Registered Address: Menagerie, Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way, Cambridge CB1 7GX

t: 01223 403361 e: office@menagerie.uk.com w: www.menagerie.uk.com

Menagerie is a company registered in England no. 4192235 and a registered charity no. 1105090

The Great Austerity Debate tour October 9th – November 10th 2018 Menagerie Theatre Company, Cambridge

patrick@menagerie.uk.com 01223 403361

Suggestions from audiences for political and/or legal changes to underpin alternatives to

austerity measures. Audiences were split into groups of 4-10. Below, we show the biggest themes and concerns that emerged from audience suggestions. We begin with zero-hours contracts which made an appearance at almost every venue and received very clear suggestions! We follow that with the role of corporate and personal taxation, high-interest loans, zero-hours contracts, funding of social care, personal income & wages, universal credit, local government, support for working parents/childcare provisions, financial education, austerity itself, regulation of markets and trade unions. We’ve kept the venue origin of each suggestion, so you can see the breadth of the particular concerns. GY is Great Yarmouth, and ENSFC is East Norfolk Sixth Form College. Zero Hours Contracts (15 suggestions) Ban zero hours contracts (Oxford) Abolish zero-hours contracts (Norwich) Get rid of zero hours contracts (GY ENSFC 1) Abolish zero hour contracts for the over-18s (GY ENSFC 2) Review zero hours contracts (Cheltenham) Ban zero-hours contracts (Chesterfield) Ban zero-hours contracts (Dronfield) End zero-hours contracts (Shirebrook) End zero-hours contracts (GY Christchurch) Stop zero-hours contracts (Peterborough 1) End zero-hour contracts (Cambridge) Ban Zero-hours contracts (Kettering) Stop zero-hours contracts (Whitworth) End zero-hours contracts (Blackburn) End zero-hours contracts or retain them as a CHOICE for people who want them. You have to be legally offered a full, set-hours contract as well as a zero-hours contract. Improve flexible working. (Worcester) The role of tax (23 suggestions) Higher taxes for people on higher incomes – or encourage higher earners to stay in their country to pay tax here (GY ENSFC 1) Get the rich to pay what they should (Norwich) Increase the basic rate of income tax (GY ENSFC 2) Raise taxes to provide a safety net (Cambridge) Raise taxes for the rich (Cambridge)

Registered Address: Menagerie, Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way, Cambridge CB1 7GX

t: 01223 403361 e: office@menagerie.uk.com w: www.menagerie.uk.com

Menagerie is a company registered in England no. 4192235 and a registered charity no. 1105090

Increase taxes for the rich (Peterborough 2) Get the money from the tax dodgers (Norwich) Close tax loopholes (Cheltenham) Raise Corporation Tax – take it from the top 1% and redistribute it (Chesterfield) Make sure the big corporations pay their tax (GY Christchurch) Central Government to balance out and put more money into areas more in need – to create a fairer and more even-handed system of local council funding (Shirebrook) Companies and organisations that are evading tax – make them pay (Cambridge) Close tax loopholes for big businesses (Blackburn) Reduce corporate welfare – spend that money on social care (Cambridge) Clamp down on tax avoidance (Peterborough 2) Government to allocate same resources to chasing tax evaders as they do to chasing ‘welfare cheats’ (Kettering) Create more progressive taxation system (Peterborough 2) Increase public spending (Worcester) Re-allocate military spending towards social care (Halton Mill) Appropriate distribution of public funds around the country – ie. redistribute wealth where needed (Blackburn) Make it clearer how our taxes are spent (ENSFC 2) Increase VAT (Blackburn) Increase personal tax (Blackburn) Reduce National Insurance Payments (Kettering) High-interest loans (18 suggestions) A legal ending to Payday loans (Oxford) High interest loans should be banned. Make them illegal (Cambridge) Outlaw high percentage loans (Cheltenham) Regulate/Stop door step lending (GY ENSFC 2) Stop payday loans – ensure people won’t be preyed upon (Whitworth) Restrictions on the amount of (payday/doorstep) loans you can get (GY ENSFC 1) A cap on interest on loans so that they can’t go up past a certain amount (GY ENSFC 1) Put a cap on the interest rate for lending (Oxford) Cap interest rates charged by loan companies (Dronfield) Cap the interest rates on loans – link it to the Bank of England base rate (Peterborough 1) Legal cap on interest rates for loans (Worcester) Cap on loan interest rates (Blackburn) Regulate/Stop door step lending (GY ENSFC 2) Regulate payday loan industry (Kettering) Regulate payday loans – much lower interest rates (Whitworth) Create kinder ways of lending money (Halton Mill) Fund Credit Unions (Kettering)

Registered Address: Menagerie, Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way, Cambridge CB1 7GX

t: 01223 403361 e: office@menagerie.uk.com w: www.menagerie.uk.com

Menagerie is a company registered in England no. 4192235 and a registered charity no. 1105090

Funding (backed by Government) for loans (Slough) Stop advertisements for loan companies on TV and in print (Dronfield) Funding and organisation of social care (18 suggestions) Ban privatisation of all essential services (Oxford) Renationalise all social care services (Halton Mill) Stop privatisation (GY ENSFC 2) Renationalise care services (Chesterfield) Bring services such as care back into public ownership (Shirebrook) End private contracting of social care (Dronfield) Stop outsourcing public services (Worcester) Individual care plans for each social care patient – service worked out on a case-by-case basis (GY Christchurch) Renationalise care (GY Christchurch) More central funding for social care (Newmarket) Ringfence tax to provide necessary services (ENSFC 2) Stop councils being allowed to close Childrens’ Centres – ringfence this funding (Kettering) Ring fence social care funds, to include it as one of the core services provided by Government (Peterborough 2) Hypothecated taxes – eg. ringfencing them to fund social care (Cambridge) Organise social care cooperatives which are self-regulated, which are run by the carers (Cambridge) Long contracts for private providers of care services (Worcester) Hold Central Government accountable for the policy of contracting out public services (GY ENSFC 2) Repeal the 2012 Social Care Act (GY Christchurch) Income and Wages (11 suggestions) Implement a Basic Universal Income (GY ENSFC 2) Universal Basic Income for all citizens (Chesterfield) Universal Basic Income for every citizen (Shirebrook) Institute a living wage (GY Christchurch) A mandatory living wage which means you can pay your rent, bills and have a good quality of life (Peterborough 1) Raise the minimum wage (Cambridge) Implement a Universal Income (Kettering) Government to invest in social infrastructure with a living wage (Kettering) Increase pay for carers and a higher living wage for all (Worcester) Universal Basic Income (Blackburn) Implement a national living wage (GY ENSFC 1)

Registered Address: Menagerie, Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way, Cambridge CB1 7GX

t: 01223 403361 e: office@menagerie.uk.com w: www.menagerie.uk.com

Menagerie is a company registered in England no. 4192235 and a registered charity no. 1105090

Local Government and local taxes (11 suggestions) Abolish local authority council tax caps (Cheltenham) Make it possible for councils to increase council tax beyond the 2% limit (Peterborough 2) Local councils should be able to raise tax more than 2% without having to have a referendum (Kettering) Local councils to be able to raise their own taxes (Halton Mill) Local councils to charge business rates to corporations (Peterborough 2) Local decision-making ie. let local councils decide rates and have the power to raise money in their area (Cambridge) Parish Councils to be able to raise precept (Kettering) Local tax ringfenced for services for that community (Peterborough 1) Repeal the law which makes County Councillors personally responsible for their budget (Norwich) Stop central government funding for local services – fund them from local taxes (Shirebrook) Better resources needed for local councils (Dronfield) Universal Credit (11 suggestions) Scrap sanctions for universal credit (Chesterfield) More efficient benefits system, with a complete overhaul and no sanctions (Shirebrook) Stop Universal Credit sanctions (Newmarket) No Universal Credit sanctions for mistakes by DWP (Cheltenham) DWP take financial responsibility for their mistakes (Newmarket) Any mistakes in Universal Credit must be paid by the person/organisation making the mistake – so the DWP is held to account and sanctions are not incurred by the individual (Slough) Slow down the rate at which Universal Credit overpayments are paid back (Worcester) Sort out Universal Credit – make DWP liable for the mistakes, not the individual recipients (Whitworth) Stop Universal Credit (Dronfield) Reform/Scrap Universal Credit (GY Christchurch) Top up the Universal Credit System (Cheltenham) Subsidised transport for parents (8 suggestions) Free travel for children & parents to school and childrens’ centres (Oxford) Cover travel costs for children (and parent/carer) getting to/from childrens’ centres/childcare settings (GY ENSFC 1) Subsidise bus fares for families who use buses to take children to childcare (GY ENSFC 2) Free local travel for single mothers, using a travelcard (Slough) Buses specifically for parents taking children to childrens’ centres (Slough) Free bus travel when you’re on benefits (Worcester) Reinstate SureStart with free bus travel for parents/carers to get there (Whitworth) Childcare Support (7 suggestions)

Registered Address: Menagerie, Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way, Cambridge CB1 7GX

t: 01223 403361 e: office@menagerie.uk.com w: www.menagerie.uk.com

Menagerie is a company registered in England no. 4192235 and a registered charity no. 1105090

Create free childcare & more support for working parents for those with children aged 3 and under (GY ENSFC 1) People who work in care industries should get free childcare (GY ENSFC 1) Make childcare a statutary requirement (GY ENSFC 2) Free/affordable childcare (Shirebrook) Childcare that’s advantageous to working parents (Dronfield) Working single parents (working 16+ hours) should be entitled to 30 hours free childcare (Slough) Free child and nursery care (Whitworth) Financial Education (5 suggestions) Compulsory education on debt & money for all young people (GY ENSFC 2) Invest in education (Cheltenham) Mandatory voting and mandatory education on voting/democracy (Dronfield) Clear steps for help around personal debt – financial advice & emotional support. Financial education should be mandatory for all children (Peterborough 1) Education – learn finance skills (Newmarket) Austerity as a political choice (4 suggestions) Be transparent that austerity is a political choice (Cheltenham) Make it clear that austerity is a choice (Dronfield) Challenge the notion that austerity is effective (Peterborough 2) Reprioritise public spending. Make transparent the impact of austerity (Halton Mill) Regulation (4 suggestions) More regulation of Financial markets (Oxford) Better regulation of the banking system (GY ENSFC 1) More transparency over who owns loan companies (Dronfield) Ensure we do not bail out banks again (Blackburn) Trade Unions (4 suggestions) Scrap the 50% threshold on industrial action by Trade Unions (Chesterfield) Bring back the Closed Shop for Trade Unions (Chesterfield) All public sector contracts must be unionised (Cambridge) Unionise work forces (Worcester)