Cardinal Newman, it was reported at the week-end, is to undergo beatification. He is to do so on account of Pope Benedict having judged his soul to have interceded on behalf of an American deacon who had prayed to him for help in connection with a painful back condition that miraculously had cleared up by… [Read More]
By Daniel Isenberg Every policy has costs and benefits alike, and in today’s world of tight purse strings, worth is often determined on the basis of financial outcome. The political narrative is dominated by debates over ‘spend or cut’, ‘waste or value’. Whilst the Conservatives are placing themselves firmly in the corner of financial prudence… [Read More]
Middle class parents seeking out the ‘best’ schools for their children shouldn’t be demonised – instead we should address the weaknesses leading them to desert their local schools. Read further on Guardian’s Comment is Free: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/03/school-admissions-fraud-intake
There was a sigh of relief in Brussels yesterday as the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the Lisbon Treaty does not contravene the country’s constitution, writes Nicola Di Luzio, though prior to its implementation, the German Parliament’s right to approve or reject matters decided in the Council of the European Union under Qualified Majority… [Read More]
“The requirement that, if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or by conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act.” So three appeal court judges decided last week.
One of the latest changes amongst what appear to be last ditch attempts to win over the public on education policy is the introduction of ‘personality’ tests to ‘weed out’ weak teachers. Outlined in today’s Times Educational Supplement are proposals to use a diagnostic tool in teacher training institutions to work out who is and who isn’t suitable for teaching.
More ridiculousness from the powers that be. One year down the line the Department of Health has finally got round to fleshing out details of its ‘top leaders programme’; c. 1,000 ‘leaders’ (up, it seems, from the original 250 planned) drawn from 50 NHS-related organisations identified as ‘needing the most senior leaders’ to go on… [Read More]
This week saw the parties of the newly elected European Parliament (EP) scrambling to formalise alliances that will allow them to access EU-funds and other benefits afforded to official parties in the EP, writes Luke Clark.
Since 1999, the size of the NHS workforce has increased by 29 per cent. One in every 19 people in Britain now works for it. A chief architect of that increase is Ed Balls, between 1990 and 2004 chief economic adviser to Gordon Brown. Last week in a widely reported radio interview, Mr Balls said:… [Read More]
The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies held a seminar last week presenting some recent work of a few of my former London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine professors. ‘Investing in Hospitals of the Future’, by Bernd Rechel, Martin McKee et al., presents and compares various case studies of the buildings, costs and… [Read More]