Stop the Cheques

£30bn shortfall threatens rail and road plans

2009-07-02T10:54:00.005Z

The Guardian reports today that the recent nationalisation of the country's most expensive rail contract has exposed details of a £30bn funding gap in Britain's transport system.

The newspaper has had sight of a leaked industry memo that warns of "looming spending cuts" on major transport projects, raising fears that major schemes could be delayed, reduced or scrapped in an expenditure freeze.

The list of improvement schemes in the firing line include the £16bn Crossrail scheme linking Heathrow airport to Canary Wharf and Essex; a £6bn road building programme including the extension of the hard shoulder on Britain's motorways; a proposed new high-speed rail route and the rail fare cap of inflation plus 1%.

As a result of Treasury plans to bring public finances back into line over the next 10 years, the paper claims that the DfT is braced for a reduction in its capital expenditure plans that could total £28.9bn over the next decade.

Yet despite this looming funding crisis evident in this single government department - who knows how many others - the government still sends billions of pounds a year to the EU, the accuracy of whose accounts have been criticised by auditors for 14 years running.

At stake according to this article is public transport improvements totalling almost £30bn. When we consider that Britain hands the EU £10.2bn (gross) every single year, by just 2012 the EU instead will have swallowed up the funds needed to ensure these transport improvements stay on track. Unless our EU cheques are stopped now.

Handing such a vast amount of cash to the EU, rather than using it to stop our transport system crumbling, is completely unjustifiable given auditors have for 14 years running had considerable trouble explaining how the EU is spending that money.

Meanwhile reports abound of waste and fraud on a vast scale, even within the EU's own institutions.

The money for essential services is running out and it's time for some tough choices. The EU budget deal agreed in the pre-crisis days of late 2005 is no longer sustainable. If anything must be cut, spending on the EU should be top of the list.

The government must go to Brussels urgently, re-open the EU funding deal, secure drastic cuts and show us that it is serious about maintaining properly funded public services in this downturn.

Schools get heavy on 'voluntary' contributions

2009-06-24T10:15:00.003Z

In another example of how the vast amount of money Britain hands over to the EU towards its lavish costs - £115 million every single week on average - is depriving essential public services, a new report has revealed that schools are increasingly having to send heavy-handed demands to parents for 'voluntary' financial contributions.

Quote a parent who received such a letters, the Guardian reports: "It read like a letter from a debt-collector ... "Our accounts indicate you have not made a contribution," it stated. "Our records indicate you have not contacted us." In fact, it was a letter from a state primary school. And it was asking for "voluntary" contributions of £40 from parents to its annual fund".

"I recognise that you may feel unable to pay the full amount," the chair of governors went on. "We always invite parents to write to us to explain their circumstances and propose an alternative."

Another parent told Education Guardian that her child's state school in Buckinghamshire had rung her "several times" when she did not immediately pay its annual voluntary contribution.

A report by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) on the cost of schooling last year found that three in 10 parents were asked to make voluntary contributions.

Secondary schools tended to ask for £44 a year, while primaries asked for £27. Nine per cent of the 1,500 parents surveyed said they were asked to contribute £100 or more to the annual school fund.

Clarissa Williams, president of the National Association of Headteachers and former headteacher of Tolworth Girls' school in Kingston-upon-Thames, says voluntary contributions enable schools to buy things without tapping into government funds.

"We used to run the school minibus, buy wheelie bins, and kit out the library with the money," she says.

All things which many of us understood were supplied out of the taxes we pay.

But in truth, huge amounts of that money is now being sent to the EU instead, since Tony Blair agreed from 2007 to increase our payments by 63%. This was despite the failure by auditors to give a clean bill of health to the EU's accounts for 14 years in a row.

Now schools are having to make up the shortfall.

NHS 'faces huge budget shortfall'

2009-06-10T18:55:00.001Z

The BBC reports today that the NHS is facing the most severe and sustained financial shortfall in its history after 2011, according to a report by health service managers.

The NHS Confederation report says the health service in England will not survive unchanged and conference attendees have been told that they face an "extremely challenging" financial outlook.

The report reveals that the NHS in England is facing a real-terms reduction of between £8bn and £10bn over the three years after 2011.

During the same period the government plans to hand the European Union £30.6 bn (gross) or £18bn (net), despite EU auditors criticising the accuracy of the EU's accounts now for 14 years in a row. These audit failures are accompanied by regular reports of waste and fraud involving very large sums.

The report says that the cost of new treatments and the ageing population are two of the factors causing the inflation in the health service.

According to the OHE, the £8-10bn at stake would cover the costs of family or mental health services for one year, 2 years of cancer treatment, normal births for 27 years or over one and a half years of prescription charges.

When is the government going to take seriously the major funding threats essential public services face, and cut this scandalous and unjustifiable waste of billions of pound on an organisation that cannot tell us with any certainty how that money is being spent, yet whose employees and bureaucrats and MEPs clearly live a lavish lifestyle?

Councils do not have enough money to prevent flooding, warns survey

2009-04-20T12:27:00.002Z

More than half of the councils in England do not have enough funding to protect homes against flooding, town halls have admitted.

Following the devastating floods of 2007 councils were told to improve flood defences and help households to put in place measures to prevent damage.

But a survey by the Local Government Association, reported in the Daily Telegraph, found that 60% of councils still do not have the necessary funds to fulfil their flood risk responsibilities.

It also reveals that a quarter are struggling to recruit and retain the specialist staff needed to improve drainage systems and plan for floods properly.

Despite the need for cutbacks in many areas of government spending in order to recoup the costs of bank bailouts and other economic support, the government has so far refused to re-open the question of the £6bn net a year that Britain pays to the European Union.

This amount was agreed before the economic crisis erupted and before the value of the pound dropped in relation to the euro - the currency in which payments to the EU must be made.

In November last year, the accuracy of the EU's accounts was seriously criticised by auditors for the 14th year in a row, with billion of pounds of EU spending once again unaccounted for.

Spending on propping up the EU's wasteful institutions should be a prime candidate for cuts before axing council grants or spending on education - both of which have been reported recently.

Front line council service cut due to £1 bn black hole in council funding

2009-04-17T12:25:00.001Z

Front line council services will be cut and thousands of workers are set to lose their jobs as recession-hit town halls struggle with a £1 billion black hole.

A Daily Telegraph investigation has established that local authorities in England and Wales are slashing budgets by up to 10 per cent, with social services, education and transport bearing the brunt of the cuts.

Councils also revealed that they were planning to claw back some of their losses by increasing charges for facilities such as car parking and cutting services such as lollipop ladies and meals on wheels.

Many authorities insist that the cuts are necessary to compensate for a lower than average government grant settlement, at a time when demand for services, such as care homes and advice centres, is rising as the pressures of the recession bite.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: "Income is falling away very sharply at a time when more and more people are turning to councils for help."

Teachers threaten strike over £200m school funding cuts

2009-04-14T11:37:00.003Z

Teachers are threatening to strike over plans to cut £200m from school and college budgets amid claims it will "ration" teenagers' opportunities - reports the Daily Telegraph.

They will ballot for industrial action at sixth-forms where staff face redundancies to plug the funding black hole.

The National Union of Teachers branded the cuts "an absolute disgrace" and said Labour risked leaving many young people on the "scrap heap".

It marks a significant escalation of the row over an eleventh-hour drop in funding for institutions across England, putting courses for as many as 50,000 teenagers under threat.

Last week, head teachers warned they could sue the Government's Learning and Skills Council over the episode.

Meanwhile the European Union continues to enjoy its net £6bn a year (or £115m a week) funding deal, agreed in 2005 before the economic crisis erupted.

The Government is facing the need to make major cuts in public spending to compensate for money spent on supporting banks and the economy, but has so far refused to re-open debate on the scale of cash Britain hands to the EU.

This is despite the fact that, back in November, the accuracy of the EU's accounts was seriously criticised by auditors for the 14th year in a row, with billion of pounds of EU spending once again unaccounted for.

Shocking state of roads costs UK drivers £1m every day

2009-04-07T12:23:00.000Z

A survey has confirmed what every motorist already suspected - our roads are becoming almost as potholed as the surface of the moon - reports the Daily Telegraph.

British drivers are now paying out an estimated £1 million every day in repairs because of the shocking state of some highways.

Over an eight-year period up to May 2008, six per cent of cars each year suffered axle and suspension damage thanks to bad roads.

With some claims as high as £2,710 and the average repair costing £240, it means drivers are paying out a total of £413 million a year - even if they do manage to claim the costs back on insurance, or from the roads authority concerned.

Colleges forced to take 'drastic measures' after £60 million cut

2009-04-05T12:20:00.000Z

Head teachers are considering drastic measures, such as turning down thermostats and forgoing new text books, because of a "comprehensive mismanagement" of government funds which may lead to tens of thousands of students losing college places.

The Daily Telegraph reports that a surprise £60 million cut in the budget for the education of 16 to 19 year olds in England was announced to schools last week, jeopardising the future of an estimated 35,0000 students.

This came despite a promise in early March that the money, allocated by the by the Government's Learning and Skills Council, was available to take on more students in a drive to encourage teenagers to stay in education.

Many heads recruited additional sixth-formers in response only to later be told the money was not available.

Now they say they will have to resort to cancelling school trips and building repairs among other "desperate" measures in order to make up for the shortfall.

Future threat to public services

2008-10-22T23:25:00.004Z

The Financial Times reports that cuts in public services are on the cards for 2011 as the government plans to boost short term spending.

Alistair Darling has made clear that he will not cut spending now as the economy slows to recession, but will try to bring forward capital spending and "reprioritise" current expenditure on areas that support the economy or protect people from the downturn.

As the £115 million a week net Britain hands to the audit-failing EU falls into neither of these priority categories, when will Mr Darling be heading to Brussels to break the bad news that their huge weekly cheque has been "reprioritised"?

A range of government departments including Work & Pensions, Revenue & Customs, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office already face sharp real-term cuts in their budgets.

Latest spending plans squeezed virtually all government departments to protect health, education and law & order, which themselves received lower rises than in previous years.

However it will be beyond 2010 - after the next general election - when the real pain will be felt.

"What has happened recently will leave a permanent scar on the economy," said Ray Barrell of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

"After the dust has settled, all governments will have to give serious thought to the level of public services that they want."

However not all the pain may be taken by public services. Some of it could well come from tax rises.

In the current economic turmoil, the billions of pounds a year Britain lavishes on the wasteful and fraud-ridden EU is looking less and less sustainable. As public finances tighten, the government needs to act urgently to redirect these huge amounts to more productive purposes.

Kidney cancer drugs too costly for NHS

2008-08-07T15:26:00.004Z

Four new drugs to treat advanced kidney cancer have been rejected by the government's drugs advisory body as too expensive for use by the NHS, various news sources report today.

Although the drugs were acknowledged to provide "substantial benefits" and were judged to provide "significant gains" in survival, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has refused approval on the grounds that the NHS cannot afford to provide them to patients.

More than 7,000 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer annually in the UK, with around 1,700 of those diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer.

The drugs cost between £20,000 to £35,000 a year per patient, but even at the upper end of this scale the total cost of providing the drugs to all the 1,700 patients for a year - at just under £60m - is a tiny fraction of the £115m every week the government lavishes on the audit-failing EU. Priorities?

The decision to issue draft guidance rejecting Sutent (sunitinib), Avastin (bevacizumab), Nexavar (sorafenib) and Torisel (temsirolimus) has outraged charities, kidney specialists and campaigners.

Experts have reacted angrily to the decision, saying it left them with little option for treating patients.

Although there are treatments available, none of them "cure" advanced renal cell carcinoma or cancer that has spread from the initial tumour. But they can help extend a patients' life by around five to six months.

Quoted in the Times report, John Wagstaff, an honorary consultant in medical oncology at the South Wales Cancer Institute in Swansea and director of the Wales Cancer Trials Network, said there was “no point” in him accepting referrals for people with advanced kidney cancer because about 75 per cent of them “do not gain any real benefit” from interferon. The only other option, he said, was to make patients comfortable in their last months.

The draft guidelines for England and Wales, which are subject to appeal, recommended people already on the drugs should be able to continue therapy.

In the BBC's report, Pat Hanlon from Kidney Cancer UK said that the drugs provide a 'considerable benefit' and Professor Peter Johnson, from Cancer Research UK, said they had shown a small but definite improvement in an illness where there are few alternative treatments.

It's easy to cast NICE as the villian of the piece, but in trying to get the best out of limited resources they have a very difficult job to do.

In reality, in agreeing to pay an unjustifiable 63% extra to the undeserving EU, it is the government and the MPs who voted to approve that deal who are solely to blame when there's no public money left for life-prolonging drugs to be made available on the NHS.

Norfolk & Suffolk: Post office closures hit elderly

2008-07-23T15:41:00.005Z

Post Office bosses and the government came under fire last night as it emerged a third of pensioners in Norfolk and West Suffolk are set to be left without their local branch - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

An estimated 82,200 elderly people in the area will be affected, forcing them to travel further to a post office.

Fifty post office branches are set to shut as part of controversial nationwide cuts to the network, caused by the government's refusal to increase subsidies for loss-making branches.

The government's stance over funding of post offices is in stark contrast to Gordon Brown's approval of the European Union budget deal, which increased our payments to the EU by an astonishing 63% to £115m (net) every single week between now and 2013 - putting the £150m annual subsidy for post offices in the shade.

Approval was given despite the EU's accounts not having been given a clean bill of health by auditors for the past thirteen years, and the organisation's terrible repuation for waste and fraud.

Help the Aged yesterday criticised the closure plan and accused the Post Office of ignoring the older population.

Pensioners are a primary customer base for post offices, with thousands collecting pensions from them each week.

Dr Alan Burnett, the charity's senior policy officer, said: “When you have a mobility problem or difficulty getting around, a journey extended by only half a mile is not a simple matter of a little more exercise - it is almost a complete removal of the service.

“Older people in Norfolk and West Suffolk are contacting us to say they feel ignored by the consultation process. It's beginning to seem as if the Post Office is merely paying lip service to government consultation regulations and not really listening to the valuable local information being given to them.

“If older people are not listened to, and their needs are not taken into account, the consequences for many will be extremely serious.”

So far, 970 branches have shut across the country, out of the 2,500 earmarked for closure. Less than 4% have been saved, despite numerous campaigns.

On a national scale, millions of pensioners are struggling with simple day-to-day tasks as a result of the ongoing closures, and Help the Aged claim that 2.3 million people will need to travel at least half a mile further afield to find a replacement post office.

Last night, two of the counties' MPs spoke angrily of the impact the scheme was set to have on their constituents, branding the consultation “farcical”.

Richard Spring, MP for West Suffolk, said: "We always said the post office closures would hit the most vulnerable, most particularly in rural areas. They are part of village life.

"We've been through a farcical consultation. They have decided in a completely arbitrary way without any consideration. The figures are shocking, but I'm not surprised.

"I'm grateful to Help the Aged for highlighting the impact. It only fortifies the view I had.”

Christopher Fraser, MP for South-West Norfolk, said: “The figures are simply appalling. The government's decision to cut funding for the sub-post office network is a cynical, cost-cutting policy that will prove devastating to those living in the countryside.”

Access to arthritis drugs denied

2008-07-21T17:53:00.006Z

Around 60,000 people in the UK with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are being denied access to potentially life-changing drugs - reports ITV News today.

A decision by the National institute for health and clinical excellence (NICE) will mean that patients will not able able to try a second anti-TNF (tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitor) if their first attempt at the therapy fails.

Anti-TNF therapy drugs - adalimunab, etanercept, infliximab - can slow the progress of disease and help to reduce symptoms such as joint pain, swelling, mobility and fatigue.

NICE said that giving patients two, or even three, anti-TNFs is not 'cost-effective' and that doctors should offer patients the next drug in line - rituximab - which costs about £3,000 less per year than the cheapest anti-TNF.

This is yet another example of health services restricting effective drugs on the grounds of costs that, if provided, could greatly improve many people's quality of life. All the while the government shamefully continues to waste an astonishing £115m a week on the audit-failing European Union.

Charities have said that moving from one therapy to a second or third has been established practice in the UK for years and the change could leave sufferers with pain and the possibility of long-term disability.

Rob Moots, ARMA clinician and professor of rheumatology at Liverpool University, said: "It's almost impossible to know which anti-TNF will work for a patient at the outset.

"Before this decision we could try patients on each of the three treatments in turn to find one that was effective for them - now we only have one shot at success.

"This flies in the face of clinical judgment. Many patients will be left in astonishing pain, while knowing we haven't explored all the options for them."

The British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register shows that around 70% of patients will get a good response from a second anti-TNF if the effects of the first start to wane.

Ailsa Bosworth, chief executive of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, said the move, combined with a Nice decision in April to reject the drug abatacept, meant effective therapies for arthrities provided by the NHS had been cut from five to two.

She added: "This decision is another nail in the coffin for the treatment of RA in England and Wales.

"Nice are re-writing the rules of RA treatment in this country, ignoring the clinical effectiveness of drugs and ignoring the views of patients and clinicians.

"Nice is systematically taking away clinically effective and proven treatments from patients and giving them just one roll of the dice when it comes to Anti-TNF treatment."

Ros Meek, director of the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA), said: "Nice's decision takes away access to a normal and independent life for the many thousands of people battling with the condition.

"It also totally contradicts Lord Darzi's pronouncements in his recent review of the NHS - in particular his focus on patient choice and patient empowerment.

"It's a prescription for pain."

A spokeswoman for Nice said: "Nice has not yet issued final guidance to the NHS. Consultees now have the opportunity to appeal against the draft guidance. Subject to an appeal being received, guidance is expected in September 2008."

Salford: Woman fights for NHS cancer drug

2008-07-04T17:41:00.005Z

A woman terminally ill with kidney cancer could now be given a drug which could prolong her life, after a High Court ruling - reports ITV News.

Sutent has not yet been approved by the government and is not automatically available on the NHS.

Jean Murphy, a 62-year-old grandmother from Salford, had twice been denied the drug by Salford Primary Care Trust on the grounds that it is too expensive.

Dr Mike Burrows from the trust said before the ruling: "We have a limited amount of resources and have to make decisions on which treatments we are prepared to fund and which we cannot fund. We have to use health economics to support those decisions."

Ruling on the case, Mr Justice Burnett said the Trust's commissioning panel had failed to consider Mrs Murphy's application "in the round", and to take into account her day-to-day responsibility for caring for her husband who has a heart condition and diabetes.

This is yet another example of how the abject waste of £115 million a week paid to the audit-failing European Union - an unjustifiable 63% increase on the annual amount Britain paid between 2001-06 - is causing real suffering and shortfalls in essential public services.

In particular, Salford MP Hazel Blears needs to explain why she voted to approve paying this extra money to the EU while her local hospital clearly cannot provide services her constituents need, and blame a "limited amount of resources".

With public finances tightening, we can no longer afford to hand over so much money to the European Union. Especially as the "majority" of the EU's spending has not been approved by auditors for 13 years running, and there are so many reports of waste and fraud - going on even within EU institutions themselves.

Evidence continues to grow that it's time to Stop the Cheques to the EU.

Warwickshire: Woman in High Court sight battle

2008-06-27T21:27:00.002Z

A woman who could lose her sight has been given permission for a test case at the High Court to try to get an NHS Trust to fund her treatment - reports the BBC.

Warwickshire Primary Care Trust refused to pay for Patricia Meadow's eye treatment, even though the drug is available in other areas.

The trust took a "resource-based" decision not to fund treatment, the court heard, meaning it has insufficient funding from central government to provide the care Ms Meadows needs.

Ms Meadows suffers from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in her left eye, and dry intermediate AMD in her right.

There is no treatment for the dry condition, but there is hope that a course of the drug ranibizumab (trade name Lucentis) will save the sight in her left eye.

The High Court heard from her lawyers that objective medical evidence shows a course of the drug has up to a 95% chance of arresting her eyesight deterioration.

They said there was also a chance of it improving her vision and without treatment she could lose her sight in a matter of months.

Her case is being backed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

Mr Justice Undershill gave permission for a judicial review to be heard within a matter of weeks.

David Lock, appearing for the PCT, said that Novartis, the manufacturer of Lucentis, was refusing to provide the support recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).

He said: "Without the manufacturers support, Nice has clearly advised that this is not a cost-effective treatment.

He said the PCT had to balance a budget of £668m and it was impossible to meet all the needs of patients.

So while this is the case, why has the government agreed to giving the audit-failing European Union a massive and unreasonable 63% increase in payments, taking Britain's contribution to an astonishing £115 million (net) every single week?

It's people like Ms Meadows who are being forced to pay the price of the utter waste of huge amounts of public money on the EU.

Improvements needed over flood response

2008-06-25T18:32:00.003Z

Major improvements are needed to ensure the country is better protected against flooding, reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Two new reports are set to highlight that Britain was ill-prepared for last summer's floods, which caused devastation across large parts of the country, and that eastern England is particularly under threat.

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) report - The Flooding: Engineering Resilience - warns the UK's power, water and transport systems are stretched to the limit and need extra capacity to prevent blackouts and shortages when the country is hit by floods in the future.

In a special section on the east of England, the ICE report states that drainage systems in places like Norwich, Ipswich and Cambridge are already working at full capacity and that pressure would only be increased as the region moves towards meeting its target of building 500,000 new homes by 2021.

The vulnerability of the Norfolk Broads and major Suffolk roads such as the A12 are also highlighted, should controversial proposals to abandon flood defences along 25 square miles go ahead.

“No other area of the UK is in such real and immediate danger from flooding as the East of England. It's at risk from all sides: coastal erosion and flooding, tidal surges, river flooding and overflowing drains in towns and cities,” the report states.

ICE said investment in new infrastructure had been reduced by economic and regulatory pressure to a point where “there is no longer any spare capacity available to provide alternative sources of power or water treatment should key utilities be compromised by flooding”.

The report also said funding for flood defences was not sufficient or secure, undermining industry confidence, and there were not enough skilled engineers to deliver protection from flooding.

The ICE report coincides with the release of a government-commissioned review from Sir Michael Pitt, which contains 92 recommendations on how Britain should be better equipped in the event of future flooding crises.

Britain's vulnerability was highlighted this time last year when places such as Hull were devastated by flooding. Then, in November, communities along the Norfolk and Suffolk coastline narrowly missed being swamped by a North Sea tidal surge.

Sir Michael's recommendations include local authorities being given a more clearly-defined leadership role in overseeing the maintenance of drainage networks, a joint nerve centre from which the Met Office and Environment Agency can issue better flood warnings and new building regulations detailing drainage systems and appropriate construction materials.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the government was working to ensure that infrastructure was resistant to flooding and robust back-up was in place where it was most needed.

She added: “Work includes assessing the vulnerability of infrastructure to natural hazards and working with industry and operators to ensure it's resilient. More details on this work will be provided as part of our formal response to the Pitt report.”

Council workers vote for strike

2008-06-23T17:09:00.005Z

The BBC reports today that Council workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay.

The public sector workers union Unison has announced that its members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted by 55% to strike, after rejecting a below-inflation 2.45% pay offer which they argue is effectively a pay cut.

The union is demanding a 6% pay rise or 50p an hour extra, whichever is greater.

A strike would affect a wide range of public services that local communities rely on, including school dinner staff and classroom assistants, care home workers and a range of council services like bin collections and environmental health inspectors.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said his members were "fed up and angry they are expected to accept pay cut after pay cut while bread and butter prices go through the roof.

"Most of them are low-paid workers, who are hit hardest by food and fuel price hikes."

But Brian Baldwin, chairman of the local government employers' negotiators, said: "If the pay settlement was set any higher, then councils will be forced into making unpalatable choices between cutting front line services and laying off staff. Neither unions nor employers would want either of these options.

Of course, another option is for the government to stop wasting vast amounts of money - for example handing a 63% increase in our payments to the audit-failing EU for MEPs to rip off - so that it can give more to local councils to provide both quality essential services and afford fair pay for workers.

The government's preferred inflation measure, the Consumer Prices Index rose, to 3.3% in May, with the Bank of England warning it may reach 4%.

The wider Retail Prices Index measure of inflation - the one used for many pay negotiations - is already at 4.3%.

Charity props up NHS cancer care

2008-06-20T17:30:00.002Z

The NHS relies heavily on charitable donations for the treatment and support of children and teenagers with cancer, research reported by the BBC suggests.

Up to half of funding in NHS specialist cancer centres in England and Wales comes from charities, a team of health economists has calculated.

Some oncologists said without charity support many services would not exist.

The funding level raises questions about the government's responsibility for cancer care, the researchers say.

The report's author, Dr Dyfrig Hughes, said, "The take-home message is that it is a significant contribution towards work which arguably should be paid for by the NHS."

A total of 51 charities have been set up specifically to assist children with cancer and 340 charities had made some kind of financial contribution, the University of Bangor team report in the Journal of Child Health Care.

A further 28 organisations had been set up to provide funds for hospices.

Figures from 2003 show that between £25m and £38m (depending on the method of calculation used) of funding for cancer care came from national charities, compared with between £38m and £55m coming from the NHS.

Yet these sums are tiny factions of the amount of money the government pays to wasteful organisations like the EU, following the government's pledge to pay 63% more a year to the EU from last year.

With the net payments now reaching £115 million every single week - in total £6bn a year - even the upper figures given for cancer care amount to less than a week's money given to the audit-failing EU. Right priorities?

Study author, Dr Dyfrig Hughes, said the charity figures could be an underestimate, as they did not include the many hospital and local charities which also provide funding.

"For things which might be labelled as luxury that's fine, but essential things should come from central resources to ensure equal access," he said.

MEPs in expenses scandals

2008-06-15T17:58:00.002Z

To show exactly where the £115 million (net) Britain lavishes every week on the European Union at the cost of public services actually goes, we've put together a little collection of links to recent newspaper articles about the activities of Britain's Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

We'll leave it to you to decide whether these people deserve to wield the 63% increase in funding that Gordon Brown approved gifting them at the start of this year, and which will be backdated to the start of 2007.

Or whether spending these large sums on the other causes and purposes highlighted on this blog might be a better use of scarce public money.

MEPs 'expenses abuse' hushed up by Brussels
The Times, 21 February 2008

MEP in £500,000 allowances probe
Sunday Times, 1 June 2008

Second Tory MEP loses position over expenses
Daily Telegraph, 7 June 2008

Tory MEP Sir Robert Atkins flew to wedding on expenses
Sunday Times, 8 June 2008

Fresh names in Tory MEP expenses row
EUobserver, 9 June 2008

EastEnders MEP pays gay lover £30,000 to be his secretary
Daily Mail, 10 June 2008

MEPs say expenses troubleshooter risks a timebomb of further sleaze disclosures
The Times, 11 June 2008

The Fatcat Parliament: How MEPs pocket a staggering £630,000 a year
Evening Standard, 14 June 2008

Tory MEP Den Dover faces quiz over cars worth £65,000
Sunday Times, 15 June 2008

Despite these shocking revelations, and many more, the government keeps throwing our £115 million every week into this EU black hole of waste and fraud.

What will it take for the government to Stop the Cheques and put that money to many more essential purposes that could make life better for those who need it most?

Norfolk & Suffolk: Campaigners united over sea defences

2008-06-14T19:24:00.002Z

Groups fighting plans to abandon coastal areas to the waves have resolved to work together to convince the government to drop the controversial proposals - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Councillors from across Suffolk and Norfolk coastal areas and from all levels of local government met for a conference in Southwold today.

Also among more than 100 delegates were coastal pressure groups, Natural England, Suffolk Coastal MP John Gummer and Euro MP Geoffrey Van Orden.

They were united in wanting to stop the Environment Agency's policy of “managed retreat”, or letting nature take its course as sea levels rise and coastal erosion continues.

The conference focused on the Blyth estuary, one of the areas which will be most affected by the policy, but also heard of concerns elsewhere on the Suffolk coast and in Norfolk.

Delegates decided that co-operation and communication were the key to persuading government to drop the plans and instead invest in flood defences.

Norfolk: Fire chief warns of flood threat

2008-06-12T19:20:00.001Z

A senior fire office last night issued a stark warning that a repeat of the 1953 floods - which killed 100 in Norfolk - would have a more devastating impact today because of a lack of specialist crews - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

East Anglia has been identified as one of the least protected areas of the country in a report which reveals a national shortage of firefighters trained in flood rescues.

Paul Hayden, who coordinates flood rescues for the Chief Fire Officers' Association and is the former deputy chief fire officer for Norfolk, called for additional training and equipment so more firefighters can respond to major flooding disasters.

Youngsters wait longer for dental care

2008-06-09T19:43:00.002Z

Young people in Norfolk and Suffolk are being forced to wait up to four years for orthodontic appointments, despite more than £5m being pumped into the region's NHS dental services - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

However, the sum is equivalent to only 8 hours of cash the government pays to the audit-failing European Union every year - even taking into account grants and subisides Britain receives back. And only about a fifth of the money will be spent on tackling the severe shortage of orthodontists.

Meanwhile, the average wait for orthodontic care in the Yarmouth and Waveney Primary Care Trust (PCT) area now tops three and a half years, with patients in Suffolk and Norfolk waiting two and a half year before an appointment.

Last month, NHS Norfolk announced that it would invest £2.8m in the county's NHS dentistry services to tackle shortages in towns including Dereham and North Walsham, but only £720,000 will be spent on improving access to orthodontic treatment.

Although the extra funding should allow about 600 more cases to be dealt with each year by employing at least two more specialist orthodontists, it will take several years for the long waiting lists to be reduced.

Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary and North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb said: “Norfolk has some completely unacceptable waiting times and, as a parent whose children have both benefitted from orthodontic treatment, I sympathise with the problem.

“Parents are finding now that getting treatment for their children is much more difficult than it was just three or four years ago, the service has deteriorated that quickly. It is a serious issue.”

In the Yarmouth and Waveney area, the average waiting time is three and a half years - meaning that many patients are left waiting significantly longer than that before treatment.

With some youngsters being referred to orthodontists when they are 10 or 11, they could be in their late teens before the work to correct their teeth is complete.

Bob Purser, contracts manager for Yarmouth and Waveney PCT, said: “We acknowledge that there is currently an extended assessment waiting time for primary care specialist orthodontics treatment. A key priority for the PCT for the coming 12 months is to significantly reduce this waiting time.”

Suffolk PCT announced a £1.3m investment in its NHS dental services earlier this year, but only about £900,000 has been ring-fenced for orthodontic care.

NHS Norfolk is due to increase spending on dentistry by 13pc next year, totalling a £2.8m investment.

A spokesman for Suffolk PCT said: “We are aware that some of the waiting lists for orthodontic treatment are longer than we would like. Working with our orthodontists, we are identifying ways of improving access and reducing waiting times. In 07/08 the PCT invested an additional £230,000 precisely for this purpose.”

But these are drops in the ocean compared to the scale of cash central government is wasting on the audit-failing EU, and will make little impact reducing the long waiting lists.

The government must stop wasting so much money on an organisation that hasn't been able to get its accounts approved for 13 years running, and focus on continuing funding shortfalls within NHS Primary Care Trusts that are causing these poor service levels.

Chichester: NHS bosses confirm hospital cuts

2008-06-04T20:39:00.004Z

Health bosses have confirmed they will go ahead with the downgrading of St Richard's Hospital in Chichester - reports the BBC.

West Sussex Primary Care Trust (PCT) announced last week that Worthing would be the county's major general hospital, having full paediatrics, A&E and consultant-led maternity care

Emergency A&E and maternity services at St Richard's will be cut, forcing long travel times on those who require these services from the area served by the hospital.

The PCT has said St Richard's will retain 90% of its A&E services, with only patients with major problems, those needing emergency surgery and victims of serious accidents going elsewhere.

It said 50% would go to Portsmouth and 50% to Worthing, with the majority being taken directly by ambulance to the appropriate hospital.

However, journey times to those hospitals from the area covered by St Richard's are significant and highly vulnerable to traffic problems at rush hour.

One St Richard's campaigner told BBC South Today: "I often have to go in as an emergency.
"If I have to go to Worthing or Portsmouth it could be fatal."

The PCT said journey times had been taken into consideration when making the decision and it was aware that people in Selsey suffering serious accidents and requiring emergency surgery would have travel times greater than one hour at peak times.

But it said that, on balance, a much greater number of people would be adversely affected if the major general hospital was in Chichester.

Why the PCT has been forced into making this choice and there are insufficient public funds to keep adequate services at BOTH hospitals is the key question in this affair - and very likely due to central government wasting vast sums on other areas of spending.

For example, by sending £115 million every single week to the European Union, whose budget has failed its annual audit for 13 years in a row, and which has a terrible reputation for waste and fraud.

This is totally wasted money and far more than would be required to maintain services at St Richards. The government needs to decide which is more important - health services, or the European Union.

Campaigners for St Richard's are now considering whether to seek a judicial review of the decision.

Norfolk: Retired fireman loses battle for cancer drug

2008-05-30T20:03:00.006Z

A retired fireman has suffered a setback in his battle to win funding for a cancer drug, reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Liver cancer patient Barry Humphrey has lost an appeal for a £5,000 trial for a drug aimed at buying him more time.

His upset wife Hazel says health bosses have “sentenced him to an early death” though their latest decision.

After 25 years service saving lives as a fireman in London, Mr Humphrey developed a rare cancer, triggered by hepatitis caught from a casualty during a rescue.

But officials at NHS Norfolk have decided not to fund treatment recommended by his consultant, saying Mr Humphrey's case fails to meet national cost-effectiveness guidelines on new drugs.

The couple, from Kimberley Road, are now seeing if there is anywhere else they can take their fight.

Funding the two-month trial treatment themselves was a last option - but they were reluctant having been told they would be opting out of the NHS, resulting in them having to pick up all treatment costs.

Fewer than 5% of liver cancer patients survive more than five years, so time is not on the Humphreys' side without some kind of treatment. And Barry says his consultants believe there are no other alternative drugs.

NHS Norfolk medical director Bryan Heap said treatment funding decisions were taken on clinical rather than social circumstances, so Mr Humphrey's past as an exemplary citizen unfortunately could not be taken into consideration.

The cost of Sorafenib, along with administration, extra scans and follow-up was £150,000 a year, and trials indicated an increase in life expectancy of 12 weeks, with no cure or reduction of symptoms.

Guidelines recommended not funding a new drug if the figure was greater than £30,000, he added.

North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrats health spokesman who has been backing Mr Humphrey's battle, said he was “horrified” by the appeal refusal, and would be seeking to meet a senior official from NHS Norfolk to argue the case.

Smith 'betrayed' police over pay

2008-05-22T01:27:00.004Z

The home secretary has "betrayed the police service" by refusing to backdate a 2.5% pay rise, the BBC reports today.

Speaking at its conference, the Police Federation chairman Jan Berry said that Jacqui Smith's decision had been "a monumental mistake".

Last year, Jacqui Smith decided not to backdate to September a 2.5% pay rise for police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The police say this means their rise, only paid from December 2007, in reality amounts to 1.9%.

On Tuesday, federation members voted to lobby for the right to strike.

Ms Berry also compared Ms Smith to Education Secretary Ed Balls who has recently defended a pay deal for teachers. "Home Secretary, what is it that Mr Balls has but you do not?" she asked.

"Your decision not to honour the pay award was a breach of faith", she said. "It was a monumental mistake, and I don't say this lightly when I say you betrayed the police service."

Ms Smith later addressed the 1,000 conference delegates, saying: "I know you strongly disagree with the decision, but it was one that I took only after a lot of thought, after considering the full facts of the case, the need to keep mortgages and the cost of living under control - and that includes your mortgages and your families' cost of living as well."

Neglecting to mention that the government regards it 'affordable' to reward the repeatedly audit-failing EU with a 63% increase in public funds - or £2.5bn a year extra for the next five years.

Is the wasteful and extravagant EU really a higher priority than fair pay for our Police? That's certainly the message Jacqui Smith is sending, and isn't one that's likely to be well-received at the ballot box come the next general election.

Elderly care faces £6bn shortfall

2008-05-14T19:01:00.009Z

Every working family could face paying an "ageing tax" to provide care for the elderly, Gordon Brown proposed yesterday.

The ageing tax is a central plank of a six month consultation launched by the Prime Minister in the face of a growing crisis over who should meet the bills for the care of the elderly.

The Daily Mail reports that this new tax would take the form of a compulsory levy to force people to cover the cost of care home places in the last stages of their lives.

The introduction of such a tax would reignite questions, most recently provoked over charges for rubbish collections, about what exactly people pay Council Tax for - if all the services that it's supposed to cover have to be paid for over again.

According to the BBC report, Gordon Brown says that the care system in England alone faces a £6bn shortfall within 20 years. An amount that just happens to be exactly the same as our new net annual contribution to the EU's leaky budget, which Gordon Brown agreed to following a deal done by Tony Blair in December 2005.

The PM claims that the Treasury cannot pay the fast-rising cost of care homes and home help as the number of elderly people increases, and that the system now needs a 'radical shake up' to avoid this cash crunch.

But another possible solution could be that, rather than force everyone to pay yet another tax, we stop wasting billions of pounds a year on the EU, the "majority" of whose spending has been a mystery to its auditors for 13 years in a row.

Why won't Gordon Brown consider stopping this blatant waste of exactly the amount of money he needs, in order to prevent elderly care services deteriorating or hitting people with yet more taxes?

The new consultation paper was launched by Mr Brown in a talk at the King's Fund, the research group that published the 2006 report on the cost of ageing by Sir Derek Wanless.

Sir Derek estimated that an extra £10billion is needed to make the care system work properly, but there was only a token £31million of new money on offer yesterday - just under two days worth of what the Government is prepared to hand the EU. A terrible example of the government's warped priorities with scarce public funds.

Yesterday's consultation paper, endorsed by Mr Brown and seven Cabinet ministers, put back any decisions until next year.

UK's flood defences 'inadequate', warn MPs

2008-05-07T18:40:00.004Z

Britain could be at risk of a repeat of last summer's flood disaster because the money being spent on improving defences is "inadequate" - reports the Daily Telegraph today.

Ministers had claimed that the £800m earmarked for flood prevention by 2010-2011 (in contrast, equivalent to a mere
7 weeks of our net payments to the EU budget) would be enough.

But MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) have warned that the figure for government spending was "far less impressive under close analysis" and may be insufficient to deal with traditional and new flooding threats.

Last night the government announced £31m from the European Union's Solidarity Fund would be spent on the areas worst hit by the floods (not even two days worth of the NET amount we pay into the EU budget).

The floods in June and July last year, mainly in Yorkshire, Humberside and the Midlands were the worst for 60 years causing £3bn of damage and leaving 13 people dead.

A total of 44,600 homes and 7,100 businesses were flooded and thousands more people were left without power and water.

Nine months on the misery was still continuing for thousands who had not been able to return to their devastated homes.

So why is the government's professed commitment to prevent future flooding so miniscule in comparison to the funds it is prepared to lavish on the wasteful, audit-failing EU?

Are these the priorities we expect?

Science cuts 'hit UK reputation'

2008-04-30T13:20:00.005Z

A report looking into handling of the "funding crisis" in physics research has concluded that Britain has been left looking like an "unreliable" and "incompetent" partner for international science - reports the BBC.

The report, published by the House of Commons innovation, universities, science and skills committee, said that "urgent changes must be made".

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which looks after some of the largest science centres in Britain, was faced with a deficit of £80m (less than five days worth of our net payments to the EU) after an unfavourable government spending review last year.

The council has had to try to reprioritise its spending but this has meant that some projects are now threatened with closure.

Facilities with an uncertain future include an upgrade to the iconic Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, the Daresbury National Laboratory and the UK infra-red telescope (Ukirt) - the world's largest telescope dedicated to infra-red astronomy, based in Hawaii.

The fate of these and nearly 30 other projects will be decided later in the year.

EU 63%: teachers 2.45%

2008-04-23T10:09:00.008Z

A teachers' strike set for tomorrow is set to close or partially close more than 6,000 schools in England and Wales - reports the BBC.

Warnings to parents from 88 local authorities - half of the total - show that 28% of schools are expected to face disruption from loss of lessons to complete closures.

The one-day pay strike is being staged on Thursday by members of the National Union of Teachers over a pay dispute.

The union is attacking a pay deal which represents a 2.45% rise this year with a further rise of 2.3% in 2009 and 2010, arguing that it is below inflation and is therefore an effective pay cut.

Christine Blower, the union's acting head, said: "What we're saying to the government is, if you really do value teachers, then make sure that they're paid at least at the level of inflation - which we take to be the RPI, which is 4.1%."

The offer contrasts sharply with the government's agreement to increase Britain's annual contributions to the EU by 63% - or £2.5bn net extra every year from 2007-13.

This excessive generosity was despite EU auditors remaining unable to approve the "majority" of the EU's spending - a situation that has persisted for 13 years running.

This EU pay deal was endorsed by a majority of MPs back in February. So unless the MPs responsible imagine that there is a bottomless pit of public money to plunder, none who unjustifiably voted to support splashing so much extra on the EU can complain when it emerges that there isn't enough money left to pay teachers fairly.

MPs must acknowledge the reality that if they approve an obvious waste of vast sums of public money in one area, then that decision will have consequences in other areas of public spending.

This is a simple economic reality that everyone is familiar with in their own personal lives, and which MPs must realise applies to national finances too.

MPs must take responsibility when this happens, particularly where it affects their own constituencies. Rather than (as so often) posture in support of public services facing cuts, despite having voted to waste large sums that could instead have been used to help.

Widespread disruption to schools is likely in a number of both inner city and rural areas. Leeds, Cardiff, Suffolk and Cumbria all look likely to have many schools shut or partially closed.

Treasury budget shortfall rockets to £10.2bn

2008-04-19T13:15:00.003Z

The Daily Telegraph reports today that the Treasury's budget shortfall soared to £10.2bn last month, leaving the Government's coffers in a perilous state as the UK enters what could prove a prolonged downturn.

The figure was a third more than economists expected and the largest since records began in 1993, driven by higher government spending and lower tax receipts.

"The public finances are in no way ideally positioned for the slowdown," said David Page, an economist at Investec. "They've almost no room to step up borrowing."

The news makes the recent 63% increase in our payments to the EU's terminally leaky budget to £115m (net) every week once again look an extremely irresponsible choice by both the Government and those MPs who subsequently endorsed the deal.

With public finances tightening, the price of such unjustified extravagance to as wasteful an organisation as the EU will be paid either through higher taxes or cuts affecting public services within each of those MPs' own constituencies.

An outcome for which each of them must take personal responsibility.

The £230m primary schools sell-off

2008-04-16T12:14:00.004Z

Almost 300 primary school sites have been sold off in the past decade as local councils seek to raise funds, according to a More4 News/Channel 4 News online survey.

The sales have generated £230m for authorities, as councils struggle to meet government funding demands and combat falling school rolls.

The research shows a further 188 primary schools sites are earmarked for future sale.

Critics say the sell-offs are a 'missed opportunity' to improve educational standards, and could leave authorities short of classrooms in the future.

Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the NUT, said: "The findings both surprise and depress me. At the moment we still have extremely large class sizes all over England and Wales, and because of these sell-offs we will find ourselves with insufficient classroom capacity further down the road.

"Whilst the pupil population might be decreasing at the moment this was the ideal opportunity to reduce class sizes and keep spending on education at the same level so that we can begin to fulfil Gordon Brown's promise that state school children will be funded to the same level as those in the independent sector."

Government funds schools according to how many places they have, rather than the actual number of pupils. It urges authorities to close schools with too few children, as they are seen as an ineffective use of resources.

The survey found that the council which received the most for primary school sales in the past decade was Oxfordshire, whose sell-off programme led to £39.8m being brought in from sales.

Others in the top 10 included: Hertfordshire at £25.6m, Cambridgeshire at £19.7, West Sussex at £15.8m, Havering at £15.4m and Leeds at £13.7m.

Over Easter, Cumbria County Council became the latest authority to indicate it was going to close primary schools under a reorganisation programme.

Councils pledge to put the money raised from primary school sales back into education funding, and many new schools and facilities have been built using the revenue.

However, professor Tony Travers, a local government expert at the London School of Economics, warned that pledges on education spending have to be taken with a pinch of salt.

He said: "You have to take councils at face value when they say they will be ring-fencing funds. But ring-fencing doesn't necessarily mean extra spending on education."

Overall, 113 councils responded to questions filed by Channel 4 news online under Freedom of Information rules, to show that 298 primary school sites had been sold off in the past decade for a total of £236,337,577.

Cambridge: Protest over ward closures

2008-04-05T20:53:00.002Z

Protesters have marched through Cambridge to object to plans to close two wards at a hospital - reports the BBC.

A review of services at Brookfields Hospital, looking at the closure of 72-bed Davison House, ends on Monday.

Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) group, supported by the union Unison, held the march against the plans over the effect on elderly care.

The health trust said the closure of Davison House, which provides a rehabilitation service for elderly patients, was just one option.

Major public events threatened by policing charges

2008-03-15T21:13:00.001Z

Major open air events are increasingly under threat due to high costs being charged by police forces.

The Downs Mail reports that popular community events in Maidstone such as the River Festival, Maidstone Mela and Battle of Maidstone re-enactment are threatened by a £43,000 quote from the police for attending just one event for a day.

This quote, for the 28-year old River Festival, covers eight hours of one chief inspector, three inspectors, fourteen sergeants and eighty constables.

Police can use discretion and have offered a 50% discount, but that still leaves a potentially devastating charge of £21,726 (including VAT) - an almost impossible challenge for the organisers.

Questions are being asked about why public events with a largely trouble-free history are now being faced with such huge charges and the cost is no longer being budgeted into the council tax precept which funds local policing.

Maidstone Borough Commander, chief inspector Tony Henley, said that Kent Police's decision to introduce 'common charges' for events reflected Association of Chief Police Officers' national policy.

Maidstone: Campaign to save hospital services

2008-03-15T20:59:00.002Z

Local campaigns to save services in Maidstone Hospital are to be co-ordinated in a new organisation called MASH (Maidstone Action for Services in Hospitals) - reports the Downs Mail.

The group is already supported by Maidstone's two MPs, cabinet members of both Kent and Maidstone councils, Maidstone Division of the British Medical Association, the two main local newspapers the Downs Mail and Kent Messenger, together with patients and relatives.

Maidstone Hospital has several mountains to climb, including better management of C-Diff infections which killed more than 90 patients and led to a damning report by the Healthcare Commission.

While the hospital's record is now improving, reports still abound of A&E patients being "stacked" in ambulances due to serious delays in emergency admissions.

December saw a significant increase in the number of people waiting over four hours from a decision to admit to admission - 941 waited more than four hours, with 4 patients waiting more than twelve hours).

The main reason was said to be a lack of beds in A&E.

The hospital also has continuing financial problems, with the trust facing a deficit of £18.7m for 2008/09 and a total savings requirement of £21.2m - amounts that could be wiped out with two days' worth of our payments into the audit-failing European Union budget, if that wasted money were diverted into hospital services.

Woman 'denied sight-save drugs'

2008-03-11T21:38:00.001Z

A grandmother has said she will go blind unless she can persuade her local NHS to fund drug treatment - reports the BBC.

Margaret Coates, 79, from Bromley, south-east London, has wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which can lead to blindness in both eyes.

Her local Primary Care Trust (PCT) will not pay for a drug called Lucentis, Mrs Coates said.

Bromley PCT said patients who did not meet London-wide treatment criteria could apply for exceptional treatment.

Wet AMD, which affects the central part of the retina, is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK, affecting around a quarter of a million people.

Last year the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended that NHS patients with wet AMD should be eligible for sight-saving drug Lucentis.

But the availability of the treatment, which can cost thousands of pounds, varies between PCTs.

Mrs Coates, 79, said: "I can't believe the PCT is abandoning me like this when I could lose my sight.

"The thought of going blind terrifies me"

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Macular Disease Society (MDS) are campaigning for Bromley PCT to reverse its decision and fund the treatment.

Bromley PCT said it funds Lucentis treatment for Bromley residents with AMD in line with criteria agreed for the whole of south-east London.

"Patients who do not meet these criteria can apply through their clinician to the PCT's exceptional treatments group," a spokesman said.

In order to qualify there must be an "unusual or unique clinical factor" that differentiates the patient from others with the condition, he said.

Kidney cancer man's drugs fight

2008-03-06T21:41:00.001Z

A man with kidney cancer says he has been refused a drug that could save his life and is still waiting for treatment 18 months after being diagnosed - reports the BBC.

Jocelyn Hall, 60, of Tonna, Neath, is taking his local health board (LHB) to judicial review after it refused to pay for him to have the drug, Sunitinib.

Neath Port Talbot LHB said each case for the drug was reviewed individually.

Mr Hall was diagnosed with kidney cancer in September 2006, a fortnight after he gave his notice so he could retire after working in Neath's Metal Box can factory for 44 years.

Surgeons were unable to operate because his tumour had spread to other organs.

Mr Hall's oncologist at Swansea's Singleton Hospital, Professor John Wagstaff, said the drug treatment he wanted his patient to have cost £2,300 every six weeks.

He said: "I've got a number of patients in exactly the same situation, not just with Neath Port Talbot but with other LHBs in south west Wales.

"It's a continuing battle. If he does not get this drug, the only management available to him is to control his symptoms."

Mr Hall's sister, Rosemarie Snow, said: "He has worked all his life and paid into cancer research all his life and he's got nothing.

"The drugs won't cure him but they will help prolong his life. After he worked 44 years of his life, he wants to enjoy his retirement.

Kate Spall, who has become a patient support advocate since her mother died from a rare kidney cancer, said Mr Hall was the "most exceptional" of the more than 40 cases she had advised.

She said: "He has not treatment for nearly two years for terminal cancer. That is just unheard of.

"In Wales today, somebody has not had had one piece of active treatment. That's Third World. That's unbelievable."

A spokeswoman for Neath Port Talbot LHB said she could not comment on individual cases because of confidentiality.

But she said that the local health board took guidance from the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, which said the use of Sumitinib should not be supported in Wales.

Post offices disappear from London

2008-02-19T21:09:00.008Z

Royal Mail is facing a legal challenge over its plans to shut 169 post offices in London, the Evening Standard reports today.

The branches, which amount to a fifth of the network, face the axe under a fast-track closure programme.

The proposals provoked protest from all the main political parties, with one MP saying it was a "kick in the teeth" for Londoners.

The capital has already lost more than 300 post offices in four years, with numbers cut from 1,175 to 849. Royal Mail says more branches must go to stem losses of £3 million a week.

However, the shortfall of £3 million a week causing these cuts pales almost into insignificant compared to the £115 million a week (net) subsidy the Government is lavishing on the wasteful EU.

How is this justified, when countless post offices are closing due to a fraction of this amount, yet auditors haven't been able to confirm how the EU is spending the billions it has been given every year for the last 13 years running?

Certainly no MP who recently voted to boost our payments to the EU by an astonishing 63% can claim to be 'standing up' for any post offices facing closure, without leaving themselves open to charges of utter hypocrisy.

The cutbacks come despite new figures showing London has just one branch for every 8,460 people - compared to the national average of one branch for 3,860.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the consultation should be extended to 12 weeks, adding: "London's post offices provide vital support for those who are most in need, particularly the elderly, disabled and those with young children. For many Londoners who do not have a bank account, the post office is an amenity they cannot do without."

Labour MP Kate Hoey said: "Londoners will be angry and frustrated at the sham nature of this consultation. The Post Office has already made up its mind. This is a body blow to communities across London, particularly the most vulnerable in the city."

The Conservative shadow minister for London, Bob Neill, said the closures would reduce the network to a shell.

"Labour are putting swathes of the London post office network under threat and putting people's livelihoods on the line yet they won't reveal the extent of post office closures until after the election," he said.

Liberal Democrat business spokesman Sarah Teather said: "Today's announcement is a kick in the teeth for Londoners. We already have a second-class service with half as many post offices per head as the rest of the UK. It is no wonder we have to queue so long to post a parcel."

Royal Mail said the vast majority of Londoners would still live within one mile by road of the nearest branch, and claim that nearly 90 per cent of the capital's population would see no change in their nearest branch.

Anita Turner, Post Office Ltd's network development manager for London, said: "Taking the decision to close any post office branch is always very difficult and we know it will cause concern to many of our customers.

"Post Office Ltd's aim is to continue to provide essential services and support retail businesses and the local economy in as many communities as possible, subject to the minimum access criteria set by the Government."

Those wishing to register their views should contact http://www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange or write to Post Office Ltd at Freepost Consultation (no stamp required) or email consultation@postoffice.co.uk

BAE to lose billions in defence cuts

2008-02-10T21:24:00.001Z

BAE Systems will have billions of pounds worth of government orders torn up under budget cuts being drawn up this month by ministers - reports The Observer.

Defence sources said the government would scrap plans to buy four more Astute nuclear submarines from BAE, worth £3.5bn.

Ministers also want to cancel their contract to buy a third tranche of Eurofighter jets, worth more than £5bn, from the company.

The government wants to make up to £15bn of cuts in its military budget over the next decade as it tries to rein in public spending (despite agreeing to increase our payments to the audit-failing EU's budget by an astonishing 63% - to £6bn net or £11.5bn gross a year).

The defence industry and the MoD have been locked in fraught negotiations about how to make the savings.

The government is also set to axe plans to order two further Type 45 destroyers from shipbuilding partners VT Group and BAE. The two companies are building six destroyers, which cost about £600m apiece (only a few weeks worth of our net payments to the EU budget), but had hoped to receive an order for another two.

Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners, said defence companies have been trying to co-operate with the government over how best to make the cuts.

'The industry in my view will have done its utmost to support the government over its financial constraints,' he said. He added that he expected the Royal Navy to bear the brunt of the budget cuts.

A spokeswoman for the ministry said: 'The MoD is currently in the middle of its planning round, when it considers a very wide range of options as a matter of course. We are not prepared to comment on any specific proposals before the planning round has run its full course.'

Not only are these cuts potentially over-stretching our armed forces even further than at present, and possibly even putting military lives at risk by trying to over-extend the life of old equipment, but they could also cause the loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs at BAE's British plants.

Yet another example of the utterly misplaced priorities of the government and those MPs who irresponsibly approved the 63% increase in our payments to the audit-failing EU.

That's billions of pounds a year that could be used to prevent these cuts, if they weren't being handed to the EU instead.

Skies dim for British astronomers

2008-01-28T00:27:00.000Z

British astronomers will lose access to two of the world's finest telescopes in February due to a government funding shortfall, reports the BBC.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which looks after UK astronomy funding, has signalled that formal notice to withdraw from the Gemini organisation - the consortium that runs two of the biggest, most-modern optical-infrared reflecting telescopes in the world - would be issued shortly, as it seeks to plug a large hole in its budget.

The STFC's problems have emerged out of the government's latest spending round, which has left the council short of £80m in the three-year budget plan to 2011.

This is an amount equivalent to just five days worth of money the government is, however, prepared to shower on the audit-failing and wasteful EU.

The result will be that British astronomers will no longer view the Northern Hemisphere sky with the largest class of telescope.

To manage its way out of this crisis, the STFC has announced its intention to close certain programmes and cut research grants. Science societies and union officials have warned the damage to UK physics and astronomy will be incalculable and will lead to hundreds of job losses.

Researchers say they are aghast at the administrators' decision.

Professor Paul Crowther from Sheffield University said: "To withdraw from the state-of-the-art Gemini facilities leaves the UK ground-based astronomy strategy in disarray - some would say deliberately sabotaged."

"This will badly affect the UK astronomical community's ability to address questions such as how galaxies form, or look for planets around other stars, or be able to adequately exploit space observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope," explained the current chair of the UK telescope allocation committee for Gemini.

"The loss of Gemini North is particularly acute, since the majority of the UK past investment has been focused upon the Northern Hemisphere," he told BBC News.

In future, the only way British astronomers can look at the Northern Hemisphere sky with the largest class of telescope is if they are working on projects with co-researchers whose national funding agencies are sponsors of one of these facilities.

Those MPs who voted to approve the recent 63% increase in our contributions to the EU, despite no end to the EU's annual audit failures, are the ones responsible for this problem.

Doubtless the EU could live without our contributions for just five days, so we can save the £80m required and our international scientific reputation. But those politicians have now made their irresponsible and short-sighted decision to give the money to the EU instead. And we can now only cast our verdict on that decision at the ballot box, come the next general election.

Council tax to rise by double the rate of inflation

2008-01-24T11:33:00.000Z

Council tax bills in England are set to rise by about 4% on average this year, reports the BBC today.

A Local Government Association (LGA) study into 100 draft council budgets obtained by the BBC shows some councils may put bills up by nearly 5%.

The association has warned that many local authorities will still have to ration or cut services despite the increases in tax.

The chairman of the LGA, Sir Simon Milton is quoted as saying: "No-one likes paying more council tax, but this year town halls are making enormous efforts to keep bills down."

But adds that it has been impossible to avoid putting up bills because of the increasing pressure on council budgets.

"Several government departments are shifting extra costs on to councils while limiting funding from central government," Sir Simon said.

The LGA cites that councils are facing extra costs caused by increased migration, funding free travel for pensioners and the disabled, and increasing social care budgets, due to larger numbers of elderly people, and the cost of dealing with household waste.

In Hampshire, one of the councils where bills will go up by nearly 5%, the authority's leader Cllr Ken Thornberry also blames Whitehall for creating the situation.

"We are being asked to do more and more every year by central government with less and less. The system is not sustainable."

This news of another inflation-busting rise in Council Tax comes as the Government gifts a 63% increase in payments to the (audit-failing) EU, and highlights the utter irresponsibility of those MPs who recently voted to approve that deal.

Their constituents will clearly now pay the price of such completely unjustified generosity to the EU through their Council Tax bills. Read who those MPs were here.

As a result of the EU budget deal, we are now paying so much money to EU institutions every year that our new gross annual EU contribution (more than £10 billion) is now enough to cut everyone's Council Tax bill in half.

That's what those MPs could have done with the money, instead of giving it to a body whose auditors haven't been able to explain its spending for 13 years running, and which is regularly mired in reports of waste and fraud.

Coupled with the recent news that MPs want to gift themselves a nice pay rise, a large section of our political elite seem to be becoming ever more detached from financial reality ... busily feathering their own nests and unjustifiably gifting billions of pounds extra a year to unaccountable international institutions, imagining that such waste is not contributing to oppressive Council Tax rises and essential public services being cut.

The only way to wake these people up with a sharp dose of reality is now at that ballot box, the next time we get an opportunity.

Police in protest rally over pay

2008-01-23T12:55:00.000Z

An estimated 22,500 police officers have marched in central London in a protest over pay - reports the BBC.

Police are angry that a 2.5% pay rise was only backdated to 1 December for UK officers except for those in Scotland.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would have liked to pay more but it was part of the "fight against inflation" (yet inflating our spending on the EU by £2.5bn a year - or 63% - doesn't seem to worry him!).

Police Federation chairman Jan Berry held "constructive" talks with the home secretary, but said trust between the two sides needed to be rebuilt.

Police say the rise is effectively a 1.9% annual increase - unlike that in Scotland, where it has been backdated to 1 September.

The Police Federation, which represents officers up to the rank of Chief Inspector, has applied for a judicial review of the decision by ministers.

A rally at Central Hall in Westminster, consisting of 3,500 officers, was followed by Ms Berry presenting a petition to Downing Street and meeting home secretary.

Federation members will be balloted next month on whether to campaign for the right to strike.

The Home Office said the home secretary was grateful for the vital and hard work carried out by police officers.

"However, we also have a responsibility to ensure pay settlements take into account affordability and consistency with government pay policy, including the maintenance of low inflation," a spokesman said.

Yet somehow such requirements don't apply when it comes to the EU, where giving that audit-failing organisation an extra £2.5bn a year - a 63% increase, as opposed to the 1.9% pay rise the police are complaining about - is apparently 'affordable' and consistent with the 'maintenance of low inflation'.

What does this say about the government's priorities, and those of the MPs who voted to approve such a shocking waste of even more money on the EU rather than spending it on providing quality public services?

Certainly not one of those MPs, having voted to waste so much on the EU, can also claim to be backing the police. Though that doesn't seem to stop some of the most hypocritical trying.

Warwickshire: Man in NHS battle 'to save sight'

2008-01-22T21:47:00.002Z

A man has called his NHS trust "morally wrong" for refusing to fund treatment which could save his sight - reports the BBC.

Raymond Liggins, 76, from Nuneaton, lost the sight in his left eye because of wet macular degeneration and now has the condition in his right eye.

Warwickshire Primary Care Trust has said that it did not routinely fund the "sight-saving" drug Lucentis as it was not recommended in guidance to the NHS.

David Rose, chief executive of Warwickshire PCT, said this was the same as other PCTs in the West Midlands.

But Mr Liggins' case has been backed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Macular Disease Society (MDS).

The RNIB said Mr Liggins had the devastating condition age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which could lead to blindness in as little as three months.

It called for Warwickshire PCT to adopt draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) which recommended Lucentis be made available to all patients who developed AMD.

The RNIB said rapid use of the drug was "vital" as it was able to halt the progress of the condition.

Mr Liggins, who is using his life savings to pay for private treatment, said he and other patients with the condition had been "let down" by the NHS.

"It's morally wrong to let people go blind when there are treatments available," he said.

Mr Liggins, who cares for his wife Olive who recently had a stroke, added: "My wife depends on me to help maintain her balance when we go out shopping, but I won't be able to do this if I lose my sight."

Barbara McLaughan, RNIB campaigns manager, said: "It's an absolute disgrace that he is effectively being told to pay up or go blind," she said.

She added: "The clock is literally ticking for patients like Raymond who risk losing their sight because PCTs are denying them sight-saving treatment."

Mr Rose said it was not appropriate for the PCT to comment publicly on an individual case.

He added: "The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issues guidance to the NHS on treatments and procedures following extensive trial and review and Warwickshire PCT follows all mandatory NICE guidelines.

City concern at Treasury deficit figures

2008-01-22T20:29:00.000Z

City warnings that government finances are set to plunge far deeper into the red than Alistair Darling has forecast mounted yesterday, after figures were released showing that the Treasury racked up its biggest December deficit on record last month - reports The Times.

Tax receipts that were weaker than expected by the Chancellor were the driving force behind the latest sharp deterioration in the public finances, fuelling fears that government borrowing could spiral as a faltering economy further undermines revenue.

The worsening state of the Government's books was underlined by figures showing that net borrowing for the financial year to date climbed to £43.6 billion, £11.4 billion more than in the same nine months in 2006-07 and far above Mr Darling's full-year forecast of £38 billion for 2007-08.

The worse-than-expected December data released yesterday showed that the Treasury was forced to borrow a net £7.8billion last month to plug the gap between spending and the month's disappointing revenues.

Economists said that the Chancellor was on course to breach that forecast by at least £2billion or £3billion (NB: net increase in payments to the EU: £2.5bn), but could end up exceeding it by much more if inflows of revenues continued to weaken.

This news once again highlights the huge irresponsibility of those MPs who approved a lavish 63% increase in payments for the wasteful and fraud-ridden EU, at the recent Third Reading of the European Communities (Finance) Bill.

Beyond such an increase being completely unjustified while auditors cannot explain where the "majority" of the EU's money goes, such extra payments are clearly just not affordable.

Yet, while the public finances take a nose-dive, post offices close and the government quibbles with the police over £30m of their pay deal (to give just two recent, practical examples of the consequences) these MPs seemed to see no problem in approving the extra £2.5bn (net) a year (on top of the £3.5bn net a year we already pay) to an organisation that has failed its audit for 13 years running.

Despite the valiant efforts of some Labour MPs, like Ian Davidson and Austin Mitchell, most of their colleagues seemed unable to distinguish between the government spin (the money is to help poorer countries in Eastern Europe) and the reality (it will be paid to EU institutions, and where the "majority" of it goes from there has long been anyone's guess!).

All the MPs who voted for this Bill either failed in their responsibility to properly scrutinise the government's actions on behalf of their constituents, or they tried but are simply not up to the job.

Either way you cut it, MPs who approved this deal are not of the calibre necessary to be making such important decisions, and have got to go.

With any problems being suffered by public services in their constituencies caused by a shortfall of public money now being their fault, and theirs alone, for voting to approve this abject waste of public cash on the EU, we can only ensure that those MPs who made such an irresponsible choice are punished by local voters at the next election.

This blog, and the DM's Hall of Hypocrisy, will continue with that goal in mind.

Call for hospital debt write off

2008-01-15T20:19:00.002Z

A Surrey hospital trust's £56m debt should be written off to let it rebuild its reputation, a local MP has said.

According to the BBC, Reigate MP Crispin Blunt said during a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday that the size of East Surrey Hospital's debt was because of a delay in the transfer of acute services from Crawley to Redhill in 2001.

Prior to the meeting, Mr Blunt said: "Since 1998 the financial settlement for East Surrey Hospital has been the victim of government interference.

"The current deficit is over £55 million, the largest of any trust in the country" - an amount that could be wiped out with just 4 days' worth of our net contributions to the European Union's audit-failing budget, if the cash were diverted from being sent to that wasteful organisation.

Commenting on his demand that the government write off this debt, Mr Blunt added: "Only this can give the trust the financial footing on which it can begin to rebuild its quality of service and its reputation."

Health minister Dawn Primarolo said Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust was one of 17 classified as "financially challenged".

She added that measures were in place to enable the trust to restore its finances.

But maybe if Ms Primarolo and the government of which she is a part didn't condone wasting so much public money on the audit-failing EU, she wouldn't have to force East Surrey hospital to take these financial "measures" which will very likely harm provision of essential health services.

Hospital downgraded in NHS revamp

2007-12-18T20:30:00.000Z

Health chiefs have revealed plans to downgrade Bridlington hospital so that it will no longer treat heart patients or medical emergencies - reports the BBC.

The site will become a community hospital under proposals announced by the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT).

Cardiac and acute patients will instead be treated at Hull or Scarborough.

Elsewhere in East Yorkshire, the NHS received news of a £20m funding boost, including a new hospital in Beverley.

However, this extra money - while welcome - is little more than a day's worth of money the government now pays into the EU's audit-failing budget at £115 million every single week.

The government investment will also fund a new healthcare facility in Hornsea and major refurbishment work at Driffield's Albert Bean Hospital.

So imagine what could be achieved with the equivalent of just one more day's payment to the EU, if our massive financial contribution to that audit-failing organisation were diverted instead to essential health services.

The investment is the largest single award in the latest wave of the Department of Health's £750m capital investment programme for community hospitals and services (NHS improvements being worth only six and a half weeks' worth of our payments to the EU, in the government's eyes).

On the future role of Bridlington Hospital, the Scarborough and North Yorkshire PCT said: "During the public consultation run by the trust earlier this year the support and passion for Bridlington Hospital was extremely well voiced by local people.

"Whilst recognising the level of public interest and concern...it would be neither prudent clinically, professionally nor financially to maintain services in their current format in the long term.

"Overall the number of patients served by both hospitals [Bridlington and Scarborough] is relatively small and having services duplicated across sites affects future sustainability of those services."

In September, health union officials warned that if the cardiac unit at Bridlington was closed, lives would be put at risk as patients would have to travel further for treatment.

Earlier this year, the trust revealed it intended to cut 600 jobs in an attempt to reduce its £20m deficit and cut costs.

But the losses were averted at the last minute after an agreement was reached between the trust and the strategic health authority to write off the debts.

Police to vote on right to strike

2007-12-13T00:22:00.000Z

Every police officer in the UK is to be balloted over whether they want to lobby for the right to strike, reports the BBC.

Officers are furious at Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's decision not to backdate a 2.5% pay rise for police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

At a meeting, Police Federation members also passed a vote of no confidence in Ms Smith and demanded she resign.

Chairwoman Jan Berry said: "I don't remember such a call by the Police Federation being made previously but I also don't remember a home secretary who has betrayed the police service in the way that this home secretary has."

The 2.5% pay deal was decided through the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal.

But officers say if it is introduced this month and not backdated to September, an entry level police constable will lose £131, and a sergeant will lose £206.

Critics say that without backdating, it amounts in real terms - due to inflation - to an increase of only 1.9%.

The retail prices index, on which many pay deals are based, puts the current level of inflation at 4.2%.

Some 78 MPs have signed a motion tabled by the home affairs select committee chair, Keith Vaz, urging a rethink on the issue.

The BBC's Julian Joyce said the decision to call on the home secretary to resign appeared to be popular among the rank and file.

Neil Cratchley, general secretary of the Police Federation's largest branch - the Metropolitan Police, said: "This is a process that has gone on for seven months and it's now crystal clear that she never had any intention of honouring the agreement.

"We are dealing here with matters of trust and the home secretary has breached that trust."

Jacqui Smith said the move would save £30 million, equivalent to 800 police officers, and was justified by a general policy towards controlling public sector pay.

This is another example of our government's misplaced priorities, lavishing £2.5 billion a year extra on the fraud-ridden EU while hitting the pay of hard-pressed police officers in a bid to save £30 million.

That's not even two days worth of the extra money they're gifting the EU, whose auditors haven't been able to explain how it spends the "majority" of the public money it is given for thirteen years running.

Every single MP who voted to approve the European Communities (Finance) Bill is responsible for public money shortfalls like this for essential services. See the updated list of those MPs here.

What's the betting plenty of those 78 MPs who have signed the EDM urging the government to 'think again' on police pay also voted to waste billions extra on the EU?

Councils turn backs on care for older people

2007-11-22T23:54:00.000Z

In the same week as MPs voted in favour of gifting the audit-failing European Union a massive and unjustifiable increase in funding of £7bn, it has been revealed that nearly three-quarters of local authorities in England are rationing social services to exclude tens of thousands of vulnerable people from help with the basic tasks of daily living.

The Guardian reports today that official figures obtained by the charity Mencap reveal the worsening plight of people who cannot wash, dress, prepare a meal or go to the shops unaided - a growing problem this blog has been recording now for more than a year.

It said the problem affected older people and adults with learning disabilities in areas where cash-strapped councils have decided they can no longer afford to provide services to everyone in need.

The information, from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), found 73% of local authorities were planning to refuse care to everyone whose needs were not considered to be "substantial".

The government's definition of substantial covers people who "cannot carry out the majority of their personal care or domestic routines" and do not have anyone available to provide voluntary help.

It excludes people with "moderate" needs who may not be able to carry out several daily routines such as getting up in the morning, bathing and doing the washing up.

The CSCI found four local authorities intending to ration services even more tightly to provide care only to people whose needs are "critical".

Under this definition, people would not get support unless their life was in danger or they were at risk of serious abuse or neglect.

The four were Northumberland, Surrey, West Berkshire and Wokingham councils. They are about to be joined by the London borough of Harrow, which yesterday defended plans to tighten its eligibility criteria at a judicial review in the high court.

Dame Jo Williams, chief executive of Mencap, said: "These figures show the true extent of the crisis in social care. It is unacceptable in the UK in the 21st century that local authorities are refusing support to very vulnerable people with a learning disability who have no one else to turn to.

"Last month the government gave an increase of less than 1% for social services. Given rises in demand, we will just see more and more cash-strapped councils cutting back."

The tightening up of council funding means the number of households across England receiving local authority care fell from 528,500 in 1991 to 345,000 this year, despite growing numbers of older people.

The CSCI data showed rationing has become much tighter over the past two years. In 2005-06, 54% of authorities restricted services to people whose needs were deemed "substantial".

This increased to 62% in 2006-07 and - according to councils' official plans - would reach 73% by the end of March.

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "Chronic under-funding of home care services means people are being deprived of the help they need until they reach crisis point ... We need a better system for paying for care to end the postcode lottery and the unfair way people on low and modest incomes are charged."

The Local Government Association said: "Councils want to provide the services vulnerable people need but are increasingly unable to do so because central government funding has not kept pace with the demands of an ageing population."

David Rogers, chairman of the association's community wellbeing board, added: "Ministers need to turn with urgency to the long-term overhaul of the future funding of adult care services ... It is unjust that people have to wait until their life is threatened, or suffer from a serious mental and physical illness, before they receive care.

"If society is to meet people's needs and aspirations, the social care system needs root and branch reform, giving individuals choice, independence, dignity and control over their lives."

Harrow council last night defended its decision to save £2m by withholding services from people in substantial need. Chris Mote, the leader, said it received less from the government than other London boroughs and had to concentrate support on the most vulnerable.

"We were forced to take action ... to balance the budget" he said.

MPs have a moral obligation to be far more responsible with scarce public money than gifting it to EU, which has a terrible reputation for waste, fraud and mismanagement.

They must choose to stand up for properly-funded care for vulnerable people and vote against the European Communities (Finance) Bill at its final reading in a few weeks time.

'Cost-cutting' a factor in loss of data

2007-11-22T22:50:00.000Z

The Government has today been accused of putting cost-cutting ahead of security as the fall out from the HM Revenue and Customs scandal continues to escalate - reports the Daily Telegraph.

Internal HMRC emails show that officials were concerned about incurring additional costs after receiving a request by the National Audit Office for details of its child benefit database.

In an email dated 13 March, with all named blanked out, an NAO official said: "I do not need address, bank or parent details in download - are these removable to make the file smaller?"

However, a subsequent internal HMRC email stated: "I must stress we must make use of data we hold and not over burden the business by asking them to run additional data scans/filters that may incur a cost to the department."

According to the Daily Telegraph, the procedure to delete the details - which would have removed much of the threat of identity fraud - would have cost just £5,000.

When the NAO asked for further copies of the files for an audit in October, an official wrote: "Last time we had 100 zipped files on 2 CDs. Please could you ensure that the CDs are delivered to the NAO as safely as possible due to their content."

The CDs were then sent by a 23-year-old junior official from HMRC through courier TNT, neither recorded nor registered.

Following the release of the emails, Liberal Democrat acting leader Vince Cable accused the Government of putting "minor cost-cutting" ahead of security.

"IT experts point out it is possible to strip out data for a modest sum but the Government's short-sightedness has led to millions of personal details getting lost in the post. This is simply unacceptable," he said.

The news that this administrative disaster rested on a desperation by the Customs & Revenue service to save a matter of £5,000 puts the decision of MPs to lavish an extra £7bn of public funds on the audit-failing European Union in stark context.

MPs simply cannot justify giving such vast sums to an organisation - the "majority" of whose annual spending remains unverifiable by auditors - while witnessing these catastophic results of drastic cost-cutting at home.

Each MP who now exhibits such misplaced priorities and votes to approve the European Communities (Finance) Bill at its final reading in Parliament in a few weeks time will have to shoulder the blame for the consequences of public money running out, like those we've seen this week.

Norfolk: Bed crisis sparks hospitals alert

2007-11-22T18:50:00.000Z

Hospitals across the east of England have been placed on "black alert" as staff and wards are overwhelmed by high patient numbers - reports the BBC.

Non-urgent cases have been sent home after up to 10 ambulances were left queuing outside one hospital.

Few or no beds are free at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, and the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, both in Norfolk.

People with minor injuries have been urged not to attend A&E.

The alert status means plans designed to enable staff to cope with major incidents, such as terrorist attacks and train crashes, are put into action.

At the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), which announced it had reached the emergency status on Wednesday afternoon, managers worked with other agencies to discharge non-urgent patients from the 1,000-bed hospital to create space.

However, the hospital said that between 60 and 70 beds were still being blocked because patients who were medically fit to leave had no where to go.

Paramedics treated patients in ambulances outside the NNUH on Wednesday evening.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: "Most things we can manage - it only becomes critical to get someone out of the ambulance and into the hospital if someone is bleeding to death or in full cardiac arrest needing resuscitation.

"There were serious condition patients but they were being treated at the NNUH by hospital staff."

NNUH spokesman Andrew Stronach said there was no single incident that brought on the beds crisis.

"It's just general run of the mill problems, like chest pains, collapses, diarrhoea and vomiting."
The James Paget hospital and the Queen Elizabeth in Kings Lynn said there were sufficient beds, but a sudden change in the weather was putting extra pressure on them.

Norman Lamb, MP for North Norfolk, said the hospital was regularly well above the safe occupancy level of 85%.

He said: "If there was to be a flu epidemic this winter then we've got a major crisis.

"Across the country we're seeing occupancy rates increasing. There's also evidence that you run an increased risk of hospital acquired infections if you've got a hospital that's literally full.

"This is a serious problem and yet there appears to be nothing being done to increase the capacity to ensure that there's enough beds to treat patients."

Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire health officials have said they are not on alert, but Bedford Hospital has been on red alert since Friday.

In Suffolk, Ipswich Hospital said it had very few beds but was managing the situation and a spokesman for the West Suffolk Hospital said its alert had been caused by sickness bugs.

Norfolk MPs Norman Lamb and Henry Bellingham can fairly claim to be doing their best to ensure local hospital services have the facilities and resources they need to avoid situations like this developing - by opposing the payment of an extra £7bn to the audit-failing European Union.

However, Tony Wright MP for Great Yarmouth and Ian Gibson MP for Norwich North both voted on Monday to approve this unjustifiable extra multi-billion-pound spending on the wasteful EU, so can hardly claim to be doing their best for essential local services.

Local voters need only wait a likely 18 months for the next general election, to let them know what they think of such irresponsible decision-making.

'Inadequate care' in half of A&E trauma cases

2007-11-21T20:48:00.000Z

Less than half the patients admitted to accident and emergency departments with severe injuries get adequate care - according to the Daily Telegraph.

A Government-funded report has found that 20% of hospitals have no dedicated trauma team and that care standards drop significantly at night, adding that trauma patients are being treated by inexperienced staff who display little urgency and make incorrect clinical decisions.

The Government is expect to seize on the findings to support a White Paper published last year advocating centralising trauma care in specialist regional centres, at the price of local A&E departments.

Critics suspect the proposals are more about cost-cutting than patient care and say the move could see 29 hospitals closed. They argue this will jeopardise the survival of patients, who will be put at risk by travelling the extra distance to a trauma centre.

Their fears are backed by recent research which suggested that mortality rates increase by 1% for every extra six miles travelled.

Commenting on the report, Dr Jonathan Fielden, of the British Medical Association, said: "It must not be taken to support closing local units, it should be used to improve patient care. There need to be more consultants employed in the NHS to lead trauma teams."

The report, "Trauma: Who Cares?", published today by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, says hospital trusts must ensure a trauma team is available 24 hours a day with an experienced consultant as leader.

Sadly this is unlikely to be affordable while MPs splash so much public cash on the audit-failing European Union.

On Monday, MPs voted to approve a massive £7bn increase in funds, taking our annual EU payments to an astonishing £10.5bn gross every year.

But while the "majority" of the EU's spending remains unverifiable by auditors, and reports of EU waste and fraud continue, there is absolutely no justification for rewarding the EU with such a huge increase in payments.

No wonder the government is having to consider centralising trauma care in regional centres, instead of properly equipping local A&E departments. Where are our MPs' priorities?

Cash crunch will stop Forces doing their job, says ex-Army chief

2007-11-21T20:25:00.000Z

The former head of the Army has warned that the Armed Forces are facing a cash "crisis" - reports the Daily Telegraph.

The news comes as, just two days ago, MPs voted to approve the government's pledge of an extra £7bn to the EU's budget, despite last week's revelation that the EU Court of Auditors has been unable to verify the "majority" of the EU's spending for the 13th year in a row.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson said recent spending commitments by the Chancellor were likely to prove insufficient to ensure the country's "national insurance policy", raising doubts over whether the military will be able to pay for future operations or major equipment projects.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I detect, I fear, some crisis ahead in defence spending, if things go on as they are in terms of what we do, what we might have to do and the money allocated"

He hinted that there might be bad news ahead for one of the military's main procurement projects, such as new destroyers or submarines.

Since resigning, Sir Mike has also criticised the MoD's treatment of soldiers, particularly the standards of pay and living accommodation.

The MoD is currently battling with the Treasury over funding of equipment projects and "urgent operational requirements" of kit needed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are also worries that without proper funding the military is going to continue to lose substantial numbers of troops who are fed up with poor pay, accommodation and constant operations.

MPs need to think again about whether gifting the EU billions of pounds extra is either affordable or justifiable while a "majority" of its spending cannot be verified, in advance of the Third Reading of the European Communities (Finance) Bill.

Those who vote for such large-scale waste of public funds will then have to bear personal responsibility for the consequences of shortfalls of funds elsewhere, many examples of which are already in evidence.

London: Health summit paves way for abolition of traditional hospitals

2007-11-21T18:33:00.000Z

A major health summit is taking place today will change the face of the NHS in London, reports the Evening Standard.

Senior managers and doctors are meeting to draw up plans that will abolish traditional hospitals.

They are finalising a major consultation document that asks every Londoner to decide if GPs should move into big polyclinics.

Patients will be asked a series of crucial questions - signed off at today's meeting - that will lead to the massive changes next year.

They will be asked about the centralisation of services such as trauma care, treatment of children and the care of stroke victims should be centralised away from local hospitals into so-called "specialist" centres.

And whether more maternity departments should be run by midwives instead of doctors.

The consultation will be launched at the end of the month and is likely to trigger battles to
save local services.

Bosses have refused to name the hospitals and surgeries that should close and are consulting on "ideas" first.

Robert Creighton, chief executive of Ealing primary care trust, and one of the leaders of the consultation, said: "We want to get people's views about the proposals and we intend genuinely to listen to what the public have to say."

But doctors have warned that the plan is being driven through. Dr Stewart Drage, head of Londonwide Local Medical Committees, said: "We have reservations about this whole process. We are concerned that the local input is going to be very limited."

It comes as campaigners find out the results of a consultation to downgrade Chase Farm hospital in north Enfield.

Thousands have been fighting plans to move A&E and maternity services to Barnet and North Middlesex and make Chase Farm a community hospital.

The summit meeting into changes across the capital - taking place at the Sofitel hotel near St James's Park - could mean the plans for Barnet and Chase Farm change again.

The proposals are based on plans drawn up in the summer by junior health minister Lord Darzi, who is now leading a nationwide review of the NHS.

Questions must be asked as to whether these changes are being driven more by attempts at cost-cutting than to enhance patient care.

With MPs voting an extra £7bn to the European Union completely without justification on Monday of this week, public funds for essential services are becoming increasingly tight.

It's time MPs looked again at the real priorities of those they represent, before they give final approval to this multi-billion-pound funding increase to an organisation that has failed its annual audit for 13 years and is beset by reports of needless extravagance, waste and fraud.

Come next year, it'll be no good MPs posturing in protest against hospital closures in their constituencies if they've voted to waste such vast sums of public money on the EU. They will be personally responsible for the money running out, and themselves can expect to pay the price at the ballot box.

State borrowing to rise as Treasury left with little 'wiggle room'

2007-11-21T15:49:00.000Z

The Government is on course to exceed its borrowing targets by as much as £4bn this year, as public finance data came in much worse than had been expected - reports The Times.

Analysts said that the public sector net surplus was £993 million in October, compared with expectations of £3 billion, putting a dampener on the health of Alistair Darling's forecasts as the economy enters the second half of the fiscal year.

The Chancellor forecast in his Pre-Budget Report that public borrowing over the year as a whole would reach £38 billion. But the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said yesterday that the figure could reach £42 billion if present trends continued.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers predicted that the State would borrow £40 billion this year and next.

The IFS said that the overshoot in borrowing was because capital spending was growing twice as quickly as the Treasury forecast.

John Hawksworth, head of macroeconomics at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, said: "At this point in the economic cycle, the public finances should be improving in order to provide some 'wiggle room' in the event of a future cyclical downturn."

"The fact that they are getting worse will be of concern to the Treasury, since it suggests possible structural weakness and a potential need for further tax increases or greater spending restraint looking ahead."

In this context, the apparent enthusiasm of the government and many MPs to spend an extra £7bn on paying the European Union's extravagant and largely unverified bills looks particularly ill-advised.

Those MPs who vote approve these extra payments when the final vote in Parliament on the European Communities (Finance) Bill comes will consequently have to bear major responsibility for the tax increases or other public spending restraints impacting on their constituencies that analysts are now saying will have to come if the public finances continue to worsen.

Such irresponsible decisions to throw billions more pounds every year into such a black hole of waste, extravagance and fraud cannot possibly come without a price.

Norfolk: Third of crimes not investigated

2007-11-14T23:13:00.000Z

Police chiefs have defended their screening policy after it emerged that a third of crimes reported in Norfolk are not investigated by officers - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Figures released by Norfolk Constabulary show thousands of crime reports get no further than civilian call-handlers, under the supervision of an officer, who are trained to decide whether or not an incident is serious or solvable enough to warrant further investigation.

Opponents of the policy claimed the figures proved the force was under-resourced and under too much pressure to chase government targets.

However, senior officers defended the system, saying it helped it to make the most of limited resources, and that no category of crime was risk-free for the culprits.

During 2006-07, 20,739 crimes were screened out from a total of 62,626 reported - a rate of 33%, which is just below the national average of 39%. Of those, 9,375 thefts and 8,819 cases of criminal damage were not investigated.

Other crimes not probed included burglaries, violent crimes and drug offences.

Det Supt Julian Gregory, of Norfolk police, said: "As with any public sector body we have a budget and finite resources and it is vitally important to target those resources to where we get the best benefit for the community. It is common sense."

Norwich North MP Ian Gibson said 33% seemed to be a very high number and called for an explanation.

"The police force needs to explain in more detail about why these crimes are not being investigated, because I think members of the public really need to know," he said.

Norman Brennan, chairman of the Victims of Crime Trust and a serving police officer, said: "The sad reality is that police numbers have not kept pace with the huge rise in crime across the spectrum.

"The public are our masters and have a right to know why we don't turn up to every call and investigate every crime."

Screened out offences are still counted in official crime figures, and victims are issued with reference numbers for insurance purposes.

Norfolk was one of 12 English and Scottish forces which released the figures under Freedom of Information laws. Suffolk Constabulary does not operate a screening policy.

Blackpool: Campaign to save post offices

2007-11-14T22:21:00.000Z

Campaigners were out in force in the Fylde at the weekend amid fears rural post offices in the borough could be shut down, according to the Blackpool Citizen.

Government plans could see up to 2,500 rural post offices closed across the country, with the full list due to be announced in January.

Fylde borough currently has 24 post offices open, but eight have been closed since 1999.

Campaigners took to the streets of St Annes over the weekend, and were collecting signatures to fight any proposed closures.

Post office campaigner, Coun Cheryl Little, who represents the Fairhaven ward, said: "We had a remarkable day with much support from the people of St Annes and the sub post master at Wood Street.

"I strongly feel that post offices are a vital lifeline in many people's day to day lives and shutting them does not make sense."

Post Office Ltd managing director, Alan Cook, said: "Taking the decision to close any post office branch is always very difficult and we know will cause concern to many of our customers.

Wales: Councils warn on funding figures

2007-11-14T14:58:00.000Z

Local councils in Wales have criticised their £3.8bn budget settlement for next year from the assembly government.

The assembly, which receives its funding from the UK government and Europe, last week set out its spending plans.

Ministers admitted funding was "tight", saying local government funding would rise by 2.3% next year and by 2.6% and 2.8% in the following two years.

Local Government Minister Brian Gibbons called it a "realistic" deal and said councils must make efficiency savings.

But the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), which represents council leaders, called this year's settlement "appalling" and warned of public services cuts, jobs losses and rising council taxes.

Derek Vaughan, leader of the WLGA, said: "The assembly government seems to think that council tax payers are the solution to their budgetary problems - they can't balance the books, so the people of Wales are expected to cough up."

WLGA education spokesman John Davies, a Pembrokeshire councillor, said education authorities faced "cuts in service, redundancies and school closures" without extra cash or council tax rises.

Liberal Democrat Jenny Randerson said AMs had passed on a "very tight budget" to local authorities "knowing that with local elections next year, people are going to blame their local council, not blame the assembly government".

"I can assure you, they [AMs] wouldn't have been doing this to themselves if it had been an election year in the assembly."

Manchester: Long wait for a dentist

2007-11-07T02:55:00.000Z

People suffering toothache in Greater Manchester are still being forced to join long queues for treatment - three years after a government minister pledged to improve NHS dental treatment in the region - according to the Manchester Evening News.

Many are being forced to wait in hospital after failing to find an NHS dentist who can give them an appointment.

In September 2004, health minister Rosie Winterton promised dental care would improve after we showed her the queues of desperate patients outside the dental hospital.

But the lines of desperate patients are still there, and an exclusive survey conducted by the MEN this month has revealed that only a quarter of NHS dentists in Greater Manchester are offering NHS treatment to patients who say they have a painful dental problem.

Despite the freezing weather yesterday morning, patients had chosen to queue at the hospital on Oxford Road rather than face the expensive fees of their dentists who have converted to private practice.

Terrible toothache Alani Mosharaf, 31, a student from Chorlton upon Medlock, was first in the queue, he said: "I've got terrible tooth ache, I don't know what is wrong, I've had problems for the last four months and I've been here several times.

"I've tried to get a dentist near my home since I arrived in the city three years ago but they are all private, they are not interested in NHS patients - it seems like there is no NHS any more where I live."

Ben Cousins, 21, a restaurant manager, from Hulme, was also in agony but he queued for more than an hour because his last visit to his - now private - dentist cost him more than £100.

He said: "I can't afford it in November with Christmas coming up, I'm not looking forward to having a tooth removed and I don't want to pay that much to have it done.

"They say it costs £14.50 here for an appointment and depending on what you have it can go up to £48, which is a lot better value."

Last year we reported how two new full-time dentists had been recruited to work at the hospital enabling the clinic to see up to 80 extra patients a day but it still hasn't reduced the queues.

Patients are supposed to be able to get dental treatment on the NHS without being registered with a dentist. But when an MEN reporter rang 50 dental surgeons complaining about a chipped tooth just 13 said they would offer an NHS appointment within a month.

Our reporter was told by 21 of the dentists that he could have treatment privately.

The remaining 16 dentists could not offer an appointment at all, either privately or on the NHS.

The dentists were registered in the "find a dentist" section on the government's NHS Choices website.

The findings of the MEN's study are to be presented to a committee of MPs later this week by Dr Anthony Halperin, the chairman of the Patients' Association who is also a dentist.

He believes lack of funding for NHS dentistry from Primary Care Trusts is at the root of the problem and said: "It does show there are problems gaining access to NHS dentists.

"That is not necessarily because dentists are choosing to treat private patients before NHS patients, but because they are not getting funding from the PCT to take on new NHS patients.

"Under the old system, dentists could take on as many NHS patients as they liked and then fill out forms for funding. But now the funding must already be in place from the PCT and that is causing problems.

"That is what has come across to the Patients' Association. It is the lack of funding, rather than a lack of space or capability.

"These are interesting findings and I'll mention the survey when I speak to MPs next week at a select committee."

All dentists now work on a self-employed basis, and receive funding from the Manchester PCT for treating NHS patients. As more dentists turn from treating NHS patients to private work, many are now branching out into cosmetic dentistry.

When our reporter rang the same 50 dentists and asked whether they could do teeth whitening - a private cosmetic service costing between £190 and £550 - more than two thirds (34) of them said they did and offered an appointment.

A spokesman for the Manchester Health Watchdog said it was a concern that most NHS dental practices are still running a registration system despite the new guidance from the Department of Health. The watchdog was also aware practices were asking patients to sign up to monthly direct debits to receive treatment.

Martin Rathfelder, member of the Manchester Health Watchdog, said: "It is a difficult situation because dentists are self-employed and there isn't any way of preventing them doing cosmetic work, but I think questions should be asked of Manchester PCT about the level of capacity of NHS dentistry in the city.

"Based on the information collected by the MEN, the PCT should be ensuring that all NHS dentists in the city are meeting their dental unit targets and if they are not, why not?

"Is capacity the issue or is it about the money.

"Most of the dental practices in Manchester seem to be running a practice list system. Is that lawful?"

Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley, said: "It seems since the new system was introduced more dentists are choosing to take on more private work.

"The current system isn't delivering what it promised to in many parts of the country, although the situation in my constituency isn't as bad as in other parts of Greater Manchester and elsewhere.

"It needs to be looked at again because the tax paying public is not getting value for money and there are real flaws in the new arrangements.

"The balance is not there. Dentists are choosing to take on more private work and this is limiting the number of NHS patients they can treat."

Norfolk: Warning over the cost of care

2007-11-07T01:31:00.000Z

Old people face having to pay more for their care and some will miss out completely as Norfolk social services prepares to make millions of pounds of cuts - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

The department is trying to make £13m of savings from the adult social services budget next year alone, a figure which rises to £37m over the next three years.

It is part of what County Hall chiefs described as a “difficult” picture for all the council's services. Although the county council will not hear about its government funding settlement until next month, it is expecting to receive an extra £16m from Whitehall - but faces paying an extra £38.7m in inflation costs and to meet rising demand for services, leaving it to make £22.7m of savings next year.

Paul Brittain, the council's head of finance, said: “There are savings right across the board in adult services, children's services, planning and transport and so on. It is a very difficult financial situation.”

Harold Bodmer, director of adult social services, said: “It is a tough situation. We have to set this on the context of a very difficult budget.”

The most severe cutbacks proposed are reducing the number of people who receive care by 1,084 over the next three years, saving £3m next year and more than £19m in all.

Hilary Macdonald, chief executive of Age Concern Norfolk, said that some people might choose to do without services if they were faced with having to pay more.

She said: “Inevitably the burden is going to fall on family and other carers.

“We are very concerned that with the need for cuts - and this is across the board, in health services as well as social services - preventative services will fall off the agenda. It is vitally important that older people receive the support they need”.

Chris Mowle, cabinet member for adult social services, said: “Quite clearly the government is underfunding social care by a massive amount, therefore if county councillors hold to their pledge and keep council tax down, services for vulnerable adults are at extreme risk.”

Swindon: Hospital's £600k cuts to cleaning

2007-11-06T15:35:00.000Z

The Great Western Hospital in Swindon is to make £600,000 of cuts to its cleaning and catering service, reports the BBC.

Health workers' union Unison said the cuts would reduce standards and could lead to higher rates of hospital infections such as MRSA.

Joanne Kaye-Smith, of Unison, said: "These cuts cannot be justified."

"The government and the Department of Health say they are committed to improving the cleanliness of all our hospitals," she said.

But the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, claim the changes would not reduce the quality of cleaning or catering.

In a statement, the trust said: "It is part of our responsibility as a trust to get the best value for taxpayers' money that we can alongside providing quality patient care.

The Great Western Hospital has 464 in-patient beds, 87 day-care beds, 10 operating theatres, two maternity theatres and 3,500 staff.

North West: 65 post offices to close

2007-11-06T02:26:00.000Z

Post Office bosses have unveiled plans to axe 65 branches in parts of the North West - reports the Manchester Evening News.

A six-week consultation will now be held before a final decision is taken to axe the branches in Merseyside, the Wirral, Cheshire, Wigan, Leigh and Makerfield.

Some 371 post offices are set to remain open in the area and new outreach services - where post office services are operated from pubs or village shops - will be created in Malpas, Crewe and Tarporley.

Post Offices bosses insist that more than 99% of people in the affected area will see no change to their service or be within one mile of another branch.

Jane Briginshaw, Post Office Ltd's network development manager for the North West, said: "Taking the decision to close any Post Office branch is always very difficult and we know will cause concern to many of our customers.

"Post Office Ltd's aim is to continue to provide essential services and support retail businesses and the local economy in as many communities as possible, subject to the minimum access set by the Government."

Liverpool City Council leader Warren Bradley said: "It is deplorable that this government, which was elected on a devolution platform, is now sounding the death knell to local communities throughout Liverpool.

"Post offices are a crucial public service and once again Labour is forcing through cuts."

Post Office branches in the following parliamentary constituencies are included in this area plan: Altrincham and Sale West, Birkenhead, Bootle, City of Chester, Congleton, Crewe and Nantwich, Crosby, Eddisbury, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Halton, Knowsley North and Sefton East, Knowsley South, Leigh, Liverpool Garston, Liverpool Riverside, Liverpool Walton, Liverpool Wavertree, Liverpool West, Derby, Makerfield, St Helens North, St Helens South, Tatton, Wallasey, Warrington North, Warrington South, Weaver Vale, Wigan, Wirral South and Wirral West.

Norfolk: Flagship hospital at full capacity

2007-11-06T01:17:00.000Z

Norfolk's flagship hospital last night reassured patients that it was open for emergency admissions and routine operations, despite reaching maximum capacity - according to the Eastern Daily Press.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital was yesterday placed on the highest state of alert following a large volume of admissions over the weekend.

Three other East of England hospitals, including the West Suffolk Hospital at Bury St Edmunds were also classed as being on “black alert” following an unusually high number of patients being transferred to Accident and Emergency and Emergency Assessment Units.

Officials at the Norfolk and Norwich yesterday urged local GPs to look into alternative treatment plans for their patients and to avoid referrals as much as possible, whilst the hospital aimed to speed up discharge arrangements for those medically fit to leave in a bid to address the “critical” bed capacity issue.

However, the hospital confirmed that scheduled operations would continue as usual and there were currently no plans to turn away emergency admissions to the James Paget Hospital at Gorleston and Queen Elizabeth Hospital at King's Lynn, which are at amber and green alert levels respectively.

Hospitals at Hinchingbrooke, Cambridgeshire, and Peterborough were also placed on black alert, whilst Ipswich and Addenbrooke's, in Cambridge, were on red alert - the second highest pressure score.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital spokesman Andrew Stronach said it had been an “extremely busy” weekend for emergency admissions and equally busy yesterday with GP referrals, which had no link to bonfire night celebrations or any winter bugs.

“We are full. There is no more room in the inn, so we make sure that we can discharge as many patients as we can and free up beds for emergencies. If GPs can manage their patients without admitting to hospital, that would be much appreciated.

“There is no rhyme or reason to it. It was just a high volume of medical illnesses and surgery cases over the weekend and today (Monday),” he said.

Mr Stronach added that it was “not particularly unusual” for the flagship hospital to be on black alert and had been in the same situation 27 times last year.

Hospitals can be placed on black alert for a variety of reasons such as a rapid rise in emergency admissions, severe lack of beds, low staff numbers, or system failure and can be resolved in the most extreme cases by stopping new admissions, routine operations and transferring new patients elsewhere.

Jonathan Cook, director of corporate services for Norfolk Primary Care Trust, said: “We are confident that we have robust procedures in place to ensure that we deal with these emergency admission problems appropriately and assist the Norfolk and Norwich by avoiding non-urgent GP referrals.

We continue to work with our colleagues at the hospital and will monitor the situation extremely closely.”

A spokeswoman from the West Suffolk Hospital added: “We are on black alert because of an unusual high volume of A&E admissions, but these things happen and we are coping with it.”

Norfolk: Cash cuts for children’s services

2007-11-05T01:39:00.000Z

Key services for children and young people in Norfolk could be under threat due to painful cuts being considered in order to fill a predicted £11m black hole in funding - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Dozens of jobs face the axe over the next three years as financial experts try to make ends meet. And Norfolk's 450 schools face having to meet the bills for numerous services that have until now been provided free.

The expected cash crisis comes at a troubled time for the county, as growing numbers of schools are being judged "not good enough" by Ofsted inspectors, the numbers of children in care continue to spiral and GCSE achievement is falling further behind the national average.

Lisa Christensen, director of children's services, pledged that these three key areas would not be touched by any cuts. But they are putting pressure on the children's services department, and senior officers are being urged to come up with ways to save money through "efficiency savings".

The flurry of activity has come amid predictions that the government's 2008/9 settlement would only amount to a 2.3% increase in funds for Norfolk. A high-profile delegation has been to London from Norfolk to put pressure on the government in a bid to secure more money before the final amount is announced.

But at the moment all heads of department are working on the basis of the 2.3% rise, which barely covers the cost of inflation in key areas like transport and the price of providing care.

Rosalie Monbiot, cabinet member for children's services, admitted she was "frustrated" at the prospect of another tight financial settlement.

She said: "We deliver some marvellous services in Norfolk. If the worst comes to the worst we will be reduced to only delivering statutory services and that will not be of benefit to the children of the county. We don't have many areas where we can make the savings."

The possible cuts are outlined in a report to Wednesday's review panel.

It includes a proposal to save more than £2m in staffing costs over three years - the equivalent of at least 60 people losing their jobs or not being replaced. Other suggestions include saving £1m on special educational needs transport by more strictly enforcing the rules.

Northampton: Funds loss threat to youth group

2007-11-02T15:10:00.000Z

One of the largest youth support groups in Northamptonshire is facing closure unless it raises £75,000 to fund its activities by the end of the month - reports the BBC.

The Lowdown, based in Northampton, offers information, counselling and support to young people.

The group has been trying to raise enough money to stay open but still faces a budget shortfall.

The charity said it has been struggling financially since funding cuts to youth services in the county last year.

Blackpool: Famous seafront trams face axe

2007-11-02T02:52:00.000Z

Blackpool's trams will stop running for five months on Monday - and could disappear from the seafront for good - reports the Manchester Evening News.

The 11-mile-long line will be shut until Easter for an £11m programme of essential maintenance.

But the resort's transport chief has warned that if it doesn't get another £66m in funding from the government for a complete upgrade of the tracks and trams, the famous machines could stop running for good.

The first tram appeared in the resort in 1885 and they run every day apart from December 25 and 26 and January 1.

Blackpool Transport managing director Steve Burd said: "If we fail to get the money then there is a chance that the trams could stop running in Blackpool."

The council hopes transport minister Tom Harris will make a decision by Christmas.

Lewisham: Rally against cuts to hospitals' A&E

2007-11-01T01:45:00.000Z

A call has been made for South-east Londoners to join a protest against cuts and changes in hospital and health services - reports icSouthLondon.

Greenwich Unison and campaign group Keep Our NHS Public are urging people to join a national march and rally on Saturday.

Proposals for the region have provoked widespread anguish and have been slammed by MPs for being "a step too far".

In the past year the hospitals have made millions of pounds worth of savings and cut hundreds of jobs.

Last month, recommendations that emergency and critical care should be axed from two of the region's four cash-strapped hospitals were revealed.

The proposal came out of a review of health services in Greenwich, Lewisham, Bexley and Bromley led by the boroughs' primary care trusts.

In the document A Picture of Health, the trusts outlined their aim to save cash and improve services by relocating some hospital treatments to centres closer to people's homes and by concentrating specialist services in fewer hospitals.

No firm decisions have been made but a key consideration is likely to be the economic argument to keep full services at the hospitals with the biggest private finance debts - Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich and Princess Royal in Bromley.

Salford: Closing unit safest for babies

2007-10-31T02:47:00.000Z

A hospital where maternity care is soon to be axed has become the first in the country to achieve the highest ratings for emergency and baby safety - reports the Manchester Evening News.

Staff at Hope Hospital in Salford have been given the coveted 'level three' safety ratings from the NHS Litigation Authority after a series of tough risk assessments.

They had to prove they have good safety policies in place, can deal with medical and maternity emergencies quickly and have improved care.

The unit is set to close by 2011 as part of a controversial shake-up of regional maternity care, but managers say staff decided to go for the gold standard to show local people the decision was not a reflection on the care they provide.

Politicians who fought to save the service commended staff for proving the unit was one of the best in Greater Manchester to have a baby - and say it makes the closure decision all the more disappointing.

Deborah Carter, the associate director of women's and child services, said: "I have to congratulate our staff, who have been working with uncertainty for years and - more recently - the knowledge their department will close.

"They made a huge effort to drive up standards to reach this very difficult target. They want people to understand the closure does not in any way reflect the level of care here."

Salford council leader John Merry, who led the campaign to save the unit, said: "I would like to congratulate staff for working hard to meet this very difficult target and demonstrating to local people they are receiving the very best care.

"This news makes the closure decision a bit more disappointing, but the skills the staff have built up will not be lost."

Almost 3,000 babies are born at Hope each year and its 12-bed special care baby unit and nine-bed neo-natal intensive care unit is one of the largest in the region.

Salford PCT is now considering funding a midwifery-led unit at Hope. Having level three status also means the trust is likely to save around £1m over the next three years - by paying lower premiums to cover itself against legal claims.

In the shake-up, maternity and children's inpatient care will be cut from 14 to eight sites at North Manchester, Stepping Hill, Tameside, Wythenshawe and Wigan, with super-centres providing intensive care for the sickest babies in Manchester, Oldham and Bolton.

Suffolk: Massive council cuts proposed

2007-10-31T01:36:00.000Z

A multi-million-pound round of cuts in services, from buses and road maintenance to care for older people and transport for sixth-formers, are in store for Suffolk residents - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Older people also face paying more for council-run care homes, while support for extra-curricular dance, drama and sport could also be axed.

The proposed cuts were unveiled yesterday by Suffolk County Council at the start of its budget process. The plans will be discussed at scrutiny meetings over the next month before the budget is set in February.

Under fire from opposition councillors yesterday, council leader Jeremy Pembroke stressed the proposals were subject to change, and the council did not yet know what grant it would get from the government.

However, the council is expecting to have to save £16m, though it says it is also spending £10m on extra services.

Fifty-seven jobs will be lost, on top of the nine to 31 already planned for next year.

Mr Pembroke said the most unpopular decision was likely to be £950,000 of cuts to bus subsidies, which would spell the end to 15 bus services providing 150,000 passenger trips.

Likely to be equally unpopular is a proposal for the end of free transport for 16 to 18-year-olds to sixth form or college from next September.

Old people with savings may also be charged more if they move into one of the 15 council-run care homes.

Currently, the cost is capped at the amount the council pays for private sector homes, even though the true cost of a council-run home is higher.

Those entering council-run homes who are deemed able to afford the fees face having to pay upwards of £200 a week extra, but those already in them will not be affected.

Other proposals include: Cutting the roads maintenance budget by 40pc (£1.6m), meaning unclassified roads will be left to develop potholes rather than get preventative work. Axing support services for school dance, drama, and extra-curricular sport unless schools pay for them, saving £80,000 a year for three years.

Lincoln: Talks on county's police funding

2007-10-30T15:18:00.000Z

The police minister Tony McNulty has agreed to hold further talks about giving Lincolnshire Police more money, reports the BBC.

Police officials said the force was one of the lowest-funded nationally and expects to overspend by £7m next year.

Senior officers have warned average council tax bills could rise by up to £100 per year if it does not get an increase in funding.

It is hoped further discussions will be held within the next few weeks and involve all of the county's MPs.

South Holland & the Deepings MP John Hayes said: "The Police Authority have said that this could mean cutting 364 members of police staff.

"In an establishment of something like 1163 that would, in their words, be perilous. It could mean the closure of police stations, it could mean less officers on the beat. We already have a big problem in our rural area."

Watford: Doubt raised over super hospital

2007-10-26T00:19:00.000Z

Health campaigners have asked where the money to rebuild Watford General is going to come from following another damning report into the state of local NHS services and the resignation of the man in the charge - reports the Watford Observer.

The new report comes just days after health chief David Law resigned as chief executive of West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mr Law, the man who was in charge of Watford General for three years, quit his £120,000-a-year post last Friday evening after a report, by the Healthcare Commission, slammed the state of local health services.

The trust has been dogged by poor hospital standards and huge debts and last week was given a double "weak" rating when it came to the quality of service it provided - putting it in the bottom 5% in the country.

This week, another official health report, this time by the Audit Commission, found the trust remains £11 million in debt - one of just ten trusts across the country more than £10 million in the red.

The annual review graded trusts on a range of financial measures, including value for money and financial management.

The trust was given a "one", the lowest possible grade, meaning its finances are "inadequate".

Health campaigner Jean Brett has questioned whether the trust can now attract investment to pay for the £300million redevelopment of Watford General.

She said: "With problems like those highlighted in the Audit Commission, do they really think anybody is going to put forward the money for that trust as part of a PFI development?

"This is one more nail in the coffin for the PFI."

Watford MP Claire Ward said: "I have indicated to the Strategic Health Authority that I will not support the appointment of any chief executive who does not give full support to Watford Health Campus. This project is essential to the future development of the NHS in my constituency."

However the hypocritical Ms Ward herself is not giving all the support she could to the potential development, given she intends to quietly approve a £7bn increase in funding to the audit-failing EU when the European Communities (Finance) Bill comes before Parliament for approval.

Ms Ward can hardly claim to be standing up for local public services if she plans to support the waste of vast sums of public money on an organisation that hasn't been able to explain how the "majority" of its budget has been spent for thirteen years running.

Waste in one area of public spending - especially of sums as large as £7bn - inevitably means consequences elsewhere. If Ms Ward supports the EC (Finance) Bill, only she will be to blame for insufficient health services in Watford.

Shropshire: Council faces services overspend

2007-10-25T15:22:00.000Z

Shropshire County Council is facing serious financial pressure in funding adult social care, reports the BBC.

It is forecasting an overspend of £638,000 in its budget for looking after people with learning difficulties in the current financial year.

Director of resources, Laura Rowley, said a review was under way and some vacancies were not being filled to help reduce costs.

She said as carers got older they needed more help to cope.

Financial pressure is set to increase further to meet demands for improving care for autistic people and those suffering Asperger's Syndrome, she said.

Barry Brown, whose son Stephen has Asperger's, said the current situation was unacceptable.

"When we got the diagnosis he had got Asperger's Syndrome that was the good news, because previous to that we had nowhere to turn," said Mr Brown.

"Then they said there's no services for Asperger's either in Telford or Shropshire and that's still the situation."

NHS repairs 'backlog' hits £4bn

2007-10-24T23:20:00.000Z

NHS trusts have a £4bn backlog of key maintenance repairs which range from fixing heating to meeting fire safety rules, reports the BBC.

Government figures suggest the backlog is eight times this year's much-heralded NHS surplus, which was achieved by making a variety of cuts.

"Backlog" repairs are those needed to bring NHS property in line with various standards.

They include repairing roofs and fixing drainage, but do not cover painting wards or replacing furniture.

It is large city hospital trusts which have the greatest backlog, according to Hospital Doctor, which first reported the details.

"The truth is that the NHS surplus, which the government enjoys boasting about, is a sham," shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said.

"Public health budgets, education and training budgets and now the basic maintenance and upkeep of our hospitals have been laundered to produce this surplus."

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said urgent maintenance work that will affect patient care "is always prioritised", but he added that making this decision was up to the local NHS trust concerned.

Suffolk: Student bus cut fears

2007-10-24T02:33:00.000Z

Students in Suffolk could become the latest victims of budget cuts after it emerged that secret discussions to cut school transport subsidies for 16 to 18-year-olds are under way - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

About a quarter of the 10,345 students of that age group in education in the county are likely to be left forking out hundreds of pounds in travel every year if the policy gets the go-ahead.

Currently, 2,200 students across Suffolk pay about £300 a year for school transport, with the remaining £300 being met by Suffolk County Council, but as part of ongoing budget cuts the council is trying to reduce its £16m school transport budget.

Sources have revealed "substantial" further savings need to be made and council chiefs are holding confidential meetings to discuss the possibility of axing post-16 travel subsidies.

Axing subsidies could save in excess of £600,000, with teenagers and parents footing the bill.

The Labour group has slammed the "tax on A-levels".

Graham Manuel, Labour's roads and transport spokesman, said: "Every parent wants their children to have the opportunity to study hard and get on in life."

A council spokesman said: "In February we reviewed home-to-school transport as part of the budget process. A policy development panel was set up to look at all aspects of the transport service provided to pupils, particularly areas of expenditure due to budget restraints. The findings will be going to cabinet in April 2008."

Lincoln: MS therapy centre faces closure

2007-10-23T15:27:00.000Z

A Lincolnshire centre for sufferers of multiple sclerosis could close due to a lack of funding, reports the BBC.

Managers at the Lincoln Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, which has been running for 20 years, say they have three months to find the money.

The facility offers physical therapy and emotional support.

Chairman Paul Wilkinson said the financial problems began when a lottery grant was stopped. He is urging the public to come forward with donations.

"We're raising money every week but it's as serious as that within three months there's a strong possibility we could lock our doors," Mr Wilkinson said.

Users of the centre say it is a lifeline to them. Joanne Elam said: "It has given me a boost just speaking to people here.

"I ended up in this centre first of all in a wheelchair and the physiotherapist couldn't believe how bad I was.

"With having treatment, I've been able to get out of the wheelchair and walking on my own two feet, so it's done a lot for me."

Worcestershire: Council chiefs’ funding fears

2007-10-23T01:27:00.000Z

Worcestershire County Council chiefs have echoed the warnings of the Local Government Association (LGA) in the wake of what has been called the worst financial settlement for 10 years - reports the Redditch Advertiser.

The Government's Comprehensive Spending Review was recently announced, which details public sector funding and in particular how much money local councils will receive for running day-to-day services.

The LGA has warned the settlement would mean above-inflation increases in council tax and potential funding black holes for services for older people.

The county council has already been working to shave £25 million off its revenue budget before 2010. And with the county having an above average older population, the effects could be felt even more acutely.

Councillor George Lord, county council leader, said: "This latest announcement is not good news for counties like Worcestershire. We're already amongst the poorest funded in the country and as the amount that the Government generally provides for local authorities continues to fall, we'll be hardest hit once again."

Councillor Adrian Hardman, cabinet member for finance, added: "We've been able to be amongst the top performing councils in the country in terms of efficiency and value for money in recent years and this has been the main reason why we've been able to balance the budget.

"It does get increasingly difficult however and we face some tough decisions for next year and beyond because there's simply insufficient money available to continue to provide services at their current and improved levels and to meet all the additional demands being placed upon us."

Full details of the implications of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review are due to be unveiled in early December when the precise impact on the budget for the county can be calculated.

What has Redditch MP Jacqui Smith have to say about this, while she intends to vote £7bn of evidently scarce government money away to the audit-failing EU?

The £25 million the council needs to maintain services is not even two days worth of the money Ms Smith plans to gift the EU.

Approving the waste of such vast sums on an organisation with a terrible record for waste, corruption and mismanagement will mean she must take personal responsibility when funding shortfalls such as these inevitably occur.

Basildon: Basildon Council cash crisis

2007-10-22T23:28:00.000Z

Basildon Council is facing a serious cash crisis next year which could lead to service cuts - reports the Basildon Recorder. Council tax may also rise by five per cent

The financial difficulties have come about because the council must find up to £500,000 to subsidise pensioners' free bus travel next year.

Basildon Council is the only authority in Essex yet to pay £100,000 from last year.

Terri Sargent, cabinet councillor responsible for community services, said consultants were trying to work out ways to meet rising costs as more elderly people take up passes.

Mrs Sargent said: "Our bill for last year is late. We expect it to be even higher this year.

"We have no idea what it will be when the scheme goes national, but uptake is always increasing.

"A report will go to cabinet next month." Council leader Malcolm Buckley said: "A review of services has identified a number of savings, but this does not take into account bus pass cost increases.

"The problem is we have to set our budget before knowing the actual cost of passes when they go nationwide."

Meanwhile, Phil Turner, the council's cabinet member for resources, warned there would be little scope for investment. He said: "Basildon's grant from the Government is already the lowest possible and well below the national average.

"The amount we are likely to get will not cover all the costs of inflation, new legislation and the extra responsibilities."

Mr Turner added: "The burden of making up the balance will fall upon the council tax payer."

'Good schools' to hand back £85m savings

2007-10-22T23:26:00.000Z

Good schools could be forced to hand back thousands of pounds every year under a new Government "tax" on prudent head teachers, the Daily Telegraph reports today.

For the sake of grabbing back an amount of money equivalent to less than a week of what the government plans to hand to the audit-failing EU under the new EU budget deal, head teachers at some of the best-performing state schools in the country may be forced to axe staff or raid library budgets to finance improvements to facilities rather than tapping into their savings.

The little-noticed move could affect as many as 20,000 primary, secondary and special schools and would require any school with extra money at the end of the year to hand a share back to local authorities.

Schools are set to lose 5% of outstanding balances, even if it has been set aside to fund new buildings, playground improvements, sports facilities or drama studios.

Mick Brookes, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said "Schools are going to have to find that five per cent additional money from somewhere else.

''This includes the money schools use to buy books for the children, teaching materials and sports equipment.

"If schools have to give back £25,000 or more, it could mean losing a teacher."

Pauline Cox, the head teacher at Tiffin Girls' Grammar School, Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, which came top in the country in one GCSE league table this summer, said: "We have a 1950s school which is falling to pieces and needs repairs, which cost money.

''We already have to scrimp and save to do this, and now whatever we manage to pull together for the next year will be taxed. I feel robbed. The fury among teachers is remarkable."

In a Parliamentary answer to the Liberal Democrats, the Government admitted that £988 million of last year's surplus – almost 63% of the total – had been "committed for specific purposes", which may include buildings.

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat children's spokesman, said: "This Government plan is a tax on good schools. It is taking from the prudent head teachers that are about to fund major capital projects and giving to less prudent ones and those who have already spent their money."

Andrew Baker, the head of Westcliff High School for Boys, Essex, said: "I have never heard a proposal that is so devious and unprincipled as this.

''It will encourage schools to make irresponsible expenditure to avoid the taxman."

Terry Molloy, the head of Claremont High School, Brent, north London, said: "This money is meant for my children, to make their education better. Why should they be punished like this?"

Under the new EU budget deal, Britain is set to pay the audit-failing EU £6bn (net) a year - that's £115m every week until 2013.

This deal is expected to come before MPs for approval sometime in the next session of Parliament, starting next month.

Can MPs really justify voting billions of pounds extra a year to such a wasteful organisation as the EU, while the government has to resort to clawing back fractions of that amount from prudent schools seeking to improve their facilities?

Has the EU now usurped 'Education, Education, Education'? MPs will confirm their real priorities with their votes on the European Communities (Finance) Bill.

'Cash crisis' for science centres

2007-10-21T23:25:00.000Z

Science education centres around the UK face serious financial threats and some have already closed, reports the BBC.

MPs on the House of Commons science and technology select committee want the government to give centres at risk short-term funding.

Two of the centres which were funded by the Millennium Commission - Doncaster's Earth Centre and Ayrshire's Big Idea - have already closed, its report says.

The loss of such centres is a threat to science education, it says. Ministers say they will respond "in due course".

The report, the Funding of Science and Discovery Centres, says that these centres make a valuable contribution to the public's engagement with science - but there are serious financial problems.

After initial funding, these centres are unable to pay for themselves - and the report says that without a change in their financial support, they will be closed before their value has been properly assessed.

The Eden Project is an example of a successful science centre, say MPs.

The Earth Centre and Big Idea have both closed and another, At-Bristol, has had to close two of its three attractions and has made 45 staff redundant.

The report says the government should not be obliged to fund loss-making centres on a regular basis, but as a short-term measure it should make cash available.

It also recommends that "steps are taken to reduce the tax burden on science and other educational centres".

The report says that the science centre concept has been around for about 20 years - representing a place for people to explore science often in an interactive setting.

The biggest injection of funding came in the form of £450m for 18 centres from the Millennium Commission.

But the report says that in terms of earning revenue, science centres - apart from examples such as the Eden Project in Cornwall - have struggled to raise more than 80% of their running costs.

This leaves them with a recurrent funding problem, says the MPs' report, which proposes they should be given a reduced rate of VAT - and it urges the government to consider supporting science centres in the way it subsidises museums.

A Department for Innovation, Universities and Science spokesman said that the government is "keen to encourage young people and the broader community to get involved with science".

He said they would respond to the report more fully "in due course".

Norfolk: Warning over care for future elderly

2007-10-19T02:29:00.000Z

Thousands of East Anglian pensioners will not get the care they expect in old age, facing the grim prospect of footing hefty bills to pay for vital services, officials have warned - according to the Eastern Daily Press.

A report commissioned by the Local Government Association reveals a “startling gulf” between people's expected level of service from their council and the reality they will face in old age.

The survey shows that nine out of 10 adults want subsidised care from their council in old age - at a time when government funding to meet the needs of a growing elderly population is expected to dwindle from 2009.

Last night Age Concern and Norfolk County Council called for an immediate debate to raise people's awareness about the impact of government funding cuts on services.

“This is a very serious problem which is going to get worse and not many people are aware of it,” said Linda Gill, information and advice manger at Age Concern Norfolk.

“There has to be an urgent debate to raise awareness not just with elderly people, but also with men and women who are in their 40s or 50s now and who are not thinking about provisions for old age. They have to know what lies ahead of them,” she added.

There are 174,000 over 65s living in Norfolk of which 25,400 receive subsidised care. The number of elderly people is projected to increase to 187,750 by 2010, and the county council expects the number receiving subsidised care to increase proportionally.

However, despite the ageing population, government funding for essential services such as shopping, cleaning, bathing will drop to 3.45% by 2009 and to 3.4% by 2010/11.

“This is a real issue for Norfolk,” said Chris Mowle, county cabinet member for adult social services.

“We have an ever-growing older population as people live longer and in order for them to live well they will need more services. The government has just announced how much money councils will get next year and from Norfolk's point of view this was a bad settlement.”

He said the authority was at the bottom of the league table of all county councils when it comes to the allocation of overall grants.

A survey last year showed that the county was underfunded by £21m.

The LGA-commissioned MORI poll interviewed 956 adults across England and Wales, following the release of the Comprehensive Spending Review at the beginning of October.

Only five per cent of respondents across the country said they would expect to pay for all their basic care even though, closer inspection of the figures published in this year's Spending Review social care budget increases have failed to keep pace with demographic changes.

Last night Sir Simon Milton, chairman of the LGA said: “There is a startling gulf between the type of care they expect when they reach old age and the reality of what they will receive. A poor funding settlement, an ageing population and a lack of progress on any long term solution to the financial pressures on social services that local government will face a situation, by as early as 2009, where it cannot afford to provide service thousands of vulnerable old people.”

Ealing: Six-year waiting list for NHS wheelchairs

2007-10-19T01:25:00.000Z

EALING Primary Care Trust's mammoth six-year waiting list for NHS electric wheelchairs was this week described as "obscene" - reports icEaling.

The waiting list, which has been calculated at 316 weeks, has got so out of hand that for a time it had to be closed to anyone wanting to get on it, (though it has now reopened).

It puts Ealing bottom out of 99 Primary Care Trust's (PCTs) in terms of waiting time for NHS electric wheelchairs.

Wiltshire's waiting list is 260 weeks, East Midlands' is 224 and Hillingdon's is closed on 156 weeks.

The revelations have prompted urgent calls from politicians for action from Ealing PCT, which funds the rental service.

Leicester: Protest at hospital plan collapse

2007-10-18T14:32:00.000Z

Dozens of patients from Leicestershire and Rutland have been turned away from an NHS Trust board meeting where they planned to demand answers about the future of local healthcare - reports the BBC.

Their main concern is the collapse of a £700m plan to revamp Leicester's three city hospitals, which has been abandoned amid claims that the plan was becoming too expensive.

Zuffar Haq, chairman of the Leicester Patients' Group, said the government's vow to consult the public about healthcare was simply not happening.

Earlier in the year the trust also said it was looking to cut hundreds of posts to make budget savings.

Wimbledon: £36m council cuts spark job loss fears

2007-10-18T02:04:00.000Z

More than 50 jobs are set to be axed and services cut back as a council struggles to balance its books - reports the South London Press.

Bean counters at Merton civic centre have worked out that the authority needs to save
£14.4million in the next financial year (2008/09), £13.4million in 2009/10, plus £8.9million in 2010/11.

The authority, like many other councils, will not be receiving enough money from the Government to run all of the services it currently provides and will be hit hard by increases in expenses including landfill tax charges.

A report setting out a list of money-saving proposals, including more than 50 job cuts, was being presented to Monday's cabinet meeting. The budget will be finalised in March.

Council leader David Williams, pictured inset, said: "We will be discussing the staffing proposals with the unions.

"If we don't get the money from the Government that we need, we have three options: to raise council tax, increase fees and charges and cut services.

"There is a four-year pledge that we will keep council tax at the same level in real terms using the retail price index - we will know the exact amount in December."

A full report about the future of day services for elderly and disabled people, including the
All Saints Centre in Wimbledon, is also due to be presented to the cabinet at a meeting in December.

The cost-cutting measures will begin at the end of a three-year programme to save £10million that began in 2005/6.

Watford: Hospital trust rated 'weak'

2007-10-18T00:12:00.000Z

The NHS trust in charge of Watford General Hospital has been rated as weak in its quality of service and financial management - reports the Watford Observer.

The Healthcare Commission's annual health check found West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which looks after Watford General, St Albans City Hospital and Hemel Hempstead General Hospital, failed to provide the necessary service to patients and continues to be weak at managing its finances in 2006/07.

This assessment follows the 2005/06 report that also found the Trust to be weak in both service and financial management.

West Sussex: Campaigners march over NHS cuts

2007-10-13T14:48:00.000Z

About 14,000 people have taken part in a demonstration over NHS plans to reorganise West Sussex hospitals, reports the BBC.

Campaigners say the turn-out in Haywards Heath made it the largest NHS protest in the county to date.

Under NHS restructuring, only one of three West Sussex hospitals will remain a major general hospital, the county's primary care trust (PCT) has said.

Singer Vera Lynn was among those who took part in the protest.

She told the assembled crowd: "We need our hospital. We must have it, and it is essential we fight for it."

West Sussex has hospitals in Worthing, Haywards Heath, and Chichester.

The protest on Saturday was to show opposition to downgrading Accident & Emergency and maternity services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

Campaigners said 70,000 people had now signed their petition, thousands had attended public meetings, and 180 GPs had spoken out against the plans.

But the PCT said centralising services would make more expertise available.

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames said the continuing fight by residents was "inspiring" and the rally was "another major opportunity for people to show their total opposition" ahead of the conclusion of the public consultation in mid-November.

The rally comes a week after several hundred people took to the streets of Uckfield to show support for the Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath, and Uckfield Community Hospital.

After the protest in Uckfield, PCT chief executive John Wilderspin said: "We will be keeping many services in our local hospitals and increasing the amount of care we provide in GP surgeries and patients' own homes.

"We are proposing to develop a major general hospital for West Sussex, providing specialist services such as a main A&E department, the consultant led maternity unit and emergency surgery."

Small rise ‘will mean higher council tax or cuts in service’

2007-10-10T18:56:00.000Z

Householders face big increases in council tax or cuts in services after what council chiefs said was the worst settlement in a decade - reports The Times.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said that the 1% a year funding increase for the next three years would inevitably lead to council tax rises above this year’s 4.2%.

The association warned that efforts to hold down council tax rises would be at the expense of cuts in social services and elderly care.

“This is the worst settlement for local government in a decade,” said Sir Simon Milton, the LGA's chairman.

“Councils will continue to work hard for the people they serve but they face tough choices. The Chancellor’s announcement will mean above-inflation rises in bills for council taxpayers and businesses, and there remains a black hole in funding for the care of the elderly.”

The association claims that there will be 400,000 more older people over the next three years, many of whom will require social services at home or in residential care.

Yet councils have already had to restrict the eligibility criteria for social care at home.

Leicestershire: Police cash fight prompts warning

2007-10-10T15:43:00.000Z

Leicestershire's Police Federation is warning job cuts could leave officers working on the streets struggling, according to the BBC.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott claimed 140 police jobs are at risk over the next two years because of underfunding.

The federation said fewer officers would spread the resources dangerously thin, with consequences for both the police and the public.

It comes ahead of Home Office funding decisions and after the force was rated one of the best in England and Wales.

Mr Baggott said he had told the Home Office there were 60 police posts vacant to help balance the books and he was underlining the challenges of policing a rapidly expanding city.

Dave Grenz, from the Police Federation, felt there were problems building up for the future.

"Morale is not good at the moment in the force," he said. "People are worried about what is going to happen.

"People should be under no illusion, if the funding situation is not sorted out then the performance of the police - no matter how good a job the chief constable and the others do - they will not be able to maintain the performance of the police."

Mr Grenz pointed out that recruitment had already been suspended for the rest of the financial year.

He said an 11% rise in police precept in the council tax would maintain numbers but any increase is capped at 5%.

Oldham: Council tax fears spark cutbacks

2007-10-10T02:44:00.000Z

A local authority has drawn up plans to cut dozens of jobs and slash services to avoid a council tax hike of more than 20% - reports the Manchester Evening News.

Council chiefs in Oldham have revealed they would face a staggering black hole of £13.6m in their accounts for 2008/9 - even if they repeated last year's tax rise of 4.9%.

To close the gap they would need to increase council tax by around 21%.

Instead they have drafted a report listing cost-cutting measures that would total £17.15m. They include the loss of 32 jobs and the closure of five lifelong learning centres.

Other proposed savings include reducing agency costs, more efficient purchases of goods and services, and a review of the council's property holdings.

These options will now go out to consultation before final decisions are taken in February.

Finance chiefs have highlighted inflation and a loss of external funding as major reasons behind the shortfall.

They added that the decision to invest in the Building Schools for the Future programme, where a £1m investment was required to secure more than £200m of external funding, provided further pressure.

David Jones, the Labour group and council leader, said: "Our finance team forecast the pressures we would face next year at a very early stage, giving us plenty of time to develop sensible solutions.

"Oldham is way ahead of many other local authorities in developing options early."

But Coun Howard Sykes, Lib Dem opposition leader, criticised the council and said the report was `unclear'.

He said: "It is very difficult to believe that they can carve this much out of the budget without it affecting services. I think they are being forced to look under the rug. I don't know exactly what they mean in the report but we will be tracking it closely and find out.

"Mike Williamson, of the GMB Union, agreed. He accused the council of using `gobbledygook' and said there would be `an obvious impact on services and jobs'.

Bolton: Town budget may face £5.2m cuts

2007-10-10T01:40:00.000Z

Bolton town hall chiefs could be forced to slash £5.2 million from their budget next year to achieve their target council tax increase of around 3.8% - reports The Bolton News.

The figures were revealed as the Government announced councils would get an effective one per cent increase in funding, allowing them to keep council tax increases within five per cent.

The council's early budget estimates for 2008/09 have raised fears of further job losses and service cuts. It made £10.8 million worth of cuts this year.

That resulted in 202 job cuts, achieved through redeployment, early retirement and not filling vacancies.

Departmental bosses have now been given initial targets for savings next year.

The adult services, culture and community budget, slashed by £4.6 million this year, must cut another £1.3 million.

Children's services must save £790,000, although schools funding is protected.

Other savings include £793,000 from central departments, including corporate resources and legal services, £556,000 from the environment budget, and £162,000 from development and regeneration.

A 3.8% increase in council tax would mean the Bolton Council levy for an average band D home rising £48 to £1,301 per year.

Added to that are police and fire authority precepts, which this year amounted to an extra £164, while in Horwich, Blackrod and Westhoughton there is also a small precept to fund town councils.

Florence Hill, of Bolton's 5,800-member UNISON branch, said: "We are concerned for services and jobs.

"I do not know how the council can keep providing good-quality public services while cutting its budget year on year."

Steve Arnfield, the council's director of corporate resources, emphasised the initial budget estimates could change.

He said: "It's too early to talk about job cuts because we will not know until the end of November what savings options the different departments will come up with."

Council leader Cllr Cliff Morris added: "We are constantly looking at how we can make our services more cost-effective and make improvements for service users and council tax payers."

The forecasts that had been presented to the council's executive were based on an estimated 1.5% increase in the Government grant and business rates to a combined £110 million.

However, Mr Darling's announcement yesterday means the council will get around £500,000 less.

London: Hospital cuts 'step too far' say MPs

2007-10-04T01:59:00.000Z

Doctors and nurses have recommended emergency and critical care should be axed from TWO hospitals - reports the South London Press.

The aim is to cut costs and improve services for the one million residents of South-east London.

The surprise outcome was the result of months of discussions by 100 clinicians from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, Lewisham Hospital, Queen Mary's Sidcup (QMS) and Bromley Hospitals.

It was expected they would suggest that one accident and emergency department should close.

Shocked MPs have described the proposal to reduce the number of acute hospitals to two in the area as too drastic and a "step too far".

The medics were asked by the primary care trusts to consider ways specialist services could be concentrated at fewer sites.

As outlined in their document, A Picture of Health, the PCTs also want to provide many hospital treatments closer to people's homes.

No decisions on which hospitals will be downgraded will be made until the outcome of a review into how extra services in the community could be provided and a public consultation is held.

John Austin, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, said: "Reducing major acute trauma centres in South-east London from four to two is a change too far."

Eltham MP Clive Efford said: "I would not support any relocation of services until there are sufficient alternative services in place that are seen to be meeting people's needs."

Cleethorpes: Fifteen post offices face axe

2007-10-02T17:10:00.000Z

Government plans to shut 15 post offices in the Grimsby area have been leaked prior to today's official announcement - reports the Grimsby Telegraph.

The secret list of proposed closures contains two branches in central Grimsby, as well as more in Louth and other rural areas.

The move is part of a national plan which will see about 2,500 post offices across the UK close by 2009 due to cutbacks in subsidies for loss-making offices from central government.

In all, 12 in the Grimsby area may shut completely and three would operate with drastically reduced hours.

Those proposed for closure are: Lambert Road, Grimsby; Humberstone Road, Grimsby ; Haborough; Newmarket, Louth; Brackenborough Road, Louth; Chapel Lane, Ashby-cum-Fenby; Brocklesby; Grimoldby; Fleetgate, Barton; Golf Road, Mablethorpe; West Rasen; South Somercotes.

Branches in Maltby-le-Marsh, North Kelsey and Tealby would continue to operate through an outreach service for 8 hours, 13 hours and 2 hours a week respectively.

The proposals will go out to public consultation over the next six weeks.

For people like 81-year-old Margaret Franklin, whose local branch in Newmarket is one of 15 the Government plans to shut down, the announcement is bad news.

She said: "I use this branch to check my pension, pay bills and post letters. It provides a vital service.

"There are usually great long queues here. A lot of people use it.

"I shall be very, very annoyed. It's a long walk to another post office."

Reacting to the news, Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell urged affected residents to make their views known in the consultation.

He said: "This process of closing our post offices needs to be resisted because post offices are a very important local service.

"Residents in Grimsby should get involved in the consultation process.

"It is essential that their views are heard, as I believe this is an undesirable tactic."

Martin Vickers, the Conservative Party's parliamentary candidate for Cleethorpes, said: "It's a dramatic reduction on what is a vital public service for market towns and rural communities brought about, to a great extent, by the Government policy of removing services, such as the ability to buy a TV licence from local post offices.

"I think the Government has already made its mind up, but having said that we must fight this every step of the way."

Cleethorpes MP Shona McIsaac needs to explain why she thinks it's more important to reward the wasteful and audit-failing European Union with a massive extra £7 billion by approving the EU budget deal, while post offices in her constituency are closing due to the inability of central government to afford sufficient subsidies.

Such blatant irresponsibility with scarce public funds is not something that local voters are likely to take very kindly to, come the next election.

At-risk Post Office outlets named

2007-10-02T10:05:00.001Z

The Post Office has announced the first 180 branches earmarked for closure under government plans to shut 2,500 by the end of next year - reports the BBC.

The first closures are planned for post offices in Kent, East Yorks and the East Midlands and a six week consultation period has begun.

The government says cuts are needed as the current 14,000-strong network has been losing £4m a week.

However, the cuts are actually needed because the government is unwilling or unable to maintain subsidies to loss-making offices, on the basis of their service to the community - often its most vulernable members.

However they do appear willing and able to increase payments to the audit-failing EU's budget by 63% - many billions more a year than subsidising loss-making post offices would cost.

Consumer watchdog Postwatch said that the closures were bad news, but it accepted the government spin that the current network was "unsustainable" (without further subsidy).

The government decided in December that 2,500 closures were required and said at the time that it wanted to help the Post Office modernise, restore profitability in its main offices, invest in new products and look at innovative ways to deliver services.

On Tuesday, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said it would provide funding of "up to £1.7bn until 2011 to continue to support the network" and to enable the Post Office "to modernise and rationalise".

However the government has recently agreed to gift the EU far more - an extra £2.5bn every single year, despite 12 years of the EU failing its audit. Is this a demonstration of the right priorities?

MPs who vote to approve the obvious waste of the EU budget deal when it comes before Parliament in the next session will be to blame for these consequent shortfalls in funding for essential public services.

York: Police cuts 'could be devastating'

2007-09-26T15:47:00.000Z

The chief constable of North Yorkshire Police has described possible cuts to the force's budget as "potentially devastating" - reports the BBC.

The government is considering changing the way in which grant funding to police authorities is calculated.

North Yorkshire Police said its budget could be cut by £10m - jeopardising jobs - if the changes went ahead.

Grahame Maxwell said the move could ruin his force's "relatively stable financial footing".

North Yorkshire Police currently receives £73m a year from central government, 58% of its total funding.

Mr Maxwell said: "These changes could be devastating for North Yorkshire Police if they were brought in and would certainly impact on the level of service we could deliver to people in North Yorkshire and York.

"Our current financial plans show that we are in any event facing a £5m budgetary gap next year, which we are planning to manage through a stringent analysis of all areas of service.

"However, any further reductions in grant will put real pressure on our ability to continue to develop safer neighbourhoods - if indeed we can sustain existing levels, which is doubtful - and will certainly preclude any further investment in protective services."

Jane Kenyon, chairman of the North Yorkshire Police Authority, said she concurred with Mr Maxwell's view and would be seeking urgent talks with the Home Secretary and North Yorkshire's MPs.

The Home Office's consultation exercise on policing funding formula is expected to be completed at the end of October, with an announcement on the findings due in November.

Manchester: MP defiant over hypocrisy claims

2007-09-24T02:18:00.000Z

Health minister Ivan Lewis has denied he is a hypocrite after supporting a shake-up which includes the closure of a maternity unit he campaigned to save - reports the Manchester Evening News.

Last year, the Bury South MP joined a march aimed at keeping full maternity and children's in-patient care at Fairfield General Hospital.

But he has now backed the decision of an independent panel to close four of Greater Manchester's 12 maternity departments, including Fairfield.

Mr Lewis called criticism a smear campaign and said it was unfair and untrue because he has always accepted doctors' arguments that the current system was unsafe.

He said that although he believes there is a strong geographical argument in favour of a full service for children at Bury, his constituents will benefit from the £60m investment that comes with the shake-up.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley claimed Mr Lewis had bowed to pressure from Gordon Brown to back the cuts.

He said: "This is an incredible U-turn by Ivan Lewis. Only a few months ago he was campaigning to save his local maternity services. Ivan Lewis has been squeezed by Number 10. Either that or he is indecisive in the extreme."

Maternity units in Trafford, Rochdale and Salford will also close by 2011 because of a shortage of specialist staff.

Sharron Entwhistle, from Fairfield Baby Lifeline Society, which led the support for the unit, said: "Ivan Lewis has supported us and we are grateful for that - as a result of our campaign we have won concessions.

"I don't think he is a hypocrite but as a health minister he should have a lot of influence and we believe he could have done more to help - whether he could have made more of a difference, who knows?"

Derbyshire: Post offices under threat

2007-09-23T23:06:00.000Z

Residents in Derbyshire are being urged to give their opinions on the future of local post offices.

A six-week public consultation is due to start at the end of September as the Post Office gets ready to announce closures in the county, due to insufficient government subsidies available to support loss-making offices.

The Post Office currently has plans to close some branches in the Chesterfield, High Peak and North East Derbyshire areas.

County councillor Geoff Carlile said he needed input from county residents.

"Post offices play a vital social and economic role in local communities and it is important we have a stable, viable network of offices for the future," said Mr Carlile.

"I will be looking closely at the Post Office's plans in our area as we need to ensure that it has taken full account of the needs of communities affected.

"We have been working hard to ensure that services are safeguarded and we will do whatever we can to use our influence to retain services where they are needed."

Norfolk: Fresh funds sought for A140 bypass

2007-09-21T22:00:00.000Z

Money to build a £21m bypass will have to be found from other sources as government funding has been refused - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Work on the long-awaited A140 bypass at Long Stratton cannot start because the project was not given priority status by the government last year. South Norfolk Council is now looking at alternative ways to find the money.

A shortage of government money has forced choices to be made between wider regional schemes and smaller-scale projects like the Long Stratton bypass.

Despite the benefits of such local schemes to traffic-choked towns and villages, it's the regional schemes that are currently getting the limited government funding available.

Alternatively contributions from housing developers could also be used to pay for the bypass, which would have the capacity to remove around 20,000 cars a day from the village, but in return a large number of houses would need to be built.

This is yet another example of the government not having enough money to make all the improvements to our infrastructure that are needed.

So it's surely completely inappropriate for them to be intending to reward the audit-failing EU with a 63% increase in payments - an extra £2.5bn a year on top of the £3.5bn we're already paying.

The £21m needed for this bypass is less than TWO days worth of the money the government wants to hand the EU. Which is a better use for that money?

And where do Norfolk's MPs stand ... will they be supporting the bypass, or approving even more cash for the wasteful EU?

Frontline policing under threat - claim

2007-09-19T23:17:00.000Z

Frontline policing numbers in Norfolk will be slashed if ministers approve a £3.6m funding cut, despite spiralling costs as officers struggle to cope with an influx of immigrants - reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Officials at Norfolk police will meet next week to discuss the “nightmare” scenario which comes against a backdrop of a succession of grant cuts in recent years which have already left the county's budget stripped to the bone.

Police authority chairman Stephen Bett accused the government of being out of touch with rural areas, saying it had failed to take account of changes brought about by population growth brought about by an influx of immigrants.

His comments echo those of Cambridgeshire chief constable Julie Spence who said a squeeze on funding caused by out-of-date population figures meant there had been no extra cash for officers in the past five years.

Mr Bett said that the very best Norfolk could hope for is that it maintains its current level of funding which led to a 7% council tax increase this year - the fourth highest increase in the country.

At worst there will be “major and widespread” cuts, including a reduction in officers on the frontline.

“Until now we have had a level of protection meaning that, at worst, we would not lose funding as we are guaranteed a minimum increase,” Mr Bett said.

“However, the formula used to calculate grants is being reviewed and this protection could be lost.

“If this happens we stand to lose millions of pounds from our budget. Our budget is already at full-stretch following a disappointing settlement last year.

“This has left us extremely vulnerable and we would have to carry out a review at all levels. This would certainly include frontline policing and may also mean that we do not introduce safer neighbourhood teams in all areas as originally planned.”

Authority treasurer Bob Summers said council tax must increase by 1% for every £450,000 needed. This would mean an 8% increase would be needed in Norfolk if the changes go ahead.

Earlier this year the authority was reprimanded by the government for increasing council tax beyond its approved level and warned ministers would have “no hesitation” in imposing strict penalties if there was a repeat of this increase.

Mr Summers added that early signs were that nationally the settlement will be an increase of 2.7% but some of this will be skimmed off to meet Home Office costs bringing the rise in way below inflation.

OECD: UK trails Slovenia in class sizes

2007-09-19T11:55:00.000Z

Class sizes in Britain are among the highest in the developed world, reports the Daily Telegraph today.

An international study published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed that only six other countries - Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, Chile and Israel - have more children in primary school lessons

Teachers criticised the findings and challenged Gordon Brown to deliver on his pledge to match budgets in state schools to those in the private sector.

Parents claimed that large classes were to blame for thousands of children leaving primary school unable to read or write properly.

The annual study – Education at a Glance – said that 25.8 pupils aged five to 11 shared the average lesson in 2005, and this was "large by international standards". It put Britain behind countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, Mexico and Slovenia in a league table of 29 nations.

Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "While Britain has now achieved the average spent on education by industrialised countries there is much more to do.

"I look to the fulfilling of the Prime Minister's commitment to match public with private spending on education. State school class sizes must be brought down."

Norfolk: Protest at hospital closure

2007-09-11T23:44:00.000Z

Today more than a thousand letters from people in Norfolk appealing to the government to intervene and save a much-loved cottage hospital will be handed to the Westminster.

April Pond, Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman for Broadland, will give more than 1,100 letters from Norfolk residents concerned about the proposed closure of St Michael's hospital in Aylsham, to the Department of Health.

The letters have been sent to April over recent weeks, many with added notes of personal experiences of the care at St Michael's, and they appeal directly to Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, for his help in saving the hospital, which was the only one targeted for closure in a shake up of Norfolk PCT services.

Ms Pond said: “The Department of Health has told us that health care decisions should be made locally, but we are saying that by ordering the repayment of the huge deficit the Norfolk Primary Care Trust has in less than a year, a huge pressure is being brought by the department to cut and close much needed and much loved local hospitals.

“We feel Norfolk is being badly treated and ask for Alan Johnson to intervene.”

Trust warns of £15m hospital debt

2007-09-11T20:14:00.002Z

Swansea NHS Trust says it faces going £15.5m into the red unless it closes 86 beds and cuts around 750 jobs - reports the BBC.

Amicus and British Medical Association staff officials say the move is needed to safeguard services and patient care but Unison said it was "unacceptable".

The union has called for a halt to the bed closure programme claiming it was being driven by "financial cut-backs and not any planned improvements in health care".

The trust, which currently employs 9,500 staff and manages health services across the city including Morriston and Singleton Hospitals, claims it could be £15.5m in debt by the end of this financial year.

It said it has been able to avoid large debts in recent years through "one off" savings but now needed to introduce a programme of clinical efficiencies.

It said around 750 posts would go over the next three years through "natural wastage" and it would reduce 86 beds from around 1,800 that are currently used.

Post office closures hit estates

2007-09-06T10:18:00.000Z

People living in housing estates surrounding cities are some of those worst hit by post office closures, according to the BBC.

A new report by the National Consumer Council said that the closures had reduced services that are already scarce in these areas.

The report found post offices were crucial for residents who are often on low incomes or unemployed.

It said those most reliant on them, such as the elderly, were least able to lobby for post offices to stay open.

The impact was felt particularly badly in estates on the outskirts of towns, because there was also a dearth of basic services such as banks and supermarkets.

Professor Richard Webber of University College London, who analysed the findings, said: "At a national level, Post Office Ltd has worked with sub-postmasters' preferences to decide which post offices should be closed.

"However, in practice, a consistent pattern is not easy to discern.

"Some neighbourhoods of acute social need do not seem to have benefited from protection and the closure rate is very uneven between similar areas, as well as across different regions of the country."

Nicola O'Reilly, of the National Consumer Council, said: "Protecting vulnerable communities from the impact of post office closures is no simple task.

"People are as important as places in these decisions. It's vital that plans for the next 2,500 closures protect the people who would be hardest hit."

Yorkshire: NHS chiefs tackled over job cuts

2007-09-05T20:37:00.001Z

Union officials are to meet NHS bosses for talks over cost-cutting measures that could see hundreds of jobs axed at Scarborough and Bridlington hospitals, in Yorkshire.

Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, which runs the hospitals, needs to plug a £15m shortfall in its budget by cutting 600 jobs.

Ward closures and reductions in non-clincal support services are also threatened.

Unison said it feared the job cuts could be as high as 1,000 out of a total workforce of 2,500.

Brenda Lloyd, Unison's branch secretary, said: "How can they hope to provide good health services to people in this area with this level of cuts?"

Cardiff: Ambulances waiting over 50 minutes at A&E

2007-09-05T20:20:00.000Z

Patients are regularly waiting more than 50 minutes in ambulances outside south east Wales A&E departments, reports the BBC today.

The Welsh Ambulance Service have revealed that, over the last three months, an average 106 vehicles a week have waited more than 50 minutes to deliver patients.

'Bed blocking' and people needlessly turning up at casualty is being blamed for the problems. But in February there were delays at two hospitals due to a shortage of beds to cope with the volume of 999 calls.

The University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff claim 160 of its beds were unavailable due to delayed transfers of care, and that the problem was getting worse.

In a statement, it also said a third of emergency patients could be treated by a GP or pharmacist. But often the patient is not the right person to choose where they should be treated, as they are often not aware of the all the treatments required for a particular injury.

The summer months are usually a quiet period for the ambulance service, but a spokesman said it has been encountering problems at major district hospitals.

Mike Cassidy, director of ambulance services in Wales, said how often and how long ambulances were having to wait varied.

He said that since February most serious patients had been admitted immediately while some less serious cases waited three to four hours "on occasions".