ED: So Cival servants arn't so stupid after all. How any honest person could maintain that snatching £5bn from the pension system would not have a seriously negative impact beggers belief. But don't worry Gordon and his mates' pensions are all gold plated so that they don't have to suffer like us prolitariate mugs.
Gordon Brown ignored repeated warnings that a tax raid on pension funds - one of his first moves in office - would cost savers billions of pounds a year.
Newly-released documents show that the Chancellor was told his money-raising scheme would hurt the poor and damage the savings industry.
The decision to scrap tax relief on dividends paid into retirement plans came in Mr Brown's first Budget in 1997, just weeks after Labour took power.
The move has been widely blamed for a crisis which has left huge shortfalls in pension pots and encouraged hundreds of firms to wind up their final-salary schemes.
The Chancellor has consistently denied that the pensions industry was harmed or that workers were left facing lower pension payments. As recently as Thursday he rejected accusations from MPs that he had blundered.
But documents that the Treasury was ordered to release under Freedom of Information rules reveal that back in 1997 senior officials were concerned at the impact of the tax grab.
"We agree that abolishing pension tax credits would make a big hole in pension scheme finances," they told Mr Brown.
The Treasury has fought for several years to prevent its advice to the Chancellor from being made public for fear that it would expose internal divisions.
A report from Terry Arthur, a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, warned last year the decision has cost pension savers at least £100billion. Other estimates make the losses even higher.
The papers, released late last night, show civil servants predicted the move would provoke "clamour and public consternation" and create "a big hole in pension scheme finances".
Mr Brown was told "there is therefore a very big uncertainty over the extent to which pension schemes could absorb the effect of the loss of tax credits".
The change would cost pension schemes between £3billion and £4billion a year and employers might have to contribute over £2billion a year more to keep them afloat, Mr Brown was advised.
He was told that money would need to be found to top up local authority schemes and that the value of pension funds could plunge immediately by £50billion.
The advice was also clear on who would be hardest hit: "The change would therefore lead to a reduction in pension benefits for the lower paid' while "those who are about to retire (or who have just retired) could be worst affected".
Some of the advice given to the Chancellor predicted the move could accelerate the closure of final salary pension schemes - something that has happened at an alarming rate since.
Ros Altman, a former adviser on pensions to Tony Blair, said: "They were knowingly embarking on the emasculation of the most successful pension system in the world.
"The Government came in with much hope that things would get better, then set about destroying the retirement security of so much of the population."
Mervyn Kohler of Help the Aged said: "This is staggering. There is a strong feeling among pensioners that they have been let down by this Government, and this information will only reinforce that perception."
Saturday, March 31, 2007
New Labour friend gets to boss the BBC
Tania Branigan, political correspondent at The Guardian 31.03.07
(ED: Welcome to the Tony/Gordon British Broadcasting Corporation. At least I will be able to see England and The F.A. Cup without visiting the P.C. and self admitted anti-christian and anti-conservative so-called media organisation.)
The government's adviser on council tax reforms, Sir Michael Lyons, is expected to take over the chairmanship of the BBC, it has emerged.
The role vacated by Michael Grade's defection to ITV last year has proved surprisingly unpopular despite its £140,000 salary, with a string of high-profile potential contenders ruling themselves out.
But the BBC is expected to announce Sir Michael's appointment shortly, after a selection panel chaired by a senior civil servant picked him from a four-strong shortlist. He must be approved by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, and then by the Privy Council, which advises the Queen, before the prime minister rubber-stamps the decision.
His closest challenger is thought to have been Chris Powell, a director of advertising agency DDB London, who played an influential role in helping to create New Labour in the 90s and whose brother Jonathan is Tony Blair's chief of staff.
Whitehall insiders speculated that Sir Michael had benefited from Gordon Brown's backing. The chancellor commissioned him to carry out a root and branch review of local government finance, but kicked his proposals into the long grass when the three-year study was finally published earlier this month.
(ED: Welcome to the Tony/Gordon British Broadcasting Corporation. At least I will be able to see England and The F.A. Cup without visiting the P.C. and self admitted anti-christian and anti-conservative so-called media organisation.)
The government's adviser on council tax reforms, Sir Michael Lyons, is expected to take over the chairmanship of the BBC, it has emerged.
The role vacated by Michael Grade's defection to ITV last year has proved surprisingly unpopular despite its £140,000 salary, with a string of high-profile potential contenders ruling themselves out.
But the BBC is expected to announce Sir Michael's appointment shortly, after a selection panel chaired by a senior civil servant picked him from a four-strong shortlist. He must be approved by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, and then by the Privy Council, which advises the Queen, before the prime minister rubber-stamps the decision.
His closest challenger is thought to have been Chris Powell, a director of advertising agency DDB London, who played an influential role in helping to create New Labour in the 90s and whose brother Jonathan is Tony Blair's chief of staff.
Whitehall insiders speculated that Sir Michael had benefited from Gordon Brown's backing. The chancellor commissioned him to carry out a root and branch review of local government finance, but kicked his proposals into the long grass when the three-year study was finally published earlier this month.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tony Blair spends 1billion on truancy and fails
Laura Clark at Daily Mail
Although ministers have spent £1billion trying to tackle truancy, figures show that almost a million children, aged 11 and over, dodged some of their lessons in the last school year.
Almost 220,000 "persistent absentees" miss the equivalent of nearly two days a week through truancy, illness or term-time holidays.
And the problem is much worse than previously thought. A new system of collecting data has found that truancy levels are 18 per cent higher than previous Government statistics showed. The difference amounts to an extra 7,000 skipping school every day.
Absence agreed by schools, including holidays taken during term and sick days, is also up.
The breakdown shows that almost 43,000 pupils a day skipped school in 2005/06 - against 36,200 under the old system for calculating absence, in the same year.
The old system of calculating truancy relied on averages compiled by schools once a year. The new data has been calculated by officials using raw information supplied by schools.
Even under that system, ministers had missed their targets on truancy. Their aim was to cut unauthorised absence by a third by 2002.
But they had to reduce their own target. The Government then said it wanted to cut truancy by ten per cent by 2004. But this did not happen either.
Truancy across primary and secondary schools rose to record levels last year. Although the new data so far covers only secondary schools, it is likely a similar trend of under-estimation will emerge at primary level.
Last year the Education Department said this Government had spent £885million on improving attendance and behaviour. The total is now thought to exceed £1billion.
It has been used for schemes such as town centre truancy sweeps, during which police and welfare staff question children found outside during school hours. Electronic registration systems have also been introduced. Meanwhile, Labour has introduced tougher sanctions against parents who condone truancy.
The Government has responded with another initiative - text message alerts for parents if children fail to turn up for registration.
Schools Minister Jim Knight said: "Parents have a critical role to play. We know from truancy sweeps that around half of all children caught out of school with no good reason are found with an adult."
(ED: So Big Big headlines about how Tony is going to sort out a terrible social evil, throw a lot of tax payers money at the problem, discovery that the problem is harder to sort out than all the alleged brains in New Labour thought it would be and then try to cover off the mess with a fatuous announcement. Seems like business as usual for Tony and New Labour.
Oh by the way Tony half the kids caught playing truant are with their parents so a text to the parents to tell them their child is not at school is even stupider than it first appears.)
Although ministers have spent £1billion trying to tackle truancy, figures show that almost a million children, aged 11 and over, dodged some of their lessons in the last school year.
Almost 220,000 "persistent absentees" miss the equivalent of nearly two days a week through truancy, illness or term-time holidays.
And the problem is much worse than previously thought. A new system of collecting data has found that truancy levels are 18 per cent higher than previous Government statistics showed. The difference amounts to an extra 7,000 skipping school every day.
Absence agreed by schools, including holidays taken during term and sick days, is also up.
The breakdown shows that almost 43,000 pupils a day skipped school in 2005/06 - against 36,200 under the old system for calculating absence, in the same year.
The old system of calculating truancy relied on averages compiled by schools once a year. The new data has been calculated by officials using raw information supplied by schools.
Even under that system, ministers had missed their targets on truancy. Their aim was to cut unauthorised absence by a third by 2002.
But they had to reduce their own target. The Government then said it wanted to cut truancy by ten per cent by 2004. But this did not happen either.
Truancy across primary and secondary schools rose to record levels last year. Although the new data so far covers only secondary schools, it is likely a similar trend of under-estimation will emerge at primary level.
Last year the Education Department said this Government had spent £885million on improving attendance and behaviour. The total is now thought to exceed £1billion.
It has been used for schemes such as town centre truancy sweeps, during which police and welfare staff question children found outside during school hours. Electronic registration systems have also been introduced. Meanwhile, Labour has introduced tougher sanctions against parents who condone truancy.
The Government has responded with another initiative - text message alerts for parents if children fail to turn up for registration.
Schools Minister Jim Knight said: "Parents have a critical role to play. We know from truancy sweeps that around half of all children caught out of school with no good reason are found with an adult."
(ED: So Big Big headlines about how Tony is going to sort out a terrible social evil, throw a lot of tax payers money at the problem, discovery that the problem is harder to sort out than all the alleged brains in New Labour thought it would be and then try to cover off the mess with a fatuous announcement. Seems like business as usual for Tony and New Labour.
Oh by the way Tony half the kids caught playing truant are with their parents so a text to the parents to tell them their child is not at school is even stupider than it first appears.)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
UK children living in poverty increases
Figures showing a 200,000 rise in UK children living in relative poverty last year have been described as a "moral disgrace" by Barnardo's.
The children's charity said ministers were a long way from honouring a pledge to halve child poverty by 2010.
In 2005-6 3.8m children were in poverty - in homes on less than 60% of average income including housing costs.
In the previous year the number of children living in relative poverty with housing costs taken into account was 3.6m.
With housing costs not deducted from incomes the number of children living below the relative poverty line was 2.8m, up from 2.7m in the year before.
The increases are the first recorded in six years; since 1998/99, 600,000 children have been lifted out of relative poverty.
But to reach their stated targets, ministers must now help lift a further 1.1 million children above the poverty line by 2010 - or 1.6 million after housing costs are included.
Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey said: "This is a moral disgrace. In 1999, we were all excited by the Government's determination to eradicate child poverty and, on the way, to halve it by 2010.
"It is now clear that what they meant was that they intended, not to halve child poverty by 2010, but to reduce it a bit."
Tony Blair's government hopes the launch of a new £150m child poverty strategy, which includes a programme to get parents into employment, will help hit its target.
Save the Children's UK director Colette Marshall said: "This vital target is slipping dangerously out of reach.
"It is only too clear that Gordon Brown's Budget announcements last week will not be enough to get the government back on track.
"We must now see a sense of urgency from the government to make the target achievable."
The children's charity said ministers were a long way from honouring a pledge to halve child poverty by 2010.
In 2005-6 3.8m children were in poverty - in homes on less than 60% of average income including housing costs.
In the previous year the number of children living in relative poverty with housing costs taken into account was 3.6m.
With housing costs not deducted from incomes the number of children living below the relative poverty line was 2.8m, up from 2.7m in the year before.
The increases are the first recorded in six years; since 1998/99, 600,000 children have been lifted out of relative poverty.
But to reach their stated targets, ministers must now help lift a further 1.1 million children above the poverty line by 2010 - or 1.6 million after housing costs are included.
Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey said: "This is a moral disgrace. In 1999, we were all excited by the Government's determination to eradicate child poverty and, on the way, to halve it by 2010.
"It is now clear that what they meant was that they intended, not to halve child poverty by 2010, but to reduce it a bit."
Tony Blair's government hopes the launch of a new £150m child poverty strategy, which includes a programme to get parents into employment, will help hit its target.
Save the Children's UK director Colette Marshall said: "This vital target is slipping dangerously out of reach.
"It is only too clear that Gordon Brown's Budget announcements last week will not be enough to get the government back on track.
"We must now see a sense of urgency from the government to make the target achievable."
Tony Blair: 'failed on sleaze'
Joe Murphy, Evening Standard 27.03.07
The "sacked" sleaze watchdog Sir Alistair Graham today accused Tony Blair of failing to clean up politics.
In his final report as chairman of the committee of standards in public life, he said the Prime Minister had not lived up to New Labour's rhetoric of being "purer than pure".
He said his "greatest regret" was that Mr Blair had not made high ethical standards a priority - with the result that public faith in the country's political leadership had been damaged.
Alistair leaves his post next month after Mr Blair refused to reappoint him for a further term, effectively sacking him.
and at times plain-spoken. Given the circumstances I have faced, I make no apologies for this."
The "sacked" sleaze watchdog Sir Alistair Graham today accused Tony Blair of failing to clean up politics.
In his final report as chairman of the committee of standards in public life, he said the Prime Minister had not lived up to New Labour's rhetoric of being "purer than pure".
He said his "greatest regret" was that Mr Blair had not made high ethical standards a priority - with the result that public faith in the country's political leadership had been damaged.
Alistair leaves his post next month after Mr Blair refused to reappoint him for a further term, effectively sacking him.
and at times plain-spoken. Given the circumstances I have faced, I make no apologies for this."
UK failing as more babies born with dangerously low weights
More babies are born at dangerously low birth weights in Britain now than in 1989, a report says.
The study was carried out by the Fabian Society, a left-leaning think-tank, which called the finding a "scar on the national conscience".
It calls for more financial support for at-risk women, better access to antenatal services and one-to-one care for all newborns in intensive care.
The researchers found that in 2006, 78 out of every 1,000 babies were born weighing less than 5lb8oz (2.5kg). That amounted to a total of more than 50,000 babies.
In 1989, 67 out of every 1,000 babies were born under weight.
Low-birth weight is linked to an increased risk death and disability, and a range of long-term health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and depression.
The report also found lone parents were nine times as likely to have a stillbirth as other parents.
Babies born to working-class mothers were twice as likely to die before their first birthday as those with middle-class parents.
"The facts should shock us all. Britain has the worst rate of every country in western Europe, except Greece.
"And being born very small creates health risks throughout life - and will affect the health of babies they will themselves have years later."
Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman said: "We have made important progress since 1997 on reducing child poverty and creating the early years agenda.
"We must now be bolder and develop the new policies to make building a fairer society the central theme of Labour's next term in office.
"The Fabian Society's evidence on inequalities at birth must be studied carefully by government and the Labour party. The political argument will need to be won too."
The study was carried out by the Fabian Society, a left-leaning think-tank, which called the finding a "scar on the national conscience".
It calls for more financial support for at-risk women, better access to antenatal services and one-to-one care for all newborns in intensive care.
The researchers found that in 2006, 78 out of every 1,000 babies were born weighing less than 5lb8oz (2.5kg). That amounted to a total of more than 50,000 babies.
In 1989, 67 out of every 1,000 babies were born under weight.
Low-birth weight is linked to an increased risk death and disability, and a range of long-term health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and depression.
The report also found lone parents were nine times as likely to have a stillbirth as other parents.
Babies born to working-class mothers were twice as likely to die before their first birthday as those with middle-class parents.
"The facts should shock us all. Britain has the worst rate of every country in western Europe, except Greece.
"And being born very small creates health risks throughout life - and will affect the health of babies they will themselves have years later."
Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman said: "We have made important progress since 1997 on reducing child poverty and creating the early years agenda.
"We must now be bolder and develop the new policies to make building a fairer society the central theme of Labour's next term in office.
"The Fabian Society's evidence on inequalities at birth must be studied carefully by government and the Labour party. The political argument will need to be won too."
Monday, March 26, 2007
601,000 Iraqi deaths survey 'was robust'
Owen Bennett-Jones - BBC World Service
The survey estimated that 601,000 deaths were the result of violence, mostly gunfire. The British government was advised against publicly criticising a report estimating that 655,000 Iraqis had died due to the war, the BBC has learnt.
Iraqi Health Ministry figures put the toll at less than 10% of the total in the survey, published in the Lancet.
But the Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser said the survey's methods were "close to best practice" and the study design was "robust".
Another statistician agreed the method was "tried and tested".
The Iraq government asks the country's hospitals to report the number of victims of terrorism or military action.
Critics say the system was not started until well after the invasion and requires over-pressed hospital staff not only to report daily, but also to distinguish between victims of terrorism and of crime.
The Lancet medical journal published its peer-reviewed survey last October. It was conducted by the John Hopkins School of Public Health and compared mortality rates before and after the invasion by surveying 47 randomly chosen areas across 16 provinces in Iraq.
The researchers spoke to nearly 1,850 families, comprising more than 12,800 people.
In nearly 92% of cases family members produced death certificates to support their answers. The survey estimated that 601,000 deaths were the result of violence, mostly gunfire.
Shortly after the publication of the survey in October last year Tony Blair's official spokesperson said the Lancet's figure was not anywhere near accurate.
He said the survey had used an extrapolation technique, from a relatively small sample from an area of Iraq that was not representative of the country as a whole.
One of the documents just released by the Foreign Office is an e-mail in which an official asks about the Lancet report: "Are we really sure the report is likely to be right? That is certainly what the brief implies."
The reply from another official is: "We do not accept the figures quoted in the Lancet survey as accurate. "
In the same e-mail the official later writes: "However, the survey methodology used here cannot be rubbished, it is a tried and tested way of measuring mortality in conflict zones."
Asked how the government can accept the Lancet's methodology but reject its findings, the government has issued a written statement in which it said: "The methodology has been used in other conflict situations, notably the Democratic republic of Congo.
"However, the Lancet figures are much higher than statistics from other sources, which only goes to show how estimates can vary enormously according to the method of collection.
"There is considerable debate amongst the scientific community over the accuracy of the figures."
If the Lancet survey is right, then 2.5% of the Iraqi population - an average of more than 500 people a day - have been killed since the start of the war.
(ED: I know who I would believe.)
The survey estimated that 601,000 deaths were the result of violence, mostly gunfire. The British government was advised against publicly criticising a report estimating that 655,000 Iraqis had died due to the war, the BBC has learnt.
Iraqi Health Ministry figures put the toll at less than 10% of the total in the survey, published in the Lancet.
But the Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser said the survey's methods were "close to best practice" and the study design was "robust".
Another statistician agreed the method was "tried and tested".
The Iraq government asks the country's hospitals to report the number of victims of terrorism or military action.
Critics say the system was not started until well after the invasion and requires over-pressed hospital staff not only to report daily, but also to distinguish between victims of terrorism and of crime.
The Lancet medical journal published its peer-reviewed survey last October. It was conducted by the John Hopkins School of Public Health and compared mortality rates before and after the invasion by surveying 47 randomly chosen areas across 16 provinces in Iraq.
The researchers spoke to nearly 1,850 families, comprising more than 12,800 people.
In nearly 92% of cases family members produced death certificates to support their answers. The survey estimated that 601,000 deaths were the result of violence, mostly gunfire.
Shortly after the publication of the survey in October last year Tony Blair's official spokesperson said the Lancet's figure was not anywhere near accurate.
He said the survey had used an extrapolation technique, from a relatively small sample from an area of Iraq that was not representative of the country as a whole.
One of the documents just released by the Foreign Office is an e-mail in which an official asks about the Lancet report: "Are we really sure the report is likely to be right? That is certainly what the brief implies."
The reply from another official is: "We do not accept the figures quoted in the Lancet survey as accurate. "
In the same e-mail the official later writes: "However, the survey methodology used here cannot be rubbished, it is a tried and tested way of measuring mortality in conflict zones."
Asked how the government can accept the Lancet's methodology but reject its findings, the government has issued a written statement in which it said: "The methodology has been used in other conflict situations, notably the Democratic republic of Congo.
"However, the Lancet figures are much higher than statistics from other sources, which only goes to show how estimates can vary enormously according to the method of collection.
"There is considerable debate amongst the scientific community over the accuracy of the figures."
If the Lancet survey is right, then 2.5% of the Iraqi population - an average of more than 500 people a day - have been killed since the start of the war.
(ED: I know who I would believe.)
Cabinet minister Kelly loses private education complaint
Cabinet minister Ruth Kelly has lost her complaint against the Daily Mirror, over its coverage of her decision to educate her son privately.
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) rejected her complaint that the story had breached her son's privacy.
The former education secretary decided to send him to a private school because of his learning difficulties.
The PCC said the Mirror had correctly balanced the public's right to know with the child's right to privacy.
In its ruling, the PCC said the issues raised in the article were "a matter of considerable public interest".
The fact that the complainant did not feel that the current state system could meet her child's requirements raised questions about the nature of publicly-funded schooling
PCC ruling
"The fact that a Cabinet minister - who had previously been Secretary of State for Education and Skills - had elected to remove her child from the state system to be enrolled in a private school raised important issues for public debate," it said.
"Even if government policy included an acceptance of private schooling for those with special needs, the fact that the complainant did not feel that the current state system could meet her child's requirements raised questions about the nature of publicly-funded schooling and its ability to cater for children with special needs - including those whose families would not be able to pay for private schooling."
A spokeswoman for Ms Kelly said she was very disappointed with the decision and she believed the PCC should have granted the same right of privacy to her child, that it does to others.
The story - that a Cabinet minister had sent their child to a private school - was first reported, without names, in the Mail on Sunday.
Ms Kelly, now the Communities Secretary, was named in the Mirror's story the next day, although her child was not. The issue of private education has long been controversial within the Labour Party.
Mirror editor Richard Wallace argued that it was "right and proper" to identify her, as her actions "were clearly at odds with government policy".
(ED: I am just glad that a socialist representative of the people can afford £15k a year private school fees, on top of the normal costs of supports four children, and opt out of her government's education decisions. It's a shame that most people she represents can't afford to opt out but that's New Labour socialism do as we say not as we do.)
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) rejected her complaint that the story had breached her son's privacy.
The former education secretary decided to send him to a private school because of his learning difficulties.
The PCC said the Mirror had correctly balanced the public's right to know with the child's right to privacy.
In its ruling, the PCC said the issues raised in the article were "a matter of considerable public interest".
The fact that the complainant did not feel that the current state system could meet her child's requirements raised questions about the nature of publicly-funded schooling
PCC ruling
"The fact that a Cabinet minister - who had previously been Secretary of State for Education and Skills - had elected to remove her child from the state system to be enrolled in a private school raised important issues for public debate," it said.
"Even if government policy included an acceptance of private schooling for those with special needs, the fact that the complainant did not feel that the current state system could meet her child's requirements raised questions about the nature of publicly-funded schooling and its ability to cater for children with special needs - including those whose families would not be able to pay for private schooling."
A spokeswoman for Ms Kelly said she was very disappointed with the decision and she believed the PCC should have granted the same right of privacy to her child, that it does to others.
The story - that a Cabinet minister had sent their child to a private school - was first reported, without names, in the Mail on Sunday.
Ms Kelly, now the Communities Secretary, was named in the Mirror's story the next day, although her child was not. The issue of private education has long been controversial within the Labour Party.
Mirror editor Richard Wallace argued that it was "right and proper" to identify her, as her actions "were clearly at odds with government policy".
(ED: I am just glad that a socialist representative of the people can afford £15k a year private school fees, on top of the normal costs of supports four children, and opt out of her government's education decisions. It's a shame that most people she represents can't afford to opt out but that's New Labour socialism do as we say not as we do.)
Tough on crime and causes of crime soft on criminals
Alastair Taylor at The Sun - March 26, 2007
A ROW erupted last night after it emerged thousands of prisoners have KEYS to their own cells.
The inmates have been given “privacy locks” to allow them personal space and protect belongings, inquiries by MPs showed.
The scheme — revealed by requests under freedom of information laws — was slammed as “turning prisons into hotels”.
It also emerged that some jails call inmates “residents” or “trainees”.
Figures showed that in Yorkshire alone 5,747 inmates have keys, some at open prisons and young offenders’ centres, but also at standard jails which hold serious criminals.
Prisons Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said it was in the interests of inmates’ rehabilitation and “decency”.
A ROW erupted last night after it emerged thousands of prisoners have KEYS to their own cells.
The inmates have been given “privacy locks” to allow them personal space and protect belongings, inquiries by MPs showed.
The scheme — revealed by requests under freedom of information laws — was slammed as “turning prisons into hotels”.
It also emerged that some jails call inmates “residents” or “trainees”.
Figures showed that in Yorkshire alone 5,747 inmates have keys, some at open prisons and young offenders’ centres, but also at standard jails which hold serious criminals.
Prisons Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said it was in the interests of inmates’ rehabilitation and “decency”.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Blunkett lands job with an ID cards company
Gordon Rayner at Mail on Sunday.
David Blunkett, the architect of the controversial identity card scheme, has landed a job with a U.S. firm which bids for ID contracts.
The former home secretary is working for Entrust, which provides the software for the company running Spain's national identity card system.
His job is to advise on "government relations" but Entrust insists he will not be lobbying the Home Office once the bidding process for ID cards begins here.
The anti-ID card pressure group NO2ID described Mr Blunkett's job as "distasteful", warning he might "recycle" his ID card ideas in other EU countries.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "We can't have a situation where a high-profile former minister, particularly one who was so involved in the ID card scheme, is employed by a company looking for lucrative Government contracts."
Mr Blunkett's last company directorship, with DNA Bioscience, led to his resignation from his post as work and pensions minister in November 2005 after it emerged he failed to clear the job with the advisory committee on business appointments.
(ED: What a good job Blunkett and his mates are not Tories because that would mean he was sleazy.)
David Blunkett, the architect of the controversial identity card scheme, has landed a job with a U.S. firm which bids for ID contracts.
The former home secretary is working for Entrust, which provides the software for the company running Spain's national identity card system.
His job is to advise on "government relations" but Entrust insists he will not be lobbying the Home Office once the bidding process for ID cards begins here.
The anti-ID card pressure group NO2ID described Mr Blunkett's job as "distasteful", warning he might "recycle" his ID card ideas in other EU countries.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "We can't have a situation where a high-profile former minister, particularly one who was so involved in the ID card scheme, is employed by a company looking for lucrative Government contracts."
Mr Blunkett's last company directorship, with DNA Bioscience, led to his resignation from his post as work and pensions minister in November 2005 after it emerged he failed to clear the job with the advisory committee on business appointments.
(ED: What a good job Blunkett and his mates are not Tories because that would mean he was sleazy.)
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Blair gov found lying again
John Carvel social affairs editor at The Guardian Friday - March 23, 2007
Health inspectors will publish conclusive evidence that the government's claim to have ended the scandal of mixed-sex psychiatric wards in the NHS was false, or at best misleading.
In a census of all mental health establishments in England and Wales, the Healthcare Commission found 55% of inpatients have to share sleeping accommodation or bathrooms with members of the opposite sex.
Last year ministers rejected a report from the National Patient Safety Agency that recorded at least 19 rapes of mental health patients in England, and more than 100 other improper sexual incidents in psychiatric units in the previous two years.
Lord Warner, then health minister, said the allegations of rape were unsubstantiated.
He told peers in July that 99% of NHS trusts providing mental health services met "single-sex objectives" that were set out in 2000, requiring all mental health units to provide totally separate sleeping, toilet and bathing accommodation for men and women.
Lord Warner said mixed sex wards were an exception that might apply to "a very small number of patients, when admitted as an emergency".
But the census - conducted by the commission and government-funded mental health agencies - found only 45% of the 32,000 inpatients in NHS or private sector psychiatric wards on March 31 last year had the benefit of single-sex accommodation.
Mind, the mental health charity, said patients reported alarming levels of abuse, harassment and intimidation on mixed-sex wards.
Paul Farmer, chief executive, said: "It is quite staggering how bad the mixed sex wards situation is. The NHS is putting some of the most vulnerable people in some of the most threatening and unpleasant environments."
ED: Does Blair's government have no shame whatsoever? Do they even get embarrassed anymore. Good job they are socialists otherwise they would get a real hardtime in the press.
Health inspectors will publish conclusive evidence that the government's claim to have ended the scandal of mixed-sex psychiatric wards in the NHS was false, or at best misleading.
In a census of all mental health establishments in England and Wales, the Healthcare Commission found 55% of inpatients have to share sleeping accommodation or bathrooms with members of the opposite sex.
Last year ministers rejected a report from the National Patient Safety Agency that recorded at least 19 rapes of mental health patients in England, and more than 100 other improper sexual incidents in psychiatric units in the previous two years.
Lord Warner, then health minister, said the allegations of rape were unsubstantiated.
He told peers in July that 99% of NHS trusts providing mental health services met "single-sex objectives" that were set out in 2000, requiring all mental health units to provide totally separate sleeping, toilet and bathing accommodation for men and women.
Lord Warner said mixed sex wards were an exception that might apply to "a very small number of patients, when admitted as an emergency".
But the census - conducted by the commission and government-funded mental health agencies - found only 45% of the 32,000 inpatients in NHS or private sector psychiatric wards on March 31 last year had the benefit of single-sex accommodation.
Mind, the mental health charity, said patients reported alarming levels of abuse, harassment and intimidation on mixed-sex wards.
Paul Farmer, chief executive, said: "It is quite staggering how bad the mixed sex wards situation is. The NHS is putting some of the most vulnerable people in some of the most threatening and unpleasant environments."
ED: Does Blair's government have no shame whatsoever? Do they even get embarrassed anymore. Good job they are socialists otherwise they would get a real hardtime in the press.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Boys do better with traditional reading methods
Boys can learn to beat girls at reading if they are given old-fashioned teaching methods, claim psychologists.
Under the synthetic phonics system, children are taught the sounds that make up words rather than guess at entire words from pictures and story context.
A study of synthetic phonics also found children from disadvantaged backgrounds do as well as those from better off homes.
The research, presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in York, has underpinned changes being made in the nation's classrooms.
They have been introduced after damning revelations that four in 10 children have failed to master the three Rs by the time they leave primary school.
"Teachers told us they had fewer disciplinary problems and less trouble in the playground because boys were succeeding and had higher self esteem."
Professor Johnston's work has been influential in persuading the Government to re-write its national literacy hour - returning to a system that dates back to Victorian times.
Synthetic phonics fell out of favour in the 1960s and 1970s in favour of progressive 'child-centred' learning that was championed for decades by educationalists in the Labour movement.
ED: Another serious error by well-meaning Labour socialists that has damaged thousands of children. Will they ever learn to take more care
Under the synthetic phonics system, children are taught the sounds that make up words rather than guess at entire words from pictures and story context.
A study of synthetic phonics also found children from disadvantaged backgrounds do as well as those from better off homes.
The research, presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in York, has underpinned changes being made in the nation's classrooms.
They have been introduced after damning revelations that four in 10 children have failed to master the three Rs by the time they leave primary school.
"Teachers told us they had fewer disciplinary problems and less trouble in the playground because boys were succeeding and had higher self esteem."
Professor Johnston's work has been influential in persuading the Government to re-write its national literacy hour - returning to a system that dates back to Victorian times.
Synthetic phonics fell out of favour in the 1960s and 1970s in favour of progressive 'child-centred' learning that was championed for decades by educationalists in the Labour movement.
ED: Another serious error by well-meaning Labour socialists that has damaged thousands of children. Will they ever learn to take more care
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
NHS could be only part free
The public services policy review launched on Monday by Tony Blair, the prime minister, and Gordon Brown, the chancellor.It says the government should “look at the possibility of drawing up a package of services that all users are entitled to”. Nice, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, could be asked to do that.
The health department confirmed it was “looking at the possibility in the normal process of policy development” and agreed that deciding what everyone was entitled to would also involve deciding “what they are not entitled to”.
Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, was deputy chairman of a pharmaceutical industry-financed study in 1995 that called for restrictions on free services. But she disowned the report on becoming health secretary, saying the government’s big increase in NHS spending removed the need for such measures.
(source: The Financial Times)
ED: Thank goodness Tony Blair saved the NHS from privatisation
The health department confirmed it was “looking at the possibility in the normal process of policy development” and agreed that deciding what everyone was entitled to would also involve deciding “what they are not entitled to”.
Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, was deputy chairman of a pharmaceutical industry-financed study in 1995 that called for restrictions on free services. But she disowned the report on becoming health secretary, saying the government’s big increase in NHS spending removed the need for such measures.
(source: The Financial Times)
ED: Thank goodness Tony Blair saved the NHS from privatisation
Actual rubbish figures from New Labour
Concerns are increasing ahead of the Budget that the quality of official data is being compromised by the loss of skilled staff at the Office for National Statistics as it relocates to Newport, south Wales.
About a third of the government department's London-based staff have resigned, retired early or taken redundancy in the first phase of the shift this year, and only about 40 of the 600 staff have thus far accepted the offer to move.
The ONS has announced that this year's "Blue Book", its annual cross-check on the accuracy of the national accounts, will not be published in full, "creating some temporary additional uncertainty about the path of the economy".The annual statement of the UK's balance of
payments will "include less analysis than usual".
The Bank of England has expressed concerns that planned improvements to the measurement of the service sector have been delayed. Preparations for the 2011 population census are falling behind, as are plans to collect improved migration data. The ONS has also admitted that a survey on wealth is behind schedule.
The last time the government cut funding for statistics - in the 1980s - it took several years for inaccuracies to become apparent. Lord Lawson, then chancellor, has since blamed the failings of his economic policies on poor data.
(source: The Financial Times)
ED: That's alright then we can have real rubbish economic figures just in time for the Blair Brown swop. There will now be no way for anyone to contradict New Labour claims.
About a third of the government department's London-based staff have resigned, retired early or taken redundancy in the first phase of the shift this year, and only about 40 of the 600 staff have thus far accepted the offer to move.
The ONS has announced that this year's "Blue Book", its annual cross-check on the accuracy of the national accounts, will not be published in full, "creating some temporary additional uncertainty about the path of the economy".The annual statement of the UK's balance of
payments will "include less analysis than usual".
The Bank of England has expressed concerns that planned improvements to the measurement of the service sector have been delayed. Preparations for the 2011 population census are falling behind, as are plans to collect improved migration data. The ONS has also admitted that a survey on wealth is behind schedule.
The last time the government cut funding for statistics - in the 1980s - it took several years for inaccuracies to become apparent. Lord Lawson, then chancellor, has since blamed the failings of his economic policies on poor data.
(source: The Financial Times)
ED: That's alright then we can have real rubbish economic figures just in time for the Blair Brown swop. There will now be no way for anyone to contradict New Labour claims.
Home Office gives terrorists British passports
An estimated 10,000 British passports were issued to fraudulent applicants last year by the Home Office Home Secretary John Reid.
The man who plotted to use a radioactive "dirty bomb" in London was issued with nine passports, the Home Secretary John Reid admitted today.
Seven of these were issued in his own name and two in false identities-Dhiren Barot was one of two terrorists who managed to obtain passports fraudulently.
Barot, 34, from Kingsbury, north-west London, was convicted last year of conspiring to murder large numbers of civilians in the capital by blowing up gas cylinders and detonating a dirty bomb.
The second terrorist is Salaheddine Benyaich, a Moroccan national currently serving 18 years in his home country for involvement in the al Qaeda-inspired Casablanca bombings.
The astonishing development came as the Home Office was forced to admit up to 10,000 people had managed to obtain passports by deception in the past year.
Minister Joan Ryan revealed the Identity and Passport Service received 16,500 suspicious applications between October 2005 to September And although "almost half" were stopped by existing safeguards, the minister said the remainder went undetected.
Also obtaining false passports are illegal immigrants and members of organised crime gangs.
(Obviously due to the Home Office incompetence all law abiding citizens have to pay large sums for a new style passport and be inconvenienced - ED)
The man who plotted to use a radioactive "dirty bomb" in London was issued with nine passports, the Home Secretary John Reid admitted today.
Seven of these were issued in his own name and two in false identities-Dhiren Barot was one of two terrorists who managed to obtain passports fraudulently.
Barot, 34, from Kingsbury, north-west London, was convicted last year of conspiring to murder large numbers of civilians in the capital by blowing up gas cylinders and detonating a dirty bomb.
The second terrorist is Salaheddine Benyaich, a Moroccan national currently serving 18 years in his home country for involvement in the al Qaeda-inspired Casablanca bombings.
The astonishing development came as the Home Office was forced to admit up to 10,000 people had managed to obtain passports by deception in the past year.
Minister Joan Ryan revealed the Identity and Passport Service received 16,500 suspicious applications between October 2005 to September And although "almost half" were stopped by existing safeguards, the minister said the remainder went undetected.
Also obtaining false passports are illegal immigrants and members of organised crime gangs.
(Obviously due to the Home Office incompetence all law abiding citizens have to pay large sums for a new style passport and be inconvenienced - ED)
Monday, March 19, 2007
Income tax and insurance double under Labour
Gordon Brown has added the equivalent of 7p in the pound to the income tax paid by every worker since Labour came to power, it has emerged.
In total, Britain's 29 million workers are paying £2.3 billion more income tax and National Insurance each week than they were in 1997.
Before Labour came to power, the two taxes were worth £115billion a year, but this has since doubled to £230 billion.
Maurice Fitzpatrick, of accountants Grant Thornton, blamed the fact that thresholds for the amount exempt from tax are raised in line with prices, rather than earnings growth. This means personal allowances rise much more slowly than salaries, trapping workers into paying more tax.
(Daily Mail 18.03.2007)
In total, Britain's 29 million workers are paying £2.3 billion more income tax and National Insurance each week than they were in 1997.
Before Labour came to power, the two taxes were worth £115billion a year, but this has since doubled to £230 billion.
Maurice Fitzpatrick, of accountants Grant Thornton, blamed the fact that thresholds for the amount exempt from tax are raised in line with prices, rather than earnings growth. This means personal allowances rise much more slowly than salaries, trapping workers into paying more tax.
(Daily Mail 18.03.2007)
£19bn for NHS but only £6bn for patient care
More Health Service money has gone on pay rises over the past four years than on improving patient care, an analysis has shown.
Of the extra £19billion that has been ploughed into the NHS since 2003, £6.6billion has been spent on improved pay for doctors and nurses, says the report by King's Fund.
This compares with only £5.9billion for improvements such as cutting waiting times, employing extra staff and enabling the elderly to leave hospital sooner.
The analysis also claims that despite their huge pay rises, GPs and hospital consultants have been doing less work.
Consultants have seen their pay go up by 70 per cent, yet their productivity has fallen by 20 per cent as judged by the number of in-patients admitted per consultant, says King's Fund - an independent charitable foundation working for better health.
More than 90 per cent of GPs have opted out of their responsibility to see patients outside working hours.
King's Fund chief economist John Appleby said: 'This NHS could have got more for its money, and could have used all that extra money more efficiently for patient benefit. 'For example, it could have ensured a productivity clause was inserted in the consultants' contracts.'
The analysis found that of the £19billion, £6.6billion - 34 per cent - had gone on increased pay.
The rising cost of drugs and the implementation of guidance from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence accounted for £2.2billion.
Some £1.6billion went on hiring more doctors to comply with new European Union employment laws cutting the number of hours people could work.
Although this put more medics on the NHS payroll, they do the same amount of work as fewer staff did before, said King's Fund.
New buildings and equipment accounted for another £1.1billion, and £1billion was spent on medical equipment. Another £600million was spent on payouts after negligence lawsuits.
This left only £5.9billion for solid improvements to patient care, said the analysis found.
NHS funding has leapt from £ 35billion when Labour took office to £92billion in 2007/08. But the rises are expected to slow sharply after 2008. A survey of NHS trust chief executives last month found that more than two-thirds blamed the financial problems of the NHS on rising pay for GPs and consultants.
One said there had been 'funding increases like we never dreamed and we blew it'.
Of the extra £19billion that has been ploughed into the NHS since 2003, £6.6billion has been spent on improved pay for doctors and nurses, says the report by King's Fund.
This compares with only £5.9billion for improvements such as cutting waiting times, employing extra staff and enabling the elderly to leave hospital sooner.
The analysis also claims that despite their huge pay rises, GPs and hospital consultants have been doing less work.
Consultants have seen their pay go up by 70 per cent, yet their productivity has fallen by 20 per cent as judged by the number of in-patients admitted per consultant, says King's Fund - an independent charitable foundation working for better health.
More than 90 per cent of GPs have opted out of their responsibility to see patients outside working hours.
King's Fund chief economist John Appleby said: 'This NHS could have got more for its money, and could have used all that extra money more efficiently for patient benefit. 'For example, it could have ensured a productivity clause was inserted in the consultants' contracts.'
The analysis found that of the £19billion, £6.6billion - 34 per cent - had gone on increased pay.
The rising cost of drugs and the implementation of guidance from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence accounted for £2.2billion.
Some £1.6billion went on hiring more doctors to comply with new European Union employment laws cutting the number of hours people could work.
Although this put more medics on the NHS payroll, they do the same amount of work as fewer staff did before, said King's Fund.
New buildings and equipment accounted for another £1.1billion, and £1billion was spent on medical equipment. Another £600million was spent on payouts after negligence lawsuits.
This left only £5.9billion for solid improvements to patient care, said the analysis found.
NHS funding has leapt from £ 35billion when Labour took office to £92billion in 2007/08. But the rises are expected to slow sharply after 2008. A survey of NHS trust chief executives last month found that more than two-thirds blamed the financial problems of the NHS on rising pay for GPs and consultants.
One said there had been 'funding increases like we never dreamed and we blew it'.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
NHS cash floods into staff salaries
Patients miss out as NHS cash floods in Salaries soaked up new funds, reveals damning report Denis Campbell, Jo Revill and Ned TemkoSunday March 18, 2007The Observer
Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money pumped into the National Health Service has gone on improving the salaries of GPs and consultants and paying for increased pensions rather than on improvements in patient care and frontline services.
A damning report by the highly respected health think-tank, the King's Fund, reveals that productivity in the health service has actually declined, despite the huge injection of cash.
The report reveals that only 30 pence in every pound of the Government's record NHS budget has been aimed at directly improving patient care. As well as salaries, the rest has gone on a growing bill for clinical negligence payouts and rising drug costs.
The King's Fund report, based on the most detailed and authoritative analysis yet of Labour's trebling of health spending, will make difficult reading for government ministers alarmed at criticism of the impact of their health reforms. The government has increased spending on the NHS by £57 billion since 1997.
On Tuesday Tony Blair and Gordon Brown will face further criticism when an influential group of MPs is expected to single out ministers' mishandling of national pay deals as one reason for the current financial crisis in a number of local health trusts.
The hard-hitting report from the Commons spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee will say that the GPs' contract alone cost £300m more than expected, and there were also above-budget deals with consultants and other NHS staff. One PAC member, Labour MP Don Touhig, said during the committee hearings that ministers and NHS leaders had simply 'caved in' as if they had 'had their own mint'.
The author of the King's Fund study, economist John Appleby, said the figures showed why hopes had been dashed that tens of billions of extra NHS spending would mean major improvements in frontline care. Patients had benefited far less than they should have, he said.
His research discloses that 34 per cent of the £19bn which the government has put directly into hospital and community health services in England since 2003 went on more pay for clinical staff. However, productivity levels among GPs, consultants and nurses have nowhere near matched the scale of the increase in the NHS's funding in England, which has gone up from £35bn in 1997 to £92bn in 2007-08.
While consultants have seen their pay scales go up by 70 per cent under Labour, their productivity had actually fallen by 20 per cent over the same period, judged by the number of in-patients admitted per consultant, said Appleby. Similarly, the number of in-patient admissions per nurse fell by 15 per cent, and GPs are not markedly more productive than before they got hefty pay rises in 2004, he added.
Appleby's analysis shows that of the £19bn:
· £6.6bn went on pay
· £2.2bn on the rising cost of drugs, and implementing recommendations by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence treatment advisors
· £1.6bn on hiring more doctors to comply with new EU employment laws on number of hours worked
· £1.1bn on new buildings and equipment
· £1bn on medical equipment and £600m on negligence lawsuits.
After all that, just £5.9bn was left for direct improvements, which include reduced waiting lists, much greater use of day surgery, larger numbers of doctors, nurses and consultants, and elderly patients spending far less time in hospital, he said.
'The NHS could have got more for its money, and could have used all that extra money more efficiently for patient benefit,' he said. 'For example, it could have ensured a productivity clause was inserted in the consultants' contracts.'
In an interview with The Observer, Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, said her predecessor John Reid was right to spend so much of the NHS budget on pay rises because it was facing a potential personnel crisis due to problems with recruiting and retaining key staff.
But she admitted that 'with hindsight' ministers should have changed commissioning, the process through which primary care trusts buy a certain amount of operations and procedures from local hospitals. The NHS needs to 'build up a culture' in which the trusts - in a drive to get better value for money - could challenge a hospital if, for example, patients were staying much longer than other hospitals who were managing to discharge them faster, thus saving the NHS about £500-a-night.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee, dismissed Appleby's comments about consultants as 'convenient, simplistic and an easy hit' but admitted that 'around two-thirds of consultants are being forced to see fewer patients because of the financial restrictions in the NHS and the Government's policy of fewer patients being treated in hospitals.'
Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money pumped into the National Health Service has gone on improving the salaries of GPs and consultants and paying for increased pensions rather than on improvements in patient care and frontline services.
A damning report by the highly respected health think-tank, the King's Fund, reveals that productivity in the health service has actually declined, despite the huge injection of cash.
The report reveals that only 30 pence in every pound of the Government's record NHS budget has been aimed at directly improving patient care. As well as salaries, the rest has gone on a growing bill for clinical negligence payouts and rising drug costs.
The King's Fund report, based on the most detailed and authoritative analysis yet of Labour's trebling of health spending, will make difficult reading for government ministers alarmed at criticism of the impact of their health reforms. The government has increased spending on the NHS by £57 billion since 1997.
On Tuesday Tony Blair and Gordon Brown will face further criticism when an influential group of MPs is expected to single out ministers' mishandling of national pay deals as one reason for the current financial crisis in a number of local health trusts.
The hard-hitting report from the Commons spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee will say that the GPs' contract alone cost £300m more than expected, and there were also above-budget deals with consultants and other NHS staff. One PAC member, Labour MP Don Touhig, said during the committee hearings that ministers and NHS leaders had simply 'caved in' as if they had 'had their own mint'.
The author of the King's Fund study, economist John Appleby, said the figures showed why hopes had been dashed that tens of billions of extra NHS spending would mean major improvements in frontline care. Patients had benefited far less than they should have, he said.
His research discloses that 34 per cent of the £19bn which the government has put directly into hospital and community health services in England since 2003 went on more pay for clinical staff. However, productivity levels among GPs, consultants and nurses have nowhere near matched the scale of the increase in the NHS's funding in England, which has gone up from £35bn in 1997 to £92bn in 2007-08.
While consultants have seen their pay scales go up by 70 per cent under Labour, their productivity had actually fallen by 20 per cent over the same period, judged by the number of in-patients admitted per consultant, said Appleby. Similarly, the number of in-patient admissions per nurse fell by 15 per cent, and GPs are not markedly more productive than before they got hefty pay rises in 2004, he added.
Appleby's analysis shows that of the £19bn:
· £6.6bn went on pay
· £2.2bn on the rising cost of drugs, and implementing recommendations by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence treatment advisors
· £1.6bn on hiring more doctors to comply with new EU employment laws on number of hours worked
· £1.1bn on new buildings and equipment
· £1bn on medical equipment and £600m on negligence lawsuits.
After all that, just £5.9bn was left for direct improvements, which include reduced waiting lists, much greater use of day surgery, larger numbers of doctors, nurses and consultants, and elderly patients spending far less time in hospital, he said.
'The NHS could have got more for its money, and could have used all that extra money more efficiently for patient benefit,' he said. 'For example, it could have ensured a productivity clause was inserted in the consultants' contracts.'
In an interview with The Observer, Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, said her predecessor John Reid was right to spend so much of the NHS budget on pay rises because it was facing a potential personnel crisis due to problems with recruiting and retaining key staff.
But she admitted that 'with hindsight' ministers should have changed commissioning, the process through which primary care trusts buy a certain amount of operations and procedures from local hospitals. The NHS needs to 'build up a culture' in which the trusts - in a drive to get better value for money - could challenge a hospital if, for example, patients were staying much longer than other hospitals who were managing to discharge them faster, thus saving the NHS about £500-a-night.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee, dismissed Appleby's comments about consultants as 'convenient, simplistic and an easy hit' but admitted that 'around two-thirds of consultants are being forced to see fewer patients because of the financial restrictions in the NHS and the Government's policy of fewer patients being treated in hospitals.'
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