General News
TfL: The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has recently announced that the route 24 will become the first bus route in the capital to be served entirely by a fleet of new bus for London vehicles.
The route, operated by Metroline, runs from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico, via Camden, Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square & Victoria and operates 24 hours a day. Plans are in place for the route to have been fully converted by summer 2013.
The route, operated by Metroline, runs from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico, via Camden, Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square & Victoria and operates 24 hours a day. Plans are in place for the route to have been fully converted by summer 2013.
IfL: The University of Wolverhampton, in partnership with the Institute for Learning (IfL), has announced the creation of a research centre for FE & skills at the university’s School for Education Futures (SEF).
Through its collaboration with IfL the new Centre for Research & Development in Lifelong Education (CRADLE) will be an important hub & repository for policy & practitioner research and knowledge transfer for teachers, trainers and their practice in further education, with a distinctive focus on the early years of practice.
DWP: Almost half of the ex-Remploy factory workers - around 450 disabled people - who have taken up the Government’s employment support package have found work or are in training.
Following the factory closures, more than 210 disabled ex-Remploy workers found work, with almost 240 taking up the opportunity to retrain for a new job. This follows news that 4 Remploy factory businesses have now re-opened as going concerns. Press release & links
Following the factory closures, more than 210 disabled ex-Remploy workers found work, with almost 240 taking up the opportunity to retrain for a new job. This follows news that 4 Remploy factory businesses have now re-opened as going concerns. Press release & links
STFC: A Science & Technology Facilities Council funded project will help us learn more about our Sun & the ‘space weather’ that it generates. Researchers at the Universities of Dundee & Durham will look at the basic physical processes that occur in plasmas on the Sun and throughout the Universe. This ‘space weather’, though beautiful to observe, also causes problems for spacecraft, satellites and high-flying airplanes, as well as power blackouts.
WAG: Health Minister Lesley Griffiths has announced that the Welsh Government has reached an agreement with the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) Wales on changes to the GP contract for 2013/14.
HO: A new advertising campaign to remind young people to talk to FRANK for factual & trustworthy drugs advice was launched by the Home Office recently. The launch of the 3 adverts marks FRANK's tenth year. In this time more than 35m people have used the FRANK website and millions have called the FRANK helpline to speak to specially trained advisors.
UKOC: 49% of adults in England have the maths skills of an 11 year-old, according to the latest figures. That means that half of us regularly struggle with things like fractions, percentages & ratios in our everyday lives. Now a new initiative has been set up to give adult maths a boost for 2013 and get more people to believe that ‘maths really is something everybody needs to know and many of us need to brush up on’.
Maths4us kicked off last week with over 20 national organisations coming together to pool resources & plan action on adult maths over the coming weeks. OCF (Online Centres Foundation) - the organisation behind UK online centres - is just one of the partners involved in the initiative.
EH: A hundred years ago this year, the British government under Herbert Asquith recognised for the first time the State’s duty to protect the physical remains of its history. Over the course of 2013, a series of exhibitions, a book and a BBC television series will all mark the centenary of this heritage milestone.
The Ancient Monuments Act of 1913 was a landmark moment for heritage – it created many of the powers still used to safeguard the nation’s legacy of historic buildings. The Act also effectively established the National Heritage Collection, Britain’s outdoor museum today consisting of 880 historic sites and now in the care of English Heritage, CADW and Historic Scotland.
TfL: A new programme is intended to enable London Underground to meet the Mayor's commitment of reducing delays by 30% by end of 2015.
CO: The government recently announced 12 university departments that are deemed to be outstanding are to have the prestigioustitle of Regius Professor bestowed upon them by The Queen to mark the Diamond Jubilee.
Monitor: Monitor has taken regulatory action at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust to improve performance within the A&E department for the benefit of patients. The regulator has found the Trust in significant breach of its terms of authorisation due to successive failure to meet its A&E healthcare target for 4 out of the last 6 financial quarters.
LSIS: The Learning & Skills Improvement Services has confirmed when it will cease delivery of its improvement services for the further education and skills sector by the end July 2013.
Following discussions with BIS, LSIS is now able to confirm that the majority of its work will continue as planned, until the end of March 2013, and that a phased ending to its services will take place during the summer term.
NE: Natural England and the South Downs National Park Authority are appealing to the public to help protect a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which has been damaged as a result of illegal activity. Unfortunately, over recent months, the site has been blighted by off-road motorcyclists who have been using it as a track.
Damage to the site is worsening over time, with offenders bringing equipment with them to dig tracks and make alterations to suit their sport. Anyone who witnesses illegal or irresponsible use of motorised vehicles in the countryside should report it through Pathwatch or call the Sussex Police 101.
