Reform’s work on changes to the civil service was mentioned in yesterday’s Sunday Times in an article on the Conservatives’ plans to tackle public finances and transform the government.
Brendan Barber, the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, yesterday warned that public spending cuts could plunge the UK into a double-dip recession, driving unemployment above four million and threatening to provoke riots. However, Lord Mandelson will today give warning that Labour cannot solve problems “simply by throwing money at them”, while Gordon Brown will tomorrow pave the way for a much tougher stance on public spending (FT; Telegraph; Times; Independent; Mirror; ; City A. M.).
A YouGov poll on behalf of The Sunday Times suggested that voters recognise that spending cuts are unavoidable. 60 per cent of those polled said that spending cuts should be used to tackle the crisis as opposed to 21 per cent who think that raising taxes is the solution and 19 per cent who said they did not know (Times).
The Observer yesterday revealed that Labour are set to target benefits that are not means-tested, such as Child Benefits and the Winter Fuel Allowance, as a means of reducing public expenditure (Observer).
One of the Conservatives’ main housing policies has come under fire from house-builders, who have criticised a letter by Caroline Spelman, the Shadow Communities Secretary, to put major house-building projects on hold as the party seeks to transfer control of house-building to local communities (FT).
The Treasury has demanded the right to sanction Ministry of Defence projects costing over £100 million, a change from the £400 million limited established previously, in a move that could delay vital defence procurement (FT).
Television advertisements are set to escape the confines of the commercial break as the government reverses its opposition to product placement. This news comes as it emerges that the BBC may sell a slice of its lucrative Worldwide Division (FT; Telegraph; Times; Guardian).
The construction of homes targeted at low-income earners and first-time buyers hit a ten-year high in the first half of 2009 after an emergency injection of cast from the government (Times).
A new Conservative government could sell slabs of shares in nationalised banks to ordinary investors (FT).
Dozens of mail walkouts are planned around the country this week ahead of a nationwide strike ballot, as businesses yesterday called on the Government to intervene (Telegraph).
Interest in starting new UK banks has mounted among overseas banks and other financial services firms, but fear of tougher regulatory scrutiny is deterring would-be applicants (FT).
Britain may be forced to bail out offshore tax havens according to a draft report released by the Treasury, as Whitehall insiders warn that without help they may become illegal drug havens (Guardian).
In the FTSE’s worst ever year, top company directors saw their basic salaries increase ten per cent last year (Guardian; Mail).
Tax Payers Alliance Chief Executive, Matthew Elliot, has released figures in his new book Fleeced! that accuse Gordon Brown of costing every person in Britain £50,000 (Express).
One in four families are not informed when doctors decide that a patient in hospital is dying under a widely used NHS scheme for palliative care, a national audit has found (Times).
Experts call for a controversial national network of “shooting galleries” after hailing the success of trials that prescribed heroin to long term addicts. The trial, opened originally in South London during 2005 and then extended to four other locations has shown “major benefits” in cutting crime and reducing the street sale of drugs (Independent).
A ban on smoking in public places has led to a greater than expected fall in the number of heart attacks. Early results published by the Department of Health revealed heart attacks have dropped by ten percent since the introduction of the ban in July 2007 (Independent).
Teaching unions are gearing up to challenge Conservative education policy, rejecting David Cameron’s attempts to build a consensus over public service reform. In response, the Conservatives are preparing to face down criticism of its plans to introduce thousands of “free schools” (Times).
A third academy has failed its Ofsted inspection in a fresh blow to the Government’s flagship schools scheme (Guardian).
History in schools is under threat as thousands of children drop the subject at the age of 13, new research by The Historical Association revealed today (Mail).
Labour is funding trade union activity inside Whitehall with millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, The Times has learnt. Government departments are paying the salaries of dozens of union officials, some earning more than £60,000 a year, who do not work for the taxpayer (Times).
The speed at which ministers change jobs is hampering good government, according to a critique by Steve Bundred, the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission (FT).