General News

FSAAsda has withdrawn its own-brand milk chocolate because chocolate containing nuts has been wrongly packed into milk chocolate packaging.  The label does not state that the chocolate contains nuts, which means the product is a possible health risk to anyone with a nut allergy.  The Agency has issued an Allergy Alert.
Press release ~ Asda withdraws its own brand Milk Chocolate due to a packaging error resulting in incorrect allergen information
 
FSA: As Muslims observe Ramadan, the Food Standards Agency advises that people should consider avoiding drinking bottled water described or labelled as Zam Zam water.  This is because tests have shown ‘Zam Zam’ water sold in the UK, or brought into the UK for personal consumption, contains high levels of arsenic or nitrates

If consumers find any water on sale that is labelled as Zam Zam, they should contact the local authority enforcement office at their local council so they can investigate further.
Press release ~ Search for a local authority
 
MoD: Building on 2 years of success, the Sun Military Awards, dubbed 'The Millies', are returning to honour outstanding members of Britain's Service community. Organised by The Sun newspaper in close association with the Ministry of Defence, the Millies focus on the excellence of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, whether it be on front line operations or more routine business.

There are 11 awards in total and each one is open to all serving members of the UK armed forces (except the Support to the Armed Forces award which is specifically for civilians). Nominations for 10 of the 11 award categories can be made by members of the armed forces and the general public until Monday 13 September 2010. An 11th category winner will be chosen by a special panel of Millies judges.
Press release ~ Related Links and Information
 
MoD: Ships from 4 countries have spent the past week getting to grips with disaster relief training at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. FRUKUS 10 is an annual quadrilateral exercise which was originally established in 1988 as a means of enhancing operational capability & understanding between the 4 countries. The exercise is now the cornerstone of navy-to-navy cooperation with Russia.
 
The scenario for this year's exercise took the form of a hurricane disaster and the teams had to offer humanitarian assistance and medical treatment to casualties, as well as coping with flash fires, flooding and sanitation problems. During the exercise the task group had to cook and provide lunch to the casualties and visitors in a field kitchen type scenario.
Press release ~ Related Links
 
MoJ: Plans to build a new 360 place juvenile prison on the site of HMYOI Glen Parva will not be pursued as part of additional budget savings. A cheaper, equivalent number of adult prison places will instead be provided on existing prison sites in a move that reflects the falling population of juveniles in custody. 

This forms part of the £325m that the Ministry of Justice will contribute to the savings of £6bn for this financial year (2010-2011), as announced by the Chancellor recently.
Press release ~ £325m of savings
 
Ofcom: Ofcom has confirmed that it will make 2 new pan-European ‘116 numbers’ available in the UK.  Pan-European 116 numbers were introduced last year so that people can call helplines using the same memorable number regardless of which EU country they are in.  The next stage is for potential relevant service providers to express their interest in using these numbers by 1 October 2010.
 
The numbers being made available are:
* 116 006 which will be used as a helpline for victims of crime
* 116 117 for a non-emergency medical on-call service
Press release ~ Read Ofcom’s statement on making these numbers available for allocation in the UK
 
MoD: The nationwide programme to build the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers passed another milestone when construction on the first ship, the Queen Elizabeth, began in Birkenhead recently. Birkenhead company Cammell Laird is the final shipyard in the programme to begin construction and will build 2 of the sections that will make up the ship's giant flight deck.
Press release ~ Photos and related links
 
CLG: The £22 fixed fee charged for personal searches of councils' local land charges register is to be abolished.  Such land searches tell a home buyer about restrictions or issues that affect the property, such as planning conditions, conservation areas and protected trees.
Press release
 
MoD: Men, machines and (most recently) animals, are working together to beat the biggest threat to troops in Afghanistan - improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid by insurgents.
Press release ~ Photos and related news
 
MoD: The Ministry of Defence's 'Battle Back' programme for injured servicemen & women has teamed up with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to develop opportunities in the sport for injured personnel. Around 30 servicemen & women undergoing treatment (and their families) were given an opportunity to try out tennis at the launch.  

It is hoped that the initiative will not only act as an aid to their recovery, but will hopefully encourage them into a longer term involvement in the sport.
 
The Tennis Foundation is looking to build relations with rehabilitation centres for injured servicemen around the country and Halton Tennis Club is establishing a tennis programme with links to the Armed Forces Rehabilitation Centre at Halton, as well as the Stoke Mandeville spinal unit nearby.
Press release ~ Photos and related links
 
DWP: An independent review into early intervention, which aims to ensure that children at greatest risk of multiple disadvantage get the best start in life, will be chaired by Graham Allen MP.  It will also consider how such schemes could be supported through innovative funding models, including through non-Government streams. 

The review will report by the end of January 2011 on the issue of best practice and provide an interim report on funding.  A final report on funding will be produced by May 2011.
Press release ~ Early Intervention: Good Parents, Great Kids, Better Citizens
 
DCMS: Plans to make sure London keeps moving during the 2012 Games and that athletes, officials, media & the Olympic family can get to venues on time have been published.  A total of 82,000 people will use the ORN during the Games.
Press release ~ Olympic Route Network and Paralympic Route Network
 
NA: A new website launched last week by The National Archives will give clearer, faster & simpler access to legislation, from Magna Carta to the latest statutory instruments.  At www.legislation.gov.uk people will for the first time be able to find details of everything on the statute book in the same place, for FREE.
 
The site will enable officials, lawyers and ordinary citizens alike to scrutinise the laws on which their legal rights and responsibilities are based.  A simple web search will quickly find key legislation, such as the Consumer Credit Act and the Data Protection Act.
 
Legislation.gov.uk replaces The Office of Public Sector Information (www.opsi.gov.uk) and Statute Law Database (www.statutelaw.gov.uk) websites to deliver an integrated & responsive service and better value to the taxpayer. Users can also link between associated legislative documents including EU legislation on the EURLex.
Press release ~ Legislation.gov.uk 
Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story