Politics

Wednesday news roundup

The NHS IT fiasco, “drunk tanks” and coalition trade-offs

September 18, 2013
Clegg to contrast Lib Dem support for free school meals with Tories' marriage tax allowance
Clegg to contrast Lib Dem support for free school meals with Tories' marriage tax allowance
Free school meals in primary schools – and tax breaks for married couples

Every child in primary school in state education in the UK will receive free school meals, Nick Clegg will announce on Wednesday in a £1.2bn coalition trade off that will allow the Conservatives to introduce a marriage tax allowance by the end of the year, the Independent reports.

NHS £10bn IT system one of “worst fiascos ever”

An abandoned IT patient record system has so far cost the taxpayer £9.8bn, with the final bill likely to be several hundreds of million pounds higher, according to the Guardian. A report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concluded that the attempt to install what would have been the world’s largest civilian computer system became one of the “worst and most expensive contracting fiascos” in public sector history.

“Drunk tanks” to tackle disorder

Police chiefs have backed the idea of privately-run “drunk tanks” to tackle alcohol-fuelled misbehaviour, says the Telegraph. The alcohol task force said that disorderly drunks will be put in cells to sober up and made to pay £400 for their care the following morning. Preferring the term “welfare centres,” Chief Constable Adrian Lee said that the taxpayer should not have to foot the bill for people’s drunkenness.

UN: disarming Damascus “doable”

The chief UN weapons inspector, Ake Sellstrom, has told the BBC that locating and destroying all of Syria’s chemical arsenal will be a difficult task, but one he believes is “doable.” Sellstrom said that much depended on whether the Syrian regime and the rebel forces were willing to negotiate.

Alex Salmon former aide attacks “tired, tedious” campaign

Alex Bell, who until recently was in charge of writing the Scottish Government’s forthcoming White Paper on independence, has attacked the campaign for relying on “tired policies” and “tedious” ideas, according to the Telegraph. A year before the Scots go to the polls, Bell accused Salmon of falling into the trap of the “old songs” of short-terms tactics, failing to offer radical reforms and so is facing defeat in next year’s referendum.