Social care crisis
23 Jul 2020
A year ago Boris Johnson promised to tackle the social care crisis. Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said the PM must honour this pledge, or thousands of elderly people will continue to suffer needlessly and the social care sector will never recover from the hammer blow caused by the pandemic. A huge petition, signed by 110,000 people, was handed in, to put pressure on him to deliver on his promise to provide the decent level of care the elderly deserve. Also the UK Home Care Association, which represents those providing home help, said that unless he acts the vulnerable will continue to receive rationed, underfunded services that are started too late to prevent independence deteriorating. When Mr Johnson became Prime Minister, he said his job was to protect people from the fear of having to sell their home to pay for care costs.
UK: Wheels for the World
23 Jul 2020
Wheels for the World restore and distribute refurbished wheelchairs to disabled people in developing countries, giving them independence and demonstrating the love of God. They send old wheelchairs to a workshop in one of their partner prisons for refurbishment. Prisoners find satisfaction in this work which helps restore their self-worth and dignity. Wheelchairs come back from the prison fully restored and are loaded into containers for shipping abroad. While in prison Chris was trained to repair wheelchairs and gained useful skills to help him find a career when released. One of the wheelchairs Chris refurbished to ‘good as new’ was shipped to Miriam in Uganda. She had paralysis in her legs and no physiotherapy or rehabilitation services available to her. She spent most of her time in bed and isolated. Now she can help her mother sell produce on their market stall, and can independently go out and make friends.
Home-schooling and A-levels
23 Jul 2020
Eight million children were sent home from school in March. A majority of them struggled to continue learning during lockdown. Of the 52% who struggled, three-quarters of their parents said lack of motivation was the reason. There were also wide disparities in what families were able to do. Although under one in ten parents complained about lack of devices to work on, this rate doubled for single parents. Also nearly a third of working parents said the requirement to homeschool their children had been negatively affecting their job. See A-level and GCSE results are expected to be higher this summer with exam boards basing their grades on previous exam results, the previous year’s distribution of grades in the school, how schools ranked their pupils, and their teachers' predictions. However there is a risk that some pupils could be discriminated against. Back-up exams will be available for all subjects in the autumn.
UK / US political immunity rule closed
23 Jul 2020
Harry Dunn died in hospital after his motorbike was involved in a crash outside RAF Croughton, but the driver of the car that hit him was able to claim diplomatic immunity and return to the USA rather than face a court case in the United Kingdom. On 22 July the UK and the US agreed to amend an ‘anomaly’ that allowed the suspect, Anne Sacoolas, to claim diplomatic immunity because she was the wife of a diplomat. She was able to use a ‘secret agreement’ between the two countries even though she has been accused of killing by dangerous driving. Mr Dunn's mother said the change, which is not thought to be retrospective, was a ‘huge step in the right direction’.
Faith and non-religious belief groups’ positive contribution to social cohesion deserves greater recognition and should have more influence on cohesion policy in the United Kingdom, according to a report commissioned by the British Academy and the Faith and Belief Forum. The report draws on practical case studies from across the UK, including an interfaith programme by the West London Synagogue to promote positive Jewish-Muslim relations locally, a mosque that teaches English to speakers of other languages, a Catholic homelessness charity, and a Christian initiative to tackle knife crime. Faith is too often thought of as concerning ‘others’ and subtly racialised as the preserve of ethnic minorities in a secular society. Although faith and belief can be a source of division, many faith groups play a key role in uniting groups, and their contributions need to be valued and recognised.
Brexit: possible ‘no deal on trade’
23 Jul 2020
On 22 July transport secretary Grant Shapps said that the United Kingdom wants a Brexit free trade deal with the EU, but is prepared for a no deal. A spokesman for Boris Johnson said later that day that Britain remains committed to agreeing the outlines of a balanced trade agreement with the EU, but significant differences between the two sides remain. Talks on a future relationship, which are now in their fifth round, have all but stalled. Some companies fear that there will be disruption at the end of the year if the two fail to secure a trade deal. Mr Johnson’s spokesman said, ‘We will make sure that we’re prepared for all possible scenarios.’
Some churches have faced the lockdown challenge by simply meeting the needs of their existing congregations. This could be a missed opportunity to discover what it might look like to ‘go and make disciples’ in the 21st century and beyond. Let us not forget that many revivals started outside the church and were later embraced by the church. This pandemic has introduced the many of the older generation to Skype, FaceTime and Zoom, which has helped those who live alone at home or in care to feel less isolated. The church in this new season still has a fundamental Christian mission to build relationships, to worship together, pray together and serve together. Each church must seek God to discover what He is asking of them. God is giving His church an opportunity electronically to ‘throw out a new net - where there are many fish’, and we can give thanks for the increase in online views of church services during lockdown.
EU agrees on a plan to save itself
23 Jul 2020
EU leaders have agreed on a 750 billion euro coronavirus relief package, both in loans and grants. A major accomplishment: for the first time all 27 members agreed to share the financial burden to rescue some of its members. However this is just the first step on a long road to recovery. The fine print is thorny. Any individual member state can delay disbursement of funds to another member by questioning the recipient's spending plans. For example, this would allow a country to put a temporary hold on funds for another if the Hague has a bone to pick about overspending. Not a veto, but it could delay the release of much-needed funds and pit countries against each other. Also money will not be released until 2022. So if Italy and Spain continue borrowing to pay for their domestic rescue plans, they will owe much more a year from now and be in a worse financial position to respond to any second coronavirus wave.