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The generosity of the Labour Government has been extended to the elderly who live in care homes.
I've read that tens of thousands of elderly people in care homes are to be given a spending money increase of just 75p a week. They will have no more than £21.90 a week to pay for everything from clothes to toothpaste, books and phone calls.
The below-inflation rise was condemned as 'Scrooge-worthy' and 'an insult'. It means vulnerable elderly people will have less spending money than prisoners in jail. The spending limit applies to all care-home residents whose bills are being paid by the state.
Any income they receive - normally a state or private pension - must be handed over to help fund their care. The spending allowance is the only part of their own money they can keep. At present it is £21.15 a week but Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced an increase to £21.90 from April. That is a rise of 3.5 per cent - with inflation running at 4.1 per cent on the Government's favoured Consumer Prices Index.
The decision provoked outrage among MPs and charities. Age Concern said the increase was 'barely enough to buy a packet of biscuits' and complained that a string of Government promises to review the system have been broken.
By contrast, prisoners can spend £33 a week of their own money on products available in jail, which include food, cigarettes and toiletries.
I also hear that an astonishing 140,000 households are pocketing more in benefits than the average take-home wage. The families are living on handouts worth in excess of £20,000 a year, official figures show.
The enormous payouts dwarf the incomes of millions of hard-working families who are struggling to cope with the recession and the rising cost of living. The average salary is £25,100 before tax, but after deductions it shrinks to £19,126. In contrast, state benefits are tax-free. A worker would have to earn £27,000 a year to take home more than 20,000. However, half of all working women earn less than £21,424, and one in ten full-time employees is on less than £13,613 before tax. Ministers said they were unable to calculate the number of households receiving more than £30,000 a year from the state. But previous figures suggest it could be around 20,000, with 70,000 being paid £25,000-plus.
While enraging taxpayers, the revelations will also fuel claims that Labour has cultivated a generation dependent on the state.
A Happy New Year if you're on benefits; tough luck if you're elderly and in a care-home.
But of course, no one will complain because it's a Labour Government doing all this.
Roger
