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Spending cuts ‘signal black day’

Mr Fahy speaks on workforce issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers

Police and council chiefs have told of their concern over the extent of cuts in the government’s Spending Review.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy, of Greater Manchester Police, said a 4% per year cut to police funding would result in fewer officers on England’s streets.

Council budgets will also be cut by 7.1% annually, with thousands of public sector job losses expected.

Chancellor George Osborne said the four year £81bn cuts were guided by “fairness, reform and growth”.

Mr Fahy, who speaks on workforce issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the cuts to policing were broadly in line with expectations but he said there was “no question” there would be fewer officers on the streets.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has previously warned it was preparing to cut 3,100 jobs.

‘Decade of sobriety’

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Elsewhere, union bosses in Cornwall said public sector cuts, which will see the loss of 500,000 posts nationwide, would be particularly bad for the area.

Cornwall Council, the county’s unitary authority, has already announced that about 2,000 jobs from a staff of approximately 10,000 would go as a result of spending cuts.

Stuart Roden, from public sector union Unison, said: “If you live in Birmingham or London, there’s another local authority next door. You can maybe get on a bus and go up the road and find yourself another job.

“You just can’t do that in Cornwall.”

Doncaster Council, which employs about 5,200 people, announced plans for 800 redundancies within the next five months, as it seeks to make £80m in budget cuts over four years.

“The public spending cuts… inevitably mean tens of thousand of jobs in our region will be lost over the next four years”

Patrick Burns BBC West Midlands’ Political Correspondent

The posts, which represent more than a sixth of the workforce, will go by the end of March 2011, the authority said.

Unison described the move as “devastating” and warned compulsory redundancies could spark strike action.

And BBC West Midlands’ Political Correspondent Patrick Burns said the Midlands faced a “decade of sobriety”.

“The Midlands has some of the highest concentrations of public sector workers in the country,” he said.

“The public spending cuts announced today inevitably mean tens of thousands of jobs in our region will be lost over the next four years.”

‘Cleggzilla’

There has been strong reaction against the cuts.

A coffin and hearse were driven through the streets of Dorchester, Dorset in protest at the level of public service cuts.

About 100 campaigners took part in the procession dressed in black and carrying banners, saying it marked “the final nail in the coffin” for Dorset public services.

Protests also took place in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, where deputy prime minister and Sheffield Hallam MP Nick Clegg was dubbed “Cleggzilla” by protesters outside Sheffield town hall.

A special BBC News season examining the approaching cuts to public sector spending

The Spending Review: Making It Clear

Transport for London has been told to reduce its budget by £2bn over four years, but sources have told the BBC bus and Tube services would largely be protected.

In the East, motorists in Kent are set to face increased charges for the Dartford Crossing as a result of the Spending Review.

Although subject to consultation, prices are expected to increase from £1.50 to £2.00 in 2011, then to £2.50 in 2012.

Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond confirmed a £1.4bn upgrade to the A14 would not go ahead.

The road, which is the main east to west cross-country route, connects Northamptonshire and Leicestershire to Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.

However some projects have been given the green light.

These include a plan to transform a nine-mile stretch of the A11 in Norfolk and Suffolk into a dual carriageway.

The £134m project has been mooted for decades and was due to go ahead following a public inquiry, although was at risk of being scrapped because it had not been signed off by the Department for Transport.

Also to go ahead are a £500m investment for the Tyne and Wear Metro system and Tees Valley bus network, the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street railway station and the Mersey Gateway project, which will see a second Mersey crossing.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

MoD names killed British soldier

Acting Corporal David Barnsdale had served in Iraq and Afghanistan

A British soldier killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan has been named by the Ministry of Defence as Acting Corporal David Barnsdale.

The 24-year-old, from 33 Engineer Regiment was clearing improvised explosive devices when one detonated in the area east of Gereshk on Tuesday.

Acting Cpl Barnsdale, who was from Tring in Hertfordshire, was on his second tour of duty in the country.

A total of 341 British troops have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

Acting Cpl Barnsdale leaves behind his mother Wendy, his father Stephen, his sister Vanessa and his girlfriend Helen.

“He embodied the finest traditions of a soldier, constantly displaying bucket loads of grit and determination; he was utterly professional but always with a dash of humility”

Lt Col Mark Davis

In a statement released by the MoD, they said: “David was a hugely popular guy, a fantastic son, grandson, brother, boyfriend and friend who will be sorely missed.

“We thank everyone for their kindness and support at this difficult time.”

In a statement also released by the MoD, Lt Col Mark Davis, commanding officer of the Counter-IED Task Force, said Acting Cpl Barnsdale was a “young, bright and incredibly likeable team leader.”

He said: “He died leading his men in what must be one of the most dangerous tasks in the Armed Forces – that of deliberately searching for IEDs.

“He embodied the finest traditions of a soldier, constantly displaying bucket loads of grit and determination; he was utterly professional but always with a dash of humility.”

Acting Cpl Barnsdale, in his role as a team commander for a Royal Engineers Search Team, was responsible for detecting the IEDs in area which had been categorised as “high risk” .

He joined the Royal Engineers in September 2002 and had spent time touring in Iraq and Afghanistan previously.

He was posted to 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) in October 2009.

Acting Cpl Barnsdale was described in tributes as an “enthusiastic football player and sportsman”, who supported Queens Park Rangers.

Lt Col Simon Bell, commanding officer of 33 Engineer Regiment, said the soldier’s operational service had been “exemplary” and said his loss would be heavily felt.

“My overwhelming memory of Acting Cpl Barnsdale will be his irrepressible enthusiasm and no nonsense approach.

“Always wearing a wry smile wherever he was and whatever he was doing, always happy to set you straight and voice an opinion, a truly refreshing trait.”

Maj Rod Brown, of 61 Field Squadron, agreed and added: “Soldiers like Acting Cpl David Barnsdale are the sturdy foundation on which the Army is built.

“His selfless devotion to those under his command and his unique ability to see the good in every situation was equalled only by his professionalism and drive.”

He added: “With imminent promotion and a bright future ahead of him, Acting Cpl Barnsdale’s death is a tragic loss to his squadron, regiment, corps and service.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

India and Brazil lead green race

Governments are increasingly taking the economic value of nature into account in policy-making, with growing interest in results from a UN-backed analysis.

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Pilots ‘unaware’ of safety check

Mike Harland died in the incident over Norfolk on 14 November 2007

An RAF Tornado test pilot told an inquest that he heard an explosion before discovering his navigator had fallen out of the aircraft.

Mike Harland, 44, who worked for BAE Systems, died when his seat slipped from the jet as it was flying upside down 6,000ft above South Creake.

The incident happened on a flight from RAF Marham in Norfolk in November 2007.

Pilot Mark Williams, 50, said he looked in the mirrors to check on Mr Harland but saw “nothing”.

Mr Harland, from Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, suffered multiple injuries and his body was later found in a field near South Creake, the inquest in Norwich heard.

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The plane landed safely at Marham and the pilot was not seriously hurt.

Former RAF fighter pilot Mr Williams said he and Mr Harland were in the latter stages of the 90-minute test flight.

He said the accident happened about “half a second” after he “inverted” the jet.

He said: “The air in the cockpit became mist. When I opened my eyes, I saw the mist was also filled with yellow debris, like loft insulation, which was rushing around the cockpit. There were also several bits of paper.”

“I looked in my mirrors and I saw nothing,” he told inquest jurors.

“I could see right the way back to the rear bulkhead.”

He added: “Once I realised he had gone, I turned the aircraft around straightaway to look for a parachute.”

The inquest heard the tail fin had hit the seat as Mr Harland emerged from the Tornado, causing damage which would have prevented either of two parachutes from working.

Oliver Sanders, a lawyer representing the Ministry of Defence, praised Mr Williams’ “presence of mind and calmness” in a “truly shocking situation”.

The inquest continues.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Euromillions £113m ticket claimed by lucky punter

The winner of the UK’s largest ever lottery ticket has been claimed, Camelot announces.

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Warning given on growth forecasts

The economy is forecast to grow by 2.25% in 2011, despite the cuts

The government is relying on “heroic assumptions” in forecasting economic growth while making big cuts to spending, auditor KPMG has warned.

The economy is forecast to grow by 2.25% next year, factoring in the impact of cuts.

But KPMG’s chief economist Andrew Smith said this assumed businesses and consumers would continue spending.

Indicators were already casting doubt on this, he said, suggesting the economy was already losing momentum.

“The resumption of robust growth is crucial to the deficit reduction arithmetic,” Mr Smith said.

“But the chancellor is making some rather heroic assumptions.

“Households may continue to save and pay down debt rather than spend, businesses may remain reluctant to invest and export performance could suffer from a lacklustre global recovery.”

This, he argued, could prevent the private sector from filling the hole left by spending cuts, as George Osborne hopes.

In June, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which makes independent economic forecasts for the government, forecast economic growth of 1.2% for this year and 2.25% for 2011.

That factors in a half-percent reduction in annual growth as a result of the cuts.

The OBR also predicts nearly half a million jobs will be lost as part of the cuts, which will see government department budgets cut by an average of 19%.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Goal-line calls ‘must be instant’

Football’s lawmakers want to find a goal-line technology system which can settle contentious decisions within one second of a referral.

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Budget cut ‘lower than predicted’

Spending cuts could hit a whole range of services

Scotland’s finance secretary has warned that public spending cuts of about £1.2bn could undermine the country’s economic recovery.

John Swinney was speaking ahead of Chancellor George Osborne’s Comprehensive Spending Review statement to the House of Commons.

Scotland is expected to take its share of the cuts at many levels.

Mr Swinney will decide spending priorities over the next month, but he has pledged to protect NHS spending.

However, he wants to curb pay rises and cut backroom management. Capital spending could also come under pressure.

A special BBC News season examining the approaching cuts to public sector spending

The Spending Review: Making It Clear

In the Comprehensive Spending Review, it is expected that some £83bn in UK public funding will be removed over the next four years.

Mr Swinney said: “The UK government will be judged on the decisions it will announce today – decisions that will cut spending too deeply, too quickly and in the wrong place.

“The chancellor’s cuts will destroy jobs, and risk economic recovery. This is wrong for Scotland and will mean Scots paying for UK economic mismanagement for many years to come.”

Mr Swinney said Scotland was facing “real pressure” and called on Mr Osborne to deliver a real-terms increase on health spending.

‘Take advice’

He added: “The UK Government must therefore confirm that it will extend its protection of the NHS to include its capital budget.

“If it does not, the UK government will let down every person who believed it was committed to the health service.”

And he restated the SNP’s drive to win full financial powers for Holyrood.

Tory finance spokesman Derek Brownlee MSP said the Scottish government was already saving more than it planned and urged ministers to take advice from his party.

He added: “Scottish Conservatives have so far found over three-quarters of a billion pounds of savings, which have to be made so we can protect jobs and help the recovery. We will continue to make the case for Scotland – it’s time the SNP followed suit.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

‘Vital’ science spared deep cuts

The news has received a cautious welcome, but observers say the cuts will still impact the economy

The UK’s core civil science budget will be cut in by less than 10% over the next four years, BBC News understands.

The news has received a cautious welcome from those speaking for the research community who had feared deeper cuts to the science budget.

However, there is still concern that the cuts will still be damaging to the UK’s economic competitiveness.

The formal announcement will be made on Wednesday by the Chancellor George Osborne in his spending review.

It had been rumoured that the government would impose cuts of up to 25%.

Normally, science spending does not have such a high profile when the Chancellor sets out the government’s plans.

This year however it’s high on the political radar because strong representations have been made by the scientific community about what they have described as “long term and irreversible” damage to the UK economy if there are deep cuts to research funding.

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That argument seems to have been accepted, at least to some degree, by the Treasury.

Imran Khan, director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (Case), said it was encouraging that the government had “rowed back” from cuts of 20% or even 25% that had been rumoured.

But he added that the cuts would still hurt the UK’s competiveness.

“A 10% cut is a significant real-terms cut for UK science when nations like the US and Germany are having real-terms increases,” he said.

“The comparison (of how good the science settlement is) should not be with what is happening across Whitehall – but how UK science is going to fare internationally because we are in a really competitive global market.”

An initial assessment by Case reveals that there will be very limited scope for any capital expenditure by research funding organisations.

It also suggests there are going to be significant decreases in new research staff entering science and engineering.

“A 10% cut translates into a 30% or 40% decrease in new PhDs that we’ll have next year for instance,” according to Mr Khan.

UK scientists are involved with international astronomy programmes such as Gemini

Cuts ‘brain drain’ warning Science ‘critical’ for economy

“So it’s going to be a tough time for UK science.”

A submission to government earlier this year by the country’s national academy of science, the Royal Society, said a 10% cut would “fundamentally damage the quality, productivity and capability of the UK’s research base”.

The current annual civil research spend is around £6bn. Two billion of that goes direct to universities based on the quality of their research.

This is known as the “Quality Related” (QR) stream. Universities normally spend this money on equipment, infra-structure and can use it to pay staff or contribute to research programmes.

The bulk of the remaining £4bn is handed over and distributed among seven “research councils” which in turn hand out grants to scientists and institutions based on the quality of their research proposals. This is known as the science budget.

The new settlement is likely to see a greater concentration of QR funds to elite universities. Projects and staff in non research intensive universities will be at much greater risk of being axed.

The next step will be to distribute the new budget among the UK’s seven research councils.

This will almost certainly involve vigorous arguments about the proportion of the cuts each research council should bear.

This will be determined over the next few weeks in a series of meetings between each research council head and the director-general for science and research, Professor Adrian Smith.

Professor Smith will follow a strategic guide issued by the Treasury which sets out in broad terms the government’s priority areas for research spending. These are likely to include wealth creation and the delivery of a low carbon economy.

It’s likely therefore some research councils, such as the Medical Research Council (MRC) will do better than others because it’s deemed to fit in with national priorities.

In the MRC’s case, it will argue that it is ideally placed to translate the work of its scientists in areas such as stem cell research into new medicines and treatments and so generate wealth.

One research council that is particularly vulnerable, however, is the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

As its name suggests, the STFC runs large test facilities such as the Diamond Synchrotron in Oxfordshire and pays for the UK’s involvement in international collaborations such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as well as astronomy programmes.

STFC’s problem is that around half of the money it spends is already allocated in international subscriptions and the running of its facilities.

So any cut in its budget will be greatly magnified and it is expected that it will have to withdraw from a major programme. Alternatively, it would have to cutback or close one of its research institutes.

William Brown, chairman and founder of Research Fortnight, a science policy newsletter, believes it will be a bad settlement for science at a time when rival nations are spending more on their research base.

“Less money will mean less bucks and less bang,” he says.

“It’ll be like Manchester United playing with 10 men. It won’t be a more efficient team. It will be a weakend team”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Osborne wields UK spending axe

Mr Osborne’s announcement comes after months of negotiations

Chancellor George Osborne is preparing to reveal the biggest programme of cuts in the UK for decades, in his long-awaited spending review.

Average budget reductions of 25% to most Whitehall departments are expected alongside welfare cuts, following months of negotiations with ministers.

Reports suggest nearly 500,000 public sector jobs will go by 2014-15.

On Tuesday 8% cuts to the defence budget were outlined separately in the strategic defence review.

Overall 42,000 jobs – in the Ministry of Defence and in the armed forces – are to go by 2015.

On Wednesday Mr Osborne will outline cuts in other departments which could range between 25% and 40% – with the exception of health and international development – in addition to welfare cuts.

Mr Osborne has already announced plans to stop child benefit payments to higher rate taxpayers.

There had been reports it could be cut altogether for children once they reach the age of 16, rather than 18 as at present, but sources have told the BBC that will not happen.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander was photographed carrying the spending review on Tuesday – two pages of which were visible to photographers. It stated that tackling the deficit was “unavoidable” and there would be an “inevitable impact” on state workers.

While it said the wage freeze and flexibility over hours would help minimise redundancies, it suggested a forecast that there would be 490,000 fewer public sector workers by 2014-15 had been adopted by the government.

Danny Alexander’s documents suggested a 490,000 cut the public sector workforce by 2014-15

Thousands of protesters gathered in Westminster on Tuesday to lobby MPs ahead of the announcement. Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union, said the coalition government was “taking a chainsaw to our public services … not because of a deficit, but because of an ideology”.

The chancellor and Prime Minister David Cameron finalised the spending review package in a series of meetings with deputy PM Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander at Chequers at the weekend.

It follows lengthy negotiations with cabinet colleagues over the summer.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Osborne would outline percentage cuts in certain departments and there could be some illustrations of projects that have had to be abandoned and details of overall numbers of prison places to be cut.

But he said details of which specific jobs and services could be axed were unlikely.

The document Mr Alexander had been photographed with had shown that if there were voluntary agreements on public sector pay and hours, job losses could be reduced.

Further speculation suggested the BBC might be made to cover the cost of free TV licences for the over-75s – currently covered by the government – but it is understood this will not happen.

Instead it has emerged the BBC licence fee will be frozen for the next six years – and the corporation is to take over the cost of the World Service, currently funded by the Foreign Office, and the Welsh language TV channel S4C.

Union worker protesting against spending cuts

Unions held a mass rally ahead of the Spending Review announcements

There have been several reports that winter fuel allowance, free TV licences and bus passes for the elderly could be curtailed – David Cameron has said he wants to stand by his “very clear promise” during the election campaign, in which he pledged that a Conservative government would keep all three.

The BBC understands that the schools budget in England will be spared large cuts but the social housing budget in England is to be halved and organisations representing rank-and-file police officers fear thousands of jobs will go.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has already confirmed a £30bn 10-mile barrage across the Severn estuary, intended to generate renewable electricity, has been axed on the grounds of cost.

But Mr Osborne has pledged funding for big infrastructure projects like London’s Crossrail project and the Mersey Gateway road bridge between Runcorn and Widnes – as well as the Synchotron scientific facility in Oxfordshire.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg told Lib Dem MPs on Tuesday that the spending review has involved “difficult decisions” but that it “provides the best evidence yet of why we are in government”.

He said the decisions taken were the right ones “to build a fairer and more liberal Britain”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

NHS gets ‘bare minimum’ cash rise

The NHS budget in England stands at £103bn currently

NHS staff are braced for job losses – despite the chancellor’s pledge to ring fence the £103bn budget for England.

Historically, health spending has gone up by over 4% in real terms so unions say a small rise will feel like a cut.

This is because demands from factors such as the ageing population, obesity and the cost of new drugs mean about an extra 3% is needed just to stand still.

In preparation, the NHS has been asked to find large efficiency savings over the coming years.

The previous government set a target of between £15bn and £20bn by 2014 – which means finding nearly 5% of savings a year.

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This target has been kept in place by the coalition despite its promise to increase the health budget in this parliament from April – the details of which will be given in the Spending Review.

While ministers say all savings from the efficiency drive will be reinvested into the NHS, unions have claimed “slash and burn” approaches are being taken.

The Royal College of Nursing estimates more than 10,000 posts have closed in recent months and said if this trend continues patient care will be hit.

A special BBC News season examining the approaching cuts to public sector spending

The Spending Review: Making It Clear

There have already been reports of hospitals closing wards and restricting access to minor operations, while fears have been voiced that waiting lists could rise in the future.

Nigel Edwards, of the NHS Confederation, which represents managers, said: “The public need to go into this with their eyes wide open.

“The NHS may have some limited protection to its budget but it still faces a potent cocktail of financial pressures.”

Other parts of the UK will have to wait longer to find out about health spending with final decisions not expected until later this year.

Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have talked about protecting parts of the NHS budget, although they have not been as categorical as their counterparts in England.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

TV licence frozen for six years

The licence fee generates around £3.5bn a year

The BBC Trust has warned the government it would fight any move to force the BBC to meet the cost of free television licences for the over-75s.

Ministers are reportedly considering whether to transfer the cost to the corporation as part of the Spending Review.

The Department for Work and Pensions currently funds the £556m annual cost.

A BBC Trust spokeswoman said it would be “unacceptable” for licence fee payers to foot the bill.

“Anything at this stage is speculation as we have yet to see the detail of the Spending Review.

“That said it would be unacceptable for licence fee payers to pick up the bill for what is a Department for Work and Pensions universal benefit,” she added.

According to Newsnight’s political editor Michael Crick, if approved, the proposal would take effect from the time of the next licence fee settlement, due in 2012.

He added increases in the licence fee were unlikely to cover the cost, which was the equivalent of a 16% cut in the BBC’s present budget.

A government spokeswoman said it would not comment on speculation ahead of the Spending Review.

Every pensioner over the age of 75 receives a free TV licence, which currently costs £145.50 per year.

The corporation received £3.45bn in licence fees in 2009/10.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

MEPs back maternity leave boost

MEPs debated new laws on maternity leave.

Euro MPs are voting shortly on a controversial proposal to extend maternity leave to 20 weeks on full pay and make that mandatory in the EU.

UK business leaders and Conservative MEPs have lobbied against the proposal. The European Commission earlier recommended an extension to 18 weeks.

One assessment said the 20-week proposal could cost UK businesses an extra £2.5bn (2.8bn euros) a year.

Minimum maternity leave in the EU is currently 14 weeks.

Even if MEPs approve the 20-week plan it cannot become law unless EU governments back it too, and the UK’s coalition government is among those lobbying against it.

Danish MEP Britta Thomsen, of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), said the measure would encourage women to have more children – at a time of widespread concern about Europe’s ageing population and low birthrates.

Under the Commission’s alternative plan, mothers would be entitled to 18 weeks’ paid maternity leave, but not necessarily on full pay – it could be at or above the sick-leave rate.

Two MEPs spearheading the campaign to extend maternity leave – Edite Estrela from Portugal and Antonyia Parvanova from Bulgaria – have argued that a better work-life balance for women would encourage more of them to stay in work.

They said Europe’s ageing population meant more women were needed in the workplace.

They also said two weeks of paid paternity leave for fathers – as a minimum – would be affordable. It would probably increase female participation in the workforce by “much more” than the 0.04% needed to cover the paternity leave costs, they argued.

Women in the UK are currently entitled to 12 months maternity leave, with the first six weeks on 90% pay followed by 33 weeks on Statutory Maternity Pay of just under £125 a week.

Businesses can claim back all or most of the money from the government, but many employers say a more generous maternity allowance would be costly for firms – especially small ones – at a time of economic hardship.

Maternity allowances and benefits vary widely across the 27-nation EU

One of the chief opponents of the new proposal, Conservative MEP Marina Yannakoudakis, called it “well-intentioned but completely out-of-step with reality”.

She warned that it would “lead to further indirect discrimination against women in the workplace” and said it should be up to national governments to decide what maternity provisions they could afford.

BusinessEurope, a major lobby group representing dozens of firms across the EU, said MEPs should not interfere in the diverse national systems offering a mix of leave arrangements.

The group’s director general, Philippe de Buck, said the proposal threatened to “increase the complexity of hiring women”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.