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Charity Chief Executive
celebrates Barnardo's work in Merseyside
THE leader of the UK's largest
children's charity has this week made his first visit to Barnardo's services in
Liverpool. Javed Khan, Chief Executive at Barnardo's visited the North West
England Region, on Monday, 6 March 2017 and Tuesday, 7 March 2017.
As well as finding out more about the high impact work carried out by support
workers, volunteers, managers and other staff at local Barnardo's services
across Merseyside and Regional Head Office, Mr Khan also visited a Liverpool
City Centre charity shop and met with a young adult carer supported by the
Liverpool arm of the charity.
The Chief Executive visited Barnardo's Take 2 fashion shop on Bold Street, which
was the venue for the late Herbert Howe's charity auction in 2015. Herbert was a
strong supporter of Barnardo's and personally modelled and sold a number of his
eye catching designer suits in the store to raise money directly for young
carers supported by Barnardo's in Liverpool.
As well as meeting staff at the store, including John McCarthy, who has
volunteered full time for Barnardo's for the past 7 years, Mr Khan also met
with a young carer supported by the charity.
Katie (22) from West Derby talked with the Chief Executive about her experience
of life as a young carer as well as the support she has been given and her
involvement with the Liverpool Action with Young Carers Choir, which recently
received an award following the choir's performance at the Liverpool NOW
festival, in February 2017.
Javed Khan, Barnardo's Chief Executive said:- "I have seen and heard
first-hand how Barnardo's services across Liverpool and Merseyside are having a
real and positive impact on the lives of children, young people and their
families in the region.
I am grateful to all the staff I spoke with and have been delighted to see the
enthusiasm of sales teams and volunteers in our stores, who contribute greatly
to supporting the direct work of the charity.
I am also thankful to Katie, a young carer that gave her time to meet with me to
share her experiences and some of the challenges she has faced day to day in
life as a young carer. I was heartened to hear how the continued support she has
received from Barnardo's has been instrumental in helping her take control of
her life, grasp opportunities and ensure she has her own life outside of her
caring role."
Each year Barnardo's supports more than 2,000 children, young people and
parents/carers through its services across Merseyside and the charity has 28
retail shops across the region, which are supported by more than 370 volunteers.
In addition to providing support for young carers across Merseyside, Barnardo's
also runs a number of other services across the region. These include supporting
care leavers to assist them with independent living skills, supporting teenagers
and young people that are pregnant or have young families, providing counselling
services for young people with mental health issues and offering an essential
befriending and mentoring scheme for young people in care.
Barnardo's also delivers a LifeSkills early intervention and prevention
programme to a number of primary schools across Merseyside, educating young
people between the ages of eight and 11. LifeSkills focuses on drug and alcohol
resistance training to help students develop strategies for resisting peer
pressure and building resilience, helping with decision making and critical
thinking. It also encourages the development of healthy relationships.
Strike action taking place
will result in travel madness
WITH Gas Pipe Replacement work taking
place on the Formby Bypass, and the trains being off on Monday 13 March 2017,
people are being warned to think hard about how long it will take get to and
from work, especially via Southport. We
are told that
Merseyrail has tried to get an injunction
to block Monday's strike, but it hasn't been successful.
The action is being taken by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) over
fears over the future of guard's jobs and safety concerns over driver-only
trains (DOO) and the role of conductors.
We have been told that Merseyrail have announced strike day timetable ahead of
Monday action. This will see the service only running from 7am to 7pm. Please
see Merseytravel's
website for full and up to date
information.
Northern services from Southport will see a bus service and also trains out of
Lime Street will also be affected. See the Northern Rail's
website for full information about the
services it offers nationally.
Please visit out Twitter
Pole and let us know what you think via
that. Also please do email us to:-
News24@SouthportReporter.com or visit our
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Welfare reform – Liverpool
counts the cost
A unique analysis of the UK Government's
welfare reforms shows the most vulnerable in Liverpool have been hit by multiple
changes and it is costing millions of pounds in crisis payments and support.
Liverpool has become the 1st local authority in the country to carry out a
Cumulative Impact Assessment to examine the impact of more than 20 changes on
its own residents.
The aim of the assessment is to help Liverpool City Council identify those most
affected and ensure the City and its partners are providing high quality
benefits, debt and budgeting advice and support.
It builds on Sheffield Hallam University research published in March 2016 which
suggested that welfare reforms have cost the City's economy the equivalent of
₤157 million per year, set to rise to ₤292 million per year by 2020/21.
The report; which uses the UK Government's impact analysis reports and data held
by the Council; shows the changes to working age benefits since 2010 have
affected around 55,000 households (1 in 4) with the long term sick and
disabled, children and women disproportionately hit.
The lower Benefit Cap affects 743 families; 80% of them single parent
households; resulting in an average loss of income of ₤42.67 per family each
week.
It is being launched in the Great Hall, at St George's Hall, Liverpool, on
Friday, 10 March 2017, at 11am.
The City Council, which has had a 58% cut in Central Government funding since
2010 and has to find another ₤90 million of savings by 2020; is having to use
around ₤7 million a year of its own reduced funds to help with rent top ups and
crisis payments.
The headlines include:-
► 3,400 households with long term sick and disabled residents have been affected
by the Under Occupation Penalty (Bedroom Tax)
► Families with children have been hit by a freeze in child benefit, reductions
in Housing Benefit rates in the private sector, the Under Occupation Penalty and
the Benefit Cap.
► Younger people aged 16 to 29 accounting for almost 35% of applications for the
Liverpool Citizens Support Scheme, which makes emergency payments for people in
crisis.
► Single private tenants aged 25 to 35 have seen a cut of around ₤34 per week in
their Housing Benefit.
► Women account for 60% of those affected by a cut in Council Tax Support and
65% of those hit by the Under Occupation Penalty.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:- "This is the 1st time ever that a
complete picture has been pulled together of the impact of the welfare reforms
that the UK Government has implemented since 2010.
It shows clearly that some of the most vulnerable people in society have been
repeatedly affected by the changes that have been made and will be hit again
with changes that are coming down the line. Councils are on the frontline of picking up the pieces of decisions inflicted by
Whitehall, which is why this work is so important for us. It will help us shape
the support that we are able to offer now and in the future so that we are as
well placed as we can be in dealing with people living on the edge who are going
to be tipped into crisis as a result of the reforms.
In the coming year, we are setting aside an additional ₤2 million on top of the
₤7 million we already spend, introducing a Liverpool Lottery to support
organisations which help the most vulnerable in the City, and our own
not for profit energy firm; the LECCY, to help those in fuel poverty. But these
innovations will only go a relatively short way to offsetting the impact of
austerity; we are fighting against a strong incoming tide."
The Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend Paul Bayes, said:- "A measure
of a true and just society is our attitude to the poorest and the most
vulnerable in our society. This report provides a statistical analysis of that
measure and it makes hard reading. It does not surprise me that the brunt of
cutbacks and difficulties are shouldered by those in poverty, the long term sick
and the disabled, nor that people face double and triple whammies as the
different cuts strike them over and over. It does not surprise me; but it angers
me. It angers me that we allow this to happen repeatedly to our sisters and
brothers, to our children, to our neighbours. It angers me that our hard working
local politicians are forced to make heart breaking, difficult decisions over
where best to spend their very limited resources. It angers me that central UK
Government seems not to recognise both the injustice and impracticality of their
funding regime. I don't want to see a society where our children starve, where
our fellow citizens are punished for being disabled, sick and in need. In
today's world, in today's Britain we should be investing in support for people.
We should not punish, attack and demonise the very people who need our help
most. I am most grateful for the work of the officers of our City Council in
producing this excellent report. A single resource cut on its own is bad enough.
But when we look at the whole picture it becomes catastrophic. We need to
change. We are and could be a better society than this."
Councillor Jane Corbett, Cabinet member for fairness, social inclusion and
equalities, said:- "Contrary to the UK Government's narrative, many of
these are hitting families where there is someone in work. All it is doing is
dragging more children into poverty and affecting their life chances. At the
same time, they are shifting the responsibility to sorting it out from central
UK Government to Councils, housing associations and other partners while we are
facing massive cuts to our budgets. Populist rhetoric around savings to the
benefits bill must be set against the reality which is a huge cost to the public
purse of paying Discretionary Housing Payments and the social consequences of
housing families in temporary accommodation when they are evicted because they
can't afford their rent."
Further work will be carried out on the impact of welfare reform changes on
disabled people, families with children, the level of debt and which areas of
the City have been hardest hit. These will be incorporated into a final report
published later this year which will help the Council to further develop its
approach to support those affected by welfare reforms.
Miss & Mr Liverpool Auditions
THE last of the Miss and Mr Liverpool
Auditions took place in Formby
Fitness, on 4 March 2017. From what we could see, this year's
contestants are going to be amazing. If you do not know, the current Mr England
comes from Liverpool, so we are hoping to keep the title in Liverpool's hands,
especially as Chris, the current Mr England became Mr Europe, in the Mr Word
contest, that was held in Southport last year. If you could not attend, doesn't
panic as applications have been extended, as it was discovered that some of
those wanting to go, could not attend due to travel issues. So now you have one
last chance.
You have now only got until 16 March 2017, for email applications
to be entered, so don't delay. Emails should have your full contact information,
a photo of you with minimal make up and in casual smart clothing. You must also
add your age, and a statement as to why you want to be accepted. Successful
applicants will then be contacted.
Email
Miss Liverpool group with your application today! All rules and
more information can be found on Miss England's
website. |
