M11 Crash

Four lorries, a coach and four cars have collided on the M11 in Essex, closing a stretch of the motorway, but there doesn't appear to be any serious injuries. The crash happened on the northbound carriageway, between junctions eight and nine, near Stansted Airport where firefighters freed two people from the coach and one from a car. The East of England Ambulance Service said five people were injured, four of whom were taken to hospital. The northbound carriageway is closed and only the hard shoulder is open on the southbound carriageway.

Fight Against Economic Crime Strengthened

This week, responsibility for tackling fraud transfers to the Home Office. The National Fraud Authority (NFA) is the government's lead on combating fraud across the public and private sector. Fraud costs the UK around £38bn a year and can have serious consequences for individuals, businesses and public services. It is hoped that the move from the Attorney General's Office to the Home Office will strengthen the UK's ability to crackdown on fraudsters by building closer links with the wider fight against organised and cyber crime. Theresa May welcomed the NFA to her department, she said: “Fraud can have devastating consequences and is often used to fund serious crimes, such as terrorism, drugs and human trafficking at a cost to the UK of around £38 billion a year. The government is determined to give greater focus to tackling both serious and economic crime. I welcome the move of the NFA to the Home Office which will forge even closer links with our key partners in the police, Serious Organised Crime Agency and other law enforcement agencies.”

Disability Living Allowance To Be Replaced With New Benefit

Disabled people will continue to be able to rely on a non-means tested cash benefit as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is replaced with a new Personal Independence Payment. The new benefit will continue to help disabled people live independent lives and will for the first time include regular reassessments to ensure that people are getting the right level of support when they need it most. This follows one of the biggest ever consultations at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with more than 5500 responses from disabled people and disability organisations. Responding to the consultation today, Maria Miller, Minister for Disabled People said: "Disabled people are at the heart of our welfare reform plans and severely disabled people who need extra help and support will always get it. That’s why we have spent the last few months working closely with disabled people and disability organisations to make sure we are making the right changes to DLA. We’ve listened to what they have told us and we will be working with them to make sure that the new Personal Independence Payment does what it should. We have also said that we won’t remove the mobility component from care home residents in 2012 and instead we are reviewing the mobility component as part of our wider reforms of DLA."

(BMcN/GK)