23 July 2015
Week in Brief: UK NEWS
NHS: The Government has announced that, in pursuit of its aim of a 24/7 health service, it proposes to compel hospital consultants to work at weekends if new terms on pay and hours cannot be agreed with them. Currently, consultants can opt out of weekend working.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: Tim Farron has been elected leader of the 8 MP party, defeating the former minister, Norman Lamb.
BBC: The Government has published a green paper which is likely to lead to a radical restructuring of the BBC and a smaller organisation with a narrower set of services. The main issues it looks at are:
- Funding – the green paper describes the current licence system as regressive and puts forward three alternatives: 1.1 extending the fee to catch those who only watch catch-up or on-demand TV;
1.2 a German style levy on all households regardless of how much BBC content they use;
1.3 a mixture of a lower licence fee and a subscription element for premium content.
- Governance – the current system under which the BBC is supervised by the BBC Trust is said to be widely criticised and the green paper proposes three alternatives:
2.1 a clearer distinction between the roles of the BBC executive board and the BBC Trust;
2.2 the creation of a unitary board supervised by a new regulator, Ofbeeb;
2.3 the creation of a new unitary board supervised by Ofcom.
- The green paper questions the scope and scale of the BBC’s offering, pointing to some of its programmes as too similar to popular ones produced by commercial TV companies and expressing concern that the BBC is overly commercial and over-extended.
- Representation – the green paper considers that the BBC does not cater sufficiently for black ethnic groups and viewers in Scotland.
- Competition – the green paper says the licence fee gives the BBC an unfair advantage and impedes the ability of other news media to develop profitable business models, and expresses enthusiasm for proposals to reduce the quota requiring 50% of programmes to be made in-house.
- Cross-promotion – the green paper proposes limiting the BBC’s ability to cross-promote its services over different channels and stations.
MPs: MPs have been awarded by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority a 10% pay rise back-dated to May 2015. It takes their pay to £74,000 from £67,060. The Prime Minister opposed the increase.
IRAQ WAR INQUIRY: Sir John Chilcot has refused the offer of additional help to complete his long-delayed report.
SYRIA: The Ministry of Defence has admitted that British pilots have taken part in raids in Syria in US aircraft operating from a US aircraft carrier while embedded in US forces despite a Commons vote confining military action to Iraq.
LABOUR: Opinion polls indicate that Jeremy Corbyn, an MP of hard-line views, could well win the leadership contest. He is backed by the influential trade union, Unite, and by a significant number of constituency parties. Labour MPs, however, do not generally support him.
THE ROYAL FAMILY: The Queen has been embarrassed by the publication in the Sun newspaper of pictures taken from a royal family home movie showing her, her mother and her uncle (later Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor) giving the Nazi salute. The film is thought to have been shot in 1933 when she was 6 or 7. It is being investigated how the Sun obtained the footage.
BORIS JOHNSON: Theresa May has refused permission for the use by the police of three water cannon purchased by the Mayor of London. She did so publicly in a Commons statement, seen as a calculated insult to her possible rival for leadership of the Tory party.
EXTREMISM: The Prime Minister has spoken out strongly against extremism and said that the Government intends to curb those who contribute to it. In his speech, he expressed concern that communities in the UK are living segregated lives and pointed to areas of Bradford and Oldham as examples of this. A wide-ranging plan will be announced in the autumn.
CRICKET: Australia humiliated England in the second Ashes Test, beating them by 405 runs.
GOLF: Zach Johnson of the US won the British Open in a four hole play-off.
TENNIS: Andy Murray beat Gilles Simon to clinch victory over France in the Davis Cup. Great Britain will now play Australia in the semi-finals.
