Ripped From The Headlines!

With it being a low-key week, thought we would post some information on some of the top stories here in the UK:

- Truro and the county of Cornwall has been getting snow and cold weather throughout the past weekend and this week, which is actually a very odd occurrence for where we are living particularly.  You would not believe what a frenzy snow causes here!  This is taken from BBC News this Monday “The Met Office has issued a flash warning of severe weather with 5cm (2in) of snow expected in places”.  Yes, you read that correct, severe weather because of 2 inches of snow!  Monday morning John went to work and found that the majority of the hospital staff weren’t able to make it in due to the “severe weather.”  There were over a 100 school/college/daycare cancellations and people were advised to stay home if possible.  Train lines closed and even buses stopped running.  Poor John waited outside at the bus stop for over a half hour Monday morning waiting for a bus, any bus, to drive by and get him to work.  If they only knew what severe winter weather really looked like?!?! 

- There has been an uproar from university students in England due to a recent threat of the government raising tuition costs.  Currently students getting a college education will not pay more than 3,290 pound a year for tuition.  The government will be voting in December to allow universities to charge up to 9,000 pound a year, which would be effective in 2012.  There have been demonstrations all over England by students opposing this sharp raise in tuition and these demonstrations are a top story.  This would affect universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  Attending university in Scotland is free to the Scots and all students in the EU.

Some other changes the English are looking to make is raising the fixed student loan interest rate of 1.5% to 3%.  Keep in mind that they would only raise your interest rate if you are making over 41,000 pound a year.  And they also have a system in place where graduates do not have to make repayments if they make under 21,000 pound a year.  If they make over this, they are only charged 9% of their total earnings. 

As a recent graduate paying back my massive student loans, following this story has been fascinating, especially when comparing what is going on here compared to in the States.  What I would give to have my student loans be under either the old or the possible new policies here in England!!!!!  When talking to some locals about all of this, they commented that they can’t believe what is going on with the possibility of tuition being raised.  One person had said her generation was given a free education and now that they are in power, they turn around and take that away from the younger generation.  We have heard people call this a disservice to university students and that it’s completely unfair for students who want to get a proper education to finish school and begin with such a large amount of debt.

- Not in the headlines, but something John found out recently.   People aged 60 and over receive extra government funding (up to 400 pound) a month to help pay for their heating bills.  The same goes for cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy.  The government has determined that in both cases the 60+ and cancer patients both struggle to keep their internal body temperatures as high as those of us who are younger and healthier.  As a result, it is understood that if you are over 60 or undergoing certain cancer treatments, you are eligible for this benefit.  What a country :)