With the guilty verdicts having been delivered in the Shannon Matthews trial yesterday a couple of the news bulletins were discussing the problems areas such as the Moorside estate at Dewsbury Moor face, and proposing possible solutions.
Here are some of my observations.
People who live in these areas suffer from a lot of stigmatisation due to their addresses and postcodes meaning that residents have difficulty with social acceptance, getting jobs and accessing credit.
Due to poor public transport links accessing jobs and public services is much harder.
Many people are trapped on benefits or stuck with low paid jobs with little chance of promotion, have limited life experiences and few opportunities to improve their lives...even if they have the inclination.
Unless, as a society, we are prepared to spend vast amounts of money in guaranteeing people educational and employment opportunities [possibly with an element of coercion], a decent basic minimum income, combined with simultaneously improving the local infrastructure and public services, I can't really see any way forward.
It's all rather depressing.
