Workers 'unaware' of pension change

More than half of workers are not aware of a plan to automatically enrol employees into a pension scheme, just weeks before the reform comes into effect, according to new research.

A survey of 5,200 adults by finance firm Scottish Widows found that 52% were "completely unaware" that workers will automatically join a company scheme from October 1.

The findings were "alarming", with lower paid staff less likely to know about auto-enrolment, said the report.

Lynn Graves of Scottish Widows said: "With just three weeks to go until auto-enrolment comes into force, it is shocking that there remains such a gap in awareness, and that the media has had to step in to play a pivotal role in educating people about these changes."

Almost two thirds of those questioned said they only heard about the pension change through the media.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman: "We will boost awareness of automatic enrolment with our national campaign which includes television advertising from later this month.

"While the launch is in October, we are bringing the reforms in gradually over the next five years, so it's understandable that some people will not be aware of the changes. The Pensions Regulator is working with employers to make sure they have the information they need to explain the benefits of workplace pensions to their staff."

Taliban: 'Prince Harry Is High Value Target'

The Taliban have described Prince Harry as "a high value target", saying they will "make their best efforts to arrest or kill" him.

The 27-year-old Army captain arrived in Afghanistan for his second tour of duty on Friday.

Now a fully-qualified Apache helicopter pilot, Captain Wales, as he is known in the Army, will be flying in support of coalition forces on the ground.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Sunday: "Whoever is fighting in our country alongside the US is our enemy and we will attack him.

"Prince Harry came to Afghanistan and he is a high value target for us. We will try to arrest him.

"Because he is an Apache helicopter pilot, he will target us more. If we are not able to arrest him we will target him.

"The Taliban will make their best efforts to arrest or kill Prince Harry," he added.

It is four-and-a-half years since the Prince's first tour of duty, which had to be cut short when foreign media blew his cover.

He was due to complete training courses this week in first aid, shooting and improvised explosive device (IED) awareness, before starting his Apache-specific preparation.

During this phase of training, which starts on Monday, he will climb into the cockpit and begin to familiarise himself with the way the deadly aircraft is configured for the country.

He will not be sent out to take on the Taliban for at least another seven days.

Gruffalo Author Appeals Against Library Cuts

Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson has urged the new Culture Secretary to "show some leadership" and prevent cuts to libraries.

The writer, who was named Children's Laureate last year, told Maria Miller that cutting library budgets was "a false economy".

Ms Donaldson will embark on a tour on Monday taking in 35 libraries across England, Wales and Scotland over six weeks to publicise her campaign.

In an open later to Ms Miller, who replaced Jeremy Hunt in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, Ms Donaldson said: "I'm also hoping that the tour will draw attention to the erosion of the library service which is happening in so many local authorities, and to the current Government's utter refusal to intervene or to provide any leadership."

Ms Donaldson, the best-selling author of more than 150 books including What the Ladybird Heard and Zog, said nearly 250 libraries were currently either under threat of closure or else have been closed or left council control since April.

She also said staff numbers had been cut along with the number of books available.

She added: "Children's use of those libraries which are still open has actually been rising over the last seven years, so please don't deprive them of the storytelling sessions, the homework clubs, the expert librarians and, above all, of the free books.

"Will you consider ring-fencing council spending on children's library services? Will you discuss with your colleagues the possibility of using some of the education budget for this purpose?

"Above all, will you (unlike your predecessor) respond to concerns and complaints, and show some leadership for our young readers?"

HMS Ark Royal to be sold for scrap

Former Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal will be sold on as scrap metal for £3 million as part of a move that the Ministry of Defence has described as "difficult but necessary".

An announcement in Parliament is expected to reveal the details of the deal after the vessel was decommissioned in 2010 five years ahead of its expected sell-by date.

The decision comes following a bidding process which included proposals to turn the 22,000-ton ship into a helipad in the Thames, a museum, a hotel, a casino or a diving wreck off the South coast.

Last year HMS Invincible was also sold to a Turkish scrap metal firm as part of the MoD's drive to get its finances in order.

But HMS Illustrious, commissioned in June 1982 just days after the Falklands War, is expected to be preserved after completing active service in 2014, according to The Sun on Sunday.

A MoD spokesman said: "HMS Ark Royal was decommissioned in 2010 after three decades of service and an announcement on her future will be made to Parliament on Monday.

"Retiring her five years earlier than planned was a difficult but necessary decision to help address the multi-billion pound Defence deficit and deliver a balanced MoD budget. The new, much larger Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers will start to enter service in 2017."

Ark Royal is seen as a symbol of the former might and current woes of the Royal Navy, being the fifth vessel to carry the name of the flagship which saw off the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Known as the Mighty Ark, the light aircraft carrier saw action in the Adriatic during the Bosnian War in 1993 before being sent to lead the British fleet during the invasion of Iraq a decade later.

Following the Defence and Security Review's decision to scupper the vessel and ground the Navy's Harrier jump jet fleet 18 months ago, the Royal Ark has been awaiting its fate in Portsmouth harbour.

Balls Tells Cable: Let's Fix Economy Together

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has appealed to Business Secretary Vince Cable to work with Labour on a Plan B for the economy.

In an open letter, published in the Sunday Mirror, Mr Balls suggests the two should work together to bring Britain out of recession.

He says he wants to join forces with "sensible people in the Government" - singling out the senior Liberal Democrat and giving renewed backing to the "mansion tax" championed by Mr Cable.

It comes a day after opposition leader Ed Miliband said he was in regular text message contact with the Business Secretary and was "open for business" for joint working in the future.

On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg dismissed claims that his party colleague, tipped by some to lead the party into the 2015 election, was being courted by Labour as "ridiculous" and "schoolboy politics".

Mr Balls, in his letter, writes: "No matter how bad things get, David Cameron, George Osborne and Nick Clegg are desperate to cling on to their failing economic plan - putting their political pride above the long-term interests of the country.

"But the country cannot afford to wait until the next election before we get a change of course. Because the longer ministers refuse to act, the more long-term damage will be done to our economy.

"That's why I want to work with other parties - including sensible people in the Government - on a new economic plan. In his heart of hearts ... Vince Cable must know that Plan A is not working.

"After all, before the last election, he warned - with Labour - that David Cameron and George Osborne's policies would backfire.

"And, sadly, our warnings came true. So let's work together on new ideas to create jobs and build our way out of recession."

Meanwhile, two new Conservative ministers who moved into Mr Cable's department in Mr Cameron's reshuffle have called for an end to the "politics of envy" that sought to tax wealth.

In what will be seen as a shot across the bows of Mr Cable, Michael Fallon told The Sunday Telegraph it was vital to "salute" wealth creation "and stop thinking of new ways to tax it".

Mr Fallon said he would champion the scrapping of up to 3,000 regulations, the complete sell-off of the Royal Mail and moves to make it easier to sack underperforming staff.

The installation of Mr Fallon and close George Osborne ally Matthew Hancock under Mr Cable was regarded as a bid to restrain Mr Cable, regarded by some Tories as being anti-business.

Mr Fallon denied that was the case, telling the paper: "I'm not there to keep an eye on Vince Cable, I'm there to keep both eyes on growth."

Parents urged to police internet

Parents should be the first to take responsibility for stopping their children looking at internet pornography, the new Culture Secretary has said.

Maria Miller said calls demanding internet companies block access to hardcore online porn as a default setting would be considered by the Government.

But she emphasised that "first and foremost" parents must ensure their children and using the internet safely.

"I think responsibility is very strongly with parents to make sure that they really understand how their children are using the internet...to make sure they are safe," the MP said.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mrs Miller said there could be a role for the government in giving advice to parents on devices such as parental blocks on their home computers and similar software, adding: "I think probably the awareness of those sorts of pieces of software you can buy or indeed what you can do is not as high as it needs to be."

A petition signed by more than 110,000 people calling for internet service providers be made to compulsorily block access to pornography on computers, mobile phones and tablets was handed to 10 Downing Street last week.

In June the Government launched a 10-week consultation asking parents and businesses for their views on the best way to shield children from internet pornography. The study is also looking at measures to protect children from other potentially harmful sites such as those which promote suicide, anorexia, gambling, self-harm and violence.

Parents are being asked for their views on three possible systems, including one where users have to "opt in" to see adult sites, and one in which customers are presented with an unavoidable choice about whether they want filters and blocks installed.

The third option would combine the two systems, enabling customers to block some content automatically and be given a choice to unblock them as they wish.

It comes after David Cameron said earlier this year that the Government needed to look at whether internet services or devices might come with a filter on as their default setting or have a combination of a filter and an "active choice" by the customer.

Osborne upbeat despite growth fears

George Osborne has insisted there are "positive signs" in the UK economy despite a think-tank drastically downgrading its growth forecast for Britain.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted a 0.7% fall this year, having previously expected a rise of 0.5%, and said the country will fail to pull out of its double-dip recession in the current quarter.

Despite the gloomy forecast, the Chancellor maintained that the economy was healing and insisted the Government will not change course on its economic programme in the face of Labour demands for action to stimulate growth.

His comments came after the European Central Bank (ECB) unveiled details of a new bond-buying plan aimed at easing the eurozone's debt crisis.

Mr Osborne told a CBI Scotland dinner in Glasgow: "The economic outlook remains uncertain but there are some positive signs. Our economy is healing - jobs are being created, manufacturing and exports have grown as a share of our economy, our trade with the emerging world is soaring, inflation is down, much of the necessary deleveraging in our banking system has been achieved, and the world is once again investing in Britain."

The senior Tory said that nobody was offering "a credible or convincing alternative economic strategy". He added: "We in Britain have to confront our problems head on, be honest about the scale of the challenge, and be consistent in our determination to succeed."

Mr Osborne's address followed news that the ECB is to buy up government bonds of eurozone countries to help bring down their borrowing rates. Yields on Spanish and Italian 10-year bonds dropped after the announcement, in a sign that it had restored confidence in some investors, while European stock markets surged.

The OECD, which had warned in its forecast that the eurozone crisis remained "the most important risk for the global economy", welcomed the announcement. It had earlier called for more policy action to instil confidence in the single currency.

The Paris-based organisation's latest forecast for the UK is significantly worse than the 0.5% expansion it predicted last year, when it slashed its forecast from growth of 1.8%. The UK is predicted to be the worst performing G7 nation apart from Italy in the year.

However, it warned that its forecast does not take into account the effects of the Olympics, which many expect to provide a boost to the economy through an increase in tourism and spending on the high street following TeamGB's success. The OECD predicted the UK economy will not return to growth until the final quarter of the year, when it will expand marginally.