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Children's Hospitals Threatened
Children's hospitals are threatened with swinging cuts following a review of NHS funding
Proposals to change the way hospitals are paid will mean a "topup" fund which is paid to specialist paediatric centres would be slashed by two thirds. The head of one children's hospitals said if the plans went ahead, the implications were "extremely serious," threatening the future of services. Currently, centres which provide specialist children's services receive 78 per cent more than
the standard "rate" paid to other hospitals carrying out the same procedures. The payments are designed to take account of the complexity of cases treated at the hospitals, involving more staff and closer monitoring than when the same operations are carried out on adults, or on children without underlying health problems. Cont P 21...
House Prices Drop In Value By More Than Average Salary
Britain’s biggest building society said the average price of a home dropped 0.7 per cent this month, the equivalent of £2,376 in a month. It brings the average price of a home to £164,381, down from £166,757 in September. If prices continue to fall, the annual rate of house price inflation would drop to between 0 per cent and -1 per cent at the end of the year, Nationwide said. It compares to a rate of growth of 5.9 per cent at the end of 2009. It follows a drop in prices of £6,000 in September, recorded by Halifax,
Britain’s largest mortgage lender. Concerns about the economy and a greater supply of properties for sale have helped to push down prices. Economists said the latest figures meant the key question facing the market is no longer whether house prices will fall, but rather by how much. The Bank of England has warned that obtaining a mortgage is about to become even more difficult amid fears among lenders that increasing numbers of home owners will be unable to keep up with monthly mortgage payments.
that creates countless loopholes. Closing them creates endless paperwork. The upshot? Sack-loads of letters to and from HM Revenue & Customs. In comes £2bn from axing the kiddy slush fund for 1.5m higher-rate taxpayers. Up goes the price of the Royal Mail. It's hard to square that with the red-tape machine being created from the decision to axe child benefit for those earning £44,000 next year – but not for a couple jointly earning more than £80,000. Closing that loophole will now require taxpayers to file annual paperwork, force the HMRC to draw up new tax codes – and potentially trigger new grounds for marital discord,
with high-earners facing fines if their wives forget to tell them they're still claiming for the kiddies. That's before you consider potential new laws on the rights of parents who separate or live apart. Maybe shadow chancellor Alan Johnson is just having a laugh with his letter to boy George asking if a single mother had to spend a certain number of nights with a new partner before his tax status meant she lost her child benefit. But you get the picture. HMRC makes enough mistakes without branching into relationship counselling – though think of the letters that would generate.
Child Benefit Change Sends Wrong Message
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