'Spy' committee calls for reforms

13 July 2011 Last updated at 12:56 GMT Sir Malcolm Rifkind says the reforms would increase the transparency of the intelligence community A committee of MPs and Peers wants to be able to order intelligence officers to provide it with information as part of a proposed overhaul of its powers.

In its annual report, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) also called on the prime minister to give up his right to see its reports first.

The committee oversees the work of MI5, MI6 and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

It says its structure has become "significantly out of date".

The 2010/11 annual report covers issues including cyber-security, the London Olympics and the government's cost-cutting.

In it, the Intelligence and Security Committee asks that its remit be extended from covering the security agencies' policies, administration and finances to their operations as well.

Chairman Sir Malcolm Rifkind said the committee's remit and structure needed to be reformed.

Continue reading the main story It be made a parliamentary committeeIt be given the power to order informationThe secretary of state - not agency heads - be able to decide when information should be withheldIt be allowed to take evidence from the broader intelligence communityIts remit cover all agencies' work, including operationsIt be given more research resourcesSixteen years after it was created by former Prime Minister John Major, the committee's arrangements are "significantly out of date", he says.

"Public expectation in terms of transparency and openness has increased significantly during this time, and we must ensure that the committee now has the powers and remit that are necessary to provide reassurance to the public and to Parliament," he said.

"It is essential that we are able to provide credible reassurance that, consistent with necessary secrecy and security, the agencies operate in the public interest."

The ISC report says that it is no longer appropriate that the committee be hosted by the Cabinet Office.

"As a matter of principle, no matter what the circumstances, it clearly is not right to be hosted by an organisation that you have some role in overseeing and there is a danger that boundaries might not be respected."

Sir Malcolm says the ISC should become a parliamentary committee, delivering its reports to Westminster as well as Prime Minister David Cameron.

He says the proposed reforms will "increase accountability, transparency and capacity for oversight of the intelligence community".

The changes could be introduced in the government's Green Paper on the protection of intelligence material in the courts, he says.

View the original article here

MP calls for improved hospice care

29 June 2011 Last updated at 12:02 GMT Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis has called for improved hospice provision in Great Yarmouth For many years there has been a long running campaign to provide a hospice for Great Yarmouth, and now it has been taken to Parliament.

The town's Conservative MP, Brandon Lewis, secured a special debate at Westminster where he set out how serious the problem is.

"Norfolk, outside of Norwich, has no inpatient hospice provision, whereas other councils in the Eastern region have much better provision.

"For example Suffolk has two, one in Bury St Edmunds and one in Ipswich. But with a population of around 230,000 the Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT area is significant in not having a hospice," Brandon Lewis told MPs.

End of life care in the area, he said, was either available at home or in hospital.

Special case argument

The gap exists despite attempts to help.

A local charity, East Coast Hospice, has plans to build a 10 bed hospice in the town and has so far raised half the money that's needed.

Brandon Lewis MP has been drawing ministers' attention to the hospice issue

Mr Lewis and his colleagues wanted to draw ministers' attention to the problem and hope there might be a bit of government help on offer.

Peter Aldous MP, in the neighbouring constituency of Waveney, also argued that their part of the region should be seen as a special case.

He said: "The East coast has long been a popular retirement area. I don't begrudge people moving into the area, indeed I welcome them, but the government must realise they do place an added financial cost on those providing health services which must be reflected in the funds made available."

Mr Lewis said there had been historic problems arguing the case for the need for hospice provision.

He also spoke about fundraising problems: another charity in the town, Palliative Care East, is also trying to raise money for end of life provision (but not inpatient beds) and that sometimes confused people who didn't know the difference between the two.

Westminster debate

The House was also told that just ?2.62 per person is spent in the Yarmouth and Waveney area on end of life care, one of the lowest figures in the country.

Not surprisingly, the Health Minister, Anne Milton, didn't have any more money up her sleeve.

In fact she didn't say much about the Great Yarmouth bid, telling the MPs to work closely with their local NHS.

But she did accept an invitation from Suffolk Coastal MP, Therese Coffey, to visit the area.

At least the MP succeeded in raising the whole issue on the Westminster stage.

Something may just happen.

View the original article here

Union calls for sustained strike

21 June 2011 Last updated at 14:15 GMT Mr Prentis said he was willing to negotiate but prepared to strike The head of the UK's second largest union has issued a "call to arms" to his members over pension reforms.

He told them to prepare for a campaign of strikes "without precedent".

"Every day we keep up the pressure we wear them down, sap their strength, and bring them closer to breaking point," said Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union.

Although he indicated his willingness to negotiate, he said they must "prepare for the worst".

Negotiations with the government over pension reform resume on 27 June.

Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday prior to his speech, Mr Prentis warned that any industrial action was likely to be a protracted fight.

"It is quite clear that this coalition will not move if there is one day of industrial action, it will take sustained action, and we will not be starved back like the miners," he said.

'When not if'

Some 2,000 delegates from Unison - which represents workers in healthcare, utilities, local government, police support and teaching - are meeting in Manchester over four days.

Other unions have announced plans to strike on 30 June, however Unison says it would need more time to organise a vote among its 1.3 million members.

Dave Prentis: "Of course we don't want to knock the UK economy ... but what else do we do?"

It was "now a case of when talks break down, not if they break down" a the Unison spokeswoman, following a speech in London by Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander on Friday that was described by unions as "highly inflammatory".

Mr Alexander accused the unions of spreading "scare stories" about planned reforms, which he claimed were "not an assault" on pensions.

He added that while he was prepared to discuss the detailed implementation of the proposals, the government would be sticking to the broad principles.

Meanwhile, Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has urged unions not to fall into a government "trap" by striking over plans to reform public sector pensions.

Danny Alexander: "I think that's a very fair and balanced offer"

Among the changes to public sector pensions that Unison objects to:

pension contributions will increase from 6% to an average 9% of paythe retirement age is to be extended to 66 for men and women by April 2020the inflation linkage of benefits will be switched from the retail prices index to the consumer prices index, which is typically lower

Besides pensions reform, the union also opposes the hundreds of thousands of job losses it expects to result from planned government spending cuts, and the public sector pay freeze, which comes at a time when inflation is running at 4.5%.

Motions to be considered by the conference include an explicit call for strike action over the "coalition's attack on public services".

View the original article here

Balls calls for emergency tax cut

16 June 2011 Last updated at 14:01 GMT Balls: "George Osborne has got to stop trying to score cheap points by blaming Labour"

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has called for a temporary emergency cut in VAT to boost consumer confidence and "jump-start" the economy.

In a major speech outlining Labour's economic policy, he said acting now to counter the slowdown was a better option than just "hoping for the best".

He said cutting VAT would have "an immediate impact" on household budgets.

Prime Minister David Cameron said "slashing taxes" would only make the UK's fiscal deficit worse.

The previous Labour government temporarily cut VAT - a tax on most goods and services - from 17.5% to 15% in December 2008 in an attempt to boost consumer spending.

In opposition, the Conservatives dismissed the 13-month measure as "an expensive failure", and in his first Budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced that VAT would rise to 20% to help raise money for the Treasury and tackle the UK deficit.

Mr Osborne has made it clear he has no plans to lower the rate again, describing the rise to 20% as a "structural" change to the country's tax system.

'Consumers squeezed'

In his first substantial policy speech since becoming shadow chancellor earlier this year, Mr Balls told the London School of Economics that Labour's VAT cut helped to boost growth and resulted in the deficit "coming in ?21bn lower than expected".

He said that by reversing the rise now, Mr Osborne would help individuals struggling with rising prices and businesses experiencing flagging demand, as well as helping to drive down inflation.

"He's got to choose the measure that has the quickest impact. The thing about VAT is, he can reverse [the rise]... by the end of the day.

Continue reading the main story

Mr Balls will point out that the same coalition of a Conservative chancellor backed by the man who is now the IMF's acting director insisted in the 1990s that there was no alternative to staying in the ERM and were proved disastrously wrong”

End Quote Nick Robinson BBC political editor "It has an immediate impact on people's purchasing powers or the bottom line of businesses.

"The argument against is sometimes people don't see it. The point is, whether you notice it or not, at the end of your shopping trip there is more money in your pocket because of the VAT cut which you then have an immediate decision about how to spend.

"Even if companies didn't pass it all on, it's there in their bottom line - they can make a decision then about what other prices they cut or jobs [they create]."

Mr Balls did not elaborate on how he would pay for the VAT cut, but said that as well as helping individual consumers, it would ultimately contribute to deficit reduction by giving the economy a "jump start".

"The question is not the cost to George Osborne of paying for this temporary emergency tax cut, but the price our country will pay if he carries on regardless."

'Political gamble'

The shadow chancellor criticised Mr Osborne's refusal to consider changing course on the economy.

"When I hear George Osborne refuse even to countenance a Plan B, I do not believe this is economic judgment at work, but a political gamble with the nation's economy from a chancellor shaping his policies not around constitutional responsibility, sound economics and the protection of jobs, growth and homes, but around a fixed political strategy to win an election in 2015."

He said that as well as a VAT cut, his own "Plan B" would include repeating a one-off tax on bankers' bonuses in order to raise ?2bn.

He argued that ?1.2bn of that should go to fund the construction of 25,000 new homes - a programme he said would generate 20,000 jobs directly and many more in related industries.

Some ?600m from the levy should to a youth jobs funds and the remaining ?200m to boost regional growth, he added.

Mr Balls' speech came as figures showed that UK retail sales fell sharply in May - by 1.4% - more than reversing the 1.1% rise in April.

The Office for National Statistics said the result - which was well below analysts' forecasts - was driven by the biggest monthly decline in sales by food retailers since June 2008.

Speaking at a public question and answer session in Lincoln on Thursday, the prime minister said: "Those who say well, 'You ought to go out and slash taxes, spend some more money or do some more government investment,' all you would be doing if you did that is making the problem of your deficit - your overdraft - worse."

Mr Balls' intervention comes a day after Mr Osborne said the UK economy was "on the mend" in his annual Mansion House speech but the recovery would take time.

In its recent analysis of the UK economy, the International Monetary Fund said it expected weak growth and rising inflation to be "largely temporary" and suggested the coalition was right to proceed with its deficit reduction plan.

View the original article here

Clarke rejects resignation calls

19 May 2011 Last updated at 13:36 GMT Ken Clarke: "If I caused genuine offence to anybody by explaining a long-standing factual situation, I must have made a very poor choice of words"

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has laughed off suggestions he should resign following the row over his remarks about rape.

Labour has called on him to step down after he appeared to suggest some rapes were less serious than others.

Mr Clarke said he was simply describing a "long-standing factual situation" in which sentences differ depending on the circumstances of a particular rape.

But he said he would "choose my words more carefully in the future".

Mr Clarke will face more questions about his remarks on BBC's Question Time later, which will be broadcast from Wormwood Scrubs in west London, with inmates included in the audience.

The row began on Wednesday morning when the justice secretary gave an interview to BBC Radio 5 live about proposals to halve jail terms for people who plead guilty early, including rapists.

Currently, offenders who plead guilty at the earliest opportunity are entitled to a reduction in their sentence up to a maximum of 33%. The government is consulting on extending that to 50%.

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw says the proposal is absolutely crucial to the Ministry of Justice's cost-cutting plans.

The department estimates it would save 3,400 prison places - and ?130m - a year by 2015. That saving represents 62% of the ?210m a year it has promised to cut.

'Disgraceful'

During the BBC interview, Mr Clarke disputed reports that the average sentence for rape was five years and insisted that "serious rape" attracted a much longer term.

Continue reading the main story Norman Smith Chief political correspondent, BBC Radio 4

Ken Clarke is probably safe in his job for now.

In part that's because the Labour leader demanded he be sacked, thereby making it almost impossible for Mr Cameron to offer up his scalp.

Mr Cameron is also hugely averse to being pushed around by the media.

At the same time Mr Clarke adds ballast and balance to a cabinet which would otherwise be bereft of that rare breed - one-nation, pro-European Tories.

Longer term, however, there will be some in government who think the old political bruiser should move on.

Not just because of today's headlines, but because his manner and tone jar with the more modern, metropolitan image of the Conservative Party that David Cameron has tried to create.

Labour leader Ed Miliband later told MPs it suggested there were "other categories of rape" and called on him to resign.

He was also confronted on the radio phone-in show by sex attack victim Gabrielle Browne.

Mrs Browne, who has waived her right to anonymity, later told the Daily Telegraph, his comments were "disgraceful".

On Thursday morning Mr Clarke said he had no intention of changing the sentencing guidelines on rape but it had long been the case that "different rapes get different lengths of sentences from judges".

"People are punished more if they make the witness go through the ordeal again, but that's a very long-standing arrangement which has always applied to all crimes.

"If I caused genuine offence to anybody by explaining that long-standing factual situation, then I must have made a very poor choice of words, so I will try to choose my words more carefully in the future."

He again refused to apologise or resign, saying: "I've encountered ministers resigning for proposals they haven't made, but to resign for proposals I've never made or thought of making would be just a little odd, I think."

Mr Clarke has written to Mrs Browne to say he believes "all rape is extremely serious", adding: "I am sorry if my comments gave you any other impression or upset you."

He also told her he wanted to hear her views "on how the criminal justice system can be made more effective" and invited her to meet him next week.

'Clearly regrettable'

After Mr Clarke's radio comments, David Cameron told MPs rape was "one of the most serious crimes that there is and it should be met with proper punishment" and the "real disgrace" was that only 6% of reported rape cases ended in a conviction.

The prime minister's spokesman said it was "clearly regrettable" if anybody had been offended by Mr Clarke's comments.

He added that no final decision had yet been taken on whether to increase the maximum sentence discount for a guilty plea, saying: "We are not setting out the policy imminently and clearly we continue to listen to people's views."

Labour has called for the idea to be scrapped, and the BBC's political correspondent Ross Hawkins said there were growing doubts about whether it could survive the current row.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC: "Ken is doing a very difficult job in very difficult circumstances.

"What the justice secretary is looking for is a practical way of getting more rapists convicted and that's why he's floating an idea - and it is only an idea - for consultation about sentencing discounts that would encourage more people to plead guilty early in the process."

But the official body which issues sentencing guidelines in England and Wales has said there is "little evidence" that increasing the reduction in term for an early guilty plea would encourage more offenders to admit their guilt.

The Sentencing Council also said it was unable to identify any jurisdiction in the world where the sentence discount was "significantly higher" than 35%.

Ministry of Justice officials estimate that if the sentencing proposal was to be implemented, average discounts would go up from 25% to 34%.

The Question Time audience will include 10 inmates and 10 prison staff as well as 100 members of the public.

View the original article here