Iain Duncan Smith wants to reassess the medical condition of 2.65 million claimants of incapacity benefits. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian A coalition of charities claims that a controversial health test being pushed by ministers to decide who will get long-term sickness benefits is not working. There is mounting evidence, say the charities, that [...]

The first letters from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are expected to arrive on doormats tomorrow. Photograph: Faiz Balabil/Alamy More than 10 million people may be in line for a tax rebate due to errors in the HM Revenue and Customs tax code system. The Treasury has already announced that 4.3 million people are set [...]

Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy. Photograph: Antonio Olmos A coalition of green, countryside and housing groups has warned energy secretary Chris Huhne not to cut subsidies for green electricity and heating as part of the government’s spending review. The 22 groups, including green energy trade body RenewableUK, the National Farmers Union and the [...]

The Markit/CIPS survey showed sharp drop in new orders across UK industry, last month. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian Share prices rose strongly in the City and on Wall Street after a stronger than expected showing by America’s factories last month helped ease concerns of a double-dip recessionin the world’s largest economy. Amid signs [...]

Tony Blair’s New Labour pushed the NHS ever deeper into the market at ever greater speed, says Julian Tudor Hart. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AFP/Getty Images From its birth to the late 1990s, the NHS grew in both body and mind, but was always starved of resources. What else could we expect from governments that believed (as [...]