SPARK Newsletter Summer 2012

8/2/2019 SPARK Newsletter Summer 2012

1/16

autumn 2011

wasa

ction

week!

seec

entre

pages

summer 2012

were 30 years old in 2012help us to celebrate

kindle a fame in yourchurch or community


2/16

room or hireChurch Action on Povertys Micah Room is a versatileand aordable space in central Manchester, minutesrom the station, suitable or all kinds o meetings andevents.

Maximum capacity 60, depending on layout

Central location with good transport links

Full acilities: ree wi-, data projector, laptop,fipcharts

Fairtrade coee and tea included

Lunches available and serviced

Competitive prices, with special ratesor voluntary groups

For more inormation or to make a booking, visitwww.church-poverty.org.uk/micahroomor contact Janet Gee on 0161 236 9321 extension 1.

kindle a

on our 30th birthday, help us

raise unds to tackle poverty!Hold a church service and appealRaise unds in your community withcreative sponsorship and event ideas

Help us build partnerships to tacklepoverty and transorm communities

Use the enclosed fyer to order resources,see page 5 or www.church-poverty/kindleafame

30 years o Church Action on Poverty


3/16

Whilst all the headlines aboutthe Coalitions third Budget haveattacked the Chancellors newGranny Tax on middle classpensioners, it is the pooresthouseholds who lose most.

The Chancellor is rightly beingtaken to task or handing outtax cuts to the wealthiest1% o taxpayers at a time oincreasing austerity, escalatingunemployment and a doublingo the numbers turning to oodbanks.

It is imperative that we areclear about the values we seekto embody in what we say anddo as Christians: reedom romoppression, equality, hope or a

better and a airer world; beliein our common humanity; beliein peoples inherent powerto generate solutions to theproblems they ace; belie inspeaking truth to power andbelie in going the extra mile,long-term commitment tocommunities, seeing it through

and seeing change happen. Butin times such as these, we mustalso not lose hope, or retreatrom aspiring to bring about abetter world.

Even as we celebrate ChurchAction on Povertys 30thanniversary, we must continue tolook to the uture, and redoubleour eorts to bring about a more

just society; a airer nancialsystem, with reduced taxavoidance and evasion; aireremployment, with public bodiesand churches implementingthe Living Wage and betteraccess to the Minimum Wage;more access to aordablecredit and a reduction in thepoverty premium, and a airerdistribution o power in society.

We hope you will wish to join us,not just in celebrating what wehave achieved, but in buildingpartnerships or hope andtransormation: or it is better toKindle a Flame than to curse thedarkness

hope & transormation

Our National Coordinator Niall Cooperinvites you to Kindle a Flame to lightenthe dark.

Church Actionon PovertyDale House35 Dale StreetManchesterM1 2HFT: 0161 236 9321F: 0161 237 5359E: [email protected]: www.church-poverty.org.uRegistered Charity no 1079986Company no 3780243

giveKindle a Flame or our 30

birthdaySee page 5Remember us in your willSee page 9

actGet news updates byFacebook,Twitter oremaiwww.church-poverty.org.uk/newsJoin oure-action networkwww.church-poverty.

org.uk/act

prayJoin the Close the Gapprayer communitywww.church-poverty.org.uk/pray

in this issue4 news and events5 Give: Kindle a Flame

Help celebrate our 30thbirthday

6 Act: speak out!

Join our speakersnetwork

7 Give: leaving a git in

your will

8 this was action week

2012

10 in progress: People-Powered Change

12 all together better

Two MPs explain thebenets o cooperation

14 celebration: Im

Spartacus

15 Pray: looking or Gods

reection

Prayers rom our Close theGap prayer community


4/16

spark news from Church Action on Poverty summer 2012

Church o Scotlandcalls or new economicthinkingA new report commissionedby the Church o Scotland hasadvocated a rethink o oureconomic system, challengingsimple obedience to marketorces. Proessor Charles MunnOBE, chair o the commission,noted that some in our society

are making huge nancial gains,while or too many this winterthe stark choice is whether toheat or to eat, as they cannotaord to do both every day.

The report calls or actionto end poverty and inequality,moving towards mutualityand sustainability. It willbe presented to the generalassembly o the Church oScotland in May. Find out moreat http://s.coop/gnns.

The poorest suer mostin the BudgetThe March Budget is set toincrease the pressure on thenances o many up and downthe country. Our CoordinatorNiall Cooper condemned theCoalitions ailure to honourits pledge in the CoalitionAgreement to protect the poorand most vulnerable rom the

impact o spending cuts: At atime o increasing austerity,escalating unemployment anddoubling o the numbers turnito ood banks, there can be ewmore morally repugnant thinga Chancellor can do than to hathousands o pounds out tomillionaires.

Within the Budget there wemoves to tackle tax avoidancewhich are to be welcomed, butthere is still plenty to do. Paul

Morrison, Public Issues PolicyAdviser or the Methodist Churin Britain, says: It is simplyunjust that those with wealthand privilege oten have theoption o selshly sidesteppingtheir obligations, while otherscontinue to contribute regardleo the nancial pressures theyace. Hopeully the Coalition wpay more than simple lip-servito the issues o tax avoidance.Revd Jonathan Edwards, Gener

Secretary o the Baptist Uniono Great Britain, suggested theChancellors statement that hewants to come down on taxavoidance like a ton o bricks, isomething that many Christiawill welcome ... as an importanway o tackling injustice.

Read Niall Coopersanalysis o the Budget atwww.church-poverty.org.uk/news/budgetanalysis

VAT loophole stays shut!In the winter edition oSPARK,we brought you news o thesuccessul closing o a taxloophole which allowed retailersto avoid paying VAT by sendinggoods rom subsidiaries in theChannel Islands. A judge hassince dismissed an appeal romlawyers representing Jersey andGuernsey. This should set a clear

precedent to any companiesspying new tax dodges.

Church in Wales dioceseadopts Living WageSt Asaphs has become the rstdiocese o the Church in Wales topay a Living Wage to all directly-employed sta meaning theywill be paid at least 7.20 anhour.

The Bishop o St Asaph, RtRevd Dr Gregory K Cameron,said: As Christians we shouldbe committed to respecting thedignity o every human being.This includes taking a stand onensuring that employers takecare to support the wellbeingo those who work or them.In these times o increasedood, uel and heating costs theChurch needs to lead the wayin ensuring employees are paida wage which allows them toprovide or their amilies.

Crc ladrsandd in or

lttr to tTrasr calling

or t VAT

loopol to bclosd

news


5/16

give

calling all children and young people!enter our competition to design a Christmas card!designCan you design a Christmas card that brings a message o hope and justice? Try your

hand at designing a cartoon, taking a photograph, using computer graphics or creating2D collage, drawing or painting. Maximum size A3.

Use any materials you like but please remember your creation will need to be scanned, it will need to lay fat. Do not design the inside or back o the card.

ask permissionPlease ask your parent or carers permission beore designing your card and entering thcompetition or sending us your details. You may need to ask them to help package andsend your entry to us so that it will not get damaged.

send in your entryRemember to include your name, your parent or carers name, and your age, address,phone number and email address.

By post We are sorry but we are unable to return entries to you. Use the Freepostaddress provided so you do not need to pay postage. Send your entry and details to:Freepost RSHB-TUGR-RAGU, Church Action on Poverty, Dale House, 35 Dale Street.Manchester M1 2HF.By email I you have access to a scanner or have created your design on a computeryou may preer to email your entry. Make sure it is scanned or saved in the highestquality you can, and send to [email protected]

Please make sure we receive all entries by 30 June 2012.

prizesI you win, you will see your design worked up into Church Action on Povertys Christmcard or 2012, and receive 30 cards to send to your amily and riends. Runners-up willreceive a Church Action on Poverty 30th birthday T-shirt.

online galleryBy sending in your entry you are giving us permission to use the design as a printed carin publicity materials or displayed on our online gallery. I you want to see your entry aothers on our online gallery, go to www.church-poverty.org.uk/kindleafame

announcing the winnerThe winner will be announced in our autumn newsletter and receive an invitation to o30th birthday celebration service in November to be presented with their prize.

ordering Christmas cardsChristmas cards will be available to order rom September 2012 at www.church-povertyorg.uk/kindleafame

kindle a lameWe are 30 years old this year. Our Community FundraiserClare McBeath invites you to help us celebrate by raising

unds to support our work and by working in partnershipwith us or the long term.

This autumn,youcan create hope andtransormation byraising unds orus and building

partnerships or the uture.

In your churchCelebrate our work alongside theUKs poorest people, and enableyour congregation to supportus through giving, action andprayer.

Our ree resource pack willhelp you to plan a celebrationservice with speciallycommissioned prayers andsongs, ollowed by coee and acake stall. Or explore the biblical

imperative to tackle poverty,with our Bible study series.

In your communityWe also have a ree resourcepack ull o creative ideas tohelp individuals, youth groupsand communities to take part.Organise your own sponsoredevent. Hold a movie eveningor swishing party. Pack bagsin your local supermarket. Getchildren involved with ace-

painting or decorating biscuits.Use the enclosed yer to requesta resource pack. Or see www.church-poverty.org.uk/kindleaame or call 0161 236 9321.


6/16


speak out!We are building a speakers network to promote our campaign to Close the Gap and we need you! Supporter Relations ManagerLiam Purcell explains how

you can make a dierence in your church.

Our campaigntoClose the Gapdepends on peopleand churchesthroughout the

UK Giving, Acting and Praying

together. For that to happen,we need all o our supporters tospread the word in your churchesand communities. And wereproviding resources and trainingto help you do just that!

The rst step is to dosomething within your ownchurch. You could give a talk, putan article in the newsletter, runa workshop, or get poverty andinequality eatured in Sundayworship. Our resource pack

includes easy-to-use materials tohelp you do any o these things including plenty o backgroundinormation to give you a goodunderstanding o the issues.

I youre really keen, thesecond step would be to Pledgeto speak about the campaign onour behal. Youd become part oour speakers network, and i wereceive invitations to speak atchurches in your area, well askyou to represent us.

Weve already trained dozenso potential speakers anddistributed hundreds o resourcepacks. The quotes on this pagegive a favour o the thingspeople have achieved in theirchurches. Please join us!

Or r rsorcs will lp o to spark discssion and action in or crc!

Ourservicewentwell,afullchurchofnearly

90

peopleandpositivecommentfrommanypeopl

IwroteanarticlepublishedintheMethodist

CircuitmagazineontheClosetheGap campaign

Verypleasedtoreportthatwego

t90responses

IgottheChurchActiononPovertyresource

letterintoourparishnewsletter

wnload a resource pack and makeur Pledge at www.church-poverty..uk/act/resources

u can also request a printed pack,ask about speaker training, byling Liam on 0161 236 9321.


7/16

give

For 30 years, Church Action onPoverty has worked to create hopeand transormation with churches

and poor communities across theUK. In partnership with people likeyou, we have...

challenged the unjust treatment opeople seeking sanctuary;tackled irresponsible lending practices;given thousands o poor and marginalisedpeople the condence and opportunityto infuence decisions which aect theircommunities.

We have infuenced government policies on theMinimum Wage and nancial inclusion, and madesure the voices o people in poverty are heard at

Westminster. Our work has alleviated or eradicatedpoverty or hundreds o thousands across the UK.

I we have managed to achieve this over the last 30years, imagine what we could do over the next 10 or even 50years in partnership with you, local churches and communities.As the gap between rich and poor continues to grow, our workremains vital. We need to carry on speaking out or justice oruture generations.

One o the ways you can help is by making a thoughtul gitin your will. An act o kindness today which will make a realdierence to those who ace exclusion and poverty in the uture.

making or updating a willMaking a will and leaving a git is easy. It ensures that your wishesare carried out, and that amily and loved ones are provided or. It alsohelps to avoid misunderstandings later on.

A solicitor or legal adviser can help you with this. I you alreadyhave a will and want to add a git, your solicitor can write up a codicil(a straightorward legal addition).

Legacies to charities are tax-ree under current legislation. Themost common types o gits are:

Residuary A git let when all other legacies and expenses havebeen paid.Pecuniary A git o a specic sum o money (eg 500, 5,000).Specifc A git o a specic item (eg jewellery, painting) or property.

leaving a gitin your will

Supporter Relations Manager Liam Purcell explains how you can help markour 30th birthday with perhaps the most thoughtul kind o git.

ByincludingChurchActionon

Povertyinmywill,Ican

continuesupporting

itsoutstandingwork

beyondmyown

lifetimeandalso

moregenerouslythanis

HelenHoodisamemberandtrusteeofChurchActiononPoverty

possibleatpresent

whattodonext

Iyouareinterestedinleavi

ngusag

inyourwill,pleasecontactm

eon01

2369321orliamp@church-p

overty.o

ukandaskoralegacieslea

fet.


8/16

this was action week 2012

The theme for Poverty & Homelessness Action Week this year (28 January

to 5 February 2012) was Breaking Barriers. We mobilised churches and

campaigners around the country to raise funds for the vital work done by

the Action Week partners and to raise awareness of the barriers which

trap people in poverty and homelessness.

Barriers are created by unfair benefits rules and inadequate wages. By the stigma attached t

being poor or homeless. And by the growing gap between the richest and poorest people in

our society. As Christians, we are called to break these barriers. Throughout the nation, Actio

Week supporters showed their readiness to do so taking heed of James 2:20 that faith,

without works, is barren...

This Action Week, we know that well over 200 events took place across the country and

its likely that many more events slipped under our radar. There were events from Jersey tothe Scottish Highlands, with supporters showing great imagination: activities included specia

services, sleep-outs, flashmobs, coffee mornings, poetry events, information days and ladies

nights. You can read about a few of of the most successful events opposite.

Events raised anything from 20 to 200, welcoming from 10 people to several hundred, yet

whatever the size, each tackled the injustices at the heart of life in Britain today, challenging

stereotypes, raising money for vital campaigning work and standing in solidarity.

Whatever the event, wherever it was held, and whoever attended, the Action Week

partners Church Action on Poverty, Housing Justice and Scottish Churches Housing

Action would like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters for your hard

work, commitment and thirst for a better world. Without you the Action Week message

would be mere rhetoric. We wish you all the best for the rest of the year, and hope thayou continue to work with us and others as we strive to break barriers.

As always, we provided a range of FREE resources to help people take part in Action Week

This year, the materials contained worship ideas, childrens activities, event suggestions,

prayer cards, videos about the barriers, and promotional materials. The return to simple pray

cards proved to be very popular. We combined them with a series of videos on the Action

Week website or DVD, each aiding peoples understanding of a specific barrier.

In feedback, Sister Sheila from the Community of All Hallows remarked on this yearssplendid resources, which enabled her and the small weekly congregation to pray both

publicly and privately in an informed way. Sister Mary Clare from Peterborough was very

impressed with the mini videos which featured the former head of Christian Aid Michael Tay

(pictured) and disabilities campaigner Sue Marsh, along with other inspirational figures.

more events than ever before!

resourcing your work

www.ctionweek.

org.uk


9/16So many events took place that its impossible to mention them all here. Theyre listed on the Events page at www.actionweek.org.u

it doesnt take a lot

The Doorway project held a sponsored

sleep-out and church service in St

Andrews Church, Chippenham where

guests, volunteers, Doorway staff,

sponsored sleepers, local dignitaries,ordinary people, the currently homeless,

the previously homeless, those who had

narrowly avoided being homeless, and

those for whom that shadow has not

(yet) crossed their lives, mingled without

barriers. Specially written poems were

read out, including this one by Mark

Urmston:

Redundancy and lack of jobs

Economy gone to pot

The welfare state on life supportIt doesnt take a lot.

cuts from rhetoric to reality

Merseyside and Region Church Action on Poverty,

together with Liverpool Justice and Peace and Nugent

Care, staged this conference in Liverpool. The mainfocus was a panel discussion featuring Church Action on

Povetrys Niall Cooper, Housing Justices Alison Gelder

and the Liverpool MPs Luciana Berger and Louise

Ellman, all chaired by Roger Phillips from BBC Radio

Merseyside and the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Frank

Prendergast. The event drew a full house and provoked a

great amount of thought on what ordinary people can do

in the current climate to ensure a just world. Alison Gelde

remarked, It was great to see so many people turning ou

to hold their Liverpool MPs to account about poverty and

homelessness.

breaking barriers

and asylum

The Boaz Trust, a

Christian organisation

in Greater Manchester

serving destitute asylum-

seekers, tailored the

Action Week resources

to their own needs. They

prepared a special prayer

booklet for churches,

focusing on the barriers

that lead to destitution for

people seeking sanctuary

in the UK.

what are the things that need to change?

In Glasgow, 50 people joined together in the newly-built

Church of Scotland Community Church in Gorbals, and

were challenged to think about the questions What are

the things that need to change if everyone is to know that

they matter? and What are the promises we need to

remember as we look for justice to reign? John Harvey

writes that everyone left encouraged and determined.

a mustard seed?

Staff and pupils at Holy

Cross College Bury were

once again great supporters

of Action Week. The school

collected over 10 boxes and

numerous carrier bags of

toiletries to aid the Mustard

Tree charitys work with the

homeless in Manchester,

and they also sent over 100

to Church Action on Poverty.


10/16


in progressChurch Action on Poverty sta report on the work being done by our grassroots projects deprived communities.

cool of paticipatio:taiig t tai!Since 2005, our CommunityPride Unit (CPU) has beenrunning successul and inspiring

Schools o Participation inGreater Manchester.Weve worked with

disadvantaged and marginalisedcommunities includingreugees and people seeking asylum, Dea and Deablind people,homeless men, Asian women, and residents o deprived localcommunities. Schools o Participation enable individuals, localgroups and organisations to play an active role, have a greater say,mobilise themselves and take action to improve their lives and theircommunities.

We now want to share this approach more widely nationwide helping more excluded communities, and hopeully bringing in

some income to support our own work. Were oering a trainingpackage or community activists and leaders, which will equipthem to run their own Schools o Participation in theircommunities. Our training programmeincludes:

Introduction to Schools oParticipation workshop (one day)Schools o Participation workshop(two days o in-depth training plusongoing mentoring and support)

To fnd out more about Schoolso Participation and the trainingprogramme, see www.communitypride.

org.uk or call 0161 236 9321 Ex 3 and askor urther inormation.

Joyce KayisCommnit PridLink Workr

patway to icluioThrive, the community organising andlivelihoods project we support on Teesside, isgetting busier and busier. Now an independencharity, Thrive has attracted its rst ewmembers, giving it additional legitimacy whecampaigning or change.

Thrive has been working on a range o issuidentied by local people.

It continues to enable people on lowincomes to meet directly with high-cost lendicompanies and work or better regulation othe industry (part o the Rip-o TV campaignwhich many o our supporters in churches havbeen part o).

Its volunteers have been working closelywith over 20 local households on Pathways toFinancial Inclusion - advising them on wayso saving money, managing their nances andgetting aordable credit.

Finally, Thrive is nowconsidering some work on

inequality, connected to ourwider campaign to Close theGap between rich and poor.As a rst step, they will bepressing local authoritiesand businesses to pay theLiving Wage and instigate amaximum pay ratio.

Greg BrownisProjct DvlopmntOfcr at Triv


11/16

in progress

Daniel Nkrumahis MancstrCangMakrsCommnit Organisr

icluig txluOver the past

year, ManchesterChangeMakers has usedparticipatory budgetingprogrammes in OldTraord, Moss Side andCollyhurst to identiy key concerns in those communities. One othese concerns was the alarming numbers o Black young peoplebeing excluded rom school. The consequences o any child beingexcluded rom school can be devastating or the individual, theiramily and the wider community. Black young people o Arican-Caribbean heritage are our times more likely to be permanentlyexcluded rom school than White British pupils. This situationmight seem shocking to some people, but this is old news to those

who eel it and have known it or years.In February we held a community event to hear rom local

people, and ound that most were very unhappy about the leveland quality o education provision or Black youth. Schools areorced to decide at a very early stage which students are likely topass their public exams, and these are the ones in which time andmoney is invested. The rest predominantly Black and working-class young people are let to struggle along in overcrowdedclassrooms and schools with the least resources. Racism meansthey are more likely to be characterised as lazy, stupid, aggressiveand disruptive. Consequently, they are more likely to bemarginalised and excluded.

Were now planning direct action at all levels to tackle thisissue. We are working with parents to help them take a moreactive role in the schooling o their children, and to enable themto challenge the current climate o use o exclusions. We want toensure that Arican-Caribbean young people achieve their ullpotential. To ensure that our work in Manchester can improvethe situations in other cities too, we will eed inormation intothe Childrens Commissionersinquiry in London (which islooking at whether the currentsystem o school exclusionsis consistent with the UnitedNations Convention on theRights o The Child).

Niall Cooperis Crc Action onPovrts NationalCoordinator

Nvr dobt tat a small grop o togtl,committd citizns can cang t world. Inddit is t onl ting tat vr as.Margaret Mead

At Church Action on Poverty we believe inpeoples inherent power to generate solutions tthe problems they ace; to have their own voiceownership and power, and a right to learning.

On our 30th birthday we are proud to launchour brand-new People-Powered Change trainingprogramme. It draws on our work over morethan a decade supporting local people to reclaimpower over decisions which aect their lives.

ChangeMakers and our Community Prideand Participatory Budgeting Units draw onexpertise rom across the globe, including thework o Brazilian popular educationalist PauloFreire; US Community Organiser Saul Alinksy;and the roots o the Participatory Budgetingmovement in Latin America. We havesuccessully applied these models to tacklingpoverty and empowering local people in low-income communities across the UK.

We have now pulled all o this learningtogether into a programme o training events.With this newsletter, you will nd a leafetgiving more inormation on the training onoer between now and the end o July andyou can also read more on our website at wwwchurch-poverty.org.uk/peoplepoweredchange.

Most training will take place in our ullyaccessible Micah Room training acility, just vminutes walk rom Manchester Piccadilly trainmetro and bus stations. We can also developany o our workshops into a bespoke trainingsolution or your organisation. Call 0161 236 932ext 1 well bring our training to you!

Join us now in unlocking People-PoweredChange!


12/16


All parties oppose poverty. This isuseul to emphasise because it meansthat we can ocus on means and not

ends, and on how we reduce andeventually eliminate poverty, ratherthan engaging in circular debates about whetherwe need to ocus on the issue at all.

Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats allhave notable legacies when it comes to reducingpoverty. The Conservative Party in the 19th Centurypassed a number o Factory Acts that helped toimprove the conditions o the working poor, andthe Liberal Party (one o the predecessors o theLiberal Democrats) began the 20th Century with aseries o bold welare reorms such as creating thelabour exchange and unemployment insurance.

The Labour Party, born rom the trade union andco-operative movements, built on this to create themodern welare state in the wake o the SecondWorld War (on the back o a report o a Liberal,William Beveridge), and on taking government in1997 pushed orward with a range o policies whichhelped to reduce poverty, including a nationalminimum wage.

No political party owns the issue o poverty,and all parties have an interest in working togetherto create long-term consensus around policies.Making real reductions in poverty takes time,usually beyond the lietime o one government.

This means parties need to work together to ensurecontinuity o approach and ollow-up on theprogress that has been made.

The decision by Iain Duncan Smith to continuewith the previous governments child povertytarget and to maintain the Child Poverty Unit is

an important step in ensuring that the eorts andprogress made in the years up to the last GeneralElection are not lost.

In a democracy, where changes o governmenare requent, it is easy or good ideas and innovatiproposals to all between the cracks. The sameis also true within the British Cabinet system.Constant movement makes cross-party dialoguemore dicult, with new ministers or spokespeopeeling that they have to make an impact or denthemselves by reinventing or simply opposingthe policies o previous incumbents. Morecontinuity would thereore not only help policyimplementation but would also help in the creatio consensus.

All political parties should make a concerted

eort to work together on tackling poverty, and thAll-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Povertyan eort to create the dialogue and space requireor policy-makers to come together and worktogether without the need or tribalism.

For example, all parties agree that in general, those who can work, work should always be a moattractive option than not working. And each partcan bring dierent elements to the poverty debatwhich they have specically championed over thepast ew months.

For example, under the leadership o EdMiliband, the Labour Party has taken up the cause

o the Living Wage. This would see workers paid awage which enables them to have a good standaro living - outside o London this is presentlyconsidered as 7.20 by the Living Wage Foundatio[Church Action on Poverty and the churches stillrecommend a rate o 7.60 an hour], and withinLondon, around 8.30. This would build uponthe work that was done to create the nationalminimum wage under the last government,and provide a real incentive or people to seekemployment and stay in employment.

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalitionis pursuing the issue o benet reorm. Under

all together better Kate Green (Labour MP or Streord and Urmston)

and Chris White(Conservative MP or Warwickand Leamington) are both part o the All-PartyParliamentary Group on Poverty. They explain whcross-party dialogue is essential i any governmenis to make progress on poverty.

Making real reductions in poverty takes time,usually beyond the lifetime of one government.

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13/16

eature

the proposals or Universal Credit which thegovernment has articulated, benets would bemade simpler and people would be able to keepmore o their benets when they start work. Bychanging the tapering to ensure that it alwayspays to work and who those that begin work arenot orced to temporarily reduce their standardo living, the Universal Credit aims to create a arstronger incentive or people to get into jobs.

So there is shared interest in how employmentcan be a secure route out o poverty, and theopportunity to ensure that the ideas o the dierentparties complement one another.

There is also signicant overlap betweenall parties around using the skills, knowledge,dedication and passion o the voluntary sector,charities and social enterprises in order to reach outto local communities and use those organisationswhich have been most eective in ghting poverty.

All Members o Parliament know o excellentprojects that have been particularly eective ataddressing poverty, and MPs can play a role indisseminating best practice and ensuring thatthe individuals and organisations running theseschemes get the attention and recognition theyneed in order to keep making a dierence.

There are clearly limits to what can be donebetween opposing political parties, and that iswhere individual Members o Parliament canhave an important infuence on the process. Bycoming together, they can build bridges betweenthe parties and ensure that policy consensus isdeveloped on issues as broad as poverty.

The truth is that so ar all parties have allenshort o their goals when it comes to reducingpoverty, and this shows that no party on its ownhas been able to nd the answers in isolation.

So we would like senior politicians o all partiesto eel able to talk to each other at all times onmatters as complex as poverty. The media canassist in this by not polluting the atmosphere withexcessive discussion o U-turns and coverage oconrontation.

Finally, i we are going to create a broaderconsensus on tackling poverty, politicians need toensure that they work not just between themselvesbut also with interest groups, charities andbusinesses. Given the important role that theseorganisations play in eeding into the politicalprocess, and the way in which their practices toowill impact directly on individuals experience opoverty, any eort to improve communicationsand develop solutions on poverty must also includethese important players.

Over the past ew years, all the major partieshave spoken about the need to create a new

politics in the wake o the expenses scandal andthe reduction in public condence we have seenin politicians over previous decades, and to create

a society which tackles the culture o excessiverewards and high levels o inequality. We agreethat now is a good time to begin building that newpolitics, and we believe there is no better place tostart than with the issue o poverty.

I w ar to bild a cross-part consnss on tackling povrt, w nto work to old all MPs accontabl or wat t do and promis.

Crc Action on Povrts MP Accontabilit Ntwork alradas ovr 100 mmbr grops, all committd to mting rglarl witir MPs. Bt w still nd to grow t Ntwork, and nsr it racMPs o all partis.

If you cuc o goup coul mt gulaly wit youMP about UK povty, w you to mak t Plgow! To gt ivolv, viit www.cuc-povty.og.uk/mpa o call Liam o 0161 236 9321.

In r capacitas Cair o tAPPG on PovrKat Grn joicrc ladrs

in lancing ocampaign toClos t Gap Janar 2011


14/16


During January and February, ChurchAction on Povertys campaignersplayed a small role in one o the mostexciting new movements o the lastcouple o years.

A tiny band o disabled activists, with nosupport rom any ocial source or organisation,mounted a campaign that seriously challenged the

government on one o their key policies.They producedResponsible Reform, a detailed

report which exposed how the governmentdistorted evidence in preparing their reormso Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and howharmul those cuts and reorms are going to be.

Cleverly using online social media to enablepeople to express their solidarity with the tagphrase Im Spartacus, they built a huge level oawareness o their ndings, just as the House oLords were to debate the governments reorms.Thanks to these campaigners and to principledbishops who also spoke out, the lords roundly

rejected the governments proposals.Despite urther campaigning, the government

invoked an obscure parliamentary rule to overturnthe lords changes, and their welare reorms arenow almost certain to go through with someconcessions. But the Spartacus campaigners havemade sure that many more people are now awareo the devastating impact these cuts will have onthe UKs most vulnerable people. And the ght willcontinue.

Sue Marsh, the disabled campaigner whowas one o the creators o the report, pointed outaterwards that the campaign had eectively wonthe argument and persuaded many people but tgovernment simply orced through their agendaregardless. She was also pleased that the campaighad achieved genuine changes and concessions,even though these were not enough to prevent th

DLA reorms rom being harmul. I have never seordinary people not politicians or think tanks ordinary people, eect actual democratic changin the way I saw last night. Never.

The Spartacus Report is a perect example o tprinciple we oten express in our work: Nothingabout us without us is or us. We are proud thatChurch Action on Poverty sta and supportersplayed a small role in producing the report andlobbying their MPs and the Lords. We encourageyou to support the ongoing campaign, and to stanin solidarity with the sick and disabled people whwill be aected by reorms in the coming months

and years.Watch our video interview with Sue Marshat www.church-poverty.org.uk/what-we-do/what-we-do/voicebox/benefts/stigmatisatioFollow the campaign on Sues blog,Diary o a Beneft Scrounger: http://diaryoabeneftscrounger.blogspot.com

Im SpartacusWe celebrate a campaign on welare reorm which won the argument butlost the vote.

SueMarshisadisabilityrightsbloggerandcampaigner

Peersgothundredsofletters

and emails.Thepressure

was trulyextraordinary.

youputonGovernment

Rad tSpartacs Rport at

www.kklsia.co.k/sponsiblrormDLA

Wold olik to b

part o trcampaign

actions?Pldg toClos t

Gap now atwww.crc-

povrt.org.k/act


15/16

pray

As we move rom winter into the brighter days ospring, looking at conditions in this nation today, itseems tting to end with a prayer specially writtenor us by Andy Delmege, a vicar and blogger romBirmingham:

In these dark days we can be struck by anumber o gaps.This year, there is one that is very much on myheart.This is the gap in lie expectancy.

In my context o outer estate urbanBirmingham, we have ound that the lieexpectancy in the poorest parts o my parishesis 10 years less than in the most afuent parts othe city. This, more than anything, or me, orms

the basis o Together with Elderly People inWeoley Castle and Bartley Green.

As a number o churches come together toexplore and plan or the Birmingham WinterNight Shelter I am reminded that lie expectancyor homeless people is around 30 years less thanor the general population.

And, i we look urther, that there is a gap oaround 30 years in lie expectancy betweenpeople in Western countries and those in thepoorest countries.

This gap is, literally, a matter o lie and death.

Lets pledge ourselves to close it.Amen

(You can read more refections rom Andy at http://pilgrimpace.wordpress.com.)

Only a ew months have passed sinceour last newsletter but, includingboth Advent and Lent, it has beenan important period or our prayercommunity with ample opportunity to

both refect and be inspired.

Christmas inevitably ormed a key part o theprayer communitys thoughts and hopes or theuture. Stephen Holmes, the director o the Theosthink-tank, wrote in the build-up to Christmasthat despite attempts to depoliticise the period,it remains a powerul testimony that God isinterested in, and concerned about politicalmatters, particularly as they concern those who,through poverty, or oppression, or plain bad luck,

are most vulnerable. In this spirit, Adrian Waitand Maureen Tinkler both used the Pray to Closethe Gap group on Facebook to share WH SmawsAdvent poem drawn rom Revelation 22:20:

In your lie do you see meIn the ragged men and womenWho search the cold streetLooking or my refection in your heart?

With time marching on into Lent, Liam Purcell wasmoved to link to an article rom Jon Kuhrt whowrote about how Lent oers people:

a time to re-order their lives in light o the trutho what God has done. A season to challenge

existing patterns o behaviour or thought, achance to establish a new rhythm to our dailylives. A time to resist what easily tempts us, atime to be renewed by what nourishes us.

With many across the UK acing extremechallenges, its a necessary and timely reminder.(See http://bit.ly/jonkuhrtlent to read Jon Kuhrtsull Lent refection.)

looking or Godsrefection

Our Jesuit volunteer David Adams shares some resources andideas or the community o our supporters who are Praying toClose the Gap.

I o woldlik to joinor Clos tGap prarcommnit,plas visitwww.crcpovrt.org.k/pra, or cDavid on 016236 9321.

Thisgap is,

literally,a matterof life andeath.Letspledgeourselveto close i


16/16


TOGETHERWE CAN

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Documents

SPARK Newsletter Summer 2012