wjfox wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 8:26 amNew gas power plants needed to stop blackouts, Claire Coutinho to say
3 hours ago
[...]
The new stations will replace existing plants, many of which are aging and will soon be retired.
But the government says the CO2 produced will not be captured - a measure which limits climate change.
That could threaten a legally binding commitment to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, critics say.
[...]
The decision, which Ms Coutinho will announce in a speech at Chatham House in London, is part of a wide-reaching review of how the UK's energy market works.
But the Green Alliance think tank said it "flies in the face" of the government's promise to reach zero-carbon electricity by 2035.
UK government accused of trying to ‘stoke culture war on climate issues’
Wed 13 Mar 2024 19.04 GMT
Green MP Caroline Lucas has accused the government of stoking a culture war on climate issues by calling for more investment in new gas-fired power plants before a general election.
Lucas used an urgent question in the House of Commons to challenge the energy minister, Graham Stuart, on the plans set out on Wednesday, which could see a string of new plants built in the coming years despite the government’s commitment to phase out fossil fuels.
She called on Stuart to admit that “this is the government’s latest attempt to stoke a culture war on climate”. The MP for Brighton Pavilion warned that the plans to encourage more investment in unabated gas power in the 2030s would jeopardise Britain’s climate goals.
The shadow climate change minister, Alan Whitehead, echoed the concerns and accused the government of trying to “conjure a culture war” with energy policy. He challenged Stuart to set out how many new gas plants the government was hoping to build, adding: “There is no mention of that in the 1,500 pages of documents that were published yesterday.”
The government plans to extend the life of many existing power plants, but it estimates it will need to have about 5 gigawatts of new gas power capacity in reserve to provide a limited amount of backup power when renewable energy is in short supply.
There was a rise in new outlets opened by UK chains last year, dominated by coffee drive-throughs, bubble tea shops and fast food restaurants, mostly located outside city centres.
But they were not enough to outweigh the places where chains shut up shop, new figures show.
High profile failures at Wilko, Lloyds pharmacy and Paperchase meant in total there were more closures than openings.
The result was a net decrease of 5,000 in stores across the UK.
Stores were lost at a rate of 14 per day over the year, underlining a long-term trend for both retail and services shifting to online, said accountants PwC, which analysed data compiled by the Local Data Company.
NHS England staff to receive paid leave after miscarriages
1 day ago
NHS England has said any of its staff who miscarry in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy can take 10 days' paid leave.
Partners can take five days. And staff who miscarry after six months will still be offered paid maternity leave.
The policy, adopted by Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust last year, is now being rolled out nationally.
An official for the NHS in Wales said it would consider offering a similar scheme. BBC News has also contacted NHS Scotland and Northern Ireland.
UK workers who miscarry before 24 weeks have no legal right to maternity or parental-bereavement leave - although, a number of large companies, including Tesco, Lidl, John Lewis and Santander, offer it.
Michael Gove names groups under consideration for ‘extremism’ ban
1 minute ago
The government have named a number of groups that will be under consideration for restrictions following the publication of the new “extremism” definition.
The white supremacist group British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative will be considered as part of a ban on engaging with the government, as well as anti-War on Terror group CAGE , Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) and Muslim Association of Britain, which he says “give rise to concern”.
MEND have been accused of being a front for Islamic extremism after a review of the government’s counter-extremism programme found that the group had “a well-established track record of working alongside extremists” and of “seeking to undermine the state’s considerable efforts to tackle all hate crime”.
Under the new definition, extremism is now defined as “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance” that aims to “negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others” or “undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights”.
The government also says the new version of extremism will “clearly articulate” how extremism is “evidenced” through the public behaviour of extremists.
Michael Matheson breached code of conduct over iPad bill
5 minutes ago
Former Scottish health secretary Michael Matheson has been found to have breached the MSPs code of conduct in relation to a £11,000 bill he racked up on a parliamentary iPad.
Mr Matheson stepped down from his cabinet post last month, citing the investigation as the reason.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) published its findings on Thursday.
Its full report will be considered by Holyrood's standards committee.
The iPad charges, initially paid out of the public purse, were incurred during a family trip to Morocco in late 2022.
James Heappey becomes latest Tory MP to stand down as he leaves defence post
29 mins ago
James Heappey is set to leave his role as armed forces minister and quit as an MP.
As first reported by The Times, Government sources have confirmed that the Conservative MP for Wells, Somerset, will leave his role at the end of the month.
The veteran has also confirmed in a letter to his constituents that he will stand down from the Commons at the next general election.
He said while it was a “painful decision” not to contest the election, he wanted to “prioritise my family and pursue a different career”.
“After much reflection, I am afraid I have taken the painful decision not to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming general election,” he said in a letter shared on social media on Friday.
Only 10% of flagship levelling up funds spent, say MPs
3 hours ago
Only 10% of funding promised to reduce inequality as part of the levelling up agenda has been spent, MPs have said.
The Public Accounts Committee found ministers were "unable to provide any compelling examples of what levelling up funding has delivered so far".
It also criticised a "worrying lack of transparency" in how cash was allotted.
The government said it expected spending to pick up in later years of the programme, adding: "Buildings don't go up overnight."
But the MPs found that, on average, a bid for funds cost a local authority around £30,000 and that rule changes while bids were being assessed "wasted scarce public resources".
