Commenting
on the BBC Panorama programme on issues in Mental Health services in the
Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Trusts, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Member for
Mental Health, Barbara Keeley MP said:

“Despite
years of Tory Government promises, funding for NHS Mental Health services has
not increased but has actually fallen by £150 million.

“At the
Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Trust, funding cuts led to frontline
community teams being disbanded, loss of experienced staff and the cutting of
136 inpatient psychiatric beds. The Panorama programme showed what can go wrong
when patients in crisis cannot be admitted to an inpatient bed.

“It is
disturbing that while the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary talk about
transforming mental health services, what families actually saw in Norfolk and
Suffolk is an absence of support and no beds available during a crisis. It is
time for action from Tory Ministers, not warm words which fail patients and
their families.”

7 February 2017

*Jonathan Bartley, co-leader: ‘We must end our narrow obsession with home ownership and meet people where they are – by investing in social housing and improving the private rented sector’

The Green Party has branded the Housing Minister’s new housing strategy [1] a “slap in the face” for people struggling to afford the cost of their homes.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said the Government should instead focus on:

• Setting up a Living Rent Commission to bring down rents
• Introducing a Land Value Tax to reduce property speculation
• Expand the use of community land trusts and co-operative home ownership
• End tax breaks for buy-to-let investors and use the money for social housing

Bartley said:

“The Housing Minister’s plans are a slap in the face for the millions of people in this country desperate for bold plans to reduce rents and make their housing affordable.

“People are living in desperate insecurity and we need to end our narrow obsession with home ownership and meet people where they are – by investing in social housing and improving the private rented sector. Any plan to help renters which doesn’t have at its heart a clear intention to reduce the amount tenants are paying is doomed to failure.

“It is scandalous that many people are paying up to two-thirds of their income on rent, and often living in sub-standard accommodation. The Government should immediately set up a Living Rent Commission to work out what rent is truly affordable and take action to bring down costs for tenants.

 “With Britain suffering such an acute housing crisis – and with property developers earning such huge sums for simply holding onto land – it’s also clear that idea such as a Land Value Tax should be explored. Such a tax could reduce property speculation, revitalise inner city areas and raise revenue – there’s no excuse for failing to investigate it as an option.

 “We need to start talking seriously about expanding the use of community land trusts and co-operative home ownership. If the Government wants to take the heat out of the housing market it must end tax breaks for buy-to-let investors, and use the money to create a new generation of social housing.

“Housing should not be a speculative commodity and we must move beyond piecemeal tinkering with a broken market to ensure that everyone has a place they can call home.”

Notes:

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38884601

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Nanjing of East China’s Jiangsu province will become the third city in the world where Italian architect Stefano Boeri will build Vertical Forest buildings, which could possibly improve the city’s air quality, according to CNET, an American media outlet on technology.

In architect Boeri’s design, a set of two towers will be stylized with around 1,100 trees and a combination of over 2,500 shrubs and plants, which is believed to make 60 kilograms of oxygen every day by absorbing carbon dioxide.

The two towers are expected to be completed by next year and will stand at 107m and 199m tall respectively. The shorter building will house a Hyatt hotel, while the taller one will be home to a museum, offices and an architecture school.

Two previous vertical forest buildings were built in Milan, Italy, and Lausanne, Switzerland.

Boeri’s plan in China is much more ambitious as similar structures are also planned for Shanghai, southwestern Chongqing, northern Shijiazhuang and southern Liuzhou.

A suspect who allegedly offered student loans in exchange for nude photos was arrested by police in Gansu province in January.

Authorities said the man, surnamed Yang, had been preying on young women who were in need of money for college and other expenses, seeking his victims through social media, and that he had been doing this activity for many years.

Female students were ordered to disrobe and hold up their personal identification cards for photos before they were provided with high-interest student loans.

The young women were told the photos would be published if they failed to pay off their debts.

Yang also allegedly asked for sexual services from women who were unable to pay their loans.

Yang was arrested after a victim reported her case to the police. JD Capital’s Jiedaibao, a platform for individuals to loan and lend, especially between friends and acquaintances, was apparently used several times to set up transactions between perpetrators and victims in similar cases.

Jiedaibao said the company has no control over demands for collateral as such practices are made by a lender as part of “a private trade deal.”

Users who were asked for nude photos in exchange of loans are encouraged to contact the police.

To better protect the interests of its users, Jiedaibao’s customer service department established a one-million-yuan fund to combat the “naked loans” issue.

The company also said it would work with the police on any investigation of such practices.