Church leaders in the UK have welcomed a call by MPs for an ‘urgent’ review of benefits sanctions. Their support for the Work and Pensions Select Committee proposal comes after a Church report found that nearly seven million weeks of sanctions were handed out to people in 2013/2014, with as many as 100,000 children affected. People on sickness benefit because of a long-term mental health problem were being sanctioned at a rate of more than 100 per day. ‘The Select Committee Report describes a system that is broken and needs urgent review,’ said Paul Morrison of the Methodist Church. ‘Churches are often at the forefront of helping people who have been sanctioned and who are in desperate need of food, support and advice. It is unacceptable that vulnerable people can be left with no means of support as punishment for often very minor mistakes.'

New teaching materials exploring issues around sexual consent to be introduced in schools next term. Children as young as 11 are to be given lessons about rape where they will be taught that dressing provocatively does not imply consent to sex, under new teaching plans to be introduced in schools within weeks. Nicky Morgan, the former Education Secretary, has commissioned new guidance advising schools that they should teach pupils about ‘rape myths’ before they are sexually active, as otherwise it may be ‘too late’. Mrs Morgan, who was also Minister for Woman and Qqualities, said that girls today faced ‘unimaginable’ pressures. ‘Mothers at the school gates often tell me about their worries for their daughters. They tell me that on top of the usual stress of school life and teenage years, they want to know their girls are being taught what a healthy relationship looks like and how to say ‘no’,’ she wrote in the Sunday Times. ‘It's our duty to ensure that our daughters leave school able to navigate the challenges and choices they will face in adulthood.’

Christians are ‘openly derided’ and ‘coolly dismissed’, but their beliefs and work to help others are hugely valuable, Michael Gove has said. The former Education Secretary said that while British culture belittles Christianity on a daily basis, churchgoers’ demonstration of their love for Jesus through service to others is of incalculable importance. Last month an equality watchdog found evidence of widespread discrimination against Christians. Writing in the Spectator magazine, Gove said: ‘Relativism is the orthodoxy of our age so to call yourself a Christian in contemporary Britain is to invite pity, condescension or cool dismissal. But genuine Christian faith - far from making any individual more invincibly convinced of their own righteousness - makes us realise just how flawed and fallible we all are’, he wrote. As the Book of Common Prayer puts it', we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts and there is no health in us.’

New figures from the Government Equalities Office show that one in five primary school age girls say they have been on a diet, while 87% of girls aged 11-21 think that women are judged more on their appearance than on their ability. Poor body image among girls has also been associated with low participation in sport. The research shows that 23% of girls aged 7-21 don't participate in exercise because they are unhappy with their body image, and 48% of girls think getting sweaty from taking part in sports is unfeminine. There is also new insight into the long-term consequences of poor body image among young girls, which is associated with lower confidence, lower aspirations and lower social participation. Equalities Minister Jo Swinson said: ‘We absolutely need to make sure that children have resilience to deal with the world around them.’

Almost five per cent of students have worked in the sex industry to reduce their loan debts or fund their lifestyles, according to a major new study from Swansea University. The Student Sex Work Project, based on a survey of 6,773 students across the UK, also found that around one in five students have considered such work and that male students are more likely to do sex work than female. Sex work varied from prostitution and escorting to stripping and internet work. The figures mean that given a total UK university population of around 2.3 million, the number of student sex workers could be in the tens of thousands. The study found that one in four student sex workers does not always feel safe and that they felt it necessary to keep their work a secret. The researchers have called on universities to do more to support those involved. See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16157522

Life expectancy for women has suffered a drop on a scale not seen for decades, as their lifestyles become more like those of men, official figures show. In 2012 there were falls in average life expectancy for females over 60.  Experts said the trend could be the result of changes in the lifestyles of the ‘baby boomer’ generation, with older women more likely to drink regularly and to have smoked, than previous generations. Charities also raised concern that older people are having their lives cut short by reductions in social care spending. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said, ‘The most obvious likely culprit is the rapid decline of state-funded social care in recent years, which is leaving hundreds of thousands of older people to struggle on alone at home without any help.’ She called on the next Government to take urgent action to support the elderly and prevent the downturn becoming the start of a ‘terrible trend.’

A tenth of 12 to 13-year-olds fear they are ‘addicted’ to pornography, an NSPCC ChildLine survey has concluded. One in five of nearly 700 youngsters surveyed said they had seen pornographic images that had shocked or upset them, researchers found. The charity also says that 12% of those surveyed said they had taken part in, or had made, a sexually explicit video. It says that viewing porn is ‘a part of everyday life’ for many of the children who contact its helpline. ChildLine has launched a campaign to raise awareness and provide advice to young people about the harmful implications of an over-exposure to porn following the survey results. One boy under the age of 15 told ChildLine that he was ‘always watching porn, and some of it is quite aggressive’. He said: ‘I didn't think it was affecting me at first but I've started to view girls a bit differently recently and it's making me worried.’

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) wants all schools actively to promote gay marriage and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) rights to permeate the school curriculum beyond lessons on sex education. Protection against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is already firmly enshrined within the Equality Act (2010). For the NUT this does not go far enough. It regards the promotion of LGBT rights as so important that it is prepared to ditch the rights of those, such as many faith groups, who do not support gay marriage. In order to promote the rights of one group  forcibly, promote the rights of one group, other groups of people, far greater in number, have to be discriminated against. Pity the poor teacher who will lose his livelihood because his conscience prevents him from actively promoting gay marriage. Pity the faith school that has to choose between closing its doors or betraying its religion. Pity the helpless parent whose child will be subjected to politically correct and Orwellian thought control.

A Government report warns that tens of thousands could die because of new strains of bacteria and viruses resistant to drugs. Up to 80,000 people in Britain could die in a single outbreak of an infection due to a new generation of superbugs, according to an official Government forecast. In total, some 200,000 people could be infected if a strain of disease resistant to antibiotics took hold, according to official forecasts which reveal the potential casualty toll for the first time. Scientists are increasingly concerned about the impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which makes routine antibiotics or anti-viral drugs ineffective against diseases that have formerly been brought under control. It would mean that the huge gains made since the discovery of penicillin in curbing conditions such as pneumonia and tuberculosis and rendering surgery and childbirth safe could be lost.

On Thursday 7 May, the people of Britain decide on their future - on Wednesday 6 May, we get to pray for it - This is a call to the Church to come together in prayer for our nation. From the heart of Westminster to the farthest reaches of the land, God is calling His Church to rise. That's what '7:14 – Election Prayer UK' is all about. It's a vision to see Christians of every denomination and none come together for an hour of prayer. For the whole Church, young and old, rich and poor, of every race, background and political persuasion to unite in seeking The Lord. Not inside, out of sight, unseen, behind four walls, but outside, in the public square, 'a city on a hill', 'a light on its stand!' On the eve of the General Election, we'll gather on Parliament Square on 6 May 2015 from 7.14pm - 8.14pm. If you'd like to organise an event where you are, contact: