Review of the Papers, Monday 26 February

Government

• A leading architect of Tony Blair's health reforms warns in the Guardian today that the NHS will not survive as a universal tax-funded service without a change of policy. Chris Ham, professor of health policy at Birmingham University, said a "fundamental weakness in the design of the reforms" made it impossible for the NHS to deliver the improvements in efficiency that will be needed when growth in its budget slows next year. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/story/0,,2021407,00.html
• Hundreds of thousands of people working with children in schools are still not being put through criminal record checks promised by the government in the wake of the Soham murders, the Guardian has learned. Guidance sent to schools and colleges last month explains that existing teachers and other members of staff who work closely with children do not have to be fully vetted, despite claims by ministers that the procedures would be tightened. The government promised to close the loophole last year when Ruth Kelly, then education secretary, told parliament she was ordering schools carry out criminal record checks on all new appointments. http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2021400,00.html 
• The government was yesterday accused by its own advisers of putting the housing market at risk by"gold plating" regulations designed to cut carbon emissions associated with climate change. The Better Regulation Commission, which advises the government on action to reduce unnecessary regulation, called on Ruth Kelly, the community secretary, to postpone requirements that all houses sold after June 1 have an "energy performance certificate". http://www.ft.com/cms/s/75c3aec8-c53e-11db-b110-000b5df10621.html  
• Households are facing another inflation-busting rise in council tax this April for the tenth successive year since Labour took office. A -Time-s survey of more than 200 authorities shows that the average bill is set to rise by at least 3.8 per cent to £1,315, up £47 from last year. The figures mean that council tax will have risen by more than 90 per cent since Tony Blair came to power in 1997, with annual bills jumping from £688 to £1,315. The lowest rises are in the 238 districts that face elections in May, weeks before Gordon Brown is expected to take over as Prime Minister. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1438213.ece  
• Plans to bring in road pricing have suffered a triple blow with only a tiny number of voters in favour, a growing Labour revolt against the idea and serious doubts about the technology to be used. Back-bench fears that road pricing could be Labour's poll tax were underlined in the YouGov survey, commissioned by The Daily Telegraph, which showed only nine per cent of voters backing the idea. At the same time it has emerged that the satellite technology needed to track motorists in a pay-as-you-drive scheme can "lose" cars in the middle of cities. The principle of road pricing was regarded as a bad idea by 48 per cent of voters in the poll. Another 40 per cent were undecided. The remainder expressed no view at all. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=QDBR4ZX4BAXMBQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/02/26/nroads26.xml  
• The number of miles driven by ministerial drivers has increased sharply, calling into question the government's commitment to reducing carbon emissions. Figures released to the Liberal Democrats also show the number of chauffeurs paid to ferry ministers around has risen sharply over the last five years. According to a Commons written reply the Government Car and Despatch Agency drove 2,394,200 miles in 2004-5 and 2,834,000 in 2005-6. Their wage bill has increased from £5.5 million to £7.3 million over the same period. The total cost of the agency which runs the services was £17.8 million. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/26/ncars26.xml
• England's road safety record is one of the best in Europe, but the 3,000 deaths every year cost the economy nearly £8bn, according to a report published today by the Audit Commission. Only the Netherlands and Sweden have a better safety record, with the worst being the Czech Republic, Greece and Poland. But the number of child pedestrian deaths shows England has a poor record. Ten countries have fewer child deaths, and among the worst are Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,,2021461,00.html  
• Arts Council England has drawn up secret plans for sharp cuts in funding to theatres, galleries and music venues. If, as expected, the Government this year cuts funding for the arts in real terms, senior Arts Council figures intend to avoid "equality of misery for all" by maintaining the existing level of support for those seen as the most deserving - a policy that can only be sustained through severe cuts elsewhere. National institutions are understood to be as much at risk as smaller bodies. English National Opera, which has announced that it is reducing its workforce by a tenth, is believed to be particularly vulnerable. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1437919.ece  

Conservatives

• The Conservatives plan to set up a new border police force dedicated to fighting terrorism, and the smuggling of people and drugs, David Cameron, party leader, will say today. The Tories would hope to pay for the police force, which would assume responsibility for a number of roles performed by six different agencies, by scrapping the government's controversial identity cards scheme. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d2ea42b6-c53d-11db-b110-000b5df10621.html