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The article discusses public services in Great Britain and the author's claim that wealthy individuals are receiving larger shares of British public spending as of 2015. Services for poor people are addressed, along with economic inequality and public services-related data released by Great Britain's Office for National Statistics. The economic aspects of public services such as education and medical care are examined, along with private school tuition in Great Britain.

Discusses pension policy in Great Britain as of spring 2001. Details of 'stakeholder pensions' and how they compare to personal pensions; Groups being targeted for the stakeholder pensions; Effect of chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown's decision to increase the means-treated Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) for poor pensioners; Outlook for compulsory stakeholder pensions.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article on the economic conditions within Tilbury, England, published in the August 16, 2014 issue.

Discusses the attitude towards reforms related to the benefits of sick and poor in Great Britain. Rise in the spending on benefits for the sick and disabled in the past 20 years; Stance of Great Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair on welfare; Expectation that the Labor Party would vote against government proposals to reform disability benefits; Rise in the number of people claiming some sort of disability benefits; View that the government's principles are misplaced; Sensitivity of reform politicians; Advantages and handicap of the Labor government; Change in strategy.

Presents information on the reforms proposed by Great Britain's social-security secretary, Alistair Darling to help poor pensioners. State of the pension industry in Great Britain; How the savings policies are seen as incoherent; Darling's reforms set to fix the problems with the system; Complexity of pensions; Rise in means-tested help; The state pensions available to all; Graph of the ratio of workers to retired people.

The article reports that a households survey in Great Britain showed a dramatic fall in the share of total incomes going to the worst-off 10% of households: from 4.0% to 2.1%. At the other end of the spectrum, the number of households on more than £600 a week (at 1993 prices) rose nine-folds from 230.000 to 2.1m. The survey found that average incomes rose by 35% in real terms. But the poor missed out entirely. The incomes of the bottom 10% actually fell, by 14% after they had paid their housing costs. In other words, the poor have got poorer. But, Peter Lilley, the Thatcherite social-security secretary, denies it. According to Lilley, though the poorest 10%'s share of total incomes has fallen, this does not mean that the same people have got poorer.

The article discusses three kinds of economic equality in Great Britain: that between rich and poor, between private and public sector workers, and between the rich and the middle class. These inequalities are seen to threaten the Labour government of Gordon Brown and his chancellor of the exchequer, Alistair Darling.

It was not a surprise, since the idea of children's trust funds, or "baby bonds," was included in Labour's manifesto. But British Finance Minister Gordon Brown's announcement in the budget that the government would put money into a savings account for children at birth is nonetheless a welcome and intriguing idea--and one that has support from both left and right. Most children will get £250 at birth, though poorer families (a third of the total, says the government) will receive £500 and their families will also qualify for full child tax credit. Like many original ideas in political economy, this one was born in America. The debate was started in 1999 by two American academics, Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott, in their book "The Stakeholder Society." Growing wealth inequality, they said, meant that few in America had a fair crack at life. In Britain the idea has been pushed hard by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a left-leaning think-tank.

Examines key controversies surrounding the goals and performance of the Minister of State for Urban Affairs in Great Britain. Criticisms on the agencies' Vagrants Charter grants program designed to help the urban poor; Areas of failure by the agency; Indications of politics and governance and public administration.