On the Agenda

In Brief

Schools secretary Ed Balls receives the urgent joint area review report he commissioned into Haringey Council's handling of the case of Baby P from Ofsted, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and the Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

Foreign secretary David Miliband meets with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice in London.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker visits Staffordshire Police to see how the force is trying to reduce police bureaucracy.

Transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick delivers the keynote speech at the Road Safety Expo 2008.

The 2.5 per cent cut in VAT, as outlined in the pre-Budget report, comes into force.

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond is among the speakers at a Reform seminar on the recession.

Shadow secretary of state for international development Andrew Mitchell visits Chad.

The Royal Bank of Scotland announces an initiative to help prevent repossessions. Grant Shapps, shadow housing minister, says: "We strongly welcome this practical step to help prevent hard working families from having their homes repossessed. We encourage other lenders to now follow this lead."

Labour MP Graham Allen is among 19 leading figures in children and parenting call for a long-term inquiry into child protection in a letter to the Guardian. "We need a two-legged policy covering both the short and the long term," he says. "We need to continue to swat the mosquitoes but need to drain the swamp as well."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown and UN under secretary general for humanitarian affairs Sir John Holmes are among the speakers at a Chatham House event on the essential role Of women in post-conflict nation building.

The Liberal Democrats hold their weekly press conference in the Welsh Assembly.

Air chief marshal Sir Jock Stirrup delivers his annual speech at the Royal United Services Institute.

Marking World Aids Day, the TUC launches two new projects in Africa to combat the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Amnesty International launches its annual greetings card campaign to encourage people to send a message of hope to those people facing persecution around the world.

Reports and Statistics

The government's independent Climate Change Committee publishes its first report setting out how to meet the first 15 years of carbon budgets.

Commenting on a report by U-Switch, which shows that pensioners have lost billions of pounds in the value of property and shares that many were relying on to fund their retirements, Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Jenny Willott said: "The economic crisis, and its effect on pension savings and house prices, has robbed many pensioners of their sense of security and will force more and more to unexpectedly have to fall back on the state to support them in their retirement. Yet the state pension is set at poverty levels - the government should restore the link with earnings immediately to ensure all pensioners can afford to live with dignity and security."

Policy Exchange and the University of Buckingham Press publishes 'Compassionate economics', by Jesse Norman.

The Office for Disability Issues publishes its annual report

The Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes a market commentary.

The National Treatment Agency releases monthly drug treatment statistics.