DWP surveillance on benefit cheats video
By Maeve McGoldrick | October 10, 2008
 Video: The DWP is always watching you is not the best way to establish trust and support people into formal employment.  With Canary Wharf in the background there are many unseen barriers in-between
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Topics: General | No Comments »
DWP: Guilty before proven innocent
By Aaron Barbour | October 9, 2008
With all too frequent shootings in east London, not to mention the overseas wars we’re involved in, we were all gobsmacked at the latest Department for Work and Pensions ‘target’ campaign (posters can be found all around Newham – and maybe near you?). The ad’s ‘aim’ is to hunt down more benefit ‘thieves’ (have a good look at the photo). This particularly offensive campaign seems to have reached a new low in an ever decreasing trend by DWP to criminalise people on benefits. These campaigns associate anyone on benefits as a scroungers, cheats and thieves, and now they appear as fair game to be bagged by the authorities.
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If DWP focused their efforts away from catching the eye of the voters and towards supporting people off benefits and into work, then maybe, just maybe more people legally entitled to benefits would trust them and work in a spirit of co-operation, rather than holding the ‘them’ against ‘us’ attitude that is all too prevalent.
If DWP and HM Treasury paid out benefits at rates that were above the poverty line (defined as when a family has an average of £10 or less per person per day to live on, or £8 for a person on Jobseekers Allowance ), then maybe, just maybe, people would worry less about where their next meal was coming from and start addressing other aspects of their lives, like finding a job.
If DWP ensured that people claimed all that they are entitled too (£4.8bn unclaimed benefits, and a further £5bn unclaimed tax credits) and reduced official and customer error (£1.9bn) rather than concentrating on fraud (only £800m), then maybe, just maybe with rising unemployment they’d get their priorities right.
If DWP developed a benefit system that reflected they way people live their lives today and was responsive (and realistic) to modern labour market conditions (increasingly part time, short term and temporary work) then maybe, just maybe, more people would be able to work, become less reliant on benefits, and do the jobs that aren’t currently being done because benefit rules actively stop people getting involved in their local communities. Check out ‘CREATE: a Community Allowance’ Â
If DWP extended their support to people once they were in-work for at least a year, then maybe, just maybe we would help people develop and progress in-work, rather than contribute to the huge ‘churn’ rates, as people move in and out of work, from one low paid job to another.Â
If all these things were in place… then maybe, just maybe, there would be targets we could all aim to achieve.
What do you think? Leave a comment and see our previous blog entries.
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Topics: Benefits, Communication, Informal Economy, Welfare | No Comments »
Videos of Community Links staff, volunteers, families and friends united in a rally to end child poverty
By Maeve McGoldrick | October 6, 2008
community links at end child poverty rally gathered in Trafalgar square
community links and families march at the end child poverty rally
Topics: Benefits, Child Poverty, General, Informal Economy, Welfare | No Comments »
End Child Poverty Rally - Keep The Promise
By Maeve McGoldrick | October 6, 2008
Last Saturday Community Links joined thousands of people from across the UK in the End Child Poverty, Keep the Promise rally, demonstrating to government that we are serious about eradicating child poverty by 2020 and we want government to be as well.
Although earlier PM Gordon Brown expressed his intention to enshrine the target in law there is very little talk about how this will happen in practise. Speaking to people in London on the way to the rally many commented on all the talk of ending child poverty from this Government but they had no idea what had actually been done about it.
Community Links staff and families from Newham made our presence known throughout the march. We talked to people and spread information about the national Need Not Greed campaign which is seeking to change benefit laws to enable parents who work informally to make the transition into formal work; out of poverty and not further into debt. The campaign also seeks to create more awareness and better understanding of the issue. We got people to think about the realities of poverty and how parents are forced to work cash-in-hand and become trapped there.
People talked about the role of government, the media and the general public in stigmatising people on benefits and how this can have a detrimental effect on getting people into employment as It pushes people further underground and further socially excluded. We got over 200 people signing up to the campaign and writing messages of support as well as writing to their MP to support the campaign. We found many people really understood the problems with the current benefits system and the traps that make people take up cash-in-hand work. There was a lot of empathy and a desire for a change in the system but most importantly people were talking about it and realising that the public has a role to play here too in ending the stigmatisation and to start understanding and supporting people.
A number of politicians and celebrities turned up including James Purnell and Stephen Timms whom we have been in touch with regarding the campaign, as it developed from our work in Newham.
There were various speeches in Trafalgar Square after the march but the most noteworthy ones were from speaking to families affected by poverty. The immediate and continual realities such as homelessness or separation of children and parents because of poverty poignantly tells of the reasons why we need to eradicate poverty and the urgency of action needed to be taken. Although it was a fun day, it was for a very serious issue.
It was great for local residents and Community Links to come together and put our stamp on a national event that is so relevant to the area we work and live in. It was also a chance to show we want changes and we need government to support Newham to makes change happen. The children were the stars of the show and held the banners they made with pride as photographers snapped away.
A big thank you to everybody who came together on the day and made such a big impact. I encourage others to so the same, to get involved in the campaign and create a voice for change.
 
Topics: Child Poverty, Communication, Community Engagement, Housing, Informal Economy, Inspiration | No Comments »
Need Not Greed
By Maeve McGoldrick | September 30, 2008
I was asked to write a piece for the Compass Website about Need Not Greed, our campaign to encourage people to move out of cash-in-hand work and into the formal economy.
The article is generating some lively debate! Contribute your own comments over here.
Topics: Child Poverty, Communication, Informal Economy | 1 Comment »
End Child Poverty: Keep The Promise Rally, Oct 4th
By Maeve McGoldrick | September 24, 2008
Speaking at the Labour Party Conference yesterday in his Leaders Speech Prime Minster Gordon Brown said: “The economic times are tough of course that makes things harder- but we are in this for the long haul - the complete elimination of child poverty by 2020. And so today I announce my intention to introduce ground-breaking legislation to enshrine in law Labour’s pledge to end child poverty.” (Source: Labour party website).
Community Links are going to take part in the Keep the Promise Rally- UK’s biggest ever event to campaign for the end of child poverty on October 4th, between 1-3pm, in London’s Trafalgar Square. As a signatory of the campaign, we support the aims and intentions.
The idea behind the campaign is to prove to the government that there is huge public support for targets to end Child Poverty by 2020. If lots of people turn up on the day, that will send a strong message and encourage the government to work harder to make the target a reality.
Join us at the rally, contact maeve.mcgoldrick@community-links.org to find out how to get involved. With your support, we can ensure that the Government ‘Keep their Promise’ to a generation to End Child Poverty.
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Visit www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/promise to demand a better future for all our children.
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Topics: Child Poverty, Communication, Inspiration | 1 Comment »
Unlocking Poor Neighbourhoods
By Aaron Barbour | September 22, 2008
“The Community Allowance would allow community organisations to pay local people to do work that strengthens their neighbourhoods without losing their benefit status” Â
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Jess Steele delivered a compelling presentation about the the Community Allowance at last weeks Development Trusts Association’s conference. Jess is chair of the CREATE consortium (of which Community Links is a member) and was encouraging the DTA membership to adopt the Community Allowance into their manifesto. The benefits system stops people carrying out much needed part time paid work in their own community and (in many cases) taking a step towards more permanent employment - the consortium believe government should introduce a community allowance to provide the flexibility for this to happen.
Download her speech and presentation slides here which lay out the convincing case for Department of Work and Pensions to allow us to test the Community Allowance in a series of pilots.
View our previous blog posts about the Community Allowance here and here.Â
Back the campaign at www.communityallowance.org .
Topics: Benefits, Community Engagement, Innovation, Regeneration, Welfare | 1 Comment »
London Olympics 2012: community engagement
By Aaron Barbour | September 19, 2008
There is genuine excitement and expectancy amongst many local people in east London about the coming Games; in part driven by sporting success of of team GB in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics.
Now that the Olympic Flag has been handed over by the Chinese to the new host city London the focus tuns sharply towards 2012.
In 2007/08 we were ran a series of local events commissioned by the London Borough of Newham’s Community Participation Unit, so we could understand from local residents how the London Olympics 2012 might inspire them to become more active in their local community.
We have compiled all the views and feedback we collected at the eight events into one downloadable report “Inspired By the Olympics”. This report shares the views and opinions that local residents hold about the Olympics, so that the responsible bodies and agencies across the five London Olympic boroughs and other parts of the UK, can hear the voices of local people and take action to deliver a better Olympics, and more importantly to leave behind a valuable legacy for local residents and businesses in the area.
We found that local residents were excited and felt proud and inspired by the coming Games. ‘I am looking forward to the Olympics: I feel it is a positive and uplifting move for the borough.’ They wanted to be involved in the Games themselves, by attending the sport events, as well as volunteering. ‘I wish that everyone will get involved, especially the youngsters.’ Many local residents wanted to take advantage of future employment, training and business opportunities. People felt that better jobs, and better paid jobs, along with good childcare were key priorities. They wanted to volunteer in their local communities to enable other people to get involved. They also wished for improvements in council services, including safer local parks, cleaner streets and neighbourhoods, more policing, less crime amongst young people.
We asked children of all ages to contribute to the consultation. Here are a few…
I wish…
‘I could run or swim in the Olympics 2012.’
‘My wish is to attend at least one event’.
 ‘The Olympics bring fun and improvements to our community.‘
‘I wish to do the relay and become the winner, and get the medals and the money for the poor people.’
‘I am four now and I will be nine when the Olympics starts, how can I be involved?’
 Download the report: Inspired by the Olympics.
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Topics: Communication, Community Engagement, Inspiration, Regeneration, Research | No Comments »
Chain Reaction Programme launched
By Richard McKeever | September 17, 2008
The LinksUK team have today been busy with the launch of the Programme for our new initiatve Chain Reaction. Â
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On the 17th and 18th November we’ll be bringing together social leaders, community activists, policy makers, business leaders and young people from around the globe for an event at London’s Southbank to share learning and to generate new ideas for social change, locally, nationally and globally. Â
Chain Reaction is based on the simple idea that none of us on our own can change the world, not governments, not businesses, not charities. We succeed when we work together. This event will result in 25 new ideas for social action that participants have committed to take forward together.Â
We’ve got lots of exciting people taking part.  Alongside four Cabinet Ministers, our contributors include boundary crossers like Dr Victoria Hale, founder of the world’s first non-profit pharmaceutical company and Rachel Lomax, one time permanent secretary of two government departments, deputy governor at the Bank of England and former Vice President at the World Bank. America’s Nipun Mehta, the creator of Charity Focus and Comic Relief founder Jane Tewson, now doing ground breaking work in Australia, will challenge and inspire us and angry alchemists like John Bird (Big Issue) and Tim Smit (Eden Project) will be sharing their special brew, reminding us that some things are hard but nothing is impossible. In addition to this stellar line up, venture capital guru Sir Ronald Cohen will be applying his experience to the financing of social change and Mark Thompson Director General of the BBC will tackle the contribution of the media. Sir Richard Branson will be joining us via a video link, and City father Sir David Walker will be with us in the flesh.Â
Over 20 organisations including Global Entrepreneurship Week, the IDEA World Congress and the VSO Global Exchange Programme will host sessions and grass roots practitioners from nine countries (and rising!) will join us to share their learning on transforming communities. A compelling programme will focus on themes such as the potential of new technologies, the power of sports and arts as tools for transforming communities, and the experiences and contributions of young people (100 places are reserved for under 21s - the leaders of tomorrow - some of whom will come from Community Links projects). Practical workshops will explore issues such as financing, communicating and the ‘scaling up’ of ideas.
A unique feature of Chain Reaction will be the opportunity for participants to self organise, with bookable meeting spaces, and places to connect with others and collaborate in building new projects, new partnerships and new ways of working.
We’re excited about the prospect of bringing together an inspiring group of people to work together on issues that concern us all…
… will you be part of the Chain Reaction?
Topics: Communication, Innovation, Inspiration, Leadership | No Comments »
The ineffective ‘Earnings Disregard’
By Aaron Barbour | September 16, 2008
photo credit: Carl Blake
Getting a job is difficult enough but when a system, supposedly designed to support you, actively works against you producing a disincentive to finding work - then you’re in trouble.
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More than three years ago we looked at one mechanism within the benefits system designed, we thought, to encourage people off benefits and into work. The ‘earnings disregard’, allows people to earn small amounts of money without losing benefits, as an incentive to try out bits of work before moving into sustainable employment. The amount has remained virtually unchanged for the last 20 years (since 1988) and is pitifully low. This impacts greatly on individuals as it prohibits a move off benefits into work. It hinders organisations trying to employ staff for part-time, sessional, or temporary employment as people do not want to give up their benefits for short term work, knowing what it’s like to get back into the system. This is the benefits trap.
The consequence is that people remain trapped in poverty, reliant on welfare benefits and unable to contribute to the development of their community and society.
It is interesting to note that three years on many of the issues and problems remain the same. The government must address the perverse situation which exists with work incentives, particularly earnings disregards. Current rules actively disincentivise people from returning to work. Shortly after this paper was written in October 2005 the national minimum wage rose to over £5.00 an hour. This means that single people on Jobseekers Allowance were not able to work even one hour a week without impact on their benefits!
Today we publish LinksUK Evidence Paper no.12 (PDF download), as we know the government Department for Work and Pensions is interested in examining ‘work incentives’ at the moment. It was a working paper written in 2005, on behalf of an informal network of 45+ interested organisations seeking to reform the earnings disregards rules and thresholds.
Have you found similar ‘traps’ within the benefit system? Share your experiences with us by leaving a comment.
Topics: Benefits, Research, Welfare | No Comments »
