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Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire Police will share two helicopters instead of each flying their own in order to cut costs. Sussex Police Authority said it has just voted in favour of the scheme at a meeting. Surrey and Hampshire Police Authorities approved it a month ago. The forces could save up to £8m in five years by flying two aircraft, partly based at Shoreham airport in West Sussex.

Seeda, the South East England Development Agency will be scrapped, the government has announced.

In the wake of his police force taking on no more officers until the end of 2011, Nigel Rabbitts, chairman of Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the effects would be felt soon. He said: "Ninety new officers are taken on a year to cover 90 who leave. There are currently 77 officers who could retire tomorrow.

Prime Minister David Cameron admitted there were "difficult decisions ahead" on massive defence funding cuts as he attended a passing-out ceremony for Army officer cadets at the Sandhurst Royal military training academy. RMA Sandhurst in Surrey is where all Officers in the British Army are trained to take on the responsibilities of leading soldiers.

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles explained the decision to scrap the Audit Commission, saying it has "lost its way". "Rather than being a watchdog that champions taxpayers’ interests, it has become the creature of the Whitehall state," he said.

Stats from the government announced that crime on rail, London Underground, buses and trams has a total social cost of £1.5 billion annually. The public transport figures factor in all the consequences of crime, including preventative measures, health costs, and court costs. There were more than 77,000 reported and recorded incidents of crime on rail, light rail and London Underground in England in 2006/07.

Front-line police officers are spending more time off work than on duty, a report revealed. Chairman of the Audit Commission Michael O’Higgins agreed that changes could be made: "Two hundred trained police officers, not support staff, not civilians, work in HR departments, at desks where they never see the public. Why?

Britain is the ‘sickie man of Europe’ says a European-wide survey, suggesting that a fifth of UK workers feigned an illness the last time they took a day off work as sick leave. A poll previously conducted by insurance firm AXA and the Confederation of British Industry, the UK’s top business lobbying organisation, revealed that Greater London had the lowest levels of absence in the UK, losing 5.8 days.

Returning officers for the April general election in Islington, Lewisham and Runnymede, Surrey, have accepted separate payments (for which they are entitled) averaging £12,000 each in addition to their normal six-figure salaries. All were severely criticised for "unacceptable" mismanagement which left hundreds of voters still queuing outside polling stations as they closed at 10pm. Many people in the London area were denied their votes.

Since the national minimum wage is taking a small 13 pence hike (for the adult rate) later this year, your company must be aware of all the ways this will apply to you. Every worker who is entitled to the national minimum wage must be paid at least their national minimum wage rate on average for every hour worked in each pay reference period.

Some areas seem to have been affected by the recession more than others. Surprisingly, London, despite the much-reported cull in financial services posts, does not appear on the list of the ten UK cities worst hit by rising unemployment.

In two years London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, and a massive logistical and building programme has been underway to deliver the Games to the capital. The 2012 Summer Olympics prompted a redevelopment of many of areas of London. It has not been without its teething problems, especially the matter of vetting members of the vast construction team.