The scandal of Government premium rate help lines

Valerie Vaz, Labour MP for Walsall South, has quietly been finding out how much the Government makes from premium rate lines.  Each Department has been asked in turn.  The one that is going to stir up a storm (according to today's Daily Telegraph, is dear old Work and Pensions.  Their appalling record is listed in full at Hansard here.

There are 180 premium lines (and no ordinary phone number alternatives), so unless you are a benefits expert you are very likely to have to ring more than one at up to 41p a minute.  150,000 rang the Bereavement Hotline (there are no bereavement benefits) and 4 million rang about the Social Fund, presumably to be told "How can you claim to have no money when you can afford to ring this number?"  Oh how Duncan Smith and the lads must have laughed!

It's the ultimate Tory dream - not only taking money from the poor but turning a profit on them at the same time!

Overall, Government departments receive 130 million premium rate calls a year.  Cable & Wireless, who operate the system, make a cool million per annum from the so-called service.  Have to say they missed a trick, though.  They should have set up a dedicated number for Bedroom Tax inquiries and halved the deficit overnight.

Youth unemployment, local education, other issues

We recently had 2 great speakers addressing our meetings.

In October, Professor Sue Maguire of Warwick University talked about employment among young people in the UK. She told us that over 1 million young people aged between 16 and 24 were currently NEET, (not in education, employment or training), which is 15% of this age group.

As the under 18s are not counted in national unemployment figures, a large proportion of these young people become invisible in the national statistics, and therefore its difficult to know what is happening to them, and to help them find work or training. Cuts to Local Authorities, for example funding to Connexions, make is harder for LAs to track and help them. These are worrying times for young people.

In November, Tim Morrely, Principle of Thomas Astley School, Broughton Astley, gave an excellent overview of education in Lutterworth and environs. There have been lots of changes to education recently. He explained how, as Local Authority input has being substantially cut, that the local schools have formed a close -knit community of umbrella schools, to collaborate and help each other, and provide the best educastion for all children of all abilities.

December meeting will be our annual Quiz, with mega quiz master David Fish and food at Red Admiral pub. Prizes and raffles!

Freeze that Bill

Huge thanks to everyone who has taken part in Labour's FREEZE THAT BILL campaign around the country today.