The Latest Bulletin

When a kid commits a crime, the US justice system has a choice: prosecute to the full extent of the law, or take a step back and ask if saddling young people with criminal records is the right thing to do every time. In this searching talk, Adam Foss, a prosecutor with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Boston, makes his case for a reformed justice system that replaces wrath with opportunity, changing people's lives for the better instead of ruining them. Although this inspiring presenter is focusing on the North American justice system, what he says provides significant food for thought about other criminal justice systems too. Click here to read more

As a nation, we’re getting better at opening up the conversation around mental health, with many employees opting to confide in their manager in the first instance. On the face of it, this seems like a good idea: their manager knows them and has demonstrated experience at solving workplace problems. So, the employee naturally assumes, their manager might also be able to help them find answers and solutions to more personal problems. However, for those managers who haven’t had any training or experience of dealing with a distressed employee, the chances of them providing an appropriate response are limited. So when feedback from our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) revealed the extent to which our own workforce was struggling with emotional…

This Sparks of Hope website, a global initiative, includes an interesting piece on inequality in the UK. The UK has the seventh highest level of income inequality out of 30 countries in the developed world. While the top fifth of the population earn 40% of the country's income, the bottom fifth earn only 8%. Wealth is even more unequally divided in the UK than income: the 1,000 richest people have as much wealth as the poorest 40% of households. Wealth is also unevenly spread across Great Britain. An average household in the South East of England has almost twice (183%) the amount of wealth of an average household in Scotland. Click here to read more

Shortly before she reached retirement age, Marie Burke’s husband had a stroke. After a week in intensive care, he was moved to a care home to aid his recuperation. So that he didn’t have to go into care permanently, Burke (not her real name) agreed to leave her job two years early and become his full-time carer. Then the problems in their relationship began. Her husband would pore over bank statements, demand she hand over receipts for all expenditure and raise his voice if she couldn’t account for any small sums. “I paid for two cappuccinos, a juice and some cake in Starbucks, forgot to get a receipt and he accused me of lying,” Burke says. “He was convinced I’d been meeting…