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Archive for June, 2008

‘One shirt at a time’*: Supply chains, BBC’s Panorama and Primark on the rack

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Primark
Creative Commons License photo credit: Gene Hunt
Over the years how many companies have been exposed for their immoral and illegal supply chain practices? Why do they continue to forget about investigative journalism, trade unions and human rights /campaigning organisations?

Supply chains are often key to the success of a business; and as they become longer, with more links in the chain, there is the danger of increased ‘informal’ working and practices, for example, from not paying the national minimum wage, to not providing fair and safe working conditions.

Last night’s BBC Panorama programme, ‘Primark: On the Rack’, was an interesting expose of the informal goings-on in the company’s supply chain in Southern India.  It built on the BBC3 recent series ‘Blood, Sweat and T-shirts’.

Companies should engage with all their suppliers to develop much better working practices (a policy is not good enough if it isn’t being followed day to day). This was one of the recommendations made in the programme, one which we have also been pushing for (see our reports: ‘Need not Greed’ and ‘Journeys to Formalisation’). This view was shared by the Ethical Trading Initiative who featured in the programme.  

Supply chains are going to be particularly important for east London over the next 10-15 years with such huge areas being regenerated. There are currently 23 regeneration initiatives in Newham!

The companies involved in the construction of the coming 2012 Olympics, as we covered in our ‘Fool’s Gold’ report, must adopt best practices, as well as meet the legal requirements, in procurement and (sub-) contracts. They have to recognise the potential for informal practices and ensure they don’t happen. This needs to be backed up with a well organised system of inspection, monitoring and enforcement so that thousands of workers are not exploited.

*The title was inspired by a working paper from Social Compact based in Washington DC.

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Posted in Informal Economy | No Comments »

Ronan Point: 40 years after the collapse

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

Ronan Point Tower Block CollapseOn May 16th 1968 Ivy Hodge went into the kitchen of her flat on the 17th floor of the Ronan Point tower block and struck a match to light the stove for her early morning cup of tea. The naked flame sparked a gas explosion, collapsing one whole corner of the building like a pack of cards.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Ronan Point collapse last month, Frances Clarke of Community Links wrote an article for New Start Magazine about the community based campaign, developed  by the tenants rehoused in Ronan Point which finally led to the  demolition of the unsafe structures. The campaign had a lasting impact - a National Tower Blocks Network was established empowing tenants across the country to question their own safety which led to long lasting changes in tenant engagement and consultation.

We are grateful to NewStart Magazine  for permission to reproduce the article here.

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Posted in Communication, Community Engagement, Housing, Regeneration | No Comments »

Housing Benefit in 2008

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Doorbell picture“There are 66 words in the Lord’s Prayer; 42 laws of cricket; but housing benefit regulations runs to 967 pages, five parts, six schedules and 40 statutory instruments.”

(I Jones, 2005)

Housing benefit is the most complex benefit. There have been numerous amendments, resulting in the current system becoming extremely complicated. This makes its administration cumbersome, and it is therefore often poorly done.

Housing benefit in 2008 creates a huge amount of confusion amongst claimants, staff (across government departments and agencies) and landlords alike.

LinksUK is submitting an Evidence Paper to the Housing Benefit Review, which was announced in this year’s Budget  page 62, section 4.14. Our Evidence Paper details some of the issues, problems and concerns that Community Links  has with housing benefit; we illustrate the report with some examples and case studies taken from our Advice Team, staff and clients. The report offers a number of constructive solutions and recommendations.

Newham has the highest housing benefit claimant rate in London, so for our borough reform is urgently needed. Not more piecemeal reform, but progressive, joined up, big picture reform. This reform shouldn’t be done in isolation, but integrated into a wider context of national housing policy and benefit simplification. To this end we think that housing benefit reform should:

  • Support people sufficiently, for a decent period of time, enabling them to find the right property which suits their needs
  • Improve administrative costs / complexity, with a focus on improving customer service 
  • Improve work incentives 
  • Reduce official and customer error

Download a copy of the evidence paper ‘Housing Benefit Reform in 2008’ and let us know what you think.

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Posted in Benefits, Housing, Regeneration, Welfare | 1 Comment »

Olympics 2012 ‘Fool’s Gold’: follow-up

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

2012 Olympics Building siteWe co-hosted a follow-up meeting last week about our recent ‘Fool’s Gold’  report, (see earlier blog post) which we co-authored with new economics foundation.

The next day I went up to the roof of Holden Point in Stratford to get a panoramic view of the Olympics ‘building’ site, with among others London Borough of Newham’s Workplace.

The follow-up meeting was with partners interested in taking forward the recommendations of “Fools Gold”, including the Big Opportunity, Social Enterprise London , East Potential , and Manor Gardens Allotment Gardens Society. I left heartened because I realised that there are a lot of good people and organisations working hard to ensure that the 2012 Olympics truly benefits the local communities of east London.

There were a couple of other opportunities worth noting from the meeting. Firstly, the economic downturn and a looming recession actually present an opportunity for increased negotiation with the ODA , LOCOG, LDA, and Bovis Lend Lease and all their sub-contractors. They were going to make their money back by selling-off the land after the Games, but how will that happen now? Their staggering projection of 16% year-on-year increase in the land value until 2016 now looks unrealiseable. Maybe the ODA and their contractors should look at other means to re-coup their finances, such as new forms of three sector partnership community interest companies, which could enable assets to pass to local people and communities.

There is a second opportunity, gained from the slow realisation by the powers that be, that the key to a successful legacy will be achieved by involving local people and communities. Who wants to see the £242m Aquatic Centre covered in graffiti or the Olympic park as a no-go zone? Imagine if this was the reality, who would want to buy a property in such an area? If local people feel that they ‘own’ and are part of the legacy process then we might see some meaningful and inventive results.

DCMS recently launched the Olympic Legacy Action Plan. Consultants Beyond Green are co-ordinating the legacy master plan consultation until July next year. So get organised, get involved and keep persisting to ensure that:
Legacy = Community Benefit for east London. 

What do you think? Leave a comment.

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Posted in Community Engagement, Regeneration | No Comments »

Refugee Week – “Experience Darfur”

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Experience DarfurOn my way to a meeting in Whitehall on Tuesday morning I was astounded to see a refugee encampment in Trafalgar Square.

On closer inspection I discovered a powerful exhibition of a burned out small house and several simple tents of plastic sheeting strecthed over a metal frame each designed to accomodate up to a dozen displaced individuals.

The exhibition “Experience Darfur,” timed to mark Refugee Week was part of a campaign to highlight the plight of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.

It was a moving and intellegently mounted representation of the horrors faced by individuals forced to flee their home at a momets notice – a school blackboard with the chalked message “One day we had to run” was a simple but poignant reminder of  how normality can suddenly change.

We at LinksUK produced an Ideas Annual a couple of years ago featuring UK Community projects led by or working with Refugee and Asylum seeking communities - Small Places Close to Home - the range and impact was impressive. During the process of collecting ideas it was interesting to see how many projects were about retaining a link to language, music or culture important reminders of a home left behind.

The Trafalgar Square event left me with a much clearer understanding of the urgency of flight experienced by many refugees and the ongoing disconnection that must surely persist. ”Experience Darfur” was an impressive piece of campaigning / education that brought a small taste of the desperation of life as a refugee to the centre of the capital – a salient reminder as I continued on to my meeting.

See more pictures, and contact www.aiddarfur.org.uk for more information. 

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Posted in Communication, Inspiration | 1 Comment »

Welcome to the linksUK blog

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

linksUK LogoWelcome to everyone visiting the linksUK blog for the first time after recieving our e-newsletter.

Community Links  pioneers new ideas and new ways of working locally, we go on to share the learning nationally; generating practical social action in other communities and influencing national policy. This blog will communicate the work of  linksUK - the national team of Community Links. We share the learning from our local work through policy development, publications, public speaking, training, events and consultancy … from the ground up.

This blog will be a place to highlight new work, interesting partnerships and connected projects. We also hope to begin a conversation with colleagues, community practitioners and policymakers…. we’d love to hear from you.

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Posted in Communication | No Comments »

Volunteering whilst on benefits

Friday, June 6th, 2008

Accenture Volunteers @ Community linksAt Community Links we’ve always worked closely with volunteers since we started over 30 years ago.

 This is still very much the case today. Volunteers are vital, without them we would not be able to continue our work.

This picture shows a group of volunteers from the Accenture resources team at who Worked on a garden project alongside the young people at our New Canteen youth centre.

We provide volunteers with the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the community while gaining practical experience, skills and insights for themselves, which is why hundreds of volunteers get involved in all areas of our work including Children and Youth, LinksUK, and our social enterprises, including Auction My Stuff. In the last financial year alone (2206/07) 1,108 volunteers contributed 18,709 hours of their time to join us in championing social change.  If you want to get involved there are many opportunities to volunteer with Community Links. 

However, there is a problem for those people on benefits. Some face difficulties when volunteering. The main reason is that everyone (Jobcentre staff, benefit claimants and voluntary organisations) is unclear and confused about the exact nature of what the rules and regulations are in relation to volunteering whilst in receipt of benefits. Department for Work and Pensions regulations clearly state that if you are in receipt of benefits (Incapacity Benefit, Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support and others) you can undertake as much voluntary work, for as long as you like, and be paid reasonable expenses. We have written a short evidence paper which aims to clarify the regulations, and address how existing policy on benefit claimants who volunteer can be better implemented at an operational level. It builds on earlier research on volunteering by Community Links’ Social Enterprise Zone, and more recently by the Council on Social Action, as well as recent work by the Commission on the Future of Volunteering and The Morgan Inquiry.

Please download our new report ‘Volunteering Whilst on Benefits’.
It would be great to hear from you with your stories of volunteering whilst on benefits – please add a comment.

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Posted in Benefits, Welfare | No Comments »