Policy Statements and Initiatives
HMT: A number of changes to legislation to tackle tax avoidance have been announced. 2 measures with immediate effect will tackle tax avoidance by:
* preventing groups of companies using intra-group loans or derivatives, to reduce the group's tax bill
* addressing schemes where a company does not fully recognise certain amounts in its accounts involving loans and derivatives
Three measures with further detail to be set out shortly, will tackle tax avoidance through:
* addressing the practice of disguised remuneration
* stopping investment companies retrospectively changing the currency they prepare their accounts in for tax purposes
* tackling businesses who artificially split the supply of services to reduce VAT
* tackling businesses who artificially split the supply of services to reduce VAT
DFID: The UK is giving extra support to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) to develop farming practices which will help ensure more food is available for struggling communities.
One example of CGIAR's cutting-edge developments is a special flood-resistant rice that can breathe under water for up to 2 weeks. The grain – known as scuba rice – has a flood-resistant gene and survives by extending its leaves & stems above the water's surface to escape drowning.
One example of CGIAR's cutting-edge developments is a special flood-resistant rice that can breathe under water for up to 2 weeks. The grain – known as scuba rice – has a flood-resistant gene and survives by extending its leaves & stems above the water's surface to escape drowning.
Press release ~ Sowing the seeds of scuba rice ~ Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
DCMS: The Government has announced its ambition for a ‘digital hub’ in every community in the country, as part of an £830m strategy to make sure the UK has the best broadband network in Europe by 2015. ‘Britain’s Superfast Broadband Future’ sets out an action plan to stimulate private investment & competition, and create an environment in which business can flourish by removing key barriers around hardware & cutting costs. It also sets out how Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) will help connect the areas that the market alone cannot reach.
Press release ~ Britain’s Superfast Broadband Future ~ Broadband Delivery UK ~ Broadband rural pilot areas named ~ Read the full speech
BIS: Universities minister, David Willetts, has said he expects universities who want to charge over £6,000 a year in tuition fees to do all they can to help students from poorer backgrounds. Mr Willetts has released an early draft of a guidance letter to the Director of Fair Access, saying that universities must commit to the new national scholarship programme and invest in helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential and desire to go to university.
DfE: Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather, has recently asked Mr Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of the Mothers’ Union, to carry out an independent review into the commercialisation & sexualisation of childhood, and report back with recommendations in May 2011.
ScotGov: Scotland will support the Maldives to ‘develop renewable marine energy and go carbon neutral by 2020’. The partnership between the two countries will start with a study to assess the wave, tidal and ocean thermal energy potential of the Maldives, carried out by Robert Gordon University, a member of Scotland's Energy Technology Partnership.
OFT: The OFT has set out a long-term strategy to protect consumers shopping online in the UK. The national e-consumer protection strategy says online shopping, worth around £50bn, is ‘key to driving innovation & competition and has delivered huge benefits for consumers’. However it warns that continuing online innovation must be met with strategic enforcement to tackle new & complex forms of unfair trading that harm both consumers and markets.
HO: An ambitious new strategy with an ‘uncompromising’ drive to crack down on those involved in the drugs trade, at the same time as ‘revolutionising treatment services to offer recovery as a route out of dependency’, was unveiled last week by minister for crime prevention, James Brokenshire.
In a major policy shift, the strategy puts drug free recovery at the heart of the Government’s response and puts more responsibility on individuals to seek help and overcome their dependency. The new cross-government approach will also see a renewed focus on reducing demand and restricting supply.
WAG: Delivering a Digital Wales - a new strategy aims to ensure people & businesses in Wales can capitalise on the multi-million pound opportunities of the digital age and maximise the social & economic benefits for all. Although there has been substantial progress in developing the digital economy in Wales, a third of the adult population in Wales does not use the internet and less than 40% of Welsh SMEs actually sell on-line.
DWP: The Government has announced changes to Access to Work, a disability employment programme, to give disabled people faster and simpler support into work. Disabled jobseekers can now find out immediately if they’re eligible for Access to Work support by completing a short on-line questionnaire at Directgov. If eligible, they will be able to print off a new ‘Pre-Employment Eligibility Letter’ which will help build their confidence when applying for jobs and can be shown to prospective employers.
Access to Work advisors have also been issued with new guidance to ensure consistent decisions around what equipment employers should reasonably be expected to provide to any of their workers, so freeing resources to support workers with more extensive or specialist needs.
DCMS: An £80m fund is at the heart of a new Government drive to boost private giving to arts organisations and create a new generation of philanthropists. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England are to invest £80m in a new series of ‘match fund’ schemes, to raise at least an equivalent amount from private donors for the culture sector.
ACE: The findings of the Davey Report onEndowments in the arts, commissioned by the Secretary of State for Culture (as part of the Government's Philanthropy strategy), were outlined last week. The report sits alongside Neil MacGregor's report on endowments for museums & galleries and acknowledges the important timing of the Government's Philanthropy initiative.
Press release ~ Davey report: Endowments in the arts ~ Neil MacGregor's report on endowments for museums & galleries
CRC: The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has published a new training strategy & delivery plan for parish & town councils across England & Wales. The Commission for Rural Communities is delighted to welcome & support this new strategy.
WAG: Wales’ Social Justice Minister, Carl Sargeant, has launched a new strategy to educate children & young people on fire safety & prevention. The strategy sets out how Welsh fire and rescue services will educate youngsters on the dangers of fire & fire-related incidents. It also aims to discourage fire-related anti-social behaviour & crime carried out by children and young people, such as hoax calls or arson.
CLG: From 2011, housing associations will have an additional Affordable Rent option to offer households who need support. Affordable Rent properties will give housing associations the flexibility to offer fixed term tenancies to some new tenants at a rent level higher than social rent - with landlords able to set rents at up to 80% of local market rents.
WAG: Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, has set a 10-year challenge for the food & drink industry in Walesat the launch of the food strategy ‘ Food for Wales, Food from Wales 2010-2020’. A delivery plan for the strategy will be developed early in 2011.
