Latest news with #JGI
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP PIP review shows payments that are being reduced
Greater numbers receive enhanced payments following change in circumstances reviews (Image: JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images) The Department for Work and Pensions has released figures that show how many and which payments are changed when Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims are reviewed. People receiving PIP worry their benefits may be slashed - or even terminated completely - when their award undergoes reassessment, either at the conclusion of its fixed period or when they report a change to their health condition. DWP statistics covering the period up to the end of April 2025 reveal that the vast majority of people whose claim undergoes review see their payments maintained at the same rate or boosted. Only a small proportion are informed their PIP is being reduced or halted. More people receive a higher payment following a change in circumstances review, as this typically occurs when claimants report their health has deteriorated, which would mean they require additional financial support, reports Birmingham Live. People receiving Personal Independence Payment worry their benefits may be slashed (Image: PixelsEffect via Getty Images) Government guidance accompanying the statistics states: "From May 2020 to April 2025 (the last five years), 1.5 million (76%) of the 1.9 million planned award reviews resulted in an increase or no change to the level of award received by the claimant". "450,000 (87%) of the 510,000 changes of circumstances resulted in an increase or no change to the level of award received by the claimant. "The difference reflects the fact that many PIP claimants report a change of circumstances when their condition or disability deteriorates and their needs increase." These are the figures for the past five years from May 2020 to April 2025. Planned Award Review (at end of fixed term) Award increased: 18 per cent Award maintained: 58 per cent Award decreased: 6 per cent Award disallowed: 17 per cent Withdrawn or voluntarily relinquished: not applicable Change of Circumstances Review (when the claimant reports a change) Award increased: 46 per cent Award maintained: 42 per cent Award decreased: 4 per cent Award disallowed: 7 per cent Withdrawn or voluntarily relinquished: 3 per cent Only a small proportion are informed their PIP is being reduced or halted (Image: FG Trade Latin via Getty Images) Who can claim PIP? The guide sets out clear criteria for eligibility. You can apply for Personal Independence Payment if: You are aged 16 or over and have not reached State Pension age. You have a health condition or disability. You have had this health condition or disability for 3 months. You think it will last another 9 months. What does PIP help with? The guide explains that PIP is designed for people who need extra support with: Washing, bathing, or using the toilet Getting dressed or managing clothes Preparing and eating food Taking medicine or managing treatments Talking, listening and understanding Being with other people Managing money Planning a journey or moving around How much is PIP worth? PIP component Weekly rate Monthly equivalent Daily Living – Standard £72.65 £290.60 Daily Living – Enhanced £108.55 £434.20 Mobility – Standard £28.70 £114.80 Mobility – Enhanced £75.75 £303.00 How to apply Claimants should start by calling the PIP claims line. They can ask someone to help or speak on their behalf. The number to call is: Telephone: 0800 917 2222; Textphone: 0800 917 7777 Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Help is also available through Citizens Advice and local support groups. The DWP says: 'If you find it hard to claim, someone can help you. This could be a friend, family member, carer or support worker. You can also ask a support organisation like Citizens Advice.'
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jane Goodall chimpanzee conservation project in Tanzania hit by USAID cuts
The US government funding cuts will hit a chimpanzee conservation project nurtured by the primatologist Jane Goodall. USAID has been subjected to swingeing cuts under Donald Trump, with global effects that are still unfolding. Now it has emerged that the agency will withdraw from the Hope Through Action project managed by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). USAID had pledged $29.5m (£22m) over five years to the project, which was designed to protect endangered chimpanzees and their habitats in western Tanzania. Launched in November 2023, the project is intended to protect endangered chimpanzees through reforestation and 'community-led methodology' in order to conserve biodiversity conservation and improve local livelihoods. Its work is built upon Jane Goodall's 'redefined species conservation' by highlighting the importance of cooperation between local people and the natural environment to protect chimpanzees from extinction. According to JGI figures, chimpanzees have become extinct in three African countries, and overall population numbers have fallen from millions to below 340,000. Goodall criticised Trump during his first term in office when he signed an executive order dismantling Barack Obama's clean power plan. She called Trump's climate agenda 'immensely depressing'. In collaboration with JGI Austria, Ecosia – a Berlin-based search engine that donates 100% of its profits to climate action – has offered $100,000 over the next three years to further JGI Tanzania's Gombe reforestation project. The donation far from covers the original funding amount, but it is intended to pay for the planting of 360,000 seedlings, work put at risk after the project was defunded. The director of JGI Austria, Diana Leizinger, said: 'We refuse to abandon people and nature. Where hope could have been destroyed, we are helping it grow again.' An analysis in April by Refugees International found that 98% of USAID's awards related to the climate had been discontinued. USAID was approached for comment.
The Independent
17-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump's aid cuts leave ‘critical' Jane Goodall chimpanzee conservation project in crisis
A major chimpanzee conservation initiative in Tanzania supported by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has reportedly lost nearly $30m in US government funding. The five-year 'Hope Through Action' project, launched in November 2023 by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), aimed to protect endangered chimpanzees and restore their habitats through reforestation and community-led conservation. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), awarded $29.5m (£22m) for the project, but is now pulling out amid president Donald Trump 's decision to cut most of the country's foreign aid funding. The Institute confirmed to The Independent that USAID's withdrawal came just 18 months into a planned four-year performance period for Hope Through Action (HTA). 'Overall, HTA was a continuation of a 20-year partnership with USAID to promote local governance and conservation of natural resources in western Tanzania,' Diana Leizinger, director of JGI Austria, told The Independent. 'The total amount awarded in 2024 to JGI to implement HTA was $29.4m. Programme expenses up to the termination of the award in March 2025 were $4.6m. The termination resulted in an immediate 2025 reduction in funding of $5.5m,' Ms Leizinger said. JGI warned that USAID's withdrawal could have wider ecological consequences. 'JGI's work in the region and the country have been fundamental to supporting generations of chimpanzees over the last 65 years of work in Tanzania, including the estimated 2,000 chimpanzees that live there today,' Ms Leizinger said. 'This critical capacity has led to the designation of 700,000 hectares (1.75 million acres) as district and village forest reserves and a 50 per cent reduction in deforestation rates in the target landscape when compared to a control area. 'It has been a key factor in restoring forests, watersheds and stabilising and protecting populations of wildlife such as chimpanzees, elephants, buffalos, and lions.' 'JGI is committed to moving forward in Tanzania with our partners, particularly at the community level, while seeking diverse sources of funding. The work in the Gombe region and Western Tanzania is too important to neglect.' Chimpanzees have become extinct in three African countries, and their population in the wild is 300,000, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Ms Goodall, who has championed chimpanzee protection for over six decades, has criticised Mr Trump's environmental policies in the past. Her conservation model emphasises collaboration between local communities and ecosystems, aiming to reduce conflict and promote sustainable development. Mr Trump cut USAID funds in January, saying the organisation that provides humanitarian aid abroad is 'not aligned with American interests'. The Trump administration is also poised to ask Congress for $8.3 billion in cuts to foreign aid efforts, which range from climate work to LGBTQ+ programmes, The Independent previously reported. The decision has derailed the projected end of the AIDS pandemic and means the number of AIDS-related deaths could jump from six million to 10 million in the next five years unless aid is reinstated. Data projections indicate there will be 3.4 million more orphans who have lost at least one parent to AIDS, and 600,000 more newborns could contract HIV by 2030. USAID funding was crucial for climate and environmental efforts around the world. Though the US only spent one per cent of its federal budget on foreign aid, it funded a quarter of all global support, data shows.
The Guardian
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Jane Goodall chimpanzee conservation project in Tanzania hit by USAid cuts
The US government funding cuts will hit a chimpanzee conservation project nurtured by the primatologist Jane Goodall. USAid has been subjected to swingeing cuts under Donald Trump, with global effects that are still unfolding. Now it has emerged that the agency will withdraw from the Hope Through Action project managed by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). USAid had pledged $29.5m (£22m) over five years to the project, which was designed to protect endangered chimpanzees and their habitats in western Tanzania. Launched in November 2023, the project is intended to protect endangered chimpanzees through reforestation and 'community-led methodology' in order to conserve biodiversity conservation and improve local livelihoods. Its work is built upon Jane Goodall's 'redefined species conservation' by highlighting the importance of cooperation between local people and the natural environment to protect chimpanzees from extinction. According to JGI figures, chimpanzees have become extinct in three African countries, and overall population numbers have fallen from millions to below 340,000. Goodall criticised Trump during his first term in office when he signed an executive order dismantling Barack Obama's clean power plan. She called Trump's climate agenda 'immensely depressing'. In collaboration with JGI Austria, Ecosia – a Berlin-based search engine that donates 100% of its profits to climate action – has offered $100,000 over the next three years to further TGI Tanzania's Gombe reforestation project. The donation far from covers the original funding amount, but it is intended to pay for the planting of 360,000 seedlings, work put at risk after the project was defunded. The director of JGI Austria, Diana Leizinger, said: 'We refuse to abandon people and nature. Where hope could have been destroyed, we are helping it grow again.' An analysis in April by Refugees International found that 98% of USAid's awards related to the climate had been discontinued. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion USAid was approached for comment.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Rep John James joins race for Michigan governor. See the full list of 2026 candidates
U.S. Rep. John James, a Republican, this week announced he is running for Michigan governor, the seventh person to enter the race for the position. "Our state has suffered long enough. Michigan is strong. Our people are strong. But we are being held back by a lack of strong, competent leadership — leadership with real-world experience in the areas Michiganders need most," James said in a statement April 7 posted to X. Since January, seven people have announced plans to seek the state's highest office, including three Republicans, three Democrats, and one longtime Democrat running as an independent. Several other individuals have said they are considering their own campaigns or have created gubernatorial campaign finance committees. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term limited and will leave an open field for the 2026 gubernatorial election. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, also Democrat, on March 11 had been the most recent candidate to join the race to succeed Whitmer. The next governor will take office in 2027 after Whitmer's term expires. To qualify for the ballot, candidates for governor must submit petitions with a certain number of voter signatures. Currently, the Michigan Secretary of State website does not list deadline dates for when candidates in the 2026 election must file nominating petitions. Deadlines for 2026 haven't been written yet, spokesperson Cheri Hardmon previously said, but "we will likely have them to post by the fall." For partisan candidates, the deadline is 15 Tuesdays before the August primary election and for candidates filing without party affiliation, it's 110 days before the November election. Declared major candidates include Democrats Gilchrist, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Republicans James, Anthony Hudson and State Sen. Aric Nesbitt. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an Independent. The next election for governor of Michigan is Nov. 3, 2026. The 2026 primary election is Aug. 4, 2026. Here's a closer look at the declared candidates (in order of when they created their campaign committee) and those considering running for governor. James, 43, who represents the 10th Congressional District, served as president of James Group International (JGI) and CEO of Renaissance Global Logistics — a supply-chain management and logistics services company based in Detroit. He served eight years of active duty military service as a Ranger-qualified aviation officer leading two Apache helicopter platoons during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2007-09. He is the state's only Black congressman. He ran for U.S. Senate twice unsuccessfully before taking on this newly created seat in 2022 and winning by a narrow margin. James, of Shelby Township, has also showered attention on Selfridge Air National Guard Base and worked to bring earmarks back to the district. "For the past seven years, Michigan has been dominated by radical, out-of-touch policies that have hurt our families, our communities, and our economy," he said in his campaign launch statement. "It's time to get Michigan's government out of fantasyland and back to common sense." Gilchrist, 42, grew up in Detroit and Farmington, and studied computer engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. He worked as a software engineer at Microsoft in Washington state, where he also was a social media manager for former President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. After moving to Washington, D.C., he worked for a liberal advocacy group. When he returned to Detroit, he worked for the city as its director of innovation & emerging technology. Gilchrist has been Whitmer's lieutenant since she was first elected. "I am about results. And engineers get things done. Engineers are not worried about the politics. They're worried about the problem and the solution and that's where my head will always be and I will be ready and willing, eager frankly, to solve problems alongside anyone who has that same mentality," he told the Detroit Free Press in a phone interview. Swanson was elected Genesee County sheriff in 2020. He won reelection in 2024. Swanson grew up in Grand Blanc and currently lives in Fenton, both Genesee County cities. He has worked in law enforcement for almost three decades, according to the Genesee County Sheriff's website. Swanson attended Mott Community College in Flint, and holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree in public administration, both from the University of Michigan. During a campaign kickoff event, Swanson named protecting Michigan residents' 2nd Amendment, collective bargaining and civil rights as some of his priorities as well as the freedom to worship, in a speech in which he invoked his own faith, saying the Lord had opened doors for him. Benson, 47, was first elected Secretary of State in 2018 and then again in 2022. As Michigan's chief elections officer during the 2020 election, Benson spoke out against President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his loss that year. In addition to her election duties, Benson also oversees motor vehicle services in Michigan. During her time in office, Benson has moved more services online and, with self-service kiosk stations in Michigan, drivers have replaced in-person visits to a Secretary of State office with a trip to the grocery store. Before serving as Secretary of State, Benson was dean at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. "I want Michigan to be the best place in the country to be a kid, raise a kid, and be healthy, safe, and successful. A place where government is efficient and easy to deal with, where businesses and communities thrive, and where every resident has access to quality child care, health care, education, and housing," Benson said in a statement. Nesbitt, 45, is a Cass County Republican, who grew up on a farm and has a long career in Republican politics. He was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2010, serving three terms in the chamber. He was elected to the Michigan Senate in 2018. When Democrats flipped that chamber from Republican to Democratic control in the 2022 election, his fellow GOP lawmakers chose him to serve as the Senate Republican Leader. "As governor, I will put Michigan first by supporting taxpayers over the woke left, empowering parents, keeping families safe, and standing with President Trump to revive our manufacturing industry and Make Michigan Great Again," Nesbitt said in a statement. Hudson, a Grand Blanc resident, was born in Hillsboro, Texas, and served in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2001. He moved to Michigan in 2012, his online biography says, to be near his children after his divorce. His career experience includes owning a small trucking company, Longhorn Logistics, according to Ballotpedia. Hudson is running for governor to eliminate property and state income taxes, demand transparency and accountability, and return power to local communities where it belongs, he says on his website. Duggan, 66, is a Detroit native and was elected the 75th mayor of Detroit in 2013. He took office as mayor in 2014 and is currently serving his third four-year term. After graduating from law school at the University of Michigan, he became an attorney for Wayne County, and then served for 14 years as deputy Wayne County executive, a biography on the city's website said. Duggan chaired the stadium authority and was involved in building Comerica Park and Ford Field, the downtown stadiums for the Tigers and Lions. He also oversaw the construction of the McNamara Terminal and modernization of Metro Airport, the website said. Duggan also was CEO of the Detroit Medical Center. Duggan says he wants to find ways to keep Michigan's young people in the state, improve public education, and expand access to affordable housing. He also hopes to end partisanship in Lansing. Numerous people are listed as having finance committees in place on the state website. Democrat Marni Sawicki has a Facebook page, Michigan Loves Marni, Governor, that says "Marni is the former mayor of Cape Coral, Florida. She was elected in 2013 and served for four years. She is now running to the next Governor of Michigan!" "Getting geared up for campaigning! Looking forward to getting out and meeting Michiganders!" a Jan. 27 post says. Sawicki also has a website, which notes she was born in Battle Creek, among other information. Republican Evan Space, of Grand Rapids, has formed a campaign committee and has a website stating he is running for governor. Space, a Traverse City native, calls for the elimination of all business taxes, statehood for the UP, bringing space launches to Michigan, the establishment of a U.S. military base and the reform of the Friend of the Court, among other goals. Republican Mike Cox, 63, hasn't announced a run, but said he's considering it in a Jan. 30 post on X. He served as Michigan's top law enforcement officer from 2003-10. He ran in the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2010, finishing third in a five-candidate field that year. Cox grew up in Redford Township. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1989 and went on to work for the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office and then the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. His wife, Laura Cox, previously served as the Michigan GOP chair during the 2020 election. Larry Hutchinson, with no party affiliation, Richard Fuentes, with no party affiliation, Republican Joyce Gipson and Republican Benita Carter have all filed paperwork forming candidate committees with the state since the last gubernatorial election in 2022. The Detroit Free Press has reported that former gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon is considering another run or may seek a Senate seat, which also will be open in 2026. The Detroit Free Press contributed reporting to this story. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan's 2026 gubernatorial race is getting crowded. Here's who's running
