Review of the Papers, Tuesday 29 May

Government

• The taxman is preparing to clamp down on tens of thousands of buy-to-let property owners who may not have paid enough tax, The Times has learnt. HM Revenue & Customs has identified 80,000 landlords who may have claimed too much tax relief or have failed to declare the amount of rent they receive from the property, or a capital gain made on the sale of the property. The Revenue can claw back unpaid tax from as far back as six years, which means that some of those who have bought properties to rent or are letting their own home could face tax bills so large that they may have to sell their property. It also has the power to impose penalties, which can reach the same value as the unpaid tax bill, and charge interest on the sum. http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life-and-style/property/buying-and-selling/article1851885.ece
• NHS trusts could be risking the safety of mothers and babies by using maternity support workers to do the work of trained midwives, according to a report. An independent study for the Department of Health found that a number of trusts across England were converting midwife positions into posts for lesser-qualified maternity support workers. When challenged by midwives, Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, has always insisted that support workers would not be used as substitutes for professionally qualified midwives. The report found, however, that in some places they were doing tasks deemed to be within the role of midwives and requiring specialist knowledge and training. The report said that a lack of consistency in the training and role of support workers had the potential to leave midwives and hospital managers uncertain about their competence, and placed patients at risk from a low standard of care. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life-and-style/health/article1851793.ece
• Union leaders today reacted angrily to the news that the NHS has underspent by £500m as a result of aggressive cuts imposed by Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary. Faced with projected deficits for the second year running, NHS trusts were put under pressure to economise by closing wards, laying off staff and delaying patients' operations until the start of the new financial year. A Guardian analysis of health authority figures has revealed the huge surplus. Karen Jennings, the head of health at public sector union Unison, said the financial upheaval of the past year had led to "so much pain inflicted on patients and so much insecurity for staff". http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/news/0,,2090300,00.html
• The government will unveil a multi-billion pound rebuilding programme for the British rail network this summer to ease congestion on the most crowded lines. Ministers will give the go-ahead to the £500m reconstruction of Birmingham's New Street station and are close to approving a £3.5bn overhaul of the former Thameslink route through London. The two large development projects will feature in the government's strategy for the railways between 2009 and 2014 to be announced in July. The High Level Output Statement [HLOS] comes at a critical juncture for the UK rail network, which has overcome a collapse in safety standards during the first 10 years of privatisation but is struggling to cope with booming demand. http://environment.guardian.co.uk/travel/story/0,,2090207,00.html
• Moves to help police track sex offenders across the country have been delayed because of computer problems, prompting claims that public safety could be endangered as a result. The Bichard Inquiry into the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman by a school caretaker, Ian Huntley, called for a change to how detectives swap information about criminals. Ministers had hoped to begin rolling out a national computer system this year that would enable police to get instant details of criminal offences committed by a person working with children or vulnerable adults. But the Home Office has cancelled the launch after software failed in tests. It was the latest in a series of government information technology projects to be plagued by problems. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2591465.ece
• Universities may cut hundreds of pounds from financial incentives intended to attract more students from poorer backgrounds, and spend the money on summer schools for teenagers instead. Nearly all universities offer substantial bursaries to poorer students, on average £1,000 a year. But Sir Martin Harris, the government's regulator for ensuring "fair access" to universities, has proposed that the money might be better spent encouraging pre-GCSE pupils to aim for university. The idea, backed by the higher education minister Bill Rammell, would not mean cuts for students already on courses. The National Union of Students accused Sir Martin of downplaying the importance of bursaries in persuading less well-off undergraduates to stay on. But Sir Martin, director of the Office for Fair Access, Offa, said the new fees regime, which includes increased loans, grants and bursaries, had not increased numbers of students from the poorest socio-economic backgrounds. http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2090051,00.html
• Fresh concerns have been raised over Home Information Packs as anger mounts over the handling of the scheme. The Government did a U-turn last week, postponing the packs for all homes except those with four bedrooms or more. They will be subject to a HIP from the start of August. But fears are increasing that there will be a shortage of energy inspectors for the packs. Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary, last week said there were 520 accredited assessors, and that plenty more were in training. But Lucia Smeraldi at the Trading Standards Institute, queried whether any more would finish the qualification as HIPs had only been forced on larger properties for now. A spokesman for the Communities Department insisted there would be plenty of work for inspectors. "We are committed to introducing HIPs and energy certificates on August 1 for four bedroom homes or larger. We will then be rolling it out to all domestic properties as quickly as possible." He dismissed reports of a plan to axe the scheme and only keep the energy performance certificate, meaning HIPs would no longer contain local searches and evidence of title. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/29/nhouses129.xml
• Publication of Alastair Campbell's Downing Street diaries will go ahead despite strong disapproval within the outgoing prime minister's inner circle - including his wife, Cherie - but after extensive cuts to protect the confidences of world leaders such as Bill Clinton, George Bush and the Queen, the Guardian has learned. Tony Blair wanted Mr Campbell to delay the July 9 publication of The Blair Years, the reputedly £1 million memoirs which one insider calls "fantastically indiscreet". Gordon Brown would also prefer to avoid such a distraction during his first weeks in power, while Mrs Blair was said to be "furious" about the ex-press spokesman's invasion of her family's privacy. So were other senior officials, including the prime minister's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, and Number 10's foreign policy adviser, Sir Nigel Sheinwald. They combined to make sweeping cuts in the diary of conversations overheard between Mr Blair and foreign leaders. http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,,2090025,00.html
• Civil servants have been warned of the dangers of flying toilet roll holders - and instructed to suppress their laughter. A memo was circulated to staff at the Department for Education's headquarters in Sheffield following reports of empty dispensers springing open and catching unsuspecting lavatory users on the head. Health and safety chiefs swung into action, dispatching a letter which alerted staff to the hazard and pledged to install less dangerous equipment "at the earliest convenience". In the meantime, Government public servants have been solemnly advised in the memo to "take care" when braving the cubicles. Anticipating the reaction of staff, the memo added: "I know many of you will think this is humorous, but it is a serious issue." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/29/nloos29.xml

Conservatives  

• David Cameron is expected to fire a Tory frontbench rebel for breaking the party's line by defending grammar schools. The Conservative leader ordered the chief whip to severely reprimand Graham Brady, the Europe spokesman, yesterday. Mr Cameron is thought to have stopped short of axing him immediately in case it reignited the row on education policy, but senior Tories expect Mr Cameron to drop the MP for Altrincham and Sale West when he reshuffles his frontbench team to take on a new cabinet under Gordon Brown. The row broke out after the shadow education secretary, David Willetts, ditched the party's longstanding faith in the superiority of grammar schools, and amounts to the worst dissent Mr Cameron has faced within his party since taking power. http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2090031,00.html