Current developments: To 16 April 2006

Health and safety

17 February

Research in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) suggests acupressure is better at treating lower back pain than conventional therapy but in March a review in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine finds little evidence that spinal manipulation, as used

22 February

Every patient should be screened on arrival at hospital to identify the 40 per cent that are at risk of malnutrition, according to guidance from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. In March, it is announced that newborns are to be screened forbearing levels if parents wish.

24 February

MRSA, the so-called hospital superbug, was a factor in 1,168 deaths in England and Wales in 2004, official figures show, up 22 per cent from 2003. A month later, the Healthcare Commission's annual survey finds more than one in four NHS staff claiming that hygiene materials were available most of the time, but not always.

3 March

The Government tells NHS Trusts and local authorities to review local eligibility criteria for NHS continuing health care, following a High Court ruling in January (the 'Grogan' case). The criteria determine those cases in which the NHS will fund care because it is primarily related to health needs (social/personal care is the responsibility of the local authority and funding for it is means-tested). In Grogan, the court ruled that Bexley NHS Care Trust's decision to deny continuing care to Mrs Grogan was unlawful as it did not have in place or apply criteria that enabled a decision on whether her primary need was a health need.

3 March

Findings in the BMJ suggest screening for breast cancer detects cancers that do not exist, though the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer Screening recently found that it saves around 1,400 lives a year in the UK.

6 March

A Healthcare Commission report finds that stroke sufferers are often left struggling without adequate aftercare, such as speech therapy and support for mobility and emotional problems.

8 March

A new non-emergency number, 101, is cleared by Ofcom and will be piloted from this summer as an alternative to the emergency number 999.

9 March

A Soil Association study shows that four artificial additives could have a harmful 'cocktail effect' on young children, and that two of the additives, MSG and E133 brilliant blue, combined have an impact up to four times greater than when assessed separately.

16 March

Six young men taking part in a drug trial collapse after suffering a massive inflammatory reaction. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, in an interim report in early April, finds 'no evidence' of contamination or faulty procedures in the trial, suggesting the drug simply produced adverse reactions in humans that were not picked up by earlier animal testing of the drug. An international expert group is to be set up to investigate whether trials of such monoclonal antibodies may need to be revised.

22 March

The Budget includes 'green' provisions aimed at promoting the greater use of energy-efficiency measures in homes such as low-energy light bulbs and better insulation in a bid to reduce carbon emissions. (Under a new code for builders, new buildings will have to be more energy efficient). Days later, a government climate change review suggests the UK will fail to meet a key target to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010. Plans are also outlined to encourage householders and others to use solar panels and small wind turbines to create their own 'micropower' systems.

26 March

The ban on smoking in public places such as pubs in Scotland comes into effect. Individuals face a ?50 fine, and licensees up to ?2,500, for breaches.

6 April

The deadly strain of avian flu, H5N1, arrives in Britain, as a whooperswan found dead in Scotland is confirmed as having the virus. Farmers in the area are ordered to move free-range and organic poultry inside and the transport of poultry products is to be restricted to isolate them from wild flocks. Experts say the swan died weeks ago and probably contracted the virus elsewhere, coinciding with the earlier arrival of bird flu in France and Germany.

7 April

Ten per cent of dentists working full or part-time in the NHS have refused to sign a new government contract, accounting for 4 per cent of the care provided to NHS dentistry patients.

12 April

The Court of Appeal rules that a NHS Trust had acted 'irrationally and unlawfully' in refusing to prescribe the breast cancer drug Herceptin to a patient with early stage disease (the drug has thus far only been licensed for late-stage sufferers but trials suggest it is effective for both). The Trust, which funds only exceptional cases, had said that cost was not a consideration; the judges rule that, if this was the case, there was no rational basis to deny some patients only. The ruling still leaves Trusts free to ration the drug for other women on suitability and cost grounds, though the government has said they should not refuse to fund it solely on these grounds.

Finance

6 March

Debit and credit card fraud fell 13 per cent in 2005, the first fall in a decade, according to figures from Association of Payment Clearing Services, which it attributes to the introduction of chip and pin. But card-not present fraud rose by 21 percent.

8 March

The all-party group of MPs for building societies and financial mutuals says legislation is needed to ensure the interests of members of demutualising bodies are protected. It finds that previous demutualisations, had a largely negative impact on customer choice and financial services provision.

13 March

Up to one million households in sixteen local authority areas could get a rebate of up to ?100 on their council tax bills if they install subsidised cavity wall insulation to save energy in their home. Days later, the Commons environmental audit select committee accuses the Treasury of inertia over green taxes, arguing, for example, that air travel should be taxed on the basis of a flight's level of emissions, not a per head duty as now.

14 March

The Parliamentary Ombudsman finds the government guilty of maladministration of occupational pensions, in particular of misleading employees over the security of such schemes in government leaflets. 85,000 workers lost some or all of their pensions after their companies went bust. Ministers refuse to accept her findings or her recommendations of compensation potentially from public funds, saying the companies and trustees are responsible. In 2004, ministers set up a ?400m 'lifeboat' fund to help these workers but it has been criticised as inadequate.

22 March

The Budget includes duty changes and 'green' reform of vehicle excise duty (see Transport) as well as other 'green' measures (see Health and Safety). Every pensioner and disabled person will be entitled to free off-peak national bus travel by April 2008.

23 March

The Court of Appeal rules that credit card holders buying goods abroad or from overseas companies via the internet are protected by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act which makes the card company individually and jointly liable with the supplier if there is a problem with goods or services and requires that cardholders are reimbursed if the item is between ?100 and ?30,000. Lloyds TSB says it may appeal to the Lords.

28 March

A survey by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has found that one in ten people under forty cannot understand a basic bank statement and four in ten have no pension. It is planning workplace-based financial seminars and wants personal finance to be more prominent in the national curriculum from 2008.

30 March

The Consumer Credit Bill gets Royal Assent. The new Act covers all consumer credit agreements and includes provisions to allow consumers to take their complaints about lenders to the Financial Ombudsman Service and to challenge unfair credit agreements in court, as well as to receive more information about their account.

4 April

The Turner Commission's final pensions report reiterates the need for a higher full state pension with rises linked to earnings, a limit on means-testing, a retirement age of 69 by 2050, and an automatic private independent savings vehicle, the National Pensions Savings Scheme, with contributions from employers. The government earlier proposed weekly credits for women (or men) whose careers are interrupted because they act as carers or raised children so that they build up pension 'contributions' similar to those paying national insurance.

10 April

Royal Liver Assurance is fined ?550,000 by the FSA for misselling financial savings products to older people between 1999 and 2003. The FSA said that the with-profits endowment policies were recommended as a savings product even though there were significant risks that policyholders could get back less than they paid in. The life insurerwill also pay up to ?2.45m in compensation. The group says it has taken action to prevent any further mis-selling.

Food and drink

2 March

Soft drinks on sale in the UK have been found to contain benzene, a cancer causing chemical which is thought to be produced when the drinks have the preservative sodium benzoate and vitamin C added to them. A survey by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) found levels of up to eight parts per billion in some drinks - there are no legal limits on benzene in such drinks. A later survey asks for four products to be withdrawn because they contain levels above guidelines for drinking water.

2 March

The School Food Trust (SFS) has advised the government to ban schools from selling items such as confectionery, crisps and fizzy drinks from September in favour of healthier options. Days earlier, three bodies, including the Healthcare Commission, had warned the government it will miss its target for halting the rise in obesity in children under 11 without clear leadership.

9 March

The FSA recommends that food manufacturers and retailers adopt front of pack labelling of foods to help consumers make healthier choices, to show at a glance whether foods are high (red), medium (amber) or low (green) in fat, sugar or salt. Waitrose and Sainsbury's have already adopted a scheme based on the criteria with Asda to follow suit.

14 March

Seven Seas has withdrawn a number of its own-brand food supplements from sale after routine testing found levels of dioxins exceeding statutory limits in the products. The FSA says there would be no immediate effect on health. In April, Boots also withdraws batches of its own-brand Super Strength Fish Oil Capsules due to dioxin presence.

21 March

The FSA publishes new voluntary salt reduction targets for food products such as bread, ham, cereals and convenience foods but critics say that the targets are not tough enough.

24 March

A study in the BMJ suggests there is not clear evidence of the benefits of eating oily fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids, such as tuna and mackerel. Past studies, the researchers find, failed to take into account sufficiently that those who eat most fish tend to be people with healthier lifestyles. The FSA says its advice that people should eat two portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily, still stands.

28 March

Ofcom sets out new rules that aim to curb advertising of junk food to children, including a ban on using celebrities in ads shown during TV programmes aimed at under-10s from October. Further options include banning food and drink advertising to pre-school children altogether or banning ads for certain products during children's TV.

7 April

The FSA is to consult on the mandatory fortification of foods with folic acid as one option aimed at reducing birth defects in the UK.

11 April

Natural food company Julian Graves withdraws apricot kernels from sale after the FSA warns that they could produce cyanide when eaten and consumers should eat no more than one or two kernels a day.

Communications

22 February

Ofcom consults on measures to protect consumers in the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) market, including a code of practice. VoIP offers cheap telephone calls to users by routing them via a broadband connection over the internet instead of traditional phone networks.

24 February

Ofcom proposes an overhaul of telephone prefix codes, which would make the type of 09 premium-rate service clear from the number. They also proposed to introduce a countrywide 03 number to be charged at the standard fixed line rate.

1 March

Companies who operate silent calls who breach Ofcom rules face an increase in the maximum fine they might have to pay from ?5,000 to ?50,000. Most stem from call centres using automated dialling systems that generate more calls than their agents can deal with, leaving silence on the line when the recipient picks up. All abandoned calls will have to carry a short recorded message identifying the source of the call.

14 March

The government's white paper on the future of the BBC confirms the licence fee funding mechanism for the ten years to 2016. The Board of Governors will be replaced by a BBC Trust that will issue licences to the board for running BBC services, which will have to conform to guidelines ensuring their originality and quality. For new services, the Trust will need to apply a 'public value test' and Ofcom will provide market impact assessments.

14 March

Ofcom's review of the Universal Service Obligation on BT and Kingston Communications in Hull will be revised to, for example, include a new low-user scheme aimed at more consumers on low incomes and a standard ?99.99 price for installing new lines (unless actual costs exceed ?3,400).

21 March

BT could be allowed to set its own prices for residential phone lines from this summer, under Ofcom proposals, thanks to the impact of growing competition and new technology on its market. Safeguards would remain to protect vulnerable customers, including a pledge to keep line rental low at least until the end of 2007.

28 March

The EU telecoms commissioner issues a draft regulation that would see an end to tourists and travellers being charged for receiving calls from home on their mobile phones and lower charges for making calls from abroad from 2007. Two days later, Ofcom proposes extending existing price caps on calling a mobile to include the cost of calling a userwith a 3G phone.

29 March

The commons culture, media and sport committee calls on the government and industry stakeholders to do more to explain to the public the reason behind the switch to digital television. The government's plan to help those over 75 and people with a significant disability is, it says, too narrowly-focussed.

29 March

A joint ICSTIS/Ofcom report has found the general accuracy of directory inquiry services has improved but the average call charge for using these services has risen since 2003 when the market was liberalised.

Transport

27 February

Most children under ten will have to use car seats, booster seats or booster cushions, according to age or height, under new EU rules which are still to be approved by parliament but which could come into force by September.

10 March

Flying long haul flights puts people at greater risk of deep vein thrombosis due to low cabin pressure and low oxygen levels, according to World Health Organisation research in The Lancet, which found that air travellers are more likely to get blood clots than others who simply remain sitting for long periods.

20 March

A dedicated car-share motorway lane for drivers with passengers is to be launched in the UK by the end of 2007. The lane will be part of a one-mile stretch of road in Yorkshire joining the M606 and the M62. Days later, the Budget reforms vehicle excise duty which will run from zero for least polluting cars to a new top rate of ?210 for the most polluting 1 per cent. In April a Defra issues a consultation on measures to improve air quality highlights the possible contribution a national road charging programme could make to improving air quality.

24 March

The EU bans 92 passenger and cargo airlines from flying to or over all 25 EU countries after failures in safety tests.

4 April

The Department for Transport has issued new guidelines to limit the size of hand luggage passengers will be allowed to carry onto a plane from the summer. Laptop computers will be treated as separate items even if inside another bag and must be inspected individually at the security checkpoint.

4 April

Network Rail is to spend an extra ?400m, half of it from government, in a ?10bn rail improvement plan set out today. Improvements will aim to continue better punctuality performance (now at 86 per cent punctuality in the year to March against a target of 85 per cent). The government has also accepted amendments to the road safety bill that will allow the company to recommend and fund road improvements as the best way to improve level crossings on roads.

6 April

Research by the AA today shows that a third of hire cars at popular holiday resorts have serious safety defects. It wants an EU standard hire contract and a system for recompense allowing customers to get redress even once they have returned home from holiday.

Public services

21 February

Water and sewerage bills in England and Wales are set to rise by an average of 5.5 per cent from the beginning of April, according to the regulator Ofwat.

28 February

Royal Mail beat delivery targets for both first and second class mail over the year to December 2005. Days later, stamp prices rise after the company accepts an agreement with Postcomm that will cap rises up to 2010.

8 March

Against a backdrop of further price increases by fuel companies in the UK, the European Commission highlights the need for an EU energy policy, greater liberalisation of domestic markets and nearly ?700bn expenditure over the next twenty years to meet expected energy demand and replace ageing infrastructure. Gordon Brown, the UK Chancellor, tells MPs that lack of competition in other markets is costing British consumers ?10bn a year because of excess spot prices. In April, the Commons Environmental Audit Committee warns of an electricity crisis, as Britain needs to replace about a quarter of its existing electricity provision over the next ten years.

8 March

Ofwat orders water company Severn Trent to cut bills by ?42m over the next four years because it provided misleading regulatory information that led to customers being overcharged. The company's owner says a number of employees have been disciplined.

30 March

The Wanless Report into care of elderly people says the current system in England of means-testing personal care must end, replaced with a minimum level of state-funded social care topped up by personal contributions (all personal care is funded by the state in Scotland). Spending would have to rise to ?30 billion a year by 2026 to provide a good level of care for an ageing population. The report comes just days after an investigation by the Healthcare Commission, Audit Commission and Commission for Social Care finds that progress has been made in helping older people remain in their own homes but that those in hospital are not being treated with respect or being given the treatment they need.

3 April

Water use restrictions come into force in the Thames Water area, the first such for 15 years. The move follows a year of below average rainfall in the UK. Other companies in the south east also have bans in place, one of which, Folkestone and Dover Water Services, was given permission in March to introduce compulsory metering to cover about 90 per cent of homes in its areas over the next ten years.

Competition

7 March

Companies whose store cards charge more than 25 per cent must provide more warnings for customers on monthly bills that cheaper credit is available, under new rules from the Competition Commission. Payment protection insurance should be sold separately, the Commission finds, and it wants more information provided on the interest rate and penalty charges. There will, though, be no cap on interest rates, despite the Commission finding that consumers have been paying over the odds.

9 March

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) looks likely to refer the grocery market to the Competition Commission, following an analysis of the market that found falling prices, increasing choice and improving quality, but also potentially reduced competition from the big supermarkets' move into the convenience store sector, from some aspects of their pricing behaviour (such as below-cost selling), from their holding onto land and from barriers to entry due to the planning regime.

22 March

The EU confirms a deal on the selling of media rights to Premiership English football which will, from the start of the 2007-08 season to the end of 2012-13, ensure that no one broadcaster can have all the rights.

30 March

The Competition Commission provisionally approves HMV's takeover of specialist book company Ottakar. The merger with HMV-owned book chain Waterstone's will not, the Commission finds, cause 'any substantial lessening of competition' on the high street.

5 April

The Serious Fraud Office launches formal criminal proceedings against five generic drug companies over the alleged price-fixing of certain medicines supplied to the NHS between 1996 and 2001. All the companies have denied wrongdoing.

Fair trading

2 March

The OFT calls for new legislation to require companies sending out often-unsolicited credit card cheques to clearly set out the charges involved in their use. Unanticipated interest charges and fees for the cheques - that allow people to draw money from an existing card account - could amount to ?57 million a year.

16 March

Supermarkets providing online grocery sites agree to provide customers with better price information, prompted by the OFT. Prices on the sites are guide prices, but in-store prices may change between order and delivery - and this will be made clearer.

21 March

The OFT launches its approved Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA) code of practice which covers the services of OEA member agents and includes access to free dispute resolution via the scheme.

3 April

The OFT is to investigate the payment protection insurance market, following a supercomplaint from Citizens Advice.

5 April

Penalty charges of more than ?12 for late payments on credit cards are, in the OFT's view, legally unfair. In principle, banks, it says, must only impose charges in future that reflect the true underlying administration costs in future, including those such as for unauthorised overdrafts or bounced cheques, or potentially face legal action. The banks, which do not accept that the charges are unfair, have until 31 May to respond. A recent court ruling found in favour of an accountant disputing the fairness of bank charges he faced when he exceeded his overdraft limit and consumers are being encouraged to challenge such penalties in court. A week later, the EU Competition Commissioner suggests more cross-border competition is needed and warns banks and networks issuing credit and debit cards to reduce fees and profits or face legal action.

Law

4 April

The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner rejects the Law Society's proposals for improving complaints handling, finding them inadequate. The criticisms come as the Government is drawing up legislation for a new independent office for legal complaints.

9 April

From midnight, unauthorised resale of tickets for FIFA World Cup football matches (or any other FIFA or Uefa tournament) by UK sellers becomes illegal, an extension of existing law that only forbade reselling of tickets for matches involving the England team.

Retailing

28 February

Firms that distribute cut price CDs and DVDs for major stores via Jersey are to have their licences stopped in a year's time, the Jersey government rules. Tesco and Asda among others offer internet mail-order operations from the island to UK buyers as EU law says retailers that operate outside the EU can sell products valued at less than ? 18 to customers in member states without charging VAT.

Trade

7 April

The European Commission begins imposing 'anti-dumping' duties on imports of shoes from China and Vietnam, which could rise to nearly 20 per cent, to counter what it says are unfair government subsidies to leather shoe makers, a claim disputed by China. Prices to consumers could rise.

The details in this section are, to the best of the Editor's information and knowledge, accurate and applicable to the dates given.