Fact Service February 2013

Issue 8 (28/02/2013) - Latest developments in blacklisting of activists; Pay settlements show rise at start of 2013; Commission guidance on religious belief; Surprise boost to UK economy in 2012; Child poverty hotspots mapped by campaign; Greater protection for whistleblowers

Issue 7 (21/02/2013) - Unemployment down at end of year; No joy for workers on average earnings; Pro-active inspections cut hospital bugs; Coalition amends law over political belief; Calls to bring payday lenders to book

Issue 6 (14/02/2013) - RPI inflation on rise in January; Myth of high pay to keep executives; National pay to go in England's NHS; Factory output down; Oil and gas pay; Union recognition law; No cap on NEST

Issue 5 (07/02/2013) - Youth unemployment in the UK and abroad; Drug testing at work; Councils will face funding difficulties; Increase in limits to tribunal awards; Older workforce brings benefits; Childcare ratios to increase in reform; It's charity, but not as we know it

Issue 8

Latest developments in blacklisting of activists (806 words)

Environmental activists were put on the blacklist maintained by The Consulting Association, according to the GMB general union. ...
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Pay settlements show rise at start of 2013 (119 words)

Pay settlements averaged 3.0% in the three months to January according to the latest figures from Labour Research Department’s Payline ...
Open access

Commission guidance on religious belief (154 words)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued new guidance on religion or belief as a result of the European Court of Human ...
Open access

Surprise boost to UK economy in 2012 (104 words)

The UK economy did grow in 2012, official figures have shown. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised its estimate for the year up from no ...
Open access

Child poverty hotspots mapped by campaign (678 words)

New figures on the level of child poverty in each constituency, local authority and ward in the UK have been published by the End Child Poverty ...
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Greater protection for whistleblowers (237 words)

The protection available to whistleblowers is to be strengthened further, the government has said. ...
Open access

Issue 7

Unemployment down at end of year (552 words)

Unemployment was down on both of the main counts, according to official figures. ...
Subscribers only

No joy for workers on average earnings (558 words)

There was no particular movement in average earnings at the end of 2012 — just a revision upward of the November figure by the Office for ...
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Pro-active inspections combat hospital bugs (236 words)

Hospitals subject to pro-active inspections are showing significant improvement in tackling superbugs. ...
Open access

Coalition amends law over political belief (383 words)

Individuals dismissed for their political opinion or affiliation will have the express right to bring an unfair dismissal claim — ...
Subscribers only

Call to bring payday lenders to book (525 words)

The Office of Fair Trading should use new powers to suspend immediately the licences of four payday loan companies, Citizens Advice has urged. ...
Subscribers only

Issue 6

RPI inflation on the rise in January (532 words)

Retail price inflation started the year higher than at the end of 2012, while consumer price inflation remained unchanged, the latest figures from ...
Subscribers only

Myth of high pay to keep executives (292 words)

The myth that UK companies have to offer huge financial incentives to keep top executives in the UK has been debunked by the High Pay Centre. ...
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National pay to go in England’s NHS? (325 words)

To much union anger, the body representing more than 200 NHS trusts across England, the Foundation Trust Network (FTN), says new ways of negotiating ...
Subscribers only

Factory output down (196 words)

Manufacturing output posted the biggest contraction for over three and a half years, according to official figures. ...
Open access

Oil and gas pay (126 words)

The average salary for full-time UK gas and oil professionals has grown by 7.2% since 2012, according to research by Hays Oil and Gas and jobsite ...
Open access

Union recognition law (359 words)

UK trade union recognition law does not comply with Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to the Central Arbitration ...
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No cap on NEST (442 words)

The Work and Pensions Committee has recommended the national employment savings trust’s (NEST) cap on annual contributions be removed, as ...
Subscribers only

Issue 5

Youth unemployment in the UK and abroad (498 words)

The UK has experienced the fastest rise in youth unemployment of any country in the G8 since the start of the recession, and now has the third worst ...
Subscribers only

Drug testing at work (224 words)

Public sector professionals — especially teachers, intensive care nurses and transport staff — should be subjected to random drug ...
Open access

Councils will face funding difficulties (353 words)

In a report examining central government’s approach to local authority funding in England, the public sector watchdog, the National Audit ...
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Increase in limits to tribunal awards (254 words)

New levels at which tribunals awards are paid from this month have been announced by the coalition government. ...
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Older workforce brings benefits (204 words)

A third of employers have seen the average age of their workforce increase over the last year, following the abolition of the default retirement age ...
Open access

Childcare ratios to increase in reform (340 words)

The government wants to introduce changes to childcare ratios in England, which it says will cut costs for parents and raise pre-school childcare ...
Subscribers only

It's charity, but not as we know it (399 words)

William Shawcross, the new head of the Charity Commission, is to be quizzed by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee to explain how a ...
Subscribers only