BUSINESS leaders urged the Chancellor to bring forward improvements to the Tube and London's rail system, after he announced plans to borrow a massive £500 billion for public spending and tax cuts.

London First, the pressure group representing businesses across the capital, said the city must receive its fair share of investment.

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, told the House of Commons he will cut VAT by 2.5 per cent, to 15 per cent, but only until the end of 2009.

But in his Pre Budget Report he also unveiled a series of tax increases, to come into effect in 2011, to help pay for the spending spree.

As predicted, they included a new 45 per cent tax rate for people earning more than £150,000.

But it's not only high earners that will pay, with an increase in national insurance due to hit anybody earning more than £40,000.

There will also be significant increases to duty on cigarettes and alcohol. This will be offset by the temporary VAT cut, meaning smokers and drinkers will have to pay more from 2010.

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GORDON Brown has accused Conservative leader David Cameron of "lacking compassion" as the Government prepares to announce major tax cuts to kick-start the economy.

The debate turned personal after the Tories claimed Labour was planning a "tax bombshell" by borrowing billions of pounds which will have to be paid back later.

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is set to cut VAT by 2.5 per cent, down to 15 per cent, potentially leading to lower prices in the shops.

The aim would be to encourage shoppers to keep buying, avoiding the threat of deflation and stimulating the economy to start growing again.

But the measure would cost £12 billion, which will have to be paid for by borrowing - with Government debts expected to reach £100 billion this year.

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BRITAIN should open a dedicated curry college so that Indian restaurants can stop recruiting chefs from overseas, according a London MP.

Curry house owners have warned that changes to the immigration are making it harder for them to recruit skilled chefs.

The Government's new points-based system allows immigrants from outside the EU to work in Britain only if they have specific skills which are in short supply in the UK.

But the Bangladesh Caterers' Association, which represents 12,000 restaurants across the country, presented a petition to Downing Street earlier this year warning that curry houses needed to be able to recruit workers from the Indian sub-continent.

Now MP Karen Buck (Lab Regents Park and Kensington North) has called for the creation of a London college to train home-grown chefs in the art of cooking the perfect curry.

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NOBODY can be sacked from Haringey Social Services department until a full inquiry into the death of Baby P has concluded, Children's Secretary Ed Balls has insisted.

But he pledged that there would be no no-go areas for inspectors looking into the death of the 17-month old boy, after opposition MPs said they were concerned council officials were trying to block the inquiry.

Mr Balls told the House of Commons there was "clear evidence that agencies had failed, singly and collectively, to adhere to the statutory procedures for the proper management of child protection cases."

MP Lynne Featherstone (Lib Dem Hornsey and Wood Green), whose constituency includes much of Haringey, said those responsible must be sacked in order for child protection services to improve.

She said: "The atmosphere and the morale of everyone in Haringey has been shot to pieces, but, for there to be a new start, there must be accountability, because if the same faces remain after the report, we will not have that fresh start."

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BORIS Johnson has announced plans to help thousands of council and housing association tenants buy their homes, in a return to Margaret Thatcher's vision of a property-owning society.

The Mayor of London believes that encouraging residents in subsidised rented housing to buy their property will create a fairer society in the capital.

The proposal is part of a new housing strategy for London which includes plans for 50,000 new homes across the city.

The £5 billion scheme will also focus on buying unsold private properties to use as low-cost homes, and making unused publicly-owned land available for developers.

Mr Johnson's London Housing Strategy, which will now go to consultation with the London Assembly, warns that London's population is expected to rise from 7.5 million in 2006 to between 8.3 and 8.6 million by 2026.

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MINISTERS have attacked Boris Johnson for failing to tackle London's housing shortage and scrapping a commitment to build affordable homes.

Up to 112,000 households in the capital are believed to be without a decent home - and the city's population is expected to increase by 800,000 residents by 2016.

But Local Government Minister Iain Wright attacked Mr Johnson in the House of Commons for scrapping a pledge by former Mayor Ken Livingstone that half of all new homes would be subsidised or "affordable" homes, such as council houses or housing association properties.

The Minister claimed: "His housing policy seems blurred and confused, and well down his list of priorities."

Mr Johnson axed "prescriptive" targets designed to force councils to build affordable homes earlier this year, arguing that the housing shortage could best be tackled by allowing London boroughs to make their own decisions based on local needs.

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BORIS Johnson has presented Ministers with a list of measures to help London survive the economic downturn.

It follows warnings from local government leaders that the capital could lose 370,000 jobs over the next two years as a result of the recession.

The proposals were drawn up by a panel chaired by the mayor and Tony McNulty, the Government's Minister for London, which includes business and union representatives.

Recommendations included bringing back empty property rate relief, to help commercial property owners.

The relief was abolished by the Government in an attempt to stop businesses sitting on empty commercial buildings with the aim of selling them on later.

But in the current economic climate, some firms have found themselves stuck with buildings they are unable to sell - and forced to pay land tax, which they struggle to afford.

Mr Johnson said he had received assurances from Ministers that they were prepared to examine bringing back rate relief for empty commercial properties.

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