Policy Announcements, Monday 26 March

Government  

• A new UK policy for managing solid low level radioactive waste has been published by the UK Government and the devolved administrations today. The policy, which follows a public consultation in 2006, puts proving public safety at the forefront of dealing with low level radioactive waste (LLW), and sets out a more flexible and pragmatic approach to managing LLW. It also stresses the need to minimise the amount of waste created, and recognises the need to involve the public in developing and authorising LLW management plans.  

Conservatives  

• David Cameron and Sir Menzies Campbell are calling for more power to be devolved to local government. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders were set to attend a rally in Westminster on Monday night, called to support the Sustainable Communities Bill. The private member's bill introduced by Tory backbencher Nick Hurd, would give councils more power to allocate funds to causes such as keeping post offices open. The Local Works Campaign, a group of organisations including trade unions and NGOs, wants to reverse the decline of local economies and services - what it calls the transformation into "ghost town Britain". More than 400 MPs have signed a motion urging the government to back the Bill, including 138 Labour MPs.
• The Conservatives have launched an inquiry into the quality of childhood in the UK. It will look at whether "stranger danger" warnings have become too extreme, how to improve discipline and the role of the family. Tory leader David Cameron ordered the review after a Unicef report declared the UK the worst country in the developed world to grow up in. The party says children need less "red tape" and more "vivid lives".   
• David Cameron has accused his opponents of ignoring bread and butter issues to conduct an "arcane" debate over independence. Speaking in Edinburgh, he accused Labour of using "bone-chilling" language to frighten Scots. Mr Cameron said Scots wanted to see bread and butter issues like housing, health, education and crime debated. Labour said it was right to highlight a potential threat to the Union, while the SNP called for a "fresh" approach. Mr Cameron, who was joined by Scots Tory leader Annabel Goldie, said Labour and the SNP were wrong to fight the Scottish election campaign on constitutional issues, adding that Scottish voters did not want to be "bullied" into staying in the Union.  

Liberal Democrats  

• The Liberal Democrats promised a "fair, green future" as they launched their campaign for the Welsh assembly election on 3 May. They pledged guaranteed NHS service standards, a fund to help families go green and smaller class sizes. Mike German, leader of the Lib Dems in the assembly, said the party would take action to deal with climate change and to give young people opportunities. He also pledged to cut the voting age in council elections from 18 to 16. The party is currently the smallest in the assembly chamber, with six Assembly Members, but said it expected to have more AMs after May.