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WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
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| The Poor don’t pay (much), the Rich avoid paying (a lot) and the Middle-earners get ‘clobbered’! |
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A Public Accounts Committee report says that the Government must be tougher & clearer in its approach to taxing the very wealthy. In their report, the Committee sets out measures to enable HMRC to improve tax collection and "give the public greater confidence that there is not one set of rules for the rich and another for everyone else". It urges HMRC to be more transparent about its work, seek new powers where required and do more to tackle those involved in tax avoidance & evasion. The Committee questions HMRC's strategy for dealing with the very wealthy, which suggests "they get help with their tax affairs that is not available to other taxpayers". HMRC collected £1bn less from very wealthy since establishing their specialist unit. |
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PC&PE: Government must take tougher stance on taxing the very wealthy Problem is, money can ‘infect’ one with ‘greed’ HMRC Annual Report & Accounts 2015-16 IFS: Use new Budget as a springboard for wider tax policy reform Beating the tax cheats – HMRC’s criminal case highlights of 2016 New Year brings in new penalties for enablers of offshore tax evasion Looking back one can see that tax collection (in some cases) is just like trying to carry live eels |
| ‘Sir’ needs to get more involved |
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Head teachers need to take an active part in ensuring that their school offers a great computing curriculum - according to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. To help achieve this, a specially developed tool kit is being sent to all secondary schools in England this week to support school leaders in implementing a high quality computing curriculum for all their students. Produced by BCS and Computing At School (CAS) with support from a Microsoft YouthSpark grant, the tool kit includes practical advice, guidance, case studies & action plans to assist teachers and their senior leadership teams. |
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BCS: Computing Curriculum Tool Kit Launched for School Leaders BCS: Computing At School launches new resources to develop computing subject knowledge Much more than one step ahead of the class now New term means digital skills on par with reading 7 maths in Welsh curriculum Computing At School celebrates launch of 200th CAS Hub Computer science teachers invited for “Phish ‘N’ Chips” at CAS Conference techUK Calls for National Digital Skills Map to stop the UK Falling Behind |
| SME Supplier Locator update... |
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UK Government and public sector spend with SME’s is continually on the increase and by 2020, it is the stated intent of Cabinet Office that £1 of every £3 spent on government contracts goes to SME’s. The past 5 years have seen government make a priority of getting money through its supply chain into the hands of SMEs, by both setting targets and introducing new procurement mechanisms. Against this backdrop, the WiredGov Supplier Locator service has been developed specifically to embrace the SME Agenda and provide the ideal platform for SME’s to promote their services, solutions, accreditation and success stories directly to our ever increasing audience across all government and public sector verticals and Tier 1 suppliers. |
| Ban ‘Ambulance Chasers’! |
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The government intends to impose a new, fixed cap on all clinical negligence cases up to £25,000 to prevent rising litigation costs within the NHS. There are numerous examples of lawyers who profit from the NHS by charging more than 80 times the amount awarded to the victims in minor claims. In one case, lawyers claimed £83,000 in legal costs for a case in which the patient was awarded £1,000. These costs contributed to a total bill for the NHS of £1.5bn in financial year 2015 to 2016. Currently, there is no limit on legal costs that can be recouped and the money claimed by lawyers takes vital funds away from NHS trusts. It is expected the new cap will help the NHS save up to £45m a year. |
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DH: Plans for fixed cap on legal costs for medical negligence cases Halving avoidable harm and saving up to 6,000 lives No Evidence that Health & Social Care Services are Safer for Patients than a Decade Ago |
| An ‘old issue’ that has never ‘gone away’ |
| A new report has made a series of recommendations for homelessness services, anti-slavery organisations, local authorities, the government & police to improve the multi-agency response to modern slavery. |
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Homeless Link: Protecting victims of modern slavery – how does your service measure up? Slavery is not something that ended 250 years ago Slavery will always exist as long as one person can control another by ‘force’ |
| Adults need to walk/run a mile a day too! |
| Primary schools across Wales are being encouraged to take part in The Daily Mile – an easy, fun way to improve children’s health & wellbeing. The initiative sees primary school children run, walk or jog for 15 minutes every day. It is inclusive, simple and free, with no equipment or set up required. |
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WAG: Primary schools encouraged to make ‘Daily Mile’ a runaway success BBC: Stirling school kids run or walk a mile a day to keep fit |
| More cover if bankers get greedy again! |
| The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) limit is now £85,000. It’s up £10,000 after an increase by the regulator earlier this month. And the limit for joint accounts moves to £170,000. |
| One can be lonely at any age! |
| Age UK is taking part in a government initiative to increase the public’s awareness of loneliness, in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox. |
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Age UK joins Jo Cox Commission to raise awareness of loneliness It’s difficult to be ‘Merry’ on your own |
| In memory of one of our greatest ‘wartime heroes’ |
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Thousands of gay & bisexual men convicted of now abolished sexual offences have been posthumously pardoned. The historic moment comes after the Policing and Crime Bill received Royal Assent – enshrining, in law, pardons for those convicted of consensual same-sex relationships. The new law, made possible following government intervention, will also see statutory pardons granted to the living. However, this will only apply in cases where offenders have successfully applied through the Home Office’s disregard process to have historic convictions removed. |
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| But one might be wise to check before booking! |
| Foreign Office statement on what the Presidential executive order on inbound migration to US means to British nationals and dual nationals. |
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FCO: Presidential executive order on inbound migration to US |
| Why couldn’t we have had this CJEU ruling years ago! |
| An application for asylum can be rejected if the asylum seeker has participated in the activities of a terrorist network. It is not necessary that the asylum seeker personally committed terrorist acts, or instigated such acts, or participated in their commission. |
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CJEU: Rejection as asylum seeker for participation in the activities of a terrorist network |
| Editorial Commentary: Some ‘points to ponder’ for the SNP as they consider calling for a second Independence Referendum: |
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First; Have recent polls shown a majority of Scots want another referendum and would vote for Independence? No. But interestingly it appears if the SNP did wait ‘For a Lifetime’ before calling for another Referendum they might get the result they desire! Herald/BMG Poll: Majority of Scots against a 2017 Independence vote ... Secondly; Scotland’s total international & rest of the UK exports in 2015 (excluding oil & gas) were estimated at £78.6bn:
Why would they want to leave their biggest (internal) market? ScotGov: (Scotland’s Exports Increase ~ 'Norway-style' deal would erect hard border between Scotland & UK Thirdly; Members of the Scottish Parliament will have a vote on the UK Government’s Bill to trigger Article 50 on Tuesday 7 February. ScotGov believes that given the fundamental change to their constitutional arrangements involved by triggering formal withdrawal from the EU, and the direct effects on the devolved responsibilities, the Scottish Parliament should be invited to give its view before the Bill is passed, and that the UK Government should respect the views of the Parliament. If the UK government held a national referendum as to whether Scotland (in response to ScotGov holding one) should become independent (and the majority said ‘No’) would ScotGov ‘respect the views of the (UK) Parliament & voters’? ScotGov: Scottish Parliament to vote on UK Government's Article 50 Bill ~ What's a Sewel Convention and why did it feature in the Brexit court ~ Brexit: Ministers 'not legally compelled' to consult AMs - BBC News Fourthly; The ScotGov is determined to retain the Green Investment Bank’s Edinburgh headquarters and the jobs of the 55 highly-skilled people employed there. Do they realise at least 91% of it would be moved to rUK before ‘Independence Day’? ScotGov: Green Investment Bank (reply) Lastly; ScotGov is inviting views from the public on the future of unconventional oil & gas in Scotland. This includes hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” and coal bed methane extraction. The consultation Talking “fracking” will run until 31 May 2017. Despite the SNP’s strenuous past announcements on the ‘evils of fracking’, permitting it could turn out to be the only way they might (at least partially) ‘balance the books’ of an independent Scotland as the North Sea oil & gas revenues no longer can. ScotGov: Unconventional oil and gas consultation launched ~ To Frack or not to Frack (that was the promise) ~ Fracking 'could generate £3.9bn for the Scottish economy' ~ 7 questions about fracking in Scotland - University of Strathclyde ~ Scottish Fracking Consultation Launched - WWF Scotland comment ~ Unconventional oil & gas research published ~ Scottish Government Welcomes Independent Report into Unconventional Oil & Gas |
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