NEWS IN BRIEF (31/10/07)

4.57.12pm GMT Wed 31st Oct 2007

• Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP has called on the immigration figures to be made the responsibility of the Office of National Statistics, after the row between the government and the Conservatives over the number of foreign workers in the UK continued today. [BBC]

• Police need to be given clear guidance about when it is appropriate to stop and search suspects, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Heath said today. Mr Heath's call comes as Ministry of Justice figures show that black people were almost seven times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police last year. [BBC]

• A revamp of the planning system, to allow greater competition between UK supermarkets and local businesses, has been called for by Liberal Democrat Small Business Spokesperson Lorely Burt MP, after a report into supermarket dominance was published by the Competition Commission. [BBC]

• Increased government funding to English Heritage could be too little too late for many of England's historic buildings, Liberal Democrat Arts and Culture Spokesman, Dan Rogerson MP has warned, after the English Heritage Annual survey showed that one in thirty of England's listed buildings were at risk. [Release]

• Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Michael Moore has called for Condoleezza Rice and her Quartet partners to seek assistance from Arab countries to prevent a disproportionate response in Gaza, after the Israeli Defence Minister threatened a 'broad operation' in retaliation for rocket attacks. [BBC]

• A report by the House of Commons science and technology committee has stated there should be no reason for women seeking an abortion to need to get the approval of two doctors. The report said the requirement did not serve a useful purpose and might be causing delays. [BBC]

• The latest Guardian/ICM poll has Labour losing ground to the Lib Dems and Conservatives: Con 40% (+2%); Lab 35% (-3%) and Lib Dem 18% (+2%) [Guardian]

• Tory leader David Cameron has landed himself in hot water, after off-the-cuff remarks at an Arts Council meeting last week appear to have caused offence in Lithuania. The Tory leader's comments that he hoped no grants were given to "one-legged Lithuanian dance troupes", have hit the headlines in the Baltic state. [BBC