Displaying items by tag: British Isles

Last week we prayed for better laws and legislation to safeguard children from online sexual exploitation. This week the Christian charity CARE said that the legislation - as it stands - falls short of safeguarding children. They said many amendments must be made to the bill, such as the issue of age verification measures. Tim Cairns said, ‘Last year, they drafted a bill that didn't cover all pornography websites. They amended the bill and the second reading was on 19 April.’ CARE said that there are still issues to be ironed out. For example, websites with self-selecting tick boxes do not meet the requirements for age assurance, or age verification. CARE said, ‘There is a moral duty to do this, given its broken promise to usher in age checks in 2017. Ministers can’t afford to let children down a second time.’

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he does not believe the state should be ‘nannying’ parents about the way they bring up their children. He has rejected the call to ban smacking children in England, saying, ‘Parents are entitled to discipline their children. My very strong view is we must trust parents on this. They should be entitled to discipline their children. There is a very big difference between a “light smack on the arm” and child abuse.’ Dame Rachel De Souza, the children's commissioner, has signalled her support for changing the law to give children the same protection from assault as adults. Wales has made illegal any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping or shaking illegal. In England and Northern Ireland, smacking a child is unlawful, but is allowed as long as it constitutes ‘reasonable punishment’.

The road to war for Elliott and Kieran ran through Facebook, a £20 Ryanair flight to Krakow in Poland, a cold night sleeping outside a railway station, then walking into Ukraine to join other recruits taking a minibus to Lviv. ‘I just can't sit at home and watch what's going on and carry on as usual,’ says CJ Darton, who served seven years with the Royal Anglian Regiment. When Russia invaded Ukraine he almost immediately began making plans to volunteer. ‘We were stopped by police on the way out,’ recounts Kieran, a plumber from Brighton. ‘They said “fair play to you”. As far as I'm aware we're not doing anything wrong.’ When they reach the front line they can either sign up with Ukraine's International Legion and stay for the duration of the war for the same pay as Ukrainian soldiers, or join other former British soldiers already fighting on the front line.

The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), working under the authority of the Ukraine ministry of health, is providing a portal for getting medicines, consumables and equipment to hospitals, health centres and frontline Ukrainian paramedics. It has a window of opportunity and needs to act quickly and decisively. It has appointed experienced volunteers to key roles and has set up a national operation to deliver medical supplies to Ukraine, in partnership with the Keswick Group. Supplies will be received, sorted and packaged near Derby and then sent by lorry to Poland where they have organised a good supply route into a West Ukraine distribution centre operated by a local Christian medical association. Please pray for stamina for the CMF doctors and nurses collecting medical supplies from pharmacies, surgeries and hospitals. Pray for wisdom as they sort the aid and package it, and for safe speedy transport to the areas where it is needed.

Richard worked in the City of London and had a PhD in political science He was 30 when he was admitted to the Linden Centre, Chelmsford, over fears he would harm himself after a recurrence of depression. His father said they left Richard with scissors, razors, shoelaces, electrical cords and a dressing gown cord. Someone else had taken their own life there three months earlier, but hazards in its layout were still in place. ‘It is the same errors and the same flaws, time after time. People are still dying, needlessly.’ A public inquiry has learned of the deaths of 1,500 people who were in the care of Essex mental health services over a 21-year period. The ongoing inquiry began taking evidence from the public in December. Recurring themes are concerns over patients' physical, mental, and sexual safety while on wards. See also

The police are investigating 600 cases of maternity care in a probe of hospital failings pointing to hundreds of baby deaths. Sajid Javid revealed the scope of the police inquiry during a Commons statement on Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust on 30 March. Mistakes at its hospitals led to babies being stillborn, dying after birth, or being left badly brain damaged. West Mercia police are investigating whether there was evidence to support a criminal case against the trust or any individuals involved. They have been talking to medical experts and prosecutors. The inquiry remains active, but no arrests have been made. The review, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, examined 1,600 incidents amid parents' fears over safety spanning the years 2000 to 2019, and concluded that catastrophic failures and repeated mistakes may have led to the deaths of nine mothers and 200+ babies and left other infants with major injuries.

Twenty fines will be issued as part of the police inquiry into Downing Street parties which breached Covid rules. The police will not be saying who is fined or confirming which events the fixed penalty notices relate to. However, Downing Street will say if the prime minister is among the recipients. Twelve parties were investigated and over a hundred people questioned under caution, resulting in officials being found guilty of breaking the law at No.10. Fixed penalty notices will need to be paid within 28 days, or contested. If someone chooses to contest the fine, the police will review the case and decide whether to withdraw the fine or take the case to court. The police say there is still a significant amount of material to be assessed, and more fines could come in the future.

Covid cases in the UK climbed by a million in the week ending 19 March: just under 4.3 million, up from 3.3 million the week before. Rates were up in England and Wales, and Scotland reached a new high of one in 11 Scots having Covid. Infections have started decreasing in Northern Ireland. A high number of infections means hospitalisations rising, although vaccines are still helping to stop many severe cases, said experts. Most of the remaining Covid restrictions in the UK come to an end on 3 April, with a few rules remaining for now in Wales and Scotland until 1 May. After that, people with symptoms will just be advised to stay at home until they feel better, Physical test sites will close, and contact tracing will end. See also

Ground-breaking legislation introduced to Parliament recently could provide a major boost to Britain’s defences against illicit wealth. Transparency International (TI) said that the bill introduces much-needed reforms on property ownership, transparency, strengthening UK asset recovery powers, and sanctions. But there are some gaps within it. An 18-month transition period is far too long, and risks massive levels of asset flight. TI recommends the Government implement transitional provisions to stop property from being sold before the register comes into force and the proceeds transferred overseas. Overseas companies owning UK property should declare their beneficial ownership information; and the legislation should be implemented at the earliest opportunity to empower Companies House to introduce verification checks, query, investigate and remove false information.

Rishi Sunak delivered his mini-Budget against a backdrop of rising fuel, energy and food costs. He cut fuel duty by 5p but resisted calls to scrap April's National Insurance rise of 1.25p in the pound; instead the start threshold will rise from £9,600 to £12,570. He warned the UK's post-pandemic recovery has been blown off course by the war in Ukraine, but he promised an income tax cut in 2024 when the economy would be in better shape. The Office for Budget Responsibility painted a bleak picture of the immediate prospects, saying that living standards are set to take the biggest hit since records began in the 1950s. It said inflation was set to peak at 8.7% at the end of this year and this - combined with rising taxes - will ‘weigh heavily on living standards in the coming twelve months’. The UK's tax burden will be the highest level since the 1940s.