PoliticsUK - News

Budget to help poorer families - Osborne

2012-03-18T12:08:00.003+00:00

LONDON (Reuters)

Chancellor George Osborne said he would use his 2012 budget to help those at the bottom of the earnings ladder, hinting he could go further in lifting more people out of payingincome tax.

Osborne also said on Sunday the euro zone crisis and high oil prices posed a threat to the global economy.

"My priority is to help low and middle earners. That is where the bulk of the effort in the budget is going to be," he said on BBC television. "We want to see real and substantial progress on lifting low income people out of tax."

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne

Osborne, under pressure to revive a stagnant economy with rising unemployment and a squeeze on household incomes, was expected to present a neutral budget on Wednesday, sticking to a tough austerity plan which critics say has stalled Britain's recovery from the global financial crisis.

Government officials have indicated economic forecasts for growth and government borrowing which underpin the budget will remain broadly in line with Osborne's so-called autumn statement in November, when the growth outlook was revised sharply lower.

Any effort to accelerate progress in raising the income tax threshold towards or above a 10,000 pound ($16,000) goal agreed between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the coalition government could allow Osborne to removed a 50 percent income tax rate on high earners.

TAX CRACKDOWN

Osborne, singling out a tax paid on house purchases, said he would launch a crackdown on tax avoidance - an area often cited by governments for savings but treated with scepticism by economists.

"People have had their warning - they have got to pay stamp duty on the homes they live in," he said. "And we are going to deal with that in a very aggressive way."

With three years still to go before the next election - time for the economy to improve before voters have their say - Osborne's team have calculated they do not need to panic yet or abandon their austerity plan.

Headwinds remain - such as high oil prices and problems in the euro zone - threatening Britain's economy and, possibly, Osborne's strategy.

"Just because the European Central Bank is putting a lot of money into the euro zone does not mean some of the fundamental problems have been resolved and that remains a major risk to the UK and the rest of the world," he said.

The government will extend store trading hours on Sundays during the 2012 Olympics in an effort to capitalise on a larger than usual influx of tourists over the summer, hoping to give the economy a further nudge in the right direction.

The opposition Labour's finance spokesman Ed Balls, also speaking on the BBC, said the government should act immediately to soften its austerity stance to boost growth.

"On the big judgments - going too far too fast, the top rate of tax, do we need action now on jobs - the arguments we have made are in line with public opinion," Balls said.

($1 = 0.6312 pound)

PM And Obama: World Counts On UK-US Alliance

2012-03-13T08:07:00.000+00:00

David Cameron and Barack Obama have pledged to keep up the "essential relationship" between Britain and America, as the Prime Minister prepares to head to Washington for talks with the president.

Mr Cameron - accompanied by his wife Samantha, Foreign Secretary William Hague and Chancellor George Osborne - will arrive in Washington today for a two-day official visit.

The trip is one level below a full state visit, which only the Queen as Britain's head of state is entitled to in America.

The Camerons have been invited by Mr Obama following the president's visit to the UK in May last year.

The two leaders used a joint article in today's Washington Post to stress the warmth of trans-Atlantic relations.

"The alliance between the United States and Great Britain is a partnership of the heart, bound by the history, traditions and values we share," they wrote.

"But what makes our relationship special - a unique and essential asset for our nations and the world - is that we join hands across so many endeavours.

"Put simply, we count on each other and the world counts on our alliance."

The visit will include an official ceremonial welcome, including a 19-gun salute, a full state dinner and an unusual flying visit to a basketball tournament in Ohio .

Mr Obama will be whisking the Prime Minister to Dayton Ohio in Air Force One to view the March Madness championships of the college basketball season .

Mrs Cameron will be hosted by America's First Lady Michelle Obama on a series of visits to schools, helping promote her drive to prevent childhood obesity.

Away from the ceremony and symbolism, the agenda will be dominated by foreign policy and economic issues.

The world's failure to prevent the Syrian regime butchering its own people will be one issue the two leaders will need to address.

Events in Afghanistan have also made for a sombre backdrop.

The killing of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier is complicating efforts to plan for Nato's withdrawal from the country.

There is also mounting concern in Washington about Iran's nuclear programme and the possibility Israel may launch a unilateral operation to strike its facilities with potentially devastating consequences.

Mr Obama will be grateful for any British help in containing both the Iranian nuclear threat and the possibility of Israel taking matters into its own hands.

Both leaders will seek to exploit the political benefits of the visit.

PM And Obama: World
Counts On UK-US Alliance

Mr Obama can profit from arriving in a key election battleground state with a world leader on his wing when the two land in Ohio.

With Europe in serious economic and political trouble, Mr Cameron can highlight his party's assiduous cultivation of a more powerful ally on this side of the Atlantic and stress the economic benefits that brings in these troubled times.

The two men are thought to have a business-like relationship, speaking to each when necessary but avoiding the controversial cosiness Tony Blair shared with George Bush.

But they have plenty in common and a friendship that this visit is likely to deepen.

Website begins sex attack campaign

2012-03-11T19:03:00.001+00:00

A parenting website has launched a campaign to support sex attack victims as one in 10 women responding to its poll said they had been raped.

The survey of 1,600 women by Mumsnet found a tenth of those who responded had been raped and a third had been sexually assaulted.

But more than four in five of the victims did not report the attack to police due to concerns over low conviction rates, embarrassment and shame, the figures showed.

A total of 1,609 women chose to complete the survey online between February and March.

One in 10 women responding to a
Mumsnet poll said they had been raped

Launching the group's We Believe You campaign, co-founder Justine Roberts said society was less sympathetic to victims than it should be.

"We simply shouldn't accept that we live in a country where one in 10 women are raped and over one third sexually assaulted," she said.

"Things are made worse by the feeling among many women that they can't talk about these crimes for fear of being treated unsympathetically, denying them access to practical and emotional support when they need it most.

"The message from the men and women on Mumsnet is clear: we believe you - and we want others in society to start believing you too."

A total of 1,609 women chose to complete the survey by the Mumsnet Insight team online between February and March.

Alarm At 'Soaring Cost' Of London Olympics

2012-03-09T08:11:00.006+00:00

MPs have expressed concern the London Olympics will go way over its £9.3bn budget - and said it was "staggering" the initial estimates about security costs were so wrong.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has also raised doubts about the Games' legacy and warned the Olympic Stadium in Stratford must not become a white elephant.

The Government says it is confident London 2012 will come in under budget.

PAC chair Margaret Hodge said: "The venues and infrastructure of the London Olympic Games are on track to be delivered on time and within budget.

"However, the £9.3bn public sector funding package is close to being used up and we are concerned about whether the running of the Games will be held within budget.

"Taking into account costs outside the package, the full cost to the public of the Games and legacy projects is already heading for around £11bn."

Mrs Hodge said the committee was particularly concerned about "significant" increases in the security bill.

Games organiser Locog 's original estimate for the number of security guards in and around the Olympic venues was 10,000 - a "finger in the air" figure, according to the PAC report.

The Government announced in December the number had more than doubled to 23,700, with security costs rising from £282m to £553m.

"Locog itself now has almost no contingency left to meet further costs, even though it has done well in its revenue generation," says the report.

On legacy, the PAC report raises concerns over sports participation targets and the future of the Olympic stadium after a deal for West Ham United Football Club to take it over was scrapped.

Alarm At 'Soaring Cost' Of London Olympics

The report states that with only 109,000 new people regularly involved in sport against the original 1m target - which the Coalition chose not to adopt.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has rejected the figure of £11bn as being the true cost of the Games and defended the legacy aims.

A DCMS spokesman said: "With 140 days to go until the Olympic Games, we are on time and under budget, with over £500m worth of uncommitted contingency remaining.

"As we told the PAC in December we do not recognise the figure of £11bn. We have always been transparent about what is included in the £9.3bn.

"The cost of purchasing the Olympic Park land will ultimately come back to the public purse through the resale of the land after the Games and was therefore not included.

"Funding for the legacy programmes, that the PAC refer to, comes from existing business-as-usual budgets and we have been clear about this. These are for projects designed to capitalise on hosting London 2012 but are not an additional Olympic cost."

The DCMS said the legacy included regenerating part of east London and that tenants have been secured for six out of eight venues on the Olympic Park.

Stalking law plans 'half-hearted'

2012-03-08T19:33:00.002+00:00

David Cameron's plans to bring in a new law of stalking will leave the police needing to prove a fear of violence and will not solve the problems with the current system, Labour has said.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the plans risked being "half-hearted and over-complicated" and would not give victims the protection they needed.

Her criticism came after the Prime Minister told victims at a Downing Street reception to mark International Women's Day that the Government was determined to ensure "justice is done".

But Labour said bringing in two new offences in England and Wales - stalking, and stalking where there is a fear of violence - would leave police and prosecutors with the same problems.

Proving a fear of violence "has been very hard to make work in practice and has meant too many serious cases fell through the net", Ms Cooper said.

Tougher laws have been
announced to protect victims of stalking

"Under the government's proposals there is a serious risk that low sentencing will continue and many persistent stalkers could still be out of prison within weeks free to continue their behaviour. The Government must not waste time with half-hearted measures which deny victims the protection they need."

She called for a system based on the Scottish model instead, saying the Government should back a Labour amendment to the Protection of Freedoms Bill on the issue in the House of Lords on Monday.

But Mr Cameron said the Government was explicitly criminalising stalking, which he said "makes life a living hell for victims", to "show beyond doubt that stalking is a crime".

Home Secretary Theresa May added: "Stalking is an issue which affects many lives, often in devastating ways. That is why we are taking it seriously and introducing these new offences. Offenders need to know that they will be brought to justice for making others' lives a misery."

Police will also be given new powers of entry to investigate stalking offences, the Home Office said. At the moment, officers only have a right of entry in respect of conduct that puts people in fear of violence.

©Press Association 2012

UK 'Unprepared' For Key Security Threats

2012-03-08T16:31:00.000+00:00

The UK is unprepared for key threats to national security, according to a committee of Lords and MPs.

In its first report published today, the National Security Strategy (NSS) committee says key oversights include a lack of a long-term strategy over Afghanistan.

It questions why Afghanistan is not featured as part of our National Security Risk Assessment.

The committee's chair Margaret Beckett told Sky News: "The committee was concerned from the beginning that Afghanistan didn't feature in the National Security Strategy, and we were told that was because it was a current issue and the National Security Strategy was for the longer term.

"But the committee felt quite strongly that even though a date is set for the withdrawal of British troops, that doesn't mean it will cease to be a matter of national security."

The committee, which includes the former head of MI5, Baroness Manningham-Buller, also suggests a strategy to deal with the eurozone crisis is needed as "a matter of urgency".

It says the collapse of the single currency is "a plausible scenario" which could lead to "domestic and social unrest" as well as a surge of economic migrants.

As for the Arab Spring, the committee suggested the Government has been side-tracked by short-term crisis management dealing with issues like Libya and losing focus on risks over the horizon.

Mrs Beckett said: "The faster the world changes, the more necessary it is not to lose that capacity for long-term thinking. Otherwise you are just stumbling from one crisis to another without regard for where you are trying to get in the long-term.

"Because the Government hasn't really thought through and identified the long-term goals, when something unexpected comes up like the Arab Spring, like Libya, they don't have a proper context that guides the choices."

The NSS committee also suggested the Government "reflect deeply on its defence partnership with the US".

With Washington focusing away from Europe, the committee said: "It raises fundamental questions if our pre-eminent defence and security relationship is with an ally who has interests which are increasingly divergent from our own.

"The Government needs to decide if the UK will continue to be as involved in US military action as we have in the past if the US focuses on Asia Pacific."

A UK Government spokesman said: "A strategy for Britain's long-term security and prosperity is at the heart of the Government's approach to foreign policy.

"We remain vigilant and regularly take stock of the changing global environment and threats to our security, as well as opportunities for our country to make the most of all its assets and advantages in a networked world."

The NSS committee says the UK's security strategy needs to be subject to a much wider public debate.

Remploy closures risk to 1,700 jobs

2012-03-07T14:05:00.000+00:00

Remploy is proposing to close 36 of its 54 factories, with potential compulsory redundancies of more than 1,700 disabled workers.

Minister for disabled people Maria Miller said the Remploy board was proposing to close the sites by the end of the year because they were unlikely to achieve independent financial viability.

She said the £320 million budget for disability employment has been protected, adding that the money will be spent more effectively.

Minister for disabled people Maria Miller said Remploy
was proposing to close 36 factories by the end of 2012

In a written ministerial statement responding to a Government-commissioned review into disability employment, Ms Miller said savings from policy changes being announced will be used on "proven employment programmes" to benefit "many more" disabled people.

The minister said she had assessed "very carefully" the needs of Remploy workers, as well as the 6.9 million disabled people of working age who could benefit from greater specialist employment support.

She said: "The Government will reduce its current subsidy to Remploy from the beginning of the new financial year so that we cease funding factories which make significant losses year after year and restrict funding to those factories which might have a prospect of a viable future without Government subsidy."

Remploy will shortly begin consulting with unions on the proposed closure of the 36 factories and on the potential compulsory redundancy of 1,752 people at the sites, most of them disabled workers, she said.

Free nursery 'not lasting boost'

2012-02-03T08:14:00.001+00:00

Free nursery places for pre-school children may not have a lasting impact on their education, the Government's spending watchdog has suggested.

A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that it is not clear whether Government moves to fund nursery education for three and four-year-olds is leading to longer-term benefits.

Although it acknowledges there have been changes to free nursery education, and its link to children's results at age seven is not "straightforward", the NAO says the Department for Education "did intend that the entitlement would have lasting effects on child development throughout primary school and beyond".

The spending watchdog says free
nursery places for pre-school children
may not create long-term benefits

While children's development at age five has improved, results at age seven remain unchanged, the report says.

Nationally, 59% of five-year-olds achieved a good level of development in 2010/11 compared to 45% in 2005/06, it says. But it adds: "National Key Stage One results, however, have shown almost no improvement since 2007, so it is not yet clear that the entitlement is leading to longer-term educational benefits."

Children's Minister Sarah Teather said: "We are pleased that the NAO has recognised the progress made since we introduced free early education for three and four-year-olds. There is lots more to do - and the report also sets out important national and local challenges to be addressed.

"We are determined to improve the availability of quality places in disadvantaged areas, and offering free early education to around 40% of two-year-olds will help by bringing even more money into the system.

"We also want to examine in more detail how to make sure the significant improvements we are seeing at five feed through into better results at seven."

However Daniela Wachsening, education policy adviser at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "There is absolutely no doubt that high-quality early years education makes a massive difference to children's development, and is particularly important for children from disadvantaged families.

"But the Government is jeopardising the chances of disadvantaged children by cutting the grants to local authorities, which has led to the loss of high-quality early years places and drastic reductions in children's and family services to the detriment of the most vulnerable children."

Clegg: Lords irrelevant to public

2012-02-02T20:59:00.000+00:00

Moves by peers to vote down aspects of the
Government's welfare reform show they
are out of touch with voters, Nick Clegg said

The House of Lords showed it was out of touch with voters' concerns by trying to water down Government efforts to slash billions from welfare payments, Nick Clegg said.

A series of defeats inflicted on benefit reforms by peers, including leading bishops, were reversed by MPs on Wednesday despite protests from disability and poverty campaigners.

The upper chamber had sought to exclude child benefit from a £26,000-a-year household cap, exempt cancer patients from means testing and stop parents being charged to use the Child Support Agency.

Senior Tories have accused ministers of treating the Lords with "contempt" by using parliamentary convention to prevent the upper chamber proposing further changes in key areas.

Interviewed by parliament's The House magazine in the wake of the defeats, Mr Clegg, who is leading efforts to reform the Lords, suggested it was irrelevant to the public.

"When people are trying to pay the bills, and are worried about their jobs, and are worried their kids going to college and all the rest of it, I don't think the vast majority of people think about the House of Lords at all," he said.

"I don't think it impinges on their daily life at all. When it does, like it did this week, how can I put this politely? I suspect many people will think: 'I am not sure this is a chamber in real touch with my everyday concerns'."

He defended the opposition of some of his own party's peers to aspects of the Welfare Reform Billhowever, saying they had "totally legitimate concerns" over some issues.

They were often being asked to vote in some cases on things they "wouldn't do in a month of Sundays if it was a Liberal Democrat government", he pointed out.

Mr Clegg also expressed his fears that the international stand-off with Iran over its nuclear ambitions could end in conflict or provoke countries such as Israel to launch a military strike. "Of course I worry that there will be a military conflict and that certain countries might seek to take matters into their own hands," he said.

Deal with the past, urges McGrory

2012-02-02T20:15:00.000+00:00

The head of Northern Ireland's prosecution service has questioned if politicians have the will to tackle the fallout from the decades of violence in the region.

There is a long-running debate on how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles, with some victims calling for prosecutions in unsolved murders, and others demanding information on how and why their loved ones were killed.

Barra McGrory, director of the Public
Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland,
addresses the Committee on the Administration of Justice

Barra McGrory was a high profile defence lawyer before recently being appointed director of public prosecutions.

In a speech to leading human rights watchdog the Belfast-basedCommittee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), he said the question of dealing with Northern Ireland's past should be a priority.

"I think there is an imperative in the public interest that society finds a mechanism to deal with the past," he said.

"Whether that be simply giving more resources to the investigators to get on with the investigating, and then consequentially the prosecution service to prosecute cases if the evidence emerges, or whether or not society is ready for a solution to the past outside of the prosecutorial system, is a matter that I think this society needs to confront.

"In my view, the sooner it confronts it the better, but confront it it needs to."

Mr McGrory has said his decision to become a lawyer was heavily influenced by his late father Paddy McGrory, who acted in a series of high profile cases across the political divide but who rose to international prominence as legal representative for the families of three unarmed IRA members shot dead by security forces in Gibraltar in 1988.

He said that during his time as a defence lawyer, he rarely had reason to consider how the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decided whether or not to proceed with prosecutions.

But Mr McGrory said his role in public inquiries had stirred a greater interest in the issue. He added: "I think, perhaps even it would be safe to say that my representation of the (sectarian murder victim Robert) Hamill family was one of the reasons why I perhaps took an interest in this job, in that, for the first time as a lawyer I had to confront the difficulties faced by victims of a crime and how they related to the prosecution and how the prosecution related to them. And that brought home to me the importance of the role."

©Press Association

Thousands may lose criminal record

2012-02-02T19:05:00.000+00:00

Thousands of offenders could have their past convictions cleared from their record under Government plans.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke plans to reduce the length of time during which job applicants are legally required to disclose past criminal convictions.

Prison terms of up to six months would be spent two years after the end of the sentence, compared with seven years after conviction now, and only jail terms of four years or longer would never be considered spent, compared with all those of 30 months or longer now.

Justice Minister Lord McNally said: "First and foremost, criminals must be suitably punished for their crimes. But it is no good for anyone if they go to jail and come out and then can't get an honest job and so turn back to crime again.

Ken Clarke plans to reduce the time
it takes for a conviction to become spent

"That is why we are bringing forward reforms which will give offenders who have served their sentence a fair chance of getting back on the straight and narrow, while ensuring safeguards are in place to protect the public."

But Paul McDowell, chief executive of the crime reduction charity Nacro, called for the Government to go further. He said: "These long overdue reforms will significantly help those people who have offended in the past and are now living law-abiding lives.

"Reformed offenders face barriers to employment because of old criminal records hanging around their necks. Today's proposed amendments will mean that more people will be able to secure work, give something back to society and lead productive lives."

The reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 were proposed in an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Ministers have previously said they are keen to ensure that minor convictions as a juvenile do not blight young people's future prospects.

The previous Labour government had proposed a one-year disclosure period for non-custodial sentences, two years for jail sentences of up to four years, and four years for sentences of more than four years.

©Press Association 2012

Flood Defense Mechanisms are not a Priority to the Government, says PAC

2012-02-02T11:23:00.003+00:00

Flood Defense Mechanisms are not a Priority to the Government, says PAC

The U.K. government is not prepared to maintain an efficient flood defence. The government has recently decided to cut funds related to flood defence, highlighting their lack of commitment on this issue.

Though flood defence and protection is a national priority, the government has shown lack of interest and preparedness in maintaining an effective flood resistance system. Climate Change Risk Assessment has maintained that flooding heads the list of the 100 most acute national risks in the country amid climate change.

There is a wide gap between the funds allocated for flood defences and funds actually needed for the protection of 5 million homes. The cost of flood damage is estimated at £1.1 billion per annum, and is expected to rise due to ageing defences and climate change.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chair Margaret Hodge has said that protection from floods is a national priority and “the Department of Environment sees more funding coming from local sources”. However, in the current climate this may not continue as both local authorities and businesses are under mounting financial pressure.

Charles Tucker, chair of the National Flood Forum, agrees with PAC and expressed that the government is doing very little to address this cause. He believes this is exposing citizens to greater risk, highlighting that floods will not wait until the country is financially secure before striking.

Margaret Hodge

In its report, The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has observed that an increase in floods is likely, and damages are expected to amplify by almost 10 times.

Prime Minister David Cameron and environment secretary Caroline Spelman are aware of the risks, but the coalition government has slashed the budget by 27% during its first year in office. About 1,000 schemes have not been implemented due to lack of funds. The government has failed to provide a solution that guarantees access to flood prevention measures. This has left people vulnerable as the existing arrangements are due to expire in mid-2013 and the insurance industry has declared that households may not be able to insure themselves thereafter.

The government’s lukewarm approach has prompted The Association of British Insurers to publish the location of houses that are at extreme risk from floods, which may not receive assistance unless the government reacts proactively and comes up with an affordable financial scheme.

Source: eGov Monitor
Published Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 10:44

Prostate Cancer Drug 'Too Pricey' For NHS

2012-02-02T08:35:00.001+00:00

A drug which can extend the lives of men with late-stage prostate cancer has been ruled too expensive for use on the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says abiraterone (also called Zytiga) doesn't provide enough benefit to justify the price the NHS is being asked to pay.

Leading cancer experts said the decision was "disappointing" and a "huge blow" to patients who have very few treatment options left.

Cancer Research UK said the draft decision by Nice, which is still open to consultation, made "no sense" and Nice had used the wrong criteria to judge the drug.

Abiraterone was developed by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden in London after the discovery that some prostate cancers can produce their own testosterone.

It works in a new way, by blocking the production of male hormones in all tissues, not just the testes, including both the adrenal glands and the tumours themselves.

A phase III trial, reported last year in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved 1,195 patients from 13 countries.

Prostate Cancer Drug 'Too Pricey' For NHS

All had stopped responding to standard hormone therapies as well as second-line treatments such as chemotherapy drug docetaxil.

It showed that men survived an average of four months longer and suffered far less pain with abiraterone compared to those taking a placebo.

Although the average extended survival time was four months, some men did much better, including two who were still alive after starting the treatment in 2007.

Abiraterone has been regarded as a "success story" for the ICR following more than two decades of work to develop the drug.

Experts said it has not only improved survival for men with prostate cancer but has also changed the way scientists think about the disease.

Nice has ruled that although abiraterone is clinically effective, it is not good value for money for the NHS at the price set by the manufacturer, Janssen.

©

Concessions offered on benefits cap

2012-02-01T19:03:00.000+00:00

The Government has offered concessions over its £26,000 cap on benefits as MPs threw out changes to the controversial welfare reforms made in the House of Lords.

Once the changes come into force in April 2013, people who lose their job will be given a nine-month grace period to find work before the cap is imposed, employment minister Chris Grayling said.

Workless families currently receiving payments at a level above the cap will be given support to make them understand the need to find jobs before the April 2013 deadline.

At Prime Minister's Question Time, David Cameron challenged Labour to support the threshold, saying: "The cap is right and the cap is fair."

A Lords amendment, which was led by Church of England bishops and removed child benefit from the cap, was overturned by 334 votes to 251, majority 83.

Mr Grayling said the public "overwhelmingly" supported the Government's stance to introduce a benefits cap at £26,000 a year, equivalent to a gross salary of £35,000.

People who lose their job will be given a nine-month
grace period, employment minister Chris Grayling said

He said Labour had been guilty of "flip-flopping" on the issue, initially supporting a benefits ceiling before the party's peers supported an amendment in the Lords to exclude child benefit from any cap.

But in the face of concerns from Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes, and Mark Field, Tory MP for Cities of London and Westminster - who said they were worried families in the capital might have to move out because of the changes - Mr Grayling announced a number of concessions.

He said families would receive a 12-month grace period to find work, while those who lose their job through no fault of their own after being employed for a year would be given nine months in which to find new employment.

Meanwhile, households entitled to working tax credit would be exempted from the cap along with working households on universal credit after 2013.

Osborne should lay out euro crisis stimulus plans - IFS

2012-02-01T18:50:00.000+00:00

Osborne should lay out euro crisis stimulus plans - IFS

Chancellor George Osborne should publish broad stimulus plans for an emergency such as a break-up of the euro zone in next month's budget, the country's leading fiscal policy think-tank said on Wednesday.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that while austerity is needed in the coming years to fix public finances, the case for some short-term stimulus had strengthened as the economy has probably entered a mild recession.

But it acknowledged the large risks to even a temporary spending boost, saying any loss in market trust could cost Britain dearly as it has to issue 740 billion pounds to fund new borrowing and refinance maturing bonds over the next five years.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer
George Osborne arrives at the
Treasury in London January 25, 2012.
REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

"Regardless of whether or not Mr. Osborne thinks that a substantial short-term fiscal stimulus is appropriate at the moment, he should set out now broadly what he would do under alternative scenarios where the economic outlook for the UK is sharply weaker - such as were the Eurozone to collapse" it said.

IFS programme director Gemma Tetlow said clarity now could avoid accusations of any U-turn later.

"It might be reassuring for businesses and individuals that, if something were to go wrong, the government would be prepared and in a position to do something in the short-term," she said.

The debate about the need for a short-term boost is already heating up ahead of the budget, due on March 21, as the economy contracted by 0.2 percent at the end of 2011.

Chancellor Osborne has blamed the euro zone debt crisis for Britain's meagre economic performance over the past few months. The government has said it is working on plans for all eventualities but has so far refused to give any details.

Osborne announced more spending cuts in November to meet his main target to erase the budget deficit within five years as the weak economic outlook drives up borrowing.

A Treasury spokesman said the IFS's report supported the government's deficit policy. "The IFS say that ... any fiscal stimulus big enough to make a difference would undermine investor confidence and so risk higher interest rates," he said.

Consultancy Oxford Economics, which provided the IFS with alternative growth scenarios, said if the euro zone breaks up, Britain's economy would slump by 1.7 percent this year and 0.9 percent in 2012. Its central view is for 0.3 percent growth this year and 1.9 percent next, lower than the government fiscal watchdog Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast of 0.7 percent growth in 2011 and 2.1 percent in 2013.

The IFS said under its main scenario - using the OBR's growth forecasts - the government's net borrowing was likely to be nearly 3 billion pounds lower in 2011/2012, and some 9 billion pounds lower in 2016/2017 than the OBR itself predicts.

©Reuters 2012

David Miliband urges Labour rethink

2012-02-01T18:35:00.001+00:00

Labour needs "restless rethinking" of its purpose and its policies if it is to return to power, former leadership candidate David Miliband has said.

In his most high-profile foray into the political frontline since being defeated by his brother Ed in the 2010 poll, the former foreign secretary set out a seven-point plan for the party.

He said Labour must admit "loud and clear" where it got things wrong in power, but - in what may be seen as a defence of New Labour against his brother's criticisms - he insisted the party must assert that the gains made between 1997 and 2010 "far outstripped the mistakes".

Mr Miliband was careful to praise his younger brother's leadership, but his decision to set out his own thoughts on Labour's future direction will inevitably spark speculation that he has not ruled out a return to the party's top ranks.

David Miliband (right) says his brother
Ed deserves credit for his record as Labour leader

His intervention, in an essay in the New Statesman, came as Labour's former Chancellor Alistair Darling told the same magazine that the party needs to present its policies "in a sharper way".

David Miliband said his brother should be given credit for preventing disunity in the Labour ranks since its disastrous 2010 general election defeat. And he said his brother had shown he understands the need for a policy rethink and had spoken "powerfully and correctly" about welfare.

But he warned that there were elements within Labour who wanted to respond to defeat by retreating to "big state" social democracy.

And he said the party had "a lot to be concerned about" in terms of its prospects of electoral victory in 2015, when Conservatives will be boosted by their financial advantages and boundary changes which will favour them.

David Miliband wrote: "We will win again only when two conditions are met. First, that we fully understand in a deep way why the electorate voted against us in 2010. Second, that we clarify the kind of future we seek for Britain, and the means to achieve it, in a way that speaks to the demands of the time."

Labour must show they are "reformers of the state and not just its defenders", he said. "The weaknesses of the 'big society' should not blind us to the policy and political dead end of the 'Big State'. The public won't vote for the prescription that central government is the cure for all ills for the good reason that it isn't."

Fears 'thousands of elderly may die' as temperatures plummet across Britain

2012-02-01T16:55:00.000+00:00

Fears 'thousands of elderly may die' as temperatures plummet across Britain

Thousands of people could die as the big freeze keeps a tight grip on the UK, the Department of Health fears.

While the mercury continues to plummet every day, the Department has estimated that the excess death toll could be as many as 1,560 per week with the elderly – especially women and hospital patients – the most vulnerable in adverse weather conditions.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Department of Health’s chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser, said in a report: “Mortality rises by 19% in winter months in England, amounting to 27,000 excess deaths or 1,560 more people per week.”

Forecasters predict that by Friday the country will see temperatures as low as -10°C at night – with sub-zero temperatures lasting through February.

©Press Association 2012

Ford visits jail in bid to end row

2012-02-01T16:50:00.000+00:00

Ford visits jail in bid to end row

Stormont's Justice Minister is to visit Portlaoise Prison in the Republic as efforts continue to defuse a long-running jail dispute in Northern Ireland.

Around 30 dissident republican prisoners in Maghaberry jail in Co Antrim are involved in a so-called no wash or dirty protest against the jail's regime.

Objections to full body searches when leaving or entering the prison have sparked calls for the use of a special hi-tech chair, similar to that used in Portlaoise, to help prison staff to check for contraband without physically searching inmates.

David Ford said, however, that prison staff had adhered to agreements at Maghaberry and he doubted if the technology existed to entirely replace searches.

After a meeting of justice ministers from Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic and Scotland at Stormont, Mr Ford revealed he will visit Portlaoise within weeks to examine how it handles top security prisoners.

"As far as I am concerned the prison service is adhering to the agreement that was made with the separated prisoners in August of 2010," said Mr Ford.

Justice minister David Ford is to visit
Portlaoise Prison in the Republic as efforts
continue to end a long-running jail dispute in
Northern Ireland

"But there are clear issues around controlled movement which remain to be resolved which cannot be resolved while the difficulties are happening. There are also issues about technology to avoid full body searching. That is an issue that I am concerned we will make progress on for the whole of the Northern Ireland prison service estate.

"And if there are opportunities which develop, that maintain dignity for prisoners and prison staff, and also security for prison and prison staff, then we are willing to implement them."

Mr Ford said he would explore the possibility of employing new technologies. But the minister added: "At the moment I have no evidence that there is any technology as yet licensed for use within Northern Ireland that would meet all our needs."

The Republic's justice minister Alan Shatter said he had full confidence that Mr Ford was dealing with the prison protest appropriately.

Assange in bid to block extradition

2012-02-01T08:25:00.000+00:00

Assange in bid to block extradition

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is asking the Supreme Court to block his extradition to Sweden where he faces sex crime allegations.

The 40-year-old Australian begins his challenge on Wednesday before seven judges in the highest court in the land. He is attempting to overturn a High Court ruling that it would not be unfair or unlawful to remove him.

A key legal question before the Supreme Court justices is whether a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued against him by a Swedish public prosecutor is valid under provisions of the 2003 Extradition Act.

The Swedish authorities want him to answer accusations of "raping" one woman and "sexually molesting and coercing" another in Stockholm in August 2010 while on a visit to give a lecture.

Assange, whose WikiLeaks website published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments and international businesses, says the sex was consensual and the allegations against him are politically motivated.

Julian Assange says Swedish sex crime
allegations against him are politically motivated

The High Court upheld a ruling by District Judge Howard Riddle at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court, south London, that the computer expert should be extradited to face investigation.

Assange burst into the public consciousness in April 2010 when Wikileaks released Collateral Murder - video footage of a US air crew shooting Iraqi civilians in 2007.

The whistleblower website, which claimed a database of 1.2 million documents within a year of its 2006 launch, regularly hit the headlines in 2010 with a series of leaks.

By the end of the year he had become a minor celebrity. Upon his arrest in December 2010 he had a number of famous friends and supporters who helped him to raise bail of £200,000. He has been on bail and living at the country mansion of a wealthy supporter in Norfolk.

If the Supreme Court rejects his appeal it will mark the end of his lengthy legal battle in the UK, but it will still be open to him to ask the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to intervene on his behalf.

©Press Association

15,000 caught without TV licence

2012-02-01T08:18:00.000+00:00

15,000 caught without TV licence

More than 15,000 people were caught watching television without a valid licence in Northern Ireland last year.

This includes more than 4,600 in Belfast, 1,090 in Derry and 1,030 in Newry and Craigavon.

There were 3,415 cases dealt with by the courts in 2011 where an order was made following conviction. In nearly all cases a fine was issued.

Deborah King, TV Licensing spokeswoman, said: "People are given every opportunity to pay, but, if they fail to do so and watch TV illegally, we will seek a prosecution."

The number caught without a valid licence is down more than 4,800 on last year.

A total of 4,600 people in Belfast,
1,090 in Derry and 1,030 in Newry
and Craigavon were caught
without a TV licence last year

The vast majority of households in Northern Ireland possess a television. Across the UK the evasion rate remains steady at around 5%.

Ms King added: "On behalf of licence fee payers in Northern Ireland, we are committed to tackling evasion and enforcing the law amongst the small minority who should pay, but don't. It's only fair."

A colour licence costs £145.50 and is required by anyone watching TV programmes, whether they are using a TV set, computer, or any other equipment.

An unlicensed address will receive a number of reminder letters and possibly a phone call before a visit from an enquiry officer is scheduled - but if someone is then caught watching TV illegally, they risk prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.

Detector vans and handheld detectors can be used by enquiry officers to check if an unlicensed property is watching TV illegally, but the database is the main enforcement tool.

©Press Association 2012

Bid to reverse welfare defeats

2012-02-01T08:14:00.000+00:00

Bid to reverse welfare defeats

The Government will move to overturn seven defeats on its welfare reforms including a bishops' amendment to change a planned £26,000 cap on benefits.

The controversial Welfare Bill is being returned to MPs after peers went through the Government's plan line by line.

The most prominent showdowns came over the Government's £26,000-a-year benefits cap and plans to charge parents to access the Child Support Agency. A bishops' amendment, backed byLabour peers, seeks to take child benefit out of the cap.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "We have been very clear where we stand. The Lords' amendments will be overturned when the Bill comes back to the Commons."

Once MPs have finished considering the amendments the Bill will be returned to the Lords in a bid to agree a final text. The Bill could pass between each House several times in a process known as parliamentary 'ping-pong' as MPs and peers fight over the correct wording of the new law.

The Government's welfare reforms have
suffered a seventh defeat in the House of Lords

Speaking after the Welfare Bill cleared the Lords, welfare reform minister Lord Freud said: "I don't think we have seen the last of this Bill."

The Government suffered its seventh reverse in the Lords on Tuesday night over plans from crossbench peer Baroness Meacher to limit cuts to top-up payments made to the parents of disabled children.

The Government wants to introduce a slight increase to the weekly rate for the most disabled children, taking it to £77, while halving the lower rate to £27. Ministers argue the money saved will be spent on providing additional support to the most disabled adults.

Lady Meacher said the Government's plans would mean families with a child on the lower rate losing £1,400 a year.

Liam Byrne, Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, responding to the latest Government defeat, said: "Once again the Government tried to cross the line of decency, kicking away help from children with disabilities, and once again the Lords have stopped them."

©Press Association

Sir Fred Goodwin has lost his knighthood.

2012-01-31T17:06:00.001+00:00

Former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin has lost his knighthood.

The government took the rare step of stripping former Royal Bank of Scotland chief Fred Goodwin of his knighthood, following intense criticism of his role in RBS' near-collapse during the 2008 credit crisis, and public anger towards wealthy bankers.

"The failure of RBS played an important role in the financial crisis of 2008-9 which, together with other macroeconomic factors, triggered the worst recession in the UK since the Second World War and imposed significant direct costs on British taxpayers and businesses," the government said in a statement.

"Fred Goodwin was the dominant decision maker at RBS at the time," it added, explaining a decision taken by a committee of civil servants.

Goodwin had been awarded the knighthood in 2004 for services to banking, but has since come under heavy criticism from the public after taxpayer funds were used to bail out the stricken bank.

The government said it would soon be announced that Goodwin's knighthood had been "cancelled and annulled."

The Scottish banker spearheaded RBS' disastrous acquisition of Dutch bank ABN AMRO, which nearly caused the collapse of RBS during the 2008 crisis.

Sir Fred Goodwin has lost his knighthood.

RBS ended up having to be propped up with 45 billion pounds of taxpayers' money, with the government finishing up with an 83 percent stake in the bank.

It is very rare for Britain to remove people of their knighthoods, and Goodwin joins the ranks of figures such as former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu who forfeited an honorary knighthood.

The woes of RBS have come to symbolise for many in Britain more serious problems with the country's banking industry.

Many are still angry at the fact that bankers are continuing to get paid millions while elsewhere thousands lose their jobs as the economy weakens.

On Sunday, the current chief executive of RBS - Stephen Hester - was forced to decline a million pound share bonus after the award had been attacked by all major British political parties.

©Reuters 2012

Network Rail admits safety breaches over girls' deaths

2012-01-31T13:58:00.000+00:00

Network Rail admits safety breaches over girls' deaths

Network Rail has admitted three health and safety breaches over the deaths of two girls at an Essex level crossing in 2005, a court has heard.

Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, were hit by a train in 2005 as they crossed the tracks at Elsenham station footpath crossing in Essex. On Tuesday Network Rail (NR) indicated guilty pleas to three charges under the Health and Safety Act at Basildon Magistrates' Court and was committed for sentencing.

Olivia's father Chris Bazlinton said the move "proves that we have been lied to over the years". Charlotte's father Reg Thompson added: "The horror of that day is always with us and the huge hole in our lives left by Charlie will never be filled. In the aftermath of the accident, Network Rail claimed the girls had acted recklessly and that somehow their youthful exuberance led directly to their deaths, as if exuberance itself is a crime.

"I never believed that they were the architects of their own terrible end. It has taken six years to reveal the truth of what happened."

Network Rail said it would plead guilty to failing to carry out a sufficient risk assessment, failing to properly control protective measures at the level crossing and failing to prevent the girls from being exposed to the risks which led to their deaths. Network Rail will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on March 15.

Charlotte Thompson and Olivia Bazlinton were
killed at a level crossing in Essex in December 2005

Defence counsel Prashant Popat said: "Network Rail has already privately expressed regret and remorse for this tragedy. Today it accepts publicly that these faults caused the deaths of these two girls."

Olivia and Charlotte were killed on December 3 2005 as they crossed a footpath leading to Elsenham station platform. The crossing was fitted with warning lights and yodel alarms.

A London to Cambridge train passed over the crossing with the red lights and yodel sounding - a warning for foot passengers not to cross. After the train passed, the lights remained on and the alarms continued to sound as another train, travelling from Birmingham to Stansted Airport in Essex, was going to pass through the station.

The girls opened the unlocked wicket gates and walked on to the crossing. They were both struck by the Stansted train and killed.

In a statement released after the hearing, David Higgins, chief executive of Network Rail, said: "Last year I apologised in person to the families of Olivia and Charlotte. Today, Network Rail repeats that apology. In this tragic case, Network Rail accepts that it was responsible for failings, and therefore we have pleaded guilty."

HMS Dauntless off to Falklands

2012-01-31T12:26:00.000+00:00

HMS Dauntless is armed with high-tech Sea Viper anti-air missiles

HMS Dauntless off to Falklands

One of the Royal Navy's most advanced new warships is being sent to the Falkland Islands, the Ministry of Defence said. Officials said the deployment was long planned, however, and not a riposte to increased tensions over the sovereignty of the islands.

HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 destroyer, is due to set sail for the South Atlantic on her maiden mission in the coming months to replace frigate HMS Montrose.

It comes amid a diplomatic war of words over renewed Argentinian claims to what it calls Las Malvinas, with David Cameron accusing them of "colonialism".

The issue is especially sensitive as the 30th anniversary approaches of the liberation of the islands by Britain from an Argentine invasion.

A Royal Navy spokesman rejected suggestions the decision to send the ultra-modern destroyer to the region represented an escalation of the UK's position.

"The Royal Navy has had a continuous presence in the South Atlantic for many years. The deployment of HMS Dauntless to the South Atlantic has been long planned, is entirely routine and replaces another ship on patrol," he said.

Sister ship HMS Daring has already been sent to the Gulf for her first mission amid heightened tensions with Iran over threats by Tehran to block a busy shipping lane.

They are the first of six new destroyers which will replace the Type 42 vessels which started service in the 1970s. With crews of 180, they are the first to be built with a futuristic design that makes it difficult to detect using radar.

The Type 45s are armed with high-tech Sea Viper anti-air missiles and can carry 60 troops. They also have a large flight deck which can accommodate helicopters the size of a Chinook as well as take on board 700 people in the case of a civilian evacuation.

Water bills to rise to average £376

2012-01-31T10:06:00.000+00:00

Water bills to rise to average £376

Water and sewerage bills are to rise by around £20 from April, regulator Ofwat has said.

The average bill will increase by 0.5% above inflation to £376, taking into account a rate of inflation of 5.2%, the water companies' watchdog said.

The announcement comes after Ofwat pulled back from deep cuts in household bills in 2009 in its final decision on prices for the next five years.

The average water bill will increase
to 376 pounds from April

But the regulator has insisted that its challenge of companies' proposed bill rises means that across England and Wales average bills are set to remain broadly in line with inflation by 2015 - around 10% below what companies had asked for before inflation has been factored in.

Ofwat chief executive officer Regina Finn said: "When we set limits on prices, we listened to customers. They told us they wanted bills kept down while maintaining safe, reliable water supplies.

"We challenged companies hard to deliver this. Our decision meant that, before inflation, average bills would remain broadly stable between 2010-15.

"We understand that any bill rise is unwelcome, particularly in tough economic times. Inflation feeds through into water bills, and this is driving these rises. We will make sure customers get value for money."

She added: "Companies are investing £22 billion by 2015 - more than £935 for every property in England and Wales.

"This will deliver benefits to us all - from continuing to improve reliability of supplies to cleaner rivers and beaches.

"If companies don't deliver on their investment promises, we will take action."