Published: 15 May 2008
Latest Dispatch
Dear Reader,
The bye-election due on 22 May for the Crewe and Nantwich constituency, following the sad death of Gwyneth Dunwoody MP (Lab), has yet again highlighted an oddity about the current Labour Party. That is, for an organisation which claims to be changing the House of Lords because it doesn’t believe that the people who govern us should be chosen just because of their birth, there seems to be a fair deal of nepotism among its own ranks.
There were media reports about how John Prescott was allegedly trying to ensure that his own son ‘inherited’ JP’s seat in Parliament at the next General Election (he failed) and now it appears that GD is to be followed by her daughter if Labour can hang on to the seat at the bye-election.
One would have thought there would be more chance of getting more decent candidates to try to enter politics if this apparent / alleged favouritism was stopped, as political dynasties are hardly much of a guarantee for democracy in this country (or any other country – look at the Bush clan in the US).
Moving on, it appears that those of us seeking to choose a book to read while on our summer holidays will be spoilt for choice when it comes to ‘dishing the dirt’ on fellow politicians, as there are currently 3 offerings being hyped as the ‘truth about what happened during Blair’s ten years’ (Prescott, Levy and Cherie Blair).
Most of the details published in the media so far, appear to come under the general heading “Did we really want to know that?”, but presumably the Westminster Village will provide a ready market for at least a few dozen books.
Still, all may not be lost for GB, as there is one publication that at first glance seems to think at least one of the memoirs puts him in a good light seems (mind you, one could be wrong).
Moving on again, why is it that we only seem to consider the option of Scotland voting for independence. Why cannot England vote to leave the UK if that seems financially beneficial to those of us who are currently subsidising both Scotland and Wales?
Equal voting rights for everyone, not just those North or West of the Borders!
Moving on, why is it that we don’t have a UN that will help ensure that governments (like Burma, Zimbabwe, etc.) cannot get away with mass murder and torture (you will never stop individual cases probably).
The Burmese Generals almost make even the Dear Leader of North Korea look reasonable by comparison and reminds one of the old saying; ‘Just when you thought that it couldn’t get any worse, it does’.
But then, even in the UK the term ‘justice’ seems to mean less and less these days, as the ‘bad eggs’ literally seem to virtually get away with what most of us would classify as attempted murder.
Moving on again, news that the Royal Mail may cut the Saturday delivery just reinforces the view that we are all paying more for less after 11 years of Labour stealth taxes. A report by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) pressure group claims that the total tax burden now stands at £517bn a year - the equivalent of £20,700 per household. That compared with a tax take of £294bn in 1997-98 when Labour came to power, representing a 76% increase in cash terms over the decade or 51% if inflation is taken into account.
They point out that we have been made to pay additional fees and charges for what used to be ‘free’ public services (ex. a visit from the rat catcher), which is even more galling when one considers that the need for such a service has probably been created by the council cutting refuse collection to a bi-weekly service.
On top of the animosity caused by the stealth taxes (most of which he imposed), GB is increasingly having to face questions about just how successful TB’s New Labour policies have been, as was illustrated in the recent BBC Panorama programme on SATs tests.
What politicians don’t seem to be able to take on board is that initiatives have a shelf life and that while SATs may have had a beneficial impact initially, their validity and usefulness are not necessarily guaranteed as the years pass. Political policy managers would all benefit by reading up on the ‘Hawthorn Effect’ – a bit of management knowledge that is as relevant today as it was when it was written up all those decades ago.
Oh well, back to The Source and if you missed them last week you might want to check out the following items:
Closing a Legal Loophole – An old legal loophole is set to disappear in Scotland as the Scottish Government are set to repeal the law which exempts spouses from giving evidence against their partner. Currently a husband, wife or civil partner can only be required to give evidence against their other half if they are the victim of an offence by their partner.
Who will do the work? The Economics of Migration - News that the numbers of migrants from countries such as Poland are falling, and the numbers now leaving the UK is on the increase, has led the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) to ask ‘who will do the work?'
They are investigating the possibility that some rural communities and businesses could be vulnerable to an economic shock if there was to be a sudden slowdown or even a reversal of the current influx of migrant workers.
Need to Improve Drug Addiction Treatment - Healthcare watchdogs are calling for a continued drive to improve drug addiction treatment, to ensure services are delivered consistently across the country. A report released by the Healthcare Commission and the National Treatment Agency (NTA), shows results from the second of three annual reviews to assess the performance of substance misuse treatment services.
Focusing specifically on how services are commissioned and harm reduction service provision, the findings reveal the majority of services are performing well within acceptable levels across these categories. However, there were significant deficits, particularly in the provision of vaccination for hepatitis B and testing/treatment for hepatitis C.
BASIS 2 Launches to fill gaps in VCS support - Greater support is on its way to voluntary and community organisations across England, as the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) launches the second round of its BASIS (Building and Sustaining Infrastructure Support) programme with up to £50m available to develop the sector.
The programme is looking to fund projects that fill the highest priority gaps in the current VCS infrastructure support, so as to ensure the sector’s wide spectrum of organisations can access relevant high-quality assistance.
BIG's regional staff will hold a series of stakeholder events to ensure that those who are eligible to apply for BASIS 2 funding are fully briefed on the opportunities presented by the programme. The deadline for applications is 2.00pm on 27 August 2008.
Items for the current week include:
Funding for Care in Scotland - The additional £40m per year identified by Lord Sutherland as vital for the delivery of free personal and nursing care across Scotland will be met by the Scottish Government, it has been confirmed.
Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon, has advised the Scottish Parliament that all the recommendations made by Lord Sutherland have been accepted, and will form part of a wider package of measures being developed with local government.
Creating an Adult Autism Strategy - Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis, has announced £500,000 for Government research into the numbers of adults with autism and their specific transitions needs. This prevalence study will inform the first ever Government strategy on adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome, due to be published next year.
The number of children with autism is as high as 1 in 100 (according to Prof. Baird's 2006 study) and this prevalence study will give the government a more accurate picture of how many adults have the condition. Part of the new research will focus on the period of transition to adult life and will inform service planning for adults with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).
Global Protection of Young People - Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker, has signed the Council of Europe's Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. The signature coincided with the second anniversary of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).
The Convention sets standards to ensure that countries criminalise the sexual exploitation & abuse of children and adopt similar standards of investigation and prosecution of these crimes. It also includes measures on exchanging the identity of convicted sex offenders with other countries.
As a response to the Convention, the Government has amended the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to remove the condition of dual criminality in relation to sexual offences committed by British nationals against children overseas. The government will now be able to prosecute UK nationals here for a sexual offence committed against a child anywhere in the world, so long as the act committed would be a relevant offence in this country.
Support for some Home Owners - A £10m package of measures to support home owners who may be facing difficulties with their mortgage, has been announced by the government.
The announcement claims it will also ensure:
- expanded access to free legal representation at county courts throughout England for households at risk of repossession
- strengthened National Housing Advice Service to provide a new comprehensive debt advice service and
- more specialist training for Citizen Advice Bureau staff and local authorities on debt advice to help families get their finances back on track
New Cohesion Guidance for Councils - Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears, has published new guidance encouraging local authorities to better map their communities and the people that live there, as part of efforts to monitor tensions and promote more cohesive & integrated communities.
The guidance - Local Authorities: Community Cohesion Contingency Planning and Tension Monitoring - is an acknowledgement that tension monitoring plays an important role in helping those involved in promoting cohesion locally, to recognise, name, manage & resolve conflicts that may arise in the process of community change.
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