Policy Announcements, Thursday 15 March

Government  

• Spending limits on political campaigns and caps on individual donations remain "obstacles" to a deal on party funding, Sir Hayden Phillips has said. His year-long review recommends both be capped, but despite "broad agreement" the parties can not agree on details. However Sir Hayden believes a deal is "within reach" and is now to chair face-to-face talks between the parties. The review, which also backs a £25m a year rise in state funding, is designed to "restore public confidence".  
• Planning Minister Yvette Cooper announced a package of new measures that will ensure councils can crackdown on companies who continue to advertise illegally on England's roads. From today, local planners will be able to track offenders on a new national database, with those companies prosecuted for repeat offending being 'named and shamed'.  
• New funding for projects to inspire black and minority ethnic school students to get involved in science, technology, engineering and maths was announced by Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The funding for 19 schools across the country is worth up to £20,000 per school over the next two years, with a total allocation of nearly £1.5m in the years 2005-08. The new funding will go towards projects such as shadowing scientists in a high-tech bioscience lab, researching wind, wave, solar and nuclear energy and the sustainable use of forests.  

**Olympics  **

• The budget for the 2012 London Olympics has risen to £9.35bn, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has told MPs. The revised budget is nearly four times the £2.4bn estimate when London's bid succeeded less than two years ago. Construction is now budgeted at £5.3bn, there is a £2.7bn "contingency fund", plus higher tax and security costs.