Poverty Alliance (EAPN Scotland) | 6th Scottish Assembly for Tackling Poverty celebrates close of Challenge Poverty Week 2015

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22/10/2015 – The Poverty Alliance will celebrate the close of Challenge Poverty Week 2015 by hosting the 6th Scottish Assembly for Tackling Poverty at the Royal Concert Halls in Glasgow on Friday. The Scottish Assembly for Tackling Poverty has been organised by the Poverty Alliance since 2010. Over this time the Assemblies have brought together hundreds of people with direct experience of poverty, activists, representatives of community and voluntary organsiations, trade unions, faith groups, researchers, policy makers and politicians. The events have become a become a key forum for discussion around the problems of poverty in Scotland and how they could be more effectively addressed.

EAPN Spain presents 5th Report on the State of Poverty in Spain

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14/10/2015 – EAPN SPain presented its 5th Report “State of Poverty, Follow up on the indicator on poverty and social exclusion 2009-2014 (Informe ‘El Estado de la Pobreza. Seguimiento del indicador de pobreza y exclusión social en España 2009 – 2014’) at Ecooo Headquarters in Madrid highlighting that poverty and social exclusion have reached record levels. The event is part of the Week against Poverty and Social Exclusion, aroudn the 17th October International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. 

17 Oct: Brussels Forum, member of EAPN Belgium Social Innovation Conference

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Next 17th October, on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the FBLP (Brussels Forum Against Poverty, regional member of the Belgian Anti-Poverty Network), organises a conference on Social Innovation, as part of the Festival des Libertés, with the support of the French Community Commission of Brussels-Capital, the King Baudouin Foundation and CPAS of Saint-Gilles. The content of the conference will be based on an inventory of 33 projects identified as a spearhead of social innovation in Brussels.

Poverty Alliance (EAPN Scotland): City deal package must help to address poverty in glasgow

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03/07/2014 – The Poverty Alliance has welcomed the City Deal Partnership between Glasgow City Council and the UK Government which will used to create a £1.1bn infrastructure fund for the city, but has called on all the partners to ensure that the new funding makes a contribution to tackling poverty and inequality in the city. The UK Government have committed £500m with local authorities Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire councils pledging another £130m to the new infrastructure fund.

FNARS: Long-term unemployment declared “national issue” – a strong step forward, to turn into real action

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09/07/2014 – The 3rd Social conference on employment took place in Paris with President F. Hollande Paris taking on board FNARS and Collectif Alerte joint proposals, which both organisations welcome. Declaring that long-term unemployment is a major national issue and priority to tackle, the President also called on everyone and particularly social partners to mobilise against what affects today over 2 million people in France. However, the most important is to witness the implementation of concrete and adapted proposals that respond best and as fast as possible to the needs of millions of people experiencing hardship.

FNARS (member of EAPN France): Health and social organisations take action on housing for people with mental disorders

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18/06/2014 – The ANPCME the FNAPSY, UNAFAM and FNARS cosigned a charter for the accomodation and housing for people with mental disorders. For these four associations, accommodation and housing are major stabilizing factors for people with mental health problems, and consequently a real public health issue. Read more on FNARS website (in French).

EAPN Malta holds In-Work Poverty Conference and launches EAPN publication Working and Poor in Maltese

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12/06/2014 – EAPN Malta (Anti-Poverty Forum Malta) organised a conference on In-Work Poverty aiming to raise awareness on the topic.  Speakers for this conference included the Minister for Education and Work Hon Evarist Bartolo, the Shadow Minister on Poverty Hon Clyde Puli, MEP Dr Therese Comodini Cachia, trade unionists, a Professor in Sociology, and various NGOs.  During this well-attended conference, APF Malta launched the publication ‘Working and Poor’ released by EAPN in November 2013, in Maltese. Various interesting points were raised and discussed, including the need to increase the minimum wage, measures to eliminate precarious work and also the possibility of rising the compulsory school age to 18.

Poverty Alliance urges UK Government to re-think child poverty strategy

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26/06/2014 – Following the publication of the Child Poverty Strategy 2014-17, the Poverty Alliance has called on the UK Government to re-think their approach to child poverty. The current strategy ignores the macro-economic context and the demand side of the labour market, choosing instead to focus on the individual causes of poverty. The strategy also pays no regard to independent child poverty predictions and focuses too heavily on work as a way out of poverty. 

BAPN: BMIN holds conference on adequate and accessible minimum income

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10/06/2014 – BMIN (Belgian Minimum Income Network) organized the conference “Towards the progressive realization of an adequate and accessible minimum income.” The first results of the project were presented as well as BMIN’s recommendations for European and national levels. The following political parties took part in the conference: CDH, Ecolo, FDF, Groen, MR, N-VA, PVDA, Sp.a and PS. All parties confirmed the need for a strong minimum income above the poverty line, and recognized the importance of easy access to minimum income, inter alia, through the automatic granting of rights. Several parties also reaffirmed the target to take 530,000 people out of poverty by 2020  If political parties keep their promise, then the punitive conditions that restrict peoples access to minimum income schemes should be removed.