Research:
NEW RESEARCH – Women, Skills & Barriers to Work
Siobhán is currently working on the write up of the Consortium’s latest research paper after completing most of the focus groups. A remaining focus group with newcomer women will be held this month. Once that focus group has taken place the results can be finalised.
It is hoped that the final research paper will be launched in early December 2024 summarising the report’s main findings with a focus on the work of Women’s Centres in relation to skills and helping women into work. More details will follow in the run up to the launch.
Open Consultations:
Healthy Start eligibility for families who cannot access public funds
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on whether eligibility for the Healthy Start scheme should be extended to include others who are prevented from accessing public funds due to immigration controls.
The Department of Health and Social Care is particularly interested in views from:
- those with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) or under immigration controls, particularly:
- families or parents with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls who have one or more children aged under 4
- mothers with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls who have children aged under one
- pregnant women with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
- those with a professional interest in Healthy Start or NRPF or immigration controls
- other members of the public
If you know of any women who have no recourse to public funds who would be willing to share their views on this consultation please get in touch with Siobhán at policy@wsn.org.uk as soon as possible.
The deadline for responses to this consultation is 23rd October 2024 and you can find the consultation on Healthy Start on the GOV.UK website here:
Inquiry into Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Schools
The Committee for Education is carrying out a Mini-Inquiry into Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. The Committee is comparing the approaches to RSE across these islands and internationally to assess provision of RSE in Northern Ireland and to reach conclusions on the need for reform and make recommendations from this.
The deadline for responses to this consultation is 29th October 2024 and you can find the details on the NI Assembly website here:
Draft Programme for Government 2024-2027 ‘Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most’
The NI Executive has agreed a draft Programme for Government 2024-2027 ‘Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most’. It outlines the Executive’s priorities for making a real difference to the lives of people here.
This is an important document which will set the direction for Government and consists of nine immediate priorities which they will work to from 2024-2027 and these are:
- Grow a Globally Competitive and Sustainable Economy
- Deliver More Affordable Childcare
- Cut Health Waiting Times
- Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
- Better Support for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs
- Provide More Social, Affordable and Sustainable Housing
- Safer Communities
- Protecting Lough Neagh and the Environment
- Reform and Transformation of Public Services
Initially we welcome the commitment to Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and to deliver more affordable childcare. However, we have concerns that poverty, which we know has greater impacts for women, is not included within these immediate priorities.
The Executive Office are holding a number of in-person and online events to hear views on the draft Programme for Government and the details of these are available here: https://www.northernireland.gov.uk/PfG-Consultation
Siobhán will be making a response to the draft Programme for Government on behalf of the Consortium so please contact Siobhán as soon as possible at policy@wsn.org.uk if you have any contributions to make or you think you could get a group of women together to discuss it. The time available for consultation is quite short (only 8 weeks) and with the volume of other consultations ongoing it does not leave much time for extensive focus groups on this.
The deadline for responses to the draft Programme for Government is 4th November 2024 and you can find the plan on the Northern Ireland Executive website here:
Closed Consultations:
School Uniform Policy
The Department of Education consulted on plans to introduce statutory guidance so that all school governing bodies would be required to review their school uniform policy and ensure that costs are manageable for parents/carers. Siobhán has made a Consortium response to this consultation calling for schools to be legally required to comply with Departmental uniform guidance and for school uniform policies to include an embedded price cap to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum, do not place an unnecessary burden on parents and children and do not take advantage of the limited budgets of families particularly in these difficult economic times.
You can read the Consortium’s response to this consultation on the Consortium’s website here:
Domestic Abuse – Safe Leave
The Department for the Economy consulted about the introduction of regulations to entitle employees who are the victims of domestic abuse up to 10 days paid safe leave in each leave year so that they can deal with issues related to that abuse.
Siobhán has made a Consortium response to this consultation welcoming the introduction of Safe Leave, calling for it to be able to be taken in shorter periods than one day, calling for it to be paid at the employee’s normal rate of pay and encouraging flexibility with regards to notice.
You can read the Consortium’s response to this consultation on the Consortium website here:
The ‘Good Jobs’ Employment Rights Bill
The Department for the Economy consulted on a range of proposals to strengthen employment rights legislation and increase the number of working age people in ‘Good Jobs’. The consultation covered a wide range of employment issues including zero-hours contracts, collective and sectoral bargaining, written particulars of employment, flexible working, carer’s leave, neonatal leave and pay and paternity leave.
Siobhán has made a Consortium response to this extensive consultation focusing on the Work-Life Balance Theme of the Good Jobs consultation. The focus of the Consortium’s response was to welcome many of the proposals which not only strengthen employment rights but which help address gender equality. We welcomed the proposals to introduce Carer’s Leave, to make flexible working a day one right, to introduce Neonatal leave and pay, strengthening protections from redundancy for pregnancy and family leave and called for at least four weeks paternity leave.
You can read the Consortium’s response to this consultation on the Consortium website here:
Campaigns: Guarantee our Essentials
Siobhán is part of a campaign from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust calling for an Essentials Guarantee within Universal Credit. The Essentials Guarantee would embed in the social security system a principle that at a minimum Universal Credit should protect people from going without essentials.
The Campaign is planning a number of actions now that there has been a change of Government in Westminster to lobby for increases in the levels of Universal Credit and Siobhán will continue to attend and contribute to this group where possible.
You can read more about the campaign here:
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/guarantee-our-essentials
Campaigns: Coalition of Carers
Siobhán continues to attend regular meetings of the Coalition of Carers which is chaired by Carers NI. The Coalition is made up of a number of organisations all working to highlight the key issues that carers are facing across Northern Ireland.
Campaigns: Cost of Living 24
Siobhán is part of a coalition of organisations led by Inspire Wellbeing NI who have come together to host a one-stop shop service for the many impacts of the Cost-of-Living Crisis. The Cost of Living 24 campaign aims to make navigating community and voluntary services easy, local and accessible, thanks to a dedicated webpage and freephone number. The partnership provides information and advice on a range of subjects: benefits and entitlements, fuel and child poverty, affordable childcare and housing. It also signposts to foodbanks in towns and cities throughout Northern Ireland.
Cost of Living 24 offers support and information via:
Webpage: www.communitywellbeing.info/cost-of-living-24 (Or search ‘Community Wellbeing Cost of Living 24’)
Freephone: 0808 189 0036
Webchat: www.communitywellbeing.info
An article was featured in Belfast Live on this new campaign featuring Atlas Women’s Centre and the important work they do helping women and communities in the Cost of Living Crisis. You can read the article here:
Campaigns: Cliff Edge
Siobhán continues to attend meetings of the Cliff Edge Coalition Working Group which is working to strengthen the existing mitigations package for Northern Ireland.
Cliff Edge are increasingly concerned about the upcoming cliff edge for the Benefit Cap. The Benefit Cap is a policy that limits the total amount of social security support that working-age people can receive. The Benefit Cap is currently mitigated in Northern Ireland, which means that those who would be affected by it are currently receiving a payment in their benefits equal to what they would have lost under the policy (a ‘Welfare Supplementary Payment’). However, this mitigation is set to expire at the end of March 2025.
Cliff Edge is extremely concerned that in just six months the Benefit Cap mitigation will expire and thousands of people may lose access to vital support. Like the Two-Child Limit, the Benefit Cap is a highly gendered policy; 86% of payments to mitigate the Benefit Cap are made to women. If the Benefit Cap mitigation is lost, households who currently rely on these payments will be forced to look to other – often discretionary and inadequate – sources of support and many will get into debt.
Cliff Edge have written to all MLAs to inform them about the upcoming cliff edge for the Benefit Cap and to encourage them to advocate in the Assembly for keeping the Benefit Cap mitigation and to strengthen the existing mitigations package.
You can read the Cliff Edge Briefing here:
https://www.lawcentreni.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Cliff-Edge-Member-Briefing-March-2024-1.pdf
