General News
ScotGov: A website has been launched to help people in Scotland answer a question in the 2011 Census about language ability. This year, for the first time, people in Scotland will be asked in the population survey if they can understand, speak, read and/or write Scots.
The Aye Can website contains information to help people decide if they use the language, including examples of written & spoken Scots. Visitors to the site, which was developed by the Scots Language Centre, can listen to recordings of the ‘mither tongue’ from different parts of the country.
Newswire – TUC: The TUC has launched a UK online network for green union reps. The website allows environmental reps in workplaces across the UK to keep up to date with union and community-based events & training courses, share ideas & best practice, and find out the latest developments on green issues at work.
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Monitor: Monitor’s board has confirmed that 2 ambulance trusts have been authorised as foundation trusts as from 1 March 2011. Under proposals in the Health & Social Care Bill currently passing through parliament, every ambulance service in England will become a foundation trust, or form part of one, by April 2014.
DCMS: The DCMS look back on a successful awards season for British film & actors and look at what the Government is doing to ensure a sustainable future for the industry. As the UK Film Council is wound up, the BFI will become the lead strategic film body and will carry out a review with DCMS looking at how to build a more sustainable industry.
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BIS: A new £33.5m project will follow 90,000 British children from birth to tell us more about the factors affecting the health & happiness of society. The Birth Cohort Facility Project will bring together the UK’s leading portfolio of cohort studies starting in 1946 and includes a new birth cohort study starting in 2012. This will involve children & families from all backgrounds across the UK, and is nearly 5 times bigger than the previous study conducted in 2000.
For the first time in a study of this kind, a series of samples will be collected from parents and the child. This will reveal more than ever before about the complex interplay between social, economic, biological, environmental & health related experiences and conditions, and how they relate to problems later in life.
CWDC: Last week the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) launched a ‘new framework to improve the way foundation degrees are developed for practitioners working with young people’. The new foundation degree framework illustrates good practice relevant to the 6m practitioners working with young people in England. Their work is often complex & demanding and spans a range of sectors & settings.
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Directgov:
The marriage of Prince William & Miss Catherine Middleton will take place at Westminster Abbey on Friday 29 April 2011. The wedding service will begin at 11am. The government has produced guidance to help communities organise a street party. Your local authority may also be able to provide details of any planned activities in your area.
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DfE: The Department for Education has released the software behind the Family Information Directory. This will allow any organisation to develop its own version of the Directory. There are currently over 192,000 records in the Directory and it receives around 40,000 searches a day.
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FSA: Do you have some experience of working in animal nutrition, toxicology or the animal feed industry? Interested in being a member of a committee that advises the FSA on the safety and use of animal feeds?
The independent Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF) is looking to recruit 3 new members. ACAF advises the FSA & Ministers on the safety and use of animal feeds & feeding practices, with particular emphasis on protecting human health and with reference to new technical developments.
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Newswire – NHSConfed: Most doctors think the NHS reforms bring more risks than benefits and are concerned about plans to increase competition, according to a new BMA poll. The NHS Confederation says a blanket rejection of competition in healthcare is not supported by evidence.
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DirectGov: How would you reduce carbon emissions by 80% while still meeting the UK's energy needs? Thanks to a new My2050 online simulation, you can now make those decisions. Build more power stations, convert all cars to electric or hydrogen power – it's up to you, so why not put your ideas to the test.
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MoD: An Armed Forces Redundancy Calculator is now available on the MOD website which gives a forecast of benefits for prospective ‘redundees’ under the Armed Forces Redundancy Programme announced this week. It allows Service personnel to input their details to provide a forecast of their redundancy & pension benefits based on the redundancy exit date and the promulgated redundancy rules.
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Newswire – Unicef: UNICEF has assembled teams of experts to fly into Tunisia & Egypt and another on standby for Libya as the agency launches the Libya Crisis Children's Appeal for £4.5m to meet humanitarian needs of women & children in all 3 countries over the coming months.
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Directgov: Directgov is now on Facebook, so you can share, recommend & comment on the latest news, video, information and advice from across government. Simply go to Facebook.com/directgov and click the ‘like’ button at the top of the page. You will then get all the latest government information and advice straight to your Facebook page or profile.
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QCDA: The Qualifications & Curriculum Development Agency is closing as part of the Government's education reforms. During March 2011 we're updating our website so it reflects our reduced remit until the site closes on 1 October 2011. All material held on www.qcda.gov.uk, both statutory & non-statutory, has been transferred to the National Archives web archive
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FSA: GlaxoSmithKline has withdrawn all bottles of Lucozade Sport Lite Summer Berries, because the drinks have an unpleasant smell and there is a risk of mould growth. The Food Standards Agency has issued a Product Withdrawal Information Notice.
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NHSBT: Figures from NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) show that 1 in 4 Black & Asian families refuse consent to organ donation at the point of death, despite their loved one being on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). This is in contrast to 1 in 10 for the rest of the population.
However, these groups are 3 times more likely to need an organ transplant than the rest of the population. This is because they are more susceptible to developing diabetes and high blood pressure which can lead to kidney & heart failure. As a result of higher demand and a shortage of organ donors - on average Black & Asian people have to wait 3 times longer than others for a transplant.
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IBCfE: The independent Boundary Commission for England has begun work on redrawing the map of parliamentary constituencies. The new rules mean that there will be fewer MPs and that their constituencies must be of more equal size. England will have 502 MPs rather than the current 533 and the number of electors in each constituency must be no smaller than 72,810 and no larger than 80,473. The review must be completed by autumn 2013 and changes will come into effect at the next General Election.
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