Displaying items by tag: British Isles

From Passion for the Nation: ‘“Lift up your eyes and look at the fields; they are already white for harvest” (John 4:35). We thank You, Father God, for every promise given to us for revival and awakening, and for those who have already come to know You. We thank You, Lord, for anointing us to preach good tidings to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and open the prison to those who are bound (Isaiah 61:1). We pray for a new season of evangelism, and for your people to see what You see. Raise up those who will speak to individuals and the crowds, and strategic evangelistic programmes. In this Christmas season, we pray God’s word will be spoken with boldness and clarity, sensitivity and wisdom, and the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be heard. We speak the revelation of Jesus into the lives of individuals, families, communities and cultures.’

After a coroner ruled the death of toddler Awaab Ishak was caused by exposure to mould at his home, housing secretary Michael Gove said that tens of thousands of homes are ‘not in the state they should be in’. The government has now stripped the housing association involved, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), of £1m in expected funding. Mr Gove said, ‘We are not giving money to organisations that are operating incompetently.’ Two-year-old Awaab died from a respiratory condition caused by the social housing he was living in. His family repeatedly raised concerns about mould with RBH, but no action was taken. Mr Gove said the Government ‘should have moved faster’ to improve things for social housing tenants in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. Legislation in 2023 would give additional powers to housing authorities and ensure the voices of tenants were ‘heard more clearly’.

Scotland's first national school strike since the 1980s has taken place, with a one-day walkout over pay by teaching staff at primary and secondary schools, and also at many council nurseries. A revised pay offer was rejected. Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said that the employers’ offer was fair, with rises up to 6.85% for the lowest-paid. Finding the money to give unions a 10% pay rise would mean some very hard choices for councils and the Scottish government. Teachers said they are asking for 10% to keep salaries in line with inflation - currently 11%. They are feeling the squeeze from this cost-of-living crisis. They think that they are working way beyond their 35-hour week, and the long holiday comes nowhere near making up for the amount of working hours put into the job. Many work during the holidays preparing for the next term. They find their job stressful, and feel the pay isn't fit for purpose.

After a wild few months in the UK economy, the Government wants to raise more money to cover a big black hole in its accounts. Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, has said everyone must pay more tax. Meanwhile, a group of economists have questioned whether the ‘black hole’ in public finances must be filled with austerity and tax rises. They said that the £50bn hole entirely disappears if debts are calculated differently. When Rishi Sunak was chancellor two years ago, he used a different accountancy rule to arrive at a government debt figure. Changing it back to what it was before the 2021 Autumn Statement completely removes the black hole, according to the economists' analysis, and will put government debt back on a sustainable footing. Pray for Jeremy Hunt and all members of the treasury to be wise regardless of the accountancy rules they choose to follow.

The Chancellor announced targeted payments to help with the cost of living. The national wage will jump from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour from April; help for energy bills will be extended, but less generous. There will be cost of living support for pensioners, the disabled, and those on low incomes. Means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit, and pensions will rise in line with inflation. Social sector rent rises will be capped at 7% in the next financial year. However, the cap on social care costs due next October will be delayed by two years. A ‘temporary’ 45% tax on companies generating electricity will be applied from January, and windfall taxes on oil and gas company’s profits will increase from 25% to 35% and extend until 2028. The NHS budget will increase in each of the next two years by an extra £3.3bn, and schools will receive £2.3bn extra in 2023 and 2024.

Birmingham City Council issued a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to deter people from gathering outside an abortion clinic with placards and pictures to protect patients from being harassed and intimidated when entering. 40 Days for Life Birmingham are concerned as the order makes it illegal to pray outside the clinic. They are taking the council to court, saying, ‘Through this action, we are not asking anyone to agree with what we believe; others have the right to disagree. We ask for justice, despite our different beliefs. It is disproportionate and unnecessary to ban prayer connected to abortion in an area near a Catholic church and to ban the words “baby” or “mum” in text or imagery.’ The PSPO comes after the Government voted for nationwide ‘buffer zones’ outside abortion clinics. Anyone breaching them faces up to six months in jail for a first offence and up to two years for several offences.

Avian flu has brought devastation to our wild and sea birds. From Cornwall to Scotland, gannets, terns, gulls and puffins have died in thousands as the deadly disease spread through breeding colonies. Cases in farmers' flocks, too, have risen exponentially. Last year's annual record was quickly exceeded as a new, more lethal strain emerged. Thousands of poultry birds, including many turkeys, have been culled. This disease, devastating for farmers, veterinary, other staff and businesses, adds pressure to public and private finances. As it becomes commonplace, like bovine TB in cattle and wildlife, it has the potential to harm people. Hosea warns, ‘Therefore the land mourns and all who live in it languish; together with the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing’. (Hosea 4:3). Pray for farmers and others on the frontline tackling it.

Asda is limiting customers to two boxes of eggs and Lidl is allowing three, due to rising costs and bird flu. Waitrose is monitoring customer demand. The UK is facing its largest-ever bout of this highly pathogenic disease. When there is a confirmed outbreak on a poultry or egg farm, all birds in the area are destroyed. The outbreak is compounding existing shortages as producers cut back on output or leave the industry due to increased costs. Russia's invasion of Ukraine raised farmers' energy bills and the costs of chicken feed, hens and packaging. There are 36.7 million egg-laying birds nationally, but there is capacity for over 44 million. Also, retailers are not paying farmers a fair price. The price of twelve supermarket eggs has risen by 50p, but farmers only saw a price rise of 5p to 10p.

Christian Aid says rich countries are not doing enough to fight the pandemic. They have ranked twenty rich countries' efforts to support rolling out Covid-19 vaccines globally. The worst nation is India; the UK is the second worst. Christian Aid said that the richest countries have a responsibility to improve global access to Covid vaccines, tests, and treatments, given their wealth and high vaccination rates. Governments financed research and development of these products and should not leave pharmaceutical companies to monopolise supply and price. But, amid a collision of international crises, the UK is turning its back on the world and undermining efforts to produce more vaccines, tests, and treatments in lower-income countries. By holding back the global pandemic response, the UK is haemorrhaging moral authority amongst international partners. Only one in three people in Africa - under one in four in low-income countries worldwide - have completed a course of vaccinations.

Britain and France have now agreed to unite to stop illegal migrants from crossing the Channel. Interior minister Suella Braverman said Britain faced an ‘invasion’ from people in small boats, saying, ‘It is in the interests of the UK and French governments to solve this problem together. There are no quick fixes, but this arrangement means we can have more gendarmes patrolling French beaches and ensure UK and French officers work hand in hand to stop people smugglers.’ There will be 40% more UK-funded officers patrolling French beaches in the next five months. A task force will focus on reversing the rise in Albanian nationals and organised crime groups exploiting illegal routes. British officers will work in French-led control rooms and on the ground to improve coordination and intelligence sharing. There will be drones, detection dog teams, CCTV, and helicopters to help discover and prevent crossings, plus reception and removal centres in France to prevent journeys to the UK of economic migrants.