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.
Monday, 20 April 2009
Friday, 17 April 2009
Front line council service cut due to £1 bn black hole in council funding
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."
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."
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Teachers threaten strike over £200m school funding cuts
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.
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.
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Shocking state of roads costs UK drivers £1m every day
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.
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.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Colleges forced to take 'drastic measures' after £60 million cut
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.
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.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Future threat to public services
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.
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.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Kidney cancer drugs too costly for NHS
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.
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.
Labels:
cancer care,
NHS funding,
sorafenib,
sutent
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