Pet prescriptions could be capped at £21 under proposed vet sector reforms 09. July 2026 (01:01) Ministers also considering licence requirement and regulator to try to cut bills and increase choice UK vets may have to have a licence and cap prescriptions for pet medicine at £21 under plans being considered by the government.Ministers are also considering establishing a regulator for the veterinary sector, including inspections, a mandatory licensing system and published compliance reports to improve accountability and choice. Every vet practice could need an official operating licence – similar to GP surgeries and care homes – under proposals in a white paper. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
All lobbying should be publicly declared in transparency laws shake-up, watchdog says 09. July 2026 (01:01) Ethics and integrity commission chief says overhaul is crucial to help restore trust in standardsAll lobbying of government ministers, aides and senior officials should be publicly declared – from WhatsApp chats to party conference meetings – in a fundamental shake-up of transparency laws, the government’s ethics watchdog has said.A review led by Doug Chalmers, the head of the ethics and integrity commission, has called for a new register to highlight who is lobbying, which policies they are seeking to influence and who in government they are meeting. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Disability benefits system ‘not working’ Timms review finds 09. July 2026 (01:01) Interim report into Pip found process had systematic and deep-rooted problems and required bold and radical overhaulA landmark government review of disability benefits has warned “challenging discussions” remain on how to overhaul and pay for a system it concludes is unfit for purpose and too often leaves vulnerable claimants dehumanised and degraded.The Timms review of the personal independence payment (Pip) concluded the benefit, claimed by nearly 4 million people in England and Wales, suffered from systematic and deep-rooted problems that had undermined public trust in the benefits system. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ambassadorial appointments should be subject to veto by MPs, committee recommends 09. July 2026 (01:01) Foreign affairs select committee says Peter Mandelson episode was ‘nothing short of disastrous’ for governmentPolitical selections for ambassador posts should be subject to a veto by MPs, a parliamentary committee has recommended, as it made damning criticisms of how Peter Mandelson became Britain’s top diplomat in Washington.The foreign affairs select committee concluded that Mandelson’s appointment was “nothing short of disastrous”, “highly damaging” for the British government and “painful and offensive to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
