Nurses to first train in basic care

25 March 2013 Last updated at 21:23 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Nurses will have to spend time as healthcare assistants doing basic tasks such as washing and dressing before completing their degree training, ministers are proposing.

The move is part of a package of measures to be unveiled in response to the Stafford hospital inquiry.

Ministers will concede later a change of culture is needed across the system.

It comes after the inquiry claimed the public had been betrayed over the way the scandal was handled.

Previous reports have documented harrowing neglect and abuse at the hospital between 2005 to 2008.

Statistics at the time showed there were between 400 and 1,200 more deaths than would be expected.

The public inquiry, published at the start of February, accused the NHS of putting corporate self-interest ahead of patients, concluding the failings went from the top to the bottom of the system.

In total the report made 290 recommendations.

Ministers are not expected to respond individually to each one.

Instead, they will spell out a series of steps they are taking to answer the main themes that arose from the inquiry.

Among these will be details about how compassion on the front line could be improved.

'Hands-on'

Ministers believe placing student nurses on wards as healthcare assistants for up to a year will help them develop the caring skills required, before going on to do a degree.

It is unclear whether this time would count towards their degree however as nurse students currently have to spend half of their three years in training working in placements in hospitals and the community.

New minimum training standards and a code of conduct for healthcare assistants is also likely to be unveiled, although this looks like it will fall short of the registration scheme recommended by the public inquiry.

Speaking ahead of his announcement to Parliament, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said encouraging compassionate care needed to be more of a priority.

"Front-line, hands-on caring experience and values need to be equal with academic training," he said.

Continue reading the main story

This culture of cover up and denial is a cancer eating away at the NHS"

End Quote Peter Walsh Action Against Medical Accidents

"These measures are about recruiting all staff with the right values and giving them the training they need to do their job properly, so that patients are treated with compassion."

But Peter Walsh, of Action against Medical Accidents, said introducing a legal duty of candour, which was also demanded by the public inquiry, had the potential to have the biggest impact.

Such a duty would require the NHS to be honest when it makes a mistake.

Mr Walsh said: "For over 60 years the NHS has done no more than pay lip service to the fundamental principle that patients and their families should be told the truth when there has been an error which causes harm.

"Whilst frowning upon cover-ups, the system has effectively tolerated them.

"This culture of cover-up and denial is a cancer eating away at the NHS.

"The legally enforceable duty of candour will help change that culture and represents the biggest advance in patient safety and patients rights in the history of the NHS."

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

MPs warn over benefit cut risks

26 March 2013 Last updated at 00:31 ET By Stephen Robb BBC News

The government will need to react quickly if a benefit cut for social housing tenants leads to rises in rent arrears and homelessness, MPs say.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chair Margaret Hodge said it could have a "severe impact" on low-income families.

Estimates supplied to the BBC by some of the largest housing associations suggest many tenants are not currently planning to move home to avoid the cut.

The government said better use had to be made of social housing stock.

From 1 April, changes to housing benefit (HB) affecting working-age social housing tenants deemed to have spare bedrooms will mean a 14% cut for those with one extra room and of 25% for those with two or more.

The controversial measure - which will see affected tenants lose an average of £14 a week - has been dubbed the "bedroom tax" by Labour, though the government has been at pains to argue it is not a tax but a curb on "spare room subsidies".

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) expects 660,000 social housing tenants to be affected by the cut across Britain.

Ms Hodge said: "The DWP says it can't accurately predict the effects of its housing benefit changes either on individuals or on the housing supply.

"Instead it will rely on a 'wait and see' approach and monitor changes in homelessness, rent levels and arrears so that, where there is a need, it can intervene and respond."

The committee said this placed "greater responsibility on the Department to react quickly when the changes are made".

Ms Hodge warned: "Even small reductions in housing benefit can have a severe impact on the finances of the poorest people."

"The department must decide in advance exactly what actions it will take in response to increases in homelessness or rents."

Stay or go?

The government says the change brings housing benefit for social housing tenants in line with its provision in the private sector, where size criteria already apply.

Intended to reduce a £21bn annual housing benefit bill, the measure is also supposed to encourage greater mobility in the social rented sector.

Continue reading the main story

• The new rules affect housing benefit, paid to less well-off tenants to help with rent. Typically claimants receive between £50 and £100 a week
• From next month, working-age families deemed to have too much living space by their local authorities will receive a reduced payment
• Under the government's so-called "size criteria", families will be assessed for the number of bedrooms they actually need
• For one spare room, the amount of rent eligible for housing benefit will be cut by 14%. For two or more spare rooms, the cut will be 25%
• The government estimates that 660,000 households will have their benefit cut, roughly a third of social sector claimants

Of 50 housing associations across the UK contacted by the BBC, as well as a number of local authorities and ALMOs (arm's length management organisations) providing housing on behalf of councils, 21 social housing providers supplied estimates on the number of tenants saying they were planning to stay in their home or downsize.

Among them was Riverside Homes, with 51,493 properties and an estimated 6,602 households affected by the cut.

It estimated that 5,018 - 76% of affected tenants - were currently planning to stay in their home.

Another respondent, Glasgow Housing Association - with 41,400 homes - estimated that of 6,100 affected tenants, some 4,800 - 79% - were currently planning to stay in their home.

Community Housing Cymru Group (CHC), representing 70 housing associations in Wales, estimated that of 40,000 affected claimants, more than 36,000 - 91% - would stay in their homes.

Wales is expected to see a higher proportion of working-age HB claimants hit by the cut - 46% - than any other region of the UK.

'National shortage'

A number of housing associations said that moving large numbers of people considered to be under-occupying social homes was unachievable simply because there were not enough smaller homes available.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Single mother Kellie Parsons explains why she is optimistic about the planned changes to housing benefits

CHC said that 88% of housing associations in Wales would have a mismatch of properties if they tried to downsize all under-occupying tenants facing a benefit cut.

"Not because tenants are needlessly under-occupying larger homes, but because there is a national shortage of affordable homes, especially one and two-bed properties," said CHC spokeswoman Bethan Samuel.

Angela Forshaw, director of housing at Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH), said half of its stock of more than 15,000 properties comprised three-bedroom homes.

"We have just 2,800 with two bedrooms, so downsizing everyone affected - and most don't want to move - is impossible," she said.

With the vast majority of affected tenants expected to try to find the extra rental money themselves, housing associations raised concerns including:

• Increased financial difficulty for tenants
• Tenants running up rent arrears
• Increased costs to housing associations of rent collection and evictions
• A rise in doorstep lending
• Damage to communities from increased turnover in social housing and less affordable, larger homes remaining empty

They also warned that people who responded to the benefit cut by leaving social housing could end up claiming more housing benefit in the costlier private sector.

However, for single mother Kellie Parsons the changes provide some hope for larger accommodation.

She lives in a one-bedroom flat with her three-year-old son, Dylan, in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester.

She shares the bedroom with her son, and has been trying to move to a bigger flat for three years - since becoming pregnant.

"The living room is just cluttered with stuff, it's too small, and there's no garden, there's only a veranda which is too dangerous for him so we barely use it.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Caroline Egglestone says the change will leave them "very short of money"

"There's just no area for him to play, not even outside because there are just too many cars."

She said she hopes that the changes will be an incentive for people to downsize from bigger properties, allowing her to exchange via home swap schemes.

"I've been trying to upgrade for three years. I've been doing it pretty much every single day.

"I think these change of benefits would actually help because people [will] downgrade, so it would help me to move quicker. I'm hopeful, positive about it."

The DWP points out that with one third of working-age social housing tenants receiving housing benefit for homes larger than they need, that amounts to one million extra bedrooms currently being subsidised.

It hopes its measure will enable better use of available social housing stock, and improve work incentives for affected tenants.

"We expect people to respond in different ways to the changes to the Spare Room Subsidy - some will move and some will make up the difference in their rent by moving into work, or increasing their hours," a DWP spokesperson said.

"But when in England alone there are nearly two million households on the social housing waiting list and over a quarter of a million tenants are living in overcrowded homes, this measure is needed to make better use of our housing stock."

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus banks closed until Thursday

26 March 2013 Last updated at 02:10 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

President Anastasiades: "We leave behind uncertainty and look with optimism into the future"

All Cypriot banks will remain closed until Thursday, the central bank now says, and temporary measures will be placed on transactions when they reopen despite an EU/IMF bailout deal.

Earlier, the authorities said all but the biggest two would open on Tuesday.

The central bank now says all will remain closed to ensure the whole banking system functions "smoothly".

The bailout deal will see larger depositors in the two biggest banks, Bank of Cyprus and Laiki, lose money.

President Nicos Anastasiades said "very temporary restrictions" would be put on capital flows, but gave no details.

Controls to prevent money leaving the country are already in place.

Certain limits on the size of cash withdrawals are expected to continue.

'30% losses'

Banks have not been open since 15 March. Their reopening had been expected after Cyprus agreed a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) that releases 10bn euros in support.

It was conditional on Cyprus itself raising 5.8bn euros, most of which looks likely to come from depositors with more than 100,000 euros (£85,000) in Bank of Cyprus and Laiki or Popular Bank.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The bailout and rescue of Cyprus by the eurozone and IMF will not feel like much of a rescue to its people, who face economic misery"

End Quote

The banks remained closed after the country's first money-raising solution, which would have hit smaller deposit holders as well as larger holdings, was rejected by parliament.

The new deal for Cyprus, unlike previous agreements, does not require parliamentary approval. It will also include austerity measures and tax increases.

Laiki will be shut down, and deposits under 100,000 euros, which are guaranteed by the state under EU law, will move into the Bank of Cyprus to create a "good bank".

Deposits above that insured amount will be frozen and used to pay Laiki's debts and recapitalise the Bank of Cyprus, with depositor losses eventually converted into shares.

Major depositors, many of whom are wealthy Russians, will not be able to access accounts exceeding the 100,000-euro limit until the restructuring of the banks is complete.

A government spokesman said the losses on uninsured depositors would be "under or around 30%".

'Specific case'

On Monday morning, hopes that the deal would solve the crisis lifted shares.

But later, stock markets were rocked after the head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers suggested that the deal for Cyprus could form a template for resolving future eurozone banking problems.

Continue reading the main story

Jeroen Dijsselbloem

• Aged 46, member of Dutch Labour party
• Became Netherlands finance minister four months ago and took over as chair of Eurogroup in January
• Criticised by predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker and MEPs over initial terms of Cyprus bailout
• No previous experience in finance but studied agricultural economics and business
• Favours reform of the financial sector and a Europe where 'every country brings its budget in order'

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who as head of the Eurogroup played a key role in the Cyprus negotiations, told Reuters and the Financial Times: "If there is a risk in a bank our first question should be 'OK, what are you in the bank going to do about that?'"

He later added a clarification, saying that Cyprus was "a specific case with exceptional challenges".

Mr Dijsselbloem said the pattern for bank rescues should see shareholders take the first hit, then bondholders, who lend money through financial markets, and only then should depositors with large bank balances be tapped.

The Cyprus deal puts the burden for dealing with problem banks on their shareholders and creditors - in this particular case, customers with large bank balances - rather than the government and taxpayers, or bondholders.

The BBC's Andrew Walker points out that the more common approach to failing banks in the current crisis has been for the state to inject new capital.

He says Cyprus' banks are unusual in that they have relatively few financial market investors who could be tapped.

In the past, nations such as Ireland have pumped billions of taxpayers' money into propping up their banks, rather than risk upsetting large investors and spooking the financial system.

Despite the Cypriot economy's relatively small size, many analysts had been concerned that the crisis would spread to the wider eurozone, had Cyprus been forced to give up the single currency.

There were fears that the country's possible exit from the euro would trigger a loss of confidence across the single currency bloc, and prompt investors to withdraw from other troubled economies, such as Greece.

However, while Cyprus is now likely to remain in the eurozone, the country still faces significant obstacles as it attempts to recover from the crisis.

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Work to reconnect homes continues

26 March 2013 Last updated at 04:41 ET

Thousands of people have spent a fourth night without power as engineers work "flat out" to restore supplies cut as a result of Friday's storm.

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) said 3,300 customers in Kintyre, Argyll, and on the Isle of Arran remained cut off overnight.

Supplies were cut after two pylons toppled under sheets of ice and snow.

All homes in Dumfries and Galloway affected by the severe weather were reconnected on Monday evening.

SSE said the damage to the electricity network infrastructure in Kintyre had been "among the worst seen for 30 years".

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Had it not been for good neighbours and friends we would be really struggling"

End Quote Sandy MacPherson Campbeltown resident

The power company said it had never experienced two pylons collapsing at one time. The last time a storm brought down one of its pylons was in 1987.

A spokeswoman added: "Transmission overhead lines staff have started working to make towers safe and carry out temporary repairs after finally gaining access to the location."

All schools in Arran will remain closed for the rest of the week. North Ayrshire Council said pupils involved in exams would get support on their return from the Easter break.

Dumfries and Galloway Council said all of its schools are now open while Argyll and Bute Council have said a few of its schools were unlikely to open due to having no electricity.

Snow and gales blasted the west coast on Friday, plunging about 20,000 properties into darkness.

Continue reading the main story

Weather and travel info

• Get frequent travel updates on BBC Radio Scotland - 92 to 95 FM and 810 MW
• Do you know of a problem? Call the travel hotline on 08000 929588 (call only if it is safe to do so)

Arran suffered a complete blackout and mainland areas in Kintyre and Dumfries and Galloway were also badly affected.

Sandy MacPherson has lived in Campbeltown, Kintyre, all his life and told BBC radio's Good Morning Scotland programme these were the worst conditions he had experienced.

"My wife and I have had nothing for four days," he said. "We've had no heating, lighting or cooking facilities."

"Had it not been for good neighbours and friends we would be really struggling."

He added: "We were warned on Monday/Tuesday about the extreme weather that was coming in and, similar to the M8 escapade two years ago, nothing was put in place to be ready for it.

"We are now just catching up and chasing our tail."

On Monday evening ScottishPower said that all homes in Dumfries and Galloway had now been reconnected to a main line electricity supply.

Six helicopters

It said 300 engineers had been on the ground in Wigtownshire and Barrhill working to restore supplies.

SSE has drafted in more 400 engineering staff to Kintyre and Arran and has six helicopters operating in the area.

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) has organised eight mobile hot food outlets in Argyll and Arran, while 18 large generators and 50 smaller sets have been installed in the areas.

Speaking after a visit to Arran on Monday, Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said emergency engineers and road clearing crews had been working "flat out" to help individuals and communities.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to visit the Kintyre Peninsula later.

The Met Office issued a fresh yellow warning covering eastern Scotland, northeast England and eastern parts of Northern Ireland.

Forecasters said snow showers and icy patches would continue to make driving hazardous on Monday night, especially over high ground.

The strong wind will be an added problem as it continues to blow the lying snow.

The warning is valid from 20:00 on Monday until 09:00 on Tuesday.

To access more information from your mobile, visit the BBC Weather and BBC Travel News sites.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Knox faces Kercher murder retrial

26 March 2013 Last updated at 05:13 ET

American Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito must face a retrial over the killing in 2007 of her UK flatmate, Meredith Kercher, Italy's highest court has ruled.

Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito spent four years in jail for murder but were freed on appeal in October 2011, largely on the grounds DNA evidence was flawed.

Prosecutors appealed and the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittals.

Rudy Guede was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to 16 years.

The Ivory Coast national was found guilty of sexually assaulting and stabbing Ms Kercher. He admitted being at the house on the night of the killing in November 2007, but denies murder.

'Very anxious'

Meredith Kercher, from Coulsdon, south London, had been on a year abroad from Leeds University when she was found semi-naked in her bedroom and with her throat cut in the cottage she shared with Miss Knox.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Archive: Amanda Knox broke down in tears as she was acquitted in October 2011

Prosecutors believed she was killed in a brutal sex game that went wrong.

Addressing the court on Monday, they urged the judges to "make sure the final curtain does not drop on this shocking and dire crime".

Miss Knox's Italian lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, said on Monday her client was "very anxious" about the latest hearing.

Miss Knox lives in Seattle and a retrial is likely to take place in absentia, as the US is unlikely to extradite her, analysts say.

Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito were originally sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison for killing and sexually assaulting Meredith Kercher.

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bids invited to run East Coast rail

26 March 2013 Last updated at 05:28 ET

Private companies have been invited to bid for the East Coast rail franchise, which has been run in the public sector since 2009.

The London to Scotland route was run by National Express before then.

In a separate announcement, the Department for Transport said Virgin would continue to run the West Coast Main Line until April 2017.

Ten of the country's 16 rail franchises are due for renewal before the general election, expected in 2015.

'Major step'

Virgin Trains had previously been running the West Coast Main Line but initially lost that deal when the contract for it was awarded to FirstGroup.

However, this decision was later overturned after the transport secretary found there had been "significant technical flaws" in the franchise bidding process.

This was because of mistakes by Department for Transport staff and three civil servants were suspended. The government also halted rail franchising.

As a result, Virgin was given the right to run the rail line for longer while the franchise bidding system was sorted out, and has now had that extended further, until 2017.

Continue reading the main story

The most expensive rail network in Europe is about to get even more expensive"

End Quote Manuel Cortes Transport Salaried Staffs' Association rail union

The company is also understood to be keen to bid for the new East Coast contract.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced the start of a bidding process for the East Coast franchise on Tuesday.

He also published a detailed timetable for all rail franchise arrangements over the next eight years.

He said: "This programme is a major step in delivering tangible improvements to services, providing long-term certainty to the market and supporting our huge programme of rail investment.

"Above all, in future franchise competitions, we are placing passengers in the driving seat by ensuring that their views and satisfaction levels are taken into account when deciding which companies run our railway services.

"Franchising has been a force for good in the story of Britain's railways, transforming an industry that was in decline into one that today carries record numbers of passengers."

Unions critical

But rail unions are unhappy with the news of the East Coast line being put up for private bidding, pointing out that the private sector had twice given up the franchise before.

Bob Crow, the general secretary of the RMT - Rail Maritime and Transport union - said: "The proposed reprivatisation of the East Coast, after the public sector rescued the service following two private failures, proves conclusively that the political class have learnt absolutely nothing when it comes to our railways.

"This is a politically inspired wrecking move designed to flog off this publicly owned intercity route before the next election, regardless of the consequences."

Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association rail union, said: "The £50 million West Coast line fiasco revealed that private franchises are a shambles. So they go and privatise the only successful publicly owned franchise, the East Coast line.

"This is an act of political spite to reward their friends in the City and to tie the hands of an incoming Labour government in 2015. The most expensive rail network in Europe is about to get even more expensive."

The East Coast route, running out of London King's Cross, stops at locations including Peterborough, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Berwick upon Tweed and Edinburgh's Waverley station, where connections are available to other parts of Scotland.

The government also announced details of the various franchise deals coming up for bidding, with many of them having been put back, meaning the current operating company will have its franchise extended.

The Great Western franchise, run by FirstGroup and due to end in October this year, will not start until July 2016.

The Northern franchise, due to end in April 2014, will not begin until February 2016 and the South Eastern franchise, also due to end in April 2014, will not start until June 2018.

The first of the new franchises to start will be Essex Thameside, where the franchise ends in May this year and will begin in September 2014.

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Search and rescue role privatised

26 March 2013 Last updated at 05:38 ET

A private company will take over the UK's helicopter search and rescue operations, the Department for Transport has announced.

The Bristow Group has won a 10-year contract to run the service from 2015.

The £1.6bn deal ends 70 years of search and rescue from the RAF and Royal Navy.

Bristow will replace ageing RAF and Royal Navy Sea King helicopters with modern Sikorsky S-92s and AgustaWestland 189s.

Under the new contract, 22 helicopters will operate from 10 locations around the UK.

Ten S-92s will be based, two per site, at Stornoway and Sumburgh, and at new bases at Newquay, Caernarfon and Humberside airports.

Ten AW189s will operate, two per site, from Lee-on-the-Solent and a new hangar at Prestwick airport, and new bases which will be established at St Athan, Inverness and Manston airports.

All bases will be operational 24 hours a day, and half of the new fleet will be built in Yeovil, Somerset.

Continue reading the main story

• Culdrose - SAR operation moves to Newquay
• Wattisham - moves to Manston
• Valley - moves to Caernarfon
• Boulmer - SAR operation ending
• Portland - Closing
• Lee-on-the-Solent - not moving
• Chivenor - moves to St Athan
• Leconfield - moves to Humberside
• Lossiemouth - moves to Inverness
• Prestwick - not moving

Bristow Helicopters is an Aberdeen-based company, although the corporate headquarters of the Bristow Group is in Texas.

The firm has already been preparing crews for coastguard duties at Sumburgh in Shetland and Stornoway in the Western Isles.

The other current search and rescue (SAR) bases are Culdrose, Wattisham, Valley, Boulmer, Portland, Lee-on-the-Solent, Chivenor, Leconfield, Lossiemouth and Prestwick.

There will continue to be an RAF base at Valley, Anglesey, but the SAR unit will be in Caernarfon.

'Great confidence'

The Department for Transport began the procurement process in November 2011 for providing SAR helicopter services on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

It wanted an all-weather SAR helicopter service able to operate throughout the UK, including mountainous terrain and at sea.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "Our search and rescue helicopter service plays a crucial role, saving lives and providing assistance to people in distress on both land and on sea.

"With 24 years of experience providing search and rescue helicopter services in the UK, the public can have great confidence in Bristow and their ability to deliver a first class service with state-of-the-art helicopters."

The government says the new deal means helicopters "will be able reach a larger area of the UK search and rescue region within one hour of take off than is currently possible".

It also estimates, based on historic data, that there will be an overall improvement in flying times to incidents of around 20% - from 23 to 19 minutes.

Bristow's website says its helicopters and pilots have already rescued more than 7,000 people in the UK. It also operates in the Netherlands, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, Russia, Brazil and Canada.

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Profit at Big Five banks 'wiped out'

24 March 2013 Last updated at 20:03 ET

The major UK banks saw a 45% rise in core profits in 2012, but that hike was wiped out by a mix of regulation and their own mistakes, a KPMG report says.

Its performance report looks at Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS and Standard Chartered.

It says the banks' combined core profits last year were £31.5bn.

But this was eliminated by the "cost of past mistakes and increased creditworthiness of their own debt", the audit firm's report says.

"Dire"

This development meant that the major banks actually saw their statutory profits slump 40% on the previous year, at £11.7bn, KPMG added.

The banks, it says, were hit by PPI costs of £7.4bn - up from £5.7bn in 2011,

Continue reading the main story

The necessary changes to address conduct and behavioural failings will have a significant cost"

End Quote Bill Michael KPMG

In addition, there were other fines and penalties from regulators and "redress provisions" of £4.7bn, and a £12.8bn accounting hit for losses caused by the revaluation of "own debt'", "reflecting the credit markets' more positive view on bank issuers and interest rate movements".

"Banks had a better performance year in 2012 but their improved core profits were eaten up by fines and other exceptional items, leaving them down on 2011," said Bill Michael of KPMG.

He added: "In terms of their reputations, 2012 was a dire year. This is why it is so important for them to address cultural and ethical perceptions and issues. Restoring customer trust is critical."

'Essential function'

However the report does acknowledge the improvement in core performance from the banks, and says it is due to two main factors.

Better credit performance has meant that impairment (bad loan) charges have continued to fall with continued low interest rates enabling the majority of customers to pay their mortgages and even reduce their credit exposures.

And stronger investment banking results have meant that revenues were generally up, especially in rates businesses, helped in large part by more positive sentiment surrounding the future of the eurozone.

But the report also points out that current events in Cyprus show that such sentiment can be transitory,

"Overall, banks have made progress," said Mr Michael. "They have strengthened their balance sheets and made strides to bolster their capital.

"They are becoming better able to carry out their essential function of providing support to businesses and promoting economic growth. However, the necessary changes to address conduct and behavioural failings will have a significant cost."

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Proposals on England-only law votes

24 March 2013 Last updated at 20:06 ET

Legislation that affects just England should normally need backing by a majority of MPs who represent English constituencies, a report says.

The McKay Commission said such a principle should be enshrined in a resolution of the House of Commons.

The commission was launched last year to consider whether Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish MPs should be denied a vote on English-only matters.

The government said it would give the report "serious consideration".

There has been controversy over the so-called West Lothian Question - the ability of Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish MPs to vote on England-only matters - for several decades, but this intensified after devolution.

In 2004, support from Scottish and Welsh MPs allowed the government to push through the introduction of university top-up fees in England.

'Double lock'

The commission concluded that the current situation was "unsustainable" and changes were needed.

It proposed the principle that Commons' decisions with a "separate and distinct effect" for England should "normally be taken only with the consent of a majority of MPs sitting for constituencies in England".

The same would go for decisions that affected only England and Wales.

Continue reading the main story

There is a feeling that England is at a disadvantage and that it's not right that MPs representing the devolved nations should be able to vote on matters affecting England"

End Quote Sir William McKay

The report said the principle should be enshrined in a resolution of the House, and suggested a range of procedural changes to entrench the approach.

Specific Parliamentary time could be allocated to debating plans for England, and MPs would be given an opportunity to vote on motions endorsing or rejecting them.

Committees for scrutinising bills could also be weighted to represent the party balance in England, the report suggested.

However, the commission dismissed as "flawed and impractical" a more drastic suggestion, which would require England-only legislation to get a majority of English MPs, as well as an overall majority.

Instead of such a "double lock", the commission floated the idea of a "double count", where the proportion of English MPs supporting a Bill would be published alongside the overall result.

"If a government was seen to have failed to attract the support of a majority of MPs from England [or England and Wales] for business affecting those interests, it would be likely to sustain severe political damage," it says.

'Important issue'

Commission chairman Sir William McKay said Westminster law-making had inevitably come to focus on England, or England and Wales.

"But the processes for making law at Westminster have not significantly changed," he said.

"Surveys have shown that people in England are unhappy about the existing arrangements and support change.

"There is a feeling that England is at a disadvantage, and that it's not right that MPs representing the devolved nations should be able to vote on matters affecting England.

"The status quo clearly cannot be sustained."

A Cabinet Office spokesman said the government was "very grateful to Sir William McKay and his colleagues for their work".

"This is a very important issue, which is why the government asked this expert commission to look into it.

"We will give the report very serious consideration before we respond substantively," he said.

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Amniotic fluid 'may heal babies'

24 March 2013 Last updated at 22:26 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Amniotic fluid may hold the key to healing a fatal gut disease which affects premature babies, doctors say.

Severe inflammation, called necrotizing enterocolitis, can destroy the gut's tissues and lead to major organ failure.

Early animal tests, published in the journal Gut, showed that stem cells inside amniotic fluid could heal some of the damage and increase survival.

Further tests are still needed before it is tried in premature babies.

Pregnancy fluid

Babies born too soon are not ready for the world outside the womb and their guts are ill-prepared to deal with food. About one in 10 premature babies in a neonatal intensive care will develop necrotizing enterocolitis.

The inflammation can cause tissue death and lead to a hole in the baby's intestines which can result in a serious infection.

Continue reading the main story

What appears to be happening is a direct effect on calming inflammation and also stimulating resident stem cells in the gut to be more efficient at repairing the intestines"

End Quote Dr Simon Eaton Institute of Child Health

Breast milk can reduce the risks, but the only major treatment is surgery to remove the diseased tissue. However, 40% of those needing an operation will not survive.

"It is quite a problem and we think it is on the increase," said Dr Simon Eaton, from the Institute of Child Health at University College London.

He was part of a team investigating the use of stem cells, which are able to become any other type of cell in the body from nerve to bone, taken from the amniotic fluid which surrounds a developing foetus in the womb.

In experiments on laboratory rats, which are programmed to develop fatal necrotizing enterocolitis, injections of stem cells appeared to increase survival times.

Dr Eaton told the BBC news website: "We're able to prolong survival by quite a long way.

"What appears to be happening is a direct effect on calming inflammation and also stimulating resident stem cells in the gut to be more efficient at repairing the intestines."

The study, funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, showed the intestines were also working better after the treatment.

Cancer risk?

Fellow researcher Dr Paolo De Coppi said: "Stem cells are well known to have anti-inflammatory effects, but this is the first time we have shown that amniotic fluid stem cells can repair damage in the intestines.

"Although amniotic fluid stem cells have a more limited capacity to develop into different cell types than those from the embryo, they nevertheless show promise for many parts of the body including the liver, muscle and nervous system."

Far more testing would be required to work out if the treatment would work in babies and if it would be safe.

The stem cells would have to be taken from a donor as it would not be practical to store fluid from every birth, just in case. This means there is the risk of rejection.

As the stem cells are capable of becoming other types of cells there is also concern that they may pose a cancer risk.

However, in the future doctors hope they could harness a drug instead.

"It's not the cells, they're delivering something and if we knew what that was then we could deliver that directly," said Dr Eaton.

16.50 | 0 komentar | Read More