Posted on
2nd September 2010 by
Owen Tudor
In less than three weeks, the UN will hold a review summit on the Millennium Development Goals (set in 2000, they are due to be achieved in 2015 so we ought to be two thirds of the way there – and we aren’t). Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and International Development Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell will be attending the event for the UK – and the TUC has joined with many NGOs to call on them to support a concrete plan of action to reach the MDGs. One key issue is how to pay for the measures necessary to reach those goals, and financial transactions taxes (FTTs) would make a big difference. But it won’t just be unions and NGOs calling for a Robin Hood Tax in New York. The Leading Group – 60 nations including the UK – are calling for a currency transaction levy (a compenent part of an FTT) at the UN summit. French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada and Belgian international development minister Charles Michel are leading the charge.
Filed under: International development, Transactions tax | No Comments »
Posted on
2nd September 2010 by
ToUChstoneblog
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Women in London will face a disproportionate share of public spending cuts, according to a new report, published today by Ken Livingston. The cuts in benefits and tax credits for families and children, the assault on Housing Benefit and the switch to uprating by the Consumer Price Index will all affect women disproportionately.
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Filed under: Web links | No Comments »
Posted on
2nd September 2010 by
Richard Exell
The Royal Statistical Society has written to the UK Statistics Authority to call for a comprehensive review of inflation measures. The letter, from RSS President David Hand to Sir Michael Scholar (the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority) expresses concern about the way in which the Office for National Statistics concentrates on the Consumer Price Index, even though it is not the best index for all purposes – such as wage negotiations, where it is “not ideal.” The letter raises concerns about the way in which the ONS monthly inflation press notice now only headlines the CPI, leaving the Retail Price Index to the inside pages (a point we’ve also raised).
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Filed under: Budget, Pensions, Welfare | No Comments »
Posted on
1st September 2010 by
ToUChstoneblog
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Bouncing back from recent leaks suggesting that William Hague was downgrading human rights work at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, this article stresses his commitment to human rights, and affirms that issues will be raised with allies and opponents. But what it doesn't say is just as instructive. Like the previous Labour Government, Hague says that the coalition will speak out – but will they act? Will trade policy reflect our commitment to human rights, or arms trading, or development? Speaking out about human rights abuses is absolutely right, and welcome. But making abuse of human rights pay would be even better – and slightly more likely to have an impact.
Filed under: Web links | No Comments »
Posted on
31st August 2010 by
Nicola Smith
In June, £49.9 million was cut from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund, an area based grant paid to local authorities by the Department for Communities (CLG). The funding is intended to support attempts to tackle concentrations of worklessness in deprived areas. The cut was accompanied by a removal of the ring-fence around the grant – and it appears that this has been used by several local authorities as an opportunity to cut even more money from this important initiative. Read more »
Filed under: Cuts Watch, Cuts Watch: Regions | No Comments »
Posted on
31st August 2010 by
Nicola Smith
Free fruit for children in Glasgow’s primary schools is reportedly at risk of being cut. Read more »
Filed under: Cuts Watch, Cuts Watch: Families, Cuts Watch: Health, Cuts Watch: Regions | No Comments »
Posted on
30th August 2010 by
Richard Exell
This weekend more stories have emerged about cuts in defence spending, featuring elements of the armed forces that are well-known to the public. Yesterday there were reports that the Ghurkha regiment is to be scrapped, today the newspapers featured reports that the Special Air Service is being forced to retire 40 of its most experienced soldiers and the Telegraph has revived a story about scrapping the Navy’s Harrier jump-jets.
Read more »
Filed under: Blogging, Politics, Public spending | No Comments »
Posted on
28th August 2010 by
Richard Exell
Last night’s rumours that NHS Direct is to be abolished have been confirmed by the government. The service is to be replaced within 3 years by a national phone service (using the non emergency 1-1-1 number) based on the pilot project in the North East. Read more »
Filed under: Cuts Watch, Cuts Watch: Health | 1 Comment »
Posted on
27th August 2010 by
Tim Page
‘Science cracks code to feed world’, says the headline on page three of The Times today. Now I know the first rule of journalism is that the headline should grab the reader’s attention, but even so, this is a bold claim. Nevertheless, this article reports that a team of British scientists have, for the first time, read the genetic code of wheat. This means that genes which control critical traits such as drought and salt tolerance, disease resistance and grain production can be identified. Across the world, wheat is a staple crop second in importance only to rice. This breakthrough will allow the development of hardier and higher yielding strains of wheat and so could lead to greater food security and lower prices. ‘Feed the World’, which those of us of a certain age remember as the Live Aid slogan, could be about to take on a whole new meaning.
So it is ironic that this article appears on the same day that leading scientists argue that planned cuts of 25% in their budget could lead to big cuts in the UK’s scientific research capacity.
Read more »
Filed under: Financial crisis, Science | 1 Comment »
Posted on
26th August 2010 by
Owen Tudor
There is one implication of today’s immigration statistics that might see the TUC and the Government in agreement. The number of asylum applications in the second quarter of 2010 was down by nearly a third, from 6,110 in the same quarter of 2009 to 4,365. And the main reason was that the number of people from Zimbabwe applying for asylum fell from 1,560 between April and June 2009, to 405 in the second quarter of 2010.
Robert Mugabe’s ZANU regime was driving one person an hour to seek asylum in the UK – now it’s down to four or five people a day. The lesson which I suspect both the Government and the TUC would draw from this is that we need an active foreign and development policy that improves economic and political conditions in developing countries. A better Zimbabwe means fewer asylum seekers.
Filed under: Human rights, Migration | No Comments »
Posted on
26th August 2010 by
ToUChstoneblog
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ARC is the Association of Revenue and Collection. It's part of the civil service union, the FDA. They have launched a campaign to press the obvious point that reducing numbers at HMRC will lead to a fall in tax income.
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NGOs have expressed serious concerns about reports suggesting DFID was dropping many of the commitments made by the previous Government. Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell has been working hard to dispel that suggestion.
Filed under: Web links | No Comments »
Posted on
26th August 2010 by
Nicola Smith
The Guardian are reporting that the UK’s main science bodies are facing cuts of around 25 per cent in funding, placing a number of high profile projects at risk.
Filed under: Cuts Watch | No Comments »
