Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 27 May 2016 02:11 PM PDT
When the World Health Organisation (WHO) released its findings on international urban air quality earlier this month it had found that more than 80 per cent of people in monitored areas are breathing in air of such poor quality that it jeopardises their health, and in particularly tragic cases, their lives. Poor air quality is a direct cause of respiratory disease. And a study by the Royal College of Physicians found that around 40,000 people in the UK died in 2015 due to dangerous levels of particulate air pollution. Greenpeace has put forward five policy suggestions it says the government should focus on immediately: An electric vehicle revolution a mass switch from gas guzzling cars and lorries to cleaner and greener vehicles on a national scale; Creating a network of clean air zones in towns and cities would most quickly protect people in and around schools and hospitals, and alerts be issued in advance and hotspots declared 'car free' when air pollution reaches unhealthy limits; Cleaner and greener public transport; Regulating the car industry; and Saving lives by prioritising tackling air pollution by spending money on projects that would give people clean transport choices, ahead of building new roads that will only lead to more air pollution. There isn’t a technological barrier stopping us from breathing cleaner air, Greenpeace points out: we have the science and the tech know-how to put a stop to this crisis, what's stopping us is lack of action from our politicians. Click here to sign the petition asking David Cameron to create a bold action plan that cleans our air, reduces pollution and saves lives. Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, who has raised this issue in Parliament on numerous occasions, said: "Air pollution causes an unacceptable number of deaths every year. "Particulates can cause long-term, debilitating illnesses to people of any age, including children." York's own air pollution, she says on her blog on air quality in urban areas, has been tied to up to 5 per cent of all deaths in the constituency, with small suspended particles known as PM2.5, exceeding the legal limit by 20 per cent over the year. These smaller particles are the most dangerous, as they are able to reach deep into our lungs and pass through to our bloodstream. "It is not just the health and well-being of the British people that is harmed by this ongoing problem, which places an increasing strain on the NHS and the economy, with the Royal College of Physicians estimating an annual cost of £20 billion," Maskell continued. She has been supporting the Air Quality Bill that aims to tackle diesel emissions in urban areas, which can be particularly dangerous. "Air pollution is bad for our economy, our environment and our health," Maskell said. "The damage it causes is not selective. It harms us all, and will continue to do so until the government acts decisively and deals with this issue."  |
| Sheffield film and documentary fest Posted: 27 May 2016 01:13 PM PDT
The stories of women feature heavily across the film, alternate realities, talks and sessions and doc/fest exchange programme at this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest; some are ordinary, some extraordinary, some an inspiration to us all. The festival has a strong history of supporting female filmmakers and this year is no exception. Sheffield Doc/Fest celebrates the art and business of documentary, and welcomes over 30,000 documentary-makers and lovers each year, including 3,500 industry delegates from over 60 countries. This year the festival, which takes place from 10 – 15 June 2016, and the 160-strong Doc/Fest Film Programme curated by Claire Aguilar, includes: Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, a 114-minute film from the United States directed by Rita Coburn Whack and Bob Hercules – making its EU premiere. An icon of American politics and culture, Maya Angelou was an inspiring, didactic writer whose life spanned some of the most pivotal moments in the 20th century. This filmic biography by Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack faithfully follows her life's dizzying trajectory and features personal anecdotes from the Clintons, Lou Gossett Jr. and Oprah Winfrey. The international premiere of Golden Girl directed by Susanna Edwards, a 97-minute film from Sweden. Frida Wallberg was the best female boxer alive. WBC World Champion and career undefeated, she was one of the most feared fighters in the world. Yet during her final fight, she suffered a life-changing blow. Rushed to hospital after a dangerous brain haemorrhage, Frida’s world changed in an instant. Her struggle to recover is to be her toughest fight yet. The UK premiere of Plaza de la Soledad, an 84-minute film from Mexico, directed by Maya Goded. A group of ageing prostitutes chat energetically in a square called 'Solitude' (soledad). Observing and narrating their relationships over the course of two decades, acclaimed photographer-turned-filmmaker Maya Goded is a trusted confidante to many of these women. The film unpicks the recent lives of five who have been in the game for years, but nonetheless remain resolutely hopeful. Care, directed by Deirdre Fishel, is a 65-minute US documentary making its world premiere. With an intimate and empathetic eye, Care follows three American home care workers and their elderly clients, revealing the beauty and complexity of hands-on care and the profound connections it engenders. The film also exposes the failures of the US's eldercare system, which has care workers earning poverty wages and elderly clients struggling to pay for the care they need. A documentary made in Finland having its UK premiere is the 52-minute Daddy's Girl directed by Melisa Üneri. Daddy’s Girl is a tragicomic breaking-up story between a Turkish father, living in Finland, and his 26 year-old half-Finnish daughter. Their symbiotic relationship begins to deteriorate when the daughter moves to Turkey to start a life of her own. This is a story about rebellion, growing up and letting go. National Bird, directed by Sonia Kennebeck, also making its UK premiere. A 92-minute United States – Afghanistan-made film about Lisa Ling who regrets the 121,000 lives she spied on electronically in a two-year period for the US Air Force. She tries to make amends by visiting bombing victims in Afghanistan. National Bird follows Ling and two other whistle-blower veterans wracked with guilt about the secret US drone war, and the many civilian casualties that continue to be denied by the powers that be. The Fest also hosts Alternate Realities exhibitions curated by Mark Atkin and featuring 26 virtual reality and interactive projects. Among them: In My Shoes: Dancing with Myself, the true story of Jane, friends, strangers and epilepsy – told in virtual reality. Part of the In My Shoes first-person documentary project, it fuses film, theatre, technology and empathy. The United Nations has pioneered the use of virtual reality to raise awareness of global issues, including those faced by women and has its own United Nations VR Film Launch. There is to be a mass viewing of their latest VR film, about gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where factions fight over the country's mineral resources. After the viewing, director Gabo Arora will be interviewed by Francine Stock of BBC Radio 4's The Film Programme. There is a new vanguard in our media culture. A growing pool of talented and experienced women, tired of waiting for the film and TV industry to reach the 21st century, are driving it forward themselves. With Female Trailblazers: New Ways of Working in Media, the voices of working mothers, and female perspectives in general, are being lost in the current industry climate. The women on this panel – Rachel Wexler, Kristen Johnson, Sophie Mayer and Lucy Baxter – are forging ahead with new business models and new ways of working that suit their lives, their choices and their careers. More info and details on the Doc/Fest website or their facebook page.  |
| Posted: 27 May 2016 03:51 AM PDT
The Work and Pensions Committee report released on 16 May 2016 said that while the process of automatic enrolment (AE) into employer pension schemes is a “success story”, major concerns have arisen over where those funds are being invested. There were also concerns that the Lifetime ISA financial product will distract from the aim of automatic enrolment, namely to get more people saving more for their retirement. Master trusts – a multi-employer occupational scheme where each employer has their own division within the master arrangement- are a potential risk for automatic enrolment. The Work and Pensions Committee report pointed to the “tremendous success” of automatic enrolment, saying that an additional 6.1 million people had enrolled in a workplace pension and were saving for their retirement, and that employer compliance rates are high and employee opt-out rates are low. But the Committee said gaps in pension regulation had allowed potentially unstable master trusts onto the market, and employers may unwittingly put their scheme members at risk of losing their retirement savings. There is also not enough clarity about employers' liability if one of these master trusts were to collapse, or if any chosen pension fund fails. There is also, the Work and Pensions Committee report said, a risk that wider faith in auto-enrolment and the impressive gains in retirement savings will be undermined. The Committee also raised the concern that the new Lifetime Individual Savings Account (LISA) could distract people from AE, with employees potentially opting out of their workplace scheme to put savings into a LISA. LISAs are being introduced at a time when the majority of small businesses are still to move on to AE and statutory contribution rates are yet to rise. While the returns on LISAs appear attractive, as is the fact that it can be put towards the purchase of a home, in the long term it would leave people worse off. The report says the government has been sending mixed messages about the best way to save for retirement and should conduct urgent research on any effect of LISAs on AE and report on this before the 2016 Autumn Statement. The Committee has several recommendations regarding how the government support the move to Automatic Enrolment. The period of moving 1.8 million small and micro-employers on to AE will be the most challenging phase of the programme, and the government must do everything possible to support this phase. The AE campaign – famously featuring a “giant psychedelically decorated furry creature called Workie” – should now focus on the financial consequences of non-compliance, emphasising that AE cannot be ignored; The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should provide reassurance to small and micro-employers about where liability will fall if their chosen pension scheme performs badly or fails; The DWP should work with HMRC to expand Basic PAYE Tools to support small businesses in meeting their AE obligations: it must be as easy as possible for small businesses to participate without additional cost The report comes as the Committee embarks on a major inquiry into pension regulation and the BHS pension fund crisis. The Committee had also called for the inclusion of a Pensions Bill strengthening regulation of pension funds in the Queen's Speech. Craig Mackinlay MP, a Committee member, said: “The most important thing now is to support the final 1.8 million small and micro-businesses into AE. “HMRC provide[s] free ‘Basic PAYE Tools’ software to enable smaller employers with up to 9 staff to manage payroll calculations and reporting requirements under the Real Time Information (RTI) regime. "It is essential, in my view, that additional functionality be added to this application to enable smaller employers to manage their Auto-enrolment obligations without needing to outsource their payroll function or be forced to buy proprietary software.” Lesley Titcomb, chief executive at The Pensions Regulator (TPR) welcomed the announcement made on 18 May in the Queen’s Speech of a new Pensions Bill which proposes to give The Pensions Regulator new powers to regulate master trust schemes. "We have voiced concerns for some time about the need for stronger legislative standards for master trusts and have worked with government and other regulators to improve levels of protection for members," Titcomb said. "We have been calling for a significantly higher bar regarding authorisation and supervision, and we are pleased that today's announcement proposes to give us the power to implement these safeguards. "Currently, new master trusts are subject to far less regulatory scrutiny than new contract-based providers and so we have encouraged employers to only choose master trusts which have achieved master trust assurance, or group personal pension plans (GPPs). But, as Frank Field MP, chair of the Committee, said: auto-enrolment has been a tremendous success that will ultimately see approximately 9 million people newly saving, or saving more, in a pension. Crucially now we must do much more to ensure that people's savings are put in the best possible place, and are secure.  |
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