ENERGY FIRMS FACE COMPETITION PROBE
Britain’s Big Six energy suppliers are to face a full-scale competition investigation after regulator Ofgem said profits in the sector quadrupled to more than £1 billion in three years.
The watchdog said a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority would “consider once and for all whether there are further barriers to effective competition”. “Profit increases and recent price rises have intensified public distrust of suppliers and highlight the need for a market investigation to clear the air,” it said.
Ofgem has launched a consultation on its proposals which it must complete before making a final decision on referring the sector to the CMA.
CHANGES TO DRUG-FUNDING CRITERIA
Thousands of cancer patients could be denied access to life-extending drugs under new plans for approving medicines on the NHS, campaigners have said.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which decides which new medicines are cost-effective, is changing its criteria on how funding should be allocated.
The body’s appraisal committees will be asked to adopt a more “favourable approach” when considering treatments for people whose conditions represent a high burden of illness and where there is a wider impact on society.
DOMESTIC ABUSE ’SECOND-CLASS CRIME’
Thousands of domestic violence victims are being failed by police forces across England and Wales due to “alarming and unacceptable weaknesses” in the way cases are investigated, inspectors have found.
In a damning report, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary said eight out of the 43 forces responded well to domestic abuse and the most vulnerable victims faced a “lottery” in the way their complaints were handled.
Poor attitudes, ineffective training and inadequate evidence-gathering were all heavily criticised by the watchdog, which called for an urgent shake-up of the response to domestic abuse, from frontline officers up to police chiefs.
THOUSANDS GET NEW PENSION CHOICES
The first phase of the Government’s pensions revolution has come into force, giving thousands of people greater freedom over how they use their retirement savings.
The shake-up means that around 400,000 people will be able to access their pension savings in a more flexible way in the coming financial year.
The Government is expected to make a further announcement about charges that can eat into pension savings later.
BMJ: PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE CASH CUT
Cash aimed at improving the nation’s health is being diverted to other areas due to Government funding cuts, research has found.
An investigation by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) concluded that cuts are having an impact on how local authorities manage their money, with some spending public health cash on other areas such as housing.
It also found public health staffing in some parts of the country is being scaled back to save cash while the existing workforce is being spread too thinly.
PM WARNED AGAINST DEFENCE CUTBACKS
David Cameron has been given a sharp warning by MPs against any further cutbacks to Britain’s armed forces in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
The Commons Defence Committee said the crisis in Ukraine underlined the continuing threat of state-on-state conflict - despite the ending of the Cold War.
It warned that Britain’s national security depended upon its ability to maintain a “credible deterrent” against a full range threats from cyber attack to a nuclear strike.
FARAGE WINS EU DEBATE WITH CLEGG
Nigel Farage emerged as the winner in a head-to-head debate with Nick Clegg over Britain’s future in the European Union, according to an instant poll.
Some 57% of those surveyed thought Ukip leader Mr Farage performed best, compared with 36% for the Deputy Prime Minister.
The poll followed a debate hosted by LBC radio and televised live by news channels in which Mr Farage said it was time to leave the European Union, calling it a “failed project”.
WARTIME CODEBREAKER DIES AT 93
One of the last surviving wartime codebreakers has died at 93.
Captain Raymond “Jerry” Roberts, who died on Tuesday following a short illness, was part of a team at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire which helped to crack the German Tunny system used by Hitler, Mussolini and other high ranking generals during the Second World War, a Bletchley Park spokeswoman said.
He was the last survivor of the nine cryptanalysts who worked on Tunny.
COWELL HAILS X FACTOR SPOOF SHOW
Simon Cowell said attending the world premiere of Harry Hill’s X Factor spoof musical I Can’t Sing! was like seeing his second baby born this year.
The music mogul - who last month became a father for the first time - is one of the show’s financial backers, and his recent parenthood is reflected in its script.
Cowell, who walked the red carpet at the Palladium in London with girlfriend Lauren Silverman, said: “It’s like my second baby this year, it feels like that.”
PARLIAMENT BIDS FAREWELL TO BENN
Westminster will say goodbye to Tony Benn today at a funeral service yards from the House of Commons where he spent a career spanning more than 50 years.
The former Labour cabinet minister’s body lay in rest before the funeral service in the Palace of Westminster’s Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, only the second politician to be granted the honour after Baroness Thatcher.
The service will take place in St Margaret’s, which is known as “the parish church of the House of Commons”, after his body makes the short journey by hearse from Parliament, with family members following on foot.
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