Policy Statements and Initiatives

DCMS: Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, has announced that the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) will be asked for the first time to actively seek out illegal images of child abuse on the internet, working closely with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.  
 
At a summit of major internet service providers (ISPs), search engines, mobile operators and social media companies, an agreement was reached that the IWF should, for the first time, work with CEOP to search for and block child sexual abuse images.
Press release & links
 
WAG: The Minister for the Economy, Transport & Science, Edwina Hart has launched Partnership for Growth: The Welsh Government Strategy for Tourism 2013-2020 and action plan.  The strategy will ‘set the vision for the industry and Welsh Government to work in partnership to increase visitor spend to Wales’.
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: Housing Minister Margaret Burgess recently set out the Scottish Government’s plan to tackle fuel poverty & reduce Scotland’s carbon footprint.  Scotland’s Sustainable Housing Strategy sets out the work the Scottish Government is doing to help people reduce household energy bills, while highlighting its plans for the future.
 
By 2020, all homes are to have loft & cavity wall insulation where this is possible and every home with gas central heating will have an energy efficient boiler with appropriate controls.
Press release & links
 
CLG: Communities Minister, Don Foster, has announced that towns across England will benefit from £91m to refurbish & bring back into use over 6,000 empty & derelict homes & commercial premises, particularly in the Midlands & North where the problem is most acute.  The funding will be spent on refurbishment in areas where empty properties have commonly led to problems such as squatting, rat infestation and collapsing house prices, driving remaining residents away.
Press release & links
 
CLG: The government has offered up to £10bn in loan guarantees to get Britain building and deliver ‘tens of thousands of homes to rent’. Through these new schemes, the government will offer up to £10bn worth of guarantees on loans to housing providers - enabling them to borrow money to invest in new housebuilding on more favourable terms.
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: A plan to protect & restore Scotland’s environment was launched last week by Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse. The 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity aims to:
* protect & restore biodiversity on land & in our seas, and to support healthier ecosystems
* connect people with the natural world, for their health & wellbeing and to involve them more in decisions about their environment
* maximise the benefits for Scotland and of a diverse natural environment & the services it provides, contributing to a sustainable economic growth
Press release & links
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