General News

ACEArts Council England will be making changes to the national & regional councils following an independent review of its non-executive governance.
Press release & links
 
TNA: On 30 April 2013 The National Archives will switch off its old catalogue, and Discovery will become the only way to search their collections.
Press release & links
 
UniteGPs across the UK should target the parents of children who they think have not received the MMR immunisations, Unite, the union, has urged. Unite, which embraces the Community Practitioners’ & Health Visitors’ Association, said that there needs to be a public awareness programme that informs parents – and not scares them.
Press release & links
 
LSIS: South London’s Lambeth College has become the first further education college in England to have utilised a new technique to gather ideas from its stakeholders employing the ‘wisdom of crowds’ process

This innovative project, supported by Learning & Skills Improvement Services used this ‘crowd-sourcing model’ to collect the thoughts, ideas & opinions to the question ‘Over the next five years, what do you think Lambeth College can do to help people get into work?’.
 
The new web-based technology enabled the institution to ‘virtually brainstorm’, collecting & analysing the ideas provided, with assistance from Shoshin Limited and Fountain Park, specialists in the design of ‘wisdom of crowds’ applications.
Press release & links
 
Socitm23% of visits to council websites are now from mobile devices, according to data from Socitm's Website Performance service (formerly Website take-up service), which collects data from council website visitors through a pop-up survey and is used by more than 100 local authorities to monitor usage & satisfaction with council websites.
Press release & links
 
TfL: The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has confirmed his decision to introduce a new Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) for the Congestion Charge scheme.  It will replace the existing discount and ensure that only the greenest zero or ultra-low emission vehicles driving into the capital receive a 100% discount. 
 
To qualify for the new discount vehicles will have to be either pure electric or be cars & vans that emit 75g/km or less of CO2 and meet the Euro 5 emission standard for air quality. The ULED will be introduced on 1 July 2013 and will provide a single 100% discount from the Congestion Charge for electric vehicles and ultra low emission cars & vans.
 
The Mayor also announced 2 further changes to the scheme that will see:
* the removal of the option to pay the charge in shops, which is now used for only 6% of payments
* an increase in the level of penalty charge from £120 to £130
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: The summer cabinet programme, which sees Scottish ministers meet in venues the length & breadth of Scotland, will continue into its sixth year with events in Shetland, Hawick, Campbeltown and Fraserburgh, First Minister Alex Salmond announced last week.  
Press release & links
 
FSCS: Help is on the way for hundreds of Marches Credit Union savers after it went into insolvency last week.  The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is stepping in to protect members of the credit union based in Kington, Herefordshire. 

Using credit union records, the FSCS will automatically send payments to members of the credit union.  FSCS will pay the vast majority of savers within 7 days.
Press release & links
 
FDA: The FDA, the union for senior managers & professionals in public service, has launched an alternative White Paper on civil service reform, which sets out 20 recommendations that it believes will help to deliver the sustainable world-class civil service that the public have a right to expect.
Press release & links
 
TfLTransport for London and the British Transport Police (BTP) have worked in partnership to successfully jail a fraudulent Oyster card user for 6 months, following a BTP investigation. Fatai Lawal of Barking has pleaded guilty to 2 charges of fraud relating to 2 false email accounts, which were used to fraudulently register other peoples' Oyster cards and transfer their balances to an Oyster card registered to Mr Lawal.
 
Investigation by the BTP had shown that 150 unregistered Oyster cards had been cancelled and the outstanding monies transferred to an Oyster card Mr Lawal was using, with a value of £1,700. All Oyster card users are urged to protect their cards to prevent any fraudulent use of their credit.
Press release & links
 
MoD: A Royal Marine and a Petty Officer were part of the first team to successfully recreate famous Antarctic explorer's 1916 rescue mission. Using the same equipment as Sir Ernest Shackleton’s party did a century ago, the pair were part of a 6-strong team who sailed from the edge of Antarctica to South Georgia, to cross the island’s mountains; the first men to complete the full journey since Shackleton himself.
 
In 1916, Sir Ernest took his whaler, the James Caird, from Elephant Island to South Georgia and struggled across the mountains to raise the alarm when his trans-Antarctic expedition became stranded after its ship, the Endurance, was crushed by the ice.
Press release & links
Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story