Industry News

FSA:  The Food Standards Agency in Scotland is inviting tenders to carry out a desk-based research study to provide evidence to support the development of a monitoring programme for emerging marine biotoxins in live bivalve mollusc (shellfish) in waters.  Applications should be submitted online, using their electronic procurement system, by 5pm on Thursday 26 April 2012.

Press release & links

DECC:  Permission was granted last week for a new 150MW dedicated biomass power station at Royal Portbury Dock in the Port of Bristol , North Somerset.  The consent allows E.ON Climate and Renewables to construct a plant which could provide enough electricity to power up to 160,000 homes. The plant will be fuelled mainly by imported virgin wood, dedicated energy crops and locally sourced waste wood.

E.ON will also set up a Community Investment Fund, which will contribute £50,000 per annum for every year that the plant is operating, to support charitable and/or educational community projects. £75,000 will also be allocated to trial green buses and improve cycle routes in the local area.

Press release & links ~ E.ON Climate and Renewables

DECC:  Energy Secretary, Edward Davey, has launched a competition worth up to £20m to fund the development of innovations in Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) technology.  Bids are being invited to develop better & cheaper CCS components & systems for pilot scale demonstration.

Press release & links

BIS:  Business Minister Mark Prisk has named Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as a flagship trailblazer for retail.  The LEP – run by economic development company GFirst – will develop & pilot a range of retail initiatives such as Portas Review recommendations and those that will emerge from the Government’s Retail Growth Strategy.

The Minister has also outlined the Government’s plan to create a simpler, single consumer bill of rights in place of the current 12 different sets of consumer legislation.

Press release & links

WAG:  Business, Enterprise Technology & Science Minister Edwina Hart has recently announced an up to £100m Welsh Life Sciences Fund, which will transform the Life Sciences sector in .  The Welsh Government is putting £25m into the fund immediately, to enable the Fund to make its first investments into businesses this year.

Press release & links

GPS:  The new online CloudStore provides a cheaper, quicker & more transparent way to procure cloud-based ICT services, including email, word processing, system hosting, enterprise resource planning, electronic records management, customer relationship management or office productivity applications

In this first tranche of the G-Cloud service catalogue you can now purchase around 1,700 ‘off-the-shelf’ IT services from CloudStore on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis rather than having to develop your own systems. This model means you can use what you want, when you want it, saving money by avoiding duplication of services that cannot be shared.

Press release & links

Free, Secure, Compliant UK Public Sector IT Recycling Service