Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom
Autumn Statement: tax increases for everyone
After a wild few months in the UK economy, the Government wants to raise more money to cover a big black hole in its accounts. Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, has said everyone must pay more tax. Meanwhile, a group of economists have questioned whether the ‘black hole’ in public finances must be filled with austerity and tax rises. They said that the £50bn hole entirely disappears if debts are calculated differently. When Rishi Sunak was chancellor two years ago, he used a different accountancy rule to arrive at a government debt figure. Changing it back to what it was before the 2021 Autumn Statement completely removes the black hole, according to the economists' analysis, and will put government debt back on a sustainable footing. Pray for Jeremy Hunt and all members of the treasury to be wise regardless of the accountancy rules they choose to follow.
Autumn Statement: protecting the poorest
The Chancellor announced targeted payments to help with the cost of living. The national wage will jump from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour from April; help for energy bills will be extended, but less generous. There will be cost of living support for pensioners, the disabled, and those on low incomes. Means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit, and pensions will rise in line with inflation. Social sector rent rises will be capped at 7% in the next financial year. However, the cap on social care costs due next October will be delayed by two years. A ‘temporary’ 45% tax on companies generating electricity will be applied from January, and windfall taxes on oil and gas company’s profits will increase from 25% to 35% and extend until 2028. The NHS budget will increase in each of the next two years by an extra £3.3bn, and schools will receive £2.3bn extra in 2023 and 2024.
Legal action against council over prayer ban
Birmingham City Council issued a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to deter people from gathering outside an abortion clinic with placards and pictures to protect patients from being harassed and intimidated when entering. 40 Days for Life Birmingham are concerned as the order makes it illegal to pray outside the clinic. They are taking the council to court, saying, ‘Through this action, we are not asking anyone to agree with what we believe; others have the right to disagree. We ask for justice, despite our different beliefs. It is disproportionate and unnecessary to ban prayer connected to abortion in an area near a Catholic church and to ban the words “baby” or “mum” in text or imagery.’ The PSPO comes after the Government voted for nationwide ‘buffer zones’ outside abortion clinics. Anyone breaching them faces up to six months in jail for a first offence and up to two years for several offences.
Bird flu: birds of sea, land, and air
Avian flu has brought devastation to our wild and sea birds. From Cornwall to Scotland, gannets, terns, gulls and puffins have died in thousands as the deadly disease spread through breeding colonies. Cases in farmers' flocks, too, have risen exponentially. Last year's annual record was quickly exceeded as a new, more lethal strain emerged. Thousands of poultry birds, including many turkeys, have been culled. This disease, devastating for farmers, veterinary, other staff and businesses, adds pressure to public and private finances. As it becomes commonplace, like bovine TB in cattle and wildlife, it has the potential to harm people. Hosea warns, ‘Therefore the land mourns and all who live in it languish; together with the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing’. (Hosea 4:3). Pray for farmers and others on the frontline tackling it.
Bird flu: supermarkets ration eggs
Asda is limiting customers to two boxes of eggs and Lidl is allowing three, due to rising costs and bird flu. Waitrose is monitoring customer demand. The UK is facing its largest-ever bout of this highly pathogenic disease. When there is a confirmed outbreak on a poultry or egg farm, all birds in the area are destroyed. The outbreak is compounding existing shortages as producers cut back on output or leave the industry due to increased costs. Russia's invasion of Ukraine raised farmers' energy bills and the costs of chicken feed, hens and packaging. There are 36.7 million egg-laying birds nationally, but there is capacity for over 44 million. Also, retailers are not paying farmers a fair price. The price of twelve supermarket eggs has risen by 50p, but farmers only saw a price rise of 5p to 10p.
UK is 'turning its back on the world'
Christian Aid says rich countries are not doing enough to fight the pandemic. They have ranked twenty rich countries' efforts to support rolling out Covid-19 vaccines globally. The worst nation is India; the UK is the second worst. Christian Aid said that the richest countries have a responsibility to improve global access to Covid vaccines, tests, and treatments, given their wealth and high vaccination rates. Governments financed research and development of these products and should not leave pharmaceutical companies to monopolise supply and price. But, amid a collision of international crises, the UK is turning its back on the world and undermining efforts to produce more vaccines, tests, and treatments in lower-income countries. By holding back the global pandemic response, the UK is haemorrhaging moral authority amongst international partners. Only one in three people in Africa - under one in four in low-income countries worldwide - have completed a course of vaccinations.
France / UK: English Channel crossings
Britain and France have now agreed to unite to stop illegal migrants from crossing the Channel. Interior minister Suella Braverman said Britain faced an ‘invasion’ from people in small boats, saying, ‘It is in the interests of the UK and French governments to solve this problem together. There are no quick fixes, but this arrangement means we can have more gendarmes patrolling French beaches and ensure UK and French officers work hand in hand to stop people smugglers.’ There will be 40% more UK-funded officers patrolling French beaches in the next five months. A task force will focus on reversing the rise in Albanian nationals and organised crime groups exploiting illegal routes. British officers will work in French-led control rooms and on the ground to improve coordination and intelligence sharing. There will be drones, detection dog teams, CCTV, and helicopters to help discover and prevent crossings, plus reception and removal centres in France to prevent journeys to the UK of economic migrants.
Albanian migrants recruited to UK drug gangs
Albanian drug gangs use French migrant camps as recruitment grounds. They pay the passage for those prepared to work in the UK drugs industry on arrival. Senior police and immigration officials on both sides of the Channel are worried by the growing number of Albanian middlemen facilitating crossings. Albanians accounted for 1/3 of the people arriving in small boats this year. They have the right to enter France as EU tourists for up to three months without a visa., and are urged on by social media adverts promising help. Posing as an Albanian migrant, a journalist contacted two people-smugglers advertising for clients on TikTok. Both responded within half an hour, with options to pay in France or in England, and guidance for getting to Belgium or France, where a fixer would make contact. The message from both of them was ‘It's easy’.
Politicians call for a boost to RE
A report has found recruitment for secondary school RE teachers was 20% below the level required. A Westminster debate was called by Conservative MP Martin Vickers, as many schools deliver the bare minimum of religious education. During the debate Conservative MPs spoke highly of RE and urged the Government to do more to protect it. Stephen Morgan, the shadow education minister, was appalled over government failure to introduce a national plan for RE, saying that an education in religion and worldviews is an important part of the school curriculum. The debate highlighted the importance of RE and the need for more specialist teacher training and recruitment.
CofE bishops discuss gay marriage
A recent meeting of the College of Bishops discussed the next steps of the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) discernment process. LLF entails churches discussing whether to allow same-sex marriage in the CofE. One bishop, Steven Croft, published a 52-page essay on 3 November, detailing why he is calling for the Church to back same-sex marriage. It was suggested that when bishops engage with the media, they honour their pledge to be open about their diversity of perspectives. Some want the Church to be more inclusive with regards to same-sex marriage: others believe allowing gay marriage in Church would depart from Biblical teaching. Their debates will be brought to February’s General Synod for decision-making.