Displaying items by tag: British Isles

Health secretary Steve Barclay will hold another round of talks with union leaders ahead of planned strikes by nurses. Whitehall said ministers were working on options for resolving the strikes, which could include a one-off payment to reflect cost of living pressures. They recognised that union leaders ‘have to get something for this year’ before they will consider calling off the current wave of industrial action. What level of payment might be offered, and how it could be funded, is not yet clear. There are also concerns that any payment to resolve the health dispute would set a precedent for other sectors facing industrial strife, including education and transport, potentially landing the taxpayer with a bill running into billions of pounds. The moves came as 25,000 ambulance workers staged a second day of walkouts and unions warned they could boycott talks on the next pay round in April.

This week the Conservative and Labour Party Leaders delivered speeches with their ideas and policies to tackle the challenges we face. Both agree that only through change will we restore hope and progress. Every new leader has bold ambitions to change the country, then they realise they are not fully in control. What a contrast to biblical hope, which is not uncertain, but solid, sure and reliable. This hope is the hope of glory to come. We live praying for improvements and policies that will uphold the most vulnerable in our society; but we do not depend on that; our happiness is not based on it. We are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:12), and our hope is stored up in heaven (1 Peter 1:3). Whatever is achieved over the next 18 months, we can be thankful to God that we are looking forward to a city whose foundations can never be shaken.

Investment into expanding sewage treatment works by Thames Water falls far short of what is needed to stop raw sewage discharges into rivers, according to a campaign group who analysed 106 treatment works from the Chilterns into the Cotswolds. A treatment works is where wastewater is stored and treated, before being released to the environment. The research suggested three-quarters of the works examined did not have enough capacity to cope with the amount of wastewater from the population, and therefore increases the likelihood of raw sewage being released to the environment. Investment plans for 2020 to 2025 by Thames Water involved only 15 of 83 works in the area which needed their capacity increased now, or in two years. The expansion of a sixteenth treatment works in the area has been cancelled. Pray for an end to appalling stewardship of assets that were privatised a third of a century ago.

Rishi Sunak wants all pupils to study maths until the age of 18, arguing that too many of the country’s children are being ‘let down’ by leaving school without the numeracy skills to prosper in the workplace. He is making a shake-up of education beyond the age of 16 one of the defining priorities of his early tenure in No 10. The reorganisation has been in the pipeline for a while and was addressed on 4 January, when Mr Sunak said that one of the biggest changes needed in education is to reimagine our approach to numeracy. Only half of all 16- to 19-year-olds study any maths at all, in a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job. Future jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before. Around eight million adults in England have the numeracy skills of primary school children, according to Downing Street.

The Cry is a gathering of Christians from across the nation to pray for revival at Wembley Arena on 7 January focusing on empowering young people and refreshing the body of Christ. This is the first of a series of such gatherings, across the nation and internationally, over 2023. Please consider attending, or praying at home, for a generation of young people to arise: people who know they are forgiven, loved by Father God and know His Word. May they be a generation of overcomers, because they have seen and overcome the enemy in their own lives. We can pray for the power of the cross to rend their hearts so that they move in humility, stand in purity, withstand the culture of the world around them, and pioneer new territory for the Kingdom in today’s society. May friendship with Jesus undergird them, strengthen and lead them in all His ways.

The bosses of Britain’s biggest companies will have made more money in 2023 by Thursday afternoon than the average UK worker will earn in the entire year. TUC’s Paul Nowak called on the Government to ‘bring back some fairness on pay’. ‘Everyone deserves a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. But working people are told not to ask for more. FTSE 100 chief executives are paid £3.4m on average, which is 103 times the £33,000 average full time worker’s salary. The figures highlight how executive pay has increased dramatically after a dip during the pandemic, while ordinary workers are struggling to secure pay rises anywhere near inflation. Workers should have seats on executive pay committees to bring some common sense to top pay. And ministers must set out plans for fair pay for everyone, starting by agreeing to pay negotiations in the public sector.’

Farmers in England will be paid more public money for protecting the environment and producing food more sustainably, the Government has said. It is hoped the increase in payment rates will encourage more farmers to sign up to new environmental land management schemes that are designed to replace the EU's common agricultural policy. The Farmers' Union welcomed the rise but warned it could be ‘too little, too late’ in the current economic climate. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the new system would put money into farmers' pockets while enhancing nature and driving innovation in agriculture. The announcement comes amid rises in the cost of food production, with farmers hit particularly hard by increases in the cost of animal feed, fertilisers, and fuel. The increased rates under ELMS will come from existing money, reallocated from the previous direct payment subsidies given to farmers under the EU scheme.

Amid chronic staff shortages and rising unmet care needs nationwide, a homecare worker commissioned by Warrington borough council sometimes stayed for just three minutes, despite the family paying for the full visit. The council was found to have allocated 15-minute care calls to over 300 people in the region, despite national guidance stressing these were ‘not usually appropriate’ resulting in inadequate care and placing workers under ‘stressful unfair pressure’. The case that triggered the investigation involved a woman with dementia paying the full costs of her care. In 15 minutes two agency carers were expected to wake her, prepare her meal and drink, ensure she ate and drank, administer her medication, change her incontinence pad, administer personal care and tidy the kitchen. Electronic monitoring showed they regularly stayed less than 15 minutes and her care needs were not met or dignified. Meanwhile Rishi Sunak postponed social care funding reforms.

Christians in Parliament, who will begin a new programme of chapel services on 10 January, have been encouraged by growing numbers and fellowship at them. Please pray the increase will continue and parliamentarians and staff will be strengthened to live out their faith and invite others along. Please also pray for the speakers preparing this term’s themes. On 6 March Tom Holland, author and presenter of Europe’s most downloaded history podcast, will reflect on Christianity’s impact on the modern world. Please pray for a thought-provoking evening for all. On 20 March parliamentarians and Professor Robert Song will dine and have theme-based conversations on ‘What difference does Christianity make to politics?’ Pray for further deepening of relationships and a great blessing to all who attend. Weekly bible study and fellowship groups are looking at Revelation and 1 Peter. Please pray that members will be encouraged by meeting with other Christians to read God's Word, pray, and fix their eyes on Jesus in all that they do.

Derek Timms, chaplain at Solihull Marie Curie hospice, was told by the hospice’s senior chaplain to remove his small cross pin because it 'might offend' patients. Derek had worked at the hospice for four years, wearing his cross every day without any complaints. Yet the new senior chaplain told Derek he'd need 're-training' if he refused to remove it. With support from the Christian Legal Centre, Derek wrote to the Methodist minister to query the unreasonable request, which was then escalated to the regional office. In response, Marie Curie regional office offered unreserved apologies for the distress caused to him, confirming that there was no policy against wearing the cross.