12 November 2015

Week in Brief: UK

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Although the action of the British government in promptly grounding flights in and out of Sharm el-Sheikh was initially condemned by Egypt as being unwarranted, it has been justified by the conclusion of the investigating authorities that the destruction of the plane bound for St Petersburg was almost certainly caused by a bomb.  Currently there are no flights for those who wish to travel to the resort from Britain or Russia but holiday makers are being steadily evacuated.  It is expected that the backlog of British holiday makers will be cleared by the weekend.  Mr Putin has complained at failures by Britain to share its intelligence with Russia.

MIGRATION: The European Commission now estimates that three million more migrants will seek to come to the EU by the end of 2017.  The figure has caused alarm in the EU and also in the UK where the numbers could boost the vote for Brexit.

Britain is to deport back to Lebanon a group of refugees who arrived by boat at the British base on Cyprus.  They have been offered, but have declined, the right to stay in Cyprus.

EU REFORM: In a letter to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, Mr Cameron set out demands for

• recognition of a multi-currency EU operating as a single market without any discrimination against non-euro members.  Any measures affecting the latter should be discussed with them;
• financial measures to be voluntary for non-euro countries with no obligation for them to support the euro;
• a commitment to reduce regulation and to support free flows of capital, goods and services within the EU;
• an end to the commitment to ever closer union;
• an enhanced role for national parliaments with decisions being taken locally where possible. National security to remain the sole responsibility of member states;
• no freedom of movement for nationals of countries joining the EU until the economies of those countries have converged with the economies of other members;
• stronger powers to deport criminals to EU countries;
• a four-year ban on welfare payments to new immigrants to the UK; and
• an end to the need to send child benefit to children overseas.

CUTS: The Treasury and the Departments of Transport, Environment and Local Government have each agreed cuts in their day to day spending with Mr Osborne.  The cuts fall on revenue not capital expenditure and so will not affect infrastructure spend.  They are an important ingredient of the package which the Chancellor will present in his autumn spending review when he explains how he will fill the hole in his budget resulting from the defeat of his plan to withdraw tax credits.

SCIENCE SPENDING: The Commons Science Committee has warned that the UK could lose its position as a scientific research superpower unless Government expenditure is pushed beyond its current level of 0.49% of GDP.  Germany and the US each spend 0.9% of GDP.

PARKING PENALTIES: The Supreme Court has ruled that penalties for unauthorised overstaying in a private car park are recoverable provided there is commercial justification for them.  They do not have to be a genuine pre-estimate of loss.  The ruling will affect penalty levels in other areas where penalties are chargeable.  It leaves Council car parks limited to penalties of £50 for overstaying with no similar restriction on private operators.

SNOOPING: The draft Investigatory Powers Bill has been published.  It takes into account reports by David Anderson QC (the Independent Reviewer of Terrorist Legislation), the Intelligence and Security Commission of Parliament and the Royal United Services Institute, and will be the subject of further consultation.  See comment article.

LABOUR: Labour moderates and Blairites have taken all seventeen of the available chairs on the party’s backbench committees.  The new chairmen and chairwomen are expected to form a group able to input into policy decisions.

Jim McMahon, leader of Oldham Council has been picked to fight the Oldham West and Roydon by-election.  Mr McMahon, who describes himself as the son of a “really hard working truck driver” will be contesting the seat left vacant by the death of Michael Meacher.

Andrew Fisher, Mr Corbyn’s head of policy, has been suspended from the Labour party on the basis of his support for the Class War candidate in May and previous support for the Greens.  Labour party rules prohibit members supporting candidates from other parties.  Although suspended Mr Fisher remains a member of the party and a key adviser to Mr Corbyn.

Mr Corbyn has objected to a statement by the outgoing Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, on the Andrew Marr show (to the effect that it would worry him if Mr Corbyn’s stance that he would never use the nuclear deterrent was “translated into power”) on the grounds that it was inappropriate for Sir Nicholas to take sides in a political dispute.  Sir Nicholas’s right to make the statement has been supported by the heads of the Navy and RAF and also by the shadow defence secretary, Ms Eagle, who has said that she would resign if the party shifted to a unilateralist stance.

PUTIN/JOHN: Sir Elton John has confirmed that he will go to Moscow to take up Mr Putin’s offer of a meeting to discuss gay rights.

HEALTH: Ballot papers on strike action have now been sent out to junior hospital doctors despite promises that drops in overtime will be compensated by higher basic pay until 2019.  The BMA, which walked out of negotiations last year, points to the fact that the guarantee is only for four years while the Government maintains that basic pay would be reviewed again at that stage.  The BMA also expresses concern that the contracts do not ensure safe working practices.  The Royal College of Surgeons has urged the BMA to resume negotiations.

A doctor has been convicted of manslaughter following the death of a six-year-old boy at the Leicester Royal Infirmary in February 2011.  An agency nurse has also been convicted.

EDUCATION: A Green Paper from the Department of Business suggests that the fees which universities are entitled to charge should vary depending upon the standards of the teaching.  Universities in the top category would be entitled to increase the current limit of £9000 to reflect inflation.  Universities which did less well would have their fees reduced.  An elaborate system would have to be set up in order to grade the universities.

ENERGY SUPPLY: The shutdown of two power stations last week meant that the National Grid had to put into effect a scheme under which heavy industry is paid up to £2500 per megawatt hour to reduce consumption.  The closure of coal-fired power stations in recent years and the fact that low wind pressure meant that little power was being generated by wind farms, contributed to the shortfall. There was concern, however, that the problem should arise so early in the winter season.

SPEED CAMERAS:  The Police and Crime Commissioner for South Bedfordshire has suggested stricter use of enforcement cameras to raise money for policing, claiming that permanent use of cameras on the M1, coupled with strict enforcement of limits, could raise £1million a year and enable him to retain 25 officers.  Flexibility over limits varies from force to force with some allowing a tolerance of 10% plus 5 mph.  Use of speed cameras for revenue raising rather than to improve road safety is currently against the law.

POLICE: The Home Office have applied the wrong criteria in allocating cash grants across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.  In the case of the Metropolitan police the allocation was out by £140 million.  North Wales found its expected increase of £2million transformed into a loss of £10 million.  The figures will have to be rerun.

PRISONS: Reading is the first of the Victorian prisons to be sold under Mr Gove’s program to raise money for a new generation of penal facilities.  It has been closed since 2013.  Other prisons which may be on the list for demolition are Wandsworth, Pentonville, Brixton, Wormwood Scrubs and Leeds, all of which were opened before 1900.

BLOODY SUNDAY: A former paratrooper has been charged with murder in relation to the deaths of civil rights marchers in Londonderry in 1972.  He is 66 years old.

VIOLENT MARCH: The anti-capitalist Million Mask March in Central London on November 5 degenerated into violence with a police car being set alight and the throwing of missiles.  Arrests were made.

CARE HOMES: Leading care home operators claim that the new living wage will make more than 9000 care homes unviable, with the loss of some 200,000 beds.  They also complained at rises in registration fees.

HUNTING: Gemma McCormick, the popular joint master of the Cottesloe Hunt, died following a fall from her horse.

LIVERPOOL: The mayor of Liverpool has called for a new opera house to be built on the waterfront to capitalise on the city’s reputation for culture and the arts.  The idea is to develop an “opera house of the North” as part of the establishment of the Government’s northern powerhouse.

LONDON OLYMPICS: A report by the World Anti-Doping Agency has revealed that Russia ran a wholesale doping program in order to win medals at the London Olympics.  The revelations seem to have come as a surprise to Lord Coe, the President of the IAAF, who had been sceptical of previous reports.  The previous chairman, Mr Diack, is being investigated for alleged corruption, including the ignoring of drugs tests.

CRICKET: Pakistan beat England by 127 runs in the third test match to win the series 2-0.