wales’ best policy and poltics magazinei · welsh women’s aid, pendragon house, caxton place,...

Wales’ best policy and politics magazine

Autumn 2019

ISSN 2059-8416 PrintISSN 2398-2063 Online

Julie Morgan AM ‘Smacking ban’

Homeless World Cup End homelessnessJustice for Grenfell

Kindness Cardiff Evrah Rose

contents: autumn 2019Wales’ best policy and politics magazine

The views in articles, advertisements and news items in Exchange are those of the contributors

and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by Bevan Foundation Trustees, staff or other

subscribers. All articles are copyright Bevan Foundation.

Autumn 2019 | Bevan Foundation Exchange | 1

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The Commissioner’s dedicated casework team provides tailored support to hundreds of older people and their families across Wales every year, helping

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• Over 470 Children and Young people engaged• 108 fun and FREE activities delivered• 1492 Meals provided• 1591 Snacks provided• 66 opportunities provided for young people to volunteer

Using an asset based approach we were able to keep the overall project costs to a minimum while still achieving our targets. Working with FareShare Cymru we were able to offer food parcels to Young people identified as likely to go without food over the weekend periods.

For more information on the project contact: Bethan Thomas, Youth and Inclusion Officer, Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association. email: [email protected] or call 01685352800.

Fit and Fed ProjectTackling school holiday hunger together!Working with a range of partners during summer 2019 the programme achieved;

Julie Morgan AM Why it is not OK to hit children

Sarah Stone The hidden cost of exclusion from school

Heléna HerklotsMaking Wales the best place in the world to grow older

2 4 10

12 Homeless World Cup: Katie Dalton Play your part to end homelessness

14 Homeless World Cup: Evrah Rose Postcodes

15 Homeless World Cup: Charlotte Waite Kindness matters

16 Homeless World Cup: Moyra Samuels Justice for Grenfell two years on

18 Climate change: John Rose Community action on climate change

19 Fuel poverty: Carole Morgan-Jones Time for action on fuel poverty

20 Partner profile: Community A modern union for a changing world

22 Arts & Culture: Quintin Oliver Book Review: Peacemaker

24 Bevan Foundation News

26 Subscriber News

27 Spotlight: Cerys Furlong Chief Executive, Chwarae Teg

28 Last word: Victoria Winckler What ever happened to the grassroots?

2 Children: Julie Morgan AM Why it is not OK to hit children

4 Child Poverty: Kristie Carter Reducing child poverty in New Zealand

6 Education: Sarah Stone The hidden cost of exclusion from school

7 Education: Philip Blaker Qualified to care

8 Health: Rick Grenville Maintaining supply of medicines after Brexit

9 Health: David Bailey Why we need safe staffing levels

10 Older people: Heléna Herklots Making Wales the best place in the world to grow older

Wales’ best policy and politics magazine

2 | Bevan Foundation Exchange | Autumn 2019 Autumn 2019 | Bevan Foundation Exchange | 3

Why it is not oK to hit children

Julie Morgan AM, Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services, sets out her mission to end the physical punishment of children.

children: julie morgan am

For as long as I can remember I have asked “How can it ever be right for a big person to hit a little person?” I have

never understood why the law seems to condone this in any circumstances, allowing parents, or anyone acting in a parental capacity, to claim that physically punishing their children is “reasonable”. I have campaigned for the abolition of the defence of reasonable punishment for more than twenty years, first in Westminster as an MP and, more recently, in Wales as an Assembly Member. Legislating to abolish the defence was a manifesto commitment and has considerable cross-party support. I’m so pleased we have delivered on our commitment and introduced the Children (Abolition of the Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill in the Assembly earlier this year.The purpose of the Bill is to help protect children’s rights; it builds on the Welsh Government’s commitment to children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year. Everyone, whether adult or child, deserves to be treated with the same respect and dignity. As a government we want to respect children’s rights by giving children in Wales the same level of protection from physical

punishment as adults. If passed by the National Assembly for Wales and it becomes law, this Bill will achieve that: parents and other adults acting in a parental capacity will no longer be able to physically punish children in Wales. I’m a mother myself and a grandmother to eight grandchildren. I was a social worker for fifteen years before entering politics, and so in one way or another, I’ve always been involved in upholding children’s rights. I follow in my mother’s footsteps in many ways as she was a fighter for children’s rights. She understood that all children need to be loved, nurtured and valued. I would go with her to Ely hospital where she worked and where many children and young people with a learning disability were cared for and spent all their time. She didn’t accept this reality,

believing all children, no matter what their circumstances, needed to experience the outside world. So she visited them and took them on outings to the swimming pool and the fish and chip shop, and I went with her. That experience has stayed with me. Things have moved on since then of course, but there is always more we can do. Changing the law around reasonable punishment is fundamental in a country which believes in children’s rights. I have been determined to do all I can to change the law since I became an MP for the first time in 1997. At the time there was a real nervousness about bringing in such legislation which, as far as I’m concerned, led to an unsatisfactory legislative outcome with The Children Act 2004. While that Act recognised that the defence of reasonable punishment needed to be limited in its scope, it did not remove the defence outright. I felt the UK Government should have been braver and taken the step to abolish the defence then. It wasn’t to be, but I was determined not to give up. More than twenty years later, we in Wales are in a position to join more than fifty five other nations across the world and take that step to prohibit the physical punishment of children in our country. The circumstances in which the defence

I have been determined to do all I can to

change the law around reasonable

punishment since 1997.

How can it ever be right for a big person to hit a little person?

can be used have been increasingly limited over the years, and it is now time to take that final step and remove the defence completely. Research shows that legislation can help to bring about a reduced tolerance of smacking or other physical punishment of children, but it needs to be accompanied by effective awareness raising and availability of information, advice and support for parents. To support this Bill, I have committed to fund a high-intensity awareness-raising campaign, and we are mapping the parenting support and advice already available which the Parenting Expert Group will consider with a view to making recommendations if needed.So, there is real cause to be optimistic that this law will help to bring about behavioural change. We have already seen legislation achieving behavioural change in Wales, a good example being the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. The Welsh Government has already commissioned a baseline study of opinions and awareness about legislation on physical punishment of children so we can track changes in attitude and awareness as the legislation progresses. A representative survey was carried out in November 2018, and the results published earlier this year. Interestingly, it found 58 per cent of those surveyed thought the law did not allow parents to smack their children. It also found that while opinion was split on the question of whether it is sometimes necessary to smack a child, more disagreed with the statement (49 per cent) than agreed with it (35 per cent). The same research showed the level of support for smacking was even lower among those with caring responsibilities for children aged seven or less – including parents, guardians and family members – with 59 per cent disagreeing it is sometimes necessary to smack a child. And among those aged 16 – 35, 60 per cent disagreed with that statement.

I was never physically punished as a child and I did not physically punish my own children. I do understand the nervousness that some people may feel if they were smacked as a child, or smacked their own children – does this legislation mean they will be blamed or shamed for that? No. This legislation isn’t about judging what happened in the past. It was a different time, different

things happened then and there were different expectations. A lot of parents I have spoken with say they would have done things differently if they had known back then what they know now. There are positive alternatives to physical punishment to provide children with the guidance, boundaries and discipline they need, and we need to make sure parents have information and advice which will help them to use those alternatives rather than resort to physical punishment. I am pleased that children’s rights are being increasingly recognised

internationally, and in particular that so many countries have or are taking steps to outlaw physical punishment. I recently visited Scotland and had productive discussions about the Bill and children’s rights with politicians, officials and the third sector. I was a keynote speaker at an event earlier this year, calling for legislation to prohibit the physical punishment of children in Northern Ireland. I also met with Ex-Senator Jillian Van Turnhout who introduced an amendment to remove the defence of reasonable chastisement in Ireland in 2015. Sweden has had a similar law in place for thirty years now and New Zealand, the closest example in terms of our law and population size, has seen minimal impact on police activity and no notable increase in the criminalisation of parents. I think the tide is turning here in the UK too, with the legislation being taken forward in Wales and Scotland, which is a good thing. I know many individuals and organisations have campaigned for decades to see children given equal protection from physical punishment as adults. I’m very glad that it’s happening and I hope we will manage to take it through for the protection of future generations of children in Wales.


reducing child poverty in new Zealand

Dr Kristie Carter, Director of the Child Poverty Unit, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, New Zealand, visited Wales in September as part of a tour of Canada and the United Kingdom. She talked to a wide range of

agencies, organisations and individuals was to learn about what they are doing to reduce child poverty and share what’s happening in New Zealand. Here she provides an overview of the New Zealand Government’s approach.

child poverty: Kristie carter

Too many children and young people and their families in New Zealand are facing significant, often

ongoing, adversity, deprivation and stress which reduces their wellbeing and life opportunities. In the New Zealand context, poverty has been defined as the exclusion from a minimum acceptable standard of living because of a lack of adequate resources. It’s primarily about a family’s resources not meeting their basic material needs, and it’s estimated there are between 150,000 and 250,000 children living in poverty. Evidence shows that the experience of poverty, especially when that experience is severe and persistent, can have a negative impact on the lives of children – on average, they’re more likely to experience poorer educational outcomes, poorer health, and have more difficulty finding work in adulthood. The harmful effects can last into adulthood and impact on society as a whole. Making the best choices for current and future generations of young New Zealanders requires new ways of working, and balancing the

social, environmental and economic implications of government decision-making. Soon after coming into office, the Government set a vision that New Zealand be the best place in the world for children and young people. As the first step, the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, as the Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, introduced legislation to ensure ongoing political accountability for reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing. The Child Poverty Reduction Bill was divided into two bills at its final reading, becoming the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 and the Children’s Amendment Act 2018. This significant legislation was passed into law in December 2018 with wide ranging parliamentary support, helping to create an enduring commitment to reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing.

Child poverty reductionThe Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018) establishes accountability for successive governments to reduce child poverty. It requires the government of the day to set

three-year and ten-year targets, report annually on the child poverty measures, report on each budget day on how the budget will affect child poverty and how the government is progressing towards its targets, and report on child poverty-related indicators. The legislation establishes a balanced suite of measures to measure and report on child poverty. They’ll allow us to track progress towards the targets, allow some international comparison and provide a good picture of the impact of policy decisions on the lives of children. The targets are aligned with the sustainable development goal of reducing poverty by half by 2030 and have been described as ambitious by domestic observers. Targets must also be set for the proportion of children in households facing persistent poverty by 2024. As part of the budget day reporting, the Government must report on progress toward the targets and how the budget will affect child poverty. The first Budget 2019 report is available on our website.

It’s estimated there are between 150,000 and 250,000 children

living in poverty.

New Zealand child poverty targets

Primary measureBaseline rate (2017/18)

3-year target rate (2020/21)

10-year target rate (2027/28)

Proportion of children in households with low income (below 50% of median income) before deducting housing costs (relative to current figures)

16% 10% 5%

Proportion of children in households with low income (below 50% of median income) after deducting housing costs (relative to 2017/18 figures)

23% 19% 10%

Proportion of children in households facing material hardship (lacking of 6 or more out of 17 items).

13% 10% 6%

Reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing is prioritised as an area for investment, reflecting the government’s commitment. Some of the initiatives that have already been implemented are designed to directly impact children living in poverty by putting more money in the pockets of parents, while others are more indirect and designed to ease the pressures faced by families, such as changes to health, housing and education settings. Some examples of recent initiatives focussed on child poverty reduction include:• Familiespackage:$5.5billionover

4 years, providing increased family tax credit; increased accommodation supplement; Winter Energy Payment; Best Start child payment

• Indexingmainbenefitstoaveragewage growth

• Improvingtheaffordabilityandavailability of housing

• Extendingpaidparentalleave

• Expandinghealthservicestochildren in disadvantaged schools and children under the age of 14 years

• Reducingschoolcostsforfamilies.• Prototypingafreeschoollunch

programme in disadvantaged schools

• Increasedinvestmentindata to measure child poverty.

Child wellbeingAmendments to the Children’s Act 2014 (enacted in 2018) require successive governments to develop and publish a strategy to improve the wellbeing of all children and young people, with a particular focus on child poverty and those

with greater needs. The Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, launched in August 2019, sets out a shared understanding of what’s important for child and youth wellbeing across multiple domains, what government is doing and how others can help. The strategy draws on the best evidence from social science and cultural wellbeing frameworks. It was developed with input from 10,000 New Zealanders – including over 6,000 children and young people – who told us what makes for a good life, what gets in the way, and what we should do about it.The strategy includes a Programme of Action that sets out the policies, programmes and plans to achieve the vision and outcomes. The current Programme of Action includes 75 actions and 49 supporting actions, led by 20 government agencies, and reflects the strong call from children and New Zealanders to urgently reduce the current inequity of outcomes. The legislation underpinning the strategy ensures transparency and accountability through annual reporting of outcomes.

For more information please see the New Zealand Government website at: dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/reducing-child-poverty and childyouthwellbeing.govt.nz


The connection between disadvantage and suicide is well known – what is less clear is what can be

done to tackle it. In a report we published last year, we set out ten recommendations, one of which was to address the high social, economic and human cost of exclusion from education. In particular, exclusion from education is linked to factors that increase the risk of suicide. In recent months we have held discussions with stakeholders about the next steps. We need to know more about the situation of children and young people who are not in education, its impact on them and what works to address it. We also need to act now on what we do know. Loneliness and isolation and not being part of a group reduce the positive sense of belonging we all need to experience. Not belonging can result in extreme emotional distress, including suicidal thoughts. We can learn from each other about how best to reduce exclusion, but the first step is to recognise the importance and great gain for individuals and society at large of doing this. If you’re out of school, you can be out of your only source of support. Exclusion is far more than the act of removing a child from school: its impact on the

We are living through a period of immense social and technological change.

Change affects the skills, knowledge and understanding that people need to be successful, and to meet the needs of our communities. So it’s important that we continue to review qualifications across every sector to make sure that they are exactly what’s required by our learners and employers, not only now but also in the future. The latest qualifications that have been introduced following a review instigated by Qualifications Wales are for Health and Social Care, and Childcare. The first phase of these new qualifications was taught, for the first time, last month with the remainder starting in September 2020. Devolution has provided an opportunity for us to do something different in Wales. It’s allowed us to bring a sharper focus to the way that our society cares for its most vulnerable people, with a public policy drive to join up services. It is one that strives for continual improvement and where those who need care are right at the centre of our thinking and planning. It’s an approach that has been welcomed by everyone involved in the sector. We’ve reduced the number of qualifications from

the hidden cost of exclusion from school Qualified to care

education: sarah stone education: philip BlaKer

life chances of young people can be far reaching. Within our new report, the underlying theme is the need to shift our focus from firefighting to prevention. Investment in identifying and helping children and young people at risk of exclusion is urgently needed. Investing in prevention and early intervention can reduce economic, social and, most importantly, human costs. Right at the top of our recommendations is a call to recognise and promote understanding of the direct link between exclusion, inequality and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Children and young people are more likely to be excluded from education if they are experiencing social inequalities such as poverty and disability. Crucially, the causes of exclusion from education are the

more than 240 to a suite of 22. They provide learners with a clear route to improve their career prospects throughout their lives. That’s what the new qualifications are all about. Developed in partnership by Qualifications Wales, Social Care Wales and Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and delivered by a consortium made up of the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) and City and Guilds, students can now work towards a variety of qualifications based on their interests or job roles. After a thorough process of review, including expert advice and consultation with employers, learning providers, individuals who use services and front-line workers, we think these new qualifications will build on the excellent work already being carried out, and will enable the sector to take on the

same as the effects of exclusion, creating a cycle of deepening inequality. Decision-makers, including the Welsh Government, educational leaders and staff, the health and social care sector and wider support agencies, should recognise this link between exclusion from education and wider inequality. In order to develop ways of tackling and reducing exclusion, we must understand the prevalence of exclusion, its complex causes, the ways in which young people are excluded, and the wider policy implications.

challenges that lie ahead. These qualifications have been designed in Wales, for Wales, but they have been influenced by best practice and research. As a result, we are confident that the standards we are putting in place will be envied across the UK, enabling our future workforce to be well equipped for the task in hand. The qualifications have been streamlined but will continue to be a recognised and consistent standard, providing a career pathway for those wanting to progress from school through to employment – essential if we are to recruit the skilled workforce in the numbers that we need for the future. The new qualifications for Health and Social Care and Child Care are only the start of an ongoing programme of reform. We are already designing new qualifications for construction and the built environment which will be introduced in 2021, and work is also well underway for new qualifications in IT and in engineering, advanced manufacturing and energy. We have made it our mission to work with our partners in education and industry to ensure that the qualifications taken by learners in Wales are the best available. It’s our contribution towards building a confident and prosperous workforce for the future.

Sarah Stone, Executive Director for Samaritans in Wales, highlights the risks of excluding children from education.

Philip Blaker, Chief Executive of Qualifications Wales, outlines how new qualifications are preparing workers

in health and social care for the future.

Exclusion from education in Wales: The hidden cost is available to view or download at www.samaritans.org/wales


Speculating about Brexit is challenging because no-one knows for certain the situation we face. But whatever the

scenario, the focus for our pharmaceutical companies for several years has been to make sure that supplies of medicines to patients are uninterrupted. Brexit is the biggest logistical challenge our industry has ever faced. There are around 12,300 medicines in use by the NHS, of which 7,000 come from or via the EU1. The commitment of our members is absolute – they know that people rely on their medicines every day. Action to protect supplies includes increasing stocks of medicine in the UK, changing supply routes, transferring medicine licenses and duplicating quality testing in the EU. To give just a few examples, Novo Nordisk has tripled its warehouse capacity to hold 18 weeks’ worth of stock, Eli Lilly of the United States and France’s Sanofi have similar stockpiles. Some members have told us they’ve built up 6 months’ supply of stocks2. Companies have also been working on transporting medicines on alternative routes, avoiding the ‘short strait’ channel crossings where Government anticipates there could be delays. Transporting medicines is a complex process. If a medicine is

normally transported between Dover and Calais by ferry – known as ‘roll-on roll off’ – it takes a lot of advanced planning, testing and validating of an alternative approach or route before you can actually make a change. For example, lorry drivers are only allowed to drive certain distances without a rest, and rightly so. If a lorry has to go on a longer land journey or ferry crossing, companies have to plan to send two drivers, not one. Or, if a medicine has to be maintained at a cool temperature, you have to make sure

it is suitably insulated to keep the required temperature for the longer journey, or make sure the lorry is refrigerated. Companies have been doing this detailed planning for some months, but to complete their plans, they also urgently need to know the details of the ferry and airfreight routes that the UK Government has secured in support of critical goods, such as medicines. We expect to get this information soon, and companies are pulling out all the stops to complete their preparations in time. No one knows what Brexit situation we will face, and some things are outside of the control of individual companies or the pharmaceutical industry as a whole. The best thing would be to leave with a deal, and we’ve been calling for a deal for a long time. But if a deal isn’t possible, companies are as prepared as they can be, and they will continue to do everything they can to make sure people get their medicines, no matter what kind of Brexit we end up with.

maintaining supply of medicines after Brexit

healthcare: ricK greville

Dr Richard Greville, Director of ABPI Cymru Wales & Distribution Supply Chain, discusses steps taken to maintain the supply

of medicines after Brexit.

health: david Bailey

Doctors are facing increased pressures as cuts to the NHS squeeze medical staff to breaking

point and vacancies continue to climb. We don’t have enough doctors to fill rota gaps and the inevitable knock on effect is a drop in the standard of care for patients. Wales has an opportunity to lead the way on safe staffing levels with the current Quality and Engagement Bill, and we need to grasp it with both hands. The Quality and Engagement Bill as it stands does go some way to tackling widespread issues across NHS organisations. It proposes a duty on organisations to be open and honest when things go wrong, allows Welsh Ministers to appoint vice-chairs to local health boards and trusts and it would mean that Welsh Ministers, local health boards and trusts, and special health authorities all have to work to secure quality in health services. Despite this progress, there remain gaping holes around staffing levels. Evidence suggests that there’s a clear link between the level of quality that can be delivered by a hospital and whether that hospital has an appropriate number of staff available, but this isn’t acknowledged by the Bill. Understaffed hospitals contribute to adverse outcomes and have been a strain on our health

service for too long. As doctors we feel this sting keenly and have been taking on extra shifts in the hope of plugging institutional gaps, but we need legislation that goes further and enshrines safe staffing in law. As doctors who care passionately about the NHS, what we’re trying to do is make sure that every patient sees the right professional at the right time. This basic element of our health service is reliant on there being enough qualified staff present at any given time. We want to know Welsh Government is there with us, understanding our concerns and pulling in the right direction for a better-quality Welsh NHS. Wales led the way with the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016, but we are in danger of lagging behind

other parts of the UK unless we take this step and bring other medical professionals within the same remit. We’re calling for a duty on NHS bodies to ensure appropriate staffing and to have real-time staffing assessments in place to make sure wards always have the right number of staff who are able to deliver the highest possible quality of care. As doctors, delivering the best possible care to the people of Wales safely is our highest priority. As a patient you should feel confident that the quality of care you’re going to receive is both high and consistent. For too long, lacklustre staffing levels have turned this into a question mark. The time to take action is now.

Why we need safe staffing levels

Dr David Bailey, Chair of the British Medical Association’s Welsh Council, says that NHS bodies

should be required to have sufficient doctors on duty.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) represents innovative research-based biopharmaceutical companies, large, medium and small, leading an exciting new era of biosciences in the UK.1 NAO report: Exiting the EU: supplying the health and social care sectors.

2 Reuters: With a backup to the backup, insulin makers say they are primed for Brexit.


making Wales the best place in the world to grow older

Far from being a burden, older people have much to give. Heléna Herklots, Older People’s Commissioner, sets out her ambition

to make Wales the best place to grow older.

older people: heléna herKlots Action is also

essential to stop abuse in all its forms – including physical

abuse, financial abuse, psychological

abuse and neglect.

It is important to remember that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I have called for action to close these data gaps as a matter of urgency to ensure that older people’s needs, as well as the issues that affect their lives, can be fully understood so that resources and services can be targeted effectively. Tackling many of the issues that affect older people’s lives is within our collective power. We have strong foundations to build upon and an opportunity to lead the way. We all have a role to play in making change happen and I am committed to working with others to ensure that action is taken to deliver the change required. However, we are at a critical juncture – if we don’t act now there is a risk that many older people, today and in the future, will face a deteriorating quality of life. But with the right action, we can continue to make progress and improve older people’s lives, with the aim of making Wales the best place in the world to grow older.

When I took up post as Older People’s Commissioner for Wales in August last

year, I set out my ambition for Wales to be the best place in the world to grow older. Whilst this may seem like a significant challenge, it is vital that we are ambitious about what we can achieve for older people, and that we have a common aim that unites our work to improve older people’s lives. But there are also a number of other important reasons why making Wales the best place in the world to grow older is something that we should be aiming for. First, we should aim for this because Wales can be the best place to grow older. As I highlighted in my first State of the Nation report, published on the International Day of Older Persons, there is much to celebrate about growing older in Wales. For example, 90 per cent of older people in Wales feel in control of their lives and 80 per cent feel they can do what matters to them. Beyond these statistics, I have also visited many projects and services that are already leading the way in improving older people’s lives and supporting them to age well, and I have met with many creative and dedicated people working across community groups, charities, social

enterprises and our public services. Second, working towards this ambition will help us to change the narrative around an ageing society which is often focused on the negative. So often we hear about the ‘burden’ of an ageing population and the pressure on services created by older people. This not only ignores the significant contribution that older people make to our lives and communities as well as to the Welsh economy (estimated to be over £2.14 billion a year after health and social care costs), but it also overlooks the opportunities that an ageing society offers. We should be celebrating the fact that we are all living longer - which is after all far better than the alternative.

Third, I believe that the country that is the best place in the world to grow older is the country that brings the most difficult issues facing older people – such as ageism and abuse – into the open and takes collected and concerted action to change

them. Working towards this in Wales means we will not be afraid to identify and face up to the issues that undermine older people’s quality of life, vital to ensure we can respond effectively and determine where resources and services need to be targeted. In order to achieve this ambition, I have identified three key priorities where progress is vital to ensure that older people are protected, can access the services and support they may need as they get older, and can do the things that matter to them so they can have the best possible quality of life. We must take action to end ageism and age discrimination. Ageism has an impact on older people’s health and well-being, as highlighted in a recent report by the Royal Society for Public Health, it limits their opportunities and it underpins many of the issues faced by older people in Wales today. Action is also essential to stop abuse in all its forms – including physical abuse, financial abuse, psychological abuse and neglect. Abuse affects tens of thousands of older people in Wales, many of whom are amongst our most vulnerable citizens, yet it is underreported and often remains hidden from view. Enabling everyone to age well must also be a priority: we must ensure

that our communities enable, rather than disable, older people. By making our communities more age-friendly we have opportunities to tackle key issues like loneliness and isolation, support older people to be more independent and empower older people to shape their communities and influence the decisions that affect their lives. By delivering against these priorities, building upon the good practice already underway, we can help to transform the experience of growing older in Wales. As Commissioner, I have a unique role to play in taking forward these priorities and I am delivering a wide range of work against each of them, including examining transport to health services to see how they could be improved, research in partnership with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to improve access to justice for older people, and a campaign to highlight and challenge the everyday ageism that is prevalent across society. I am also working with older people, community groups and local authorities to make communities throughout Wales more age-friendly, with the aim of securing recognition from the World Health Organisation’s Global Network of Age Friendly Cities and Communities. In addition to making progress against these priorities, work is also needed to tackle the stark inequalities that exist within the older population. Differences in life expectancy are significant, for example, with a gap of nearly nine

years between the most and least deprived areas of Wales. Furthermore, differences in healthy life expectancy (the number of years an individual can expect to live in good health) are also highly concerning – average healthy life expectancy is around 62 years, which means people are currently living a fifth of their lives in poor health. Drilling down into these figures reveals that those living in the most deprived areas of Wales can only expect to live in good health for just over 50 years, 15 years short of the current State Pension Age. My State of the Nation report also reveals significant and concerning gaps in the data that is collected about older people, particularly in relation to abuse. This can lead to assumptions that older people are not being affected by an issue, rendering them invisible to policy – and decision-makers. For example, data relating to domestic abuse is often focused on the experiences of people aged 18-59, implying that those over the age of 60 do not experience this kind of abuse.

90 per cent of older people in Wales feel in control of

their lives.


play your part to end homelessness

The Homeless World Cup held in Cardiff aimed to be more than just a game. Katie Dalton, Director of Cymorth Cymru, describes how everyone from businesses to ordinary people

were asked to play a part in ending homelessness.

homeless World cup: Katie dalton

During the summer of 2019 Bute Park in Cardiff was transformed into a festival of football, music and

debate. The sun shone down on 500 players who were proudly representing their country on the world stage. Thousands of people cheered them on, asking for photographs and autographs throughout the week. But this was not an ordinary football tournament. The stars were people who had experienced homelessness, overcome significant challenges and shown extraordinary strength on their journeys to this competition. The 2019 Homeless World Cup was held in Cardiff following a passionate bid led by actor and activist Michael Sheen. Organised by the Homeless World Cup Foundation in partnership with the host city, this annual tournament has been to Glasgow, Oslo and Mexico in recent years. Each nation is represented by players who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion, selected from street football networks across the world. The impact on the players is clear, increasing their sense of optimism, confidence, belonging and purpose, often resulting in people rebuilding relationships, exiting homelessness, overcoming addiction and securing employment. Michael was clear from the start

that he wanted to create a lasting impact and contacted me in 2018 to ask whether Cymorth could help in our capacity as the umbrella body

for homelessness, housing and support providers in Wales. We were keen to play our part and saw the tournament as a huge opportunity to influence public attitudes and inspire change. In the subsequent months we spoke to 180 people with experience of homelessness about what mattered to them. We also surveyed people working in services and gathered their views on the causes and solutions to homelessness. This resulted in the Play Your Part campaign. We created a number of calls to action aimed at a range of audiences, including members of the public, businesses, government and housing organisations. The idea was simple: together we can end homelessness, but everyone needs to play their part in creating a more compassionate society, providing opportunities for people to thrive and improving practice, policy and legislation. We echoed the calls of many other organisations for the UK Government to stop the delays in Universal Credit payments and increase Local Housing Allowance rates, both of which are preventing people from accessing and maintaining tenancies. We also supported calls to repeal the Vagrancy Act and end no recourse to public funds for migrant survivors fleeing abuse.

The message from people with

experience of homelessness was clear: treat

us with kindness, compassion and respect.

We called on the Welsh Government to make a cross-government commitment to ending homelessness – something which all Welsh Ministers have now signed up to in their new homelessness strategy. We also urged them to increase funding for the Housing Support Grant in the next budget, which funds homelessness and housing-related support services. We also called on Ministers to provide the leadership and funding for more social housing and Housing First schemes, as well as embedding a trauma-informed approach in all public services. We created calls to action for social landlords, private landlords and support providers, some of whom responded positively during the campaign. We also called on businesses to play their part by opposing hostile architecture such as sloping benches which prevent people sleeping; offering volunteering, training and employment opportunities to people who have experience of homelessness; offering their services pro bono and supporting charity campaigns for more housing and support services. We know that lots of people are sympathetic towards homelessness but are often unsure about what they can do to help. The message from people with lived experience of was clear: treat us with kindness, compassion and respect. As a result we urged people to stop and have a chat with people who are homeless instead of averting their eyes and walking on by. We said that if people want to give money they should do so unconditionally, without judgement, from one citizen to another. We also highlighted the importance of people using their voice to create change, by learning more about homelessness, supporting calls for more social and supported housing, and contacting their local politicians about this issue. The Play Your Part campaign was promoted on social media and

hundreds of people made pledges at the tournament itself. Families visited our stand to talk about the issues and had really thoughtful conversations about what they could do to help. Their kindness and compassion was evident in their pledges to smile and chat to people experiencing homelessness, to buy them lunch or give what they could to help. People also made commitments to support more social housing and contact their Assembly Members and MPs about

the structural issues that cause homelessness and prevent people from having a home. These pledges were shared widely on social media and reached all corners of the world, from Germany, to the USA to South Korea! This resulted in people from a number of countries making pledges to play their part in ending homelessness in their local community. It was amazing to see the impact of our campaign across the globe.We continued the discussion and debate in the Bevan Tent, which

featured sessions on homelessness, criminal justice and human trafficking, as well as comedy, poetry and podcasts! Kindness was an overarching theme and it was great to see members of the public engaging in these discussions, asking questions and hopefully leaving with more knowledge about homelessness. Now that the Homeless World Cup is over we hope that people continue to engage with this issue and play their part in ending homelessness. Over the next year we will be working Michael Sheen, the tournament partners and others to support this activity. We want to build on the pledges made during the tournament: we have already spoken to organisations interested in conducting research or offering pro bono services, and in providing opportunities for people with experience of homelessness. In the coming months we will share how members of the public can stay connected and continue to play their part in ending homelessness through small acts of kindness and lobbying their local politicians for positive change. The tournament was an extraordinary experience for players, coaches, volunteers and the public. Let’s make sure it delivers a lasting impact on homelessness in Wales.

The tournament was an extraordinary

experience – let’s make sure

it has a lasting impact.


Welcome to 2019 where police restrain black teens – for no apparent basis. This country is being intruded by hatred from racists Neo-Nazi hooligans – look at the communities they are breaking.

The government remains empty eyed and vacant to the blatant abuse of our multicultural nation. That system deals the cards but holds all the aces acres of land yet we don’t have any spaces for refugee families

I dare even one of you – trade places. They’ve made this – country a fortress barricade our borders what if it were your sons or daughters? Are you forgetting the lessons world war one and two taught us?

That division will never reward us. I hear chants of ‘go back to where you came from’ was it the same song when we asked these communities to rebuild our cities and towns? somehow – our memory has faded now it’s a pity how we eat their food and buy their clothes watch their programs and attend their shows (as long as it’s benefiting us) right? It’s a hypocritical time and the media doesn’t represent plight in the

way that it should be Scare tactics they’re active in spreading maliciousness dishing up viciousness to would be militants whose melanin is rich in privilege what’s the difference between one lung and another exactly? Our skins cover the same anatomy the only differing fact – is geography.

Location is everything and if you’re lucky enough to be born into postcodes that shimmer consider the bigger picture these ‘strangers’ are your brothers and sisters and this is family business.

homeless World cup: evrah rose

postcodes

Smile, Notice, Take Time to Listen, Give Something of Yourself to Others.

Evrah Rose, poet and spoken word artist, read her work in the Bevan Tent. Here, we publish a poem from her debut collection, Unspoken.

homeless World cup: charlotte Waite

Kind Cardiff is a community action group made up of Cardiff residents who want to contribute to Cardiff

becoming a compassionate city. It all began after a showing of the ‘Resilience’ documentary in Chapter Arts Centre. The documentary explores the impact of adverse childhood experiences on someone throughout life and highlights some of the service and community responses that have been tried the United States. The Cardiff audience felt moved by this and they responded to a Twitter call to action to do something. Everyone in the group recognised the loss of connections in our lives. We shared stories from life and work about the apparent rise in distress; how overwhelming it feels to walk through the city populated so densely with tents and cardboard homes. So often, instead of recognising humans from our hometown, we see complex problems needing specialist solutions. The early days of Kind Cardiff were characterised by workers from public services coming with tales of a broken system. They came as warriors of compassion:

restless, frustrated and angry that their passion to give, help, and show care were being thwarted. Others spoke of the stress of the pace of life and the competition between us: services, job roles, waistlines, bank balances and Twitter followers, driving us further apart and contributing to Cardiff feeling like a series of lonely planets, where individuals live lonely lives, observing each other, often with suspicion. Young people also came, suspicious of older people looking them in the eye as they spoke of the cruelty of their ‘virtual’ lives and FOMO (fear of missing out) of everything from self-harm scars to six packs.

These feelings brought the people of Cardiff out of their homes on wet Wednesday evenings and motivated us to find ways of reconnecting. The creative types in the group helped us nail our mission: “Whatever the problem, relationships are the answer. Smile, Notice, Take Time to Listen, Give Something of Yourself to Others”. We landed on kindness as a powerful environmental tool. We were clear that a compassionate city is not one satisfied with random acts or soup runs. We questioned whose needs these approaches are meeting: who sleeps better once ‘the haves’ have given to ‘the have nots’? But yet the simplicity and accessibility of kindness is a powerful call to action, it can tie us deeply to collectives of friends, families and groups, and to causes bigger than ourselves. It can bring us together, in moments, in conversations, in doing and being but crucially face to face, which today in Cardiff is radical. So we work to promote, enable and create moments, events, spaces where people can connect, find their tribe or just connect with another human.

Kind Cardiff’s next event takes place on 22nd November at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay or connect via Twitter @kindcardiff.

Kindness matters

Charlotte Waite, founder of Kind Cardiff, contributed to a Homeless World Cup discussion in the Bevan Tent on kindness. Here she

describes how Kind Cardiff came about and what it aims to achieve.

Read and listen to more of Evrah’s work at: evrahrosepoetry.co.uk


For more than two years the residents of Grenfell Tower, the bereaved family members and the local north Kensington

community who witnessed this horrific fire, have patiently waited for Teresa May’s promise of “leaving no stone unturned” to come to fruition. The public inquiry report will be published ten months after Phase 1 of the inquiry ended with an acute lack of any significant recommendations. The timing of the publication of the report has been met with dismay by the bereaved and survivors as it will be made public a day before the Brexit deadline. It was the biggest loss of life from fire in Britain World War 2. Justice 4 Grenfell was set up a few days after the Grenfell Fire disaster and officially launched on June 19th 2017 with the first of monthly silent walks – now held on the 14th of each month from Notting Hill Methodist Church to the Grenfell Memorial Wall.

These are the campaign’s core aims.1. Develop a community led, public

interest campaign to hold all responsible authorities and individuals to account (including prosecutions) for their failure to provide safe homes, for the death of loved ones and a lack of proper and effective response prior to, during and after the disaster.

These authorities include Kensington Tenants Management organisation, local and central government, the companies who supplied the dangerous cladding and insulation materials placed on the building in the process of refurbishment and other organisations who were responsible for the safety of the building.

2. To ensure that what happened at Grenfell Tower on the 14th June 2017 stays in the public consciousness, so that there remains pressure for systemic change – Grenfell must never

happen again to any other community.

3. To remember and honour the names and lives of men, women and children who lost their lives in the dreadful fire and the impact of the carnage on survivors and wider community.

4. To create a unified community voice on key issues as a result of the fire, to ensure that we are properly consulted throughout the whole process.

5. To co-ordinate information so that justice can be attained without delay and in an open and transparent manner.

homeless World cup: moyra samuels

justice for grenfell two years on

Moyra Samuels, a founder of Justice4Grenfell, was a keynote speaker in the Bevan Tent. Grenfell’s bereaved, survivors and community are still

fighting for justice more than two years after the disaster that took 72 lives.

From the outset the campaign demanded that social housing be included in the terms of reference of the public inquiry. Our response when the Teresa May rejected this was“It is disappointing that the question of social housing especially social cleansing/gentrification will not be addressed in the inquiry as this remains a critical issue not just for the community of North Kensington but across the country, and goes to the heart of a changing ideological approach to social housing and the pursuit of profit rather than the provision of safe, affordable, appropriate and adequate housing” The campaign therefore had to form alliances with housing campaign groups, especially Defend Council Housing – Homes for All, to ensure that we were supported by people who had both the expertise and experience of challenging unfair housing policies. We also took to the media consistently to shame both local and central government for the tardiness with which the survivors and evacuated residents were being rehoused. Scrutiny of the local authority’s Grenfell Recovery programme became imperative and the campaign along with bereaved,

survivors and local community affected by the fire challenged their decisions and progress in implementing support for mental and physical health and providing community spaces for those affected to recover. The resounding message from this community has been that we will not recover until the authorities tell the truth about what happened on that fateful night, until the local council starts to really listen to the residents and until all survivors and evacuated residents are appropriately housed. A lot of recovery is still managed by families and friends – the community has lost more than five members since the fire to suicide. The campaign has been very effective in keeping Grenfell in the public consciousness. We ran the ‘3 Billboards’ campaign in February 2018 to highlight the fact that more than six months after the fire there had not been a single person from the authorities questioned by the police, yet they had uncovered a number of cases of fraud. A year later in February 2019 we used the ‘72 dead, No deaths in vain’ slogan on T-shirts at the opening of the London fashion week to bring to the authorities’ attention that two months after the conclusion of Phase 1, very few significant recommendations had been proposed to improve the safety of other residents of high rise buildings with dangerous cladding on them. It has been arduous battle on so many fronts but the resilience of my community is uplifting. There is no doubt that we are battle weary but

the support we get from individuals and organisations across the country keeps the wind in our sails. The desire for justice and to leave a legacy of hope and healing for the next generation is an aim I hope people right across the country can support. Join us in demanding:• thereisabanonallflammable

cladding including high pressure laminate cladding;

• councilsareprovidedwiththefunds and it is made a legal requirement to retro-fit sprinklers, communal fire alarms and a second evacuation staircase in all residential blocks (in England, sprinklers are only a legal requirement in new residential blocks taller than 30 metres);

• thatpublicservicesespecially the fire service and the NHS are appropriately funded.

Every person deserves a safe and decent home! Justice for Grenfell!

Find out more and support the campaign at: www.justice4grenfell.org

We will not recover until the authorities tell the truth about what happened on that fateful night.

We are battle weary but the support we

get from individuals and organisations

keeps the wind in our sails.


Iread with interest Steve Brook’s article “The Land that Cried Wolf” in the July copy of Exchange. As the number or

organisations declaring climate emergencies rises steadily it made me wonder what others were doing and inspired me to write this short piece about the efforts the National Lottery Community Fund is making across the UK to support people and communities to take action to address the Climate Emergency. After all, by sharing approaches we can hopefully inform, inspire, gain a sense of shared ambition and build a greater collective movement.So why is meeting the challenge of the Climate Emergency so important to National Lottery Community Fund? Put quite simply, addressing the Climate Emergency is everybody’s business. As we celebrate the 25th birthday of the National Lottery this November we are proud of our role in funding environmental activities across the UK. The Fund was in fact a key funder in the early days of the community recycling and community renewable energy movements. Since 2013 alone we have invested around £345 million through 4,800 grants to UK projects with an environmental aspect including: • ‘WelcometoourWoods’a

community partnership in Rhondda Cynon Taf which is seeking new ways of connecting

Over the next few months the Welsh Government will consult on a new fuel poverty plan for

Wales. It has been a long time coming and something for which National Energy Action (NEA) Cymru along with other stakeholders, have been calling for for some time. Meanwhile over 150,000 fuel poor households have endured the misery of a cold home. The Wales Audit Office has found that the Welsh Government’s target to eradicate fuel poverty by 2018 was highly ambitious. Fuel poverty is a complex problem and the Welsh Government lacks the powers to influence energy prices and household incomes, both key causes of fuel poverty. Instead, the Welsh Government’s focus for addressing fuel poverty has been on energy efficiency, also a cause of fuel poverty, through providing over £250 million to the Nest and Arbed energy efficiency schemes over the past ten years. One of the major difficulties is that we simply don’t know what difference this investment has made. We need a better way to assess the impact of the funding, both in terms of the energy efficiency improvements being installed as well as the nature and quality of advice provision for households. We need to ensure that households get the best out of the home improvements and that they

people and their natural environment for the benefit of people’s health and wellbeing.

• ‘DowntoEarth’intheGowerpeninsula works to build confidence and skills for a variety of people through sustainable construction and broader personal development activities.

• ‘CydYnni’runbyDatblygiadauEgni Gwledig (DEG) – a social enterprise supporting community led action and renewable energy projects in Gwynedd.

We believe in the power of people to enable our communities to thrive. To play our part in supporting communities to take action to address climate change, the Fund is implementing a three-part strategy running concurrently. First, we are taking action to minimise our own impact by reducing energy consumption in our buildings, managing travel and placing clearer requirements on our suppliers.

are also assisted to access any income support measures such as the Warm Homes Discount Scheme, to save money from switching suppliers and to have access to benefit entitlement checks. The new health prevention-based affordable warmth pilot, introduced in the last year, is an important step forward. The pilot has enabled low-income owner occupiers and tenants in the private rented sector who suffer from a respiratory, circulatory or mental health condition to receive a free boiler, central heating or insulation from the Nest scheme. It helps to prevent their illness deteriorating and reduces needless deaths due to cold housing. We would like to see the pilot become a permanent feature going forward. The Welsh Government has recently accepted in principle the recommendations from the Decarbonisation of Homes Advisory Group to commit to a long-term programme of retrofitting homes.

Second, we are supporting grant holders to identify and take action to manage their environmental impact. We’re working with our partners Renew Wales and Severn Wye Energy Agency Sustainable Communities Wales to provide expert advice and financial assistance to 30 of our grant holders to help them identify and implement practical action they can take. This is a pilot which we will use to inform our future practice, seeking the correct balance between inspiring communities and requiring specific measures. Third, we announced in July an additional £100 million of funding for a UK-wide Climate Action Fund that will enable people and communities to take the lead in tackling the climate emergency. Communities will work as part of broader partnerships and stand as beacons of what is possible. With our support, they will share their learning and engage with others to build a broader movement of change to reduce their carbon footprint and increase participation in community-led climate action. As the largest funder of community activities, we look forward to building a greater collective movement to ensure we safeguard the environment for future generations to enjoy.

It will prioritise ensuring that the homes of people in fuel poverty meet Energy Performance Certificate Band A as part of its plans to tackle climate change. This will ensure households in the deepest fuel poverty, such as those off mains gas and in solid wall properties, receive help first. We want the Welsh Government to progress this recommendation as soon as possible to ensure that decarbonising domestic homes is done in a fair and equitable way. We also want the Welsh Government to back our call for energy efficiency to be a national infrastructure priority to help unlock UK funding. We cannot have a new plan that sits on the shelf to gather dust. We need a Strategic Monitoring Board to oversee the delivery of the new fuel poverty plan as well as to review it on an annual basis and make any necessary adjustments. We simply cannot leave it for another ten years and risk failing again.

climate change: john rose Fuel poverty: carole morgan-jones

community action on climate change

time for action on fuel poverty

Communities can take the lead to address the climate emergency, says John Rose, Wales Director,

The National Lottery Community Fund.

With thousands of people struggling to afford to heat their home adequately, Carole Morgan-Jones, Director of National Energy

Action Cymru, sets out what it will take to end fuel poverty.

Welcome to our woods

The Fund will open this Autumn at: www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/climate- action-fund


working in the UK continue to have protections at work. I do not believe this contradicts with the creation of successful and sustainable organisations, in fact I think it is fundamental to a thriving and diverse economy. While we are proud of our industrial past, and of the growing diversity of sectors we

Community was formed in 2004 by the merger of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) with

the Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades union (KFAT). The joining together of steelworkers and textile workers came about through a shared experience of the de-industrialisation of the UK through the 80s and 90s. Both unions retained an interest and affinity with the communities that lost their industry and they took the decision to become unions for those areas, following workers from the steelworks or textile mills into new sectors. In Wales, the ISTC traces its roots back to its formation over 100 years ago and the union has witnessed the many ups and downs of the Welsh steel industry. Community still represents the steelworkers of Wales – in Port Talbot, Trostre, Cardiff, Llanwern, Newport, Shotton and elsewhere. It remains a champion of an industry that constitutes a significant part of the Welsh economy, continuing to campaign for a joined-up industrial strategy with steel at its foundation. As the steel industry has changed so has Community’s membership. Following its members into new sectors and reaching out to other like-minded unions, its membership has grown while employment in traditional industries has declined.

represent, we also recognise the world continues to change.” The union’s ambition to respond to the changing world of work has led to it creating the Changing Work Centre think tank – a partnership with the Fabian Society - that looks to develop and champion “progressive ideas for the modern working world”. This reinforces Community’s efforts to prepare both the union and its membership for waves of change in the nature of employment and job security. A key part of the Centre’s work is running Community’s Commission on Workers and Technology. Chaired by Yvette Cooper MP, it has brought together academics, experts, business and unions to look at how the rapid pace of automation can be a benefit to workers, not just a threat. The Commission publishes its findings next year but its work to date has found too many workers are unaware of, or unprepared for, the oncoming wave of automation. This trend was also a finding in a recent UK Parliament Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee report. Lauren Crowley, Community’s Head of Equalities, who has been closely involved with the Commission’s work, says that “Too many people are unaware how destabilising these changes could be and think that their job or their sector will be immune. We have a workforce that is unworried and not upskilling, employers that are not automating and a government that is not leading. The danger is that we could end up with an uncompetitive economy, a more unequal society and a workforce that is unprepared to meet the demands of a technological employment market. We need workers, employers and government working in partnership to focus on skills, investment and training to prepare for the future.” Community is fully aware that it needs to act if it’s to support its members through these major changes to work, by evolving the union’s offer to meet member

Underpinning the union’s approach is its aim to work in partnership with employers to the benefit of its members. As Roy Rickhuss, Community’s General Secretary explains: “As a union we will always seek to protect jobs, secure the future of our industries and ensure people

partner proFile: community

a modern union for a changing world

The Community trade union is proud of its long industrial history in the steel communities of Wales, but as the world of

work continues to change the union is changing too.

As a union we will always seek to protect jobs, secure the future of our industries and ensure

people working in the UK continue to have protections at work.

needs as their working life develops. Another example is Community’s response to the recent, rapid increase in self-employment. The union has been trialling and developing ways to support and represent the self-employed, including pilot partnerships and joint-working with organisations such as the Institute for Professionals and the Self-Employed. Of particular interest to Community has been how welfare and pensions policy could be better shaped to account for the ways in which self-employed workers earn and save. Threaded through all these activities is the union’s commitment to live up to its name. Roy Rickhuss says that the community focus remains. “Our members’ concerns are not confined to the workplace, and so neither is the support we offer them. We understand how what happens in our members’ homes and communities can affect what happens in the workplace and vice-versa.” To that end, over the past two years Community has been running a priority campaign on mental health. The multi-pronged action included persuading employers to sign-up to a mental health charter; training for members on mental health awareness or mental health first aid; as well as activity to push mental health up the political agenda, such as signing the Time To Change Wales pledge on ending the stigma around mental health. This campaigning focus is a way of bringing together Community’s more diverse membership behind a common goal. At the union’s conference in June, members chose

two new areas for action over the next couple of years. The first is a campaign around skills, which fits firmly within the union’s workplace agenda and will also reinforce its work around automation. “The changing nature of the economy means that successful organisations are those where a culture of training, re-training and upskilling are the norm – essentially where employers invest in their people. This equips our members for the changing world of work, be that with their current employer or in readiness for a different job,” says Roy Rickhuss. The second campaign, running concurrently, will look at how the union can make a difference to the rise in homelessness over the past decade, particularly the plight of homeless veterans. Community counts many veterans among its activist base, particularly in the steel industry and the union’s justice sector, and it has also supported volunteering and fundraising efforts of members for homeless charities. The campaign will refocus these experiences and activities towards common aims and represents another strand of the union’s work rooted in its values of community. “We know that the best way to achieve economic and social justice for our members is to constantly evolve to be in the best position possible to respond to the world that people face at work and in their communities. This is what Community and our predecessor unions have done for generations and that’s what we will strive to continue,” concludes Roy Rickhuss.


arts & culture: Quintin oliver

Book review: peacemaker

Quintin Oliver reviews Paul Murphy’s recent book ‘Peacemaker’. Quintin was director of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action until resigning to run the YES Campaign for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. He now runs conflict experts, Stratagem International.

As a minor bit-part player in Northern Ireland’s peace process, I always devour new additions to my

bookshelf of histories, memoirs and autobiographies; they add to the sum of knowledge, clarify contemporaneous evidence, and sometimes help explain behind-the-scenes shenanigans of which one was only just aware. Paul Murphy has certainly added value to what was known, with his engaging, reflective and deeply ‘Welsh’ personal contribution. As ever in these cases, I wish we had all been able to read Paul’s description of his early upbringing, schooling, entry into Oxbridge and then into Torfaen Council life, as he joined Mo Mowlam on the Shadow Northern Ireland Office team in Blair’s New Labour to help guide us towards the momentous comprehensive peace accord. We have endured or enjoyed well over one hundred Direct Rule Northern Ireland Office Ministers in the last half century of our contested identity, with Murphy one of the kindest, calmest and sanguine incumbents. Mark Durkan (former SDLP negotiator, MLA, MP and party leader) describes him: ‘generous in respect to others… integrity, level-headed normality, steady instinct, honest reflection and adjustment with a rounded take on life…’

Murphy certainly contrasted sharply with the colourful, zesty and irreverent Mo, whose style and characteristics were one of a kind, leading to her stellar ascent up the greasy pole of political success until her brain tumour and subsequent debilitating illness felled her, leading to her death in 2005. Interestingly, Murphy confesses to opposing her brave and decisive decision to go personally into the Maze/Long Kesh prison to negotiate with the Loyalist paramilitaries about

decommissioning arms and prisoner release. That is the essence of Mo and the essence of Paul – caution versus risk, introversion over extroversion, inward-facing against outward-looking. As Bruce Anderson in The Independent later opined ‘a safe pair of hands…he did the work when she showed off’. That is why they were such a fantastic team. It could have worked out differently, dysfunctionally even. Murphy describes how well this team worked together, with the irascible, but driven security minister, Adam Ingram (a Rangers football club season ticket holder), the hapless Eric Illsley, and the wise Gareth Williams in the Lords. Teams require leadership from the top, internal loyalty to the common vision, approved delegation and oodles of trust to perform coherently and effectively. In one telling reference, he explains that Mo ‘left me to get on with Strand One…’ What an admission! For us Strand One was an ultra-critical cornerstone, the very building blocks for our Assembly and Executive’s power-sharing architecture – for designation as Unionist, Nationalist and ‘other’, for the controversial veto

‘Petition of Concern’, for the seven-year Border Poll provision and much more. A Mo Mowlam critic might seize on that as evidence of her declining faculties and inherent laziness, but I read it as a sublime tribute to Paul’s qualities. Similarly, his close and effective work with Ingram showed his, and the overall team’s, seamless coverage of many complex, interdependent and overlapping challenges, not least the controversial Northern Ireland Budget, that Paul also handled. Let us take religion, not unknown to us in Northern Ireland as a source of contention, suspicion and discord. Murphy’s obvious Irish Catholic background was never, ever an issue; and that’s not just because there has always been a mixed-religion Northern Ireland Office team nor that we give outsiders and incomers a ‘free pass’ on the matter. It’s because he wore his identity, as Welsh, as Catholic, as Labour, with ease and confidence. Murphy’s love letter to Wales and his Welshness, on p. 58 of Peacemaker, is worth the read alone. He closes some 150 pages later, referencing: ‘the moral and political bedrock that has sustained me for three decades’. Although, his being born into Labour, rather than persuaded, secures less attention or enquiry; in the book it becomes axiomatic, self-evident, non-negotiable. Just as the Conservative Party’s Chris Patten’s and Michael Ancram’s Catholicism a decade earlier had raised few hackles at the Northern Ireland Office, so Paul’s was a manifestation of his core, his upbringing, his beliefs and his deep faith. Reading Peacemaker we learn of that profound influence, and of the many visits, meetings and encounters with priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and the Pope himself. His many subsequent eulogies at funerals and memorial events gives testimony to Murphy’s popularity, respect and speech-making repertoire. Indeed, might we have heard some more of those

friendships and their meaning for him, beyond ecclesiastical? Nevertheless, has this led to an over-estimation of the power and influence of organised religion on the resolution of our conflict? Murphy reasons so, many disagree; especially in light of the declining numbers and increasing scrutiny of their institutional weaknesses. Another fascinating vignette concerns Murphy’s seemingly effortless shift from robust anti-devolutionism for Wales, including a leadership role with Neil Kinnock against the 1979 referendum. As Treasurer he funded a 10-point manifesto, ‘Facts to Beat the Fantasies’, claiming a £20 million price tab for the Wales Assembly, and what we would now regard as a rather old-fashioned rant against ‘quangocracy’, as ‘deeply-resented…unelected public bodies…running many public services…staffed by Tory appointees’. The less said the better forty years on, perhaps; we all still need and rely on our quangos, with or without their Tory appointees! By 2011 he was supporting the legislative powers referendum, asserting ‘the Assembly was now very much part of the lives of Welsh people’. He explains rather simply: ‘Even in the valleys, views on devolution changed – including my own!’ Murphy has chosen, not atypically for memoirs, the chronological approach. This brings obvious linear benefits but also causes some repetition in explanation; it also obviates some deeper horizontal analysis around themes and concepts. For example, I’d like to have heard more about the Good Teams require leadership from the top...

Paul Murphy has certainly added value to what was known, with his engaging,

reflective and deeply ‘Welsh’ personal contribution.

Friday negotiations, in theory and in actual practice. On one page (p. 133), reference is made both to ‘proximity talks’ and ‘shuttle diplomacy’ in respect of the Hillsborough Talks on devolving policing. In negotiations training, those are different approaches, so I, for one, would have valued more; similarly on the outcomes of various Murphy stratagems, rather than just the inputs he describes in detail. As another example, he talks about the unit of Wales in public policy, but apart from a tantalising glimpse on p. 72, we hear little about policies directed towards inequalities, public health, community engagement or poverty. What helps Wales work? Where he does excel is on the power of relationships, encapsulating the very book’s title, and demonstrating his own commitment to cultivate, maintain and enrich those human chords, so amply shown in his deep connections – and consequential political successes – after his father and his close friends, with Mo, Alun and Rhodri and the labour leaderships under Blair, Brown and Miliband. Irritations: as with any book, a few weaknesses began to make me bristle. Forgive me mentioning the poor choice of pale font, the rather self-promoting and hard-to-view photographs and the endless unnecessary exclamation marks!!!

Peacemaker, by Paul Murphy. University of Wales Press ISBN: 9781786834720. £25 Hardback.


neWsKeeping you up-to-date with what’s going on

neWsKeeping you up-to-date with what’s going on

Bevan Foundation news

peoplespreading the word

Prosperous valleys, resilient communities

On the third anniversary of the Welsh Government’s Valleys Task Force, we looked at what it has achieved to date. And with a new Deputy Minister leading a new membership of the Task Force, we also set out our proposals for the next two years and beyond. We stressed that ‘the valleys’ are complex, and in particular that there are considerable assets that can be developed. We also argued that the solutions do not lie in increased commuting to Cardiff, Newport or the M4. Instead, the Task Force needs to look at more radical solutions, such as developing community assets, driving a step change in the role of social businesses and building a strong manufacturing and foundational economy. We are looking forward to presenting our proposals to the Valleys Task Force and are continuing to develop a blue-print for the area working with a range of local partners.

Homeless World Cup

We were proud to host the Bevan Tent at the Homeless World Cup in 2019. About 10,000 people enjoyed an exciting mix of debate, comedy, film, poetry and fiction, all with a focus on social justice and inclusion. Some of the highlights of eight great days are included in this issue.

Bevan Foundation goes international

We were honoured that the Bevan Foundation was invited to present our work on the south Wales valleys to an international conference on coalfield transitions in Cottbus, Germany. Helen Cunningham explained the challenges faced by Wales’ former coalfields and learned from elsewhere in Europe about their approaches to a ‘just transition’.

Partnership

The Bevan Foundation is delighted to have agreed a partnership with the Open University in Wales. The OU is the second of three partner organisations which share the values of equality, prosperity and justice. The Open University (OU) in Wales is the leading provider of part-time undergraduate higher education and supported distance learning across Wales. Its unique teaching method enables those who may never previously have considered higher education, or those with work or caring commitments, to be able to achieve and prosper. No formal qualifications are needed for most OU study and learners can study anywhere and at any time. In addition, OpenLearn provides a wide range of learning opportunities – all free of charge.

Goodbye to Rachal Minchinton

Trustees and staff are sad to see Rachal Minchinton stand down as a Trustee in order to concentrate on her new role at Hafal. We thank her for all she has done wish her the very best for the future.

A Welsh budget to solve poverty

The 2019 Eisteddfod saw the launch of our proposals for the Welsh Government’s 2020/21 budget. With some £18 billion a year, it is a powerful tool that could tackle the root causes of poverty. We looked at each aspect of the Welsh budget and called for spending to be focused on proven ways of solving poverty. Our recommendations included:• investinginjobcreationinthe

areas with the greatest jobs deficit• targetingactiononfuelpoverty

at low income households • offering15hoursofhigh-quality

childcare for all children of pre-school age

• closingtheeducational attainment gap

• restoringthevalueofEducationMaintenance Allowance and the Further Education Grant

• increasingsocialhousinggrant to reduce the upward pressure on rents

• closethegapinhealthbetweenrich and poor.

The report is available in English and in Welsh at: www.bevanfoundation.org/publications/putting-poverty-at-the-centre-of-the-welsh-governments-2020-21-budget

Gwlad

The Bevan Foundation was delighted to be part of a lively programme of events to mark 20 years of devolution. Our panel discussion with Jeremy Miles AM, Counsel General for Wales; Leanne Wood AM, Shadow Social Justice spokesperson; and Conservative Cllr Joel Williams discussed the question of whether it is ‘Make or break for devolution’?

Where next for civil society?

Working with the Electoral Reform Society Cymru, we hosted a half day seminar on ‘where next for civil society’. Discussions covered the struggles faced by grass roots organisations, in particular in relatively deprived areas of Wales, and how best they might be supported as well as issues of transparency in the relationship between civil society organisations and Welsh Government. The morning ended with those present voting on ideas for change.

insightsBack to school

As children returned to school for the autumn term, we looked at how local authorities administer financial help with the costs of school uniforms and school meals. We found some examples of good practice, with local authorities providing accessible information, simple administration and quick payments. But we also found some authorities could do more to ensure cash reaches the families who need it most.

We’re discussing our recommendations with the Welsh Government and Welsh Local Government Association.

The report is available at: www.bevanfoundation.org/publications/back-to-school-local-variations-in-help-with-costs-of-school-meals-and-school-uniforms


neWsAll the latest from our subscribers

subscribers’ news cerys Furlong

Chief Executive, Chwarae Teg

spotlight on

Describe Chwarae Teg?

Chwarae Teg is the charity inspiring, leading and delivering gender equality in Wales. We want to see a fairer Wales where all women can achieve and prosper.

What is your role at Chwarae Teg?

I’m the Chief Executive, so responsible for setting the strategic direction (with our Board) for the organisation and ensuring we implement it so we can meet our charitable goals.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The fact that what we do actually make a difference to the women and organisations we work with. I feel privileged to be in this role, and genuinely believe that we are doing work that can make Wales a more equal place for future generations.

What’s been your biggest leadership challenge?

Running an organisation in the voluntary sector at this time, with all the uncertainty around Brexit and reducing public funds is really hard. We want to do more work, not less, but we have to find new and different ways to fund that activity.

If you could invite anyone, dead or alive, to a dinner party who would you invite?

Without doubt my Mum – who died in 2007. I’d love to update her on all the crazy stuff that’s happened since then, whether that is all the grandchildren she now has or the mad political environment we are currently in.

Citizens Advice

Banks in Wales are closing at a faster rate than ever before, and reduced access to cash and face-to-face banking services is harming consumers. To find out if the post office can fill the gap left by bank branch closures, local Citizens Advice offices tested post office banking services across 9 local authorities in Wales. The research found a full range of banking services were available in the majority of post offices and transactions were generally successful. Likewise, treatment by staff and overall experience scored highly and waiting times were generally short. However, over 40% of people said that the post office lacked the necessary privacy for banking. The research highlights that the Post Office is in a good position to prevent vulnerable groups from becoming financially excluded by ensuring that people have access to face-to-face financial services. We will use the results of this research to draw up recommendations for key stakeholders in Wales around how post office banking can work best for consumers.

WCVA. Make a bigger difference together

At WCVA every single one of us is rallying around a new purpose. To tackle the challenges society faces we need voluntary organisations now more than ever. But none of us can do it alone. We’ve been thinking long and hard about our role and what we can do to ensure that voluntary organisations are ready for the challenges ahead. That’s why we’ve refreshed our purpose and given ourselves a clear focus for the future – to enable voluntary organisations in Wales to make a bigger difference together. We’ll be using our new purpose as a call to action, to bring together not just voluntary organisations of all kinds, but also to inspire business and public bodies to offer their support so we can all make a bigger difference and build a better future.

Find out more at www.wcva.cymru

WISERD

WISERD to receive major funding from ESRC for continuation of civil society research WISERD is one of four social science research centres in the UK to be successful in the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centres Competition. WISERD will receive £6.3 million as reinvestment into the continuation of its civil society research. The new five-year interdisciplinary research programme will explore changing perspectives on civic stratification and civil repair. WISERD will draw on expertise and innovation from across its partner universities of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, South Wales and Swansea. Partnerships with other UK and international universities will also play an important role. The programme aims to transform our understanding of how civil society is affected by, responds and contributes to, forms of civil exclusion and expansion, civic loss and gain, and the potential for civil society organisations to play a key role in repairing the fabric of civil life.

Why does Chwarae Teg support the Bevan Foundation?

Because we need solutions to solving poverty and inequality in Wales – these are amongst the biggest issues of our time. The Bevan Foundation consistently challenges us to think differently about what we do and the way we do it – we need that evidence based thought leadership in Wales.

28 | Bevan Foundation Exchange | Autumn 2019

I n October, the Bevan Foundation was pleased to organise a half-day seminar with the Electoral

Reform Society Cymru, entitled ‘where next for civil society’. The impetus for the seminar came from a shared concern that while devolution had brought many changes to Welsh institutions, we were less convinced that civil society, and in particular Wales’ charities and community groups, had kept pace. Where is the challenge, we wondered? Where are the activists? Why are there so few demands made to politicians for new legislation? How come there are hardly any petitions presented to the Assembly? In other words, are our devolved institutions being let off the hook? At the seminar itself, a lot of discussion focused on the supposedly cosy relationship between the third sector and government. But we also touched on the relative weakness of the third sector itself, which is arguably the fundamental problem. Wales supposedly has strong community values and a proud tradition of community activism. No end of Welsh Government policies and programmes have been based on the assumption that people care about where they

live and are champing at the bit to do their bit for their neighbours. Sadly, if this was ever true, it is no longer the case. While the majority of people still feel they ‘belong’ to their community, they are more likely to have a sense of community if they live in a relatively well-off area or are relatively well-off themselves. Asked if people feel that they belong in their community, 76 per cent in the least deprived areas of Wales said ‘yes’ compared with 68 per cent of those in the most deprived areas. When it comes to getting involved, people from higher socio-economic groups are generally much more likely to volunteer with a charitable organization than others. While a detailed breakdown is not available, Welsh Government figures show that people in owner-occupied housing are twice as likely to volunteer as people in social housing. It’s not surprising, then, that Wales’ more deprived areas have fewer charities per head than elsewhere. With just two or three charities per thousand people, the south Wales valleys stand out as something of a charity desert. Those charities that do exist are generally smaller, with lower incomes, than in England. And because there are fewer charities with limited resources, hardly

surprisingly they get less than their fair share of charitable funding, such as from lottery funders. Far from communities thriving with happy smiling citizens getting involved, there are all too many reports of some long-established local clubs and societies closing down for want of volunteers and funds. Does this ‘inverse charity law’, to borrow a phrase from Julian Tudor Hart, matter? Yes it does. Community groups provide vital services, from arts and sports to counselling and support to social care and advice. They also create jobs, buy goods and services locally, and offer great learning and experience for volunteers. They’re a vital space that isn’t work and isn’t family, where comradeship can flourish and horizons broaden. All in all, community groups contribute to a vibrant civil society and help foster active, engaged citizens. Third sector PR will of course tell us that all is well – they point to the successes and inspiring stories. But it doesn’t feel like that on the ground. There, what’s needed are the absolute basics: how to set up a group, how to form a committee, how to register as a charity, and easy to access small start-up funds and how to manage it. Only by building from the grassroots will Wales get the civil society it needs.

the last Word: victoria WincKler

What ever happened to the grassroots?

Victoria Winckler, Director of the Bevan Foundation, asks if Wales’ civil society organisations can meet the challenge of devolution.

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Exploring the role, prospects and opportunities for places beyond cities to build resilient local economies and communities

Thursday 28 November9:00 – 13:15Orbit Centre, Merthyr Tydfil

To book, please visit the events page of our website www.bevanfoundation.org/events/

Beyond cities: resilient local economies and communities

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