Archive for July, 2009
LinksUK Consultancy and Training Service
Thursday, July 30th, 2009We can show you how. Because we do. Everyday.
In order to succeed in today’s climate, we need to be better at what we do, clear about why we are doing it, and able to demonstrate the difference we are making. linksUK training and consultancy service draws on the learning from our everyday experience to [...]
DWP select committee one off evidence session into Child Poverty
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Following the Budget 2009 announcements the DWP select committee held a one off evidence session in June to evaluate how effective Government initiatives are in (i) breaking cycles of intergenerational worklessness and (ii) assisting out of poverty families in these groups who cannot work and whether the Government is doing enough to support parents into [...]
Cash-in- hand questionnaire
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009As part of our continuing research into the informal economy we want to investigate the impact of the last 12 months of recession on informal economic activity or cash-in-hand trading.
This survey is being carried out as part of our Need NOT Greed campaign aiming to move people out of poverty, off benefits and into work.
Please [...]
Introducing the National Talent Bank
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009Yesterday the Daily Telegraph ran a front page story suggesting that almost one million people across the UK are now working part-time because they cannot get a full-time job. The story suggested several major employers have offered staff reduced hours or extended holidays in an attempt to cut costs. The story goes on to suggest that unlike previous recessions [...]
Brick Lane waiters get English classes but will it mean real change?
Friday, July 17th, 2009I’m definitely feeling up-beat about the Brick Lane project - the one that’s trying to help waiters stuck in dead end cash-in-hand jobs in Bangladeshi restaurants on that famous east London street. (See previous blog posts)
Last Monday we had a meeting at the Bangladesh British Chamber of Commerce (BBCC) where for the first time plans for [...]
Professor Etzioni and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne MP visit Community Links
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009Today Community Links hosted a visit from Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne MP along with Professor Amitai Etzioni. The renowned sociologist famed for his work on Communitarianism
Last night professor Etzioni addresses a meeting at the RSA and had dinner at No.10. Today he travelled to Canning Town for meetings with Community Links frontline staff and a small group [...]
“Working Alongside”: Community Links and ATD Fourth World’s ‘Need NOT Greed’ discussion groups on the Benefit System
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009“People who experience a problem understand it best.”
Extract from Community Links’ founding statement
Community Links and ATD Fourth World, are two charities both working with people who live in poverty. We jointly conducted a series of workshops with people who have long-term experience of poverty to explore their experiences, draw out common themes and develop ideas for changes to the [...]
Community Allowance: Latest News
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009We at Community Links have been a part of the CREATE Consortium since its inception. The campaign calls for changes to benefit rules which would enable community organisations to pay people to do work that strengthens their neighbourhood without it affecting any of their benefits.
In a guest blog here CREATE Consortium co-ordinator Naomi Alexander updates the campaign progress.
Well, we finally have [...]
Recession and supporting people back into work
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Earlier this week, I attended a TUC seminar focusing on the lessons from the last two recessions in the 1980’s and 90’s. Evidence from the ILO and ONS confirms that this recession is severe - nothing surprising there.
The TUC’s useful work on the recession including reports and the ToUChstone blog describes and comments upon the changing nature of [...]
Do you earn enough for a minimum acceptable standard of living?
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
About a year ago we wrote a piece reporting on the launch of the Minimum Income Standards research. This is an income figure calculated to reflect what members of the public thought people need to achieve a socially acceptable standard of living. Today the figures for 2009 have been published.
Last year the report delivered a grim analysis for [...]
We spent a week debating the way poverty is portrayed in the media, generating over 20 fascinating posts from a wide range of authors. 