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WGPlus provides an in-depth weekly briefing from the UK Government and Public Sector. To save your time, we research & validate the links to websites, documents and further background information. Click here for more about WGPlus

In the News

EU – News:  Just like Universities, Consumers need multiple ‘A’ ratings to choose ‘Best of the Best’ - The European Commission has for the first time proposed energy labels for TVs.  For refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines the existing label scheme will be updated.  Energy labels help consumers choosing products which save energy and thus money.  The appliances covered by the regulations adopted today represent one third of a household's electricity bill a year.

Energy labelling of refrigerators-freezers, dishwashers & washing machines has already been hugely successful since its introduction in 1992: today 90% of appliances sold in the EU are in class "A" – the best existing class.

However, new technologies would allow reducing by half the energy consumption of an A-class product.  The EU has therefore decided to extend the scale upwards with three new classes: "A+", "A++", and "A+++" for products with a better than A-performance.

The four regulations for these labels will now have to be agreed by the European Parliament and Council.  The Regulations enters into force 12 months after publication in the Official Journal.
Press release ~ EC: Energy efficiency ~ Q&As: MEMO/10/451 ~ Details of Defra’s compliance strategy, a summary of the reports and the full reports (scroll down) ~ Defra: Energy using products: Market transformation programme ~ National Measurement Office ~ Directgov - Green labels: an overview ~ Directgov: Electrical goods: greener choices ~ Dynamic Demand: Government Response to Clause 18 of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act ~ Defra: A Shopper's Guide to Green Labels ~ The European Ecolabel ~ Defra Green Claims – Code and Guidance ~ Defra: Product Roadmaps ~ Colour-coded energy-efficiency labels for new passenger cars ~ EC: Energy Efficiency of the ICT Sector ~ IEA’s One Watt initiative ~ NAO: Programmes to reduce household energy consumption ~ Defra's Framework for Pro-environmental Behaviours
 
Directgov:  They are counting on you to assist in planning future service requirements - The 2011 Census will be held on 27 March 2011 - now just 6 months away.  For the first time you will be able to complete the census online.  Alternatively, you will be able to fill in the paper version that will be posted to you.  

A census has been held in the UK every ten years since 1801, except in 1941 when the country was at war. By gathering information on who we are as a nation the government is ‘better able to plan, fund & deliver the everyday services we all need – like housing, education, healthcare and transport’.

If you are visually impaired or deaf, British Sign Language (BLS) video and audio assistance in English & Welsh will be available on the 2011 Census website.  A multilingual telephone helpline will also be available.
Press release ~ 2011 Census ~ National Archives – Census Records ~ Cassini Maps ~ A vision of Britain census reports ~ National census to be axed after 200 years ~ Slough: Six months to get it right ~ BBC: Census should be scrapped now ~ BBC: Councils call for migrants fund ~  BBC: Immigration: How we lost count ~ Local Counts: the future of the census ~ Counting the uncountable ~ 2007 census test ~ ONS – 2011 Census ~ Domesday Book ~ The National Archives of Scotland ~ 1911census.co.uk: Interesting entries ~ Report on Scotland's new official ethnicity classification ~ General Register Office for Scotland ~ 2011 Census - Scotland ~ British Society for Population Studies (BSPS) ~ Birmingham Archives & Heritage ~ Devon Record Office (Exeter) ~ The National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth) ~ Manchester Archives and Local Studies ~ Greater Manchester County Record Office ~ Norfolk Record Office ~ Nottinghamshire Archives ~ Tyne and Wear Archives

IfG:  Remember, remember, many have tried to ‘make a bonfire’ of Quangos before - Sir Ian Magee, co-author of the Institute for Government's report on arm's length bodies,  Read Before Burning, warned on BBC News and Radio 4's World at One that culling quangos should not be ‘just a numbers game’. 

Sir Ian said: "Our report published in July said the real name of the game is public interest and not numbers.  There are 800 non-departmental public bodies NDPBs.  Just 15 of these spend 80% of the money...you could cut several hundred but not make big savings." 

Sir Ian agreed the arm's length bodies landscape was ‘complex’.  He continued: "In our research, we found 11 types of NDPBs.  It is no surprise people are confused.”
OS:  Financial prize will aid journey to success - Budding innovators & entrepreneurs are being asked to contribute ideas that could revolutionise transportation in Britain, with a £25,000 prize fund available to help develop the best entries.  The GeoVation Challenge, run by mapping agency Ordnance Survey, is seeking ideas on how the use of geographic data could make travel more environmentally sustainable and improve public transport services.

Since January 2010 a range of datasets have been made available for free commercial reuse by public bodies.  Those include a raft of central government information through Data.gov.uk, including routing & timetabling information from the DfT; mapping via OS’s OS OpenData portal; and a host data collected by local authorities.  Most recently Transport for London also released some data, including live traffic jam information.

As well as OS, the challenge is being supported by the Ideas in Transit Project, Business in the Community and the National Business Travel Network (NBTN). This Challenge runs from 28 September–26 November.
Newswire – LGA:  Will the increasing number of elderly voters, vote to spend more on care? - Residents will be invited to tell councils how savings should be made in one of the biggest ever consultations to be carried out on public spending.  The Local Government Group is to roll out an online web application which will let residents see exactly how councils spend their money.  It will invite them to suggest ways of shaving £ms off their local authority’s annual spend.

The YouChoose website went live last week, and the LGG is inviting all councils across England & Wales to use the software to carry out one of the most comprehensive ever surveys on how people want their taxes to be spent. Councils will now be invited to run the software on their websites.

The software was pioneered by the London Borough of Redbridge.  Redbridge Council is currently running a Budget consultation called the Redbridge Conversation 2010, which has had more than 1,200 responses in two weeks.  More than 5,000 people took part in the first Redbridge Conversation in 2008.

Industry News:  Vehicle tracking survey 2010 reveals reduced costs, increased productivity & improved performance - The Vehicle Tracking Survey 2010 has revealed a significant uptake of vehicle tracking, with 55% of organisations now using the technology within their fleet operation. This represents a sharp increase from previous research conducted in 2008, which showed a market penetration of around 25%.
 
In addition, the findings suggest that vehicle tracking has become a valued fleet tool with 96% of operators using the technology stating that it has added benefit to their business. The Survey reports that improving productivity (41%) is the main reason for adopting vehicle tracking. However, fleet operators are achieving a much wider range of benefits from using the technology with reduced costs (77%), increased productivity (64%), added security (52%), and enhanced fleet and employee performance (51%) the most extensively highlighted.
Click here for further information.

General News

ScotGov: The latest organ donation campaign got underway last week with the message: Everyone has the potential to save a life.  Every day 3 people in the UK die waiting on an organ transplant.  More than 600 people in Scotland are currently waiting for an organ transplant. Recent research by NHS Blood & Transplant found 96% of people say they would accept an organ, but only 36% of Scots have actually joined the register.
 
MO: Web pages which explain the science behind the headlines on climate change have been launched by Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor, Sir John Beddington.  Produced with the support of leading scientists from the Met Office Hadley Centre & others, they will help anyone wishing to get beyond the day-to-day headlines and gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental scientific issues involved.
 
WAG: Patients will be allowed to use their mobile phones in designated areas in all NHS hospitals in Wales, Health Minister Edwina Hart has announced. The move will help to reduce the cost of phone calls for patients & relatives.  
 
The Health Minister has also decided that current contracts with providers of hospital phone & TV systems should not be renewed once the contracts end.
 
Newswire – ICO: A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said recently:  “The ICO commissioned the Review of Availability of Advice on Security for Small and Medium Sized Organisations to better understand how well SMEs can access appropriate information security advice for protecting personal information.

The ICO recognises that SMEs will not have the technical expertise that many larger businesses will have at their disposal.…… The practical business based examples in the Guide can help SMEs safeguard personal data and meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act.  We are also reviewing some of our other guidance in light of the report’s findings to ensure it is appropriate for the needs of SMEs.
 
FSA: Spring Hill Pure Spring Water with a ‘best before’ date of 15 August 2011 is being recalled in Northern Ireland, because the product is contaminated with E.coli and may be a risk to health.  The Food Standards Agency has issued a Product Recall Information Notice.
 
TfL: One of the Capital's oldest & busiest London Underground stations, Kings Cross St. Pancras, is now completely wheelchair accessible from street to all platforms.  Passengers who need to avoid stairs can plan their journey on the TfL website on the Journey Planner page using the advanced options - putting in the mode and that they can't use stairs. 

Alternatively, they can use www.directenquiries.com which also shows the best route to take on the Tube which avoids long walks & steps, or the 24-hour Travel Help Line 0843 222 1234.
 
EH: English Heritage and partners from London Metropolitan University Special Collections, The Women's Library & TUC Library Collection invite you to catch a glimpse of the fascinating history of women's changing roles from Victorian times to the mid-20th century, shown through images of the buildings where they lived & worked in a new online resource.
 
Visible in Stone: a history of women through buildings, 1850-1950 was launched last week at www.english-heritage.org.uk/visibleinstone and  provides a detailed insight into the changing social climate in which women in England lived their lives over the period and documents the pioneering changes they made to achieve a new freedom of access to public spaces, education, paid work and decent housing.

English Heritage is also appealing to the ‘great British public’ to upload images of the buildings that played an important part of their grandmother's lives to the website's Facebook and Flickr sites.  Details at http://www.flickr.com/groups/visibleinstone/.
 
PCS:  Thousands of PCS union members who work in galleries, museums and historic sites are launching a campaign to ‘defend the country's cultural assets’. To coincide with the European Trade Union Confederation’s day of action for jobs & growth last week, the union published a statement for supporters of the campaign to sign up to oppose cuts in culture, media and sport.
 
Newswire – ICO: “Freedom of Information has a key role to play in helping to deliver greater transparency and accountability.  These are key priorities in public policy”, said Information Commissioner Christopher Graham in a message to mark Internation al Right to Know Day. .

IRtK Day is designed to raise awareness of individuals’ rights to access information held by public authorities and gain better understanding of how public money is spent.  Over the past 12 months, decision Notices by the ICO have ordered the disclosure of the Youth Justice Board Physical Control in Care Prison Service manual, details of bonuses received by the City of London Police Force and information relating to the amount the BBC spends on taxi booking services.

Policy Statements and Initiatives

DCMS: Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt, has detailed his plans to decentralise broadcasting to increase localisation in a speech to the Royal Television Society,  With political power increasingly being devolved to locally elected politicians, it makes sense, he said, for a network of local media stations to evolve in order to reflect the strong desire for locally focused coverage.
 
DH: Local organisations will be held to account & expected to publish how they are providing quality care for people with dementia, Care Service Minister, Paul Burstow, announced recently. The plans, which are part of the revised Dementia Strategy Implementation Plan, aim to ensure people with dementia get the best care.
 
The implementation plan sets out the Coalition Government’s focus on outcomes & identifies 4 priorities:
* Good-quality early diagnosis & intervention for all
* Improved quality of care in general hospitals
* Living well with dementia in care homes
* Reduced the use of antipsychotic medication
 
BIS: Skills Minister, John Hayes last week set out his vision for apprenticeships and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to work-based learning & training. 
 
The minister also urged employers to contribute to the 2 consultations launched in July 2010 (closing on 14 October 2010), which are gathering suggestions on how the skills system can better meet the needs of employers & learners and how to simplify the funding system to enable colleges & providers to deliver more efficiency & effectively.
 
WAG: With the eyes of the world on Wales as the Ryder Cup got underway, the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones, and Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones, outlined the way forward for Wales as an events destination with the launch of Wales’ first Major Events Strategy.

Consultations

FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced steps to improve the quality & consistency of auditors’ reports on client assets.  Following a review, a number of serious failings were identified – these were not localised to one or a limited number of auditors, but indicate a general deficiency by auditors in applying the FSA requirements on client assets and a need to take steps to improve the quality of auditors’ reports.
 
The consultation paper sets out 10 proposals that aim to drive improvements in the quality & consistency, which will be applicable to firms & their external auditors. The consultation period closes on 31 December 2010.  The FSA intends to publish a policy statement during the first quarter of 2011
 
CLG: Proposals to prune tree preservation paperwork down to size have been announced by Communities Minister, Bob Neill, as part of the Government's pledge to ‘cut red tape and reduce burdens for individuals and local government’. 
 
The consultation (closes on 20 December 2010) sets out how 3 sets of regulations & orders covering tree preservation orders in England will be streamlined into one document, saving local councils more then £500,000 in administration costs each year.
 
CLG: New proposals to stop taxpayers' money being squandered on town hall newspapers or hired lobbyists have been announced by Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles. In recent years there has been a marked growth in the frequency & scope of council publicity techniques funded by taxpayers' money, whilst local papers have struggled in a saturated news environment. have been announced by Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles. In recent years there has been a marked growth in the frequency & scope of council publicity techniques funded by taxpayers' money, whilst local papers have struggled in a saturated news environment.
 
The consultation (closes on 10 November 2010) outlines new proposals to tighten up the publicity rules for councils so they guard against campaigning with public funds.  These proposals set out specific rules to stop municipal newspapers being published more often than 4 times a year and to prevent the hiring of lobbyists.  

Mr Pickles emphasised that he believed the assumption should be that all council publicity would be clearly branded material, issued solely to explain services, and not to influence opinion.
 
NICE: NICE has launched a consultation on its draft quality standards for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults.  The consultation period will also include field testing during which NICE implementation consultants will visit service providers, GPs and Primary Care Trusts to explore how the standards can be effectively and successfully put into practice.
 
The draft standards are available for consultation on the NICE website until 5.00pm on Wednesday 10 November 2010.  All eligible comments will be reviewed by the independent Topic Expert Group and the Programme Board and the standards will be refined in light of this information.  The final quality standards for COPD and CKD are expected to be published in March 2011.
 
FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has proposed changes to its complaints handling rules as part of a package of measures to drive up standards of complaints handling within the industry.  The consultation (closes on 31 December 2010) paper is key to the FSA’s consumer protection agenda and is aimed at ensuring that more firms resolve complaints promptly & fairly.

The FSA has also published firm-specific complaints data, enabling customers, for the first time, to compare & contrast the way different firms deal with their complaints.

Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

Directgov:  As the autumn foraging season gets underway, a wild mushroom safety message has been issued by the Health Protection Agency's poisons experts. The National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) is sounding the alarm.  Every autumn it receives queries from clinicians needing help to treat those who have picked and consumed sometimes dangerously toxic wild mushrooms. 
 
The Food Standards Agency has issued advice for wild food foragers, including; do make sure you can identify what you've found - use several features (check leaf, flower, berry colour & shape, season, and so on).  If you're unsure, don't eat it
 
FSA: The Food Standards Agency has been working in partnership with more than 45 major UK caterers to provide healthier choices for their customers when eating out. 

The Agency has published updated commitments documents, highlighting the progress made by companies to reduce salt & saturated fat, as well as to promote healthier options and to provide consumers with more information.
 
FSA: The Food Standards Agency and the Horticultural Development Company (HDC) have published a new guide to help UK growers keep their produce free from microbial contamination.  '

Monitoring microbial food safety of fresh produce' provides information on the main foodborne disease-causing bacteria & viruses that can contaminate crops, how growers can monitor levels of possible contamination and how good hygiene practice can reduce the risk of crop contamination.
 
The guide is the first step in a programme of work to address growers' need for clear & consistent information on how to ensure their produce is as safe as possible. It will be followed by the launch of web-based risk assessment tools and a 'Keeping it clean' roadshow..
 
Newswire – RoSPA: Ahead of the Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review, leading road safety organisations have issued a joint briefing document to local authority chief executives to help them set spending priorities that will protect their communities. 
 
The Making it Count guidance addresses the difficult spending choices that will have to be made over the coming months.  It outlines the role local authorities can play in protecting their residents’ quality & length of life and offers guidance about where to look for additional financial & informative support.  It sets out a variety of issues that local authorities should consider when making decisions about scaling-back road safety funding.
 
NICE: In its latest draft guidance, NICE has recommended trastuzumab (Herceptin, Roche Products) for certain patients with metastatic gastric cancer who have high levels of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). who have high levels of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).
Press release ~ Trastuzumab for the treatment of HER2 positive advanced gastric cancer
 
CSEF: National charity, the Children’s Safety Education Foundation (CSEF) has launched a new safety tool in the battle against childhood injury.  CSEF Online is a suite of interactive digital safety education programmes that covers a full range of topics from fire, home and internet safety to bullying, knife crime and anti-social behaviour.  It combines the full content of a safety event or workbook with the flexibility, convenience and value of digital media.

A trial of the CSEF Online safety programmes, Junior Citizen Online and Respect Online can be accessed at www.csef.net.

Annual Reports

FSA:  The Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC) 2009 Annual Report on the surveillance of veterinary residues in food in the is now available online.  The report details the checks that have been carried out on a range of residues of veterinary medicines in food.

Press release ~ Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC)

ScotGov:  's Chief Statistician has published the results of the Scottish Health Survey 2009, the fifth report in the series which began in 1995.  Following a major review & redesign, the survey became continuous in 2008 and now reports annually.

Press release ~ Scottish Health Survey 2009 

FSA:  The Food Standards Agency has published the results of a study looking at the levels of certain chemicals that are produced as a result of food processing and home cooking, in a range of food products.

The results are from the third year of a rolling programme measuring the amounts of acrylamide, 3-MCPD (3-monochloropropanediol), furan and ethyl carbamate.  These types of substances are known as 'process contaminants' and are found in a range of different food products.

Press release ~ Survey of process contaminants in retail foods – Year 3: 2009

General Reports and Other Publications

CRC: A new study from the Rural Services Network (RSN) for the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) highlights difficulties rural households may face keeping warm this winter.  The report recommends that government fuel poverty and energy efficiency policy & programmes should include specific targets to improve the energy performance of ‘off gas’ & solid wall homes..  
 
WF: A submission by The Work Foundation to the Treasury for its Comprehensive Spending Review is calling on the government to make a firm, long-term commitment to support growth in knowledge based industries.

The submission also proposes the creation of an annual Comprehensive Innovation Review, alongside the CSR, to build up an effective innovation system mechanism to maximise the positive impact on the economy over the next decade..
 
PX: Ahead of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, think tank Policy Exchange last week released its paper on the future of the Armed Forces.  The report considers the opportunity now afforded by the SDSR for the Armed Forces to leave its Cold War structures behind and become an affordable, agile & efficient instrument of UK security policy.

Among its comments are that; ‘The MoD system of command is grossly inefficient, top heavy, with too many layers of command, too many supporting Headquarters and too little sharing of information.  Added to this, the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood is born of a system that wrongly assumes the command of military operations is best done by a UK-based bunker by staff who commute home every night and are in a different time zone’.
RUSI: Due to the current economic & strategic climate, British & French militaries must co-operate or 'risk ending the current decade amputated and shrunk beyond recognition', argues the latest Future Defence Review Working Paper from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Entente or Oblivion: Prospects and Pitfalls of France-British Co-operation on Defence, by Etienne de Durand, states that both military establishments face a battle to maintain their current levels of capability.  The paper maintains that, without some sort of bilateral agreement, and will not be able to conduct a conventional war to the levels that both nations desire. 

Legislation / Legal

EHRC: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has advised the government that its new guidance on torture may violate UK and international law. The Commission asked whether -- in its current form -- the guidance does enough to protect officers in the field, because it may leave them with the erroneous expectation that they will be protected from personal criminal liability in situations where they may, unwittingly, be liable for crimes committed & condoned by others.. 
 
EA: The season for eel fishing closed on Friday 1 October 2010 and has become illegal to set nets to catch them. It is estimated that the return of young eels (elvers) into our rivers has already fallen by more than 95% in Europe as a whole.  The European Commission is so concerned that all member states are required to take immediate steps to protect eels and halt their decline. 
 
Starting in October, fisheries enforcement staff will be out searching for illegal nets and other instruments for eel catching and any found during the closed season will be confiscated and their owners will be liable to prosecution. The Environment Agency is also working on new legislation to cap the number of eels allowed to be caught and anglers who catch eels by rod & line already have to return them.
 
EHRC: Many social housing tenants could now be afforded greater protection from eviction under human rights law after a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that courts should take the personal circumstances of tenants - in particular vulnerable groups - into account. 
 
The Equality and Human Rights Commission intervened in the case, arguing that where a social landlord has a right to possession of a property, there is nevertheless an obligation to consider whether an eviction is proportionate to the landlord’s desire to use the property in whatever way they see fit. 

This, the Commission argued, was particularly the case where tenants may be vulnerable due to mental health problems, physical or learning disabilities, poor health or frailty.
 
The Court agreed with the Commission, saying that 'the loss of one's home is the most extreme form of interference with the right to respect for the home'.  The Court found that there had been a violation of Article 8 and each of the applicants was awarded €2,000 compensation.
 
OFT: The Office of Fair Trading has told 129 debt management firms that they face losing their consumer credit licences unless immediate action is taken to comply with its Debt Management Guidance. 

The firms are required to provide independently audited evidence within 3 months that action has been taken to address identified concerns.  If evidence is not provided, the OFT will instigate licensing action.  The formal warnings follow an OFT review of the DM sector, which found widespread problems..
 
Newswire – EC: The question for the proposed referendum on the UK Parliamentary voting system should be changed to make sure voters find it easier to understand, according to an assessment published by the Electoral Commission. The structure of the question, its length, and some of the language used made it harder to read than it needed to be. ,
 
The question assessed by the Commission is contained in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill currently before the UK Parliament.  The final wording of the referendum question is a matter for the UK Parliament.
 
ScotGov: A new law to protect homeowners across Scotland facing repossession came into force last week. The Homeowner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Act, provides the strongest legislative protection anywhere in the UK for those at risk of repossession..
 
All cases will now be heard in court with lenders required to prove that they have taken reasonable steps to avoid repossession and (for the first time) advice agencies will also be able to play a greater role in supporting &representing people in court.

A new website, www.keepingyourhome.co.uk has been created to give information for home owners and advice agencies about the new protection available.

EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.

EU – News: More than 100 groundbreaking information & communication technology (ICT) research projects funded by the EU were showcased at the ICT 2010-Digitally Driven bi-annual conference & exhibition in Brussels Expo from 27 to 29 September 2010.
 
Major themes this year are research for sustainable growth in a low-carbon economy, ICTs' constructive impact on everyday life and the importance of public funding & support in ICT research and innovation.  See ‘Press Release’ for project links
 
ScotGov: Fisheries Secretary, Richard Lochhead, welcomed the strong stance taken by the EU last week to support Scotland's most valuable fishery after he demanded action to rein in Iceland & the Faroes Islands, who are yet to sign up to an international agreement to manage the mackerel stock. 

For the first time, Mr Lochhead was speaking on behalf of the UK at the EU AgriFish Council, where the unilateral mackerel quota setting by Iceland and the Faroes was first item on the agenda. .

At the end of July the Faroe Islands set a quota for mackerel of 85,000 tonnes for this year, more than 3 times their previous total allowable catch (TAC), which follows a recent decision by Iceland to declare themselves a unilateral quota of 130,000 tonnes. Scotland has the EU's largest mackerel quota and accounts for some 90% of the value of mackerel fishing to the UK.
 
EU – News: The European Commission has decided to refer the UK to the EU's Court of Justice for not fully implementing EU rules on the confidentiality of electronic communications, such as e-mail or internet browsing.  

Specifically, the Commission considers that UK law does not comply with EU rules on consent to interception and on enforcement by supervisory authorities. See Press Release for details & links.

Charity and Voluntary Sector

TfL: On Friday 24 September, a 5 miles long convoy of 100 London taxis left Canary Wharf, taking children suffering from life-threatening illnesses on the trip of a lifetime to Disneyland Paris. Since the trip began in 1994, around 3,500 sick children have enjoyed the annual Children's Magical Taxi Tour, organised by the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers.  The Tour is paid for entirely by sponsorship & fundraising, with the taxi drivers giving up their time & their vehicles without charge. . 
 
EH: English Heritage is delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has agreed to support the conservation & digitisation of one of the earliest and most significant collections of oblique aerial photography of the UK. The Aerofilms Collection, acquired for the nation in 2007, is a unique & important archive of over 1m aerial photographs taken between 1919 & 2006. 
 
The 4-year programme will start in 2011, and will give the general public the chance to share information & memories related to the images.  Fragile negatives will be conserved & scanned into digital format, and a new website, Britain from Above, will be launched at the end of 2011.

By the end of the project, in 2014, there will be 95,000 images taken between 1919 & 1953 freely available online.
 
ScotGov: Health charity Diabetes UK and the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government have announced joint funding of £675k+ to establish a resource in Scotland for research into Type 1 diabetes..
 
The 'Scottish Diabetes Research Network (SDRN) Type 1 Diabetes Bioresource' will see the development of an invaluable data source for researchers and will lay down the foundation for many future diabetes studies worldwide.  A key aim of the Bioresource project is to develop methods for preventing diabetes and its associated complications.
 
The project will also be supported by dedicated Diabetes Research Nurses provided by the SDRN (which is also funded by the Chief Scientist Office).  The Network is currently establishing a Diabetes Research Register of patients with diabetes who wish to take part in research.
 
BIG: A new multi-million pound international Lottery programme opened last week to channel funding into the poorest & most marginalised communities around the world through UK-based charities working overseas. The Big Lottery Fund’s 5-year International Communities programme will make grants to projects tackling some of the causes of poverty & deprivation among impoverished communities overseas.

It will fund schemes that improve access to primary education, health care and natural resources, build sustainable livelihoods and support disadvantaged people to exercise their basic human rights.

Business and Other Briefings

BIS: Business Minister, Mark Prisk, met with heads of major businesses & finance experts last week to discuss the value of supply chain finance – an important step in the Government’s goal of widening the range of finance options to small & medium sized businesses. 
 
The green paper, Financing a Private Sector Recovery, looked at several alternative means of obtaining finance to ensure businesses are able to grow & boost the recovery.  

Supply chain finance has several forms but in most cases it involves a buyer organising finance based on its credit rating and on invoices approved for payment to suppliers; ensuring that businesses further down the supply chain are able to cover their working capital while waiting for payments.
 
CLG: From last week over half a million businesses will, for one year, get double their usual Small Business Rate relief as the Government's budget promises to support local enterprise kick in. 

A total of 530,000 small businesses with rateable values up to £12,000 will receive double their normal discount for one year, a move which is set to save them a total of £390m.  Approximately 345,000 of those businesses with rateable values up to £6,000 - will pay no rates at all. 
Press release ~ Lower council taxes and rates for hard-working families and local firms

Industry News

Newswire – UKSA: Is there a doctor on the plane?’  Piping this request over aircraft speakers is the traditional response to a potential onboard medical emergency.  But now the availability of expert medical advice can be guaranteed every time.
 
Etihad Airways, national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, is the latest airline to install the ESA-derived Tempus IC telemedicine system on its long-haul flights.  It puts non-medical cabin crew in contact with ground-based experts during in-flight medical emergencies. on its long-haul flights.  It puts non-medical cabin crew in contact with ground-based experts during in-flight medical emergencies.
 
STFC: Innovative companies which are developing products geared towards making a big impact in the environment, healthcare or energy sectors are being offered the chance to win free access to cutting-edge research & technology facilities to further innovate & develop their ideas. to further innovate & develop their ideas.
 
STFC has launched a challenge that offers any UK company or organisation researching products & services in these sectors the chance to work at the STFC's Innovations Technology Access Centre (I-TAC) for periods of up to 6 months, for FREE. The closing date for entries is 30 November 2010 and the winners will be announced on 10 December 2010 and all awards will then start early in 2011.

Forthcoming Event

OHSO: The Office of the Health Service Ombudsman is inviting NHS staff (who have a role in complaint handling) to attend one of 6 free events being held around the country. The conferences will follow the launch of the Ombudsman’s first annual report on NHS complaint handling performance and will give delegates the chance to hear more about the types of complaints that come to the Ombudsman from their own region. 

Delegates will also work through real case examples in breakout sessions to help embed the Ombudsman’s processes & expectations.  To register your interest in attending one of the events, or for more information, please telephone: 01323 637726 or email events@phso.co.uk. See Press release for dates.

In the News

Wired-Gov  would like to make it clear that the commentary & links provided, in respect of any particular item, are published in its capacity as an independent non-government funded organisation and reflect the editorial team’s need to both précis & re‑format the content of news releases. 
 
Any views expressed are therefore entirely those of the Wired-Gov Plus editorial team and independent of any sponsor, government organisation or political party.
 
For the official view of a source organisation, readers should click on the ‘press release’ that is the first link attached to each item.
 
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