LISA S. / SHUTTERSTOCK News Liverpool proposes referendum on increasing council tax Liverpools residents may be asked to take part in a referendum to see whether they would be willing to pay more council tax to maintain essential public services. Following the slashing of trading standards services, which resulted in the council facing judicial review as reported in Octobers TS Today trading standards ofcers will be aware of the huge nancial challenges the council is facing. It needs to nd 90m in savings over the next three years, on top of the 330m it has had to deliver since 2010. Mayor Joe Anderson has warned that, without an increase in council tax, the local authority faces a 50 per cent cut to all its services. Anderson wants to hold a referendum to ask residents if they would be willing to pay up to 10 per cent more in council tax a signicant rise above the 3.99 per cent govenment-imposed cap. In the meantime, he is proposing to increase council tax by the maximum rate. Residents are also being asked to take part in an online budget simulator to suggest ways in which savings could be made and to give their views on ways of raising additional income including whether they would be willing to pay more council tax. The feedback from this exercise will be used to inform the decision on whether to hold a referendum in 2017. Anderson said: We cant manage the budget without serious cuts and serious consequences. Its a daunting task. A lot of the decisions we have made in the past and many we will have to make in the future have been heartbreaking. And thats why Im asking whether people would support us in a referendum. How Liverpool City Council is funded: Government funding 72 per cent Council tax 11 per cent Business rates seven per cent Other income 10 per cent In Liverpool, the majority of homes are in council tax bands A and B, which means less money is raised through this method than by some other authorities. Cyber attack on Tesco Bank was serious and unprecedented more complex the systems are, the more potential points of entry are available to criminals. Tesco Bank refunded all the accounts that were affected by what it said had been a systematic and sophisticated attack. The security breach is now the subject of a criminal investigation, led by the National Crime Agency. Get Safe Online warns that it is commonplace for fraudsters to exploit breaches, as was the case when telecoms provider TalkTalks data was compromised last year. Customers may receive phishing emails, vishing phone calls, fraudulent texts and social media links instructing them to take an action, such as moving money to a new account, confirming their login details for security reasons or even handing bank cards over to a courier for checking. LIGHTSPRING / SHUTTERSTOCK Last months cyber attack on Tesco Bank, which affected 9,000 customers and cost the bank 2.5m, was unprecedented and should be regarded as serious, according to Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority. Bailey told the Treasury Select Committee he was worried about weaknesses in banks complex IT systems and suggested that the Investigatory Powers Bill will be law by year end The Investigatory Powers Bill (dubbed the Snoopers Charter) was approved by the House of Lords last month and is set to become law by the end of the year. It will replace the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and requires internet and phone companies to store records of every users phone and website history from the past 12 months. It also allows law enforcement bodies to see those records on demand, and apply for a warrant to access peoples smartphones and computers. An Investigatory Powers Commissioner and judicial commissioners will be appointed to oversee any warrants which it is said will only be granted when there is an overriding public interest. The Bill was originally criticised by some trading standards professionals, who feared it would restrict ofcers ability to access criminals internet data. The Bill has attracted criticism from privacy advocates, journalists and tech companies, who are warning that removing encryption protection will not only let law enforcement bodies see data, but also allow criminals access to peoples devices and personal information. There are also concerns that the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) devices will surge when the Bill is given Royal Assent. A VPN is a secure server that sends online activity via another computer and is often used by businesses to give employees remote access to their emails and systems. But VPNs can also be used to bypass censorship by hiding a users identity and scrambling search history. Normally an internet service provider (ISP) can give a list of the sites a user has visited, but use of a VPN prevents this information being available it only shows that the person has used a VPN, not which sites were visited. The Bill does apply to all connection service providers and not just ISPs, but UK residents can use VPNs located in other countries, so it is unclear how the Bill would apply to these. NordVPN says that, because of the way its servers are congured, it never stores any logs or records communications. NHS hospitals could impose ban on sugary drinks NHS England has announced plans to cut sales of sugary drinks in hospitals, making it the first country in the world to take action across its health service in this way. A formal consultation launched last month, gives details of a proposed new fee to be paid by vendors selling sugar-sweetened drinks on NHS premises. The consultation also seeks views from staff, patients and the public on an outright ban. A recent survey found obesity to be the most significant self-reported health problem among NHS staff, with nearly 700,000 NHS staff estimated to be overweight or obese. Obesity is not only bad for personal health, but also affects sickness absence and the NHSs ability to give patients credible and effective advice. Chief Executive Simon Stevens said: Confronted by rising obesity, Type 2 diabetes and child dental decay, its time for the NHS to practise what we preach.