TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
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| Travel groups to merge networks Thomas Cook and the Co-operative Group are to merge their High Street travel businesses to create the largest such network in the UK. bbc.co.uk |
Quangos cull: Equality and Human Rights Commission faces major overhaul EHRC will not be scrapped but will face substantial reforms and will have to prove it is properly using taxpayers' moneyThe Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) faces a major overhaul – and a longer wait after the government confirmed it will not be scrapped but will face substantial reforms and will have to prove it is properly using taxpayers' money.In addition, the National Women's Commission will be abolished and its functions brought into the Government Equalities Office (GEO). Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, told parliament that it would be "childish" to assume that the abolition of a commission meant that the government was no longer committed to the issues it handled.The EHRC is now in the hands of the government and awaiting some indication of how it will be reformed. Those decisions are understood to hinge on next week's spending review, how much the GEO is allocated and how much of that it in turn allocates to the commission. It has already taken a 15% funding cut this year.The GEO said in a statement today that the EHRC would be "radically" reformed" and stripped of some responsibilities.It said: "The EHRC's work will be refocused on its core functions of regulating equality and anti-discrimination law in Great Britain, of fulfilling EU equality requirements and of being a National Human Rights Institution. As part of our drive to increase the accountability of public services to ministers, and to parliament, ministers are considering the scope for transferring some of EHRC's functions and services to government departments or contracting with private or voluntary sector bodies to undertake them."In light of the commission's history of poor financial control, we propose to strengthen requirements around financial and management controls to ensure that government and parliament can better hold EHRC to account for its performance and how it spends taxpayers' money."There is no mention in the statement of the commission's original responsibility to promote social cohesion and good community relationships, which is likely to be one of the aspects it could be stripped of.The EHRC has had a troubled beginning, with a string of high-profile resignations from its board last year in disputes over the leadership of its chair Trevor Phillips. Phillips was seen as close to New Labour, and many questioned whether he could survive the controversy around his role and the change in government.The body also had its accounts for 2008-09 qualified in July by the National Audit Office, which said it had breached rules on pay rises for permanent staff and badly managed money and its finance director left earlier this year.A spokesman for the commission said: "We are pleased the government has recognised the valuable role the commission will continue to play as an independent regulator of equality and human rights in Great Britain."Nearly 30 leading women's groups signed a letter urging the home secretary to reverse her decision to scrap the Women's National Commission."It is hard to imagine how the government will be able to achieve its commitments to popular inclusivity and gender equality in such an efficient way and for the same minimal funds," the letter says."Its closure will leave a huge gap in democratic input into government on behalf of women." It is signed by people representing rights groups including Amnesty International, the Fawcett Society, ActionAid UK and the British Institute of Human Rights.Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)QuangosEqualityPublic financePolly Curtisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Job cuts spark unemployment fears Areas where a large proportion of the population works within the public sector may be particularly vulnerable under the government's Spending Rewiew. bbc.co.uk |
UK recovery is on track - Osborne George Osborne says the UK's economic recovery is "on track", following the upgrading of this year's official growth forecast. bbc.co.uk |
Letters: Spy planes and second-class citizens It was with great interest that I read your report (Foreign fighters in the shadows, 25 November) on how spy planes have been patrolling British skies trying to pick up voice signatures of British citizens suspected of travelling to Afghanistan to fight against Nato forces, after Yorkshire and Birmingham accents were detected by RAF spy planes in Helmand.If this is true, it raises a number of serious questions. First, how often have these flights been taking place and under what authority? Second, which areas have these spy planes been operating over? One can only presume that they would be targeting Muslim majority areas in Yorkshire and Birmingham. If so, it makes a mockery of the apology offered by the West Midlands chief constable, Chris Simms, after a secret police operation to place thousands of Muslims in Birmingham under secret camera surveillance was uncovered (Report, 1 October). If spy planes are indeed also operating over Muslim areas in Britain, it once again highlights how little the government really cares about the dignity of its Muslim citizens.Third, how is the information gathered from such surveillance being used by the authorities? Is it being used as "secret evidence" against terror suspects brought before draconian Special Immigration Appeals Commission courts, where they are unable to see or challenge the allegations against them? One of the justifications often put forward in support of the use of "secret evidence" is that to disclose it to the accused would be to compromise the intelligence services and their methods and strategies. If this is indeed one of those methods, it is understandable why the government is fighting to keep it secret. For were it to become public knowledge, it would further underline the fact that Muslims in Britain are being deliberately targeted by the authorities as a suspect community and treated as second-class citizens.Fahad AnsariCageprisonersSurveillanceTerrorism policyIslamReligionHuman rightsGlobal terrorismUK security and terrorismguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |