NEWS
Spare energy capacity could ‘run out’ by 2015 – Ofgem
Britain risks
running out of energy generating capacity by 2015, energy regulator Ofgem has warned in a new report.
The first annual Electricity Capacity Assessment suggests that the amount of spare capacity could fall from 14% to 4% in three years, much sooner than originally predicted. This could leave Britain relying more on imported gas, making price rises more likely.
The risk has increased as coal- fired power stations are being closed sooner than expected, and because
of European
environmental legislation. Ofgem is calling for more investment in building fresh generating capacity, and the Government has said it will respond before the end of the
year. Ofgem chief executive Alistair
Buchanan (pictured) said: “The unprecedented challenges facing Britain’s energy industry…to attract the investment to deliver secure, sustainable and affordable energy supplies for consumers, still remain.
“Ofgem is working with
government on its plans to reform the electricity market to tackle these issues.”
Energy secretary Ed Davey said: “Security of electricity supply is of critical importance to the health of the economy and the smooth functioning of our daily lives. That is why the Government is reforming the electricity market to deliver secure, clean and affordable electricity.”
LGiU raises concerns over centralisation of education
Quarter of DCMS staff facing redundancy – PCS union
All 410 civil servants in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have been handed ‘at risk of redundancy’ letters, the union PCS has reported, with about 80 expected to lose their jobs before the beginning of the next financial year.
The move follows a 50% cut in the
administration budget by
former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt. DCMS has not ruled out compulsory redundancies.
Many of the staff helped deliver the recent Olympic Games, PCS said, and labelled the move representative of Government “cruelty”.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “This legacy from Jeremy Hunt is a new definition of
cruelty, threatening staff with the sack while the Olympic spirit is still alive across the country.
“We will do everything we can to fight these and other cuts that are not only not working, they are making our economic situation worse.”
A spokesman for DCMS said: “The post-Olympics DCMS will be a smaller, more flexible organisation, a mixture of permanent and temporary staff – we believe it will become a model for future civil service working.
“To get there, however, a number of posts will be cut and we hope to achieve this through a voluntary redundancy scheme and a fair selection process for staff remaining.”
The creation of thousands of free schools and academies means the education system is “sleepwalking into centralisation”, a new report has suggested.
Based on research from the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) conducted with NUT and Unison, the report found councils struggling to fulfill their role as the ‘middle tier’ of the education system, between schools and government.
More than half of secondary schools are now academies or free schools, which are independent of local authorities. This is creating gaps in accountability, admissions monitoring, schools support services and place planning, the report states.
Jonathan Carr-West, LGIU director of policy, said: “There are a range of functions such as accountability and schools place planning
that are much better delivered at a more local level.” public sector executive Sep/Oct 12 | 5
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