General Reports and Other Publications
Defra: Defra has made public supporting data behind the successful licensing of the first tuberculosis vaccine for badgers (Badger BCG), which was licensed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate in March 2010. The studies were carried out by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) and the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera).
Defra has also published the results of new computer modelling by the Fera, which has examined different strategies for controlling TB in badgers, including both culling & vaccination.
Defra has also published the results of new computer modelling by the Fera, which has examined different strategies for controlling TB in badgers, including both culling & vaccination.
The laboratory studies with captive badgers demonstrated that the vaccination of badgers by injection with BCG significantly reduces the progression, severity and excretion of Mycobacterium bovis infection.
A key finding of the field study, conducted over 4 years in a naturally infected population of more than 800 wild badgers in Gloucestershire, was that vaccination resulted in a 74% reduction in the proportion of wild badgers testing positive to the antibody blood test for TB in badgers.
A key finding of the field study, conducted over 4 years in a naturally infected population of more than 800 wild badgers in Gloucestershire, was that vaccination resulted in a 74% reduction in the proportion of wild badgers testing positive to the antibody blood test for TB in badgers.
Press release ~ Reports published on 8 November 2010 ~ Veterinary Medicines Directorate ~ Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) ~ Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera)
WAO: Special schools in Wales are making good use of available funds, but many councils have not reflected the changing circumstances that schools find themselves in when deciding on what funding and support to give. That is the conclusion of a report (published by the Auditor General for Wales) which was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government as part of a review of Special Educational Needs throughout Wales.
RUSI: The UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) has just begun to identify how the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will be able to meet the challenging target for spending cuts that it has been set, according to a new paper from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Unbalancing the Force: Prospects for UK Defence After the SDSR, by Professor Malcolm Chalmers, points out that defence spending is now due to be cut by 7.5% in real terms over the next 4 years, even as the armed forces remain heavily committed to ongoing operations in Afghanistan.
In contrast to spending cuts at the end of the Cold War, the paper points out, 'This new round of cuts ... is primarily a response to a worsening fiscal environment, not to an improving strategic situation.'
In contrast to spending cuts at the end of the Cold War, the paper points out, 'This new round of cuts ... is primarily a response to a worsening fiscal environment, not to an improving strategic situation.'
Press release ~ Unbalancing the Force: Prospects for UK Defence After the SDSR ~ RUSI: Future Defence Review
HMIC: The criminal justice system is fragmented & bureaucratic, stifling innovation to speed up sluggish processes and raise confidence, HMIC found in a report published last week. The report (‘Stop the Drift’) finds that more needs to be done to explain to the public why some offenders never end up in court.
HMIC found that the system would work better if justice agencies stop it growing, improve wasteful processes, and make the most of innovation. But all agencies must pull together. The system has grown, with 14 pieces of legislation added to the criminal justice process over the last 15 years. It takes around 1,000 steps to deal with a simple domestic burglary.
NAO: Ofcom is doing more with less and, over the last 5 years, has saved some £23m, according to a report published by the National Audit Office. However, it is not possible to conclude on the extent to which Ofcom is delivering optimal value for the resources it uses. This is because, with its complex remit across the telecommunications sector, it needs a better articulation of the intended outcomes of its activities and how its work achieves those outcomes.
PX: A new report from think tank Policy Exchange calls for private operators to get the right to call themselves universities and award degrees. The recommendations in Higher Education in the Age of Austerity would pave the way for the biggest shake-up in how universities are run since the 1960s.
Newswire – CPA: The Committee of Public Accounts has published its fifth report of this session which, on the basis of evidence from the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation, examined the measures taken to tackle overcrowding and obtaining value for money from the rail network.
BHF: Women suffering heart attack symptoms delayed going to hospital for nearly 3 hours, according to the findings of a US study. Researchers found men also delayed - but sought help sooner than women.
British Heart Foundation senior cardiac nurse, Ellen Mason, said: “A delay of nearly three hours from the onset of symptoms is far too long. Heart attacks are often fatal, and they can cause irreparable damage to the heart muscle in some cases meaning it won’t function properly afterwards”.
Read about the BHF Angina Monologues campaign to find out why women need to look after their hearts too.
British Heart Foundation senior cardiac nurse, Ellen Mason, said: “A delay of nearly three hours from the onset of symptoms is far too long. Heart attacks are often fatal, and they can cause irreparable damage to the heart muscle in some cases meaning it won’t function properly afterwards”.
Read about the BHF Angina Monologues campaign to find out why women need to look after their hearts too.
ESRC: Management & business performance, rather than technological innovation, is the main focus for companies collaborating with universities, according to major survey of businesses conducted by the Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
The survey shows that collaborations are primarily based on problem solving, people- or community-based interactions rather than technology transfer.
The survey shows that collaborations are primarily based on problem solving, people- or community-based interactions rather than technology transfer.
Press release ~ University-Industry Knowledge Exchange: Demand Pull, Supply Push and the Public Space: Role of Higher Education Institutions in the UK Regions ~ Economic and Social Research Council
IFS: Britain's tax system is ripe for reform in ways that could significantly increase people's welfare and improve the performance of the economy, according to a landmark review chaired by the Nobel laureate Sir James Mirrlees for the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
IISS: Tensions are growing in Lebanon ahead of the issuance of indictments, expected later this year, in the February 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.
nef: We can build 1m new affordable homes over the next 5 years and still cut Government spending if measures are taken to reduce the cost of building land and the interest rates paid by social landlords, says a new report from independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation).
nef's new report, One Million Homes, argues that the Government could make savings potentially even larger than those proposed by the Chancellor, while at the same time making serious inroads into the housing shortage. Under some scenarios nef believes that the National Affordable Housing Programme’s budget could be saved in its entirety if Government acted on the report's recommendations.
PwC: Advances in technology, changes in employee ways of working and vast increases in data storage capacity are leaving companies open to a new era of governance & legal risks, says PwC in a new report published last week.
The Future of E-disclosure 2020, shows how courts & regulators are becoming increasingly intolerant of inadequate or incomplete document disclosure and how many companies’ information, storage & retrieval capabilities no longer cut it in a world where corporate data volumes grow upwards of 40% a year.
ScotGov: Scottish Government Finance Secretary John Swinney has reacted to the latest Economic Commentary from the University of Strathclyde's Fraser of Allander Institute.
Newswire – CIPD: A new research report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) demonstrates the business case for putting soft skills at the heart of an organisation’s learning & talent development agenda.
The research puts soft skills firmly at the heart of the skills agenda and provides a practical insight into the issues surrounding soft skills, how they mix with technical skills and how HR can add value to the organisation.
HEFCE: The wealth of impacts of academic research for the benefit of the economy & society can now be assessed, described & rewarded, according to a report to the 4 UK higher education funding bodies, published last week.
A separate report from Technopolis Group on the lessons learned by the 29 pilot higher education institutions confirms the feasibility of the approach.
Press release ~ Report to the four UK higher education funding bodies ~ Lessons learned from Technopolis Group ~ Research Assessment Exercise ~ Research Excellence Framework (REF)
Newswire – Acas: Acas, the conciliation service, has published new research that shows that opportunities to resolve collective disputes by bringing in Acas at an earlier stage are being missed.
It also revealed there was some confusion on what conciliation means in practice which may be stopping union officials using Acas' collective conciliation service.
It also revealed there was some confusion on what conciliation means in practice which may be stopping union officials using Acas' collective conciliation service.
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