Displaying items by tag: policy changes

Asylum-seekers will be housed in disused military bases in Essex and Lincolnshire and a prison in East Sussex, under plans to cut the £6 million a day spent on hotel accommodation for people landing in the UK in small boats. Housing them in barges and other floating accommodation has also been mentioned. Rishi Sunak has also brought forward proposals to use barracks at Catterick, in his constituency. The Refugee Council is deeply concerned, calling the suggested accommodation ‘entirely unsuitable’ for the needs of vulnerable men, women, and children who have come to our country in search of safety; it will add yet more cost and chaos to the system. The Home Office said that healthcare will be available along with catering facilities and 24/7 security, and ‘accommodation for illegal migrants should meet their essential living needs and nothing more’.

400 Isle of Man teachers are demanding a pay rise and have stopped covering breaks or setting or assessing work to cover other teachers' absences. They are balloting on industrial action, including strikes. The department of education has made a pay offer which would see island teachers paid 1% more than their counterparts in England. It was rejected. Pray for the Manx government to come to an agreement with teachers so that schools are kept open and safe and young people receive consistent education. A policy review by Guernsey’s Home Affairs Committee found staffing essential services could only be maintained if more people immigrated there. There need to be government changes to allow extensions to short- term employment permits’ and review birthright privileges, as well as removing recruitment restrictions and building more houses for migrants to live in. Proposed changes will be debated next month.

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.