Review of the Papers, Thursday 12 April

Government

• Trains and tracks could be reunited and put under public control for the first time since privatisation, under plans to make Scotland a test case for the rest of the rail industry. Network Rail, the not-for-profit company created by the Government to run Britain's tracks, has held secret talks with Scottish Labour politicians about taking control of trains north of the Border. The move would reverse the fragmentation of the industry after British Rail was broken up and sold off in the mid1990s. Labour's Scottish election manifesto, published on Tuesday, contains a thinly veiled reference to the idea of Scotland pioneering a new structure for the rail industry. It states: "The case for running the Scottish franchise on a not-for-profit basis needs to be fully examined as part of the preparation for the next franchise." -The Times- has learnt that Iain Coucher, Network Rail's deputy chief executive, who will step up to the chief executive position in July, has held private talks about Network Rail taking over the franchise. He met senior Labour politicians at the party's Scottish conference in November and indicated that Network Rail would be willing to cooperate with plans to reintegrate Scotland's tracks and trains. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry-sectors/transport/article1642806.ece
• The cost of bus and train travel has outstripped the price of motoring since Labour came to power, according to the latest official figures. While the Government considers pay-as-you-drive road tolls to persuade people to curb their car use, the latest statistics show that the prices passengers face have risen far faster than those absorbed by motorists. Persuading people to switch to public transport was one of John Prescott's key pledges when he became Deputy Prime Minister. However, according to the Office for National Statistics, bus fares have risen by 52.9 per cent over the past decade. While, the latest figures from the Office of Rail Regulation showed that train fares rose by 46.2 per cent between January 1998 and the start of this year. According to AA, the driver of a small family car has seen their motoring bill rise from 41.52 pence a mile in 1997 to 56.15 pence in 2005 - or 26 per cent. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/12/nrail12.xml  
• As much as 85p in every £1 the Government has spent on health has gone into Labour constituencies, the Conservatives said yesterday. Details from a Parliamentary question show that of the 46 multi-million-pound hospitals built in England since Tony Blair came to power, 33 are in Labour areas. That amounts to £3.5 billion out of a total spend of £4.1 billion. Government health policy has aimed at removing "health inequalities" and lifting health services in deprived areas, many of which are Labour strongholds. But the Tories say they are still waiting for the Government to tell them why one area is favoured over another and to explain the rationale of agreeing to new hospital developments in particular areas. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/12/nhealth12.xml  
• Prison overcrowding is costing the Home Office almost £5 million a month in payments for emergency accommodation in police cells. A bill totalling £23 million has built up since John Reid, the Home Secretary, was forced last October to start holding prisoners at police stations because jails were full. The overall cost is double the estimated figure given to MPs last year, and is about to rise even higher because there has been no reduction in overcrowding. Mr Reid's department is also paying a private security company £5,000 a night to be on standby for two-week periods in case prisoners have to be held at the Crown Court in London. The company, Serco, receives the money whether or not the cells are used. The Home Office also paid it £130,000 for a feasibility study on holding prisoners in court cells. The police, who are providing 400 cells around the country, are also being paid whether or not the cells are used. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1642642.ece  
• Stay-at-home mothers on benefits should be given 20 hours of free childcare a week to ensure that their children receive the best start in life and are ready for school by the time that they turn five, a controversial report will recommend today. The study by CentreForum, a liberal think-tank, claims that existing childcare subsidies, which are available only to working parents, result in nonworking families receiving less financial support than more prosperous households. It recommends the introduction of a new childcare benefit of £60 a week, 38 weeks a year, for children aged three to five whose parents are out of work. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article1642626.ece