Policy Announcements, Friday 03 August

Government  

• The schools secretary has hailed rising exam results but said the rate must now be increased. Writing in the Times Educational Supplement on Friday, Ed Balls said a recent slowdown in improvements among 11 and 14-year-olds must be reversed. He pledged a new emphasis on ensuring basic standards were met in literacy and numeracy. "While we have experienced a decade of rising standards, the pace at which results have been rising has slowed in recent years," he said. "That is why I have said we need a new focus on standards and discipline in the classroom. More and more children are reaching the expected levels in English and maths. "But we have not done well enough at raising the performance of lower-achieving students, especially at the crucial key stages 2 and 3.  

Lib Dems  

• The Liberal Democrats have unveiled plans to impose a £10 passenger charge on domestic flights to help fund rail investment and reduce carbon emissions from transport. Proposals in a policy paper on transport and climate change, published on Friday, focus on improving the railways to make trains the "travel mode of choice". The plans will be put to the Lib Dem conference in September for approval. In what the Lib Dems described as a policy of "getting serious about rail", there were also plans to introduce road tolls on freight vehicles which could raise about £600m per year. Up to £200m would come from the temporary domestic flight charge - which aims to "bring an incentive" to encourage the individual passenger to change their habits - and there would be a £2,000 tax on the most gas-guzzling cars. Under Lib Dem calculations, this could release £12bn to double spending on rail improvements over five years.