General News

BIS: Consumers can now access their statutory credit report online for a nominal fee of only £2 from all 3 major UK credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Callcredit, after they reached an agreement with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.  

Continued FREE access to credit reports for victims of ID fraud and the financially vulnerable has also been secured by the government.  Free reports will be offered to those referred by debt advice agencies, which Experian has done since 1996.
Press release ~ www.callcredit.co.uk ~ www.equifax.co.uk ~ www.experian.co.uk
 
CEOP: Young Facebook users across the UK are the focus of a new initiative launched last week by the UK’s national centre for child protection – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and Facebook.
 
For the first time all Facebook users in the UK (especially those aged between 13 – 18 years) can have direct access to CEOP’s advice & reporting centre – ClickCEOP – from their homepage giving them the very latest help on online safety, as well as a dedicated facility for reporting instances of suspected grooming or inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Press release ~ CEOP’s new Facebook page
 
FSAMolson Coors has recalled Carling, Grolsch and Coors Light home draught beer dispensing units because there is a small chance of the beer bottle in the unit breaking when the CO2 cartridge is activated.  The Food Standards Agency has issued a Product Recall Information Notice.
Press release ~ Molson Coors recalls number of Home Draught Beer Units due to possible rupture of Beer Bottle after activation of CO2 cartridge
 
FSAWalkers has recalled some packets of its Ready Salted Crisps and Salt & Vinegar Crisps sold in multipacks, because the packets might contain crisps with other seasonings.  This means the products are a possible health risk to people with an allergy to milk, soya or barley, or an intolerance to lactose or gluten, so the Agency has issued an Allergy Alert.
Press release ~ Walkers recall certain batches of Walkers Ready Salted and Salt & Vinegar Crisps due to incorrect allergen information
 
PCS: The new government's plans to cut civil service redundancy terms could be challenged in parliament and the courts, the PCS has warned. Following legal advice, the union is urging MPs to question the validity of the ‘money bill’ laid in parliament last week by Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude.
 
Plans to cut the accrued rights of existing civil & public servants could also be challenged on human rights grounds, the union believes. The High Court has ruled twice in PCS’s favour that the previous government acted unlawfully when it tried to cut redundancy terms without the union’s agreement
 
The union also says the Cabinet Office’s claim that civil servants can receive 6 years’ pay on being made redundant is highly misleading because this applies to almost none of the existing workforce. Nor is it accurate to say that the ‘average’ payout is 3 years’ salary.  Only staff with 20 years’ service would qualify for this, but the average length of service for admin officers - who make up 47% of the civil service - is just 7 years, rising to 14 years for executive officers.
Press release ~ PCS: Facts about pay and pensions
 
IfL: The Institute for Learning (IfL), the independent professional body for teachers & trainers throughout the FE & skills sector, is reminding members of the need to make their annual continuing professional development (CPD) declaration by 31 August 2010.
Press release  ~ www.ifl.ac.uk/cpd ~ www.ifl.ac.uk/declare ~ IfL's 2008-09 review of CPD
Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story