Picking Losers

So Bernard Matthews bought a load of dodgy birds from Hungary, dumps a load of meat in open bins, had un-fit for purpose sheds which had leaky roofs and mesh that had been gnawed by rats and his farm was at the centre of the biggest outbreak of bird flu seen in Britain. As a result he culled 159,000 of these birds because of his business's poor hygiene. So what is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs response to this buffoon's Del-boy-esque business practices? They have given him £600k. Jack Straw, the Leader of the House has said “All of us are uncomfortable about the reports of high levels of compensation to Mr Matthews’s firm.” So why has your government seen fit to give him over half a million pounds of our money? I bet old Bernie can't believe his luck, a truck load of cash and he didn't have to flog one of his Turkey Drummers to the ever growing obese nation.

Government  

• Renewables firms are laying off staff because the government has shut its grant scheme that helps households adopt green energy technologies such as solar panels. The grant suspension means not a penny has been committed to any household since March 1, leading to accusations that it has made a mockery of the government's green credentials. The Department of Trade and Industry has tried to support the fledgling renewables industry in recent years with a series of grant schemes designed to make technologies such as solar, wind and ground source heat pumps cheap enough to appeal to domestic users. http://environment.guardian.co.uk/energy/story/0,,2061739,00.html
• One of the UK's most senior police officers has called for new laws that would compel the public to give information to the police about gun crime - whether they want to or not. In an interview with the Guardian, Bernard Hogan-Howe, the chief constable of Merseyside police and a contender to be next commissioner of the Met, said it was clear that more and more young people were getting involved in gun crime and that they were being protected by a wall of silence. He said the only way to address this was to adopt laws similar to those in Australia "where people have a duty to report information about gun crime to the police". He also believes the laws should extend to victims of gun crime who survive being shot but refuse to make a complaint because of fears of reprisals. http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,2061735,00.html
• Some of Tony Blair's most radical plans for privatising welfare services will not be implemented in the short term, a confidential leaked letter from the Treasury shows. The schemes have been hailed by the prime minister as a way of getting single parents and the long-term unemployed back into work, included a controversial proposal for the private, voluntary and charitable sector to be given state contracts to find such people jobs. However, a Treasury memo leaked to the Guardian shows that it has no "immediate plans" to work up the initiative, which were outlined on behalf of the government by the businessman David Freud.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,2061863,00.html  
• David Miliband's ambitious target for a "carbon neutral" Whitehall by 2012 and to cut emissions by 30% by 2020 will be impossible to achieve unless changes are made to the £3bn a year spent building and refurbishing government offices, to make them more environmentally sustainable, the National Audit Office warns today. The report says that fewer than one in every 10 Whitehall projects commissioned in the last financial year met all the required new environmental standards, and departments did not commission environmental assessments for two out of three new buildings or five out of six refurbishments. http://environment.guardian.co.uk/ethicalliving/story/0,,2061654,00.html  
• Bernard Matthews will be paid almost £600,000 compensation for the compulsory slaughter of turkey chicks after the avian flu outbreak. The figure, published yesterday by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, angered MPs of all parties after official veterinary reports identified flagrant breaches of biosecurity on the poultry company's premises at Holton, Suffolk. Jack Straw, the Leader of the House, showed sympathy with MPs when he told the Commons: "All of us are uncomfortable about the reports of high levels of compensation to Mr Matthews's firm." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1680187.ece  
• Tony Blair will mount a strong attack on David Cameron today in which he will dismiss the idea that the Tory leader is his natural successor. In a speech in his Sedgefield constituency, the Prime Minister will admit the Conservatives have "learnt the tactics of opposition" but insist they do not have a "strategy for government". He will try to steady Labour's nerves by arguing that the Tories are "beatable" at the next general election. Mr Blair will make Labour's most detailed analysis of "the Cameron effect" in an attempt to halt the Tory leader's bandwagon ahead of next month's elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and English councils. His assault follows criticism by Gordon Brown's allies that Labour has let Mr Cameron off the hook during Mr Blair's "long goodbye". Blair aides are frustrated by sniping from the Brown camp and claim the Chancellor's allies have not pulled their weight in mid-term elections campaign. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2465955.ece  
• Plans for the local elections in two weeks have been thrown into chaos and the results could be delayed for days because of widespread problems with new postal voting software. Up to 100 councils are experiencing difficulties with software to scan millions of postal votes after new anti-fraud legislation. In some areas the systems have not even arrived. The problems could lead to votes being discarded in error or false votes counted because the scanning equipment failed to work properly. Most town halls are sending out postal ballot forms today. Electoral staff said they were crossing their fingers that they could read them electronically when the results start coming in after the ballot on May 3. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1680426.ece  

EU

Government  

• Ministers are planning new powers to detain terror suspects for longer before charge, and to allow the police to question them after they are charged. In an interview in the Guardian newspaper Lord Goldsmith said the government is looking at allowing the police to question suspects after they are charged with terror offences. The attorney general said that the proposals, to be included in the new terrorism bill, were aimed at dealing with cases that require investigation of masses of evidence often contained in encrypted computer files. He also disclosed that the Crown Prosecution Service is considering whether to bring the first prosecution of a terrorism suspect who is currently under a control order, using intercept evidence obtained abroad.

I've just picked up this story for Recess Monkey and also ananova.com. Opposition Greater Romania Party MP Corneliu Bichinet has come up with one of the most sensible and amusing policy plans for keeping Romanian MPs in check - and I am backing it for use in the UK. Mr Bichinet has proposed that all MPs are weighed at the start and the end of their tenure and taxed heavily if they have exceeded a weight limit as a way of curbing long and expensive lunches. Any that have put on more than 50kg would be judged guilty of cashing in on their position and would have to pay fines. He quoted as saying "Most of them are skinny when they are elected, and yet invariably at the end they turn into big fatties. MPs who put on 50kg should be punished because it shows they took advantage of their public position." Genius.

A new report published today has shown what we already knew - the government has failed on its drug policy. It seems that the more the government has intervened, the worse the problem has got. "The prices of the principal drugs in Britain have declined for most of the last 10 years and there is no indication that tougher enforcement has succeeded in making drugs less accessible" the reports states. The report put Britain as having the second worse drug problem in Europe. The total value of the UK market for illicit drugs is estimated at £5bn a year. All very depressing stuff.

It wouldn't feel right if there wasn't an NHS story on Picking Losers, so here goes. Surely the Department of Health must be the worst financially managed "business" in the UK? The National Audit Office seems to think so, and I agree. It turns out that those hard working doctors who received on average a 27% pay rise have seen their work load decrease. That's right - we are now paying even more for less. Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, which oversees the work of the NAO, is pretty damning in his assessment of this department - "The bottom line is that the Department of Health has increased consultants' salaries without demonstrating any extra productivity in return... This is one more example of weak financial management by the Department of Health. It drove through the new pay deal with scant regard for proper evidence and solid financial forecasting."

So we are told that we will be fined an outrageous fee if we put our rubbish out too early as it encourages mice and rats on to the streets? But what better way to encourage mice and rats on to the streets (as well as a pretty awful smell) than to only collect our rubbish every two weeks? That is what four in every ten councils are now doing. What in the name of God is going on? Why do I pay my council tax, exactly?

Following on from yesterday's post about the Iron Chancellor's historic decisions coming back to bite us all, it appears (though this has been no secret) that the PPP investment in to the London Underground has been as disaster. Gordon Brown went against the advice of Bob Kiley (one of the world's leading transport experts) and the Mayor and went for a PPP arrangement. This is a worrying trend - it seems that Brown listens to no-one but himself even on issues he knows nothing about. The result is that the Metronet shareholders are looking like they are going to jump ship, leaving the tax payer to pick up the bill no doubt.

Government  

• A £17bn overhaul of the London tube is under threat after a shareholder in the project said the operation's finances were "under increasing pressure". The crisis in the public-private partnership (PPP) contract to renew the creaking London Underground is embarrassing for Gordon Brown, who imposed the arrangement on the London mayor, Ken Livingstone, despite warnings that it would transfer a vital asset to a private firm with no power for local government intervention. The Guardian has learned that shareholders in Metronet could abandon the 30-year contract to upgrade three-quarters of the tube because of a £750m cost overrun caused by maintenance blunders that could undermine transport plans for the 2012 Olympics.

Government  

• Immigration Minister Liam Byrne, today unveiled the timetable for introducing the UK's tough new Australian-style points based system for migration, during a fact finding visit to Sydney. According to GNN, the new scheme, which will be phased in from early 2008, will enable the British Government to manage migration to the UK more effectively, tackle abuse and attract the most talented workers into the UK economy.  
• Most first-time buyers purchasing a home with a 'E, F or G' energy rating could benefit from grants to help improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) - A-G energy ratings for homes similar to consumer friendly fridge ratings - will be part of Home Information Packs (HIPs), which will be required for all homes being marketed from 1 June. Subsidies of between £100 to £300 are typically available from energy suppliers to help fund the costs of insulation, and other energy efficiency improvements. In addition some first-time buyers could be eligible for Government grants of up to as much as £2,700. The Government is now thinking of linking grants for energy efficiency measures to new EPCs. In a speech on HIPs, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said she will be hosting a major meeting of energy suppliers, local authorities, and the Energy Savings Trust (EST), to develop new measures to help home owners implement the recommendations in EPCs.  
• The government has defeated Labour rebels over calls to give more help to people whose occupational pension schemes have collapsed. Ministers saw off an amendment to the Pension Bill, also backed by Tories and Lib Dems, by 22 votes. Ministers said the government should not write a "blank cheque", but Tories argued more help was needed with "heart-breaking" pension cases. About 30 Labour backbenchers had been thought likely to back the amendment.  
• Leaders across central government made a commitment that every eligible employee will be helped to gain basic skills and a level two qualification (broadly equivalent to 5 GCSEs at grades A* -C). This commitment covers over 475,000 people working to deliver public services in nineteen departments. Permanent Secretaries from fourteen of the departments joined Sir Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service (who made the skills pledge on behalf of the Cabinet Office), at a signing ceremony organised by Government Skills, the sector skills council for central government.  

Conservatives  

The time is drawing nearer and nearer where Tony will have to finally announce he is stepping down and the long, long awaiting "leadership contest" can finally begin. Since the Labour conference last year where Blair had them screaming in the aisles, this government has been completely paralysed and achieved next to nothing. As I have argued before, this is probably better than what they normally do, but it does beg the question what have we been paying for all these months?

Government  

• Tax dodgers who kept their money in Britain are to get a similar amnesty to those who hid money offshore. A long-awaited deal unveiled on Tuesday offers a reduced penalty to anyone who comes clean over unpaid tax. People who evaded tax and kept their money in Britain will be offered a deal similar to the "offshore disclosure facility" announced by Revenue & Customs for people who hid money overseas. They have until June 22 to tell the Revenue that they intend to pay their tax, and until November 26 to pay a penalty of 10 per cent of the tax due, along with unpaid tax and interest. The small print of the deal suggests that someone with irregular tax affairs in the UK "can expect the same treatment" as someone with an offshore account. Revenue & Customs said it had felt obliged to offer the same terms to everyone. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/dd973606-ed24-11db-9520-000b5df10621.html
• Labour's immigration minister has conceded that the record inflow of immigrants could be harming the worse off and has ''deeply unsettled the country''. Liam Byrne admits in an article today that the issue is now near the top of the list of voter worries - and could cost Labour power. He says it is ''not racist'' to debate immigration - even though Labour attacked the Tories for raising it during the 2001 general election. Mr Byrne's comments, in a pamphlet published by the Policy Network think-tank, marks the latest milestone in a staged Labour retreat from the immigration policy it has embraced since 1997. A few years ago, David Blunkett, the former home secretary, said there was ''no obvious upper limit'' to the numbers that could come legally to Britain. But Mr Byrne says: ''We have to accept that laissez faire migration risks damaging communities where parts of our anti-poverty strategy come under pressure. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/18/nmigrants18.xml
• It appeared inconceivable last night that David Miliband, the environment secretary, would run against Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership, after he stated that he was "not a candidate" for the job. In a BBC interview, Mr Miliband once again fell short of categorically declaring that he would not run against the chancellor in any circumstances. But with three weeks to go before Tony Blair's expected resignation announcement, Mr Miliband's repeated insistence in public that he will not put himself forward as a candidate is killing off any sensible speculation that he will run for the job. In his first public comment on the issue after the Easter break, Mr Miliband res-ponded to questions: "I've meant what I said, I am not a candidate. "We've got an ex-cellent prime-minister-in-waiting in Gordon Brown, and I'm getting on with my job as environment secretary." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5ab80588-ed49-11db-9520-000b5df10621.html

EU

Government  

• Tony Blair has urged his successor to retain his "unique foreign policy" in order to maintain international influence. At his monthly press conference on Tuesday, the prime minister unveiled his policy review on 'Britain in the world'. He said it was a description of the principles that have guided the government in foreign affairs in the past 10 years and a prescription for action in the future. Blair argued that three elements had characterised his international attitudes. "Firstly we have been prepared in a way that few other countries have, to combine what you might call 'hard and soft power'," he said. "Secondly it has been a foreign policy that has been underpinned by two alliances," he added, referring to relations with the US and EU and saying he had "eschewed" demands to choose between them. And "the third thing is that it has been to a considerable degree driven by values", the prime minister argued.  

Conservatives  

I haven't mentioned the NHS for a while, but it was always going to come back. So here goes - the National Health Service's £12.4 billion national computer system. It's not a particularly new story, but confirmation of what we all feared has come out yesterday from the Commons public accounts committee. If there was a "Loser of the Year" award for the worst conceived policy or project, the NHS IT system would win hands down.

Government  

• Gordon Brown faces an unprecedented vote of no confidence in the Commons today over his handling of the pensions crisis. While the Conservative motion is certain to be voted down by Labour MPs, the Tories said it would be the first time in nearly a decade as Chancellor that Mr Brown had been forced to the Commons to defend his actions. He faces further embarrassment tomorrow when the Government faces possible defeat over a cross-party attempt to secure improved compensation for the victims of collapsed occupational pension schemes. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/17/npension17.xml  
• Millions of patients are "unlikely" to see any "significant clinical benefits" from the National Health Service's £12.4 billion national computer system by the time all of the money has been spent in 2014, MPs warn today.
  

Government  

• As the government's controversial Mental Health Bill is considered in the Commons, campaigners have called on MPs to amend the legislation. The Bill has been criticised by professionals in the field and ministers suffered a string of defeats on the legislation when it was considered in the House of Lords. Ahead of the debate, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are taking part in a joint press conference at which they will be expressing their concerns about the plans. And before Monday's parliamentary vote, mental health charity Mind criticised plans to allow compulsory treatment of patients after they are released back into the community. It said the far-reaching powers would specify a treatment regime which patients would be obliged to comply with in their own home.  
• Health should be the top priority for government, a survey has suggested. A poll of nearly 2,400 people by the Royal College of Nursing found that health was ranked above law and order, defence, education and the environment. And nearly half of those questioned agreed ministers should introduce a dedicated NHS tax. It comes as the government is predicted to reduce the record increases in funding the NHS has been receiving in recent years. The NHS budget will have trebled by 2008 after rises of over 7% a year in real terms since 2002. Many predict the spending review in the autumn is likely to lead to increases of about half that from 2008-9. Critics have said if this does happen it will actually feel like a budget cut.  

Liberal Democrats