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MIDDLESBROUGH
John Humphrys questions the role of the state in declining social mobility. Has the decision to put people onto Incapacity Benefit caused ambition and hope to stagnate? In Middlesbrough John looks at how a myriad of policies over the years have left communities confused.
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Listen again to John's piece from Middlesbrough
Ron and Vivien Carter-Bonsteel
Ron and Vivien Carter-Bonsteel live on the Thorntree Estate in Middlesbrough: In 2000, when we returned to the estate after a spell living in the city centre, we noticed a real change and it wasn't long before we experienced problems with local criminals. Someone who was passing our house said to us we don't like the police coming round here. Then we were offered drugs and stolen property and when we declined (and reported it to the police), we had our car damaged three times and even our house had thrown paint over it.
Residents were terrified to stand up to these criminals or report them to the Police for fear of reprisals. Having a disability, these criminals thought we were a vulnerable family but they got more than they bargained for.
My wife, Vivien, and I have been involved with voluntary work for quite a few years now. We have numerous roles: Erimus Housing Tenant Board Member; part of the Residents On Patrol Scheme; Neighbourhood Watch Co-Ordinator; Vice-Chair of the C's Residents Group; Community Safety Volunteer; Lifeline Interactor; Cluster Group Representative (like a Residents Association); Haven Project Volunteer (this project support The Residents Of Middlesbrough who are suffering from Anti-Social Behaviour). In 2006, our voluntary work made us ‘Taking A Stand Winners’; awarded under the Government’s Respect Agenda Project.
We may live on a deprived estate but we love it - the people are second to none. We do have the criminal element living on Thorntree and some kids out of control but you seem to get that everywhere now. Our wish for Thorntree is to have a lot more jobs, less crime and prosperity. I Live in Hope!
Dr John Canning
Dr John Canning has a practice in the centre of Middlesbrough: I qualified in 1979 and have been working as a GP in Middlesbrough since 1980, initially as a trainee and as a partner in this practice since 1983. We have just over seven thousand patients and six doctors one of whom is a GP trainee; most of us have other roles in medicine and I spend half my week in the practice, typically seeing 40 to 50 patients over a ten hour day.
We have a wide variety of patients, but the majority live in the more disadvantaged areas of the town. People in Middlesbrough die young; far too many people smoke, and too many cigarettes are available cheaply from illegal imports; many drink too much, and cheap high strength alcohol abounds; the concept of “5 portions of fruit or vegetables a day” seems to be considered eccentric, as one patient said to me recently “perhaps 5 a week”.
The health service, both in primary and secondary care has worked hard to help those who are ill, but the real need is to prevent illness, this needs long term commitment rather than short term “fixes”. We need to motivate young people to achieve, rather than expect the unemployment their parents had; employers must recognise their employees have medical problems and support them with proper occupational health services, rather than threaten them with no work; we need training for those unable to work in their previous jobs, rather than an acceptance by state and people of long term incapacity benefits.
Peter and Sylvia Nolan
Peter and Sylvia Nolan grew up in Gresham: We had a cycling club and a roller skating group and many of the games were seasonal, like marbles and conkers. There were the Saturday morning pictures and we copied the cowboys and Indian films in the streets; running round and pretending to slap the horse but it was our own backside we slapped. We had secret dens in Albert Park where we could hide and pretend to be anywhere in the world. We would explore the Black Path to Redcar on our bikes only to find that the wind was against us both ways. The world was a lot safer place then and there seemed to be plenty of work about - the Steel Works and The ICI were all big employers. As jobs disappeared and a low pay economy seemed to affect Middlesbrough, pride was destroyed by going on benefits whereby workmen could no longer support their families and drugs became more prevalent and young girls found ways of getting on the housing ladder and the influx of economic migrants who seem to get more help than the people of the town. In those days lads went from short to long trousers, and then when old enough they were accepted as a member of a workingmen’s club. Now babies go straight from nappies into jeans and youngsters are left to their own devices instead playing games in a family setting or even sitting round a table for meals and a time to talk to each other.
Click here to see more with John Humphrys in south Wales.
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