Towards the end of the year it was revealed at a public meeting held by the community councils that 24% of Nairn children are living in poverty.
Outwardly Nairn looks a prosperous town and to many visitors it is an idyllic location but behind the scenes a lot of people are obviously having a tough time of it. Perhaps this year we should ask all our MP, MSPs, MEPs, Councillors what they intend to do about poverty in Nairn. Could we ask ourselves too what we as a community could possibly do to make some difference to that appalling statistic?
12 comments:
Our MP Danny Alexander seems to be very happy to open food banks whilst being a root cause for many of the poverty issues we face
I just hope enough folk see him for what he is when it comes to the general election, a tory
http://scottishprovincialpress.newsprints.co.uk/view/25214937/danny%20alexander%20at%20food%20bank%2004_jpg
At a local level it'd be useful if those organisations that help with the likes of collecting food etc let the public know what they're in need of so those who can help the awful situation that some people find themselves in can give.
Also where to leave items and when
Maybe such information could be advertised through the Gurn or The Nairnshire or even a poster in a shop window?
There's information here about how to help foodbanks in the Highlands anon plus details of what items are required, you can take them into the local Blyhtswood shop.
Beyond donations to foodbanks is there anything else that can be done however? Like some of the ideas that NICE had to create employment in the town etc.
There is also a trolley for food donations in the entrance to sainsburys in Nairn.
The big boys are not interested if the whole country goes hungry as long as they are well looked after--if Cameron gets in again God help us.green
We're part of a society that many of us are horrified at. There are some local companies that employ people on zero hours contracts. These should be illegal, they're immoral. No chance of getting a mortgage and every likelihood of getting evicted in any given week. No job security, no future
I would ask local companies to stand up against such working practices, I'm sure I'd pay 1p more for an item if it meant that their employees had real contracts of employment
The alternative is that taxpayers foot the bill for the likes of tax credits and unemployment benefit
Anonymous 11:28pm - I quite agree. But I'd go further and say that local employers should pay the living wage, never mind the minimum wage!
Before you get too outraged read up on how Save The Children define poverty in modern Scotland. I'm not saying it's a laugh a minute, but neither is it necessarily malnutrition, disease and squalid living conditions
There are lots of small businesses using zero hours contracts who would have to shut the doors if they had to provide full time work for all their employees. Workloads can fluctuate due to orders, seasonality and other factors. It's not all about fat cats maximising profits, it's sometimes about the difference between being economically viable and not - which means no jobs.
Can that Save the Children information be found online anon?
@Anon 12:53
I have worked a zero hours contract for quite a large Nairn employer which some people might be quite surprised to learn employs people on zero hours
Some weeks I earned so little I could not afford to pay my rent and that was without eating.
If a company can only survive by employing you on zero hours then sorry it doesn't deserve to exist it's the next thing to slavery
On top of that it is costing the tax payer as may people on such contracts claim the likes of tax credits and other benefits
Child poverty in the UK is defined by Save the Children as a family of 4 living on less than £17,200 per year or £330 per week, or a single parent with 2 children getting by on less than £13,500 or £258 per week.
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/child_poverty_facts_2013.pdf
Also see this BBC article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-26433799
"When we talk about poverty in the UK today we rarely mean malnutrition or the levels of squalor of previous centuries, or even the hardships of the 1930s before the advent of the welfare state.
It is a relative concept. 'Poor' people are those who are considerably worse off than the majority of the population" - Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Unfortunately some people will always earn less than others. Some people technically living in poverty will be managing fine although unable to afford luxuries such as holidays and Sky TV. Others will be struggling to find their next meal. The raw statistic that 24% of children in Nairn are living in poverty suggests a large scale problem, when in fact we need to focus on the smaller proportion who really need help.
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