General News
DECC: Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker is calling on pensioners and those on low incomes to make sure they’ve claimed for the help to which they’re entitled to keep warm this winter.
UNITE: Greater enforcement against the ‘long hours’ culture endured by Britain’s 300,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers should become a government priority, Unite, the union, has urged.
MoD: Six Royal Marines Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) from the Commando Training Centre at Lympstone have raised £10,000 for Children in Need by completing the tests required to don the coveted green beret in just 24 hours (normally spread over 5 days), 'to prove it could be done'.
TUC: The TUC called for an end to violence & discrimination against transgender people on Transgender Day of Remembrance (20 November). The Day commemorates trans people who have been the victims of violent crimes and aims to bring their stories to public attention.
FSA: Bleiker’s is recalling one batch of its Traditional Oak Smoked Scottish Salmon because one pack in this small batch has been found to contain listeria. The batch number is ‘55x’ with a ‘use by’ date of 23 November 2011. If you have bought the product being recalled, do not eat it.
FSA: The Food Standards Agency has issued a Food Alert for Action warning consumers not to drink an illegal brand of vodka called Drop Vodka, which has been found on sale in some shops. Consumers are advised not to drink the vodka because it is not registered by any company in the UK and could be harmful.
Press release & links
Press release & links
TfL: Passengers using the Central line will soon begin to benefit from a rejuvenation of their carriages.
DH: Care Services Minister Paul Burstow has welcomed the Care Quality Commission’s announcement that it would carry out a programme of inspections of 250 providers of home care services.
HMRC: A new specialist unit targeting offshore tax cheats has been launched by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The Offshore Co-Ordination Unit (OCU) brings together a team of highly-skilled offshore analysts, technical tax experts & experienced investigators.
HO: The process of background checking more than 380,000 Games time workers, athletes & officials ahead of next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games has begun. All athletes, officials, workers & media who require access to Olympic and Paralympic venues in the summer of 2012 will be accredited.
MoD: Defender, the Navy's fifth state-of-the-art Type 45 destroyer, has successfully completed her first set of sea trials, with her speed, manoeuvrability, sensors and weapons having been tested over 3 weeks off Scotland.
Press release & links
Press release & links
IPCC: The IPCC believes the headline on an article published in The Guardian in connection with the investigation into the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan is ‘misleading, speculative and wholly irresponsible’.
ScotGov: 3 Scottish social landlords have been awarded a share of a bumper fund to install more efficient heating systems for their tenants.
EH: The past archaeological lives of the St Paul's Cathedral site have been revealed in a new English Heritage book.
CQC: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is to carry out a themed inspection programme of home care services. The programme will help the regulator develop new ways to ensure these services meet the essential standards people have a right to expect and that people are being treated with dignity and respect.
DCMS: Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has welcomed a partnership between the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and the Museum of London to educate schoolchildren. The bank’s Global Banking and Markets (GBM) arm is supporting the museum’s Learning Programme and will allow it continue into 2013. The programme is expected to reach more than 100,000 schoolchildren a year
PCS: Ministers' misleading claims that their proposals for public sector pensions will mean better retirement packages for some have been exposed by PCS union using the government's own figures.
Ofgem: Ian Marlee, Ofgem’s Partner for Markets said last week: “Ofgem welcomes British Gas’s recognition that suppliers need an open and honest dialogue with their customers. ….. “We will be examining British Gas’ proposals to see how far they meet our objectives to simplify tariffs, but we see a real advantage for consumers in a consistent, enforceable approach to reform and Ofgem is determined to deliver this.”
RoSPA: Organisations wishing to participate in the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2012 have less than a week left to register for entry. Registration closes on 1 December 2011.
Organisations that meet this deadline will then have until 01 February 2012 to submit their full entries on RoSPA Awards USB keys.
Press release & links
Organisations that meet this deadline will then have until 01 February 2012 to submit their full entries on RoSPA Awards USB keys.
Press release & links
DCMS: A website designed to allow people to tell Government & businesses how to make the internet more accessible has been launched by Communications Minister Ed Vaizey. The eAccessibility Forum website offers people using & working on the internet the opportunity to discuss difficulties they have noticed in accessing websites and other online services and to promote best practice.
The site will help the Forum, which is a broad coalition of Government, charity & private sector organisations, develop & share ways to improve online accessibility. It will also inform the Forum's eAccessibility Action Plan.
DH: From September 2012, a different vaccine will be used in the HPV vaccination programme, the Department of Health has announced. Following a competitive tendering exercise, Gardasil, supplied by Sanofi Pasteur MSD, will be the vaccine used in the next school year. Gardasil protects against the 2 types of HPV virus that cause more than 70% of cervical cancer in England and 2 types of HPV virus that cause 90% of genital warts.
WAG: Traffic Wales, the Welsh Government's traffic management & information service, has launched a new look, easy to use, website that will provide up-to-the minute information to motorists looking to plan their journeys. The revamped bilingual website - which will be refreshed & updated with key information - will include a number of new features to help drivers make travel decisions in an informed & less stressful way.
Traffic Wales makes this information available to both the public & the media to help advise of any incidents or events that may cause problems for a journey on our roads. The improved website will play a key part in this role.
Press release & links
Press release & links
HO: Budding designers have been asked to create an emblem to help sports clubs, fans and players mark their support for the government's campaign to kick homophobia and transphobia out of sport. The logo competition (closes on Wednesday 18 January 2012) is targeted at young people, but is open to anyone with creative flair.
Applicants have been asked to come up with a design that conveys a message of inclusion & respect in sport.) is targeted at young people, but is open to anyone with creative flair. Applicants have been asked to come up with a design that conveys a message of inclusion & respect in sport.
Applicants have been asked to come up with a design that conveys a message of inclusion & respect in sport.) is targeted at young people, but is open to anyone with creative flair. Applicants have been asked to come up with a design that conveys a message of inclusion & respect in sport.
DECC: The world’s first Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will be open to applicants from Monday 28 November 2011, providing payments for heat generated from renewable technologies including biomass boilers, solar thermal equipment and heat pumps installed since 15 July 2009.
HEFCE: The Higher Education Funding Council England has published full details of how the Government's proposals for changes to teaching funding & student number controls will be implemented in 2012-13.
WWF: WWF recently welcomed the Government’s announcement that £200m will be used as an incentive to launch the Green Deal. The funds could mean that potentially 1m households would benefit from £200 to help improve the energy efficiency of their home.
The Government has not yet released details about what mechanism will be used to provide the funds to homeowners - whether this is through council tax rebates, stamp duty rebates or a version of the ‘boiler- scrappage’ scheme.
MoD: The Service personnel who will take part in the British Services Antarctic Expedition 2012 have recently completed their final mission rehearsal exercise in the Ecrins National Park region of the French Alps.
The first ever joint Services expedition to the mainland of Antarctica will begin on 27 December 2011 and last for just over 2 months.
Press release & links
Press release & links
