PIMP MY POVERTY AWARD
Goes to...
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL
A bright new year dawns, and Salford City Council is about to spew forth yet another Anti-Poverty Strategy, that includes horrific stats like 23%, or 12,667, children in the city are living in poverty, and that around 70% of the city's population live in areas classified as `highly deprived and disadvantaged'.
The Strategy, yet to be officially published, argues that to meet targets set out in the Child Poverty Act, poverty would have to be halved by 2020, and quotes Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, harping "We want our work to become a beacon of best practice in the fight against poverty"...
The Strategy explains that the Council is targeting "All types of people" as "Key causes such as unemployment, ill health, debt or family breakdown can happen to anyone..."
Lo and behold, Salford Council certainly targeted, or pimped, `all types of people' in poverty this year.
First up was a BBC Newsnight report in August which singled out Salford Council for claiming 100% success rate in the Government's Troubled Families Programme which was supposed to `solve' multiple problems for families involved in crime, truancy and unemployment (for full details see previous Salford Star article click here).
Newsnight presenter, Evan Davis, said the Programme achieved "approximately nothing", and slated the Council's 100% claim for `turning around' 835 troubled families... "It's nonsense" he scorned. Of course it was `nonsense', but the Council claimed an £800 bonus for each of the families it `turned around'.... Kerching!!!
Meanwhile, in July, Salford Mayor Paul Dennett helped launch the Salford Poverty Truth Commission, which he explained was about "the lived experience...people in communities need to tell us".
In November, one of the Dennett-inspired Poverty Truth Commissioners, Angela Barratt, certainly told him what was going on when she received a visit from the bailiffs acting on behalf of Salford City Council, for being behind in her Council Tax payments (see previous Salford Star article for full details click here)
She had a Council Tax debt of £365 for last year, couldn't pay it and in March got a notice for the `removal and sale of your goods' from Jacobs bailiffs, which had added onto the debt an incredible £1,100 for its services. Subsequently she had a repayment plan, hadn't missed a payment but in November got another visit for the £932 remainder of the debt...
"They must be doing this all over Salford" Angela told the Salford Star "These are worse than loan sharks, for me they're basically terrorists, and they're not the only company.
"I think it's really unforgiving when I've got young children, do lots for the community and am struggling to live week in week out" she added "Who doesn't owe money for Council Tax, Bedroom Tax or the rent these days? Our councillors are supposed to help us but this is absolutely disgusting. The Council needs to stop this straight away."
Salford Council, via its contracted bailiffs, actually putting people, including one of its own Poverty Truth Commissioners, into deeper poverty? Surely that's not in the Anti-Poverty Strategy???
In August, the Salford Star also revealed that, in 2015-16, not one person had received a penny from the Council's £50,000 Council Tax Support Fund, which exists to help those in dire poverty pay their Council Tax (see previous Salford Star article click here).
The ringfenced Fund, or Salford Discretionary Support Scheme, is "for people facing extreme hardship in relation to Council Tax" and is supposed to "respond to immediate hardship from within the city".
55 Salford residents applied to the £50,000 Fund last year and none received any help, as nothing was paid out during the whole year. On 30th March this year, those same 55 applications were still waiting to be processed. Which was probably too late for those facing "immediate hardship".
As a sop to poverty, the City Mayor announced this year that he would be cutting his own salary from a massive £69,000 to a, er, massive £63,000...while his deputies would be taking a £2,000 cut in wages. Mayor Dennett explained that "In a time of austerity the Labour Party in Salford do not think it is appropriate for political leaders to be increasing their salaries" all very laudable, until the Star revealed that the £2,000 `pay cuts' for the Deputy Mayors, were actually £2,000 pay rises!
Indeed, the Council's own report on `remuneration' showed how the two Deputy City Mayors, John Merry and Paula Boshell, were currently earning £30,000, and will in future pick up £32,000 for the same role (see here).
So, no hardship payments, extra bailiff payments, `troubled family' cash-ins for the community and pay rises for the Deputy Mayors!
So, ladies and gentlemen, sell your kids, sell your body and screw up your economic safety net for the winner of the Salford Star Mary Burns Pimp My Poverty Award...
Salford City Council!
If a representative of Salford Council would like to make an acceptance speech please use the comments box below...
Winners of the 2016 Salford Star Mary Burns Awards
*Nice Work If You Can Get It Award Hazel Blears click here
* Green Fingers Award - Salford City Council - click here
*Ethical Hypocrisy Award Co-operative Group click here
*George Bush Read My Lips Award Hazel Blears, Phil Mayall and Councillor Derek Antrobus click here
*Services To Heritage Destruction Fred Done click here
* Feed The Rich Award - Peel Holdings - click here
* International Award - Manchester City Council - click here
* `How The Fuck Did You Manage To Ignore Almost 3 Million People?' Award - Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) - click here
*Services To Social Housing - Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett click here
*Affordable Housing Hypocrisy Revolving Door Award Councillor Paul Longshaw click here
* Uncle Joe Stalin Award for Open and Democratic Government Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett click here
* Gary Neville Finger In Pies Award - Salford City Council - click here
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