Robots will 'take over third of British jobs in next 15 years'

Pic: A robot at a 'Robots' exhibition at the Science Museum 

IT reporter(wp/es):

Almost a third of UK jobs could be taken over by robots during the next 15 years, a study has claimed.

The report by PwC found that around 10 million workers are at risk of being displaced by automated machines as the robot revolution gathers momentum.

But the research also said that new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies could boost production and generate more human jobs.

The UK reportedly has fewer jobs at potential risk of automation than in other countries including Germany, the United States and Japan.

Jobs in transport and storage, manufacturing and retail are most likely to be taken by robots, while the lowest risk jobs are teachers, health and social workers, the report said.

John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, said: "A key driver of our industry-level estimates is the fact that manual and routine tasks are more susceptible to automation, while social skills are relatively less automatable.

"That said, no industry is entirely immune from future advances in robotics and AI.

"Automating more manual and repetitive tasks will eliminate some existing jobs, but could also enable some workers to focus on higher value, more rewarding and creative work, removing the monotony from our day jobs.”

Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: "We have a resilient and diverse labour market in the UK, demonstrated by the latest record-breaking figures showing more people in work than ever before.

"Whether it's in cyberspace or on the shop floor, advances in technology bring new jobs. It's only right that we embrace these opportunities, support new skills and help more people get into employment to secure a workforce of the future."

EU will collapse if more countries follow UK and quit, says Juncker

Political reporter(wp/es):

The European Union could collapse if more countries decide to follow Britain and leave, the president of the European Commission warned today.

As the Government prepares to formally trigger Article 50 next Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker said other nations quitting the bloc would spark “the end”.

He stated that the upcoming talks would be “friendly and firm” but added “we are not naive”. He continued: “Britain is part of Europe so I am everything but in a hostile mood when it comes to Britain.

“But I don’t want others to take the same avenue because just suppose for one second that others would leave … two, three, four, five ... that would be the end.”

Expectations that Mr Juncker will adopt a tough stance towards Britain to deter others from leaving were dismissed. However, he confirmed  the UK would be slapped with a  £50 billion “divorce bill” .

In an interview with the BBC, he said: “There will be no sanctions, no punishment, nothing of that kind but Britain has to go and I suppose that the Government does know it. They have to honour the commitments and former commitments.”

Britain’s eventual payment would be calculated “scientifically” but it would be “around” £50 billion, he suggested. “It will be a bill reflecting former commitments by the British Government and by the British Parliament.”

The payment covers liabilities for projects the UK previously agreed to help fund, as well as pensions for EU officials who served during the period of its membership.

No 10 has described the letter Mrs May will send to start Britain’s two-year process of leaving the EU as one of the most important documents in recent history.

Mr Juncker, the former prime minister of Luxembourg, said that he would feel sad when it arrives. Asked by the BBC if he felt it signalled a failure, he agreed, adding: “It’s a failure and a tragedy”.

He also set out that one of his key negotiating priorities will be protecting the rights of the three million EU citizens currently living in Britain. This comes after the Tories voted down plans to include protections for EU citizens in their Brexit Bill. 

“It’s for me a priority,” he said. “It’s about people. I am strongly committed to preserve the rights of Europeans living in Britain and the British people living on the European continent. This is not about bargaining. This is about respecting human dignity.”

Tomorrow leaders of the 27 other EU members will meet in Italy to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community, the precursor of the EU. 

Signed by Italy, France, Belgium the Netherlands, West Germany and Luxembourg, the treaty was a major stepping stone towards European integration.

There will also be “March for Europe” rallies in Rome and London.  Organisers say they want to use the anniversary to “relaunch and complete Europe’s economic and political unity”.

NHS boss hails ‘gift’ of donated kidney after less than a year on transplant list

Health reporter(wp/es):

A hospital boss who underwent a kidney transplant after less than a year on the waiting list spoke today of the “amazing gift”.

Matthew Hopkins, 50, chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS trust, was selected for a “pre-emptive” operation months before he faced being placed on daily dialysis. A friend had volunteered to donate a kidney but another kidney, for which Mr Hopkins was a good match, became available after the death of a donor.

He had the procedure at St George’s hospital in Tooting this month, hours after receiving an early-morning phone call telling him an organ was available. 

Kidney patients normally wait two and a half years for a transplant due to the shortage of donors. Last year 256 NHS patients died waiting for a kidney. Mr Hopkins said: “It’s an amazing gift. I just feel very, very lucky — and lucky from the point that it came so quickly. The normal waiting time is a minimum of two years. 

“In other communities, such as the black community, where kidney disease is more prevalent, or for South-East Asians, there is an even longer waiting time. I’m going to be very sensible in making sure I look after this kidney.”

Under transplant rules, Mr Hopkins knows nothing of the donor and the donor’s family are not told which patient receives the organ.

He inherited polycystic kidney disease and was facing the prospect of daily peritoneal dialysis, in which fluids are drained from the abdomen. Mr Hopkins said: “I have known I have this since 1993. The team at St George’s have kept a close eye on me. Because I’m fit and healthy, they were keen to do a pre-emptive transplant before I became dependent on dialysis.”

He praised the “excellent” treatment he received and was discharged four days after the hour-long operation. He expects to be off work for eight weeks. 

St George’s performs 130 kidney transplants a year. The process involves “re-plumbing” the third kidney into his body rather than removing one of his own kidneys. Sally Johnson, director of organ donation and transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Organ donation saves lives and we urge people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.”