General News
BIS: The first Government backed innovation awards, the iawards, were launched last week at the Science Museum, aim to celebrate the best of cutting edge British science & technology. The closing date for entries is 16 September 2009.
Entries for the 13 categories are open to all organisations, but must specify the British involvement in any innovation - demonstrating that innovative thinking & development came from a British organisation or team. Each entry must demonstrate how its innovative qualities relate to at least one of the following challenges: addressing the healthcare needs of a aging society; increasing international security from tackling global poverty to minimising the threat of terrorism; preserving finite natural resources in the face of population growth and climate change; and delivering public services which make best use of new technologies.
ScotGov: The electronic Acute Medication Service, or eAMS, is the first national system of its kind to go live anywhere in the UK, allowing doctors to send prescriptions electronically to pharmacies. It is now enabled in 99% of Scotland's GP practices & pharmacies.
In addition to cutting the risk of errors between GPs & pharmacists, eAMS adds improvements such as using universal codes for virtually all medicines. Patients will continue to be given traditional paper prescriptions in addition to the electronic version and this will continue until the system is well-established. There is no intention of moving to an entirely paperless prescribing system.
Press release ~ Acute Medication Service (eAMS) ~ Chronic Medication Service ~ ScotGov- Health information
LD: The National Land Information Service (NLIS) Hub has announced a decision to reduce its local authority combined LLC1 and CON29R service provider charge to NLIS channels by more than 50%. The reduction will happen in October 2009 and licensed conveyancers who subscribe to the NLIS channels will benefit.
DCMS: A competition open to the whole of the UK to find the nation’s first ‘City of Culture’ has been launched by Culture Secretary, Ben Bradshaw. The winning city will become a focus for national attention in 2013 and could host high-profile media events including the Turner Prize, BBC Sports Personality of the Year, The Brits and the Stirling Prize as part of their year in the spotlight.
Building on Liverpool’s success as European Capital of Culture in 2008 the government claims that the successful city could expect to see economic & social benefits flow in, leaving a lasting legacy. Bids will also be welcome from closely linked urban areas, or cities with their surrounding areas. The important thing is that there must be a clear central focus to the area.
Bidders will have until 16 October 2009 to submit an outline application, with a deadline of 11 December 2009 for initial bids. Those bids that are short listed have until 28 May 2010to submit their full & final bids. The winning city will be provided with the title of UK City of Culture for their year, and given rights to the UK City of Culture brand, with scope to tailor it to their own city if desired.
HA: A new framework contract worth up to £130m for technical consultancy services to support the operation & improvement of England’s motorways and major A roads has been awarded by the Highways Agency. It gives the Agency access to specialist technical consultancy advice in areas ranging from research & development through to the implementation of standards & guidance.
The framework approach builds on the success of previous similar arrangements and is designed to ensure good value for money by giving the Agency access to specialist expertise without the need tender for individual projects. The scope of services provided will be extremely wide, ranging from support on major projects valued at several million pounds and lasting several years to small tasks requiring just a few days work.
HO: The Home Office has announced that, following a pricing review, the CRB has agreed to reduce the fee charged for a Standard Disclosure from £31 to £26. The change will come into effect from 1 October 2009. The fee reduction has been made possible due to an expected increase in the volume of disclosure applications being processed as the new Vetting & Barring Scheme goes live in October.
The following fee levels will apply from 1 October throughout the remainder of 2009/10:
* Standard CRB check £26 (reduced from £31)
* Enhanced CRB check £36
* POVAFirst check £6
ACE: Arts Council England have announced final details of an organisation-wide restructure that will ‘transform’ the way it serves the arts & audiences, while saving £6.5m a year in administration costs. This major review was informed by recommendations of the 2008 McMaster, McIntosh and Hodge reviews and Chief Executive Alan Davey’s vision for the organisation.
Details of the proposed changes can be found here. Implementation of the changes will begin immediately and the new structure will be in place by April 2010.
Press release ~ 'The Arts Council - Managed to Death' report ~ ACE response to McIntosh review (see annex for review) ~ McMaster Review: Supporting excellence in the arts - from measurement to judgement
ACE: Fans of the cult hit BBC3 series ‘Being Human’ and the Richard Curtis classic ‘Notting Hill’ are in for An Afternoon Less Ordinary when beauty meets the beast on stage at the Royal Court on 21 July 2009 at 4pm. Actors Russell Tovey – George the werewolf from ‘Being Human’ and one of the original History Boys – and Gina McKee who played the lovely Bella in Notting Hill, are the first star names to be announced for a special event to celebrate A Night Less Ordinary, Arts Council England’s free theatre ticket scheme for under 26 year olds.
After a 20 minute performance – a reading of a new play by young playwright Anya Reiss - members of the audience will have the chance to mingle with the stars at an informal gathering in the theatre bar. All tickets for the special event are available free to anyone under 26 by calling 0845 300 6200 and are sure to go fast. Lines are open Monday-Friday 9am – 5pm. Proof of age is required on collection and drinks are not included.
GEO: Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, has announced the reappointment of Trevor Phillips as Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission for a second three-year term. She also announced the reappointment of Baroness Margaret Prosser as Deputy Chair for the same period.
The reappointments of Trevor Phillips and Baroness Prosser will be accompanied by a restructured EHRC Board. The number of Commissioners will be reduced to reflect the new structure of the organisation and to help prepare for its new role in delivering the Equality Bill.
MCA: A Coastguard radio ad warns about ‘tombstoning’. The new radio filler is part of an ongoing campaign advising against the madness of tombstoning by HM’s Coastguard following a spate of deaths from the activity in the last few years. Since 2005, they have dealt with 10 deaths and 36 serious injuries from Tombstoning.
Nick Biddlecombe, a tombstoning victim who is permanently wheelchair bound after a devastating spinal injury when he was 17 years old said in an interview: “We’d all go down there, but none of us had the intention of jumping; seeing who could prove that they were the bigger man really. I was bet 50p and a cigarette that I wouldn’t jump first, so I did. …. I remember waking up under the water, I tried to move my arms and my legs to swim up and I couldn’t”
Press release ~ MCA - Tombstoning (scroll down for radio filler)
HA: Motorway signs that automatically read the road ahead are being used to make journeys easier & safer as thousands of holidaymakers head for the coast. The signs encourage drivers to slow down gradually if there is congestion ahead, which means queues are more likely to disappear and traffic keeps moving at a steady rate.
Among the most frequent are the ‘MIDAS’ signs (Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling). These use sensors buried in the road surface to automatically detect slow-moving traffic and warn traffic further back – effectively increasing the ‘view’ of the road from a few hundred metres to several miles ahead. Sometimes this means that when the signs warn of a ‘queue ahead’, the queue will actually have dispersed by the time drivers reach the point of the original problem.
Another type of sign, called Travel Time Variable Message Signs, use monitoring equipment to measure the actual time taken by vehicles on a particular stretch of motorway. For example, a sign on the M5 at Exeter displays the current time it is taking vehicles to reach Bodmin via the A30, 65 miles further ahead.
Press release ~ HA – Traffic information ~ Traffic Radio service on DAB digital radio and the internet ~ On a mobile
Defra: Movements of fish into, out of and within 3 fisheries in Norfolk have been restricted, following the confirmation of koi herpesvirus disease. Cefas, acting on behalf of Defra, has issued Confirmed Designations prohibiting the movement of fish into, out of and within the affected sites, all of which are operated by Barford Lakes, Chapel Street, Barford, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 4BJ. The designated fisheries are as follows:
* CD 27/ 2009 Barford Lakes, Chapel Street, Barford, Norfolk, NR9 4BJ also including Marlingford Mere, Marlingford Hall, Norfolk
* CD 28/ 2009 Colton and Greenacres Reservoirs, Colton, Dereham, Norfolk
* CD 29/ 2009 Railway and Willow Lakes, Station Road, Thuxton, Dereham, Norfolk
Under the requirements of the designations, the waters listed above operated by Barford Lakes have been directed to establish & maintain on-site facilities for the disinfection of angling equipment at all access points for each of the designated sites and anglers must comply with their use.
Press release ~ Koi Herpesvirus (KHV) Disease: Garden Ponds and Aquaria ~ Koi Herpesvirus (KHV) Disease ~ eFish Business ~ Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) ~ Testing Service
TfL: More than 140,000 cyclists in the Capital are being sent a link to a new cycle safety training film for cyclists & lorry drivers as part of work by Transport for London (TfL) to reduce the number of cyclists killed and seriously injured in the Capital.
The 5 minute film, which anyone can watch online, has been designed to help cyclists & lorry drivers navigate London´s busy roads – and each other – safely. Filmed from both the cyclists & drivers points of view, it outlines a series of golden rules
TfL continues to work with haulage companies though the Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) to address the problem of collisions between cyclists and goods vehicles. Companies are working with TfL to put warning signage on the back of their vehicles and educate their drivers about how to behave around cyclists (9,800 signs have been distributed to date).
In the past year, TfL has distributed 15,000 free safety lenses (through FORS), known as ‘Fresnel’ lenses, to freight companies operating vehicles in London. The easy to fit lenses stick on to the passenger window of a truck cab, improving lorry drivers' vision of cyclists who come within close proximity of their vehicles.
Press release ~ TfL – Cycle Safely ~ London Cycling Campaign ~ Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) ~ VOSA information sheet
STFC: Two spacecraft that will be used to monitor disaster areas across the world in the event of a catastrophe on the scale of the 2004 tsunami are being tested at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC’s) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
NigeriaSat-2 and NX owned by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) will form part of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) when they are launched next year. DMC was set up by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (a satellite company that delivers operational space missions for a range of applications) and brings together a unique collaborative partnership of several nations to provide emergency images in the event of a disaster.
High resolution photos can be taken on a daily basis at any given point on the globe as was the case during the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2007.
Press release ~ Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) ~ Surrey Satellite Technology Limited ~ Images of disasters ~ STFC’s Space Science and Technology Department ~ National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)
LSN: The Learning and Skills Network is taking a new strategic direction, offering its expertise to new sectors, while extending its support for further education & training. Its new mission – ‘making learning work from the classroom to the boardroom’ – underlines an ongoing commitment to such crucial national programmes.
After 3 years as the ‘Learning and Skills Network’, the organisation will now be known simply as ‘LSN’. In addition, it has changed its website address to www.lsnlearning.org.uk and is launching a new, distinctive version of its brand.
Press release ~ Triple Science Support Programme ~ Diploma Support Programme ~ Mentoring for newly qualified science teachers ~ Mobile Learning Network - MoLeNET
IfL: Monday 13 July 2009 was a landmark occasion for teachers & trainers in the further education & skills sector. The Institute for Learning (IfL) hosted an awards ceremony for the first ever group of teachers & trainers in the sector to complete the professional formation process and gain Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) status.
IfL is responsible for conferring QTLS or ATLS status, a new requirement for those joining the sector after September 2007 and open to all teachers & trainers across the sector. Formal recognition of full professional status, awarded by IfL, puts FE teachers & trainers on a par with other professionals.
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