Review of the Papers, Tuesday 13 February

Government

• Senior Whitehall figures are accusing ministers of creating a "culture of fear" in the Home Office that they claim is directly contributing to the department's catalogue of failures. They say officials have been so bullied by ministers - notably former home secretary David Blunkett and John Reid - that civil servants are now unwilling to give their political masters bad news. One cited example is the row over the failure to register data about Britons who commit offences abroad - only the latest in a series of debacles. One official has been suspended amid claims that ministers were not told what was happening. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/77e48296-bb06-11db-bbf3-0000779e2340.html
• As few as three uniformed police officers are available to patrol the streets, respond to 999 calls and tackle night-time disorder in some towns and city areas, according to research into the experiences of front-line Pcs. Despite record numbers of police officers overall, many commanders in local divisions in England and Wales - typically based in a station in small and medium towns - can call on just five or fewer uniformed officers per duty shift, the academic study shows. Those who are available are often tied up in bureaucracy for up to half their eight- or 10-hour shifts. The shortages are particularly acute at night, when police are most needed to deal with drunken hooligans. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=G3NYO20B5POFDQFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2007/02/13/npolice13.xml
• Senior judges are strongly opposed to plans by ministers to restrict their power to quash guilty criminals' convictions because there has been a mistake in the trial process. It is the latest of the Home Secretary's plans for rebalancing the criminal justice system to fall foul of the judiciary. Critics say that the highest courts should have a last-resort power to denounce flagrant abuses by the state by striking down improperly secured convictions. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article1377202.ece
• Proposals aimed at heading off Government plans to penalise employers and recruitment firms by making them liable for tax unpaid by contract workers are to be presented to the Chancellor. The Association of Technology Companies has drawn up alternative plans based on reinforcing due diligence checks carried out by its members when vetting managed service companies used by contract workers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/02/13/cbatc13.xml
• Social housing tenants will be given the chance to get a foot on the property ladder even if they can afford only 10% of the value of their home, the communities secretary, Ruth Kelly, will say today. She will argue that Labour should offer a new "right to own" matching the Tory "right to buy" of the 1980s. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2011698,00.html
• The transport secretary, Douglas Alexander, was under increasing pressure yesterday after he attempted to contain a snowballing campaign against Labour's plans to introduce road pricing. With tens of thousands every day signing an online petition against a mooted pay-as-you-drive congestion tax, Mr Alexander dismissed some of the petitioners' arguments as "myths" and warned motorists the government had no choice but to deal with "the growing problem of congestion". "We don't have the kind of luxury of doing nothing, if we are not going to see the kind of gridlock found in American cities," he said. http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2011953,00.html

NHS

• The National Health Service is delaying paying bills and cutting orders for supplies as it tries to balance its books, according to the trade associations whose members supply the service with everything from scanners to diagnostic tests. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e30c4d3c-bb07-11db-bbf3-0000779e2340.html
• The care of patients on the NHS risks being compromised by the Government’s flawed implementation of a multi-billion-pound computer system linking doctors and hospitals, according to one of the project’s senior executives. A lack of vision and poor understanding of the sheer size of the task meant that the IT overhaul “isn’t working and isn’t going to work”, Andrew Rollerson, an executive with Fujitsu, one of the system’s providers, said. In a rare public statement by a key player in the £6.2 billion project, much of which has been shrouded in contractual secrecy, Mr Rollerson said there was a danger that patient care would not be delivered effectively. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1375404.ece
• The health of children is at risk because an NHS computer system wrecked 20 years of accurate immunisation records. Faulty software introduced in 2005 has left some primary care trusts (PCTs) unable to track whether children have been vaccinated and screened for genetic conditions, raising fears that many are unprotected against diseases. Parents are not being reminded when their children are due for jabs and check-ups. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1375405.ece
• Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, faced accusations of cronyism last night as figures showed NHS trusts are being packed with Labour activists. Seven out of 10 people appointed to the boards of hospital and primary care trusts who declared a political affiliation said they were Labour supporters. In contrast, only one in six were Tories and one in eight were Liberal Democrats, according to the independent NHS Appointments Commission. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/13/ncrony13.xml

• Gordon Brown will have to give MPs a vote on the Olympics budget as prime minister, offering the Conservatives the pretext to attack him over its soaring costs, say Whitehall insiders. The event is becoming increasingly politicised, with mounting criticism of the chancellor over its budget and funding. The Tories have set up an Olympics scrutiny panel, prompting ministerial accusations they are exploiting the games. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/97acf3ce-bb06-11db-bbf3-0000779e2340.html

• David Cameron's repositioning of the Conservatives was attacked from within his own ranks yesterday as he was accused of deliberately misrepresenting the views of the party's right. Edward Leigh, president of the Cornerstone group of MPs and Mr Cameron's most persistent backbench critic, sharpened his attack in an article for House Magazine. "My concern is that we are in danger of taking our core vote for granted and in the process effectively disenfranchising millions of decent people who feel that none of the mainstream parties speak for them," he wrote. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,2011696,00.html

• Leading mobile phone operators in the European Union could save billions of euros on third-generation network access under a proposal to be launched next month by Brussels. Groups such as Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile, would for the first time be allowed to offer lucrative 3G services on their existing second-generation networks, as part of the biggest overhaul yet by the European Commission of radio spectrum laws. The call by the European Commission to relax the rules represents a victory for the industry, which wants to increase handset use after spending billions of euros on licences for the 3G technology at the start of the decade. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ab5a4ef2-bb07-11db-bbf3-0000779e2340.html
• Britain is trying to block new European rules that would set binding targets on renewable energy generation to tackle climate change, according to leaked papers. The European commission wants to force member states to generate 20% of their energy by 2020 from green sources such as wind power and wood chip boilers. But Britain has argued against such a binding goal, saying countries need the "flexibility" to set their own targets. http://environment.guardian.co.uk/energy/story/0,,2011782,00.html