Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

When the coronavirus pandemic struck, the government announced that anyone seeking a test or treatment for coronavirus would not have their immigration status checked. It is now being made explicit that this principle applies to vaccinations also; people living in the UK unlawfully will not risk deportation by coming forward for inoculation. Ministers are urging illegal immigrants to come forward and register with a GP. The vaccine is free, regardless of their immigration status. However, this is not an amnesty for immigrants; no-one will be given leave to remain in the UK as a result of being vaccinated. The last official estimate, dating back to 2005, was that about 430,000 people were in the country with no legal right to remain; independent research since then has put the number at over a million.

A common theme is emerging among church leaders experiencing lockdowns: the importance of connection and how to connect as a church. Refreshments after church, shared events, coffee shop catchups, Sunday dinner get-togethers have been stripped away. Leaders have lost the thermostat of knowing how church people are. Many are wondering if and how online church is translating into everyday life. It is encouraging that this season has produced worship that is decentralised, has moved out of the building, and is more tightly woven into the daily fabric of life. Mission no longer has a visiting evangelist. Evangelism is now central in conversations with neighbours and colleagues. We are sharing our faith. Another common theme is how Christians have taken hold of their own discipleship because of the decentralisation of worship and the democratisation of mission.

Please pray for young people like Frances who have had their lives put on hold. Having worked hard at university and achieved her dream job, she was making plans for the future until lockdown made her unemployed. Now there is a question mark over everything. 18-year-old Eleanor had her education disrupted across two academic years, in both school and university. Last year, her A-levels were caught up in exam chaos. As a university student this year she has been taught entirely online, unable to make personal contact with other students or tutors. She faces uncertainty around her job prospects, whether her A-level grades are ‘proper’, and if her social life will recover after so much time at home. Evidence shows primary pupils' levels of English and maths are ‘significantly lower’ than three years ago. The scale of the disruption will need a ten-year programme to get back on track. Many students now have mental health issues, particularly depression.

Among 17-year-olds in the UK, one in ten will have used hard drugs, such as ketamine and cocaine, a study by the University College London suggests. Nearly a third of 17-year-olds had tried cannabis and more than half admitted to binge-drinking alcohol. Almost 20,000 young people, born between 2000 and 2002, were surveyed as part of the Millennium Cohort Study. Drug-use rates were higher among white teens than black teens. A quarter of 17-year-olds had assaulted someone, including shoving, slapping or punching, over the previous 12 months. Levels of vandalism and weapon use were similar to when they were 14 but shoplifting rose from 4% in early adolescence to 7% a few years later. It remains to be seen how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected engagement in these behaviours.

Christian MP Gregory Campbell has defended his claim that the BBC's Songs of Praise Gospel Singer of the Year Competition was ‘the BBC at its Black Lives Matter worst’. The semi-final featured five black singers and three black judges. He believes the singers were not representative of the best gospel singers in the country, the BBC is not diverse, and the show had ‘one colour scheme’. The presenter of the competition said very few white people applied, and the best singers were chosen. The MP then asked him if he was trying to make him believe there wasn't a single white person good enough when both black and white sing gospel. The presenter said the show celebrated a style of music that came out of black communities and black experience in this country; Campbell's comments show a lack of understanding and ignorance about gospel music.

The UK has experienced a week of dangerous snow and ice culminating in below -20C temperatures. Local councils are warning residents to take extra care while the cold snap lasts, as the weekend weather will turn ‘quite hazardous’. The Centrepoint charity for homeless young people is urging the public to contact them if they see people living out in the cold. Charities are also advised to offer anyone seen to be sleeping rough a hot drink, meal, blankets or clothing. Over 100 street cleaning and waste collection teams have been diverted from regular duties to clear snow from footpaths and routes to medical centres to enable COVID immunisation to continue. On 11 February nine flood warnings indicated flooding is very likely; a further 88 flood alerts indicate that flooding is possible as the snow melts and further freezing rain continues.

The EU is expected to ask for more time to ratify the Brexit trade deal. UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, claimed that a resolution to EU/UK strained relations required a ‘different spirit’ from the EU. Frost blamed tensions on the bloc struggling to get used to a ‘genuinely independent actor in its neighbourhood’. He also pointed to ‘niggling border issues’ of the EU placing barriers on live UK shellfish exports. Brussels has told British fishermen they are barred indefinitely from selling live mussels, oysters, clams and cockles to EU member states. The ban is affecting restaurants on the continent as well as British fishermen. Boris Johnson has refused to rule out a trade war with Brussels if it didn’t back down in the escalating row. There is no legal barrier to this trade continuing, on animal health grounds and on public health grounds. There is legal provision within existing EU regulations to allow UK trade to continue.

The NSPCC says the amount of counselling for loneliness provided by its Childline service has risen by 10% since the pandemic started. Pray for isolated and lonely children to receive the counselling support they need. Health visitors supporting parents and young babies are worried about the impact on newborns. The first two to three years of a baby's life are the most crucial period of development. This is known as the 1,001 days agenda. If children fall behind, they could have a lifelong disadvantage. Pray that no more babies fall behind in their development, and for more health visitors to be allocated to support new families. There are a million disabled children with special educational needs (SEN), with complex conditions requiring home care from specialists who have now been redeployed. Pray for adequate support and respite for families with SEN children. Pray also for protection for children whose parents have drug/alcohol dependency or severe mental health issues.

The UK government, which hosts a climate summit this year, has allowed a coal mine at Whitehaven to go ahead. The leading climate scientist James Hansen has warned Boris Johnson that he risks ‘humiliation’ over plans for the mine to extract coking coal from under the Irish Sea. Dr Hansen, formerly Nasa's leading global warming researcher, urged the PM to halt production. No 10 said the UK was a world leader on climate change, but would not reverse the local council’s decision on the mine. They have stressed that industries such as steel production require coking coal - which would have to be imported if it were not produced in the UK. The mine will produce a grade of coking coal for steel-making; 85% of it is destined for export to Europe. Government sources hinted that the need for continuing domestic steel production was another reason for not opposing the mine.

Covid-19 and the lockdowns have brought a wide range of new challenges for church leaders in a short space of time, and a significant number are feeling the effects. Savanta ComRes, in partnership with the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), surveyed 201 leaders of different denominations during the period between the two lockdowns. They were asked to think about the two years before Covid, then about the period since restrictions began, and to assess their mental health during that time. 93% of them said that in the two years leading up to March 2020, they had very good or fairly good mental health. It is impressive that church leaders overall reported this level of happiness with their mental health. But in the period since then, that went down to 85%, and 15% said it was poor or very poor.