Sara Sharif’s dad ‘attacked’ and social care ‘shake-up’

The Daily Mail has analysed official figures which it says show that salaries for NHS managers in England have soared by more than a £1bn.

The paper says the “spiralling bill” reached £2.8bn last year, while “hospitals and ambulances routinely fail to meet performance targets”.

But the NHS Confederation tells the paper the health service is not “over-managed”, but rather “under-managed” compared with its foreign counterparts.

“Labour blocks grooming gang probe” is the headline in the Daily Telegraph, which leads with the news that the government declined to hold an inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. Ministers say the local council should lead a review instead.

But the Daily Express warns that “anything less than a fully empowered independent inquiry will fail the survivors and leave more women and girls at risk”.

Economists tell the Financial Times it is “almost inevitable” that the government will have to raise taxes again before the next election – fearing that growth this year will be weaker than official forecasts suggest.

They expect it to fall short of the 2% rebound predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility. One expert tells the paper the chancellor will face a “dawning realisation” that, without increasing income tax or VAT, she “can’t make the damn sums work”.

The Sun leads with its report that Urfan Sharif – who murdered his 10-year-old daughter Sara – has been attacked at Belmarsh Prison.

A source tells the paper that Sharif was “sliced up badly in his cell” by two inmates using the lid of a tuna can and was “lucky to survive” the attack.

Analysis by the Telegraph reveals that, in the past three years, police have failed to solve a single burglary or theft in 30% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

It says that in one part of Westminster – an area with one of the highest crime rates -just four of the nearly 2,000 burglaries or thefts were solved.

A Home Office spokesman tells the paper that victims are being let down, saying that “too often people fear that no one will come when crimes are committed, and nothing will be done”.

And the Daily Mirror features an appeal for World War Two veterans to sign up to lead events marking the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day.

The Royal British Legion says it may be the last chance to honour them in person. The paper’s headline is: “Your country needs you”.