what is everybody's thoughts on this?to me i find it totally pathetic that we can send billions to other countries to feed them yet when it comes to our own this goverment is taking EVERYTHING away from normal hard working families!firstly our working tax credits will be abolished and now free school dinners being abolished!i accepted a job that was only 20 hrs a week as it was all i could get at the time and did not want to be on benefits(jobseekers allowance)but at least i had working tax credits that would top me up a bit,i earn approx £160 a week and get £30 working tax credits.but now my outgoings are a lot more than my income due to what this goverment are doing!!

Where di you hear this Pokerchamp?

all over the News today.

Will have a listen to the News later,Thanks Pokerchamp.

very true look after our own, it should be free school meals all round in that case, but would these kids go hungry over the 6 weeks holidays

This country is a joke - the sooner I get out the better.....

my point is i was made to take a job that i knew i would only break even with bills ect because i would get working tax credits and school dinners for my children ,but since then working tax credits are said to be stopping and now free school dinners!!im always on the lookout for a job with more money and hours but even tho i am going to be £60 a week worse off i am forced to stay where i am for now,i totally understand why people are on the dole ect as once you find a job you get shaffted big time!!

What is 'Family Allowance' named as these days ?

Just been trying to find some info on this. It is not a definite at the moment, only speculation and will become clear in the November budget.

However, it was Nick Clegg who introduced 'free school meals' for every infant between the ages of 4 and 7 yrs.

For you Pokerchamp, I would think you may not be affected as you are already on benefits, it could possibly be referring to children who's parents are not receiving benefits. (which I actually agree with)

So far as Working Tax Credit's go...that might also be because of the change over to Universal Credit.

Therefore, these changes may not result in what you are worrying about. I hope they aren't.

We all really should just hand over our kids at birth to the Government and let them take care of everything.
No point having a Nanny State when you can have a Parent State!

With all due respects CVCVCV, things are very difficult here, particularly for young families. If employers offered positions with more hours, or were agreeable to adjusting working hours to enable some to take more than one job, then things might be more simple.

Take for example over a 5 week period on a shift basis of 3 different shifts daily. Anywhere between 8am and 11pm on a contract for 21 hours.

What that means is a different shift for everyday in a week (no two consecutive days the same ) Working 4 weekend out of 5
No two consecutive weeks the same. In fact every week for 5 weeks is different.
Also have to be available to do additional hours when and if needed, but not often needed.

This is because employees would prefer to employ the minimum of staff on the minimum amount of hours.

Trying to get a second job on that basis is impossible. This was a policy brought in by the last Labour Government to reduce the unemployment figures, thus introducing the Tax Credit system to ensure the continuity of what could have shown up as massive unemployment figures. At the same time, indirectly giving support to the companies that were still making the same profits, or more but failed in the need to pass them on. False economy, and people are still caught up in this.

I agree with the government's concept of reducing in-work benefits and increasing wages - but of course this government is using it to muddy the waters that really the low paid are getting shafted.

I am in favour of free school meals all the way up to 16 years old, I am also in favour of banning selling drinks that are high energy, high caffeine or high sugar to children under 18. Unfortunately there are two many parents that can't put two and two together and realise that shoving these sort of drinks in your kids is why the kids are hypo and out of control.

It's known as child benefit these days.£20.70 for the first child & £13.70 for any others.

Child benefit will eventually be replaced by the child element of universal credit - it may already have happened in some areas.

Very difficult to tell because the roll out of UC is kept quiet and even when an area is declared to come under UC (as is Birkenhead), not everybody is placed under UC depending on their circumstances, as far as I'm aware UC hasn't been fully rolled out to any area yet.

While George Osborne mulls over plans to scrap free school meals, a student is fighting back with a petition to stop discount catered food in the House of Lords.

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/21/130k-sign-.../#ixzz3mUVUZvhX