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The Minister for Social Development is to announce details of a major investigation into NI Housing Executive
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Jeremy Hunt said it was not the state’s role to finance those who chose to have large families The new cap on family benefits will encourage “responsibility” about the number of children people have, a cabinet minister has said.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told BBC Two’s Newsnight that the state should not support families who get more in benefits than the average family earns.
But Mr Hunt said the new ceiling was not a “penalty” on large families.
Chancellor George Osborne has unveiled proposals for a maximum limit on the amount of benefits a family can claim.
Mr Hunt said that, with the exception of the disabled, no family would receive more in benefits than the average family got from going out to work.
“The number of children that you have is a choice and what we’re saying is that if people are living on benefits then they make choices but they also have to have responsibility for those choices,” he said.
“It’s not going to be the role of the state to finance those choices.”
Mr Hunt added: “You can have children but if you are going to ask for support that is more than the average wage that people earn then we’re saying no, the state shouldn’t support that.
“That’s not fair on working people who have to pay the taxes to pay those benefits.”
The minister also said it was right to withdraw previously universal child benefit from families where one parent was paying the higher rate of income tax.
He said: “If ever there was a week when the Conservative Party and the coalition demonstrated its commitment to fairness, it’s this week when they removed child benefit from top-rate taxpayers.”
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The measure on the Welsh language is the most complicated yet by ministers Ministers have made more than 100 changes to a proposed measure or Welsh law on the Welsh language.
They say the amendments will give the Welsh language equal status with English, requiring companies and public bodies to increase their use of Welsh.
But language campaigners have condemned the measure as being too weak.
There are also concerns about the role of the proposed commissioner who will replace the Welsh Language Board in promoting the language.
A proposed new law on the Welsh language was published by the assembly government in March.
The measure is the longest and most complicated piece of legislation yet put forward by ministers in Cardiff and has resulted in sustained controversy.
Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones said the amendments make “a clear statement confirming the official status on the Welsh language and how it is given legal effect”.
In July, an all-party assembly legislation committee said it wanted a clear statement that English and Welsh are official languages of Wales.
Menna Machreth, chair of Cymdeithas Yr Iaith (Welsh Language Society), said there was clear evidence to the committee “that there was need for official status and rights for people to use the Welsh”.
She told BBC Radio Wales: “They [ministers] have not delivered on that principle.
‘Too complex’
“It’s very dangerous that the government are using the rhetoric of campaigners just to show that they have ticked the box when they haven’t actually delivered.”
Meri Huws, chair of the Welsh Language Board, said she was not convinced the language measure was being used to is full potential.
She said: “It’s too complex. A strong, clear, and perhaps simple piece of legislation would have been more useful.”
She said the role of the commissioner did not address a large proportion of the board’s work such as promotional work on the language.
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One family’s story of their fight against OCD
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The scientists join other groups to have voiced concerns about the cap The UK’s cap on immigration threatens the country’s future as a centre of scientific excellence, a group of Nobel prize-winning scientists has warned.
In a letter to the Times, the eight UK academics said the visa curbs would deprive science and industry of talent.
They said it was a “sad reflection” that scientists and engineers could not be afforded the same exception to the rules as Premier League footballers.
The government introduced a limit for work visas for non-EU citizens in June.
A key part of the Conservative election manifesto, the temporary cap of 24,100 will be replaced by permanent measures from April 2011.
In their letter, the academics wrote: “The government has seen fit to introduce an exception to the rules for Premier League footballers.
“It is a sad reflection of our priorities as a nation if we cannot afford the same recognition for elite scientists and engineers.”
“The UK must not isolate itself from the increasingly globalised world of research – British science depends on it”
Scientists’ letter to the Times
They added: “International collaborations underlie 40% of the UK’s scientific output, but would become far more difficult if we were to constrict our borders.
“The UK produces nearly 10% of the world’s scientific output with only 1% of its population; we punch above our weight because we can engage with excellence wherever it occurs.
“The UK must not isolate itself from the increasingly globalised world of research – British science depends on it.”
The CBI, the Royal Society and university vice-chancellors have already voiced concerns about the immigration cap.
Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable has said the measure is doing “huge damage” to British firms.
Downing Street said the limit would be implemented in a way that still allowed the brightest and best to come to Britain.
Two of the scientists behind the letter are Russian migrants, Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov, of the University of Manchester, who won the Nobel prize for physics on Tuesday.
They invented graphene, the world’s thinnest material which is 200 times stronger than steel.
The other signatories are Sir Paul Nurse, Sir Tim Hunt, Sir Martin Evans, Sir Harry Kroto, Sir John Walker and Sir John Sulston.
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Commonwealth Games officials are to investigate whether the quality of the water in the practice pool is causing illness among the swimmers.
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Marks and Spencer reports a sharp rise in sales but warns of tougher trading conditions in the months ahead.
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Online sports betting business Betfair says its planned flotation on the London stock market will raise up to £1.5bn.
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There are fears an infestation of bed bugs could be about the arrive in the UK in huge numbers.
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Recordings of Betjeman, Larkin, Tennyson and Thomas
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New regulations come into force in China that require managers of mines to accompany workers down the shafts, in an effort to improve safety.
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Kurt Campbell (centre) said North and South Korea have to talk to each other Progress towards ending North Korea’s nuclear programme rests on re-engagement between North and South Korea, a top US diplomat has said.
The US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters that some signs of cross-border dialogue could be found but more were needed.
Multinational talks on how to end the North’s nuclear plans have stalled.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is also thought to be grooming his youngest son Kim Jong-un to succeed him.
Efforts to restart the nuclear talks have been hindered by tensions over the alleged North Korean sinking of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, on 26 March this year, at a cost of 46 South Korean lives.
Mr Campbell, whose latest visit to Seoul ends later today, said “some signs of dialogue, engagement between North and South Koreas and we encourage that process to continue”.
Last week, the two Koreas agreed to organise a reunion of families divided by the Korean War – the first in a year.
South Korea has also said it is considering a proposal from the North to restart a stalled tourism joint venture.
“The critical component in terms of developments on the some Korean peninsula, in the current environment, is to see re-engagement between North and South Koreas,” Mr Campbell told reporters.
“We’re sending a very clear message that we have total trust and confidence in a partner in South Korea.
Kim Jong-un has been promoted to the pinnacle of North Korean power “I think we’re also looking for a clear and demonstrable commitments on the part of North Koreans to fulfil their commitments are they made on the denuclearisation in 2005,” he said.
The ailing North Korean leader Kim Jon-il’s third son, Kim Jong-un, was promoted to senior military and ruling party posts last week.
“The North Korean nuclear threat has, in reality, been accelerating and has now reached an extremely dangerous level,” deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo said.
Heightening the dangers, he said, was the succession:
“Kim is young and lacks experience, so there is a chance that he might develop an appetite for yet another risk or be tempted to engage in provocation to prove himself to the outside world,” the presidential adviser said.
On Tuesday this week, Kim Jong-un was reported to be viewing military exercises with his father, and on Thursday was reported to have attended a concert to mark the 65th anniversary of the Workers Party’s founding on Sunday.
North Korea has active nuclear and missile programmes and conducted underground atomic tests in 2006 and 2009.
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England archers Danielle Brown, Nicky Hunt and Nichola Simpson win gold in the women’s team compound final, beating Canada 232-229 in the final.
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Owen Paterson is to meet the families of the 11 people shot dead by soldiers in 1971 Secretary of State Owen Patterson is to meet the families of 11 people shot dead by the Parachute Regiment in west Belfast in 1971.
The families, from the Ballymurphy area, are calling for an independent international inquiry into the deaths.
A Catholic priest and a mother-of-eight were among those killed over a three-day period in the city.
The troops claimed they opened fire after being shot at by republicans.
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A recent teacher survey suggested pupil behaviour had got worse (picture posed by models) Attacks on teachers in schools in Wales hit a five-year high last year, according to figures obtained by BBC Wales.
Between 2005 and 2010, nearly 4,000 staff were subjected to abuse, with some suffering broken bones.
The worst cases saw staff butted and hit with weapons such as door-stoppers, pool cues and chairs.
New assembly government powers on school discipline come into force this month.
A recent survey suggested 70% of UK teachers had considered quitting due to poor pupil behaviour.
The 2010 Behaviour Survey conducted by Teacher Support Network, Parentline Plus and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) found that 92% of respondents said pupil behaviour had got worse over the course of their career.
Iwan Guy, acting director of headteachers union NAHT Cymru, said more protection for teachers was needed.
He said: “The most difficult part for teachers if they have been assaulted by a pupil who is then suspended, is that they return to school and often the teachers have to face them again in class.
“I think teachers need more protection than they currently receive”
Iwan Guy NAHT Cymru
“Teachers are experiencing more violence and even things like being filmed on mobile phones while they are teaching.
“It is a societal problem but what’s the answer?
“I think teachers need more protection than they currently receive.”
The number of attacks on teachers and other school staff such as dinner ladies and teaching assistants rose from between 807 and 823 in 2008-09 to between 909 and 933 in 2009-2010.
The figures are not exact as Torfaen council provided figures in groups of five to protect the identity of individual pupils.
Pupils in special schools and units were responsible for the majority of attacks, the figures suggested.
All local authorities in Wales were asked via a freedom of information request to reveal details about recorded assaults between the 2005-2006 school year and 2009-2010.
Of the councils asked, 17 were able to provide the requested data. Anglesey and Blaenau Gwent did not hold the required figures, Carmarthenshire said the information required exceeded the necessary limit for such requests and Rhondda Cynon Taf did not reply.
The authority which recorded the most attacks was Newport while Gwynedd had the fewest.
Not all authorities broke down the assaults into categories, but those that did revealed some incidents including these:
A teacher hit with pool balls, a pool cue and sworn atA primary school pupil attacked a teacher with a door-stop, and punched and spat at themAnother primary pupil butted a teacher, leaving them with a split lipOne teacher attacked with a sharp object. another suffered sexual harassment and four gang-related violenceOne member of staff hit with a door and another’s car damagedA head teacher attacked with a rakeOne teacher suffered a broken wrist in an assaultA teaching assistant fracturef a rib when kicked and pushed into a tableA pupil with behavioural difficulties caused a teacher to break an arm during an attempt to run away from school
Julian Stanley, chief executive of Teacher Support Network, said that poor behaviour was at the heart of many teachers’ health and wellbeing issues.
The recent survey commissioned by the network showed 81% of respondents had experienced stress, anxiety or depression as a result of bad behaviour, while 79% of teachers said that they felt unable to teach as effectively due to poor behaviour.
He said: “We are not saying that behaviour is an issue in every classroom, in every school, but we are concerned that poor behaviour is leading some great teachers to leave the profession.
A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said: “Parents and teachers need to work together to create safe, respectful school communities, where teachers, and by extension their children, can reach their full potential.”
“On Monday the Education Minister, Leighton Andrews, signed an order meaning the powers contained in the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 will come into effect in Wales on 31 October, 2010.
“This will mean new powers and duties for school discipline, parental responsibility and exclusion.
“It includes revised guidance on the use of force to control or restrain pupils and guidance relating to the new power for schools to be able to search pupils for weapons without their consent.
“This shows how determined we are to stamp out violence from our schools.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.