Month: March 2024

UK News: Up to 600 council jobs to be lost and bin collections reduced to fortnightly

Councillors in Birmingham have approved what are thought to be the biggest budget cuts in local authority history, with residents warning that the consequences could be “disastrous” for the city.

Birmingham city council met on Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on a proposed raft of budget cuts which will see the loss of up to 600 council jobs, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed, bin collections reduced to fortnightly and funding cuts to adult social care, children’s services, flood defences and highway maintenance. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/T3jR9Q

Headline cut to national insurance rate echoes measure taken in autumn statement, which made little impact on voters

Jeremy Hunt has spent weeks managing expectations over potential tax cuts in his spring budget, with Tory MPs desperately searching for ways to avoid election defeat as household finances buckle under a record tax bill and the cost of living crisis.

As the chancellor’s fiscal headroom shrank in the run-up to the budget, so did his plans for spending in areas such as housing and defence, as he promised he would not “take any risks” with the British economy despite all the political pressure. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/T3jQll

UK News: Key questions answered after extraordinary leak of secret call involving Germany’s air force chief

An extraordinary leak of an online call involving Germany’s air force chief and three subordinates emerged on Friday, in which they discussed whether it might be possible to persuade a reluctant chancellor to approve giving the long-range Taurus missile to Ukraine, and whether the munition could blow up the strategic Kerch Bridge that connects Russia to occupied Crimea. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/T3fmM1

Up to 600 council jobs to be lost and bin collections reduced to fortnightly

Councillors in Birmingham have approved what are thought to be the biggest budget cuts in local authority history, with residents warning that the consequences could be “disastrous” for the city.

Birmingham city council met on Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on a proposed raft of budget cuts which will see the loss of up to 600 council jobs, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed, bin collections reduced to fortnightly and funding cuts to adult social care, children’s services, flood defences and highway maintenance. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/T3flzN

UK News: People bereaved by Covid want government recognition and protection for South Bank place of remembrance

Volunteers at the Covid memorial wall are urging ministers to make the monument permanent as Britain marks its first national day of reflection after the pandemic.

The wall runs between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge on South Bank in London and is looked after by a group of volunteers, who rely on public donations to maintain it. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/T3c5ZV