sheffield poverty update no 22 august 2012

7/31/2019 Sheffield Poverty Update No 22 August 2012

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Sheffield Poverty Update No.22 August 2012 Church Action on Poverty is a national ecumenical Christian social justice charity, committed totackling poverty in the UK. We work in partnership with churches and with people in povertythemselves to find solutions to poverty, locally, nationally and globally.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to

provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood ?Isaiah 58:6-7

Make your Pledge to Close the Gap between rich andpoor. Give, Act and Pray with us to build a more equal

society. Go to http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/ Sheffield Church Action on Poverty can provide a speaker to deliver a presentation on this campaign toChurch groups; please contact our secretary-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local actions to close the GAP

This autumn, Christian Aid and Church Action on Poverty are joining forces to take the campaignfor Tax Justice on the road, with a seven-week Tax Justice Bus Tour. A bright red London bus willbe touring the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland, to promote the simple message: Itstime for Tax Justice for the poorest communities at home and globally. In an age of austerity and

spending cuts, tax avoidance is morally unacceptable: tax dodging costs lives. It effectivelyamounts to robbing the poor in the UK and in poor countries of the money that should bespent on education, health and welfare. The Churches ta sk is to enable all people to enjoy life inall its fullness, to speak out and challenge unjust structures and practices which deny people thisGod-given opportunity. Tax avoidance is one such practice

The bus will be in Sheffield on Wednesday 10 Oct at 4.00pm outside the Anglican Cathedral - please promotein your Church; all are welcome on board at this time.National Church Action on Poverty are seeking volunteers to staff the bus-please contact [email protected]

Living Wage Campaign: all parishes in the Diocese of Hallam have now been contacted with the firmrecommendation that employees should be paid the living wage wherever possible. The Living Wage. An hourly rate, set independently, every year.. It is calculated according to cost of living and givesthe minimum pay rate required for a worker to provide their family with the essentials of life. Outside of London the current rate is 7.20.
http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.church-poverty.org.uk/


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National Actions to Close the Gap from National Church Action on Poverty

In July, the Methodist Church called on the UK government and multinational businesses to end taxavoidance schemes which impoverish the vulnerable.

It claimed that as public services are being cut, the injustice of tax avoidance is becoming more acute.Having a team of expensive lawyers doesnt absolve you of the moral responsibility to pay a fair level of tax. Taxation shouldnt be a game of strategy where you win by paying the least. Paying tax is a moral obligation it is unacceptable to engage in complex financial arrangements in order to wriggle out of paying your fair share. PaulMorrision, Methodist Church Public Issues Policy Advisor

According to the Governments own official estimates, the UK Tax Gap stands at 35 billion a year (Measuring Tax Gaps 2011 , HMRC, 2011) - many other organizations place it at a higher amount.

A third of the amount lost to tax avoidance by the UKs 700 largest corporations could increase the child tax credit by

enough to halve child poverty in the UK.

Just under half of the total amount lost to tax avoidance would pay for a 20% increase in the state pension, or couldreduce the basic rate of income tax by 3p in the pound, or could build an extra 50 hospitals.

Words from our AGMHeld at the Quaker Meeting House on 10/05/2012

Rev Noel Irwin of Sheffield Victoria Hall was our speaker:

The theme of Noel Irwins talk was Capitalism, Jesusand the Coalition.

He began by reminding the audience of thesignificance of Church Action on Poverty in drawingattention to the existence of poverty in its many formswithin our own country.

He said that Jesus had always been concerned withthe physical and mental suffering of the oppressed andwith encouraging us to bring about change.

In Noel Ir wins view, politics today had stagnated, therecent local elections indicated disillusionmentamongst voters and this was the chance for Church

Action on Poverty and the churches generally to beadvocating change by standing up for the poor anddisadvantaged .He particularly drew on the example of John Wesley and his concept of social holiness.

Wesley was clear that the means of grace mustinclude not only the Eucharist, scripture and prayer butalso works of justice. True Christianity involves justiceand fairness and cannot be practised by individuals inisolation. Church Action on Poverty needs to be partof the campaign for a more just society. This needs tobe at every level, from compassionate and practicalaction for the vulnerable within our own communities,to campaigning through the various levels of government

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Sheffield Church Action on Poverty are concerned over the proposals to pass the national social fund provision tolocal authority control and have sent the following letter to the leader of Sheffield City Council.-

Crisis loans and community care grants are the ultimate safety net for the most vulnerable in society. The vulnerable have already been hard hit by emergency measures to preserve the social fund by reducing crisis loan rates from 75% of Income support basic rate to 60% for householders and 30% for non householders and to restrict the number of awards in a 12 month rolling period to 3 loans except for loans given whilst benefit is being processed.

We, Sheffield Church Action on Poverty, are therefore deeply concerned at the government's proposals to pass some of the funding of this provision to local authorities in March 2013 without any statutory obligation to ensure they provide emergency support to vulnerable people.

With councils already experiencing large cuts to central government grants, we fear that some areas will choose to provide no, or extremely limited, support.

Also our concern is that the present national system allows a standard approach to the granting of help and provision

along with a review/appeal process and our concern is that a local system could lead to wide differentials in service.

These changes could be catastrophic for some, such as those who resort to illegal moneylenders or high-cost credit and we would therefore be grateful to know Sheffield City Council s proposals on this issue.

The council have replied that they intend to put in provision but are unable to share plans as they await details of funding. We suggest that members and supporters should also write to their local councilors on this issue toshow solidarity with those in need and to keep this issue on the councils agenda.

Poverty and Homelessness Week Action Week 2013 will run from 26 January to 4 February .Free resources will be available from September 2012-from Housing Justice /National Church Action on Poverty.Sheffield Church Action on Poverty would like to see more local Churches holding services or including something intheir services during this week - could you encourage your Church to hold a service or include the theme ofhomelessness/poverty in a service or have a time during service to reflect on the theme?

. News from the South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group:

* The Government has recently introduced new family migration rules under which you need to have an annualincome of over 18,600 to bring a spouse from outside the European Union into the UK and even more to bring in

children. These new rules will be discussed at a special meeting on Tuesday 25 September at 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House. The main speaker will be Juan Camillo of the Migrant Rights Network.

* Provision of asylum housing in Yorkshire is being handed over to G4S, a company feared by asylum seekers asit detains and deports them. The managerial competence of G4S was brought into question by its dismal Olympicperformance. SYMAAG's campaign about G4S has reached the national media. Already one of G4s's key sub-contractors has been dismissed. To learn more about this campaign, please see http://www.symaag.org.uk or [email protected]
http://www.symaag.org.uk/http://www.symaag.org.uk/http://www.symaag.org.uk/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.symaag.org.uk/


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Pilgrimage against Poverty Saturday 6 th October

We have held a Pilgrimage against Poverty for the last 3 years, walking through communities and prayingat various places, visiting projects in these communities to hear of their work. This is both to inform andchallenge those who join us.

This year the pilgrimage will take a route through Heeley and Gleadless Valley and much of ourthoughts will be on food poverty. Amongst other contributors we shall hear about the setting up ofa Trussell Trust* food bank in the Gleadless Valley area and another model of a food bank operatingin the north of the city. .

All are invited to join with us as we remember the vulnerable in our communities. More details will beavailable later but meanwhile contact Sarah Baker on 07949682050 or [email protected] for further information.

Food poverty

This is becoming a major issue in our city. The following are two examples, highlighting this.

The project Sheffield Homeless and Rootless at Christmas HARC served 400 more meals over the Christmas period-1226 meals in total.

The Sunday Centre that provides a meal for the vulnerable and homeless on a Sunday afternoon reports a conversation-a couple of weeks ago a family (two parents two children) came along George Street. As t hey arrived at our door, the man asked is this where you can come for food?As you would expect, we madethem welcome and took care of them but it was obvious to our Volunteers they were not comfortable in what seemed to be unfamiliar circumstances . The centre cooks a meal for 80 on the Sunday - it used tocook for 60 persons.

* The Trussell Trust is a national organisation which operates food banks throughout Great Britain. Last year nationally nearly 129,000 people received food parcels through theorganisation. Food banks, both on the Trussell Trust model and in other ways are being operated bychurches in our city
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Passing_out_groceries.jpgmailto:[email protected]


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Kindle a Flame in Your Church

to celebrate the 30 th Birthday of

Church Action on Poverty

It would be true to say that Church Action on Poverty has not got the profile that organizations involved in overseaspoverty have, but this is an ecumenical organisation that for thirty years has fought alongside the poorest and mostvulnerable of our fellow-citizens to establish greater justice and equality. When Christians rightly turn in compassiontowards the poor of the developing world, there can a risk of ignoring the debilitating conditions in which far too manypeople in our own country live. As we contemplate the many billions of tax that the richest manage to dodge or avoidand all brace ourselves for cut-backs in public services, we are right to feel a mounting anger for the extra damagewhich will be inflicted on the lives of the poor.

Surely this is the time for the followers of Jesus to stand up with Church Action on Poverty in resistance?

A pack of excellent resources for creative worship and fund-raising for CAP can be obtained from Nick Jowett (seecontact details on the back) or from National CAP at www.church-poverty.org.uk/kindleaflame . Please decide to dosomething or beg your minister to do so!

A date in October 2012 is suggested for this 30 th birthday event, but any date to suit your church this autumn or duringPoverty and Homelessness Action Week 26 th January 4 th February 2013 would be fine.

Now is the time for the churches to fight for greater equality in our society. This would be a great start.

Nick Jowett chair: Sheffield Church Action on Poverty

Sheffield Diocesan Development Day 2012

This years Sheffield Diocesan Development Day at Philadelphia Campus is concerned with the transformation of Gods world and is focusing on the c all to be Salt and Light . On Saturday October 6th 9.00am - 3.30pm- invitedrepresentatives of every parish in the diocese will share in learning how to serve our society.

Sheffield and Barnsley Church Action on Poverty will be running a stall to tell people what we do.

The key note speaker for the day is Ann Morisy, community theologian and author of best-selling books Beyond the Good Samaritan and J ourneying Out as well as Bothered and Bewildered . She speaks widely at conferences andspecial events and directed the commission which wrote the report Faithful Cities (the follow-up to Faith in the City ).The keynote speech is entitled 'Followers of Jesus in Tough Times'. A panel of speakers will address issues of ethicsin business and unemployment.
http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/kindleaflamehttp://www.church-poverty.org.uk/kindleaflamehttp://www.church-poverty.org.uk/kindleaflamehttp://www.church-poverty.org.uk/kindleaflame


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Enquiries about the Sheffield group to: Chair: Nicholas P A Jowett Nick Jowett ([email protected]) Secretary: Sarah Baker 0114 2309552 [email protected]

Members! Supporters! As always we rely on you to advise us on where we should be directing our effortsand on helping us to do this.

Please contact us if you wish to have more details about any of the items in this newsletter , or havesuggestions about what we should be doing, or can offer any helpPlease also share this newsletter with your contacts

Poverty- State of Sheffield 2012 report.There is a great deal of evidence showing both the levels of poverty in Sheffield relative to other parts of the country and the wide variations with the city boundary.

The Indices of Deprivation 2010 place Sheffield as the 56 th most deprived local authority in England Nearly one quarter of households in Sheffield, around 58,500,are living in poverty Since 2007 the gap between the worst off and best off people across Sheffield has increased There are significant inequalities in the city that limit opportunity, for example people from some ethnic

backgrounds have lower average rates of employment

Women also have lower rates of employment, with ethnic minority women having much lower rates of employment than all other groups

Women working full time are also paid, on average, 15.5% less an hour than men for doing work of

equivalent value 1 in 4 children in Sheffield live in poverty, equating to 26,415 children in 2007/08 (24.3%) A quarter of the citys pensioners claim Pension Credit and are therefore on a low income.

Distribution of Pension Credit claimants is relatively even across the city

27.5% of the 60+ population of Sheffield claim Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax benefit

To help the poor to a capacity for action and liberty is something essential for one's own health as well as theirs: there

is a needful gift they have to offer which cannot be offered so long as they are confined by poverty . Rowan D. Williams
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rowandwil256121.htmlhttp://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rowandwil256121.htmlhttp://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rowandwil256121.htmlmailto:[email protected]

sheffield poverty update no 22 august 2012

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