Quids in — Quids out: last week HM Treasury published its annual savings statistics, including their assessment of 827,000 unclaimed Child Trust Funds as at 5th April. Allowing for unilateral transfers into Junior ISAs by account providers and another six months, the current total is now very close to one million — over £2 billion in value. But the big challenge is to get CTF accounts delivered to their low-income owners, whose accounts represent 60% of this value. The Share Foundation has thus far linked over 145,000 applicants, but there's still a long way to go. Please read their annual report, also published last week. Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake

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Unlike gravity, light and time, sound doesn't carry through empty space; its travel relies on the created atmosphere. However speech and singing require language, which is anything but universal. In contrast, instrumental music speaks to everyone and to evry living thing in a common language, a truly authentic integrity which enables us all to move together. Background music: 'Requiem In Cello' by Hanu Dixit.

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The spate of warnings about the existential risks for humanity as a result of insufficiently controlled Artificial Intelligence may remind some listeners of our commentary on 6th November 2023, following the first world leaders' summit on AI at Bletchley Park. Share Alliance has made significant progress since then with its research into 'Stock for Data & Creativity', and we look forward to hear how these proposals for global application and new processes of shareholder participation and oversight are seen in UK Government circles. Background music: 'Digital Solitude' by Silent Partner

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The origins of the looming crisis in world government bond markets started forty years ago; recent challenges such as the pandemic and Trump have turned the screw even harder, and in the United Kindom the dogged application of universal welfare certainly hasn't helped. But the current problem of over-indebtedness can be traced back to the 1980s and the introduction of dual capacity in financial markets. This gave rise to the 2008 financial crisis, and the acceptance by governments of their role as a bottomless reserve. However, these governments must now undergo a mindset change from seeing themselves as the 'last chance saloon' for all crisis situations to being an effective provider of regulation, looking ahead to keep risks under control. Background music: 'Something Is Wrong' by Sir Cubworth

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MPs, led by Alex Sobel, are calling for a national commission to prepare proposals for electoral reform; their talk is about some form of proportional representation. But democracy is faced with much bigger challenges, including short-termism, generational unfairness, and a serious lack of any global integration. Winston Churchill was right about democracy being the least worst system of government, but there are initiatives that we should take to resolve these three major challenges. Let's hope the national commission will listen. Background music: 'Journey in the New World' by Twin Musicom: this music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/258/journey-in-the-new-world Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org

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With the summer holidays drawing to a close in the next few days, the new team at HM Treasury will be busy looking at fresh ideas for the Budget on 28th October. The challenging economic situation calls for a fresh look at some of the underlying strategies which have driven debt so high over the past half-century. The really big problem is the extent to which 'universal, free-at-the-point-use' health care has caused deep generational unfairness; that, combined with the triple lock and unfunded state pensions, place real burdens on young generations. It's time for a major change in the underlying logic. Background music: 'People Watching' by Sir Cubworth

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Months of drought are gradually waking us up to the fact that climate change really is a serious concern: if we're not going to stop it, then we have to take mitigation action seriously. Fresh water is our most critical natural resource: the only alternative to rainfall is desalination. Thames Water was ahead of its time with installing their Beckton plant for London in 2011, but politicians must now accept that the era of treating fresh water as an unlimited resource is over and new strategies must be developed to tackle the challenges ahead. Background music: 'Trickle of Water' by Underbelly & Ty Mayer.

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Literacy rates for young people have improved significantly over the past fifteen years following Tony Blair's call for 'Education, Education, Education'; with technical development now rising in importance, we must ensure that it holds onto the priority attached to literacy. Meanwhile Government departments, including HMRC, must ensure that their communication is accessible to all — this includes the initiative to write to young adults at 21 to tell them about their Child Trust Funds. Background music: 'Hovering Thoughts' by Spence.

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In response to Andy Burnham's invitation to join his cross-party working group on overhauling social care arrangements throughout the United Kingdom, Sir Ed Davey called for diversity while Kemi Badenoch said it mustn't increase public spending. However there are other deep questions to answer as well: such as how to prepare people better for old age; will they be prepared to seize the opportunity to end universality and focus on targeted support, including for health care; and whether they can bring in a new focus on inter-generational rebalancing? Background Music: 'Young And Old Know Love' by Puddle of Infinity

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Not surprisingly, the proposal from Gary Lineker and his millionaire colleagues for a wealth tax has been met with ridicule — Robert Colvile writing in the Sunday Times says, 'The problem isn't that those who've signed the pledge are hypocrites. It's that they're idiots'. However, there is an alternative approach which could bypass gargantuan Government spending. Donating the equivalent sum to a charity of the philanthropist's choice would enable targeted support based on the donor's analysis of need. This could provide a direct solution for the challenge of inter-generational rebalancing so that future generations are better placed to tackle national debt and future public sector payment obligations which now exceed £9 trillion. Background music: 'Intellect' by Yung Logos

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