Picking Losers

The Home Improvement Pack (HIP) disaster is slowly coming to the boil. The Law Society believes that Home inspectors could make up to £250 million a year on producing packs that never get used! If a property has been on the market for 6 months it will require a new HIP, leading to nearly half a million packs being pulped every year. With each one costing at least £500, the total bill would hit £250 million. Whilst 6 months will not be a legal requirement, in reality renewals will be required if the property is to sell. Nearly two million homes are put on the market every year, with a quarter going unsold after a year, it is estimated.

After reports yesterday about the Government issuing warnings to keep quiet about the their plans for fees on rubbish collections (on top of council tax), there are more reports today of "behind the scenes" policy making that would not go down well a week before major local and Scottish elections if they were big news. It appears that valuation officers are compiling an electronic database logging details of every home in the country - despite the government saying that this would not happen until after a general election. Internal government handbooks for the Valuation Office Agency, an arm of the Inland Revenue, showed that inspectors were empowered to enter homes and log features. The council tax manual states that although the revaluation exercise is delayed, "it is imperative that every opportunity is taken to maintain and further improve the extensive electronic database".

Government

Home inspectors could make up to £250 million a year on producing packs that never get used, causing huge waste for home owners trying to sell their homes, according to the Law Society. The prediction comes as leading professionals continue to call for a delay in introducing the controversial home selling scheme, which is due to start in June.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/27/nhips27.xml

Government:

• Health Minister Andy Burnham today published new guidance to help health bodies and practitioners deliver high quality convenient care closer to people's homes. Under government plans, GPs and Pharmacists with special interests will need to go through a new rigorous and fair form of accreditation to ensure they have the necessary skills to deliver efficient and effective patient care in the community that was traditionally only available in hospitals.

• The UK's current water policy framework is not robust enough, Environment Minister Ian Pearson said today as he launched a debate on a revised National Water Strategy. Speaking to an industry audience at an IPPR seminar on the link between climate change and water, Mr Pearson called for preconceptions and policies to change to meet the increasing challenges posed by changing climate, housing patterns and lifestyles.

It just gets worse! On NHS Blog Doctor, Dr Crippen is reporting that any applicant can see any correspondent sent by a candidate on the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) system, just by changing a couple of figures. This NHS recruitment system really is a shambles to say the least!

...read the comments for confirmation. Please take this out of the DoH hands, they are clearly completely incompetent.

The Guardian has revealed that there are 17 trusts that are heavily in debt and finally the NHS and Department of Health has admitted the problem. The debt is to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds at each of the trusts - 12 of which are not creditworthy enough to be lent money from government funds, according to David Nicholson the NHS chief executive. The DoH must now enter a phase of complete re-organisation to to help them survive.

This week's Picking Losers stories seem to be have been dominated by the rubbish collections and, less surprisingly, the NHS. Today is no different. I'll start with rubbish collections...

Government

• Householders will face a new tax on rubbish from next year under proposals to be announced by David Miliband next month, The Times has learnt. The Environment Secretary will disclose much tougher targets to recycle waste and will give councils new powers to levy charges on nonrecyclable rubbish. New regulations are expected to be attached to the Climate Change Bill to be introduced in July. The new proposals are likely to aggravate a public outcry over fortnightly collections of domestic waste brought in by cash-strapped authorities. Some councils, particularly those facing town hall elections, have changed back to weekly collections.

Government  

• A plan to help improve the training and development available to school teachers and contribute to raising school standards in England is published today by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The new national strategy for serving teachers' Continuing Professional Development (CPD) will ensure that effective, high quality training is available in the areas that need it most. Schools will be able to make better, more informed decisions about the training in which they invest.  
• A consortium of leading charities and a top London university have won a £30m grant to provide a new academy for parenting practitioners, following an announcement by Children's Minister Beverley Hughes today.
  

There is worrying news about the levels of MRSA and other "hospital" superbugs from an independent study done by Dr Foster Research. The study of 167 NHS hospital trusts in England found that infection control was in a state of disarray. Only 10 of the trusts had isolated 90% of individuals with MRSA - a standard that infection control experts regard as fundamental in the battle against hospital-acquired bugs. Trusts are reacting slow and screening patients outside the guideline times in most cases. Even more worryingly, deaths linked to hospital superbugs have increased dramatically.

A story that has been brewing for sometime now is that of the Home Improvement Packs or HIPS. By June 1st of this year everyone selling their house will have to have an inspector come round at the cost of £600-£1000 to issue the seller with the pack. The problems associated with this scheme have been foreseen for a long time but the government has done absolutely nothing about it.

When will this government learn that the more it interferes in our lives the worse things get? Why do they insist they know better all the time? The latest piece of interfering comes in the form of a £30m initiative (paid for by us...) for a new academy to coach parents on how to control tearaway children.

The old saying in politics goes "Turkeys don't vote for Christmas", and it seems the turkeys in the House of Commons are no different. Senior Ministers will back plans to give exemptions to MPs in certain areas of the Freedom of Information Act. The measures will mean restrictions on the release of MPs expenses claims in to the public domain. So whilst the rest of the public sector will be under the scrutiny of FoI, the very people who voted it in in the first place will be exempt.

Government

• Home Information Packs (HIPS) will cause chaos because of a lack of qualified inspectors, experts said yesterday as the Government faced increased pressure to delay the scheme. The Tories said they were planning a last-ditch attempt to block the introduction of the packs, which become compulsory on June 1 and could cost sellers between £600 and £1,000. "If we can stop them we will," said Michael Gove, the shadow housing minister, claiming that the project was nothing but "expensive and deficient red tape". The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said last night that the regulations surrounding the packs were "impenetrable, unclear and contradictory" and warned that they could be detrimental to the housing market and the wider economy. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=WZ1Q5FGCYALHFQFIQMGCFGGAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2007/04/25/nhip25.xml
• Almost one in five private finance initiative projects are still not making their owners money, a survey of almost 100 of them has shown. Profitability has improved since 2005, when the study was last conducted. Eighty-three per cent of contracts are profitable, with a quarter reporting "better than ex-pected" profits. But the survey found almost 20 per cent still did not make money, with almost 40 per cent saying they were making less money than expected. "Those sorts of figures give the lie to claims that the private sector is ripping off the public purse through PFI," said Mike Stevens, head of UK support services for KPMG, the consultants, which carried out the study with the Business Services Association, whose members provide cleaning, catering and similar services to schools, hospitals and other projects under PFI contracts. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d5af9e3e-f2c8-11db-a454-000b5df10621.html
• Senior ministers are backing a controversial bill to exempt parliament from the Freedom of Information Act as a second attempt is made on Friday to push the legislation through the Commons. The bill has the support of several ministers, including Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary; Tom McNulty, police minister; Andy Burnham, health minister; Ian Pearson, climate change minister; John Healey, financial secretary to the Treasury; and Keith Hill, parliamentary private secretary to Tony Blair. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,2064856,00.html
• Ministers have been accused of "nationalising the family" with plans for the first national college for parenting. In a move designed to crackdown on yobbish behaviour, the Government has earmarked £30 million for the new academy to coach parents on how to control tearaway children. It forms part of Tony Blair's "respect agenda" to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour, problem families and young offenders. The new academy - based at King's College, London - will act as an "international and national hub" to promote the latest ideas on how to raise children and implement recent Government reforms, including new courses designed to improve the bond between fathers and their children and catch-up lessons for parents with literacy and numeracy problems. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/25/nparent25.xml
• Thousands of patients risk contracting potentially deadly superbugs because NHS hospitals are not taking basic steps to stop the spread of infection, research for The Daily Telegraph reveals today. An independent study of 167 NHS hospital trusts in England found that infection control was in a state of disarray, with hospitals unable to reassure the public that they are screening and isolating enough infected patients. Only 10 of the trusts surveyed could provide data showing that they had isolated more than 90 per cent of individuals with MRSA - a standard that infection control experts regard as fundamental in the battle against hospital-acquired bugs. The findings, provided by Dr Foster Research, the independent health information company, raise serious questions about the Government's promise to make infection control a top priority. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/25/nmrsa25.xml
• Employees who smoke must be given time to attend clinics to help them to quit during working hours without loss of pay, new public health guidance recommends today. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) claims that the proposal will cut the £5 billion annual cost of lost productivity, absenteeism and fire damage caused by smoking. It believes that a business with five smokers could spend just £66 on providing advice, including the cost of lost employees' time, and see an overall saving of around £350 in improved productivity. It is the first time that NICE has issued guidance that applies beyond the NHS, effectively including every workplace in England. The recommendations come as all workplaces, from offices to factories and pubs, prepare to go smoke-free on July 1. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1701528.ece

Conservatives

• George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, will meet President Bush in the White House today in a significant boost to the Conservatives' international credibility and a thawing in their frosty relations with Washington. Mr Bush invited Mr Osborne to join him at an event on tackling malaria across the developing world after he had his first meeting with Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, at the White House a few weeks ago. Mr Osborne is the first senior Conservative politician to meet Mr Bush since before the last election, when Michael Howard, the then leader, angered the US administration by distancing himself from the Iraq war. His successor David Cameron has also kept his distance from the unpopular Bush Administration, and has not visited Washington since becoming leader. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1701549.ece

G8  

Government  

A Department for Trade & Industry commissioned report (i.e. we paid for it) has advised the Government to prepare for Robo-rights. Yes - Robo-rights. Like Human rights, but for robots. What a great idea? I mean, C-3P0 was a sensitive chap and R2DT had serious communication and walking difficulties. If only they had lived in New Labour's bonkers world, they wouldn't have been sold on the slave trade and forced to serve their master Luke Skywalker. Has this government run out of things to be PC about (excuse the pun)?

This government really doesn't like rubbish, does it? It would rather we just didn't produce it or if we do to hang on to it. It's as though it has suddenly become a luxury, a privilege of the rich to be able to get rid of your rubbish. Well things are about to get worse. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), headed by David "will he won't he, probably not he hasn't got the guts" Milliband, are going to introduce laws that will mean we lose our say over when and how their rubbish is collected entirely. Presently we can at least complain directly to the council responsible if they are unhappy with the frequency or quality of collection.

A former Minister who has responsibility for NHS reform, Lord Warner, has launched an extra-ordinary attack on all those who work in the NHS. He cites "productivity" issues and resistance to change within the NHS as the major causes for the failure of Labour's investment programme and programme of reform.

Government  

• Tony Blair will today put his personal stamp on a reorganisation of the Home Office when he chairs a new cabinet committee on terrorism and security. But with only two weeks to go before the department is due to be officially split into an interior and a justice ministry, crucial questions remain unresolved and the overhaul is fuelling tensions in Whitehall. The slimming down of the Home Office, championed by John Reid, home secretary, has been rushed forward to take effect on May 9, a day before Mr Blair is likely to announce his resignation. Mr Blair is expected next month to undertake his final government reshuffle, transferring portfolios from the Home Office to a new Ministry of Justice and cutting ministers at the Northern Ireland Office following the anticipated establishment of a devolved administration on May 8.

Government  

• A major new campaign that aims to help individuals cut their personal CO2 emissions has today been backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair and Environment Secretary David Miliband.  The Climate Group's We're In This Together Campaign brings businesses, Government and communities together, and provides practical ideas for how individuals can reduce their CO2 footprint. Steps the Government is taking to help individuals reduce their CO2 footprint include:  A new CO2 calculator - due to be launched later this spring, it will enable individuals to calculate their personal CO2 footprint and provide suggestions for the action they need to take to reduce it. The Climate Group will help trial the calculator. Assistance to help people in fuel poverty insulate their homes and install more energy efficient boilers - 1.3 million households have been helped with this so far. £3 billion in energy improvements for households since 2001 - through the obligation for energy companies to provide efficiency improvements for their customers, including low-energy light bulbs, insulation, and high-efficiency appliances and boilers.  
• London's mayor has launched a new drive to encourage people to walk around the capital, claiming this can improve health, reduce congestion and help tackle climate change. The campaign, run in association with Transport for London (TfL), comes as the mayor announces £126m of investment to improve conditions for pedestrians. Part of the climate change action plan, it will focus on the school run and the commute to work and will urge people to walk rather than take the car on short journeys.  

Conservatives