Radical changes to protect people in poverty

Ensuring that the poorest people and places do not suffer during the current economic crisis is the big debate at an Edge hill University event.

Julia Unwin, CBE and Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), is delivering the thought-provoking talk on 28^th September as part of the University's major series of guest lectures on the concept of the public realm.

In her lecture, The Common Good: What Does it Mean for People in Places and Poverty, Julia will focus on what should be doe to ensure that people from disadvantaged backgrounds aren't hit the hardest during the current period of austerity.

Her talk will discuss the way in which the common good can be fostered, and developed, and avoid the divisions and despair that we otherwise face.

Stuart Speeden, the University's Director of the Centre for Local Policy Studies which has organised the series of lectures, said: "This is one of a number of lectures on the public realm, its meaning and its future that we have organised and I'm delighted that Julia has agreed to take part. As we enter a period where the boundaries of public and private are shifting, the challenges of climate change, the digital and globalised economy, the banking crises, and the future of the welfare state all raise questions about the public realm, its scope and the way it is governed. Julia's lecture will certainly raise lots of questions about the common good and I hope it will lead to new ideas about how we can protect those in poverty from suffering the most."

As Chief Executive of the JRF, an endowed charity that funds an extensive UK-wide research and development programme, Julia is very much at the forefront of aiming to understand the root causes of poverty, inequality and disadvantage to identify ways of overcoming them. Julia also leads the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, which provides housing and care services, demonstrating new approaches to these areas.

Prior to her appointment, Julia was a member of the Housing Corporation Board for 10 years, a Charity Commissioner and Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency. She has also worked as an independent consultant within government and in the voluntary and corporate sectors, focusing on governance, funding and developing services in voluntary organisations.

The lecture is free to attend and spaces are limited. To book your place, email corporateevents@edgehill.ac.uk. Arrival is 5.30pm with drinks with canapés, ready for a 6.30pm start and refreshments and networking afterwards.

Anna Coote, Head of Social Policy at the new economic foundation (nef) will be delivering the next lecture Moving Upstream: The Triple Prize of Preventative Government in the series on 8th November.