Barrow Cadbury Trust is very pleased to announce the appointment of Ayesha Saran to the post of Director of Programmes and Learning. Ayesha has been Head of Migration at the Trust for several years, successfully establishing the migration programme as an integral contributor and player in the migration sector, as well as championing progressive narratives and strategic communication approaches both in the UK and in Europe.

Ayesha’s appointment follows a process led by our recruitment partner Green Park which attracted an outstanding field of candidates. Her knowledge and experience in the philanthropic field will put her in a strong position to push ahead with the Trust’s ambitious plans to engage with partners and share the learning from our work to advance social justice.

Our current Director of Programmes, Debbie Pippard, will sadly be leaving the Trust in Spring 2026.

The 2025 Budget — promoted as a plan for “growth” and “fairness” — leaves many of Birmingham’s communities still waiting for the meaningful changes that would make a difference. Across our city, people are dealing with rising costs, pressure on family finances, and overstretched local services. And while this Budget offers some welcome signs of intent, it does not yet deliver the sustained, community-centred investment our neighbourhoods need to thrive. 

 What we welcome 

 A commitment to rebuilding public services at the national level. The acknowledgement that services need reinvestment is a step forward – but that reinvestment must reach cities like ours. 

• Signals of intent on economic fairness. The government’s willingness to address inequality more openly, for example with the removal of the two child benefit limit and the introduction of the High Value Council Tax surcharge, creates space for communities to push for deeper reform. 

• Recognition that parts of the country have been left behind by successive governments for too long. Could this be the opportunity for places like Birmingham to make the case for the resources and powers we need? 

 Where the Budget still falls short 

 Household budgets remain under strain. With tax thresholds frozen and several taxes rising, many families will continue to see their disposable income squeezed. For communities already juggling rising rents, childcare costs and everyday essentials, this Budget brings little immediate relief. 

• Local services still lack secure, long-term funding. Birmingham is still without a clear path to stable resources for youth services, social care, libraries, neighbourhood programmes and housing support — all of which are vital to a resilient city. 

• No strong framework for local economic renewal. Despite the language of growth, the Budget does not provide enough long-term investment to strengthen local businesses, support community-led initiatives or create secure, well-supported jobs. 

 What Birmingham needs next 

 Decision-making shaped by  people who live there, giving communities meaningful influence over how funding is allocated and how services are designed.  

• Investment that strengthens neighbourhoods, supporting community organisations, local enterprises and the social infrastructure that keeps people connected through hubs, green spaces and community assets. 

• A strategy that expands opportunity, with investment in training and skills, secure jobs, affordable housing and services like SEND provision that help people build stable futures. 

• A fairer tax system, ensuring those with the broadest shoulders contribute more so that communities can rebuild. 

• Devolution plans and funding that gives Birmingham City Council the stability to plan and deliver high-quality services. 

Economic Justice Brum believes in the power of our communities  and the resilience, imagination and solidarity shown across this city give us real hope. This Budget may fall short, but it could give Birmingham the chance to organise, to advocate, and to press for an economy that truly works for everyone. 

New net migration figures published by ONS today show a dramatic fall to 204,000 according to think tank British Future. 

The new figures coincide with the publication today of the British Future/Ipsos Immigration Attitudes Tracker report, which has followed public opinion on immigration and asylum since 2015.

The new research finds that today’s net migration figures will surprise much of the public. Only 16% of the public expect net migration to be lower in one year’s time, despite net migration halving last year and continuing to fall. More than twice as many people (38%) expect net migration to increase.

Most of the public also thinks net migration increased last year, according to the research – when in fact numbers halved. The new findings from the Ipsos/British Future Immigration Attitudes Tracker show that 56% of the public thinks immigration increased last year. Yet the previous set of net migration statistics in May 2025 showed that 2024 numbers more than halved to 345,000 from 848,000 a year earlier.

Download the full tracker report

Barrow Cadbury Trust welcomes the news that Police and Crime Commissioners are to be abolished. Some PCCs responded positively to the T2A young adult agenda and other long-standing concerns around policing, and we commend them for their approach  However, the potential for the role to have substantial impact was never realised. This was not helped by a failure to explain their role and potential to the voting public. According to the Home Secretary scrapping the PCCs will save £100m over this Parliament. This funding should be ringfenced for proven approaches to reducing crime and ensuring more people are supported to move away from the criminal justice system.

The Treasury has published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy. Its publication is recognition that financial exclusion remains a persistent and systemic issue across the UK and Fair By Design hugely values the hard work of the Committee members and team that have delivered the Strategy. Fair By Design see this as a stepping stone, not the final say, on how to address the structural drivers of the poverty premium and financial exclusion because…

1. It is a Strategy of consolidation, not transformation. 
The Strategy demonstrates that there are numerous brilliant initiatives already under way across the sector to improve financial inclusion, all of which are to be celebrated and applauded. There are also some new announcements in the Strategy, such as exploring an extension to the credit brokering exemption for Registered Social Landlords and the commitment of dormant assets to a small sum loan pilot, both of which we welcome. But overall, the Strategy is one of consolidation rather than being transformational. The overview and coordination it provides are useful, but we think that the Strategy lacks the ambition and urgency required to tackle the root causes of entrenched financial exclusion and the poverty premium.

2. Where is Motor Insurance?
One area where this is particularly disappointing is motor insurance, given car insurance is the costliest poverty premium faced by low-income consumers. While the Strategy acknowledges rising premiums and the disproportionate impact on vulnerable customers, it fails to propose any direct interventions to improve affordability. It references the existing Motor Insurance Taskforce, but the Taskforce’s remit centres on market dynamics and claims costs, rather than tackling the core issue of consumer affordability and inclusion.

3. An over-reliance on industry and voluntary action
The Strategy leans heavily on industry-led initiatives and voluntary codes, which cannot guarantee consistent or equitable outcomes on their own. While we welcome the creation of an Inclusive Design Working Group and the focus on inclusive product design, these efforts must involve policymakers and regulators to deliver systemic change. Stronger Government-led measures, such as a Fair Banking Act, are necessary if we’re going to close the £2bn of unmet need for affordable credit.

4. It needs a stronger accountability framework
We value the Strategy’s focus on outcomes as this creates flexibility for the many organisations involved in delivering the Strategy to meet the needs of different consumers and markets. But it lacks clear targets, metrics, or accountability mechanisms.

Fair By Design also urges the Government to add people living in poverty and on low incomes to the group of people the Strategy is expected to have a positive impact on, as being on a low income is a key determinant of whether someone experiences financial exclusion.

Read: A Plan for everyone: why 20 million people need the Financial Exclusion Strategy to deliver

The full Strategy – https://lnkd.in/dxN8Z9U7

We’re looking for a brilliant Freelance Network Meeting Facilitator to join the Economic Justice Brum movement!

Over the past two years, we’ve been bringing together people and organisations across Birmingham: community groups, campaigners, researchers, policymakers and people with lived experience of economic injustice, to build a fairer local economy.

Now we’re ready for the next phase. We want our network meetings to be even more engaging, inclusive and energising so we’re looking for a skilled facilitator with a long-term commitment to Birmingham and its people to help make that happen.

If you’re great at bringing people together, designing participatory events, and creating spaces where everyone feels valued and heard this could be the role for you.

– Freelance: approx. 2 days a month
– Flexible working
– Contract length: up to 2 years
– Deadline: Midday, 24 November 2025
– Interviews: 1 December 2025, in Birmingham

Full invitation to tender and details on how to apply (PDF) ⬇️

Let’s keep building the movement for an economy rooted in justice, equity and community power. Please share with relevant networks!

Are you acting with other campaigners, activists and community organisers in Birmingham to change and transform systems that harm people, cause injustice and further economic inequalities? Would a grant of up to £50,000 over two years help you act to make lasting change a reality? Our Economic Justice Brum Act to Change fund might be for you! Find out more.

Fair4All Finance and WPI Economics have launched a report titled Financial inclusion and growth. The report sets out how financial inclusion can be a core part of achieving the UK Government’s growth mission.

The report looks at three key areas; savings, car insurance and better financial wellbeing, and argues that greater financial inclusion in these areas leads to increased growth.

In the case of car insurance, removing the poverty premium would generate an extra £369 million per year for the UK economy. Over the course of this Parliament, UK GDP would be £1.5 billion higher as a result.

This report follows the recent launch of Fair By Design’s new position paper week titled Driving Change: Policy Ideas to Tackle the Car Insurance Poverty Premium.

Fair By Design’s Director, Rebecca Deegan, said:  

“The new analysis by Fair4All finance is further evidence that investing in financial inclusion is good for people and good for the economy.

“Too many people are excluded or are charged more for essentials, paying a poverty premium because of factors they cannot control, such as where they can afford to live. 

“For instance, people living in deprived areas can pay over £300 more on car insurance per year than those living in more affluent areas. But as this new research shows, tackling the poverty premium in car insurance can grow the economy by hundreds of millions of pounds per year.  

“This should be a no-brainer. This is growth that puts money back into people’s pockets. We urge the Government to be bold as it develops the Financial Inclusion Strategy over summer, and include concrete actions to reduce poverty premiums in insurance and credit.”

This new report from British Future and the Belong Network describes a combination of social tensions and grievances – including polarisation and division, concerns about asylum and immigration, declining political trust, economic pessimism and worries about the impact of social media. The authors warn that unrest risks being reignited unless urgent action is taken.

They also identify some strong foundations on which to build, including public confidence in cohesion at neighbourhood level and numerous examples of impactful work across the UK to empower communities, build shared identities and strengthen relationships between people from different backgrounds.

The report is a foundational input to the new Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, chaired by Sir Sajid Javid and Jon Cruddas, which convened for the first time in June 2025.