Archive for August, 2009
Out of their league?
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Education on 28/08/2009
Education secretary Ed Balls and his Tory counterpart, Michael Gove, are battling over what belongs in the league tables. Are they focusing on the right thing?
Continue reading at Guardian CiF: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/27/education-league-tables
‘Shocking accounts of hospital care’
Posted by James Gubb in Health on 27/08/2009
The Patients Association today releases a compendium of sixteen stories from patients that have contacted them with ‘shocking accounts of hospital care’; that, extrapolating from the hundreds of phone calls they have received in recent times and from the two per cent of patients who rate their care as ‘poor’, they say could reflect the experiences of up to one million patients between 2002 and 2008. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Out of sight, out of mind’
Posted by Claire Daley in European Union on 26/08/2009
‘Out of sight, out of mind’ should be the Labour Government’s new slogan because the EU is burning a hole in the UK’s wallet and the Government was hoping you wouldn’t notice… writes Ariane Poulain.
One Small Step for a Convicted Terrorist, One Giant Blunder for a Country
Posted by David Conway in Politics, Security on 25/08/2009
Last week’s release on ‘compassionate grounds’ from Scottish jail of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdul Ali al-Megrahi must surely go down as one of the most disgusting acts of political ineptitude ever perpetrated by anyone to hold any kind of ministerial office in Britain.
Commentary on the International Healthcare Debate
Posted by Laura Brereton in Health on 24/08/2009
As we have noted in recent weeks, health system reform has been high on the agenda of policy makers in both the US and UK, and has been featured widely in international news media. Here is a round-up of recent opinions and contributions to the debate: Read the rest of this entry »
Beggars can’t be choosers
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Education on 21/08/2009
One of the ironies faced by today’s youngsters is that they have more options and choices than ever before, yet the new wealth of opportunity is coupled with poor guidance, frustrating inaccessibility, bureaucracy and a notorious lack of reliable information.
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