General News
CEOP: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and Microsoft have teamed up so it’s easier for Windows 8 users to access CEOP’s online safety advice pages or make a report about suspicious or inappropriate contact online.
Through a new app, downloadable for FREE from the Windows store, parents & children can quickly explore CEOP’s award winning educational videos, see the latest campaigns or follow CEOP’s Facebook page or Twitter feed updates.
LR: Land Registry has announced the names of the local authorities who will take part in a prototype to see if their local land charge registers can be consolidated into a digitised central register. If successful, this means Land Registry could provide local land charge searches alongside the title register and plan through its existing e-channels, to a standardised price, format & turnaround time.
EH: In the only displays of their kind to be seen regularly in this country, horses return to Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire for the first time in over 3 centuries! In unique twice daily performances every weekend from Easter until Sunday 1 September 2013 (excluding August bank holiday) visitors will witness breathtaking displays of the advanced dressage training techniques introduced to England in the 17th century.
Today, just 4 schools of classical dressage remain in the world and Bolsover Castle will be the only place in the country to stage regular performances of this spectacular art. Entrance to the twice daily displays is included in the normal admission price to Bolsover Castle, with no extra charge.
TfL: While the Tube upgrade programme is under way, all planned engineering work is publicised in advance. Transport for London (TfL) offers a range of free online travel tools to help passengers plan their journeys.
Ofsted: Teams of Ofsted inspectors have carried out a week of co-ordinated inspections in Portsmouth to ‘find out why the city has a disproportionate number of under-performing schools – and whether the picture is improving’.
The most recent published data shows that only 34% of secondary school children in Portsmouth attend a good or better school. For primary school children, the figure is 53%.
CIPD: Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development has responded to the publication of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report on the Work Programme.
TfL: The Mayor and Transport for London have unveiled measures to increase journeys on the Thames, with a target of doubling the number of river passengers by 2020.
TfL's 'River Action Plan' sets out the improvements that will be made to river services over the next 7 years to ensure that Londoners & visitors are making the most of the capital's famous waterway and that it reaches its full potential.
NE: Natural England is alerting farmers & other land managers that they need to get any application for new agreements under the current Energy Crops Scheme submitted by Saturday 31 August 2013. Applications from land managers or their agents must be in by this date for new agreements to start by the end of December 2013.
The aim of the Energy Crops Scheme is to support the planting of miscanthus and short rotation coppice in appropriate locations. Energy crops are used as a substitute for fossil fuels, they can contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and help to combat climate change.
MO: The Met Office has introduced Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) flood warnings on its website so users can access weather & flood warnings all in one place.
Updated every 15 minutes, the widget available on the MO homepage provides an overview of Flood Alerts & Warnings that are in force. More detailed information including a map & details of areas affected are also available so that users can keep up to date with the latest information when flooding is forecast.
DWP: Senior occupational physician Dr Paul Litchfield has been appointed to carry out the 4th independent review of the Work Capability Assessment. The review will continue the process of ensuring the assessment is as fair & accurate as possible in helping people back to work if they are able, while giving financial support to those who need it.
NE: Natural England has confirmed that all criteria have been met to ‘allow control of badgers to begin in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset, for the purpose of preventing the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB)’. Each licence has a 4-year term, authorising 6-week control operations to be carried out annually between 1 June & 31 January.
CLG: Fire Minister Brandon Lewis recently announced the completion of the sale of the Fire Service College to Capita. The minister said that ‘the college has at long last been given the best possible chance to fully realise the huge potential for this world-class asset’.
HL: Homeless Link have announced the latest Future Ready grants. These grants of up to £25,000 are available through the Homelessness Transition Fund to support activities such as business planning, restructuring & skills development.
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