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BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Glider buses best fix for Liverpool city transport woes
Glider buses funded by a £100m transport boost for Liverpool will be "the best quick fix" to link up the city's airport and football stadia, the city region mayor has City Region has been handed £1.6bn by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as part of a £15bn transport spending announcement. The £100m will be spent on a new rapid transit bus system on three routes to take passengers from Liverpool John Lennon airport to the city centre and to Liverpool and Everton's stadiums, Steve Rotheram will also be spent on a new fleet of buses across the city region, being rolled out in St Helens first in 2026, and on three new railway stations. The challenge of how to transport people from the airport into the city centre was a central debate in last year's Liverpool City Region mayoral election. The nearest railway station is Liverpool South Parkway, which still requires passengers to catch a bus or a taxi to reach the terminal building. Transport for fans attending Everton's new stadium has also faced criticism and it is hoped the gliders would address these concerns, although a timescale for their introduction has not yet been said the gliders were something he had first seen in Belfast. 'Fill the gaps' The 59ft (18m) articulated vehicles can carry about 30% more passengers than an average double decker bus. They have been described as "bendy buses" and look a bit like trams but have wheels and are designed to operate on roads. In Belfast they run on dedicated lanes. Rotheram said details needed to be worked out on how the vehicles would use the roads in Liverpool but part of the money announced earlier would pay for any required infrastructure councillors in Liverpool have criticised the plans for not being ambitious Rotheram said the gliders would "fill in the gaps" in the city's transport network. He told BBC Radio Merseyside: "We need to connect those areas with significant footfall much more quickly."A planned Liverpool tram system – Merseytram - which would have linked Liverpool's major landmarks and eventually other parts of Merseyside was scrapped in if the gliders were a poor relation to a tram system, the metro mayor said: "We haven't got a tram system and if we had a tram system like we should have done with Merseytram then I would be using this money to extend that and build on it but we would need an act of parliament to start that journey." Rotheram said he would "bite your hand off" for trams in the region and added it might be something future politicians could resurrect, but with the gliders scheme "we've asked what can be done most quickly". Leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group on Liverpool City Council councillor Carl Cashman said the investment in Liverpool was welcome but described it as a "second best" said: "Manchester, Yorkshire and Birmingham get new tram lines while Liverpool is left behind with more of the same. Buses."Alan Gibbons who leads the Community Independent group of councillors in Liverpool said the announcement of these bus routes "falls far short of the needs of the city".He added: "It is ridiculous there is no Merseyrail train link to John Lennon Airport. "Transport links in this city are inadequate, particularly when it comes to cross-city travel. So much more is needed."Money from the £1.6bn pot will also be invested in the city region's rail network, with three new stations – Carr Mill in St Helens, Woodchurch in Wirral, and Daresbury in said: "We have seen with our new stations at Maghull North and Headbolt lane in Kirkby that people who might not have used public transport jump on the train." A new station has already been agreed for Liverpool's Baltic area. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Fees have risen more than government predicted, private schools say
The average cost of a place at a private school has increased by 22.6% in the last year – more than government estimates – after the introduction of VAT on fees, the body representing most UK independent schools Independent Schools Council (ISC) says it expects a reduction in pupils applying for private school as a result but that it is too soon to know the full effects of the policy, which was introduced mid-year. The average termly fee for a day school in January was £7,382, which includes 20% VAT, according to the ISC. In January last year the average was £6, an HM Treasury spokesperson says the increase in fees are not only down to VAT and the data "misrepresents reality". VAT on private school fees was introduced on 1 January across the UK. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the money raised would help "provide the highest quality of support and teaching" in the state the time, the government predicted fees would increase by about 10% as a result of the changes, saying some schools would be able to absorb part of the ISC says that many schools were able to reduce their fees, excluding VAT, in January to "cushion the impact" on the ISC chief executive Julie Robinson says the sector has been hit a "triple whammy" of national insurance changes, an end to charitable business rates relief and "the blow of 20% VAT on fees"."It seems clear to us that the government has underestimated the effect," she said."We know parents have already left the sector because of the threat of VAT coming in so we do expect the reality of this to lead to further decreases but the full effects will only become apparent over the next few years," Ms Robinson 22.6% increase in average fees compares with an 8.4% rise in 2024 and a 6.4% rise in figures were provided to the BBC by the ISC, which represents about 1,400 private schools across the UK. Its annual census, which looks at fees and pupil numbers, is conducted in January and is due to be released next week. Kath decided to remove her 12-year-old son from his private school in October after she was made aware the fees would be increasing in January."We worked it out and it was unaffordable. Within two terms the cost was going up by 26% to almost £8,000 a term, " she says. Her son has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and she originally choose the private sector due to the small class sizes and support offered. "We are a typical middle class family, we are not rolling in it, we have one second hand car and few holidays, we watch our money. At the very least I believe they should have brought it in at the start of the academic year.""Moving him mid-year was a traumatic experience but we only had 15 days to take a place once we were offered one", she has now started the process of applying for an education, health and care plan to help her son get the support he needs in his new school."The state system is stretched and underfunded. He is a happy and resilient boy and now we have to fight for his needs to be met." David Morton, headmaster of The King's School in Gloucester, which charges pupils between £3,725 and £9,050 a term, says the policy is "misjudged"."The government is trying to tax the more affluent areas of society in order to support the least affluent, but the wealthiest people have been affected the least.""It's low to middle income families and those children on bursaries where the impact of VAT is being felt most," Mr Morton adds. Given overall student numbers are set to fall by 700,000 in England by 2030, the government is confident that schools in the state sector will be able to accommodate any additional pupils moving from private estimates about 35,000 will move to the state sector in the long term and the impact will be "very small".Research by the think tank, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), says it would be possible for the state sector to easily accommodate extra pupils as the number leaving is bigger than the total number of children attending private ISC says some of its members reported a 4.6% fall in Year 7 pupils in September 2024, but experts say the declining birth rate and cost of living could be having an impact.A judicial review of the policy has been brought by three separate groups, including parents of children with SEND and low-paying faith schools. A decision is expected soon. The court heard how the government decided to bring the policy in mid-year to maximise the amount of money it estimates that the policy will raise an extra £460m this year, rising to £1.8bn by 2029/ part of their election campaign, Labour promised this would be used to recruit 6,500 specialist teachers in England over their parliamentary state sector is struggling with recruitment and retention and unfilled vacancies are at a record government says average fees in private schools have risen over the past 25 years and pupil numbers have remained fees have risen by 55% in real terms since 2003, even without VAT, according to the IFS."Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029-30 to help deliver 6,500 new teachers and raise school standards, supporting the 94% of children in state schools to achieve and thrive", an HM Treasury spokesperson said.
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Quango slammed for wasting taxpayer cash on woke projects including ‘pro-trans robots' & ‘queer animals'
A WOKE qango that splurges taxpayer cash on projects such as "queer animals" and "pro-trans robots" has been slammed by the government's spending watchdog. After a Sun investigation laid bare eye watering spending on bonkers schemes, such as electric cars for Albanian jails, the National Audit Office today warned that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) threatens to undermine the UK's position as a "global leader" in tech and science. 1 A damning probe by the NAO found that the country's largest public funder of research and innovation lacks a coherent direction from ministers on its priorities. The watchdog also blasted inefficient data systems at the UKRI, alongside a lack of "measurable objectives" which have limited effective monitoring of progress. In the Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves committed to investing £20.4 billion into the area of research and innovation. UKRI is responsible for allocating over £9bn of taxpayer cash. Responding to the NAO report, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Tory chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: "UKRI lacks any measurable objectives to track progress and does not have the right data to manage grant spending strategically. "For the nation to remain global leaders in R&I, UKRI must do more to support its decision-makers, foster resilience, and ensure our systems can continue to respond to emerging challenges."
