August 14th, 2017
The human rights charity Liberty has intervened in support of humanists Laura Lacole and Eunan O’Kane and their case to secure recognition for humanist marriages in Northern Ireland. Calling the lack of such recognition ‘discrimination, pure and simple’, Liberty’s intervention comes as a High Court ruling in favour of the couple is being challenged by […]
August 11th, 2017
Take action! You can respond to the consultation on the NHS’s website, and read our model response to help you draft your own. The Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) for Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire have launched a public consultation asking for the thoughts of people locally and nationally on a recommendation to decommission all […]
August 7th, 2017
This weekend, Humanists UK hosted the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and over 400 humanists from more than 50 countries for a special conference on ‘Populism, extremism, and threats to humanism,’ held at the Royal Society in London. The event was part of a broader weekend of activities surrounding IHEU’s 2017 general assembly, which […]
August 3rd, 2017
Pupils in ethnically mixed schools are more trusting and have more positive views of children from different backgrounds than do pupils in segregated schools, new Department for Education-commissioned research has revealed. Humanists UK has stated that the findings represent a further blow to Government plans to increase religious selection in the school admissions system. The […]
August 3rd, 2017
Victoria Wasteney, an NHS worker who was suspended from her role as Head of Forensic Occupational Therapy at East London NHS Foundation Trust after being accused of harassment and bullying, will not be allowed to appeal against the decision that she did not face discrimination on the basis of religion. In 2013, Wasteney was […]
July 26th, 2017
The Government may have dropped its proposals for a crackdown on harmful religious supplementary schools, which would have also covered illegal schools, following pressure from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Church of England, it has been reported. In November 2015 the Government proposed to tighten the regulation of ‘out-of-school education settings’ in […]
July 23rd, 2017
Ministers may be reconsidering controversial proposals to allow new state-funded religious schools to become fully segregated along religious lines, according to Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman, who has stated that ‘admission 100% on faith leads to increased levels of segregation within communities’. Humanists UK, which campaigns in favour of fully inclusive schools and has been […]
July 21st, 2017
NHS England has announced that it wants to cease funding homeopathic remedies and other treatments proven to have no efficacy, and has launched a consultation on the matter. The announcement is warmly greeted by Humanists UK, which has campaigned for an end to state funding of homeopathy for many years. In announcing the historic change […]
July 21st, 2017
Recent tragedies in London and Manchester have touched everybody and prompted tremendous acts of kindness, compassion, and humanity, both from emergency and public service workers and members of the public, and often through the charity sector. Prompted by recent events, Humanists UK has decided to carry out a review of the support it provides, including […]
July 20th, 2017
Humanists UK member Noel Conway’s claim for an assisted death has been heard by the High Court. The hearing came to an end today, after four days of submissions from his lawyers and from Humanists UK, who intervened in the case in his support. Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented, ‘The hearing in Noel’s […]
July 19th, 2017
A humanist parent in Wales is to challenge Vale of Glamorgan Council at the High Court in Cardiff over its decision to exclude a humanist representative from the local body responsible for overseeing religious education (RE) in the area. Kathy Riddick, who is also the Coordinator of Wales Humanists, applied to join Vale of Glamorgan’s […]
July 18th, 2017
Today, Humanists UK made oral submissions in the assisted dying case brought by its member Noel Conway, who is seeking to change to law that currently prevents terminally ill people – those with six months or less to live – from being able to chose a medically assisted death. The case is being heard before […]
