Brown toughens controls on knives

Brown toughens controls on knives

Any teenagers over the age of 16 found carrying a knife in the street will face prosecution for illegal possession of a blade under a package of knife crime measures to be announced by Gordon Brown today.

In the wake of the recent spate of fatal stabbings, the prime minister will today host a Downing Street knife crime “summit” attended by the home secretary, the attorney general, and crown prosecutors and chief constables.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

NHS polyclinics will damage patient care

NHS patients will get a poorer standard of care if the government persists with plans to merge GP practices into polyclinics, a leading health thinktank warns today.

The King’s Fund says in a report that polyclinics – supersurgeries offering a wide range of medical services – may be more expensive, less efficient and less accessible than the traditional family doctor service.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

Schools face toughest squeeze in a decade

A third of schools have had their budgets cut, with the worst-performing schools suffering most, it has been claimed.

Hundreds of teachers and staff are facing redundancy as the Government forces savings upon 7,700 schools in England.

The figures were uncovered by the Liberal Democrats on the eve of a speech today by Nick Clegg on education.
Read more on this story in The Times

Upturn in costs fuels higher pay deals

Rises in energy and food costs, are feeding through to higher private sector wage settlements, according to pay data published on Thursday.

The median level of annual wage increases in the three months to the end of April rose to 3.8 per cent. This compares with a median figure of 3.5 per cent for most of the previous 18 months, according to Incomes Data Services, the pay and benefits analysts
Read more on this story in The Financial Times