General News

DSA: With the most common season for motoring accidents now here, the Driving Standards Agency is advising newly-qualified motorists to take a course aimed at producing safer drivers, helping reduce road deaths & injuries in the process.
 
DSA has several initiatives to help boost road safety standards, including the Pass Plus scheme, which is a continually-assessed training course of six modules, in which the candidate is expected to drive proficiently in town, during all weathers & at night and on dual carriageways, rural roads and motorways.  The course is supervised by specially accredited driving instructors.
 
Not only does Pass Plus help improve your driving ability, but it can also assist in reducing your insurance premiums significantly.  In some cases the cost of the course will be part-subsidised by your local council.
Press release ~ Pass Plus ~ DSA ~ Booking Tests
 
LLUK: The benefits of Lifelong Learning UK's Make a Difference scheme has made the front page and editorial section of the latest edition of FE Focus.  The lead article reports on a 300% rise in enquiries to Lifelong Learning UK's Information and Advice Service since the economic downturn and suggests that the losses the private sector are currently experiencing may help the further education sector in England address staff and skills shortages.
 
The scheme is designed to create a pool of graduate-calibre managers that further education and training employers can access.  Once employed, Make a Difference candidates then benefit from funded leadership development programmes.
Press release ~ Times Educational Supplement - FE Focus ~ Lifelong Learning UK's Make a Difference scheme
 
LLUK: All library members in the Borders are to be re-registered as part of the National Entitlement Card Programme.  Bus passes and Young Scot cards will be adapted to allow the holder to access a range of Council services and borrow books, music CDs and DVDs from the libraries too.
 
The NEC programme has been in development for the past 3 years.  Pilots have been completed and it is hoped that 16 local authorities will be able to offer this service the end of 2008, with the rest following in 2009.
Press release ~ National Entitlement Card Programme ~ Young Scot cards
 
LDA: New businesses studios have opened in Hayes – part of the London Development Agency’s work to support & promote business in London.  The £1m Hayes Business Studios were opened by the leader of Hillingdon Council, Ray Puddifoot, at the site on Uxbridge College’s Hayes Community Campus.

The studios provide subsidised accommodation & support to people starting up their own businesses.  Such support is a proven way to help new companies get on their feet & thrive.  Occupants will also be able to use all the facilities at the Hayes Community Campus, including Lifestyles fitness suite and restaurant, hair & beauty salons and take advantage of additional free and subsidised training.
Press release ~ Hayes Business Studios ~ LDA – Keep London Working
 
FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned about 11,000 UK shareholders that their personal details are on a database shared by fraudsters, which can be used to target people and illegally sell them shares.
 
The FSA wrote to the shareholders after acquiring the fraud database (with their personal details including names, telephone numbers and addresses) from Canadian authorities. It is likely that the list – which fraudsters typically call a ‘suckers list’ - has been sold to a number of 'share fraud' gangs.
 
Share fraudsters (also known as boiler room fraudsters) are often based overseas and use high pressure sales techniques to target investors illegally, offering them non-tradable, overpriced or even non-existent shares.
Press release ~ Letter sent to the shareholders ~ Boiler room fraud leaflet ~ Money made clear – Boiler rooms
 
MO: Climate scientists have confirmed links between the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - a natural oscillation in the Pacific Ocean - and the weather over Europe in late winter. A letter in Nature Geoscience published last week outlined Met Office Hadley Centre findings.  Scientists have extended computer models into the upper atmosphere to show evidence of the atmospheric link from the Pacific to Europe.
Press release ~ Letter abstract ~ Met Office Hadley Centre ~ Expert speaks on La Niña ~ Seasonal forecasting research and development ~ Is global warming all over?
 
MoD: A next-generation precision guided bomb that can hit targets 24 hours a day and in all-weathers has entered service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as part of a £400m programme. The weapon, known as Paveway IV will be fitted to the Harrier GR9s, Tornado GR4s, Typhoon and ultimately the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).  It is half the weight of the Enhanced Paveway 2 weapon currently in use.
 
The highly sophisticated weapon, provided by Raytheon Systems Ltd, UK, can be guided on to a target through use of Global Positioning System satellite technology or through laser guidance. Pilots can programme the weapon from the cockpit, from the ground for pre-planned missions, or while the aircraft is in flight using data provided by the aircraft's on-board sensors.  The Paveway IV can also be reprogrammed mid-flight should targets alter or to reflect changes to conditions on the ground.
Press release ~ Paveway IV
 
LLUK: On 2 December 2008 the Queen outlined a commitment to ensuring everyone has a fair chance in life, saying; ‘.. my Government will bring forward a Bill to promote equality, fight discrimination and introduce transparency in the workplace’. 
 
Lifelong Learning UK takes the same view, and is already implementing measures to help training providers.  For example, the Disability Equality Commitment, facilitated by LLUK, is a framework to help organisations in lifelong learning recruit, retain and train disabled employees so that they are equally represented in the sector.
 
Disabled people make up one fifth of the UK's working age population, but face significant disadvantages in the world of work.  They are 25% less likely to be employed than the population as a whole.  The Disability Equality Commitment aims to positively address those inequalities in lifelong learning.
Press release ~ Disability Equality Commitment,
 
ScotGov: Since 2007, over 700 pensioners have boosted their weekly incomes after applying for a central heating system and having their details passed to the Pension Service, as part of a free benefits check. Many of the pensioners have received increased Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance and in many cases, a full Council Tax rebate.
 
An extra £10m will be invested in the Scottish Government's Central Heating Programme this year to install more than 14,000 central heating systems.
Press release ~ ScotGov – Central Heating Programme
 
HLHomeless Link says DWP’s decision to withdraw VAT concessionary arrangements for supplies of temporary workers by employment businesses from April 2009 will have negative impact on small homelessness charities and their ability to support their clients, particularly in light of the economic downturn.
 
The Government is removing a concession that will mean that organisations (including charities) will be charged VAT on the wages of staff they employ through an employment agency, as well as on the employment agency hourly fee, from April 2009. 
 
All these organisations provide vital services to homeless & vulnerable people and face increasing demand during this economic downturn.  A recent survey of HL members also showed that voluntary income was being affected by the credit crunch and is likely to get worse.  
 
The only option, therefore, for many charities is a reduction in the number of front frontline support & development workers, lower salaries and fundamental reductions in training budgets, resulting in lower qualified staff and reduced quality outcomes for the people the sector works with.
Press release ~ Letter Homeless Link has sent to relevant Minister ~ Impact of the Credit Crunch:  an online survey of Homeless Link members
 
MoDHMS Daring, the first of the Royal Navy's new class of powerful Type 45 Destroyers, has formally handed over to the MOD in a ceremony at the Scotstoun shipyard on the Clyde after completing a range of stringent trials and tests.
 
The 7,500 tonne ship is due to sail to her home port of Portsmouth in January 2009 to undertake several months of exhaustive trials and training before she is declared ready for operational service.
Press release ~ HMS Daring ~ Type 45 Destroyer
 
MoDHelp for Heroes Chief Executive Bryn Parry and Defence Secretary John Hutton have cut the turf for a new swimming pool & gym complex for injured troops at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court.
 
Military charity Help for Heroes was founded last year and it has raised £8m towards the building of the swimming pool & gym complex.  In addition to this, the MoD will also provide several million pounds and future running costs.  The complex will be completed in the next few years.
 
Headley Court's main purpose is to provide rehabilitation for complex injuries, including amputees and brain-injured patients.  It also houses a dedicated Amputee Unit for Service personnel, which provides world-class prosthetics & adaptations, manufactured on site and individually tailored, as necessary, to the specific patient.
Press release ~ Help for Heroes ~ Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court ~ The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine ~ FACTSHEET: Medical Support to Personnel Injured or Sick on Operations
 
Socitm: The Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm) has announced its merger with The Charity IT Resource Alliance (CITRA), a non-profit membership organisation supporting IT professionals in the third sector.
 
 From 1 Jan 2009 CITRA’s members will automatically become Socitm members and have access to all the membership benefits available to Socitm members, including a broad range of national and regional events and an established professional development programme.  The CITRA brand will continue to be used by a new Third Sector Special Interest Group that will operate within Socitm.  
Press release ~ Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm) ~ The Charity IT Resource Alliance (CITRA)
 
Defra: Defra has announced a new charging system for licences to deal in endangered species, to maintain spending on important wildlife projects. Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) licences are required for the trade in listed species.  Over the next 3 years the Government will phase in new charges, with traders paying the full cost of processing and issuing licences. 
 
Measures to help businesses that trade in CITES species include:
* Allowing businesses to buy a licence that covers multiple CITES specimens, reducing the cost per item
* Issuing guidance that will help ensure applications can be submitted in the most effective manner
* Monitoring the size & scale of the trade in CITES goods and adjusting fees & guidance as necessary
Press release ~ Defra - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) ~ Details on the new charging scheme ~ Related prior consultation ~ National Wildlife Crime Unit ~ Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW)
 
TfL: It seems that Londoners enjoy spinning a yarn when trying to hide their poor time keeping, with nearly half admitting that they lie about why they are late, according to new research from Transport for London.  In fact, 65% of those questioned also confessed that most of the time the real reason for their lateness lies squarely with themselves.
 
The research, released to launch TfL’s new suite of online Travel Tools, shows a range of excuses that people fall back on, with trusty favourites including delayed transport, poor traffic and oversleeping.  Travel Tools provide regular text & email alerts & live travel news available online and on your mobile phone.
Press release ~ Travel Tools
 
STFC: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s international team of researchers has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star.  This is an important step along the trail of finding the chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life, as we know it.
 
The Jupiter-sized planet, called HD 189733b, is too hot for life.  But new Hubble observations are a proof-of-concept demonstration that the basic chemistry for life can be measured on planets orbiting other stars.  Organic compounds can also be a by-product of life processes and their detection on an Earth-like planet may someday provide the first evidence of life beyond Earth.
Press release ~ Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet ~ Hubble’s Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) ~ NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope ~  STFC’s Aurora Fellowship scheme
 
STFC: Moons outside our Solar System with the potential to support life have just become much easier to detect, thanks to research by an astronomer at UniversityCollegeLondon (UCL). David Kipping, whose work is funded by the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), has found that such moons can be revealed by looking at wobbles in the velocity of the planets they orbit.
 
His calculations, which have appeared in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, not only allow us to confirm if a planet has a satellite, but also to calculate its mass & distance from its host planet – factors that determine the likely habitability of a moon.
Press release ~ Royal Astronomical Society ~ Science and Technology Facilities Council
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