Millions will to take on debt to pay for Christmas
MORE than a quarter (28 per cent) of families in England and Wales plan to borrow money to cover the costs of Christmas this year, a survey by the Children’s Society suggests. About one in ten of the 2000 people surveyed in November borrowed more than £5000 last year; the average amount spent on celebrations, including presents, was £700. The charity’s chief executive, Matthew Reed, is warning that parents “need to be aware how difficult it can be to shake off Christmas debt”.
Government adopts formal definition of anti-Semitism
THE Prime Minister said this week that the Government will formally adopt the definition of anti-Semitism approved by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. This states that: “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” It also states that: “Criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as anti-Semitic.” The Government said that the adoption would ensure that “culprits will not be able to get away with being anti-Semitic because the term is ill-defined”.
Homeless people ‘could be criminalised’ if they beg
HOUSING JUSTICE has warned that homeless people could be “criminalised” and “penalised” during efforts by UK councils to crack down on begging. Introduced in 2014, public space protection orders enable councils to fine those deemed to be begging. Using the orders in this way was “misguided”, the charity’s chief executive, Alison Gelder, said. “People who have the misfortune to lack a home need help and support, not to be driven from pillar to post — or to be pushed underground into places that are truly dangerous.”
Going north: the director of communications for the Church of England, the Revd Arun Arora, has been appointed as the next Vicar of St Nicholas’s, Durham. Before he took up his current position in 2012, Mr Arora worked in communications for the Archbishop of York and the diocese of Birmingham, as well as leading a Fresh Expressions ministry in Wolverhampton. He will begin his new post in July