The means to end poverty
When the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) report came out in February 2019, I was filled with optimism. The recommendations were thorough, sensible and, I believed, capable of implementation over a relatively short period. With the election of a majority Labour government in 2020, I expected some real headway to be made.
Although Rebecca Macfie (“Caught in the net”, July 2) lists a number of welcome improvements, poverty and deprivation remain for many beneficiary families. The statistics on food banks and hardship grants may not affect most of us directly but should make us feel ashamed about the children we are letting down. People are becoming frustrated by the government’s cautious incrementalism. WEAG gave us a clear roadmap to eradicate child poverty in the short to medium term and, for the moment, the government has the political means at its disposal to achieve this.
Liz Richards (Richmond, Nelson)
LETTER OF THE WEEK
We keep hearing about poverty as if it’s a new phenomenon. I was brought up in abject poverty in the 60s as the eldest of six children. There were no food banks or Winz in those days. My dad worked two jobs and
