An ‘Unspent’ conviction is a ‘material fact’ just as whether a vehicle is garaged at night, meaning that even if you are not asked specifically about criminal convictions; you must disclose the information by law or be ready to have your insurance policy ‘avoided’ (i.e. them not paying out) for ‘non-disclosure’ when the time comes to make a claim.

Couple this with the fact that motor vehicle insurance is compulsory, that very few companies will insure ex-offenders – meaning sky-high premiums – and the fact that if you had received motoring fines/convictions your insurance would probably still be cheaper.

It could be argued that this is discriminatory towards ex-offenders; especially where the offence(s) had nothing to do with motoring and does not affect someone’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Best of all if they use a motor vehicle to commit an offence their insurance would be void anyway!

All of the aforementioned is even more financially crippling for young people who face hefty premiums at the best of times.

Non-disclosure surrounding unspent convictions can be true of any type of insurance e.g. mobile phone, but is more prevalent within the ‘essential’ types i.e. vehicle, home and life insurance.

In terms of home buildings/contents cover the same rules apply in regards to disclosure. However, in most cases you also have to declare whether anyone residing within the property has unspent criminal convictions; or else face the same consequences of non disclosure and avoidance.

What is most worrying is that the government on the face of things seems to want to re-integrate ex-offenders into society. So what is the benefit of limiting people’s access to transport or ability to get a mortgage (most require building insurance), if anything you are further restricting people’s already limited social and financial mobility.

This, then begs the question:  is serving your sentence and facing years of social stigma not punishment enough? It is easy to dismiss and judge ex-offenders but don’t people deserve a second chance?

It’s not all bad news; UNLOCK http://www.unlock.org.uk/main.aspx the National Association of Ex-offenders has put together a list of insurers who specify in insurance for ex-offenders – it won’t be that cheap but in comparison to what mainstream insurers will offer, it is highly affordable. There are also various sections on the site explaining specifics, legality and technical terms.

UNLOCK are also involved in a lengthy process of lobbying parliament to change/update the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) in order to clarify what is/isn’t discriminatory within the boundaries of the Law.

They also provide guidance on the ‘rehabilitation/unspent period’ of each type of offence this can be found here http://www.unlock.org.uk/xoffenders.aspx?sid=62.

This week we have been taking the message of entrepreneurship to youth centres across Birmingham, from Maypole, Erdington & Alum Rock. Last night we teamed up with Unltd (pronounced unlimited) to support local young people at Naseby Youth Centre to explore the potential of going it alone and tackling issues in their local community. The event was a fantastic success with Unltd pledging to support four groups of young people aiming to apply for level 1 award funding .

We also discussed our own entrepreneurship programme we are set to launch next year, the A Fund, a 6-8 week accelerator programme aimed at turning young ideas into fledgling social enterprises & sustainable projects. For more info on this watch this space.

For more news on how you can celebrate the Global Entrepneurship Week visit the website

The Prince’s Trust and Carillion are offering a FREE two-week training course in Birmingham, which gives you work experience in Railway construction and maintenance.

If you are 18-25, unemployed and interested in a career in Railway Construction, join our free training programme where you can gain:

- The Personal Track Safety (PTS) qualification

- The Track induction which includes; track familiarisation and Environmental Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) these will enable you
to work on and around the railways tracks

- Certificates in First Aid, Emergency First Aid, Manual Handling and Fire Training

Limited travel expenses will be covered

To find out more contact
Helen Marshall on 0121 772 9241 or 07766417 341, or email Helen.marshall@princes-trust.org.uk

Current rates for National Minimum Wage

• Workers aged 21 years or more: £6.08 per hour
• Workers aged 18 to 20 inclusive: £4.98 per hour
• Workers aged under 18 (but above compulsory school age): £3.68 per hour
• Apprentices aged under 19: £2.60 per hour
• Apprentices aged 19 and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship: £2.60 per hour.

Currently there is no legal definition of an intern, so if you’re thinking of applying for a long term (three to six months) intern position, be focused on what you want to achieve and be aware of being given too much responsibility without training, which could set you up to fail.

socialbreakfast support work experience initiatives but don’t support companies abusing low unemployment rates by employing staff and paying them pennies.

If you’ve got any stories – good or bad – about work experience or internships you’ve undertaken, we’d be interested in hearing more.

Shilpi Akbar, Assistant Director of Employment at Birmingham City Council will present an overview of youth inclusion issues in BIrmingham.

The day will host workshops including:

• Rethinking Apprenticeships – “Creating Job Opportunities” eg. Birmingham Apprenticeship Scheme
• Rethinking Volunteering e.g. The Challenge Network in Birmingham
• Rethinking approaches to young people facing multiple barriers – Care Leavers “Achieving against the Odds

Young people from Birmingham and Rotterdam will meet via a Skype video call will be facilitated by The Prince’s Trust
and Social Breakfast.

Other speakers include, Bethia McNeil from the young foundation, Mik Woolley, EU Chair of Employment Committee, Department for Work and Pensions, Alex Lamb. Head of Programmes
The Prince’s Trust

Further infomation will appear here and on socialbreakfast’s twitter feed. Go to twitter.com/socialbreak

Socialbreakfast has been dedicated to following the efforts of Birmingham’s Challenge Network and the range of activities they are getting our younger population involved in. As the leading providers for delivering the government’s National Citizen Service programme, have the Challenge risen to the task?

From our experience, absolutely! After following their work across the midlands and speaking with the young people directly, we are please to report that the programme was a great success. One young man we interviewed said “it gives you a chance to understand your weaknesses and work on them as well as allowing you to find out about your own strengths outside of the classroom.” Another participant praised the experience for raising her awareness of the support available to young people and the hard work that goes on unnoticed in communities across the city, which has inspired her to do some volunteering for such organisations.

Although the feedback we received was undoubtedly positive, the cost of this initiative has divided MPs, with requests for the scheme to be downgraded as a result. If plans go ahead for all young people at school-leaving age to undergo NCS, it would cost the county £355m each year, which is more than what is currently being spent on all other youth services across England. Furthermore in comparison, the German authorities manage to spend an average of £46 per person for a national volunteering placement lasting a year, whilst for each 6-week NCS place, the cost has been averaged out at £1,182 per individual.

David Cameron has branded the initiative as “a kind of non-military national service”, which if plans go ahead could be stripping money away from other youth services. 10,000 young people have taken part in the programme this summer, with numbers expecting to increase considerably in the coming years. Do we want this ‘one-rule fits all’ approach? Could you think of better ways to spend £1,182 on your personal development over 6-weeks? It seems yet again that young people have been sidelined from the decision-making.

We’ve gone from Radio on demand to Video on demand and now Games on demand, and now that the gaming industry is worth more than Film and Music at £2.4 billion in the UK the largest in Europe, most had seen this coming, and with recent hacking of Playstation and Xbox Servers , the creators of the new system, OnLive claim that hacking into there systems is impossible as customers information is kept with a third unknown party and piracy is also not an issue because you don’t have the physical game, you are accessing it remotely from a server therefore your just streaming it from someone else’s server.

It was launched at the Eurogamer Expo at Earls Court, west London, where around 40,000 enthusiasts will gather over the next few days to try out the latest games

What are YOU waiting for?

Have you watched the Apprentice? Could you make a your own business?…

learnplayfoundation.com are looking for young people aged 16-18 who would like to work in a Media environment doing activities such as:

• Designing Game Levels for Video Games Consoles
• Designing Apps for Smart Phones
• Photography
• Film Production
• Animation
• Design
• Sales & Marketing
• Administration
• Video Games Delivery
• Training Delivery
• Food & Cooking/want to start at run your own café business and get paid for it.

…AND MUCH MORE

Not only will you learn how to do the above…we will employ you AND PAY YOU! If any of your ideas go to market…you will EARN MORE!

Oh by the way…we will also get additional qualifications such as NVQ Level 2 & 3 whilst you are working. This is an employment offer through the Apprenticeships scheme and is a chance to get creative, be part of a Media Company, pitch ideas, earn a salary and make bonuses!

You need to be aged 16-18 years old and not be In Employment, Education or Training (it’s ok if you have a part time job of less than 12 hours). You will be working and employed within our company not on a training scheme.

Interested? Come to the open day on 27th & 28th of September. Where? Well, we will tell you this once you’ve registered your interest at… info@learnplayfoundation.com or call 01922 641885 or ring our dedicated mobile 07716 796246

Open days will be in Walsall but this is available to all within the Black Country and Birmingham.

How is a forced marriage different to an arranged marriage?

A marriage – which is a sacred ceremony for any religion or culture, it is about trust and commitment for life from both parties tying the knot, which goes hand in hand with consent. In spite of this known fact, in UK we still come across many forced marriage cases, often confused with arranged marriage.

A forced marriage is when one or both parties marry without giving his or her consent to the arrangement. People are forced into marriage, may be tricked into going abroad, physically threatened and /or emotionally blackmailed to do so. Where as an arranged marriage is when both parties consent to the assistance of their parents or a third party in finding a spouse. e.g.- matrimonial websites where both parties can choose according their wishes and parents wishes. There are times due to the upbringing of an individual they have never been given the right to choose or consent, they are often not able to understand there situation of forced marriage.

Every year hundreds of young people in Britain, both male and female are forced into marriage against their will, often by violence and blackmailing from their own families and relatives. And its not prevalent only in Asia but also in East Asia and Africa. It’s also important to remember that forced marriage is not only imposed on women but that men can equally be forced into a marriage against their will.

It’s vital that people understand the difference and that if they are being forced into marriage they understand that there is existing legislation, which includes the Forced marriage (Civil protection) Act , which enables victims of forced marriage to apply for court orders for their protection, and that we need to talk about this and create awareness. At Ashram we are here to help and support you in this difficult situation.

Young people are rarely able to disclose or express their feelings about forced marriage, however there are some warning signs which can be, extended absence from school /college/ work, drop in performance, low motivation, excessive parental restriction and control of movements and history of siblings leaving education to marry, etc. Feeling that they no longer have control over their lives, many end up depressed, self harming or in the worst cases, leading to attempts of suicide.

I would therefore recommend if you are in doubt or need any further information to contact organisations like Ashram for help and support. At Ashram we offer confidential free advice and also support for women and children who are suffering domestic violence which includes forced marriage cases. We help with re-housing/ counselling and emotional support, getting injunctions, help with solicitor, and court proceedings.

If you decide to go abroad insipte of having doubts we would advice you to keep following information with a trusted friend full address and telephone number of where you are going to stay abroad, your passport details, all your flight details there and back, you can also find out about your nearest embassy and keep address and phone number with you at all times, and maybe if you can take some money with you.