Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

The Public Accounts Committee supported the Department for Work and Pensions as it tried to help young people into work at what was expected to be a downturn in employment opportunities. But the £1.9 billion ‘emergency intervention’ Kickstart scheme has supported far fewer young people than predicted. Early delivery was chaotic and DWP ‘neglected to put in place basic management information that would be expected for a multi-billion-pound grant programme’. Also, despite more favourable than predicted economic conditions, many young people who joined Universal Credit when the pandemic started have remained on the benefit. DWP doesn’t know why these people are not in Kickstart jobs.

It was announced on 2 March that Roman Abramovich wishes to sell Chelsea Football Club. He says he will donate the proceeds from the sale to a foundation ‘for the benefit of all victims of the Ukraine war.’ Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss was given the chance to buy Chelsea. MP Chris Bryant revealed that Abramovich is selling his UK home and another flat, telling the House of Commons that he is ‘terrified of being sanctioned’. He is owed £1.5billion by Chelsea after buying it in a £140m deal in 2003, but he will not ask for any of the loans to be repaid; the sale will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. Onlookers say that although Abramovich may want to sell Chelsea, he may not be allowed to; it depends on what the Government decides to do in the coming days and weeks. If his assets are frozen, he cannot do anything. His company Evraz continues to trade on the stock market: see

Sarah Everard’s murder a year ago revolutionised how the public understand male violence against women. The first major survey of women’s groups in the UK since her death found 89% thought there had been a shift in public awareness over the last twelve months. ‘There has also been a recognition of how normalised fear is for women. It is a fear we learn very young, and we carry it with us until we are old.’ Sarah’s murder by serving police officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home in south London sparked a national debate that continues to reverberate throughout the UK. Meanwhile, two Met police constables were jailed after taking and sharing photos of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, and last week a man pleaded guilty to the murder of Sabina Nessa as her community remembered a kind and loving schoolteacher. These high-profile murders have led to significant policy shifts.

Snow and potentially ‘disruptive’ winds are forecast to hit the UK in March. The Met Office predicts that Atlantic weather systems will bring stormy conditions to parts of the country from next week. Winds will strengthen and temperatures will fall, with overnight frosts forecast. Rain will turn into wintry showers with a chance of snow, and the temperature will drop to 0C. Winds will likely strengthen through midweek with an increasing likelihood of coastal gales, according to the long-term forecast. Then, after temperatures begin to recover, another period of unsettled weather developing with Atlantic weather systems is expected, bringing wet and windy weather. Scottish Mountain Rescue warned of ‘dangerous conditions’ including ‘avalanches on higher ground’.

This issue departs from core concerns to pray for Ukraine. Agriculture is the largest sector of Ukraine's economy (10% of GDP and 41% of total exports in 2021). Ukraine supplies 10% of the world’s wheat; Russia a further 18% . The war and sanctions will severely disrupt Ukrainian and Russian agricultural production and trade, with profound effects on national and global food supplies, especially hitting lower-income countries reliant on imports from these countries. It will also impact farming and food in the UK. Pray for Ukrainian and Russian farmers, and for all whose livelihoods rely on farming and food production in every country affected. The bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (USA) have issued this prayer: ‘We beseech Your lovingkindness and abundant blessings upon the nation - the people - of Ukraine during these days of great danger to their safety and wellbeing’.

Peterborough’s St Olga Church is a Ukrainian church. Members of the community have been collecting supplies to be sent to help anyone displaced by fighting in Ukraine. They are also gathering basic supplies like first aid boxes and toiletries for Ukraine's army. Irina Pitka left Ukraine 23 years ago. She said, ‘What is going through my head is fear and anger over this evil occupation. We trust the Ukrainian army and the west which is now showing tremendous support.’ Oleksii Burov worships at St Olga and studies at the University of East Anglia. His father, a surgeon, and his mother (an economist ) live in Kyiv. He said, ‘We've been living in a state of war for eight years.’ Since 2014 London’s Newman Catholic College has been helping refugee children to succeed by running summer camps, weekend classes and liaising with subject teachers and pastoral staff for many students scarred by a traumatic journey. See

For Global Britain to be credible it is time for its architect, Boris Johnson, to intervene with retribution tactics not deterrence. Closing Russia’s embassy and removing their diplomats while removing ours from Moscow would indicate a fundamental shift in the understanding of Russia as not a partner in diplomacy, but a threat to other nations. Russian state outlets in the UK, like Russia Today, spouting propaganda masquerading as journalism, should be shut down immediately to prevent misinformation. Those operating in politics, law, and media while representing Russian state interests should be forced to declare who is paying their bills. Visas should be cancelled and assets of everyone linked to Putin’s regime frozen. Of all the economic sanctions, cutting Putin’s regime off from SWIFT international payment system would remove Russia’s ability to make international transactions, trigger capital outflows and currency instability, and hit buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a ‘catastrophe for our continent’, said Boris Johnson. He chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on 24 February and gave a televised statement after Russian forces launched an assault on Ukraine, crossing its borders and bombing military targets near big cities. He outlined new sanctions against Russia in the Commons and said on Twitter that he would also speak to his fellow G7 leaders. He called for an urgent meeting of all NATO leaders as soon as possible. In a phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Johnson vowed the West ‘would not stand by as Putin waged his campaign against the Ukrainian people’ and tweeted earlier, ‘Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine.’ Foreign secretary Liz Truss has demanded that the Russian ambassador explain Russia's ‘illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine’.

All Covid restrictions have been removed in England. People are no longer legally required to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid - although they are still advised to do so. NHS England bosses have written to healthcare staff to say if they test positive, they should not attend work until they have had two negative lateral flow tests taken 24 hours apart, and at least five days after the positive result. Free testing will continue until 1 April - both PCR tests for people with symptoms and lateral flow tests for those without. Pray for people at risk to have quick and easy access to testing and medical help if needed after 1 April. Pray for the government to reconsider free testing for key workers, including NHS staff. The changes are part of the prime minister's Living with Covid plan, to ‘transition back to normality’. Mr Johnson wants a vaccine-led approach. 

Minimum entry grades for universities and a cap on student numbers are part of government plans to shake up England's higher education system. Students will need GCSE passes in English and Maths, or the equivalent of two grade Es at A-level, under plans set out on 24 February. About a third currently fail to achieve a grade 4 in those core GCSEs, the equivalent to a C in the old system. Entry grade exemptions, possibly for mature students, will be considered in the future. The intention is to restrict entry to courses not offering a good route into graduate jobs and prevent universities from recruiting students into higher education before they are ready. Universities have already been told they will have some responsibility for courses leading to good jobs. Ministers argue the reforms should encourage more young people to consider apprenticeships or other higher qualifications.