Deal to avert NHS strikes
A 5% pay rise from April has been offered to NHS staff in England, including nurses and ambulance workers. In addition, staff have been offered a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's pay award. Unions are recommending members back the deal, after nearly two weeks of talks with ministers, raising hopes the bitter dispute may be coming to an end. The offer covers all NHS staff except doctors, who are on a different contract. Fourteen unions were represented at the talks, covering: nurses, ambulance staff, physiotherapists, midwives, support staff, including cleaners and porters. The biggest three - the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the GMB - are all backing the deal, while Unite the Union has said it cannot recommend it to members but will put it to a vote.
Scotland: SNP elections
On 27 February around 100 people gathered online from across Scotland and beyond in prayer declaring the greatness and goodness of God, confessing the sins of the nation, and praying into aspects of the conduct and process of the SNP leadership campaign. They decided to meet online again on 13 March, the same day that SNP members began voting for their new leader. Voting ends on 27 March. This election is not only important for the SNP, it is significant for the whole of Scotland and beyond. The new SNP leader will be Scotland’s First Minister, leading the Scottish Government, dealing with leaders of the rest of the United Kingdom, notably with London’s PM and Cabinet. They must maintain the SNP's place in Government, while pushing forward Independence. With Sturgeon no longer leader, her opponents could grasp the opportunity for electing an alternative government - firmly cementing the future of the Union. See also
Churches can apply for funding to tackle loneliness
Neighbourhood Prayer Network is urging churches to apply for funding from the 'Know Your Neighbourhood Fund' of £30 million being allocated to 27 of the most disadvantaged local authorities. The government launched it with The National Lottery, Historic England and UK Community Foundations to increase the number of projects which help improve wellbeing and social connections. Recent research revealed that adults are more likely to report feeling lonely if they live in a deprived area and that areas with higher unemployment rates tend to have higher rates of loneliness. Loneliness can impact anyone at any time in any community, and the work of voluntary organisations to reduce isolation and loneliness has been in demand since the pandemic.
Russia: Wagner and FSB
Wagner is giving ‘career talks’ in Russian schools to recruit young soldiers. Wagner, Putin’s private army distributed questionnaires entitled ‘Application of a Young Warrior’ to collect pupils' details. Moscow attempted to win the Bakhmut conflict with a ‘human wave’ of battalions of convicts, followed by elite Wagner troops. Half are now dead. This initiative will not replace the convict recruit pipeline. Wagner made slow gains at an immense cost. Pray for the ‘career talks’ to fall on deaf ears as adults to protect vulnerable teenagers. Meanwhile on 16th March a short circuit appeared to have caused a fire, which ignited fuel tanks in a building used by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). The FSB is Russia's internal security service, responsible for counterintelligence, border security and counter-terrorism. There has been a spate of arson attacks on government buildings, such as enlistment and conscription offices since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
