Payday Loan Caps To Cut The Cost Of Borrowing

The City regulator is to impose caps on payday loans from January to tackle abuses in the quick-credit market, in a move set to cost the industry £420m of its annual revenue.

The headline measure was a limit in the overall cost of a loan, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said should never exceed 100% of the total amount borrowed.

For example, if a borrower was to take out a loan of £300, the person's liability would not be more than £600.

Fixed default fees were also to be capped at £15, the regulator said, with interest on unpaid balances and default fees not exceeding 0.8% per day of the outstanding amount.

News of the restrictions - reported by Sky News on Monday night ahead of the announcement - prompted the industry body the Consumer Finance Association (CFA) to warn that the limits could force many of its members out of business, driving customers towards loan sharks instead.

The FCA admitted the measures were likely to cost the payday sector £420m annually but its chief executive Martin Wheatley dismissed the industry's claim as a "scare story" - telling Sky News the caps would only take out those firms preying on their customers.

He said: "For the many people that struggle to repay their payday loans every year this is a giant leap forward.

"From January next year, if you borrow £100 for 30 days and pay back on time, you will not pay more than £24 in fees and charges and someone taking the same loan for 14 days will pay no more than £11.20. That's a significant saving.

"For those who struggle with their repayments, we are ensuring that someone borrowing £100 will never pay back more than £200 in any circumstance.

"There have been many strong and competing views to take into account, but I am confident we have found the right balance.

"Alongside our other new rules for payday firms - affordability tests and limits on rollovers and continuous payment authorities - the cap will help drive up standards in a sector that badly needs to improve how it treats its customers."

The measures were announced 24 hours after Wonga - the country's biggest payday lender - confirmed its new chairman was to lead a drive to improve standards in the wake of damaging revelations the firm created fake legal letters to threaten borrowers in arrears.

Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said of the caps: "Up until now, payday lenders have had the green light to send people into a spiral of unmanageable debt.

"The cap will help limit the scale of debts but its success will depend on enforcement and is part of a raft of measures, including limiting rollovers, that the FCA must make sure lenders are sticking to."

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NHS To Monitor Nurses For 'Red Flag' Errors

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Hospitals have been issued with a new checklist that should ensure they have enough nurses to provide safe care.

The NHS watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said all hospitals in England should monitor for "red flag" events that indicate staff are under too much pressure.

They include forgetting a patient's medication, failing to check patients are eating and drinking enough, and omitting to regularly turn immobile patients to reduce the risk of pressure sores.

Any ward manager should be able to respond to red flag events by calling for immediate back-up from other departments, according to new guidelines.

If it happens too often, managers will have to recruit more staff.

"The point of a red flag is that additional staff are required pretty urgently on the ward to make sure that those key things are delivered," said Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive at Nice.

The watchdog hopes to avoid a repeat of the Stafford Hospital scandal

The watchdog rejected calls to set a national staffing ratio.

It says a target of one nurse to eight patients is too rigid. Some patients - such as the elderly - need far more care than others.

Professor Leng added: "Safe staffing is more complex than setting a single ratio.

"The emphasis should not just be on the available number of staff, it should be on delivering safe patient care and making sure that hospital management and nursing staff are absolutely clear on best practice to do this."

The guidance was welcomed by the Royal College of Nursing.

Chief Executive Dr Peter Carter said: "The needs of patients should be the only thing determining staffing levels - not finances.

RCN chief Peter Carter warned finances should not dictate care levels

"Patient care must not be compromised because of short-term financial cuts and a minimum safe staffing level should not become a default staffing level."

Nice estimates that hiring extra nurses to meet safe staffing levels will cost £200m.

But the better quality care they will provide will save £1bn by reducing pressure sores and another £700m by preventing wound infections.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Recent years have seen a big jump in nursing numbers in hospital wards, with 6,200 more nurses since 2010. Today's guidance will help the NHS use staff as effectively as possible."

Labour's shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "Hospitals across England are operating way beyond recommended capacity levels and, because of this, too many do not have enough staff to provide safe care.

"In the last year, inspectors failed one in six hospitals for not having adequate numbers of staff."

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Gove Leaves Education Job As Hague Quits

Michael Gove will leave his job as Education Secretary in a major reshuffle of the top jobs in Government.

The 46-year-old, a controversial figure among many teachers, has been swapped to the role of Commons Chief Whip - a move described as "definitely a demotion" by Sky's Political Editor Adam Boulton.

David Cameron had been expected to promote more women into key posts ahead of next year's General Election.

Nicky Morgan takes over from Michael Gove as Education Secretary

The first to secure a high-profile role was Nicky Morgan, the current Minister for Women and Equalities, who will fill the vacancy left by Mr Gove.

It is a rapid rise for an MP who has only held a seat in the House of Commons for four years.

Liz Truss also secures promotion, moving from Education Minister to Environment Secretary to replace Owen Paterson, who became a familiar face during the flooding crisis over the winter.

Liz Truss is the Government's new Environment Secretary

The wide-ranging reshuffle also sees the shock departure of William Hague as Foreign Secretary.

The 53-year-old will become Leader of the House Of Commons before standing down as an MP at the next General Election in 2015.

He is replaced by Philip Hammond, who moves from the role of Defence Secretary.

Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said: "When they said this would be a significant reshuffle, they actually meant it."

Philip Hammond replaces William Hague as Foreign Secretary

A  Downing Street spokesman said Mr Hague will help to coordinate government policy and become a "leading campaigner in key constituencies, particularly in the north of England".

He will also be the Prime Minister's special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, following his work with UN special envoy and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.

Meanwhile, Ken Clarke is retiring from Government and other high-profile Tory MPs have emerged as casualties of the reshuffle, including Policing Minister Damian Green and Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC.

Ken Clarke pictured arriving at No 10 on Monday

Mr Clarke, 74, is stepping down as minister without portfolio, bringing to an end a front bench career stretching back to 1972.

Speaking shortly after Mr Hague announced his departure, the Prime Minister said: "Mr Hague has been one of the leading lights of the Conservative Party for a generation, leading the party and serving in two cabinets.

"Not only has he been a first class Foreign Secretary, he has also been a close confidante, a wise counsellor and a great friend."

Mr Hague with Angelina Jolie and US Secretary of State John Kerry

Mr Hague said there was a "balance to strike between experience on the one hand and the need for renewal on the other".

"Renewal in politics is good and holding office is not an end in itself," he said.

"After 26 years as an MP, the time will be right for me to move on."

Mr Green has been sacked in a "shock" move and Mr Grieve has also left the Government, Sky sources say.

Welsh Secretary David Jones, Transport Minister Stephen Hammond and Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd are also out.

International Development Minister Alan Duncan is standing down at his own request, while Universities Minister David Willetts has also stood down and declared his intention to quit as an MP next year.

Mr Jones is set to be replaced by Stephen Crabb, according to Sky sources.

Boulton said: "It's the biggest upheaval in David Cameron's government since he came to power in 2010.

"He is clearly cutting out a lot of, as people are saying, 'pale, male and stale' ministers.

"A lot of them are, frankly, thought to be doing quite good jobs in their ministerial positions."

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'Macho Parliament Putting Women Off Politics'

'Lack Of Women MPs Is A Real Problem'

Updated: 2:31pm UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

Former equalities minister Maria Miller has told Sky News that there is a "real problem" with the lack of women MPs in Parliament.

The Conservative MP for Basingstoke told the Murnaghan programme that Parliament needed to "look at its practices" in order to encourage more women into politics.

And she said she "wouldn't rule out" all-women shortlists if the Tories could not recruit more women.

Her comments came as David Cameron is expected to appoint more women to ministerial posts at a reshuffle this week.

Ms Miller, who was forced to resign earlier this year following an expenses scandal, said: "There is a real problem there.

"We only have 22% of members of Parliament who are female, and at a time when we are seeing young girls come out of university with the best degrees, and choosing to go into areas like law and accountancy in more numbers than their male counterparts, yet in Parliament we are still struggling to attract women either as a first career or even as a second career."

She said that women were not taking up the challenge of trying to improve their communities by going into politics.

She was hopeful that a report that is due to be released on Monday, which aims to address the issue, will help, even though Parliament has been "lagging behind".

She admitted that, as someone who had gone to a Comprehensive in Wales and had not gone to Oxford or Cambridge, becoming an MP was something she had not seen herself doing.

It had only been because of family and friends that she had gone into politics, she added.

She also admitted that she had not realised what it would be like in Parliament, but that MPs needed to "look at the working practices we have and culture that we have" so that Westminster did not lag behind.

In February, Ed Miliband pointed out during Prime Minister's Questions that none of the Conservative front bench seats were occupied by women.

Ms Miller tipped Harriett Baldwin, Margot James and Esther McVey for greater future success.

But Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned that voters would view a reshuffle that increased the number of women in Cabinet as a "last minute worry" about votes.

The Labour front bencher accused the Prime Minister of having a "real blind spot" over women and said it would be "too little, too late".

She told the Murnaghan programme: "I think if he was serious about having women in his Cabinet, he's had four years to do so.

"There's only three women in the Cabinet of between 20 and 30 people at the moment and I think this is going to look really like a last minute worry about votes because he knows that he's got a real blind spot when it comes to women."

Liberal Democrat Justice Minister Simon Hughes admitted that his party had the fewest number of female MPs out of any of the major parties and admitted that more needed to be done.

Talking about the possibility that Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg might swap Ed Davey for Jo Swinson in the Energy Secretary role, he said: "He's absolutely mindful of making sure that we have more women in government - the fact that we have people like Jo Swinson back from maternity leave firing on all cylinders in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is very welcome in the party."

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Abdullah-X Cartoon Aims To Deter Jihadists

By Jason Farrell, Senior Political Correspondent

A former Islamic extremist has become the creator of an innovative campaign to convince young Muslims not to join violent jihad.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the creator of an online cartoon character called Abdullah-X explained how his animation aims to unpick the message of radical preachers and dissuade young Muslims from fighting in Syria and Iraq.

In an anonymous interview, he told Sky News: "It hopes to save the lives of young Muslims who believe that jihad has become some call of duty that is mimicked for them through their PlayStation experience that they now think they can do for real in some far-off land, for a cause they don't truly understand."

"Furthermore, it hopefully starts to expel myths and stereotypes and prejudices that non-Muslims may have about Islam because the only Islam they hear about is one they tend to fear nowadays."

At times the cartoon character Abdullah-X is disillusioned and angry. He sings: "You get democracy, we get its hypocrisy. You get the margin for error, we get the label of terror."

But he also asks: "Do you genuinely think that going out there to fight will affect those suffering in a positive way."

The Abdullah-X cartoons feature a disillusioned and angry young Muslim

On his journey he comes to realise violent jihad is not the answer.

The man behind Abdullah-X draws on his own experience having once followed the teachings of preachers such as Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri.

Having been a member of banned extremist groups he describes himself as "someone who's been there, seen it, bought the T-shirt and asked for a refund".

He added: "I have the knowledge, the background and the experience to understand that narratives such as the one driven by extremist groups have beaten mainstream society in access to the internet."

"They have beaten mainstream society in content, in the ability to justify what they stand for and what they believe in, and I felt in 2012 when I started this project that unless we take a proactive step to take some of that ground back online, it will never embed itself in the off-line reality of young people."

The cartoon's creator was once influenced by preachers such as Abu Hamza

Extremists have long known that the internet is a place where mindsets and behaviours can be shaped, but Abdullah-X directly challenges these radical beliefs.

At one point the cartoon asks: "You have to kill others to make your world purer. This is what you think Islam is? Are you for real?"

Its creator said: "I came to that conclusion probably through a mixture of two realisations. One, the people spewing out this message, 90% of them didn't have the heart or conviction to go and do anything like this themselves.

"Certainly individuals who I came into contact with who adopted the mantra of being a Sheikh or a scholar ultimately became the same individuals who were happy to claim government benefits.

"I realised therefore that unless I'm confident that I have the appropriate picture of my faith, I will always be seeing it through the lens of these kind of people. It took me a long time to understand that."

Last week Sky News spoke to a Londoner wanting to fight in Syria - having been influenced by the call to jihad in videos online.

This project sits in the place where these young Muslims might seek answers to questions about jihad - the Google and YouTube search engines.

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Women Bishops: Church Of England Faces Vote

Will Vote Pave Way For A Female Archbishop?

Updated: 9:01am UK, Monday 14 July 2014

By Vicky Beeching, for Sky News

Today, the Church of England will take what could be a historic vote - it's most significant in 20 years.

If the vote passes, women will be able to become Bishops for the first time.

The Church of England has had female priests, or vicars, since 1994, when the first 32 were ordained at Bristol Cathedral.

But they couldn't be promoted to higher levels of leadership; a stained glass ceiling existed for them and it remains today.

You may have a sense of déjà vu about this. Didn't the Church already take this vote? Yes, in November 2012 - and it failed to pass.

So how does all of this work? The Church of England has a governing body called the General Synod.

It's made up of three Houses, a bit like Harry Potter with the Houses of Griffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, the General Synod has the House of Bishops - the senior leaders, the House of Clergy - the priests, and the House of Laity - the churchgoers, known as lay people.

To pass the legislation on women bishops, each House has to vote in favour with a 2/3 majority.

In November 2012, the House of Bishops and the House of Clergy both voted in favour. The reason it failed hinged on a small margin - just six votes in the House of Laity - so it was the churchgoers who voted it down.

The same people who voted in 2012 will sit at this Synod, so there is still a chance it could be a 'no' again. But most are quietly hopeful that it will go through, albeit with close numbers.

The vote happens this afternoon in York. First there will be a debate, then voting is carried out electronically and in total silence. This will take place by 6.15pm at the latest.

If the outcome is a 'no', it's likely that Parliament will want to to step in, as they were keen to do so back in 2012. Since then, the Church has had almost two years to try and fix the issue themselves, so it seems conceivable that the Government might want to push through the legislation themselves.

If the vote is a 'yes' it then has to go through Parliament, and get Royal Assent, but these should happen quickly and would enable the first female bishop to potentially be appointed early next year.

Each Bishop looks after an area known as a See.

To appoint a Bishop, first one of these Sees has to become available. Then, as there are no plans within the Church for "all women shortlists",  a candidate would need to prove they were the best person for the job, regardless of gender.

Once women can become bishops, there's no limit to how far they could progress in church hierarchy.

If the vote passes, it's possible we could even see a female Archbishop in our lifetime. Now that would truly be an achievement for gender equality and the Christian faith.

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Birdman Ron Freeman Breaks His Own Record

A daredevil has beaten his own record for the furthest distance unassisted flight during a "birdman" competition in West Sussex.

Ron Freeman soared 159.8 metres in his adapted hang glider the Geordie Flyer at the Worthing International Birdman competition, which sees people throw themselves off the seaside town's pier in various flying machines.

Mr Freeman beat his 141.5 metre record set last year

He passed the 141.5-metre record he set at the event last year, organisers said.

On its Twitter page, the competition announced: "Ron Freeman got a official score of 159.8m well done another new record for Worthing Birdman."

The reigning champ is hoping to clinch the £10,000 prize

Mr Freeman, the reigning champion, could now land the £10,000 top prize at the event - but to win he needs another good run. 

Competitors in his Condor Class for serious attempts have their final scores based on flights on both days of the weekend event.

Last year, Mr Freeman, from Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland, missed out on the winnings after strong winds forced him to take a sideways rather than a forwards route off the pier.

The two-day event sees daredevils launch themselves off Worthing pier

Mr Freeman was not the only flier on Saturday to pass the 100-metre mark that competitors have to pass to be eligible for the prize.

Tony Hughes sits in second after soaring 117.1 metres in X Plane VIII, down on the 132.5-metre best he posted last year.

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Reshuffle: Youngsters Set For Cabinet Roles

David Cameron is this week expected to deliver the biggest changes to his Cabinet since the beginning of the coalition, with women and a younger generation of MPs expected to benefit.

When it comes to reshuffles, there is one simple rule: the only person who knows all the details is the Prime Minister (and even he can't be certain - remember last time, when Iain Duncan Smith refused to agree to David Cameron's wishes?). The rest is speculation.

Theresa Villiers and Nicky Morgan are in line for top jobs in the Cabinet

However, there are a few things we know for certain.

First, sources confirm this will be a significant reshuffle with some big changes. David Cameron is notoriously reluctant to shuffle his pack - he knows the danger of having disgruntled ex-ministers on the backbenches - but time is running out if he wants to refresh his team ahead of the General Election.

All the signs are that this will be a wide-ranging and significant shuffle.

Second, a big curveball has been thrown into the mix. Next week, EU leaders will meet to dole out the top jobs in the European Commission and Mr Cameron needs to work out who he wants to nominate.

One of the favourites is the Conservative peer Michael Howard, but it could also go to a current minister such as Theresa Villiers or David Willetts - freeing up another plum job back at home.

If those are the certainties, what are the probables?

Westminster watchers expect to see several women rising through the ranks. Elizabeth Truss is tipped for promotion, perhaps taking David Willetts' job as minister for universities, after performing well in her education brief.

Esther McVey is also tipped for a top position

Esther McVey is also a decent bet for an upwards move - being Liverpudlian means she also ticks the "northern" box.

Other well thought of female MPs include Nicky Morgan, Priti Patel and Amber Rudd. It's clear why Mr Cameron may feel there isn't enough oestrogen around the Cabinet table: out of 23 full-time Cabinet members, just three are women and none are mothers.

However, the chorus of complaints from some quarters that if you are a male Tory MP you have no chance of promotion is mistaken.

Male MPs from the 2010 intake who have enjoyed a stratospheric rise include Sajid Javid, Matthew Hancock and Greg Hands.

In fact, this week's reshuffle is more about the new generation of MPs replacing the old.

Senior politicians such as Andrew Lansley, Sir George Young and Ken Clarke are expected to make way for ambitious youngsters - male and female - with the same pattern repeating further down the ministerial ranks.

But don't expect that to mean the end of the "Cameron's Cuties" headlines and moaning from overlooked male MPs.

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Ambulance Response Times 'Putting Lives At Risk'

Ambulances are taking longer to reach patients suffering from life-threatening conditions compared to three years ago, according to Labour.

Figures from NHS England suggest that in some areas of the UK, heart attack and stroke victims have to wait almost three minutes more to be seen by a paramedic.

Category A calls where a patient's life is in danger should arrive within eight minutes. But ambulances are taking more than a minute longer to arrive on average and experts warn this is putting lives at risk.

Dr Dale Webb, director of research and information at the Stroke Association, said: "When a stroke strikes, the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off which causes brain cells in the affected area to die.

Paramedic Danny Wroe says increases in traffic are causing longer delays

"So time lost is brain lost. These figures are a concern because stroke patients need to get specialist treatment as soon as possible."

In the East of England, ambulances are taking some 2.8 minutes longer to respond to the most serious calls. In the East Midlands, ambulances are taking 2.3 minutes longer compared to three years ago.

However, East Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson cast doubt on the data saying the service had hit all of its key performance standards during the first quarter of 2014.

He said: ''The method used nationally to measure response times changed between years so the figures quoted do not compare like with like."

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, said: "These figures raise real concerns that lives are being put at risk by the chaos in the NHS.

One trust is recruiting more staff like Danny to help with response times

"Hospital A&E departments have missed the Government's waiting time target for the last 51 weeks running. This crisis in A&E has trapped ambulances in queues outside hospitals - leaving the next caller facing longer, agonising waits. More and more calls are being attended by police cars and even fire engines on David Cameron's watch."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "We know some ambulance trusts are under pressure, carrying out over 850 more journeys every day since 2010, but the NHS continues to respond to the majority of the most life threatening cases in less than eight minutes."

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Mums-To-Be Admit Drinking Too Much Booze

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs Editor

Thousands of women a year are giving birth after admitting having drunk too much during their pregnancies, a Sky News investigation has found.

Although government guidelines warn pregnant women against drinking more than four units a week - equivalent to two large glasses of wine -  hospitals have recorded a significant number drinking much more.

The first hospital figures of their kind suggest that more than 2,000 babies a year are born to mothers who have breached alcohol guidelines.

Heavy drinking during pregnancy increases the health risks to children

And experts say the problem is likely to be much worse as NHS trusts rely on women to honestly report how much they have drunk.

The figures - obtained by Sky News following a Freedom of Information request - show that in the last three years, 2,496 mothers-to-be told hospital staff in England they were drinking at least four units of alcohol a week.

In the worst cases, South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recorded four women drinking more than 34 units a week over that period.

Liverpool Women's hospital recorded 17 women drinking more than 20 units a week, and two drinking more than 10 units every day.

However, fewer than half of all England NHS trusts (45 out of 108) were able to supply figures.

Figures obtained by Sky News also reveal gaps in monitoring of consumption

Extrapolating the figures suggests that just over 2,000 mothers-to-be admit to drinking too much during pregnancy.

Overall, the hospital statistics showed around 0.5% of pregnant women admitted drinking more than the Department of Health guidelines.

Heavy drinking during pregnancy increases the risk that babies will be born with foetal alcohol syndrome - a life-long condition that can leave children physically and mentally disabled.

One woman whose son was born with foetal alcohol syndrome after she drunk heavily during pregnancy following years of alcoholism, said little was done to help her break her addiction.

"When I was five months pregnant, I told the midwife that I was an alcoholic and that I couldn't control my drinking," said Samantha Marchant, 40, from Slough.

"They referred me to a drug and alcohol team which put me on a drinks diary ... I'd have liked them to say 'you can have a place in rehab', but it wasn't offered."

Samantha Marchant says more must be done to help mums-to-be break habits

"I didn't know about the biology of what happens if you drink in pregnancy," added Ms Marchant, who is now a recovered alcoholic and works to raise other women's awareness of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy.

Dr Raja Mukherjee, lead clinician for the national foetal alcohol spectrum disorder clinic at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: "All the research has shown that high level alcohol exposure causes significant damage to a developing foetus.

"We know that women are drinking more .. 90% of women in this country drink and they don't all suddenly stop when they are pregnant."

The figures obtained by Sky also reveal significant gaps in the monitoring of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

More than 90% of hospitals do not ask women about their alcohol consumption throughout pregnancy, and three of the NHS trusts did not ask pregnant women about their drinking at all.

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