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People place honesty and integrity as the foremost characteristic of
a real life hero.
ACTIONAID
commissioned a survey to find out what, to the British public, makes
somebody a real life hero.
The survey was commissioned to highlight
the 53,000 people in the UK who sponsor a child abroad through ActionAid. The characteristics that people from the North West joint
selected are:-
58% Integrity and Honesty
56% Somebody who puts others in front of themselves
29% Somebody who will help a stranger
Northern Ireland stood out at the only UK region in which ‘somebody
who puts others in front of themselves’ overtook ‘Integrity
and Honesty’, as the main characteristic of a hero. There was a
marked 20% difference between the 2. In keeping with the
common man’s ability to be a hero, 44% of people cited their parents
as their most positive influence when growing up, with only 6%
citing a celebrity.
Whilst ActionAid celebrates its 35th anniversary this weekend it
will be looking back at its own real life heroes.
In 1972 ActionAid
was founded as a child sponsorship charity, with 88 UK supporters in
India and Kenya. The priority was to provide these children with an
education. For 35 years ActionAid has helped ordinary British people
be extraordinary by sponsoring some of the poorest children around
the world and in doing so, made its very own heroes.
Child
sponsorship is about partnership and commitment – families in the UK
stand alongside families in developing countries helping them claim
their rights to food, health, education and the means to earn a
living.
Richard Miller, Director of ActionAid UK said:- “Everyone who
sponsors a child with ActionAid is a real life hero – they are very
altruistic people who want to help a stranger.
It is reassuring to
hear that the average Brit believes so strongly that integrity and
honesty …"
ActionAid works with millions of the poorest and most vulnerable
people helping them fight for their rights to food, shelter, work,
basic healthcare and a voice in the decisions that affect their
lives. |
BUSINESSES WILL FACE HEALTH AND SAFETY SCRUTINY UNDER NEW DRIVING
RULES
THE
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has recently published the results
of its public consultation into bad driving, which look set to
change existing policy on how driving offences are charged and
prosecuted. According to regulatory experts at international law
firm Eversheds, the more stringent prosecuting policy, which is due
to be published later this year, could result in an increase in
manslaughter charges for individuals, and greater scrutiny on
employers’ health and safety policies.
The purpose of the CPS consultation was to review current
prosecuting practices and gauge public attitudes towards sentencing
for driving offences. The results showed that bad driving is
increasingly perceived as a serious offence, and that a charge of
manslaughter should be considered in a wider amount of cases.
For businesses, the CPS has stated that it intends to work much
closer with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to regularly
assess whether employers should be held responsible for incidents
involving workplace driving. Further to this, the change in policy
means it will more likely that both the Police and HSE will be
informed of an incident and involved in the resulting investigation.
David Young, partner at Eversheds, comments:- “The CPS
consultation has come at a time when bad driving is falling under
increased scrutiny, in terms of both individual and corporate
liability. The findings of the consultation will be reflected in the
new prosecuting policy later this year, and it is likely it will
recommend a more aggressive approach to charging and prosecuting
driving offences.”
Examples of when employers may be held responsible for offences of
bad driving in the workplace include having no regular system of
preventative checks of vehicles; directors being aware of a fault,
but allowing the vehicle to be used anyway; substandard repairs made
by a company; and failure to ensure driver working hours and rest
schedules are adhered to. Other recommendations from the
consultation concern the use of mobile phones while driving. The CPS
has stated that, in cases where there is clear evidence that danger
has been caused by the use of a mobile phone, the starting point for
the charge will be one of dangerous driving.
Robert Kingdom, head of marketing at Masterlease, comments:-
“It is clear that the CPS is committed to investigating more
businesses following an offence of bad driving involving a work
vehicle.
This could result in increased fines for businesses, not to
mention the time and cost of conducting an investigation in the
event of an incident. Managers are advised to check policies and
practices relating to driving sooner rather than later, or risk
falling foul of the law." |
