Reform Media Summary

21 March 2008

In today’s Media Summary, research by the think tank Reform found that the biggest chunk of private healthcare spending is used for the long-term care of elderly and physically disabled people and Anatole Kaletsky identifies a “swing to the left” in public opinion: “Northern Rock, along with the wider international banking crisis has discredited the post-Thatcherite faith in unbridled market forces and triggered a debate about the necessary role of government in managing a market economy.”

Health

Research by the think tank Reform found that the biggest chunk of private healthcare spending is used for the long-term care of elderly and physically disabled people. The average household spends £471 a year on nursing homes and home care for the elderly and disabled. Other key areas that make up the private healthcare spend include private medical products (£268), the hospital sector (£217) and dentistry (£93). Andrew Haldenby, director of Reform, said the study further demonstrated that the NHS is not free at the point of use: "The idea is a mirage, even a charade, which is preventing proper debate about the future of healthcare in this country." Mr. Haldenby also said it is good that UK citizens are taking responsibility for their own health by paying with their own resources. But he added that the Government needs to find new ways to help people pay towards their health (Health Insurance and Protection Magazine).

A leader in the FT argues: “Giving up command and control does not come easy to British politicians. But it is necessary if the NHS is to prosper. It would also allow ministers to escape the customary blame for anything that goes wrong in healthcare” (FT, p.12).

Plans for a new £12 billion IT system for the NHS have suffered another blow after a leading hospital trust abandoned the new software (Telegraph, p.2).

Economy

Anatole Kaletsky identifies a “swing to the left” in public opinion: “Northern Rock, along with the wider international banking crisis has discredited the post-Thatcherite faith in unbridled market forces and triggered a debate about the necessary role of government in managing a market economy.” Mr. Kaletsky states that the Conservative Party is best placed to do “serious thinking” on this (Times, p.19).

Further coverage of Northern Rock (FT, p.2, p.2; Telegraph, p.10, p.10, B.1; Independent, p.37; Guardian, p.1, p.2, p.26; Express, p.4, p.10 [leader]; Mail, p.38).Mirror, p.6; Sun, p.9).

Tax revenues rose last month, giving the Government a record surplus of £14.1 billion. Reportedly the Government is back on track to achieve its borrowing target for this year. However, economists warned that the longer-term health of the public finances continued to be poor (FT, p.1, p.3; Telegraph, B.1; Times, p.48; Independent, p.37; Guardian, p.28; Mail, p.8).

Every member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted for the interest rate cut this month (FT, p.3; Times, p.48; Independent, p.39).

The Confederation of British Industry, Britain’s biggest business organization, warned yesterday that more than 250,000 jobs will be lost if the Government is forced to bring in new employment rights for agency and temporary workers (FT, p.2).

A report by the National Audit Office reveals violent crime costs the British economy more than £13 billion a year (Telegraph, p.4).

Further coverage of Ministry of Defence £2 billion budget shortfall (FT, p.2; Telegraph, p.12, p.23 [Iain Martin]).

Home Affairs

Foreign nationals seeking British citizenship will have to prove they can speak English, have paid taxes, and have broken no laws as part of the latest toughening of immigration controls unveiled yesterday (FT, p.4; Telegraph, p.16; Mirror, p.8 [leader]; Sun, p.8; Independent, p.6; p.28 [leader]; Guardian, p.6, p.34 [leader]; Express, p.4, p.10; Mail, p.1, p.4, p.14 [leader]).

Britain is being hit by a “brain drain” with one in 10 highly-skilled workers emigrating, according to a report by the OECD (Telegraph, p.1, p.23 [leader]; Mirror, p.2).

According to figures by Age Concern, the value of pensioners’ winter fuel payments has halved in the past five years (Mirror, p.6, p.8 [leader]).

Education

Top universities warn that the proposed new tax regime on non-doms could make it harder to recruit and retain faculty staff from overseas and could choke off donations (FT, p.2).

University researchers find that children from privileged backgrounds who attend inner-city comprehensives achieve excellent results but do not integrate socially with other children. The research was based on interviews with 124 families (Times, p.11; Guardian, p.7; Mail, p.19).

Continued coverage of GCSE foreign language exams (Telegraph, p.2; Mirror, p.10; Sun, p.2; Mail, p.27).

Further coverage of the consistent number of students dropping out of university (Mail, p.28 [Tom Rawstorne]).

Politics

Donations to the Conservative party far outstripped those to Labour in the closing months of last year (FT, p.2; Telegraph, p.12; Mirror, p.4).

Michael Gove writes: “[Gordon] Brown’s problem is that his idea of being modern ten years on means simply doing what seemed modern a long time ago …. What marked Blair as a genuine moderniser was that, unlike Brown, he changed his positions as the world changed around him” (Spectator, p.11).