UK News and Discussions

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[wjfox]

Keir Starmer considers ditching Labour pledge to reinstate DfID

Wed 28 Jun 2023 10.47 BST

Keir Starmer is considering dropping a promise to reinstate the Department for International Development (DfID), prompting anger from senior Labour figures and high-profile names in the international development world.

The Labour leader promised last year to restore the department, which was scrapped in 2020 by Boris Johnson, who called it a “giant cashpoint in the sky”.

But Labour sources have told the Guardian Starmer is considering keeping it within the Foreign Office – a move that would cost less but that could lead to aid spending being used as a tool to achieve the UK’s foreign policy goals.

The debate comes amid a series of policy U-turns by Labour, including dropping the idea of a 10% digital services tax and delaying the full rollout of a £28bn green prosperity plan.

Asked last year whether he intended to bring back DfID, Starmer told The Rest is Politics podcast: “Yes, yes, we are. For so many reasons. Not to see the importance of a department that is focused on fixing some of the global problems, that actually unlock a lot of the promise, I just think, is totally misguided … I think the wrongheadedness of not seeing that as a massive asset is huge.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... evelopment

[Time_Traveller]

Thames Water in urgent funding talks amid collapse fears.

33 minutes ago

Thames Water is in talks to secure extra funding as the government says it is ready to act in a worst case scenario if the company collapses.

The water firm, which serves a quarter of the UK population, has billions in debt and is under pressure with its boss resigning unexpectedly on Tuesday.

The government said "a lot of work is going on behind the scenes" and it had a process in place "if necessary".

Regardless of what happens, water supplies will continue as normal.

Even if the firm were to collapse, it would not happen imminently, the BBC understands.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66039170

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Rishi Sunak to recruit 300,000 new doctors and nurses in biggest shake up in NHS history

Updated: 30 June 2023, 09:13

The government is set to recruit over 300,000 new doctors and nurses in the "largest single expansion in NHS history".

The Prime Minister will unveil the 15-year plan, alongside its £2.4bn investment, at Downing Street on Friday.

The strategy estimates the recruitment of a potential 60,000 extra doctors, 170,000 more nurses and 71,000 health professionals by 2036/37.

It also promises to create a “renewed focus on retention” in the health workforce, while also preparing for future challenges created by a growing and ageing population.

It comes after warnings from health leaders in recent years that there could be 360,000 vacancy gaps in the NHS by 2037 amid growing concerns about staff shortages in the health service.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/nhs-15-year- ... overnment/

In my opinion, if there is a gap of 360,000 vacancies in the NHS by 2037 shouldn't they be recruiting more than 360,000?

[lechwall]

Rishi Sunak to recruit 300,000 new doctors and nurses in biggest shake up in NHS history

Updated: 30 June 2023, 09:13

The government is set to recruit over 300,000 new doctors and nurses in the "largest single expansion in NHS history".

The Prime Minister will unveil the 15-year plan, alongside its £2.4bn investment, at Downing Street on Friday.

The strategy estimates the recruitment of a potential 60,000 extra doctors, 170,000 more nurses and 71,000 health professionals by 2036/37.

It also promises to create a “renewed focus on retention” in the health workforce, while also preparing for future challenges created by a growing and ageing population.

It comes after warnings from health leaders in recent years that there could be 360,000 vacancy gaps in the NHS by 2037 amid growing concerns about staff shortages in the health service.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/nhs-15-year- ... overnment/

In my opinion, if there is a gap of 360,000 vacancies in the NHS by 2037 shouldn't they be recruiting more than 360,000?

Maybe they should have done something like this nearly 15 years ago so that people could actually get a GP appointment now as opposed to in 15 years time...

[lechwall]

Keir Starmer considers ditching Labour pledge to reinstate DfID

Wed 28 Jun 2023 10.47 BST

Keir Starmer is considering dropping a promise to reinstate the Department for International Development (DfID), prompting anger from senior Labour figures and high-profile names in the international development world.

The Labour leader promised last year to restore the department, which was scrapped in 2020 by Boris Johnson, who called it a “giant cashpoint in the sky”.

But Labour sources have told the Guardian Starmer is considering keeping it within the Foreign Office – a move that would cost less but that could lead to aid spending being used as a tool to achieve the UK’s foreign policy goals.

The debate comes amid a series of policy U-turns by Labour, including dropping the idea of a 10% digital services tax and delaying the full rollout of a £28bn green prosperity plan.

Asked last year whether he intended to bring back DfID, Starmer told The Rest is Politics podcast: “Yes, yes, we are. For so many reasons. Not to see the importance of a department that is focused on fixing some of the global problems, that actually unlock a lot of the promise, I just think, is totally misguided … I think the wrongheadedness of not seeing that as a massive asset is huge.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... evelopment

I don't care what any of the "enlightened centrist" talking heads say he is a cr*p politician who has completely lucked out with the situation he's found himself in. Anyone who is not completely offensive to the electorate in charge of labour would win the next election. He'll be a one term Prime Minister mark my words.

[caltrek]

Survey Shows ‘Workplace AI Revolution Isn’t Happening Yet’ in the UK
July 3, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) The UK risks a growing divide between organisations who have invested in new, artificial intelligence-enabled digital technologies and those who haven’t, new research suggests

• Only 36% of UK employers have so far invested in AI and machine-learning technologies
• Just 10% of those who hadn't invested planned to do so in the next two years
• 75% reported finding it difficult to recruit people with the right digital skills
• However, less than 10% of employers expect to make a lot of investment in digital skills training in the coming years

Extracts:

Only 36% of UK employers have invested in AI-enabled technologies like industrial robots, chat bots, smart assistants and cloud computing over the past five years, according to a nationally representative survey from the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre* (Digit). The survey was carried out between November 2021 and June 2022, with a second wave now underway.
…
The new data also points to a growing skills problem. Less than 10% of employers anticipated a need to make an investment in digital skills training in the coming years, despite 75% finding it difficult to recruit people with the right skills. Almost 60% of employers reported that none of their employees had received formal digital skills training in the past year.
…
…Policymakers will need to address both low employer investment in digital technologies and low investment in digital skills, if the UK economy is to realise the potential benefits of digital transformation.”
…
There was little evidence in this survey to suggest that investing in AI-enabled technology leads to job losses. In fact, digital adopters were more likely to have increased their employment in the five-year period before the survey.

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/994170

*Read more of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre survey here: https://digit-research.org/publication ... indings/