The first 100 days.

Rwanda

The Conservative government spent £700m of taxpayers’ money on the failed Rwanda deportation scheme, which has proved to be a “costly con”, the home secretary has said.

Yvette Cooper described the policy, which was introduced two-and-a-half years ago and sought to send UK asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, as “the biggest waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen”.

She told the Commons that over the course of six years ministers had intended to spend £10bn on the policy, but they never divulged this figure to parliament.

The home secretary said she had formally notified the Rwandan government that the partnership was over and thanked them for working with the UK “in good faith”.

Thousands of asylum seekers left in limbo for more than two years as they awaited a decision on the Rwanda scheme will now have their cases decided in the UK.

The decision, revealed during a high court challenge on Friday, is a sharp shift in position from the previous government, which had passed various laws declaring that the claims of those who arrived after January 2022 were “inadmissible” – and so could not be processed in the UK.

Recouping money that was fraudulently obtained from us.

Rachel Reeves will appoint a commissioner within weeks tasked with recouping billions from Covid contract fraud, in an initiative that will turn the spotlight on to government waste.

The chancellor is understood to believe the Treasury can recoup £2.6bn from waste, fraud and flawed contracts signed during the pandemic.

The process to recruit a Covid corruption tsar will begin this week, working with the Department of Health and Social Care, but is expected to deliver a report to Reeves so that government lawyers can begin to pursue the funds.

The commissioner will work with HMRC, the Serious Fraud Office and the National Crime Agency to examine an estimated £7.6bn worth of Covid-related fraud. This includes business loans and grants, incorrectly claimed furlough and abuse of Rishi Sunak’s flagship “eat out to help out” scheme.

Skills Training

(I thought that this was going to be made by the education minister for some reason)

Sir Keir Starmer has said his planned shake-up of training in England will reduce the need for firms to hire from abroad.
In a speech, the prime minister said a lack of workplace skills had made the UK reliant on "higher and higher" levels of immigration.

Ministers want a new government body, Skills England, to work with other advisers to plug "skills gaps" in key sectors.

But the agency is expected to take up to a year to set up, and Sir Keir acknowledged his approach would not provide a "quick fix".
Under Labour's plans, Skills England will work more closely with official migration advisers to develop training plans for sectors that are currently reliant on immigrants to fill roles.

Under Labour's plans, Skills England is also due to take on new responsibilities for deciding the future direction of skills training.
The body will decide which courses should be able to benefit from funding currently reserved for creating apprenticeships, paid jobs that allow recruits to gain experience in the workplace alongside training or study.
Labour wants to let eligible firms use up to 50% of this cash to fund other types of training, in a bid to make companies more responsive to skills demands.
Labour argues the existing apprenticeship levy, introduced by the Tories in 2016, has resulted in a fragmented system and a low-take up from employers.

I’m guessing what will happen with the 1000 additional enforcement officers is that there will be repeated raids on the same premises. My local nail bar has used illegal immigrants, who are caught and dealt with, but due to manpower the raids only happen periodically, whereas if they randomly came back frequently the business would not be able to get away with bringing others in. The same applies to restaurants and car washes. I think it could have the impact of closing businesses down, which will make the UK less attractive.

GrannyGravy13

Sorry I meant to say that all our movements are traceable through our spending habits, mobile phone and computer systems etc.,

That’s a joke, yes they can trace you if they want but the police and security services are grossly under resourced, getting evidence that will result in a prosecution is impossible. Low level evasion and fraud is widespread, often involving false identities and gang controlled

Sorry I meant to say that all our movements are traceable through our spending habits, mobile phone and computer systems etc.,

Urmstongran

Re nail bars/car washes/Turkish barbers:

If Yvette Cooper is sending in officials to find out what’s going on, As of 2024, all EU/EEA countries (except Denmark) issue national identity cards with an electronic identity (eID) function, either through incorporating an EMV (contact chip) or, most commonly, through a RFID/NFC (contactless) function.

About time we adopted this basic security measure.
Estonia and Poland are literally decades ahead of us with e-government and identity verification. The Swiss too. We spent the last 14 years fighting shadows.

Due to the majority of the nation having an online presence in some form or another.

Digital banking often being the only option, along with the rise in digital payments seeing cash transactions in decline. Some premises and large companies refusing any cash transactions at all.

I cannot see the argument against ID cards, it’s time for them to be brought in across the entire U.K.

Todays news will be a bit delayed as I’m waiting for the Education Secretary to make her speech to parliament.

It is about up skilling the U.K. and tweaking the apprenticeship levy.

Re nail bars/car washes/Turkish barbers:

If Yvette Cooper is sending in officials to find out what’s going on, As of 2024, all EU/EEA countries (except Denmark) issue national identity cards with an electronic identity (eID) function, either through incorporating an EMV (contact chip) or, most commonly, through a RFID/NFC (contactless) function.

About time we adopted this basic security measure.
Estonia and Poland are literally decades ahead of us with e-government and identity verification. The Swiss too. We spent the last 14 years fighting shadows.

Mollygo

^If the school receives funding from the Welsh Government to provide free breakfasts, it must not charge for breakfasts. Funding for the Free Breakfast in Primary Schools scheme covers the cost of the food, supervisors and any other costs of setting up free breakfasts in the school.^
Thanks Casdon re breakfast in Wales.
I’m wondering how it would affect provision in schools where before school clubs already run.
Are the free school breakfasts in Wales available for all children who want them or is there a condition or entitlement?
What time do they start?
If free breakfasts, with funding for staffing, food and organisation happens in England, it will certainly benefit some children and not just the children from poorer families.

The schools apply for the breakfast club funding, which covers the costs of the breakfast period only, as specified. A lot of schools ran pre-school clubs before the scheme started, my local one included. Breakfast club starts at 8.15, and there is no charge from then until school starts for any pupils. If parents bring the children earlier than 8.15 they pay for each 15 minutes of care. I think that the management of the scheme varies by school, my local one employs co-ordinators to both provide the care before 8.15 and serve the breakfasts.

This, from today’s Telegraph:

“ Ms Birbalsingh, the head of Michaela Community School who formerly chaired the Social Mobility Commission, said: “Disadvantaged kids are set to suffer if Labour do what they are saying they will do.”

‘Gains will be eradicated’
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, she said: “I was never a Conservative. But I knew that what the Conservative Party was doing for kids was right. We are all about to find out what Labour policies are going to do instead.

“If Labour do what they say they will do to schools, disadvantaged kids will pay the price. The politicians will feel good about themselves and all the gains that have helped poorer kids over the last decade will be eradicated.”

Hunt seems to have conveniently forgotten an independent report that shows that there was a £15bn hole in his budget.

Hunt was mediocre at best and that is being kind.

If the school receives funding from the Welsh Government to provide free breakfasts, it must not charge for breakfasts. Funding for the Free Breakfast in Primary Schools scheme covers the cost of the food, supervisors and any other costs of setting up free breakfasts in the school.
Thanks Casdon re breakfast in Wales.
I’m wondering how it would affect provision in schools where before school clubs already run.
Are the free school breakfasts in Wales available for all children who want them or is there a condition or entitlement?
What time do they start?
If free breakfasts, with funding for staffing, food and organisation happens in England, it will certainly benefit some children and not just the children from poorer families.

Urmstongran

Casdon

Urmstongran

Hunt says Reeves is talking nonsense.

Well, you must admit he’d look a pillock if he said well done, Rachel, you’ve got it right, I was a useless chancellor and you are wonderful, would’t he? 💷

I think it was more ‘stop pretending things are so terrible’.
Hunt was fuming.

He would be of course though, what else would he say? I saw him this morning. The evidence is on Reeves’ side though, isn’t it, with the worst national debt since 1962 as the legacy she has inherited?

Casdon

Urmstongran

Hunt says Reeves is talking nonsense.

Well, you must admit he’d look a pillock if he said well done, Rachel, you’ve got it right, I was a useless chancellor and you are wonderful, would’t he? 💷

I think it was more ‘stop pretending things are so terrible’.
Hunt was fuming.

sharon103

Casdon

An initiative I saw this morning, to target finding people who are illegal immigrants. A sensible use of resources.
news.sky.com/story/nail-bars-and-car-washes-to-be-targeted-in-summer-immigration-raids-13182400

Impressive but I can never understand why things like this are announced.
Wouldn't it be better to just pounce on them without any warning. Surely that's a better way of catching them out.

Fair point, unless there’s a deterrent factor in warning them in advance?

Casdon

An initiative I saw this morning, to target finding people who are illegal immigrants. A sensible use of resources.
news.sky.com/story/nail-bars-and-car-washes-to-be-targeted-in-summer-immigration-raids-13182400

Impressive but I can never understand why things like this are announced.
Wouldn't it be better to just pounce on them without any warning. Surely that's a better way of catching them out.

Urmstongran

Hunt says Reeves is talking nonsense.

Well, you must admit he’d look a pillock if he said well done, Rachel, you’ve got it right, I was a useless chancellor and you are wonderful, would’t he? 💷

Mollygo

Aveline

It sounded like they were going to be free

That was what I thought, for the meals, but who is going to pay for staffing the breakfast period, or will the parents have to pay?

Do you suppose current customers will ask for a reduction in cost to cover their free breakfast?

If the school receives funding from the Welsh Government to provide free breakfasts, it must not charge for breakfasts. Funding for the Free Breakfast in Primary Schools scheme covers the cost of the food, supervisors and any other costs of setting up free breakfasts in the school.

Hunt says Reeves is talking nonsense.

Aveline

It sounded like they were going to be free

That was what I thought, for the meals, but who is going to pay for staffing the breakfast period, or will the parents have to pay?

Do you suppose current customers will ask for a reduction in cost to cover their free breakfast?

It sounded like they were going to be free

Breakfast at school is free in Wales, but schools may charge for childcare before the free breakfast session starts. It works well.

Also the opening of pre school breakfast clubs for another 100,000 children is sensible and practical. Children start the school day well fed and parents can get off to work on time.

More pre-school clubs have been opened in schools around here with starting times varying from 7am to 8am.
The staff who run ours are really positive, and reported to the governors that even picky eaters, who at first refused the cereal or toast or fruit, that is on offer, are keener to eat it when those around them are tucking in.
Will the government provide funding for the extra 100,000 , or will it be, as now, that the parents have to pay?

I was impressed by Reeves this morning. Her point that continuing strikes by health and education staff heave very high costs in themselves.
Also the opening of pre school breakfast clubs for another 100,000 children is sensible and practical. Children start the school day well fed and parents can get off to work on time. Also another 3000 nurseries is a practical way of helping children and enabling parents to get to work. Sounds like wise spending to boost the economy but won't happen overnight.