HENDON SCHOOL NOAM & MAROM FINCHLEY REFORM SYNAGOGUE AYESHA COMMUNITY SOMALI BRAVANESE WELFARE ASSOCIATION THE ORION PRIMARY SCHOOL FINCHLEY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FINCHLEY PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE CREST ACADEMY ARK ACADEMY AL KHOEI FOUNDATION LONDON INTEFAITH CENTRE NEWMAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE MY ROMANIA GROUP QUEENS PARK COMMUNITY SCHOOL BRAZILIAN CHAPLAINCY MARIA FIDELIS CONVENT SCHOOL LA SAINTE UNION CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARISH OF OLD ST PANCRAS HAMPSTEAD PARISH CHURCH ST DOMINICS PARISH UCL THE BARTLETT DEVELOPMENT PLANNING UNIT ST MICHAEL’S C OF E SCHOOL ST IGNATIUS CHURCH STAMFORD HILL ALEXANDRA PARK SCHOOL RAINBOW CHURCH HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL ARTS COLLEGE THE WILLOW PRIMARY SCHOOL HOLY TRINITY PRIMARY SCHOOL HOLY TRINITY CHURCH ST JOHN VIANNEY CHURCH ST JOHN VIANNEY SCHOOL HIGHGATE SCHOOL ST ANNE’S CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS ST MELLITUS CHURCH ST LUKE’S PAROCHIAL ISLINGTON CONGOLESE CATHOLIC CHAPLACY MUSLIM WELFARE HOUSE ST MARY MAGDALENE ACADEMY ST MARY MOOREFIELD AND ST JOSEPH’S CHURCH CITY AND ISLINGTON CO EGE CENTRAL FOUNDATION BOY’S SCHOOL TOLLINGTON PARISH CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON STUDENTS’ UNION ST ANDREW’S RC CHURCH ST. JUDE’S C OF E COULSDON COLLEGE CROYDON COLLEGE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH OF GOD ST JOSEPH’S RC PRIMARY SCHOOL ACTIVE HORIZONS ST PETER’S CATHOLIC CHURCH WOOLWICH THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION CORRELLI COLLEGE METRO RAVENSBOURNE COLLEGE CHRIST CHAPEL MINISTRIES COLIM CHURCH CONGO SUPPORT GROUP CORPUS CHRISTI CATHOLIC CHURCH HYDERI ISLAMIC CENTRE RAILTON ROAD METHODIST CHURCH ST MATTHEW’S CHURCH BRIXTON SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF ST EMILIE ST JOHN THE DIVINE KENNINGTON ST ANNE’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL PCS UNION SOUTH LONDON LIBERAL SYNAGOGUE ELM COURT SCHOOL EVELYN GRACE ACADEMY ST JOHN’S ANGELL TOWN CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL LAMBETH MASJID MOSQUE SAINT GABRIEL’S COLLEGE METROPOLITAN NEW ECONOMICS FOUNDATION ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST ANGELL TOWN ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST WATERLOO HOUSE OF FAITH GROVE MEDICAL CENTRE ST ANDREW’S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH ST WILLIAM OF YORK RC CHURCH NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH OF GOD ST SAVIOUR RC CHURCH & PRIMARY SCHOOL LEWISHAM RUSHEY GREEN PRIMARY LEWISHAM ISLAMIC CENTRE SAINT SWITHUN’S CHURCH DEPTFORD GREEN SECONDARY SCHOOL SURREY SQUARE PRIMARY SCHOOL BRANDON BAPTIST SOUTH LONDON MISSION NOTRE DAME SECONDARY WILLIAM BOOTH COLLEGE SHAREACTION ENGLISH FOR ACTION COMBER GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL COPLESTON CENTRE CHURCH GLOBE ACADEMY YOUTH FUTURES BALHAM COMMUNITY CHURCH ST MARY’S CHURCH ST LUKE’S CHURCH BATTERSEA REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD WANDSWORTH ST FRANCIS XAVIER SIXTH FORM COLLEGE SURREY LANE PEOPLES’ ORGANISATION RASTAFARI COUNCIL OF BRITAIN SOMERSET CHILDREN’S CENTRE YVONNE CARR CHILDREN’S CENTRE GREATER WINSTANLET PEOPLES’ ORGANISATION CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION FOR RACIAL JUSTICE ST THOMAS’ CHURCH STAMFORD HILL NORTH EAST HACKNEY ANGLICAN GROUP ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS CHURCH CARDINAL POLE RC SCHOOL ST MARY’S C OF E CHURCH ST MONICA HOXTON PARISH RANDAL CREMER PRIMARY SCHOOL HACKNEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE BRIDGE ACADEMY BSIX BROOKE HOUSE SIXTH FORM COLLEGE SEBRIGHT PRIMARY SCHOOL ST JOHN THE BAPTIST ALEVI CULTURAL CENTRE NEW UNITY ST JAMES CHURCH ELATT CONNECTED LEARNING ST THOMAS MOORE RC CHURCH CLAPTON GIRLS ACADEMY STRATFORD & CANNING TOWN METHODISTS PARISH OF THE DIVINE COMPASSIONST ANTONY’S RC CHURCH ST BONAVENTURE’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL ST ANGELA’S URSULINE SCHOOL ST MARGARET’S RC CHURCH WOODGRANGE BAPTIST CHURCH ST STEPHEN’S & ST NICHOLAS’ PARISH SHPRESA PROGRAMME CATHOLIC PARISH OF THE ROYAL DOCKS TRUSTEES OF ST FRANCIS RC CHURCH URSULINE CONVENT CARITAS ANCHOR HOUSE UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON ST ANTONY’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL UPTON CROSS PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWHAM SIXTH FORM COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON STUDENT UNION BIRKBECK UNIVERSITY OF LONDON ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY CHURCH TRINITY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL CJSR - BRENTWOOD DIOCESE THE SALVATION ARMY ILFORD ON THE ROCK MINISTRIES ST CASSIMIRS LITHUANIAN CHURCH EAST LONDON MOSQUE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH OF GOD MILE END OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION RC CHURCH BETHNAL GREEN QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT SALVATION ARMY STEPNEY GREEN & STRATFORD ST MARY’S CABLE STREET E1 COMMUNITY CHURCH ST PAUL’S SHADWELL UNISON TOWER HAMLETS JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE CENTRAL FOUNDATION GIRLS SCHOOL ISLAMIC FORUM EUROPE LANGDON PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL DAWATUL ISLAM UK & EIRE POPLAR HARCA CANNON BARNET PRIMARY SCHOOL TOYNBEE HALL RAINE’S FOUNDATION SCHOOL THOMAS BUXTON PRIMARY SCHOOL COUNCIL OF SOMALI ORGANISATIONS IN UK MULBERRY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS BETHNAL GREEN ACADEMY LAWDALE PRIMARY SCHOOL STEWART HEDLAM PRIMARY SCHOOL QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION ST PETER’S BETHNAL GREEN OUR LADY AND ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC CHURCH SOUTHALL ANGLICAN COMMUNITIES HOLY TRINITY VICARAGE ST ANSELM’S RC CHURCH EALING TRINITY METHODIST WILLIAM PERKIN C OF E HIGH SCHOOL CHURCH OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR AL MUNTADA AL ISLAMI TRUST HOLY CROSS CHURCH HOLY GHOST AND ST STEPHEN’S CHURCH ST LUKE’S SHEPHERD’S BUSH ST PAUL’S HAMMERSMITH ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY FULHAM THE LONDON ORATORY SCHOOL TWYFORD HIGH SCHOOL ST MARK’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL THE FORUM ST CHARLES CATHOLIC SIXTH FORM COLLEGE ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH UNITE THE UNION HOTEL WORKERS BRANCH ST THOMAS MORE LANGUAGE COLLEGE ST FRANCIS CHURCH SION MANNING RC SCHOOL EPIC ELM ST JAMES’S PICCADILLY LONDON WEST AREA QUAKER MEETING HOLY APOSTLES PIMLICO SISTERS OF MERCY IPPR METHODIST CHURCH NORTH WEST LONDON FARM STREET CHURCH CITY OF WESTMINSTER COLLEGE ISLAMIC CENTRE OF ENGLAND BLOOMSBURY CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH ASPIRE & SUCCEED HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC & MEDIA ARTS COLLEGE HANDSWORTH WOOD GIRLS’ ACADEMY ST ANNE’S CITY YEAR BIRMINGHAM YOUNG PEOPLE SERVICES ST CLARE’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL ST FRANCIS’ CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL BIRMINGHAM METHODIST CIRCUIT ST JOHN WALL CATHOLIC SCHOOL ST THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL & SIXTH FORM ST FRANCIS CHURCH HANDSWORTH DUTCH COMMUNITY IN THE MIDLANDS (DUCOM) ANGLESEY PRIMARY SCHOOL BIRMINGHAM PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE MIDLAND INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION MUATH TRUST BROOKLANDS FARM PRIMARY SCHOOL MILTON KEYNES COLLEGE ST PAUL’S CATHOLIC SCHOOOL MILTON KEYNES ACADEMY ST AUGUSTINES MK EQAULITY GROUP Q ALLIANCE MK FUTURE WOLVERTON CHRIST CHURCH CORNERSTONE MK MUSLIM ASSOCATION MK QUAKERS MK CONGOLESE COMMUNITY ST FRIDESWIDES ST MARY & ST FRANCIS CHURCH STANTONBURY ECUMENICAL PARTNERSHIP BESTWOOD ANGLICANS BLUE BELL HILL PRIMARY CHRIST THE KING CHRISTIAN CENTRE CORPUS CHRISTI ENTHUSIASM GOD’S VINEYARD GRACE CHURCH HACKNEY CARRIAGE FEDERATION HOLY SPIRIT NCHA NOTTINGHAM EAST METHODIST PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE RCN ST ANN WITH EMMANUEL ST BARNABAS ST NIC’S ST CHRISTOPHER’S ST PETER’S ALL SAINTS ST MARY’S THE PILGRIM TRENT VINEYARD TRINITY UNISON CITY UNISON COUNTY UNISON REGION UNIVERSITY COLLEGE UNION UON GEOGRAPHY UON SOCIOLOGY UON STUDENT’S UNION NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY UON POLITICS METROPOLITAN HOUSING ASSOCIATION MUSLIM HANDS EMMANUEL SCHOOL ST ANDREW’S ST LUKE’S GAMSTON THE KARIMIA INSTITUTE HOPE CHURCH
MANIFESTO 2015
WWW.CITIZENSUK.ORG
THE MANIFESTO: 1. GOVERNANCE OF THE UK 2. IMPROVED SOCIAL CARE 3. A HEALTHY START FOR EVERY CHILD 4. MORE PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING 5. DIGNITY FOR FAMILIES SEEKING SANCTUARY 6. IMPROVE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES 7. JUST MONEY 8. LIVING WAGE
CITIZENS UK COUNCIL: Cardiff Citizens Rev Jon Durley, Anglican Priest Dr Eva Elliott, Teacher Sahar Al-Faifi, Geneticist Jim Barnaville, Community Worker (retired) Richard Weaver, Charity Worker Amber Courtney, UNISON Officer Citizens UK Birmingham Keith Heron, Finance Director Sr Mary Horgan, Religious Sister and Teacher Mark Humphreys, Headteacher Mike Seal, College Lecturer Citizens:mk Deborah Wilson, Teacher (retired) Yvonne Smith, Parish Clerk (retired) North London Citizens Edward Badu, Estate Agent Robert Johnson, Local Authority Officer Amber Paul, Student Nottingham Citizens Helen Black, Regional Director (UNISON) Sarah Burton, Student Union Officer David Cordell, Student Union President Clive Foster, Pastor Luke Goss, Church Worker Sheila Marriott, Nurse
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Sajid Mohammed, Charity Worker Rev Karen Rooms, Anglican Priest Charlotte Wood, Voluntary Worker South London Citizens Roger Black, Business Consultant Des Figueiredo, Pastor Esmat Jeraj, Business Manager Cynthia Masiyiwa, Student Ismael Musoke, Student The East London Communities Organisation (TELCO) Sam Agyeman-Mensah, International Development (retired) Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Consultant John Clifton, Salvation Army Patsy Cummings, Mentor and Parish Manager Bernadette Harris, Public Health Worker (retired) Andrew Paul Walton, Journalist Rev Paul Regan, Methodist Minister Rev Angus Ritchie, Anglican Priest Rev Steven Saxby, Anglican Priest West London Citizens Zrinka Bralo, Charity Worker Roma Fiseha, School Student Jamie Pitts, Student Fr Dominic Robinson, Roman Catholic Priest Sonia Dore, NHS Manager
INTRODUCTION In 2010, days before the General Election, Citizens UK hosted an Assembly which came to be known as ‘The Fourth Debate’. It was attended by the three main Prime Ministerial candidates who agreed to meet with Citizens UK during their term of office, and responded positively to our proposals for a cap on the cost of credit, for affordable housing through Community Land Trusts, to end the detention of children for immigration purposes, and to support the Living Wage. The charitable objective of Citizens UK is to develop the capacity of the people to participate in public life, enabling them to be involved in the decisions that affect them and those they love. Our members believe it is a privilege and a responsibility to be an active citizen and that the vote is but the starting point of a healthy democracy. Democracy in the UK is in danger of becoming something people watch on television, not something that they do. That’s why in this general election we will engage thousands of people in shared action for the common good. Citizens UK is an alliance of 300 schools, faith communities, unions and voluntary sector organisations, reaching approximately half a million people. Over the past year, these member communities have engaged in a discussion about the most important issues facing their families. The Citizens UK Council was created to coordinate this concerted effort and develop a radical yet realistic agenda for the common good. The Citizens UK 2015 Manifesto outlined here is what we will now pursue, building coalitions, taking action and culminating in the proposed Citizens UK General Election Assembly on May 4th 2015.
The country is emerging from a deep and serious recession. Our member communities have born the cost – low pay, rising housing costs and an uncertain future. These proposals have been crafted in hope and with our grandchildren in mind. We believe in longterm responsible choices: early intervention, wages for families to live on and building affordable homes. These proposals will contribute to long term public savings be that through reduced tax credit subsidy or reduced pressure on NHS spending. Most importantly, we take responsibility first ourselves, as citizens and as civil society. For every proposal to Government, we start with a serious commitment of what we can do to tackle the problem. Therefore, as co-chairs of the Citizens UK Council, we are proud to present the collective voice of hundreds of thousands of citizens across the UK: the Citizens UK 2015 Manifesto.
Charlotte Wood Des Figueiredo Co-Chairs,Citizens UK Council
‘I am not one of those who think that the people are never wrong. They have been frequently and outrageously, both in other countries and in this. But I do say, that in all disputes between them and their rulers, the presumption is at least upon a par in favour of the people!’ Edmund Burke, 1770
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1. GOVERNANCE OF THE UK CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Train at least 1,200 people from across the UK in the skills and tools of community organising, build Citizens alliances in 15 cities and towns across the UK, and bring together at least 500 diverse civic institutions to work for the common good; 2. Develop the profession and vocation of community organising amongst our own growing ‘Guild of Citizens UK Organisers’ and more widely through the Institute for Community Organising; 3. Register and encourage thousands of people to use their vote; 4. Celebrate the 800th Anniversary of the historic signing of the Magna Carta in 2015 and teach our membership and the general public the historic significance of this ‘deal’ for freedom and the rule of law. 5. Initiate a ‘Citizens Commission on the Better Governance of the UK’ which will focus on developing greater democratic participation, including through opportunities that presently exist, such as the Localism Bill, and through other means.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Recognise the work and objectives of Citizens UK by the Prime Minister agreeing to meet with us once a year, nominating a senior Minister to relate to us on a regular basis and encouraging Cabinet colleagues to meet where our interests overlap. BACKGROUND It is our experience that the governance of the neighbourhood, city or nation works best where there is a balance of power between the state, the market and civil society – but civil society is currently the weakest sector and least well organised. Citizens UK exists to strengthen civil society so we can play our part in good governance and we use community organising to teach people David Cameron addresses Citizens the art of democracy in action. The UK membership at the 2010 ‘Fourth greater the participation of people, the Debate’ greater peace and prosperity. We work with schools, churches and other communities as the foundation of democracy, where people first learn how to work with others, to compromise, to listen and to lead. As Citizens UK we ask for a respectful and constructive relationship with the next Government.
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”No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that fails to include and develop its youth severs its lifeline.” Kofi Annan FACTS & FIGURES • Voter turnout at UK General Elections fell from 79% in 1974 to 65% in 2010. • Membership of political parties fell from 9.8% of adult population in 1970 to 1.0% in 2010. • Regular Church of England attendance fell from 3.5% of adult population in 1968 to 1.9% in 1999.
2. IMPROVED SOCIAL CARE CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Continue to grow and improve the way that our communities relate to those needing care by twinning communities with care homes in their neighbourhoods, training people to be dementia friends and supporting voter registration in care homes; 2. Engage Local Authorities and care providers, encouraging them to adopt the Social Care Charter; 3. Work with the Local Government Association and care providers to develop a credible minimum-pricing model to avoid a race to the bottom and ensure that the commissioning process enables quality care; 4. Build a powerful movement calling for quality of care for recipients and dignity for care workers.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Ensure that care workers are trained to nationally accredited and evidence-based standards; 2. Ensure care recipients benefit from a small and consistent team of care workers, with at least 30 minutes for home care visits; 3. Ensure that care workers are paid at least the Living Wage. CASE STUDY “My mum was regularly dressed in other people’s clothes – on one occasion her feet had been squeezed into someone else’s shoes. They were so obviously far too tight as her toes were bunched up. But, of course, she couldn’t say and there was no-one who had time to listen.” Michele Simmons, Finchley Reform Synagogue
BACKGROUND Across Citizens UK we hear stories of people worried and angry about the poor quality social care that their parents and people they know are receiving. We hear the stories of care workers struggling to provide for their families and to provide a good service with so little time and inadequate training. How can it be that those we love most are cared for by those we pay the least?
The stories reflect a national pattern where the number of people requiring care is growing – and our system is not built to cope. One in three people over 65 are predicted to develop dementia and someone turns 65 every minute in the UK. As the social care system falls into crisis, costs to the NHS are spiralling and everyone suffers. We believe our loved ones deserve a named, trained and reasonably paid care worker. We have developed a Social Care Charter – including training, continuity, Living Wage, 30 minute visits – to bring quality for care recipients and dignity for care workers. Now we are building a movement of communities, recipients, workers, providers and commissioners to change our social care system for the better.
Care in the Square: Government Minister Norman Lamb meets care providers, recipients and families in Parliament Square in March 2014.
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3. A HEALTHY START FOR EVERY CHILD CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Train health champions who can deliver community-led health education programmes, health checks and act as a point of contact for health concerns in their community; 2. Develop and deliver evidence-based early intervention and prevention projects within our communities; 3. Work closely with health bodies to co-produce local health services, ensuring they genuinely reflect the local population.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Create a £1bn Children’s Health Fund dedicated to early intervention which is evidencebased and co-produced with communities and schools; 2. Introduce a 20% duty on drinks with added sugar.
BACKGROUND We want our children and grandchildren to have the best chance to live a healthy life. Yet across our member schools we are finding that increasing numbers of children are showing early signs of heart disease, diabetes and poor mental health. The NHS budget, frozen in real terms, is under huge pressure. Everyone, including the Chief Medical Officer, agrees that for the NHS to survive, we need to spend money on early intervention. Yet we systematically fail to invest in preventing physical disease and mental ill-health and only one in twenty pounds spent by the NHS is spent on early intervention and prevention.
FACTS & FIGURES • For every £1 spent on promoting healthy eating by government over £100 is spent promoting bad diets by industry. • NHS spends 16% of its budget on under 18s. • The UK has one of the highest children’s death rates in Europe. • £7.7 billion spent annually on diabetes, set to double in 2035. • The UK has the highest child and adult obesity rates in Europe. • 15 years: the difference between a wealthy and a poor child’s life expectancy.
So we are calling for a Children’s Health Fund of £1bn a year to enable a step-change in early intervention and a great increase in co-produced health strategies working through schools and communities. These could include mental health services in schools and community-led approaches to support mothers in pregnancy and early years. This investment will help relieve future pressure on NHS spending. Since there is no spare money in the NHS, we are calling for a duty on sugary drinks, which will itself reduce diabetes and obesity.
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4. MORE PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Encourage councils to charge the maximum rate of taxes on empty homes (150%), in an attempt to ensure that empty houses are being utilized properly; 2. Celebrate councils which have introduced a register for private landlords, and encourage councils that have not done so to consider it; 3. Identify other areas in London and across the country to develop a network of urban CLTs to provide affordable housing for people who otherwise could not get a foot on the property ladder.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Agree that ‘affordability’ of housing for rent or sale must be defined by median local incomes, not the market rate; 2. Publish annually a register of all publically owned land for residential development, and require that 50% of this land be retained for affordable housing; 3. Initiate a plan to deliver 3 million new homes by 2030, of which a target of at least 100,000 be delivered on a Community Land Trust and affordable basis. BACKGROUND
Citizens UK leaders at St Clement’s Hospital in 2009, now the site of the UK’s first urban Community Land Trust (CLT)
The UK has a housing crisis. Citizens UK’s membership includes large numbers of people who are affected by it and are living in overcrowded or substandard homes. The problem affects people across a vast age range, as families struggle to afford to pay rent or mortgages for suitable accommodation. Demand is growing and far outstrips supply, and the tax-payer is shouldering a huge burden in housing benefit due to spiralling costs. We can no longer rely on the housing market or current housing policies.
We have to create opportunities for a major stepchange in house building. In order to ensure continued affordability, we need Community Land Trusts since they take the value of land out of the cost of housing, normally halving the price of a home, and mean that housing stays affordable in that place forever.
FACTS & FIGURES • By 2018 there will be one million fewer affordable homes than there were in 1980, whilst the population has grown by seven million people. • Rents are being subsidised by Housing Benefit to the tune of £23.8 billion per annum - roughly 30% of the welfare bill for the UK taxpayer.
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5. DIGNITY FOR FAMILIES SEEKING SANCTUARY CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Care for the well-being of refugees, welcome them into our communities, encourage them integrate through participation in institutions, and exercise citizenship through our Citizens alliances; 2. Enable the UK to play a bigger role in resettling refugees from UN camps by persuading local authorities to pledge to accommodate a quota in their area, and offer civil society support when refugees arrive.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Increase the number of UN refugees resettled in the UK from 750 to at least 1,500 a year; 2. Bring the income threshold for spousal visas into line with the Living Wage to keep more families together; 3. Put a time limit on adult detention, and end the use of pain-based removal methods. BACKGROUND The UK has a proud tradition of offering sanctuary to those fleeing persecution, but it is under threat. Citizens UK has seen the human cost of new measures that have been introduced, which compromise the dignity of the strangers in our midst. Tens of thousands are trapped in UN camps in the Middle East – yet the UK offers resettlement to only a handful each year. Refugees who get here find themselves cruelly separated from their families by a visa requirement to earn substantially more than the Living Wage. Those who are sent home face indefinite detention in the UK followed by removal techniques that involve pain, and in some tragic cases, injury and death. CASE STUDY “If you have never been in a detention centre you will never know the true extent of what happens behind those closed doors. The worst thing in my 83 days, apart from fear and humiliation, was the uncertainty. I had no idea if and when I would be released or deported. I lost sense of time and became depressed. I went on a hunger strike for 3 weeks and was placed on a suicide watch. I’ve since been clinically diagnosed with depression and the trauma continues whenever I hear the word ‘DETENTION’. This is not how human beings should be treated. Britain is the only country in Europe that detains people indefinitely – it is time we agree a limit.” Penny Keza, West London Citizens.
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FACTS & FIGURES •
Over
690,000
people
need
resettlement from refugee camps; only 86,000 places have been offered worldwide. •
Jordan, the 89th richest country in the world, currently hosts 600,000 Syrian refugees. The UK, the 6th richest country, just 50.
•
Almost half of British citizens do not earn the £18,600 required to bring a spouse to the UK from abroad.
•
Over 30,000 people are detained for immigration reasons every year - 4,000 at any one time.
None
know when they will be released. •
About 16,000 people are subject to enforced removal from the UK by private contractors each year. Inappropriate and painful restraint techniques are used.This led to the death of Jimmy Mubenga in 2010.
6. IMPROVE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Set up a social enterprise that will bridge the divide between employers and thousands of talented young people across the UK hungry for an opportunity; 2. Build employer partnerships between skills growth sectors and our schools and colleges, ensuring long term relationships are built. 3. Pilot in Birmingham, Nottingham, and London a model of skills development to increase the employability skills of young people for the new economy, with the aim to get employability skills on the National Curriculum.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Make sure that every school and college benefits from an employer partnership to help deliver employability skills as part of the National Curriculum; 2. Guarantee that publicly funded economic development projects such as local enterprise partnerships and major infrastructure projects like HS2 are enabled and accountable for tackling youth unemployment.
FACTS & FIGURES • •
•
The UK tech sector will need 300,000 new recruits by 2020. In Europe only Spain, Portugal, and Ireland have greater skills shortages that the UK. Despite overall employment being at a 6 year low, youth unemployment is above 25% in some areas, including Middlesbrough, Bradford, and Doncaster.
BACKGROUND Despite the economic upturn, young people in our membership are too often struggling to get into work, facing rejection after rejection as they post off scores of CVs in the hope of getting just a foot in the door. Many have neither the right skills nor social networks. Ironically, employers are struggling to recruit in the growing engineering, technology, health, and creative industries. As a result the UK’s economy is threatened by an opportunity divide between employers and young people, disproportionately affecting those from poorer communities. Our faith, educational, and cultural institutions are the incubators of Britain’s talent, and Citizens UK has demonstrated its ability to bring that talent to the fore. Working through our communities, we successfully got 1,500 East Londoners into Living Wage Olympic jobs and we are now working with leading tech companies to help 1,000 young Londoners kick start tech careers by 2016. Now we are calling on Government to help us bridge the opportunity divide.
Citizens UK’s Youth Leadership Team
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7. JUST MONEY CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Commit to finding 10,000 new members for Credit Unions from within our membership over the course of the next parliament; 2. Continue to contribute to the debate over what constitutes a ‘fair’ cap on the cost of credit; 3. Work with our Local Authorities to determine the right number of betting shops and payday lenders for our communities.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Ensure the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) adjusts the cap on the total cost of credit, in line with most other OECD countries; 2. Give Local Authorities the power to cap the number of payday lenders and betting shops; 3. Establish a community finance fund paid for by fines levied on banks and pay day lenders by the FCA.
BACKGROUND Debt is a huge and growing problem for millions of people in the UK. We hear stories in our membership of people forced to take out a loan to get to the end of the week and then ending up trapped into paying back three times the amount borrowed. With banks withdrawing from providing loans to lower income families, the gap has been filled by usurious lending in the form of payday and other high-cost credit companies.
FACTS & FIGURES • 1,000,000+ loans are taken out each month; one third are not paid back on time. • In 2013, the FCA collected £474m in fines. • Wonga spent around £16m on advertising in 2011, over 100 times more than any credit union.
In 2010, at our General Election Assembly we called on the next Government to introduce a cap on the cost of credit and we are delighted that this Government has enabled the Financial Conduct Authority to introduce this cap. We now working hard to enlist people into credit unions and call on the next Government to continue the effort to make money more just in our communities.
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8. LIVING WAGE CITIZENS UK WILL: 1. Promote the Living Wage, aiming to reach 5,000 accredited Living Wage Employers by 2020 and to raise pay in the challenging sectors of retail, social care and hospitality; 2. Develop ways to spread the Living Wage including Living Wage Zones and Towns, the Service Provider Recognition Programme, and through the international Living Wage Foundation; 3. Protect the Living Wage as a credible, voluntary rate of pay that enables a basic standard of living, driven by civil society with strong business and cross-party support.
WE ASK THE NEXT GOVERNMENT TO: 1. Enforce the National Minimum Wage and champion a more stretching voluntary Living Wage, with the prime minister hosting annual Living Wage Employer awards in partnership with Citizens UK; 2. Implement the Living Wage in public sector commissioning, employment and procurement by 2020, sharing tax credit savings with local authorities and other public sector employers; 3. Encourage employers to pay the Living Wage by: a) offering those that pay it training and staff development subsidies; b) reducing income tax and national insurance contributions for the low paid; c) changing governance codes to require publicly listed companies to disclose how many they employ on less than the Living Wage; d) Assigning the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to co-chair with Citizens UK a working group on promoting the Living Wage in the retail sector. BACKGROUND
CASE STUDY 1
CASE STUDY 2
The Living Wage is about making sure “Paying the Living Wage makes “Before, I had to work two jobs to that working people can provide for their put food on the table and pay the absolute sense to us as an organisation – it’s part of our aim families. It is good for business, for families, rent. When the Living Wage was of being an employer of choice introduced I was able to prioritise the and for society as a whole. Living Wage one job and that means I’ve been able which helps us to protect the long term success of our business.” employers attract and retain the best to be there for my family and set up Marie Sigsworth, Group a youth group in my community. What talent and take responsibility, not relying Corporate Responsibility I’ve been given, I’m now able to give on society to pick up the tab through back.” Amin, Cleaner and Youth Director, Aviva tax credits and welfare payments. Since Worker launching the Living Wage Campaign in 2001, Citizens UK has built a national movement of committed campaigners and responsible employers. We have established the Living Wage Foundation which has accredited over 800 employers including Nestle, Nationwide, Great Ormond Street and Aviva. Our campaign has lifted the wages of tens of thousands of people, but there is still a long way to go. Over five million workers earn less than the Living Wage. It is time that government played a strong role in supporting this growing movement, so that the public and private sectors move together towards the Living Wage.
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GET IN TOUCH General enquiries: info@citizensuk.org.uk 020 7043 9881 @CitizensUK #cukelection facebook.com/citizensuk 112 Cavell Street, London E1 2JA Mailing list signup: eepurl.com/Z8yGD Media enquiries to Gillian Owen: gillian.owen@citizensuk.org
TAKE ACTION Our manifesto asks will only have an impact if we continue to act. Whether or not you’re part of a member organisation, there will be plenty more ways to join in the action between now and May 2015: from voter registration drives to sharing your personal stories, from creative ways to promote the Living Wage to keeping an eye on new local payday lenders and betting shops, and much more. Follow us @CitizensUK to find out more.
GIVE Citizens UK relies on membership dues, trusts, foundations, corporate sponsorship and personal donations to sustain our community organising work across the UK. If you would like to donate to help strengthen Civil Society and the promotion of participatory democracy, please go to: justgiving.com/citizensuk