Other News In Brief

Frozen Water Bills In Scotland

The Water Industry Commission for Scotland has said domestic water charges should be frozen next year and maybe also in 2011 as well as they will then keep below inflation until 2015. These are good news for customers - households, businesses and the public sector - who would not have to pay more than absolutely necessary during this complicated economic downturn. Scottish Water is the only publicly owned water and sewerage provider in the UK and has the fourth lowest average household charges. Welcoming the challenge of making efficiencies, it will continue the investment in improve the infrastructure and the customer service. Some of the priorities will be the improvement of the drainage system in Glasgow and other initiatives to promote an ecologic water industry, like £7 million set aside for household metering trials or the support to property developers to introduce more sustainable practices. Meanwhile, regulator Ofwat has announced average water bills in England and Wales will be reduced slightly over the next five years.

Brown Denies Funding 'Extremist'

Gordon Brown denied Tory claims that public money from an "anti-extremism" fund was given to two schools with supposed links to Islamic extremists. The Prime Minister wrote to David Cameron and denied the allegations that had sparking a political row. The Islamist group in question, Hizb ut-Tahrir, said it did not run any schools and accused Mr Cameron of "bare-faced lies". Farah Ahmed, Head teacher of the school, stated their centre was being used as part of a wider political agenda and that "this type of vilification of the Muslim community" needed to stop. Schools Secretary Ed Balls considered this kinds of issues divide the country on the basis of false allegations. In fact, Haringey Council launched an investigation into claims about the school in its area and there was no evidence that inappropriate content or extremism influence had been promoted there.

Door Staff Wearing Head-cams

Members of the door staff at nine Liverpool bars are to wear head-cameras to make the city a safe place at night, as part of an initiative from Licensees Watch. These cameras will record pictures and sound to help reduce drink-fuelled violence by providing crucial evidence in if a crime is committed. In theses cases, only Merseyside Police and the security firm will have access to the recorded material. Supervising taxi ranks and extra security funds for small businesses are other measure that will be put in practice with the same objective. According to the chairman of Liverpool Primary Care Trust, Gideon Ben-Tovim, the majority of accidents and emergency admissions are related with excessive alcohol consumption. For this reason, the new measures also try to ensure people to enjoy alcohol in a responsible way. A Liverpool City Council spokesman said in the bars, where the head-cams have been trialled over the past weeks, incidents of aggression in door queues have been reduce.

Laws To Tackle Floods

The Scottish Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham has announced new laws related with flooding. She visited the Whitesands in Dumfries, where rainfalls caused serious damages, with dozens of businesses affected and many rural parts submerged. With the new regulation, the Scottish Ennvironment Protection Agency and local authorities will co-ordinate flood management plans and they will search natural methods to tackle the problem such as restoring flood plains. They will also continue working with SEPA to improve the flood warning service for the public. Met Office's Eskdalemuir observatory said this November has been the wettest month ever recorded and this has had consequences.

Lucky Escape From A Fire

Four Firefighters crews fought a house fire yesterday evening in Conwy, where a 60-year-old couple and their daughter in her 30s escaped unharmed after the car alarm activated. According to firefighters, the family was "extremely lucky" to escape as there was no smoke alarm in the house - the car alarm activated when the wiring in the vehicle started to melt. It is believed a paraffin lamp left in a car to keep it warm was the cause of the blaze, which spread from the vehicle housed in the garage to the rest of the property (leaving the car, house and garage badly damaged). When the man discovered the fire he tried to tackle it himself. However, firefighters recommend staying out and calling the fire and rescue services out. Ian Williams, from the fire service, warned mixing naked flames and vehicles can be extremely dangerous and also said smoke alarms can be vitals to allow residents to escape in a fire.

(CL/BMcc)