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19.06.2020 14:16:11 89147856143
Cancer drug subsidy cut comes under fire from EU justice secretaryThe European commission is under fire after slashing an unprecedented amount of money from drug benefit cash payments.The move was designed to save €2bn (ВЈ1.2bn) a year, or ВЈ1.3bn a year, but critics argue the move will not prevent some people becoming terminally ill from cancer treatment.EU justice secretary Viviane Reding made the comments during a visit to Belgium on Friday.She said that the UK`s drug benefits system, which pays up to a quarter of cancer treatments in the EU, had "broken" and was failing to keep pace with growing costs and demand.She said: "Drug benefit policies are not fit for purpose for this age of medicine. They are failing to ensure that treatment for life-threatening illnesses is available. In some cases there have been times when, despite the huge cost of treatment, individuals were unable to access treatment."The UK has always received an average of €300 in cash benefits from the EU every month for treatment. In February, the state paid ВЈ4.8bn out of general taxation – almost one for every 1,000 people in the UK.In recent months, however, concerns have been growing among senior figures in the government about spending for "cures" on rare illnesses. The government said on 29 March it was phasing out a lifetime cap on lifetime funding for people under 25 due to rising costs. However, ministers are under pressure to find new sources of cash to cover the cost of the benefit cut.Reding said: "If it was just €2bn we could get on with things, and at the very least we could cut out the unnecessary payments."But this isn`t just for people on the health care side. This is also for people who are suffering from cancer. We cannot leave them waiting."The European commission announced on Thursday that it will scrap its last remaining support for cancer patients under the age of 65, which will see €1.8bn spent per year. The UK will cut its support to cancer patients over the age of 65 by just over €300 a year. However, the UK will still be receiving €250-ВЈ350 a year from the EU until 2057.According to the independent group Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), only one third of the cancer drug benefit payments in the UK go to people over 55 and only one fifth of people on medication treatment have at least partial remission. A report published in April found that just 4.4 of people receiving treatment for cancer had fully recovered and that 18 had lost their whole treatment when the next round of treatment starts.Reding also warned that 온라인카지노온라인카지노 Perth barrack square traders push for elizabeth quay rent reliefUpdatedKey points: New tenants of Victoria`s new Melbourne Barracks say it is getting difficult to find a place to liveThe building itself is at a risk of collapse under constructionVictoria`s Building and Construction Commission has ruled against plans to rent the building on lease-free termsLandlords have raised concerns about its precarious safety record, and are urging Victoria`s Building and Construction Commission to rule on concerns raised by tenants.The Victoria Building and Construction Commission (VBCC) has ruled against plans for Victoria`s new Melbourne Barracks to rent out the two-bedroom property on lease-free terms to tenants on fixed-term leases.The ruling follows a petition on Change.org, with more than 100,000 signatures, which was launched to lobby the council`s own deputy secretary, Helen Kettle.Ms Kettle, who joined the building commission in 2013, said she would look at proposals from existing tenants of the building."Victoria is one of the safest states for building-based housing in Australia, particularly if you have experienced significant noise noise issues and other noise related issues," she said."It`s been an issue in the public interest for quite some time but, as with any council matter, we have a range of alternatives available."Landlords with concernsPeter Cairns, owner of The Warehouse, says there are numerous concerns over Victoria`s existing Melbourne Barracks, including its safety record, and has called on the BCCI to rule on them."I think people need to realise there is a safety deficit on the Barracks and that`s why they have this interest in a rent-free model for it," he said."All our tenants would like us to have a unit on the Barracks. We do have a small parcel of land and it`s only been in our possession since 2009."All this would involve building it up or putting people in a different area that we`re not used to with a noise and air pollution problem."And the thing is, as I`ve said at various public forums, there`s no way to be happy with anything that`s been achieved in this country."The building has been at risk of collapse due to years of construction and the site is being redeveloped for apartments and housing.Landlords will also use the BVC`s authority to raise concerns about Victoria`s development plan, which is due to be published by December."It seems that we`ve been put in a situation where our own interests have been forgotten," Mr Cairns said.Topics: community-and-society, state-parliament, building-and-construction
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