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Extra help for vulnerable Bolton families

11:04pm Monday 5th May 2008

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By Staff Reporter »

VULNERABLE families in Bolton will be offered extra support thanks to a £780,000 scheme.

The town will be one of just 15 areas in the country to take part in a £13 million Family Pathfinder programme.

The borough will test and develop a new "think family" approach to help the most vulnerable families.

Disadvantaged families will be offered help with parenting skills, how to claim the correct benefits and find work.

The idea has been developed by the Government's social exclusion task force and aims to make sure adult and children services work together to help families.

Children and Families Minister Beverley Hughes said: "We need to give disadvantaged children and families the extra support they need.

"This is especially important for children from the most vulnerable families where children are five times more likely to struggle with reading and writing, eight times more likely to be suspended, and 10 times more likely to get into trouble with the law.

"When parents face multiple problems in their own lives the impact can be severe and enduring for both themselves and for their children.

"Our Family Pathfinder programme is designed to develop our understanding of how we can best offer the integrated provision these children and families need."


Your Say Yourtheboltonnews

VM User, Bolton says...
11:14pm Mon 5 May 08

Wow!, Like they might be missing out some benefits.

I can hear it now "Stuff getting a job, Can I get any extra bebefits?"

VM User, Bolton says...
11:15pm Mon 5 May 08

VM User wrote:
Wow!, Like they might be missing out some benefits. I can hear it now "Stuff getting a job, Can I get any extra bebefits?"
Oo-Eh, Benefits that should read of course :-/

Lilac witch, Halliwell says...
11:48pm Mon 5 May 08

What about helping us suckers who go out to work and struggle on a low income and are earning just above the benefits freshold? Where is the help for those working families who have been hit by the abolition of the 10p starting rate on income tax. No bloody mention how the government is going to deal with that yet is there

illy6b, Bolton says...
11:49pm Mon 5 May 08

What a great idea! Who pays for it?
...oh yeah, i will be doing along with all the other hard working tax payers. Maybe not such a good idea then. Stop encouraging people to claim benefits. It isn't actually their money.

NRG, Lancs says...
12:19am Tue 6 May 08

Aah, that's what they're called now, is it - "vulnerable"?

And there I was thinking they were just workshy.

NRG, Lancs says...
12:20am Tue 6 May 08

"When parents face multiple problems in their own lives the impact can be severe and enduring for both themselves and for their children."

Perhaps they should be sterilised, so that they don't inflict the rest of society with more of the same?

illy6b, Bolton says...
12:27am Tue 6 May 08

NRG wrote:
"When parents face multiple problems in their own lives the impact can be severe and enduring for both themselves and for their children." Perhaps they should be sterilised, so that they don't inflict the rest of society with more of the same?
oohh, we can't sterilize them, you callous person. It's their right to have kids...and mobile phones, fags, booze, lottery tickets, designer clothes (tasteless of course), council house with central heating and double glazing, free school meals, clothes vouchers, home improvement grants, Child Tax Credit, free bus travel, lots of days off down the betting shop and now even more support from the good old Family Pathfinder Programme. So lay off these poor vulnerable people.

illy6b, Bolton says...
12:30am Tue 6 May 08

Children and Families Minister Beverley Hughes said: "We need to give disadvantaged children and families the extra support they need.


Under a labour government this is starting to sound like my family. Maybe I qualify for once.

NRG, Lancs says...
12:31am Tue 6 May 08

You're right, of course.

And there was I thinking I was the vulnerable one - the one who the government turns to every time they need a bit of extra cash to fund the lifestyles of the "vulnerable". I feel ashamed of myself.

You've forgotten the Sky+ and the sunbeds, though.

MICK, BOLTON says...
12:42am Tue 6 May 08

I think they would be better off using the £780,000 to fund an employment drive for these dead beats who'd rather spend there benefits on booze and cigs than on clothes and a good meal for there kids.

illy6b, Bolton says...
12:59am Tue 6 May 08

NRG wrote:
You're right, of course. And there was I thinking I was the vulnerable one - the one who the government turns to every time they need a bit of extra cash to fund the lifestyles of the "vulnerable". I feel ashamed of myself. You've forgotten the Sky+ and the sunbeds, though.
Tsk, silly me, I should have mentioned that the list is not exhaustive. But I think I've made my point, that these people deserve the finest things in life, after all we have worked hard to provide for them. Personally I was brought up to believe that if you can't afford it you don't have it, but I accept that is old fashioned and not in tune with the modern way of thinking.

p.rhanna, river croal says...
6:40am Tue 6 May 08

...been up since 5 this morning off to work soon...long days hard work....bills to pay plus tax fuel insurances mortgage the list is endless like every other hard working people out there.....the operative words for these lazy scuzz bags is "job" "hard work" get of your sad butt and find a job...these laxy good for nothing idiots are milking the system for every penny not only that we have people now who will show them how to do it!!!!!
jesus christ when will this or where will this end?????.vunerable what a joke....id say lazy workshy and laughing in the face of every decent hard working person in this country...it makes me puke!!!
no wonder labour wins in this town its riddled with these sorts...along with everywhere else!!!!!
come the revolution i will be at the front handing out the bullets!!!!!!!
lol.....ahem!!
see how long this post lasts.....think i might of woke andrew bury up from his crypt with these comments.....off to work now toodle pip!!!!

OldBoltonian, says...
6:48am Tue 6 May 08

Extra help? Extra bribes, more like. Transparent and corrupt. Still, the good burghers of Bolton keep voting the boogers back in....

chas, suffolk says...
7:01am Tue 6 May 08

How much does a few dozen canes cost?

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
8:02am Tue 6 May 08

Show me a benefits parasite that doesn't know how to claim everything they know they can get.
Nothing but leeches, feeding off the back of the workers.
The whole system needs overhauling, everyone that is able to work should be made to work!!

Hagen, says...
8:08am Tue 6 May 08

I'm getting the impression here these "disadvantaged" and "vulnerable" people are unemployed families of Criminals and vandals who make neighbours lives a misery ? And we are gonna reward them! Yeah thats New Labour for you.

RagReader, Horwich says...
8:40am Tue 6 May 08

Lilac witch wrote:
What about helping us suckers who go out to work and struggle on a low income and are earning just above the benefits freshold? Where is the help for those working families who have been hit by the abolition of the 10p starting rate on income tax. No bloody mention how the government is going to deal with that yet is there
Well said Lilac, I'm still waiting for Gordon's answer to the abolition of the 10p tax, as for the so-called benefits threshold...that's an insult to people who've worked (or are working) and have actually made an effort to save for retirement etc.

Nip, Bolton says...
8:55am Tue 6 May 08

Disadvantaged families my bottom....they wouldn't be so friggin disadvantaged if they got off their friggin backsides and got a job n went to work....oh no sorry i forgot you get more by being lazy staying at home or only work a certain number of hours. One of my work colleagues who does the same number of hours as me and earns the same get an extra £400 a month because she lives in a council house and has a kid...where's the fairness in that....I'm not entitled to any extra to help me pay my rent. Fookin stupid scumbags scroungers

Simon, Kearsley says...
9:56am Tue 6 May 08

Further proof that we are importing and promoting poverty.

Poverty in this country now means not having all the Sky channels, the latest mobile phones or designer jeans.

It is poverty of the mind which requires urgent attention.

Again, well done to all the Councillor's and MP's who choose to stand and stare like cattle for fear of being labelled 'racist' or 'bigotted'.

"All I know is that to see, and not to speak, would be the great betrayal"

Sun Tzu, says...
10:41am Tue 6 May 08

I hope none of you people are employed in doing any of the 500,000 non-jobs which Labour have created.
I hope none of you people have made/borrowed large amounts on the back of the property market scam.
I hope none of you people work in financial services.
I hope none of you people work in service industries.
I hope none of you people work in retail.
And I sincerly hope your jobs will survive the demise of our scam economy.
But most of all I hope that the welfare state is there for you when you need it.

Sure some people work the benefits system but are they any worse than some scamming estate agent whose been selling houses to people who can't afford them?

I think you people need to examine your own consciences and ask Have I really earned every penny of the (Insert house value here) my house is now worth through real hard work or have I just been lucky. And be honest with yourself.

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
10:49am Tue 6 May 08

I think you people need to examine your own consciences and ask Have I really earned every penny of the (Insert house value here) my house is now worth through real hard work or have I just been lucky. And be honest with yourself.

Yes we have!!
Left school at 15 and have worked every day since!
10 years in the forces, was one of the first down the Falklands, paying tax when I wasn't even in the country which was most of my service time.
My wife is a nurse on crap wages and between us pay several thousand pounds in taxes and NI every year.
We deserve everything we own because we have worked for it!

gazz_ball - Supera Moras!, bolton says...
11:10am Tue 6 May 08

I currently have 2 jobs to make ends meet, I can't afford sky plus, it is a luxury I can do without. I do sometimes think I would be better off claiming benefits than work but then I realise I have something these lazy parasites do not. Pride and self respect!

Sun Tzu, says...
11:11am Tue 6 May 08

Dave - You know the kind of people I'm having a pop at here.

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
11:55am Tue 6 May 08

Sun Tzu wrote:
Dave - You know the kind of people I'm having a pop at here.
I have re-read your post Sun and yes I now understand the type of people you are getting at.
Sorry mate, I thought you'd turned into an Andrew for a moment! ;)

gazz_ball - Supera Moras!, bolton says...
12:11pm Tue 6 May 08

Nah, lost me.

concerned, Bolton says...
12:29pm Tue 6 May 08

It would not be as bad if these people gave something back instead of just take.
I was brought up to do without what I cannot afford so I then appreciated what I saved up for.
Bolton needs cleaning up give them something to do. We all have problems. If we sit thinking about them they go worse if we keep ourselves busy it distracts us.
The apathy of the Bolton people let Labour rule.
When so many sign a petition to keep the market hall and Bolton council ignore the Bolton people what do you expect.
I think there were more people signed the petition than voted in the election!

Sun Tzu, says...
12:34pm Tue 6 May 08

BoltonDave wrote:
Sun Tzu wrote:
Dave - You know the kind of people I'm having a pop at here.
I have re-read your post Sun and yes I now understand the type of people you are getting at.
Sorry mate, I thought you'd turned into an Andrew for a moment! ;)
That won't happen.

No, thing is Dave & Gazz, We have a lot of hypocrits in our society who bang the drum about how "They've worked hard for everything they have.
However, in reality they work in the financial sector selling dubious scams which may be just legal but are certainly immoral or they have made a killing in the property market at the expense of naive people of will be lumbered with houses which aren't worth what they paid for them or they work for sure start or some other government job creation scheme which the country can ill-afford.

And it doesn't stop with jobs. Anyone who has bought cheap goods or food from abroad can't in all honesty say they have worked for everything they have.

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
12:47pm Tue 6 May 08

The thing is though Sun, anyone who wants to buy a house these days is in a no win situation. The whole thing has spiralled out of control. There is no justification for the prices of accomodation these days.
This is where I get back to the original thread, the only people that seem to benefit and not feel the sting are the ones on benefits.

Sun Tzu, says...
1:03pm Tue 6 May 08

The blame should be laid at the door of successive governments who have failed encourage an economy which provides working class jobs for working class people.

It's no good the government saying the jobs are there because they aint. The jobs on offer are commision sales jobs and unpreditable agency work.
And it's no use the government spinning the line "British people don't want to do these jobs" They would do these jobs if the pay was right.
I ask you. Who would want to pick spuds all day for minimum wage? The way we used to get people to do these mind numbing, back breaking jobs was to pay em well for putting up with it. Now they bring in slave labour from outside.
It's this kind of thing the government should have been takling, ie stopping greedy employers taking us back to Victorian times, rather than encouraging it!

emma, bolton says...
2:09pm Tue 6 May 08

Agree with you Sun 100%

Also can I just say all these people who say living on benefits give you a life of luxury, its a load of nonsense.

A single mother say with 3 kids would recieve about 210 a week after #65 towards the rent and full council tax is paid. If you have a private rented house of say 90 a week, you would have to pay the 25 difference, leaving 195 to feed 4 people,pay for gas, electric, water, tv licence, money towards clothes and shoes for the family, money for kids school trips, bus fares, save for christmas, birthdays etc. Where the luxurys come in I dont know?

Maybe people on benefits do have sky tv but the kids probably dont get as much for christmas or they eat next to nothing during the week.

emma, bolton says...
2:11pm Tue 6 May 08

185 a week left sorry :)

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
2:26pm Tue 6 May 08

Why are you tip-toeing round the real figures Emma?
I've never seen a poor scumbag benefits claimant.
Single mothers are one of the biggest drains on the benefits system because they know how easy (no pun intended) it is to claim and know that this nanny state will provide for them.


NRG, Lancs says...
2:28pm Tue 6 May 08

So, if life is so tough for them, Emma, why don't they go out to work?


emma, bolton says...
2:35pm Tue 6 May 08

NRG wrote:
So, if life is so tough for them, Emma, why don't they go out to work?
Probably due to lack of education.

emma, bolton says...
2:37pm Tue 6 May 08

BoltonDave wrote:
Why are you tip-toeing round the real figures Emma? I've never seen a poor scumbag benefits claimant. Single mothers are one of the biggest drains on the benefits system because they know how easy (no pun intended) it is to claim and know that this nanny state will provide for them.
Why, what are the real figures Dave?

NRG, Lancs says...
2:48pm Tue 6 May 08

emma wrote:
NRG wrote: So, if life is so tough for them, Emma, why don't they go out to work?
Probably due to lack of education.
They know what they're entitled to though, don't they?

Not quite so thick when it comes to knowing their rights.

Turn into simpletons if you mention the word responsibility to them ,though.

gazz_ball - Supera Moras!, bolton says...
2:59pm Tue 6 May 08

I do not agree with the lack of information. I never came away with any GCSE's but sill managed to stay in work since leaving school. Not the brighest spark on the planet but I have a willingness to work.

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
3:05pm Tue 6 May 08

I don't know what the real figures are Emma, but I know that these **** always seem to have the latest designer phone, clothes, pram, etc.
And what is this lack of education? Are these slags deprived of education? No, they just prefer to open their legs at will and know that this poxy government will pay it with my money!

Ali, says...
3:05pm Tue 6 May 08

I think it's a way of life for some people though Gazz, as they sometimes have parents who've never worked, so it just seems natural for them to follow in their footsteps.

It has a lot to do with how you're brought up from being a child.

We should decrease their benefits, make life really hard for them, so that having a job seems more desirable.

Ali, says...
3:11pm Tue 6 May 08

Dave, clever though us women are, we have not yet learned how to get pregnant by ourselves.
You don't seem to like women...why do you never apportion any blame on the men?

gazz_ball - Supera Moras!, bolton says...
3:12pm Tue 6 May 08

I agree Ali, if i quit my job and signed on I would only be about £50 a week worse off. (not taking into account my second job)

So technically speaking I am working a 40 hour week for £50 or £1.25 an hour

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
3:14pm Tue 6 May 08

Ali, don't get me wrong, I love women, but I hate the ones who deliberately get pregnant knowing that the state will provide for them.

Anne, little lever says...
3:37pm Tue 6 May 08

What a load of twaddle, I brought up three children doing two jobs (at one point three Jobs) they should get off there backside and get a job

Ali, says...
3:40pm Tue 6 May 08

But Anne there's no point in doing so, as they get everything paid for by the government.

Ali, says...
3:42pm Tue 6 May 08

True gazz, and the older you get and the more money you earn, you'll get squeezed more and more by the taxman....all to support idle layabouts.

Anne, little lever says...
3:52pm Tue 6 May 08

I have to agree with you Ali, It's far too easy for them. And who is paying for them. ME!!! I have worked from the age of 16 (and still working) for the likes of them. it makes me so mad. and I might add that all of my three children have a job.

gazz_ball - Supera Moras!, bolton says...
4:04pm Tue 6 May 08

Anne, I agree with most of what you say but I do not believe that you are working solely for 'them'

I think you might be working for yourself and family but I guess at times it feels like all we are doing is supporting the lazy parasites

BoltonDave, Tonge Moor says...
4:14pm Tue 6 May 08

Add up all the taxes you pay in a year and it makes you want to cry.
Look at all the scumbag parasites in this country and realise you are paying for them to live, often in better conditions than you, and you wonder what the hell it is all about.

Anne, little lever says...
4:47pm Tue 6 May 08

I know what you are saying gazz-ball. and I know you are right. I'm working for my family and myself to give us all a better life. but it still makes me mad, when some people can get what they want without lifting a finger.

don060541, devon says...
4:55pm Tue 6 May 08

No where you are coming from,
Pepole say you cant blame it all on the gov,
Bollo--- they could not run a pi-- up in a brewery,
Just applied for the grant to upgrade cavity wall loft insulation,

Got the grant had the wall cavity done then my boiler went on the blink,
Got in touch they said yes we will look at it but put the loft insulation on hold,
The grant was for £2700 in total the guy said i need a new boiler and it would take 1 day to sort out,
The quote came today £3670 meaning i have to pay over £1000 they listed labour at £3317.20 and parts ate £314.60,
And they say that MPs are bright,???????

illy6b, Bolton says...
9:11pm Tue 6 May 08

Sun Tzu wrote:
I hope none of you people are employed in doing any of the 500,000 non-jobs which Labour have created. I hope none of you people have made/borrowed large amounts on the back of the property market scam. I hope none of you people work in financial services. I hope none of you people work in service industries. I hope none of you people work in retail. And I sincerly hope your jobs will survive the demise of our scam economy. But most of all I hope that the welfare state is there for you when you need it. Sure some people work the benefits system but are they any worse than some scamming estate agent whose been selling houses to people who can't afford them? I think you people need to examine your own consciences and ask Have I really earned every penny of the (Insert house value here) my house is now worth through real hard work or have I just been lucky. And be honest with yourself.
You normally talk sense. I'm thinking maybe a raw nerve has been touched here.

Sun Tzu, says...
10:07pm Tue 6 May 08

Illy - A bit too close to home for you?

Simon, Kearsley says...
10:46pm Tue 6 May 08

So a Government (along with previous ones) that has actively encouraged the breakdown of the family unit now has a 'social exclusion task force' that 'aims to make sure adult and children services work together to help families'.

Two Points
1. This is another politically correct job creation scheme.
2. It is for our latest arrivals on our overcrowded island.

"Disadvantaged families will be offered help with parenting skills, how to claim the correct benefits and find work"

illy6b, Bolton says...
12:32am Wed 7 May 08

Sun Tzu wrote:
Illy - A bit too close to home for you?
Sun, Certainly not too close to home for me. Although, I apologise for posting the comment as I only read your first posting. Having read your following comments I had missed your point entirely.

Sun Tzu, says...
11:19am Wed 7 May 08

illy6b wrote:
Sun Tzu wrote:
Illy - A bit too close to home for you?
Sun, Certainly not too close to home for me. Although, I apologise for posting the comment as I only read your first posting. Having read your following comments I had missed your point entirely.
Yeah, I think that first post of mine could be described as a bit of a curved ball, as you weren't the only one it caught out.

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