| Moody in race to face All Blacks England captain Lewis Moody is a doubt for the first autumn Test against New Zealand after he was injured playing for Bath against Gloucester on Friday. news.bbc.co.uk |
What the Browne review means for student fees We run through what – and how – students will pay for their tuition and living fees under the Browne review proposalsWhat are the main recommendations?The existing cap on tuition fees should be lifted, leaving universities free to decide what they charge students. The government will pay the upfront cost of education, with graduates repaying the cost through a new Student Finance Plan (SFP).Will the SFP allow for tuition fees and living costs?Yes. The plan will be split into four elements:• SF Learning – paying the costs of learning upfront on behalf of students.• SF Living – providing students with money for living costs.• SF Paying – collecting payments from graduates, via the tax system, and managing their remaining payments.• SF Giving – providing an easy way for graduates to make voluntary tax-deductible payments to their chosen institution if they wish to donate money through charitable giving.How much will I pay for my course under the new proposals?The government expects the total contribution made by graduates for their tuition fees to rise – though it will remain lower than the government's contribution. Overall, the position of students/graduates will therefore vary greatly. Some will eventually pay the entire costs of their maintenance and tuition, whereas some will still benefit from public funds as their contribution to tuition will be lower than their net support for maintenance.As an example, if your university charges £6,100 per year for your course, students from a high income household will pay the full amount via the SFP Learning element. A student from a low income household would pay around 35% or £2,100.How much will the SF Living allowance pay?All students would get a flat-rate living allowance of £3,750. Students from low-income backgrounds will be eligible to apply for top-up grants up to a further £3,250, dependant on household income (ie the full £3,250 grant will be available up to a household income of £25,000 and a partial grant up to a household income of £60,000). Both elements are repayable.When would graduates begin repaying?The government will pay the upfront cost of education, with graduates repaying the cost of their degrees when they start earning more than £21,000 a year, up from £15,000 under the current Student Loans system.What interest rate will students incur on the SFP loan?Students earning below the repayment threshold will pay no real interest rate. Their loan balance will increase only in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.Those earning above £21,000 will incur a real interest rate set at the government's cost of borrowing plus inflation. The total annual interest charge today would be 5.3% (2.2% plus CPI inflation of 3.1%).Those earning above the threshold whose payments do not cover the costs of the real interest will get back the rest of the interest as a rebate from the government.What does this mean in real terms?If you earn up to and including £21,000 per annum you will pay nothing and the size of your loan will rise in line with inflation.If you earn £25,000, you would pay 9% of earnings above £21,000 or £30 a month. Your loan will incur interest at inflation plus 2.2%If you earn £30,000, you'd repay £68 per month; those earning £40,000 would repay £143 per month; £50,000 would mean monthly repayments of £218; and £293 in monthly repayments for those earning £60,000.When will payments stop?Payments must be made indefinitely until either the SFP is repaid or for 30 years from the date of graduation – which ever is earlier. After 30 years the outstanding loan will be written off, regardless of whether you have stopped making payments during the interim because you have earned less than £21,000.What if I lose my job?As soon as your income falls below the £21,000 threshold, SFP repayments will cease and your loan balance will go back to rising in line with inflation rather than incurring a real rate of interest. Anyone who stops work for any reason will be able to take a payment holiday.I plan on having a child and taking a break from work. Will I be penalised?The Browne report claims that the lowest paid graduates or those who take significant breaks from work to fulfil other responsibilities will pay no more than they do under the current system.A spokesman for the team that worked on the Browne Report said that loan repayments will be collected in the same way they are now, by HMRC via PAYE. This means that women on maternity pay should only expect to continue repaying their loan if their monthly company maternity pay breaches the monthly equivalent of the £21,000 repayment threshold (currently £1,750). Women earning only statutory maternity pay will, of course, no longer have to make loan repayments.When will the proposals be introduced?There is nothing to suggest that the coalition government will adopt all of Lord Browne's proposals, but the Browne report spokesman said there were "no fundamental obstacles" to prevent the government from going ahead with the Student Finance Plan, though probably not during the next year.I'm at university at the moment and have taken out a student loan. Will I be affected?No. The Brown report proposals will only apply to students applying to university after the new system has been launched.Student financeTuition feesStudentsFamily financesHigher educationWork & careersMark Kingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
UK can no longer mount military operations like Iraq invasion, government decides David Cameron confirms cuts to the armed forces in strategic defence and security reviewThe government has decided that Britain will no longer be able to mount military operations on the scale of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the deployment in Afghanistan's Helmand province, it emerged today as David Cameron unveiled the details of the strategic defence and security review.The prime minister insisted that the coalition was protecting Britain's future security today as he confirmed cuts to the armed forces as part of an 8% real-terms fall in the defence budget by 2015.But it emerged that the planned cuts to military personnel mean that the largest overseas deployment over the next decade will consist of 30,000 troops – two thirds of the number of British troops that took part in the invasion of Iraq.This suggests that Britain will also no longer be able to sustain the sort of long-term campaign it is fighting in Helmand when combat British troops end their mission in Afghanistan in 2015. A future "enduring stabilisation operation" will consist of 6,500 troops – lower than the numbers currently in Afghanistan.The prime minister, who announced that the army will be cut to 95,000 by 2015, said that Britain should focus more attention on the causes of conflict to reduce the high costs of "just dealing with the consequences" of failed states.Cameron's announcement marks the end of Tony Blair's concept of "liberal interventionism", first set out in his 1999 Chicago speech during the Kosovo crisis.Outlining the outcome of the review in a statement to the Commons this afternoon, Cameron sought to allay fears by insisting that, despite the cuts, Britain would still have the fourth largest military budget in the world and would meet the Nato target of spending 2% of GDP on defence.The prime minister insisted that the review was not just a cost-saving exercise to "get to grips with the biggest budget deficit in post war history", but also about taking the "right decisions" to protect Britain's national security in the years ahead.Measures announced today to scale down the budget included:• A cut of 25,000 staff in the Ministry of Defence by 2015, the disposal of "unnecessary" assets, and a getting to grips with procurement.• Cancelling the Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft programme.• Naval manpower to be cut by 5,000 to 30,000 by 2015 and the total number of frigates and destroyers to drop from 23 to 19 by 2020.• The government to retire the Harrier jump jet and reduce RAF manpower by 5,000 to 33,000 by 2015.• Tanks to be reduced by 40%.• Half a billion pounds allocated to a national cyber security programme to counter unconventional threats of the future.Outlining the backdrop to the cuts, Cameron said the coalition government had inherited a £38bn black hole in future defence plans – bigger than the entire annual defence budget of £33bn.He said Britain would still punch "above its weight in the world" but needed to be "more thoughtful, more strategic and more co-ordinated in the way we advance our interests and protect our national security".He added: "This review sets out a step change in the way we protect this country's security interests."Cameron promised there would be "no cuts whatsoever" in support for troops in Afghanistan after taking the advice of the defence chiefs who had told him a cut could affect operations in Afghanistan. In fact, the troops in Afghanistan will get better equipment, he said.Cameron also used his speech to confirm that the crucial decision about whether to replace Britain's nuclear deterrent – a fault line between the Tories and Liberal Democrats – would not be taken until after the next general election, which will be no later than 2015.Instead, the life of the Vanguard class of submarines that carry the Trident system will be extended so that the final go-ahead for new submarines need not be given until "about 2016".Cameron also confirmed the decision to retire the Harrier jump jet – a decision that, along with the retirement of the HMS Ark Royal, means that the UK will be without an aircraft carrier carrying jets until 2020.Cameron said: "This is not simply a cost-saving exercise to get to grips with the biggest budget deficit in post-war history, it is about taking the right decisions to protect our national security in the years ahead. But the two are not separate. Our national security depends on our economic strength and vice versa. As our national security is a priority so defence and security budgets will contribute to deficit reduction on a lower scale than most other departments."Cameron told MPs that the defence review has been led from the top and will be repeated every five years.Outlining his vision for the future, he added: "From a Ministry of Defence that is too big, too inefficient and too overspent to a department that is smaller, smarter, and more responsible in its spending," he said."From a strategy over-reliant on military intervention to a higher priority for conflict prevention. From concentrating on conventional threats to a new focus on unconventional threats. And from armed forces that are overstretched, under-equipped and deployed too often without appropriate planning to the most professional and most flexible modern forces in the world, fully equipped for the challenges of the future."The Lib Dems hailed the coalition's decision to reduce the number of warheads carried by Trident submarines.Lady Williams, the Lib Dem peer, said the decision had come at a critical time for multilateral disarmament."The Start II treaty is the first agreement between the United States and Russia since Start I to cut their nuclear arsenals substantially. The treaty is now languishing in the US Senate, awaiting ratification. Ambitious plans to control the production of fissile materials are in suspension. The comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty is a distant aspiration. So this significant step by the UK government could help to remove the log-jam."Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, told Cameron that the strategy was "not credible" and a "missed opportunity".Miliband was greeted with shouts of "apologise" from Tory benches as he stood to respond.He said: "We will help the prime minister and his government as they seek to do what is best for our nation's security. But I do have to tell him many people believe this review is a profound missed opportunity."It is a spending review dressed up as a defence review, it has been chaotically conducted, it has been hastily prepared and it is simply not credible as a strategic blueprint for our future defence needs."Miliband also said the statement had been extensively leaked in a process he described as a "complete shambles"Defence policyMilitaryDavid CameronHélène Mulhollandguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Striker pleads guilty to assault Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll pleads guilty to assaulting a man in a nightclub. bbc.co.uk |
Video: Ed Miliband appeals for 'optimistic' approach to economic policy The Labour leader tells business leaders at the CBI that the coalition government risks jobs and economic growth by focusing only on reducing the public deficit guardian.co.uk |