If Iain Duncan Smith did survive a week on ?53, it would prove nothing | Zoe Williams

I can live for 53 pounds a week? Things started well enough when I can collect a certain amount of capital and a friend to dinner

The last time I looked, the demand for Iain Duncan Smith live € 53 per week had 435,596 signatures, but I'd be surprised if there were half a million to date. The arrogance of man, their urgency, "Because I Said So" delivery, prompt response to almost everything he says. "Yeah Then prove it"

Journalists and politicians have done this for as long as I can remember. It has always been a staple of the socially conscious family, his mother eats a week in a pounds per day (which is how the feminist left to say "I Plan"), or your father sleeps badly charity (the coldness of what is just the cruelty of the act, spent the night next to people who do not).

Brian Sewell tried to live in a state pension at the end of the 90s (it was almost possible, he said, as long as you have an Aga). More than a decade ago, Matthew Parris, and another Conservative MP, lived for a week at 26.80 pounds, the premium rate at the time, the world in action. It was 1984, and unemployment benefits were at the lowest level relative to income, which had been for 30 years. Now, of course, are even lower (22% of median income in 1979, 15% in 2012). In its sixth day, Parris had 61p left of heat and light, and I was wondering if sitting in the dark and go to bed early.

Keep in mind, with all of these experiments, there are no children to worry about, which is all most people on the benefits of anxiety.

? 7.57 per day to cover food, electricity, gas, water, telephone, debt service, travel, clothing and emergency renewal.

emergency had no debt, with service and renewed without clothes. I took all the food of children outside their own interest of the child (which is doable, but spartan, is mainly based on plastic containers of green peppers for consideration, and does not extend to any type of meat).

gas and electricity was 4.36 pounds per day, I spent ? 1.07 on mobile. I do not spend money on transportation, as it cycled everywhere, but I had a great on the bike over the last five years (500 € on the same bike, two pairs of shoes, taco tacos peddles Service), so I called as 54p per day, plus 40 pence per day for a TV license.

This leaves me ? 1.19 for everything else, or 5.95 euros for five days, so I spent 99p on rice, orange lentils on 89p, ? 1.30 for a giant bag of onion and garlic and was Lidl. € 2.77 to left.

The first night, a friend took me to dinner. It was, coincidentally, wrote this article for the Daily Mail, five years ago. He said he wandered out of his office, pretending to have left his bag on the table and ask people to buy a coffee. She went to many parts, sofas, and was outraged when, at the opening of a burlesque club, has taken delivery of pornographic letters instead of

vol au vent

• Therefore, these experiences are worse than useless. They ignore the capital, while at the same time, trade in it for everything - it was not many people willing to buy your coffee if you do not already know, and use half of them, it is unlikely that someone long-term unemployment would be invited to a burlesque party. Damn you, and its capital, which thundered with my mouth full of chicken livers had not paid.
• The next day, I was hooked on everything with my own children, I could not go anywhere, because, despite their bus fares were free, it was less than 3p a bus ride back, and could not cope with the incessant demand small perishable.

So we were in the house, and the youngest of toilet paper strewn stairs, and explained that costs money and therefore should not be wasted. Then my father wrote a story about Obi-Wan Kenobi, photocopied a number of times, and said: "I do not know if you come with me, but I thought we could go out and sell them to people."

So I had to explain the probable market value of a rare Star Wars Accurate, which almost broke me.

Wednesday I came to town on my bike, had no lentils background noise, because I was embarrassed, I felt dizzy, the afternoon bought Lucozade one without thinking. Wham - ? 1.99
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Letters: More questions about who and what Labour represents

Aditya Chakrabortty (G2, April 2) David Miliband accused of being a "Gold Class" to show how some Labour MPs came from manual labor now. He never heard of the Education Act 1944? In 1945, there was a wide range of intellectual abilities of the working class - probably a little less than in the population as a whole. Some come in blue-collar jobs very bright children, but were organized by the trade union movement in politics and ultimately parliament. But as children of above-average ability are filtered, while the new school system, more and more brilliant suffered secondary schools entering the white-collar jobs, even careers. So, less intelligent craft of children enrolled. So now, the range of ability within the class of manual work is reduced significantly compared to 1945. Industrial companies have stopped looking to the future management of young people who leave school prematurely. People looking to have gone to college and university. I hope that the unions also recognize this reality has changed.
Then of course, aspiring Labour MPs today are different from the cohort who entered the House of Commons with Ernest Bevin, or John Prescott, a generation later. They are an educated group, as David Miliband.

David Nelson

Burntisland

• William Wallace (Letters, April 4), seems to have forgotten labor policies before 2010 have been fighting the budget deficit. The economy returned to growth and the budget deficit was lower than expected. There was no mess. The idea that social spending under the Labour government represented the "debt" instead of the banking crisis and the fall in tax revenue policy emphasizes the successors of the Beveridge poverty in the Liberal Democrats. No responsible member of the Labour Party denied that the deficit requires more attention. Wallace and his party can console themselves by tinkering with the tax loopholes and personal deductions. But nothing should distract the electorate coalition ground that blocked the economy since 2010 and has resulted in much higher than expected government borrowing by Labour.
Peter Kenyon

London

• • What is most disturbing about the NHS (Comment 4 April) is the silence of the first row of the work. Although there has been talk of investment Andy Burnham NHS changes, there is no such commitment to the party leadership. For me, as a former activist of the party, too reminiscent of the period before 1997. Then they told us not to worry about rail privatization as already ruling would allow franchises who work railways course and then be taken into public hands.
• What actually happened was the opposite, the Labour government has become a fan of privatization. The Labour government also became a tireless advocate for the privatization of parts of the health service. I fear a Labour government after 2015 will find an excuse to leave the health service in private hands.

Derrick Joad

Leeds


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Threat of debt drives US middle-class families away from private universities

Many families expelled from private schools because their income is too high to qualify for financial aid, but too low for rates

• The stories in this book come from a call in the Guardian. To participate in our coverage of student debt, join our network

Whenever someone asked, Molly Fisher said he went to Wake Forest University in North Carolina. It is a fact.

Wake Forest

, a small private college 7351 people in Winston-Salem was his first choice because of its size. Molly diplomas were strong enough to enter "She was a bright star in high school," said his mother, Maggie. Enter but was not enough. Molly needed a merit scholarship and was crushed when she n is not coming.

With annual revenues of $ 175,000 to the Fisher family was not entitled to adequate financial assistance based on Molly is applied in colleges - in addition to private Wake Forest, asked the University American public schools and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.

both parents work. Maggie runs her own business as a health consultant and her husband is in advertising. They set aside a certain sum of money to the university of their two children, $ 20,000 a year, but were clear with the two girls who were to be responsible for all costs above and beyond. When Molly realized that suffer approximately $ 80,000 in debt by the end of his studies, he took his second choice. She is now at UNC Chapel Hill - a solid backup University where he will graduate debt free

Fishermen families are typical of well-educated middle class who are expelled from private schools because their income is too high to receive substantial financial aid and too low to pay the high costs that the university requires .

A recent study in North Carolina, said that 40% of students who were qualified to attend college selectively did not register for one. And money has a lot to do with it. If you look at the situation of fishermen see why. Wake Forest costs about $ 60,000 per year. The fishermen had set aside $ 20,000 per year. Chapel Hill is $ 20,000 per year. Decision.

While the best schools in the country are still able to maintain a "need-blind" application process (for example, if you apply and get in, but can not afford the tuition will take ) the vast majority of students are applying to places with lower provisions and less money to give. This is money, of course, tend to go to lower revenues, leaving the center of the randomization.

It goes without saying that the more children you have, the harder it is to pay. However, universities seem to ignore the family retail, offering more help, if you have a child who is already a degree. Brian Ellerbeck has two son, one is going to college this year, on the other side.

"Tuition has played a role in the choice of the university," he said. Her daughter, Emma, ??got into a "public school", Smith College, SUNY Binghamton, but in fact is. She was very bitter about the decision at the time, given the difficulty he had worked to get to Smith. But her parents told her she could not afford it.

• "Given the misery Smith offered to cover our costs and financial situation, the prospect of spending $ 175,000 of the debt of a four-year degree is just not tenable, Despite the university brand. "

its echoes of complaints from parents who feel that somehow it is expected that the money no matter what. Universities are less the amount of money a family to the amount that might be able to get your hands on.

"The way schools determine the" necessity "and the expectations they bring to the financing of the family (eg, assuming that families have a second mortgage to finance the costs of education) are bad and do not take into account the many demands already made on household budgets, "says Ellerbeck.

Bruce Poch, who was for many years the director of admissions at Pomona College, and is now the director of the university in a private school in Los Angeles Chadwick acknowledges that the middle class is increasingly less attention to private schools. He sees the movement flow all the way to daycare.

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Big fall in mature students comes as shock to universities

Universities

blame the economic crisis by an alarming decline in 40% of older students and part-time

When Donna Hunt, a former official with two children under four years, sought to apply to college for the first time last year, the experience was "very intimidating." In addition care planning and preparation to sit in a classroom for the first time in over 15 years, was faced with a difficult student loan. "Documentation was probably the scariest part of going college, "he said. "But without it, I could not make the journey."

Hunt, 35, who lives in Surrey, is to take a certificate of higher education at the University of Worcester teach you National Childbirth Trust (NCT) parenting classes, and hopes to continue studying a teaching degree. She makes the most of his part-time courses at home, but must go to London for training. Contrary to the average of 18 years, college life shoehorning crowded and commitments has been a challenge. "My studies occur in an ad hoc place at night or nap time, when I have the opportunity to sit down and do a bit of head space," she said. "It's hard work, but rewarding. For me, the idea of ??having a title when I'm 40 is just wonderful. "

positivity is common among older students once they are in college. However, the figures suggest that since the annual rate reached a maximum of ? 9,000 last year, large sections of the older students are not making it through the door of the university.

A recent report on the impact of the new funding system for higher education Education Funding Council for England reveals that the number of part-time students, who are much more likely to be older, have dropped a whopping 40% in 2010-11. Dice recent years adult students were much less likely to accept a place at university dropout.

There are many theories on which older students have responded to the new fee arrangements dramatically. Professor Paul Webley, Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said. "Unlike school graduates, older students and part-time workers were generally win, so the numbers mean much when you're 18, these are just numbers."

older students are more likely to believe they have much faith with the rate increase, he added. "Children are 18 years into a new system and we are all in the same boat when it comes to fees. But if you are a 22 year old, you have the feeling that if I applied last year or the year before would have paid less, "he said.

However, Matt Robb, a higher education expert at the Parthenon Group, a consulting firm that advises global strategy of many universities, says that while students studying for leisure certainly been delayed by rate increases, others react to higher prices for all courses. "I think it has nothing to do with cost and everything to do with the economic climate," says Webley. "I would say that adult learners are much more likely to have a job, much less likely in the current environment to go to your employer and tell you that I would do a part time course."

• Professor Michael Gunn, rector of the University of Staffordshire, agrees. "For part-time students, employer support has often been the key," he says, "and there is no evidence that it is not as readily available in the current climate."
The landslide working part-time was a surprise to many universities, because it coincided with the introduction of new government loans for part-time students who have not institutions attended college before had thought could mitigate the effect of rising interest rates. Previously, part-time workers to pay their fees in advance with little government support.

Apparently, the message on new loans simply do not reach many potential part-time students. "We had a lot of problems last year with poor information on financing," says Professor David Latchman, master of Birkbeck, University of London, specializing in part-time courses. "Some people thought they had to go to the bank and borrow money."

But Claire Callender, a national expert on education part-time at the Institute of Education, said that this is only part of the story, as the majority of students part-time are not eligible for loans in new ways. Because the government has maintained the existing ban on funding for students who already have a "diploma equivalent," only a third of the time students are eligible for new loans. In a research work in part-time students , Callender says that the system is not sufficiently loans and grants or scholarships that match the part-time market much better.

"People are too many financial risks. There is no guarantee higher income after recycling," she said. "Even if someone can get a loan, borrowers do not have to repay the loan until their income reaches a certain level, this safety net is not always sufficient to allay concerns about the payment of 9% of their income to repay the loan. Many a family to support and a mortgage. "
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Pope makes Easter pleas for world peace

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NHS at 'huge risk' from reforms, says healthcare chief

New

director of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says the NHS result of structural changes in the challenge

The NHS is in a period of "high risk" that the government's reforms begin to bite, according to the new chairman of Nice, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Professor David Haslam, said to ensure that all new bodies to be fully operational and functioning properly together on April 1 would be a major challenge.

"This is a moment of great danger," he told the Guardian. "We know that medical care in the hospital is the biggest risk when patients are distributed from one person to another. 'S A dangerous time for the system, it is important that the key players to work together. While we try. "

In the first in-depth interview since taking office, Haslam has also expressed concern about the complexity of the reforms and said that pharmaceutical companies face a similar problem to the reputation of banks and had to show the public that they can trust.

But his immediate focus is on structural changes in the NHS. He said it was important that all new agencies of the National Commission - Commissioning, Commissioning and clinical groups local authorities, which are responsible for public health, as well as advice and various organs control - work closely together, avoid duplication, improve communication and focus on quality.

Nice to be another organization, said take responsibility for setting standards of quality in health and social services, as well as evaluations of drugs for which he is best known.

not questioned even bring these two worlds, he said. "The professionals at different faces to see the world a little differently. Even using a different language. People use the same words, but mean different things. "But it was important that the two areas should be integrated - for the treatment and care of an elderly person with dementia, for example, should be transparent

Haslam noted how news organizations need to work together after the changes. "I see Nice as the establishment of standards, implementation advice, supporting the work that leads to attention given the standards and regulatory testing has been done." But he added: "I would like that it is as simple as that. "

warned that the complexity of the new rules could be a problem. "I really feel that if you can not explain how things work on one side of A4 without losing a tiny font, they made a mistake," he said. If people at the top of the tree do not understand how "how a patient of 33 Acacia Avenue know how it fits?" The investigation into the death of Francisco Mid Staffordshire revealed "a lot of confusion," he said.

Search

Francis also recommended more clarity on the standards of care patients can expect. The National Council will be invited to Nice start to establish standards for nearly 180 different diseases, so that hospital trusts - and inspection, the Commission quality care -. You can determine whether they are appropriate to their patients is

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Fay Kanin obituary

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