Review of the Papers, Monday 13 August

Government

• Government ministers have been told that Britain has no hope of meeting its commitment to renewable energy and should consider ways of wriggling out of it, it was claimed last night. A ministerial briefing paper said that Britain had achieved little in utilising renewable sources of energy and was unlikely to meet the European Union target of achieving 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. The Guardian reported last night that the leaked briefing said that getting to 9 per cent from the current level of 2 per cent would be challenging and that a figure of about 5 per cent was more realistic. The Government was accused last night of preparing a cover-up after the briefing paper, put together by officials within the former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), suggested that "statistical interpretations" of the target be used so that Britain could sidestep its commitment. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2246483.ece
• On-the-spot fines for crimes such as being drunk and disorderly, destroying property and shoplifting are being issued at a rate of one every three minutes, according to latest police figures. The number handed in England and Wales rose by almost 40 per cent in a year as police officers on the streets made use of a swift and economical way of dealing with offenders. But the surge in the use of penalty notices for disorder (PND) has also helped police to meet a key government target because they count towards a ministerial pledge to increase the number of crimes "brought to justice". Police representatives claim that the need to meet the target of bringing 1.25 million offences to justice in 2007 to 2008 has "corrupted" the use of PNDs by encouraging officers to use them inappropriately. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2246573.ece
• Vital improvements to transport links are being delayed for years because the planning laws cannot cope, according to a campaign to be launched by the British Chambers of Commerce on Monday. As a result, the infrastructure is "crumbling under pressure" and damaging business competitiveness, it says. The BCC is calling for the government to create an independent planning commission to take the decisions on nationally significant infrastructure projects, such as airports, ports and strategic road networks. It said that local planning authorities, who take decisions on these projects, were too often swayed by parochial groups and did not sufficiently consider national needs. Planning decisions can get delayed for years in a series of consultations. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2115fadc-4902-11dc-b326-0000779fd2ac.html
• Patients are paying less for some private dental treatment than they do on the NHS because of controversial changes introduced by the Government. The price for a filling on the NHS is now £43.60 but some private surgeries charge just £35, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. The findings have led to accusations that NHS patients are being ripped off under a system one dentist branded "wicked".
  Dental industry leaders said the disparity between charges had been caused by the new contract the Government had imposed on dentists, which was designed to simplify treatment costs. Patients pay a flat rate of £43.60 whether they have one filling or six. If they went outside the NHS they would have to pay for only one filling, although many private surgeries do charge much more. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/13/nhs113.xml
• Ministers have admitted that plans to give the European Court of Justice new powers over policing, immigration and criminal justice "raise sensitive issues relating to national sovereignty". The new EU treaty, which seeks to resurrect the European constitution, includes plans to give the Strasbourg court jurisdiction over a range of home affairs issues. Critics claim the change would have a big impact on Britain's control over its own affairs. Details of the Government's concerns about the European Court of Justice's powers were spelt out in a Foreign Office memo. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/13/nref113.xml
• Britain's worst-performing train company tried to silence the official passenger watchdog by threatening to sue it for libel for making a complaint about its poor performance. London TravelWatch had written to Tom Harris, the railways minister, to ask whether First Great Western (FGW) was in breach of its franchise agreement because almost a third of its commuter trains in the Thames Valley were late. FGW has a target in its contract of 92 per cent of trains on time but managed only 68.3 per cent on its peak services. Its long-distance services are also the least punctual in the industry, with only 75.6 per cent on time compared with a national average of 85.2 per cent. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2246667.ece
• Nearly half of all hospital kitchens and canteens in England could be failing to meet basic standards of cleanliness and hygiene, according to official inspection reports. Cockroaches, medical waste on food-handling equipment, mouse droppings and poor hygiene among catering staff were all cited as problems. The findings were revealed after a freedom of information request for health inspection reports from a quarter of all local authorities.Of the 377 hospitals included, 173 displayed poor cleanliness and 68 fell below the legal requirements for food storage. A total of 107 did not have correct food safety documentation, 66 stored food at incorrect temperatures, 25 had inadequate staff training and 57 had staff with poor personal hygiene. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2246430.ece
• Business leaders will today accuse ministers of failing to get to grips with Britain's endemic late payment culture despite 10 years of Labour's promises to tackle the issue. Criticism from the Institute of Directors coincides with the release of new research highlighting the damaging impact on small companies of late payments by big clients. Three-quarters of respondents to a Forum of Private Business survey cited late payment as a "considerable threat to my business's viability". The survey of more than 300 companies found two-thirds wanted to be able to complain in confidence about large clients to competition watchdogs. A separate IoD survey into the concerns of small to medium-sized employers found late payment was the most frequently cited problem. The IoD is putting together a coalition to lobby John Hutton, the business secretary, over the government's perceived failure to act on the issue. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2a39b0bc-4935-11dc-b326-0000779fd2ac.html
• Schools that restrict the sale of their uniforms to particular retailers and regard the process as a money-making opportunity may face action from the Office of Fair Trading. Kevin Brennan, the Minister for Children, Families and Schools, urged schools to ensure that their uniforms were affordable and available widely on the high street. "Expensive uniforms can put low-income families off applying to certain schools. Wealth should never be a deterrent to opportunity, and we are very clear that schools should limit cost," he said yesterday. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life-and-style/education/article2246596.ece

Conservatives  

• Proposals by a Conservative policy group which would allow firms more freedom to make people redundant, repeal working time regulations, and restore Britain's opt-out from the European social chapter on employee rights were seized upon by ministers yesterday as evidence of a decisive lurch to the right by David Cameron. A report by the party's economic competitiveness review group, chaired by John Redwood, will propose slashing red tape for business by 3.7% annually for five years, reducing costs by £14bn by the end of a parliament. Mr Redwood called the plans "a tax cut by any other name". http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,2147382,00.html
• George Osborne said yesterday that a Conservative government would "pick a fight" withBrussels to pull Britain out of a swath of European agreements, to help achieve multi-billion pound cuts in red tape. The shadow chancellor backed the broad thrust of a Tory policy group report being published this Friday, which will advocate £14bn a year cuts in regulations on business. Its recommendations include the repeal of data protection and working time laws and the review of health and safety legislation. Mr Osborne told the FT that the report "shows how we can deliver a low-tax, lower regulation, competitive economy with the right transport links and skills and pensions arrangements that Britain needs in the 21st century". Mr Osborne's stance sets the stage for a significant confrontation between Britain and the rest of the European Union if the Tories are elected. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0a4998c6-4935-11dc-b326-0000779fd2ac.html