First badger cull licence issued

17 September 2012 Last updated at 07:21 ET By Helen Briggs BBC News

The first licence allowing farmers to shoot badgers in an attempt to reduce cattle TB is to be issued on Monday.

The licensing body, Natural England, said the cull would go ahead in Gloucestershire, where cases are high.

Ministers are pressing ahead with plans to cull badgers in two areas of the South West, amid pressure from farmers.

The science behind the culls is uncertain; a decade-long scientific trial of badger culling concluded there were only modest benefits.

Some wild badgers can become infected with the bacteria that causes bovine TB, and pass the infection on to cattle.

Natural England is about to issue the licence for Gloucestershire, while a second, for Somerset, is still being assessed.

A spokesperson told BBC News, "One will issued later today for the Gloucestershire area."

The licenses will allow farmers to shoot up to 70% of badgers in the pilot zones.

The first cull is expected to begin with days or weeks in a precise area of West Gloucestershire which is being kept secret.

Continue reading the main story

• West Gloucestershire pilot area description: mainly in the county of Gloucestershire, predominantly within the council districts of the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury, and parts lie within the districts of Wychavon, Malvern Hills and the south east part of the county of Herefordshire. The area does not include the public forest estate in the Forest of Dean.

• West Somerset pilot area description: located in the county of Somerset. The application area predominantly lies within the council district of West Somerset and part lies within the district of Taunton Deane.
• Source: Natural England

The cull, which is being paid for by the farmers taking part, will allow the shooting of free-running badgers.

Animal welfare and wildlife campaigners have opposed the cull, but lost their fight in the High Court last week.

Defra says the action is necessary to protect cattle from bovine TB, which leads to the slaughter of thousands of cattle each year.

A Defra spokesperson said: "We will continue to work with the farming industry so badger control in two pilot areas can start as soon as is practical.

"No one wants to cull badgers but last year bovine TB led to the slaughter of over 26,000 cattle and to help eradicate the disease it needs to be tackled in badgers."

Plans to begin culling in Wales were recently abandoned in favour of a vaccination policy. There are no proposals to cull badgers in Scotland, where TB incidence is low.

17 Sep, 2012

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Universal credit plans 'on track'

17 September 2012 Last updated at 07:48 ET

Downing Street has dismissed calls to delay the introduction of the universal credit benefit system.

A spokesman said the project, being pushed through by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, was "on track and on time".

He said: "It is a vital part of our welfare reform agenda and we are fully committed to it."

Seventy organisations have raised concerns about new monthly payments, access to an online system and IT.

The universal credit will replace jobseeker's allowance, tax credits, income support, employment and support allowance - formerly known as incapacity benefit - and housing benefits with a single payment.

The system will be "piloted" in parts of north-east England next April and will come into force nationally for new claimants from October 2013. Existing claimants will be transferred to the new system in stages until 2017.

Written evidence, seen by BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend programme, was submitted to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee by 70 organisations representing councils, charities, trades unions, businesses and housing groups.

The Women's Budget Group and the singe parents' group Gingerbread raised concerns over the effect of monthly, rather than fortnightly, payments on household budgets.

The Local Government Association, meanwhile, was among those concerned there was "a real risk that the central government universal credit IT systems will not be ready on time".

Pressed on whether the October 2013 start date for the new benefit could be put back, the Downing Street spokesman said: "It's on track to be implemented in that timetable."

Mr Duncan Smith is set to appear before the Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee at 16:30 BST on Monday.

17 Sep, 2012

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Cancer patient work plans altered

17 September 2012 Last updated at 06:25 ET

Fewer cancer patients will have to look for work while receiving treatment, under revised proposals from the Department for Work and Pensions.

The change is part of the coalition government's response to a review of work capability assessments.

It said people "awaiting, receiving or recovering" from chemotherapy or radiotherapy could now be treated as having a "limited capacity" for work.

They would continue to receive sickness benefits, without having to seek work.

The time limits on employment and support allowance payments for people undergoing treatment for cancer were too short, and patients were wrongly being classed as fit to work before they had recovered, according to cancer charities.

The work capability assessments were reviewed by Prof Malcolm Harrington.

17 Sep, 2012

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UK social attitudes 'hardening'

17 September 2012 Last updated at 05:19 ET

Concerns about immigration and support for welfare reform are growing, a study of British social attitudes suggests.

The data from NatCen Social Research - based on the views of some 3,300 people - also shows a widespread anxiety about the prospect of further spending cuts.

But for the first time in nearly a decade, there was a rise in the number of those who think spending and taxes should be increased, the report says.

It comes after news the UK economy shrank by less than thought up to June.

The latest revised data from the Office for National Statistics found the economy contracted by 0.5% during the quarter between April and June - less than the 0.7% it announced in July.

The British Social Attitudes survey asks more than 3,000 people every year what it is like to live in Britain and how they think Britain is run.

Despite the tough economic climate, the study by independent social research agency NatCen reveals attitudes towards welfare and welfare claimants have toughened.

'Toughening attitude'

Only 28% of those asked wanted to see more spending on welfare - down from 35% at the beginning of the recession in 2008, and from 58% in 1991.

Report author and NatCen chief executive, Penny Young, said the study showed the public's view on welfare was "in tune... with the coalition's policies".

She said: "The recession doesn't seem to be changing things; attitudes continue to harden.

"One thing that we've seen is that even where groups are seen as perhaps more deserving - so retired people, disabled people - again for the first time since 2008 we've seen that the number of people who are prepared to see more money go on disability benefits has actually fallen."

And on immigration, the report suggests British people "strongly favour migrants they see to be socially beneficial", according to the report.

Some 51% would like to see immigration levels "reduce a lot", a figure which has risen from 39% in 1995.

The data also shows a further 24% would like to see levels "reduce a little".

Meanwhile, the proportion of people who want to see further public spending - even if this requires higher taxes - jumped from 31% to 36% between 2010 and 2011, after falling for nearly a decade from 63% in 2002.

More than half - 55% - would like spending levels to stay where they are.

At the same time, the report reveals many Britons are worried about the impact of spending cuts on public services, particularly education and health.

Satisfaction with the NHS fell from 70% in 2010 to 58% in 2011, according to the figures.

17 Sep, 2012

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School uniforms 'cost too much'

13 September 2012 Last updated at 06:01 ET

The cost of some school uniforms is unacceptably high, Stormont Education Minister John O'Dowd has said.

"We have sent guidance out to all schools informing boards of governors that when they are designing uniforms, they should take the affordability into account," he said.

Mr O'Dowd told the BBC's Nolan Show his department did not have the authority to legally enforce these guidelines.

Some parents have little choice between available retailers selling uniforms.

Continue reading the main story

"You have the blazer, which is £39.99, then the shirt costs £5.50 which is not too bad.

"The trousers were £25.99. I was quite surprised by that. This is from the school's recommended retailer. The tie is £4.50, so in total that comes to almost £76.

"It was the cost of the PE kit which really shocked me. For the t-shirt alone, it was £38.99 and the shorts were £24.99."

Mr O'Dowd said parents of prospective students should raise the issue with schools.

"The cost of certain uniforms at individual schools is totally unacceptable, and they are probably a barrier to some families accessing that school," he said.

"Parents should not have to decide what school their child attends on the basis of whether they can afford the uniform.

"If a number of children are attending the same school, the bills soon mount up for the family."

13 Sep, 2012

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Small firms in 'finance struggle'

16 September 2012 Last updated at 22:30 ET

Small firms are struggling to raise the money they need to expand, according to a survey by business leaders.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that 42% of those who applied for a loan said they were turned down.

The FSB said that while companies were weathering the recession well, business confidence was declining.

The British Bankers' Association said lenders were continuing to provide credit to customers.

They were also helping customers find alternative sources of funding if the banks could not provide it themselves, the association added.

Nearly two thirds of those in the FSB survey said they thought finance was unaffordable.

About half the 2,600 respondents wanted to expand in the coming 12 months, the survey found.

But the survey suggested the number of refusals had increased - from 40.6% to 42.4% on the previous quarter.

Continue reading the main story

The message is clear - businesses want to grow and invest but they need a helping hand to do so"

End Quote John Walker Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses

The FSB said that, while many small firms would like to expand their businesses, access to funding was proving frustrating.

The federation claimed that a lack of credit had contributed to a marked drop in confidence, and said it welcomed the government's plan to set up a state-owned business bank.

But it warned that the proposals needed to be carefully thought through.

FSB chairman John Walker said: "It isn't surprising that confidence fell back into negative territory as the recession entered its third quarter as growth flatlines.

"The message is clear though - businesses want to grow and invest but they need a helping hand to do so. It is frustrating that bank finance is still difficult to get.

"No matter what is said about demand, more than 40% of applicants have been refused in each quarter this year. This has to change if growth aspirations are to be met."

17 Sep, 2012

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Clegg hails plans for new exams

16 September 2012 Last updated at 23:50 ET

Changes to the exam system for 16-year-olds in England will "give parents confidence" in the examinations their children take in the future, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said.

Mr Clegg and Education Secretary Michael Gove are due to unveil the new exam regime.

GCSEs will be ditched in 2015, and replaced with what ministers claim will be a more rigorous system.

Assessment will be based on an O-level style single end-of-year exam.

New system

Liberal Democrat aides to the deputy prime minister have described the changes as "radical reform", the result of intense negotiations over the past three months.

Mr Clegg also said the coalition changes would "raise standards for all our children" but he added that it would "not exclude any children".

The Conservatives have pushed for a return to the old O-level system, with the emphasis on a single end-of-year exam.

However, the Liberal Democrats had insisted there should not be a return to a two-tier system - similar to O-levels and CSEs - where a small group of more able children take more demanding exams.

Mr Clegg, who has been involved in negotiations over the changes, said it would have been wrong to go back the old dual exam system.

He said: "We've been working across the government and the coalition to create a new exam system - which we will explain in detail - which will do three simple things.

"Firstly give parents confidence in the exams their children are taking, secondly raise standards for all our children in schools in the country but thirdly and crucially not exclude any children from the new exam system.

"All of those elements will be in the details which we will be revealing this week."

Mr Gove will set out the changes in detail in the Commons.

When initial details of the new exam were leaked at the weekend, Labour said it supported more rigorous exams but only if they do not act as a cap on aspiration.

High-achieving nations

The plans were welcomed by Katie Ivens from the Campaign for Real Education.

She said: "GCSE has lost its credibility very largely - very few people actually respect GCSEs. Modularity has been greatly discredited, as was coursework, and we very badly need an exam for our 16-year-olds at the end of their compulsory education."

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said GCSEs needed to be reviewed but bringing back an O-level style exam was not the answer.

"I hope that these proposals are not going to be telling us that we're going to have a system that goes back to something that we used to have in the 1950s, which was suited to a very small part of the population," he said.

"What we want is an examination system that will enable all people to do well. And they'll have to meet high standards in order to achieve in those exams. That's absolutely fine."

The new single exam qualification will be introduced in 2015 with the first students sitting the tests in 2017.

Pass rates

The move would be the biggest change in the exam system in a generation.

GCSEs were introduced in the late 1980s, to replace the system of O-levels and CSEs, with the first GCSE exams taken in 1988.

Pass rates have gone up every year except for this one, drawing claims that they were getting progressively easier.

The move comes amid controversy over this year's GCSE exams in English and whether they were too harshly graded.

This weekend examiners in Wales are regrading English papers taken under the WJEC examining board, after Welsh Education Minister Leighton Andrews ordered a review of results.

Mr Gove attacked that decision, saying it would "undermine confidence" in the value of the qualifications obtained by the students involved.

The Welsh government has said it will not rush into a decision about the future of GCSEs in Wales.

In Scotland, pupils take Standard Grades, Highers and Advanced Highers rather than GCSEs and A-levels.

There are no planned changes to GCSEs taken by students in Northern Ireland.

17 Sep, 2012

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Income levels 'to rise next year'

16 September 2012 Last updated at 10:27 ET

UK households will see a rise in real income levels next year for the first time since the onset of the financial crisis, a study suggests.

Taking inflation into account, incomes are set to rise by 0.5% in 2013, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

But they will drop by 0.2% this year, the group said.

Households have struggled in recent years with low or no wage rises and relatively high inflation.

Falling inflation

Many people have seen wage freezes during the economic downturn, with inflation rising sharply between September 2009 and September 2011 to stand at 5.2%, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index.

It has fallen steadily since then to 2.6%, apart from a small rise in the rate of inflation last month.

Unemployment also rose sharply during the downturn, from 1.61 million in May 2008 to 2.59 million in July 2012.

The CEBR said real levels of income would start to pick up as inflation fell further, with middle and low-income families benefiting the most.

Middle-income households would see incomes rise by 1% next year, with lower-income families seeing a rise of 1.5%.

The richest households would see incomes rise by 0.7%, the research estimated. This is because of a drop in top executives' pay and bonuses and the scaling back of some tax allowances.

Similar increases would be seen across the board in 2014 and 2015, it suggested.

'Retail boost'

The CEBR said improvements in real income levels would have a knock effect for struggling retailers.

Over the next 12 months, it predicted retail sales volumes to rise by 2.5%.

"After four barren years, there is finally a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for retailers," said CEBR economist Daniel Solomon.

"Conditions will still be tough, just slightly easier than before."

Many retailers have struggled during the UK economic downturn. The economy is officially back in recession after contracting for the past three quarters.

16 Sep, 2012

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Economy may be recovering - Major

16 September 2012 Last updated at 08:11 ET

Sir John Major tells Andrew Marr UK economic revcovery begins "from the darkest moment"

The British economy may have passed its "darkest moment" and an economic recovery may be under way, former prime minister Sir John Major has said.

He said falling unemployment and a rising stock market indicated Britain was now on a "slow road to recovery".

Sir John also urged Tory MPs to rally round David Cameron's leadership and dismissed suggestions Boris Johnson could mount a leadership challenge.

He said the Conservative Party had learnt regicide was "not a good idea".

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on the 20th anniversary of Black Wednesday - the day Britain had to pull out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism - Sir John said that Britain may already have weathered the worst of the economic storm.

He likened the current economic situation to that of the early 1990s when Chancellor Norman Lamont predicted he could see the "green shoots" of recovery - a comment that was seen as a major gaffe that jarred with people's everyday experience of falling living standards.

'Long-running sore'

Sir John said: "Normal Lamont was taken to pieces by commentators for suggesting there were green shoots. But in retrospect we can see that Norman was right.

"Recovery begins from the darkest moment. I'm not certain, but I think we have passed the darkest moment."

Continue reading the main story

David Cameron is prime minister. He is going to remain prime minister and he is going to contest the next election"

End Quote Sir John Major

"There are some oddities in the figures at the moment: Why in the depths of this recession is employment growing? Why is industrial production going up? Why has the stock market risen?

"There are things happening out there that will become apparent and we don't quite know why or how. My guess - and this is something a minister can't say but I can - is that in due course we will find that we passed the bottom."

The former prime minister, who negotiated Britain's opt-out from joining the euro, said he thought the eurozone crisis would lead to a two-tier Europe - with closer integration for euro members.

He said the process could take up to 10 years and would spark a UK referendum on Britain's relationship with the European Union.

"What you're now seeing, out of failure and not success, is the euro core looking to integrate further, much more towards a federal structure," he said.

"That offers an opportunity for us to clean up one of the long-running sores of British politics, which is our relationship with the rest of Europe."

Amid speculation that some Tory MPs are unhappy with David Cameron's leadership, Sir John - who faced questions over his leadership as prime minister - backed Mr Cameron to lead the Conservatives into the next election.

'Attractive and able'

It was not surprising, he said, for people to be critical of the leadership when "times are tough" and divisions within a party were "an inevitability of politics".

"I would have thought that if the Conservative Party has learned anything in the last 20 years, it's learnt that regicide is not a good idea," he said.

He praised Mayor of London Boris Johnson - whose popularity is seen as having increased following the Olympics - as a "very attractive and able and intelligent politician" who is doing a "supremely good job" in London.

But, he added: "Boris isn't in Parliament. Boris hasn't said he wishes to become prime minister - quite the reverse.

"The belief that suddenly everything is going to change - you're going to have a leadership challenge and you're going to have a replacement of the prime minister - I think isn't in the real world.

"David Cameron is prime minister. He is going to remain prime minister and he is going to contest the next election and I very much hope he's going to win it."

16 Sep, 2012

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Road charge for foreign lorries

16 September 2012 Last updated at 00:54 ET

Foreign lorries are to be charged up to £1,000 a year to use British roads - in a bid to benefit domestic hauliers.

The fee will also apply to UK-based lorries - but this will be offset by an equivalent cut in vehicle excise duty.

The move is designed to create a "level playing field" for British lorry drivers, as they have to pay for using roads in Europe.

The AA said it was concerned the system could lead to a universal road charging scheme for all motorists.

The government will publish draft legislation next month and ministers said the charge would be brought in by the end of the current parliament at the latest.

The amount of the charge would depend on the size of the vehicle and is expected to raise a total of £20m a year.

'Boosting growth'

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "These proposals will deliver a vital shot in the arm to the UK haulage industry.

"It is simply not right that foreign lorries do not pay to use our roads, when our trucks invariably have to fork out when travelling to the continent.

"By introducing charges we will create a level playing field, increasing UK competitiveness and boosting growth."

British hauliers who operate in Europe face a variety of road tolls and charges while continental lorries can use British roads for free.

Road Haulage Association chief executive Geoff Dunning said it was a "happy day" for the industry.

"We have been campaigning for years to see a system introduced which will lessen the financial advantage currently enjoyed by our European neighbours," he said.

"UK hauliers travelling to mainland Europe have to pay road charges but foreign-registered vehicles travelling to the UK pay nothing."

16 Sep, 2012

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