A radical review of the welfare system carried out by David Freud is welcomed today by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and the Secretary of State for Works and Pensions John Hutton.
David Freud, who was asked by John Hutton to carry out the review, said:
"This is a radical reform designed to reduce social dependency of the most disadvantaged. GOOD
I am proposing a structure in which the private and voluntary sector would be prepared to invest substantial sums YOU MUST BE JOKING!!!!!!
With minimal risk to the state"
What school do these clowns go to that Labour keep digging up to produce these reports?
Monday, 5 March 2007
Saturday, 24 February 2007
Yet Another Pointless Stupid Law
It is now illegal to obstruct emergency workers and you can now be fined £5000.
Anyone who wilfully gets in the way of firefighters, ambulance crews, coastguards or lifeboat crews could faces charges.
Home Office minister Gerry Sutcliffe said "Such behaviour will not be tolerated, and deliberate attempts to prevent emergency workers from doing their jobs will face a stiff penalty."
Wake up and get real you blockhead.
In the majority of cases, it is firefighters who are attacked.
Quite often they are pelted with stones by gangs of children between the ages of 8 to 14, usually on estates where the only person likely to know what £5000 looks like is the local drugs dealer.
Wake up and get real you blockhead.
Anyone who wilfully gets in the way of firefighters, ambulance crews, coastguards or lifeboat crews could faces charges.
Home Office minister Gerry Sutcliffe said "Such behaviour will not be tolerated, and deliberate attempts to prevent emergency workers from doing their jobs will face a stiff penalty."
Wake up and get real you blockhead.
In the majority of cases, it is firefighters who are attacked.
Quite often they are pelted with stones by gangs of children between the ages of 8 to 14, usually on estates where the only person likely to know what £5000 looks like is the local drugs dealer.
Wake up and get real you blockhead.
Friday, 23 February 2007
Higher tax for homes enjoying peace and quiet
Plans to hit thousands of home owners with higher council tax penalties because their houses enjoy pleasant views and 'peace and quiet' have been discovered.
Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman has accused Gordon Brown of converting council tax into a cynical and punishing tax on the quality of life. "Council tax is literally becoming a tax on a civilised society, with the extra funds raised from taxing nice neighbourhoods being 'redistributed' away to Gordon Brown's coffers.
Repeated denials that the Chancellor is planning to tax nice neighbourhoods in the forthcoming council tax revaluation in England have been discredited by controversial new documents exposed by the Conservatives, who have forced the Valuation Office Agency - an arm of HM Revenue & Customs - to publish the internal handbook they used in the controversial 2005 council tax revaluation in Wales.
The secret manuals, never before placed in the public domain, reveal that many homes with features like being near shops and public transport, with pleasant views or with "peace and quiet", were penalised with higher council tax bills. Building on the experience in Wales, the Treasury has rolled out an even more sophisticated neighbourhood tax in Northern Ireland for this April's revaluation, with plans for the system to be used comprehensively in the looming council tax revaluation in England.
The official taxmen's manual shows that as a pilot for the new neighbourhood tax system, mobile and park homes were given higher council tax bills for features such as "convenience of public transport facilities", "peace and quiet", "shop providing basic groceries", "pleasant views" and "good security".
And revaluation documents for all homes in the exercise reveal that kitchen units, bathrooms suites, double glazing and central heating were recorded by inspectors to help drive up bills - especially if the homes were on the cusp of a higher council tax band.
Commenting, Mrs Spelman said: "This is proof that Gordon Brown has turned council tax into a punishing and cynical tax on people's quality of life, by increasing council tax bills if you live near shops, near a bus stop, or live in a neighbourhood with peace and quiet. It is no wonder that the revaluation in Wales forced council tax bills to soar for so many homes. Northern Ireland is facing the same treatment from April, and I fear England and Scotland will follow."
She declared: "It is deeply worrying that householders had to fill in intrusive questionnaires about every aspect of their property, with the veiled threat of a compulsory inspection of their private home if they resisted. The only reason the tax inspectors want this information is to tax home improvements, even though people have already paid income tax and VAT to pay for doing up their home."
Mrs Spelman stated: "Council tax is literally becoming a tax on a civilised society, with the extra funds raised from taxing nice neighbourhoods being 'redistributed' away to Gordon Brown's coffers. This is the hallmark of an oppressive and greedy government - finding ever more stealthy ways to tax working families and pensioners, and trampling over privacy when it suits Labour Ministers."
Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman has accused Gordon Brown of converting council tax into a cynical and punishing tax on the quality of life. "Council tax is literally becoming a tax on a civilised society, with the extra funds raised from taxing nice neighbourhoods being 'redistributed' away to Gordon Brown's coffers.
Repeated denials that the Chancellor is planning to tax nice neighbourhoods in the forthcoming council tax revaluation in England have been discredited by controversial new documents exposed by the Conservatives, who have forced the Valuation Office Agency - an arm of HM Revenue & Customs - to publish the internal handbook they used in the controversial 2005 council tax revaluation in Wales.
The secret manuals, never before placed in the public domain, reveal that many homes with features like being near shops and public transport, with pleasant views or with "peace and quiet", were penalised with higher council tax bills. Building on the experience in Wales, the Treasury has rolled out an even more sophisticated neighbourhood tax in Northern Ireland for this April's revaluation, with plans for the system to be used comprehensively in the looming council tax revaluation in England.
The official taxmen's manual shows that as a pilot for the new neighbourhood tax system, mobile and park homes were given higher council tax bills for features such as "convenience of public transport facilities", "peace and quiet", "shop providing basic groceries", "pleasant views" and "good security".
And revaluation documents for all homes in the exercise reveal that kitchen units, bathrooms suites, double glazing and central heating were recorded by inspectors to help drive up bills - especially if the homes were on the cusp of a higher council tax band.
Commenting, Mrs Spelman said: "This is proof that Gordon Brown has turned council tax into a punishing and cynical tax on people's quality of life, by increasing council tax bills if you live near shops, near a bus stop, or live in a neighbourhood with peace and quiet. It is no wonder that the revaluation in Wales forced council tax bills to soar for so many homes. Northern Ireland is facing the same treatment from April, and I fear England and Scotland will follow."
She declared: "It is deeply worrying that householders had to fill in intrusive questionnaires about every aspect of their property, with the veiled threat of a compulsory inspection of their private home if they resisted. The only reason the tax inspectors want this information is to tax home improvements, even though people have already paid income tax and VAT to pay for doing up their home."
Mrs Spelman stated: "Council tax is literally becoming a tax on a civilised society, with the extra funds raised from taxing nice neighbourhoods being 'redistributed' away to Gordon Brown's coffers. This is the hallmark of an oppressive and greedy government - finding ever more stealthy ways to tax working families and pensioners, and trampling over privacy when it suits Labour Ministers."
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
Yet More Town Hall Taliban
Government gets tough on Software Compliance
Trading standards officers will soon have powers to check companies’ software licences without warning.
The Federation Against Software Theft (Fast) has welcomed an announcement by trade and industry minister Malcolm Wicks that from 6 April new powers under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act will now be at the disposal of Trading Standards.
Should this be funded by the likes of Bill Gates and Adobe?
Why should we be paying for these already mega rich companies to get even richer?
Yet another Law and even more intrusion.
Trading standards officers will soon have powers to check companies’ software licences without warning.
The Federation Against Software Theft (Fast) has welcomed an announcement by trade and industry minister Malcolm Wicks that from 6 April new powers under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act will now be at the disposal of Trading Standards.
Should this be funded by the likes of Bill Gates and Adobe?
Why should we be paying for these already mega rich companies to get even richer?
Yet another Law and even more intrusion.
Jack "I'm in Charge" Straw
Understand that Jack Straw wanted to present four proposals to Parliament for the modernisation (closure) of the House of Lords.
Because the last attempt was booted out by MP's the cunning Jack invented a new method of voting.
Basically, whichever way MP's would vote would give Jack the result he wanted.
Needless to say MP's give this idea very short shrift.
The last two people I can think of who operated this way were Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin.
Don't worry Jack, come the revolution your name is in the little book and your space against the wall is reserved.
Because the last attempt was booted out by MP's the cunning Jack invented a new method of voting.
Basically, whichever way MP's would vote would give Jack the result he wanted.
Needless to say MP's give this idea very short shrift.
The last two people I can think of who operated this way were Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin.
Don't worry Jack, come the revolution your name is in the little book and your space against the wall is reserved.
Minister calls for improvements to mental health services for BME patients
Rosie Winterton, MP, today called for "rapid improvement in the way mental health services respond to the needs of BME patients".
Launching 'Positive Steps' a new resource for health professionals at the Delivering Race Equality in Mental Healthcare (DRE) Conference in Coventry, the Minister of State for Health Services said:
"One in five people treated in hospital for a mental health problem comes from a black and minority ethnic background. Although some of the reasons for this - such as social exclusion - cannot be tackled by the NHS in isolation, we still have a moral and legal duty to do more.
Well done girlie, now what about the other four out of five?
Launching 'Positive Steps' a new resource for health professionals at the Delivering Race Equality in Mental Healthcare (DRE) Conference in Coventry, the Minister of State for Health Services said:
"One in five people treated in hospital for a mental health problem comes from a black and minority ethnic background. Although some of the reasons for this - such as social exclusion - cannot be tackled by the NHS in isolation, we still have a moral and legal duty to do more.
Well done girlie, now what about the other four out of five?
Saturday, 17 February 2007
In Control (Not)
Whilst Labour bring in more laws than Hitler and Stalin restricting the liberty of the private individual they are still afraid to tackle business.
UK waste packaging has increased by 12% since Blair and his cronies came to power now they threaten the individual with yet another tax in trying to dispose of it.
UK waste packaging has increased by 12% since Blair and his cronies came to power now they threaten the individual with yet another tax in trying to dispose of it.
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