What is our MP’s view on NHS pay rise?
A few weeks ago there was a brief debate over whether or not the jury is still out over our new MP. Well, we now have the perfect test. Will he decry or support the derisory 1 per cent pay rise suggested for NHS staff, particularly given his close association with it?
The final decision may be different if fairness prevails, but the fact remains that the Government itself regards this as adequate. Presumably they think all the clapping compensates for the shortfall from an amount that would have been palatable.
Saying no more can be afforded is the lamest of excuses when close to £140 billion has been spent on a track and trace system that far from being “world-beating” followed the same disastrous path as most Government IT projects and required a fudge to the stats to make its performance look acceptable, not to mention the PPE that was ordered to the wrong spec and will have to be skipped.
Such a derisory amount is a disgrace, an insult and shows complete contempt for a group of people who only a short while ago were absolute heroes. I wonder which way Dr Evans will fall?
R Collingwood (Mrs)
LESS than 5 per cent of England’s 500-mile smart motorway network has radar technology to detect drivers who break down in live lanes, according to analysis released last month.
Highways England figures show the system has only been installed on three sections of motorway, totalling 37 miles.
The government-owned company has pledged to roll out the Stopped Vehicle Detection upgrade on all motorway stretches where the hard shoulder has been converted to a permanent running lane.
This was part of an 18-point action plan launched by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in March 2020 following an “evidence stocktake” amid concerns about incidents where vehicles stopped in traffic were hit from behind.
Installation of the technology has been completed on a 13-mile section of the M3 in Surrey and Hampshire, and 24 miles of the M25.
Radar units installed on roadsides monitor motorway traffic in both directions and are designed to detect a stopped vehicle in around 20 seconds.
An alert is sent to a control room operator who can view the incident on a camera, activate lane closure signs and dispatch personnel.
Smart motorway safety is back in the spotlight after a coroner concluded last month that they “present an ongoing risk”.
He said the lack of a hard shoulder was a clear factor in the deaths of Jason Mercer, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, hit by a lorry after they pulled over via a minor M1 shunt in June 2019.