Brown promises £700 tech grants to some of UK's poorest families
UK PRIME MINISTER Gordon Brown stuck his head above the parapet long enough yesterday to announce that his government will lay out £300 million of public money to enable the poorest families in the England to waste all day mucking about on Facebook and Googling their own names just like the rest of us.
Brown said that payments would be a one-off technical education allowance of up to £700 to pay for computer equipment, technical advice and broadband connections, and that they could go to up to a million families.
Local authorities will send vouchers to a list of familes, mainly derived from those children who receive free meals at school.
Advisors have told the beleagured PM that the vast majority of jobs now require at least some level of computer competence, and that the poorest ten per cent of the UK population were falling behind because of a lack of access to technology.
"To ensure we are prepared for times to come the government will fund one million more households to get online, enabling parents to link with teachers at their children's schools and help young people with their homework and coursework," Brown told delegates at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester.
But don't be expecting any free cash if you live north of the border. Scotland's impoverished broadbandless will have to go elsewhere as a close aide to Mr Brown said it would be up to the Scottish Government to find its own funding if it wished to launch a similar programme. µ
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I expect that to qualify for the money, every child will have to submit their DNA and be placed on the childrens database.
i'll expect to find a load of PS3's in cash converters soon then...
Wouldn't the government be better off getting them into work so they can buy their own computers instead of just shelling out my cash?

I should give up this work malarkey and sit around all day sponging a free house, free bills and now a free computer as well. Bargain! And You lot can pay for it!
Another government scheme to give more money to people most of whom don’t need it because their parent’s benefit is too much anyway.

As for the free dinners list they can ram that up their respective posteriors, i was on that list, i never had dinner in school. Then i went on to college to watch students spend there free weekly 30£ and £500 EMA bonus on driving lessons/cars, guitars and drink. Meanwhile i got nothing.

Now I find myself in University with just enough loans to cover the fees, eating is optional, and of course I am unable to get bursaries because I didn’t get a government grant and because I chose to go to a better college.

Perhaps the government need to reassess who really needs the money.
Arrr... dastardly English....

So in retaliation, Scots should immediately refuse to pay any and all taxes to the Crown and Her Majesty's Government. Bugger 'em, I say!
Buy £700 computer, sell for £200, spend proceeds on their real necessities alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Governement wisely using my hard earned tax pound to help the needy. 

Still the Governement may win a few extra votes in the next election providing these spongers are not too smashed or stoned to vote.
So these vouchers, where can they be used?

Are they going to be tied into a specific supplier or can us smaller system builders offer computers to the recipients of the vouchers?

Rob

So how is it now that a broadband connection and a PC/Laptop is seen as a basic need, like shelter, food, or warmth? Quite simply, the welfare state was created as a safety net for those less fortunate than ourselves, or for when we might fall on hard times. It is not and should not be used as a basis to provide every tom, dick and harry to be provided with a level playing field for every conceivable luxury that others have to work hard to provide for themselves.

How long before large flat screen LCD tellys get added to the welfare state list?
the ongoing costs?

The *deserving* poor probably haven't got broadband because £5pw makes far too big a dent in the household budget. (I'd guess they might well have a computer, because some kind soul will have passed a 2nd-hand 486 their way...)

Nice try Mr Brown, but I've seen far too many initiatives like this - aid agencies are only too happy to help out with capital costs, but ignore the (in)ability of the recipients to pay the running costs, without which the capital investment is worthless (but good value to companies supplying the equipment at vastly inflated prices - what, cynical? moi? !!!)
ISPs have bundled cheap PCs with their services in the past. This is just another version of the same scheme, except that Brown uses tax money to funnel more money into a few ISPs.
I second the comment about the DNA database. It's a brown government.
Married with children get all the benefits, whilst poorish singleton humps get all the fee sod.
I'll gladly pay you on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November, for A pint of beer to rinse it down, today.
Or we can barter the children.


why doesnt he go one better and resign?

oh, that's right he's a megalomaniac bigot...
When I was young I wanted all the latest gizmo's just like any other child or young adult. What I decided to do was to work for it. I got myself a paper round, saturday job etc and slowly built up enough funds to proudly buy these things myself & fund evening classes. It taught me many things and because of this I am self sufficient today and properly understand there should be no such thing as a free lunch !