According to Deputy Commissioner Tim Godwin, the Metropolitan Police is under budgetary pressure and is attempting to cut £48m from next year’s budget. He warned there could be reductions in police numbers, stations and ‘safer neighbourhood’ teams. Godwin commented: "In common with all parts of the public sector our budget is facing considerable pressure and is yet to be finalised."

The Scottish government’s plan to impose a minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol sold in shops will be bolstered by new statistics which show that in some areas of Glasgow, drink-related deaths are approaching six-times the national average. In 64 of 73 Scottish parliamentary constituencies, the percentage of Scots dying from alcohol abuse was above the national average.

Some suspect that in the wake of the scandal over deaths at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trusts, health secretary Andy Burnham is said to be contemplating reimposing centralised control over autonomous NHS foundation trusts. This would be at the expense of ‘Monitor’ the “independent” public regulator of NHS foundation trusts. Monitor argues that “if this were the true objective, it would suggest a substantial and unwarranted lack of faith in independent regulation.” But, in any event, just how independent is Monitor — or indeed any of the other countless public regulatory organisations?

And EU leaders are set to put additional pressure on President Obama to make tougher commitments on bank reform and measures to tackle global warming. The level of commitment to such reforms varies from government to government across the EU, but EU legislation on both these issues could be of great consequence to the UK. But no matter how significant, such EU legislative action will of course receive next to no coverage in the British media.