Whitehall 'business plans'

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CML: Gross mortage lending declines in April

Gross mortgage lending declined to an estimated £10.2 billion in April. Lending fell by 19% from £12.6 billion in March but was 2% higher than the total of £10.0 billion in April 2011, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

BSA: UK consumers adopt self-build but lag behind Europe

One in 10 new homes in the UK are self built and the market generates £3 billion annually for the UK economy, says the BSA as it publishes a toolkit to provide information to encourage lenders not yet in this market to offer self-build mortgage finance.

CPA: Construction Continues to Fall but Some Positive Signs

The latest Construction Trade Survey published today shows that construction continued to suffer during 2012 Q1 but there were positive signs for some parts of the industry.

BSA: Lending and Approvals Jump in March

Gross mortgage lending by building societies and other mutual lenders rose 58% in March 2012 compared to the same month last year, and by 40% in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011. Net lending by mutuals was positive for the sixth consecutive month.

Holy Redundant! BHA launches campaign to remove Bishops from Parliament

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has today launched its campaign to remove reserved seats for the Bishops from the House of Lords. The campaign, ‘Holy Redundant’, follows on from the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill reporting on Monday in support of the Government’s proposals to keep reserved seats for Bishops in a reformed second chamber by a vote of 13-7.

NASUWT: Public services and economy "outrageously and unnecessarily sacrificed on the altar of coalition economic policy"

"The reason the country is facing a double dip recession is that a key driver of the Government's economic policy has not been about tackling the deficit, but to use the deficit as a smokescreen to pursue the ideologically driven destruction of public services." - Chris Keates, NASUWT. Read more here.

CML: Stamp duty deadline boosts March lending for house purchase

Gross mortgage lending in March was an estimated £13.4 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This represents a 30% rise from £10.3 billion in February and a 17% rise from March 2011 (£11.4 billion).

NUT: It is hard to see how the Education Secretary can justify spending tax payers? money in this way

NUT comment on Cost and Impact of Academies and Free Schools

NASUWT: Schools and colleges facing a bleak and uncertain future

Ideologically driven cuts to education funding are putting the survival of many institutions in jeopardy and damaging the life chances of children and young people.

CML: Gross mortgage lending unchanged in February

Gross mortgage lending held steady in February and was an estimated £10.7 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This is almost identical to January’s gross lending total of £10.65 billion and 14% higher than February last year (£9.4 billion).

Monday, 8 November 2010 00:00

Government departments will come under intense scrutiny over their efficiency under plans announced by the prime minister.

Abandoning a previous process of "bureaucratic accountability", every item of spending over £25,000 will now have to be fully published.

The move is designed to reduce the cost of the state by forcing scrutiny upon Whitehall spending, with the prime minister arguing it will improve morale in the civil service and end "short-termism".

Nearly all departments are being directed to find efficiency savings under the spending review, which the chancellor announced would cut expenditure by an average of 19% over the next four years.

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Confirmed: Double-dip recession even worse than feared

Chancellor George Osborne faces a double-dip recession

No 10 unleashes Tory gay marriage opposition with free vote move

New York has already opened its doors to gay marriage

No eurozone answers as crisis drifts on

David Cameron wants 'decisive action soon'

Must try harder: £35bn remains in uncollected tax

HMRC: Are spending cuts becoming self-defeating?

Leveson vs Paxman: 'You could become an irrelevance'

Paxman: "Your challenge will be to stop yourself becoming a total irrelevance."

Cameron lashes out: Ed Balls branded a "muttering idiot"

Balls managed to rile up the prime minister today

Rees-Mogg: Coalition can't fix Britain

Jacob Rees-Mogg wants a Tory-only government to roll back the state

The Watson/Mensch love-in continues… sort of

Louise Mensch and Tom Watson: Friends across the aisle

Pseudo facts? New London Assembly gets off to a rocky start

City Hall: Mayor Boris faces his friends and enemies

Special event coverage

Festival of Social Sciences: Celebrating the Social Sciences

Evidence-based policy should not be a radical concept. It needs to be celebrated.

Festival of Social Sciences: 2 languages: 2 brains, 2 minds, 2 cultures?

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, the Deafness Cognition And Language Research Centre (DCAL) hosted an event exploring the powerful benefits of bilingualism in spoken and sign languages, for hearing and deaf people alike - benefits that reach hearing and deaf people alike.

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Voice: Feeling stressed? Understand yourself? Now, move forward Conference

Application forms are now available for an exciting conference in Manchester. The fun-packed day will give you practical solutions and advice on managing stress and time to help you achieve a work/life balance.

BHA: The Marriage Debate - ‘This house would legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales'

Two weeks before the Government’s consultation on same-sex marriage draws to a close, Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association is participating in a debate hosted by Catholic Voices on the motion, ‘This House Would Legalise Same-Sex Marriage’.

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition and Conference

This one-day event is targeted at professionals operating in the information destruction industry, and aims at keeping delegates updated on recent developments in their sector, providing an opportunity to network with fellow professionals, whilst offering access to an informative exhibition and a comprehensive conference programme.

Whitehall 'business plans'

Monday, 8 November 2010 00:00

Opinion Formers

Latest News

Confirmed: Double-dip recession even worse than feared

No 10 unleashes Tory gay marriage opposition with free vote move

No eurozone answers as crisis drifts on

Must try harder: £35bn remains in uncollected tax

Leveson vs Paxman: 'You could become an irrelevance'

Cameron lashes out: Ed Balls branded a "muttering idiot"

Rees-Mogg: Coalition can't fix Britain

The Watson/Mensch love-in continues… sort of

Pseudo facts? New London Assembly gets off to a rocky start

Special event coverage

Festival of Social Sciences: Celebrating the Social Sciences

Festival of Social Sciences: 2 languages: 2 brains, 2 minds, 2 cultures?

Opinion Former Events

Voice: Feeling stressed? Understand yourself? Now, move forward Conference

BHA: The Marriage Debate - ‘This house would legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales'

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition and Conference

ABI: The Future of Long-term Savings & Retirement Income - Automatic Enrolment and Beyond Conference

Take the Gold Challenge for St Dunstan's

TACT: 2013 Virgin London Marathon

Monday, 8 November 2010 00:00

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