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Charity and Voluntary Sector
CRUK: The NHS must start planning now to deal with a predicted leap of 45% in the number of new cancer cases in the UK over the next 2 decades, Cancer Research UK has warned. The number of cancer cases is projected to climb from around 298,000 in 2007 to around 432,000 by 2030 – an increase that, without planning, could threaten to overwhelm NHS resources.
DFID: The Government should reinstate its bilateral aid to the fragile African state of Burundi, MPs have recommended in a new report. The International Development Committee warns that ending the Department for International Development's (DFID) programme at such a critical time - when the country is making the transition from conflict to stability - is a strategic mistake.
The report warns that there is a regional dimension to the conflicts in the Great Lakes area of Central Africa and that instability in Burundicould undermine DFID's progress in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the rest of the region. DFID is providing over £2.5bn to other countries in the Great Lakes region between 2011 and 2015.
DfID: The UK is to help provide 3,800 new artificial limbs & 10,000 crutches for Afghan children & adults disabled during 30 years of conflict & extreme poverty, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell announced on a visit to the country.
CRUK: Cancer Research UK’s Drug Development Office has opened a trial to assess a new drug to treat a range of cancer types. The drug works by reducing the flow of blood to tumours and potentially starving them of the blood supply that they need to survive.
BHF: A 5-year study of older people has revealed the higher people rated their feelings of happiness, the longer they lived.
ACE: Legacy10 has been launched; a nationwide drive to increase the number of people who leave money to charity in their wills. Legacy10 asks individuals to pledge 10% of their estate to charity, after the government announced a cut in the rate of inheritance tax from 40% to 36% for those that do so.
ScotGov: With less than 1,000 days to go before the 2014 Commonwealth Games draws near, communities across the country are being encouraged to apply for Lottery funding to create their own sporting legacy through the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund.
MoD: The first batch of Community Covenant Grant Scheme projects that have received funding from the Ministry of Defence have been announced. More than £423,000 has been given to 13 bids from across the country to help fund local projects that increase understanding of, or support for, the Armed Forces in the communities in which they live.
ESRC: Community land ownership (CLO) is bringing people back to the Highlands & Islands of Scotland and helping to create more vibrant & resilient communities, according to a report from the ScottishAgriculturalCollege.
Scottish Government policy has been broadly supportive of CLO development. This includes the 2003 Land Reform (Scotland) Act which gives communities the right to buy their own land and the Scottish Land Fund which provides the financial means to buy the land.
