Day: November 27, 2024

UK News: PM set to unveil what government calls ‘biggest employment reforms in generation’ as Tories say he is not making tough calls on sickness and benefits

The Department for Work and Pensions has now published its summary of what’s in the Get Britain Working white paper.

The white paper itself is coming later.

From the broken NHS, flatlining economy, and the millions of people left unemployed and trapped in an inactivity spiral – this government inherited a country that simply isn’t working. But today we’ve set out a plan to fix this. A plan that tackles the biggest drivers of unemployment and inactivity and gives young people their future back through real, meaningful change instead of empty rhetoric and sticking plaster politics.

We’re overhauling jobcentres to make them fit for the modern age. We’re giving young people the skills and opportunities they need to prepare them for the jobs of the future. We’re fixing the NHS so people get the treatment and mental health support they desperately need to be able to get back to work. We’re working with businesses and employers to better support people with disabilities and health conditions to stay and progress in work, and it doesn’t stop there.

This latest announcement shows that Labour are not prepared to take the tough but necessary choices to bring down the benefits bill.

There is no attempt to match the £12bn in welfare savings we promised in our manifesto. They have even dodged the difficult decisions on sickness benefits, which are needed to make the welfare system sustainable in the long term. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/TGQXC6

UK News: Rolling coverage of the latest ecoonomic and financial news

* Trump vows tariffs on Mexico and Canada and deeper tariffs on China

Halfords could raise prices for car servicing and repair to help it cope with a £23m cost increase after the autumn budget, and called for more business support from the government.

The cycling and motoring retailer, which has more than 12,000 employees, reported on Tuesday that the budget measures add £23m of direct labour costs, of which £9m was already included in its planning assumptions.

Trump’s promise overnight to implement tariffs immediately on taking office in January were no great surprise, though the fact that he is taking initial aim at Mexico and Canada as much as China may have surprised some, though it is in line with his narrative during the election.

Still it serves as a reminder that markets will have to reattune themselves to his frequently erratic approach to policymaking, and his likely hefty reliance on executive orders where possible to circumvent the legislature. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/TGQXBT

The Telegraph, which first reported Truss’s stance, also said Theresa May and Boris Johnson were against the bill

In her Today programme interview Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who tabled the assisted dying bill rejected claims from a former lord chief justice that the legislation is flawed because it does not explain how judges would deal with hearings where they would have to decide whether or not to approve an assisted dying application.

Asked about the comments from Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd in an interview on the same programme yesterday, Leadbeater said:

Judges do these sorts of cases in other very delicate matters all the time. So they look at things like turning off life support machines for terminally ill people.

So this is not going to be, it will be a new area of work for judges, but they are used to making these difficult and complex decisions and being part of this process. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/TGQX29

Worries about animal euthanasia and mishandling of complaints from students about racism among concerns

The University of Cambridge’s prestigious veterinary course could be stripped of its professional accreditation after regulators uncovered “ethical concerns” over animal euthanasia and mishandling of complaints from students who experienced racism and discrimination.

Investigators from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) said Cambridge’s veterinary medicine course failed to meet 50 out of 77 standards, and the head of department warned students they may not be able to work in the UK without additional qualifications. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/TGQX04