News round-up 27/6: PFI replacement plan stalls

Public finances

The Financial Times says that a Treasury report on successor to the private finance initiative had been put back from this month to September amid confusion over whether there is still any clear political direction to the process.

Ministers launched a consultation last year but the newspaper reports an “eerie silence” from the Treasury.

Lords Reform

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has been heartened by clear support from the prime minister for his proposals for an elected second chamber, the Guardian reports.

However, the paper reports signs that the Conservative whips office will not try to strongly persuade the 100 Conservative backbenchers who currently oppose the plans.

The Bill, setting out the plans for a reduced, 450-strong, part-time chamber named the Senate, will be published today.

Education

The Independent writes that education secretary Michael Gove has called for a massive expansion of free schools and academies, claiming that the current education system was not “morally defensible”.

He also announced that every failing primary school, and those with notices to improve, would become sponsored academies in the next year.

Local Government

The Guardian interviews Oldham MBC leader Jim McMahon (Lab) about a leadership course he devised for councillors and about a cross-party agreement that turned round many of the deprived area’s issues. He also discusses how the council has been opened up to the public.

Health

Ten more NHS trusts have severe financial problems and could be forced to merge, devolve services and make job cuts, the Independent says. These are additional to the 21 hospitals identified yesterday by the Department of Health as “clinically and financially unsustainable”, the paper reports.

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