Almost 500 children across the West Midlands were victims of, or vulnerable to, sexual exploitation in the first half of last year, figures have revealed. A report found some children were trafficked by gangs and often passed between offenders. It is thought to be the first time data has been compiled for the whole region. Stephen Rimmer, a senior civil servant who led the project, said it would help improve support for children. He said it provided ‘a proper picture for the first time of the scale and nature’ of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the area. ‘I think society has been slow to recognise that child sexual exploitation is insidious, it's spread right across the country - victims are often terrified and they will not be comfortable working with police and other agencies,’ he said.
Government has dropped the key section of ‘anti-terror’ guidance which threatened freedom of speech at university Christian Unions. Widespread concern had emerged over the draft guidance for the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, which said that university societies in Britain would be forced to hand over external speakers’ talks two weeks in advance for vetting. It has been suggested that specific guidance on the issue of external speakers may be published before the General Election but it would not have any legal force. The Christian Institute welcomed the change, while student charity UCCF said: ‘We are profoundly thankful to the Lord for overruling in this.’ The issue concerns the Prevent strategy which aims to counter terrorism by addressing ‘extremism’. In January, Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights warned that the ‘legal uncertainty’ about the definition of ‘extremist’ will have a seriously inhibiting effect on bona fide academic debate’. (See also Prayer Alert 04-2015)
A campaign to persuade more graduates to become religious education (RE) teachers has been launched. The Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC) wants to raise awareness of bursaries of up to £9,000 available to cover training costs. RE has grown in popularity, with entries to the full course GCSE rising 19% since 2012. A-level entries have also increased more than any arts, humanity or social science subject over the past 10 years. The Beyond the Ordinary campaign is the first to specifically target potential trainee RE teachers and is being funded by donations from charitable trusts. More than 800 teacher training places will be available in the subject from September. Successful candidates with firs-class honours degrees will be eligible to receive training bursaries of £9,000, with £4,000 per year available for graduates with upper second class degrees.
Theresa May receives death threats from IS
26 Mar 2015
The UK will no longer tolerate the behaviour of Islamist extremists who ‘reject our values’, Home Secretary Theresa May has said. She invited individuals, families and communities to join a ‘partnership’ to tackle the issue head on. Mrs May said everyone in Britain had ‘responsibilities as well as rights’, and must respect laws, institutions and the rights of others. Speaking in London, she also outlined plans to ban hate preachers. She announced Tory plans for a review of Sharia courts in England and Wales to examine whether they are compatible with British values.' We will no longer tolerate your behaviour. We will expose your hateful beliefs for what they are.’ An Islamic State fighter has called for the death of Home Secretary Theresa May following the speech she made on Monday in which she called on British Muslims to help defeat extremism.
Researchers urge families to be more active
23 Mar 2015
Researchers compared the TV viewing habits of more than 6,000 British people born in a single week in 1970, at the ages of 10 and 42. Parents should increase children's physical activity to ensure they become fit and healthy adults, the University College London (UCL) authors conclude. ‘Do something active to displace TV,’ advised co-author Lee Smith. ‘In the evening time when families tend to sit down and watch TV they should try to go for walks instead.’ If you can't go outside, try active computer games, anything that gets people up and expending energy rather than sitting down and snacking,’ said Dr Smith, of the UCL epidemiology and public health department. The authors acknowledge that for today's children TV viewing is often replaced by time on computers, smartphones or tablets. Parents should play active computer games with their children, say researchers.
Stress levels among teachers in England's classrooms are soaring, a BBC investigation has found. Unions are blaming workload for large numbers of staff taking time off work or leaving the profession. Insurance industry data suggest stress is the biggest cause of staff absence save for maternity. The Department for Education insists it is working ‘to tackle the issue of unnecessary workload which we know can lead to stress’. The BBC has also seen a survey of 3,500 members of the NASUWT teaching union which shows more than two-thirds of respondents considered quitting the profession in the past year. Workload was the top concern, with 89% citing this as a problem, followed by pay (45%), inspection (44%), curriculum reform (42%) and pupil behaviour (40%). In addition: NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates described the results as ‘frightening’. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has expressed her concerns over excessive working hours.
Faith leaders across the UK have signed a statement calling on nuclear weapons states to join with other states to implement new approaches to eliminate nuclear arsenals. Ahead of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference meeting from 27 April to 22 May 2015, senior representatives from eight faiths in the UK, including Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist, have given their backing to a statement calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The faith leaders argue that nuclear arsenals ‘violate the principle of dignity for every human being that is common to each of our faith traditions’. The statement urges nuclear weapons states to ‘develop a robust plan of action that will lead us to a nuclear weapon free world’ but in recent years, the UK government has strongly resisted proposals for negotiation of a new treaty that would lead to the elimination of such weapons.
A report by the Health Select Committee found that acute and community care for people reaching the end of their lives varies around the UK, and has called for long-term sustainable funding for hospices. Report author Dr Sarah Wollaston MP said: ‘There are unacceptable levels of variation in the care that people receive and this needs to be addressed so that high quality end of life care is available to everyone regardless of their age, medical condition or where they live. We must make sure that specialist palliative care expertise is accessible within hospitals and community settings as well as within our hospices.’ Hospice director Dr Ros Taylor, who is also national director of Hospice UK, explained that some patients still get lost within the NHS system and people die waiting to leave hospital. End of life care should be made available free of charge, MPs have concluded