is clear that one average the use of the food banks has not increased. If you open more Tescos then you will get more Tesco customers.

There is a group of people across the country who use/need food banks. That group is just being more fully served. The figures per food bank are the same as they were in 2005 before the recession.

WRONG Tesco stores increased last year but customers no's fell.

Warren Buffet sold 33% of his holding because of this.

If you open more Tescos then you will get more Tesco customers

ergo there are additional customers to warrant the additional stores ...... rocket science!!

Manuel,

Yes.

Agreed with statements about food banks.

But the increasing need for this form of "charity" in a responsible society is dereliction of duty and responsibility of the government to "care" for all members of that society, not just the affluent and fat cats.

It is in the present time, but more importantly increasing over the last 4 years due to incompetence, mismanagement and blatant disregard by this complacent tory government.

========

I hope after the next election with a decent Labour/Lib/Dem government there is an investigation with a complete exposure of the present ideological driven right winged government.

=======

The public don't trust them any longer on the NHS, Welfare or Social Services or general management of their society.

=========

The torid party is the part of the Doomed.

As a little right relief listen to Putin latest speech.

Back treading!

you too need to get off your political soapbox if this interesting and important issue is to be discussed sensibly
if you can't or won't, then i have better things to do than to waste my time

No you are wrong, Tesco as been losing market share for about 5 years now. Foot fall is way down.

Buffet was interested in Tescos undervalued property assets which hadnt been updated for quite a few years. He identified hidden value.

Plus their meat is rotten and also their cheese sandwiches.