Rumour is true - the entry requirement will most likely be changed to 250h in the future. It still has to go through the proper procedures until it finally does get included into JAR FCL 2 (NPA .... etc) not quite sure how long this will take. The UK CAA might be able to issue a long term excemption a bit earlier but that is up to them.
Camp Freddie, don't agree really, 50h are 50h and a lot of money as well (£8000 to £10000?)
Helinut: It's always difficult to set a number like this and unfortunately most of the Helicopter requirements seem err more on the side of caution. I am not going to argue whether Helicopter flying is more difficult than fixed wing flying but if you look at respective requirements you could think that it must be as the differences are quite remarkable!
Regards,
Woolf