0:00:08 > 0:00:10# My mummy's got no money
0:00:10 > 0:00:12# My mummy's got no money. #
0:00:14 > 0:00:17The gap between rich and poor in the UK
0:00:17 > 0:00:20is now wider than at any time since the Second World War.
0:00:20 > 0:00:26It doesn't get any better. It gets worser and worser as the days go on.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29We asked four children to show us what life is really like
0:00:29 > 0:00:34growing up in Britain today below the poverty line.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Shopping, debt, shopping, debt,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44shopping, debt, shopping, debt, shopping, debt, shopping, debt.
0:00:44 > 0:00:51There's all sorts of things that happen bad round here in my life.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Money is the main priority.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I always worry about it.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Hello! Hello!
0:01:15 > 0:01:20All the children in this film have their parents' permission to talk to us. They live at home,
0:01:20 > 0:01:25and they speak for the 3.5 million or so kids who are living in poverty in Britain today.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28This is their story.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36My name's Sam, I'm 11 years old and I live in Leicester.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38He scores and the crowd go wild.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Sam lives with his dad and older sister.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46His mum walked out on the family on Sam's second birthday.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50The poverty line for Sam's family with one parent and two kids
0:01:50 > 0:01:54is just over £1,000 a month after housing costs.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57But they have to get by on far less than that.
0:01:59 > 0:02:06I think I'm poor because I only get 420 quid a month.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08That goes on what we need...
0:02:10 > 0:02:12..and not what we want.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13We have to spend it on food
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and electric and gas.
0:02:16 > 0:02:24The electric is put on a key, which goes into a box, and Dad puts a fiver on it every so often.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30And when we run out of electric, the whole house goes...
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Everything just shuts off.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Except for battery-powered stuff and candles.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41The gas, when that runs out...
0:02:41 > 0:02:44the whole house is freezing.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49You see me running upstairs, getting my camis, which is on my bed.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I'm just sitting there going like this - brrrrr!
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Right, you've got to do it like this.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58HE WHIMPERS
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Sam's half-brother, Kaleb, lives part-time with the family,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06though he mostly stays with his mum up the road.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10KALEB CRIES
0:03:10 > 0:03:14KALEB SCREAMS
0:03:14 > 0:03:16What have you done to him?
0:03:17 > 0:03:21KALEB WAILS
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Where did you bang it?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26There...
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Do you want me to look after him while you cook dinner?
0:03:29 > 0:03:34You're supposed to be changing into your pyjamas, aren't you?
0:03:34 > 0:03:38I'm sending Kaleb up to go and get changed into your pyjamas, OK? OK?
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Come here then, little man.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43- Send Sam down here, please.- Yeah.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Sam! Dad wants you downstairs, mate.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- I've got changed. - Why isn't Kaleb changed then?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00- I've been trying to tell him. - I expect you to have a bit of care
0:04:00 > 0:04:03for your six-year-old brother.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06I don't expect you to sit there and watch him hurt himself.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08- What?- OK.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10That's it, you can go.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19For the last ten years I've been daddy, mummy, friend, enemy, the entire spectrum.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25We have Child Benefit, which is £20.70, I think.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I get child tax credit of £51,
0:04:28 > 0:04:33then I get my unemployment benefit every fortnight, which, at the moment, is £66.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36A deduction has been taken, so...
0:04:36 > 0:04:39that's the amount that we have coming in at the moment.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Not a lot.
0:04:41 > 0:04:48It's about £70 - £80 a week as you break it down.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Three quarters of all children in this part of Leicester live in low-income families,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58but money is especially tight for Sam's family
0:04:58 > 0:05:03as they lost £13.40 a week in Child Benefit when Kayleigh turned 16.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08At the minute Dad's having to finance me
0:05:08 > 0:05:13and my brothers using what money he gets.
0:05:13 > 0:05:20He doesn't get paid for me any more, even though he's supposed to cos I'm in full-time education.
0:05:20 > 0:05:27With every penny accounted for, the family have no choice but to rely on credit for many household items.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36We have to put money into the TV otherwise it won't work.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42And it has to be one quid, one quid...
0:05:42 > 0:05:44six hours.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47You're not actually paying for the TV.
0:05:47 > 0:05:53You're paying for a household item, say the fridge, the cooker or the washing machine.
0:05:53 > 0:06:01They'll give you a set amount to pay off each week, two weeks or month.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Ours is set on round about £50 a month at the minute.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Like all credit, this form of payment incurs interest,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15costing extra money Sam's family can ill afford.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38It stinks! I'm not going in there!
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Urgh! It smells of poo in here, we can't play in here. Come on.
0:06:42 > 0:06:49'My name is Courtney, I'm eight years old and I live in Bradford.'
0:06:49 > 0:06:53- Courtney lives with her mum and her three sisters.- Stupid thing.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Four out of five children in this part of Bradford are in low-income families.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Whoa, look at these big cabbages!
0:07:01 > 0:07:06This estate also has one of the highest levels of families dependent on tax credits.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17There we go, picked them all.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20People with more money, they'll have, like,
0:07:20 > 0:07:28more stuff to play with in the garden and more detail in their house.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32When people ain't got nowt to do and they're bored outside
0:07:32 > 0:07:38they can go in and do puzzles and colour and everything and we can't do that.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44When we're bored outside, we've got to go in, sit inside and watch TV.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Hai-yah! Hai-yah!
0:07:50 > 0:07:53THEY GIGGLE
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Courtney's parents split up three years ago,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and since then her mum has had to look after the children on her own.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20With no chance of getting a job with such young kids,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23the family is living well below the poverty line.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Do you like my sandcastle?
0:08:31 > 0:08:35How mad am I, playing in the sand with my children?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Activities that involve spending money,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41like going swimming or even taking the bus are out of the question.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I can't afford it on my own.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I can only just afford to eat sometimes.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Do you like my little dinner?
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- Your little dinner?- Yeah.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57What's for tea then, sand?
0:08:57 > 0:09:02A bottle of pop...and some dinner.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12For dinner we have a big version of a sausage roll.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16What did you have for breakfast?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Nowt.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Because I sometimes forget to make myself some toast or something
0:09:22 > 0:09:25or we're going to be late for school.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31Do you ever go without lunch?
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I go without dinner when I'm at home,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40but when I'm at school I get dinner.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44I have tea when I'm at home, but I sometimes go without dinner.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48My mum hasn't got enough money...
0:09:49 > 0:09:52..and she owes people money.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58One in five low-income families report skipping meals.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Kids living with single parents are twice as likely to go without.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Bath oil, don't use it all at once.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15- Medicine.- I've got eczema.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20For itching, cream for your legs.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Don't lose it.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25More cream.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Every time I get mad with my mum I sneak upstairs and scratch it
0:10:34 > 0:10:37and scratch it and scratch it and scratch it
0:10:37 > 0:10:41until it bleeds because it makes me feel calmer.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19'My name is Paige. I'm ten and I live in Glasgow.'
0:11:19 > 0:11:22At least I got out of the damp houses.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Paige lives with her mum and dad in a tower block in the Gorbals.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Glasgow is arguably the poorest city in Britain,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33with every single family living below the poverty line in some areas.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Here in the Gorbals, 82% of children are growing up in poverty.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Right, I'm getting off of this.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41No, don't jump!
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Ow!
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Sometimes it's hard to survive on what we've got.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Sometimes you run out of money and you can't get what you want to get.
0:11:52 > 0:11:58When you go out on your bike and all that and you scuff your shoes off, and you get holes in your shoes,
0:11:58 > 0:12:03it's hard for your mums and dads to get new shoes, or go out for a family meal or something.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06It's hard when you've not got a lot of money to do that.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09I don't know how my mum and dad do it, but they do.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11And I think that's very good.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15I'm going to jump.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16I fell off that wall, you know.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I've never even cried.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22We've got, like, the park,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25but if you had to walk past it a lot of people would think,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28"Oh, that doesn't look like a very good place to stay."
0:12:28 > 0:12:33The pitch is just there where the boys play football,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35but the pitch has been ruined and all.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40How are you meant to play football? It's seriously out of order.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43You can't play football in here.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47There's Housing Association that put us in these houses.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52You must be kind of bad to put people in houses like this.
0:12:54 > 0:13:01The other day me and my friends found needles, in the chippy,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04in the chippy bins, a big bag of them.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07And it's not very nice to see that at our age.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13I'm only ten and we're seeing stuff like that when we're out to play.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15It's not very nice.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- Whee!- But the thing that affects Paige's day-to-day life most
0:13:21 > 0:13:25is the damp that permeates her flat and many others in these blocks.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29My house is really damp. My house is damper than your house.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Ah, it's sore!
0:13:31 > 0:13:33My house is damper than yours.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36They make the outside of the blocks look nice
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and the insides just look terrible.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44It's very small and damp and wet and you can't put much of your furniture up at the window
0:13:44 > 0:13:47cos it will get all your clothes all mouldy.
0:13:47 > 0:13:54And a few times my mum and dad had to buy new clothes because of the mouldiness.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59It really annoys me because some people will bully you
0:13:59 > 0:14:02because your house isn't all fancy like theirs.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05How would they feel if they were in a house like this?
0:14:05 > 0:14:07They wouldn't really like it.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11It's not like our fault it's a mess, it's just the way the dampness is.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14You can't put wallpaper and paint and all that
0:14:14 > 0:14:19because if you do the dampness is going to show through and it's a waste of your money.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30There's the wallpaper here that my dad's had to rip off.
0:14:30 > 0:14:37And up there it's all damp, and on Christmas night our ceiling fell on top of us.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39And now this is...
0:14:39 > 0:14:43My dad hasn't pulled any of that off, it all fell off itself.
0:14:43 > 0:14:51And the state of that and that, the windows are disgusting as well.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Paige's family was already living with damp before moving here,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59so when this flat became available her mum jumped at the chance, hoping things would improve.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It was soaking, man. Soaking.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11Along the ceilings was all icicles, man. I was like that.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19I'm one of these people that the harder things get,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I just keep getting on with it, you know what I mean?
0:15:22 > 0:15:26My blinds are really, really mouldy.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30They've got mould all over the place, my blinds.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35They've got all these little black circle damp things.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39As you can see I've been trying to cut these black circle damp things off.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43This was green fluff with black all over it.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45I cut this this way,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and the other night I was going to just cut all the blinds off.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54I can't sleep up my top bunk because sometimes the dampness spreads along the way.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57I'm lying like that and it will go on...it will hang in my chest.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00So I can't sleep up my top bunk.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Although kids really like to sleep up the top bunk, I can't.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06It's really disgusting.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09No wonder your mum and dad feel sick and all that all the time.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15And I feel sick, it's because the other day, I felt really sick. I really wanted to go to hospital.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19I was crying to my mum I wanted to go to hospital because this house is so bad.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24So, it's just... It's ridiculous.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38It's not just asthma that's linked to damp living conditions.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Children in flats or houses with mould
0:16:41 > 0:16:46are two and a half times more likely to suffer from nausea and vomiting as well.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Paige's friend Courtney also lives in the tower blocks.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Everybody in my house is getting not well.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00When I pick my sister up, she always smells of mould.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04When I cuddle her it actually gives me illness as well.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07She's always not well.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11I can't go to school usually cos I have chest infections.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Imagine you'd be sick every single day cos of the mould.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Come on, I'll show you.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25Look.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29PAIGE GASPS That's terrible, isn't it?
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Look at the ceiling.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34My toilet isn't as bad as this.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38No way!
0:17:41 > 0:17:46That is really bad under the mattress, and that's just dampness as well.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47I mean, look at your walls.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Have you just painted your room?
0:17:49 > 0:17:51It's showing already.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01It makes me feel really bad because it's not good for kids.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03It's not just the look of the house,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05it's inside the house as well.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07It can give you so many diseases and stuff.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11That's really bad.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Paige's only hope of escaping the damp of the Gorbals
0:18:15 > 0:18:20is if her family can be rehoused out of the tower blocks.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27I'm just hoping to have a better house than this, and feel more comfortable.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39Bye.
0:18:58 > 0:19:04In Leicester Sam's dad is keen to find a job that might fit around childcare.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Wow, it says no jobs found.
0:19:07 > 0:19:15I'm actually quite surprised that you've managed to do two searches and nothing at all has come up.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18That is how the job market is at the moment, Kay.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Computer says no.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22The computer says no.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25It's not easy for people to look for jobs now
0:19:25 > 0:19:31because for every five people there's one job.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37So it's a lot harder to find jobs.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43People are taking jobs that he needs.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Almost half the children in this part of Leicester live in families without work.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57Sam, like Courtney, sometimes goes without meals as a result.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Until Dad has a job, we don't have any money.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Sometimes I don't even get lunch.
0:20:07 > 0:20:13But then I go, "Nah, I'm not hungry, I'll save."
0:20:13 > 0:20:16And then...
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I save up my hunger
0:20:19 > 0:20:22for when dinner comes,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24I've eaten it all.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Last job I had I was earning nearly £400 a week in it.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34That's almost a month's income for me now.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38So from what I had a week, I now have a month.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42To give you some sort of scaling, yeah?
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Which is why I want to go back to work so badly.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54The family's finances also affect Sam's school life.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58I have to reuse my sister's shirts
0:20:58 > 0:21:00and then I get called a girl.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03It gets me psyched up.
0:21:03 > 0:21:09I just want to punch them, but then I get a detention or sent in isolation.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12It doesn't matter if you're wearing
0:21:12 > 0:21:15a girl's shirt or ripped trousers or a girl's blazer.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20As long as you've got them, it doesn't matter what you're wearing.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It matters who you are.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25They call me ankle swingers
0:21:25 > 0:21:29because I have ripped trousers and they're too small for me.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Look, there's the rip.
0:21:31 > 0:21:38People call me big girl's blouse as well for wearing girls' blazers and shirts.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Look, this is a girl's shirt, cos girls have them.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Them little lines.
0:21:46 > 0:21:52My sister donated this shirt to me cos I needed a shirt for school.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57I worry about Sam all the time.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Once you're marked, you're marked for life.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04The minute people find out you're poor they automatically assume
0:22:04 > 0:22:06and then you lose that friend.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09You have to be so careful what you say,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13cos automatically, in the back of your head, you're always going,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16"What if I say something and they don't like it?
0:22:16 > 0:22:21"What if I let something slip?" You've always got the what-ifs going through your head.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25What they're doing is they're bullying me vocally.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28I said, "Dad, I'm being bullied." He said, "Why don't you fight back?"
0:22:28 > 0:22:34Because they're not doing it physically, they're doing it vocally.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40You tend to just start merging into the background, not wanting to join in
0:22:40 > 0:22:44because you don't want people to know what's going on at home.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50I hate this hair.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52I hate my hair!
0:22:52 > 0:22:59Sometimes it does feel like you've got a big hefty secret and you need to keep it hidden.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02It puts you in that mindset of,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06"I'm lower than everybody else, I'm not worth as much as everybody else,"
0:23:06 > 0:23:08which lowers your self-esteem to start with.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10And then you've got the added
0:23:10 > 0:23:14not having the money to get the right clothing at the time,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18because when you're in school it's all about what you're wearing, isn't it?
0:23:18 > 0:23:21So you don't have the money to get the clothing,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23which sparks the bullying,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and then the bullying lowers your self-esteem,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30then your self-esteem gets so low that you end up hurting yourself
0:23:30 > 0:23:33to make yourself feel better.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45Sometimes I'm out here on my own cos then I can talk to myself,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48which I usually do.
0:23:48 > 0:23:49Do you ever get lonely?
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Yeah. Yeah, sometimes.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00I did try and take my own life when I was younger.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05I was thinking things along the lines of, "I'm not...
0:24:07 > 0:24:10"I'm not worthy enough to be here,
0:24:10 > 0:24:11"I'm...
0:24:13 > 0:24:16"Nobody wants me here, I'm better off dead."
0:24:16 > 0:24:17Things like that.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Basically up was down, down was up,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23left was right and right was left, if you know what I mean.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25I was so confused at the time.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30You don't really think, "Is it going to work?" You just do it.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35And if it works, it works and if it don't, you try again
0:24:35 > 0:24:37until somebody breaks the cycle for you.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03We'll play that game that we normally play, underground maze.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08It's really dark and we need to find our way round. There's rats and dead stuff under here.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12In Bradford the long summer break has begun.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17For well-off children this means holidays away from home, trips out and treats.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20But for poor families it's just another struggle.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24You can just take them somewhere for the day when you've got money to spend, can't you?
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Just give them money to do what they want,
0:25:28 > 0:25:33but you can't when you're on what I'm on - benefits.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36No free school meals during the week puts food bills up.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40And there is the constant temptation of the ice-cream van.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48But it's the need to find something to do for free
0:25:48 > 0:25:50that preoccupies Courtney.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55There's nowt to do here. It's really boring.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02No, don't go in!
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Look at that!
0:26:09 > 0:26:11It's a cellar. They keep dead bodies in there.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- That's not a cellar, that. - What is it?- A graveyard.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18The summer holidays are kind of part of your life,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20but it gets too hot and you feel sick.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Put it in!
0:26:24 > 0:26:30We can go to the park and play about on youthy.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Come on. Someone's actually killed someone probably.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46You can see downstairs from here.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Cos the floor's falled through.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Look at that in the loft.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54- Someone's been breaking through here, you know.- Shall we go in the bedroom?
0:26:54 > 0:26:57You can't cross there. If you fall in there...
0:26:57 > 0:26:59It's scary up there.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03THEY SCREAM
0:27:11 > 0:27:16I get jealous when other people go on holiday and we can't afford it.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21Our family can't do nowt, that normal, that other kids can do.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25They get to go out of Bradford and play out of Bradford.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Then they get more adventurous and get to learn more about this world and that,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34and just what happened in the past and that.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46What's he barking at? Holly's on!
0:27:48 > 0:27:51You can't get me! Na na-na na-na! Courtney's got no knickers on!
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Time out now, time out.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56I need to go in the shade again.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01When did you go holiday?
0:28:01 > 0:28:02I didn't, I haven't been.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09- I haven't gone on holiday. - Have you ever been on holiday?
0:28:09 > 0:28:12No, I've only been to Scarborough with school.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17I've been to Mallorca, Greece, Crete and, um...
0:28:17 > 0:28:19How long did it take to get to Greece?
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I think about two hours.
0:28:22 > 0:28:23How did you get there?
0:28:23 > 0:28:25By a plane.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Don't you go in...helicopters?
0:28:29 > 0:28:31No.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34- Don't you?- No. - Aren't you scared of heights?- No.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36I am.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38I would be scared to fly up in the sky.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Is that why you don't go on holiday?
0:28:40 > 0:28:43I don't go on holiday because my mum hasn't got that much money.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48Because to go on holiday it's about 50 or 100 quid or something.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53How come your family are different and they can go on holiday and that and our family can't?
0:28:53 > 0:28:57It's because my family ain't scared of heights.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01- Catch me, little bear!- No!
0:29:01 > 0:29:04- Catch me, little bear!- No.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07SHE LAUGHS
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Oh, stop swearing!
0:29:12 > 0:29:17Holly's family can afford nicer clothes than me because her family work and my family don't.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22My mum looks after people who are really poorly
0:29:22 > 0:29:25and they can't walk and are in their wheelchairs.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29My dad, he does gardens and just...
0:29:29 > 0:29:33So like if something breaks down in her house, her dad can fix it,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36and in mine we can't because we can't afford the money
0:29:36 > 0:29:38the council here to fix stuff and that.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41If your family work, you get more money in the house,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45but if they don't, then you get less money in the house.
0:29:45 > 0:29:51My mum can't lend me the money when I become 21 or whatever, how old I become.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55Then I just want to be able to work and do what I want to do.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57You never know.
0:29:57 > 0:30:03When you get older, you might be a richer... You never know.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07I think that my future is going to have loads of bad things in it
0:30:07 > 0:30:09then a few good things.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13Because her, she's going to be richer when she grows up and I'll be poor.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15I'm just saying this might not be my future.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19The social workers might pay for you or summat.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23They won't. Social workers will be dead by the time I'm 21.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30None of my family are working, I'm a little kid, like three or four or something.
0:30:30 > 0:30:36I'll ignore my future then just wait till it comes up and find out what happens and that.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43# Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
0:30:43 > 0:30:45# Are like shooting stars
0:30:45 > 0:30:47# I could really use a wish right now
0:30:47 > 0:30:50# Wish right now Wish right now!
0:30:50 > 0:30:53# Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
0:30:53 > 0:30:55# Are like shooting stars
0:30:55 > 0:30:58- # I could really use THEY SING ALONG:- A wish right now
0:30:58 > 0:31:01# Wish right now Wish right now! #
0:31:01 > 0:31:05In Glasgow, Paige's most heartfelt wish has come true.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09The family has been offered a house north of the city in Drumchapel.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12They move today.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17Bye, Gorbals!
0:31:18 > 0:31:21I wonder how much money my dad paid for that van?
0:31:21 > 0:31:24£25. Just to hire that for the day.
0:31:24 > 0:31:30- And then you need to get petrol and all that.- I don't know whether I'm coming or going.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36I still don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, I'm just...
0:31:40 > 0:31:45Kids should be in houses with their dog and their rabbit and all that.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50And I'm so lucky in fact to get that. And I'm happy.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55And when I move into this new house I'll be really happy. So I will.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Courtney's family haven't been so lucky.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03She's still hoping that the council will find them a new house soon.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08When I heard that Paige was moving house, I felt like she was really lucky.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13She can get dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters...
0:32:13 > 0:32:16anything she wants.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20She could even have an elephant in her back garden!
0:32:21 > 0:32:23Bye.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Bye, flats.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30You need to wave me off...
0:32:30 > 0:32:34You need to wave me off... Wave me off!
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Love you, bye!
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Oh, Mum, you'll be all right.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55It's weird leaving, ain't it?
0:32:56 > 0:32:59It's gonna be much better.
0:32:59 > 0:33:05It's better than a flat stuck up there. At least you'll have a better life now.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10Paige's new home is a half-hour drive from the Gorbals.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12Right, there's my house, there.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15That is beautiful, Paige.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19Everybody, run! Go, go, go, my house!
0:33:21 > 0:33:23- Look! - DOORBELL RINGS
0:33:23 > 0:33:25We're home!
0:33:27 > 0:33:29I'm home, Dad!
0:33:29 > 0:33:34I cannae believe how different it is, to be honest with you.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36I thought it was just going to be
0:33:36 > 0:33:39one toilet, two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Same old, same old. But it's not.
0:33:42 > 0:33:49It was two toilets, two bedrooms, a kitchen, front door, a back door and two gardens.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53So, it's really different to what I thought it was going to be.
0:33:53 > 0:33:59I think my life will be much better, now that I've actually got a proper home.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Nobody can talk about me or say, "Oh, smell her clothes,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05"her clothes are pure stinking" because they smell of dampness.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Nobody can say stuff like that about me any more.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10It feels dead weird, don't it?
0:34:12 > 0:34:14I just think that it's...
0:34:14 > 0:34:19amazing how a person like me who's been staying up high rises can get a house like this.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21I seriously cannae believe it.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27It's so weird, just look up there
0:34:27 > 0:34:30and there's no dampness.
0:34:30 > 0:34:31It's great.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Mummy, can you put some on my back, please?
0:35:00 > 0:35:05It did get bad on her legs. It's clearing up now, though.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Your hair looks a right state. Who did it, you?
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Courtney's summer holidays are almost over.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Soon she'll be back at school.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21My bestest learning objective is doing right and wrong.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26That's good because we learn about what's right and what's wrong in life.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29What's wrong outside and what's wrong inside.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36And it's not about judging people on their looks.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46Umbrella.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Found it.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52But how do you put it up?
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Somebody left it, but I'm having it.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03But the new school year brings new expenses,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06something Courtney is only too aware of.
0:36:06 > 0:36:14My mum is finding it hard to go out shopping and buying new uniforms like other children can get.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16She hasn't given Argos
0:36:16 > 0:36:23the money that she owed. Well, she has but she hasn't given them enough.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28Some parents have got loads of money.
0:36:28 > 0:36:33They can afford to get taxis and go to the shops, and buy new uniforms for their kids.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35My mum has to walk all the way to the shop
0:36:35 > 0:36:41and she can't afford to get us new uniforms that are all posh and nice.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46Posh means really nice with loads of detail on and that.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49My mum can't afford to get us them.
0:36:49 > 0:36:54She can afford to get us the detail on and colour and that but she can't
0:36:54 > 0:37:01afford to get us like gold and silver diamonds on and whatever else.
0:37:01 > 0:37:06If you've only got little toys and that you should still
0:37:06 > 0:37:12be grateful because your mum and dad have got to go out and buy you food, brand new clothes for school.
0:37:12 > 0:37:20Clothes that fit you. Cos as you get older, the clothes you used
0:37:20 > 0:37:23to wear as a baby or when you were eight or something,
0:37:23 > 0:37:30as you get older you grow too small for them so your mum needs to go out and buy you new ones and that.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34Like I'm eight, on my next birthday I'll be nine.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36So she's a teenager.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41No, I'm not, you're a teenager when you're 13.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44I think that what's going to happen on Chantelle's birthday
0:37:44 > 0:37:47is she'll get the cake that she wants
0:37:47 > 0:37:50but she won't get all the presents that she wants.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51She'll only get some of them.
0:37:51 > 0:37:56I might have a dolly house with some people.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I don't think you will.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01I want to be rich.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Then I can buy anything what I want.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17That's playing the game.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Wooahhh!
0:38:20 > 0:38:22Now it is a bit hard.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24Put one of your feet on the other brick, there.
0:38:26 > 0:38:27This isn't hard yet.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Whoa!
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Oopsie, nearly both your feet off.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40We are nearly on the end of our stepping stone game.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43That was quick.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58I bet you a lot of people have applied for that job.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03In Leicester, Sam's dad still hasn't been able to find a job.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07With money tighter than ever, Sam has little option after school
0:39:07 > 0:39:09but to play at home with his friend Guy.
0:39:09 > 0:39:14I spend all day every day inside on a weekend.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18All right, chill out.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22Guy, your circumstances are better than mine.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24I don't get a lot of money,
0:39:24 > 0:39:31one quid feels like a whole year of pocket money.
0:39:31 > 0:39:37With Sam's birthday and then Christmas coming up in the next two months,
0:39:37 > 0:39:41there's even more strain on the family's finances.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Birthday's and Christmas are always stressful for me.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46It involves spending money I don't really have,
0:39:46 > 0:39:48that could be used in a better way.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51You have to treat the kids
0:39:51 > 0:39:53in the same manner as all other children and that.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57They all expect a present on their birthday,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00they expect presents for Christmas.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03FIREWORKS EXPLODE
0:40:03 > 0:40:06I can't take the kids off to Alton Towers for a day out.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11I can't take them anywhere where money is involved in reality.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Everything I do has to be planned around lack of money as opposed to with money.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20I'm freezing out here.
0:40:20 > 0:40:21Arm's length, Daddy.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34I'm just freezing out here.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41Mine's going, mine's going, mine's gone.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Everybody's losing jobs
0:40:48 > 0:40:51and so people are going to get less and less money.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54And soon we're going to starve to death.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57I don't think we're ever gong to starve to death.
0:40:57 > 0:41:03Yeah, but they're raising the prices of food and lowering the money.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07But still we're never going to starve to death.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Not if we can help it.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11The thing is,
0:41:11 > 0:41:18they're saying either get a job or you're buggered, basically.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21They're trying to get everybody to get a job.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25But then at the same time they're getting rid of so many jobs.
0:41:25 > 0:41:31How are you supposed to get a job when jobs are going away?
0:41:34 > 0:41:38Angry and frustrated, that's how I feel.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42It'll probably take years for my dad to get a job.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Maybe decades.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Or even maybe...
0:41:51 > 0:41:52..centuries.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57That is looking well nice.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01It looks like venison curry but it's not.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05How to make something look really expensive when actually
0:42:05 > 0:42:07it cost next to nothing.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09I'm good at that.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12As far as I know, my dad's already in debt.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14I wouldn't say it's OK.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16But you gotta do what you gotta do, ain't ya?
0:42:16 > 0:42:21If you need, say for instance if that cooker breaks...
0:42:21 > 0:42:23you need that to heat your food.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Without the cooker you can't eat much
0:42:26 > 0:42:29and you won't get any warmth from the food.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34So sometimes you've got to get into debt to keep yourself alive.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36If you know what I mean.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42The family's debts are not helped by the fact that Kayleigh's child benefit
0:42:42 > 0:42:45still isn't being paid, even though she's in full-time education.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50This costs the family almost £60 a month.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54Are they sorting out my claim?
0:42:54 > 0:42:57- Are they bollocks. - No, didn't think they had.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59I'll get onto child benefit this week
0:42:59 > 0:43:06and find out why it's nearly six weeks and they didn't bother to reply to me. Do you know what I mean?
0:43:06 > 0:43:07It might now be a lot,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10but we're talking a couple of hundred pound at least
0:43:10 > 0:43:13that I should have, that I've not had.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16And now dad is juggling money,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19going like that...
0:43:20 > 0:43:24Going food, debt, food, debt,
0:43:24 > 0:43:28food, debt, food, debt...
0:43:28 > 0:43:33See if I was to borrow £200 from say Provident or Shopacheck...yeah?
0:43:33 > 0:43:37Essentially that's going to cost me £300 or £400 to pay back and that.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42In the period, although I'm going to get my money back from the social,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45it's then cost me an extra £150 that I've got to find,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49which will take 15 or 16 weeks.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52On top, just to get back to where I'd been at the first place.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55That's obviously £150 I've got to take out of the budget
0:43:55 > 0:43:59that I could be using for the kids, the home, whatever...so...
0:43:59 > 0:44:00I find that quite stressful.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02I have to be honest.
0:44:07 > 0:44:12The advent of cold weather also means that fuel bills are set to rise.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16It is a stress when it comes to wintertime
0:44:16 > 0:44:22because he has to budget in for gas, because of the heating.
0:44:22 > 0:44:28And because we don't have a tumble dryer we have to dry the clothes on the radiator,
0:44:28 > 0:44:33which means it's costing more and more and more as the prices go up.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37So things like that do tend to stress him out.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26It's winter and I don't like it cos it's cold
0:45:26 > 0:45:28and not many people go to the park
0:45:28 > 0:45:31and especially when you're going to school
0:45:31 > 0:45:36you've got to stand and wait outside until a bell goes.
0:45:36 > 0:45:41And that's just getting you even colder,
0:45:41 > 0:45:42that's why I don't like winter,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45because of snow and stuff.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54I like playing out when it's red hot.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59But I don't like it when it's freezing like this weather.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03When I'm outside in the winter, we shiver a lot.
0:46:05 > 0:46:06Move your bum!
0:46:06 > 0:46:09This one's better but the car's there.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14It can be quite hard sometimes
0:46:14 > 0:46:18because we ran out of gas and didn't have none.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23So we have to get our coats from upstairs and use them.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25We couldn't get no hot water,
0:46:25 > 0:46:30so that next day when it was school I couldn't go
0:46:30 > 0:46:35because I couldn't have a bath cos there were no hot water and we couldn't get no water neither.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40But Courtney does have some good news.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Her eczema is much better.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46I weren't going to take my medicine and stuff cos my medicine made me feel sick.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49My mum forced me to take it
0:46:49 > 0:46:51and I said thank you
0:46:51 > 0:46:54cos she's nice and she's good and she's kind
0:46:54 > 0:46:57and she's best mum in the world.
0:47:00 > 0:47:05It's a lot better now and it ain't itching no more.
0:47:17 > 0:47:18What's one fours?
0:47:22 > 0:47:24Eight.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26I don't like my times tables.
0:47:28 > 0:47:29Mum!
0:47:29 > 0:47:30What?
0:47:30 > 0:47:32What's five times one?
0:47:32 > 0:47:33Five ones?
0:47:33 > 0:47:34Yeah.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37I thought you were clever. Five ones.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Count five ones.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Clue...
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Well done.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46You sure you didn't bang your head too hard?
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Do we have to do this homework? I hate it.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54I'm not doing it.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56If I get away from this dump
0:47:56 > 0:47:59I want to be, what do I want to be?
0:48:01 > 0:48:02A lady jockey.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07I do, I want to be a lady jockey.
0:48:07 > 0:48:08Shall I tell you why?
0:48:08 > 0:48:10Cos you get to ride horses.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12And you can be happy.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14Cos when you work,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17you can earn more money for you and your family.
0:48:17 > 0:48:22Everybody like it, do you like it, do you like it, do you like it?
0:48:22 > 0:48:23Like what?
0:48:31 > 0:48:37If I was given some money, I'd save up and I'd get myself a new house.
0:48:39 > 0:48:45Save loads and loads and loads and loads and loads and loads and get myself a new house.
0:49:00 > 0:49:07# If I fall
0:49:07 > 0:49:13# If I fall
0:49:13 > 0:49:19# If I fall
0:49:19 > 0:49:24# Will you catch me? #
0:49:33 > 0:49:36# Happy birthday to you
0:49:36 > 0:49:40# Happy birthday to you
0:49:40 > 0:49:44# Happy birthday, dear Sam
0:49:44 > 0:49:48# Happy birthday to you. #
0:49:50 > 0:49:51Happy birthday, mate.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Happy birthday, Sam.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Today is my birthday.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00I'm turning 12 today.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Oh, the electric's gone!
0:50:06 > 0:50:10I got two presents and one card.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14That's it.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16A big birthday hug.
0:50:16 > 0:50:22But Sam's birthday is also the anniversary of the day his mum walked out on the family.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25Not even a goodbye.
0:50:25 > 0:50:31Just off she goes, me getting bored.
0:50:33 > 0:50:40Not everything works out forever, people change, things change, circumstances change.
0:50:40 > 0:50:41I understand that.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45I used to get jealous, when I was younger I used to go, "Where's Mummy?
0:50:45 > 0:50:48"Why isn't Mummy coming to see me?"
0:50:48 > 0:50:49And then I grew up.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56I don't want to have a wife just in case she leaves me.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Then I'll have to be like Dad,
0:51:01 > 0:51:05taking care of three children by himself.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26- How are you going to have your hair styled?- I dunno.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29- Ain't it cold?- It's freezing, mate.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33As a birthday treat Sam's auntie Sarah is paying £9
0:51:33 > 0:51:36for his first ever trip to the barber's.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39I've come to get a wash, cut and blow dry.
0:51:39 > 0:51:40Yeah, not a problem.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43He turned 12, we thought we'd bring him to the hairdresser's.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50Before I came here my dad used to cut my hair.
0:51:50 > 0:51:51Oh, yeah?
0:51:51 > 0:51:54This is the only time I've been to a hairdresser's.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57Well, let's see if we can do better than your dad.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04This haircut is special, because people are calling me mophead.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06I just want to get rid of my hair.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11That makes you look really handsome, you look gorgeous,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14all the girls at school will definitely be after you.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16What do you think of that, Sam?
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Good.
0:52:18 > 0:52:19Good? Just good?
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Not good.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Absolutely extraordinary!
0:52:25 > 0:52:30So good, my goodmeter has gone through the roof.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59As the demolition of the tower blocks in the Gorbals begins,
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Paige has come back to visit her friend Courtney,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06whose family is still waiting to be re-housed.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10One bit came down first then the other bit came down.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13The road was actually rumbling,
0:53:13 > 0:53:18it went bang at first but the buildings were still there.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21And the dust actually went into town.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23It went away to Argos.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26Some people don't get moved out and some people do,
0:53:26 > 0:53:31some people get moved out but have to stay in a hotel or something.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35They'll give them money for that until they find a house for them.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40I wish I had the opportunity to go to a house.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47I do feel quite sorry for Courtney cos when I was staying here
0:53:47 > 0:53:49I was embarrassed to take my friends to my house,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52it made me feel so poor when I stayed it.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54It was like, I've got nothing.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57Now when I stay in that house I think I've got everything.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07In the old house I was up and down in the lift getting changed.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11So my mum and dad stopped it and plus it was too cold.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15Now I've got a back garden so I can go out and then go back in.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17It's nice and hot inside,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19it's much better.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21One, two, three...
0:54:23 > 0:54:26I feel sad for kids in high rises, especially my friends,
0:54:26 > 0:54:30because it's going to be colder for them cos they don't have heating.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35It's upsetting thinking that there's kids in conditions like that.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53It's like four days till Christmas.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Definitely more financial struggle.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59You've got to get all the ordinary things, which you struggle to get anyway,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03and then buy presents for three or four people on top of that
0:55:03 > 0:55:07and then you've got to buy all the extra food and anything else you may want...
0:55:10 > 0:55:11Daddy, we're done!
0:55:15 > 0:55:19- That is absolutely amazing. - I'm well happy with that.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23Dad does get us to write a list every year
0:55:23 > 0:55:27of a certain amount of things we want, this year it was six.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33And he'll try to get us as many of those things as possible.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42Last Christmas was quite hard
0:55:42 > 0:55:48cos we got chocolates and little things like that for Christmas,
0:55:48 > 0:55:53and then Dad told us he was really struggling and there was no money to go round.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57We ended up having Christmas dinner round our mates' house.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59Cos we were going to have pie and chips.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04It is quite hard,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07cos people seem to see it as the more money you've got,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10the higher up society you are.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18Since I've had my hair cut I ain't been called moptop.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22A lot less people have been bullying me.
0:56:22 > 0:56:27And if they do bully me I run away as fast as I can to a teacher.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30One thing bullies hate is teachers.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36It'll be hard for my dad cos he has no money.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39It means he can't buy us presents.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43So Dad put me on free school meals, I can't wait to get it.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Shall I tell you know why?
0:56:46 > 0:56:53Cos then that way Dad can save up to £10 a week - that is lots.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59As long as there's food...
0:56:59 > 0:57:00it's good.
0:57:12 > 0:57:18I think these cutbacks that are coming are going to make it very hard for people and children.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22I think they're going to really affect families really.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27I wouldn't want anybody to experience what I have to experience.
0:57:27 > 0:57:33People are struggling to feed their families,
0:57:33 > 0:57:37and on a budget and stuff.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39It's just like hard.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44# When the rain is blowing in your face
0:57:46 > 0:57:51# And the whole world is on your case
0:57:52 > 0:57:57# I could offer you a warm embrace
0:57:57 > 0:58:02# To make you feel my love. #
0:58:02 > 0:58:06The circumstances are out of our control. If we could change it, we would.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10I'm going to find it hard. I don't want to grow up.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14I don't want to grow up.
0:58:24 > 0:58:30# I could make you happy make your dreams come true
0:58:32 > 0:58:36# Nothing that I wouldn't do
0:58:37 > 0:58:42# Go to the ends of the earth for you
0:58:44 > 0:58:48# To make you feel my love
0:58:50 > 0:58:53# To make you feel my love. #