Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), has revealed that little progress has been made in avoiding national strike action over pensions planned for 30 November, despite fresh talks with ministers today.

Mr Barber maintained that the unions were 'determined to exhaust all options to achieve a fair settlement' in ongoing negotiations over public sector pensions. He also said he felt the unions still have 'widespread public support' for their position.