Complaints from the police and the building industry lead This Writer to ask: will Labour’s Budget sink all its other policies?
The BBC is reporting that nearly a quarter of all police forces in England and Wales are calling on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper [pictured] to underwrite – guarantee payment of – the costs of pay rises and higher employer taxes when details of their funding are announced early next week.
Some of them are facing funding shortfalls of £10 million or more, and the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police has said having to pay National Insurance and pay increases may necessitate the loss of a whole third of that service’s officers, possibly making it unviable.
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Cooper has previously said that forces will be “fully compensated” for the changes, with £500 million extra funding including £260 million to cover additional tax and pay costs and £100 million to recruit 13,000 new neighbourhood officers.
But chiefs have warned they still face deep cuts and have questioned whether the extra funding will continue beyond a single year.
Another BBC report states that the UK simply doesn’t have enough builders to put up the 1.5 million homes in five years that Labour has promised.
The workforce has shrunk due to skills shortages, natural wastage (workers aging beyond retirement) and Brexit, meaning at least 60,000 new recruits will be needed for bricklaying, groundworks, carpentry and six other essential trades.
The article states:
Last month, the government announced £140m of funding to create 5,000 more construction apprenticeship places per year and established “homebuilding skills hubs” to fast-track training.
That’s nothing like enough to fill the available places so it seems there is a real problem.
And this means predictions like this…
The independent think tank Centre for Cities also estimated the housebuilders will fall 388,000 short of the government’s 1.5m target.
That said, even 1.1 million new houses in five years would be a fair achievement, given the situation that (yes, I’m going to say it) the Tories left for the new government to take over.
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Will Labour’s Budget sink all its other policies?
Complaints from the police and the building industry lead This Writer to ask: will Labour’s Budget sink all its other policies?
The BBC is reporting that nearly a quarter of all police forces in England and Wales are calling on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper [pictured] to underwrite – guarantee payment of – the costs of pay rises and higher employer taxes when details of their funding are announced early next week.
Some of them are facing funding shortfalls of £10 million or more, and the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police has said having to pay National Insurance and pay increases may necessitate the loss of a whole third of that service’s officers, possibly making it unviable.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Cooper has previously said that forces will be “fully compensated” for the changes, with £500 million extra funding including £260 million to cover additional tax and pay costs and £100 million to recruit 13,000 new neighbourhood officers.
But chiefs have warned they still face deep cuts and have questioned whether the extra funding will continue beyond a single year.
Another BBC report states that the UK simply doesn’t have enough builders to put up the 1.5 million homes in five years that Labour has promised.
The workforce has shrunk due to skills shortages, natural wastage (workers aging beyond retirement) and Brexit, meaning at least 60,000 new recruits will be needed for bricklaying, groundworks, carpentry and six other essential trades.
The article states:
That’s nothing like enough to fill the available places so it seems there is a real problem.
And this means predictions like this…
That said, even 1.1 million new houses in five years would be a fair achievement, given the situation that (yes, I’m going to say it) the Tories left for the new government to take over.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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