Page 8 - Moravian Messenger May 2021

Report from the Western District Conference
The Western District Conference was held via Zoom on the 20th March 2021. Br Paul Holdsworth represented the PEC at this meeting. As elections had been postponed from the previous year, those present agreed to conduct Conference elections by a show of hands (or orally for those using the telephone). Br Ashton was re-elected Conference Chair and Sr Ashton re-elected as Minute Secretary. Sr Gulwell, although unable to attend
Conference, allowed her name to be put forward as Prayer Secretary and was re- elected. Br Smart was also unable to attend Conference but will be asked to remain as Messenger Correspondent. The Conference failed once more to elect a Provincial Youth Co-ordinator.
The PowerPoint presentation for Provincial and Unity Information was well received and considered an improvement over previous
written reports.
Common themes from the congregation reports were the ageing and declining membership as well as property concerns but all congregations have continued to meet online during the pandemic. Charitable effort by the Swindon congregation was of particular note. Conference closed with the Grace.
Br Philip Ashton
Letter to the Editorial Team
What is 21st century poverty? This question, as defined by one Peter Townsend, a founding member of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), is individuals, families and groups in a population lacking the resources to obtain their dietary needs, involvement in social activities and do not live in conditions with amenities customary or at least widely encouraged and approved in the societies in which they belong. Governments of each persuasion need to recognise that poverty is as constantly present as the air we breathe by keeping records and statistics of it annually updated. This is because it has a value, a cost recognised by all Chancellors when creating figures and policies being publicly put out at our now twin annual budgets. Government measured poverty looks like this: 30% of UK children are living in poverty and so are 45% of lone parents with 26% of people living in families in which someone is disabled. When COVID-19 statistics are collated some percentages will be worse according to CPAG.
The long-perceived idea that the poor should help themselves by gaining employment is 'passe'. 72% of poor children are living in families where at least one parent works and there are poor families where both parents work.
The poverty line indicating living above or below it is 60% of median income and 14 million of us are living below it. Government calculation of poverty is after housing costs as this is a more accepted and more accurate measure of how much a family has to live on. In the UK today, there are poor families with more children in them than parents and consequentially children are the larger portion suffering. With 16% of UK pensioners living in poverty then children at 30% is nearly double.
Governments' social exclusions and policy surveys (1983- 2011) established the public socially perceived necessities and how many households are going without them. 100,000 children lack a warm coat or three meals a day; 400,000 go without fresh vegetables or fruit each day and 3,000,000 don't get one week's holiday once a year.
Government dealings with this pandemic has exposed the existence of Child Education Poverty and COVID-19
lockdowns with school closures seem to have made things worse. Parental teaching at home has not been successful or possible for thousands of children for a variety of reasons and the following are some: a lack of funds to buy a family computer and the Government target of getting all children living in poverty a computer has not completely succeeded; families of more than one child having to share whilst on different work; parents lacking IT skills and unable to help with homework; studies disrupted by distractions such as parental arguments, sickness etc; overcrowded accommodation with no suitable place to study; lone parents having to choose between work or home tutoring; or special needs children's education for some being disrupted.
Children having lived in persistent poverty up to the age of seven have cognitive development scores of 20% on average below children having never experienced child poverty. Deprived gifted children begin school on a par with gifted children least deprived but their educational performance falls away by age 16. Six years ago, only 33% of free school meals children achieved five or more good GCSEs compared with other children at 61%.
A CPAG study concluded that poverty can make children feel: worried about their parents, unhappy, hopeless, helpless, excluded, embarrassed, bullied and judged, frustrated, disappointed (no school trips), and that teachers don't fully understand poor children.
These childhood feelings sometimes affects mental well- being and in some cases causing childhood suicide.
Childhood poverty and deprivation costs our nation dearly causing poor education and school exclusion, illness and anti-social behaviour such as drug taking, theft, knife crime even murder. One of the most common defence statements given in courts of law by barristers and solicitors is that the defendant had 'a poor childhood'.
Has the time come to end UK child poverty by statute (law)? If it has then my Church has laid the foundation by agreeing to petition this Government.
Br Alan Holdsworth
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