Review of the Papers, Thursday 05 April

**Government  **

• The National Health Service's £12bn information technology programme yesterday passed one key milestone - but confirmed it had missed another. Connecting for Health is celebrating the installation of digital imaging systems to replace expensive, flammable and easily lost wet X-ray films across all NHS trusts in the south of England and London on time and on budget. But the NHS has missed by a long way a much-revised target to get first out-patient appointments made online through the so-called "choose and book" system. Originally, all 9m or so first out-patient appointments a year were meant to be made through "choose and book" by December 2005. That target has been revised repeatedly: at the end of last week it was for 90 per cent of referrals to be made that way. In practice just 38 per cent went through the system in the last week of March, according to Connecting for Health, with referrals running at an annual rate of about 3.3m. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4efcea1a-e312-11db-a1c9-000b5df10621.html  
• Gordon Brown has been accused of making false claims that his flagship scheme to secure private finance for public sector projects provides good value for money. A study by the University of Edinburgh of the Treasury's statements about the success of the private finance initiative (PFI) found that the evidence for the claims to be "either non-existent or false". The attack follows criticism by the Confederation of British Industry that the Treasury minister Ed Balls, a close Brown ally, misrepresented its stance on the Chancellor's 1997 decision to abolish the pension funds' right to reclaim the tax deducted from share dividends. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2422666.ece  
• A former market trader who went on to become chief executive of Birmingham City Council is expected to be unveiled today as the new chairman of the BBC. News of the likely appointment of Sir Michael Lyons as the replacement for Michael Grade, who is now with ITV, prompted accusations of cronyism from the Conservatives. Sir Michael, who is appointed by the Queen on a recommendation by the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, has headed a succession of government finance reviews at the behest of the Chancellor, Gordon Brown. http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2422641.ece  
• Reforms to NHS dentistry are failing, the British Dental Association said yesterday as thousands of would-be patients besieged a practice near Portsmouth offering NHS care. In scenes more typical of the January sales, patients arrived at first light at a new practice in Titchfield Common, Hampshire. Before the doors had opened, 2,000 people had registered online and over the phone. Hundreds more arrived in an attempt to grab the 1,000 remaining places. By the time the surgery opened at 10am, the queue stretched around the block. Manori Ambrose, who set up the surgery, said: "There are a lot of people who need a dentist who are not even on the waiting list." The British Dental Association (BDA) wrote to Barry Cockroft, the Chief Dental Officer of England, yesterday and called for changes to the dental contract, which has been in force for a year. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1615073.ece  
• The move to dramatically increase the cost of making telephone calls from hospital beds by 160 per cent will hit the elderly and vulnerable hardest, campaigners said. The announcement that Patientline, the UK's main provider of hospital bedside entertainment and communications, plans to increase its charges from 10p to 26p, comes shortly after guidance from the Department of Health recommended that patients should be widely permitted to use mobile phones on hospital premises. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1613242.ece  
• Hobby clubs have become victims of "heavy-handed" child protection rules, according to a report that has found that many are now closing their doors to young people. Some of the most popular clubs in Britain, which teach adults and children to fly model aeroplanes or climb mountains, routinely tell all under18s that they must be accompanied by a parent if they want to attend. They are also running out of volunteers prepared to coach younger people because of the mountain of checks and paper-work that are now required. The research was conducted by the Manifesto Club, a group that campaigns against red tape, which examined how Britain's 780 model-aircraft clubs were coping with new child protection laws. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/public/article1615081.ece  

Conservatives  

• Senior Conservative officials have denied there are any plans for a "velvet divorce" between the Scottish and English wings of the party, after suggestions emerged that some policymakers are considering splitting the party. The Spectator magazine claims today that aides to the Conservative chairman, Francis Maude, are secretly drawing up proposals to break up the organisation into separate Scottish and English parties, bringing a dramatic end to the Tories' historic role as the original unionist party. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,2050171,00.html