General News
MoD: A housing & training centre for Service leavers at risk of homelessness has been officially opened. The Beacon is a new 31 unit housing, training & support centre based near Catterick Garrison, providing specialist support to single homeless veterans from around the country.
DfT: An extra 14 motorcycle helmet ratings from the Department for Transport's Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme (SHARP) were published by Road Safety Minister, Mike Penning, last week. The ratings take the total number of helmets rated by SHARP to 261.
FSA: The Food Standards Agency has launched the Play it Safe campaign, to raise awareness of food safety during the London 2012 Games. The Agency is working with food businesses & food safety enforcement officers to ensure all food sold, cooked and eaten during the Games is safe.
The first strand of the campaign focuses on the Food Safety Squad, the 10 environmental health officers acting as ambassadors for food safety. They represent the hundreds of environmental health officers around the country who are carrying out vital work to keep visitors to the Games safe & healthy.
FSA: Manning Impex has withdrawn jars of its Buenas brand Macapuno String Coconut Sport in Syrup, with a 'best before' end of August 2013. The product contains sulphur dioxide, which is not mentioned on the label. If you have a sensitivity to sulphites, don't eat this product. The Food Standards Agency has issued an Allergy Alert.
FSA: Creme D’Or is withdrawing its Cafe Tasse Chocolat Fin Artisanal Noir 45g bar. Traces of milk have been found in the product, which hasn't been declared in the allergy information on the label. If you're allergic or intolerant to milk, you should not eat this product. The Food Standards Agency has issued an Allergy Alert.
Press release & links
Press release & links
TUC: Families will have gained up to £381 by April 2013 as a result of the personal allowance threshold rising faster than inflation - but could have lost more than £4,000 from changes to working tax credits over the same period - the TUC said last week as it launched its new tax credit calculator for 2012.
The TCC allows working parents receiving tax credits to find out roughly how they are affected (compared to how they would have fared before the government's tax credit cuts) by inputting their household details, income level, number of children and childcare costs.
NA: The National Archives and Arts Council England have announced a new partnership that will benefit archives, museums, libraries and the people who use them.
Defra: Find out what the air quality is like in your region from Defra, whose sources also offer health advice based on current air pollution levels to the general public and those who may be particularly sensitive to air pollution.
ACE: An electronic content service for libraries to access resources to improve their purchasing power was announced last week. The Reference Online Framework Agreement, available until March 2014, will help public libraries in England provide users with an optimum range of online content at an economic price, streamlining the procurement process for both libraries and suppliers.
Through Reference Online, libraries can subscribe to a wide range of content, including general reference material, subject-based encyclopaedias, streamed music services, and - for the first time - family history materials. It allows public libraries to buy this material at lower prices through group subscriptions.
DfT: Any cyclist, from enthusiasts, to families looking for a safe, pretty route linking city parks can benefit from the Department for Transport’s online cycling journey planner. Part of the Transport Direct Portal, the planner now covers every road in England. Cyclists tap in their planned start & end points and the tool calculates a route that suits.
Users can easily tweak the settings to meet their needs, filtering journeys to select the quickest, quietest or most recreational routes – those which take them through parks & green spaces. The planner can even plot routes avoiding steep hills.
NE: From the River Aln in Northumberland to the River Exe in Devon and the Eden to the Medway, farmers in 75 catchment areas of England can now apply for grants of up to £10,000 from the Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) Capital Grants Scheme.
Grants are available for carrying out practical works on the farm that will boost the health of England’s streams, rivers, meres & mosses by improving water quality & reducing pollution from agricultural activity.
HCA: Strong management Boards are vital if Registered Providers are to adapt to a changing operating environment & successfully meet future challenges, the new Regulator of Social Housing said recently. The Homes and Communities Agency took responsibility for the regulation of Social Housing Providers in England as of 1 April 2012, replacing the Tenant Services Authority with a new regulatory committee, which will preserve independence from the Agency’s investment activity.
The new Regulatory Framework details how governance, viability & value for money will be the focus of robust economic regulation designed to maintain lender confidence and protect taxpayers.
BIS: A new service which will transform careers advice by ‘combining highly-trained advisers with an interactive website, helping countless people to reach their potential’ has been launched.
The National Careers Service will offer independent, impartial information & advice on learning and work. It will also give people access to a wide range of information about careers and the job market where they live.
The National Careers Service will offer independent, impartial information & advice on learning and work. It will also give people access to a wide range of information about careers and the job market where they live.
DWP: 6months to go until Automatic Enrolment begins and new figures show that final salary pension scheme payouts will reach a record high & peak this year.
Unite: London bus workers have overwhelmingly voted to support an industrial action ballot over the failure of London's bus operators to agree an Olympic payment. Unite, the union, is now preparing to formally ballot its members working for 15 London bus operators for strike action or industrial action short of a strike.
MoD: Territorial Army personnel keen to deploy on Op HERRICK must now pass through the intensive Afghan Tiger exercise, which comprises assessments on basic military drills and live firing.
NA: Maritime birth, marriage & death records are being launched online for the first time at findmypast.co.uk, in association with The National Archives. These sit alongside the Titanic passenger lists and Merchant Navy seamen records, which are already available to view.
