Lara Lloyd

@HMRCcustomers Our bookkeeper tried to submit our VAT return and got this message. We haven't already processed. They tried phone helpline all afternoon yesterday couldn't get through. Today phone helpline says you've got technical difficulties. Please advise.

Read 👀 link @ace_national instagram.com/p/C3hnqw9t_b8/…

@naomicfisher Thank you for raising awareness of this. Please keep going and add to it the stress of the teachers needing to login to the system every minor moment. I have no doubt they’re hating it too. They want to share knowledge to grow wisdom not feed the algorithm.

I have heard from several young people whose schools use apps to monitor their behaviour. Immediate notifications are sent to their parent if they get a demerit. Demerits are given for minor transgressions, including not being immediately on task at the start of a lesson, having two pairs of earring studs in or not having a spare pen if yours breaks. The effect of this on both the young people and their parents is significant. Young people describe feeling on edge all day, worrying that they’ll get something wrong and then their parent will be informed. Their parents describe it as mounting anxiety each time they get a notification – and total powerlessness, because they can do nothing about it. They describe it creating family tension and arguments – and it brings problems at school into the home. For some young people, this creates very high anxiety – and for some parents, it does the same. Of course, parents respond in different ways. Some try to help, others ignore them whilst others punish their children. These apps do more than send notifications. They collate the points which young people are given and compare them against others in their class or school. Sometimes this is done visibly – projected onto the whiteboard when it’s in ‘resting mode’. Then schools use them to give awards at the end of term. This means that young people are left carrying their past behaviour records with them all term. There’s no way to let it go. It's easy to see what these apps are selling. Easy behaviour management. What’s less clear is whether anyone has done a risk assessment on the side effects of these constant alerts for both parents and young people. For the young people who are struggling, does it actually help to be constantly reminded of that – and to have the rest of class reminded of it too? For parents who are worried about their kids, what is the impact on sending them alerts throughout the day to tell them that things aren’t going well? Or could it be destructive of their mental health? I know what you’ll say – well they should just behave! Then there would be no problem. This isn’t the case. I hear from very well-behaved high achievers who are constantly worried about getting a point. And I hear from kids who don’t ‘behave’, not because they are choosing to get in trouble but because the demands of school are hard for them to navigate. Both these groups (and their parents) describe these apps causing intense distress. These apps are businesses, and they are selling a dream. Happy well-behaved kids and engaged parents. Everyone working together. Maybe it works like that for some, but it’s clear that it isn’t like that for everyone. Is anyone doing the risk assessment? What’s the impact on the most vulnerable?

@melaniepreciou3 Brilliantly written. What if the 'people with power' are not doing this out of ignorance, though, but rather with a clear & calculating understanding that suppressing culture & eradicating the ecology of our cultural network is a tried & tested route to suppression?

@DHLParcelUK where’s my parcel? Tried all comms, no response ref 42096470031884

@DHLParcelUK even your AI chatbots aren’t replying to basic delivery enquiries… waiting for parcel since last week 👀 42096470031884

@BBCSimonJack If Siri is enabled on your phone it can listen. If not enabled it can't, as far as I know. Check Siri settings in both your phones ; )

Just tested whether phone was listening to me and wife. I said - what we need in this weather is waterproof boots -she said yes, waterproof boots. 5 seconds later an ad pops up for same on her Instagram but not on mine. She says it happens all the time. Never to me. Any theories?

..others can do that sort of thing. I haven’t the stomach for it, or the time. Life is too damn short, in my opinion, not to be awed" Nick Cave

"In a way my work has become an explicit rejection of cynicism and negativity. I simply have no time for it. I mean that quite literally, and from a personal perspective. No time for censure or relentless condemnation. No time for the whole cycle of perpetual blame..

When your focus and imagination are in decline, you need to exercise your focus & imagination muscles. Thrilled to be running a course with Max Naylor that will do just that, time to engage with place, nature, imagination and creativity. Can't wait.

@slunglowalan Terrifying eh!

@slunglowalan I’ll just leave this here for you.

I’ve done some things right? I’ve travelled most of the world, worn a uniform, had cancer twice, caused halls full of people ROAR with courage and people who HATE me nod despite themselves. Then why for the love of god is my Bumble chat so shit. Oh dear god. It’s so basic.😬😳😬

💪 and excellent thread .. it’s a wicked problem for sure @TarekIskander1 each point pulls and twists at the other, they are all intimately connected & the tapestry is warped by the loom it’s woven on.

It’s here 🫣Pottymouth… a pottery podcast … me having open & frank conversations with people in the pottery industry .. universal topics regardless of industry … what inspires you? blocks you? How do you make the money work? open.spotify.com/show/3S6xtC5Q9…

Time is money. If it takes twice as long to do something you earn half as much. This is the brutal fact at the heart of Brexit. Let’s "Brexit" a £12.99 paperback, blow by blow, and see what difference leaving the single market has made.

@kateyedi Yes & “wellbeing training”aged 7 during their lunch break rather than letting them run around outside, climb trees and play with their friends.

Giving ten year old kids 'lunchtime reflections' (no playtime/no talking/no space to express) for 'bad behaviour' the previous day is bullshit

@nedglasier I say this at least once a day. It’s SO f ing ridiculous. It also completely lacks imagination. Blazer and tie? Make them all keep it identical to control them 😡. What if instead they ran a competition awarding the student with the most customised inform without spending 💵

In Kings Cross. The only people wearing ties are teenagers in school uniform. Google employees striding in in shorts and vests. Why do we make kids perform this ridiculous, sweaty cosplay? It serves no purpose and prepares them for nothing.

Coming soon … A Pottery podcast, me talking with people in the pottery industry … some swearing v likely. Open, honest, frank. Not making it look like an insta dream instagram.com/pottymouth_pot…

@kateyedi All the time

its a lot isnt it. All of it. Lots.

@HMRCcustomers It’s not a general enquiry, not an AI or pre planned website enquiry… how do I speak with someone about a specific and detailed question?

@Coombestudios Hi, I'm sorry to hear you haven't managed to get through. If you have a general query I can help. Sofia

Good morning, @HMRCcustomers are here until 8pm to answer your general queries on Twitter. Please don't post any personal details.