Tax staff staging 24-hour strike

Thousands of HM Revenue and Customs staff are staging a 24-hour strike over planned job cuts.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union at 10 centres which deal with tax claims are taking part.

About 8,000 workers are striking after it emerged that more than 12,000 jobs may be cut. Plans to change working practices have also caused anger.

BBC NEWS | UK | Tax staff staging 24-hour strike

Corruption 'rife’ among prison staff, report claims

Corruption within the Prison Service is rife, according to a leaked report which reveals that there are more than 1,000 officers involved in corrupt practices.

The report, which is the result of a one-year inquiry by the Metropolitan police and the Prison Service’s anti-corruption unit, was leaked to the BBC.

Within it are claims that the corruption ranges from officers accepting cash payments from inmates to have them transferred to less secure prisons to bringing mobile phones and drugs into prisons.

The corruption stems from “inappropriate relationships” between prisoners and staff and there are nearly 600 of these relationships occurring, according to the investigation.

Corruption ‘rife’ among prison staff, report claims – Britain – Times Online

No armour caused soldier's death

A British soldier died in Iraq because he was not wearing enhanced body armour he had had to give up because of shortages, an official report found.

Sgt Steven Roberts, of Shipley, West Yorks, was accidentally shot dead when UK troops opened fire during a disturbance near Basra in March 2003.

The board of inquiry said bullet-proof plates on his Enhanced Combat Body Armour (ECBA) would have saved him.

BBC NEWS | UK | No armour caused soldier’s death

Organised crime 'on the increase’

Serious organised crime is “increasing in scope and complexity”, the agency set up to tackle it has said.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) says that trafficking in Class A drugs, people smuggling and fraud are the biggest threats posed to the UK.

Its “threat assessment” is Soca’s first report since launching four months ago.

The agency also says illegal immigrants are being smuggled into the UK from France for less than £150 and that criminals plan crimes in prison.

BBC NEWS | UK | Organised crime ‘on the increase’

NHS 'summer of discontent’ looms

Unions have warned of a “summer of discontent” over job losses and cutbacks in the NHS, including threats of industrial action over the Government’s health reforms.

Health unions representing doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and other health workers said they were committed to a major campaign against the “breakneck” pace of change.

A lobby of Parliament is being planned for October and there will be rallies and demonstrations across the UK as well as fringe meetings at the TUC Congress and Labour Party annual conference in September.

Workers in NHS Logistics are already gearing up to vote over strikes in protest at their jobs being transferred to a private firm, and there could be other ballots.

Unison said it was “shocked” at the scale of recent job cuts,

icUxbridge – NHS ’summer of discontent’ looms

Government U-turn on free information

MINISTERS are to perform a U-turn on their commitment to open government by seeking to reduce the amount of information released to the public.

A confidential cabinet paper reveals that 18 months after Labour introduced laws allowing free access to government documents, it wants to block “the most difficult requests”.

The move by Lord Falconer, the constitutional affairs secretary, comes after a series of disclosures under the Freedom of Information Act have embarrassed ministers.

Government U-turn on free information – Sunday Times – Times Online

Banks to write off £4bn in bad debt

BANKING giants will this week announce they are writing off billions of pounds in bad debts while official figures show about 100,000 individuals might be declared bankrupt by the end of the year.

Analysts expect Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Barclays and Lloyds TSB to unveil combined bad-debt provisions of up to £4 billion because of the increasing number of people who are unable to honour their repayments.

The shock figures are likely to reignite debates over why Britons appear to be taking on unmanageable levels of debt and what the long-term impact of these bad loans is likely to be on the lenders.

Scotsman.com Business – Banking & Insurance – Banks to write off £4bn in bad debt

NHS & schools at risk from surge in immigration

A HUGE rise in immigration from Eastern Europe next year could cause chaos in schools and hospitals and spark a public backlash, according to a leaked government report.

It also gives warning that ministers may be forced to abandon their refusal to grant housing and welfare benefits, creating what it describes as an extra “pull factor”, attracting further immigrants.

The arrival of hundreds of thousands from abroad is already forcing down wages for low-paid workers with “serious implications” for social discord, the report insists. A “step change” in the level of immigration when Romania and Bulgaria join the EU next year could make things worse, it says.

NHS and schools ‘at risk from surge in EU immigration’ – World – Times Online

Firm handed £4bn NHS contract was overcharging

THE company at the centre of the biggest privatisation yet seen in the NHS will not save the health service money, according to an American manufacturer who has just won a settlement from it.

Novation has been under investigation for questionable business practices.

The Times revealed last week that the Texas-based company is expected to take responsibility for spending more than £4 billion a year of NHS money.

Novation and its German partner, DHL, will take charge of purchasing and distributing everything from bandages to hip implants.

The news has astonished critics of Novation in the US who say that the US Justice Department launched an investigation into the company and other group purchasing organisations (GPOs) in 2004 over claims that they had overcharged federal healthcare programmes for goods.

Firm handed £4bn NHS contract was invesitigated for overcharging – Britain – Times Online

Britain has the worst teenage pregnancy rates

Britain has the worst teenage pregnancy rates in Europe. According to Unicef, in 2004 almost 42,000 girls under 18 became pregnant, of whom 8,000 were aged 15 or younger. This year an 11-year-old girl entered the record books as the nation’s youngest mother.

So much to learn – English, maths and nappy-changing – Britain – Times Online