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HO: The problem is that terrorists only have to succeed occasionally - Verdicts of unlawful killing have been recorded in the inquests into the deaths of the 52 victims of the July 7 London bombings.
Responding to the investigation by Lady Justice Hallett, the Home Secretary said: “Of course, no one will forget the tragic events of that day and nothing will ever be able to bring back the 52 people who were murdered. But I do hope that the conclusion of the inquests will bring some measure of comfort to the families and all of those affected……..
'The government, emergency responders and the security & intelligence community are always looking to learn lessons and to improve the response to the terrorist threat we face. This includes learning from the 7th July attacks and from other incidents and there have been a considerable number of improvements put in place since 2005”.
Press release ~ Inquest website with links to documents ~ Committee publishes report on scientific advice and evidence in emergencies ~ Anatomy of a Terrorist Attack: What the Coroner’s Inquests Revealed about the London Bombings ~ Related Demos press release ~ TfL comment ~ BBC: 7 July Bombings ~ Public reporting mechanism for terrorist material on the internet ~ Reporting extremism and terrorism online ~ TACT 2006 ~ HO: Counter Terrorism ~ Independent Reviewer of Counter-Terrorism Legislation ~ Office of Security and Counter terrorism ~ Counter-terrorism Science and Technology Strategy ~ Innovative Science and Technology in Counter-Terrorism - INSTINCT ~ Counter Terrorism Science & Technology Centre ~ HO: Crowded Places ~ Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs) ~ National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) ~ Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure ~ The UK counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) ~ Watch a video about CONTEST ~ Safer places: a counter-terrorism supplement ~ Safer places: the planning system and crime prevention (2004) ~ '
DfE: Getting the right balance between ‘intrusion’ and ‘concern’ is never going to be easy - Local areas should have more freedom to develop their own effective child protection services, rather than focusing on meeting central government targets, an independent review into child protection recommends. Professor Eileen Munro, who has conducted a wide ranging review into frontline child protection practice, concludes that a one-size-fits-all approach to child protection is preventing local areas from focusing on the child.
Her recommendations signal a radical shift from previous reforms that, while well-intentioned resulted in a tick-box culture and a loss of focus on the needs of the child. Currently local areas are judged on how well they have carried out certain processes & procedures rather than what the end result has been for children themselves.
Professor Munro has recommended that Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) should be required to use a ‘systems approach’ for Serious Case Reviews (SCRs). This is similar to the approach taken by the health sector and aviation industry – other high risk areas of work with very complex systems, and where safety is an absolute priority. SCRs should consider what in the child protection system is causing professionals to make errors.
Press release ~ Munro Review of Child Protection ~ The difference between safeguarding and child protection ~ DfE: Child protection ~ Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children ~ A call to action: refreshing the vision and renewing the call to all organisations to safeguard children and young people in and through sport ~ NSPCC – Child Protection in Sport Unit ~ Ofsted: The voice of the child: learning lessons from serious case reviews ~ Learning lessons from serious case reviews: year 2 ~ Previous report: Learning lessons, taking action ~ Safeguarding the young and vulnerable: The Joint Chief Inspectors' recommendations and the Government's responses one year on ~ Related ScotGov press release ~ National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2010 ~ ScotGov: Child Protection ~ CQC: Safeguarding Children ~ AC: Better Safe than Sorry ~ Safeguarding Children and Young People - Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff
Newswire – CII: Who will be able to afford to retire? - The Chartered insurance Institute’s (CII) report, ‘An age-old problem – developing solutions for funding retirement’, estimates the UK retirement savings deficit at £9 trillion.
Using existing data the report’s analysis provides an insight into the savings required to fund retirement once costs associated with long-term care and debt are taken into consideration. Comment is provided by expert stakeholders from across the sector.
Using existing data the report’s analysis provides an insight into the savings required to fund retirement once costs associated with long-term care and debt are taken into consideration. Comment is provided by expert stakeholders from across the sector.
Press release & link to report ~ Preparing for automatic enrolment – Regulatory differences between occupational and workplace personal pensions ~ Pensions Reform – 2010 onwards ~ Pensions Bill will boost retirement savings for millions ~ ‘The Forgotten Age: Understanding Poverty and Social Exclusion in Later Life’ An Interim Report from the CSJ Older Age Working Group ~ JRF: The material resources and well-being of older people ~ The material resources and well-being of older people ~ JRF: Older People – A Better Life ~ ‘EHRC: Just Ageing? ~ EU: pensions ~ Click HERE and then scroll down to item - PSPC: Will this be ‘it’, or will they continue to ‘move the goalpost’ every couple of years?
FOS: But will it be a ‘hollow victory’ with the banks recouping the money with other charges? - The Financial Ombudsman Service has a collection of online documents, reference materials & links – giving the background to their work on complaints involving payment protection insurance (PPI), which may be of particular interest to businesses & consumer advisers.
Forthcoming event: Gartner Application Architecture, Development & Integration Summit | 16 - 17 June 2011| London - Cloud, SOA, Agile and Applications Overhaul: A Modern Applications Strategy - As an application leader within Government and Public Sector you face many challenges. As cost is a major ongoing consideration, a relentless focus is required to determine what trends to embrace, what technologies to invest in and what deployment models to adopt. Cloud, web, mobile and social trends will have a major impact on governments and public sector institutions and the implications for overall application architectures will be significant.
The upcoming Gartner Application Architecture, Development & Integration Summit, 16 – 17 June 2011 in London, UK, is the must-attend event for application leaders who want to learn about the critical building blocks of a successful applications strategy: Cloud, SOA, Agile development and Applications Overhaul.
Click here View the full agenda and register.
Please note that previously published newsletters can be accessed from the Newsletter Archive
General News
BIS: A public information campaign for prospective students & their parents about changes to the student finance system in 2012 has been launched. It links students & parents to a new dedicated Direct.gov.uk microsite which describes how the tuition loan system will operate, how to get a student loan, help with living costs and what support is available from government.
NA: The National Archives and the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, along with other leading national archives & museums, recently signed a global agreement in Washington DC to provide an international online catalogue of documentation on cultural artefacts taken by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.
Barnardo's: Vulnerable children could be exposed to even greater danger if Government plans to curb anti-social behaviour go ahead, the UK’s biggest children’s charity has warned. The Police 'direction power', proposed as part of the, More Effective Responses To Anti-Social Behaviour consultation, could see children returned to unsafe homes or pushed into potentially harmful situations if it is used without considering the risks.
Barnardo’s argues that it should be made compulsory for courts to ask for information about the home lives of children who are being sanctioned for anti-social behaviour to ascertain the likelihood of a young person being supported to change their ways.
MoD: Wootton Bassett will be the first town in more than a century to be granted 'Royal' status in recognition of the way it honours fallen troops. In March, Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs that the Queen had agreed to the tribute 'as an enduring symbol of the nation's gratitude to the people of that town'.
‘If ever a town deserved a medal it's Wootton Bassett’, said Jacqui Thompson, the visibly-moved widow of Senior Aircraftman Gary Thompson who was tragically killed in Afghanistan in April 2008. This simple tribute from a bereaved loving wife & mum speaks volumes about the comfort that can come from caring strangers:
Dignity, respect & compassion may be old-fashioned values, but the local residents of the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett are proud to uphold them by saluting the men & women who make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It is a commitment that will soon no longer be carried out by the loyal community of Wootton Bassett, because the closure of RAF Lyneham later this year means that repatriations will switch back, as was always planned, to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
MoD: Numerous vessels are taking part in Cougar 11, this summer's deployment of the Royal Navy's new Response Force Task Group (RFTG). Consisting of ships, aircraft & personnel held at very high readiness, the RFTG is at the heart of the UK's ability to react at short notice to unforeseen global events.
The RFTG will be poised to respond to short-notice tasking across a diverse range of defence activities such as non-combatant evacuation operations, disaster relief, humanitarian aid or amphibious operations. This deployment is not linked to events in Libya which involve other elements of the UK Armed Forces.
MoD: The revised Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) has been launched, incorporating all of the recommendations made by Admiral the Lord Boyce, former Chief of the Defence Staff, in his review of the scheme in 2010.
Service personnel who become injured or ill as a result of their service will now be able to benefit from a more comprehensive compensation package, including an increase, on average in excess of 25%, to all lump sum payments, except the top award which was recently doubled to £570,000.
All those who have previously received an award from the scheme (since its inception on 6 April 2005) will have their awards uplifted in line with the new increases. Over the course of the next year the Service Personnel & Veterans Agency will be reviewing around 10,000 awards and informing previous recipients of the increases that they will receive.
Policy Statements and Initiatives
BIS: A public information campaign for prospective students & their parents about changes to the student finance system in 2012 has been launched. It links students & parents to a new dedicated Direct.gov.uk microsite which describes how the tuition loan system will operate, how to get a student loan, help with living costs and what support is available from government.
NA: The National Archives and the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, along with other leading national archives & museums, recently signed a global agreement in Washington DC to provide an international online catalogue of documentation on cultural artefacts taken by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.
Barnardo's: Vulnerable children could be exposed to even greater danger if Government plans to curb anti-social behaviour go ahead, the UK’s biggest children’s charity has warned. The Police 'direction power', proposed as part of the, More Effective Responses To Anti-Social Behaviour consultation, could see children returned to unsafe homes or pushed into potentially harmful situations if it is used without considering the risks.
Barnardo’s argues that it should be made compulsory for courts to ask for information about the home lives of children who are being sanctioned for anti-social behaviour to ascertain the likelihood of a young person being supported to change their ways.
MoD: Wootton Bassett will be the first town in more than a century to be granted 'Royal' status in recognition of the way it honours fallen troops. In March, Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs that the Queen had agreed to the tribute 'as an enduring symbol of the nation's gratitude to the people of that town'.
‘If ever a town deserved a medal it's Wootton Bassett’, said Jacqui Thompson, the visibly-moved widow of Senior Aircraftman Gary Thompson who was tragically killed in Afghanistan in April 2008. This simple tribute from a bereaved loving wife & mum speaks volumes about the comfort that can come from caring strangers:
Dignity, respect & compassion may be old-fashioned values, but the local residents of the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett are proud to uphold them by saluting the men & women who make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It is a commitment that will soon no longer be carried out by the loyal community of Wootton Bassett, because the closure of RAF Lyneham later this year means that repatriations will switch back, as was always planned, to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
MoD: Numerous vessels are taking part in Cougar 11, this summer's deployment of the Royal Navy's new Response Force Task Group (RFTG). Consisting of ships, aircraft & personnel held at very high readiness, the RFTG is at the heart of the UK's ability to react at short notice to unforeseen global events.
The RFTG will be poised to respond to short-notice tasking across a diverse range of defence activities such as non-combatant evacuation operations, disaster relief, humanitarian aid or amphibious operations. This deployment is not linked to events in Libya which involve other elements of the UK Armed Forces.
MoD: The revised Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) has been launched, incorporating all of the recommendations made by Admiral the Lord Boyce, former Chief of the Defence Staff, in his review of the scheme in 2010.
Service personnel who become injured or ill as a result of their service will now be able to benefit from a more comprehensive compensation package, including an increase, on average in excess of 25%, to all lump sum payments, except the top award which was recently doubled to £570,000.
All those who have previously received an award from the scheme (since its inception on 6 April 2005) will have their awards uplifted in line with the new increases. Over the course of the next year the Service Personnel & Veterans Agency will be reviewing around 10,000 awards and informing previous recipients of the increases that they will receive.
Consultations
TfL: Transport for London (TfL) and developer Treasury Holdings are starting a public consultation (closes on Friday 17 June 2011– see press release for details) to hear local residents' views on the proposed private-sector funded 3km extension of the Northern line from Kennington to Battersea Power Station. The Tube extension is part of a package of transport measures that would enable the regeneration of the GLA's wider Opportunity Area which covers Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea.
CQC: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced the start of a consultation (closes on 1 August 2011) on a new excellence award for adult social care services in England. The new voluntary award, due to launch in April 2012, will be delivered by third party organisations under licence to CQC. The consultation seeks people’s views on a definition of excellence, developed by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), and key aspects of the assessment process.
FSA: The Chia Company, based in Australia, has applied to the Food Standards Agency for approval to market chia seed in baked goods, breakfast cereals, and fruit, nut & seed mixes. The company currently has authorisation, under the novel food regulations, to market chia seed in bread products at a maximum level of 5%. Any comments on the application should be emailed to the ACNFP secretariat by Monday 30 May 2011.
Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
Newswire – LGA: Councillors taking leadership of a local authority for the first time after a change in political control are being offered 5 days of peer support to help them hit the ground running after the recent election. The Local Government Group will make experienced councillors and local authority leaders available to provide five days of mentoring.
The support, which is free-of-charge, will be available within the first few weeks of a change of political control. It is part of the LG Group’s new Taking the Lead approach to self regulation.
ICO: Advice on how UK businesses & organisations can comply with a new EU law on the use of cookies technology has been published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The law, which will come into force on 26 May 2011, comes from an amendment to the EU’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive.
It will require UK businesses and organisations running websites in the UK to get informed consent from visitors to their websites in order to store & retrieve information on users’ computers. One common technique of storing information is known as a cookie.
It will require UK businesses and organisations running websites in the UK to get informed consent from visitors to their websites in order to store & retrieve information on users’ computers. One common technique of storing information is known as a cookie.
The advice, which follows the publication of UK regulations by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, will help people to consider what type of cookie or similar technology their website uses and for what purpose, how intrusive their use is, and offers advice on what solution for obtaining consent will suit them.
NICE: In new draft guidance, published last week, NICE has not been able to recommend dasatinib, high-dose imatinib or nilotinib for the treatment of CML (chronic myeloid leukaemia) that is resistant to standard-dose imatinib.
This draft guidance is for the treatment of imatinib-resistant CML only. There are 2 additional ongoing appraisals: dasatinib and nilotinib for the treatment of CML in people with imatinib intolerance, and dasatinib, nilotinib and standard-dose imatinib for the first-line treatment of CML.
CLG: The last few weeks of sunshine have been great for people getting out and about to enjoy the good weather. But the recent wildfires across the countryside in Berkshire, Lancashire, Wales & Yorkshire, are a reminder of how important it is to take care in the great outdoors. In the UK, fire statistics show that on average 74,000 fires are started on grass & heath land every year. With this in mind, Fire Minister Bob Neill has issued some top tips on staying fire safe in the warm, dry weather.
NICE: NICE guidance has helped to cut down on unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for the prevention of infective endocarditis, latest research suggests. Antibiotic prophylaxis prescribing fell by 78.6% following the introduction of NICE guidelines for infective endocarditis - an infection of the lining of the heart that is caused mainly by bacteria but occasionally by other infectious agents.
NICE: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has launched NICE Pathways at its annual conference in Birmingham. An online tool for health & social care professionals, NICE Pathways brings together all connected NICE guidance on a topic in a user-friendly electronic flowchart.
Users do not need to understand how NICE classifies its guidance to read everything NICE has said on a particular topic. They will now be able to easily select the sections of guidance they need. This new resource will also greatly facilitate access to NICE guidance for commissioners, who need to commission care across a whole pathway.
Individual pathways also link to other related pathways - for example the diet pathway links with the physical activity pathway. NICE Pathways will continue to develop by including more content & more topics as new NICE guidance is published and by adding new features such as linking to the evidence behind NICE recommendations.
NICE: NICE has published new guidance on preventing type 2 diabetes in the general population, and among high-risk groups. These groups include people of South Asian, African-Caribbean, black African & Chinese descent, and those from a lower socio-economic background, where the incidence of type 2 diabetes is higher than in the general population.
Annual Reports
Newswire – HPA: The Health Protection Agency, Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency monitoring stations have reported further minute traces of radiation associated with events at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan. Overall, the levels are lower than those observed in the previous update published on April 21.
The levels being detected mean there is no risk to public health in the United Kingdom from the environmental concentrations resulting from the release of radioactive material at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The monitoring equipment is extremely sensitive and can pick up trace levels well below any potential risk to human health.
Newswire – CBI: Employers are concerned with the basic skills levels of school & college leavers, the CBI / EDI annual Education & Skills survey 2011 has revealed. The CBI /EDI survey of 566 employers shows 42% are not satisfied with the basic use of English by school & college leavers, while more than a third (35%) are concerned with the basic numeracy skills in this age group.
To address the weaknesses in basic skills, almost half (44%) of employers have had to invest in remedial training for school & college leavers.
FRC: The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published its finalised Plan & Budget for 2011/12.
General Reports and Other Publications
IISS: The International Institute for Strategic Studies highlights how the superpowers retain vast nuclear stockpiles but, despite the benefits for non-proliferation & budgeting, they are wary of cutting them, fearing that fewer warheads means less strategic stability.
ESRC: 50 years after legalisation, the UK's betting shops are attracting a new type of customer. This widening appeal may have harmful consequences in terms of problem gambling, argues initial research findings funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
PC&PE: There is a risk that providers of the Government’s new Work Programme might focus their attention on jobseekers who are easier to place in work, at the expense of those who face greater challenges to finding jobs, according to a report published by the Work and Pensions Select Committee. The report, Work Programme: providers and contracting arrangements, also warns that the £5bn Work Programme presents significant financial risks for the Government and its service providers.
Newswire – CIPD: Employee confidence & trust in senior leaders has dropped to record lows as the economic downturn continues to erode workers’ standard of living & undermine job security. These are the headline findings from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) spring 2011 Employee Outlook survey based on a representative sample of 2,000 people in employment in the UK.
PX: New research from think tank Policy Exchange reveals that the gap between public sector & private sector pay is still rising. Despite private sector workers losing out during the recession, public sector workers have seen their advantage grow.
PwC: The fourth edition of Cities of Opportunity released by PwC, shows that the financial crisis has not damaged London’s position as the city with the most economic clout in the world, as it performs strongly on the percentage of workforce employed in the financial & business services industry and the strength of currency.
In addition, London’s position as a city that it is easy to do business in is confirmed as it ranks fourth of the 26 cities surveyed and performs highly in such indicators as ease of entry, flexibility of visa travel, workforce management risk and the number of foreign embassies or consulates.
ipcc: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has published its report into the death of Ian Tomlinson. The jury at the inquest into Mr Tomlinson's death returned a verdict of unlawful killing on 3 May 2011.
Legislation / Legal
HO: In the journey towards the introduction of the first Police & Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in May 2012, the government has published a draft protocol setting out the relationship between PCCs and Chief Constables.
As set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill currently being debated in the House of Lords, Police & Crime Commissioners will have a number of statutory functions as part of their role to hold police forces to account. These include setting the strategic direction of the force, holding the Chief Constable to account and setting the budget.
The draft protocol sets out the PCC's legal duty to maintain an efficient & effective police force, and to provide the local link between the police and the public. They will work to translate the legitimate desires & aspirations of the public into action on the part of the Chief Constable to cut crime and antisocial behaviour.
PC&PE: The Government’s reform proposals risk politicising operational decision-making by the police says a House of Lords Constitution Committee report published last week. In its report on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, the Committee stresses that operational independence of the police is rightly regarded as a constitutional imperative. The Government have not yet set out the concepts of operational responsibility & impartiality.
The Committee states that the Government should not change police governance before it can show that reform will not compromise operational independence. To this end, it calls for parliament to be given the opportunity to scrutinise the Government’s promised protocol setting out the roles & powers of ministers, chief constables, police and crime commissioners and other bodies under the reforms.
EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.
EU News: From 9 to 11 of May 2011 José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission and Andris Piebalgs, Development Commissioner, re-emphasised (at a conference in Istanbul) the European Commission's leading role in helping the world's least developed countries (LDCs) out of poverty.
As the largest donor to the LDCs, with €15bn of aid in 2010, the EU urged other partners to match its pledge to provide 0.15-0.20% of its GNI to LDCs. It also called for a renewed global partnership of LDCs and both developed & emerging economies, working together with civil society & the private sector, to ensure a joined up approach to helping the LDCs meet their development goals.
DECC: The Government has submitted 12 applications from UK projects to the European Investment Bank (EIB) for consideration in the next round of the EU’s New Entrant Reserve (NER) scheme – a fund worth around EUR4.5bn to support carbon capture & storage (CCS) and innovative renewable projects across the European Union. Up to 3 projects may be supported per Member State.
EU News: By early 2014, all shipments of wood products to the European Union from Liberia will be required to carry a license certifying their legal origin. A Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to that end was signed on 9 May by the EU and Liberia, which contains over half of the remaining rainforest in West Africa.
It is the sixth in a series of bilateral accords that are negotiated between the EU and timber producing countries (agreements have been agreed most recently with Indonesia, Central Africa Republic, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Ghana).
Charity and Voluntary Sector
BIG: A new report assessing the impact Millennium projects, such as the Eden Project, Tate Modern and The Lowry, have had on the landscape and on people’s lives across the UK, has been launched by the Big Lottery Fund.
19 years on from the opening of the majority of the Millennium Commission initiatives, BIG’s Millennium Now report is examining a cross-section of the projects and the successes & challenges associated with awarding around £2.7bn in Lottery millennium funding.
Business and Other Briefings
HMRC: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is issuing an urgent reminder to employers – file your employer annual return online by the 19 May deadline, or you could face a penalty.
HSE: Businesses will still be able to notify fatal & major incidents and injuries by phone following changes to reporting arrangements, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed. From 12 September 2011, all other reportable work-related injuries & incidents under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) will move to a predominantly online system, with a suite of 7 forms available on HSE's website to make the statutory reporting process quick & easy.
ICO: Advice on how UK businesses & organisations can comply with a new EU law on the use of cookies technology has been published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The law, which will come into force on 26 May 2011, comes from an amendment to the EU’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive – See ‘Guidance Notes & Best Practice Guides’ section for more information.
Industry News
MoD: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has held an industry event attended by around 90 businesses that have expressed an interest in managing, maintaining or supplying the UK's 49,000 military homes through the new National Housing Prime contract.
The event at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire attracted delegates from companies ranging from potential prime contractors, to smaller & local businesses with an interest in supply chain opportunities. Military customer representatives also attended from the Navy, Army & RAF, and from the 3 service Family Federations.
Details of companies with a formal interest in the National Housing Prime are now available via the online NGEC Potential Bidders Directory, enabling SMEs to identify potential supply chain opportunities.
The National Housing Prime will be awarded in late 2012, and will run from April 2013 for 5 years initially, with the option to extend it by a further 5 years. It is estimated to be worth up to £1.5bn over 10 years, depending on which services are included and on whether the contract is extended.
OS: Ordnance Survey has awarded a new 4-year Framework Agreement for the Supply & Maintenance of Geospatial Data, which replaces previous data collection contracts. The Framework Agreement will run from April 2011 to March 2015 and sees Ordnance Survey developing its external supplier base for the supply & maintenance of topography, imagery & height data and services, which are used to maintain the currency, accuracy and information content of its core databases.
The framework agreement is divided into 3 lots;
Lot 1: Remotely Sensed Data Acquisition
Lot 2: Imagery data management & processing
Lot 3: Capture & maintenance of geospatial data content
TfL: The Docklands Light Railway's (DLR's) 3-car upgrade was completed on time & within budget with the launch of 3-car trains on the Tower Gateway to Beckton route. The £325m upgrade also includes longer platforms, improved track & signalling, £13m of improvements to Tower Gateway station and an entire new station at South Quay. It is expected that the Beckton route will carry 70,000 passengers - approximately 55,000 spectators for the 2012 Games and 15,000 other passengers - a day, during the Olympic & Paralympic Games
MO: To help Singapore build up climate science capabilities to prepare for climate change, the Met Office has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA). The collaboration aims to enhance the NEA Meteorological Services Division’s climate science capability to produce reliable projections of Singapore’s rainfall, temperature, wind and sea level for different time-scales up to 2100.
The collaboration is expected to last for at least 3 years, covering the joint development & implementation of climate models, the exchange of scientists and the undertaking of regional climate science research. This partnership is an important step towards building a sustainable climate science capability in Southeast Asia.
Forthcoming Event
DCMS: More than 1,500 organisations will give older people a free taste of using computers and the internet for this year’s Spring Online with Silver Surfers Day. From 16-20 May 2011, taster sessions will be held across the UK in a variety of venues from cafes & universities to libraries & pubs.
Although computers and the internet are an essential part of life for many people, 20% of those aged 55-64 have never been online. This rises to 60% among those aged 65 and over.
SFA: According to the Skills Funding Agency, there is no better time to improve your skills, learn something new and have some fun as thousands of free learning events across England become available to celebrate Adult Learners’ Week between 14 - 20 May 2011.
Every May, NIACE – the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education – coordinates the learning initiative that continues to be the largest learning drive of its kind, being celebrated in over 55 countries world-wide. And the 20th Adult Learners’ Week promises to be the biggest & best yet.
There’s no excuse for not taking part, as the booking facility is open NOW; to book onto courses ranging from keep-fit to higher education level classes – all of which are free of charge – and taking place in workplaces, libraries, cafes, prisons, museums and colleges across the country, motivating adults of all ages and backgrounds to take up new activities.
ACE: Arts organisations can get involved in National Family Week 2011 by registering their family-focused events on the campaign's dedicated website. National Family Week provides not-for-profit organisations with the opportunity to showcase the fantastic & wide ranging work they do to support families, as part of a national campaign.
The campaign, which runs 30 May-5 June 2011, aims to celebrate family life in the UK and connect millions of families with the organisations, good causes and services that support them.
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