Come on folks. Aren't we forgetting that we are talking about support for two people here. The mother may indeed be feckless, 'tho many are not. But the child doesn't bear any responsibility for the situation,and we are also supporting him/her.

Giok, I did say that education in better ways ahould be a part of this package.

O.K. let's examine the alternative. Put the kid in care, and send mum out to work. That'll save us a lot of tax money! THE HELL IT WILL.

Look into the cost of keeping a child in care (housing, feeding, clothing, educating, and something extra to make it a life, not an existence) and you will find that the current system is economically viable.

I'd be interested if one of our internet wizards could find statistics relating criminal activity to being brought up in care. Anyone feel like betting on whether it's better or worse than being brought up in a single parent home?

Half this nation is currently obsessing about ensuring that carers get sensible recompense for their services in taking the load off the taxpayer, and like it or not, these young women are doing a 24/7 job of caring for the country's future.

I don't feel inclined to denigrate them for the unconventional way in which they have become carers, and if I'm out of step with the rest of the country, so be it.

Don T