Bolitics The New Condem Government

[peterms]

There were 7 people on the review including the head of McKinsey’s Global Education Practice, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, an academic, the Open Uni policy advisor, and some business and bbc bods. The exam question, wasn't about how to change the way people are taught, or the way tutors are trained - it was The review was tasked with making recommendations to Government on the future of fees policy and financial support for full and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students.

I'm not aware that anyone from any field complained about the make up of the review committee, in terms of it being ill suited to do the job.

Let me complain now, then.

It's been a theme of government for 20-25 years that you can't produce policies without hearing the voice of the consumer.

Early on, it was maybe a bit tokenistic. Representatives on boards who were mightiliy outnumbered, didn't have a remit or a constituency, and couldn't be accountable anyway. It got better. People were trained, supported, their role legitimised. They were taken more seriously.

These days, the word is co-production; taking consultation past participation, past empowerment, to a new level.

And yet with the Browne committee, there's one group missing. Who could it be? Could it possibly be...those most affected by the proposals...current and future students?

Well I never.

[snowychap]

And yet with the Browne committee, there's one group missing. Who could it be? Could it possibly be...those most affected by the proposals...current and future students?

Browne said:

We talked to students a lot during the Review

-we visited 13 institutions where we had discussions with students

-we had many meetings with the NUS, both with Wes and Aaron

-we had student representation on the Review's Advisory Forum

-student representatives appeared at our public hearings

But, yes, they weren't actually represented on the review committee.

[peterms]

And yet with the Browne committee, there's one group missing. Who could it be? Could it possibly be...those most affected by the proposals...current and future students?

Browne said:

We talked to students a lot during the Review

-we visited 13 institutions where we had discussions with students

-we had many meetings with the NUS, both with Wes and Aaron

-we had student representation on the Review's Advisory Forum

-student representatives appeared at our public hearings

But, yes, they weren't actually represented on the review committee.

Actually I don't see how they could have been.

The purpose of the committee was to find a rationale for dumping the costs of education onto those being educated. It's hard to see how any student representative could have signed up to that.

But let's not pretend it was an objective committee which reviewed all options and came forward with words of wisdom we should heed. The outcome was predetermined, as with anything our chum Mandy sets his little mind to. And since the outcome was comfortable for Dave and his adjutant, that's ok, then.

[Gringo]

not much representation for students or ordinary taxpayers there but they've got lots of experience of big business or affluent universities, and even a fee-paying university.

[peterms]

not much representation for students or ordinary taxpayers there but they've got lots of experience of big business or affluent universities, and even a fee-paying university.

Thanks for that.

I see two of the seven have links to McKinsey. Staistically improbable.

Isn't it interesting how often the term "McKinsey" comes up in discussions of government policy, membership of advisory committees, and so on? Not a word I hear down the pub or at the bus stop, but it seems to carry a lot of weight with the government.

Wasn't that the group who advised Enron? Whose former partner was sentenced to 24 years? Which is a defendant in Hurricane Katrina lawsuits because of undervaluing claims by a strategy of "deny, delay, defend"? Whose partner is being prosecuted for inside dealing? Is it that McKinsey?

[leviramsey]

not much representation for students or ordinary taxpayers there but they've got lots of experience of big business or affluent universities, and even a fee-paying university.

Thanks for that.

I see two of the seven have links to McKinsey. Staistically improbable.

Isn't it interesting how often the term "McKinsey" comes up in discussions of government policy, membership of advisory committees, and so on? Not a word I hear down the pub or at the bus stop, but it seems to carry a lot of weight with the government.

Wasn't that the group who advised Enron? Whose former partner was sentenced to 24 years? Which is a defendant in Hurricane Katrina lawsuits because of undervaluing claims by a strategy of "deny, delay, defend"? Whose partner is being prosecuted for inside dealing? Is it that McKinsey?

Not to mention that if you should happen to own shares in a firm that retains them, that's about as good a sign as any to sell the shares and probably consider shorting.

Two Bobs

Kill the MBAs.

[tonyh29]

Going back a few pages to Blandys Nimrods and their being scrapped

Saw my friend today from BAE , he told me the planes being scrapped weren't actually in service as they had been deemed too dangerous

I was at a rather noisy venue so may not have heard him clearly on this .. Blandy as you see these planes every day , did I hear him right or were we talking about totally different planes ?

[snowychap]

Again, wasn't sure of which thread was most appropriate:

New CBI boss: Those who can afford to pay more tax should do so

The CBI's president-in-waiting, Roger Carr, has thrown his weight behind the Labour-initiated 50p rate of income tax on Britain's richest earners in a sharp break from the business organisation's vigorous campaign against the policy.

Carr, who was chairman of Cadbury until its takeover by Kraft in February, has raised hopes of a significantly more progressive political approach at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) by declaring that he supports the top rate of tax as a fair way of spreading the burden at a time of economic hardship.

"My personal view is that when things are difficult, everybody should make a contribution," he said, in an interview with the Observer. "Those who can make a bigger contribution should do so. So I do not think the rate is unreasonable."

The new tax rate is levied on people earning more than £150,000, less than 1% of the population, and is expected to raise £2.4bn a year. It was introduced by former chancellor Alistair Darling and retained in the coalition's finance bill, details of which were published last Thursday.

Carr was named last week as the CBI's next president, to succeed the former Economist publishing boss Helen Alexander in June as head of the organisation that describes itself as the "voice of business". He is chairman of the energy company Centrica, a director of the Bank of England and made his name in the 1980s as the boss of the industrial conglomerate Williams.

His remarks on taxation – which, he stressed, were in a personal capacity – are a sharp contrast to the CBI's official policy. Its former president, BA chairman Martin Broughton, last year condemned the 50p rate as an act of "economic vandalism".

And in a letter to the Treasury ahead of October's comprehensive spending review, the CBI's director general, Richard Lambert, called for an "early commitment to reversing" the new tax band on the grounds that it had "damaged the UK's reputation as a business location".

Carr's softer line on taxing the rich was welcomed by the CBI's traditional opponents. Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said: "It cannot be right for the very wealthy to demand cuts that will make the lives of the poorest immensely harder while whingeing about having to pay a bit more tax themselves. So it is very refreshing to hear Roger Carr taking a moral stand on the issue. Other senior business people would do well to follow his example."

The tax, attacked by critics as a disincentive to entrepreneurialism, was initially intended to be a temporary measure to bolster the nation's finances. Labour leader Ed Miliband has suggested it should stay but shadow chancellor Alan Johnson has indicated that he sees it as temporary.

Shadow treasury minister Christopher Leslie praised Carr's comments: "It's actually quite a refreshing opinion and I think it probably reflects the views of the majority of the public. When you see spending cuts to so many layers of public services, in terms of tax revenue, it's vital to have a balanced approach."

[snowychap]

Schools' pupil premium for England set at £430.

The poorest pupils in England will get an extra £430 spent on them next year under the government's pupil premium scheme, it has been revealed.

Schools will receive the money for every pupil whose parents have an annual income of less than £16,000.

Head teachers will be encouraged to spend it on reducing class sizes or more one-to-one tuition.

But critics argue the scheme will be meaningless if cuts are made elsewhere in education to fund it.

The pupil premium has long been a flagship Liberal Democrat policy and it was already known that £2.5bn would be given to schools through the scheme by 2014/15.

However, the cost to the government in 2011/12 - £625m - has been announced for the first time.

Schools will be allowed to choose exactly how the extra money should be used and it is hoped the scheme will also act as a financial incentive to encourage successful schools to take in poorer children.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the move would have more benefit for social mobility than keeping a cap on tuition fees.

"When money is tight, you have to be really clear about what your priorities are," he said.

...more on link

Isn't this more 'announcement' of policy via the press rather than the house?

If so, shame on them, new politics their arse: lying, duplicitous bastards.

[snowychap]

Here speaketh the C(h)unt:

Jeremy Hunt accuses BBC staff of leftwing bias

The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt – whose surname was accidentally turned into an expletive by two BBC presenters last week – is risking the anger of corporation employees by presuming to know how most of them vote at elections.

In an interview with the Observer, Hunt said it was clear to most people that more BBC employees would vote Labour or Lib Dem than Conservative. He also said that the corporation had been out of touch with public opinion in the recent past and shown leftwing bias on issues such as Europe, immigration and Northern Ireland.

His comments come after he suffered the indignity of two unfortunate gaffes in an hour on Radio 4, when BBC presenters James Naughtie and Andrew Marr mispronounced his surname.

Hunt went out of his way to praise much that the BBC does, saying it made fantastic programmes and provided unparalleled news coverage. He also said its journalists put their commitment to fair-minded reporting above "political affiliations". But his comments about how BBC staff vote, and recent bias, will do little to improve relations.

Hunt said: "I think if you were to discover how people vote at the BBC there are probably more who vote Labour or for the Liberal Democrats than the Conservatives." He also made clear his frustrations with the BBC's decision to broadcast a Panorama programme about corruption at Fifa days before the decision on the 2018 World Cup, saying it had damaged England's bid. "It was a nightmare," he said.

Hunt's remarks on the views of journalists will draw comparisons with the confrontation between ex-Tory chancellor Nigel Lawson and the late Radio Four presenter Brian Redhead. After the 1987 budget, Redhead interviewed Lawson and challenged him on unemployment. Lawson dismissed the criticism as that of "a lifelong Labour supporter".

Redhead then asked for a minute's silence "while you compose an apology for daring to suggest you know how I exercise my vote, and I shall reflect on the death of your monetary policy". Hunt said he believed the BBC now seemed to have got a grip on the problem of bias - which had been recognised as an issue by its director general Mark Thompson. Laughing off the Radio 4 incidents, he added: "I think I have just got to enjoy the fact that for the moment I am the only cabinet minister for whom it is true that the next time I am interviewed on the Today Programme, Jim Naughtie will be more nervous than me."

Right wing bias, left wing bias - I bet the Beeb don't now whether they're coming or going.

[drat01]

The BBC Political editor is a life long Tory who was head of the Young Conservatives. He is acknowledged in many circles to have very right wing views. Their political editorials especially for the past few years have followed the ideas of their boss

[drat01]

Further massive cuts to hit the UK, hidden by the run up to Xmas?

link

Police, schools and coastguards hit in latest round of cuts

Details of swingeing cuts hitting police, schools, coastguards and the state of Britain's roads are to be unveiled by ministers as they usher in the new 'age of austerity' this week.

Local councils will see their grant payments reduced by an average of around 10 per cent next year alone as the axe begins to fall on jobs and services in the wake of the Spending Review announced in the autumn.

The number of coastguard stations in Britain is planned to fall from 19 to eight while the search-and-rescue service, whose helicopter pilots currently include Prince William – is to be sold off to a foreign consortium.

Budgets for repairs and maintenance to schools are expected to dry up – as will money earmarked for road maintenance, including filling in potholes.

The police grant paid to individual forces is set to fall by five per cent next year.

Ministers will also signal that the taxpayer will no longer pay the bills, including compensation, which mount up in the wake of large scale outbreaks of animal diseases, such as foot and mouth.

The details will emerge, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt, in a carefully choreographed series of announcements which will spell out for the first time how the Whitehall spending cuts will be felt on the ground.

Next year, 2011-12, appears to be a particularly painful period with ministers determined to get as much of the bad news out of the way as early as possible so that the overall picture can gradually "improve" in the run up to the next general election in 2015.

- The Department for Transport (DfT) will propose cutting the number of coastguard stations from 19 to eight – of which only three are likely to operate round the clock.

The service is likely to lose around 250 jobs in a £7.5 million saving. Meanwhile, the search-and rescue operation is expected to be "outsourced" to a French-American consortium in a £7 billion deal, spelling the end for the Royal Navy's fleet of 36 ageing Sea King helicopters and their military crews, who currently include Prince William.

- Money paid under the Highway Maintenance Formula for "road conditions" is expected to be phased out over four years – condemning thousands of potholes to go unrepaired, although road building programmes will be protected.

The grant paid from Whitehall to local authorities – which is already facing a 27 per cent reduction by 2014-15 – is set to be cut next year alone by 10 per cent for the average council, with a major impact on services. Authorities in more prosperous areas face cuts larger than 10 per cent in 2011-12.

- Ministers will this week set out cuts to individual police forces in England and Wales. The overall reduction for next year is expected to be 5 per cent.

- Michael Gove, the Schools Secretary, will announce this week that the pupil premium – the extra funding provided to schools for around 1.7 million children from the poorest families – will be £430 per pupil next year, a total of £625 million, which is less than had been expected. The premium will, however, rise to a total payout of £2.5 billion a year by 2014-15.

Funding for repairs and maintenance of existing school buildings is expected to dry up as more and more capital education spending goes on new "free schools" and academies.

Overall, ministers expect local education authorities to lose some £500 million of funding during the Spending Review period as their functions are stripped away.

- The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is expected to publish a report signalling that the government will no longer pick up the bill for outbreaks of foot and mouth and other animal diseases. Instead a new arms-length body will work with farmers to create new funding streams to cover compensation and other payments – possibly though insurance.

- In a further cut to the welfare bill, the Independent Living Fund – which makes average payments of £316 a week to help severely disabled people buy care and support – is set to be phased out for all claimants by 2015 in a move which may save £330 million.

Whitehall departmental budgets will be cut by an average 19 per cent by 2015, George Osborne, the Chancellor, announced in October's Spending Review.

Also published tomorrow , at the start of what will be a frenetic few days of activity before the end of the parliamentary session, will be the long-awaited Localism Bill, which has been delayed by internal Whitehall wrangling but is finally ready to be launched by Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary.

The Bill will be sold as a "good news" move to contrast with the plethora of detailed cuts announcements.

It will give many more rights to individuals and local groups over a range of issues, including planning and development. The Commons is expected to rise for its Christmas break on Dec 21.

More and more of the front line services that this Gvmt promised before the election (and after) not to impact will be severely hit.

The cosatguard sell off to a joint US/French private concern is just a cracker

[Awol]

The BBC Political editor is a life long Tory who was head of the Young Conservatives. He is acknowledged in many circles to have very right wing views. Their political editorials especially for the past few years have followed the ideas of their boss

And yet:

Hunt said he believed the BBC now seemed to have got a grip on the problem of bias - which had been recognised as an issue by its director general Mark Thompson.

That's the BBC's left wing bias, just in case you were unsure!

[tonyh29]

Im puzzled why some posters only seem to want to post bad news in this thread

Unemployment fell last month , imports were up , manufacturing is up , Coulsen is big news until he is found innocent and then suddenly the story isn't news anymore

Maybe the BBC have infiltrated VT as well :winkold:

[Awol]

Im puzzled why some posters only seem to want to post bad news in this thread

You want some good news? How about this:

Grubbing filth banned from Parliament

Following a formal sleaze inquiry, the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee took the unprecedented step of ordering Geoff Hoon, defence secretary under Tony Blair, to surrender his Parliamentary pass for five years and apologise to the House.

Stephen Byers, the former transport secretary who told undercover reporters posing as lobbyists that he was a “cab for hire,” was barred for two years for a “particularly serious breach”.

The punishment would have been more severe but he was given credit for apologising.

Richard Caborn, an ex-sports minister, was ordered to say sorry and banned for six months after failing to register financial interests.

Parliamentary watchdog cleared three more of breaching rules, but said that they were “unwise” to have agreed to meet the fake lobbyists.

Patricia Hewitt, the former health secretary, Adam Ingram, an ex-defence minister, and Sir John Butterfill, who was a Conservative backbencher until the election, will face no formal punishment.

Although all six stood down at the last election, as former MPs they are entitled to Commons passes and can take advantage of Parliamentary facilities which, the Committee said, could help them financially.

See, it's not all bad. :winkold:

[blandy]

Going back a few pages to Blandys Nimrods and their being scrapped

Saw my friend today from BAE , he told me the planes being scrapped weren't actually in service as they had been deemed too dangerous

I was at a rather noisy venue so may not have heard him clearly on this .. Blandy as you see these planes every day, did I hear him right or were we talking about totally different planes ?

He's confused two different things. The Nimrod MR2s were grounded and taken out of service some time ago, it is these that were due to be replaced with MRA4s. There were around 36 MR2s which were due initially to be replaced by 21 MR4s, then this was cut to 18, then 12, then 9 and now none.

The MR4s at my place had been flying pretty frequently as part of the preparation to put them into service.

MRA4

The National Audit Office has said

"loss of the capability offered by the Nimrod Maritime Reconnaissance and Attack Mk4 would have an adverse effect on the protection of the strategic nuclear deterrent, the provision of which is one of the Ministry of Defence's Standing Strategic Tasks. In addition, the maintenance of the integrity of the UK through detection of hostile air and sea craft would be compromised."

The whole programme has been a mess, both from Industry and the MoD and Gov't, but it's actually now ready, it's a superb product - by some distance the best in the world for its role.

Industry sorted it's act out on Nimrod some years ago - the initial bid was done at below cost price (which was a huge mistake by BAE), but the problems were sorted, the aircraft is ready and extremely capable and there's nothing else which can fulfill it's role.

[avfc89]

They have selected Woolas' replacement.

[Awol]

They have selected Woolas' replacement.

Presumably a candidate with more integrity. A lump of dog shit, perhaps?

[peterms]

Coulsen is big news until he is found innocent and then suddenly the story isn't news anymore

Really?

I heard that charges couldn't be brought because the key witnesses refused to give statements. It seems they were interviewed under caution, and so thought that they too might be prosecuted. But Coulsen has undoubtedly not been found "innocent".

[Gringo]

Coulson is as guilty as sin, private eye put the case together a while back before he was dave's pr man, though neither side were too keen to take it up as an issue in those days.