About PIRU

Not Party Political

BKIND and PIRU are not affiliated to any political party, or, in deed, any other organisation; and we do not support or favour any political party. Our aim is to influence, through education and argument, the policies of all the main parties, including whatever party happens to be in power. Such influence will be attempted always, and only, in the interests of promoting democratic practice, civil rights and social inclusion.

PIRU and BKIND

BKIND was established in 1998 to help tackle the problems of the older homeless in Romania. In 2004, following completion of the main Romanian project, PIRU was set-up as part of BKIND - to enable us to address a wider range of issues in the UK and overseas.

The work of PIRU now accounts for most of the work of BKIND. Therefore, and so as to avoid confusion, we will be changing the registered name to PIRU and will cease to use (other than in a historical context) the name BKIND.

Aims and objectives

Our aim is to enhance democratic practice, civil rights, and social inclusion, through conducting, and campaigning on the basis of, ethical, honest, and rigorous research.

Our current objectives (covering the period 2005-2008) include making a significant contribution to the achievement of:

  • an increased UK Government compliance with the European Convention for the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, and the Human Rights Act;
  • legal protection in the Disability Discrimination Act (at present, with the exception of victimisation, restricted to those who meet the narrow definition of disabled) being extended to include protection against discrimination which is ‘on the grounds of impairment’;
  • the ‘legal representation’ level of Community Legal Service funding becoming available for cases in Employment Tribunals; and
  • the future Commission for Equality and Human Rights effectively enforcing equality legislation, with mechanisms being put in place (involving, for example, greater Parliamentary scrutiny) to help ensure that this happens.

Structure

PIRU is a small organisation, with no paid staff, and an average annual income of £700. All the work has been done by trustees or friends of trustees, and the entire income has come from trustees. We believe, however, that PIRU has had an impact - on the lives of individuals helped and on the policy debate - which has been greatly disproportionate to it’s size and expenditure.

We now aim to build upon this success, and to further capitalise on PIRU’s competencies. In particular, we will begin fund-raising (especially through applications for research grants); will charge local authorities, and larger charities, for some services; aim to take on one part-time member of staff within the next 18 months; and will be launching a membership scheme, and recruiting a panel of advisors and a team of ‘participant researchers’. See ‘Getting Involved‘.

Open and Transparent

We believe that it is important for PIRU to be open and transparent, so as to, in particular, enable others to better assess:

  • our research, and determine whether the findings are worth using (either in relation to further research or in relation to making or amending governmental and other policies);
  • our ethos, and activities, and determine whether PIRU is worth supporting, or continuing to support; and
  • our compliance with legal obligations.

However, we will withhold information when:

  • we have a duty of confidentiality, such as, for instance, to research participants;
  • revealing the information might cause unethical harm (as opposed to, for instance, the harm which a firm might suffer as the result of an honest and true report of it’s illegal practices); or
  • the information constitutes tactics and strategies, and revealing it, to other than those involved with PIRU, is likely to substantially undermine effectiveness.

In line with our wish to maximise openness, our charitable objects, accounts, and trustee details, are available in a PDF of ’Organisation Information’. Please contact us if you can’t find some information you require.