Key Quotes for 2010

A world perspective in bite-size chunks
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Last update: Wednesday 25th March
 
More than half of British adults think that intelligent design should be taught alongside beliefs such as creationism in school science lessons – a proportion higher than in the US. An Ipsos Mori survey questioned 11,768 adults from 10 countries on how the theory of evolution should be taught in school science lessons. About 54% of the 973 polled Britons agreed with the view: “Evolutionary theories should be taught in science lessons in schools together with other possible perspectives, such as intelligent design and creationism.”
EducationThe Son, Winter 2009
 
The forthcoming General Election will be in breach of human rights unless the Government gives prisoners the vote, Europe’s human rights watchdog warned last night. The declaration from the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers comes six years after judges ruled the UK’s ban on votes for prisoners is illegal. But the ban is still in place and pressure has been mounting for months for it to be repealed. The council said the UK Government should ‘rapidly’ bring in measures to enable prisoners to vote in the forthcoming election.
PoliticsThe Sentinel, Tuesday March 9, 2010
 
Firms could be required to report on efforts they are making to increase the number of women in senior management jobs, the Government has announced. It follows a survey of more than 1,000 adults which showed that almost two out of three believed there were not enough female directors in big business. The Government Equalities Office said that at the current rate of progress it will take 60 years for women to gain equal representation on the boards of the top 100 companies.
Work/EmploymentThe Sentinel, Monday March 8, 2010
 
Nearly one in six children in England failed to get a place at their first choice secondary school this year, Government figures showed today. Results for applications by more than half a million children showed 83.2 per cent were offered a place at their preferred school for September. The refusal rate was 16.8 per cent – the same percentage as March 2009. Statistics from the Department for Children, Schools and Families show 94.9 per cent of families received an offer of a place at one of their top three.
EducationThe Sentinel, Friday March 12, 2010
 
Drug use in prisons is “endemic” according to a survey of prisoners.
The study of inmates in England and Wales found 85 per cent said they could source illegal drugs in their jail.
In their replies to a questionnaire from the Policy Exchange think-tank, prisoners said the official drug testing regime is too lax. The main route for drugs into prisons was through visitors, although one in four inmates accused prison officers of bringing in banned substances.
Drugs/Alcohol/AddictionsThe Sentinel, Friday March 19, 2010
 
The Catholic Association for Racial Justice has called for the Ministry of Justice to take action against prison officers after it was revealed that they are proportionally more than twice as likely than prisoners to be reported for racism. The ministry of Justice figures show total alleged racist incidents in prisons rose from 11,380 to 14,191 between 2006 and 2008, an increase of 24 per cent. These allegations suggest one-in-seven staff members receive complaints about racist remarks, compared with one-in-16 prisoners accused for similar behaviour.
PoliticsThe Universe – February 21st 2010
 
According to the latest statistics, domestic abuse is on the rise, with 50 per cent more women receiving support from domestic violence services than in 2003, at a cost of £23bn a year. Domestic abuse accounts for between 16 per cent and a quarter of all recorded violent crime and in any given year there are 13 million separate incidents of violence perpetrated against women by their partners or former partners. Two women a week are killed by them, a figure which makes up 40 per cent of all women homicide victims.
CrimeThe Universe – February 21st 2010
 
European human right judges have condemned Turkey for requiring citizens to specify their religious status in national identity cards, in a ruling which could have implications for the country’s Catholics and other Christian minorities. “This is in breach of the state’s duty of neutrality and impartiality, since its leads the state to make an assessment of the applicant’s faith’” the European Court of Human Rights said. “Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs has a negative aspect – namely, an individual’s right not to be obliged to disclose his or her religion, or to act in a manner that might enable conclusions to be drawn as to whether he or she holds such beliefs.”
Religious PersecutionThe Universe – February 21st 2010
 
New figures which reveal that marriage levels have dropped to their lowest since records began in 1862 are not a true reflection of the popularity of marriage, according to the marriage and family life project officer for the bishops’ conference of England and Wales. In the statistics released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 232,990 weddings were declared in 2008, the fewest in a year since 1895. Aside from a slight increase between 2001 and 2003, the figures have progressively declined since 1980. The figures also disclosed that the average age for marriage has increased by about three years for both men and women since 1998. On average, women now marry at almost 30 and men at just over 32. “It’s important to note that these figures only include marriages celebrated in England and Wales and not those that take place abroad. I think this is something the ONS are going to have to look at again it they want to offer a serious statistical indication of the proportion of the population who are married,” said Elizabeth Davies.
Social IssuesThe Universe – February 21st 2010
 
1 in 5 people believe politics would improve if more MPs read the Bible. A quarter of people also said they would trust an MP who is practising Christian more than one who is not. And almost three quarters of all people (71%) say that the expenses scandal has heightened their concerns over perceived integrity issues. This does, however, mean that nearly a quarter of people would still vote along party lines even if they believed that their MP had behaved with no personal integrity. The ComRes poll for Bible Society also found that: 72% of people say that the personal integrity of their MP matters more to them that the party to which they belong. Women (74%) are more likely than men (695) to favour personal integrity over party allegiance – according to a Bible Society poll. Over a third of people actually assumed that their MP was Christian.
PoliticsInspire – March 2010
 
In Britain, 80 per cent of us are eating too much saturated fat, and 26 million adults eat too much salt. It’s recommended that we don’t eat more than 6 grams of salt a day, but, on average, we consume 8.6g. The average Brit will also consume the equivalent of 1,000 pints of saturated fat in their lifetime.
HealthThe War Cry – February 27th 2010
 
More than half of Scottish students have been forced to take on credit card debts or personal loans to cope with the cost of higher education – and the recession. A study by the National Union of Students found students are increasingly turning to high-cost commercial debt, while 70% are working more than the recommended ten hours a week to make ends meet. The vast majority, 88%, are in some kind of debt, two-thirds said they were increasingly reliant on family and friends to lend cash, and 54% felt they were worse off (already) because of the recession.
MoneyLife and Work – March 2010
 
Almost 70 per cent of the earth’s population are exposed to limitations on their faith, new research shows. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life based its analysis, released in December, on reports from the US State Department and human rights groups as well as national constitutions. Overall, a third of the world’s countries were found to have high or very high restrictions on religion as a result of government rules or hostile acts by individuals and groups.
Religion/SpiritualityLife And Work – March 2010
 
At least 200 people have been killed in violence between Christians and Muslims in the Nigerian city of Jos, says the monitoring group, Human Rights Watch. The fighting prompted thousands of people to flee the city, houses, mosques and churches have been burnt down and many arrested, and a 24-hour curfew imposed. The death toll has not been verified and it is not known how many Christians have died.
World IssuesLife And Work – March 2010
 
European countries have been accused of having an anti-war attitude that is threatening world security by U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates. Addressing a forum on rewriting the basic mission plan for the NATO alliance, Mr Gates said: “the demilitarisation of Europe has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to a impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st.”
World IssuesThe Sentinel – February 24th 2010
 
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