News round up: 10,000 jobs go as crunch hits public sector

10,000 jobs go as crunch hits public sector

Nearly 10,000 jobs are to be lost and up to 100 courts could close as budget cuts hit the public sector.

The Times has learnt that more than £900 million must be saved at the Ministry of Justice in the next two years, threatening initiatives that include Gordon Brown’s programme to tackle knife crime. The news comes as figures revealed that inflation hit a 16-year high of 5.2 per cent last month, driven by soaring gas and electricity bills.
Read more on this story in The Times

Inflation surge adds £3bn to welfare bill

A spike in inflation is due to blow a £3 billion hole in Britain’s welfare budget, the country’s leading public finance analysts said.

The 16-year peak in inflation registered last month has direct consequences on public spending, since pensions and benefits are uprated each year by a figure based on the September retail price index (RPI).
Read more on this story in The Times

Insights into barriers to employment

A new study looking at barriers to employment for the long-term unemployed has found a marked lack of confidence among claimants, despite investment in schemes to assist them into work.

According to the research, carried out for the employment agency Working Links, the majority of those interviewed said they required more assistance with acquiring new skills and “confidence coaching”, while 55% wanted changes to the financial support provided for the transition into employment.
Read more on this story in Society Guardian

Pupils need a basic emotional education

I was 29 before intensive therapy helped me address my unmet needs and to start living. The root of my recovery was learning how to value myself and others. If someone had taught me that when I was small, it would have cost society a lot less than the years of my criminal havoc did.

• Mark Johnson is the author of Wasted, a memoir. www.mark-johnson.org.uk
Read more on this story in Society Guardian

Dramatic increase in unemployment

New figures will today show a dramatic increase in the number of unemployed. Paul Lewis traces the origins of one lost job to the meltdown in the financial markets.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

Rosa raises hopes for women’s groups

Rosa is planning to start bestowing urgently needed grants next year to organisations that support women and girls in the UK. But this is not a case of a rich, altruistic feminist coming to the rescue of charities in the credit crunch; it is the first UK-wide women’s fund.

Read more on this story in Society Guardian

Postcode lottery in out-of-hours surgeries revealed by minister

A new postcode lottery in the NHS emerged yesterday when the government disclosed results of a scheme to persuade GPs in England to open surgeries during evenings and weekends. In Cornwall 97% of practices operated extended hours, compared with 1% in Liverpool.
Read more on this story in The Guardian

Labour scraps tests for 14-year-olds

The government yesterday abolished Sats examinations for 14-year-olds in a move triggered by the collapse of this year’s marking process and a string of high profile reports critical of the tests.

The reforms mean pupils will no longer have to sit externally marked tests at the age of 14, but ministers have insisted that the more controversial tests for primary school pupils will continue.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

 

More from Community Care

Comments are closed.