Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ft/westminster/~3/n3OHj-b799g/
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Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Govt?s pension tax could hit public sector workers
I wrote this week about talks between the Tories and Lib Dems about the possibility of lowering the cap for how much workers can put into their pension pots while still enjoying tax relief. Since then a couple of pensions …
SSAS loans ? Five conditions for the principal and associated companies
The rules state; The maximum loan is 50% of net assets of the scheme at the time of the loan. The loan is for a maximum period of five years. The interest rate has to be a minimum of 1% … Continue reading
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Win a copy of Medical Ethics Today
The BMA handbook of ethics and law – RRP �125 – 15% discount for BMA members Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BMADailyFeed/~3/yIXrTAN7zVs/RTHS-8RVJRU pension release annuity inheritance tax pension calculator nhs pension
Source: http://www.annuityratesuk.info/win-a-copy-of-medical-ethics-today/
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Hip replacement fiasco highlights regulatory failings in Europe | Carl Heneghan
Regulation of medical devices such as hip implants is a mess, with low approval standards and no public access to clinical data
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced yesterday that 49,000 out of 65,000 patients who have received metal-on-metal hip replacements will need annual tests for the life of their implants to monitor for problems.
While the additional vigilance is welcome it has come far too late for many patients. An investigation by the BMJ and the BBC's Newsnight programme has highlighted all that is wrong with the current regulation of medical devices.
It has been shown that metal-on-metal hip implants are failing at astonishingly high rates ? in some case series, half of all hip replacements had to be removed after six years. In addition, failing hips are leaking chromium and cobalt into the surrounding tissues and the bloodstream at far higher rates than have been seen before. This has caused substantial concerns over increasing cancer risk, which has led to the need for follow-up blood tests on patients for life.
One of the metal-on-metal hip implant manufacturers knew of the risk of cancer as far back as 2005. Deborah Cohen's investigation in the BMJ states: "A DePuy internal memo from July 2005, says: "In addition to inducing potential changes in immune function, there has been concern for some time that wear debris may be carcinogenic."
The MHRA discussed this increased cancer risk in 2006 at their device safety meeting, but they did little about the problem despite mounting data pointing to growing concerns.
The authority's line is that clinical data is required to get European CE approval and so studies must be undertaken prior to a device coming on to the market. But can you get hold of this clinical data? Any attempt to gain access to clinical data held by the regulators, known as "notified bodies", will prove futile due to concerns about commercial confidentiality and other problems with transparency.
In the US, where regulatory data and the clinical data are publicly accessible, the situation is completely different.
The absurdity of the current system is highlighted by the minutes of a meeting of the MHRA's safety of devices committee in 2009 which states:
It was also noted that MHRA does not see the clinical data that is generated from a clinical trial prior to it being submitted to a Notified Body as part of a conformity assessment process. The only way they see it is if there is an adverse event or concerns raised. It is not mandatory for manufacturers to present their final report to the Competent Authority.
This leaves us in a situation where no one really knows, including the regulators, what data was submitted by whom, and on what date, for a device to be allowed access to the European market.
Criteria for approval of devices are radically different in Europe than America. For example, in Europe the "GuardWire" developed by PercuSurge for use during angioplasty procedures (to facilitate placement of a stent in the vessels of the heart) required a study involving only 22 patients and no control group in Europe for approval. By contrast in the US, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required a multicentre randomised trial involving 800 patients before it would grant approval.
Even in the US, hip replacements are giving rise to substantial regulatory problems. Last month the FDA accused Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics of selling 14 different types of medical device without the necessary approval.
Jeffrey Shuren, the FDA's medical device regulator director said yesterday "the agency needs more power to block unsafe products and prevent repeats of faulty hip implants."
Meanwhile there is little appetite for change in Europe.
The major issue with the current system is the use of "equivalence" for approval of devices. That is, if my device is similar to another manufacturer's device on the market, then I don't need clinical trials and can settle for a lower level of data for regulatory approval.
A search among the European device directives reveals the real meaning of "clinical data". First, it is left to the discretion of the notified bodies as to the extent and nature of clinical data required for the approval of even the highest-risk devices. Second, clinical data can refer to "a critical evaluation of the relevant scientific literature currently available relating to the safety, performance, design characteristics and intended purpose of the device".
The current regulatory situation is a mess. A change in regulatory policy is needed. It seems the US gets it, but as for the EU, who knows.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2012/feb/29/hip-implant-fiasco-regulatory-failings
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Annual Investment Allowance and the timing of GPs' security systems
I recently had a conversation with the practice manager of a large GP practice in the West Midlands. We had recently advised the practice on several development areas, both NHS and non-NHS revenue related.
One result of this investment was the furnishing of a state of the art conference room and suite. The practice took advantage of the 2011 Annual Investment Allowance.
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Pension Forecast
lawful/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/privacy.php http://www.pensionforecast.org/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/privacy.php http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/aviva-reports-people-over-55-are-struggling-to-save/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/contact.php http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/fidelity-pensions/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/dont-rely-on-the-private-sector-for-a-company-pension-scheme/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/dont-rely-on-the-private-sector-for-a-company-pension-scheme/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/aviva-reports-people-over-55-are-struggling-to-save/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/rising-inflation-can-seriously-damage-your-pension/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/high-court-decides-pension-switch-is-lawful/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/uk-inflation-rate-falls-to-3-6-in-january/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/billy-burrows-sensationalist-media-is-harming-pension-savers/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/we-could-see-a-return-to-a-graduated-state-pension/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/we-could-see-a-return-to-a-graduated-state-pension/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/prudential-pensions/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/pension-forecast-on-equity-pension-fund/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/high-court-decides-pension-switch-is-lawful/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/billy-burrows-sensationalist-media-is-harming-pension-savers/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/pension-forecast-on-equity-pension-fund/ http://www.pensionforecast.org/blog/aviva-pension/
Source: http://www.pensionsuk.info/pension-forecast-2/
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The language that we use
This from the normally readable Booznews This year?s fact-based shopper marketing�study, prepared in partnership with Shopper Sciences and the Grocery Manufacturers Association, reveals, among other findings, that leading CPG manufacturers and retailers are increasingly adopting a solutions-based approach to amplify … Continue reading 
Source: http://henrytapper.com/2012/02/17/the-language-that-we-use/
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Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Annuity : Credit Card For Poor Credit Capital One
Mary asks? Being sued by Capital One? I need some help and advice on what I need to do. I am 22, and when I was 18 I (stupidly) got a credit card from Capital One. I only had a … Continue reading
Source: http://www.can-i-retire.info/annuity-credit-card-for-poor-credit-capital-one/
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NHS Pension Scheme - find the new tiered employee contribution rates
We have received the new tiered employee contribution rates for 2011/12. If there is to be a change to the rates it will apply to officer (and practice staff) new joiners and to practitioners (and non-GP providers). NHS employers will be informed of any changes as soon as NHS Pensions is made aware.
The guidance is split into three parts and applies to members of both the 1995 section and the 2008 section of The NHS Pension Scheme (England & Wales).
Annuity search
In one of the TV breaks tonight, a new Paul Whitehouse ad popped up. You know the ones - good characters, quite watchable...nicely funding his pension plan.
Source: http://www.lse.co.uk/blogs/expert/resident-ifa-blog/m8mv5k/
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Fiduciary Liability: Risks and Insurance
Thanks to ERISA Attorney Steve Rosenberg for reminding people about an upcoming webinar entitled "ERISA Fiduciaries Under Attack: Key Litigation and Regulatory Developments." Attorney Andrew Oringer, a partner with Ropes & Gray will address recent cases and what the decisions mean to ERISA fiduciaries. He will … Continue reading
Source: http://www.drawdown.info/fiduciary-liability-risks-and-insurance-3/
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Sign the e-petition now
Sorry for the lack of blogs over the last couple of weeks but we have been busier than Harry Redknapp?s legal team. Fortunately, like Harry?s football team, we have a lot of very skilful and hard-working individuals. Since BMA members overwhelmingly rejected the pensions proposals, we?ve been doing all we can to urge the government [...]
Source: http://blogs.bma.org.uk/pensions/2012/02/14/sign-the-e-petition-now/
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NHS Pension Scheme ? find the new tiered employee contribution rates
We have received the new tiered employee contribution rates for 2011/12. If there is to be a change to the rates it will apply to officer (and practice staff) new joiners and to practitioners (and non-GP providers). NHS employers will … Continue reading
Source: http://www.can-i-retire.info/nhs-pension-scheme-find-the-new-tiered-employee-contribution-rates-6/
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Staging dates: More than one PAYE scheme
• Facebook • Twitter • Delicious • Digg • StumbleUpon • Add to favorites • Email • RSS Back to pensions auto-enrolment again folks (sorry!). I have had the same query from a few clients in the last two weeks, so I thought it was worth putting out a quick post on this point whilst its fresh in … Continue reading
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How many neurons make a human brain? Billions fewer than we thought | James Randerson
A technique that involves turning the brain into 'soup' and counting the nuclei of nerve cells reveals that we're 14bn short
How many neurons are there in the human brain? It was a question that scientists thought they had nailed ? and the answer was 100bn (give or take). If you went looking you would find that figure repeated widely in the neuroscience literature and beyond.
But when a researcher in Brazil called Dr Suzana Herculan-Houzel started digging, she discovered that no one in the field could actually remember where the 100bn figure had come from ? let alone how it had been arrived at. So she set about discovering the true figure (HT to the excellent Nature neuroscience podcast NeuroPod).
This involved a remarkable ? and to some I suspect unsettling ? piece of research. Her team took the brains of four adult men, aged 50, 51, 54 and 71, and turned them into what she describes as "brain soup". All of the men had died of non-neurological diseases and had donated their brains for research.
"It took me a couple of months to make peace with this idea that I was going to take somebody's brain or an animal's brain and turn it into soup," she told Nature. "But the thing is we have been learning so much by this method we've been getting numbers that people had not been able to get ? It's really just one more method that's not any worse than just chopping your brain into little pieces." She told me that so far, she has only looked at four brains, all of them from men.
The method involves dissolving the cell membranes of cells within the brain and creating a homogeneous mixture of the whole lot. You then take a sample of the soup, count the number of cell nuclei belonging to neurons (as opposed to other cells in the brain such as glia) and then scale up to get the overall number. The great advantage of this method is that unlike counting the number of neurons in one part of the brain and then extrapolating from that it gets over the problem that different brain regions may have more or less densely packed neurons.
So what is the number?
We found that on average the human brain has 86bn neurons. And not one [of the brains] that we looked at so far has the 100bn. Even though it may sound like a small difference the 14bn neurons amount to pretty much the number of neurons that a baboon brain has or almost half the number of neurons in the gorilla brain. So that's a pretty large difference actually.
This leads to the bigger question of what makes human brains special.
Herculan-Houzel says our brains are rather standard primate models, except for the fact that we have a massive number of brain cells compared to other species. That is energetically very expensive to maintain. She estimates that 20% to 25% of our total energy budget goes on running our brains, a figure which she describes as "extraordinary". How do we manage it?
"We can afford such a huge number of neurons. That difference might actually be related to a shift to a cooked food diet and that allows us to have far more calories per day. And with that we can afford a much larger number of neurons that other animals probably could not."
That is a reference to Prof Richard Wrangham's ideas about how the invention of cooking had a crucial impact on human evolution.
There is a beautiful, if slightly grisly, elegance to Herculan-Houzel's method and her work embodies the constantly questioning attitude that is what makes science so powerful. But what I find interesting is how this 100bn neuron myth became lodged in the collective scientific consciousness in the first place, and why it continued to propagate.
Does anyone have any insight into where it came from?
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2012/feb/28/how-many-neurons-human-brain
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Campaign focuses on the woman behind the cancer
Behind the brave face, behind the treatment Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BMADailyFeed/~3/WI68_Q3YF0E/RTHS-8RSKYP nhs pension pension forecast pensions uk iht annuity rates Source: http://www.inheritancetaxthreshold.info/campaign-focuses-on-the-woman-behind-the-cancer/ retirement age uk retirement calculator annuity calculator pensions advisory service can i retire
Source: http://www.pension-release-uk.info/campaign-focuses-on-the-woman-behind-the-cancer/
Monday, 27 February 2012
i-phone spy ? keeping kids happy with Foursquare
Here’s how to turn a car journey with kids into a fun and memorable happening. You will need At least one spoilt savvy kid with a smartphone – not hard to find these days The phone to be loaded with … Continue reading 
Source: http://henrytapper.com/2012/02/18/i-phone-spy-keeping-kids-happy-with-foursquare/
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Taxing rumours
A rumour is circulating that the Treasury may soon start taxing the retirement lump sum. There was a passing reference on the Radio 4 Today Programme�earlier this week. There has also been speculation that Chancellor George Osborne could announce in the forthcoming budget that tax relief on pension contributions may be capped at basic rate. [...]
Source: http://blogs.bma.org.uk/pensions/2012/02/23/taxing-rumours/
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Junior ISAs
The Government has now published the draft regulations for its Junior ISAs. A brief summary is:
- Junior ISAs will be available from 1 November 2011.
- Children may have one cash and one stocks and shares Junior ISA at any time, with an overall contribution limit of £3,000 per annum.
- Junior ISAs will be offered by high-street banks, building societies, etc.
- Funds will be ‘locked in’ until the child is 18.
Source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/MercerHole/TaxPlusBlog/~3/ghMjknI7MKs/
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Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds and ERISA Pension Plans
Alternative fund managers and regulators will convene in Washington, D.C. from July 19 through 21, 2011 to talk about pension investing in hedge funds and private equity funds. Over several days, those who present before the ERISA Advisory Council will … Continue reading
Source: http://www.annuitycomparison.info/hedge-funds-private-equity-funds-and-erisa-pension-plans-6/
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Equalisation of guaranteed minimum pensions: a blessing or a curse?
GMP equalisation has long been the ‘elephant in the room’.� Whether guaranteed minimum pensions should be equal for men and women, when the State pension they replace is not, is an issue that has, for one reason or another, remained unresolved in the 20 years since the Barber decision.� That, however, looks set to change.� [...]
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Electric Cars: off to a slow start
Source: http://blogs.birminghampost.net/business/2012/02/electric-cars-off-to-a-slow-st.html face book photo applications on facebook dating website make a face book face book application
Source: http://www.pensionsuk.info/electric-cars-off-to-a-slow-start-3/
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FactCheck: Is the coalition protecting the NHS?
“Mr Cameron’s right to defend the NHS’s achievements in maintaining high standards for waiting times and in other areas, but wrong, in many instances, to claim the credit for the current government.” Source: http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-is-the-coalition-protecting-the-nhs/9558 be naught internet date online dating … Continue reading
Source: http://www.pensions-advisory-service.info/factcheck-is-the-coalition-protecting-the-nhs-2/
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Tesco calls on govt to drop compulsory work experience
Iain Duncan Smith was once more on the attack this morning against critics of the government’s work experience scheme, under which young people are told to sign up to a four-week placement at one of a range of businesses or … Continue reading
Source: http://www.retirementcalculatoruk.info/tesco-calls-on-govt-to-drop-compulsory-work-experience-2/
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Politics live blog: Nick Clegg gives evidence on Lords reform
Rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen
I'm off to the Number 10 lobby briefing now. I'll post again after 11.30am.
You can read all today's Guardian politics stories here. And all the politics stories filed yesterday, including some in today's paper, are here.
As for the rest of the papers, here are some stories and articles that are particularly interesting.
It's work experience but not wage experience, and looking back at your first, lousiest jobs you must admit that both kinds mattered. It was good to be doing something the world found useful, but also it was good to know you'd earned your money. The scheme offers only half of that satisfaction.
It would no doubt be an administrative nuisance, not least owing to the mandatory minimum wage, if the system offered employers the equivalent of the benefits but told them to give the work-experience kids a proper payslip. Or, still better, told them to add a minimum tenner a week and feel free, without paperwork, to slip in a further bonus for hard work. I gather that some small participants do this out of petty cash, and goodness knows how the paperwork deals with that. Or more likely, doesn't.
? Mary Ann Sieghart in the Independent says Nick Clegg has little hope of achieving Lords reform.
"It's one of the most unpopular causes of all time," says a Tory minister about Lords reform. A Cabinet minister professes himself baffled that Clegg is prepared to expend so much time, energy and political capital on it. Another claims to be delighted that the Liberal Democrats will be indulging in displacement activity for the next couple of years. "It means they can't disrupt things elsewhere. From our point of view, it keeps the children occupied while we can get on with something else. They'll talk about House of Lords reform, and we'll talk about things that matter to voters, like the economy and welfare."
Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister, and Steve Hilton, the Prime Minister's chief policy guru, called for Britain's official child poverty measure to be scrapped amid signs that it would produce a string of bad headlines for the Government.
The trio argued that the measure was too crude and concentrated on an arbitrary "poverty line", according to sources. Children living in households that live on 60 per cent of Britain's median income are deemed to be living in poverty under the legal measure set up by Labour.
However, the plan was met by fierce resistance from Nick Clegg and Sarah Teather, the Child Poverty Minister, who said that any attempt to stop publishing information on the number of children living in relative poverty would be seen as a cynical attempt to "fiddle the figures" ....
A compromise over child poverty has now been reached within the coalition. The income measure will be retained, but others will be added to create a more "nuanced" picture of child poverty in Britain. They are likely to concentrate on a child's access to education and health services.
Ed Matthew, of Transform UK, said: "More people die every year in the UK from living in a cold home than die on our roads. Millions more struggle to make ends meet in the face of high energy bills. This is a national scandal."
Some 30 families are receiving �1,500 a week ? three times what they would be earning on a national average wage ? to pay their rent while another 60 are receiving up to �5,000 a month, according to the Department for Work and Pensions ...
In total 130 families are given more than �1,000 a week, including 80 who receive at least �1,100 a week, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The move, which would lead to thousands of people from the Armed Forces being driven into the commercial property market, is part of a plan to reduce Services accommodation under a "New Employment Model".
It indicates a potential shift away from the tradition of encouraging soldiers to move with ease around the country and overseas with their spouses and children.
Subsidised military housing for those with families is a career-long entitlement and has been referred to as a "staunch pillar" of the military covenant that the coalition has pledged to uphold. The MoD is discussing ending the right to a home after eight years of service.
The Leveson inquiry is starting a new strand of its investigation today, looking at links between the media and the police. Talking about this on Radio 5 Live this morning, the Labour MP Chris Bryant said News International almost "owned" the Metropolitan police.
What ended up happening at News International is they almost felt that they owned the Metropolitan Police. They had such a close relationship with senior figures at the Met, right the way up to commissioner that they felt that it was pretty easy to make sure a full investigation into the News of the World never came to pass.
It should be an important day at the Leveson inquiry. There are full details at our Leveson live blog.
Ken Livingstone has gone to Downing Street to deliver a letter to David Cameron saying that the law should be changed to stop the London mayor having a second job.
It's his way, obviously, of highlighting the fact that Boris Johnson earns a reported �250,000 a year writing a column for the Daily Telegraph. Here's an extract from the letter.
In 2009, ahead of the general election, you said that members of your shadow cabinet would have to give up their outside interests, in order to concentrate on politics.
It ought to the case that if that principle applies to your senior Parliamentary team, it should also apply to the Conservative mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Even without you prevailing upon him to do so, I believe that Boris
Johnson should have responded in keeping with the mood of the times and clear direction of travel, and ditched his second job.
The mayor's role is now so significant that he or she can affect the quality of life of millions of people, from fares to policing and crime. Those who are affected by those decisions should have full confidence that the person making them is fully committed to the job.
Yet Boris Johnson not only earns more as Mayor of London than you do as prime minister, he also holds a second job that pays him even more money. He is paid �250,000 a year for his column for the Daily Telegraph, an amount of money that he has described as 'chicken feed.
Livingstone's team have also launched a chickenfeed.org.uk website to publicise this.
What would an independent Scotland actually be like? My colleagues at Reality Check are doing a five-day special on the subject this week. James Ball is kicking it off today with a look at how much debt an independent Scotland would have.
Having elected police commissioners could bring corruption into policing, a chief constable has warned. Sir Norman Bettison, the West Yorkshire chief constable and a vice president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, made the claim in an interview in the Yorkshire Post. Here are his key quotes.
I am reminded of the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. There will be a lot of people appealing for the public vote simply because they want to make the world a better, safer place. Those people are to be celebrated. My fear is that [in other cases] it could be the door that unlocks corruption and anything that does has the potential to destroy public trust in policing ...
There is the potential for some corruption with a small 'c'. What I mean is not the problem of huge frauds and secret bank accounts in Monaco. An election brings with it the sense of obligation to people who have helped win the election or might help win a future election, and this is someone who can be elected on a frequent and recurring basis. My fear as a 40-year veteran is that a single person who has limited accountability to any other body runs the risk of looking to ensure that the people that can help him or her get elected are assuaged ...
To an old and crippled chief constable like myself, any hint of being required to do anything other than with integrity will be rebuffed. I can imagine that with younger chiefs with mortgages to pay, however, there is the danger or the risk or the fear of them being influenced.
Jamie Reed, the shadow health minister and coordinator of Labour's Drop the Bill campaign, has written an article for PoliticsHome. It's rather more hard-hitting than Ed Miliband's. (See 9.00am.) Reed describes the bill as "the largest, most aggressive and ideological reorganisation of the NHS since it was created". And he says that the Liberal Democrats will face electoral "oblivion" if they do not oppose the bill.
For the Liberal Democrats, unless they can summon the required courage to oppose this bill, only oblivion and ignominy beckons. They may yet save themselves, more importantly, they may yet help the people of this country, the medical professions and the Labour Party to save the NHS. No number of amendments will suffice, for the NHS as we know it to survive, this bill must be dropped.
Reed also claims that, in opposing the bill, Labour are also putting the national interest ahead of their party interest.
Labour's political and electoral interests would be best served by the passage of this bill, yet so damaging would the consequences of this bill be for the NHS, if enacted, that we are doing everything we can to ensure that this bill is dropped.
David Cameron's health bill misery continues. Peers are debating the bill again this week and, as Nicholas Watt reports for the Guardian, Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, is preparing to announce further concessions. And Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, has written an article for today's Times (paywall) renewing his attack on the bill.
For reforms to work, they must bring greater clarity ... The bill does the opposite. It creates a vast structure of Byzantine complexity. Estimates suggest that the number of statutory organisations will rise from 163 to 521. No wonder the NHS Confederation has warned of potential "paralysis in the system".
In the tightest spending settlement for a generation, when the NHS must make �20 billion of efficiency savings, the focus should be on patient care. Instead, staff are being distracted by a vast top-down bureaucratic reorganisation.
Years of upheaval lie ahead and patients will get a worse service.
The Lords debate starts at about 3pm. I'll be keeping an eye on it, but I think we will providing detailed coverage on our separate health bill live blog.
Here's the full agenda for the day.
9.30am: Conservative MPs from the Free Enterprise Group launch their pre-budget plan for growth.
10am: The Leveson inquiry resumes. Sue Akers, the Metropolitan police deputy assistant commissioner who is leading the phone hacking inquiry, Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, and Brian Paddick, the Lib Dem candidate for London mayor, are giving evidence.
10am: Ken Livingstone, Labour's candidate for London mayor, visits Number 10 to hand in a letter saying the London mayor should not have a second job.
1pm: Academics give evidence to the Commons Scottish affairs committee about the Scottish independence referendum.
2.30pm: Michael Gove, the education secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
3pm: Peers resume their debate on the health bill.
4.35pm: Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, and Mark Harper, the constitutional reform minister, give evidence to the joint committee on Lords reform. I'll be covering this hearing in detail.
As usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and another in the afternoon.
If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow.
And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2012/feb/27/clegg-lords-reform-health-bill
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Sign the e-petition now
Sorry for the lack of blogs over the last couple of weeks but we have been busier than Harry Redknapp?s legal team. Fortunately, like Harry?s football team, we have a lot of very skilful and hard-working individuals. Since BMA members … Continue reading
Source: http://www.uk-retirement.info/sign-the-e-petition-now/
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Sunday, 26 February 2012
Christmas and New Year opening hours
With the festive period almost here we have finalised our opening hours during this period. Similar Posts Inter Payroll unveil new changes Working hours, how they affect us and solutions Why the tax year starts on 6th April Source: http://www.interpayroll.co.uk/blog/news/christmas-and-new-year-opening-hours.html … Continue reading
Source: http://www.iiht.info/christmas-and-new-year-opening-hours-7/
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Annuity : Telephone Credit Card Processing
Maria asks? Want info on taking telephone orders and putting it on-line? We have several stores and would like to get training or get equipment for putting these orders on-line instead of using a credit card processing machine that is … Continue reading
Source: http://www.retirementageuk.info/annuity-telephone-credit-card-processing-2/
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Returns of benefits and expenses ? Forms P11D
HMRC has announced that the 2010/11 forms P11D, that are due for submission by 5 July, cannot be posted/delivered to your local office. Instead all paper forms have to be sent to a dedicated post room at: HMRC NIC&EO P11D … Continue reading
Source: http://www.nhspension.info/returns-of-benefits-and-expenses-forms-p11d/
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Property Investment Online Video Workshop
safepropertyinvesting.com.au Property Investment and the Australian real estate market can be complicated. However, with the help of our free online video training series, you can unlock the secret to buying and selling property that can earn you big financial rewards. … Continue reading
Source: http://www.pension-release-uk.info/property-investment-online-video-workshop/
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Llana Beach Hotel and Spa ? Cape Verde
Llana Beach Hotel and Spa in Cape Verde is now nearing release as Dunas Beach Resort gets closer to becoming completely sold out and Tortuga Beach Resort strives on as a top class holiday destination in Cape Verde. Llana Beach Hotel and Spa will be The Resort Group?s third development in Sal, Cape Verde and [...]
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Do you prefer to pay by Fee or Commission?
The Financial Advice sector is due to undergo a major change on 1st January 2013.
Source: http://www.lse.co.uk/blogs/expert/resident-ifa-blog/d1waut/
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Cheap as chips!
Life Insurance?money for old rope? Good value? Source: http://www.lse.co.uk/blogs/expert/resident-ifa-blog/1yvx8o/ pension lump sum pension transfer retirement age uk retirement calculator annuity calculator
Source: http://www.uk-retirement.info/cheap-as-chips-3/
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Social Europe: life raft or life support?
I spoke this afternoon at the Fabian Society [...]
Source: http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2012/02/social-europe-life-raft-or-life-support/
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Do you have the correct Tax Code?
My dear Mum recently celebrated her 65th birthday.
Source: http://www.lse.co.uk/blogs/expert/resident-ifa-blog/tvsjoi/
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Barbados still holds strong in competitive tourism industry
News released by the Barbados minister of tourism earlier this week, is sure to put a smile on many of our clients faces! Even in tough times economically, Barbados is thriving as a tourism hotspot and still growing in terms of its tourist arrivals. Any investor that is looking for maximum occupancy rates in their [...]
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Saturday, 25 February 2012
Absense due to weather- do staff get paid?
Many employees and employers alike will be wondering whether staff will be getting paid if they are unable to get to work due to bad weather conditions. This unfortunately has no straight-forward answer and we look at the different scenarios. … Continue reading
Source: http://www.annuitycalculatoruk.info/absense-due-to-weather-do-staff-get-paid-2/
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Green light for pensions champions
Prospect is to set up a network of workplace pensions champions to help members handle the many retirement choices they now face. Conference backed a proposal by the national executive to give full support to the TUC's pensions champions project.
People now understood pensions issues much better than in the past, but how they actually work is less well understood, said Audrey Uppington, moving the NEC motion. The TUC project aimed to explain to members at work the options available to them, she said. It includes a pensions website and the facility for members to build up their own personal pensions profile.
Source: http://www.pensionschampions.co.uk/?q=node/59
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FactCheck: Is loneliness worse than smoking?
The claim “Work matters, particularly for older people, not just for money but absolutely for social contact…We know smoking is really bad for you. But much worse are things like social relationships.” David Halpern, 10 February 2012 The background Buried deep in the corridors of power is a slightly mysterious body called the Behavioural Insight [...]
Source: http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-is-loneliness-worse-than-smoking/9470
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Pension Practitioner .com help property developers cut corporation tax when they purchase commercial property.
If your business needs to purchase additional property, but you must keep up your working capital and your business faces a high tax bill; consult Pension Practitioner .com. They administer for you a small self administered scheme ( SSAS) and … Continue reading
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Welfare turns into workfare, but unpaid work won?t solve the jobs crisis
The Government’s ‘work experience’ programme has been moving [...]
Source: http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2012/02/how-has-welfare-to-work-turned-into-workfare/
Pensions Champions courses: Summer Term 2008
This course will help union reps to:
- consider the basic pension environment, examining state pensions, occupational pensions, personal pensions and additional pensions
- become familiar with a range of resources, looking at published materials as well as that available on websites
- make extensive use of the TUC's online materials, all activities will have an online element
prepare a presentation to use in workplaces
For details on course timings and course registration please contact the provider from the list that you can download here.
Source: http://www.pensionschampions.co.uk/?q=node/50
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Over to you
BMA members will be given the chance to vote on whether or not they will accept changes to their pensions, following a decision by BMA Council. The vote will be put at the conclusion of negotiations with the government, which … Continue reading
Source: http://www.iiht.info/over-to-you-2/
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Friday, 24 February 2012
Top benefits of a COMMON TRUST for SSAS members.
When a SSAS purchases a property on the behalf of its’ members, it does so as a single purchase transaction. It holds the asset in a non-allocated common trust. It is for the benefit of all members, in proportion to … Continue reading
Source: http://www.pension-calculator.info/top-benefits-of-a-common-trust-for-ssas-members-5/
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Join us for our Oscar-night Twitter party
Hang out with us @GuardianUS on Twitter this Sunday for an evening of Oscars trivia and red-carpet snark
Calling all jaded and/or lonely Oscar-viewers: have you seen it all when it comes to the Academy's finest night? Do you have the mind of an elephant when it comes to who-wore-what and who-said-what? Does the name Robert Opel mean anything to you? How about Sacheen Littlefeather?
Don't let your memories (or indeed your booze) go to waste. Bring them to our Oscars night! Join us @GuardianUS on Twitter for an evening of quizzes, competitions and Hollywood trash talk. We'll bring the trivia questions and the red-carpet snark, you bring your depth of historical Oscar knowledge and cheap white wine.
And when the show gets under way, help us endure the interminable experience ? sorry, revel in a night of cinematic splendor ? with our "shorter speeches" game. Watch the award-winners' speeches and recast what they said ? or what they meant ? in 140 characters or less.
As an example, for Natalie Portman winning best actress in 2011 for Black Swan:
Natalie Portman: I danced til my toes bled & didn't eat for 9 months. Did I mention I'm pregnant? Give me my statue before I pop #oscars140
— Ruth Spencer (@onthewag) February 24, 2012
For Sandra Bullock winning best actress for the Blind Side in 2010:
Sandra Bullock: I love my mom. I don't take this very seriously. My Husband is A CREEP. youtu.be/-hTTwSQPmMo #oscars140
— Ruth Spencer (@onthewag) February 24, 2012
And this works for pretty much any Meryl Streep speech:
Meryl Streep: My maturity is the secret to my success. Take that, Hollywood. #oscars140
— Amanda Michel (@amichel) February 24, 2012
You get the idea. And while we're all hanging out on Twitter, our top Oscars live-blogger Xan Brooks will have comprehensive coverage on the website.
Xan, Peter Bradshaw and Catherine Shoard have already picked their wins for Sunday ? you can watch them discuss their predictions here.
See you Sunday.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/feb/24/oscars-2012-twitter-party
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The EU shows the risks of selective intervention
Why didn’t Europe's builders stop with the single market? Read the full blog post here Source: http://www.iea.org.uk/blog/the-eu-shows-the-risks-of-selective-intervention applications on facebook dating website make a face book face book application application face book
Source: http://www.inheritancetaxthreshold.info/the-eu-shows-the-risks-of-selective-intervention-3/
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7 Reasons to Switch Your SSAS Provider Today
SSAS or Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) is a type of pension scheme for businesses and entrepreneurs. Although SSAS is credible and has been present in the market for some time, it is still largely unknown among many small to medium sized business. As a result, the true potential of SSAS pension schemes has been overshadowed [...]
Source: http://www.pensionpractitioner.com/blog/7-reasons-to-switch-ssas-provider-today/97/
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Annuity : Federal Tax Id Form
David asks? For tax purposes, are the EIN and the federal tax id# the same thing? On the W9 form, there is a spot to enter either your SS# or your EIN #……..is the EIN also known as the federal … Continue reading
Source: http://www.annuitycalculatoruk.info/annuity-federal-tax-id-form/
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Another perspective on the global financial woes
I couldn't help but share this with you...
Source: http://www.lse.co.uk/blogs/expert/resident-ifa-blog/v6465y/
UN accuses Syria of crimes against humanity ? live updates
? UN traces crimes against humanity to high level orders? Friends of Syria to issue ceasefire deadline? Protests in Homs in tribute to Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik ? Read the latest summary 2.43pm: French journalist Edith Bouvier, who was … Continue reading
Source: http://www.pension-calculator.info/un-accuses-syria-of-crimes-against-humanity-live-updates/
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Pension Practitioner .com help property developers cut corporation tax when they purchase commercial property.
If your business needs to purchase additional property, but you must keep up your working capital and your business faces a high tax bill; consult Pension Practitioner .com.
They administer for you a small self administered scheme ( SSAS) and ensure that you are registered for tax relief. Your contributions may be structured [...]
They administer for you a small self administered scheme ( SSAS) and ensure that you are registered for tax relief. Your contributions may be structured [...]
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Stop Press...Live Prices on lse!
Truly off-topic in Personal Finance terms, but I have witnessed the tremendous work put in by the lse.co.uk staff over the last week or so to re-launch the Premium Services section.
Source: http://www.lse.co.uk/blogs/expert/resident-ifa-blog/2wv87d/
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