Public civil service jobs

Boris Johnson moaned his £145k-a-year job as Foreign Secretary was like being 'imprisoned in a steel condom’, it has emerged. The future PM suggested he couldn’t say anything controversial while representing Britain overseas, Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said. She added the comment seemed “odd” to her, because she hadn’t asked him what he thought or raised the subject of condoms at all. He also landed himself in hot water as Foreign Secretary regardless - making incorrect claims about British-Iranian prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe that her husband said "enabled a propaganda campaign" against her. Boris Johnson was forced to give up his £250k-a-year weekly column for the Daily Telegraph when he became Foreign Secretary. He was then rehired on £275k without consulting the post-government jobs watchdog. Mr Johnson became foreign secretary in 2016 and resigned in 2018 over Theresa May's Brexit plans. Boris Johnson boards an RAF plane while he was … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson moaned his £145k job was like being ‘imprisoned in a steel condom’

The summer of travel chaos wrought by rail strikes is far from over, as Britain prepares for the latest 24-hour industrial action on Saturday, August 13, as train drivers’ union Aslef stages a walkout. The industrial action is likely to cause disruption into the morning of Sunday, August 14, with the following lines affected: Avanti West Coast, Arriva Rail London, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, LNER, Greater Anglia, London Overground, Southeastern, Hull Trains and West Midlands Trains. Aslef is striking over drivers’ pay, with general secretary Mick Whelan saying: “Many of our members – who were the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic – have not had a pay rise since 2019.” Steve Montgomery, chair of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “The Aslef leadership has for the second time in as many weeks, decided to impose yet more uncertainty for passengers and businesses by disrupting passengers’ weekend plans. “We call on Aslef to … [Read more...] about Train strike this weekend: Services affected plus full list of dates for August

A memorial will be held Saturday in Youngsville to remember two Black men who were murdered in the years after the Civil War. The ceremony will include the collection of soil samples, which will be jarred and labeled with the names of the victims, to display at local memorials and at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Saturday's ceremony will honor Ovide Belizaire, who was murdered in his Youngsville-area home in 1895 by a White mob, and an unidentified man who suffered death by lynching in 1878 in the neighborhood of Royville — today known as Youngsville. Belizaire, a Black man in his 40s, died on July 19, 1895, from a gunshot wound after a mob entered his Youngsville home. Newspaper reports accused Belizaire of firing on the mob upon answering the door, but five of his family members testified at the coroner’s inquest that he had invited the mob in to look around. The mob was allegedly looking for a thief. Family members reported Belizaire was sitting on his bed when … [Read more...] about Two Black men murdered in Youngsville after Civil War to be honored with soil memorial

The high rate of inflation will wipe out a significant chunk of planned real-terms spending rises for public services, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It estimates the Treasury will have to find an extra £8bn this financial year to compensate for the impact of inflation. The IFS said the boost to public services from government spending plans is now "considerably less generous" than originally intended last autumn. The think tank estimates that the average, real-terms, growth rate in day-to-day public service funding for the next three years has dropped from 3.3% under original plans to 1.9% per year. In other words, higher inflation is expected to "wipe out" a significant chunk - more than 40% - of planned real-terms rises, it said. Advertisement To remedy this, the IFS estimates that the Treasury would need to top up spending plans by more than £8bn this year, in 2022/23. It would then need to do the same by about £18bn in each of … [Read more...] about Inflation set to wipe out billions promised for public services, think tank warns

Published 30 September 2015 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Public bodies across Wales are being told which services they will be required to provide in Welsh. The Welsh language commissioner is issuing notices to local councils, the Welsh government and national parks on the standards they will need to meet. The organisations will have six months to prepare before the new measures come into force on March 26 2016. In July, Wrexham council warned the new rules could cost it £700,000 a year , leading to further cuts to services. The standards are expected to be along similar lines to draft plans , published in January 2014. These included requiring bodies to make it clear that they welcome correspondence with the public in Welsh and giving the language priority on bilingual signs. Under the draft proposals the main switchboard of the organisations would … [Read more...] about Public bodies receive new Welsh language rules for services

A private memorial service has been held to mark 10 years since three people died in the Paritutu tragedy in New Plymouth. The service, organised by Spotswood College, was attended by family members of those who had died, and present and former staff and students of the school. On August 8, 2012, during a school camp climbing activity, Spotswood College students Stephen Kahukaka-Gedye and Felipe Melo, a Brazilian exchange student, drowned in high seas, along with instructor Bryce Jourdain, who had jumped into the sea to try and save them. Nine students and one instructor survived the tragedy. READ MORE: New Year Honours: Taranaki's surfing principal recognised for decade-spanning contribution to education Andy Cronin steps down from his role as general manager with the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter 'Sad joy' for Spotswood College principal moving on after eight years The body of Melo was recovered near Paritutu rock more than a week after the incident. Despite … [Read more...] about Private memorial service held 10 years on from New Plymouth’s Paritutu tragedy

Lafayette Utilities System's 72,000 customers could face base rate increases for electric, water and sewer usage each year for the next three years, starting in November. The proposed rate hikes were unveiled Tuesday as the City Council reviewed Mayor-President Josh Guillory's proposed 2022-23 budget for the fiscal year that begins Nov. 1. All LUS residential, commercial and non-city customers would be affected. The City Council would have to approve any rate changes. Council members balked Tuesday at increasing utility bills at a time when they're already soaring , along with costs for groceries and gasoline. "I don’t know how some people will be able to afford utilities," Councilwoman Liz Hebert said, explaining some constituents' LUS bills have increased $400-$800 a month this summer. The last increase in the base rates occurred in 2016 and 2017. As proposed, base electric rates would increase 3% per year in 2023 and 2024; water rates would increase 8% every year in … [Read more...] about LUS customers may face rate hikes as high as 9.5% for sewer service beginning Nov. 1

Leave your questions for Thursday night's Telegraph hustings in the comments Truss tax cuts 'will do nothing for pensioners' Death of high street looms, hopefuls warned Where Truss and Sunak stand on key issues Check the latest live Tory leadership odds Sign up to our Politics WhatsApp group L iz Truss's planned tax cuts alone are "not much good", Rishi Sunak has warned as he said the party risked electoral oblivion in 2024 without providing direct support. At tonight's fifth Conservative leadership hustings in Darlington, Mr Sunak has suggested he would commit tens of billions to tackling the cost-of-living crisis, while Ms Truss is yet to be drawn on whether she would provide any direct payments to Britons. "The only way to help [people] is with direct support," the former chancellor insisted. "Because tax cuts alone are not much good if you're a pensioner if you're not earning any extra money, they're not much good if you're working hard on … [Read more...] about Tory leadership hustings: Rishi Sunak warns Liz Truss’s tax cuts alone are ‘not much good’

Sir Mark Rowley, the new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, is to put more bobbies on the beat as part of his plan to turn round the beleaguered force . In his first public statement after being appointed to the job on Friday, the former head of UK counter-terrorism policing pledged to “fight crime with communities – not unilaterally dispense tactics”. This is expected to see an increase in neighbourhood policing , a more targeted approach to stop and search focused on arresting high-profile offenders, and greater efforts to divert children away from gangs. He signalled his vision just eight months ago in a Policy Exchange paper where he criticised the Met’s “highly suppressive” approach to knife crime, involving a “disproportionate” stop and search rate and too few resources invested in community policing and proactive prosecution of drug gangs. As well as pledging more effective use of technology and data, Sir Mark also promised to be “ruthless” in removing … [Read more...] about I’ll put more bobbies on the beat, vows new Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley

More than 115,000 Royal Mail staff have voted in favour of a national strike in what could be the first in a wave of public sector walk outs in the coming months as essential workers continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis. In a ballot announced today, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) – which represents Royal Mail Group workers – voted by 97.6%, on a 77% turnout, to take industrial action. The union is demanding that Royal Mail group enters into negotiations to secure 'a straight, no-strings pay increase for workers.' The Royal Mail said it was 'disappointed' by the strike announcement after offering workers a 5.5% salary boost. It comes as the Government geared up for a hot summer and autumn fight with trade unions today as it offered two million public sector workers including doctors and nurses below-inflation pay rises. More than a million NHS staff including nurses, midwives and paramedics have been offered increased that will see the worst-paid … [Read more...] about More than 115,000 Royal Mail workers vote for strike action in row over pay