UK Politics: Oh Ambassador you are really spoiling us!

[Spockydog]

Sorry, what is UMI?

[Pebble thats Stubby]

Universal Minimum Income   I would assume

[Spockydog]

12 minutes ago, Pebble thats Stubby said:

Universal Minimum Income   I would assume

Thanks.

We already have that. Though it's currently just over £90 per week for the likes of me (caring for two grown-ass adults). That's how much the DWP thinks I can get by on. So I guess I'd probably get a raise?

[Pebble thats Stubby]

5 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

We already have that. Currently just over £90 per week for the likes of me (caring for two grown-ass adults). That's how much the DWP thinks I can get by on. So I guess I'd probably get a raise?

well the minimum really should be a sensible amount.  Unfortunately most governments thing the minimum should be far lower than what is actually needed.  And then we have a Tory one which is stingy for most governments.

[Spockydog]

1 minute ago, Pebble thats Stubby said:

 And then we have a Tory one which is stingy for most governments.

Except when they're handing out £7000 per day contracts to Track and Trace consultants.

[Spockydog]

Speaking of which...

The Good Law Project has a hearing date: 03 February

They cannot evade scrutiny in the courts

Quote

The UK now has the highest COVID-19 death rate per capita of anywhere in the world. As we try and make sense of how we got our response so wretchedly wrong, just how significant will Government’s abandonment of transparency and proper process prove to be? 

The purpose of procurement law is to ensure the public interest is served and that contracts go to those most able to deliver. It protects us by requiring Government to undertake open and competitive tendering. This is particularly important at times of crisis when stakes are high.

Yet Government’s response to this pandemic has been characterised by secrecy. There are billions of pounds of public health contracts we know nothing about – we don’t know who has made the decision to spend, or with what safeguards, or why such strange counterparties were chosen. It is almost impossible for anyone to accurately assess where we’ve gone wrong because so many parts of the story are missing. And Government is being deliberately misleading about what it has and hasn’t complied with.

On 17 December, Cabinet Office Minister, Julia Lopez, responded to a question in Parliament stating that all PPE contracts had now been published.

That is simply not true.

Our litigation has revealed Government is refusing to publish whole categories of contracts, including those of significant agencies like Public Health England and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Executive agencies have no separate legal status – there is no lawful reason to exclude these. 

Further, the NAO in its second report on pandemic procurement, set out that £12.5 billion had been spent on PPE between February and July 2020, including through existing contracts with Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL), which manages the NHS supply chain. However, data provided to us by Tussell on 18 December showed that only £8 billion of PPE contract awards made during that same period had been published. Procurement through existing contracts is still the subject of an obligation to publish. Yet Government has published no details of call-off contracts with SCCL relating to PPE – over £4 billion of contracts are hidden.

These breaches matter. They matter because they normalise non-compliance with the law. 

They matter because they erode public trust that taxpayers’ money is being spent wisely, and that it will not just be handed to politically connected individuals, without adequate safeguards. 

But most importantly they matter because without a full and honest picture of what is happening, how can we begin to turn our fatally flawed response around?

We have a Government who no longer wants to account to the people on what it does – on why we have the worst death rate in the world, on why so many families are grieving. But they cannot evade scrutiny in the courts. Our hearing is scheduled for 3rd February.

I am publishing my final Witness Statement in full. 

Donate, if you can.

[Pebble thats Stubby]

3 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Except when they're handing out £7000 per day contracts to Track and Trace consultants.

Oh they are very good at wasting our tax money to give it to companies.  but the general population is not worthy.

[The Anti-Targ]

47 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Speaking of which...

The Good Law Project has a hearing date: 03 February

They cannot evade scrutiny in the courts

47 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

The UK now has the highest COVID-19 death rate per capita of anywhere in the world.

Donate, if you can.

That's not true, at least not according to Worldometers. though it's not far off from being true. Among countries with population >1 million UK is 5th highest deaths per capita, and among countries over 50 million population it's 2nd, behind Italy. According to Worldometers Belgium is actually the worst for deaths if you exclude San Marino with it's population of 33,000 and 65 deaths.

1 hour ago, Spockydog said:

Thanks.

We already have that. Though it's currently just over £90 per week for the likes of me (caring for two grown-ass adults). That's how much the DWP thinks I can get by on. So I guess I'd probably get a raise?

Is that an actual UMI, as in universally available to everyone with no strings attached? It's pathetically low, but if it is a true UMI then it's a better start than most. Though if you are only getting £90/week and that's to cover 3 adults, then it's not a UMI, because all 3 of you should be getting £90 each per week, so £270 for the household.

[Spockydog]

45 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

 

Is that an actual UMI, as in universally available to everyone with no strings attached?

No. That is Carer's Allowance. A benefit paid by the DWP. It's just for me. I gave up work to look after my brother, who lives with me. I'm also now looking after my Maw, who doesn't.

Carer's Allowance is £67 per week, paid monthly. Then, every two weeks, I get an Income Support payment of £89, to bring me up to The Minimum Amount The Law Says I Need To Live On (it actually says that on the award letter). My rent and Council Tax are paid by Housing Benefit.

Outside of my caring duties, I am not allowed to work. If I do any part time work, I will lose the Income Support and Housing Benefit.

I used to pull in a very tidy salary. I travelled the world and had thousands in the bank. Now, my savings are gone and I have to grovel to the DWP every two years for this pittance. On top of this, on two separate occasions, I have had to take the DWP to tribunal after they tried to stop my brother's benefits. We won both appeals.

ETA: I should point out that I don't feel poor. I feel blessed. While a lot of my friends are suffering from some kind of middle-aged misery - loveless marriages and demonic children - I get to live with my brother. For ever. He's the best, and I honestly can't remember the last time we crossed words. 

 

 

 

[The Anti-Targ]

15 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

No. That is Carer's Allowance. A benefit paid by the DWP. It's just for me. I gave up work to look after my brother, who lives with me, and my Maw, who doesn't.

Carer's Allowance is £67 per week, paid monthly. Then, every two weeks, I get an Income Support payment of £89, to bring me up to The Minimum Amount The Law Says I Need To Live On (it actually says that on the award letter). My rent and Council Tax are paid by Housing Benefit.

Outside of my caring duties, I am not allowed to work. If I do any part time work, I will lose the Income Support and Housing Benefit.

I used to pull in a very tidy salary. I had thousands in the bank. Now, my savings are gone and I have to grovel to the DWP every two years for this pittance.

ETA: I should point out that I don't feel poor. I feel blessed. While a lot of my friends are suffering from some kind of middle-aged misery - loveless marriages and demonic children - I get to live with my brother. For ever. He's the best, and I honestly can't remember the last time we crossed words. 

 

 

 

Happiness is more important than wealth, though happiness with a decent, livable level of financial security is even better.

[Spockydog]

1 minute ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Happiness is more important than wealth, though happiness with a decent, livable level of financial security is even better.

Well, as it happens, my financial circumstances are about to take an upward turn. I'm very optimistic for the future.

[mormont]

6 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Hire everyone not in an essential job on a short term govt contract to do a new govt job, the job title is "stay the hell at home" and that is also the job description. Pay the same wage / salary as you were getting at your regular job. Aside from going out for essential reasons (food, health care, once per day socially distanced outdoor exercise), if you are caught not doing your job then you get a pay deduction for the week.

Far too complicated, requires a lot of information and paperwork, so won't work in the short term. (If you read the article, this is why the current scheme isn't working and why the government is likely to reject tailoring payments to current income.)

[Derfel Cadarn]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55760467

The government sort-of considering paying covid-positive people £500 to self-isolate. Presumably once the cases are down a bit to save bankrupting thr country.

The Daily Mash’s take:

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/government-to-reward-catching-covid-with-fabulous-cash-prize-20210122204539

[Werthead]

The EU ambassadorial row is silly posturing, and clearly being done to set up a concession later on down the line. It should be moot, as the British government agreed in 2010 that EU diplomats should have 100% full ambassadorial status.

9 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

That's not true, at least not according to Worldometers. though it's not far off from being true. Among countries with population >1 million UK is 5th highest deaths per capita, and among countries over 50 million population it's 2nd, behind Italy. According to Worldometers Belgium is actually the worst for deaths if you exclude San Marino with it's population of 33,000 and 65 deaths.

Britain has a slightly higher population than Italy (67 million to 61 million) and a somewhat larger death toll (95,580 to 84,202) so we're pretty neck and neck, but it looks like the UK is edging it, especially with the UK having twice the number of daily deaths than Italy in recent days.

Some of the other tracking measures seem to be lagging behind by longer periods.

[Spockydog]

 

[mormont]

As far as that goes:

 

[BigFatCoward]

R rate below 1 for first time since early December apparently (0.8-1). 

[Spockydog]

32 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

R rate below 1 for first time since early December apparently (0.8-1). 

Does this number depend on who's compiling the figures? Pretty sure I read a piece yesterday saying that infection rates are not dropping.

ETA: Here it is, from the Imperial College website.

Coronavirus infections are not falling in England, latest REACT findings show

Quote

A high number of people remain infected with the coronavirus in England and the rate of new infections was not dropping 10 days into lockdown.

According to these recent findings from the ongoing REACT study, around 1 in 63 people currently have the virus, or 1.58% of the population. This is the highest figure the study has reported since it began testing in May 2020 and an increase of more than 50% compared with previous findings from early December.

Based on swab tests on almost 143,000 people in the community between 6th and 15th January, the study has also picked up early signs that infections may have begun to rise at the national level, with R estimated at 1.04.

Who are we supposed to believe? Matt Hancock, or Imperial College?

[Heartofice]

From what I saw Imperials numbers seem to be taken from 2 points in time and comparing them, not really taking the christmas peak into account. I don't think they are especially accurate if you look at it that way. I would say the number of cases were almost certainly dropping.

[Spockydog]