Idly watching the parliament channel after Andrew Neil had finished today, I found myself engrossed in a sub titled programme covering the difficulties faced by migrants in Europe.
Eventually the discussion moved to Scotland and the heartbreaking plight of migrants there who were ‘forced to rely on charity’ – to avoid starvation, death and a life of vice on the streets.
The programme makers were at pains to point out – helpfully displaying the full act on the screen - how legislation, namely the Worker Registration Scheme, passed in cruel London had foisted this situation on the normally charitable Scots. (???) It seems that EU workers must register under this scheme and work for one year before accessing benefits and housing paid for by the tax payer.
It was beginning to sound like a very good idea to me. The Tax Payer is only responsible for supporting those who have contributed something? Excellent.
‘Destitute and vulnerable single mothers’ were interviewed who explained that but for the inflexible rules in the Workers Registration Scheme, they would have been bringing their children up to be honest, concerned citizens, instead they were starving and helpless……..body and soul only kept together by the donations of widows and orphans to a charity called ‘Four Square’.
Mindful of Devil’s Kitchen’s Fake Charities campaign, I did a little research.
‘Four Square’, in the most recent accounts I can find, 2007, are funded by:
Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2007.
2007 (£)
Incoming Resources
Donations 33,149
Local Authority Income 2,345,717
Grants from Public Bodies 244,348
Rent and Housing Benefit 145,383
Bank Interest 77,218
Other Income 1,166
Total Incoming Resources £ 2,846,981
That’s an awful lot of tax payers/ratepayers money in relation to the minuscule amount of donations, especially when you consider that Four Square list as major partners and funders the following, some of whose contribution, like RBS, would come under the heading of donations.
City of Edinburgh Council • Royal Bank of Scotland • The Polish Consulate • The Community Fund • Supporting People
Fife, East, West & Midlothian Councils • Scottish Enterprise New Futures Fund • Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland
Scottish Executive ‘Transforming Waste’ and ‘Strategic Waste’ Funds • Castlerock Edinvar / Dunedin Canmore Housing Associations
Cairn Energy PLC • Volant Trust • Quartermile • CLAN
Were it not for Devil’s Kitchen I would never have thought of looking into this charity and would have assumed that these migrants were being denied tax payer/ratepayer funds. They are not, they are merely getting them under a different, less transparent, heading. Nor are these asylum seekers fleeing torture, rape, and hoards of locusts, they are EU citizens who chose to come and work in the UK. EU citizens that the legislature has, in open debate, considered are not entitled to expect the support of British workers – but who are now being supported behind the cloak of ‘charity’. Why?
What could be the motive behind this programme? Could Four Square’s empire be threatened?
The key may be in this further document:
At the time of writing, the announced level of cuts to Supporting People funding is 7.6%. We and all other voluntary sector service providers in receipt of SP monies have been warned that this figure may need to go higher. As it is, without an inflationary increase, this is equivalent to a 10% cut.
With the expected launch in March of the new Edinburgh Homelessness Strategy 2007-2012, comes a proposed 2-year commissioning plan and performance framework for putting all voluntary sector homelessness services out to competitive tendering.
Competitive tendering, cuts in funding? No wonder they are having an attack of the vapours, and we are being treated to an emotive programme – who paid for the programme to be made, I wonder?
Anna is the landlady of the Raccoon Arms. She lives in the Monbazillac area of South West France and still takes a keen interest in British politics.
{ 10 comments }
Sorry this is off topic (but at least I’ve muscled in on a Scotchland themed piece!)
You made a comment in connection with the possible/proposed bailout of some scotchland building societ, that we should rebuild Hadrian’s wall. NO! NO! NO! do that and you not only give the scotchers all our money but one of the best bits of England as well. Northumberland is very beautiful and we’re going to need all those acres – and the timber in Kielder Forest – when we reduced to our bartering agrarian economy.
OK, I know you’re from South of Watford but do have a care.
plant man! ………… You have made a valid point here. I am always championing the rebuilding of Hadrian’s Wall – but making it a lot higher than the original.
I shall stop this immediately.
But where can we put certain Scots? Should we perhaps just throw them into dungeons like the ones at Chillingham Castle ………… where people had to eat each other to survive?
Coco – hows about building cubicles in the
Plant man ………..
I am wondering if they will sub-let these cubicles for say – 60k a year ………… or use a room at their sister’s house and claim all kinds of payments that everybody thinks dodgy …………. except the people that claim it. I should not dare to cite Jacqui Schmidt at this point – although she has done absolutely nothing wrong in any way – ever! Scmidt ist eine Wunderkind with wonderfully kind ways ……….. of helping herself.
Just wondering as well – if the English Parliament will end up being run from Edinburgh? Wow! Can you imagine the collossal amounts of MPs expenses then?
‘Well Mr. Speaker – I have to drive 300 miles there and back every day and although my mum and dad let me stay at their house I still have to pay them 60k – and my secretary does part-time nannying and my kids take months of University to help me in the office that I rent from my sister for 30 k ………. usw’.
‘They are EU citizens who chose to come and work in the UK.’
work ???????????????
Well, they did work David, just not for long enough to be entitled to benefits!
they came here presumably to find fame and fortune and instead discovered that wasn’t available in which case anna racoon they would do well to consider if their future lies elsewhere.
That’s right davidc ………….. These poor people who almost kill themselves to get here to do the work we are not qualified or ‘over-qualified’ to do must kick themselves and wish they had never had bothered.
I think that the people who need a really good kick these days are the lazy bastards who trawl about housing estates kicking out at dropped litter instead of picking it up and allowing their estates to become havens for untaxed drug-dealers and other criminals.
I would like to sentence all the lazy white, Asian, black, yellow, green etc., people who do not contribute anything to their communities to the work-house and give those people who truly want to work in the UK the privilege of decent public housing and the accompanying benefits.
From a police press release:
“TOO MUCH BLING? GIVE US A RING”
Are you sick of criminals flaunting the proceeds of their crime in your neighbourhood? Well now there
Looks like another excuse for the police not to do some pro-active policing again then!
Most of the criminals who have the bling to go with the Mercedes and six-bed detached usually have alibis in accountants and turf accountants and other money-laundering activity areas such as casinos.
So as usual ………. it will be the poor kid who grows cannabis in his mum’s loft that gets the coppers kicking the door in at 5am when he his meant to be in his deepest sleep!