Blog Archives
Austerity Today- A summer of discontent for Europe?
A summer of discontent for Europe?
BBC News
The economies of many eurozone countries remain fragile, with high unemployment and austeritymeasures causing public anger. So could Europe be set for a new financial crisis and will the continent suffer a summer of discontent? Bill Blaine is a …
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A socialist program against war, austerity and the drive to dictatorship
World Socialist Web Site
The financial and corporate elite was demanding the junking of the post-financial crisis stimulus spending measures associated with Rudd, and the implementation of austerity measures aimed at slashing the living standards of the working class. At the …
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Multiple austerity budgets ‘damaging most vulnerable elderly people’
Irish Examiner
A pre-Budget forum at Dublin Castle will hear today how the cumulative impact of multiple austeritybudgets is having a severely damaging effect on the most vulnerable of older people. More than 30 organisations, including Age Action, St. Vincent De …
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Amartya Sen: The taste of true freedom
The Independent
Now, he calls the UK Coalition’s austerity programme “an intellectual failure”. “Is there anything surprising in that it failed? Should a well-educated economist have been able to anticipate that? Yes. One doesn’t have to be a Keynesian to see it. My …
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Campaign groups join in Lisbon anti-government rallies
The Portugal News
Various anti-austerity campaign groups have added their voices to that of Portugal’s largest trades union federation, the communist-linked CGTP, in calling for a demonstration outside the presidential palace on Saturday, to demand an end to the current …
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5 Reasons Why Cyprus Should Leave the Euro
Yahoo! Finance (blog)
Reason 1: Severe budget austerity will not work: Cyprus is hardly the first European country to have been required to sign up to severe budget austerity in return for IMF-EU bailout funds. Greece, Ireland, and Portugal have all preceded Cyprus down …
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Older people ‘at breaking point’
Irish Health
Older people are reaching ‘breaking point’ as a result of the austerity measures they have had to withstand in recent years, Age Action Ireland (AAI) has warned. According to the national charity, the effect of cuts in services combined with rising …
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Fears austerity is being ‘pushed too far’ after Suffolk County Council underspend
Bury Free Press
County council leaders have been accused of ‘pushing austerity too far’ following an underspend of more than £3.5 million last year. The Conservative controlled Suffolk County Council made about £26.19 million in budget cuts for 2012/13 with further …
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| BARRIE GRUNEWALD: Austerity? It isn’t working St Helens Today THE government’s spending review for 2015/16 last week provides clear evidence that their austerityprogramme just isn’t working. Since the 2010 election the Chancellor George Osbourne has argued that the tough spending cuts would lead to economic … See all stories on this topic » |
| MP Andrew George’s weekly column – July 4, 2013 This is Cornwall In a time of stress and austerity, community celebrations become more, rather than less, important. After all, what would we do if our lives just continued with routine and mundane sameness, with no light relief or anything to look forward to; with no … See all stories on this topic »Austerity cuts ‘hitting pensioners’ Belfast Telegraph Age Action warned the Government that the cumulative impact of multiple austerity budgets was having a severely damaging effect on the most vulnerable of older people. Think tank Social Justice Ireland also called for the poorest pensioners to be given … See all stories on this topic » |
IMF Sees Bulgarian Risk in Unstable Government, Euro Area
Businessweek
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski took office on May 29 after anti–austerity protestsforced out his predecessor, Boyko Borissov, leading to a May 12 snap election. An appointment of controversial media and business executive Delyan …
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| FINANCIAL TIMES: Portugal needs new model BDlive Yet a deeper and more drawn-out recession than expected has weakened that consensus just as Portugal prepares for the most difficult phase of its austerity regime ahead of the scheduled exit next summer. This would require more cuts to the size of the … See all stories on this topic » |
| Fresh Eurozone fears over Portugal’s ‘unsustainable’ debt The Week UK In May, a fresh package of austerity measures increased the working week of civil servants from 35 to 40 hours and reduced the workforce by 30,000. In response, workers staged a number of demonstrations last month and unions organised a general strike. See all stories on this topic » |
| UK strikes dip to lowest level since 2005 Financial Times Britain lost only 248,800 working days through strikes last year, the lowest since 2005, as public sector protests against the coalition’s austerity measures faded. The figure published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday is down from 1 … See all stories on this topic » |
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UK – NHS competition rules to be changed
The government has agreed to re-write controversial rules on contracting out in the NHS in England.
The regulations were published three weeks ago to provide guidance on how the NHS reforms should be implemented.
But critics had argued they would open up many more services to competition from private companies and could disrupt services for patients.
Health Minister Norman Lamb told MPs the wording of the regulations had “inadvertently created confusion”.
He said there would be no privatisation of the NHS and that competition was only a means to improving services not an end in itself.
The regulations were drawn up as previous guidance on the issue was set to be rendered obsolete because it applied to organisations that were being scrapped on 1 April.
But after they were laid before parliament concerns were voiced that they broke previous assurances from ministers about the extent to which competition was going to be used.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Nick Triggle
Health correspondent
If you read the 12 pages of regulations 257 governing NHS procurement, the first thing that strikes you is the contradictory nature of the clauses.
On the one hand the document talks about contracts only being awarded without competition for reasons of “extreme urgency” and treating all providers equally particularly on the “basis of ownership”.
Yet it also makes it clear that any changes need to ensure services are being provided in an integrated way and not against the best interests of patients.
It is hardly surprising this has caused confusion and concern. In less than a month’s time arguably the biggest overhaul in the history of the NHS will go live.
Ministers claim it is more cock-up than conspiracy. If that is so it begs the question how the regulations managed to make it to parliament drafted in the way they were given the controversy over the reforms as a whole.
Read more from Nick
‘Utter chaos’
Last week more than 1,000 doctors have written to the Daily Telegraph claiming the legislation makes “virtually every part” of the NHS open to private firms.
Then over the weekend the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges said it could cause “dangerous” fragmentation of health services.
Labour had also managed to secure a debate on the issue in the Lords. It was due to take place later in the month.
Mr Lamb acknowledged the concerns, but said it was a matter of the regulations being badly drafted rather than an intention to ramp up the use of competition.
He added: “I have listened to people’s concerns and my department is acting quickly to improve the drafting so that there can be no doubt that the regulations go no further than the previous set of principles and rules inherited from the previous Labour government.”
But shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said the changingof the regulations represented a “humiliating retreat”.
“In less than four weeks’ time new GP commissioners take control and yet today there is complete confusion about the job they are being asked to do.
“Coalition policy on competition in the NHS is in utter chaos.”
If you read the 12 pages of regulations 257 governing NHS procurement, the first thing that strikes you is the contradictory nature of the clauses.
On the one hand the document talks about contracts only being awarded without competition for reasons of “extreme urgency” and treating all providers equally particularly on the “basis of ownership”.
Yet it also makes it clear that any changes need to ensure services are being provided in an integrated way and not against the best interests of patients.
It is hardly surprising this has caused confusion and concern. In less than a month’s time arguably the biggest overhaul in the history of the NHS will go live.
Ministers claim it is more cock-up than conspiracy. If that is so it begs the question how the regulations managed to make it to parliament drafted in the way they were given the controversy over the reforms as a whole.
