General News
WAG: A new £9.7m housing scheme in Wrexham that allows older people to live independent lives has been officially opened by the First Minister Carwyn Jones. Managed by Clwyd Alyn Housing Association, in partnership with Wrexham County Borough Council, it has been designed to promote independent living for older people over the age of 55 in a safe & supported environment.
WAG: CAFCASS Cymru has introduced an all-Wales approach to the provision of child contact services in Wales, by appointing the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC) as the network manager for Wales. As the accreditation body for child contact centres, the NACCC has the appropriate expertise to provide advice around levels of need and ensure services are consistently delivered to a high standard across Wales.
Monitor: A plan to protect health services for patients at a financially-challenged hospital trust is being drawn up for Monitor, the independent regulator, on behalf of the local community. Experts are being called in to recommend a viable long-term solution for patients who use services currently provided by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
MAS: New research from the Money Advice Service reveals over half of the UK population is falling through the money advice gap, but people in Wales are hungriest for advice. As MAS launch their new campaign to help millions of people get on top of managing their money, they published new research findings highlighting the size of the advice gap.
FSA: Morrisons has recalled all batches of its dried goji berries because of incorrect allergen labelling information. The product contains sulphur dioxide that is not mentioned on the label. If you are sensitive to sulphites don’t eat this product. The Food Standards Agency has issued an Allergy Alert.
EHRC: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has ended its formal agreement with Thames Valley Police on its use of stop & search. The 18-month agreement was drawn up after the Commission found the police force was stopping & searching many more black & Asian people than other people.
The Commission agrees that Thames Valley Police has now met its criteria for improvement. The force has reduced the significant & persistent race differences in stop & search. In addition, its stop & search detection rates have gone up; and there is not any apparent adverse effect on crime levels.
EH: English Heritage has released its London List 2011, a compilation of all the sites awarded listed status in the capital last year. From the iconic Lloyds Building in the City, to a pioneering maternity hospital in Clapham, the publication profiles more than 100 sites, including 19 Underground stations, 4 war memorials and 2 schools. Some are well known, others obscure, but all are now formally recognised for their special historic and architectural interest.
TfL: The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) have set out plans for the extension of the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme to south west London and the introduction of additional docking stations in busy areas.
CEOP: As holidays end and a new school year begins, young people will once again be spending more time socialising, sharing & exploring their creativity online. There’s never been a better time for parents & young people to talk about staying safe online, which is why the Child Exploitation and Online Protection CEOP Centre have released an enhanced new app, ClickCEOP, to provide support & advice on online safety.
Everyone on Facebook in the UK can have direct access to CEOP’s advice & reporting centre ClickCEOP – from their homepage. The app provides the very latest help on online safety as well as a dedicated facility for reporting instances of suspected grooming or inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Defra: Over 330 square km of marine habitat off the coast of Dorset will be given greater protection, Natural Environment Minister Richard Benyon announced last week. The site located at Studland to Portland is over half the size of the New Forest National Park, and has been submitted by the Government to the European Commission to become a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
When designated it will complete England’s network of coastal SACs and will mean its reefs will be protected from damaging human activities and its rare features conserved.
When designated it will complete England’s network of coastal SACs and will mean its reefs will be protected from damaging human activities and its rare features conserved.
