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23 February 2012

Are 2.5 million 'ghost' patients costing the NHS £162 million?

The Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph both reported this morning that 'ghost' patients — patients still registered to a GP despite being either dead or no longer resident in …

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22 February 2012

Was David Cameron right on the success of Work Experience schemes at PMQs?

During today's session of Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron responded to a question about the Government's Work Experience programme by suggesting that half of its participants were getting work at …

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21 February 2012

Does the majority of the public oppose same-sex marriage?

As a former Archbishop of Canterbury threw his weight behind a campaign to prevent the legalisation of gay marriage, we look at which side of the argument public opinion falls …

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21 February 2012

Does frequent youth unemployment negatively affect your wages later in life?

Today the Department for Education claimed that, by the age of 42, a young person who experiences frequent unemployment can expect to earn 12-15 per cent less than average. Is …

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20 February 2012

Have 20,000 young people moved off benefits after Government-backed work experience placements?

Chris Grayling wrote in the Telegraph yesterday responding to criticism of the Government's work experience programme. He claimed that nearly 20,000 young people had been taken off benefits after placements …

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20 February 2012

Would a "marriage tax break" benefit the poor more than raising the income tax threshold?

The Centre for Social Justice has released a report into the transferable tax allowance (or "marriage tax break") proposed by the Conservatives at the last election. But would it be …

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20 February 2012

BBC responds to Daily Mail's attack on staff payouts

Last Friday the Tabloid Watch blog monitored a dispute between the Daily Mail and the BBC. The Mail had published an article on Wednesday criticising the BBC, writing that: "Half …

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16 February 2012

Has lending to businesses fallen every quarter for the last three years?

The Daily Mail reported today that lending to businesses has fallen every quarter for the last three years, arguing that, despite the promises of Project Merlin, banks have failed to …

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16 February 2012

Does Tesco account for £1 of every £7 spent in the UK retail sector?

Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith was quoted in the Times this morning talking on the subject of banks that are 'too big to fail'. One of his most interesting comments was …

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16 February 2012

Former Met Commissioner speaks to Full Fact on whether press investigations are "disproportionate"

Trevor Kavanagh of The Sun has been arguing that the police investigations of press misbehaviour are "wildly disproportionate." In our factcheck we showed that he was wrong to call the …

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15 February 2012

Is alcohol abuse costing the NHS £2.7 billion a year?

The Prime Minister will outline new measures to combat alcohol abuse in England. He wants to reduce the £2.7 billion the NHS spends annually tackling the problem. But is this …

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15 February 2012

Are four out of five hate crimes prosecuted racially motivated?

The Press Association and the Metro reported this morning that prosecutions of racially aggravated crimes accounted for more than 80 per cent of prosecuted hate crimes in the last year. …

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