Your Weekly News Round-Up

Weekly newsletter packed with some more interesting news articles! Have a read..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kGQrsDFP8ITHB4YVZSam5RYnM/view?usp=sharing

Putting the 'Fun' in Fundraising...

Do you fancy helping to raise money for the Women's Domestic Abuse Helpline, and getting to have fun while you're at it? They're holding a quiz at the Nip & Tipple, 197 Upper Chorlton Road on Monday night, and they'd love for you to join them....so much so, they've even put on a buffet for you! Tickets (for the quiz and buffet) are £12.50, or £10 for concessions; the buffet opens at 6, with the quiz starting at 6.45pm.

And here's the nice shiny flier:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1aWoCJw0ptPWVdTWnFLUTVfTVk/view?usp=sharing

Your Weekly News Round-Up

As you may have already read about the cuts Manchester City Council wish to make, we would like you to take this opportunity to help us campaign against it. Please help us by signing the petition, all the information you need is on the newsletter.

We have also included some interesting news articles for you to read!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kGQrsDFP8IZ3FHOV9QVF9BVlU/view?usp=sharing

Protest Against the Cuts

A date for your diary, folks. On 10th December (Human Rights Day, no less) from 12-2pm at St Peter's Square, Safety4Sisters will be leading a demonstration against the new round of cuts by Manchester City Council. The message is simple: 'Protest the Cuts - Protect Our Services'

For more information on how to add your voice to the protest, click the link for the full leaflet:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1aWoCJw0ptPbkNlb21tU1p3Qzg/view?usp=sharing

Could your clients use AbilityNet?

AbilityNet are an organisation who offer free computer help to disabled people (including those with an age-related disability) in their own homes / residential homes. There are no formal referral systems, clients just need to call the free helpline number and request an appointment. If this is a service which could be useful to your clients, take a look at the leaflet below and encourage people to call!

Do your clients know about the Fit For Work service?

Pathways CIC are focused on helping people who are off work sick to improve their health and wellbeing to ensure they feel well prepared to re-enter the workplace when they are ready.

The Fit 4 Work scheme is available to residents in all areas of Manchester, and clients can either self-refer, or request to be referred by their GP. There is also a Fit 4 Work scheme for the unemployed available to residents of North Manchester, which supports those who are out of work due to a health condition to manage their condition more effectively, tackle any issues they are currently faced with, whilst improving their quality of life.

If you'd like more information on either service, or would like some hard copy leaflets to provide to your clients, contact Pathways CIC on 08717 813 548, or email ffw.enquiries@pathwayscic.co.uk

Save Advice Services in Manchester

In case our email passed you by (and if you're not on our list, get yourself signed up!), advice services in Manchester are under serious threat if the Council's proposed cuts go ahead. The extent of the cuts would see a number of services close, and free & impartial advice services become a thing of the past for Manchester residents. It's vital that we do all we can to fight this, and stop proposed cuts becoming a reality. Please sign this petition and show your support for saving Manchester's advice services: https://www.change.org/p/manchester-city-council-we-call-on-manchester-city-council-to-reconsider-their-proposals-to-cut-funding-to-advice-services-and-the-community-voluntary-sector

Opportunity for Clients - Public Services Complaints

Manchester CAB are running an event next week for anyone who's ever wanted to complain about public services (I'm sure you all know a few...!) As you can see, the event runs from 1-3pm next Wednesday, 26th November, and there is a £25 voucher for all participants, as well as travel expenses reimbursed.

If you have clients who might be interested in attending, please take their name and number, and pass them to Marsha Healy at CAB: marsha.healy@manchestercab.org / 0161 203 2516

Your Weekly News Round-Up

More interesting news articles for you to have a read!..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kGQrsDFP8IcDN2X2RvUV9vajA/view?usp=sharing

Manchester City Council Cuts

Manchester City Council have announced their 2015-17 'budget options' and their proposed plans. With a further £59m to cut from their budget in 2015/16, they've got their work cut out for them and, unsurprisingly, a huge number of valuable services are facing extensive cuts. We all know that this will have a devastating effect on the sector, as community and voluntary services aren't going to fare well; you can see their proposal for cuts here:
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/news/article/7027/councils_2015-17_budget_options_published

Now, there's no denying that this is a pretty bleak picture and there's limited action to be taken, but the Council have announced that they'll be holding a consultation process for people to comment on the changes being made. The timeline for that is published here: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/200110/budgets_and_spending/6729/the_consultation_process
It seems unclear whether they will invite feedback from organisations, or only individual residents, but if the former, would you want the Alliance to co-ordinate a response, as we are doing for the Work & Pensions Committee? Let us know your thoughts...comment below.

MORE changes to EEA rules....

In case you're not already aware, as of 10th November there are further changes to the rules for EEA nationals who claim benefits with a qualifying right to reside as a jobseeker. This means that EEA nationals will now only be entitled to benefits for 3 months, as opposed to 6, before they must provide 'compelling evidence' of being engaged in work. However, this won't affect EEA jobseekers who have an alternative right to reside, or who are exempt from the Habitual Residence Test.

We have no doubt that this will affect many of your clients - what do you see the impact being, and do you have a plan to tackle this? Let us know by commenting below...

Speak Out on Sanctions!

This week, the Work and Pensions Committee have launched an inquiry into Benefits Sanctions. We know that this is an area where you all have a lot to say, so we thought it would be great if we could pool all your experience and expertise into one consultation response, submitted by Manchester Advice Alliance. They are particularly interested in:

1. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) sanctions, including: whether the current ESA sanctions regime is appropriate and proportionate for jobseekers with ill health and disabilities; and the reasons for recent sharp increases in the number of ESA sanctions
2. Whether particular groups of ESA and JSA claimants (by impairment type; age; gender etc.) are proportionately more likely to be sanctioned than others
3. To follow up the Committee's recommendation for a full independent review, to investigate the purpose, effects and efficacy of benefit sanctions, and to consider the issues such a review would need to take into account, including:
4. What are the current sanctions regimes trying to achieve and what evidence is there that they work?
• To what extent are sanctions justified solely as a means of ensuring that unemployed benefit claimants fulfil the conditions of benefit entitlement?
• What evidence is there that benefit sanctions also encourage claimants to engage more actively in job-seeking and ultimately move into employment? How could this be measured?
• What are the wider implications of sanctions in terms of their impacts on claimants?
5. What are the alternatives to the current sanctions regimes? For example:
• How might the current system of financial sanctions be altered to make it more appropriate or effective?
• Is there a case for non-financial sanctions?
• What form could non-financial sanctions take?
• Are there examples of good practice from other countries?

If you have anything to contribute on any of these points, email it to rosi.hunter@manchestercab.org
by 5pm on Wednesday 26th November. We'll then compile a joint response and get it sent off.

Your Weekly News Round-Up

Back with a new range of news articles! Get reading!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kGQrsDFP8IZ0lPTDU4NjItU3M/view?usp=sharing

MORE Free Training!

Good news! It seems (unsurprisingly) that the session Stephenson's Solicitors on 'Discrimination in the Welfare System' has been incredibly popular and it's now full....so they're putting on another! Hooray! The new session will run at 10am on Wednesday, 26th November, at Partington Library & Wellbeing Centre, Central Road, Partington, M31 4FY.

If you'd like to attend, email Michelle Tilley, or give her a call on 01942 774 598.

FREE Training!

Do you work with young people aged 16-25? If so, you may be interested to learn that YPSF have a couple of FREE spaces on their Money Skills Training course on Thursday 6th November, 1-5pm. The training will take you through how to use the financial capability toolkit recently developed and released by Barclays, and help you develop the skills to deliver financial education to the young people you support.

The training objectives are as follows:

• Understand more about why it is important to teach young  people about money
• Understand the meaning of the term financial capability
• Have explored and experienced activities from the toolkit
• Have explored personal attitudes, values and behaviours towards money management and identified and looked at barriers
• Have planned and delivered an activity from the toolkit.

If you're interested in attending, please contact James Walklate

Have Your Say!

From the forums, we know that your experience of DWP decision-making, reconsideration and appeals has been, overall, less than positive (to say the least!) Well, now the Low Commission on the Future of Advice and Legal Support is interested in hearing from the advice sector about these experiences, so if you have the opportunity to feed into the survey if you work in any of the following roles:

• welfare rights adviser
• project funded benefits adviser
• advice session supervisor
• generalist adviser
• social welfare lawyer
• money adviser dealing with benefit problems
• MP's caseworker
• CAB social policy co-ordinator
• CAB or Advice Centre Manager.

The survey can be completed at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DX2NG7S.

You can read more about the Low Commission on their website at http://www.lowcommission.org.uk/About.