Will the coalition's pension reform leave more people better off?

Will 9 out of 10 be better off under the Government's pension reforms? | Full Fact

Bipartisan senators propose curbing filibusters | World news | The Guardian

Bipartisan senators propose curbing filibusters | World news | The Guardian:

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The Legislative Process · House.gov

The Legislative Process · House.gov:

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"Newt Credits" - from Chappers

The following is an article from The Times, i thought it may be a useful one to send round for the environmental side of the course as it suggests a potentially interesting policy.

‘Newt credits’ could settle environmental disputes

Scheme to offer planners the power to “offset” large infrastructure projects that harm wildlife populations as a way of resolving disputes between developers and opponents.

Communities could be offered “newt credits” to accept new roads, housing and power stations in natural habitats.

Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, said that he wanted to offer planners the power to “offset” large infrastructure projects that harm wildlife populations as a way of resolving disputes between developers and their opponents.

“We need to end this mortar exchange between improving the economy with big infrastructure projects and protecting the environment,” he said in an interview The Times. “We end up having these terribly sterile debates about newts and copses and nothing gets done.”

Under the idea, developers would compensate local people for environmental damage by buying credits to improve the natural habitat elsewhere in the area. Environmental groups that objected to such projects could apply for these credits, which would give them funds to spend on conservation programmes.

“You could use environmental credit on huge projects like high-speed rail or a power station or small ones like a farmer wanting to extend a dairy,” Mr Paterson said. “Usually the poor old newts lose out in the end and only the lawyers win, this way everyone benefits.”

The idea is attributed to Dieter Helm, an economist at the University of Oxford and chairman of the Natural Capital Committee, established in March to advise on the value of Britain’s wildlife habitats.

Environmental groups reacted cautiously to the idea. Ben Stafford, of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said that compensating for lost habitat was not always as straightforward as replacing one natural site with another. “There is evidence that compensatory habitat isn’t as good quality as the areas it replaces,” he said. “It might not have the populations of wildlife or the same sort of landscape.” 

Executive orders

How far can President Obama go with an executive order on gun control? | Harry J Enten http://gu.com/p/3d2m6

Mid term review Jan 2013 Coalition and Welfare

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20969484

JOBS AND WELFARE

Original coalition agreement pledges:

• Introduce payment-by-results in welfare-to-work
• Make benefits conditional on "willingness to work"
• Re-assess incapacity benefit claims
• Support unemployed people keen to start new businesses
• Simplify the benefits system

What coalition says it's achieved:

• Reforms will save £19bn per year by 2014-15
• Benefits cap to apply from 2013
• Universal Credit to simplify benefits system "radically"
• Number of people on incapacity benefits cut by 145,000

Where it accepts it has missed targets:

• Jobseeker's Allowance claimants "facing the most significant barriers to work" were to have been put onto the new welfare to work programme "immediately"; this commitment is now to refer them within three months. Similarly, the target for jobseekers under 25 has shifted from six months to nine

Labour's verdict on coalition so far:

• Benefits reforms hitting working people not "scroungers"
• Welfare-to-work programme less effective "than doing nothing"
• Welfare bill £13bn higher than planned
• Universal Credit late and over-budget
• Number of long-term unemployed young people doubled
• "Genuinely ill" people suffering from changes to incapacity benefits

Coalition's mid-term 'to do' list:

• Push forward with Universal Credit and the Youth Contract
• Introduce the Personal Independence Payment for disabled people
• Provide start-up loans and business mentors to unemployed people
• "Protect key benefits for older people"

BBC business correspondent Jonty Bloom says: Unemployment rose after the coalition came to power but has been falling back recently, and is now at about the same level as at the election. This is quite a surprise with economic growth so slow unemployment would normally have risen much faster. No one is quite sure why it hasn't shot up but despite the government shedding hundreds of thousands of staff in the public sector the private sector has continued to create work.

Mid term review Jan 2013 Coalition and Energy/Climate Change

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20969435

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Original coalition agreement pledges:

• Push for increase in EU emissions reduction target to 30% by 2020
• Generate more energy from renewable sources
• Invest in carbon capture and storage
• Found green investment bank
• Encourage marine energy, and energy from waste through anaerobic digestion
• Block third runway at Heathrow, and expansion of Gatwick and Stansted
• Improve home energy efficiency

What coalition says it's achieved:

• £3bn allocated to new green investment bank
• Energy derived from renewables increasing
• £1bn investment in carbon capture and storage

Where it accepts it has missed targets:

• The pledge to cut EU emissions by 30% by 2020 has been dropped in favour of getting the EU "back on track" to cutting energy consumption by 20% by 2020
• A planned rise in the renewable energy target has been abandoned
• A commitment to replace air passenger duty with a per-flight tax was axed amid fears about "legality and feasibility"
• "Green financial products" were to have enabled individuals to invest in green infrastructure, but seem to have been severely limited in scope

Labour's verdict on coalition so far:

• Solar power industry hit by changes to feed-in tariffs
• Investment in renewables has halved

Coalition's mid-term 'to do' list:

• Treble support to low-carbon energy up to 2020
• Invest in gas-fired power and carbon capture and storage projects
• Encourage the exploitation of shale gas
• Clarify rules on tax relief available for North Sea oil and gas decommissioning
• Support investment in renewable energy
• Encourage private-sector investment in nuclear power stations
• Introduce smart meters
• Encourage energy efficiency via the "Green Deal"
• Continue to support the Green Investment Bank.
• Promote electric cars

BBC environment correspondent Matt McGrath says: The coalition has tried to square the circle between their need to keep the lights on and their legal commitment to reduce carbon emissions. Thanks to their Energy Bill, people will need to pay more to fund clean power. But they've also signalled a greater reliance on natural gas and have lifted a temporary ban on fracking for shale gas. For critics, this move has undermined claims to be the "greenest government ever".