November 2011
Links and references to articles by the leading UK news providers covering subjects that are of interest to those living and working in rural England and Wales.
Biomass subsidy
A letter to the Editor from the Director General of the Wood Panel Industries Federation that argues the British government "urgently needs to review the policy of biomass subsidy which severely distorts the UK wood market".
The Times - 30 November 2011 - 30
Health and safety laws 'unnecessary'
A Government study yesterday concluded that many European Union health and safety laws were imposing "unnecessary costs" on businesses and called for a drive to limit workplace rules.
Daily Telegraph - 30 November 2011 - 2
Investment in tax breaks
George Osborne froze the threshold for Capital Gains Tax (CGT)for next year, resulting in individuals selling shares or property they do not live in able to make £10,600 before incurring the duty.
At the same time, the Treasury announced a CGT holiday for individuals who invest up to £100,000 in start-up companies.
Daily Telegraph - 30 November 2011 - 9
Local authority borrowing boost
Ministers are considering allowing local authorities to borrow against future receipts of the Community Infrastructure Levy.
Daily Telegraph Business - 30 November 2011 - 2
Welcome development for developers but bad news for voles
The Chancellor has said the Government will review the way Brussels wildlife directives are applied in Britain which imposed "ridiculous" costs on construction projects.
The Times Autumn Statement supplement - 30 November 2011 - 11
Agricultural voice in climate change
A letter to the Editor from the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture that says the organisation has joined with others, including the World Farmers' Organisation, to "speak a single voice" to negotiators at the UN Climate Conference, calling for the endorsement of a work programme for agriculture to "empower the industry to take early action to determine the long-term investments needed to transform agriculture to meet future food and energy challenges effectively."
Financial Times - 29 November 2011 - 14
Call for register of fallen after metal thefts
James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire has called for a central register of fallen soldiers following the theft of metal from war memorials.
Daily Telegraph - 29 November 2011 - 6
Chancellor unveils growth strategy
The Chancellor George Osborne will today set out the growth strategy to kick-start the economy with the centrepiece of the Autumn Statement being a multi-million pound package to boost infrastructure and help small and medium-sized businesses
Daily Telegraph - 29 November 2011 - 1
Cloud at start of UN climate talks
The UN's annual climate conference began in Durban, South Africa, yesterday amid signs of deep discord over how countries should curb their carbon emissions.
Financial Times - 29 November 2011 - 8
Figures show it's getting hotter
Temperatures across the world are continuing to rise as predicted by climate change scientists, according to the latest figures released by the Met Office.
The Times - 29 November 2011 - 21
Osborne's help for struggling businesses
The Chancellor is set to announce a £370million package aimed at encouraging small start-ups to take-off while also helping struggling small businesses.
The Times - 29 November 2011 - 8
Small companies given breathing space on pension reform
Smaller businesses will now be given until May 2015 to start automatically enrolling staff in a pension scheme of minimum standards.
The Times - 29 November 2011 - 40
Wild habitats are at risk from developers
George Osborne is expected to announce a review of the Habitats Regulations that protect huge swathes of landscape and is intended to speed up the planning process by cutting red tape.
Daily Telegraph - 29 November 2011 - 4
'More greenfield sites may be lost'
Councils are to be told they must set aside an extra 20 percent of land for development but the total area will be increased further because the Government is closing a loophole that local authorities have previously used to reduce the amount of greenfield development.
Sunday Times - 27 November 2011 - 2
Osborne's £15bn for small firms
George Osborne will throw a £15 billion lifeline to small businesses this week as part of the Autumn Statement.
Sunday Times Business - 27 November 2011 - 1
PM's green guru has doubts on global warming
Steve Hilton, the Prime Minister's director of strategy and 'green guru', has admitted to doubts about climate change saying, "I'm not sure I believe in it".
Mail on Sunday - 27 November 2011 - 9
Royal wind of change
Plans for a huge turbine in view of HRH the Prince of Wales's bedroom window at the Castle of Mey in Caithness have been rejected by Scottish ministers.
Sunday Telegraph - 27 November 2011 - 15
Season of befuddled fruitfulness
The balmy autumn and sunny November have reset the clock for wildlife, many of which are behaving as if it were spring or summer.
Sunday Times - 27 November 2011 - 23
Broadband speeds 'need to be clearer'
Ofcom has told internet service providers that broadband speeds should be made much clearer to consumers.
Daily Telegraph - 25 November 2011 - 20
Forest flowers under threat
One in six woodland plants in Britain faces extinction because of poor forest management, according to a report by Plantlife.
Daily Telegraph - 25 November 2011 - 13
Game management 'helpful for hedges'
Pheasant shooting helps retain hedges which are vital for many forms of wildlife, according to a study by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Daily Telegraph - 25 November 2011 - 44
Internet warning
Ofcom has warned internet service providers that it must inform customers about slowing down capacity during peak periods otherwise it may force them to, using powers brought in under a European framework.
The Times - 25 November 2011 - 70
Parliament date with Defra
The Parliamentary Sketch by Michael Gibbon suggests that food, environment and rural affairs "make for odd but hilariously entertaining bedfellows."
Daily Telegraph - 25 November 2011 - 15
Small firms win red tape reprieve in new pensions
Thousands of small businesses who employ fewer than 10 staff will receive a boost next week when plans are unveiled to delay moves to force them to enrol staff in a pension scheme.
Daily Mail - 25 November 2011 - 10
Staffies are 'perfectly harmless', says Paice
Staffordshire bull terriers have been unfairly “stigmatised” as dangerous dogs and make “perfectly harmless” family pets, minister Jim Paice has said. However, ministers are considering reforms to the Dangerous Dogs Act, expected to be announced early next year, in order to make sure dog owners face up to their responsibilities to control potentially dangerous animals.
Daily Telegraph - 25 November 2011 - 14
Walker and dog fall after manhole cover is stolen
A woman and her dog fell down a 12ft manhole in West Sussex after metal thieves removed the cover.
Daily Telegraph - 25 November 2011 - 3
Cable to unveil overhaul of employment law
Business Secretary Vince Cable is to announce "the most radical shake-up of employment law in decades", after weeks of coalition wrangling about the extent to which workers' rights block job creation.
Financial Times - 23 November 2011 - 1
Huhne attempts to take heat out of solar debate
New limits could be placed on subsidies for households that install renewable energy as ministers look to avoid repeating the last-minute cuts that have thrown the solar industry into turmoil.
Financial Times - 23 November 2011 - 3
Industry urged to put cuts in perspective
The paper reports that Britain is not the only European country to scale back the Feed-In Tariff for solar installation that has become too popular.
Financial Times - 23 November 2011 - 3
Shoots rewarded for conservation
A project that transformed a derelict industrial site in Essex and a wild grey partridge restoration scheme within a family farm shoot in Bedfordshire have won Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation.
Daily Telegraph - 23 November 2011 - 42
Travellers plan move
Travellers evicted from Dale Farm have begun a renewed bid to live on a field three miles away in the village of Laindon in Essex.
The Times - 23 November 2011 - 4
Waves of support for marine conservation
Plans to create a network of marine national parks to protect rare species are in danger of being scrapped, according to The Wildlife Trusts who are urging people to write to environment minister Richard Benyon to ensure all 127 proposed sites are implemented.
Daily Telegraph - 10 November 2011 - 40
Disabled children 'used to beat planning laws'
A councillor in the North West has said he is "concerned" by two recent planning applications for large rural homes and claims parents are using specialist disability facilities as a way to circumvent planning laws restricting development.
Daily Telegraph - 9 November 2011 - 2
Spread of deer puts rare birds at risk
Deer numbers should be controlled, possibly by culling, to protect dwindling nightingale populations, the British Trust for Ornithology has said.
Daily Telegraph - 9 November 2011 - 3
When is a beach not a beach? When it's a village green, court told
A legal battle has broken out over plans to turn West Beach at Newhaven, East Sussex, into a village green.
Daily Telegraph - 9 November 2011 - 13
High-speed rail on track
The Transport Secretary Justine Greening is expected to announce Government support for the High Speed Two rail line next month after the House of Commons Transport Committee said there was a "good case" for the line.
The Times - 8 November 2011 - 8
Life's a very dirty beach in the North West
Just ten beaches and bathing spots in England and Wales have failed basic water quality standards, according to Defra and the Welsh Government, with those most affected by high sewage and pollution levels near Blackpool and in North Wales.
Daily Telegraph - 8 November 2011 - 15
MPs give qualified support to rail link
Plans to build the High Speed Two rail line will get the tentative backing of a group of MPs today, despite concerns over the Government's lack of transport policy and questions about economic and environmental cases for the £32billion line.
Financial Times - 8 November 2011 - 3
Solar job cuts alert
More than 50 percent of solar industry companies will reduce their workforce by half because imminent cuts to small solar subsidies, according to research seen by the Financial Times.
Financial Times - 8 November 2011 - 1
Stop name-calling over rail link, say MPs
Opponents of the Government's plan to run a high-speed rail line through the Chilterns should not be condemned as "nimbys", according to a report by the transport select committee out today.
Daily Telegraph - 8 November 2011 - 2
EU honey ruling puts beekeepers in a jam
Beekeepers face being driven out of business by a European court ruling that pollen must be listed as an ingredient of honey with manufacturers having to prove it is not genetically modified.
Daily Telegraph - 7 November 2011 - 1
FIT cut 'will kill UK solar industry'
A letter to the Editor from the "Cut Don't Kill Campaign" that says Britain's solar industry will be destroyed and 25,000 jobs lost if ministers push ahead with plans to cut subsidies for people who install panels in their homes. In response, Energy Minister Greg Barker says that the costs of solar have fallen sharply and there is therefore "no option" to cut the Feed-In Tariff.
The Times - 7 November 2011 - 16
New £500million fund for the regions
A total of £500million will be handed to Local Enterprise Partnerships to be spent on improving infrastructure under a new Growing Places Fund to be announced today.
Financial Times - 7 November 2011 - 2
Ditching wind farms 'will save £34billion'
A new study by KPMG says that Britain can hit its carbon targets more cheaply by using gas and nuclear power rather than wind.
Sunday Times - 6 November 2011 - 18
Defining 'sustainable’
A letter to the Editor from CLA President William Worsley that says the definition of “sustainable development” and that while the countryside must not be damaged, "with well-designed, sustainable development on an appropriate scale the countryside will be able to offer the jobs, housing and services communities need."
Daily Telegraph - 4 November 2011 - 29
Protesters march to halt deer park cull
A protest march is being planned to try to stop the culling of deer in Richmond Park, Surrey, with campaigners calling for the animals to be given contraceptives to keep numbers down.
Daily Telegraph - 4 November 2011 - 20
Rise in flood and heatwaves due to climate change, says UN
Man-made climate change has already made heatwaves, wildfires, floods and other natural disasters more frequent, according to a report by the United Nations.
Daily Telegraph - 2 November 2011 - 17
Vodafone trial lifts rural hopes
Vodafone is to test new technology aimed at improving mobile internet coverage in rural areas.
Financial Times - 2 November 2011 - 4
Councils to decide on second home tax perk
Many second homeowners will retain discounts of 50 percent on their council tax bills despite proposed changes to the system heralded as a wholesale cut to the relief.
Financial Times - 1 November 2011 - 2
Net users pay too much for broadband
Nearly nine out of 10 internet users are paying too much for superfast broadband they do not need, according to a new survey.
Daily Telegraph - 1 November 2011 - 9
Solar chiefs threaten legal action over subsidy cuts
Solar compamy executives have condemned the "nightmare" announcement of government plans to halve subsidies for household solar panels, threatening legal action against a step they claimed would destroy the industry.
Financial Times - 1 November 2011 - 4
Taking back powers from EU will cost jobs, says Clegg
Nick Clegg has delivered a fresh warning to Tory Euro-sceptics not to leave Britain isolated in the European Union, saying the repratriation of power from Brussels could cost jobs and growth.
Daily Telegraph - 1 November 2011 - 8
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