European Parliament Votes for HIV

posted: 09/07/2010

In the run up to the largest and most prestigious International AIDS Conference in Vienna (which begins later this month), HIV campaigners across Europe have won a big a vote in the European Parliament for a human rights based approach to HIV. There is now a list of 25 things that should happen next according to the European Parliament’s resolution.
The vote was 400 for and 166 against.
 

After a list of reasons, on page four the 25 actions that the European Parliament and its institutions should now take begins.  It's a shopping list of actions to do the best that is possible to deal with the HIV epidemic for people within Europe and the rest of the world. 

What they voted for

It calls for a human rights approach to dealing with HIV and lists a whole range of things to make this happen - such as decriminalising HIV transmission, and providing healthcare to all, because this is now part of the universal declaration of human rights.

Here is the full Resolution which has just been voted through
You can find the whole debate here – video and printed versions
 

Find Out About Membership

posted: 14/06/2010

Thursday 1 July is the date for people who use our services and volunteers to find out about becoming more involved in George House Trust. People using services and volunteers are warmly invited to come and find out more on Thursday 1 July from 5.30pm. You could become a Member. Our membership is free.

Finding Out About Membership is on Thursday 1 July

• refreshments and snacks start at 5.30pm
• the talk and your questions begin at 6
• we will finish by 7pm.

George House Trust is a membership organisation. Members are the people who come to our Annual General Meeting and elect our board of trustees. This board then oversees and steers what we do. Members are the people who can also become trustees on the board.
 

Members Vote
Members also vote on any major strategic decisions for the organisation, either at the Annual General Meeting, or at any special meetings that might be called during a year.
 

Whether you are electing trustees or voting on major strategic decisions, being a member gives you the chance to influence what we do.
 

This event is all about telling you more and answering your questions. You will be able to meet existing trustees and members.

Below we explain in more detail what it is all about for those who are really curious or for people who cannot come to the meeting on Thursday 1 July.

Applying to become a member
To become a member you would need to:

• Use George House Trust services (this includes HIV positive people, carers, family) OR
• Be a current volunteer who is actively involved in the organisation AND
• Able to attend the Annual General Meeting, or to vote by post AND
• Support the aims and objectives of George House Trust.

We need people who know enough about us, support our work, are actively interested in our future, and are able and willing to come to the Annual General Meeting (or vote by post).

You can download the membership forms here:

• Membership information
• Application form
   

Two thirds of our members are living with HIV
We work to make sure that two-thirds of our members are people living with HIV.
We want about 100 members, and will pull names from a hat if too many people apply. We want a good balance of members to represent all our service users and volunteers.
 

Summer Members selection
We only appoint new members once a year – you must apply to be a member by Friday 30th July. By 20 August you should have the written answer to your application.
 

If you have any questions on membership please email 
 

Election Acts

posted: 27/04/2010

The election is a great time for extracting politician's promises about HIV. With under two weeks to voting on Thursday May 6th, use this time to ask your parliamentary candidates what they will do about HIV and sexual health, if elected.
 

Visit the SHout loud website for their Election Guide which has suggestions for what to ask and how to ask for it. 
Want more ideas?

Other questions to ask candidates include

• What do you plan to do locally to stop so many people being diagnosed with HIV late?
• How will you ensure that local HIV prevention budgets are protected during times of public spending cuts?
• The AIDS Support Grant is vital to ensure that people with HIV locally receive the support they need but is only guaranteed until 2011. Will you support continuing this funding after 2011?
• What will you do to tackle the HIV-related stigma that continues to persist in our community?
• Will you support free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions including HIV?

We hope these are helpful but they're just some suggestions. You can ask your parliamentary candidates about any key issues faced by you, and people living with and affected by HIV. 
 

They have information on HIV in NW England and we have spotted an unfortunate error, which we have asked them to correct. It says there were only 398 new HIV Infections in NW England in 2008. We wish it were this low. In 2008 another 854 new people who are living in NW England were told they have HIV.  HIV & AIDS in the NW of England, 2008 table 2.2

image 

Make Votes Count for HIV

posted: 07/04/2010

Your local parliamentary candidates want your vote on 6 May. Whoever you vote for, now is the time to make sure all the local candidates know you care about HIV and sexual health, and you want them to make it a priority if they get elected as your MP. 

Two minutes is all it takes to ask your candidates to stand up for HIV. THT has written a pledge for candidates to support before the election:

"I pledge to support better public health in the UK through earlier diagnosis of HIV and sexual ill health and by improving public understanding of the issues."

Please take two minutes to ask your candidates to sign up to this general election pledge here
Thanks you for your support.
 

More general election HIV campaigning action ideas
 

Register to Vote before 20 April
 

Register to vote by Tuesday 20 April – you must do this on paper, and by post, and allow enough time for them to add you to the register. Download the registration form and find out where to send it

Who can vote and how do I register?

You can register to vote, if you are:
• 16 years old or over (but you won't be able to vote until your 18th birthday), AND
• a British citizen, OR
• an Irish, EU, or qualifying Commonwealth citizens.
“Qualifying Commonwealth citizens are those who have leave to enter or remain in the UK, or do not require such leave.”

Note although any EU citizen here can register to vote, people from the EU have to be a UK or Irish citizen to vote at this UK general election – so you can’t vote at this election if you are Spanish, for example. (EU citizens can only vote at local government and EU elections).

Registering to Vote
You can't register to vote online – but you can print out, sign and post the application form to your local council's Electoral Registration Office.

Nationality Question
One question you must answer on the form is about your nationality – simply write in Zimbabwean, or whatever your nationality is – this must be UK, Irish, a Commonwealth country, for you to vote on May 6th.

The electoral registration form has a simple declaration you must sign which says
“As far as I know, the details on this form are true and accurate. I understand that to provide false information on this form is an offence, punishable on conviction of up to 6 months and/or a fine.
I confirm that I am a British, Irish, European Union or qualifying Commonwealth citizen.
Qualifying Commonwealth citizens have leave to enter or remain in the UK, or do not require such leave.”
Normally if you sign this, it is simply accepted. You are not normally asked to show any documents to prove your nationality and leave status.
 

Am I a 'qualifying Commonwealth Citizen'?
Section B 6 in the Guidance for Electoral Registration Officers explains who can register.
Unfortunately it doesn't tell us this in plain English.

The George House Trust guide to who can register to vote
This is our understanding of the rules:
 

If you are a citizen of one of the Commonwealth countries listed below, what matters is
do you

• require leave to enter, or
• have you been granted leave to remain, or
• are you treated as having leave to enter, or
• are you treated as having leave to remain.

If your honest belief, after checking the information below, is that you can truthfully sign the application to register for a vote - As far as I know, the details on this form are true and accurate - you can apply for a vote.

Commonwealth countries
Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Leave to enter
Commonwealth citizens always require leave to enter, unless they have the right of abode.

Most Commonwealth citizens with right of abode in the United Kingdom can simply check their passport – a UK stamp in the passport will state if you have the right of abode in the United Kingdom; or you will have a UK certificate of entitlement certifying the right of abode.

Some other Commonwealth citizens will have the right of abode, even if they don't have this stamp in their passport, or a certificate of entitlement. It is unlikely recent migrants from the Commonwealth will have this because this right of abode depends on your birth, or marriage. South Africans and Pakistani citizens don’t have this type of right of abode.
 

Leave to remain
Who has leave to remain is complicated, but people with leave to remain will either have a current, valid stamp in their passport saying you have leave to remain, or will have some other Home Office / Borders and Immigration Agency official document or letter saying this.
The rules about leave to remain are here, and depend on your reason for being here.

Treated as having leave to enter
Commonwealth citizens who have made a valid claim for asylum, or for humanitarian protection, who have not had a final refusal, are treated as having leave to enter.

Treated as having leave to remain
Commonwealth citizens whose claim for asylum or humanitarian protection has been approved, are treated as having leave to remain. Others are also be treated as having leave to remain, for example refused asylum seekers who are receiving ‘section 4 support’.
 

If you think you should be treated as having leave to remain, you could check with a Citizens Advice Bureau, or your immigration adviser. We suggest you print this information and take it to them, with your passport, and any official letters, or papers about your immigration / asylum situation.

No right to vote
Other Commonwealth citizens, including people whose

• claims for asylum or humanitarian protection have had a final refusal, or
• who have overstayed their visa, or 
• who entered the UK irregularly,

have no right to vote.

You cannot have the right to vote in the UK if you are not a citizen of a Commonwealth country, or if you are not a citizen of an EU country. This means, for example, citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, USA, Brazil, etc. can't ever vote in UK elections (unless they become British).

George House Trust offers this information in good faith. If you are in doubt about your right to register for a vote, you can ask your local Citizen's Advice Bureau, or your immigration / asylum adviser. We suggest you print this information and take it to them, with your passport and any official letters or papers about your immigration or asylum situation.

Official Guidance
The Guidance for Electoral Registration Officers says
Commonwealth citizens - Entitlement to vote
6.14 Qualifying Commonwealth citizens are entitled to register as Parliamentary and as local government electors provided that they also fulfil the age and residence requirements for such registration and are not subject to any other legal incapacity.
Meaning of ‘qualifying Commonwealth citizen’
6.15 A person who is a Commonwealth citizen is a qualifying Commonwealth citizen for registration purposes if they do not require leave to remain in the UK or they do require leave to remain in the UK but have been granted such leave or are treated as having been granted such leave.
6.16 Any type of leave to remain is acceptable, whether indefinite, time limited or conditional.
6.17 Qualifying citizens of the following countries meet the nationality criteria to register in respect of all elections.
Commonwealth countries
Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Asylum
6.18 The fact that an applicant or elector has claimed asylum has no connection to their right to be registered as an elector ….. The Electoral Registration Officer can only make enquiries as to nationality and whether a person has any type of leave to remain in the UK.