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Net zero
Express
Senior conservatives say the Government’s plans to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 are “stuck in cloud cuckoo land” due to the “astronomical” costs involved – and uncertainty over alternative technologies.
Plans to decommission the UK’s gas grid as part of the net zero drive will cost an estimated £2,300 per household, according to a leaked draft of an official report.
And most households will be left to foot this bill through higher energy bills or taxes, a national newspaper claims. This is because energy companies are not obliged to cover the costs – and there is no provision for decommissioning in current government budgets.
The draft National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) report states that the total cost of decommissioning the 176,000-mile network of buried pipes could be around £65bn. The grid could become obsolete under plans to reach net zero carbon emissions. Experts say unused pipes must be removed, or they will decay and risk the potential collapse of roads.
The NIC thinks the gas network could, in theory, be converted to carry hydrogen. However, this would also cost “tens of billions of pounds” – and while hydrogen may be a cleaner option than natural gas, doubts remain about its effectiveness as a mass heating solution.
Telegraph
Households face an estimated bill of £2,300 each to shut down Britain’s gas grid as part of the Government’s drive towards net zero, a leaked draft of an official report suggests.
The cost of decommissioning the grid could reach a total of £65bn, according to a draft National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) report.
It is the first time a public body has examined the future of the 176,000-mile network of buried pipes, which serves eight in ten homes but risks becoming obsolete under plans to reach net zero carbon emissions. Unused pipes must be removed or they risk decay and experts fear the potential collapse of roads.
Households could be left to foot the bill through higher energy bills or taxes since there is no provision for decommissioning in current government budgets, and energy companies are not obliged to cover the costs.
Energy
Observer
Fears are growing that existing offshore wind projects could be shelved, after industry insiders warned that “disastrous” handling by the government had created a big shortfall in future renewable energy.
Ministers revealed last week that no additional offshore windfarms will go ahead in the UK after the latest government auction. No bids were made in the auction, after the government ignored warnings that offshore schemes were no longer economically viable under the current system.
The Observer revealed the problems last month, as the price for energy offered to developers had not taken account of rampant inflation in their costs. However, industry insiders said that inflationary pressures may even jeopardise the viability of schemes approved in last year’s auction. One such project, the multibillion-pound Norfolk Boreas windfarm designed to power the equivalent of 1.5m British homes, has already been paused.
The failure of this year’s auction has been fuelled by the government setting a maximum price of £44 per megawatt hour based on 2012 prices. It is similar to the price offered in the previous auction, which took place before many inflationary pressures had hit the industry and its supply chain.
ITV News
No new offshore wind farms have been commissioned in a key auction, dealing a blow to the Government’s hopes of decarbonising the UK’s electricity production.
In the annual auction which lets companies bid to supply the grid with electricity, many onshore wind projects and solar farms bid to get a contract.
However, no offshore wind contracts, seen as the backbone of the UK’s green electricity ambitions, were included this year, the government announced.
It puts a dent in ministers’ promise to deliver 50 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, from 14 GW today.
Wind farm builders had warned for months the government was not taking into account how much their costs had soared during the cost-of-living crisis which has also pushed up prices for businesses.
“The economics simply did not stand up,” the boss of ScottishPower said on Friday after the result.
Special needs education
Observer
Concern is growing over provision for children with special educational needs after new figures revealed that a record number of complaints have been upheld by England’s local government ombudsman this year.
Analysis of the decisions showed that some children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) had been without a school placement for more than a year.
The rise comes as the Send system struggles with rising need and years of underfunding. Councils across England have racked up huge deficits on their Send budgets amid lengthy delays in issuing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). These documents set out what educational provision children with the highest needs should receive – requirements which are then often not met.
The number of complaints upheld by England’s local government ombudsman over special needs education has surged by more than 60% since last year.
Between the start of 2023 and mid-July the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) partly or fully upheld 380 complaints, compared with 234 upheld complaints in the same period in 2022 and 167 until mid-July in 2021.
Armed services
Express
Britain has been left “dangerously exposed” because of cuts to the RAF, a damning report warns.
There are now “serious questions” about whether the country’s combat aircraft fleet could defend the UK in an all-out war.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has brought the cuts into “sharp focus”, according to Westminster’s Defence Committee.
The cross-party group of MPs warns the fleet is “just too small” to withstand the “levels of attrition” that would take place in major war.
They call on the MoD and RAF to “urgently” increase the force’s size. There is concern about the retirement of Typhoon, Hercules and early-warning aircraft, as well as “persistent and unacceptable delays in the flying training pipeline”.
And a decision to take the C-130J Hercules out of service will have a “particular impact” on Special Forces. Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defence Committee, said: “The ability to control the skies is critical.
“Since the Cold War, the RAF’s fleet is down to just a third of its previous size. The RAF has prioritised quality over quantity, leaving us with a fleet of combat aircraft that are high-spec and expensive, yet alarmingly low in number.”
Mail
The RAF‘s fleet of combat aircraft is so small it would be wiped out if Britain went to war against Vladimir Putin, according to a parliamentary report.
There are so few Typhoon jets and F-35s that the fleet could not withstand the ‘levels of attrition’ that would occur.
The UK has just 169 frontline jets to Russia‘s 3,500 and, after repeated post-Cold War cutbacks, our fleet is also smaller than that of our European allies.
According to the Defence Select Committee’s analysis, France has 231 combat aircraft, Germany 214 and Italy 199. As recently as 1990 the UK had 463.
The RAF claims that the sophistication of its aircraft compensates for it having fewer of them. But the report says the UK is ‘dangerously exposed’, adding: ‘The combat aircraft fleet provides boutique high capability [but] lacks numerical depth and has an inadequate reserve
‘In a peer-on-peer conflict such as a shooting war with Russia, every airframe will count.
‘[Government plans] will create a combat air capability gap which, on current plans, will persist well into the 2030s. This is unacceptable. The Ministry of Defence and the RAF must consider as a matter of urgency how they can increase combat air mass.’
Despite the shortage, the RAF intends to retire 30 of its Typhoons five years ahead of schedule in 2025, rather than upgrade them. This decision has been questioned by MPs.
Sun
THE RAF would struggle to defend the UK in a war due to cuts, a damning report warns.
An “alarmingly” low number of planes leaves us “dangerously” exposed.
Fleet numbers have fallen from 500 in 1973 to 169 this year — smaller than France, Germany and Italy.
MPs on the defence select committee say: “There are serious questions as to whether the diminished combat air fleet can deter and defend against enemy aggression.”
Chairman Tobias Ellwood added: “The RAF has prioritised quality at the expense of quantity, leaving us with a fleet of aircraft that are high-spec and expensive, yet alarmingly low in number.
“The Ukraine invasion signalled the beginning of a darker and more dangerous era for Europe.
“Despite this, the MoD has failed to reverse any of its 2021 cuts to our aviation capabilities.”
Telegraph
Labour has slammed “unacceptable” years-long delays to overhauls of Royal Navy frigates, heaping pressure on new defence secretary Grant Shapps to clear the backlog.
Refits of the Navy’s Type 23 frigates by defence contractor Babcock are now taking up to four years, official figures show, compared to 18 months on average a decade ago.
The increasingly long refits of the submarine hunting ships threaten to scupper the deployment of a vessel meant to guard aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Figures revealed in Parliament by defence minister James Cartlidge show that the last five refits of Type 23s by Babcock have taken an average of 39 months to complete.
The most recent one was completed in June after Babcock engineers took 49 months to declare HMS Iron Duke seaworthy.
China spy
Express
Two men have been arrested under the Official Secrets Act amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher spied for China.
The researcher has had links to several senior Tory MPs, including security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns. He was arrested along with another man by officers on March 13 on suspicion of spying for Beijing, it was revealed by the Sunday Times.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating. One of the men, in his 30s, was detained in Oxfordshire on March 13, while the other, in his 20s, was arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland Yard said.
Both were held on suspicion of offences under section one of the Official Secrets Act 1911, which punishes offences that are said to be “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state”.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London.”
Both men were held at a south London police station until being bailed until early October. Mr Tugendhat is said not to have had any contact with the researcher since before he became security minister in September last year.
Mail
A British parliamentary researcher with links to MPs with classified information has been arrested for ‘spying for China‘.
The male suspect, who is said to be in his late twenties, is thought to be linked to numerous Tory MPs – including security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chairman Alicia Kearns.
Several of the MPs with links to the man are ‘privy to classified or highly sensitive information’, according to The Times.
It is feared the British researcher may have been recruited by Beijing as a sleeper agent while living and working in China, before being sent back to the UK to infiltrate.
The suspect and another man in his thirties were both arrested relating to allegations of Official Secrets Act and espionage-related offences.
Telegraph
A British parliamentary researcher has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China in a major security breach at Westminster.
The man, who is aged in his late twenties, is believed to be connected to a number of senior Tory MPs, including a number who have access to classified or highly sensitive information.
The suspect worked alongside MPs on international policy, including relations with Beijing, for a number of years and was a parliamentary pass holder.
They include Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and Alicia Kearn, the chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee.
He was arrested along with another man on suspicion of espionage-related offences on March 13.
Mirror
A British Parliamentary researcher has been arrested on suspicion of being a Chinese spy, it has been reported.
Police confirmed a man in his twenties, and a second in his thirties had been arrested on suspicion of espionage offences in March. The man in his twenties is reported to be a Commons passholder, who has been linked to a number of senior Tory MPs.
They include Alicia Kearns, the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and security minister Tom Tugendhat. Ms Kearns declined to comment last night, saying she had a “duty to ensure any work of the Authorities is not jeopardised.”
The Times reported a Whitehall source commenting: “This is a major escalation by China. We have never seen anything like this before. The older man was arrested at an address in Oxfordshire, while the younger man was arrested in Edinburgh. Both their addresses were searched by police, as well as a third address in East London. Both were released on bail until early October.
ITV News
Two men have been arrested under the Official Secrets Act amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher spied for China.
The researcher has had links to several senior Tory MPs, including security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns.
The Briton was arrested along with another man by officers on March 13 on suspicion of spying for Beijing, it was revealed by the Sunday Times.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.
One of the men, in his 30s, was detained in Oxfordshire on March 13, while the other, in his 20s, was arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland Yard said.
BBC News
Two men have been arrested under the Official Secrets Act, police have confirmed, amid claims a parliamentary researcher was spying for China.
The Sunday Times reported one of the men, in his 20s, was a researcher with links to several Tory MPs.
They included security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns.
He and another man in his 30s were arrested in March, the Met said, with three addresses searched by police.
Several government sources declined to comment on security matters.
The Met said: “A man in his 30s was arrested at an address in Oxfordshire and a man in his 20s was arrested at an address in Edinburgh.
“Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London.”
Both men were taken to a south London police station, and were subsequently released on police bail until a date in early October, it said.
Independent
Rishi Sunak has told Chinese premier Li Qiang he has “significant concerns about Chinese interference in the UK’s parliamentary democracy”.
At a G20 meeting in India, the PM highlighted the arrest of a suspected Chinese spy who was a parliamentary researcher with links to several senior Conservative MPs.
The MPs included security minister Tom Tugendhat and foreign affairs committee chairperson Alicia Kearns.
The Briton was arrested along with another man by officers on 13 March on suspicion of spying for Beijing, it was revealed by the Sunday Times.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.
RAAC
Mirror
A university must find new rooms for 600 students after shutting two blocks over concrete fears, as the RAAC crisis reached residential buildings.
University of East Anglia’s closures in Norwich follow Heathrow and Gatwick saying RAAC had been found in buildings in recent years. Experts have warned the scandal could reach beyond cases of collapsing rooves in schools and hospitals as ministers faced calls to conduct an audit of social housing nationwide.
Heathrow and Gatwick revealed on Friday that RAAC had been found in buildings at both airports in recent years. Council-run block Town Centre House, in Banbury, Oxfordshire, was evacuated earlier this year, after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) planks were found in the roof.
The former office block, built in the 1980s but left empty for a decade, was bought by a private firm and leased to the council in 2016 to turn into 39 flats. It will prompt fresh questions over Tory Housing Secretary Michael Gove ’s push to convert more empty commercial properties into residential homes.
RAAC was most commonly used in the roofing of low-rise, flat-roofed buildings – more common in commercial properties than residential. But in the last seven years, 94,000 homes were converted from empty offices, shops and factories under “permitted development” rights – which allow developers to bypass local scrutiny and planning permission battles.
Covid
Mail
It is the ‘most striking strain of Covid-19 since Omicron‘, according to one of the UK’s top scientists, amid fears it could evade the vaccines.
The new variant, dubbed Pirola, is thought to be behind an uptick in cases across Europe – and last week it officially landed in the UK.
Such is the concern that the Government has brought forward the autumn booster programme by a month. And some experts are even calling for the return of face masks in hospitals and GP surgeries to protect the most vulnerable.
But with just a few dozen confirmed cases in the UK, how worried should we really be?
Here’s everything you need to know about the new Covid strain.
Q I thought new Covid strains appear all the time – why is everyone talking about this one?
A The main concern about Pirola – scientifically known as BA.2.86 – is that it might be able to evade the protection we have from vaccines and previous infection.
Dentists
Mail
Record numbers of patients in pain due to problems with their teeth are flooding the NHS urgent care helpline because they can’t find a dentist, the MoS can reveal.
Every month, 85,000 desperate patients call 111 with dental emergencies, compared with 60,000 in 2018 – a rise of 42 per cent.
NHS 111 staff say they are regularly contacted by patients with tooth pain, meaning that doctors on the helpline take longer to get to patients with life-threatening symptoms such as chest pain.
The number of NHS dentists has plunged to 23,000 – its lowest in a decade. Nine in ten NHS dental practices are not accepting new adult NHS patients, leaving one in five Britons with no dentist.
The British Dental Association said many dentists no longer wanted to do NHS work because they were paid for only a limited number of NHS treatments each year.
These so called unnamed ‘Senior Conservatives’ frequently come out with noises that this and that policy is bad and will lead to whatever, but never seem to go further than making those initial noises to challenge Sunak publicly. They are all waffle and nothing else, and come the next general election will be out on the ears looking for a new job. They are all as bad as each other, as we need ‘conviction’ politicians with a backbone, not those who are afraid of their own shadows or don’t want to jeopardise their own personal careers by voicing their objections in any great number. It is rapidly getting to the point that the Conservative Party and its utterly inept MP’s are reaching the point of no return and will be swept from power for good. I will for one will not shed a tear for their impeding demise as they are conservative in name only, rather like the agreement reached with the European Union for our supposed independence from them.
Ivermectin ain’t just a horse drug. Who, with rosacea during the Covid years, would have thought.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/fda-is-not-a-physician-appeals-court-sides-with-doctors-on-ivermectin-for-covid-19-post-5485494?utm_source=top5noe&src_src=top5noe&utm_campaign=top5-2023-09-10-one&src_cmp=top5-2023-09-10-one&utm_medium=email&est=RZAPIRxMSLS72LxeX9sAitKnR8IWk5O7BRmmQZqxRr16b8ISFcvTZCrVLT%2BB6m51s5klpkzD
Net Zero.
If we could harness idiocy and convert it to energy we would have perpetual power as it seems that the world has gone insane with net zero (as if Ergot is being added to the air and water supplies).
I find that taking a small ball with me in my ventures out into the ‘wild’ helps. Take a simple tennis ball (collies luv em) and using an indelible black ink pen add a spot circle 1.35mm radius. When necessary I produce the said ball to one of the Omicron (anag) Types I meet along my forays and ask them in passing, as chats develop, “how much CO2 do you think is up there?”
From experience 99% have no clue. Some say “ its too much, its causing a climate emergency”. I show them the ball with the spot.
After a while I enjoy walking alone as my regular routes seem to be avoided by former regulars.
Check for yourselves surface area of sphere = 4πR2. CO2=0.04% of atmosphere, here being modelled as surface area of sphere. Convert the .04% of the sphere surface of the tennis ball to the equivalent radius of the spot using the usual equation.
Send marked tennis balls to all the Omicron (anag) Types ( this includes all MP’s bar 19).
Hardly worth the effort spying here I would have thought, the defence capabilty or lack of, having been sold off, given away,or cancelled through lack of interest, Infrastructure obviously falling apart, a population ‘on the sick’ working from home, or economically in active, nothing of importance manufactured here anymore ,national and personal debt at unheard of levels, many people with no interest in or knowledge of British culture , perhaps our enemies are trying to find out how to demoralise a nation and want to copy our world leading example.
Norman – Couldn’t agree more. Perhaps there could be a couple of items added to the list, such as; we are world leaders in the manic race to Net Zero penury, whilst at the same time valiantly attempting to re-house the poor from the whole of Africa and the Middle East.
That’s it in a nutshell Norman.