Key Quotes for 2013

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March




Two stories of children ages 13 being encouraged to break the law regarding the age of consent, with the support of the NHS, were reported in mid-October. Firstly, the National Health Service has launched a website across schools in two counties encouraging sexual experimentation among children as young as 13. Secondly, young girls are being given, without their parents’ knowledge, birth control injections and implants during their lunch break under five local authorities across England.
Young People	Evangelicals Now, December 2012



A wave of anti-austerity anger is sweeping across Europe with general strikes in Spain and Portugal and walkouts in Greece and Italy – grounding flights, closing schools and shutting down transport. Millions of workers are taking part in the dozens of co-ordinated protests in a so-called European Day of Action and Solidarity against spending cuts and tax hikes. Italian media reported that six police officers were injured, including one seriously, as clashes broke out with protesters at demonstrations in Milan and Turin.
World Issues	The Sentinel, November 15, 2012



The ‘happiness threshold’ in the US seems to be about $12,000-15,000 per year. Any less than that really means living hand-to-mouth, which is understandably quite stressful. Earning above that threshold, however, is not strongly correlated with more happiness. In fact, people who earn less than $20,000 are often happier and more satisfied than those earning more than $100,000.
Health	The Briefing, November/December 2012



A school which gave out iPads to every pupil in hope of improving their education has admitted that just a year later half the costly devices have been broken. Honywood Community Science School dished out iPad2 tablets to its 1,200 pupils a year ago, at vast cost to the taxpayer. Despite warnings that children would not be able to look after the fragile computer tablet, the school in Goggeshall, Essex, allowed children to take the device outside the classroom, playground and street and home at evenings and weekends. It was hoped that the iPads would be a useful learning tool, as well as keep the school up to pace with inter¬national competitors embracing the technology in the classroom. But after just one year, more than four in ten of the iPads had been sent off for repair, after being knocked, dropped or scratched. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal 489 had to be replaced after being found to be beyond repair.
Education	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



There is a 50:50 chance that Britain will slide into a devastating triple-dip recession this year, leading economists warn today. Output 'probably' fell in the final three months of 2012 and could do so again in the first three months of 2013, said the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Another two quarters of decline in a row would mean the third recession in five years and set the scene for another bleak year. The think-tank singled out the crisis in the eurozone as 'a major challenge for the UK economy', given it is Britain's biggest trading partner.
Money	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



An obesity 'tsar' should be appointed at every NHS trust to tackle a crisis affecting millions, leading doctors say. They also want an individual appointed at government level to oversee the new health drive. A study by The Royal College of Physicians found that the UK is second only to the US for weight problems and the situation is getting worse. Yet treatment is still 'inadequate' adding to the annual £5billion cost of dealing with the issue. The Royal College said two out of three hospitals lack 'joined-up' services for patients who are obese or overweight. Complications the patients face include heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, sleep disorders and gynaecological problems.
Health	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



Thousands of wealthy British investors hiding money in Swiss bank accounts will finally be forced to pay billions in unpaid tax under a deal that comes into force today. Under the settlement between UK and Swiss authorities, an estimated £5billion will be clawed back and handed to HMRC over the next six years. The deal, signed in 2011, was hailed as the largest tax evasion set¬tlement in UK history by Chancellor George Osborne.
Money	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



Prostate cancer - the most common form of the disease in men - is bottom of the league for research spending, figures reveal. The disease lies in 20th place, with just over £400 spent on research per case diagnosed. Breast cancer, the most common cancer in women, receives £853 per diagnosed case. The figures from the Prostate Cancer UK charity show the disease is 'not on the radar' for research spending….Prostate cancer kills one man every hour and the number of men with the disease is rising at an alarming rate. It is predicted to become the most common cancer in the UK by 2030.
Health	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



Labour's tax credit system left behind a 'sorry story of dependency, wasted taxpay¬ers' money and fraud', Iain Duncan Smith said yesterday as the row over plans to cap payments intensified. The Work and Pensions Secretary launched an outspoken attack on the complex tax credit system devised by Gordon Brown, saying it had been 'wide open to abuse', including by foreign criminals. The TUC's new general-secretary Frances O'Grady said Mr Duncan Smith's comments marked the return of the 'nasty party', while Labour accused him of making a 'cheap political attack' on a scheme relied on by almost six million families.
Politics	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



It’s been said, somewhat optimistically, that life begins at 40. Now it seems a more accurate adage might read: Mid-life begins at 40. Or to be precise, according to a study, which reveals general attitudes to youth and ageing, the age at which we should stop calling ourselves young is 40 years, eight months and two weeks. And, rather worryingly, the Britons surveyed reckon old age begins when people reach the age of 59 years, two months and two weeks….The gap may be down to men placing more emphasis on diminishing strength as a mark of ageing, or because women tend to live longer….The Department for Work and Pensions said 'the disparity in perceptions' showed 'the potential for age stereotypes to be applied in very inconsistent ways'.
The Elderly	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



British households reduced their mortgage debt by £8billion over the autumn as the country battled to put its finances on an even keel. Figures from the Bank of England yesterday showed that homeowners paid off far more than they borrowed in the third quarter of 2012. It was the 18th quarter in a row that mortgage debt has fallen, and families have now ploughed £137.5billion of equity into their homes since early 2008. The injection of equity - which increases the proportion that households own against the proportion that is mortgaged - is in stark contrast to the borrowing binge of the decade before the financial crisis struck.
Money	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



Britain could become a 'second-class' member of the European Union under plans floated in Brussels yesterday. An influential group of European federalists, who want to see Brussels given even greater powers, is suggesting the UK is relegated to 'associate member' status. The move would see Britain remain part of the single market but freed from much of the social legislation and bureaucracy associated with full EU membership. However the UK would lose its veto on EU policy and would no longer have an EU commissioner or British representation in the European Parliament.
Politics	Daily Mail Jan 1 2013



Business leaders are "frustrated" and "disappointed" over the lack of action from the Government on industry proposals to cure Britain's sick-note epidemic, which are still awaiting an official response. Since David Frost, the former British Chambers of Commerce direc¬tor-general, published his government-commissioned ideas for cutting the cost of sickness absence in November 2011, the Government has repeatedly promised radical action to cure "sick-note Britain". However, some 13 months on, not one proposal has been acted on pub¬licly by ministers, including the rec¬ommendation to use computers to solve the problem of doctors' "illeg¬ible handwriting".
Work/Employment	The Daily Telegraph Dec 31 2012



The Financial Services Authority has not launched a single enforcement action against any regulated business for failing to comply with its remuneration code since the rules were introduced three years ago. Legal sources said there was disbelief in the City at the lack of action by the regulator to enforce its own code and that there was widespread evidence of breaches of the rules. "We have seen at least one firm where more than half of its new staff have been hired with guaranteed bonuses, which is clearly against the spirit of the code that says these type of arrangements should only be used in exceptional circumstances," one said.
Money	The Daily Telegraph Dec 31 2012



The number of unemployed baby boomers will double by 2020 as the over-60s face a growing struggle to find jobs with ageist employers, research has found. Jobcentres are preparing for a surge in unemployed older people who will need extra training in how to write CVs, apply for work online and deal confidently with employers who they fear "routinely" discriminate against older workers. A study by the Department for Work and Pensions predicted that the number of people aged 60-64 on jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefits will rise to more than 400,000 by 2020.
Work/Employment	The Daily Telegraph Dec 31 2012

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