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Ontario Supports Registered Disability Savings Plans

Thu, 4 Dec 2008 00:00:19 -0800

McGuinty Government Helps Families Save For Children With Disabilities TORONTO, Nov. 30 - NEWS Ontario is making it possible for social assistance recipients to take advantage of Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs). Like the Registered Education Savings Plan, RDSPs allow family members and loved ones to save.....

Brown acts to stop wave of repossessions

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 16:06:56 -0800

Homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages were given a reprieve by Gordon Brown yesterday when he unveiled a plan to let people affected by the economic downturn take a two-year mortgage interest payment holiday.

The intervention was aimed at removing the prospect of an increase in home repossessions before a general election and to give people breathing space if they lose their jobs or take a big cut in their income. It is also designed to show that Labour would help middle Britain through the recession.

Brown's surprise move came amid reports that without the government's intervention, repossessions were set to increase to 75,000 next year, hitting levels last seen in 1991, the worst year of the previous recession.

Eight banks and building societies, covering 70% of the mortgage market, have agreed to allow families struggling with mortgage payments the right to defer all, or part, of their interest payments for two years. The government will underwrite the scheme.

Brown's surprise was sprung during the debate on a relatively sparse Queen's speech and followed secret Treasury talks with the building societies and banks. Many details, including the qualification rules, have yet to be finalised but officials denied the institutions had been bounced into a premature agreement to provide Brown with some gloss on a grey Queen's speech, which was almost overshadowed yesterday by the war of words between police and parliament over the raids on Conservative MP Damian Green's office.

The prime minister said the scheme would cover any household which suffered a redundancy or "significant loss of income". This would, for the first time, extend help to households where one family member loses their job and the other remains in work.

The Treasury plans for the scheme to apply to mortgages up to £400,000, and would probably kick in where the applicants have savings of less than £16,000.

The government has estimated that the cost of guaranteeing the delayed mortgage payments would add a £1bn contingent liability to government borrowing, but only cost £100m directly in eventual defaults. Building societies and banks would act as gatekeepers of the scheme, deciding whether the request to defer mortgage payments was justified. No definition of "a significant loss of income" was provided yesterday, but government officials said it might cover someone forced to take a less well-paid job or less in overtime.

Treasury officials said the numbers liable for help would not be so large as to damage the mortgage insurance industry. The help was designed to lift the fear of repossession for those facing job insecurity. Those in safe jobs were going to enjoy falling mortgages, officials said.

The move comes as the Bank of England is expected to cut its base rate today. The markets expect a cut of one to two percentage points from the current rate of 3%. A cut of 1.5 points would take the rate lower than it has been since the Bank was formed in 1694.

Brown told MPs: "Hardworking households that experience a redundancy or severe loss of income as a result of the downturn will be able to defer a proportion of their interest payments for up to two years as they get their family finances back on track."

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said: "It is not a charter for 'won't pay' borrowers to avoid their responsibilities, but it will provide welcome reassurance to the vast majority of borrowers that the government and lenders are doing all they can ... to help those customers who 'can't pay' due to a change in circumstances."

Brown said the measure was in addition to protection for the unemployed, who can claim help to meet interest payments after 13 weeks.

Treasury officials said banks and building societies would not suffer a serious loss of income as a result of the deferment. Brown also confirmed that the code on how banks treat business would be put on a statutory basis. Banks who fell foul of the code could face a range of sanctions, including fines.

A total of 14 bills were revealed in the Queen's speech yesterday, including two carried over from the previous parliament. Overall, it represented the shortest legislative programme since the government came to power.

The programme takes in a new constitution for the NHS, confirmation of a right to seek flexible working for parents, and wider sanctions on the unemployed to make themselves "job ready". There was also a clamp down on "all you can drink" offers in pubs as well as lapdancing and prostitution in what one government official described as "action on the whole night out". Health department officials denied ministers had dropped plans to ban cigarette machines.

But internal disputes led to a delay in the constitutional reform bill, seen in 2007 as Brown's flagship legislation.

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North & South with the Blueprint in Durham Region

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 11:41:29 -0800

Sunderland

About 30 people attended a presentation and discussion of the Blueprint on Tuesday morning, December 2 at Sunderland Town Hall in North Durham Region. Participants included the Mayor of Brock Township, several town councilors, civic officials, faith leaders, health and social service leaders, and residents of North Durham communities.

The meeting was sponsored by the Community Development Council of Durham in conjunction with the local host, the North Durham Social Development Council.

It was noted at the outset that the SPNO had held its very first meeting on poverty reduction at the Sunderland Town Hall in September 2007 to launch a series of twelve community meetings across the province during the 2007 provincial election campaign. After more than 100 community meetings in communities across Ontario since the fall of 2007, it is gratifying to know that the Premier is about to release the Province’s Poverty Reduction Strategy this week.

Discussion covered the following areas:

This work is very relevant to public health and municipalities so that participants were encouraged to hear that 25 in 5 had connections with alPHa, OMSSA, ONPHA and other similar organizations.
Great concern in the region about the state of the economy. Always told that a growing economy would take care of poverty - but latest periods of economic growth did not produce poverty reduction effort. Learning that governments have an active role to play in the economy and distribution of wealth.
Concern is that economic pie is only so big and that we need to address the inequality that exists - lower the highest incomes rather than just raise the lowest. We should work with the business people who understand the new economy.
There was no knowledge among those present that the dental care funding that had been announced in March had been used in the Region to actually start working o low income people’s teeth.
Core funding needs to be provided to strengthen the work of community groups. Reference was made to the Community Opportunities Fund identified in the Blueprint and support expressed for it.
What about the risk of more people falling into poverty and the need to prevent that happening? Poverty reduction must also be about people hovering around poverty - modest income families and individuals. The labour market component of a poverty reduction strategy is crucial for this group just at the margin and this is why a good jobs strategy is important as part of poverty reduction.
We should also identify and develop local indicators for our own accountability, such as how many affordable housing units can we create in our local area within a defined period of time - or set local and regional public health indicators that we could tackle.
Interest was expressed in a follow up meeting to think about a community blueprint for poverty reduction in North Durham. A conversation has been started with the Durham Region Health and Social Services Committee in this regard on what the regional municipality and the community can do together on poverty reduction directly (e.g. transportation, recreation, public health, housing) in addition to what is needed from the province.

The North Durham Social Development Council and Community Development Council of Durham will follow up with groups and individuals who wish to pursue the idea of a community blueprint for poverty reduction at a meeting in January.

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Whitby

More than 45 participants in Durham Region attended a presentation and discussion of the Blueprint at Durham Regional Council headquarters in Whitby on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 2. The meeting was sponsored by the Community Development Council of Durham.

Participants included regional and city councillors, the Chair of Durham Health and Social Services Committee, the Region’s Chief Administrative Officer, and Commissioner of Health and Social Services, local regional social services and public health staff, residents, recent immigrants, staff and volunteers of local community health, social service and community development agencies, and leaders in employment, housing, and food security networks.

The following points were raised in discussion:

Communities build strong communities - government needs to hear from community about what needs to be done.
The food supplement is an important and good idea. There should be no concern about controls about how individuals spend any extra money that they receive. Moving toward decency and adequacy is the issues and respecting people as adults who can make their own choices in their own best interests. Food security is a major issue in Durham.
Durham Region will be putting together a framework over the next few weeks to respond to how the province decides to implement the strategy - how do we develop our own blueprint for Durham Region.
How will the economy affect us in Durham? Especially with GM closures and job losses. It will change a lot about how we live in Durham and bring higher levels of poverty. We need to focus on labour market and creating good jobs in our community - need to both protect good jobs and to create good jobs.
Need to find different way of doing business. Agree with Blueprint - on importance of social assistance restructuring. Child care is essential to poverty redcution for single mothers to have real choices in life - should be able to get education with child care support and no penalties.
There are certain programs that are promoted and funded by government that do more harm to people than help and they need to be made accountable and actually work.
Sales tax - why not a consideration as part of the Blueprint? Retail sales taxes are actually fairly progressive, especially since food is not taxed plus there is the GST credit. Governments need a variety of sources to raise revenue they need - low income people should be able to contribute to public revenue - big issue in public revenue is the loss of the progressivity in the income tax system.
Placement agencies and other schools exploit government funding for skills education - public school system is not adequately preparing people with basic functional skills.
AIDS community - younger ages affected - mental health not factored into the strategy. Agreement that people with mental health problems require improvement in basic living conditions as well as more adequate community supports (reference to the Community Initiatives Fund).
Concurrent disorder charter exists in Durham Region - concrete look at people with mental health and addictions - poverty very clearly a common condition.
Queries about the LIM. It is a concept of poverty as social distance - if too far from the basic standard you are being excluded. - allows international comparison - LIM is criticized as not being about poverty but about inequality.
Nordic countries - healthy economies - how do their health conditions compare? Early population health studies showed that as incomes increased health status improved. Anthony Wilkinson has established that material conditions are important for people’s health and psycho-social status.
Shortsighted as a society - more compassionate environment would deny people licence to steal when they achieve higher levels of education and professional development. Sometimes there is a sense that “self-made” people, who actually depend on family support and public services for their success, have no sense of collective responsibility. Now discovering that we all must pull together under current difficult conditions in Ontario - affirm greater solidarities.

Starting to think about how to work on a community blueprint for poverty reduction in Durham. Community Development Council of Durham will be convening meeting in January to talk about that locally.

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Mumbai: a Pakistani opportunity , Shaun Gregory

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 09:39:51 -0800

The government and leading institutions of Pakistan have been placed in a difficult position by the Mumbai events. The statement by a United States official that the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) was most likely responsible for the armed operation of 26-29 November 2008 would appear to confirm India's early assertions that the attacks were planned and launched from Pakistan. But even if Indian Islamist ("homegrown") terrorists with intimate knowledge of the city contributed to the attacks, this would not cease the pressure on Islamabad.

Shaun Gregory is professor in the department of peace studies at the University of Bradford, northern England, and head of the Pakistan Security Research Unit there. He is the author of Pakistan: Securing the Insecure State (Routledge, 2008)

"Pakistan on edge" (24 September 2006)

"Pakistan: farewell to democracy" 29 October 2007)

"Musharraf: the fateful moment"(16 November 2007)

"Pakistan's political turmoil: Musharraf and beyond" (27 August 2008)

"The Pakistan army and the Afghanistan war"(25 November 200The circumstantial evidence is that the Pakistan army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have for decades supported terrorist groups and engineered acts of terror as an instrument of state policy, in relation both to their regional objectives and to their internal problems (such as the struggle with Shi'a groups supported by Iran). The army and the ISI created or co-opted a number of terrorist organisations in the early 1990s to prosecute the struggle for Kashmir, and built an infrastructure of camps mainly in "Azad" ("free") Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) to support this initiative. Beyond that the Pakistan army and ISI supported terrorist groups inside India, in states around India, in the south Caucusus, and as far afield as Algeria.

Two of the groups with the closest relationship with the Pakistan army and ISI through the 1990s and into the early 2000s were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed / JeM). Both of these have been responsible for high-profile and daring attacks on India - including the attack on the Indian parliament in Delhi in December 2001 which bears striking similarities to the Mumbai attacks. The LeT and JeM were trained in insurgency and urban warfare by the Pakistan army and ISI, and this may in part explain the tenacity and skill with which the Mumbai attackers fought.

The tracks of influence

In reacting to the Mumbai attacks the Pakistan government has mounted two defences: the first that after the December 2001 attacks on the Indian parliament, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed were banned by then-president Pervez Musharraf, and linkages between these two groups and the Pakistan army and ISI were severed; the second that there are no links between the Mumbai attackers and any element of the Pakistan state. While the evidence is not yet clear, and the full story of the attacks may never be publicly known, it is already evident that both strands of Pakistan's defence are beginning to unravel.

Pervez Musharraf did indeed publicly ban the LeT and JeM in January 2002. But the LeT was allowed to continue to operate under the wing of its political arm, the Markaz Dawat-ul Irshad (MDI)], renamed as the Jamat-ud Dawa (JuD). The MDI/JuD is based in Muridke, outside Lahore, from where it operates a network of offices across Pakistan involved in publishing, fundraising, and developing its political objectives. The MDI/JuD also runs more than 200 secondary schools and at least eleven madrasas through which the LeT is assured of a steady flow of recruits. It is also understood to have a presence in the United States, Britain, Australia, Iraq and Spain.

It is clear now that the LeT training camps in Azad Jammu & Kashmir were not closed down after 2002, though some camps were moved to the Sindh and Balochistan. It is known that at least one of the perpetrators of the coordinated bombings in London on 7 July 2008 passed through LeT camps in AJK shortly before the attacks. There are also deep links between the LeT and al-Qaida that can be traced to the late 1980s.

Also in openDemocracy on the Mumbai atrocity:

Kanishk Tharoor, "What to make of the Mumbai attacks" (27 November 2008)

Saskia Sassen, "Cities and new wars: after Mumbai" (29 November 2008)

Paul Rogers, "The lessons of Mumbai" (1 December 2008)

Meenakshi Ganguly, "After Mumbai: India's democratic test" (2 December 2008)

The earthquake on October 2005, centred in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, profoundly affected the MDI/JuD's fortunes. LeT cadres - fearing media scrutiny and international intelligence attention - were redeployed: some to Bangladesh, and some to Pakistan's northern areas of Balti and Gilgit. Some too found their way to Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province/FATA tribal areas, where they consolidated links to the Taliban and to al-Qaida. The JuD - like Hamas to which it is linked through the ideologue Abdullah Azzam (the Palestinian jihadi who was assassinated in 1989) - positioned itself as a source of welfare to those affected by the earthquake and appears to have siphoned off aid revenues(both Pakistan-raised and international) to help the earthquake victims.

The MDI/JuD leader Hafiz Muhammed Saeed is often arrested - and just as quickly released - in the wake of LeT violence. He is a regular speaker at events in Pakistan, mixes with some members of the army, government and parliamentary representatives, and gives interviews to the media. The Sunni MDI/JuD is also understood to receive support from Saudi Arabia. All the indicators are that under this cover the LeT is as powerful as at any point in its history and its connections with to the Pakistani army and ISI are as strong as ever.

A state against the wall

This evidence does not of itself convict the Pakistani state of direct involvement in the Mumbai attacks. To establish that fact operational links would need to be proven between the attackers and the Pakistani state. Moreover by "state" it would be important to establish whether only the Pakistan army/ISI was implicated or whether the involvement also extended to the civilian leadership, which does not control the Pakistan army/ISI. This distinction raises the possibility that the attacks were supported by the army/ISI to undermine President Asif Ali Zardari and sour warming Indian-Pakistan relations.

The potential problem for Pakistan is that any thread between the Mumbai attackers and Pakistan army/ISI is unlikely to remain secret. The Mumbai attacker who was taken prisoner, and other suspected terrorists who may yet be detained, could provide clues here. There is also an abundance both of material evidence (such as the unused weaponry and communications equipment carried by the terrorists) and intelligence evidence (from United States electronic monitoring, for example). The US's unusual decision to publicly implicate Pakistan's ISI in the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul in July 2008 makes clear two things: Washington knows that Pakistan has continued to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy under Musharraf's successor as army chief-of-staff, General Afshaq Kiyani; and it is no longer keeping silent about such knowledge in deference to Pakistan's importance in the "war on terror".

The Pakistan army and ISI cannot therefore anticipate avoiding responsibility for the Mumbai attacks if they had a hand in it. Any defence of blaming "rogue" elements within the ISI and Pakistan army will not serve to deflect the anger of India, the United States and the international community - not least because Musharraf made it clear in 2006 that the ISI was a disciplined force doing what the army told it do.

A decisive moment

The Pakistan state - by which is meant here primarily the army and the ISI - thus faces a moment of crisis. But this is also a moment of opportunity. Pakistan has been asked to cooperate fully with India and the United States in the investigation of the Mumbai attacks, and to hand over named individuals - including the JuD/LeT leader, and the Karachi-based gangster Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian national implicated in many terrorist attacks within India.

If Pakistan complies with these requests - whether or not it is complicit, and in a way consistent with the country's own laws and constraints - it would send the strongest possible signal to the international community of Pakistan's rejection of its use of terrorism in the past and its determination to end state support for terrorism in the future. Moreover, it would demonstrate to the world that the Pakistan army and ISI are now willing to subordinate themselves more fully to the democratically elected civilian leadership of Pakistan - which clearly wants to normalise relations with India - and to open a new chapter in civil-military relations.

Pakistan's failure to meet these requests, and obfuscation in the investigation of the Mumbai attacks, will only strengthen the views of Pakistan's critics and will have a negative impact on United States policy towards Pakistan. The fires of Mumbai provide Pakistan with a clear moment to begin to cleanse itself of its self-destructive embrace of terrorists and terrorism. The friends of Pakistan around the world will be hoping that President Zardari, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, and above all General Kiyani, will seize this opportunity.

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Brown moves to slow repossessions with Queen's speech mortgage help

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 03:41:23 -0800

Gordon Brown today announced plans to help borrowers who are struggling to keep up with their mortgage repayments stay in their homes.

The move, announced this afternoon by the prime minister in a debate on the Queen's speech, is designed to slow the rising tide of repossessions as job losses and increasing household costs push more and more households into mortgage arrears.

Under the scheme households that have temporarily lost some or part of their income will be able to defer mortgage interest payments for up to two years.

"Hard-working households that experience a redundancy or severe loss of income as a result of the downturn will be able to defer a proportion of their interest payments for up to two years as they get their family finances back on track," Brown told MPs.

"The result will be more affordable monthly payments for homeowners who are needing a bridge through difficult times."

The prime minister said eight lenders had signed up to the scheme: HBOS, Nationwide, Abbey, Lloyds TSB, Northern Rock, Barclays and HSBC.

A spokesman for the Treasury said that by guaranteeing the payments in this way the government was encouraging banks to consider requests for payment breaks.

However, he added that lenders would need to take a commercial decision on each case, subject to guidelines on treating customers fairly outlined in the banking code. He refused to confirm reports that the scheme would be available to borrowers with mortgages of up to £400,000.

The scheme is similar to one aimed at households who claim benefits which was announced in last week's pre-budget report.

Brown was speaking in a debate overshadowed by the Speaker's statement on the arrest of Tory frontbencher Damian Green, which dominated the first exchanges of the new parliamentary year and threatened to sink the Queen's speech.

In a concise statement in the morning Her Majesty outlined 14 government bills designed to show the government was "committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times".

"My government's overriding priority is to ensure the stability of the British economy during the global economic downturn," the Queen said.

The government's legislative plan was scaled back from the 18 bills listed in May's draft Queen's speech to make way for new measures to deal with the financial downturn.

The first piece of legislation to be announced was the banking reform bill to protect people's savings and reduce the likelihood of banks getting into difficulties.

However, the speech also contained a range of new measures on equality, crime and welfare, marking a break by the prime minister from his focus on the economic crisis. The move suggests he believes he needs to widen his government's programme if he is to claw back lost votes.

The speech paved the way for a crackdown on benefit cheats with claimants compelled to take lie detector tests. Those found guilty of fiddling the system will lose benefits for a month, in a "one strike and you're out" initiative.

The government is also proposing to give the public clearer information, mainly via the internet, on how criminals are sentenced in local courts. Communities are to be given a bigger role in deciding what form of community punishment local criminals should be forced to undertake.

New legislation will be drawn up to improve policing, and reduce crime and disorder.

Lap dancing clubs will be reclassified as sex establishments, allowing councils greater scope to close them.

Airport security will be enhanced and border controls strengthened by bringing together customs and immigration powers. Newcomers to the UK will have to earn the right to stay.

The government also intends to introduce an equality bill to promote fairness, fight discrimination and introduce transparency in the workplace to address the pay gap between men and women.

The introduction of a lie detector test for benefit claimants is the most striking shift to a more populist programme, similar to Tony Blair's so-called "respect agenda".

The government currently withdraws 13 weeks of benefit from anyone found making a fraudulent claim twice in five years, but said yesterday it intends to tighten this process by withdrawing four weeks' benefit for first-time fraudsters.

The benefit withdrawal will be taken against both those that suffer an administrative penalty as well as those found guilty in a criminal court. Currently the Department for Work and Pensions seeks court penalties only where the alleged fraud is worth more than £2,000.

A bill enshrining in law the government's commitment to end child poverty by 2020 was the only bill not contained in the draft Queen's speech introduced in May.

Three bills – the heritage protection bill, the communications data bill and the Geneva conventions and UK personnel bill – were dropped to make way for beefed-up legislation to help tackle the financial crisis, while two other bills, on transport security and constitutional renewal, were consumed into other pieces of legislation.

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Lie detector tests to catch benefit cheats

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:08:07 -0800

Benefit claimants will face lie detector tests and will lose benefits for a month if found guilty of fiddling the system under proposals unveiled by Gordon Brown on the eve of today's Queen's speech.

The "one strike and you're out" proposal is contained in a tough summary of the speech released yesterday by the Cabinet Office. The government is also proposing to give the public clearer information, mainly via the internet, on how criminals are sentenced in local courts. Communities are to be given a bigger role in deciding what form of community punishment local criminals should be forced to undertake.

The proposals mark a break by the prime minister from his focus on the economic crisis for the past five months and suggest he knows he needs to broaden his political agenda if he is to claw back lost votes.

The introduction of a lie detector test for benefit claimants is the most striking shift to a more populist programme, similar to Tony Blair's respect agenda.

So far, 25 local councils administering housing benefit to 500,000 claimants are using "voice risk analysis technology" to test whether a claimant is providing false information.

The government introduced the technology in Harrow, north-west London, last year, but says it plans to make the technology available nationwide. In the first three months of using the technology Harrow saved £300,000, suggesting that levels of benefit fraud may be higher than government estimates. Ministers are cracking down on benefit fraud even though it is officially at its lowest recorded level, down 66% since 2001.

In other proposals in the Cabinet Office's paper, the power of public servants to use force may be strengthened. The paper says: "The public looks to healthcare professionals, neighbourhood wardens and teachers to deal with unacceptable behaviour in public places.

"If they are not able to fulfil that role because they are not sure the law is on their side, or because they do not see it as part of their job, that sends the wrong message about what we as a society are prepared to tolerate."

It also suggests most family intervention projects will grow so they reach 20,000 families with the most severe difficulties. The paper also proposes an alcohol code limiting "all you can drink" promotions, and setting conditions on premises in local hotspots.

Lap dancing clubs will be reclassified as sex establishments, allowing councils greater scope to close them.

James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, was criticised yesterday for plans disclosed on Monday night to tighten the requirements on lone parents and on disabled people to do more to prepare themselves for work or face mounting benefit penalties.

Under Gordon Brown, ministers have played down Blair's respect agenda, believing it played into the theme of a "broken society" promoted by David Cameron. But there have been signs of a rethink over the past three months.

The Cabinet Office paper tries to put the emphasis on fair rules in the context of the credit crunch. It says: "As everyone enters difficult economic times ... fair rules will become more important.

"If people perceive that not everyone is treated equally, that some get preferential treatment, that people who break the rules get away with it, respect for rules is undermined."

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Lest we forget: Poverty in Canada

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 15:38:31 -0800

Poverty in Canada and Toronto is spreading under Harper and Dalton McGuinty, and it’s important we not forget the facts as the financial crisis gets thrown to the forefront:

- 500,000+ homeless people across Canada

- 4,000+ homeless people on Toronto streets & in overcrowded, disease-ridden shelters

- 70,000+ underhoused, at-risk families on Toronto’s “social housing” waiting list during last 5 years

- 100,000+ people forced to use food banks in Ontario

- 50,000+ children are hungry everyday in the GTA

- 5,000,000+ Canadian citizens ‘live’ in poverty

- 100,000+ Aboriginal people on federal reserves are poor, underhousesd, seriously ill (e.g, diabetes, HIV-AIDS, TB), addicted, denied basic sanitation facilities (e.g. no flush toilet, substandard water & sewage treatment plants), and lack essential health services

- 100,000+ Aboriginal people and environment are threatened by Canadian logging, mining, paper mill, gas-and-oil companies that plunder their land, poison their health, destabilize ecosystems, pollute the environment itself.

- 500,000+ psychiatric survivors in Canada are or have been seriously abused and denied fundamental civil rights, Charter and human rights—incarceration without trial or public hearing, labeling with bogus or pseudo-medical diagnoses (e.g.”schizophrenia”,“bipolar”, “ADHD”..), physically restraints, chemically restraints and forced drugging, electroshock (“ECT”), torture, humiliation, marginalization and stigmatization.

- the Harper-neocon government has betrayed millions of citizens by its broken promises and failures to initiate national affordable housing strategy, national anti-poverty strategy, and national child care strategy, and a national drug plan (“Pharmacare”); in response to the global economic crisis, the Harper government recently tried to destroy trade unions by proposing a 2-year ban on the right to strike but soon revoked the proposal because of public & political pressure.

- the Ontario-McGuinty government has betrayed and failed 100,000+ poor people: by its refusal to repeal the conservative-Harris government’s 21.6% cutback in social welfare payments; its bureaucratic tactics that cause long delays and hardships in processing poor people’s applications for special diet supplements; its refusal to raise the minimum wage to $10; its failure to build many thousands of urgently-needed affordable housing units across the province; its refusal to repeal the Safe Streets Act which criminalizes thousands of poor youth who are forced to panhandle on the street.

- Deaths caused by psychiatric drugs, electroshock, physical restraints, Tasers, hospital & and government cover-ups.

Countdown to a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) - Time to Deliver a 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Strategy

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 08:49:08 -0800

Countdown to a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS)
Time to Deliver a 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Strategy

Quote of the week: Canada Needs Ontario’s Courage on Poverty Reduction, says Roy Romanow
25 in 5’s Five Tests to assess Ontario’s upcoming Poverty Reduction Strategy
Poverty Reduction is smart economics, especially in hard times
“Leadership in Hard Times” tour: 16 stops around Ontario and counting
Child poverty soaring in GTA, says new report
TAKE ACTION: New Pre-budget dates announced… Dec 5 deadline to sign up
More than 1,400 endorse 25 in 5 Declaration for Poverty Reduction

Quote of the week

“Premier McGuinty has boldly pledged to make poverty reduction a priority and to bring down a comprehensive plan this week. The fact that the Premier has remained committed to this timeline even in this toughest of economic times is encouraging. It is vital that provinces like Ontario that have shown leadership avoid the cold feet syndrome in these times of uncertainty. The rest of Canada needs this display of strategic courage.”

Who said it? Roy Romanow, former Premier of Saskatchewan and Commissioner on the Future of Health Care in Canada, and currently Chair of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Network Board.

Read Romanow’s op-ed in the Toronto Star (Dec 2)

Five Tests for Success

At its October 27th General Assembly in Toronto, the 25 in 5 Network unveiled its “Five Tests for Success” which will be used to assess the strength of the province’s much anticipated Poverty Reduction Strategy.

The five tests are:

TEST #1: A 25 in 5 TARGET

Setting a 25 in 5 target would make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to set a specific target for reducing poverty.
A 25% reduction would mean reducing child poverty from 12% to 9%, lifting 80,000 kids out of poverty. It would mean reducing the number of all poor Ontarians from 10% to 7.5%, lifting 323,000 Ontarians out of poverty.

TEST #2: A SOLID MEASURING STICK

Statistics Canada produces a number of reliable measuring sticks annually that would fit the bill: from the Low Income Measure (the major international standard for poverty measurement), to the Low Income Cut-off and the Market Basket Measure.
Ontario also needs to track progress in key policy areas that ultimately drive success in reducing poverty: whether work is sustaining families; how income security programs are preventing poverty; whether affordable housing, early learning and child care, and public education are meeting the needs of Ontarians; how populations-specific groups are doing (newcomers and racialized communities, lone mothers, aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities).

TEST #3: POLICY SPECIFICS
Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy should outline specific policy commitments in each of the three priority areas outlined in the 25 in 5 Declaration:

Sustaining employment means assuring a living standard above poverty for any adult who works full time throughout the year. It means fair pay and stable working conditions for all Ontarians.
Livable incomes mean dignity for all Ontarians - including those unable to work.
Strong and supportive communities mean affordable housing, early learning and child care, public education and community programs that help people connect.

TEST #4: LEGISLATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO KEEP THE PLAN ON TRACK

Legislation that invites all parties to support Ontario’s poverty reduction strategy.
Ongoing Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction and a new Poverty Reduction Secretariat
Annual public reporting on progress.
A new Citizen’s Advisory Committee that includes people living in low income.
Ongoing public consultation as the plan unfolds.

TEST #5: A DOWNPAYMENT IN 2009 BUDGET

Ontario must commit to introducing specific first-steps measures and investments to build momentum for the strategy in the 2009 spring budget.

Read more about 25in 5’s 5 Tests For Success of Ontario Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy

Poverty Reduction is Smart Economics, Especially in Hard Times

The evidence is mounting that investing in infrastructure such as affordable housing and early learning and child care, along with strengthening the incomes of vulnerable families and adults, will reduce poverty while at the same time stimulating demand in local economies across Ontario.

The forgotten fundamentals: how strong social programs can play a vital part in an economic stimulus package, Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson, Caledon Institute, December 1
Poverty reduction is the right way to stimulate and key to addressing economic crisis, writes Toronto Star Columnist Tom Walkom
Governments can use crisis to repair and rebuild infrastructure while fighting poverty, says economist Armine Yalnizyan, Toronto Star, Nov 17
Poverty costs Ontario billions per year, reveals new study. A landmark study by Ontario’s food banks reveals that poverty has a price tag of up to $13 billion per year in lost revenues for federal and provincial governments.
Ontarians waiting for leadership on poverty reduction, says Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives poll
Public investment in affordable housing delivers powerful benefits, Michael Shapcott, Wellesley Institute
Economic crisis no excuse to abandon anti-poverty fight, Opinion article by economists Arthur Donner, Mike McCracken and Armine Yalnizyan in Toronto Star, October 21

Leadership in Hard Times: 25 in 5 Touches Down in 16 Cities

The 25 in 5 Network has already touched down in 16 cities as part of a 25-stop provincial tour to promote a Blueprint that can make Ontario a leader in poverty reduction.

The six-week “Leadership in Hard Times: 25 in 5’s Tour to Promote Poverty Reduction” discusses the coalition’s consultation document, A Blueprint for Poverty Reduction: Leadership in Hard Times. It argues that action on a poverty reduction plan is especially necessary in tough economic times, and identifies the various policy tools that are at Ontario’s disposal to tackle poverty.

More than 300 participants attended 25 in 5 events last week in Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Niagara, Woodstock, Kitchener, Woodstock, Cambridge and Halton.

Go to www.povertywatchontario.ca for more information, pictures and links.

And check out upcoming December dates in Kingston, Durham, Windsor, London, Ottawa, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Peterborough and Simcoe County.

Selected Media Coverage:

Community support needed to aid in elimination of poverty, Oxford Sentinel Review (Nov 27)
Poverty groups form coalition to tackle largely hidden local problem, Owen Sound Sun Times (Nov 27)
Poverty is Corrosive: Ontario is child poverty center of Canada, Welland Tribune (Nov 27)
Invest in people to eradicate poverty, Hamilton Spectator (Nov 25)
A blueprint to tackling poverty comes to North Durham, Kawartha Media Group (Nov 25)

Child Poverty Soaring in GTA, says new report

From the Toronto Star

“This report highlights the changing face of child poverty,” said David Rivard, executive director of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. “It’s no longer just the inner core of the city – it’s moving out to the suburbs as well.”

The report, entitled “Greater Trouble in Greater Toronto: Child Poverty in the GTA,” is the first comprehensive look at child poverty rates in the 905 area since 1991, and comes days before the province is to release its first-ever poverty reduction strategy.

“Poverty is so entrenched in the city (Toronto), that it tends to eclipse what’s going on elsewhere,” said Colin Hughes, a Toronto CAS community development worker and author of the report. “The community really needs to know it’s a big problem elsewhere, too. Even though child poverty is not as big numerically (in the 905), the degree of change between 1990-2005 is alarming.”

Hughes says the data highlight the effect of urbanization on poverty. Often, low-income people tend to settle in larger communities, where they expect there will be more services, more rental housing and more jobs, he said. As the communities grow, so does poverty.

Three Ways to Make a Difference

1. Sign Up and Speak Up for Poverty Reduction at Pre-Budget Consultations

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, a.k.a. the “pre-budget committee”

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (a.k.a. the pre-budget committee) is the all-party committee that consults Ontarians annually on budget priorities - it is critical that this committee hears the 25 in 5 message: Ontario needs a downpayment on poverty reduction in the 2009 budget. That means new dollars for programs that will make a tangible difference in people’s lives.

The Committee recently announced that it intends to hold public hearings in Niagara Falls, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Ottawa during the week of December 15, 2008.

All interested people who wish to be considered to make an oral presentation should contact the Clerk of the Committee by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 5, 2008. Those who do not wish to make an oral presentation but who are interested in commenting on the issue may send a written submission to the Clerk of the Committee at the address below by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 16, 2009.

Clerk: William Short
Tel. 416-325-3883
william_short@ontla.ola.org

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan Consultations

Ontario’s Finance Minister has launched a round of cross-provincial consultations to inform the 2009 spring budget. Dates available now in Sudbury and Sault St. Marie - Dec 12. We need partners to commit to sign up and speak up for poverty reduction before the Finance Minister.

Click here to see more details and to find out how you can get involved.

2. Speak up for poverty reduction and why our Economy Needs a Poverty Reduction Strategy Now

As Ontario edges closer to the announcement of a Poverty Reduction Plan, it is more important than ever that we all speak up for poverty reduction. From every voicemail, phone call, letter and email to our local MPP, to a passionate plea at our community center for signing the 25 in 5 Declaration, to that letter we have always wanted to write to our local newspaper… NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD!

Learn more here.

3. Join the Movement for Poverty Reduction in Your Community

Anti-poverty networks in 25 communities will be meeting in November and December as part of the “Leadership in Hard Times: 25 in 5’s Tour to Promote Poverty Reduction,” to get ready for the next stage of the Poverty Reduction campaign. Now is the time to talk about our expectations of the government’s plan in December and to begin to organize our collective voice leading up to the 2009 spring budget in Ontario.

Details on times and locations is available here.

More than 1400 groups and individuals endorse 25 in 5

THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

By endorsing the 25 in 5 Declaration we sent a clear message to the Provincial Government that action on poverty reduction cannot be delayed. We expect a Poverty Reduction Strategy to be announced in the coming days that will reflect the spirit of the 25 in5 Declaration

Just some of the new organizations to endorse:

Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

Community Living Algoma

Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen Community Centre

City of Kitchener

A Place Called Home (Residence in Lindsay)

Etobicoke Support Services

Streetlight

Preston Heights Community Group

Poverty Reduction Work Group - Nipissing

Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch

Evangel Hall Mission

Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank

Kingston Community Legal Clinic

Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Burlington

Sault Ste. Marie Indian Friendship Centre

Justice & Peace Commission of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston and the Anglican Diocese of Ontario

Cambridge Non-Profit Housing Corporation

All Saints Anglican Church

Thunder Bay and District Labour Council

Children’s Aid Soceity of London & Middlesex

Timiskaming Best Start Network

Food Providers Networking Group

And you can still add your voice. Visit www.25in5.ca and sign on for poverty reduction by endorsing the 25 in 5 Declaration.

About the Countdown to a Poverty Reduction Plan eBulletins

The 25 in 5 Network is steered by a coalition of Ontario organizations including Campaign 2000, the Income Security Advocacy Centre, the Social Planning Network of Ontario the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition, The Colour of Poverty Project, the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice, Voices From the Street, among others.

This is a weekly bulletin from 25 in 5 to its contact list of supporters and interested parties across the province. The Countdown Bulletin is intended to keep you up to date on the development of a poverty reduction plan for Ontario and to let you know how you, your organizations and networks can help make it happen.

For more information visit www.25in5.ca

Gordon Brown to crack down on benefit cheats in Queen's speech

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 05:18:00 -0800

Gordon Brown has returned to New Labour's so-called "respect agenda" with proposals that all benefit cheats will lose access to benefits for a month, and also find themselves subject to lie detector tests.

The "one strike and your out" proposals forms part of a tough commentary on the Queen's speech released today by the Cabinet Office.

Fresh proposals are also to be launched to give the public clearer information on how criminals were sentenced in local courts, while communities are to be given a bigger role in deciding what form of community punishment local criminals should be forced to undertake.

The government also highlighted a pilot covering 25 local councils administering housing benefit to 500,000 claimants, saying "voice risk analysis technology" will be used to test whether a claimant is providing false information. The government first introduced the technology in Harrow in north London last year, but now says it plans to make the technology available nationwide. In the first three months Harrow council saved £300,000, suggesting levels of benefit fraud may be higher than government estimates.

Ministers are taking the action even though benefit fraud is now officially at the lowest level ever recorded, down 66% since 2001.

The government currently withdraws benefit for at least 13 weeks to anyone found making a fraudulent benefit claim twice in five years, but said it intends to harden this process by punishing first-time benefit fraud with four weeks' withdrawal. The action will be taken against those that suffer an administrative penalty and those found guilty in court.

The Department of Work and Pensions applies civil penalties where the fraud is worth less than £2,000.

Ministers also announced plans to make claimants for employment support allowance (ESA), the new incapacity benefit, commit themselves to complete an action plan designed to make them "work ready" in return for benefit.

Lone parents with children aged between one and seven are also to be required for the first time as a condition of benefit to make themselves work ready by attending regular interviews with employment staff, drawing up an action plan and making themselves available to take skills, health or drug courses.

The proposals in a new government report were put forward by Professor Paul Gregg, who said today he did not expect the proposals to come into force until the recession had ended. About 300,000 ESA claimants will be deemed to be too mentally or physical unfit to prepare for work. Gregg also proposed that a clearer sanctions regime is introduced since at present different sanctions apply according to the benefit claimed.

In other proposals the Cabinet Office paper suggests the power of public servants to use force may be strengthened. It argues that "the public looks to healthcare professionals, neighbourhood wardens and teachers to deal with unacceptable behaviour in public places. If they are not able to fulfil that role because they are not sure the law is on their side, or because they do not see it as part of their job. that sends the wrong message about what we as a society are prepared to tolerate."

It also suggests most family intervention projects will reach 20,000 families with the most severe difficulties.

The paper also proposes an alcohol code limiting "all you can drink" promotions, and setting conditions on premises in particular local trouble hotspots. Lap dancing clubs will be reclassified as sex establishments so local councils have greater scope to close them. Ministers are also to look at preventing the clustering of betting shops.

The paper draws heavily on the work of Louise Casey, the former "respect tsar", now working in the Home Office, Liam Byrne, the former immigration minister now co-ordinating much government policy from the Cabinet Office, and Hazel Blears, the communities secretary and a strong advocate of community empowerment.

The paper tries to put the emphasis on fair rules in the context of the credit crunch. It says: "As everyone enters difficult economic times, with families working harder, household budgets coming under pressure, and more demand being placed on public resources, fair rules will become more important.

"If people perceive that not everyone is treated equally, that some get preferential treatment, that people who break the rules get away with it, respect for rules is undermined."

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Welfare: Lone parents told to be ready to work or face benefit cut

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 16:04:43 -0800

The government will announce further stringent welfare reforms today which would force lone parents with children aged one or more to prepare themselves for work or face benefit sanctions.

The proposals, likely to provoke a confrontation in tomorrow's Queen's speech, represent a further extension of the government's responsibilities agenda. Ministers already faced a backlash over aspects of the planned welfare reform bill as lobbyists argued plans to tighten sanctions and give private contractors a bigger role in job placement, should be shelved in view of the recession.

But James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, will defy critics when he publishes a review prepared by the academic Paul Gregg that will propose all lone parents with children as young as one should be required to make themselves ready for work.

The government proposed in a green paper in July to make it a requirement for lone parents with children aged seven or more to seek work, proposals that had already led to a backlash. It is estimated there are 600,000 lone parents with children aged under seven.

Gregg is to propose a new category of benefit claimants - the progression to work group - who he says should face clearer state requirements to make themselves ready for work.

The Department for Work and Pensions said this group would include lone parents with children as young as one, partners of people on benefits with children under seven and incapacity benefit claimants deemed to be capable of work.

This group, before they are actually ready to actively seek work, would be expected to address debt, confidence or health problems, as well as taking on work and skills training. Young mothers might also be required to make inquiries about access to childcare in their locality.

"Sanctions would only apply to those who refuse to take steps to be job-ready that have been jointly agreed with their personal advisers in Job Centres", said a DWP official.

From 2010 many of these advisers would be employed by the private sector or charities.

The Gregg review stemmed from concerns in the DWP that the current path to benefit entitlement was not clear. Ministers favoured the example of Scandinavia, especially Denmark, where almost everyone is expected to do something in return for receiving unemployment benefit.

The government's previous proposals have already been attacked by Richard Tilt, chairman of the independent social security advisory committee, and by the leftwing pressure group Compass which has argued "it is wrong to profit from the sick and the unemployed".

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UK climate watchdog urges dramatic cuts in greenhouse gases

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 10:14:14 -0800

Ambitious targets to cut the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by at least one fifth in just over a decade were proposed today by the government's Climate Change Committee.

The reductions would be achieved by transforming the way electricity is produced and redesigning buildings, appliances and cars.

If accepted by ministers, the changes could see as much as 30% of the country's electricity coming from renewable sources as soon as 2020, most of it from wind turbines, and by that date four out of 10 new cars would use electric power.

The independent committee also outlined the need for a wholesale change in public behaviour that could include slower driving to reduce fuel use and swapping more "carbon intensive" meats like beef for hill-bred lamb.

The report also recommended tough new rules to make coal plants fit equipment to capture and store their carbon emissions as soon as the early 2020s, which would push up operating costs. Critics of coal claimed this requirement would end government plans for up to eight new coal plants.

In its first report on how the UK could meet its pledge to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050, the eight-person committee recommended an interim target for 2020 of 34%, or 42% if there is a global deal to cut emissions.

These reductions, which go further than existing UK commitments but are in line with what the UK would have to do under proposed European Union laws, equate to cuts from recent levels of 21% or 31% respectively - or from 11.6 tonnes per person to 7-8 tonnes on average.

The committee also proposed shorter term targets. In the five years to 2012, the committee said average annual UK emissions should equate to 604 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, down from 695mt in 2006.

Buying emissions cuts from schemes outside the EU should only be allowed if the higher target is adopted, added the committee.

The targeted reductions would make sure the UK makes a "fair contribution" towards keeping global temperature rises as close as possible to 2C, it said.

The report, Building a Low-Carbon Economy - The UK's Contribution to Tackling Climate Change, estimated the changes would cost less than 1% of the national economic wealth in 2020, or less than £15bn. That figure included the bill for helping up to 1.7m people who would otherwise be pushed into fuel poverty by higher energy bills .

The cost, equivalent to reducing growth by 2020 from 30% to 29%, was "a price worth paying", said the report.

"Climate change poses a grave threat to human welfare, the environment and the economy," said Lord Turner, the committee chairman. "We need to act now, in the UK and as part of a global agreement, to significantly reduce our emissions."

The report was broadly approved by environmental groups but there were widespread concerns about whether the government would enact the tough policies the committee said were needed to deliver the emissions cuts, such as regulation to limit emissions from power plants and cars, and financial incentives to encourage higher take up of more efficient goods.

"Emissions reductions of more than 1% a year have only ever been achieved in significant economic recession, and [the committee's] proposing 2.5% a year so this requires a pretty radical framework," said Stephen Hale, director of the Green Alliance of environmental campaign groups.

"I think they [the government] will accept the budgets, but I'm not so confident they'll back that up with the policies needed to make sure we meet the budgets."

The main political parties also welcomed the report, although neither the government nor the Conservatives explicitly accepted the recommendations. Ministers will respond next year.

Tim Yeo, Conservative chairman of the MPs' Environmental Audit Committee said: "I urge both the government and the opposition to accept the committee's recommendations. Only a bipartisan approach can ensure that Britain achieves these important goals."

Friends of the Earth also urged the government to adopt the higher target for 2020, even if no international emissions deal was agreed at the UN conference in Copenhagen next year [2009]. "It's a small price for us to pay as there are quite a lot of economic opportunities if we move really fast," said Ed Matthew, the group's head of UK climate.

Critics of coal were divided over whether the suggested tough new rules to ensure all coal power was fitted with equipment to trap and store gases in the early 2020s went far enough. Friends of the Earth said it wanted clearer guidelines that no coal stations should be built without the equipment already in place, even before 2020.

However Greenpeace said the recommendation would "kill" proposals for a new plant at Kingsnorth in Kent and up to seven others under the government's energy policy.

David Kennedy, the Climate Change Committee chief executive, said: "If you put this [policy] in place the market will tell us how confident they are carbon capture and storage is going to come through. If they don't go ahead we'll know they didn't intend to fit CCS."

There was also anger over the committee's lack of detailed recommendations for aviation policy, in particular the pending decision on whether to expand Heathrow airport.

Lord Turner said the committee was not intended to recommend short-term policies. Initially, international aviation and shipping will not be part of the successive five year carbon budgets suggested by the committee, but those will be reduced to account for the omission.

Turner defended the committee against concerns that it would not be able to enforce any of its policies. Last week the government's 80% cut pledge and the committee's role in recommending interim targets and monitoring progress were given legal status when the Climate Change Bill received royal assent.

"These [targets] are designed as much as possible to create an extra discipline ... we haven't had that before," said Turner.

The UK is the first country to make a legally-binding commitment to such deep emissions reductions, though other countries have announced similar or deeper cuts.

Kennedy also denied concerns that the UK was going too far in targeting cuts which would not have any impact on global warming unless there was a global agreement. "Clearly if there wasn't a global agreement there wouldn't be much point in the UK trying to control climate change on its own [but] the 34% is very much to prepare for a global deal we hope and expect will ensue," said Kennedy.

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The Government of Canada Announces the Appointment of a New Member to the National Council of Welfare

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 08:47:00 -0800

Brown is urged to launch wide inquiry after Baby P case

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:06:48 -0800

A coalition of politicians, child experts and family organisations has called on the prime minister to launch a long-term, cross-party inquiry into how to stop children growing up to become abusive parents in the wake of the Baby P case and the jailing last week of a father who made his two daughters pregnant 19 times.

The letter, which is published in today's Guardian, is signed by 19 individuals including Graham Allen, Labour MP for Nottingham North, the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, the Liberal Democrat peer Lady Walmsley and the heads of leading organisations concerned with social welfare and family issues.

It comes as the children's secretary, Ed Balls, is due to receive the report that he commissioned into the state of child protection in Haringey, the London borough where Baby P died in August 2007 after months of abuse.

The report will place intense pressure on Sharon Shoesmith, director of children's services at Haringey council. It is widely believed that she will be persuaded to resign or placed under strong pressure to quit as a result.

Westminster sources say the buck stops with her, and she has so far chosen not to go. A Haringey council spokesman said any recommendations would be followed. The letter urges Gordon Brown to be "far-sighted" and to use this opportunity to tackle inter-generational transmission of abuse.

"Clearly, when horrendous cases like Baby P and the Sheffield family come to public view we should always have the appropriate inquiry into the individual case ..." it says. "We also ask that the prime minister seizes the opportunity of initiating a long-term inquiry to examine how we can stop some of today's children becoming the abusing parents of tomorrow. The government now has the chance to be far-sighted in initiating the review of long-term social policies necessary ..."

The letter also asks Brown to work with David Cameron and Nick Clegg to find a "broad political and social consensus" on how best to ensure that vulnerable children are helped and protected.

During the two-month Old Bailey trial of the three people found guilty of causing or allowing Baby P's death, it emerged that the toddler's mother had been removed from the care of her own mother, a heavy cannabis smoker, when she was 12.

The death of the 17-month-old boy led Balls to order Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission and the police inspectorate to conduct an "urgent and thorough" inspection of children's services in Haringey. Balls will give his response to the report this afternoon or tomorrow.

Allen, who coordinated the letter, said "wonderful things can be done with children who are very badly damaged". He also praised the government's record on children's matters

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