1. Health and Dental Care National Health Services (NHS) are free except for eye tests, glasses, dental work and prescription drugs Each citizen is required to register with a primary care physician (GP) The GP will provide referrals to see a specialist or for hospital services Treatment at hospitals is free for all UK residents

2. National Health Services The NHS is controlled by a centralized, bureaucratic and inflexible government agency in which administrators, managers, supervisors, performance assessors, accountants and many other none productive personnel outnumber the doctors and nurses that provide treatment to the patients

3. Health Care NHS guidelines set the waiting time for hospital treatment at 13 weeks for the first outpatient appointment and 6 months for inpatient treatment There is a 2 week wait to see a specialist for a suspected cancer and 2 months for cancer treatment

4. Health Care A recent EU survey rates the NHS in 13th place in terms of patient satisfaction Problems cited were lengthy waits for specialist care and the failure to provide drugs that are routinely available across the rest of Europe A major issue raised was the micro- management of medical staff by setting a multitude of targets of costs and patients treated, etc.

5. Health Care In an effort to reduce costs the NHS has closed emergency rooms in many small hospitals and emergency care is now only available at the larger regional hospitals Over the past 4 years the government has closed nearly 400 specialist nursing homes that treated dementia patients. Patients have been transferred to general homes for the aged where specialist care is not normally available

6. Health Care in Britain In the UK there is a 46 percent chance of a woman dying from breast cancer compared to a 25 percent fatality rate in the United States Men have a 57 percent chance of dying from prostate cancer in the UK compared to a 19 percent chance in the United States More and more of those that can afford to pay for treatment are going to consultants at private hospitals or even overseas for treatment

7. Dental Care The NHS provides dental treatment with a maximum charge for complex treatment being set at £198 with most treatments ranging from £16.20 to £44.60 During the past several years so many dentists have opted to drop out of the NHS that those that can afford it go to a private practice rather than wait months for treatment

8. State Education Coeducational “One style fits all” Performance monitored by the number of passes in state exams To improve performance levels examination standards have been progressively reduced over the past ten years Students have been encouraged to study soft subjects to ensure more passes

9. Education Fortunately some “relics” of the old system of education remain. Some towns and cities retained the grammar schools that provide a more classical education required for university entrance Very elite public (private) schools like Eton and Harrow continue to provide high quality education for the rich

10. State Education Recent studies show that maths tests set today are much easier than those of twenty years ago. Questions are simplified to make them more relevant for modern teenagers Pupils now gain a good grade with less than half the marks needed in 1990 Exams have gone from academically challenging to being woolly, touchy-feely with very little intellectual merit

11. State Education It has recently been revealed that two thirds of teachers allow pupils to use slang and text message speak in school tests Teachers are being compelled to “teach to test” to meet the demands of the exam rankings tables This requires the learning of facts with no reference to logic or the basics of the subject

12. State Education All this is the product of “social engineering” designed to push more students from lower income families into higher education Schools are being told by the government that they must operate in a way that promotes social equality and equity That is, educate the pupils to the lowest common denominator and don’t allow the brighter students to advance more rapidly

13. Higher Education The government goal for schools to promote social equality and equity is based on the premise that all students should have the opportunity to get a university degree There has been a lot of complaints from business and industry about the lack of ability shown by university graduates with supposedly high level degrees Universities are beginning to reject students whose academic qualifications are in “soft” subjects and practical courses

14. Higher Education University tuition in the U.K is set at £3,145 for the year 2008/2009 Financial support is available The main sources of financial support are loans and grants from the government and bursaries from the universities and colleges. Student loans and grants are also available to help meet accommodation and living costs

15. Housing Owner occupation is the most common form of accommodation in England In 2007 there were 14.7 million owner occupied homes, 3.8 million social renters and 2.7 million private renters The existing social housing population is ageing and younger families are moving to owner occupied homes when they can

16. Social Housing Social homes are those that are built and provided for rent by local government or by a subsidized housing association In 2007/2008 47 percent of new social homes had 3 or more bedrooms and 45 percent were apartments There is a Right to Buy law that helps tenants to buy the house that they occupy The government is committed to build 3 million new social housing units by 2020

17. Social Housing 72 percent of all new households in social housing are headed by a person aged between 16 and 29 They are most likely to be single parents and unemployed The housing is provided as a part of their income support and welfare An average rent for a 3 bedroom home is £61.24 per week and £55.97 for a 3 bedroom apartment

18. Owner Occupied Housing In November 2008 the average price of a house in the U.K was £163,445 This is 124 percent higher than it was 10 years ago In the Greater London area the average home price is £264,723 while in the northeast of the country the average price is £128,590 The required down payment on a house is currently 18.1 percent