Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Many are saying the ‘hostile environment’ policy is damaging the NHS. The current visa rules place a cap on how many non-EU workers can come to the UK, and this ceiling has been hit for six months in a row, preventing more overseas doctors from coming. Many believe the visa rules aren’t working in the best interests of NHS patients, and think that ministers ought to do more to ensure hospitals get adequate numbers of staff. Labour’s shadow health secretary said that we are turning away trained doctors who want to come and work in the UK while the NHS has a workforce crisis with 100,000 posts unfilled. Vacancy rates for nurses and doctors are rising every year. Health trust bosses raised concerns over the visa scheme recently when it emerged that 100 Indian doctors had been denied visas to work in the UK. See also the previous article.

Last week a Birmingham mother was jailed for forcing her daughter to marry a relative almost twice her age. This week a Leeds couple were found guilty of luring their 19-year-old daughter to Bangladesh in 2016, in an attempt to force her to marry her first cousin and have a baby with him. She was rescued after she texted her location to her boyfriend, who then told West Yorkshire Police.

The path to suicide is usually gradual, progressing from suicidal thoughts to planning, then attempting, suicide, and finally death. Mark Harris of the Samaritans recently commented on ways of talking and listening that can help others in crisis. He said that making small talk with a stranger might save their life. Walking up to someone who seems distant or distressed and asking ‘Are you OK?’ or ‘Do you fancy a coffee?’ might be enough to break the chain of suicidal thinking and move them to seek help. He said people should not worry about saying the wrong thing. Often, someone in crisis is looking for an intervention and saying something, however small or seemingly silly, is better than walking on by. ‘By asking questions you are eliciting a response from someone, and you are at once engaging with them.’ In 2016, there were 4,941 suicide deaths in England and Wales - but a much larger number consider taking their own lives. See 

The Taoiseach’s comments in February when the 8th amendment referendum announcement was made were that abortions should be ‘safe, legal and rare’. In the United Kingdom abortion is not rare. The abortion law currently being proposed by Ireland's government goes even further than the already very permissive UK law. The British law allows one in every five pregnancies to end in abortion each year. An article written by the Iona Institute sets out exactly how what is on offer in Ireland is more permissive than the British law. To read the article click the ‘More’ button. The most recent statistics on abortions carried out in England and Wales are for 2016; when there were 190,406 carried out for residents and 4,810 for non-residents.

We need to see change in the United Kingdom. It is time to turn to Jesus. It is time for His Kingdom to come, and His will to be done here. You are invited to join thousands of Christians praying, worshipping and declaring for God’s Kingdom to come in our families, churches and communities, praying for an unprecedented turning to God in our nation. This is the eleventh Trumpet Call that the World Prayer Centre has held in Birmingham. Speakers include R T Kendall, Malcolm Duncan and Yinka Oyekan.

Investors, including the Church of England, are demanding that big oil companies take more concrete action to curb global warming. This week the Church Commissioners, who are Shell shareholders, said they would like to see ‘targets that are firmer, creating the necessary internal and external accountabilities, providing a clear impetus for action. Having a target provides us with the clarity we need to have an informed discussion with Shell’s board members about your response to the transition to a low carbon economy.’ They added, ‘We recognise that companies have been reluctant to set targets, expressing concern that they might constrain their ability to act and to take advantage of opportunities as they emerge. We do not agree with this argument.’ Last year Shell set a climate ambition, but did not state specific targets. See also

Human trafficking and modern slavery are amongst the most widespread crimes in the world, affecting millions daily. These crimes happen in every corner of the world and can include any person, regardless of age, socio-economic background or location. As a result, each case can look very different. The following are some of the most commonly reported forms of human trafficking and modern slavery: sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, domestic servitude, forced marriage, forced criminality, child soldiers and organ harvesting. The first step in stopping trafficking is to recognise it. Pray for more understanding of what to look out for in communities and at workplaces. Pray for teachers, social workers, medical practitioners, and other parents to recognise child neglect, emotional abuse, physical and sexual abuse, and forced marriage. Also see the next article.

A Birmingham woman was jailed for four and a half years for duping her daughter into travelling to Pakistan and forcing her to marry a man sixteen years her senior. The judge told the mother, ‘You cruelly deceived her. She was frightened, alone, held against her will, being forced into a marriage she dreaded. You must have known her state of mind. Yet for your own purposes, you drove the marriage through.’ It is the first time a victim has given evidence against her family in a trial for this type of offence, and the first conviction for forced marriage in England. The NSPCC hope the sentence will show that young victims can come forward and be supported when they bravely report abuse suffered at the hands of their families. They reported 205 counselling sessions for children concerned about a forced marriage in 2016/2017, and Childline recorded 6,099 visits to its forced marriage online page during the same period.

11-year-old Adam has weakened muscles, speech impediments and autism, and is a full-time wheelchair user. Adam wants to go out with friends, but this depends on whether he has access to a suitable toilet and changing room. Standard disabled toilets are small and do not provide the changing benches or hoists to meet his special needs. He and his family risk health and safety by changing him on a toilet floor and manual lifting. Adam represents thousands of people with special needs who are not having these needs met, and is taking a theme park to court for not providing ‘reasonable’ disabled facilities. He wants the term ‘reasonable’ to include the space and equipment needed for a disabled person’s personal care. It is now expected that everyone has a right to live in the community and access all its facilities. Government policy promotes ‘community participation’ and ‘active citizenship,’ but for some disabled people the lack of a fully accessible toilet is denying them this right. See:

Research for the charity Scope reported that one in eight people hardly ever or never thinks of disabled people as the same as everyone else. Three comments from disabled people: ‘I’ve experienced loneliness as an adult, been excluded from social situations or activities due to my condition, and people make assumptions about what I am able to do or not do.’ ‘I’ve had people getting off the bus because they didn't want to share one with a cripple.’ ‘People used to see me as “one of them” but now, because I’m disabled, they see me differently.’ Scope’s CEO said that we need to increase understanding of disabled people's lives and step up our efforts to combat negative attitudes and misperceptions that hold them back in all areas of life, from work and leisure activities to shopping on the high street. Currently a million ‘disabled’ people who are ‘able’ are excluded from the workplace.