News

A new report published by the Fabian Society this week estimates that 50,000 people aged 16-18 years old have fallen out of the support system for NEETs.

We've had an amazing year this year, and what better way to celebrate it than with the LandAid Twelve Questions of Christmas Quiz!* To enter, donate £3 to LandAid on mydonate and send us your answers for the chance to win Prezzo vouchers worth £50 - great for a pre-theatre meal or mid-January cheer-me-up.

The LandAid-funded construction workshop at St Eds in Norwich was a hive of activity when Caroline Fraser and me paid a visit on Friday.

Paul Morrish has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer of LandAid. Paul joins LandAid from VoiceAbility, one of the UK's largest advocacy charities working with vulnerable adults and young people, where he is currently Deputy Chief Executive.

Thursday lunchtime Caroline and I were joined by LandAid Chairman Robin Broadhurst and Trustee Suzanne Avery at Circle Sports, Hackney. With all the buzz around vibrant creative businesses and pop-up food experiences in Hackney, it can be easy to forget that it still remains one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK and its young people can have a hard time getting into employment.

This week (3 - 7 November) is National Pro Bono Week, which celebrates the free legal advice given by law firms to communities across the UK. LandAid launched its own pro bono programme in July this year. While the legal profession has a long tradition of giving pro bono advice, it is not as established in other parts of the property industry.

Yesterday saw the start of Living Wage Week, the annual UK-wide campaign organised by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF). The occasion was marked with a widely-publicised rise in the UK and London Living Wage rates for 2014-15 to £7.85 and £9.15 per hour respectively. This, the LFW hopes, will in principle improve the take home pay of 35,000 low-paid workers who are employed by over 1,000 Living Wage supporting organisations.

Today is LandAid Day, the annual day of fundraising where the UK property and construction sectors unite to do something amazing for disadvantaged children and young people. Across the UK, over 50 companies will show their commitment to our cause by getting active or doing something serious, silly and selfless to fundraise for LandAid.

Figures released by the Campaign to End Child Poverty yesterday paint a bleak picture, particularly for London's children. Our capital, home to some of the most expensive real estate in the world, officially contains the highest child poverty rates in the UK. Ten London constituencies hold this unfortunate accolade. Bethnal Green and Bow, which has 49% children in poverty, is the highest in the country. The leafy environs of well-heeled Wimbledon, Twickenham and Richmond Park each have 15%. That's one child in seven.