WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
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| The first ‘give’ in EU’s negotiating stance? |
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The EU and the UK government should negotiate a deal on the situation & rights of citizens as a matter of urgency and before starting the other Brexit talks, MEPs say. In a joint hearing organised by the committees of Civil Liberties, Employment and Petitions, most MEPs underlined the “moral duty” to end the uncertainty created for both EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals in the EU since the June referendum. The EU should let go of the principle that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’ in negotiations, because a quick solution for citizens’ rights is a matter of priority. ‘Let´s do this first’, they concurred. Parliament´s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, said the House might adopt a resolution on this issue, probably after the summer recess. |
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Brexit: MEPs want EU and UK to take care of citizens’ rights first EU News: Speech by Michel Barnier in Dublin Return service; the EU pots call the UK kettle ‘black’ Editorial Commentary: Who would take the blame if UK citizens not given same treatment Hypocrisy of EU as it blames UK for its own ‘intransigence to negotiate’ Address staffing, immigration and research concerns to protect UK universities Government must act now to safeguard rights of EU citizens in UK PX: Immigration & Integration After Brexit |
| As usual, ‘one size does not fit all’ |
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Hunger in the classroom is linked to lower attainment, poor behaviour, and worse health outcomes. In the last few years, UK policymakers have tried to reduce the number of children with poor nutrition by expanding school food initiatives, including providing free school meals to all children in Reception through Year 2 in English schools. The Labour Party has promised to extend this free meal entitlement to children in Years 3 to 6 (ages 7-11) in England in order to ‘benefit the educational attainment and health of all children’. Universal free school meals can improve attainment in some circumstances. A 2012 pilot study by IFS researchers and others found that Year 6 students in Newham and Durham, where all primary children were offered free school lunches, made around two months’ additional progress over a two-year period compared to similar children in other areas. In this observation we argue that extending the policy nationwide would come at a significant cost and might not lead to similar gains. Other policies, such as offering free breakfast clubs (as is the case in Wales and as trialled in England) might be a cheaper and more effective way to improve both education and health outcomes. |
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IFS: Free school meals for all primary pupils: Projections from a pilot IEA: Extending free school meals won’t help families most in need New funding to boost schools facilities and healthy lifestyles Social Mobility Commission: Drop in poor children's progress at secondary school WAG: Attainment gap for those on free school meals closes again IPPR North: ‘Secondary school set back’ could cost the northern economy £29bn in lost productivity Ofqual: What causes variability in school-level GCSE results year-on-year? "Shocking fall" in GCSE performance for pupils on free school meals in Reading LGA: 2,500 academies yet to sign up to healthy school meal standards IFS: No magic bullet in London schools' success. Just years of steady improvements in quality ScotGov: Protecting free school meals and early learning & childcare Pupils enjoying free school meals New school meals standards must be mandatory, says LGA DfE: New data shows 1.3m more infants eating free school meals LGA - Councils forced to divert money to pay for free school meals, new research shows |
| SME Supplier Locator update... |
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UK Government and public sector spend with SME’s is continually on the increase and by 2020, it is the stated intent of Cabinet Office that £1 of every £3 spent on government contracts goes to SME’s. The past 5 years have seen government make a priority of getting money through its supply chain into the hands of SMEs, by both setting targets and introducing new procurement mechanisms. Against this backdrop, the WiredGov Supplier Locator service has been developed specifically to embrace the SME Agenda and provide the ideal platform for SME’s to promote their services, solutions, accreditation and success stories directly to our ever increasing audience across all government and public sector verticals and Tier 1 suppliers. |
| While the debate on zero-hour contracts is still on-going, there is no excuse for this practice! |
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Half of people on zero-hours contracts and 40% of people on temporary contracts wrongly believe they are not entitled to paid holidays, Citizens Advice reveals. The charity is calling on the next government to ensure workers are aware of, and are able to take, the paid holiday that they are entitled to. Citizens Advice found that while some employers are misleading employees about holiday entitlement due to bosses’ ignorance, others are deliberately flouting the law and are exploiting workers’ confusion. One man Citizens Advice helped has worked in a care home for over 5 years, working 48 hours a week. His employer had previously told him that ‘night workers are not entitled to paid holiday’, and he had never questioned this until recently. When he visited Citizens Advice, it was calculated that he has incorrectly missed out on paid holiday of £8,900. A woman, who worked in the sales sector, was told she could only take holiday if she met her sales targets, which is unlawful. |
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Citizens Advice: Half of people on zero hours contracts think they’re not entitled to paid holiday We need a legally defined & enforceable ‘litmus test’ to prevent employer abuse of 'self-employment' 4.5m people in insecure work, reveals Citizens Advice New proposals to restrict zero hour contracts to improve quality of social care New law to reform regulation and inspection of social care in Wales passed CAB: Line managers need better understanding of flexible work entitlements |
| Help for tech companies with going global |
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techUK, in association with GTM Global, will be running two free 3-hour mentoring workshops, as it looks to widen its support to mid-sized technology focused businesses. They will take place in London on 18 & 19 May, will provide advice & guidance to tech organisations seeking to expand internationally and looking for critical advice & guidance on how to go to market globally. The workshops are part of techUK’s aim to connect with and support the technology-based firms within the 30,000 high-growth, entrepreneurial and ambitious mid-market businesses. This sector accounts for only 1.5% of all UK companies but one-third (£1.2 trillion) of all UK turnover and a recent report shows commensurate tech company growth up 23% in value since 2014. |
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| Could raise cost of flights? |
| An air carrier which is unable to prove that a passenger was informed of the cancellation of his flight more than two weeks before the scheduled time of departure is required to pay compensation to that passenger. |
| CJEU ‘throws spanner’ in Uber’s business model |
| According to Advocate General Szpunar, the Uber electronic platform, whilst innovative, falls within the field of transport. Uber can thus be required to obtain the necessary licences & authorisations under national law. Uber cannot claim the benefit of the principle of the freedom to provide services guaranteed by EU law for information society services |
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Still a ‘hot topic’, with widely spread views, for those who put fingers to keyboard in order to ‘share their views’: |
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Open Europe: Germany welcomes President Macron with caution RUSI: Britain’s General Elections and Brexit - First Salvoes or Just Firing Blanks? EU News: Speech by Michel Barnier in Dublin EU News: Brexit: protecting the rights of millions of EU citizens living in the UK FDA: A successful Brexit needs more than strong leadership - it needs a strong civil service Brexit: MEPs want EU and UK to take care of citizens’ rights first |
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