The UK has today brought into effect a law which marks forced marriage as a criminal offence. New legislation means that anyone found guilty of forcing another person into marriage in England and Wales faces a prison sentence of up to seven years, and the law also applies to British nationals forced into marriages without their consent abroad. A proposed change in law was first announced in 2012, when Prime Minister David Cameron declared: ‘Forced marriage is abhorrent and little more than slavery. To force anyone into marriage against their will is simply wrong.’ He continued: ‘I want to send a clear and strong message: forced marriage is wrong, illegal and will not be tolerated’. Home Secretary Theresa May, who has condemned forced marriage as ‘a tragedy for each and every victim’, has now welcomed the new legislation, saying the UK is at the forefront of the campaign to end the practice, which is particularly prevalent in South Asian cultures.

The Scottish NHS has written to parents saying that all future correspondence and medical reports about their children will be shared, without their consent, with a ‘Named Person’ appointed by the State to oversee their children’s interests, reports Christian Concern for our Nation. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill has been described as ‘sinister’ for introducing a 'Named Person' scheme to take effect in 2016, which it is claimed will potentially criminalise good parents and undermines the family. The Archbishop Cranmer blog makes the accusation and says SMPs have ‘effectively passed a bill which nullifies parental rights and endows the state with higher baby-sitting authority’ than parents.'

The Birmingham academy trust at the centre of the so-called 'Trojan Horse' allegations was accused of running schools that took the Islamic focus too far. A highly-critical report found a classroom culture which was not welcoming to non-Muslim pupils. It described a ‘madrassa curriculum’ in personal, social, health and economic lessons, and ‘posters written in Quranic Arabic in most of the classrooms visited’. Loudspeakers were used to broadcast the call to prayer and there were posters in classrooms encouraging children to begin lessons with a Muslim prayer. There were also claims of an inappropriate external speaker being brought in to talk to pupils. In RE lessons, the few pupils taking a Christian unit in the GCSE course, rather than the Islamic Studies paper, had to ‘teach themselves’ because the teacher had to concentrate on what the majority were studying. As far back as 2010 the Department for Education was warned that Muslim hardliners were trying to take control of Birmingham schools. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27476643

At this time of preparation for the Referendum, Members of the Scottish Parliament are hard pressed; keeping all their normal remit running, plus attending many extra husting meetings and trying to keep a life balance so that family is not neglected. Remember especially the front runners with the extra responsibility of every word weighed and reported in the Press. Intercessors at Pray For Scotland (who take a completely neutral stance) and whose prayer for the result of the Referendum is ‘God’s will be done in our Nation’ ask that we pray that leaders will arise who speak with authority, clarity and integrity. Christian members of the Scottish parliament include Dave Thompson, Nigel Don and John Mason (SNP); Ruth Davidson and Murdo Fraser (Conservative); Johann Lamont, Jacquie Bailie, and Anne McTaggart (Labour).

Following last week's State Opening of Parliament, Lord Falconer introduced a bill that would legalise assisted suicide. It is the latest in a number of attempts to change the law. The bill will be debated in the House of Lords at its second reading, which is expected to take place on Friday 18th July. Baroness Hollins, a top psychiatrist who has been President of both the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Medical Association, has spoken out and written of her concerns. Baroness Grey-Thompson, who won 11 golds at the Paralympics, has joined with Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, who has a degenerative illness, to express her deep opposition to Lord Falconer's bill. ‘Why is it that when people who are not disabled want to commit suicide, we try to talk them out of it, but when a disabled person wants to commit suicide, we focus on how we can make that possible?’

‘Misogynyst mosque supporters’ have harassed a key female witness into withdrawing from giving evidence at the megamosque public inquiry being held at the ExCel Centre in London this week. Tehmina Kazi is the Director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy and a crucial opponent of the massive fundamentalist mega-mosque proposed for West Ham in London, close to the Olympic Stadium. She withdrew from the inquiry after being pressured by members of the Muslim-run Newham Peoples Alliance (NPA) while abroad on holiday last weekend. Ms Kazi, a former project officer at the Equality & Human Rights Commission and long-time supporter of Muslim women’s rights, publicly opposed the mega-mosque project at a previous public inquiry in 2011. She has also objected to the anti-women bias of Tablighi Jamaat, the fundamentalist group behind the proposed mosque. ‘Why do Islamists always pick on women?’ said Alan Craig, director of the long-running Mega Mosque No Thanks campaign.

Religion preaches help for the poor and loving your neighbour, but now a new study has provided evidence that religion can make people more generous in their everyday lives. Research commissioned by the BBC found that people who profess a religious belief are significantly more likely to give to charity than non-believers. Sikhs and Jews emerged as the most likely to share their worldly goods with a good cause, just ahead of Christians, Hindus and Muslims. The study, carried out for the BBC's network of local radio stations, included polling by ComRes of a sample of more than 3,000 people of all faiths and none. It found that levels of generosity across the British public are strikingly high, but are highest among those with a religious faith. The Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, said: ‘Religious faith should motivate people to acts of generosity, and it’s good to see this reflected in these figures’.

Britain's child poverty plans are ‘doomed’ to fail as 3.5 million children will be in poverty by 2020, says a watchdog chaired by former health secretary Alan Milburn. The government's draft strategy for the next three years is a ‘missed opportunity’ and falls far short of what is needed, said the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission. Mr Milburn said: ‘Our new research shows that the gap between the objective of making child poverty history and the reality is becoming ever wider.’ But, he said, child poverty was ‘not just an issue’ for the current government. ‘Across the political spectrum, party leaders now need to come clean about what they plan to do to hit the targets, or what progress they can deliver if they expect to fall short,’ he said.

Scotland’s named person scheme has sparked widespread outrage after it emerged that parents will be reported to the state for trivial family incidents, including forgetting their children’s hospital appointments. Although the scheme is not set to be fully implemented until August 2016, the Scottish Parliament guidance is now being used by the NHS to justify sharing data on children with head teachers. The health board seems to be acting in advance of the law being implemented. Aidan O’Neill QC said the plans appear to be ‘predicated on the idea that the proper primary relationship that children will have for their well-being and development, nurturing and education is with the State rather than within their families and with their parents’. Director of The Christian Institute, Colin Hart, said, ‘The state seems intent on usurping the role of parents and reducing them to helpless spectators in the lives of their children.’

The Edinburgh Secular Society (ESS) claims official guidance was breached when Evangelical Alliance Scotland (EAS) hosted a reception in Holyrood marking the publication of its manifesto ‘What Kind of Nation?’ ESS called the reception (endorsed by a government minister) a ‘book launch’ in the Scottish Parliament which broke the rules. The EAS said they were aware of the rules and denied any breach, saying ‘It was not a launch. We published the document earlier in the week. It was on our website.’ Prayer Alert notes that the attempts to promote secularism within the Scottish Parliament have escalated recently, but we give thanks that the Education and Culture Committee have not taken forward two Secular Humanist groups' petitions. One was for opt-in Religious Observance in schools, and the second was to stop the automatic inclusion of faith members on Council Education Committees. However, there has now been another petition submitted for an increase in Humanist speakers to lead Time for Reflection. See also http://www.ppscotland.org/