scraps | Common News Update

Feb132021 by adminNo Comments

Treasury scraps £95,000 cap on public sector pay-offs

Business

Getty ImagesThe government is scrapping a cap of £95,000 on public sector redundancy payments, after court action by trade unions.Ministers say they are looking for new ways to tackle excessive pay-outs for higher earners. Those who have left their jobs since the change was introduced in November should be reimbursed the shortfall.A Treasury spokesman said the cap was withdrawn due to "the unintended consequences" it had on employees. They added that the government remained committed to bringing forward proposals to tackle unjustified exit payments. What are my rights if I am made redundant?The cap came into force last November, with the aim of ensuring exit payments represented value for money and were fair to taxpayers. But unions had fought the move, seeking a judicial review into the...

Jul262020 by adminNo Comments

Coronavirus: Tui scraps holidays to mainland Spain over quarantine

Business

The UK's biggest tour operator, Tui, has cancelled all mainland Spanish holidays until 9 August.The move comes after the government imposed a 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the UK from Spain.The firm said all those going to the Balearic and Canary Islands could still travel as planned from Monday.The airline industry has reacted with dismay to the decision to impose the quarantine, calling it a big blow.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain. Quarantine measures apply to those returning from mainland Spain, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, such as Majorca and Ibiza. British Airways is still operating flights, but said the move was "throwing thousands of Britons' travel ...

Oct162019 by adminNo Comments

Government scraps online ‘porn block’ plans after law hits kinks

Technology

The government has dropped plans to block pornography websites in the UK unless they could effectively check the ages of visitors.Sky News first revealed that the age verification scheme was being indefinitely delayed back in June. Following our report, the government claimed the delay would only last six months, but today digital secretary Nicky Morgan confirmed that the plans "will not be commencing". Image: Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan confirmed the law was being dropped The controversial scheme had prompted campaigners to raise concerns that it would enable widespread tracking of porn watchers' identities and browsing habits, creating the potential for blackmail and online surveillance.In a written statement to parliament, Ms Mo...

Feb142019 by adminNo Comments

Airbus scraps A380 superjumbo jet as sales slump

Business

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has said it will stop making its A380 "superjumbo", the world's largest passenger aircraft.In a statement, the company said it would make its last deliveries of the aircraft in 2021.The decision comes after Emirates, the largest customer of the A380, reduced its order.The costly aircraft has struggled to compete with more efficient, smaller models.What did Airbus say about the decision?In a statement on Thursday, Airbus said Emirates would reduce its A380 order book from 162 to 123 aircraft. "As a result of this decision we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years. This leads to the end of A380 deliveries in 2021," sai...

Mar112018 by adminNo Comments

China scraps term limit on presidential rule

World

China has abolished the limit on how long its leader can serve, meaning President Xi could now rule the country indefinitely.The almost 3,000 hand-picked delegates at the National People's Congress overwhelmingly endorsed the constitutional change, with 2,958 voting in favour.There were two votes against, three abstentions and one ballot was invalidated.The amendment overhauls a system introduced by former leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982, which was introduced with the aim of preventing a repeat of the bloody reign of Mao Zedong.Until now, presidents had been limited to two consecutive terms.Image:The result of the vote is seen on a giant screenAs voting got under way, President Xi led members of the seven-member all-powerful Politurbo Standing Committee in casting their ballots.He put his ora...