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Joint Public Issues Team
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Newsletter 27 January/February 2010
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General Election 2010
Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Church representatives have shared with other churches and agencies in preparing on-line resources. The main downloads are:
• Faith in Politics - document covering a range of the most important policy issues: children and young people, criminal justice, the economy, education, environment,health, migration, poverty and others. Each topic has sections on background, the main issues, suggested questions to candidates and contact details for further information.
• Planning a Hustings Meeting - Guidelines for local churches, Churches Together groups or Christian organisations considering planning a hustings meeting.
• You will also be able to register your interest in running a hustings event and be put in touch with others in your constituency who have responded.
• Additional material, links and other features will be added to the website shortly.
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News of our Christmas One More Card Campaign
A big ‘Thank You’ to everyone who sent a Christmas Card to Phil Woolas, the Minister for Immigration, asking him to take immediate action to end the detention of children. The campaign ran very successfully, created a lot of interest, and was featured in the press and on Christian radio programmes.
Some of your Christmas cards elicited a written response from the UK Border Agency Public Correspondence Team. Reading it, however, you might think that all is well. In fact, very little has changed and until the Government takes action, children will continue to be held in detention. Here are a few of the recent research findings from the Save the Children report, No Place for a Child:
• Current UK Border Agency practice holds children in detention for lengthy periods, and many of them are traumatised.
• Children in detention frequently experience mental health problems, which may
include depression, changes in behaviour and confusion. Some children refuse to
eat, and are unable to sleep.
• Although there is some educational provision, in Yarlswood Detention Centre, these
children experience nothing less than imprisonment, fear and anxiety, and their
schooling is inevitably seriously disrupted.
Your Christmas Card action coincided with parliamentary questions on the subject to the Home Secretary (14 Dec); a strongly worded condemnation of the practice by leading children’s authors (10 Dec), and a plea from a coalition of royal medical colleges in London that children’s health and wellbeing should take precedence over UKBA administrative convenience. Visit our website, and read about Citizens for Sanctuary and Outcry. Our campaigning will continue until the practice of detaining children is history. More information to come.
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Migration 2010 - European Churches responding to migration
‘Migration is at the heart of the churches’ agenda in Europe’ - Jean-Arnold de Clermont, President of the Conference of European Churches.
Migration 2010 aims to:
• make the churches’ commitment to strangers visible;
• promote inclusive policy at European and national levels;
• press for the right to long term residence status after five years of legal stay.
There is already a substantial amount of material on the website including the presentations given at the launch meeting last November and a calendar highlighting focus themes for each month of the year. Further worship resources, information and suggestions for action will be added as contributions are received and shared.
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Debt is still a major barrier to delivering a world free of poverty.
Developing countries have been greatly assisted by international debt relief. However, these deals are undermined in UK courts by private firms, dubbed ‘Vulture Funds’, that purchase debt at low cost and sue the developing country for the full amount plus costs. We have the chance to stop this, if enough MPs turn out to support the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill on 26 February. Ask your MP to take action.
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2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion
About 80 million Europeans live at risk of poverty, with children and the elderly particularly vulnerable. In designating this focus for 2010, the European Union, in partnership with member states, aims to encourage a programme of awareness-raising and renewed commitment to combating poverty and social exclusion. Priorities will include giving voice to those living in poverty, and challenging stereotypes and collective perceptions. The website provides extensive information, country programme links - UK, and option to sign up for the e-newsletter.
The Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches, in developing the churches’ contribution to the Year, encourages a more holistic understanding of the reasons leading to poverty and social exclusion and of their impact not only on those affected but on the whole of society. See CEC website and particularly ‘Poverty Hurts Your Soul‘.
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The Big Swap
22 February - 7 March is Fairtrade Fortnight.
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If you would like to receive the Joint Public Issues Team Newsletter, or would like to publicise an event or project, please contact Wendy Cooper, e-mail - Telephone - 020 7916 8632 Address - 86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT
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Posted on 1 Feb 2010
Information on these pages does not necessarily reflect the views of St Andrew's URC Cheam
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