PAE Latest News
Rheinmetall to continue UK Troop Munitions Supply
2010-03-09 16:34:44The UK Defence Procurement Organisation has awarded a contract to Rheinmetall AG to continue the supply of general munitions to British forces.
Under the €150m ($205m) contract, Rheinmetall AG will continue to provide ammunition cooperation until 2015.
Over the last five years,Rheinmetall Defence has nearly doubled the volume of general munitions it supplied to UK troops.
The new contract was awarded by UK Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S).
Hospital workers get hi-tech panic alarms
2010-03-09 16:16:28Hospital staff in Lincolnshire who work alone are using hi-tech personal alarms to protect themselves against violence, abuse or threats at work.
Maternity and children's nurses at hospitals across the county are wearing electronic devices which can alert security officers, summon help and record incidents.
Audio recordings obtained via the NHS Security Management Service can be used as evidence in court.
In 2008/9 there were 143 reported incidents of staff at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust being assaulted at work.
One hundred staff across the county have so far been equipped with the devices and trained how to use them.
NHS Needs to Overhaul Some Points Related to Health Provisions
2010-03-09 16:09:19A new study has discovered that British patients are being denied surgery because of deficits in health-care budgets.
The disturbing scenario has raised doubts on NHS as unsafe for the country, with it again moving centre stage in the run-up to the general election.
A 130 million pound (S$273.7 million) shortfall in National Healthcare System (NHS) primary care trusts, which fund hospitals in England, has resulted in a reduction in surgical operations along with calls to close accident and emergency (A&E) departments, the study revealed.
However, in reality, the UK's financial position is currently in such a dreadful condition that the NHS needs to be substantively scrutinizing its current working and make repairs, irrespective of who wins the next general election.
The joint analysis by think-tank Civitas and The Guardian newspaper examined figures from the public board meetings of 100 trusts, discovering more than a third of the trusts are running deficits.
NFR reveals that the next Government must liberate health provision from the costly and counterproductive world of top-down and un-innovative state control.
Two new areas propose eco-town developments
2010-03-09 16:03:25Two new areas have been added to the list of proposals for a "second wave" of eco-towns, the Government said today.
Ministers also unveiled an overhaul of planning policies to help ensure green measures such as electric car charging points and renewable energy schemes get the go-ahead in new developments.
Housing and planning minister John Healey said East Devon District Council and Fareham Borough Council were interested in developing new settlements which meet standards set out for eco-towns.
The schemes, for an initial 3,500 homes in Cranbrook, east of Exeter, and at least 7,000 homes north of Fareham, Hampshire, will each receive £200,000 to develop plans for green housing and infrastructure.
They join nine local authorities already developing plans for a second wave of environmentally-friendly new settlements and sharing a £10 million pot to help them bring forward their proposals.
A further £10 million was announced for councils to train up staff to have the skills and know-how to develop environmentally-friendly housing and energy sources in the areas.
The update of planning regulations for climate change, coastal change and the natural environment will provide a "green planning rulebook" for councils to help them tackle climate change, the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department said.
Under the new planning policy for climate change, put out to consultation today, there could be requirements to reduce the need for people to travel from home to work and encourage the installation of electric car charging points.
The proposals also include a focus on better public transport, improved walking and cycling links and making it quicker and easier to approve renewable energy schemes.
The policy, coming a week after the Government launched a green homes strategy putting emphasis on the role of councils in improving energy efficiency, will allow town halls to use the planning system to establish community heating and energy sources.
Proposals for planning guidance on the natural environment include provision of "green infrastructure" including allotments, parks and street trees.
And in a bid to boost health and fitness, the guidelines would allow more sports clubs to stay open after dark with hi-tech floodlights that cut light pollution, CLG said.
A final planning policy for managing coastal change gives new powers to local communities to support their economies and lifts the blanket ban on all development along coasts at risk of erosion.
While all inappropriate development, including housing, will remain banned in areas threatened by coastal erosion, temporary development that could benefit the local community such as beach huts, car parks and cafes could be permitted.
Mr Healey said today's announcement was a "triple boost" to help councils tackle climate change.
"Overhauled planning policies will act as a new green planning rulebook and the £10 million for councils will provide training to deliver action on the ground," he said.
"The tougher, better guidelines for planning gives councils a new blueprint, reflecting the latest targets and ensuring councils put combating climate change at the heart of future development - ultimately saving people money on their bills and reducing emissions."
And he said: "I am also pleased to announce two new areas in the eco-town 'second wave'. Councils are making great progress and already highlighting where they can apply tough green standards in new development.
"This signals real and radical momentum to change and to re-think how we design our towns and homes for the future."
The 11 areas now developing plans for eco-towns with Government support form the second round of the programme, which saw four first-wave sites given the go-ahead by ministers last summer.
The eco-town project was intended to meet housing needs and tackle climate change, with as many as 10 environmentally-friendly settlements built by 2020, but has been dogged by controversy and opposition from local communities.
Fears were raised that the scheme would bypass local democracy - despite Government assurances they would still have to go through the planning process - leading to a shift in the policy favouring schemes put forward by local authorities themselves.
British trade deficit worsens in January
2010-03-09 16:02:56Britain's trade-in-goods deficit widened to £8 billion sterling in January, the largest since August 2008, because of slumping exports, official data showed.
The figure, equivalent to €8.8 billion, compared with a downwardly-revised deficit of £7 billion in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Analysts had expected the deficit to narrow to £6.9 billion in January while the December figure was previously put at a deficit of £7.3 billion.
The ONS said exports slumped 6.9% to £19.5 billion in January in the sharpest decline since July 2006. Imports were down 1.6% to £27.4 billion.
British export data may show signs of improvement in the coming months owing to a weak pound.
''Every request for equipment was met''
2010-03-09 15:51:49The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the Chilcot Inquiry that British armed forces in Iraq got everything they asked for.
Denying that any request was turned down, he said he had instructed the Treasury to approve any request made by commanders.
"I said that every single request for equipment had to be met and every request was met," he said.
"At any point, commanders were able to ask for equipment that they needed and I know of no occasion when they were turned down."
Brown also claimed that he had reassured former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002 that he would not rule out military options on the grounds of cost, adding: "I said immediately to the prime minister... there should be no sense that there was any financial restraint that prevented us from doing what was best for the military."
The PM also denied that he had not been kept in the dark and the intelligence briefings he had seen convinced him that the threat "had to be dealt with" and that it was the "right decision".
However, Brown said the main reason he supported the invasion was that Iraq was in breach of UN resolutions, adding that rogue states could not flout international law.
"Nobody wants to go to war, nobody wants to see innocent people die, nobody wants to see their forces put at risk," he said.
"Nobody would want to make this decision except in the gravest of circumstances where we were sure that we were doing the right thing. I think it was the right decision and made for the right reasons."
Brown also acknowledged there were "important lessons" to be learned from the Iraq aftermath.
"It was one of my regrets that I wasn't able to be more successful in pushing the Americans on this issue - that the planning for reconstruction was essential, just the same as planning for the war," he said.
Brown claimed he had warned the US government before the invasion that post-war reconstruction had to be properly planned for, adding: "I cannot take personal responsibility for everything that went wrong.
"There will be other states, rogue states, that need to change and we need to ensure civilian support as well as military support to do what's necessary when a broken state has to be rebuilt."