Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #ChildBenefit

Most recents (4)

Today I witnessed @JobCentresPlus in action. It wasn’t pretty.

Firstly, my friend (I could not attend unaccompanied) & I were asked to wait. Also waiting was a man who was asking why his benefits had been sanctioned. He hadn’t got credit on his phone to ring them. 1/
The @G4S guy said “that’s not my problem”. Also “calm down” which we know works so well. Claimant lost his cool a bit. He’s getting £150/month. That’s all. And they cut it because he didn’t do what he “should”.

Meanwhile 7/8 staff were watching like it was a show. 2/
My name was called. “Let’s get you away from the entertainment”. I said it’s not exactly entertaining though is it? I was then told that he’s always there, kicking off and causing trouble. I’m sure working there leaves you jaded but no excuse for this. 3/
Read 10 tweets
On this I can agree with @Dominic2306, and go further.

#SW1 #IT and #IG has been in a parlous state for well over a DECADE, and more.

A year and a slew of inquiries after the @HMRC #ChildBenefit #DataBreach in 2007, we #FOIed every Government Department about the #databases...
..of #PersonalData they held. (Initially just the ones containing over 1 million records.)

I'll have to dig up the responses, but I clearly remember only 4 or 5 (out of 24) even had an #InformationAssetRegister, i.e. just a basic list of all the #databases for which they were...
...'#responsible'.

The responses from @cabinetofficeuk & @10DowningStreet were even more appalling; they admitted allowing officials to routinely make copies of #population-scale data "for policy reasons" with no #oversight, no #audit, no defined #IG processes, and no idea of...
Read 13 tweets
Some stories from our latest report, out today, with @churchofengland. Some may sound familiar:

“I lost my job beginning of March and been unable to find a new job as my son’s nursery closed... I am in more debt and struggling to pay bills and feed my son and myself.”
A Dad, Graham, described not being able to cheer his daughter up by giving her money:

“I’ll break down and cry some days, I’ll go to my bedroom and cry, because I can’t give her £20 to go and buy something.”
“They can see there is no money... especially also for the 19-year-old, I don’t want her to know everything that’s happening because she gets very bad panic attacks and anxiety. I try to hide as much as I can from them, but yes, they know.”
Read 8 tweets
Children are being sidelined by covid-19 - hugely important editorial in the @bmj_latest from Ian Sinha, @ Davara Bennett and David Taylor-Robinson bmj.com/content/369/bm…
"although children are not the face of this pandemic, they are deeply affected... Lockdown in poor quality and overcrowded housing, with inequitable access to safe green space, will disrupt children’s lives, some more than others"
"Immediate action is needed to put money in pockets of families w/ children. A modest increase in #ChildBenefit of £10/week would reduce child poverty by 5%. More generous #UniversalCredit payments to families w/ kids should be a priority & the #TwoChildLimit should be scrapped."
Read 3 tweets

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