Ausführungen von Präsident Donald Tusk auf den Tagungen des Europäischen Rates im EU27- und EU28-Format vom 22. Juni 2017

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Chinese lawmakers call for revision on product quality law

Chinese lawmakers on Friday called for the prompt revision to the Product Quality Law at the ongoing bi-monthly session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

The current law was first adopted in 1993 and amended in 2000.

The law lags behind development and does not address the emerging problems in online shopping, said Huang Huahua, a member of the committee, while reviewing a report on the law’s implementation at a panel discussion.

The report said that a series of problems such as low-quality products and outdated standards had remained, especially in rural areas and online purchases.

New business models such as the sharing economy, e-commerce and internet economy are challenging the existing supervision model, which require new tools, said Wang Minwen, also a member of the committee.

Wang suggested that a punitive compensation rule and product tracing mechanism be introduced in the new amendment.

Huang Qifan, vice chairman of the NPC’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, said the revision should be carried out as soon as possible or it could constitute a barrier to the country’s development.

Huang also called for the integration of the country’s product quality requirements with international standards.

Press release: Oxford flood alleviation scheme online consultation opens up

The Environment Agency is calling on communities to have their say on benefits and features that will make up the £120 million project to reduce flood risk to all homes and businesses in Oxford.

The consultation will be open from 22 June to 20 July 2017, and will allow the public to input into design features; ranging from the 7 bridges along the route of the scheme, to options for benches and cycle racks on footpaths. The scheme is a major project which will involve lowering parts of Oxford’s floodplain to increase capacity for floodwater, as well as widening and deepening some of the rivers and streams that run through it.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the consultation, Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

The Oxford flood alleviation scheme will be a major feat of engineering and is one of the biggest projects we are working on across the country. I am very proud of our partnership approach, which is so important to building the scheme and keeping this iconic city moving during times of flood, for businesses, commuters and communities of Oxford.

Cllr Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, added:

This is a really important issue for people in Oxford and beyond. The plans for the flood alleviation scheme are now very advanced and we want to hear what our residents think.

As the lead local flood authority, Oxfordshire County Council strongly supports the Oxford flood alleviation scheme and we encourage local communities, residents and businesses to take this opportunity to get involved in the consultation.

The project team spoke to over 200 members of the public at drop-in events throughout Oxford in May, where they shared information about the progress of the scheme and the many benefits it will bring. You can go online from 22 June to 20 July to view this information, see how they’ve been progressing with the scheme and to complete the consultation.

The project team will be available to help members of the public who don’t have access to the internet to complete the online consultation at the following libraries:

Kennington Library, OX1 5PG: 2pm to 7pm on Friday 30 June
Oxford Central Library, OX1 1AY: 12pm to 6pm on Thursday 6 July
Botley Library, OX2 9LP: 9:30am to 2pm on Tuesday 11 July

The Environment Agency is working with local partners: Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, Thames Water, the Oxford Flood Alliance, Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, and the University of Oxford, on the scheme to reduce flood risk to all homes and businesses in Oxford, as well as to major transport routes into the city.

Further information and contact details

For further information please visit:

Oxford FAS web page

Facebook

Twitter

or contact the project team at oxfordscheme@environment-agency.gov.uk.

The economy one year on from the referendum

The Remain campaign told us it would be bad short term news for the economy if we voted to leave.

They told us interest rates would go up. One year on the base rate is down from 0.5% to 0.25% ,and the government 10 year borrowing rate is down from 1.4% to 1.02%.

They told us the economy would dive and there would be a winter recession. Instead the economy has grown by 2% over the last year, more than the Eurozone.

They told us the stock market would fall. Instead the FTSE 100 Index of leading shares is up by a massive 25%

After the vote with the FTSE 100 rising, they said they meant the FTSE 250, the Index of domestic companies, would fall. That is up by 20%

They said housebuilding would be hit and there would be a housing collapse. Starts of new homes are up 15%.

They said the car industry would be damaged. It has instead achieved record output and record exports for this century.

I said none of the above would happen, and forecast continuing growth. I was told I must be wrong because the IMF, the World Bank, the President of the USA, the UK Treasury and the leading US Investment banks all knew voting leave would do short term economic damage.

They got one thing right. The pound did go down more – it was falling well before the vote. I always ducked that question, as I thought it might go down.

Needs-based, long-term funding certainty for Australia’s schools

The Turnbull Government’s plan for real needs-based funding for Australia’s schools passed the Parliament this morning, ensuring students will get the support and quality education they need to succeed.

This historic reform will deliver tangible benefits to students, parents and teachers. It represents a major investment in Australia’s future.

Our Quality Schools reforms deliver an additional $23.5 billion, on top of the 2016 Budget, for Australian schools over the next decade and we will ensure that investment is distributed according to need, as envisaged by David Gonski’s Review of School Funding in 2011.

Our reforms ensure students with the same need within the same sector attract the same support from the Commonwealth Government, regardless of where they live.

Following the passage of the Australian Education Amendment Bill 2017, all schools currently below the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) will be brought to their fair Commonwealth funding level by 2023 and schools that are notionally above the SRS will be brought to their Commonwealth share of funding by 2027 to ensure a manageable transition for those communities.

The Turnbull Government’s plan ensures students who need the most support, get the most support as quickly as possible.

The transition arrangements to get to the SRS do not change the final structural position of the Government’s funding or budget in 2027.

Alongside the Commonwealth’s increased investment, states and territories will be expected to provide 95 per cent of the SRS by 2023. Further, we will appoint a National School Resource Board as was recommended by the 2011 ‘Gonski Review’.

Under the Government’s reforms, by 2023 the Commonwealth’s funding for government schools will rise from the current average of 17 per cent of the SRS to 20 per cent, and the Commonwealth’s funding for non-government schools will grow from an average of 77 per cent to 80 per cent.

While maintaining the historic role of the federal government as the majority funder of non-government schools, this will see the Commonwealth continue to increase its share of funding for government schools, which in 2013-14 stood at 13.4 per cent and under the previous Government in 2009-10 it was just 10.8 per cent.

For the first time, the support for students with a disability will be informed by the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data, which was first committed to under the Gillard Labor Government, ensuring need drives funding allocation rather than the different definitions of disability that exist between jurisdictions.

While a strong level of funding for schools is vital, what’s more important is how that funding is used.

Before the end of 2017, David Gonski AC will chair a panel of education experts to deliver the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools. The Review will provide advice on how this extra Commonwealth funding should be used by Australian schools to improve student achievement and school performance.

Bill Shorten and the Labor Party should be ashamed of and embarrassed by their actions. Voting against increased and truly needs-based investment in Australia’s schools shows that the Labor Party values political expediency over the needs of the nation’s children and grandchildren.

The Turnbull Government thanks the respective minor party and independent Senators and Members for their constructive and considered contributions to the future of Commonwealth support for Australia’s schools.

Along with support from Gonski Review panelists Ken Boston, Kathryn Greiner AO and David Gonski himself, the Government’s plan has been backed by independent think tanks including The Grattan Institute and The Mitchell Institute as well as schools, families and educators such as former head of the Australian Education Union Dianne Foggo AM.

These reforms are focused on the needs of each and every Australian student to ensure they get the support they deserve to set them up for their future.