From 3h agoKey events1h agoDate of Charles’ first king’s speech announced3h agoVoters picking new MPs in three constituenciesFilters BETAKey events (2)Rishi Sunak (4)27s ago07.23 EDT
The controversial sacking of top Treasury civil servant Sir Tom Scholar cost the government £457,000 in compensation, PA news reports.
The department’s annual accounts reveal Scholar, who was dismissed as permanent secretary when Liz Truss came to power in September 2022, received a £335,000 severance payment along with £122,000 in annual leave adjustments, payment in lieu of notice and other payments.
The accounts also show the extent of severance payments made to ministers in the wake of last year’s mass resignations.
Among those to receive severance payments was Chris Pincher, who resigned as deputy chief whip on in June 2022 over allegations he groped two men at the Carlton Club.
Pincher received £7,920 in severance. Former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Truss both received £18,660 after resigning, while former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng received £16,876.
28m ago06.56 EDTRichard Adams
Education secretary Gillian Keegan has confirmed that the controversial guidance to schools on trans pupils will now be delayed.
Rishi Sunak had promised the guidance would be published before the end of the school year but it has instead been beset by ministerial in-fighting and legal wrangles.
Keegan did not give any hint of when the guidance would now appear.
In a written statement Keegan said:
It is vital that the guidance we publish gives clarity for schools and colleges and reassurance for parents. So, we have made the decision to allow more time – to speak to teachers, parents, lawyers and other stakeholders – in order to ensure this guidance meets the high expectations that these groups rightly have for it.
51m ago06.33 EDT
Haroon Siddique
The Law Society has said the illegal migration bill, expected to be given royal assent today, will be unworkable.
Lubna Shuja, the president of the independent body for solicitors in England and Wales, said:
We have been clear from the start that this legislation threatens to undermine the rule of law and access to justice.
Whilst the act will soon come into force on paper, it will be unworkable in practice because it doesn’t provide solutions to the asylum backlog, and there isn’t capacity in the legal aid sector to provide the immigration advice needed.
The Rwanda removal agreement has been ruled unlawful and is subject to an appeal in the supreme court.
Even if that appeal proves successful, there are no other removal agreements in place. Rwanda alone would not be able to accept anywhere near the number of people who will be scheduled for ‘removal’.
A growing number of people will be left in limbo as they cannot be removed, and they cannot claim asylum.
The cost to the taxpayer will continue to increase as the individuals left in limbo are housed in various accommodation indefinitely.
Updated at 06.55 EDT1h…
2023-07-20 05:56:42
Link from www.theguardian.com
rnrn
