View, January 2012 News in brief


Volunteers clock up 7,000 hours


THE North West Mountain Rescue Team has re- ported one of their busiest years in some time. Made up of unpaid volunteers from all walks of life, members have given more than 7,000 hours of voluntary service across Northern Ireland. The three ambulance Land Rovers, which are


Anti-racism night to strike a chord


THE cultural centre, An Droichead in south Belfast, is to host an event, titled Love Music Hate Racism Northern Ireland, on February 4 with local musicians performing alongside artists from the Roma and African communities. Charlotte Dryden, from Love Music Hate Racism Northern Ireland, said: “We’re working alongside people in local communities to show that whatever this economic downturn bring us, racism is one thing that doesn’t flourish.”


Red Cross tops media coverage


THE Red Cross was the charity that received the most UK press and broadcast coverage in 2011, according to a new report by the media company Metrica. The Red Cross had mentions in 38,590 articles


and broadcast items. It was followed by Amnesty International, with 30,006, and Comic Relief with 29,334.


Voluntary sector is ‘failing its women’


SEVEN in ten voluntary sector employees in the UK are female, yet just over four in ten charities are led by female CEOs or chairs. And in charities with turnover of £10m or more, women are in the top jobs at just 27 per cent of them. These are just two of the statistics contained


in a new report by Rowena Lewis, the culmination of her research into women leaders in the sector as part of her Clore Social Fellowship. See http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/gover- nance/news/content/11389/volun- tary_sector_is_failing_its_women for full story


Union support for children’s centres


THE trade union Unison has backed a campaign to protect Sure Start Children’s Centres by pro- viding resources to the Daycare Trust. The trust has called on local authorities to pro-


tect the centres in their forthcoming budgets, amid fears that centres may see further cuts in 2012 as councils attempt to balance their budgets for the coming year. Sure Start Children's Centres play a vital role in early intervention said Unison general secretary Dave Prentis, and are a key fac- tor in improving children's long-term life chances, and are highly valued by parents who use them.


Cycling to the top of the class


MLA Ian McCrea is awarded full marks for his cycling skills by Abbi Stanex (10) and Ellie Leathern (11), both pupils at Gilnahirk Primary School in east Belfast. The school laid on a ‘cycling challenge; for members of the Assembly’s Committee for Regional Development when they paid a recent visit to view the school's Bike It programme. The charity, Sustrans, has been delivering the Bike It project at the school to encour- age more children to cycle and walk to school. Nearly a quarter of the school's older children now commute by bike at least once a week


Economic fears raised in report from Credit Unions


A NEW household income survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions has revealed the extent of fears about income amongst the organisation's members. The results were announced in the Credit Unions’ first Household Income Tracker for Northern Ireland. The findings show that people fear 2012 will bring increased economic challenges with a drop in disposable income, increased fears over fuel bills and large numbers turning to moneylenders and payday loans. The findings are the first of a series of trackers which will be carried out across Northern Ireland.


Northern Ireland fear 2012 will be even more diffi- cult financially than 2011. The belief that the eco- nomic challenges are about to become greater is leaving a quarter of consumers worried about their ability to manage their finances over the next 12 months. The tracker found that approximately 170,000 people (12 per cent of all adults) have no money left after paying their bills, while 670,000 (44 per cent) have less disposable income than this time last year.


Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of people in


than five per cent of their income left over after they pay their bills, over 400,000 worry about their ability to meet unforeseen expenses, while 296,000 fear about coping if income tax or welfare rates were to change. Fuel costs remain a pressing concern for people


in Northern Ireland. 83 per cent of consumers say the increased cost of energy and fuel has impacted on their spending ability. Almost nine in ten adults (87 per cent) say they switch off heating during cold periods to save fuel. Half of residents (51 per cent) say they were


forced to sacrifice other household spending to pay for fuel this winter. The continued public fear over the price of fuel has also seen people turning to pay-day loan com- panies and moneylenders. Rosemary O’Doherty of the Irish League of


Of the 35% of adults (493,000) who have less


stationed in Enniskillen, Magherafelt and Bally- mena, have clocked up more than 23,000 miles in the past 12 months


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Credit Unions said: “The launch of the tracker is an important initiative by our movement as we iden- tify the issues facing people, including our 409,000 members, in communities across Northern Ireland. “It is clear that people are expecting a year of new challenges and financial pressures.”


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