Helen Barnard
@helenbarnard.bsky.social
Director of Policy, Research, Impact, TrussellTrust Trustee NatCen. Former JRF & Pro Bono Economics. Author: Want (Giants: A New Beveridge Report) http://amzn.eu/d/hk1ojO6
When the kids were little we just did UK holidays. Partly for money & partly hassle reasons. Since they’ve been older we’ve done a couple of foreign hols. Watching parents drag screaming toddlers through airports/stations & round the Louvre very much confirms that was the right choice for us!
It’s like Jolene & Kenton haven’t even met Fallon & Harrison! They’ve been blatantly badly matched for ages. Their break up is a blessed relief to all of us, and them. Jolene needs to catch up! #TheArchers
Genuinely very sad that they've cancelled Blankety Blank. And also annoyed with Bradley Walsh for being to busy to record more before they canned it. 😢😢😡
Blankety Blank Wogan
ALT: Blankety Blank Wogan
static.klipy.com
Sensible policy klaxon 🚨 Currently, if a 16 year old chooses to stay in school/college, their family can keep claiming benefits as before (notably child benefit). If they opt for an apprenticeship, the benefits stop. The system discourages apprenticeships. The DWP just announced a fix 🧵
Migraine is just such an odd condition. Absolutely nothing has happened to my head but it's decided to pretend it's been kicked continually for hours. For no good reason. And no one actually knows why it happens. Just your brain messing with you.
Always strikes me at hotel breakfast when you see actual grown up people having 3 slices of cake for breakfast. I mean I expect the kids to go a bit nuts. But the tired looking 40 year old dad - is novelty shaped cake really the best start to your long day of placating kids?
The only thing more annoying than a child repeatedly shouting on a train is the sound of the silence where a shushing parent should be.
On a train. Woman is having multiple phone conversations about fighting an employer discrimination case against someone with cancer. The phrase ‘we’re not going to be on the hook for it’ used several times. She is projecting her voice loudly and clearly across the carriage.
This is such a peak cat thing to do: "Behold my prey, I am a mighty hunter and all must bow down before me (and take pics for the world's media)"
Richard M. Nixon@dicknixon.bsky.social · 2w agoLarry laid his mouse in front of the press to be photographed. Lest you ask, this is a real photograph via the Press Association.
Lovely going on holiday with teenagers instead of small children & feeling it’s worth taking multiple books. For years you struggle to read 1. Then gradually bits of time open up & you think ‘better take an extra book in case I finish those.’ 😊📚
Great piece from @mattdownie.bsky.social on the hope coming from a new focus on tackling homelessness at the top. So many problems we genuinely don't know how to solve - but homelessness isn't one of them. We know what works, we just need to do it. www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/po...
Finally, a Prime Minister who prioritises homelessness
Andy Burnham's promise to adpot a national "Housing First" philosophy offers us hope, but radical change is required
newstatesman.com
Excellent research today from @jrf-uk.bsky.social shows how PM's promise to reduce welfare spending by tackling drivers can work: - Every 100,000 extra people in work reduces UC spend by £700m/year. - Hit 80% employment rate target & reduce UC spend by £10bn/year www.jrf.org.uk/social-secur...
How to reduce pressure on welfare spend in a popular and lasting way
The new prime minister wants to reduce social security spend by tackling underlying causes of need, not with blunt cuts. This would be popular and effective.
jrf.org.uk
We’re watching House of the Dragon. I have a problem. I can’t take any storyline involving Tumbleton seriously, because Tumbleton sounds like where Mr Tumble lives. My son tells me there are 3 Battles of Tumbleton. This could get tricky.
Thanks to @benzaranko.bsky.social & @theobserveruk.bsky.social for asking me to set out some challenges &opportunities for the new PM as he takes office today. Reforming social security so it protects people from hunger & opens opportunities should be high on his list. observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
Speculation that we may get BEIS recreated. If there is going to be a machinery government change in this area my plea is that we reunite science/research with universities. The disconnect between these briefs is causing all sorts of loss to research capacity www.ft.com/content/fec8...
Yes please. In England, having the higher education bit and the research bit in 2 different departments is (part of) what is killing us. Like being in a dual control car guided by 2 different maps & 1 driver waking up at intervals while in the back seat 2 passengers (OfS and UKRI) issue directives.
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 3w agoSpeculation that we may get BEIS recreated. If there is going to be a machinery government change in this area my plea is that we reunite science/research with universities. The disconnect between these briefs is causing all sorts of loss to research capacity www.ft.com/content/fec8...
Surprisingly, I’m finding Rex & Alice really sweet. I hope them moving in works. Hopefully not on the canal boat. But Harrison & Fallon are just the worse couple. Really hoped they’d just fizzle out with his job away. But coming back is a disaster! #TheArchers
I grew up in Trent Park! My dad worked for the polytechnic, we lived on site (in a little modern house, not in the mansion!) The basement has offices the maintenance staff used, & gave me sugary cups of tea in when I hung out with them. Lovely to see it turned into a museum.
The Times and Sunday Times@thetimes.com · 3w agoTrent Park — the north London mansion where Jews spied on Nazi prisoners
Younger teenager watching the football with her dad. Her summation of the first 30 mins: They need to get the ball more, they need to shoot and they need to get it in. Can’t fault her really.
I'm a long-time sceptic of rent controls. But now convinced. Private rents drive hunger, hardship & homelessness. Increasing supply won't impact fast enough. And we can design rent controls carefully to manage risks. Here's the article with my thinking. www.linkedin.com/pulse/im-lon...
I'm a long-time rent control sceptic, but now I'm convinced
Unaffordable private rents are a key driver of hunger, hardship and homelessness. It’s hard to see how we end the need for emergency food without doing something to significantly change this.
linkedin.com
Helen Barnard@helenbarnard.bsky.social · 3w agoDelighted to share @trusselluk.bsky.social's latest 'Living Costs in Context' briefing. It digs into the ways that housing drives hunger & hardship and the solutions to unaffordable rents, poor quality homes and disconnected services. Read it here: cms.trussell.org.uk/sites/defaul...
Delighted to share @trusselluk.bsky.social's latest 'Living Costs in Context' briefing. It digs into the ways that housing drives hunger & hardship and the solutions to unaffordable rents, poor quality homes and disconnected services. Read it here: cms.trussell.org.uk/sites/defaul...
Important new research from @independentage.bsky.social showing that improving take up of Pension Credit, Housing Benefit & Council Tax could help 2.5 million older people living in financial hardship, including lifting 280,000 older people out of poverty. www.independentage.org/policy-and-r...
The only way is up: The impact of improved entitlement take-up on pensioner poverty and healthcare spending
This report sets out new evidence on the potential impact of improved entitlement take-up on pensioner poverty and healthcare spending.
independentage.org
Am I the only person who thinks a fancy carriage clock is actually quite a nice leaving present?
Question: when someone says ‘Name..Can I have…’ do you - either out loud or in your head - complete it with ‘Mr Bun the Baker? We’re debating if this is a generation thing or just a my family thing!
I really enjoyed this discussion! Unpicking the varied ways that severe hardship drives mental and physical ill health. The impact of food banks in helping to create social connection. And the long term solutions to support mental health and ensure no one needs a food bank to survive.
Understanding Society@usociety.bsky.social · 3w agoNew podcast: what effect do food banks have on the mental health of the people who use them? With Muhammad Waqas Assistant Professor in Economics @uniofbradford.bsky.social and @helenbarnard.bsky.social Director of Policy, Research and Impact @trusselluk.bsky.social
Ann Widdecombe’s death was tragic & horrific. Nigel Farage having a milkshake thrown at him was not ok. The political views or impact of the politician are not relevant to these facts. We need every part of the political spectrum to cultivate civility & compassion.
