Should the government monitor how people spend their benefits?

[Ana Gram]

In the Netherlands there is no such thing as private hospitals or private schools anymore. Everyone is equal and receives the same education. Simple.

I love the way the Scandinavian countries do things, I think they have got the most right so far. Shame people here think democratic socialism is communism.

[babyla]

I love the way the Scandinavian countries do things, I think they have got the most right so far. Shame people here think democratic socialism is communism.

Yep Denmark has it goin on!

[Eko]

Only in a way. For example for myself, we get the family tax benefit and I'm the bread winner as DH is a SAHD.
I wouldn't be offended if they said to me "We'll take your FTB and pay it to your rental company on your behalf, you don't have the choice". Or to a bill payer or something. But for families who don't have separate income coming in to use for the little extras that they may like to have every now and then, well I can see how that would be offensive and or restrictive.

[Saz71]

Blissed, Artful; Schools in England where I come from have only one meal a day which obviously is lunch. There is no option for a second meal. Some schools do a breakfast club (if you live in the posh parts which my fam don't) but you have to pay a certain amount for that, I think it's like 7 pounds a week, which is a lot to struggling families.
When I was at school they had mini meals and maxi meals. Mini meals were for families whos lunches were paid for by the government, and usually consisted of a minuscule amount, 2 small potato balls the size of a 50c piece and a slice o thin ham, with a carton of warm milk.

Maxi meals were for families who paid the 11 pounds a week for their lunches, because there mums and dads worked. They would have for instance, 5 potato balls and 2 slices of ham, semolina pudding and a tall container of milk because they paid extra for more milk.

I always envied maxi meal kids, sometimes they would get completely different meals to us, we'd have a cardboard fishfinger and an unfrozen smiley face, and they'd have lovely pies and chips with gravy.

The dinner ladies were openly disgusted at the amount the mini meal kids got, we would have finished eating before we even sat down..and they made us line up separately.

That's heartbreaking Gothchick. I'm in the UK but never had school meals until 6th form - we took packed lunch, so I can't comment on any differences in the meals given to children whose parents were on benefits when I was at school.

My experiences at my sons school are that children of parents on benefits get free lunch provision but the meals are the same for all children whether they're free or paid for by the parents.

They also operate a breakfast club open to all children and the school has a grant from the Welsh Govt which means it's free to all regardless of benefit status.

[Misschief]

I love the way the Scandinavian countries do things, I think they have got the most right so far. Shame people here think democratic socialism is communism.

The Europeans are far ahead with these things. Even social security is far more fair over there than it is here.

Unfortunately, as long as we're sailing under the Union Jack, we will always have the different classes and there will never be a system of equality in Australia. (And people wonder why the UK doesn't want to be part of the EU. Most of the European monarchies have ditched the public/private systems. Something the UK isn't willing to give up. Ever.)

Anyway, back to topic now

[Nemmi]

Where I live there is only public hospitals and doctors surgeries etc.

We have two 'private' primary schools and one private high school ( they're catholic / christian schools) we have 3 public primary school and 1 public high school

We have one ultrasound place and now one dentist and they're private

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[Beck87]

I think It would be good for certain circumstances and individual cases only.