ஓTODAY IN THE NEWS ! ~ /10 DECEMBER 2014 ~ LICENSING: Councils demand greater powers to block betting shops : The Local Government Association has said that councils are concerned by the spread of bookmakers and are calling for tougher powers to tackle “clustering” of shops and cutting the high stakes on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. The LGA has proposed a ‘cumulative impact test’, allowing planners to reject betting shop applications if there is already a cluster of them. The organization added that licensing laws should include betting, so planning officials can take problem gambling and anti-social behaviour into account. Tony Page, the LGA’s licensing spokesman, said: “Councils are not anti-bookies but many are frustrated by limited powers available to them to act on community concerns and limit the number of shops opening up in their area.” Daily Mail, Page: 2 SPENDING: Coalition draws up budget charter: The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are working to publish a new fiscal framework committing the two parties to eliminating the structural deficit by 2018. Although both parties are in agreement on a 2018 target date for scrapping the deficit, the Lib Dems want to cut borrowing through a mix of spending cuts and tax rises, including the so-called “mansion tax” and the scrapping of higher rate pension tax relief. George Osborne, meanwhile, believes the structural deficit can be eliminated through £25bn of public spending cuts and a further £5bn from closing tax loopholes, ruling out the need for tax rises.Financial Times, Page: 4 Daily Mail, Page: 12 Daily Express, Page: 2 Wakefield warns of council cuts: Keith Wakefield, the leader of Leeds City Council, has urged George Osborne to get serious about turning the North into an economic powerhouse as the region prepares for a fresh round of cuts to local government services. Writing in the Yorkshire Post, he said: “I warned in October the budget for next year was going to be the toughest yet and the proposals being put forward are as brutal as I feared.” Mr Wakefield said Leeds City Council would have to cut £76.1m from its budget next year, including the possible loss of almost 500 staff. Yorkshire Post, Page: 1 WELFARE: Independent Living Fund closure ruled lawful: A Government decision to close a fund that helps disabled people to live and work in the community has been ruled lawful by the High Court. The Independent Living Fund provides support for some 18,000 people and is worth £320m. The Government plans to close it on 30 June 2015. Bbc News Welfare costs: An EU paper has revealed that the UK spent £7,000 on welfare for every man, woman and child in the country in 2012 – more than a quarter of the national income. The £443.3bn total spend amounted to more than 28% of GDP. The figures were calculated by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics arm. Daily Mail, Page: 4 HOUSING: 2.2m households left with £135 a week: The Resolution Foundation has found that 2.2m British households on lower-than-average incomes in low-cost housing are left with an average of £135 to spend each week, as a third or more of their disposable income goes on mortgage payments or rent. Such households were found in one in five local authority areas, and every local authority in London. The think tank has called for the government to provide further help in boosting the nation’s housing supply, making rents more affordable. The Times, Page: 43 EDUCATION: Government plans College of Teaching: The government is to set up a College of Teaching aimed at driving up standards and putting teaching on an equal footing with professions like medicine and law. Education secretary Nicky Morgan and schools minister David Laws believe a professional body will allow teachers to set their own standards and to take a lead in improving the profession’s skills and abilities. The Guardian, Page: 4 DEVOLUTION : Bristol well positioned for devolution : The FT’s John Murray Brown suggests that the Government’s offer to devolve more powers to Scotland has made it harder to dismiss similar calls from English cities, with Bristol singled out as having a particularly strong case. He notes that it is one of only two big cities with a directly elected mayor, George Ferguson, and profiles the changes he has made. Mr Murray Brown also looks in general at the local government scene in Bristol.Financial Times, Page: 4 CARE : More men in care homes: Figures published by the ONS have showed that rising life expectancy in men has led to a growing male population in care homes. More than a quarter of the older people in residential care are now male, while there has been a corresponding fall in female residents, with the care home population remaining at almost the same level for a decade due to a major increase in unpaid carers looking after the elderly. Daily Mail, Page: 6 ARTS: Arts groups “face cuts” if they fail to tackle diversity: The Arts Council has warned arts organizations that they could have their funding cut if they fail to improve diversity under new plans. Sir Peter Bazalgette, the chairman of the Arts Council, said that each body it funds will have to demonstrate how they have promoted diversity within their leadership, workforce, programming and audiences. “Our work should reflect and engage with all our talent and communities,” he said. Daily Mail, Page: 30-31 The Times, Page: 25 TRANSPORT: DriveNow scheme launched: BMW and car rental company Sixt have brought the DriveNow car-sharing model to London from Germany. The scheme allows users to locate, unlock and start cars using a mobile phone app, before driving the vehicle on a charge-per-minute basis. DriveNow has agreed a deal with councils in Islington, Hackney and Haringey, allowing their cars to be parked in any of the areas’ street parking spaces.The Daily Telegraph, Business, Page: 8 First Bus wins legal case: Senior judges have ruled that bus companies are not required by law to force parents with buggies to make way for wheelchair users in designated bays on vehicles. The ruling came after First Bus appealed a previous decision, won by a disabled man, that the firm’s wheelchair policy was discriminatory.Bbc News INFRASTRUCTURE: US firm to boost UK wireless coverage: Wireless Infrastructure Group is spending £100m building a number of new mobile antennas and masts in the UK, renting them out to network providers to boost 4G phone coverage across Britain’s major cities. Financial Times, Page: 4 NORTHUMBRIA NEWS: PLEASE DON’T TAKE NOROVIRUS INTO HOSPITALS OR CARE HOMES. Health organizations in the North East are urging people suffering from vomiting or diarrhoea not to visit people in hospitals and care homes to limit the spread of norovirus. Figures released by Public Health England show there were six hospital outbreaks in the North East in the last two weeks of November, all resulting in bed closures. Dr Deb Wilson, a consultant in health protection at PHE’s North East PHE Centre, said: ‘Norovirus – also known as the winter vomiting bug – is highly infectious and can spread rapidly in communities such as hospitals, care homes, sheltered housing accommodation and schools. ‘That’s why it is so important not to visit family and friends – as well as staying away from your workplace – until you have been free of symptoms for 48 hours. Of course, if you are very ill you should seek medical help. ‘Noroviruses cause a very unpleasant but generally short-lived illness from which healthy people usually recover without treatment. But it can cause more serious illness in the very young, elderly people and those with chronic illnesses.’ Drs Mike Prentice and James Gossow, medical directors for NHS England’s Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear area team and Durham, Darlington and Tees area team respectively, also urged people affected not to visit. They said: ‘Hospitals are often under pressure around winter, and this can be made worse if bugs like norovirus enter wards. These bugs can pass quickly between visitors, patients and staff, which can result in staff being off ill, beds becoming unavailable and appointments being postponed. ‘There are some really basic steps you can take to help us to keep services running as normal, such as not visiting hospital if you’ve been sick or had diarrhoea in the last 48 hours. ‘We also advise children aged 12 years or younger not to visit hospital, as they often pick these bugs up at school. If you’re visiting someone in hospital, remember that no more than two visitors are allowed in at any one time and to use the seats provided at bedside.’ PHE’s advice for people who think they may have norovirus or winter vomiting is: • Norovirus infection is a self-limiting illness and you will usually recover naturally without treatment. It is, however, important to take plenty of drinks to replace lost fluids. • Visit the NHS Choices website at nhs.uk7 for advice on how to manage your symptoms at home or help to access the most appropriate health service. • If symptoms persist, ask for a telephone consultation with your family doctor. Try to avoid visiting your GP surgery or local A&E Unit as you may pass the infection on to others. • Wash hands thoroughly and regularly at all times, but particularly after using the toilet and before eating. • Do not visit friends or relatives in hospitals or residential care homes until you have fully recovered and have been free of symptoms for at least 48 hours as there is a real risk that you would introduce the infection into these communities putting vulnerable people at risk. • Stay away from work or school until you have fully recovered and been free of symptoms for 48 hours. • Do not handle or prepare food for other people until you have been free of symptoms for at least 48 hours. Thanks to Bobby Nixon ~ bobbynixon.mycouncillor.org.uk/
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 06:05:00 +0000
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