Traditional sources of funding would be insufficient to meet climate targets, MPs heard
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The UK could lose out on hundreds of billions of pounds in green investment and fail to meet climate change targets if the government compromises on its Green Investment Bank, MPs have warned.
The Environmental Audit Committee said the bank must be free to raise additional capital from investors.
The government has pledged to establish the bank with £1bn of capital to fund clean energy and low-carbon projects.
Concerns are growing the coalition could water down its plans.
These also involve placing unspecified proceeds from the sale of government assets into the bank.
The MPs said there have been reports of disagreement within the government about whether the Green Bank should be a fully-fledged investment bank, with the ability to borrow money and raise capital, or simply a fund.
There are concerns that if the Office for National Statistics classifies the bank as public sector it could undermine the government’s deficit reduction strategy, the committee said.
“Setting up a Green Investment Bank without the power to borrow would be a bit like trying to buy a house without first getting a mortgage offer,” said Joan Walley, chair of the committee.
“George Osborne has got the deposit, but if he doesn’t allow the bank to raise extra capital, the sums are going to fall far short of what is needed.”
Business Secretary Vince Cable said he also wanted the Green Investment Bank to grow into a “significant institution”, which would help to promote economic growth.
“We agree with the committee that the Green Investment Bank should be an enduring bank, which takes investment decisions at arm’s length from ministers and be able to reinvest the proceeds from its investments.”
He said his department was looking at european state aid rules and would announce its plans for the bank’s role by the end of May.
Environment campaign group Greenpeace called on the government to act sooner and outline its decision in the Budget later this month.
“A clear announcement is needed at the Budget so investment can start to flow into Britain’s clean energy industries, which would drive the sustainable growth and jobs that are so badly needed in our country,” said executive director John Sauven.
Evidence given to the committee suggests the UK will need to raise between £200bn and £1 trillon over the next 10 to 20 years if it is to meet the government’s climate change and renewable energy targets.
Traditional sources of private fundraising are only likely to deliver between £50bn and £80bn, accountants Ernst & Young told the committee.
“A proper green investment bank… is the shot in the arm the UK economy needs,” said Ed Matthew of campaign group Transform UK.
“The only cost the Treasury should consider is the cost of failure to unleash this institution’s massive potential to re-power our economy.”
The previous Labour government committed the UK to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050, and for 20% of all electricity consumption to come from renewable energy sources by 2020.
The coalition government has said it backs the targets.
Most scientists agree that without dramatic reductions in carbon emissions, global temperatures will continue rising to dangerous levels.
The direct and indirect impacts of these higher temperatures, research suggests, could cost the global economy hundreds of billions of pounds a year.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The number of people with peanut allergy has risen dramatically in the past 20 to 30 years
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A gene defect that can triple the risk of a child developing an allergy to peanuts has been identified, scientists have said.
An international research team led by Dundee University said it had made a “significant breakthrough” in understanding the disease.
The gene responsible – Filaggrin – has already been shown to be a factor in causing eczema and asthma.
Peanut allergy affects 1-2% of children in the UK and can be life-threatening.
The number of people affected by the condition has increased dramatically over the past 20 to 30 years, the Dundee team said – but the causes of the allergy are unknown.
Dr Sara Brown, a fellow at Dundee University, said investigating whether Filaggrin was a cause of peanut allergy was the “logical next step” after a link with eczema and asthma had been established.
“Allergic conditions often run in families, which tells us that inherited genetic factors are important,” she said.
“In addition to that, changes in the environment and our exposure to peanuts are thought to have been responsible for the recent increase in peanut allergy seen in the Western world in particular.
“Now, for the first time, we have a genetic change that can be firmly linked to peanut allergy.”
The findings – by scientists from Canada, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands – have been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Their research discovered that the Filaggrin gene helped to make the skin a good barrier against irritants and allergens.
But changes in the gene decreased the effectiveness of this barrier, allowing substances to enter the body and leading to a range of allergic conditions.
The study suggests one in five of all peanut allergy sufferers have a Filaggrin defect. Those with the defect can be three times more likely to suffer peanut allergy than people with normal Filaggrin.
Professor Irwin McLean, one of the world’s leading authorities on the gene, said: “We knew that people with a Filaggrin defect were likely to suffer from eczema, and that many of those people also had peanut allergy.
“What we have now shown is that the Filaggrin defect is there for people who have peanut allergy but who don’t have eczema, which shows a clear link between Filaggrin and peanut allergy.”
Professor McLean, who is also based at Dundee University, said the Filaggrin defect was not the only cause of peanut allergy – but had been established as a factor in many cases.
He added that as Filaggrin defects were found in only 20% of the peanut allergy cases, there was still a lot of work to be done to understand fully the genetic link to the allergy.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The charity Combat Stress helps thousands of former service personnel
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A 24-hour phone helpline for armed forces personnel with mental health problems is due to be launched by the government.
It is intended to help serving personnel, veterans and their families.
The helpline will be run by mental health charity Rethink – with the help of veterans’ group Combat Stress, which will guide and train staff.
The government is funding a one-year pilot costing £200,000, with text and e-mail help available later this year.
The Combat Stress Support Helpline, on freephone 0800 138 1619, was announced in October 2010 as part of a review of the provision of mental health services for veterans.
Combat Stress and Rethink were chosen to run the helpline service together because of their work in supporting veterans and in mental health.
“This funding will provide veterans and their families with a service that will help and support them whenever and wherever they need it”
Simon Burns Health minister
The helpline is intended to allow ex-service men and women to discuss their mental health problems and access support within their local area.
Health minister Simon Burns said: “This funding will provide veterans and their families with a service that will help and support them whenever and wherever they need it.
“This is also a great example of how the expertise of charities can be used to foster a stronger and healthier society.”
Defence minister Andrew Robathan said: “The mental health of our personnel and veterans is a top priority of the government and it is right that we do all we can to support them and their families.”
Combat Stress is a charity that specialises in the care of veterans’ mental health and has become the first port of call for many former service personnel over recent years.
The charity will offer relevant training on such issues for staff answering the phones.
It currently helps more than 4,600 ex-service men and women, including 517 who served in Iraq and 159 who served in Afghanistan.
Dr Walter Busuttil, director of medical services at Combat Stress, said the helpline aimed to “reach out to more veterans with wounded minds and encourage them to seek help earlier”.
Paul Jenkins, chief executive of Rethink, said he was delighted that veterans and their families now had somewhere to turn.
“We understand the vital importance of providing hope and support to people at their most vulnerable,” he said.
The Department of Health is also working with the Royal College of General Practitioners to develop training tools for GPs to better recognise the needs of veterans.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Police removed protesters from the capitol on Thursday, the day after the bill passed the Senate
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A key US union leader has attacked a “corruption of democracy” after the Wisconsin senate approved a plan to strip public-sector unions of most of their collective bargaining rights.
Senate Republicans used a procedural move to pass the bill on Wednesday.
AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka hit out as Republicans readied for a final vote on Governor Scott Walker’s plan.
Police have been ejecting demonstrators from the state capitol building after weeks of mass protests.
Governor Walker and Republicans say the bill is necessary to help the state balance its budget deficit.
“This is about protecting the middle class and doing it in a way that avoids massive tax increases and massive lay-offs,” Governor Walker said on Thursday, adding the bill would give local governments the “tools” they needed to balance their own budgets.
But the plan has prompted weeks of protests in support of public workers.
The US state’s 14 Democratic senators had sought to prevent the bill moving forward by fleeing the state, leaving the chamber short of the number needed for a vote.
But Republicans used a procedural move to allow them to vote on the measure in committee instead on Wednesday evening.
Crowds of protesters swamped the state capitol in Madison following the vote.
But Gov Walker predicted the state House – the lower legislative chamber – would approve the bill on Thursday and he said he would sign it as quickly as he was able.
The state faces a $3.6bn (£2.23bn) budget deficit in the coming two-year period. The bill on labour unions would affect rubbish collectors, teachers, nurses, prison guards and other public workers.
Democrats, labour unions and their supporters, who disparage the bill as an attack on labour unions and on the middle class, spent three weeks protesting at the state capitol building.
On Thursday, Mr Trumka, head of one of the largest labour union coalitions in the US, told reporters the Republican move had engendered solidarity among union supporters.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Police apparently used stun grenades and batons to disperse protesters
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Police in Saudi Arabia have opened fire to disperse protesters in the eastern city of Qatif, a day before planned countrywide anti-government protests.
Witnesses said police also beat demonstrators with batons injuring at least three people.
The protesters, from the Shia minority, were demanding the release of prisoners they say have been held without charge.
Protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia, which has had an absolute monarchy since its unification in the 1930s.
But last month the arrest of Shia cleric Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer, detained reportedly for calling for a constitutional monarchy, sparked outrage and drew crowds on to the streets.
He was released last weekend, but relatively small-scale protests have continued in the Eastern Region, where much of the country’s crude oil is sourced.
The protesters have been demanding the release of nine Shia prisoners who they say have been held without trial for more than 14 years.
A witness in Qatif told AFP news agency the crowds had once again been demanding the prisoners’ release.
“As the procession in the heart of the city was about to finish, soldiers started shooting at the protesters, and three of them were wounded,” the witness said.
Other accounts said the police had also used stun grenades and had beaten the protesters with batons, injuring many more than three.
Rights groups have accused the police of beating protesters during previous rallies in Qatif.
An interior ministry spokesman told reporters that police had fired over the heads of protesters on Thursday.
The spokesman added that three people, including a policeman, had been injured.
The unrest comes amid calls over the internet for a so-called “day of rage” protest in cities throughout the country after Friday prayers.
Analysts say it is unclear whether anyone will heed the calls, as Saudi Arabia has so far not seen protests on the same scale as other nations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Shias, who are mainly concentrated in the east of the country, make up about 10% of the population in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia.
The region borders Bahrain, a Shia-majority kingdom ruled by a Sunni government that has been rocked by anti-government protests since mid-February.
Amid signs of growing unrest in the region, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah recently unveiled $37bn (£22.7bn) in benefits for citizens, including a 15% pay rise for state employees.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Critics disparaged the hearings as over broad and feared they would tar Muslims as disloyal
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A US congressman has warned al-Qaeda is actively recruiting US Muslims for violent attacks within the country.
Representative Peter King, a Republican, spoke at a House homeland security committee hearing into the “radicalisation” of US Muslims.
He said “homegrown radicalisation” was “part of al-Qaeda’s strategy to continue attacking the US”.
Critics say the hearing will feed anti-Islamic sentiment and have criticised Mr King for singling Muslims out.
A senior Democratic congressman warned the committee not to “blot the good name” of American Muslims.
Mr King, a New York Democrat, has accused US mosques of being a breeding ground for radical attitudes.
In his opening statement on Thursday, Mr King said that US anti-terror efforts since the 11 September 2001 attacks had prevented al-Qaeda from launching major strikes on the US from outside the country, but said the Islamist group had turned to actively recruiting Americans for attacks.
“Al-Qaeda is actively targeting the American Muslim community for recruitment. Today’s hearing will address this dangerous trend,” he said, adding that the inquiry did not warrant the “rage and hysteria” it has prompted.
Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the US should also investigate anti-government hate groups as well.
He believes the hearings could be used to inspire terrorist propaganda.
Congressman John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who represents a large Muslim community, warned Mr King and the committee not to “blot the good name or the loyalty or raise questions about the decency about Arabs or Muslims or other Americans en mass”.
“There will be plenty of rascals that we can point at and say these are the real danger to the nation that we love and that we serve,” he said.”
Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, said Mr King’s hearing contravened “the best of American values” and threatened US security.
He called for “increased understanding and engagement with the Muslim community”.
Also on Thursday, two men who say their sons were turned to violent, radical Islam testified.
The White House has said US domestic security efforts should look at all extremists, not just focus on Muslims.
“We don’t want to stigmatize, we don’t want to alienate entire communities,” US Attorney General Eric Holder said.
Mr King has said some leaders of American Muslim communities have done too little to co-operate with law enforcement – an assertion Mr Holder has rejected.
Mr King ordered extra security for the event, which has caused controversy in the US.
On Thursday Melvin Bledsoe, whose son Carlos shot US soldiers at a military recruiting centre in Little Rock, Arkansas testified about what he described as his son’s manipulation and radicalisation by Muslim leaders.
“Carlos was captured by people best described as hunters. He was manipulated and lied to,” Mr Bledsoe said. “I have other family members who are Muslims, and they are modern, peaceful, law-abiding people.”
Also testifying was Minnesota man whose young Somali-American son was recruited to join the al-Shabab militant group, which the US considers a terrorist organisation, and who was killed in Somali.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The admissions code sets out how oversubscribed schools can give priority for places
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England’s schools adjudicator Ian Craig is to leave his post early, months after warning over plans to slim down the rules over fair admissions.
Mr Craig’s contract was due to expire in April 2012, but he will now step down this October.
The Department for Education said this would allow his successor to get “up to speed” on the “new admissions process”.
Last year Mr Craig warned that government plans to simplify the admissions code could weaken it.
The code lays out the rules under which admissions to popular schools, which are often highly competitive, can and cannot be determined.
The schools adjudicator’s office rules on disputes over the process – although individual cases are heard by panels at local level.
A statement from the Department said: “Dr Craig’s contract is due to expire in April 2012 and he and the Secretary of State have agreed it makes sense for his successor to take over in October this year to give them time to get up to speed ahead of the new admissions process.”
Dr Craig said he felt “the time is right for a new chief adjudicator to take on the role”.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “With the implementation of a new slimmer Code and Admissions Framework, subject to the passage of the Education Bill, we both agree the time is right to appoint a new adjudicator.”
Presenting his annual report in November, Dr Craig said the current code could be made more easy to understand, but cutting it down risked “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”.
“I think we need to be very careful that while we’re making it more accessible we don’t simplify it to such an extent where it becomes a useless document,” he said.
The government has denied claims by the NASUWT teachers’ union that its plans will erode the powers of the schools adjudicator.
Dr Craig was also recently criticised by MPs for comments he made to journalists last year about church schools’ admissions codes.
He said that by giving parents credit for church activities such as bell ringing and church cleaning, some schools were inadvertently “skewing” their intakes.
At the Commons Education Committee, Damian Hinds, Conservative MP for East Hampshire, pointed out that the comments were based on a small minority of schools and requested that such context be made clearer in future.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Watch: Lord Hutton said a career average pension scheme would be fairer for many public sector workers
Unions have reacted angrily to a major report proposing a radical overhaul of public sector pensions which would see millions working for longer.
Lord Hutton’s independent review has proposed that nurses, teachers and most other public sector staff work until at least 65 for lower pensions.
Pensions should be linked to career average earnings, rather than workers’ final salaries, it suggested.
The government said it would give the proposals “careful consideration”.
Lord Hutton’s key recommendations included:
Linking the pensions of public sector pensions to average salaries over workers’ careers, rather than their final salaries, possibly by 2015, to make pensions “affordable”Aligning the public sector pension age to the state pension age, which will be 65 initially and is likely to reach 68 for men and womenUniformed services, such as police and firefighters, working until 60Honouring in full the pensions that workers have already built up in final-salary schemes.
The government has already accepted a previous recommendation of Lord Hutton that public servants should soon pay higher contributions.
Unions said they would consider strike action were the plans given the go-ahead.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Public sector workers are already suffering a wage freeze, job losses and high inflation. They are now desperately worried that they will no longer be able to afford their pension contributions, and will have to opt out.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the government would engage with public sector unions in taking forward the reforms.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle, said pension reform was a long-term issue, and should not be used by the government to tackle the deficit.
Analysis
Lord Hutton does not recommend the exact shape of the future career average schemes. He leaves that up to the government.
The value of such arrangements depends on how much is put aside each year (the accrual rate), how much the accruing pension is uprated each year to account for inflation, the retirement age and the level of inflation proofing in retirement. You can have generous career average schemes or very meagre ones.
As the whole point of Lord Hutton’s plan is to rein in costs, the vast majority of public sector employees will receive a worse deal than their current pension scheme offers.
Career average pensions explained Public sector pensions: Your views
Lord Hutton’s public services pensions commission has spent the last nine months looking at the large pension schemes covering civil servants, the NHS, teachers, local government staff, the police, armed forces and the fire service.
He argued that his changes amounted to “comprehensive reform” which would make the schemes “sustainable and affordable in the future” under the pressure of rapidly rising life expectancy.
“These proposals aim to strike a balanced deal between public service workers and the taxpayer,” Lord Hutton said.
“They will ensure that public service workers continue to have access to good pensions, while taxpayers benefit from greater control over their costs.
“Pensions based on career average earnings will be fairer to the majority of members that do not have the high salary growth rewarded in final-salary schemes,” he added.
Ros Altmann, a former government pensions adviser and now director of Saga, said: “Lord Hutton’s recommendations on public sector pensions have led to calls for industrial action by public sector unions, but the reality is that his proposals will still leave them with hugely generous pensions that most private sector workers could never hope to achieve.”
Lord Hutton stressed that pensions earned so far should retain their link with final salaries.
Pension schemes explainedFinal-salary scheme: Guaranteed pension based on earnings at end of your career and length of serviceCareer average scheme: Guaranteed pension based on your average pay over your careerDefined contribution scheme: Determined by contributions and investment returns. Usually worth less than final-salary pensions
How to save for a pension Why it pays to start saving earlyBut pensions earned in the future should be built up in new career average schemes, which he says should be in place by 2015.
By definition these will produce lower pensions unless staff work longer to compensate. They will also be cheaper to fund.
Lord Hutton also recommended that the normal pension age (NPA) of the new schemes should be linked to the state pension age.
That would involve increasing the NPA from 60 to 65 for some current public employees, and building in future increases for all staff as the state pension age rises progressively to 68, starting in 2020 with an increase to 66.
The police, armed forces and fire service currently have normal pension ages lower than 60 but Lord Hutton said they should retire at 60 in due course.
But Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “This is the great pension’s robbery and is completely unacceptable to firefighters across the UK.
“Expecting firefighters to work until they are 60 is wrong. Firefighting is a physically arduous job. Peak fitness is essential where seconds can cost lives. The public will not want an ageing frontline fire and rescue service.”
Teacher Ron Gordon did not expect a footballer’s wage but went into the profession expecting a good pension
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said the proposals were sensible.
“Lord Hutton’s findings strike the right balance between fairness and cost, and have avoided a race to the bottom,” said the NAPF’s chief executive, Joanne Segars.
“Public sector workers will still retire with a good pension, and it is important that they can bank what they’ve already built up.”
In general, Lord Hutton argued, a ceiling should be imposed on employers’ contribution rates to the pension schemes.
He said the current set-up was “not tenable in the long term”.
Some public servants are already in career average schemes with a pension age of 65, such as recruits to the civil service since 2007 and GPs and NHS dentists appointed since 2008.
Lord Hutton, a former Labour pensions minister, was asked by the coalition government to conduct a review of public service pensions soon after it was elected last year.
Brendan Barber, TUC: ‘Public service workers have already taken a big hit’
In his interim report, he rejected the idea that public service pensions were “gold-plated”, pointing out that the average pension in payment was modest at about £7,800 a year.
And he rejected suggestions from employers’ groups that public service pensions should be at the level of inferior private sector pensions, describing this as a “race to the bottom”.
Lord Hutton also pointed out that the long-term cost of funding public service pension schemes had already been cut by 25%.
He pointed to measures such as uprating pensions in line with the typically lower Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
He also said some big schemes had already decided to raise the normal pension age for new recruits to 65 rather than 60.
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