linksUK

Archive for December, 2008

2008 End of Year Round-up

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

As we reach the end of a very busy year the linksUK team would like to wish you a happy festive season… and all the best for 2009.
Our highlights of 2008 include:
Chain Reaction: The first Chain Reaction event was a huge success! over 1000 people, from 17 countries, at least 250 aged under 21, community organisations from [...]

‘Need not Greed’ campaign in the press

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

Last weekend The Observer published an article about our Need Not Greed campaign. One of their reporters, Jon Robins, came to the Community Links building in Canning town to meet local people and discuss their attitudes towards work, money and debt.
The article reports on people who are struggling to bring up families and are forced to workfor cash-in-hand in the informal economy [...]

Initial reaction to new DWP White Paper

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

The latest DWP White Paper Raising Expectations and Increasing Support: Reforming Welfare for the Future came out 30 minutes ago so I’m still trawling through all 201 pages. Really pleased to see that on page 92 our idea of piloting the Community Allowance is given the go ahead within the new Employment and Support Allowance [...]

Read all about it: benefits and welfare reform

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

 
 
There is a lot in the news this week about the benefits system,
here are a few links to a selection of press articles:
 ‘Welfare for All’  
www.compassonline.org.uk/campaigns/campaign.asp?n=3451#post
Social Security Advisory Committee’s response to the welfare reform green paper
www.ssac.org.uk/pdf/finalresponse.pdf
Britain’s Jobless: Who cares?
www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7736303.stm   
Case study of multiple complex problems faced by “workless” families from the BBC website
www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7746174.stm
Comment about the Welfare-to-Work targets
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/02/welfare-employment-targets
Comment [...]

Reflections on the Queen’s Speech

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

Today’s Queens Speech (watch bits of it above) on behalf of her government includes a Welfare Reform Bill: aimed at creating “incentives” for people returning to work and “consequences” for those who do not. It promises the use of more “sanctions” against people on benefits who don’t ‘play by the rules’. The direction of travel is plainly wrong, [...]

The Queens Speech: Welfare and benefit cheats

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

Today the Queen’s speech will consist of support for people and small businesses through the economic recession. The idea is that when times are tough for people, government plans to push for fairness. As for welfare reform this will consist of a greater crackdown on benefit cheats. Measures such as a ‘one strike and you are out’ system [...]

Obituary - The Environment Trust (1979 - 2008)

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

The Environment Trust has sadly been ‘credit crunched’ at the tender age of 29 years old.  An east London institution since 1979, this development trust and charity was responsible for the £25m redevelopment of Mile End Park in Tower Hamlets. It ran a number of successful community development projects. It worked closely with local east end schools [...]

Congratulations Kevin

Monday, December 1st, 2008

Community Links Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, Kevin Jenkins has been named as the overall winner of the national Beacon Fellowship Awards 2008. He also won the ‘Community Builder‘ award, for his contribution and work with children and young people of Newham over the last 30 years.
Kevin is just one of six recipients of the 2008 Beacon Prize [...]