Union Warns Thousands Of NHS Jobs At Risk

Thousands of jobs could be at risk in the NHS in England because of spending cuts.

The Royal College of Nursing has estimated that between 5,000 and 35,000 jobs could be axed if the NHS pushes ahead with spending cuts.

The union has said the loss of posts would put the health service under "real strain".

The NHS has been asked to find between £15bn and £20bn pounds in efficiency savings over the next three years.

Dr Carter from the Royal College of Nursing said it was "disingenuous" to suggest you could remove £20bn from the £100bn NHS budget and "nothing changes".

"I really can't see that you can take £20bn out and expect everything to carry on as is it is."

He said that losses from redundancies and posts not being replaced on retirement would be felt across the health service, not solely nursing staff.

He continued that staff cuts would have a real impact on patient care.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham promised that frontline jobs would be protected under Labour.

"It would not be right to guarantee every job. But Labour will protect frontline services, which we can't do without protecting frontline staff."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman, Norman Lamb, said: "It's incredibly short-sighted to think the only way to save money in the NHS is to slash and burn services."

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "We know that by cutting bureaucracy and the tick-box targets, we can free nurses to care."

"Because we will increase the NHS budget, savings will be reinvested in frontline care and improvements."

In data collected by the Royal College Of Nursing from 180 trusts in April, nearly all health care workers believed they were already short staffed at least several times a month.

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News Corp moves into education with Wireless Generation acquisition

Wireless Generation makes web-based software that helps teachers track the progress of students and tailors individual teaching.

The move marks News Corporation's first major move into the US education sector and brings it up against media and education publishing company Pearson.

Pearson, which owns the Financial Times and Penguin Books, has a significant education publishing arm.

According to News Corp, Wireless Generation is used by more than 200,000 teachers and three million students in the US. The company is a partner of the New York department of education and Murdoch claims that the software will revolutionise education in the US.

Wireless Generation will be managed by its founder and chief executive, Larry Berger, president and chief operating officer Josh Reibel, and executive vice- president and chief product officer, Laurence Holt. The company has 400 employees.

New Corporation did not disclose whether the deal would prompt redundancies at the company.

Murdoch, chief executive and chairman of News Corporation, said: "Wireless Generation is at the forefront of individualized, technology-based learning that is poised to revolutionize public education for a new generation of students."

He is on record as wanting to see improvements in public schools.

In September this year, The Observer reported that Murdoch’s UK national newspaper operation, which included The Sunday Times and The Sun, was drawing up plans to sponsor an academy school in east London.

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English language schools win court battle over visas

English language schools have won a High Court battle over visa restrictions which they say are absurd and damaging to their businesses.

They took the action over new regulations which say that people coming to the UK to study must have a good standard of English.

The restrictions were part of a drive against illegal immigration.

The government says illegal immigrants and migrants seeking low-skilled work were abusing the system.

Foreign students coming to study are now required to have English language skills of at least GCSE level.

English UK, which represents 440 language schools, says the regulations are "disproportionate and unjustified".

The group's chief executive Tony Millns said: "It's clearly absurd requiring students to know English before they come here to study it."

His group brought the case after the rules were tightened by the Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

It argued in court that the Home Office should have brought the issue back to Parliament for proper debate.

Mr Justice Foskett said the fresh restrictions had been achieved through altering guidelines when there should have been a formal change to the rules, with the matter referred back to Parliament.

Mr Millns said: "I am delighted and relieved.

"We are pleased that Mr Justice Foskett saw the merits of our case and we believe that his decision is good for the UK economy, to which the English language sector contributes about £1.5 billion in foreign earnings each year."
Common sense

He said he hoped common sense would now prevail so that students could come into the UK to study English with a lower level in the language, equivalent to having studied it for 150 to 200 hours.

The coalition government says it is reviewing English language requirements across the visa system.

It believes the student visa system could be abused by people who want to come to Britain but have no intention of studying.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "We are carefully considering this judgment.

"This government is committed to undertake a review into the Student Tier of the Points Based System in its entirety later this year to ensure that every student who comes to the UK is genuine."

Last month the government said it would bring forward to the autumn other measures planned by Labour requiring many immigrants marrying UK citizens to prove they have a command of English.

NEWS BY:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10569701