1 Debt collectors knocked at the doors of an NHS trust in the Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt’s ward. The trust in Leicester East constituency, which owed £420,000 to the city council, said that “an administration error” led to late payment of the bill. Meanwhile, Surrey and Sussex Health Authority, which provides services to 2.5 million people, had to borrow £97 million in order to pay its staff next month.
2 More than 200,000 people in care homes are at risk of getting the wrong medication, the Commission for Social Care Inspection says. It found little improvement in medication controls despite spending £48 million to improve care workers’ qualifications since 2004.
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3 Young offenders will do time at the Olympic Village instead of in prison under proposals by the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke. His plans to send fewer people to jail include unpaid work to build the village and fines more closely linked to an offender’s disposable income.
4 Middle-class students are exploiting the university funding system, says Sir Howard Newby, the former head of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce). He said that the current package of loans, top-up fees and grants was unsustainable. Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister, countered that future funding arrangements meant more poor students in universities.
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5 The number of serious violent crimes has fallen by 21 per cent since the licensing laws were relaxed, according to Home Office figures for the last six weeks of 2005.
6 Private debt collectors are reluctant to clear £3.3 billion in Child Support Agency (CSA) arrears for fear that the Government will hand them the CSA’s problems. Kurt Obermaier, executive director of the Credit Services Association, which represents debt collectors, said the proposal was like “being handed a poisoned chalice”.
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7 Childminders are even more expensive than nurseries and are charging up to £500 a week in South East England, according to the annual survey by the Daycare Trust. Traditionally considered to be a cheap option, childminders now cost more than all other forms of childcare nationwide.
8 Bus operators could be allowed to collaborate in the biggest change to bus regulation for 20 years under plans announced by the Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling. Under the proposals, strict competition rules will be relaxed allowing companies to work with local authorities to co-ordinate timetables and set up ticketing deals.
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9 The Make Poverty History campaign motivates politically active young people, according to a survey for the charity Oxfam. Eight-four per cent of the 1,000 16 to 25-year-old respondents said that the wristband campaign and Live8 concerts had made a bigger impact on them than London’s 2012 Olympic bid victory.
10 Waitrose has the worst record for selling alcohol to under-18s, the Home Office has found. The supermarket chain sold alcohol in 22 per cent of cases when trading standards officers used under-18s in test purchases.
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11 The Government must improve postal voting safeguards before the next general election, the Electoral Commission has said. The organisation wants mandatory individual registration for postal voters. Under the proposals, those who wished to vote by post would have to provide a signature and date of birth when registering.
12 Royal Mail has been fined £11.7 million for “serious breaches” of its licence after a spate of organised crime, large-scale thefts and a poor delivery record in London. The regulator, Postcomm, said that the problems were largely the result of “management failings” and did not reflect on the dedication and commitment of postmen and women.