William Beveridge must be turning in his grave or weeping, or both (More than 1 million UK children experienced destitution last year, study finds, 24 October). In his 1942 report, he identified five key evils: idleness, ignorance, disease, squalor and want. Systems and services such as compulsory social insurance and comprehensive medical services were among those created or expanded in the 1940s to tackle these problems. They were to provide support from the cradle to the grave, and thus the welfare state was created. I suggest it is now well and truly dead.
We have children and their parents living in acute poverty, including those receiving benefits; health services falling apart; social care and support for elderly and disabled people totally inadequate; education underfunded and in disarray; and a lack of decent and affordable housing. This appalling situation is shortsighted as children growing up in poverty are likely to do less well in school and be less healthy in later life, at significant cost to the state later on.
All this is happening in a rich but very unequal country. A major investment is needed in national, and particularly local, services to build affordable social housing and restore services. New funds have to be found, including from wealthy organisations and individuals, in a fairer distribution of resources. But there seems to be no sign of any political party appearing to be willing to face this reality and tackle it across the board. Why not?
Janet Lewis
Former research director, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• I read your article with sadness and anger. Destitution isn’t a word that should be used in 2023 in the world’s sixth largest economy. It should be consigned to the history books and Dickens’s novels.
But can you imagine my fury at seeing that the government has removed the cap on bankers’ bonuses (Report, 24 October)? What planet do Tory politicians inhabit? One where a prime minister upgrades the electricity grid to heat his swimming pool, but where citizens can’t even heat hot water to wash themselves. I am a volunteer at a Trussell Trust food bank in the north-west of England and I can only reiterate what the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says in its report. People are desperate for help.
Trish Cockayne
Lymm, Cheshire
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