17 December 2015
Week in Brief: UK
ENVIRONMENT: The commitment in the Paris agreement to pursue efforts to keep global warning down to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels would require a substantial step up from Britain. Until now the Committee on Climate Change has worked on the basis of 2C°, the maximum envisaged by Paris. Going for the lower figure will involve further measures. As a Developed country the UK will be expected to help meet the costs of Developing countries in meeting their targets. (See comment article.)
BORDER GUARDS: David Cameron has indicated that Britain would be prepared to contribute troops to a proposed EU border agency with power to intervene where borders to the Schengen area are failing. The agency would be based at Warsaw and would have some 2500 border guards at its disposal. (See comment article.)
PRISONERS’ VOTES: The Council of Europe has effectively backed down over the enforcement of the decision by the European Court of Human Rights that the British ban on prisoners voting is illegal. The issue has now been pushed into the long grass and will not be considered again until December 2016 at the earliest.
FLOODING: Flooding and bad weather in Cumbria last week resulted in residents bringing in their own heavy machinery to do river clearance work which the Environment Agency had previously warned would affect wildlife. Locals indicated that in their view that the agency should think more about people and less about crayfish.
PETROL PRICES: Morrisons, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury have each cut the price of petrol to below £1 per litre in response to the dropping price of oil. The pump price of diesel, which has lower wholesale costs, is also dropping. (See feature article.)
PHONE HACKING: The police enquiries into phone hacking at the News of the World and the Daily Mirror have now come to an end and there will be no further charges. The two enquiries and Operation Elverton, the enquiry into corrupt payments, have together cost a total of £41 million. Twenty-five officials have been convicted but only two journalists. In the case of one of the journalists the conviction is under appeal.
The second part of the Leveson enquiry which was to investigate the possibility of corrupt payments to the police is also being abandoned.
POLICE SHOOTING: The Independent Police Complaints Commission has begun an enquiry into the death of Jermaine Baker, who was shot in Wood Green on Friday. The IPCC will have to consider whether the officer concerned committed a criminal offence. It is understood that the incident arose in connection with an alleged conspiracy to free a prisoner who was being brought to Wood Green Crown Court for sentencing. Four men have been arrested in connection with the matter and have been remanded in custody.
EU REFERENDUM: A recent poll has shown that although 42% of the public would currently vote to stay in the EU against 41% who would vote to leave, these figures reverse if the “freedom of movement” rules remain unchanged. Then 45% would vote to leave against 40% who would vote to remain.
The Referendum Bill has now passed the Lords, with an amendment to allow sixteen and seventeen-year-olds to vote being rejected.
TO BOLDLY GO: Major Tim Peake has become the first male British astronaut following the launch of a Soyuz rocket which will took him, together with colleagues, Tim Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko, up to the International Space Station. He will be there for six months.
PRISON REFORM: Sir Martin Narey, previously the head of the prison service and now an adviser to the Ministry of Justice, has suggested that prisoners should meet a tutor once a week and should have iPads to work on in their cells as part of a drive to make imprisonment more constructive and to better prepare inmates for release.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: Lord Kerslake, the former cabinet secretary, has intervened in the dispute over the reform of the Freedom of Information Act saying that the government’s proposal to curb access to information at a time when it is routinely released through special advisers set a double standard. He was also critical of the make up of the Commission which is reviewing the operation of the act. The Commission is considering making a charge of £100 for each request and also giving more power to the government to limit disclosures on the basis that they need a safe space in which to discuss policy.
ELGIN MARBLES: The Greek government has decided not to take legal action to reclaim the Elgin Marbles despite advice given by Amal Clooney and two other barristers. Instead diplomatic and political routes will be pursued.
KENT CHAMPAGNE: The champagne house Tattinger has bought a farm in Kent on which it proposes to make sparkling wine. The brand under which the wine will be marketed has yet to be determined
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, has said that they will not change the name of any work of art without the artist’s consent. It follows that when the artist is dead the most that could be done will be to put up a note commenting that the name was given in a different period when sensitivities were different. The Tate, therefore stands out against the example set by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam which has removed the word “Negro” from titles of works of art.
CHILD PROTECTION: Child protection in Sunderland is now to be carried out by a trust set up by the director of child services in Kingston and Richmond. Sunderland has been stripped of its child protection role following a damning report from OFSTED in July. A number of other councils whose child protection has been identified as poor in inspections may also lose their departments.
ROLLS-ROYCE: The possibility of a foreign bid for Rolls-Royce, which has issued a series of profit warnings, is giving rise to concern in government circles. The company’s nuclear submarine business is crucial to the Trident deterrent and might have to be nationalised if the company’s finances deteriorate or a foreign buyer steps in. (See comment article.)
SUGAR: Research commissioned by the National Hydration Council has highlighted the fact that most of the drinks shown on children’s television are sweet or fizzy. Only a small number of them are water. This could turn the focus of concern about obesity from television advertising to television programme making.
CONVICTIONS: 1258 people were convicted of tax offences in the year 2014/5. That is 50% more than in the previous year.
MALPRACTICE: 260 teachers have been penalised for malpractice in connection with the GCSE and A level exams for 2015. The offences include giving inappropriate assistance to candidates. The figure is more than twice that for 2014.
THATCHER LEGACY: A number of the possessions of Margaret Thatcher have realised far more than was expected at an auction conducted by Christies on behalf of members of her family. There had been a disagreement within the family as to whether or not the auction should proceed. (See feature article.)
ADOPTION: The Court of Appeal has given a boost to mixed race adoption by dismissing arguments by the parents of two Ghanaian boys that adoption by white parents would be against their cultural heritage. Lady Justice Black said that the boys had a number of needs and that not all of them could be satisfied. It was hard to imagine that they would get a better chance.
HEALTH: The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the NHS have expressed concern that doctors are not aware of the cost of the treatments which they proscribe. Professor Sue Bailey, chairwoman of the Academy, commented that the knowledge was necessary if doctors were to provide a value-based, high-quality care service.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has decided that new cancer drug Nivolumab, which costs £5,700 per patient per month, is too expensive for use by the NHS. The drug which mobilises the body’s own defences would double survival rates.
WEATHER: This December is expected to be the warmest since 1948.
FREE SPEECH: The ban placed by the students union of the University of Manchester on speeches by Milo Yiannopoulos and Julia Bindel has been circumvented. A new society was formed which, not being a student society, was not under the control of the students union. The debate was then conducted in a University lecture hall under heavy security.
CORBYN: Mr Corbyn attended the Stop the War Coalition fundraising dinner, where he was the guest of honour. A number of Labour MPs have tried to get him to distance the group following comments which were taken as anti-western. Tristram Hunt has described the group as disreputable.
TRUMP PETITION: Following comments by presidential hopeful Donald Trump that parts of London are no go areas for the police because of the hostile Muslim community, 530,000 people have signed a petition asking for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK. No British leaders support Mr Trump’s comments.
DUNBLANE DEVELOPMENT: A proposal by Judy Murray to construct a sports centre, which would include twelve tennis courts, near Dunblane has been refused planning permission. Opponents are concerned that the development will spoil a local beauty spot.
