Cameron: Sure Start budget “going up”; the reality? Sure Start is under threat
The prime minister insisted the Sure Start budget was “going up” from £2.2m to £2.3m at PMQs today – yet it is the Early Intervention Grant that is increasing.
Public Services
£9,000 fees at Cambridge are just the first of many
News today that Cambridge University plans to put fees up to the maximum £9,000 as soon as the fee cap is listed will surprise no one, writes NUS president Aaron Porter.
Budget cuts force council to consider four-day school week
North Aryshire council has confirmed it is considering changing to a four-day school week in an attempt to save money, reports Ed Jacobs.
£940m university funding cut will be a disaster for the economy
The govt has announced a £940m university funding cut, but surely it is better having teachers teaching and young people learning than consigning thousands to the dole, writes Sally hunt.
Tory MP: Tuition fee rise is a good thing for teenagers
Tory MP for Carlisle John Stevenson told his local paper it would be a good thing it “certain sections of youngsters” no longer wished to go to university.
The government’s misleading claims about the scale of local government cuts
Sir Robin Wales, the directly elected Labour Mayor of the London Borough of Newham, asks how ministers at the DCLG are held to account for misleading the public.
Welsh Lib Dems urge Tories to “come clean” over health spending plans
The Liberal Democrats in Wales have criticised Conservative policy to ring fence NHS spending over the damage it is likely to do to education spending.
So, Mr Cameron, who backs your NHS reforms? Erm…
David Cameron’s claims the government’s NHS reforms are backed by a “long list” of organisations looked on extremely shaky ground today, reports Shamik Das.
Campaign to save libraries steps up a gear
As local authorities wield the axe over public services, authors have launched a war of words against the closure of public libraries, reports Claire French.
NHS case for change “oversold”, as medics’ concerns grow
The basis for the government’s NHS reforms have been challenged by the UK’s leading health policy institute, the Kings Fund, as more doctors’ groups voice their concerns.