Review of the Papers, Thursday 10 May

Government

• Tony Blair's city academy programme faced fresh criticism last night after it emerged that almost £50 million had been paid to advisers for the flagship schools - more than £1 million per project. Just 46 of the academies have opened in seven years but more than £20 million has been spent on consultants for them while a further £28.3 million has been paid to their project managers, according to official figures. The sum, equivalent to at least two new secondary schools, prompted accusations from teaching unions that millions were being "wasted" on an unproven education project.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/10/nschools210.xml
• Companies should attribute as much importance to declaring their impact on the environment as they should to their financial statements, the minister for climate change said yesterday. Ian Pearson urged all large businesses to sign up urgently to a common standard for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, known as the Carbon Disclosure Project. The level of carbon dioxide emissions would become as significant as trading statements or the balance sheet because investors increasingly wanted more reliable information about a company's carbon "footprint", he said at a meeting with business representatives in New York. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/14547e22-fe93-11db-bdc7-000b5df10621.html
• Energy inspectors for the new Home Information Packs will burn fossil fuels and create emissions by driving up and down the country because there are not enough assessors in some areas, it has emerged. Yvette Cooper, the Housing Minister, revealed yesterday that there were just 57 qualified inspectors for the North East, 76 for Wales, and 152 for London. "We do not expect assessors to work within local authority boundaries, as they will work largely by region - in some parts of the country assessors will work across more than one region," Mrs Cooper said in answer to a parliamentary question. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/10/nhips10.xml
• The chief inspector of prisons warns today that offenders are being forced to "queue" for jail cells despite an assurance yesterday from the new justice minister, Lord Falconer, that the system can cope with the immediate crisis in prisoner numbers. Anne Owers says in a report on Norwich prison published today that more than 7,000 inmates have had to be put up in police cells at a cost of £23m a month since the crisis started last October. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,2076013,00.html
• Tony Blair brings down the curtain on his decade as Prime Minister today as he announces a departure plan that will see him leave office towards the end of June. But for much of his remaining six weeks in power Mr Blair will be absent from Downing Street, with at least five overseas trips planned for later this month and June. What aides are calling his farewell tour will begin tomorrow with a trip to Paris to see Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president-elect. As he goes to the French capital Gordon Brown will be launching his campaign to succeed Mr Blair and will receive the long-expected formal endorsement from the outgoing leader. Next week Mr Blair is likely to visit Washington for the last time as Prime Minister to see President Bush, the other half of the partnership that many Labour MPs and activists blame for bringing an earlier than necessary end to Mr Blair's career because of the unpopularity of the war with Iraq. Later this month Mr Blair heads to Africa for a trip lasting several days as he underlines his commitment to a continent that has been one of his leading priorities. He will go to South Africa and several other African nations.  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/the-blair-years/article1769545.ece

Conservatives

• The Conservatives will today send their strongest signal to date that they want to either cut or abolish stamp duty on shares, suggesting the £3bn-a-year levy would be a priority in any tax cuts made by a Tory government. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, will use a speech to the Association of British Insurers to endorse the organisation's warning that stamp dutyis a "drag on savings and investment". Mr Osborne will cite last month's Oxera study, which suggested that the duty reduces the value of the average occupational pension fund by up to £12,000 and depresses share prices by up to 7 per cent. The shadow chancellor is expected to argue that "it's not just financial services that are hit - hardworking families are losing out too". http://www.ft.com/cms/s/322e0de2-fe92-11db-bdc7-000b5df10621.html