With respect to the politicians this aspect was a college of policing push attempting to make themselves into a professional institute like the IET (there was an email a decade or so ago asking officers & staff to register as “members” - it was an ego push rather than anything based on understanding of the need of policing.
Having direct entry detectives is not a bad idea. Some aspects of what we prosecute now don’t need general policing experience, especially the technical aspects.
The problem is the brain drain that happened in the preceding decade. You’ve got the blind training the blind.
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The College isn’t exactly an independent body it runs on sound bites and Home Office instructions . It’s whole thing is “that’s the way the College of Nursing works” almost like a Tony Keeling, ACF model obsessed organisation.
100% the problem is that its sold on a lie and retention of them is horrendous. It’s painted like they will be on a murder squad in week 1 and they turn up and find themselves in the CSU investigating 30 domestics.
It’s also an issue when they get promoted and don’t have that policing experience.
You get them turning up to sudden deaths that a Sergeant with 20 years experience has called suspicious and they have no idea because they’ve barely been to one.
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The RCN like the BMA is a glorified trade union, nurses are regulated by the profoundly incompetent NMC.
A friend who recently retired from the police, his comment was ‘could I trust them in a fight at 3am on. Sunday morning in Liverpool city centre?’ His conclusion about many of them was no!
According to reports GMP is looking at losing 400 staff.
The BMA is more like a medieval guild than a union. They lobby for a cap on medical student places despite massive demand, which results in us having to import doctors from overseas rather than training our own
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Just had to renew my old mobile phone as 3G is being turned off, opted for another cheap dumb phone but every option for PAYG or contract includes a data allowance. I use it to make phone calls, occasionally send a text and rarely as a calculator so why do I need to pay for a data package my phone is incapable of using? The shop assistant couldn’t understand why I didn’t need 5GB free data a month, even after confirming the phone had no way of using it - apparently it rolls over so what I don’t use this month will be added to next month’s allowance!
Data is a lot, lot cheaper than early days of mobile phones.
We had to do the same for the ma-in-law’s 'phone a year or so ago, & went for a basic android 'phone - think she is on a linked account with a family member with Tesco, less than £10 / month? Ma-in-law doesn’t text & certainly doesn’t use data! 
ASDA mobile = £5 / month, cheapest I could find with a quick search.
Lebara and Lyca do some extremely cheap SIM only deals.
GMG.
Spent the morning in a LA SEND panel meeting to discuss the future of some really vulnerable young people. Hearing - and then calling out - some shocking prejudices from my colleagues. Then hearing some very flawed decisions being made - which will undoubtedly end in some pricy tribunals (in which the only winners are the legal teams!). I made sure my objections were minuted as not in the clients interests.
I don’t think I made any friends today. Not sure if i’ll be invited back!!!
Another ‘vote’ for Lebara. I’ve used their £5 per month SIM only deal for years. It uses the Vodafone network, so decent coverage in most areas.
I’m happy with the overall cost but just winds me up that companies sell things with essential additional items that the thing can’t use. You don’t buy a Swiss Army knife if you only need a toothpick. Why can’t they offer a calls only SIM? Ironically I now have unlimited calls & texts, but data I can’t use.
Market forces. There will not be much demand for the product you describe so it is probably cheaper and easier for them to offer fewer bundles
It’s probably more hassle to restrict a SIM from using the network for everything all of the rest can.
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Most networks are moving voice and text to run as services over 4g data, so really it’s all the same thing.
IIRC there are some bits of the networks still using 2g for signalling, but it’s mostly industrial applications.
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The more I hear about some of decisions made in this sector, it really does worry me how some of these people are recruited and managed.
O2 said that you can still make calls and send text with my 3g dumb (Burner) phone so I’m keeping it as it is and watching what happens. It still works as of yesterday.
I think the word you are looking for is very badly.
In case anyone wants to go fully down this rabbit hole, it’s all here:
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GMG: Have to respond to a SAR