28 May 2015
Week in Brief:UK NEWS
QUEEN’S SPEECH: Yesterday saw the opening of Parliament and the Queens’s speech which outlines the government’s legislative programme. Included were proposals to ensure that : people who work thirty hours a week at the National Minimum Wage do not pay income tax; there will be no rise in income tax, VAT or national insurance for five years; free childcare will be increased; housing association tenants will have the right to buy their homes; essential public services will be given protection against strikes; benefits will be restricted with the young being required to learn or earn; failing or coasting schools can be taken over and academies created; the NHS will work on a seven-day basis; the real value of the basic state pension will be protected; powers are devolved to cities with elected mayors; powers are devolved to Scotland and Wales; decisions which only affect England and Wales will need the approval of a majority of English and Welsh MPs; and the EU referendum will be held before the end of 2017. The government will bring forward a proposed British Bill of Rights
EU REFORM: Mr Cameron is visiting a number of European countries as he tries to build support for EU Treaty reform – and in particular changes which would enable benefits to immigrants to be restricted. The referendum Bill, likely to be presented later this year, is expected to restrict votes for migrants in the EU Referendum.
IMMIGRATION FIGURES; Net immigration for 2014 was 318,000, up on the previous figure as a result of an increase in the number of immigrants, with emigration little changed. Net immigration from the EU rose from 123,001 to 178,000 whilst net immigration from outside the EU rose from 143,000 to 197,000. The government plans to cut net immigration to less than 100,000. The number of criminals living in the community awaiting deportation now exceeds 5,000.
RETIREMENT: Lord Howe, who served as Chancellor and Foreign Secretary under Margaret Thatcher, has announced his retirement from the House of Lords.
POLICY CHIEF: Camilla Cavendish, the former Times and Sunday Times journalist, has been appointed to lead the Downing Street policy unit.
APOLOGY: Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, has apologised for leaking a Scottish Office memo which alleged that Ms Sturgeon had suggested that it was in the interest of the SNP for Mr Cameron to remain prime minister. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is considering whether to launch an investigation.
POLICE: Speaking at the annual conference of the Police Federation, Teresa May, the Home Secretary, said that police spending would have to come down again. She announced a review of the use of crime performance targets, expressing concern that they distorted operational reality.
CHILD ABUSE: Detectives investigating child abuse have received allegations against 1433 suspects, of whom 261 are of public prominence.
INEQUALITY: According to the OECD, the income gap between the richest 10% of the population of its member states and the poorest 10% has increased to its higher level.
NORTHERN IRELAND: Peter Robinson, the first Minister, is in hospital following a suspected heart attack.
PETROL PRICES: According to the AA the price of petrol has risen from 106.4p a litre to 113.3p a litre since February. It is still well below the level of 140.2p reached in March 2012, before the collapse in the oil price.
PAY OFF: The severance payment of £134,000 made to Ms Berelowitz, deputy children’s Commissioner for England, and her subsequent re-hiring as a consultant has been described as “totally unacceptable” by Keith Vaz, the former chairman of the home affairs select committee.
THE STRAND; Historic England now believes that the demolition of four buildings in the Strand to make way for a development by Kings College, London would cause “substantial harm” rather than merely “harm”. The Communities and Local Government Secretary has halted the development while he considers whether a public enquiry is necessary.
CANCER: NHS cancer referrals have increased by 71% in the last five years. In 17.7% of cases the sixty-two day target for starting treatment has been missed.
MATRIMONIAL COURTS: A High Court judge has held Martin Thomas responsible for attacks on his daughter Evie, although Mr Thomas had been acquitted of criminal charges The standard of proof in the family division is lower than the criminal standard of “beyond reasonable doubt”.
PHONE HACKING: Substantial awards against the Daily Mirror were made in favour of a number of celebrities including Paul Gascoigne , Alan Yentob, Shobna Gulati, Lucy Taggart, Shane Ritchie, Robert Ashworth and Lauren Alcorn.
JEWEL HEIST: Eight men have been charged with conspiracy to burgle in relation to the raid on the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company. The oldest is 74.
LIBOR FIXING: The trial of Tom Hayes, formerly of UBS and Citigroup, has begun at Southwark Crown Court. Mr Hayes is charged with conspiracy to defraud in connection with the manipulation of LIBOR. He denies the charges.
MATHS: A report by the OECD says that Britain has a significant share of young people lacking basic skills and suggests that Britain should provide opportunities for adult education. British graduates have very poor maths skills in comparison with their peers in other countries.
CHLORINE THREAT: Colonel de Bretton-Gordon:, former commanding officer of the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Regiment has urged the government to restrict the sale of chlorine to prevent its use in a chemical attack by terrorists.
CYCLING: According to a study by the RAC Foundation and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, major injuries among cyclists have increased by 38% since 2009. Other major road injuries have declined.
GLOBAL WARMING: Temperatures this year are expected to reach a record high and Arctic winter ice was at its lowest recorded level.
ASSISTED DEATH: Jeffrey Spector, 54,, has travelled to Switzerland with his family to end his life because of the prospect of being paralysed from the neck downwards by a tumour. Mr Spector said that if the UK law had been different, so that those assisting his suicide would not be liable to prosecution, he could have postponed his decision.
OXFORD MURDERS: The body of Jed Allen, wanted in connection with the deaths of his mother, her partner and their daughter, has been found in Oxford.
CRICKET: In the first game of a two test match series England beat New Zealand at Lord’s by 124 runs.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY: Students at Oxford University have voted by a large majority to continue to wear academic dress for examinations.
HENRY I: Archaeologist are proposing to survey a part of the ruins of Reading Abbey, which is now buried beneath a school and a car park, in the hope of finding the tomb of Henry I
