Letter to the Times
The Manifesto Club, with English PEN, coordinated a letter to the Times today – taking on the points-based visa system, against which we have a long-running campaign. Signatories include Antony Gormley, Baroness Helena Kennedy, and poet Andrew Motion. Read the letter here.
Private tutors rebel against vetting
A survey today showed that many private tutors will refuse to register on the vetting database. Three quarters of the tutors interviewed by the website thetutorpages.com said that they wouldn’t register: many said that they didn’t think it would stop paedophiles, and resented the implication that they were ‘assumed guilty until proven innocent’. Henry Fagg, director of www.thetutorpages.com, made the excellent point that tutors have close relationships with the parent of the child; they often go into the family home to give their lessons. ‘This scheme is in danger of undermining that bond of trust as it breeds the suspicion that every…
Visiting artists and Academics Campaign
The Home Office introduced new restrictions on international artists and academics visiting the UK for talks, temporary exhibitions, concerts or artists’ residencies. Visitors now have to submit to a series of arduous and expensive proceedures to get their visa, and then more…
28 April Clubnight: What would you put in a Freedom Manifesto?
Old political issues, from the economy to foreign policy, have lost their fire: these are no longer the trenches that divide political life. Yet a new political dividing line is growing: between those who support or oppose freedom in practice. Pro- and…
The heartlessness of child protection policies
This is an outrageous case: a woman disciplined for helping a young boy down from a tree. Apparently she went against the school’s (Ofsted-approved) child protection guidelines, which recommended that teachers observe children when they are stuck in trees. This shows that child protection rules are all about ticking boxes, observing rules, and nothing to do with actually caring for children and helping when they are in trouble. In fact – these policies are actually about the re-education of adults’ decent and caring instincts, into something quite cold and distant. (Incidentally this woman was disciplined by a CSO, who clearly have the…
Petition delivered to Downing Street
The Manifesto Club and English PEN delivering our 10,000-strong petition against points-based visa rules to 10 Downing Street, 2pm 17 March 2010.
Deported: Artists and Academics Barred from the UK
On 17 March 2010, we submitted the Manifesto Club petition against the points-based visa system to 10 Downing Street – with over 10,000 signatures, including artists and writers such as Antony Gormley, Jeremy Deller, Maureen Duffy and Anne Fine. To mark the…
Submission to Anti-CCTV strategy
The Manifesto Club has made a submission to the Anti-CCTV Strategy of www.no-cctv.org.uk. The submission, by Dolan Cummings, is below. The Manifesto Club is opposed to the use of CCTV in public places, primarily on the grounds that it induces inhibition and undermines the spirit of public space. CCTV is often justified explicitly in terms of preventing not only crime but loosely-defined ‘antisocial behaviour’. Even if successful in its own terms, which is doubtful, this is achieved by replicating the atmosphere of narrowly-defined commercial spaces, so streets and squares begin to resemble outdoor shopping malls. The effect is to limit the public’s…
Serving police officer checked to help out at his son’s scout pack
I just received this email from a Scout leader, who was asked to CRB a serving police officer. A worrying story for the times, showing how old forms of authority (police, politicians) are being replaced with new (child protection coordinators, health and safety advisers). ‘I have just been asked to do a CRB check on a serving police officer so that he can help in his son’s cub scout pack. I thought this had to be an over enthusiastic misinterpretation of the rules, so I queried it with the Scout Association. Amazingly, they have confirmed that indeed they do NOT trust the…
17 March meeting – Fortress UK: Closing the door on international artists and academics
As we’ve highlighted in our Visiting Artists Campaign, the Home Office’s new points-based visa system has meant thousands of international students unable to start their courses on time, cancelled concerts and lecture series, and the growth of suspicion and surveillance on campus.…
School contractors have to be vetted to install wind turbines
The Independent Safeguarding Authority requires the registration of anybody who works in a school for four days a month – even if they are fixing the radiators or installing wind turbines on the roof. Businesses are rightly angry about what they see as a hidden tax. The fact that they have no contact with children cuts no ice, as this email we just received from a renewable energy business outlines: ‘We install renewable energy systems for example wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (electricity generation) systems to both residential and commercial customers. Many of our larger customers are schools and they are starting…
What evidence is there that the vetting database will work?
I’ve just received this email from Richard Ellam, a popular science presenter, who makes the important point about the lack of evidence for the efficacy of the CRB system. Indeed, I’ve repeatedly asked officials what evidence they have that this vetting database does any good – but they steadfastly ignored the question. ‘As a strong supporter of civil liberties of all sorts I have been following your campaign against the Child Protection Mafia with interest for some time. This issue affects me directly, as I am a freelance writer and presenter of science shows who regularly visits schools and other places to…