Coalition Programme: The larder is just about empty, flood defences Minister warns

Nearly three years since parts of Yorkshire were devastated by severe downpours she said she would not ring-fence funding for flood defences because it could unfairly affect other parts of the department's budget after warning the "the larder is pretty empty".

In her first public appearance since joining the Cabinet. Ms Spelman said the coalition Government would give MPs chance to "express their view" on the Hunting Act, while a limited cull of badgers is also in prospect in an attempt to stem bovine TB.

A package of policies included in the coalition agreement to help rural areas proposes using some of the BBC licence fee to roll out broadband to remote parts of the countryside – a success for the Tories who had opposed Labour's "broadband tax" on phone lines – while a scheme will turn farm buildings into affordable homes to tackle a massive shortage leaving local people forced to move elsewhere.

In a blunt message to her new department and its many quangos Ms Spelman – speaking at a Press conference at the Natural History Museum – said: "We have to talk about the money.

"There can be no doubt that the larder is pretty empty. Every single government department will have to help and will have to do more with significantly less."

She said she had been reminded of the dangers of flooding by seeing pictures of last year's devastation in Cockermouth on the television – in light of a report into the disaster – but insisted she would not ring-fence money for flood defences.

Although Labour was criticised for failing to react sooner to the need for defences, the damage caused to thousands of homes in the region in summer 2007 prompted a significant increase of investment from 600m to 800m.

With the Treasury demanding all departments rapidly identify areas to cut, Ms Spelman insisted flood defences were a priority for her but refused to safeguard them altogether. Chancellor George Osborne is preparing to announce the first 6bn of cuts, to take effect this year, on Monday.

"I'm not a fan of ring fencing because it can have unintended consequences especially when resources are tight," said Ms Spelman.

"It's important to look carefully at how we deploy resources but flood defences are a priority."

The coalition agreement published yesterday includes a series of policies on which the Tories and Liberal Democrats found easy agreement, although the issue of whether the Tory demand for repeal of the hunting ban is one where there is distinct disagreement.

Ms Spelman, a former National Farmers' Union (NFU) adviser, said there would be a motion "on a free vote to enable the House of Commons to express its will" on repealing the hunting ban, but added: "I am not able

to prejudge how MPs will vote and there are a lot of new members."

She said that Defra should "lead the way" in encouraging Whitehall to buy food which is "local and involves the fewest food miles from producer to plate", saying she is planning to visit Nottingham to see how the NHS is sourcing all fresh produce locally.

The coalition agreement says that all food procured by government departments – and eventually the entire public sector – should meet higher British standards of production as long as it does not cost more.

Ms Spelman also said consumers should have "confidence" in food labelling so they are able to buy British and insisted there must be "honesty". The Tories have been encouraging retailers to sign up to voluntary agreements to end misleading country of origin labelling, but she did not reveal whether she would resort to legislation if necessary.

On recycling, she refused to commit scrapping punitive fines for people who put rubbish in the wrong dustbin, but she insisted she wanted to "incentivise people rather than penalise people". Decisions on exactly how to cut the amount of waste sent to landfill would be left to local councils.

And after years of Defra coming under heavy criticism from Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs, as well as independent bodies like the National Audit Office, she said there were already signs the management was improving.

Curbs put on snooping by councils

CIVIL LIBERTIES

COUNCILS will be banned from using snooping powers unless they are signed off by a magistrate and are needed to tackle "serious crime".

The announcement aims to address concerns over the widespread use of covert surveillance by town halls under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) for trivial offences such as dog fouling and littering.

The Yorkshire Post has previously revealed councils across the region have used the legislation to spy on members of the public more than 2,000 times in the past five years but as concern spread Labour ministers launched a review and had announced their own proposals to require councillors to sign off the powers.

Measures announced yesterday, however, appear to go further and will be welcomed by both parties in the coalition, who have agreed a series of measures on civil liberties including tighter regulation of CCTV and less state intrusion into people's lives.

Crackdown on stores selling cheap drink

LICENSING LAWS

SUPERMARKETS and off-licences will be banned from selling alcohol below cost price in a new clampdown on binge drinking.

Stores will be blocked from using alcohol as a "loss leader" as Ministers try to cut crime and health problems associated with problem drinking.

The move – which had been a commitment by both Tories and Liberal Democrats – will be welcomed by senior police officers, health campaigners and the pub industry. A review of alcohol taxation and pricing will aim to tackle drink-related ills without unfairly penalising responsible drinkers and businesses. The Tories have previously called for heavier taxing on alcopops and super-strength cider.

The Government said it will overhaul the Licensing Act to give police and councils more power to tackle pubs and clubs that become magnets for trouble, while shops and bars persistently selling alcohol to children will be shut down.

7m regional office may be early casualty

QUANGOS

THE Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber – which costs more than 7m a year to run – could be one of the early victims of Whitehall cost-cutting.

The office, with 190 people on the payroll, co-ordinates the regional work of 12 Government departments but the Tories have long been sceptical of the organisation's value.

According to the coalition agreement, the Government Office for London will now be abolished and the new administration will "consider the case for abolishing" the others.

The deal also paves the way for the replacement of regional development agencies, with local enterprise partnerships – jointly led by councils and businesses to promote economic development – being set up instead.

Yorkshire Forward is likely to survive, but with diminished powers.

Foreign doctors to face stricter tests

HEALTH SERVICE

FOREIGN doctors could be banned from working in the NHS unless they pass "robust" language and competence tests.

The pledge by the coalition comes amid concern in the wake of cases such as Dr Daniel Ubani, who had practised in Yorkshire. The doctor injected a pensioner with a fatal overdose hours after flying in to cover an out-of-hours weekend shift in Suffolk.

The coalition agreement also promises a new dentistry contract focused on good dental health and increasing access to NHS dentistry, which could be welcome news for the Yorkshire Post's Stop the Rot campaign.

Other health measures include a key Tory pledge – to create a new independent NHS board for day-to-day running of the health service – as well as confirmation of David Cameron's guarantee to increase health spending in real terms in each year of Parliament.

The new Government also pledges to significantly cut the number of health quangos, reduce the cost of NHS administration by a third and transfer resources to support doctors and nurses on the frontline, while the "centrally dictated" closure of A&E and maternity wards will be stopped.

Pledges to patients include choice over which GP they wish to register with, and the introduction of a single urgent care number so patients with non-life threatening conditions and injuries can contact GPs, walk-in centres and pharmacy services.

A cancer drugs fund – trailed by the Tories before the election – will also be established to allow patients who have the backing of their doctors access to drugs not widely available on the NHS.

Rape accused to be granted anonymity

JUSTICE

THOSE charged with rape and teachers accused by their pupils will both be given anonymity.

The coalition said yesterday it would extend anonymity in rape cases from victims to include defendants amid complaints the lives of some accused have been ruined when they are subjected to false claims.

Officials said details of the change were yet to be decided but it is likely the ban will be lifted once a suspect is convicted but campaigners condemned the move as an "insult" and a backlash against the rising number of rape reports.

Ruth Hall, of Women Against Rape, said: "More attention needs to be paid to the 94 per cent of reported cases that do not end in conviction rather than the few that are false."

In a review of rape and the criminal justice system published in March, Lady Stern said there was little information about the number of false allegations.

She called for more research to be carried out.

Meanwhile, teachers will also get protection when they are accused of offences by children. The announcement follows a case this week where Lynda May, a teacher with a 30-year unblemished career record, was found not guilty of assaulting a 12-year-old special needs pupil by hitting his thumb nail with a glue stick.

Commission to look at care for elderly

'GREY' POLICIES

A COMMISSION will be expected to report within a year on how to meet the growing costs of care for the elderly.

After a bitter pre-election battle over Labour's consideration of a "death tax" – forcing everyone to pay into an insurance scheme – that idea has now been dumped from the agenda.

Instead the commission will consider a range of ideas including a voluntary insurance scheme favoured by the Tories and a partnership scheme, where the state and the individual share the costs of care.

In the run-up to the election both parties had talked about seeking widespread backing for any agreement to resolve the thorny issue of elderly care, as more people live for longer.

Professor Chris Ham, chief executive of The King's Fund, said: "The establishment of a commission on long term care, with a clear instruction to report within a year, is a positive signal that social care reform will be among the coalition government's priorities.

"We welcome the inclusion of the partnership model, which was recommended by a review set up by The King's Fund in 2006, among the funding options it will consider.

"It is now more than a decade since the Royal Commission established by the last government reported. The challenge for the new commission is to set out a comprehensive blueprint for reform that commands support across the political spectrum."

The coalition proposal could see the timetable for finding a solution being significantly speeded up, given Labour had suggested a Royal Commission which would have put off any decisions beyond the next general election.

Royal Mail ownership debate back in spotlight

Ownership of the Royal Mail returned to the spotlight yesterday as the postal group reported an increased operating profit of 404m despite a slump in the number of letters posted.

The coalition Government announced it would seek to inject private capital into the business, including opportunities for employee ownership, in line with pledges made by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in the run-up to the general election.

No details of how private capital will be attracted were given, although the Government will be well aware that the previous Labour administration had to shelve its controversial plans to part-privatise Royal Mail last year following a huge revolt by backbench Labour MPs and a campaign of opposition by

the Communication Workers Union.

Billy Hayes, the union's general secretary, said: "This is old politics wrapped in new language. The British public has consistently rejected the privatisation of Royal Mail.

"The move to regurgitate failed policies will be deeply unpopular."

But Business Secretary Vince Cable said there was "nothing sensational" about yesterday's announcement, adding: "Both coalition partners realise we have got to grapple with that problem. You may remember Lord Heseltine tried and failed, the Labour government tried twice and failed.

"There are big problems around the pension fund and we are going to have to deal with it.

"We have made it very clear that the injection of private

capital is an important part of that.

"Certainly an issue we have emphasised is working participation and ownership, these are things we need to look at. It is a big issue that can't just be left in the long grass, it has got to be dealt with."

Yesterday's Programme for Government document said: "We will retain Post Office Ltd in public ownership. We will ensure that post offices are allowed to offer a wide range of services in order to sustain the network, and we will look at the case for developing new sources of revenue, such as the creation of a Post Office Bank."

The Royal Mail's profits for the last financial year increased by 26per cent, despite a series of strikes by postal workers, and falling mail volumes, with 13 million fewer letters posted every day than in 2005.

The Royal Mail said the latest performance showed the positive impact of continued modernisation in the business and increased efficiency, issues which sparked last year's dispute.

Group revenues dipped for the first time in a decade, to 9,349m, although all four of the Royal Mail's businesses remained in profit.

Around three quarters of the 2bn investment plan aimed at transforming the Royal Mail's operations has been spent, it was announced yesterday.

About 8,000 jobs were cut in the last financial year, all through voluntary measures, it was revealed.

Royal Mail chairman Donald Brydon said: "These are good results achieved against a backdrop of harsh economic conditions and the relentless reduction in the number of letters sent by customers, not just in the UK but around the world.

"However, huge challenges remain, including the need to find a resolution to our historic pension deficit, and the need to reach agreement with Postcomm on a regulatory regime more suited to today's changing marketplace."