The decision by the government to sell its one-third ownership of the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishmenthas to a Californian engineering company means that the United States will now produce and maintain Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent, including the production of warheads for Tridents and its planned successor.

It is not known how much has been raised by the deal, but the Liberal Democrats said that they feared the stake had been sold off below market value to California-based Jacobs Engineering to raise money for the Treasury in straitened times.

Ministers were also accused of trying to “bury” bad news by slipping bare details of the sale out on the website of the state-owned nuclear company BNFL and failing to make a statement to parliament.

Gerald Howarth, shadow Defence Minister said the government is treating Parliament in contempt in the sale of the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment, and he also said

“There has always been a reluctance by this Labour government to be open and frank about issues to do with the nuclear deterrent. Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman, Vince Cable said, in reference to the AWE share sale, that he believed this was a bad time for the government to be selling assets, and added that such a sensitive issue should have been announced in Parliament.“There is suggestion that the Treasury is seeking to sell off further assets.“The point we’re making is that something as sensitive as this should have been announced in Parliament.“I don’t know whether we can meaningfully say we have…an independent deterrent.“I suspect this is in the millions rather than the trillions. My suspicion is this is a very bad time to be making asset sales. Even before the sale it was only one third owned by the state.” 

An article on the BBC website about a recent Audit Commission Report into the effects of the credit crunch on local councils shows that councils are experiencing a drop in income, but at the same time there is an increasing demand for their services.  The report comes at a time of the year when councils are considering their draft budgets, and on Monday our Cabinet will be meeting to recommend our draft budget in a climate that is unique in modern times.  This has been a difficult year for local government, having to respond to the credit crunch, meet increasing demands for services and high energy costs, along with new government legislation. 

The Audit Commission questioned the chief financial officers of 122 councils in England between October and November. They found that prices had risen faster than assumed when the government set the level of council grant for 2008/2009, with 77% of authorities receiving a cut in funding in real terms.  

The largest concern reported by councils was the reduced income from planning fees due to the housing slump, with almost half recording substantial falls.    The survey also found that 52% of authorities had suffered a fall in income from car parking fees as more people leave their car at home.  The research entitled “Crunch Time?” showed that councils had been hit hard by increases in fuel bills, with the cost of lighting the streets rising by 40% in a year.   The Commission’s findings also include: Two thirds of councils are reporting increases in applications for housing and other benefits as a direct result of the downturn  

• A third are already dealing with increases in homelessness
• A quarter of England’s councils have seen increased demand for elderly care
• One in seven has made compulsory redundancies, or plans to do so
• Many councils are reviewing recruitment, or seeking savings by leaving posts unfilled. 

A full copy of the Audit Commission report is available from http://tinyurl.com/7orch9  

Pressure is mounting on energy companies to speed up cuts to heating bills following the recent collapse in oil prices.  Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told a London conference: 
“It’s important the energy companies pass on the price cuts that we’ve seen in the wholesale market as soon as they possibly can.”    The Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband said on BBC Radio 4 The World at One that he would legislate to prevent unfair pricing practices if Ofgem was unable to force companies to pass on price cuts to the consumers.   He said: “I will use all the powers at my disposal to get fair energy prices.“ Mr. Milliband went onto to say that: “the world has an interest in low oil prices” and said that volatility in oil prices was a problem. “The fact that oil prices have come down is important because it is a way of injecting liquidity and demand into the economy. It has been a good thing and the right thing for the economy.”  Mr. Miliband’s appeal followed an embarrassing row which overshadowed the oil summit.  

Ministers from oil producing countries turned on Prime Minister Gordon Brown for demanding action to stop wild swings that saw the cost of a barrel of oil surge to $140 a barrel in summer and then fall to its present price around $40.   The summer price surge led to enormous increases in the price of domestic gas and electricity bills which have stubbornly remained high, despite tumbling oil prices.

Mr. Miliband’s remark was in reply to Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al Naimi, who called Mr. Brown “confused” for demanding the Opec oil cartel take action on output levels to control prices when he could have acted by slashing UK taxes on fuel.  He said high taxes on oil imposed by countries like Britain acts as “a drag on consumer spending”, and they are hampering economic growth at a time of global economic difficulty. Opec secretary-general Abdullah al Badri urged Mr. Brown to “look at his policies and try to reduce taxes and then he can talk to us”.   

A NEW-LOOK jobs centre has been officially opened in Grimsby.

In Training Employability opened its new base on Newchase Court, off Armstrong Street, Grimsby as part of the Government’s New Deal in the former premises of Harry Carr electrical contractor.

The 10,500 sq ft building at the junction of Armstrong Street and Rendell Street has been taken over, with offices, training rooms and conference facilities incorporated into the new plans for the building.

In Training Employability is part of Newcastle College Group, a nationwide deliverer of employability and skills provision.

It started operating in this area in 2002 from Devonshire House and now caters for up to 650 at any time.

A total of 34 people work from the premises, including personal advisers, placement advisers, employment trainers, administrators, outreach workers and mentors.

In Training is predominantly funded by the Learning and Skills Council and the Department for Work, with extra funding from the European Social Fund.

This new facility is a welcome addition to the services available in the area for people who are trying to gain useful work skills to make them more likely to find well paid jobs in the area, and it has come at just the right time to increase the range of opportunities to people during the current difficult times.

Claire Grogan, operations manager for In Training, said: “We are so pleased with the suite and location. This is going to be a flagship site for the area.”

As a member of the Humberside Fire Authority I was particularly pleased to learn that Humberside Fire & Rescue Service scooped an award at the Making a Difference in Yorkshire and Humber Awards.

In I’m a collision casualty – Get me out of here! Participants are seated in a specially modified vehicle and experience the horrors of being rescued from a vehicle collision. Using cutting equipment, stretchers and spine boards, the emergency services demonstrate in graphic detail how serious the consequences of vehicle collision can be.

The demonstration shows how emergency service workers are involved in releasing casualties from a crashed vehicle. During the demonstration the rescue teams, act, ask the same questions, lift and immobilise the participants just as they would in a real collision, all of this is done with the casualties blindfolded so that they can experience the sensation of being partially conscious and helpless.

Former NHS staff and ex-members of the Armed Forces have apparently had their pensions overpaid for up to thirty years.

The news emerged after Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable raised the matter in Parliament and the Government is expected to make a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Cable said the error had only just been discovered and he had been asked by the head of the civil service not to publicise it for several days while pensioners were informed.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said: “You were asking about repayments of money that has been overpaid – I’d think it’d be better I make it clear that isn’t going to happen.

“It will be necessary to adjust what’s paid for the future. It does need to be put right from next year. There will be a statement tomorrow from the Cabinet Office.”

Administrators at furniture retailer MFI say the firm has now ceased trading, with the loss of 1,400 jobs and the company’s 111 stores have now all closed.

The administrators said that it has not been possible to sell the business and told any customers with outstanding orders to apply for a refund.

• Those who paid by credit card or Visa debit card should contact their card providers.

• For customers who paid by cash, cheque or non-Visa debit cards, the administrators say that they expect to give a full refund by drawing on about £30m which has been frozen in credit card accounts.  These customers should complete a proof of debt form which is available from the administrators website and send it to mfi@mcr.uk.com or 43-45 Portman Square, London W1H 6LY before January 21.
• Customers who have paid in full for custom-made Kuchen Lab kitchens will receive the orders because they are individually designed to the buyer’s requirements.
• Customers with further queries can call 01405 744813 between 9 am to 6 pm Monday and Saturday.

A warehouse used by MFI but operated by logistics firm DHL will close on 23 February if a buyer cannot found.

The distribution centre, which is at Thorne, near Doncaster, employs 350 people.

DHL said it would seek to redeploy as many staff as possible, but had so far found new posts for only 35 people.

Last night was the last meeting of North East Lincolnshire Council.  The high light for me in what was quite a dull meeting was being asked to speak in support of my Liberal Democrat colleague and Portfolio holder, Councillor Steve Beasant as we proposed an amendment to a motion from the labour group for NELC to opt in to the Sustainable Communities Act.

It was the intention of the Liberal Democrat group to propose that we opt in to this act at this meeting, but we were pipped at the post by the Labour group.  As their two line motion seemed to be a little short on detail, it was decided that we would seek an amendment to the motion and report, which can be read on the site of Cllr Beasant, at  http://tinyurl.com/4lm7lk

 The labour group were obviously won over by our speeches, as they accepted our ammendment, and it was unanimously accepted.  If anyone would like to read the notes that I made for my speech they can be found by clicking on Speech Notes

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince CableMr Cable said that he thought rising unemployment levels in the new year would make the government “deeply, deeply, unpopular”

“The problem at the moment is that there is a major crisis people are baffled, confused and frightened and they turn to the people they know,” he said.

He added: “When the pain is felt in the new year I think the government will be deeply, deeply unpopular.

Mr Cable also said that despite some international criticism of the government’s fiscal stimulus package, there was an international consensus that fiscal policy had to be “part of the mix”.

The reason why almost every serious policy maker,  every siingle western government including the Germans is embracing a fiscal stimulus is becuase they know it has to be part of the mix,” he said.

Research by the Liberal Democrats has found that some train companies in the UK are charging almost three times as much per mile as cheaper firms.

Travellers on First Great Western pay on average 70p per mile while travellers on Arriva Trains Wales and Northern Rail pay just 24p and 27p per mile respectively.  The Liberal Democrats are demanding that the Office of Rail Regulation investigates the massive difference in cost between different rail companies. 

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said:

“It is unacceptable that there is such a huge variation in the price per mile of travelling by train in this country.

“There can be no excuse for a company like First Great Western to charge nearly three times as much as Arriva Trains Wales.

“I will be asking the Office of Rail Regulation to investigate the whole issue of relative ticket prices between companies.

“Sadly, the Government takes no interest in how much rail passengers have to pay and is content to see prices ratcheted up above inflation year after year.”