Racial inequality
England contains many diverse, multicultural cities, and the current uprisings spectacularly play out in them. The movement’s heart is about injustices that go back decades - and centuries - with global foundations. Many parts of the UK have deep issues with racism that have long needed to be challenged, talked about, rectified and healed. On 15 June Boris Johnson announced plans to create a cross-government commission to examine racial inequality and the disparities experienced by minority ethnic groups in education, health and the criminal justice system. He said he could not ignore the strength of feeling shown by tens of thousands of people who had demonstrated in London and other cities across the UK. He said, ‘It is no use just saying that we have made huge progress in tackling racism. There is much more that we need to do; and we will.’
Northern Ireland: proposed summer schools
The Department of Education (DE) is considering two-week summer schools in late July for pupils going into years 5, 6 and 7. No school or organisation will be obliged to run one; they are entirely voluntary and subject to funding being available and the agreement of the executive teaching unions. Schools will be asked how many pupils they could take on a ratio of one teacher per seven pupils. Possible financial support may be available to schools already running their own summer schools (for current year 4, 5 and 6 pupils). Other proposals being considered are extra online lessons in literacy and numeracy for pupils going into year 7 who need extra support, and virtual learning if they have IT access.
Scotland’s unemployment
Scotland's unemployment rate is now the highest in the UK, having risen by 30,000 to 127,000 between February and April as a result of the pandemic. Many people will be feeling a deep sense of anxiety about their livelihoods. The UK’s Scottish secretary Alister Jack said the impact of coronavirus was clearly seen in the latest figures, which are ‘expected to continue for some time’. There is no obvious reason why Scottish unemployment should have risen so much, although it could be the downturn in oil and gas consumption, or a bigger dependence on tourism jobs. The UK government is providing comprehensive coronavirus support packages to help people get through this unprecedented pandemic. We can pray for redundant young people and those already on company loans and universal credit.
Social media and virus conspiracy theories
A research team from Kings College London suggests social media news sites may need to do more to regulate misleading content as people who get their news from social media sources are more likely to break lockdown rules. Its report says, ‘Unregulated social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube may present a health risk to the UK because they are spreading conspiracy theories about coronavirus. One wonders how long this state of affairs can be allowed to persist.’ The study concludes, ‘Conspiracy beliefs act to inhibit health-protective behaviours, and social media act as a vector for such beliefs.’ In response, Facebook says it has removed a huge amount of misinformation from its sites, and directed 3.5 million visits to the official NHS and Government Covid-19 information sites.
