EU 63%: teachers 2.45%

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.

Cardiff: Ambulances waiting over 50 minutes at A&E

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".