Tag: 2022

PRESS RELEASE : Greens condemn UK government for failing to honour COP commitment to update climate targets [November 2022]
The press release issued by the Green Party on 4 November 2022.

Rishi Sunak must honour the commitment the UK made as COP president and update its climate targets to reflect what is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5C, the Green Party has said ahead of the start of COP27 this weekend.

The Glasgow Pact agreed at COP26 last year required all countries to revisit and increase their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) this year in order to ensure the world was on track to reduce carbon emissions at a rate that would keep global temperature rise to 1.5C [1].

However, the UK’s updated NDC in September this year included no increase in its own NDC, despite the fact it had presided over the agreement in Glasgow to do so. [2]

The need for each country to update its NDCs is even more urgent now after the UN recently stated that there is “no credible pathway” to saving 1.5C on current trajectories. The UN said: “Only an urgent system-wide transformation can deliver the enormous cuts needed to limit greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.” [3]

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:

“The UK government was applauded for overseeing a commitment from all countries to increase their NDCs, but its actions subsequently suggest it was just for show.

“It is shameful that at a time when people across the world are seeing their lives destroyed by climate change, the UK government could not live up to its commitments and set meaningful climate targets that would protect millions of people.

“In fact, since last year in Glasgow the UK government has gone in completely the wrong direction by introducing new North Sea oil and gas licences, continued to roll out airport and road expansion and will not even rule out the opening of a new coal mine in Cumbria.

“Regrettably, Rishi Sunak will arrive in Egypt under a cloud, with the UK also having failed to make a promised £260 million climate finance payment [4].

“This is negligence on a historic scale, but it can be rectified. It is right that the Prime Minister has now decided to attend COP27, but he now needs to put his money where his mouth is.

“Sunak must immediately revisit the UK’s climate targets to ensure they are in line with a 1.5C global rise in temperatures and show he is willing to act on the global stage by putting climate justice and finance for poorer countries most impacted by the climate emergency at the top of the agenda.”

The Green Party has also set out a further six crucial tests for the UK government at this year’s COP climate targets:
- The UK government must call for offsetting to be ruled out as part of the measurement of net zero reporting for governments and industries
- The UK government needs to put loss and damage at the top of the agenda and back calls from the countries most impacted by climate change for the establishment of a financing facility, and to follow in the footsteps of Denmark and Scotland by delivering new and additional finance for loss and damage
- The government must urgently deliver the UK’s overdue climate finance, reinstate the mandatory 0.7% aid budget and support calls for increased adaptation finance
- The UK government should lobby for an immediate end to all fossil fuel subsidies and an urgent managed decline in the use of fossil fuels
- The UK government should advocate for the global roll out of loophole-free dirty profits taxes to ensure the most polluting industries not only pay for the impact of their emissions, but are also incentivised to find efficient means of reducing them
- The UK government should champion a system of nationally determined contributions requiring all countries to produce scientifically verifiable plans every year to show their progress in reaching the climate targets they have set themselves.
Notes

1

https://www.bond.org.uk/news/2022/11/heres-what-the-uk-needs-to-do-for-cop27/

2

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1109429/uk-nationally-determined-contribution.pdf

3

https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2022

4

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/01/uk-criticised-for-failing-to-pay-300m-in-promised-climate-funds-ahead-of-cop27
November 7, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Greens welcome review into Sizewell C: “We need to invest in renewables and insulation” [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Green Party on 4 November 2022.

The Green Party has welcomed the news that plans to build a new nuclear power plant in Suffolk are under review [1] and urged for more investment in renewables and insulation.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:

“New nuclear power is a distraction from addressing the climate emergency with the speed that is required – it is far too slow and much more costly than more effective renewable energy and storage alternatives, as well as having significant environmental concerns for the local community.

“So, we are pleased to see the government has put it under review but we now need to see real commitment to the measures that will make a benefit to people’s lives.

“It is vital the government invests more in renewables and insulating people’s homes as this is the cheapest, quickest and most effective way to bring people’s bills down, create millions of jobs and help tackle the climate crisis all at the same time.”

Notes

1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63507630

November 7, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Liberal Democrats – A new right to see your GP within 7 days [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 7 November 2022.

Far too many people are struggling to get a GP appointment when they need one, leaving them waiting anxiously for the care they deserve.

In September alone, 8.9 million GP appointments involved a wait of more than a week, with 5 million waiting longer than the Government’s own target of two weeks.

This has terrible consequences for people’s health, and for our NHS. It can lead to important diagnoses being missed or delayed, and can force desperate people to call an ambulance or take themselves into A&E.

The blame for this crisis is clear, and it isn’t the country’s overstretched GPs. It’s the Conservative Government. Back in 2019, the Conservatives promised to deliver 6,000 more doctors, but the number of qualified GPs has actually fallen by 500.

People across the country are suffering from years of neglect under the Conservatives, who have repeatedly broken their promises on local health services. It’s just not good enough.

That’s why the Liberal Democrats are calling for patients to have a new right: to see a GP within 7 days, or within 24 hours if they urgently need to.

Of course, delivering on that right can’t mean copying the Conservatives’ failed approach, of just setting the targets, cutting GP numbers, and then blaming GPs when the targets are missed.

That’s why we have set out a clear plan for how the Government should step up and recruit 8,000 more GPs and free up more of their time, including by:

Increasing training places for GPs and medical school places across the country.

Fixing the broken NHS pension rules to help experienced GPs stay in the profession.

Giving more prescribing rights and public health advisory services to qualified pharmacists, nurse practitioners and appropriately trained paramedics.

Introducing a 24/7 phone line to manage the booking of appointments more efficiently.

Empowering GPs to spend more of their budgets as they see fit by removing top-down bureaucracy.

By giving doctors the time and the tools they need to do their jobs, we can make sure everyone gets the care they need, when they need it.

November 7, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Mebyon Kernow Demands Cornish Language Act [November 2022]

The press release issued by Mebyon Kernow on 5 November 2022.

Saturday 5th November marks twenty years since the Cornish language was recognised by the UK Government through Part II of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.

Speaking to a meeting of MK’s National Executive at the time of the anniversary, language spokesperson Cllr Loveday Jenkin hit out at the UK Government for not doing enough to support Cornish.

Cllr Jenkin said: “It is right that we celebrate the fantastic work done by so many people to promote the language. But over the last two decades, Cornish has not achieved language parity with the other Celtic languages of the UK and as we mark the 20th anniversary of recognition, we must challenge the UK Government to properly meet its obligations to the language.”

Specific issues raised by Cllr Jenkin included the following:

Cornish was only recognised under Part II of the Charter, while Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh are recognised under Part III, which has a more comprehensive and far-reaching set of obligations.

The BBC Charter defines “regional and minority languages” as “Welsh, Scottish-Gaelic, Irish and Ulster Scots,” actively excluding Cornish from broadcasting support.

Cornish will soon be the only Celtic language in the United Kingdom without any safeguards embedded in domestic law. The first Welsh Language Act was passed in 1967 and a second one in 1993, while further legislation has been passed by the Welsh Parliament. The Scottish Gaelic Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2005. The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill meanwhile recently passed its final hurdles in the House of Commons.

The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill comes with the investment of £4 million in an Irish Language Investment Fund, while the UK Government ending formal funding of the Cornish language in 2016.

Cllr Jenkin said: “We need greater recognition for Cornish through Part III of the European Charter and a Cornish Language Act, along with greater respect from public bodies such as the BBC and the reintroduction of funding from Westminster.”

She concluded by saying: “I would welcome responsibility for the Cornish language being devolved to Cornwall, but for that we need a legislative Cornish Parliament with full legislative and fiscal powers.”

November 7, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Non-disabled workers paid 17% more than disabled peers – TUC [November 2022]
The press release issued by the TUC on 7 November 2022.

New analysis shows pay gap between non-disabled and disabled workers is now 17.2%, or £3,700 a year
Disabled women face even bigger pay penalty of 35%, over £7,000 a year

TUC writes to government to call for mandatory disability pay gap reporting

New analysis published by the TUC today (Monday) shows that non-disabled workers now earn a sixth (17.2%) more than disabled workers.

The analysis found that the pay gap for disabled workers currently stands at £2.05 an hour – or £3,731 per year for someone working a 35-hour week.

This pay gap – which has increased from 16.5% last year – means that disabled people effectively work for free for the last 54 days of the year and stop getting paid today, on the day the TUC has branded Disability Pay Gap Day.

Disability pay gap by gender and age

The new TUC analysis reveals that disabled women face the biggest pay gap. Non-disabled men are paid on average 35% (£3.93 an hour, or £7,144 a year) more than disabled women.

The research also shows that the disability pay gap persists for workers throughout their careers. It starts at age 20 at 65p an hour and increases steadily with age to a peak of £3.55 an hour, or £6,461 a year, for disabled workers aged 40 to 44.

Regional and industrial disability pay gaps

The analysis looked at pay data from across the country and found disability pay gaps in every region of England.

The highest pay gaps are in the South East (22% or £2.78 an hour), and the West Midlands and the South West (both 17% or £2.20 an hour).

The research found that disability pay gaps also vary by industry. The biggest pay gap is in financial and industrial services, where the pay gap stands at 39% or £5.90 an hour, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (24%) and mining and quarrying and admin and support services (both 18%).

Unemployment

Not only are disabled workers paid less than non-disabled workers, they are also more likely to be excluded from the job market.

Disabled workers are now twice as likely as non-disabled workers to be unemployed (6.8% compared to 3.4%).

And the analysis shows disabled BME workers face a much tougher labour market – 10.9% of BME disabled workers are unemployment compared to 2.8% of white non-disabled workers.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Everybody deserves a fair chance to get a job with decent pay. Being disabled should not mean you’re on a lower wage – or that you’re excluded from the jobs market altogether.

“It’s time to introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting to shine a light on inequality at work. Without this, millions of disabled workers will be consigned to years of lower pay and in-work poverty.

“During the pandemic, many disabled people were able to work flexibly or from home for the first time. We must ensure this continues – flexible workplaces are accessible workplaces and give everyone better work life balance.

“Ministers must change the law so that all jobs are advertised with flexible options clearly stated, and all workers have the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job.”

Disability pay gap reporting

The TUC has today (Monday) written to the government to call for urgent action to address the disability pay gap.

The union body wants the government to bring in mandatory disability pay gap reporting for all employers with more than 50 employees.

The TUC says the legislation should be accompanied by a duty on employers to produce action plans identifying the steps they will take to address any gaps identified.

Government action needed

To address the causes of the pay gap, the TUC is calling for:

The National Minimum Wage to be raised to £15 an hour as soon as possible.

More funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to enforce disabled workers’ rights to reasonable adjustments. The EHRC must update their statutory code of practice to include more examples of reasonable adjustments, to help disabled workers get the adjustments they need quickly and effectively.

A stronger legal framework for reasonable adjustments including: ensuring employers respond quickly to requests, substantial penalties for bosses who fail to provide adjustments and for reasonable adjustment passports to be mandatory in all public bodies.

A day one right to flexible working for everyone and a duty on employers to include possible flexible working options in job adverts.
November 7, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : 1 in 4 children with care worker parents are growing up in poverty [November 2022]
The press release issued by the TUC on 2 November 2022.
- Union body warns of “rampant” hardship in key worker households
- 1 in 5 children growing up in key worker households are living in poverty
- Ministers accused of “abandoning” the workers who got us through the pandemic
- Mass Westminster lobby and rally to take place to demand general election
More than 1 in 4 (28.4%) children with care worker parents are growing up in poverty, according to new TUC analysis published today (Tuesday).

The analysis – carried out by Landman Economics – shows that 220,000 kids with at least one social care worker as a parent are in poverty.

The union body warned this number is on course to rise to nearly 300,000 by the end of this parliament unless swift action is taken to boost pay and conditions.

Key worker poverty “is rampant”

The TUC analysis reveals that child poverty “is rampant” in key worker households. In addition to care staff:
- Nearly a tenth (9.4%) of kids with nurses as parents are living below the breadline. This represents over 70,000 children.
- 1 in 9 (10.8%) children with teaching staff as parents are growing up in poverty. This represents around 100,000 children.
- 1 in 8 (11.8 %) kids of local government workers are growing up in poverty. This represents over 220,000 children.
- 1 in 4 (25%) children with public transport workers as parents have kids growing up in poverty. This represents 50,000 children.
Overall, the TUC estimates that 1 in 5 (19%) key worker households have children living in poverty.

Worse set to come

The TUC warned that child poverty rates among key worker households are likely to get worse.

Ministers have announced another of year of real-terms pay cuts for millions of key workers in the public sector.

This will result in the average nurse losing £1,100 in real wages this year. And in social care 6 in 10 workers are still being paid less than £10 an hour.

The TUC says the additional support announced by the Treasury to help families with energy bills will be offset by cuts to real-terms pay and other rising living costs.

TUC polling published last month revealed that 1 in 7 UK workers were skipping meals and going without food to make ends meet.

And the same poll showed that over half of UK households were cutting back on central heating, electricity and hot water to save money.

Mass lobby of parliament and rally

The findings are published as workers from across Britain assemble for a mass rally and lobby of MPs in central London on Wednesday 2 November.

From 2pm, trade union members from across the UK will head to the Palace of Westminster for appointments which will start at 2.30pm.

The mass rally will begin at Westminster Central Hall from 6pm.

Speakers will include Frances O’Grady, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch, CWU General Secretary Dave Ward and frontline workers taking strike action .

Hundreds of union members from all over the country will be in the audience and the rally is expected to finish at around 8pm, when attendees will disperse.

We demand better

The TUC and unions are calling for:
- Universal credit, benefits and pensions to be updated at least in line with inflation
- A much higher windfall tax on oil and gas companies
- Pay to rise across the economy through sector-wide fair pay agreements
- Key workers in the public sector to be given cost-of-living proofed pay rises
- A £15 an hour minimum wage as soon as possible
Commenting on the analysis, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Our amazing key workers risked their lives to get us through the pandemic. The very least they deserve is to be able to provide for their families.

“But many have been trapped in poverty and abandoned by this government.

“The Conservatives’ decision to hold down wages – as living costs soar – is causing rampant hardship.

“We can’t go on like this.

“We can’t be a country where bankers are allowed to help themselves to bigger bonuses, while nurses and care staff are forced to use foodbanks.

“There must be a general election now.”
November 7, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Bonfire night – new statistics show fire and rescue services slashed [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Fire Brigades Union on 5 November 2022.

This bonfire night there are worries that fire and rescue services may not be able to cope, with new statistics revealing massive cuts.

Bonfire night is traditionally the fire and rescue service’s busiest night of the year and can be hugely dangerous for fires and other incidents.

Statistics collated by the Fire Brigades Union reveal further real-terms cuts to central funding for fire and rescue services in England.

Funding for 2022-2023 has been boosted by just 1% on last year (2021-22). Inflation is currently running at around 10%. Funding stands at £882m compared to £1,240m in 2013-14 – meaning there has been a huge cut of 29%, or over 40% in real terms.

There have also been significant cuts across parts of the rest of the UK. Scotland’s funding is up just £3m since 2013 and Northern Ireland’s is down by £1m since 2012. These will be both significant real-terms cuts.

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said:

Communities should know that their fire and rescue service is far weaker than it should be. Bonfire night is a massive stress and strain on fire and rescue services and firefighters, and we are hugely concerned as to how a significantly under-resourced fire and rescue service will cope. Firefighters are facing a cash-starved service every night of the year: their own wages have been cut by £4,000 since 2009 and this year they received a measly 5% pay offer. We need a properly funded fire service that includes decent resources and fair pay for firefighters, and that reflects the extraordinary job they do and their contribution over the pandemic.

Oxfordshire, Surrey, Warwickshire and West Sussex brigades are in particular danger of cuts. These councils agreed to reduce central funding in order to keep more local revenue – local revenue which would have been anticipated but then disappeared in recent years due to the pandemic.

Cross-year time periods quoted here are references to financial years.

The statistics from England come from FBU analysis of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities local government finance settlement for the financial year 2022-3.

November 7, 2022
Justin Welby – 2022 Statement on COP27 (Archbishop of Canterbury)

The statement made by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, on 5 November 2022.

As global leaders gather at COP27, the world holds its breath. A world which has this year suffered further catastrophic flooding, drought, heatwaves and storms. A world already in crisis. A world which knows that we are perilously near the point of no return.

I’ve seen this myself just recently in Australia, whose great wealth is no protection against the flooding in New South Wales. And if it can happen in one of the most prosperous parts of the world, how much more devastating in one of the poorest like South Sudan, where more flooding has led to food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition.

Living as one human family, I pray that we will hear clearly the voices of those suffering on the brutal front line of climate change and climate injustice. I pray that together we will listen to young people and Indigenous Peoples. At this COP, hosted in Africa, the perspectives from that continent must be heard.

The climate emergency is an existential global threat that requires a global response, with radical action, imagination and justice. Let us together see justice done, so that countries can access new and fair finance for the loss and damage caused by climate change.

It is imperative that we seek justice so that those nations with greatest responsibility will take the lead, achieving net-zero carbon emissions and supporting other countries in this transition.

God calls us to embrace justice. Christian scripture describes how we share in the ‘renewed creation of heaven and earth with justice’ (2 Peter 3:13). Let justice flow so that we see human lives and hope restored, and the life of the earth itself protected and renewed.

November 7, 2022
Doug Beattie – 2022 Comments on Gangland Violence

The comments made by Doug Beattie, the Leader of the Ulster Unionists, on 7 November 2022.

The weekend comments from Mary Lou McDonald that there is ‘no comparison’ between IRA violence and gangland violence has rightly been rejected, as has her claim that Jonathan Dowdall would not have been “anywhere near” Sinn Fein had her party known he was involved in any form of criminality.

The whitewashing of the IRA’s part in the butchering of men, women and children and the continual harm and hurt visited on families is appalling and what we are witnessing is the Disneyfication of murder, seeking to romanticise brutal crimes.

Mary Lou McDonald is deluded if she thinks that IRA atrocities such as the Abercorn, Claudy, La Mon or Enniskillen were not crimes. The shooting of Angela Gallagher, Jean McConville and Mary Travers – to name but a few – are crimes that would shame the devil, but not it would seem Sinn Fein.

Gun attacks by drug gangs are no different to gun attacks by the IRA, because both are the work of illegal criminal gangs.

I fully understand that Sinn Fein has a vested interest in trying to sanitise the bloody past of the IRA, but they face some inconvenient facts in the process. The first is that that 60 per cent of Troubles related deaths were the work of republican terrorists. The second is that the IRA in supposedly defending the Catholic population, killed more Catholics than all the other actors combined.

Sinn Fein may attempt to pretend that black is white but they should not be surprised when they are challenged every step of the way by those for whom the truth is not a stranger.

November 7, 2022
Doug Beattie – 2022 Comments on Confirmation on No Elections Before Christmas

The comments made by Doug Beattie, the Leader of the Ulster Unionists, on 4 November 2022.

The Ulster Unionist Party told the Secretary of State that a pre-Christmas Election would not solve the problems we face which are due to the NI Protocol, so we welcome the fact that he has confirmed there will not be such an election.

We now have an opportunity to create time and space to resolve matters because currently there seems to be no plan to get the Executive up and running to help address the very real problems being faced by the people of Northern Ireland.

Under the current legislation we still face a deadline of 8 December and a possible Assembly election on the 18th January. That would also be a mistake because an election would simply cost money and stall negotiations on the protocol.

None of this changes the basic fact that we need to reach a solution that gives Unionism confidence so all parties can return to the Executive and work for the people of Northern Ireland.

November 7, 2022