Government's “schizophrenic attitude" to climate change

Labour’s Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary Caroline Flint has said that David Cameron's promise of the ‘greenest government ever’ is unravelling by the day.

Flint was responding to a report by the Environmental Audit Committee which criticised the Government’s “schizophrenic attitude" to climate change and warned it is undermining investor confidence in low-carbon industries.

Flint said:"This report exposes the chaos and confusion at the heart of the Tory-led Government’s energy policy – and the threat it poses to our carbon targets, our energy security and fair energy prices for families."

The committee warned that the promise to review the decision on the fourth carbon budget in 2014, potentially relaxing it if Europe was not making similar efforts, risked throwing efforts to cut emissions off course.

MP's also attacked the self-styled "greenest Government ever" for failing to adopt all the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee, including tightening of the second and third budgets up to 2020.

The report follows the somewhat contradictory message from the Chancellor last week who told his party conference that the UK would cut emissions no faster than others in Europe, and that environmental measures would not be at the expense of British business.

A return to a workhouse culture?

The new housing secretary,Caroline Flint's,comments yesterday that persons on benefits and living in council housing should look for work as a c ondition of their tenancy, has evoked a backlash.

Many Labour MP's have sought to distance themselves from the comments and Gordon Brown simply welcomes the debate.Conservatives though seem to be flocking to her support.

For the alternative I would recommend reading Adam Sampson in this morning's Mirror who calls the proposals a return to the workhouse

In Victorian times, paupers were forced to live in the notorious sweatshops after relief payments to poor people were scrapped.
In a similar way, housing minister Caroline Flint's proposals would destroy families and wreak havoc in communities

The whole subject of benefit reform is and will always be a political hot potato.Various governments have pledged to attempt reform but have never succeeded.It seems to occupy a minefield of social and employment issues.Caroline's motivation though cannot be questioned.She claims that there is a culture of work shy ethic in certain locations.I don't think that anyone would deny the truth in the statement but whether this is the best way to tackle it is another matter.

David Orr the chief executive of the National Housing Association suggests,

Such a policy would be unfair and impossible to enforce.
Many of the jobs open to people, especially at the lower skills end, are insecure or temporary. Also, people with health problems, such as mental health issues, may find there are periods when they cannot keep up their job.
Instead of taking a punitive approach, the Government should build upon the successful employment schemes already being run by housing associations around the country.

The debate will no doubt run and run