To Matty Wire 75 -my point was more that learning difficulties is a lazy label attached to all children that seem to be difficult to teach (i.e. poorly behaved, not academic etc.) rather than having genuine learning difficulties as in the case of your son. My point was a broader one about the state education system and a one size fits all approach it wasn't referring to autistic children or the situation with your son. Apologies if that wasn't clear.

The comment made me wretch because it harked back to an attitude previously adopted by the Tories i.e. people on benefits are just being lazy.

It's divisive garbage to suggest people getting on buses will address the issues many unemployed currently face.

I thought my post was very clear on that.

13/ Abolish the Royal family and all its' hangers'on.

Sorry im quite quick to react sometimes so i apologise for flying off the handle.

So you'd happily put hundreds of butlers, cooks, gardeners and corgis on the dole?

Quite gladly. Imagine the saving to the country.

How much would it save? Net.

Thats a sensible idea!! It was used after WWII and some of my teachers at school in the 1970s had qualified through that programme. They were good solid teachers.

On the benefits issue, it seems very difficult to get on and off benefits. My daughter signed on last year for a week, but then found a job. However her dole money took 6 weeks to come through. If you are unemployed you may also have to wait four weeks+ for your first wage packet. Few families can go from benefits with no income for a month or the risk that if the job proves to be short term it will take months to get your benefits coming in. The system is slow and unresponsive and aimed at people going onto benefit and staying there.
Its also expensive to the tax payer. I worked a lot of extra time last month and nearly half of the pay went on tax and NI....wheres the incentive in being a tax cash cow for the state?

Langer7 - the much (mis)quoted Norman Tebbit get on your bike statement was not what he actually said. He was talking about his unemployed father in the 1930s and how he got on his bike and cycled to find work. He never once said get on yer bike.

But I understand where you are coming from now - you are right it's too easy to label everyone without work as lazy scroungers etc. in the same way not all public sector workers are Lesbian Diversity Outreach assistants on 50k per year (TM Daily Mail).
However, it goes without saying that there are people like that and they should be rooted out of the system. The welfare system needs to be a safety net not a way of life. There's something seriously wrong when we spend more on housing benefit than the Army and Royal Navy combined.

Having said that most people have to travel a fair distance to work - my girlfriend gets 3 trains, over an hour and a half journey sometimes to get to work. I still don't see what is wrong with having to travel to get work - it's common sense surely?

MattyWire 75 - no problem and I can quite understand why you may have read / reacted to my comment given your son. Out of interest which school does he go to?

he goes to our local primary school, but next september goes upto high school. He needs to go to a high school that has a specialist ASD provision facility and warrington has 2 of these (st greggs and bridgewater.) We have had meetings with the school, LEA, educational psychologist, parent patnership etc to make the transition to high school alot easier. Unfortunatly in warrington there are only about 6-8 provision places over both schools available for an authority with around 60 primary schools. So we just have to wait till 15th feb and see what happens next.

Will whether or not you are Catholics come into it vis a vis st. Gregory's?

If you go to Bridgewater you have to play union at school and not league. You don't want that!!

No, that has no bearing on children with statements of special educational needs.



small price to pay.

How about if child benefit was restricted to the first two or even three children....?