Consultation on Freedom of Speech
The Home Office is currently consulting on whether to remove the word ‘insulting’ from section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. This consultation is extremely important because a number of Christians, including street preachers, have been arrested under section 5. It represents a continuing threat to freedom of speech and the word needs to be removed to prevent further persecution of Christian evangelism on our streets. The Home Office consultation on police powers to promote and maintain public order closes on Friday 13th January 2012
Pray: for every detail of this consultation to be resolved according to God’s purposes for Britain. (Ps.2:8)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/sites/default/files/Section%205%20Consultation%20response.pdf
‘Religious literacy’ lacking in public life
Britain’s Christian heritage is no longer understood in the ‘corridors of power’. The Rt Revd Michael Nazir-Ali made the comments as he reflected on the Prime Minister’s recent speech on the place of the Bible and Christianity in national life. While the Bishop welcomed much of what David Cameron said he cautioned that religious literacy is an issue in the Civil Service, Parliament and local authorities. He said: ‘What Mr Cameron said about Christian ideas being embedded in our constitutional arrangements is no longer understood in the corridors of power. ‘A disconnected view of history and the fog of multiculturalism have all but erased such memory from official consciousness. A concerted programme is needed if this literacy is to be recovered. Church leaders can help, but this has to do with the place of Christianity in schools, and the teaching of history. Education on citizenship cannot ignore the fact that our cherished values have biblical roots.’
Pray: for a renewed understanding of the Christian context of public life in the UK. (Dt.27:10)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/religious-literacy-lacking-in-public-life-bishop-warns/
Critics blame tax system for number of single parents
More British children are being raised in one-parent families than in any other major European country because the tax and benefit system ‘encourages transient shack-ups’. One in five British children live with a single mother or father. This figure is some 35 per cent higher than in Germany and 50 per cent higher than in France. Researcher and author Patricia Morgan points out that these are the countries whose tax and benefits systems reward parents who stay together. She said: ‘You can look at these figures and see immediately which countries help couples through tax and benefits. In France, people get help if they draw up legal family contracts. In Germany, Holland and Italy, married people get tax relief and tax relief for children.’ Recent studies highlight that a child brought up by one parent is much more likely to underachieve at school and grow up to suffer drug, alcohol, behavioural and employment problems.
Pray: that the government would look again at the benefits of marriage support. (Pr.27:12)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/critics-blame-tax-system-for-number-of-single-parents/
Grim predictions for UK family finances
Grim predictions for UK family finances up to 2015 are revealed in new evidence produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) for the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI), published yesterday. The report says the median income among families with children is projected to fall between 2010 and 2015 by 4.2 per cent. For a couple with two children this equates to £1,250 less a year by 2015. Families with children aged under five, families with more than two children, and lone parent families not in paid work will bear the biggest financial pain in years ahead, says the research. The report, is the first to reveal the prospects for poverty rates and income for different family types up to the year 2015. Dr Katherine Rake, Chief Executive of the FPI, commented: ‘These figures reveal the full extent to which families with children are shouldering the burden of austerity.
Pray: for the Government to ensure there are proper safeguards to protect the most vulnerable from the more serious effects of the austerity measures. (Ps.83:3)
