General News
WAG: A technically sophisticated ‘intelligent’ washing machine with green credentials designed, developed and hand built in West Wales is creating a major impact - before full production is underway. The Reason washing machine – which has been 7 years in the development stage - was only launched in March this year when 200 were auctioned on-line (with bids exceeding £2,000) to test the market and raise the profile of the brand.
The Reason washing machine saves energy & resources by sensing exactly how much water and detergent is needed for each wash – whether a towel or king sized duvet. Its green credentials are reinforced by using a water storage tank to stabilise the machine rather than the traditional use of steel or concrete.
The tank has a double purpose – it acts as ballast and stores water for washing. The stored water warms to the ambient room temperature and can be used with the 15º C new generation detergents without any additional heating.
HA: The Highways Agency, Durham and Cumbria Police are urging drivers to take care on the A66 in the run up to, during and after the Appleby Horse Fair, which this year runs from 4-11 June. The Fair is the largest Horse Fair in Europe and the week-long event attracts in the region of 1,000 to 1,400 caravans & horse drawn vehicles to the area each year and more than 30,000 visitors.
Gypsies & Travellers traditionally begin to arrive from late May, finally settling in Appleby when Fair Hill is opened. Horse drawn vehicles are particularly vulnerable and motorists need to take special care during the fair period. The message to horse drawn vehicle owners is simple; be safe be seen.
Press release ~ Appleby Horse Fair ~ HA Traffic information ~ Planners Approve Regulation and Licensing of Horse Fair Sites
PCS: A ballot for strike action involving PCS members working for the highly profitable defence technology company QinetiQ began last week over the company's decision to freeze pay, which came despite a rise in underlying operating profits from £106m in 2007 to £127m in 2008. The UK part of QinetiQ saw profits rise sharply by 30% in the 6 months till 30th September 2008.
Staff are angry that the company is using the recession as an excuse to freeze their pay whilst senior managers still receive large bonus payments. Last year chief executive Graham Love received a bonus payment of over £230,000. QinetiQ has attracted controversy since its privatisation which saw senior managers such as, Chief Executive Sir John Chisholm see his personal investment of £0.13m increase to £26m on flotation of the company.
Press release ~ PCS Union ~ MOD and QinetiQ ~ QinetiQ ~ PAC report on the privatisation of QinetiQ ~ Previous NAO press release ~ Previous MoD press release ~ Previous PCS press release
ScotGov: A recent multi-media campaign urging Scots parents to discuss drugs with their children has prompted a near six-fold increase in visits to the 'Know the Score' website and a 41% rise in calls to the helpline.
In the 2006 Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle & Substance Use Survey, 23% of 13 year olds said they had been offered a drug, while 9% said they had used a drug. 53% of 15 year olds said they had been offered a drug and 27% said they had used a drug.
Press release ~ Know the Score ~ 2006 Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle & Substance Use Survey ~ Drug Misuse Information Scotland ~ Scottish Drugs Forum ~ Scottish Drug Services Directory ~ Fresh online - Drugs
WAG: A total of 38 beaches and 5 Marinas in Wales have been awarded the prestigious European Blue Flag award this year, recognising the highest standards of bathing water quality and beach management. For the first time, Llanfairfechan in Conwy and Coppet Hall in Pembrokeshire have been awarded the Blue Flag honour.
The number of Blue Flags varies each year depending on natural effects including the weather. Rain affects water quality and added an extra dimension to the challenge of gaining these awards.
Press release ~ WAG – Blue Flag Beaches ~ WAG - Tourism ~ Green Sea Development Plan 2006-2015 ~ Best Beaches in Wales Beautiful Wales UK
FSCS: Customers of Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander (KSF) and Heritable Bank will shortly receive a letter from the Administrators of both banks, Ernst & Young LLP, asking them to submit a claim in order to qualify for the first dividend distribution which is expected to be paid in or around July 2009. Customers must submit their claims to the Administrators by the date specified in the letter.
Customers who have already been paid compensation by the FSCS will not be entitled to any dividend payments from the relevant administration as they will have had their claims paid in full and their rights will have been assigned in their entirety to the FSCS.
BERR: Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas has reminded British pilgrims to know their rights and be wary of dodgy tour operators when booking for Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. In previous years many pilgrims have been left disappointed & angry by tour operators offering a bad service.
With the average cost of a round-trip at £2,500 the Minister has written to Mosques and community groups to highlight the risk of scam artists and urge them to be vigilant. Since meeting with tour operators and pilgrims' groups last year applications to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) from Hajj tour operators seeking an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL) have doubled.
Press release ~ Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL) ~ BERR - Hajj ~ Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) – Hajj advice
MCA: ‘Tombstoning’ claimed another life when a 17 year old died from his injuries recently after jumping from rocks at South Shields. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) want to persuade young people to consider the risks involved and reinforce the message - Don't jump into the unknown!
Outdoor posters & stickers are available for use at danger spots such as promenades, harbours and piers. The MCA is working in partnership with the RNLI & RoSPA to tackle this growing problem through educational initiatives and working with local authorities who have tombstoning 'blackspots' in their area.
The MCA is a partner in the Sea Vision UK campaign to raise awareness & understanding of the sea and maritime activities. Sea Vision promotes the importance & economic value of the sector and works to highlight the exciting range of activities and career opportunities available to young people within the UK growing maritime sector
NA: With public health campaigns still an important means of communicating messages to the nation, The National Archives highlights some of the topical public information posters & films from the Second World War and beyond.
The government department responsible for publicity & propaganda during the Second World War was the Ministry of Information. The Central Office of Information (COI) was established in 1946, following the dissolution of the wartime Ministry of Information.
Press release ~
ESRC: The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) hasannounced significant changes to how it supports postgraduate training in the social sciences. The new Postgraduate Training Framework will move the ESRC away from a system of providing training through recognised outlets & individual courses and will instead create a national network of institutional level Doctoral Training Centres (DTC) and Doctoral Training Units (DTU) providing the very best training provision.
Key milestones in the implementation of the new framework:
July 2009 - Detailed requirements of application process circulated to HEIs
October 2009 - Workshop for applicants to be held in London
March 2010 - Closing date for submission of DTC and DTU applications
April - July 2010 - Peer review & assessment of DTC/DTU applications
July/August 2010 - Decisions announced in applicants
October 2011 - Students start under the new Framework
Press release ~ National Centre for Research Methods ~ Researcher Development Initiative ~ ESRC Society Today ~ ESRC Postgraduate Training Framework: A Strategy for Delivering Excellence ~ ESRC Postgraduate Training Framework: Frequently Asked Questions
HO: All former Gurkhas who have served in the British Army for at least 4 years will now be eligible for settlement in the UK, the Home Secretary has announced in Parliament. Under the new policy, those Gurkhas who retired prior to 1 July 1997 and completed 4 years service can apply to settle in the UK with their spouses and dependent children. Those who retired after 1 July 1997 are already eligible to apply for settlement under the current immigration rules.
The British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas (BG) is currently around 3,800 strong and provides around 3% of the Army's strength and 8% of the Infantry.
FA: Fellows Associates have highlighted that the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and Northgate Public Services have signed a new 3-year innovation partnership aimed at promoting & encouraging information exchange between the public and private sectors to deliver positive social care outcomes.
The two organisations at the forefront of the Transforming Social Care agenda will coordinate their activities at a time when the implications of self-directed support have created significant changes for all those who work in adult social care. Under the terms of the agreement, ADASS and Northgate will work together to provide complementary support including policy exchange, business planning development and website support. The partnership is set to run until 2011.
The two organisations at the forefront of the Transforming Social Care agenda will coordinate their activities at a time when the implications of self-directed support have created significant changes for all those who work in adult social care. Under the terms of the agreement, ADASS and Northgate will work together to provide complementary support including policy exchange, business planning development and website support. The partnership is set to run until 2011.
Press release ~ Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) ~ Northgate - Public Services
PCS: The PCS union has set in train a process that could see the union standing & supporting other candidates in future parliamentary elections. Delegates at the union’s national conference in Brighton overwhelmingly passed a motion to consult PCS members on whether to support or stand pro-public service trade union candidates in elections.
The decision to take forward the union’s Make Your Vote Campaign comes as anger mounts over MPs expenses, civil and public service cuts and dogmatic privatisation. Following a consultation with members, the union will ballot its 300,000 membership with proposals on standing or supporting candidates in elections after the general election.
NA: The National Archives has announced a study (closes late July 2009) into how archived websites are collected & made available to users. The study is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee and will take place in collaboration with the UK Web Archiving Consortium.
Please contact researchandcollections@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk if you would like to take part in surveys or discussions. The results will be published on The National Archives and UK Web Archiving Consortium websites in August 2009.
Press release ~ UK Web Archiving Consortium ~ NA Collection of UK government websites ~ Joint Information Systems Committee
ScotGov: eProcurement Scotland (ePS) handled nearly £2.5bn worth of transactions last year, a rise of 45% on 2007. Public sector procurement in Scotland is worth around £8bn a year. Set up in 2002, ePS is a fully hosted & managed eProcurement service for the Scottish public sector, including central government, local government, further & higher education and the NHS. There are over 100 public bodies currently using ePS and 70,000 suppliers are registered.
The Scottish Government's free advertising portal Public Contracts Scotland is a single source to give suppliers essential information on public sector business opportunities, worth around £8bn a year in Scotland.
