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Police numbers peaked during the last 15 years, but that is soon set to end. The Home Office, which funds police forces, like every other government department will face cuts of around a quarter in the bid to clamp down on the national debt. The forces acknowledge there will be cutbacks and admit they have to deal with budget pressures caused by the economic climate.

Agreeing a pay deal with the Communication Workers Union means British Telecom has prevented possible strike action. On Monday, the union had to call off a ballot that could have brought more than half of BT’s staff out on strike following legal advice. It described the agreement as a "fantastic deal" for its members.

Problems arose – despite polls being open for 15 hours – with people being denied a vote in the recent 2010 general election because queues were too big or staffing too small at polling stations. Every returning officer, normally the local council chief executive, is entitled to collect a separate fee for their election work in addition to their usual salary. It can be as much as £25,000 per election.

Time and Attendance UK Ltd’s expertise and real world experience in installing sophisticated electronic systems for more than a decade in the human resources and time and attendance sectors has been rewarded. They and controlling company Tensor have been awarded the SAFEContractor Certificate for the high standard of health and safety (H&S) procedures attained.

Millions of tourists flock to visit the 11 theme parks around the world that the Walt Disney Company owns and licenses. Obviously the parks need security and want to deter admission cheats, so they use fingerprinting methods. Visitors older than 10 years of age have their finger biometrics scanned at the entry gate, and is used to associate ticket media with the person using it.

This week the national minimum wage has gone up to a new rate of £5.93 an hour. The coalition Government confirmed that the rate will come into effect on October 1. Employment Relations Minister Edward Davey said: "The increases to the national minimum wage this year are appropriate for the economic climate. They will strike a balance between helping the lowest paid whilst at the same time not jeopardising their employment."

Although the latest figures for June show it has fallen slightly, the unemployment total in Britain is still hovering around the two and a half million people mark, which is the highest level for more than a decade. According to the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate for the three months to April 2010 was 7.9 per cent, up 0.1 on the quarter. The number of people losing their jobs increased by 23,000 over the quarter.

Time and Attendance UK, leading providers of smart card and biometric systems and software, will help your organisation ride out this new age of austerity. Your company has no doubt been struggling during the economic slump, now the country is being squeezed in order to bring down the deficit. If you’re a consumer you can go to price comparison websites, but what does a business do?

If workers and employers co-operate, both sides benefit, as the employee feels valued and the employer gains increased productivity and profit. Initiatives to reduce the number of dubious sick days, or ‘sickies’, taken exist in both the public and the private sector. For instance, employees at Tesco do not get paid for the first three of days of their sick leave. The policy applies to staff who joined the company after 2004.

The hype has been building for the past few weeks, now billions around the globe will be glued to their television screens and gathering in bars and pubs to watch the 19th FIFA World Cup during June. England begin their campaign at the weekend against the USA as World Cup fever grips the nation, with Fabio Capello’s men wanting to end 44 years of hurt and win the tournament in South Africa.

Soda-pop company Coca-Cola has again come under criticism for a marketing campaign which apparently encourages employees to take unauthorised days off work – but Time and Attendance UK provides a solution to firms’ clocking in problems.

More children than ever are missing school. But there is a way of helping combat truancy by installing effective Time and Attendance systems, which does the job of monitoring pupils, in our schools. Smart Card and Biometric Time and Attendance and Security Systems are fast, accurate and easy-to-use – which is very important as hundreds of schoolchildren can be passing through the school gates at any one time.