Christmas week 23rd - 27th December 2024

[refitman]

Morning all.

[gilsey]

Good morning.


Apropos of absolutely nothing

[AnatolyKasparov]

Wishing a good Xmas to everyone here, and hopefully this week goes well for all.

No work until Jan 6th for me now

[RogerOThornhill]

This comes into the Well I never! category of stories.

The DfE cut a scheme that was due to run out next year anyway that funds schools that teach Latin - the Latin Excellence Programme.

Now the multi-academy trust that runs the programme is one Future Academies. Now, who should be on the Board of Trustees but one John Nash an also his wife Caroline.

Nash of course was a non-executive director and Schools Minister at the DfE back in Gove's day....shocked etc! I wonder if they looked at it and found that it wasn't particularly good value for money.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-face- ... in-scheme/

[AnatolyKasparov]

I see that the spam isn't taking a holiday yet....

[refitman]

It's not that subtle, is it?

[refitman]

Thread on what's happened to The Observer and how it's probably done for

[Frog222]

Thread on what's happened to The Observer and how it's probably done for

Carole Cadwalladr‬ ‪@carolecadwalla.bsky.social‬
·
All of which to say is: judge any company by how it treats its lowliest employees. The Guardian has managed to maintain a system in which 1/3 of its journalists aren't even employees. The zero hours ones have to take a month off every year to prevent them accruing rights. Not even Uber does that.

All very Muskian !

[AnatolyKasparov]

It's not that subtle, is it?

I think it is actually from a few months ago, but yeah.

[refitman]

Now we know why Gaetz was pulled from the AG nomination.



(Also, they misspelled 'statutory rape' - age of consent is 18 in Florida)

[refitman]

Shocked faces at the ready

[AnatolyKasparov]

"The apple never falls far from the tree" is a phrase for good reason.

[refitman]

Wes must be beside himself, considering how much he hates seeing trollies.

[Frog222]

Wes must be beside himself, considering how much he hates seeing trollies.

"" Medical doctor apprenticeships were launched under the previous Conservative government in 2023 to help make the profession “more accessible, more diverse and more representative of local communities”.

As well as having to pay no tuition fees, apprentices were also paid a salary that rose from £14,606 in their first year to £22,038 in their final year, equating to almost £94,000 across their five years of study.

To earn their salary, apprentices were expected to work up to 15 weeks per year on wards in their local NHS trust alongside their study that took place with undergraduate students at university.

But The Telegraph understands universities were told last month the scheme is to be “paused in perpetuity” and to cancel plans to recruit new apprentices for next September.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer announced his government would pull funding for all apprenticeships at a master’s-level at the Labour party conference in September.

Under Conservative plans, the scheme was to be expanded to 200 apprenticeships in its second year with 2,000 offered by 2031-32.

There were concerns when the scheme was announced last year that it could create a “two-tier system” with apprentice degrees seen as “lesser”.

The British Medical Association questioned whether a programme could be created that balanced the needs of the apprenticeship and the “same high standards of training experienced by traditional medical students”.

However NHS bosses maintained apprentices would have to pass the same exams as other medical students and meet all other criteria to qualify as a doctor as set out by the General Medical Council.

The first cohort of apprentices began in September with approximately 20 students accepted at both Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and the University of Plymouth.

Dr Ashley Hilton, founder of Future Doc, an education platform that helps students get into medical school, said the decision to scrap the scheme was a shame.

He said the scheme had been hugely popular with more than 1,000 people attending an information day at Colchester Hospital in February to be part of Anglia Ruskin’s first cohort of apprentices.

A brochure handed out to those who attended said “widening participation is one of our core objectives” and it would look to recruit apprentices who were under-represented in higher education.

This included using determinants such as an applicant’s postcode, school, household income, ethnicity as well as whether they had been in care or come from a military family.

Dr Hilton’s team helped two of the current apprentices get on the scheme who said they felt “very lucky” to have been accepted and the first term had been “amazing” so far.

He said: “The whole point of this was to widen access, to allow different routes to medicine and experiment whether it would produce better doctors being exposed so soon in their training.

“It begs the question: could we not find a way to facilitate more places and take some of the initiatives that sparked the idea of apprenticeships and weave them into the current medical training.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have inherited an NHS that is broken and through our Plan for Change we are taking action to fix it. That means ensuring the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills, to deliver the care patients need.

“We will work with partners including NHS England, the Department for Education and the university sector to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to study medicine - regardless of their background.”
---------------------------------------------------------------

Is it just a case of Treasury Says No to this particular scheme, OR do they just not want any more doctors ?
Not long ago I saw many cases of docs already desperately looking for work .
Perhaps or probably because ""Physician Associates"" are cheaper ?

[Frog222]

First item on the early BBC paper review --

Farage: I’m willing to help Mandelson secure free trade deals with Trump

Reform UK leader tells The Telegraph he is ready to use contacts with incoming US administration to help efforts to avoid trade tariffs


24 December 2024 6:00pm GMT
1701

Nigel Farage said he would support the national interest regardless of party politics
Nigel Farage said he would support the national interest regardless of party politics Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Nigel Farage has said he could help Lord Mandelson in his attempts to secure free trade deals with Donald Trump’s administration.

Speaking to The Telegraph, the Reform UK leader said he was ready to use his contacts with the administration to help in efforts to avoid hefty trade tariffs, starting with financial regulations.

Amid signs of a Labour split over whether Lord Mandelson, the new US ambassador, should enlist his help, Mr Farage said he would support the national interest regardless of party politics.

“I am no fan of any of the people in the Labour Party, but if it is in the national interest I have always thought I could be a useful asset if they want to use that – but if they don’t, more fool them,” he said.

Mr Farage identified trade, tariffs, intelligence-sharing and countering terrorism as areas in which he could act as a bridge to the Trump administration because “a lot of the members of the President’s cabinet are friends of mine, and many of them long-term friends”.

He added: “I know these people, and in terms of trade, in terms of defence and in terms of intelligence, the US is our most important relationship in the world – forget Brussels.”

Lord Mandelson has indicated publicly and privately that a Labour-appointed ambassador to the US should “swallow” their pride and seek to engage “friends” of the US administration such as Mr Farage in order to maintain the special relationship and avoid a trade war.

However, senior figures within Labour are concerned that could “elevate” the status of Mr Farage and his Reform party, whose Right-wing policies are likely to be anathema to many Labour supporters.

Mr Farage, however, argued that his “personal relationships” with key figures appointed to Mr Trump’s cabinet could be helpful, saying: “Personal relationships matter at all levels in life. It doesn’t matter how high you go, wherever you go these relationships matter.”

He said he “got on very well” with Scott Bessent, who Mr Trump has appointed to lead the US Treasury, where he will be highly influential on economic and tax policies as well as having a strong say on any tariffs.
Nigel Farage said he 'got on very well' with Scott Bessent, who will lead the US Treasury
Nigel Farage said he ‘got on very well’ with Scott Bessent, who will lead the US Treasury Credit: Justin Lane/Shutterstock

Mr Farage suggested that negotiations over any free trade deal were likely to be done sector by sector, adding: “There has to be a proper negotiation around tariffs and trade. The opportunity for sectoral free trade relationships is very, very high.”

Agriculture, in particular, would be tough, he forecast, suggesting that negotiations should start with financial and City regulation. “I believe I can help with that, and I do come from a business background,” he said.

“I would help even if it is to the Government’s benefit because it is in the national interest. But they are so split they might not want to take up my offer.”

He added: “I have very good trusting relationships with President Trump but perhaps more important than that, a lot of the members of the president’s cabinet are friends of mine, and many of them long-term friends. I know a lot of these people who are going to take very serious positions in areas that matter to Britain.”

Mr Farage cited Seb Gorka, a Right-wing media commentator who has been handed a senior national security post, with whom he said he had been friends for more than a decade.

No 10 has refused to be drawn on whether Lord Mandelson should engage with Mr Farage as he takes up his new post in Washington. ""

--------------------------------------
to much applause in the comments .

[refitman]

Merry Christmas to all the nesters.

[gilsey]

Is it just a case of Treasury Says No to this particular scheme, OR do they just not want any more doctors ?
Not long ago I saw many cases of docs already desperately looking for work .
Perhaps or probably because ""Physician Associates"" are cheaper ?

That's what we'd all like to know.


Merry Christmas all.

Lovely day for it. Many, many years ago my sister lived in Scarborough, her children were small and we all used to go there for Xmas dinner and Dad would insist we went to the beach for a walk afterwards, a day like this was perfect.

[notnowsonny]

A very happy and content Christmas to all of us.

If it’s possible, let’s have a peaceful and prosperous New Year as well!

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Merry Christmas all.

Just had a warm and windy stroll along the beach. Hope you all have a lovely day.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Going to my sister's for Xmas dinner this year, one advantage of this is that I don't actually have to cook it.

Hope everybody here has a good one.

[refitman]

17 people at our family gathering. My step brother was surprisingly chill, considering he'd spent 2 1/2 days prepping & cooking for everyone (although he did forget the red cabbage, so clearly the entire meal was ruined).

[refitman]

Apparently up to 3000 kids transferring to State schools might cause their collapse

[gilsey]

Good morning.


Sam Freedman pointing out that we took 10 times that many UKR children without the fuss.


Another lovely morning here, for once the North East is getting the best of the weather.

[gilsey]

Might do some gardening today. Pic from my walk yesterday, you can see Captain Cook's monument on top of the hill. Also snowdrops poking their heads up.

[AnatolyKasparov]

So the government intends to ban trail hunting because too many hunts have been abusing it.

Nice to see.