Stalking law plans 'half-hearted'

David Cameron's plans to bring in a new law of stalking will leave the police needing to prove a fear of violence and will not solve the problems with the current system, Labour has said.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the plans risked being "half-hearted and over-complicated" and would not give victims the protection they needed.

Her criticism came after the Prime Minister told victims at a Downing Street reception to mark International Women's Day that the Government was determined to ensure "justice is done".

But Labour said bringing in two new offences in England and Wales - stalking, and stalking where there is a fear of violence - would leave police and prosecutors with the same problems.

Proving a fear of violence "has been very hard to make work in practice and has meant too many serious cases fell through the net", Ms Cooper said.

Tougher laws have been
announced to protect victims of stalking

"Under the government's proposals there is a serious risk that low sentencing will continue and many persistent stalkers could still be out of prison within weeks free to continue their behaviour. The Government must not waste time with half-hearted measures which deny victims the protection they need."

She called for a system based on the Scottish model instead, saying the Government should back a Labour amendment to the Protection of Freedoms Bill on the issue in the House of Lords on Monday.

But Mr Cameron said the Government was explicitly criminalising stalking, which he said "makes life a living hell for victims", to "show beyond doubt that stalking is a crime".

Home Secretary Theresa May added: "Stalking is an issue which affects many lives, often in devastating ways. That is why we are taking it seriously and introducing these new offences. Offenders need to know that they will be brought to justice for making others' lives a misery."

Police will also be given new powers of entry to investigate stalking offences, the Home Office said. At the moment, officers only have a right of entry in respect of conduct that puts people in fear of violence.

©Press Association 2012

Flood Defense Mechanisms are not a Priority to the Government, says PAC

Flood Defense Mechanisms are not a Priority to the Government, says PAC

The U.K. government is not prepared to maintain an efficient flood defence. The government has recently decided to cut funds related to flood defence, highlighting their lack of commitment on this issue.

Though flood defence and protection is a national priority, the government has shown lack of interest and preparedness in maintaining an effective flood resistance system. Climate Change Risk Assessment has maintained that flooding heads the list of the 100 most acute national risks in the country amid climate change.

There is a wide gap between the funds allocated for flood defences and funds actually needed for the protection of 5 million homes. The cost of flood damage is estimated at £1.1 billion per annum, and is expected to rise due to ageing defences and climate change.


Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chair Margaret Hodge has said that protection from floods is a national priority and “the Department of Environment sees more funding coming from local sources”. However, in the current climate this may not continue as both local authorities and businesses are under mounting financial pressure.

Charles Tucker, chair of the National Flood Forum, agrees with PAC and expressed that the government is doing very little to address this cause. He believes this is exposing citizens to greater risk, highlighting that floods will not wait until the country is financially secure before striking.

Margaret Hodge 

In its report, The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has observed that an increase in floods is likely, and damages are expected to amplify by almost 10 times.

Prime Minister David Cameron and environment secretary Caroline Spelman are aware of the risks, but the coalition government has slashed the budget by 27% during its first year in office. About 1,000 schemes have not been implemented due to lack of funds. The government has failed to provide a solution that guarantees access to flood prevention measures. This has left people vulnerable as the existing arrangements are due to expire in mid-2013 and the insurance industry has declared that households may not be able to insure themselves thereafter.

The government’s lukewarm approach has prompted The Association of British Insurers to publish the location of houses that are at extreme risk from floods, which may not receive assistance unless the government reacts proactively and comes up with an affordable financial scheme.

Source: eGov Monitor
Published Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 10:44

Concessions offered on benefits cap

The Government has offered concessions over its £26,000 cap on benefits as MPs threw out changes to the controversial welfare reforms made in the House of Lords.

Once the changes come into force in April 2013, people who lose their job will be given a nine-month grace period to find work before the cap is imposed, employment minister Chris Grayling said.

Workless families currently receiving payments at a level above the cap will be given support to make them understand the need to find jobs before the April 2013 deadline.

At Prime Minister's Question Time, David Cameron challenged Labour to support the threshold, saying: "The cap is right and the cap is fair."

A Lords amendment, which was led by Church of England bishops and removed child benefit from the cap, was overturned by 334 votes to 251, majority 83.

Mr Grayling said the public "overwhelmingly" supported the Government's stance to introduce a benefits cap at £26,000 a year, equivalent to a gross salary of £35,000.

People who lose their job will be given a nine-month
grace period, employment minister Chris Grayling said

He said Labour had been guilty of "flip-flopping" on the issue, initially supporting a benefits ceiling before the party's peers supported an amendment in the Lords to exclude child benefit from any cap.

But in the face of concerns from Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes, and Mark Field, Tory MP for Cities of London and Westminster - who said they were worried families in the capital might have to move out because of the changes - Mr Grayling announced a number of concessions.

He said families would receive a 12-month grace period to find work, while those who lose their job through no fault of their own after being employed for a year would be given nine months in which to find new employment.

Meanwhile, households entitled to working tax credit would be exempted from the cap along with working households on universal credit after 2013.

Bid to reverse welfare defeats

The Government will move to overturn seven defeats on its welfare reforms including a bishops' amendment to change a planned £26,000 cap on benefits.

The controversial Welfare Bill is being returned to MPs after peers went through the Government's plan line by line.

The most prominent showdowns came over the Government's £26,000-a-year benefits cap and plans to charge parents to access the Child Support Agency. A bishops' amendment, backed byLabour peers, seeks to take child benefit out of the cap.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "We have been very clear where we stand. The Lords' amendments will be overturned when the Bill comes back to the Commons."

Once MPs have finished considering the amendments the Bill will be returned to the Lords in a bid to agree a final text. The Bill could pass between each House several times in a process known as parliamentary 'ping-pong' as MPs and peers fight over the correct wording of the new law.

The Government's welfare reforms have
suffered a seventh defeat in the House of Lords

Speaking after the Welfare Bill cleared the Lords, welfare reform minister Lord Freud said: "I don't think we have seen the last of this Bill."

The Government suffered its seventh reverse in the Lords on Tuesday night over plans from crossbench peer Baroness Meacher to limit cuts to top-up payments made to the parents of disabled children.

The Government wants to introduce a slight increase to the weekly rate for the most disabled children, taking it to £77, while halving the lower rate to £27. Ministers argue the money saved will be spent on providing additional support to the most disabled adults.

Lady Meacher said the Government's plans would mean families with a child on the lower rate losing £1,400 a year.

Liam Byrne, Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, responding to the latest Government defeat, said: "Once again the Government tried to cross the line of decency, kicking away help from children with disabilities, and once again the Lords have stopped them."

©Press Association

'No block' on other RBS bonuses.

'No block' on other RBS bonuses.

The Government has said it will not demand that other executives at the Royal Bank of Scotland follow the example of chief executive Stephen Hester and give up six-figure bonus packages.

Downing Street said ministers will not attempt to "micro-manage" the largely state-owned bank. It is for the board to set bonuses and for individuals to decide whether to accept them, said a spokeswoman.

But Labour leader Ed Miliband insisted that Mr Hester's decision to waive an award worth almost £1 million did not draw a line under the issue of City pay.

Labour will use an opposition day debate in the Commons next Tuesday to urge Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to back a £2 billion tax on bankers' bonuses, which they say could fund the creation of 100,000 jobs elsewhere.

A senior party source said: "This debate is about more than Stephen Hester. It is time for the Conservatives and Lib Dems to show they are serious about tackling the bonus culture by supporting our plan to repeat the bank bonus tax.

"The banks, who helped create the financial crisis, must now help return our economy to growth. We need a bonus tax, we need to give employees a say on top pay in every company, and we need to change the rules and culture so that bonuses are a reward for exceptional performance rather than what you get for doing your job."

Labour had initially planned to use next week's debate to force a vote calling for Mr Hester to be stripped of his bonus, and Mr Miliband said it was this threat which persuaded the RBS boss to give up his £963,000 shares package.

Ministers, including Chancellor George Osborne, welcomed Mr Hester's announcement. He said: "This is a sensible and welcome decision that enables Stephen Hester to focus on the very important job he has got to do, namely to get back billions of pounds of taxpayers' money that was put into RBS."

Stephen Hester has waived his 1 million pounds bonus,
but ministers said they will not
force other RBS executives to do the same

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "This is a welcome announcement and a positive step towards curbing the bonus culture. RBS should now focus on what the bank should be doing, which is lending to good British companies."

Unite union national officer David Fleming said: "This gesture goes some way in acknowledging the hypocrisy of an organisation which has sacked over 21,000 staff, while still attempting to pay bumper bonuses to the bosses."

Teaching union accepts pension deal

A teaching union has decided to accept the Government's controversial pension reforms, it has been announced.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), which represents 160,000 teachers, said the move followed the results of a poll of members in which 91.6% of respondents voted in favour of the proposals.

ATL president Alice Robinson said: "ATL members are realists. They recognise how tough times are and that the Government is determined not to give any further ground.

"Although the Government's final offer does not give us everything we wanted, it is the best deal we could get in the current economic climate. And members do not want a significantly worse deal imposed on them if they rejected this one."

ATL members took part in November's strike by up to two million public sector workers in protest at the pension changes.

Despite previously striking on pension reforms,
 the ATL has decided to accept the
Government's controversial pension reforms

The announcement means there will not be a repeat of such a huge strike, although leaders of other unions are discussing further walkouts because of continued opposition to the Government's reforms.

Mary Bousted, ATL's general secretary, said: "The pensions talks and negotiations were incredibly tough. The Government did not want to make concessions and we had a hard fight to get a fairer deal for teachers.

"It was only because ATL members, along with the members of six other education unions, were prepared to show their strength of feeling by going on strike and lobbying their MPs that we managed to force the Government to shift its position and start talks to get an improved offer.

"I am really proud of the courage ATL members showed when they took part in the union's first national strike in its 127-year history.

"We are still not happy about the pension contribution rates for 2012 to 2014, on which the Government refused to negotiate. But we will negotiate hard over the rates from 2015 onwards."

©Press Association 2012

Prisons nearly full: Government

Prisons nearly full: Government

Prisons in England and Wales are nearly full, the Ministry of Justice has said.

Last summer's riots prompted a "significant rise" in people sent to jail. New figures show the total number of inmates was 87,668 - filling prisons to 98.1% capacity.

Some 407 prisoners were put behind bars in the past week.

The MoJ said the "usable operational capacity" is 89,399, just 1,731 above the current population.

However, there have been no places activated under their contingency plan Operation Safeguard, when prisoners are held in cells at police stations and courts if numbers are at breaking point.

Last summer's rioting means that prisons in
England and Wales are 'nearly full',
according to the Ministry of Justice

According to the MoJ, two new prisons due to open this year should ease the strain.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We have seen a significant rise in the prison population since the summer, with very strong rises following the public disorder.

"Managing the increase in the population is challenging but we have been continually developing contingencies to manage the additional population.

"We currently have enough prison places for those being remanded and sentenced to custody. Capacity will continue to increase throughout 2012 with the opening of two new prisons from March. We will continue to explore contingencies arrangements should further pressure be placed on the prison estate."

The highest published figure was 88,179 on Friday December 2 2011.

Welfare protesters plan occupation

Activists are to stage a "daring and disruptive" act of civil disobedience in opposition to the Government's controversial welfare reforms.

Direct action group UK Uncut will join members of disability campaign groups in occupying an area of central London, with the target being kept secret until the last minute.

The groups said they wanted to voice their anger at the impact of the Welfare Reform Bill, warning that hundreds of thousands of families will lose their homes or become "imprisoned" inside.

UK Uncut attacked the argument that savings were needed to help tackle the deficit, saying that far greater amounts of money were lost through tax-dodging.

Disabled activists from across the country are travelling to London to take part in the protest.

Richard Whitehurst of Disabled People Against Cuts said: "These vicious cuts have already led to at least 31 disabled people committing suicide and many more are now talking about it as they feel they have no future. In the 21st century, in one of the richest nations in the world, disabled people should not be forced to live in fear every day of their lives.

UK Uncut activists are staging a demonstration in central London

"Cuts to disabled people's benefits and services will not save money but will ultimately cost the taxpayer far more as pushing disabled people into destitution and withdrawing care services will lead to an increased demand for NHS care. With the cap on benefits, some single disabled people living in London will be left with only £25 a week to meet all their needs for food, heating and all other costs after paying their rent."

Laura Miller of UK Uncut said: "At least £25 billion of tax is avoided every single year by super-rich companies and individuals, far more than the Government hopes to save through this devastating Bill.

"The Government are choosing to inflict suffering on sick and disabled people rather than tackle rich tax dodgers, because they think the socially disadvantaged are invisible - that they won't or can't make a fuss - and the rest of us don't care. We're going to show them that they're wrong."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "This Government is absolutely committed to supporting disabled people and we continue to spend more than £40 billion a year on disabled people and their services. Households where someone receives disability living allowance will be exempt from the benefit cap and we are giving local authorities an additional £190 million over four years to ensure vulnerable people are supported through the housing benefit reform, so we are not expecting people to become homeless."

107 secondary schools miss targets

Thousands of teenagers are still failing to get good GCSE results after being let down by under-performing schools, new league tables suggest.

Newly published statistics show that 107 secondaries in England did not reach tough Government targets which ministers say are intended to raise standards.

Schools that fail to meet the strict thresholds have been warned they are at risk of closure or being taken over if they do not improve.

The tables also suggest that hundreds of secondaries are failing their poorest pupils. Just a third (33.9%) of teenagers from disadvantaged homes gained at least five C's in their GCSEs last summer, including English and maths, compared to 58.2% of all pupils attending state schools.

And while nearly one in six pupils nationally achieved the Government's new English Baccalaureate, the same was true for only one in 25 poor youngsters, the Department for Education (DfE) said.

To gain the EBacc, pupils must score at least a C in English, maths, science, history or geography and a language at GCSE.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "We should have high expectations for all children regardless of their circumstances. Today's figures reveal a shocking waste of talent in many schools across the country. All too often, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds aren't given the same opportunities as their peers. But there are great examples of schools achieving the best for their disadvantaged pupils. If they can get it right, then so can all schools.

Statistics show 107 secondaries in England did not reach tough Government targets

"Thanks to the introduction of the EBacc, we are opening up opportunities for all pupils to study the core academic subjects that employers and universities demand. And with the Pupil Premium we are specifically targeting funding at disadvantaged pupils, so that schools have the resources they need to make a difference."

The tables show that overall, 107 secondary schools were below the Government's target in 2011. This means that less than 35% of their pupils got at least five C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, and fewer youngsters made two levels of progress between 11 and 16 than the national average in these two core subjects.

The league tables are based on GCSE, as well as A-level results, for 2011.

Protesters plan welfare reform demo

Protesters plan welfare reform demo

Activists are to stage a "daring and disruptive" act of civil disobedience in opposition to the Government's controversial welfare reforms.

Direct action group UK Uncut will join members of disability campaign groups in occupying an area of central London on Saturday.

The groups said they wanted to voice their anger at the impact of the Welfare Reform Bill, warning that hundreds of thousands of families will lose their homes or become "imprisoned" inside.

UK Uncut attacked the argument that savings were needed to help tackle the deficit, saying that far greater amounts of money were lost through tax-dodging.

Sarah Evans of UK Uncut said: "British people are proud of the welfare state because it has provided for the 99% for over 60 years. This Bill will remove vital lifelines and force people into deeper poverty, making many prisoners in their own homes.

UK Uncut activists have already staged
 a series of high-profile demonstrations

"There are alternatives: we can afford a fair welfare system that provides for all.

"Instead of taking serious action against rich companies' tax-dodging and their fancy corporate lawyers, David Cameron is instead choosing to make the poorest and most isolated pay for the economic crisis they didn't cause.

"At least £25 billion of tax is avoided every single year by super-rich companies and individuals, far more than the Government hopes to save through this devastating Bill. The Welfare Reform Bill is cruel and unnecessary and it must be stopped."

©Press Association

Warning over work scheme 'risks'

The Government's biggest department over-estimated how many jobseekers will be helped by a new multibillion-pound work programme, while the risk of fraud and errors going undetected has increased, according to an official report.

The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that the speed at which the Work Programme had been introduced had led to increased risks.

The programme, which replaced virtually all welfare-to-work schemes in England, Scotland and Wales last year, will help 26% of the largest group of jobseekers into work, compared to an estimate of 40% by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), said the NAO.

Some of the organisations delivering the programme in areas of high unemployment may struggle to meet targets and could get into "serious financial difficulty", said the report.

The NAO also revealed that the computer programme to support the new scheme was not fully functional when it was launched so that the DWP will not be able to carry out automatic checks to confirm that people who find work have stopped claiming benefits, until March at the earliest.

"The Department needs to ensure that improvements to the IT system are delivered on schedule. In the meantime there is an increased risk of fraud and error going undetected," said the report.

The National Audit Office says the
speed at which the Work Programme
was introduced
 increased the risk of fraud and error

The NAO also noted it had cost £63 million to terminate existing welfare-to-work contracts, and said that no alternatives to the Work Programme were considered, nor was it tested through pilot schemes.

Margaret Hodge, chairwoman of the Public Accounts committee, said: "The rush to get the programme up and running was so great that the supporting IT is still not in place even though the programme was launched eight months ago. This has led to an increased risk of fraud and error."

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "Payment by results is a totally new approach for Government and its success simply cannot be assessed in the same old ways. I'm really disappointed that the NAO is producing a report which is partially based on guesswork, when it's private companies and not taxpayers who are carrying the risks.

"Unlike the last government's welfare to work schemes, we only pay when companies succeed in getting the long-term unemployed into sustained employment."

©Press Association

Government rejects metals theft bill

The government rejected proposed legislation on Friday aimed at combating metal theft, which costs the UK economy upwards of 770 million pounds a year, but said it still saw the need for legal changes to combat the crime.

Metals theft in the UK doubled last year 

Graham Jones, an opposition Labour member of parliament, had drafted legislation banning scrap yards from making cash payments for metal and requiring them to take proof of identification and an address from any potential seller.

It passed through the House of Commons in November, receiving parliamentary support at the time.

Without government support, however, Jones's proposals stood little chance of becoming law and on Friday were rejected in parliament after ministers declared their objection at a second reading.

"We have a split in the government between Home Office ministers who want action and ideologues in BIS (the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) who think that stopping the theft of war memorials is somehow 'damaging red tape'," said Jones.

"We will now not likely see legislation before the Olympics, possibly not until 2013."

Metals theft in the UK doubled last year as thieves took advantage of high metals prices, according to the Energy Networks Association (ENA), which represents telecoms provider BT and Network Rail and was in support of the bill.

A government spokesman said it supports the aims of the bill, believing legislation is needed for a sustainable, long-term solution to "the growing menace of metal theft," adding it had stepped up law enforcement.

"We are currently looking at a range of options including what would be the quickest and most effective legislative vehicle for the changes that are needed," the spokesman added.

The move to reject the bill was welcomed by the British Metal Recycling Association, an industry body that process over 95 percent of Britain's scrap and opposed the bill's proposed cash-less system.

"If you banned cash today, all the regulated business would obviously obey the law, but people who are selling scrap, they'd sell it to illegal yards," said Ian Hetherington, director general of the BMRA.

"We'd rather see a good law even if takes a little more time."

Around 13 million tonnes of metal are recycled in the UK every year, while around 15,000 tonnes of metal are stolen annually, according to the BMRA.

Prices of metals such as copper shed 21 percent of their value last year, but their resale value remained lofty enough to lead to about 700 incidents of metal theft per month against energy networks, according to ENA.

Scrap yards contacted by Reuters in December said they pay about 3.50 pounds ($5.50) for a kilo of copper, depending on quality and the market price on the day.

"We're operating with 1964 legislation here, which allows a whole range of illegal activity. One scrap yard settled an account of a quarter of a million pounds in cash, in (supermarket plastic) bags," said Tony Glover, ENA head of press and public affairs.

"Police do not have enough power to close (scrap yards) down. At the moment if you don't comply with the scrap metals dealers act, you are subject to an average fine of about 350 pounds."

About 1.5 billion pounds of Britain's 5 billion pound-a-year scrap metal industry is cash-based, making it ideal for making money quickly without leaving a paper trail.

Police are ramping up efforts to tackle metal theft. The Metropolitan Police has launched a Waste and Metal Theft Taskforce, and police across England and Wales took part in a national "day of action" in December.

In England's North East, which police say is the epicentre of railway metal theft, police started trials of a system this year in which scrap sellers must prove their identity so that stolen metal can be traced.

© Reuters 2012 

Jobless total hits 17-year high

Unemployment reached a 17-year high today after a 118,000 increase in the jobless total, which saw a record number of young people out of work.

The figure jumped to 2.68 million in the three months to November, the worst since the summer of 1994, giving the UK a jobless rate of 8.4%.

The number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds increased by 52,000 over the quarter to 1.04 million, the highest since records began in 1992.

And the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in December increased by 1,200 to 1.6 million, the highest for a year after the 10th consecutive monthly rise.

Other figures showed that almost a million working days were lost in November as a result of the public sector pensions strike, the highest figure since 1989.

The Office for National Statistics reported that the number of people in full-time employment fell by 57,000 in the latest three months, but there was a 75,000 increase in part-time workers.

There was a 44,000 rise in the number of people working part-time or for themselves because they could not find a full-time job, taking the total to 1.3 million, the highest since comparable records began in 1992.

Employment increased by 18,000 to 29.12 million, while the number of people classed as economically inactive fell by 61,000 to 9.29 million, a rate of 23.1%.

The fall was mainly due to fewer women looking after a family or home, and fewer retired people under the age of 65.

Unemployment increased evenly among men and women in the latest quarter, while the number of people out of work for longer than two years increased by 1,000 to 424,000.

There was a 10,000 fall in the number out of work for more than a year to 857,000.

Average earnings increased by 1.9% in the year to November, down by 0.2 percentage points on the previous month.

John Salt, director at recruitment firm totaljobs.com, said: “Whether or not the UK is technically in recession, for those out of work the situation is already dire enough.

“Today’s figures merely confirm what our barometer has been telling us for three months now, that applications per job are at an all-time high of 23, with not enough growth in the labour market to absorb the numbers being laid off. What’s more, the signs for 2012 just aren’t good.

“The eurozone crisis threatens not only jobs reliant on exports but also in the financial services industries. With retail already struggling following a lacklustre Christmas, it is difficult to see sectors in which we’re going to see significant increases in available jobs.”

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: “This rise in unemployment was made in Downing Street. The truth is that jobs are haemorrhaging in the public and private sectors and no one in the Government seems to know what to do to stop this.

“There are parts of the country in such despair that more than a quarter of households with people of working age have no one in work.

“The number one political priority has to be securing a reduction in unemployment.”

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: “The overall level of unemployment is, and will remain, a major concern for the Government.

“The latest figures reflect the current challenging economic climate but also show more women entering the workforce and more students looking to supplement their income through work.

“When you take into account our welfare reforms, the number of jobseeker allowance claimants has actually fallen.

“Despite the exceptionally difficult economic circumstances, finding work for the unemployed will remain top of the Government’s agenda.”

ISPs launch copyright law appeal

BT and TalkTalk have gone to the Court of Appeal in the latest challenge over Government moves to tackle online copyright infringement - particularly in music, films and books.

The pair are two of the UK's largest internet service providers (ISPs) and are attempting to overturn a ruling in favour of controversial measures to curb illegal internet file sharing.

They say the measures will invade privacy, result in disproportionate costs for ISPs and consumers, and are not compatible with EU law.

BT and TalkTalk have challenged the
Governments attempt to tackle
online infringement

High Court judge Mr Justice Kenneth Parker rejected the challenge in April last year, declaring the proposals under the Digital Economy Act 2010 a proportionate parliamentary response to the serious economic problem of peer-to-peer file sharing, and the likely costs were justified.

He upheld submissions made by lawyers for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that there were sufficient safeguards to protect the rights of consumers and ISPs .

The judge's decision was welcomed by supporters of the new laws, including employers and unions in the creative industries, who say copyright infringement is taking place on "a massive scale", costing millions and threatening livelihoods.

But BT and TalkTalk have now asked the appeal court to rule that the High Court had "erred in law", and the contested provisions were incompatible with a number of EU directives related to "electronic commerce".

BT and TalkTalk are submitting to the court that provision is also being made for the possible future introduction of certain "technical obligations" aimed at suspending, curtailing or limiting a subscriber's internet access.

A DCMS spokesperson said: "We are confident the High Court's original verdict will be upheld."

The hearing before Lady Justice Arden, sitting with Lord Justice Richards and Lord Justice Patten, is expected to last two days.

©Press Association

Chancellor 'confident' on economy

Chancellor George Osborne has insisted the Government was doing everything possible to "weather the storm" as economic forecasters warned the UK is likely to be already in recession.

The Ernst & Young ITEM Club and the Centre for Economics and Business Research both believe that gross domestic product (GDP) shrank in the final quarter of last year and will fall again in the first three months of 2012. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contracting output.

Mr Osborne said the most recent predictions by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which issues official forecasts, showed that Britain would have a negative quarter of growth but not go into recession.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "That's their forecast, but they were the first to say that it is very uncertain and one of the biggest risks to the British economy is the further deterioration of the eurozone crisis.

The Government is doing everything it can to deal with the economic crisis, Chancellor George Osborne has said

"I said openly at the end of November to the House of Commons when I made my autumn statement that if the eurozone were to go into a deep recession, that would have a real impact on the British economy.

"I'm confident the British Government is doing everything it can with a very difficult inheritance, facing a very difficult international situation to get Britain through this, to weather the storm."

The warnings come shortly after France, the second biggest economy in the eurozone, saw its AAA credit rating downgraded by Standard & Poor's in a move which signals more troubles for the single currency bloc.

Professor Peter Spencer, chief economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said: "Figures for the last quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of this year are likely to show that we are back in recession and we are going to have to wait until this summer before there are any signs of improvement. But it's not going to be a repeat of 2009 - we are not going to see a serious double dip."

The ITEM Club report forecasts GDP growth of just 0.2% this year before increasing to 1.8% in 2013 and 2.8% in 2014. It said deteriorating levels of confidence will see business investment stagnate in 2012, while export prospects have already slowed.

But the group said UK companies have stronger balance sheets than in 2009 and have built up large cash stockpiles, which will provide a useful insurance policy if the situation deteriorates further.

©Press Association