Government
- Motorists will be offered incentives to take part in road-pricing experiments, under government plans to rescue its policy of reducing congestion by charging vehicles by the mile. Rather than forcing drivers to install a black box, to track their cars' movements, ministers hope to encourage volunteers by making the system financially attractive. The Government was taken by surprise by the strength of feeling against road pricing in the petition opposing the idea on the Downing Street website. It attracted 1.8 million signatures, compared with 5,000 for a petition supporting road pricing. The Department for Transport is developing an approach where drivers will be offered a choice: carry on paying motoring taxes or switch to a road-pricing meter in the car that could save money. Drivers could be offered a discount on fuel duty in return for agreeing to pay a distance-based charge, which would vary according to the level of congestion. DfT officials are studying an American trial in Oregon in which drivers who agree to pay a mileage charge have duty deducted from fuel bills. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1658091.ece
- Tony Blair plans to push through big education and health reforms in his final days in office in an effort to secure his legacy. Once the local election campaign is over, the Prime Minister will make a string of announcements in May and June, including the creation of up to 300 trust schools and an expansion of private treatment centres for the NHS. The self-governing trust schools, pushed through Parliament with the help of the Conservatives, and the network of private centres contracted to work on NHS patients have been deeply unpopular within the Labour Party. But Mr Blair, who accepted yesterday that he has only weeks to go, has earmarked dates in May to set out the plans, as well as fresh proposals on policy for the family. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1657873.ece
- Every new secondary school will be "green" under a radical initiative being planned by the Government. The Education Secretary, Alan Johnson, has won £100m from Chancellor Gordon Brown's comprehensive spending review to ensure all new secondary schools are designed to be carbon neutral or at the very least substantially reduce carbon emissions. Ministers are planning to refurbish or rebuild every secondary in the country by the end of the next decade. The programme will start with £110m to ensure that 200 new schools that are to be built over the next three years are designed to reduce carbon emissions. School designs that include such features as wind turbines, solar panels, insulated windows and low-emission light bulbs will account for £72m. In addition, £10m will be spent on twinning the schools with schools abroad to learn how to tackle issues such as rainforest preservation and planting new forests. http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2452382.ece
- The cost of seeing a lawyer is expected to rise with the disclosure that estimates for setting up a new legal complaints scheme have soared to nearly £50 million. The Lord Chancellor is proposing new machinery to regulate the legal profession and handle thousands of complaints from the public a year. But the estimated cost of creating the new system for policing lawyers has nearly doubled. On top of this, it could cost another £25 million a year to run the proposed new office for legal complaints. The increased cost, which would be passed to consumers in higher legal fees, is likely to fuel a revolt against the reforms in the Legal Services Bill when they come before the House of Lords today. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1658039.ece
- Parents could save £200 million a year if the Government scrapped a tax on school uniforms, according to the leaders of a growing campaign to abolish the duty. Campaigners argue that the tax is unjust, especially after the Department for Education and Skills began a campaign against overpriced school kit earlier this year. Graham Minelli, a committee member of the Schoolwear Association, which represents the industry, said: "It does seem a nonsense. The Government argues that school uniforms stop brand wars and stop bullying, and yet they tax secondary school uniform." Parents have to pay the full 17.5 per cent VAT on clothes for children aged 14 and over, including school uniform. However, children's clothes that are larger than certain sizes are taxed so that petite adults cannot avoid the duty. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/16/nkids216.xml
Conservatives
- David Cameron will promise today to put the train at the heart of the transport system, breaking with his party's reputation as the defender of the motoring lobby. The Conservative leader will say that trains are the most environmentally friendly way of getting around and demand that money raised from recent rail franchise auctions be spent tackling overcrowding. The Government is due to receive more than £4 billion from train companies by 2015. Mr Cameron will promise that if the Tories win power in 2009-10, they will look at new ways of enhancing the rail network. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1658087.ece
Liberal Democrats
- Homeowners could face a retrospective rise in stamp duty if they fail to install energy efficiency measures within a year of moving into their home, the Liberal Democrats propose today as they seek to fill "a yawning gap" in the government's climate change policies. The requirement to introduce the carbon saving package may also apply whenever a homeowner remortgages, or seeks planning permission to improve a home. Private sector landlords could also be required to install the package whenever they let or re-let a property.A targeted £2,000 subsidy would be available to introduce the energy-saving package, costed at between £5,000 and £10,000, which would cover combinations of loft, roof and floor insulation, draughtproofing and heating renewal. With the local elections under way, the Liberal Democrats are eager to neuter the threat from David Cameron's green policies. The aim is to introduce the packages into 1m homes a year, ensuring that the entire housing stock is improved by 2050. http://environment.guardian.co.uk/energy/story/0,,2058010,00.html