A second small boat in one day has evaded pick-up by the the UK Border Force. And landed on a British beach…
This time a boat landed at Samphire Hoe near Dover yesterday. A boat had previously landed near Folkestone on Monday. Migrants have been detained, however it is not known if there are any still at large. Mahmood has an ongoing review into these landings…
This is the first time this has happened in a year – the one thing the Home Office is meant to do well is prevent undetected landings. Is it also a case of no border security without social security?
Deer Officers working for the Forestry Commission are paid more than a slew of the most common probation role in the Prisons and Probation Service. Doe!
The forestry quango, which is a DEFRA agency, is hiring a deer officer to “lead work to improve protected sites under the DEFRA Protected Sites Strategy (PSS)” in the New Forest and “identify where deer are contributing to unfavourable site condition or constraining the recovery of designated features and habitats, then help translate that evidence into coordinated and proportionate action.” The easy way to solve the deer problem is to let hunters shoot more of them…
That role is entitled to a plum £40-43,000 salary. Meanwhile HMPPS is hiring for Probation Service Officers, who handle a large bulk of probation casework, for only £25-27,000. Some PSOs hired to deal with specific offences are paid a few thousand more. Worryingly, the Probation Officer Returner Scheme, which encourages former qualified probation officers to come back, will pay staff only £35-£42,000 per year. Less than the deeries…
The existence of that scheme points to the difficulties in the probation service, which has a staff shortfall of circa 10,000. All of Labour’s proposed mitigations for its new prisoner early release scheme place additional burdens on probation staff, who will have to monitor where released convicts go and what they are up to. Or you can get doe-eyed for more cash…
The Treasury is hiring for someone to direct the UK’s growth strategy in a new unit looking at how to “boost growth and living standards through supply side reform.” Why hadn’t anyone thought of that?
The Economic Growth Unit has a new “Growth Strategy Unit” within it which is meant to lead Treasury progress on growth policies:
“It advises the Chancellor, Exchequer Secretary, EMB, as well as the PM, No10 including No 10 North, and the Cabinet Secretary on the drivers of the UK’s economic performance, the sufficiency of our existing strategy, and opportunities to go further – including navigating fiscal and wider trade-offs…
It leads external engagement on growth, including with economic commentators, think tanks and academics. This engagement is strategic, and two-way: hearing stakeholders’ views, whilst also proactively and confidently setting out the Government’s strategy and responding to challenges.”
A job advert says the unit is currently focussed on economic dynamism. For £86,000 the government wants someone to “shape and drive the UK’s growth agenda and economic strategy.” You could say pennies…
Among the key features of the role, which include “embedding economic analysis in strategic policymaking,” is “showing a clear commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion and belonging.” Thank God that’s covered…
The foundation of the unit – which is also hiring more junior advisers – signals the government’s worry about managing to eke growth out of the sclerotic economy which sits under a web of tax and regulations. This is a deeply Labour thing – talk business and growth in abstract terms while legislating to strangle it in the crib…
Ofcom has claimed it was just an “administrative error” that led to a delay in releasing data showing viewers now trust GB News more than the BBC. Even though it has been publishing this data annually for years without a hitch…
Usually the figures are published in full alongside a boring press release. It took a specific request from GB News itself to twist Ofcom’s arm into releasing this year’s results, which co-conspirators can find above…
Ofcom’s spokesman insisted it was a silly little mistake:
“An administrative error led to a short delay in publishing the underlying data for this year’s report, which we corrected as soon as we became aware. More broadly, not all of the vast amounts of data we produce can be included in the main report, which focused on our key findings.”
If the data had found GB News was dead last, what are the odds Ofcom would have just forgotten to include it? And then have the gall to claim not all the data can end up in the main report?
The Reform-linked Centre for Better Britain think tank has released a bumper set of policy proposals today after being commissioned by Richard Tice to examine how to turn Britain’s economy around. It’s meaty…
Here are the key radical policies:
The swathe of taxes to be eliminated looks radical but they account for only some 5% of total managed expenditure. The most damaging taxes raise almost no money…
The authors have targeted increasing investment as the top priority for getting productivity up and turning the economy around. Tice and Robert Jenrick responded:
“The four key areas in the report requiring reform are: regulatory and governance, SME growth capital, pensions and savings as well as tax simplification. The analysis is deep and we will be carefully reviewing their recommendations. Reform UK has already embraced variants of some of the recommendations.
Regulatory gold plating and a mindset of precautionary rather than proactionary has meant too many barriers, too many costs that reduce activity and prevent real growth. We must be bold in order to create higher levels of real growth.”
They’re taking it seriously…
The OECD growth outlook – the latest since June – has slashed expectations for Britain’s growth in 2027. Oh dear…
Growth this year is expected to be 1.1% , a 0.2 uprate from the previous forecast, while 2027’s is predicted at only 1.0% a 0.1 reduction since June. The OECD also predicts inflation this year of 3.1%, lower than its 3.7% forecast from June, but 2.6% next year, which is up from 2.4%. Things better this year thanks to global resilience in face of Iran, set to deteriorate…
The group also says consumption is “expected to be supported by newly announced government support measures.” In other words – the economy is so sclerotic it will be propped up by Labour subsidies…
It added:
“Stronger efforts are needed to contain and reallocate spending, improve public sector efficiency and enhance revenues to ensure longer-term debt sustainability and maintain the ability of government to react to significant and recurring shocks.”
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said:
“The OECD have downgraded the UK’s growth for 2027 to just a third of the average growth rate of the G20. We can and should aspire to do much better.”
Down the social security rabbit hole peers Andy…
Asked by Lobby hacks about his past comments on Trump (“any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now”) Burnham was blithe:
“Politicians say things throughout their career, but now the important thing is to focus on the moment you are in.”
Were it so easy…