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Media enquiries to Mubin Haq, Director of Policy & Grants, on 020 7606 6145 or to press@trustforlondon.org.uk
]]>Opinion polling by YouGov of 1,219 Londoners found a clear majority of families were more likely to vote for a candidate who pledged more affordable housing (63%), made employers pay the London Living Wage (61%), encouraged employers to offer flexible working hours (60%), delivered more affordable and flexible childcare (59%), or did more to promote information about the help available with living costs (54%). Londoners across the board were particularly supportive of policies on affordable housing (67% more likely to support a candidate pledging action in this area), and the living wage (62%).
The poll also revealed:
An event for parents to hear how Mayoral candidates plan to improve access to childcare, housing, advice services, and flexible jobs will take place on Tuesday 1st May 5pm-6.30pm. Professionals who work with families are also welcome. Register online.
Alison Garnham a spokesperson for the coalition said:
"With over 140,000 families undecided, and only 1 in 4 clear on which candidate offers the best deal, the family vote is set to be a key battleground in deciding who will be London's next Mayor.
"It is now vital that candidates listen to their concerns and commit to make London more family friendly by making work more flexible, childcare and housing more affordable and delivering better information for parents.
"Committing to these vital issues might not only be key to winning the upcoming election, but is also a first step towards tackling London's shockingly high levels of child poverty."
Notes
The Trust's statement on the Kristy Bamu case is here.
Find out more about the Trust's Safeguarding Children's Rights special initiative to prevent child abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft and spirit possession.
]]>The SLF will test a new model for supporting legal work in England & Wales by providing flexible and responsive funding. Grants are available to eligible providers of specialist level legal services to undertake a non-profit making piece of work which does not qualify for public funding. Initially, cases in areas of law relevant to refugee children, including asylum, immigration, human rights, community care, housing, education, discrimination and health, may be supported.
The SLF was created by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and is delivered in partnership with Trust for London and is managed by MigrationWork CIC.
Find out more about how to apply.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund is funding the SLF as part of its Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initiative. A total of £300,000 is available to distribute in grants during the pilot.
The pilot runs from October 2011 to July 2012, with the possibility of extension.
The SLF funding model is evaluated throughout to determine whether it is viable for a more sustained period and/or whether its focus and areas of interest could or should be widened. Learning that arises in the course of the pilot will be fed back into the project and is used to amend and adjust the model adopted.
Trust for London staff: Rachael Takens-Milne and Bharat Mehta
]]>The awards recognise the outstanding contribution that a new generation of campaigners are making towards achieving social, environmental and economic justice. The Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK), is the UK's only charity dedicated to connecting, informing and supporting campaigners.
Last years winner of the London Social Justice award was Vicky Simister, from The Anti-Street Harassment Campaign, who has campaigned to raise public awareness about the sexual harassment of women on London's streets.
Winners will be announced at a special ceremony on 18th September 2012. Presented by Jon Snow, Channel 4 presenter and Patron of SMK, the awards recognise inspirational campaigners who would benefit from getting some tailored support from the SMK Campaigner Awards programme.
With SMK we are looking for committed individuals who are campaigning for sustainable solutions to social, economic and/or environmental issues, and who, with the right advice and support, could achieve much more. Are you, or someone you know, speaking out and taking action on issues that matter? Apply or nominate now for a Campaigner Award, which equips people to become more effective campaigners.
To apply or to view the application criteria please click here, to nominate someone else please click here.
The deadline for applications is 1pm, Monday 18th June 2012.
]]>This report published by the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) is the first research of its kind into this sector. It examines the common principles for the management of charitable foundations and, through interviews and case studies, shows the ways different organisations have implemented them to get the best value for their charitable aims.
The research was sponsored by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, The Nuffield Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Trinity College Cambridge, and Trust for London. Published on 17 April 2012 and costing £25, the 60 page report is free to download to ACF members or available here as a download from the organisations' websites.
]]>This is a horrific case. The perpetrators have been brought to justice but more needs to be done to prevent child abuse linked to accusations of witchcraft and spirit possession.
Although incidents of this type of abuse appear to be rare, this case demonstrates that the impact can be devastating; the latest recorded statistics show that in the UK there have been victims from White British, Asian and African backgrounds.
Those working with children need to remember that no faith or culture promotes cruelty to children and not be afraid to intervene if someone is wrongly using belief as an excuse to harm children. We are concerned that some professionals may be uncertain about how to deal with abuse linked to witchcraft and spirit possession but, as in all abuse cases, they need to assess for evidence of the four known categories of child abuse: physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect.
This is why front-line workers need training to ensure that they are confident in identifying and responding effectively to this type of abuse. Child protection agencies must also reach out to all local faith organisations to offer training and advice - and to identify potential risks to children.
As with all abuse, a key part of the solution lies within communities: speaking up for children, creating safer environments and being vigilant about risks. Trust for London has invested significantly in backing campaigners for children's rights within African communities but more resources are needed to expand this work nationally and to all communities.
Read the evaluation of our Safeguarding Children's Rights initiative to tackle child abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft and spirit possession
Read more about our initiative to tackle child abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft and spirit possession
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Trust for London is an independent charity (with no government funding), which, since 2007, has invested over £750,000 in its Safeguarding Children's Rights initiative to tackle child abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft and spirit possession in London's African communities. The initiative was evaluated by the Centre for Social Work Research at the Tavistock Centre and University of East London.
Trust for London is the largest independent funder of projects tackling poverty and inequality in the capital. The Trust makes grants totalling over £7 million per year, supporting around 400 voluntary and community organisations in London at any one time. It was set up in 1891 and was formerly known as City Parochial Foundation. Charity registration number: 205629.
Media coverage of the Trust in relation to the Kristy Bamu case is here.
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This report, commissioned by the Trust for London and Northern Rock Foundation, examines the impact of public expenditure cuts on services to prevent violence against women and girls. It showed that:
• Thirty-one percent of the funding to the domestic violence and sexual abuse sector from local authorities was cut between 2010/11 to 2011/12, a reduction from £7.8 million to £5.4 million. (Data obtained using Freedom of Information Act requests by the False Economy project, and analysed by the research team.)
• The organisations with smaller budgets from the local authorities had larger percentage budget cuts than those in receipt of larger ones: among those with local authority funding of less than £20,000 the average cut was 70% as compared with 29% for those receiving over £100,000, between 2010/11 and 2011/12. (Data obtained using Freedom of Information Act requests by the False Economy project, and analysed by the research team.)
• 320 women, just under 9% of those seeking refuge, were turned away by Women's Aid on a typical day in 2011 due to lack of space. (Data from surveys conducted annually by Women's Aid of their affiliated organisations, analysed by the research team.)
• The number of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVA) has been reduced: in 2011 among 8 major IDVA service providers supporting 13,180 clients, 2 faced funding cuts of 100%, 3 cuts of 50%, 3 of 40% and 2 of 25%.(Data from a poll carried out by Coordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA).)
• IMKAAN, who run services for women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups, report the closing of two of their six specialist refuges and cuts to local authority funding for two more. (Data from IMKAAN.)
• RESPECT services working to reform male perpetrators of domestic violence suffered budget cuts so that between 2010 and 2011 78% of services reduced the number of clients they were able to assist. (Data from RESPECT London.)
• Statutory provision, including those police and court services that involve specialised expertise, has also been reduced following funding cuts. This includes cuts in the operating levels of Domestic Abuse Officers, a unit on female genital mutilation and domestic violence courts. (Data from Home Office and Ministry for Justice.)
The data was drawn from around 20 published and previously unpublished sources. To read more:
Download summary report
Download full report
Media Coverage:
The Guardian
The report publishes the results from an opinion poll survey of 1,603 Londoners, carried out by independent polling company GfK NOP for LAG and Trust for London, to find out Londoner's attitudes towards and experiences of legal advice services.
In addition to overwhelming support for the availability of free services the opinion poll found:
• Although the poorest Londoners are most likely to use advice services, all social classes make use of them to help deal with issues such as welfare benefits, tax credits, employment, housing, immigration and debt. 24% of Londoners had sought advice in the last year and 78% of this number received it.
• 81% of people who used advice services were satisfied with the service they received.
• 65% of people said their situation improved due to the advice they had received.
• Only 17% of those seeking advice had used a telephone helpline. This raises serious questions about the government's proposal to introduce a telephone gateway as the sole route for accessing legal aid services.
• Young people (aged between 16-24) were the most likely to say that they found it easy to access advice services. 62% found it fairly easy which was 18 percentage points higher than the next age group. Amongst young people, the same percentage (54%) used the internet as well as advice centres to access support.
The report also analyses the current state of the not for profit advice sector in the capital and the impact of public sector funding cuts to legal advice. It shows that 77,000 Londoners will lose out on help with civil legal problems and that £9.33 million will be cut from advice services, if the reductions in legal aid proposed by the government go ahead. However, the report shows that this is a false economy as the lack of advice will cost the government £55 million in other expenditure. For example, if a housing case is not resolved there might be the costs of temporary accommodation.
Speaking at the parliamentary launch of London Advice Watch at a special meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid, Lord Phillips, a Liberal Democrat peer, welcomed the report as reminding us of the crucial important of access to justice through free legal advice. He stated the cuts to legal aid are "ill-advised" and he believed the Lords would reject key elements of the plans if the Government does not give way. The bill aims to save £350 million a year by removing legal aid from significant areas of law.
Agreeing with much of Phillips' remarks, Labour's former legal aid minister Lord Bach urged concerned parties to keep up pressure on the Commons to accept any amendments made by the House of Lords. 'The issue is not party political; it's too serious for that - it's about the future of civil law and the future of social welfare law,' he said.
Andy Slaughter MP, shadow Justice Minister, spoke about the impact of cuts in his Hammersmith & Fulham constituency where three advice centres have recently closed, despite a huge need for advice in the borough.
Media coverage:
The Guardian (10 January 2012) - Launch of report
The Guardian (3 February 2012) - Impact of cuts on smaller advice groups
Law Gazette - Launch of report
Law Gazette - APPG report
Harrow Observer
Download the Full Report
Download the Full Opinion Poll Data
Click on 'full screen' in the window above to view the document in actual size, and use the arrows at the bottom of the display to turn the pages.
]]>Launched at a special meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid in January 2012, the report received the following media coverage:
The Guardian (10 January 2012) - Launch of report
The Guardian (3 February 2012) - Impact of cuts on smaller advice groups
Law Gazette - Launch of report
Law Gazette - APPG report
Harrow Observer
Media Coverage:
The Times (page 15)
The Guardian - Society
The Telegraph
The Guardian Online
Dave Hill's London Blog (The Guardian)
London Tonight (11 minutes in)
BBC London Television (14 minutes in)
BBC London Radio (1 hour in)
Sky News radio
The Huffington Post
Dave Hill's London Blog (The Guardian) 21 October 2011 - Launch of report
Dave Hill's London Blog (The Guardian) 15 February 2012 - London's unemployment
LBC
Sunrise radio
Inside Housing
24Dash
Charity Times
The launch event at the Museum of Docklands included a panel discussion discussing the findings of a new opinion poll by Ipsos-Mori for British Future's first report - Hopes and Fears: The British Future State of the Nation Report 2012 which featured in the Observer. Panelists included journalist Matthew d'Ancona, James Forsyth (Political Editor of The Spectator) and the Director of British Future Sunder Katwala.
Sunder said in his article in the Observer: "We are launching British Future to explore how we extend confidence in modern Britain to those who do not feel it, to help ensure no difficult issue is kept off limits, and to challenge people to work together - on issues of identity and integration, migration and opportunity - to create workable solutions and a future that people want to share".
The report shows that there is strong agreement that immigration has contributed positively to entrepreneurship, film, music, fashion and design and Britain's cuisine. However, it also reveals economic anxieties. Many respondents believe immigration has had a negative impact on the supply of homes, jobs, schools or hospitals. There is a rejection of segregation, with 51% of people believing the government should encourage parents to put their children in ethnically diverse schools. Black and Asian people feel this most strongly (60%).
About British Future
British Future has four main areas where it wants to open up more public debate - identity and integration, migration and opportunity. In considering these, its starting point is a belief in:
British Future's board of trustees includes a broad spectrum of individuals including journalist Ian Birrell, who worked for David Cameron during the 2010 general election as his speechwriter; Alasdair Murray, former Director of CentreForum, the liberal think tank; and the journalist Samira Ahmed. It is chaired by Wilf Weeks, who is a public affairs consultant and a trustee of Trust for London.
]]>The projects developed a variety of innovative approaches, engaging mainly with groups of young people in neighbourhoods and schools. The findings show that lots of young people in the project areas were at risk of engaging in racist violence or held racist views but that prevention work can have a real impact on their behaviour and attitudes. The report challenges the limited approach of 'zero tolerance' as a response to racism, as this fails to address the underlying causes. It advocates a more proactive response, one which draws out the problem by providing 'safe spaces' to discuss and challenge these, with more focus on prevention.
The summary report highlights the key findings, outcomes and challenges of this work, whilst the full report has more detailed information on how the approaches were developed.
Download the Summary here
Download the Full report here
Preventing Racist Violence was widely covered in the media including:
Broadcast
Sunrise Radio
BBC London Radio
Colourful Radio
National Press
PRV Times Article 3 Jan 2012.pdf
Trade Press
Afro News
Africa News
Local Press
The Mercury page 16
News Shopper
Click on 'full screen' at the bottom of the window above to see the booklet at actual size.
The report updates a wide range of indicators on housing, work, health and income poverty to assess what has changed since the first report in 2009. The report includes a new section on services including GPs, primary schools and transport.
All the data and analysis in the new report are also available on the London's Poverty Profile website. Read the key findings of our new research or start exploring all the updated indicators.
The report was launched at an event at the Bishopsgate Institute, chaired by Channel 4 Social Affairs editor, Jackie Long. The event included a debate between Nick Pearce, Director of IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research) and Neil O'Brien, Director of Policy Exchange on the recent disturbances which took place in London and other parts of the country.
Media Coverage:
The Times (page 15)
The Guardian - Society
The Telegraph
The Guardian Online
Dave Hill's London Blog (The Guardian)
London Tonight (11 minutes in)
BBC London Television (14 minutes in)
BBC London Radio (1 hour in)
Sky News radio
The Huffington Post
Dave Hill's London Blog (The Guardian) 21 October 2011 - Launch of report
Dave Hill's London Blog (The Guardian) 15 February 2012 - London's unemployment
LBC
Sunrise radio
Inside Housing
24Dash
Charity Times
Download London's Poverty Profile 2011.
London's Poverty Profile is commissioned by Trust for London and produced by New Policy Institute.
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