The first trials, in 1989, saw just 49 defendants tagged by the courts. However, the white paper is expected to reduce judicial discretion by imposing minimum prison terms on repeat burglars and drug dealers.But for all the talk of tougher sentences, ministers are becoming acutely aware of the growing crisis in the prisons.The news that the Home Office is planning electronic tagging for minor offenders infuriated probation officers, who will be responsible for criminals punished outside prison.All previous attempts to make tagging work in Britain have failed. It is very hard for customers to trust companies which are charging them too much in the first place.”The calculation that the electricity companies would gain pounds 12m came from David Walton, an economist with the merchant bankers Goldman Sachs.”Administratively I’ve no doubt that it is easier to stick it on the bill but clearly the companies do stand to gain some money by doing this,” Mr Walton said. Now they are saying this method of discounting bills is best; but the truth is, we just don’t know. We want an inquiry into the way these rebates are being handled.”He said it was another example of “the consistent overcharging and profiteering that these companies have indulged in since privatisation”.Barbara Harvey, of the Consumers Association, said: “I find it quite extraordinary that the Government should seek to ring-fence the money from the National Grid flotation in this way.”We feel strongly that consumers should be given as many options as possible, and if their choice is for a cash payment that should be accepted.”For years these companies have been making very high profits. By discounting future bills, rather than paying out cash, the 12 privatised companies in England and Wales will keep the money in their own accounts and so earn an estimated pounds 12m in extra interest in the next three months.
Last night the discount policy was criticised by both the Consumers Association and Labour, which called for a full inquiry into the methods being used to pass the money on to the 22 million households, entitled to the one-off payment of pounds 54.60 each.Nigel Griffiths, Labour spokesman for consumer affairs, said: “We are talking about the public’s money and the public should be entitled to the interest that money generates. Even the lottery suffered, as punters stayed indoors rather than buy tickets.The weather was worst in the North-east and the Borders region.

Most roads to Scotland were blocked, and only one lane of the M74 was in use.The east coast bore the brunt of blizzards that swept in from the North Sea. The Yorkshire town of Whitby was cut off, cars were abandoned in Hull, and Clacton-on-Sea in Essex recorded more than a foot of snow.The warmest places yesterday were just minus 2C (28F), and the London Weather Centre forecast further low temperatures, cold winds and snow flurries. “There is no sign of any really warm weather coming in the foreseeable future,” a spokesman added.The A69 at Longhorsley in Northumberland was closed for several hours after a freak accident. As Christian Glenwright perched on a roof fixing loose slates, the wind carried him and half the roof 20ft before dumping them on the road. Mr Glenwright received serious back injuries and was airlifted 20 miles to Wansbeck hospital, where his condition was later described as “comfortable”.Weather forecast, page 2. THE 12 regional electricity companies stand to gain millions of pounds by withholding cash payments from customers who are entitled to a pounds 1bn windfall from the National Grid flotation. Rugby matches, and race meetings at Ayr, Cheltenham and Doncaster were also called off.

“It is going to get even worse before it gets any better” was the bleak message for most of Britain last night, as motorists endured blocked roads, the elderly were urged to stay indoors and dozens of sporting fixtures were abandoned.Ministers are expected to announce tomorrow that special cold-weather payments will be made to pensioners in Scotland, northern and eastern England.Among the sports events affected yesterday were 55 football matches that were abandoned in England and Scotland, just two short of the record number cancelled on 9 February, 1963. With 26 million customers dependent on the grid, a 10 per cent cut could mean two million homes in darkness.
One of the main reasons is the demand for power from five power stations who had their own power supplies cut by British Gas.The threat of power cuts coincided with a threat from forecasters of continued bad weather and freezing temperatures. A warning sent yesterday to the 12 regional electricity companies in England and Wales says that cuts of 5 to 10 per cent in demand could be necessary on Monday afternoon and evening. The companies have protested that patients have the right not to use their insurance, particularly when they are receiving emergency treatment.. BRITAIN is facing its first national power cuts for more than 20 years tomorrow because the National Grid cannot cope with the record demand for power caused by severe weather, write Graham Ball and Nick Cohen. I would say it is well under 10 per cent of the volume of work, and included in that is fundholding work for GPs.”In another development, casualty departments at some hard-up NHS hospitals have been billing private health companies for treating accident victims.Patients are being asked whether or not they pay for private insurance; if they do, the insurance company may get a bill. “It is almost inevitable that the operations in a private hospital would be by an NHS consultant,” Ms Hyde said.Bupa, although not involved in the Wiltshire negotiations, also has contracts with NHS purchasers.

Dr Natalie Macdonald, head of clinical services for Bupa, said: “We have a network of 29 hospitals and some see more of this work than others. They would receive such fees from the NHS if they treated NHS patients privately. It is very frustrating.”Alison Hyde, a spokesman for the health commission, said: “A taskforce has been set up to make sure patients do not wait longer than 12 months. Our concern is that many of the patients have been on the waiting list for nine months and if we don’t find treatment they will be over the target by the end of March.”Most NHS consultants also have private work, for which they are paid fees in addition to their NHS salaries.

The target is to make sure that no one is waiting more than 12 months by the end of the year.”In many cases, the treatment will be carried out by the same consultant as the NHS hospital would have used – but at far greater expense. “Had the money been available earlier we could have made plans to keep the work in Swindon and we were hoping to do that. It is disappointing that patients will now go to another hospital and be treated by the same surgeon. The commission says it is negotiating with both private and NHS providers about treating up to 70 patients on waiting lists at the St Margaret Hospital, Swindon.A hospital spokesman, Ian Keeber, said: “Private hospitals in Swindon and Bath are being looked at.