The consequences of recession

Businesses are giving less to charity http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/23/business-charity-donations this includes medical charities http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/slump-forces-medical-charities-to-cut-back-lifesaving-research-1651719.html

Despite the talk of zero inflation, food prices are rising rapidly, especially it would seem ,if you live on pork sausages and rice http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7982056.stm more detail about food prices http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/weak-pound-heaps-food-price-inflation-on-poorest-households-1666124.html

For people on low incomes these are hard times. The charity, Save the Children, have started handing out grants to families in serious financial need http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/07/save-the-children-handouts Oxfam have been conducting surveys of public opinion and are calling upon the government to do more to alleviate poverty http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/08/oxfam-poverty-welfare-state they argue that "the UK is in recession, and things stand to get much worse for the fifth of the population already living in poverty, and for the millions more whose livelihoods will become more vulnerable as a result." They have developed a new acronym FRED, F Forgotten by those in power, R
Ripped-off by taxes and the benefits system, E Excluded from opportunities, D Debt-ridden because they can't afford to get by
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7987601.stm the full report at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/economic_crisis/downloads/close_to_home_uk_poverty_economic_crisis.pdf

In this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/05/schools-financial-crisis Nick Cohen raises a number of issues about recession and unemployment, including that "The educated young hurt the most… a 40-year-old who spends a year out of work and then finds a new job shows no long-term ill-effects at 50. A 20-year-old is scarred for life." If this is so, why is early unemployment so damaging? Are education and training the sensible and productive alternatives? Some are already arguing this and that the unemployed should be given more encouragement to pursue education and training http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/24/enrol-for-free Unfortunately, this extra demand is kicking in when "Up to 50,000 sixth-formers will be denied places at university this autumn because of a surge in applications combined with a freeze in undergraduate places"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6062841.ece and provision also seems inadequate for the anticipated demand at sixth form and colleges http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/10/nut-blower-students-universities-colleges-sixth-forms Albeit that there is some extra money for some universities to provide education and training for identified businesses and workforces http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7991816.stm This is difficult to manage but I hope the government errs on the side of increasing educational and training opportunities or we risk testing Nick Cohen's thesis that we are in danger of creating another 'lost generation'.

Will the recession place greater burdens on family life? Esther Rantzen fears it will http://www.4children.org.uk/information/show/ref/1584 the burden will fall on the "sandwich generation", those adults old enough to have parents or even grandparents who need looking after but still young enough to have dependent children http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/mar/29/social-care-family

Is there no good news? Well, sort of http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/apr/16/recession-butlins-holiday-camps