04 May 2017

Week in Brief: UK

Brexit

JUNCKER’S DINNER: German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine carries reports that a dinner at Number 10, which Mr Juncker described as “a constructive meeting”, was in reality nothing of the sort.  Rather, it is suggested that the occasion was fractious with “megaphone diplomacy” and that it left him sceptical as to whether a deal was possible.  In particular Mrs May’s suggestions that Britain did not owe the EU a penny and that EU citizens resident here should simply be treated as third-party nationals, are said to have gone down badly with the Commission’s team.  Whether or not the reports are exaggerated, the extraordinary thing is that anyone should be surprised.  Mrs May has the reputation of a hard negotiator who, as Home Secretary, only agreed the budget of her department up against the wire.  Of course she would take a hard line at a preparatory meeting of this sort and, indeed, it would be alarming if she did not do so.

Westminster

POLLUTION PLAN: The High Court has refused an application from the Environment Secretary to postpone the publication of the government’s strategy to improve air quality by 10 weeks.  Defra had argued that publication before the election would break the purdah rules, but the judge, Mr Justice Garnham, ordered that the government, which by not having published a plan is in breach of both EU and domestic legislation, should do so on 9 May.  He pointed out that pollution claims 64 lives each day.

ABBOTT SLIP: Diane Abbott, the shadow Home Secretary, added to her party’s chaotic image by getting into a muddle about its pledge to recruit more policemen.  Having begun by suggesting that 10,000 new police would only cost £300,000, a figure which she later revised to £18 million although the true figure is £300 million before training costs, she became confused as to the number of additional officers.  Although the Prime Minister suggested that the lapse was serious, the reality seems to be that she merely got into a tizz.

KNIFE CRIME: Yvette Cooper, chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, has demanded government action on knife crime and gun crime which have risen by 14% and 13% respectively.  It is suggested that the two year increase in knife crime, following a period in which the figures improved, began with the reduction in stop and search under Mrs May as Home Secretary.

MORE TERRORISM: A 27-year-old man was arrested in Parliament Square with three knives.  It is understood that he had been monitored by MI5 following a tip-off from his family.

Other politics

NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS: Shakira Martin, a black working-class single mother, has become president of the National Union of Students, defeating the controversial left winger Ms Bouattia.  Ms Martin, who has been a vice president for two years, formerly studied at the Lewisham Southwark College.

THE GARDEN BRIDGE: Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has written to the Garden Bridge Trust stating that London will not underwrite the annual running costs of the proposed garden bridge, which has been designed by Thomas Hetherwick and is sponsored by actress Joanna Lumley.  As a guarantee from a public body is a condition of the planning permission, the trust is trying to find a substitute guarantor.  There is also a gap in capital funding, with £70 million of the £200 million total yet to be raised, and it must be very doubtful whether the project will now go ahead.

Technology

ELECTRIC CARS: A new Internet site, Chargie, is designed to allow owners of electric cars to charge their vehicles at the homes of other owners.  Payment for the charge will then be made automatically through the system.

SUPERFAST BROADBAND: A report by the magazine Which? indicates that, on average, mobile phone users can only access 4G for two thirds of the time.  Coverage and speed of download are highly variable, with Bournemouth only having coverage of 67.5%.  The target is that 95% of the country should be able to access 4G by the end of the year.

Health

MEDICAL RESEARCH: The Wellcome trust has said that Britain must continue to participate in European research projects if the trust is to continue its level of investment in UK science.  The warning follows representations from the pharmaceutical industry to the effect that drug companies could leave Britain unless the NHS received an extra £20 billion of funding.

STATINS: According to a paper published in the journal BMJ Open, 680,000 suffers from heart disease either do not take statins or take a dosage below the level recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.  That is not a question of cost.  Statins cost only 6p a day.  Rather it reflects the fact that people have fallen behind the guidance levels, which were increased three years ago, and also misplaced concerns over side-effects.  Research published in The Lancet indicates that any side effects, including muscle pain, are largely driven by the expectations of patients rather than medical considerations; that is partly because of a requirement that statins carry warnings of side-effects, imposed by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority in 2009.

MENTAL HEALTH: The Education Committee and the Health Committee of the House Of Commons have called for more action in combating mental health problems among young people.  In particular it is suggested that schools should pay more attention to mental well-being, striking a better balance with academic achievement.  There was concern that cost cutting in education was restricting the ability to offer mental health  services.

Crime

FLY TIPPING: Fly tipping has increased with councils reporting 936,090 cases for 2015/2016, a rise of 4%.  The problem is now costing more than £600 million a year, the majority of tipping being carried out by criminals who have obtained licences to act as rubbish collectors.  It appears that few checks are made, and the managing director of Eunomia, a firm commissioned to carry out research for the Environmental Services Association, had no difficulty in registering his dog as a waste carrier.  The Environment Agency, who issued the licence, failed to spot that the dog had been dead for 10 years.

TERRORISTS: Six people were arrested in London and Kent last Thursday in a move which is said to have foiled an active terrorist plot.  A 21-year-old woman was shot but is expected to survive.

 

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