In a response to over 2,500 signatories on a Shelter petition, the Government has said it will not update the overcrowding standard, as promised in 2004, until ‘the right processes are in place to support overcrowded households’.  The Government’s response comes as latest figures reveal the number of households in overcrowding has risen to more than 650,000, the highest level for over 14 years.

Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive said: ‘Overcrowding is a huge blight on children’s lives, with devastating consequences for their health, education and future chances. It is simply unacceptable for this antiquated standard to remain in place, allowing kitchens and living rooms to be considered as acceptable places for children to sleep.

‘Investment in health and education is a false economy if children are being brought up in cramped conditions, more vulnerable to health problems and unable to find space to do their homework.

‘After six years in which the Government has failed to keep its promise, we urgently need a uniform statutory standard for England which delivers a modern understanding of space and privacy, together with significant resources to end this hidden part of our housing crisis’, he added.

Part of the Government’s defence for failing to update the standard is that it has provided £15 million over three years to support local authorities to tackle overcrowding. Yet this equates to only £32 a year for each overcrowded family in the social rented sector.

Mr Robb concluded: ‘Shelter is calling on all political parties to make tackling overcrowding a priority in the next parliament. This means urgently updating the standard, delivering significantly more family-sized homes, and increasing funding to stop the terrible impact overcrowding has on children’s lives.’

You can see and sign Shelter’s petition and read the Government’s response to it by clicking here.

Support Shelter with a donation from your pay.

The law is part of a package of vital child protection reforms the Society wants introduced after the general election.  The charity’s ‘I stand for children’ campaign aims to make child protection a priority for the next Government so more tragic cases of abuse can be avoided.

Diana Sutton, head of the public affairs and campaigns unit at the NSPCC, said: “We need to make sure that the next elected Government keeps child protection high on its list of priorities.  And the public can play their role by letting the politicians know what they want done.”

Ofsted has found that when children are killed or seriously injured, the most significant failure involved professionals not seeing or speaking to children. The report also found that too often they took the word of parents at face value without considering the effects on the child.

Diana Sutton continued: “A change in the law would emphasise to everyone involved that the child must be seen and heard when concerns are raised. This would help professionals deal with uncooperative, manipulative or hostile parents who try to hide evidence of child abuse or neglect.”

The NSPCC’s campaign is also calling on candidates to commit to other child protection measures including:

• A better resourced child protection system and ensuring it is protected from cuts.
• Better protection for children living with domestic violence.
• More therapeutic services for children who have experienced abuse.
• Continued government funding of helplines for children and for adults concerned about a child.

Voters can lobby their parliamentary candidates at the NSPCC’s campaign website.

Support the NSPCC with a donation today from your pay.

Sudanese women face a daily risk of being arbitrarily arrested in public or private places for “indecent or immoral behaviour or dress”. Public Order Police Officers in Sudan have the power to decide what is decent and what is not.

In most cases women are arrested for wearing trousers or knee length skirts. Such behaviour can be punishable by up to 40 lashes under Article 152 of Sudan’s Criminal Act 1991. These punishments amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and affect women as well as girls under 18 in Sudan.

Amnesty International is calling on the Sudanese government to abolish Article 152. The law, says Amnesty, is discriminatory, vaguely formulated and constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

Article 152 is not the only law that discriminates against women in Sudan. The article is part of the broader public order regime that actively restricts the human rights of women and girls. The public order regime includes the Public Order Acts, sections of the 1991 Criminal Act and the associated public order police and courts.

Read the campaign briefing, Sudan: Abolish the flogging of women

Amnesty International is a global movement of 2.2 million people in more than 150 countries and territories, who campaign on human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. We research, campaign, advocate and mobilize to end abuses of human rights. Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion.

Our work is largely financed by donations from our supporters so we would urge you to sign up to Workplace Giving today.

Five-year-old Sahil Saeed and his father had been at a relative’s house in the Punjab city of Jhelum on Wednesday when robbers raided the home and beat family members.

The attackers are said to have demanded £100,000 ransom for Sahil’s return. Local police have launched a major investigation and say they are confident they will find the little boy soon.

The boy’s father, Raja Saeed, had been in Pakistan for two weeks visiting his mother with Sahil.

Salma Jafar, Head of Programmes for Save the Children UK in Pakistan, said: “Child kidnapping is a huge problem in Pakistan and is a very traumatic experience for the children and their families. Children may be kidnapped for trafficking for child labour or for sexual exploitation, and are also sometimes kidnapped because of family disputes.

“Kidnapping children for ransom is a growing phenomenon. The ransom amount depends on the family’s financial situation. Sometimes, if they cannot pay the ransom that is demanded, it may be many months before they are reunited with their son or daughter.

“Save the Children has recently been working with Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid to provide legal aid to the families of kidnapped children and put them in contact with the police.”

Support Save the Children with a donation from your pay.

The boys, ranging in age from eight to 12, were separated from their families during the chaos the quake caused. They had been taken to an orphanage, and the Red Cross’ tracing teams in Haiti investigated the whereabouts of their families.

The boys are among thousands of people the Red Cross has put back in touch with their families after the earthquake.

Just after the earthquake hit, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launched a website where survivors can let their families know they were safe and well.

Additionally, families can post the names of relatives they’d lost touch with in the hopes their loved ones had survived and would get in touch.

To date, 27,695 names have been published on the Family Links website. Among those names, 5,069 are survivors who are safe and well, whereas 22,626 are relatives who are “anxious for news”.

Because many survivors are living in camps, Haitian Red Cross volunteers have been walking through the camps to register survivors and take the names of their missing relatives.

They’re also helping families call each other. For anxious relatives, it’s the first time they’ve heard news from their loved ones. Nearly 3,300 people have used the service to call their families.

Since its beginning, the Red Cross has played a unique role in reconnecting families separated by disasters and conflicts.

As there is a Red Cross or Red Crescent National Society in nearly every country, people can contact their local National Society and access a global network.

The local National Society sends information about the missing relative to Red Cross or Red Crescent National Societies in other countries, or to the ICRC, who will try to find them.

Support the ongoing work of the British Red Cross with a donation from your pay.

At the 15th CITES meeting, which is taking place between 13 – 25 March 2010 in Doha, Qatar, proposals about reducing protection for elephants in Africa will be discussed.

We need your help to get the 175 countries that are members of CITES to reject these proposals and instead support calls to give elephants more protection.

What is CITES?  CITES controls the international trade in wild animals and plants. It is an international agreement between governments that provides different levels of protection for species that are or may be in danger of extinction as a result of international trade.

It stands for the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna and currently has 175 countries or ‘Parties’ as members.

Every two or three years there is a Conference of the Parties (CoP), which the RSPCA attends as part of the Species Survival Network (SSN) coalition, to review the protection levels and to discuss any proposals being made – and this is where YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

In 1989, a worldwide ban on Ivory Trade was approved by CITES. Levels of elephant poaching fell dramatically, and black-market prices of ivory slumped.

Since then, certain countries have tried to overturn the ban, and today levels of poaching and illegal trade are spiralling out of control once again, with countries starting to report the extinction of elephant populations in some areas.

Elephants across Africa urgently need your help. You really can help to make a difference to the survival of these magnificent creatures by adding your name to an online petition that calls for MORE protection for elephants in Africa, NOT LESS.

MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT! You only have until Saturday, 13 March 2010 so please sign the petition today by clicking here.   

Support the ongoing work of the RSPCA with a donation from your pay.

Sixteen year old Alice, who is living with the bone cancer Osteosarcoma, has spent a lot of time in hospital since her illness was diagnosed and her wish was to visit Venice for a well-deserved break with her family. Make-A-Wish was able not only to grant her wish but to arrange the trip for Alice, Mum Hilary and Dad David so that it took place during the annual Venice Carnival, a very vibrant time in the famous canal-crossed city.

The time spent in hospital makes Alice felt very claustrophobic and she often used to look at holiday brochures as means of escape. Venice became the destination of choice and once there she was able to experience first-hand all the wonderful things she had read about in the brochures. The family took boat trips, including a traditional Venetian gondola ride, and attended a concert featuring music written by Vivaldi, himself from Venice. Alice took the opportunity to buy herself a souvenir of Venice and the Carnival, which dates back to 1296 – a traditional mask.

“Venice is the most surreal place I have ever been to,” said Alice. “It was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of our holiday there.  Going away has been such a nice experience. It was a great break and gave me real feeling of freedom from seeing the same four walls of the hospital for so long. Thank you Make-A-Wish for making it a truly magical week.”

Mum Hilary added: “Venice is a very colourful and happy place where we were able to really lose ourselves. It was like a dream.

“When we were in hospital day in and day out, having the trip to look forward to was the light at the end of the tunnel for us. It gave us something positive to think about and when it came around it really breathed some fresh air into our lives. Thanks so much.”

In 2010, around 1,000 children will turn to Make-A-Wish to have their special wish granted. We need to raise £5 million this year in order to continue granting these magical wishes. Please help us to grant more magical wishes by giving a donation from your pay.

This year, those without a dog can take part too by nominating their favourite famous dog – from stars of the small screen to pop star’s pooches – for the Celebrity Canine award.

The Dogs Trust Honours are a world away from the primp and preen of the competitive dog show world, celebrating instead the unique bond between person and dog. Can your dog do an amazing trick, has he turned your life around, did he save a life, has he the heart of a lion, or the brain of a canine Einstein? Dogs Trust wants to hear all about it.

Nominate him now for any of these awards:

• The Sun Hero Dog – the award for acts(s) of barksome bravery
• Golden Oldie – the award for any special dog over 7 years old
• Dogged Devotion – the award for dogs who provide emotional support
• Celebrity Canine – for dogs in the public eye
• Dog Star in the Making – the award for talented pet dogs

Award winners and their owners will be invited to attend the glamorous, star-studded Dogs Trust Honours evening at London’s Jasmine Studios on 3rd June 2010. The winning dogs will also be snapped by renowned photographer Dan Burn-Forti for a gallery exhibition on the night.

Clarissa Baldwin, Dogs Trust Chief Executive, explains; “Whether you love Lurchers or are simply dotty about Dalmatians, the one thing upon which all dog owners agree is that their dog is the greatest! Our awards celebrate the very special things which dogs give us, and I don’t just mean the chewed slippers. Let’s rejoice in all things canine and give our hirsute heroes the recognition they deserve.”

To nominate your dog click here or send your dog’s details, story and high res photo to awards@dogstrust.org.uk . You may also nominate via letter to Dogs Trust Honours, 17 Wakley Street, London EC1V 7RQ.

To support the ongoining work of the Dogs Trust give a regular donation from your pay.

While having a charity of the year can be a very beneficial and worthwhile venture for both the company and the charity, so many smaller and less emotive charities lose out that it would surely make more sense to let individuals chose their own charity.

Being chosen as charity of the year by big companies means big rewards for the relevant charity but the vast majority of charities in the UK never become anyone’s charity of the year. They are too small, too unfashionable, don’t have enough regional branches or fail to match the corporate brief in some other way.

The competition to be chosen as a charity of the year, particularly by the major UK companies, is intense. There is a good reason for this as the rewards can be huge. Tesco’s chosen charity for 2008 was Marie Curie Cancer Care and they raised £6.1m, which will allow far more people to end their life at home. The Tesco Charity Trust added £500,000 to existing monies raised. This year, Tesco has chosen the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign this year and hopes to raise £3m.  Click here to read the rest of the article.

The correct answers are as follows;  Q1) The Kiss is a famous statue by which sculptor and artist?  Rodin.  Q2)  Who thought it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Tennyson.    Q3) Where do you “wear your heart” if you are quick to show your feelings? Sleeve.  Q4) Which famous building in New York lights up a red heart each Valentine’s Day?  Empire State Building.  Q5) For which television program was “Whole lotta love” the theme tune for many years?  Top of the Pops   Q6) Whitney Houston had a top 10 in 1988 with “The Greatest Love Of All”.  Who had the original hit with that song in 1977?  George Benson.  Q7) Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry whom?  Wallis Simpson.  Q8) How many times has the character, Phil Mitchell, been married in the TV soap opera Eastenders?  Three.  Q9) Which British city did Shriley Valentine abandon for her Greek holiday? Liverpool.  Q10) Which character does the actor Anthony Valentine play in Coronation Street?  George Wilson 

Look out for our next Website Quiz, coming soon!