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18.05 | 0 komentar | Read More

Clegg spoof video to be released

20 September 2012 Last updated at 07:48 ET

A spoof video where Nick Clegg appears to sing an apology about his party's tuition fees u-turn is to be released as a single on iTunes.

The deputy prime minister has given his permission for the film to be issued by satirical website thepoke after it received thousands of views.

Aides said that he had requested all profits be given to Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust.

Mr Clegg's wife Miriam is a patron of the hospital.

An "auto-tune" version of Mr Clegg's statement - in which he repeatedly sings sorry - emerged on Thursday.

The official version, in which Mr Clegg apologises for the Lib Dems breaking their pre-election pledge not to raise tuition fees, is to be officially broadcast on Monday - the third day of the party's autumn conference.

Asked about the spoof video's release, Lib Dem pensions minister Steve Webb joked that the party would be hiring the website to produce its next party political broadcast.

He told the BBC's Daily Politics that it "took guts" for Mr Clegg to make such a public apology and that political parties did not get anywhere without "taking chances".

"He knew this was going to be on You Tube," he said. "He knew it was going to be out there but he thought it was the right thing to do and I agree with him."

20 Sep, 2012

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Fewer civil servants get top pay

20 September 2012 Last updated at 07:03 ET

There are 57 fewer senior civil servants earning £150,000 or more a year than there were twelve months ago.

Newly published government figures show there are 234 people working in Whitehall earning £150,000 or more, down from 291 in 2011 and 372 in 2010.

The Cabinet Office said the salary bill for top-earners had been cut by 18% in the past year.

The highest-paid official was Dennis Hone, Olympic Delivery Authority boss, earning between £310,000 and £314,999.

He is the only government employee to earn more than £300,000.

However, 32 civil servants earned between £200,000 and £300,000, while 181 were paid between £150,000 and £200,000.

The Department of Health had the highest number of top-earning staff, with 42 on salaries in excess of £150,000.

This compared with 22 in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 16 in the Ministry of Defence, 13 each at the Cabinet Office and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and 11 at the Home Office.

Among the top earners across Whitehall last year were:

• General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, on £240,000-£244,999
• Sir David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive, on £265,000-£269,999
• Andrew Haines, chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, on £260,000-£269,999
• Alan Langlands, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council, £230,000-£234,999

The country's most senior civil servant, Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, was paid between £190,000 and £194,999.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said four civil servants at the rank of permanent secretary or chief executive got pay rises - two in the Department of Transport, and the bosses of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Serious Fraud Office.

In contrast, 20 of those earning more than £150,000 have had pay cuts.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said that since the coalition came to power there had been a 37% fall in the number of people working in central government earning £150,000 or more.

About £8.7m had been saved by cutting the bill for top earners between March 2011 and 2012, he added.

Thursday's figures cover those working in central government and public quangos but not local authorities.

Government adviser Lord Browne warned earlier this year that the coalition's crackdown on pay at the top echelons of the civil service was making it difficult to recruit "talented" staff.

While the calibre of civil servants was "generally very high", the former BP boss said there was a lack of staff with commercial skills or expertise in handling major projects.

20 Sep, 2012

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First minister risk register row

20 September 2012 Last updated at 02:28 ET By Toby Mason Political reporter, BBC Wales

The Welsh government has been criticised for refusing to publish its assessment of the risks it faces, despite making health boards do so.

The first minister personally turned down a BBC Wales request under the Freedom of Information Act to see the government's corporate risk register.

Carwyn Jones said its disclosure would cause "substantial harm".

The registers are a list of all risks an organisation faces - including financial, security and IT.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

It's important that people have access to this sort of information, and if they're trying to force health boards to publish, then they ought to do it themselves"

End Quote Darren Millar AM Assembly public accounts committee chair

Darren Millar AM, chair of the assembly's public accounts committee, said: "It smacks of double standards".

In June, Health Minister Lesley Griffiths said she would be instructing all seven local health boards (LHBs) in Wales to publish their own corporate risk registers on their websites.

The registers assess the likelihood of each risk happening, the impact each would have if they did, and counter-measures that could be put into effect.

The government describes its corporate risk register as laying out "the key risks to the overall delivery of the Welsh government's strategic priorities".

Many of the LHB risk registers, now in the public domain, contain highly sensitive concerns about risks to patient care.

Back in May, the Hywel Dda health board register warned of serious risks at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli.

Public alarm

Mr Millar called on the Welsh government to reconsider its position.

"It's important that people have access to this sort of information, and if they're trying to force health boards to publish, then they ought to do it themselves," he said.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The public interest in avoiding substantial harm to the matters protected by the exemptions cited above outweighs the public interest "

End Quote Welsh government

Asked whether the Welsh government was merely trying to avoid causing public alarm or protect sensitive security details, Mr Millar said he accepted that some information should not necessarily be published.

"I can only assume there are some things which understandably they do not want to publicise, such as detailed legal advice on a whole range of issues which might be inappropriate to place into the public domain," he said.

"But there are certainly pieces of information they could publish to bring them into line with what they are asking the health boards to do."

Alexandra Runswick, of the Unlock Democracy pressure group, backed the Welsh government's decision to get the health service risk registers published, but said it made the refusal to disclose its own difficult to understand.

She said the Welsh government needed to consider the implications of its decision on the culture of open government it was trying to foster.

BBC Wales has appealed against the first minister's decision not to publish the risk register.

The Welsh government has accepted there is a public interest in its disclosure.

'Prejudice and distort'

It added: "Release of the register may enable members of the public to understand better some of the issues facing the Welsh government when implementing its strategic programme."

But it also said that publication would make it harder for civil servants to give "free and frank advice" to ministers.

It warned: "Publishing risk registers may also appear to legitimise possible but unlikely risks.

"This could prejudice and distort informed public debate about important issues which in turn could have an impact on the conduct of public affairs.

"In addition the effective conduct of public affairs could be prejudiced if publication led to officials becoming less inclined to contemplate all possible risks and being less candid in advice offered."

It concluded: "We have weighed the competing public interest arguments and have concluded in this case that the public interest in avoiding substantial harm to the matters protected by the exemptions cited above outweighs the public interest in the disclosure of this information."

20 Sep, 2012

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Poor pupils 'lose out on funding'

20 September 2012 Last updated at 04:29 ET

More than half of schools given money to support poor pupils say it is having little or no impact on the way they provide for disadvantaged students.

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said it was a "real worry" if cash set aside in a government scheme was being diverted for "tarmacking playgrounds".

But schools minister David Laws said an "accountability mechanism" would help schools in England target the money.

The pupil premium is a key coalition policy, initiated by the Lib Dems.

Continue reading the main story

• The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 for pupils in England from low-income families
• In 2011-12 it was set at £488 per pupil - £625m in total and in 2012/13 it rose to £600 - £1.25bn in total
• The premium is available for children eligible for free school meals and pupils in care
• It has been extended from 2012-13 to pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the past six years
• Schools are free to spend the extra funding as they see fit but from September 2012, the government requires schools to publish information about how they use it
• There is also a service premium for children whose parents serve in the armed forces; this was £200 in 2011-12 and rose to £250 for 2012-13

Under the scheme, schools in disadvantaged areas in England are allotted £600 per head to help give extra support to poorer children.

The Ofsted report, which surveyed and inspected nearly 300 schools, found that half the schools thought the pupil premium was having a positive impact on raising achievement, but few could provide evidence to back this up.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Michael said: "We found that over 50% said that it was having either little or no impact on the way they organise and manage their schools in relation to the use of money on poor children.

"We find that surprising - this is a large chunk of public money."

Mr Laws said the government would not wish to "micro-manage" schools.

But he added: "Critically, while we're giving those schools freedom to use the money as they think best, we are also putting in place an accountability mechanism which will ensure that they use the money in the right way."

He said this meant that during visits to schools, Ofsted inspectors would "look at whether the schools are closing the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils".

Then inspectors would "look at the ways they are using the money" and be "critical" where this was not effective.

The report comes as other Liberal Democrat policies come under scrutiny, with leader Nick Clegg and Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable apologising for breaking their party's pledge to oppose increasing student tuition fees.

20 Sep, 2012

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Electric car money 'only for few'

19 September 2012 Last updated at 22:47 ET

Government spending of £11m to encourage people to drive electric cars has benefited only a "handful of motorists", MPs have said.

They also warned the scheme was being used to subsidise second cars for more affluent households.

In a report, the Transport Select Committee questioned whether this represented a good use of public money.

The government offers grants of up to £5,000 towards the cost of plug-in cars in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.

And a network of more than 1,600 public charging points has been set up across the country to encourage drivers to switch.

Chair of the cross-party committee, Louise Ellman MP said: "The government must do more to show that its plug-in vehicle strategy is a good use of public money.

'Far more work'

"Carbon emissions from transport must be reduced if the UK is to meet its climate change targets, but public money must be targeted on effective policies.

"So far, Department for Transport expenditure on plug-in cars - some £11m - has benefited just a handful of motorists.

"We were warned of the risk that the government is subsidising second cars for affluent households; currently plug-in cars are mostly being purchased as second cars for town driving."

The committee said it was unclear whether the government scheme, which was part of the coalition agreement, actually encouraged demand for plug-in cars.

The government had said it expects there to be tens of thousands of these cars on Britain's roads by 2015, with the number reaching six figures by 2020.

But the committee found that following the introduction of the grants in January 2011 only 1,052 eligible cars had been registered - up from 111 in 2010.

Ms Ellman said: "Ministers should not sit back and hope that the Government's policy on plug-in cars will reduce transport carbon emissions.

"Far more work is required to ensure that this programme is a good use of public funds."

In future, the government should set targets for the number of electric cars they expect to see on the roads and establish a national registry of vehicle charge points, the committee said.

20 Sep, 2012

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UK cities get fast broadband cash

20 September 2012 Last updated at 00:06

The government has announced how it will share the money promised to 10 UK cities to allow them to create superfast broadband networks.

London gets the largest share of the £114m pot with £25m, followed by Leeds and Bradford, which will divide £14.4m.

The money will be used to build city-wide networks, offering homes and businesses speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second).

The government wants to make the UK the fastest place in Europe by 2015.

A further £50m is to be awarded to ten smaller cities.

Continue reading the main story

• London - £25m
• Leeds and Bradford - £14.4m
• Belfast - £13.7m
• Manchester - £12m
• Bristol - £11.3m
• Cardiff - £11m
• Edinburgh - £10.7m
• Birmingham - £10m
• Newcastle - £6m

Digital leaders

New culture secretary Maria Miller promised last week to cut the red tape associated with broadband rollouts.

She hopes that the city networks can be built soon.

"These 10 cities have produced ambitious and comprehensive plans, which will turn them into digital leaders, and give their local economies a real boost," she said.

The new investment will help put these cities at the centre of the digital stage, competing for jobs and investment with the best in the world," she added.

Alongside the government money, each city is expected to invest some of its own funds in the broadband projects.

The 10 cities' plans are expected to bring superfast broadband access (offering speeds between 80 and 100 megabits per second) to around an extra 230,000 residential and 55,000 business premises as well as high speed wireless to even more.

All the networks are due to be completed by 2015.

20 Sep, 2012

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Council opposes easier extensions

19 September 2012 Last updated at 22:57 ET

A Conservative council is set to defy the government over a relaxation of planning rules for building extensions.

The proposals, covering England and intended to boost the economy, will allow larger home and business extensions without planning permission.

But, amid fears of a rash of ugly extensions, Richmond council officials, in south-west London, are considering ways to circumvent the policy.

The government said councils still had powers to block developments.

A month-long consultation is currently under way on the proposal to ease rules, for a three-year period, on developments including home extensions of up to 8m - compared with the current 3-4m limit on extensions without planning permission.

Unveiling the proposals earlier this month, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "This government means business in delivering plans to help people build new homes and kick-start the economy.

"We're determined to cut through the bureaucracy that holds us back. That starts with getting the planners off our backs, getting behind the businesses that have the ambition to expand and meeting the aspirations of families that want to buy or improve a home."

But, according to BBC deputy political editor James Landale, the plan "has angered many Conservative MPs and councillors who think the policy would alienate many of the party's suburban supporters if unattractive extensions sprang up across the country".

'Foolish proposals'

The BBC has learned that Richmond council has formally agreed a motion to "oppose the government's proposals to significantly extend permitted development rights".

On Tuesday evening, council leader Nick True told colleagues: "I have already asked the chief executive with officers to consider what this council might be able to do if we are not successful in getting these, in my view, very foolish proposals changed."

Council officials said they were "reading through the proposals with legal advisers with a fine tooth-comb to identify any flexibility".

Conservative sources in Westminster said it was right for the party to support aspiration and people who wanted to improve their homes.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "The government has eased the planning restrictions and costly bureaucracy that prevents families and businesses from making improvements to their properties because it will help thousands of people move up the property ladder or expand their business without having to relocate.

"However, if there are genuine local concerns councils can withdraw permitted development rights locally using existing powers - known as article four directions - if the exercise of those planning freedoms resulted in unacceptable impacts on their community."

20 Sep, 2012

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Nudge unit to advise in Australia

19 September 2012 Last updated at 22:50 ET

An "innovative" government unit set up by one of David Cameron's closest aides is to start exporting knowledge to Australia.

The "Nudge Unit" advises government on ways to encourage people to change behaviour, without using compulsion.

It claims to have helped increase court fine payments and late tax payments by employing its unusual techniques.

Ministers said the unit had saved taxpayers money and showed the UK was a world leader in behavioural change.

The approach is based on a school of thought that "nudging" people in a certain direction is more productive and cost-effective than trying to change behaviour by banning things or passing regulation.

It was championed by Steve Hilton, a former close aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, who helped establish the Behavioural Insights Team at No 10 after the 2010 general election.

'Global scale'

The government says the unit has identified at least £300m in savings since its launch, which has sparked the interest of the New South Wales government in Australia.

The unit claims to have helped the UK Court Service save £30m a year and reduce bailiff interventions by 150,000 by sending personalised text messages to those with outstanding court fines.

Telling late tax payers that other people in their town have already paid up has boosted payment rates by 15%, the unit said, generating another £30m in extra revenue.

Grants Shapps, a minister at the Cabinet Office, said: "As a government, we've led the way in this innovative field.

"Behavioural insight is about giving power back to the individual, encouraging them to think about their choices and how those choices will affect them in the long term.

"The work of the unit has improved public services and saved taxpayers' money - so I'm proud that it will be recognised on a global scale."

The Cabinet Office refused to reveal how much the deal with New South Wales is worth.

Chris Eccles, director general of the New South Wales Department for Premier and Cabinet, said: "We're delighted to be working in partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team to promote the greater application of behavioural insights in New South Wales.

"We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to improve service delivery and reduce the impact of regulation by enabling people to make better choices for themselves."

The unit was originally set up for a period of two years. However, it is set to continue after a recent review found it had met its objectives.

The prime minister said the unit should be allowed "greater freedom and flexibilities" to apply its approach within and outside government.

20 Sep, 2012

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Swinney budget to focus on growth

19 September 2012 Last updated at 19:50 ET

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has promised that his 2013/14 spending plans will be a "relentless pursuit of economic growth".

It is understood that the minister, who will present his budget to Holyrood later, will signal an end to the public sector pay freeze.

Mr Swinney has said that despite UK government cuts his budget will focus on growth.

Opposition MSPs have warned the economy must be at the heart of the plans.

The freeze on public sector pay for those earning more than £21,000 was implemented in the 2011/12 financial year and was due to come to an end in March 2013.

Mr Swinney has direct control over pay when it comes to Scottish government workers and staff at quangos, but local authority employees negotiate directly with council bosses.

The minister will tell MSPs how much money will be allocated to schools, the NHS, housing and other devolved areas from a total cash budget of £28.4bn.

Ahead of his budget address, he said: "At a time when we face significant economic challenges this government is focussed on jobs, economic growth, protecting public services and supporting Scotland's household budgets.

"The government has argued consistently that we need to have a strong programme of capital investment to support investment in the Scottish economy, in particular the construction sector."

Scottish Conservative finance spokesman, Gavin Brown, warned though that the budget had to put the economy centre stage and not just pay "lip service" to it.

Growth and fairness

He said: "In the past the SNP has simply talked about prioritising the economy without actually doing it. It is time for them to stop harming areas that help economic growth such as housing and colleges, and stop introducing Scotland-only taxes such as the damaging retail levy."

Labour's finance spokesman Ken Macintosh said he wanted to see a budget for jobs, growth and fairness.

He added: "It is scandalous that rather than putting in place a substantial employment programme, the SNP have now laid off more than 30,000 public sector workers in little more than a year.

"John Swinney needs to stop hiding behind Westminster or trying to blame our local authorities and start taking responsibility for his own budget decisions."

20 Sep, 2012

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