Royal Bank of Scotland and Citizens Advice Edinburgh are working together to provide debt support and advice to customers locally and across the UK, with over 2,100 referrals since October 2020.
Edinburgh based advisers assist in instances where Royal Bank believes that Citizens Advice could offer support that addresses a root cause of financial vulnerability.
Previous Citizens Advice research found that 1 in 10 families – about 3 million UK households – faced a cost-of-living crisis, unable to cover even basic bills such as food and heating.
Royal Bank of Scotland is today announcing the launch of a report in partnership with Citizens Advice, focusing on support for vulnerable customers. There have been over 2,100 referrals from NatWest and Royal Bank to Citizens Advice since the programme started in October 2020.
Citizen Advice advisers based in Edinburgh have supported teams from across Royal Bank by providing a referral service for customers who contact the bank and express difficulty with debt, benefits, relationships and family.
The advisers assist in instances where Royal Bank believes that Citizens Advice could offer support that addresses a root cause of financial vulnerability.
The project has successfully helped customers across Scotland with complex financial issues and continues until September 2022, by which time NatWest and Royal Bank expect to have helped over 4,000 people with complex financial advice needs. This service is available across NatWest, Royal Bank and Ulster Bank.
The latest report details the impact of the pilot one year on. It found that:
There have been over 2,100 referrals from NatWest and Royal Bank to Citizens Advice since the programme started in October 2020 with the numbers increasing month on month.
Over half (59%) of the referrals were from customers who had not accessed Citizens Advice before
86% of customers were over 35, compared to the Citizens Advice overall base of 73%
The top three problems leading to referral are debt (62%), benefits (32%) and relationships (18%)
The report is released as millions of people face up to rising household costs. Previous Citizens Advice research has revealed:
· 1 in 10 UK families – about 3 million households – were facing a cost-of-living crunch this winter, unable to cover even basic bills such as food and heating.
· 1 in 5 of all adults are cutting back on food shopping or turning off the heating, while 1 in 10 anticipate needing to use food banks.
Benjamin Napier, Chief Executive Officer at Citizens Advice Edinburgh said: “We are committed to giving people the knowledge and confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever they need.
“Together with Royal Bank of Scotland we have been able to help people in the most vulnerable situations in our society across Scotland. The programme is an important way for us to reach more people who may need our help and might not have known about our services.”
David Lindberg, CEO, Retail Banking at NatWest Group said: “Through our partnership with Citizens Advice, we want to deliver personalised support to our most vulnerable customers. Many people who come to us for support have complex financial issues which impact their lives.
“In this current economic environment, it’s more important now than ever to be able to intervene when customers experience early signs of financial difficulty and help them to improve their financial capability.’’
Stephen Timms MP said: “It’s important that people have organisations they can turn to for support when experiencing financial difficulty.
“As we continue to recover from the pandemic and changes to the cost-of-living cause people to experience complex problems they may not have experienced before, it is encouraging that organisations such as NatWest Group and Citizens Advice are working together to meet the wider advice and support needs of vulnerable customers.”
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has today released its report into the fatal derailment of a passenger train at Carmont, Aberdeenshire, 12th August 2020.
At around 09:37 hrs on Wednesday 12 August 2020, a passenger train derailed near Carmont, Aberdeenshire. The train, reporting number 1T08, was the 06:38 hrs service from Aberdeen to Glasgow, which was returning towards Aberdeen due to a blockage that had been reported on the line ahead.
It was travelling at 73 mph (117 km/h), just under the normal speed for the line concerned. After derailing, the train deviated to the left, before striking a bridge parapet which caused the vehicles to scatter. Tragically, three people died as a result of the accident: the conductor, Donald Dinnie; the train driver, Brett McCullough; a passenger, Christopher Stuchbury. The remaining six people on the train were injured.
On the morning of the accident there was near-continuous heavy rain at the site of the accident between about 06:00 hrs and 09:00 hrs. The 51.5 mm of rain which fell in this period at the accident site was close to the average rainfall for the month of August in this part of Scotland.
Train 1T08 derailed because it struck debris that had been washed out of a drainage trench. This trench, which had been constructed between 2011 and 2012, contained a perforated pipe that had been installed as part of a project to address a known problem with drainage and the stability of a cutting in that area.
However, the drainage system and associated earthworks had not been constructed in accordance with the original design and so were not able to safely accommodate the water flows that morning.
RAIB’s investigators found that a low earth bank (bund) had been constructed that ran across a slope leading towards the track.
The presence of this bund significantly altered the flow of water such that extreme rainfall would cause a concentrated flow into the steeply sloping section of trench. The evidence indicates that the intensity and duration of this rainfall would have generated water flows into the trench that were sufficient to wash away the gravel fill and the ground immediately surrounding the trench.
No instruction was given by route control or the signaller that train 1T08 should be run at a lower speed on its journey between Carmont and Stonehaven. At that time there was no written process that required any such precaution in these circumstances.
Consequently, normal railway rules were applied to the train movement. The RAIB’s investigation found that the ‘route controllers’ (who were responsible for the operational management of Scotland’s railway network) had not been given the information, procedures or training that they needed to effectively manage complex situations of the type encountered on the morning of 12 August 2020.
The RAIB’s investigation also identified that Network Rail’s management processes had not identified or addressed weaknesses in the way it mitigated the consequences of extreme rainfall events. Furthermore, despite an awareness of the risk, Network Rail had not completed the implementation of additional control measures following previous events involving extreme weather and the management of operating incidents.
A train built to modern standards would have had a number of design features that are intended to minimise the damage to the train in case of collision or derailment. However, the refurbished HST that derailed at Carmont was designed and constructed before some of these standards came into force.
While it is not possible to be certain about what would have happened in the hypothetical situation with different rolling stock in the same accident, RAIB considers it more likely than not that the outcome would have been better if the train had been compliant with modern ‘crashworthiness’ standards.
Recommendations
As a consequence of this accident, RAIB has made 20 recommendations for the improvement of railway safety. The areas covered include:
better management of civil engineering construction activities by Network Rail and its contractors
additional standards and guidance on the safe design of drainage systems
improved operational response to extreme rainfall events, exploiting the full capability of modern technology, and based on a detailed understanding of the risk associated with extreme rainfall
enhancing the capability of route control offices to effectively manage complex events
extending Network Rail’s assurance regime to encompass route control offices
addressing the obstacles to effective implementation of lessons learnt from the investigation of accidents and incidents
measures to prevent derailed trains from deviating too far from the track (equipment fitted to track and/or trains)
addressing train design issues identified by the investigation and better understanding the additional risk associated with the operation of older trains.
Simon French, the Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents, said:“This was a tragedy that devastated the lives of the three families who lost their loved ones and brought terror and injury to six other people on the morning of 12 August 2020. Our thoughts are with them all. Nothing can undo this event, but we owe it to everybody who was affected by it to strive to learn safety lessons for the future.
“Although railway safety in the UK has been steadily improving over recent decades, the tragedy at Carmont is a reminder of just how disruptive and potentially dangerous Britain’s volatile weather can be.
“The railway industry needs to get even smarter about the way it counters this threat, and to better exploit remarkable modern technology that enables the prediction and tracking of extreme weather events such as summer convective storms. There’s also an urgent need for the railway to provide real-time decision-makers with the information, procedures and training they need to manage complex and widespread weather-related events across the rail network.
“No one wants to shut down the railway every time it rains. Railways need to operate safely and reliably in most weather conditions. If they’re not able to achieve this, potential passengers will be forced onto the roads, which are undoubtedly much more dangerous in bad weather conditions. So, there’s a balance to be struck and technology can help to get this balance right.
“Modern weather forecasting and monitoring systems can spot the truly exceptional events before they occur and as they happen, so allowing railway operators to implement precautionary measures when it’s prudent to do so. This would benefit the safety of the line (by restricting train speeds, or suspending operations, when necessary) while reducing the need for imposing blanket speed restrictions over areas that are not at significant risk.
“This investigation highlights the risk of uncontrolled changes to railway infrastructure during construction. It is so sad that a project that was designed for the protection of the travelling public became unsuitable for its intended use and posed a hazard to trains because of such uncontrolled changes to the design.
“When anything is built in difficult conditions, such as on the side of a steeply sloped cutting, changes will often be needed for practical reasons. Although such changes are normal and can be highly beneficial in terms of saved time and cost, they need to be made with care.
“In each case, the original designer needs to understand the change that’s proposed and review the implications of a change that may appear inconsequential to the team on site. I hope this example will resonate throughout the UK’s construction industry.
“It’s important for all of us in the rail industry not to dismiss this truly harrowing accident as a one-off event. The railway industry needs to think through the implications of severe weather on its infrastructure, whilst also looking to the behaviour of trains should they derail after striking obstructions such as washouts and landslips.
“Is there more that could be done to keep trains in line and closer to the track, to minimise the risk of jack-knifing and to keep bogies attached to rail vehicles?
“RAIB doesn’t have all of the answers but is urging the railway industry to think about ways of guiding derailed trains, and to think about the longer-term implications of continuing to operate rolling stock that pre-dates modern standards.”
Carmont Report ‘damning’ and must be ‘Watershed Moment for Rail Safety’ say Drivers Union ASLEF
ASLEF’s organiser in Scotland, Kevin Lindsay, said:“This report is damning and makes for difficult reading, not least for the families of those who died and were injured.
“The failures identified in this report are so bad that we believe this must be a watershed moment in the way we ensure rail safety is adhered to. ASLEF has made a number of recommendations and demands (see notes below).
“Never again should our drivers be on trains where crashworthiness is not fit for purpose and on track and infrastructure not designed to withstand the consequences from climate change and where repeated warnings were not acted upon.
“Action must be taken urgently, if not then this tragedy could happen again and again.
“Network Rail and Abellio ScotRail failed the staff and passengers who were on the train that crashed at Carmont and they must be held to account. This should start with Alex Hynes, given his involvement in both Network Rail and Abellio ScotRail, his position is untenable, and he must resign with immediate effect.
“Network Rail and Abellio ScotRail must also be pursued in the courts. Carmont represents endemic corporate failure and for justice to prevail corporate homicide/manslaughter laws should be used to pursue Network Rail and Abellio ScotRail. Using the laws of the land and we implore the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to act and ensure that their litany of failure is heard in court.”
The train drivers’ trade union demands:
ASLEF demands ORR begins the immediate process of withdrawal of HST’s from service across the entire rail network by 12th of August 2023.
ASLEF demands the ORR conduct an immediate industry review of crashworthiness standards of all rolling stock in service today and insist that classes of train or locomotive that do not meet minimum standards of crashworthiness be modified or be given a timescale for withdrawal.
ASLEF demands the ORR to ensure that going forward there are regular reviews of the crashworthiness of legacy rolling stock to take into account the “state of the art” at the time of the review, and the introduction of any new cab equipment.
The RSSB initiate research on the design, specification and effectiveness of lifeguards with a view to specifying a new standard that would prevent the derailment of trains in scenarios such as the one experienced at Carmont.
In line with the RAIB report ASLEF calls for the RSSB to review its previous research on the fitting of secondary impact protection devices for train drivers (including seatbelts) in the light of the circumstances of Carmont, future train accident risk (including derailment) and the capabilities of current technology.
In consultation with relevant stakeholders the RSSB evaluates the case for fitting specific secondary impact protection devices into new and existing trains; and where justified and incorporate requirements for improved protection measures into standards for train driving cabs.
A Public Inquiry into the events at Carmont and the awarding of the franchise to Abellio with regards bringing HSTs to Scotland.
Mental Health Foundation calls for Scottish Government commitment to cost-effective prevention of poor mental health
Cost to UK economy is at least £117.9 billion, around 5 per cent of GDP
Mental health problems cost the Scottish economy at least £8.8 billion annually according to a new report published today by the Mental Health Foundation and London School of Economics and Political Science with support from the University of Strathclyde.
Almost three-quarters of the cost (72%) is due to the lost productivity of people living with mental health conditions and costs incurred by unpaid informal carers who take on a great deal of responsibility in providing mental health support in our communities.
To put the economic cost of mental ill-health in Scotland into context, the NHS Scotland operating budget for 2020/21 was around £15.3 billion.
The UK cost is at least £117.9 billion – equivalent to around 5 per cent of the GDP. Across the UK there were 10.3 million recorded instances of mental ill-health over a one-year period, and the third most common cause of disability was depression.
The report, ‘The economic case for investing in the prevention of mental health conditions in the UK’, makes the case for a prevention-based approach to mental health which would both improve mental wellbeing while reducing the economic costs of poor mental health.
Lee Knifton, Director of Mental Health Foundation in Scotland,said: “Our report reveals the opportunity we have to revolutionise our approach to mental health in Scotland.
“It’s time to increase investment in population-level prevention of mental health problems. We can’t only treat our way out of the mental health crisis, which is worsening due to the pandemic, and we cannot afford the spiralling costs to both people’s wellbeing and our economy.
“We urge the Scottish Government to pay attention to what the evidence is telling us and commit to prioritising prevention in mental health. A prevention-first approach will not only help break down the barriers to good mental health but empower people to thrive at every stage of their lives and boost our economy in the long run.”
Research gathered from the UK and internationally shows the potential public health and economic benefit of programmes that target and prevent mental health problems and empower more people to live well, for example, by addressing issues such as perinatal depression, bullying, and social isolation in older people.
Other well-evidenced initiatives include promoting positive parenting, rapid access to psychological and psychosocial supports for people with identified needs and building supportive and inclusive workplaces.
A growing number of studies report on the significant return on investment from parenting programmes. Methods and costs vary, but those assessed in this way cover a long-time frame and report positive returns of up to £15.80 in long-term savings for every £1 spent on delivering the programme.
Similarly, a review of workplace interventions found savings of £5 for every £1 invested in supporting mental health.
Lead author of the report, David McDaid, Associate Professional Research Fellow in Health Policy and Health Economics at London School of Economics, said: “Our estimate of the economic impacts of mental health conditions, much of which is felt well beyond the health and social care sector, is a conservative estimate.
“What is clear is that there is a sound economic case for investing in effective preventive measures, particularly at a time when population mental health may be especially vulnerable because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This requires further sustained and coordinated actions not only within the health and social care sector, but across the whole of government.”
The £8.8 billion costs to the Scottish economy is likely to be a significant underestimate of the true costs – based on the lack of data available around some key areas.
For example, health service costs are based on the number of people receiving treatment and do not consider the many people who would benefit from treatment but either does not receive it because of pressure on services or do not seek help.
Additionally, no costs are included for reduced performance at work due to mental health problems, costs to criminal justice and housing systems linked to poor mental health, costs associated with addiction issues, or the costs associated with self-harm and suicide.
Commenting on the latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Friends of the Earth Scotland Head of Campaigns Mary Church said: “The latest IPCC report makes for deeply alarming reading in confirming that the impacts of climate breakdown are more widespread, happening much sooner and having more devastating consequences than previously predicted.
“Tragically, this will come as no surprise to the millions of people fighting for their lives and livelihoods who are on the sharpest end of the all too frequent devastation wrought by the floods, fires, droughts and extreme weather events worldwide.
“The gross injustice of the situation is that the climate crisis is hitting the poorest and most vulnerable people the hardest even though they didn’t create it.
“With current global commitments to climate action putting us on a pathway to a hellish 2.7oC warming, the report highlights the terrible risks of even temporarily overshooting the critical 1.5oC threshold of warming. It warns of the threat of triggering tipping points, turning many of nature’s carbon sinks into carbon sources, and rendering damage to ecosystems we rely on for life itself beyond repair.
“Following all the backslapping at COP26 this report is a stark reminder of the reality of the climate crisis and must serve as a wake up call to governments relying on vague 2050 net zero goals, pathways that overshoot 1.5oC and fantasy techno-fixes. With barely a decade left before we reach this critical threshold we urgently need to focus on the solutions we know are necessary including a rapid and just phase out of fossil fuels.
“Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Glasgow and worldwide last November demanding a response to the climate crisis that puts justice at the heart of domestic and international efforts, transforming our economic, energy, and food systems and putting people and nature over profit.”
Commenting on reports that developed countries, led by the US have attempted to remove references to losses and damages in the report, Meena Raman, Friends of the Earth Malaysia, commented: “It is a disgrace that decades of cowardly decisions by rich industrial nations have led us here, to the brink of climate catastrophe laid bare in this latest IPCC Assessment Report. The United States in particular must accept its role in creating the climate impacts we’re experiencing right now.
“Developed countries’ attempts to remove the concept of loss and damage, and the finance for it from the IPCC report, were largely thwarted, but we condemn this resistance by those most responsible for the climate crisis. This has been a shameless attempt to wriggle off the hook.
“Scientists have confirmed that much more finance must urgently flow from developed to developing countries, to enable the latter to adapt and adjust to irreparable damage from climate impacts. This funding is necessary to secure the wellbeing of their citizens and economies. Without it, our hard-fought progress for equity, equality, rights and justice will unravel.”
91% of unpaid family carers feel ignored by the Government.
Almost nine out of ten (86%) unpaid carers either agree, or agree strongly, that successive governments have ignored the needs of unpaid carers for a long time.
84% of survey respondents disagreed, or disagreed strongly, with the statement ‘I have confidence in the Government’s ability to improve the lives of unpaid carers’.
49% of survey respondents said they’d had to use their personal savings because of their caring role.
51% of survey respondents said they’d had to give up on hobbies or personal interests because of their caring role.
Findings from a new Carers Trust survey provide alarming evidence of a deep-rooted failure by successive governments to understand and meet the basic support needs of millions of people struggling to provide unpaid care for a family member or friend.
There is a near total sense among survey respondents of feeling abandoned by Government over a long time. Almost nine out of ten (86%) of unpaid carers agreed, or strongly agreed, that ‘successive governments have ignored the needs of unpaid carers for a long time’.
And only 1% of respondents (just 12 out of more than 1,500 unpaid carers who completed the survey) felt that politicians understand unpaid carers.
A separate poll of the UK public by research company Opiniumfor Carers Trust found that UK adults support the need for unpaid carers to receive more support from the Government.
According to the Opinium poll:
Four in five UK adults (80%) agreed that the Government needs to do more to support unpaid carers.
More than two thirds (68%) of UK adults agreed that all unpaid carers should receive financial support from the Government.
Almost half (46%) of UK adults did not agree that Carer’s Allowance is a fair level of support for an unpaid carer looking after a family member or friend for a minimum of 35 hours a week.
Unpaid carers being driven into acute financial hardship
Carers Trust’s survey results also demonstrated how many unpaid carers are being driven into acute financial hardship because of their caring role, with inadequate financial support from successive governments widely cited by survey respondents in their written responses.
Of those unpaid carers responding to a question on whether they had had to give up paid work because of their caring role, almost half (48%) said they had.
Financial pressures arising from giving up paid work are further exacerbated for many unpaid carers unable to claim Carer’s Allowance. The survey found that, of those responding to a question on whether they were receiving Carer’s Allowance, more than half (51%) said they were not.
A common complaint from survey respondents was how family carers of pensionable age stopped receiving Carer’s Allowance because they were receiving pensionable income, even though they were caring for a family member round the clock:
“I did [receive Carer’s Allowance] until I reached my state pension age, but as they class a pension as a benefit and you cannot get two “benefits” it was taken away. I have an underlying right to it though…Caring gets harder as you get older.”
Many unpaid carers receiving Carer’s Allowance complained that payment of £67.60 a week inadequately recognised the number of hours they spent on their caring role. They also felt the payment was not enough, given the complexity of needs many carers have to deal with. One carer commented that, after adding up all the hours he spent caring for his wife, he was earning just 50p an hour from Carer’s Allowance.
Responding to the survey findings, Carers Trust’s Executive Director of Policy and External Affairs, Joe Levenson, said:“Day in day out millions of unpaid carers play a crucial role, caring for family and friends and propping up our creaking social care system. But it’s clear from our survey that this is at great personal cost, and that unpaid carers are struggling to cope and feel marginalised and ignored by government.
“Reading the anguished responses from unpaid carers you get an overwhelming sense of how so many have been brought to breaking point. Unpaid carers are united in saying that they feel ignored and let down by the failure of successive governments to improve their lives, including through wide-reaching social care reform that could ease the responsibilities of care placed so heavily on family carers.
“That’s why the all too familiar practice of paying lip service to supporting carers while looking the other way must stop now. We welcome the UK Government’s recognition of the importance of unpaid carers in the recent adult social care white paper and are committed to working together to improve carers lives, but unpaid carers need ambitious and transformational change and they need it now.
“The Government could let carers know they have been heard straight away by introducing a national strategy for unpaid carers, to ensure their needs are a priority across government.
“And they should act on what unpaid carers have told us, putting them at the heart of this strategy so it’s able to deliver the transformational change that’s desperately needed – such as boosting Carer’s Allowance and making it easier to claim and funding regular breaks and respite for carers.”
In response to the survey findings, and on behalf of the carers who told us what was needed, Carers Trust is calling on Government to develop a new UK Government Strategy for Carers. ;
The strategy should include: improved availability of statutory care and support for people with care and support needs of all ages, so that unpaid carers’ caring roles are sustainable; improved support for unpaid carers themselves, including regular breaks and respite so unpaid carers can live a meaningful life alongside caring; a reform of Carer’s Allowance so that unpaid carers are better protected against financial hardship.
Carers Trust’s full set of recommendations for Government, as well as comprehensive findings from the survey, are available in its report, Pushed to the Edge:
The mental health of pregnant women, new mothers and their families, including those affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of an infant, has been highlighted by a Scottish Parliament Committee.
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s inquiry into women’s mental health experiences before, during and after the birth of a child (otherwise referred to as the perinatal period) highlights a number of issues faced by new mothers over the support they have received, particularly during the pandemic.
In particular, the inquiry found there was a sharp rise in birth trauma incidences reported since the pandemic began. The Committee calls on the Scottish Government and NHS Boards to redouble their focus on delivering services that directly address birth trauma.
The Committee also looked into the of support for those suffering from miscarriage, stillbirth or death of an infant. During its inquiry, the Committee received evidence of some women affected by baby loss who reported being treated close to women giving birth to healthy babies, causing additional trauma to the women affected.
The report calls for accelerated action to establish specialist baby loss units and, in the meantime, for new national protocols to be set up “that ensure families affected by baby loss are consistently treated with respect and compassion and in a trauma-informed way”.
Alongside a focus on community care, the Committee also examined access to specialist Mother and Baby Units (MBUs), of which there are currently two in Scotland. The Committee emphasises the benefits of providing wider access to MBUs for new mothers with complex needs and they express support for the creation of a new MBU serving the north of Scotland.
Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said:“Up to 20% of women in Scotland experience negative mental health impacts before, during and after giving birth and the aim of our inquiry was to shine a spotlight on this important issue and to see what more should be done to support these women.
“We heard of concerns in certain health board areas with the support structure in place for parents and families impacted by miscarriage, still birth and the death of an infant, and feel more action is needed to give them appropriate support.
“We had discussions with some new parents affected by baby loss who felt they didn’t receive the standard of care they are entitled to expect. That is why we are calling for every effort to be made to accelerate the establishment of specialist baby loss units
“The evidence we received suggests that during the pandemic, there was a sharp rise in incidences of birth trauma. In many instances this was a direct result of COVID-related restrictions, which limited the support women were able to receive from partners and families before, during and after giving birth.
“Our inquiry heard about the benefits of Mother and Baby Units for women who have complex mental health issues in the perinatal period and the Committee would like to see a concerted effort to widen access to these units in conjunction with the community care offer.
“We think there is a strong case to set up a new Mother and Baby Unit serving the north of Scotland but we also need to focus on issues around staffing, resources and general awareness to maximise the positive impact of perinatal mental health services and third sector organisations who support mothers.”
The Convener added:
“The extensive evidence we have gathered during the course of this inquiry has shown the importance of a preventative and community based approach to perinatal mental health. It is clear that only through accessible, joined up care across both the third sector and statutory services, women and families can get the care they need at this critical time.
“We’d like to put on record our thanks to all of the women who spoke with us and shared their stories.”
Other findings in the report include:
• concern that many women and families are currently having to wait longer than 6 weeks to access perinatal mental health support;
• the increased barriers faced by women and families from minority ethnic backgrounds, or for whom English is not their first language, and those from particularly vulnerable or at risk groups, to access perinatal mental health services;
• the critical role that stigma plays in perinatal mental health and the resulting reluctance for individuals to fully engage with healthcare professionals;
• a call for the Scottish Government to ensure further education institutions deliver perinatal mental health training as core training for all midwifery and nursing students as a priority.
A survey led by the University of Birmingham says people from middle and upper-class occupational groups are more likely to hold prejudiced views of Islam than people from working class occupational groups.
The survey, which was carried out in conjunction with YouGov, found that 23.2% of people who come from the social group ABC1 harbour prejudiced views about Islamic beliefs compared with only 18.4% of people questioned from the C2DE group.
However, when asked their views about Muslims, or most other ethnic or religious minority groups, older people, men, working class people and Conservative and Leave voters are consistently more likely to hold prejudiced views.
The survey, presented in a report titled ‘The Dinner Table Prejudice: Islamophobia in Contemporary Britain‘, interviewed a sample of 1667 people between 20th and 21st July 2021 which was weighted by age, gender, social grade, voting record, region and level of education to ensure representativeness.
Weighting was based on the census, Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics estimates, and other large-scale data sources.
Other key notable findings in the survey are:
Muslims are the UK’s second ‘least liked’ group, after Gypsy and Irish Travellers: 25.9% of the British public feel negative towards Muslims (with 9.9% feeling ‘very negative’). This compares with 8.5% for Jewish people, 6.4% for black people, and 8.4% for white people. Only Gypsy and Irish Travellers are viewed more negatively by the British public, with 44.6% of people viewing this group negatively.
More than one in four people, and nearly half of Conservative and Leave voters, hold conspiratorial views about Sharia ‘no-go areas’: 26.5% of the British public agree that ‘there are areas in Britain that operate under Sharia law where non-Muslims are not able to enter’. This increases to 43.4% among Conservative voters and Leave voters. In addition, 36.3% of British people, and a majority of Conservative voters (57.3%) and Leave voters (55.5%), also agree that ‘Islam threatens the British way of life’.
Support for prohibiting all Muslim migration to the UK is 4-6% higher for Muslims than it is for other ethnic and religious groups: 18.1% of people support banning all Muslim migration to the UK (9.5% ‘strongly support’). Overall support for prohibiting Christian Migration is 13.1%, Sikh migration is 11.8% and Jewish migration is 12%.
The British public is almost three times more likely to hold prejudiced views of Islam than they are of other religions: 21.1% of British people wrongly believe Islam teaches its followers that the Qur’an must be read ‘totally literally’. The figure for Islam compares with 7.5% for Judaism and the Hebrew Bible, 3.9% for Sikhism and the Guru Granth Sahib, and 4.8% for Christianity and the Bible
British people are more confident in making judgements about Islam than other non-Christian religions but are much more likely to make incorrect assumptions about it: British people acknowledge their ignorance of most non-Christian religions, with a majority stating they are ‘not sure’ how Jewish (50.8%) and Sikh (62.7%) scriptures are taught. In the case of Islam, however, people feel more confident making a judgement, with only 40.7% being unsure. This is despite the fact that people are much more likely to make the incorrect assumption that Islam is ‘totally’ literalistic.
Dr Stephen H. Jones from the University of Birmingham and lead author of the survey says: “Prejudice towards Islam and Muslims stands out in the UK, not only because it is much more widespread than most forms of racism, but also because prejudice toward Islam is more common among those who are wealthier and well-educated.”
The survey also has made specific recommendations to scale back the rise of Islamophobia:
Government and other public figures should publicly acknowledge and address the lack of public criticism that Islamophobic discourses and practices trigger, and how Islamophobia stands out compared with other forms of racism and prejudice.
Civil society organisations and equality bodies concerned with prejudice and discrimination should acknowledge that systemic miseducation about Islam is common in British society and forms an important element of Islamophobia.
Educators should provide clear guidance clarifying when tropes about the Islamic tradition move from acceptable criticism to become harmful.
Civil society organisations should introduce religious literacy as a component part of any large-scale equality and diversity campaign or policy initiative.
The BBC and other broadcasters should maintain their commitments to religion programming, but with renewed emphasis on combatting intolerance.
Commenting on the recommendations Dr Stephen H. Jones says: “No-one is calling for laws regulating criticism of religion, but we have to recognise that the British public has been systematically miseducated about Islamic tradition and take steps to remedy this.”
The Fraser of Allander Institute has tday published a new report, jointly authored with @MMUPolicyEval & @PovertyAlliance, that explores some of the challenges and opportunities that the Scottish Government faces in meeting its Child Poverty Targets:
Around 1 in 4 children in Scotland live in relative poverty. This means they live in a household with an income 60% below the UK median income after housing costs have been deducted.
Child poverty can have serious and lifelong impacts across a range of outcomes, and the Scottish Government have stated their aim to reduce significantly the incidence of child poverty. The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 20172 includes a target to reduce relative child poverty to 10% by 2030/31.
Meeting this target would represent an unprecedented reduction in child poverty to levels not seen in Scotland certainly since the early 1990s when the current statistical series began.
The purpose of the analysis in this report is to look at some of the large, national level, devolved policy levers that the Scottish Government could use to meet the targets. We have focussed on childcare, employability programmes and social security.
By analysing variations of these types of policies, and different combinations, this analysis illustrates the scale of the impact on poverty and the associated costs and benefits of different options.
We envisage that this will be helpful for policymakers and stakeholders who will be focused on developing actions for the next Tackling Child Poverty Delivery plan, due to be published by the Scottish Government by the end of March 2022.
New Carnegie UK report: GDWe: A spotlight on democratic wellbeing
Carnegie UK has published a new report GDWe: A spotlight on democratic wellbeing, research andpolling which shows that democratic wellbeing in England is under severe threat.
This research was conducted by YouGov polling between 12th – 13th December 2021, which coincided with a heightened focus on levels of trust in government. The results are stark:
● 2 in 5 people in England (41%) now say that democracy is not working. People see the biggest current threat to our democracy as a loss of trust (32%) followed by corruption (16%).
● 76% of the public in England don’t trust MPs, while 73% don’t trust the UK Government.
This report builds on Carnegie UK’s work on Gross Domestic Wellbeing (GDWe) – a holistic alternative to GDP as a measure of collective wellbeing. We use data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Wellbeing Dashboard to calculate GDWe.
However this national wellbeing dataset underrepresents the importance of democratic wellbeing, with only 2 indicators out of 41 measuring this aspect of our lives.
At Carnegie UK, when we talk about democratic wellbeing we are referring to the extent to which we all – collectively – have a voice in decisions that affect us. Wellbeing cannot be ‘done to’ people, it has to be done by and with them.
Yet, in order for people to feel positive about participating in democratic processes and decision making, it is essential to have public trust in government at all levels.
GDWe: A spotlight on democratic wellbeingfound that in addition to a loss of trust there are also issues with current levels of participation in decision-making; misinformation, and misalignment with commonly held public values.
Other aspects that help make up democratic wellbeing, such as involvement in public participation and citizen engagement, are also poorly measured in the UK.
This report calls on government to invest in democratic wellbeing by increasing participatory democracy and improving transparency, as well as focusing on measures of national success in keeping with people’s priorities, rather than relying solely on economic measures.
The full report is available here and you can add to the debate on Twitter using the hashtag #GDWe
The Woolf Institute estimate there to be nearly two antisemitic tweets for every Jewish person in the UK
Analysis of data by the Woolf Institute, a global leader on interfaith relations, is presented in a new report by the Antisemitism Policy Trust and the Community Security Trust, which marks the end of an 18-month research programme to study the extent and nature of antisemitism online.
The report presents an estimate of the level of antisemitism on Twitter in the UK and based on research methods used, Woolf Institute analysis concludes there are between 100 and 1,350 explicitly antisemitic tweets every day in the UK.
The findings estimate that there are up to 495,000 explicitly antisemitic tweets per year made viewable for UK users (tweets in English by and available to UK users). Given the size of the UK’s Jewish population at around 290,000 people, the report calculates there to be nearly two antisemitic tweets annually for every Jewish person in the UK.
The Antisemitism Policy Trust, supported by the Community Security Trust, commissioned the Woolf Institute to explore anti-Jewish hatred on Google, Instagram and Twitter, and this publication represents the third and final instalment of that project.
The two previous reports found that Google’s public facing Safesearch facility has no impact on the amount of antisemitic content that is returned when people search for jokes about Jews.
Antisemitism is also extensive on Instagram, associated with a “chaotic” trolling phenomenon on the platform, and demonstrates strong links to conspiracy theories and anti-Israel attitudes.
Danny Stone MBE, Chief Executive, Antisemitism Policy Trust, says: “Policies to deal with online abuse aren’t worth the paper they’re written on if companies cannot effectively enforce them.
“This new report makes it crystal clear that Twitter’s systems for discovering and acting against anti-Jewish racism still aren’t good enough. As the Government considers new internet safety laws, I hope this report will weigh heavily on Minister’s minds.”
Dr. Dave Rich, Director of Policy, Community Security Trust, says: “It has long been known that social media is the engine of modern antisemitism, and it increasingly features in the antisemitic incidents that are reported to CST.
“This new research not only demonstrates how widespread this is, but also shows exactly how the social media companies are failing to control the problem of anti-Jewish hatred on their platforms.”
Commenting on the overall findings, Dr Julian Hargreaves, Director of Research at the Woolf Institute, who has led the project, said: “Taken together, this series identifies and underlines that antisemitism persists on major social media platforms, and that either the tools for addressing it are not fit-for-purpose, or the public policies professed by the world’s leading social media giants are at best, poorly enforced and at worst, are completely ineffectual.
“Our reports identify that the systems – be they Safesearch, algorithms, or automated moderation are not doing their job. If antisemitism online and within our societies is to be effectively tackled and reduced, we will need platforms, in this instance acting as agents of harm, to better understand and to act upon what the evidence is clearly telling them.”
Using social media data analysis tools, the team were able to identify biographical and geographical characteristics of Twitter users posting tweets which matched the antisemitism research terms.
The top 10 geographical locations were London, Manchester, Redcar, Liverpool, Glasgow, Brighton, north-west Leicestershire, Oxford, Birmingham, and Edinburgh.
