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General News
STFC: Scientists have been able to reconstruct, for the first time, the intricate 3-dimensional structure of the backbone of early tetrapods, the earliest four-legged animals. High-energy X-rays and a new data extraction protocol allowed the researchers to reconstruct the backbones of the 360m year old fossils in exceptional detail and shed new light on how the first vertebrates moved from water onto land.
LGA: Academies & free schools are failing in their ‘moral duty' to ensure children are getting healthy school meals, local government leaders are warning. The Local Government Association is concerned that more than 1m children attending independently run free schools or academies could be eating poor quality meals that don't meet legal food standards, because of a worrying exemption in legislation.
NHS Confed: Commenting on the details published recently concerning public health budgets, Jo Webber says ‘it is encouraging to see the Government asserting its commitment to improving health outcomes’.
HEFCE: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Minister for Universities & Science have confirmed funding allocations to the Higher Education Funding Council England for 2013-14 and the Government’s priorities for the Council for the coming year.
HPA: A scientific paper published in Eurosurveillance on 3 January 2013 described a new variant of norovirus (genotype G11 – 4) called Sydney 2012. The latest testing of the most recent outbreaks, completed this week, has now shown that Sydney 2012 has overtaken all others to become the dominant strain.
This new strain does not cause more serious illness than others and the methods of managing cases & outbreaks are the same for any strain of norovirus. These measures include washing the hands thoroughly and regularly particularly after using the toilet and before eating.
ScotGov: Scotland’s war memorials will be cleaned & restored in readiness for the anniversary of the First World War through a new fund being made available to communities across the country. The additional £1m for the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund will pay for the upgrade & maintenance of memorials in villages, towns & cities in Scotland that pay tribute to those who gave their lives during both world wars & other conflicts.
Any enquiries about grants should be sent to Historic Scotland Investment Team and the funding will be available over the course of the 4 year centenary commemorations from 2014-18 to allow communities to choose the best time to restore their war memorials, from the start of commemorations in August 2014 until Armistice Day 2018.
MoD: A university professor who has improved mental health services for the Armed Forces has been made a Knight Bachelor. Sir Simon Wessely’s (Professor of Psychological Medicine, Director of King’s College London’s Centre for Military Health Research) academic work has led to a better understanding of Gulf War Illness and to more effective psychological support for the Armed Services.
DfE: Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has announced that the Teaching Agency and National College for School Leadership will merge to create a single agency, focussed on promoting high-quality teaching & school leadership.
The new agency will lead on delivering school workforce reforms. Its remit will include teacher training, continuous professional development & supporting school improvement to address under-performance in the education system. The new agency will formally come into effect by the end of March 2013.
Ofsted: A new inspection framework for all ‘non-association’ independent schools in England will raise expectations for further improvement in these schools. Inspectors will be making a new judgement about the effectiveness of the school’s leadership & management. They will also make a judgement about the school’s overall effectiveness, which summarises the key inspection judgements.
CAB: Citizens Advice has responded to the news that ‘banks and the FSA are discussing a deadline for when all PPI claims must be made’. Citizens Advice Chief Executive Gillian Guy said: "A deadline for mis-sold PPI claims could only be fair if, in exchange, the banks comply with an obligation to contact every customer who was sold PPI to tell them they may be entitled to make a claim”.
Monitor: There is no draft report of the Fair Playing Field Review and Monitor does not intend to provide a running commentary on the review. Monitor has yet to decide what recommendations it will make to the Secretary of State. However in the light of recent media speculation, Monitor has decided to clarify the position on one specific issue – it will not be recommending that private sector providers should be exempt from paying corporation tax.
ACE: Arts Council National portfolio organisation, Artangel, and new partners BBC Radio 4 have launched an Open call for artists. ‘Creatives’ working in any media, from anywhere in the UK, can apply for funding & support for site-specific projects - and for the first time this includes artists working the digital space. The closing date for submissions is Monday 29 April 2013.
ACE: Arts Council England has announced 3 new delivery partnerships for its Music industry talent development fund, Transforming arts fundraising programme and Developing resilient leadership programme. Specific details of how artists & arts organisations can get involved in the programmes will be announced in the coming months.
Defra: A new £1m pot for research to help the gardening industry end its reliance on peat has been announced. The funding has been made available as part of the Government’s response to a report from an independent Task Force, which was set up to help the horticulture industry manage the transition from using increasingly scarce supplies of peat to using sustainable growing products such as compost from garden waste.
ACE: Arts Council England is looking for a national provider to run a 3-year programme which will help organisations & artists ‘engage with strategic commissioning opportunities in the public service sector’. Applications must be submitted online no later than 5pm Tuesday 26 February 2013.
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