Latest news with #UKgovernment
ABC News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Should the voting age be lowered to 16 in Australia?
There's a fresh campaign to lower the voting age in Australia from 18 to 16 on the back of a similar move by the UK government. Michael Rowland reports.
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Reconsider Gaza family case, court tells Foreign Office
A Palestinian family who are trying to get the UK government to help them flee Gaza have won a critical ruling in their legal Monday, the High Court said that the foreign secretary had to "think again" about whether officials could help get the family ruling said the family of six were at "constant risk of injury or death" living in a tent in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. They first applied to come to the UK, where they have a British relative, in January 2024. A government spokesman said it was considering the judgment carefully. The case sparked headlines in February when it became the centre of a misunderstood row at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs).Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer clashed over mistaken and muddled claims that the family had exploited a scheme for Ukrainian their case was in fact dealt with on its own merits and not under the rules for resettling Ukrainians. The father, known only as "BEL", and his two young adult children had been fired at by Israeli forces at an aid distribution link to the UK is through the father's brother, referred to in court as "BSJ". He legally settled in the UK after Hamas came to power in Gaza in 2007 and became a British court heard that Hamas had so discriminated against the family, who had worked for its political opponents, that it had killed a the October 2023 war began, BSJ began asking if his brother and his family could come to the Home Office granted the family permission to come to the UK in January this year, telling them they must first pass biometric checks at the British consulate in the Foreign Office has refused to ask Israel to let the family leave Gaza because it only does so in exceptional cases involving couples or a parent and child separated by the against the government, Mr Justice Chamberlain said while the law did not require the government to assist the family to reach the UK, the foreign secretary should look again, considering the legally exceptional nature of the Barratt, the family's lawyer, said: "We hope that the Foreign Office will consider the judgment carefully and act quickly to reconsider their approach to this case and the policy more widely so that our clients and others in a similar position can be assisted to leave Gaza." Back in February, the family's case became a political row when Badenoch said during PMQs that it had been "completely wrong" for a judge to grant Palestinians the right to live in the UK after they originally applied through a scheme designed for fired back that the government would close the loophole. "It should be Parliament that makes the rules on immigration," he said at the time. But the publicly-available appeal judgment shows the family were not given permission to arrive under the scheme for Ukrainian they had initially used that immigration form, in error, they won their case under general human rights considerations which allow families from all backgrounds to make an exceptional request for Lady Chief Justice, Dame Sue Carr, later said the way both leaders had presented the case in Parliament had been "unacceptable", given their duty to respect the role of judges in upholding the law.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
New emergency alert text revealed ahead of test
The UK government is scheduled to conduct a national test of its emergency alert system. Millions of mobile phones on 4G and 5G networks across the UK will receive the alert at approximately 3pm on September 7. The alert will cause phones to vibrate and emit a siren for around 10 seconds, delivering a message in both English and Welsh. The message will state that it is a test and recipients do not need to take any action, directing them to for further information. Designed to warn of life-threatening emergencies, the system has been activated five times since April 2023 for events including severe storms and unexploded ordnance.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
UK emergency alert to be sent to millions in new test
The UK government has released the text of a national emergency alert, set to be broadcast as part of a crucial system test. Millions of phones will vibrate and emit a siren for around 10 seconds when the message arrives at approximately 3pm on September 7. The alert, under 100 words, will assure recipients they "do not need to take any action" and will be delivered in both English and Welsh. This pre-publication is part of a public awareness campaign by the Cabinet Office, designed to prepare citizens for the drill, including those with hidden phones due to domestic abuse. The message will reach mobile phones on 4G and 5G networks across the UK. On Monday, the Cabinet Office said the text message will include both English and Welsh and be sent to mobile phones on 4G and 5G networks in the UK. It will read: 'This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby. 'You do not need to take any action. In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe. 'Find simple and effective advice on how to prepare for emergencies at 'Visit for more information or to view this message in Welsh. Ewch i am ragor o wybodaeth neu i weld y neges hon yn y Gymraeg.' Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said: 'Just like the fire alarm in your house, it's important we test this system so that we know it will work if we need it. 'The alerts have the potential to save lives.' Since the first national test of the system in April 2023, five alerts have been sent, including during major storms such as Storm Eowyn in January when lives were at risk. Other activations have took place when an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered in Plymouth, as well as during flash floods in Cumbria and Leicestershire. Some MPs have called on ministers to use different modes of communication for the alert in order to ensure it reaches people who do not have access to a phone. Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Sarah Olney has suggested the Government follows Scandinavian examples where the public have been handed pamphlets about preparing for emergencies.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
UK economy assessments should be cut to one a year, IMF suggests
The UK government's finances should be assessed only once a year to avoid "overly frequent" changes to policy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested. At the moment, the government's independent forecaster - the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - has to produce two forecasts a year for the economy and public finances, and to assess if the government is on course to meet its limits on year changes in its forecast for the economy, driven by rises in global and domestic government borrowing rates, led to Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing £5bn in health-related welfare the cuts were then reversed after a Labour backbench revolt last month. The influential IMF, as part of its annual health check of the UK economy, said the best solution would be for the government to allow greater room for manoeuvre around its financial targets, "so that small changes in the outlook do not compromise assessments of rule compliance". The advice, if followed, could mean more tax rises than expected at the Budget in Autumn, as the chancellor rebuilds a bigger financial buffer to deal with a volatile global government is considering a change that would help support its move to there being a single Budget every year, a move which was designed to increase policy stability. The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently recommended downplaying the Spring Statement with a looser borrowing target, to prevent the need for constant fiddling of tax and spend chancellor is following two main rules for government finances, which she has repeatedly said are "non-negotiable". They are: day-to-day government costs to be paid for by tax income, rather than borrowingdebt to be falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament in 2029-30The IMF, in general, praised the UK economy and recent "bold agenda" of pro-growth reforms, saying its medium-term borrowing plans were "credible" and that the UK's trade deals meant it was well placed to ride out current global suggested that should economic shocks materialise, the government should consider replacing the state pension triple lock, widening the applicability of VAT, means-testing more benefits, and co-payments for richer users of the to the IMF's report, Reeves said: "Today's IMF report confirms that the choices we've taken have ensured Britain's economic recovery is underway, and that our plans will tackle the deep-rooted economic challenges that we inherited in the face of global headwinds."Our fiscal rules allow us to confront those challenges by investing in Britain's renewal."
