General News

ACE: 10 arts projects that bring together digital technology & research to extend their reach & offering are to receive funding from the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts

The projects are the second cohort to be backed by the £7m fund, which made its first awards to 9 projects in January following a year-long pilot programme. The Fund is open for expressions of interest & applications until 30 December 2013.
Press release & links
 
GPS: Building on the successful delivery of Civil Service Learning (CSL) to central government departments over the past 12 months, the Government Procurement Service are now extending the contract to the wider public sector, making it accessible to every public sector organisation across the UK. 

The contract will replace the Learning & Development (RM464c) framework, which expired on 8 June 2013.
Press release
 
FSA: Last week was Food Safety Week 2013 (10-16 June) and this year the Food Standards Agency want to know: ‘Are you ready to cook safely?’
 
Most people don’t believe the food they cook at home can make them ill, but in a recent survey, the FSA found that 80% of those questioned carry out one or more behaviours that put them at risk of food poisoning., so they have created the Kitchen Check, a simple tool that helps you find out how safe your kitchen habits are and if they are putting you, or your family and friends, at risk of food poisoning.
Press release & links
 
DH: An extra 20 dental practices have joined a dental pilot programme to test the new dental contract, Health Minister, Lord Howe, announced recently. There are now 90 dental practices across the country helping to test different elements of the new contract.  These sites will look at preventative oral health with a focus on better results for both adults & children.
Press release & links
 
Ofcom:  Ofcom has announced the award of 5 community radio licences for services in Northern Ireland. These will join the 12 community radio stations already operating in NI, which are among more than 200 across the UK.
Press release & links
 
MoDArmy personnel have joined local authorities & emergency services to see how prepared they are to tackle a major environmental incident. Exercise Triton took place in Staffordshire and was designed to see how the Army worked alongside partners from the area when it comes to emergency planning.
Press release & links
 
FCO: Medical treatment can cost thousands abroad yet new research by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has found that only 45% of young Brits surveyed check that their insurance covers risky pursuits, despite 82% admitting to taking part in more adventurous behaviour when on holiday.
Press release & links
 
CBI: The CBI is calling on the Chancellor to take urgent steps to galvanise infrastructure investment in this month’s spending round, warning that failure to act will put the fledgling recovery at risk.

The UK’s leading business group is warning that even less infrastructure could be built in the years ahead, if private investment is stifled by the lack of a project pipeline and government’s slow pace on taking big decisions.  It is urging the Chancellor not to repeat the mistakes of the last spending round and further increase infrastructure spending.
Press release & links
Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story