6320posts
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The King’s Speech 2024: What does it mean for education?
During the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 17 July, the King set out the government’s priorities for the coming months. This included commitments relating to education, including children’s social care, schools, and further education. Together, these important changes will …
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Farmers – Protect yourselves from waste criminals
A wet winter has meant it’s been a difficult start to the year for many farmers. Facing reduced early crop yields or worse still, zero yields, the temptation to cut costs or diversify, to find additional income is more tempting …
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Welcoming a new Government and what this means for adult social care
The votes have been cast and the country has spoken. The new Government is now busy setting out its priorities and future direction as set out in its election manifesto. As a sector, adult social care will be adjusting to …
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Changes to ungraded inspections
In this blog, we’ll talk you through the changes we will be making to ungraded inspections in the autumn term. You may already be aware of these changes from the announcements that Sir Martyn Oliver made in his speech to …
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Alternative text in action
We want to share some top tips on writing and using alternative text to encourage everyone to add it into their content every day. Our tips can be applied no matter what software or application you’re using.
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What is RSV and is there a vaccine?
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major respiratory virus that is common over the winter period, typically November to February. While the symptoms are mild for many, RSV accounts for around 30,000 hospitalisations of children under 5 in the UK annually, and for 20 to 30 infant deaths. In this post, we look at the symptoms, risk factors and who is eligible for the vaccine.
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We’ll need the original deeds
From October, we will no longer accept conveyancer applications for first registration based entirely on certified copies of title deeds and documents.
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Latest statement in response to small boat crossings
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk. "The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up …
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Helping farmers get ready for winter with slurry storage support
Is your farm winter ready? We know winter woollies are well packed away, crops are growing, combine harvesters will soon be in the fields and many of you will have fingers crossed for dry, settled weather. But time keeps moving …
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First patent filing in IPO’s new digital service
The first real life patent filing has been made using our new patent application service. The Transformation team told us how it went and how a limited number of customers can gain access to the patent filing pilot programme. Will you be on board?
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Celebrating nature on our doorstep: a tale of seven blackbirds
Back in May, one of the blog team found a blackbird nest in her garden. Here's the story of the chicks and their parents.
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Anglian Water Services Ltd fined £50k in case brought by the Environment Agency
We continue to work on our largest ever criminal investigation, to date, into potential breaches of environmental permit conditions by all water and sewerage companies discharging into English waters. The extent of potential non-compliance involves more than 2,000 wastewater treatment …
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Launching a new film: 10 years of ethnography in government
Policy Lab is celebrating 10 years of bringing new methods into government. An important part of our story is our pioneering use of ethnography in policymaking. We have brought our ethnographic approach to independent reviews, the creation of strategies, the …
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Protecting Trained Models in Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning
Find out how you can protect individual's data after it's been used in training models through output privacy.
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Citizen Science in the West Midlands
My name is Lydia Ashworth and I have been a Citizen Science Coordinator for the Environment Agency in the West Midlands since July 2023. In this blog, you can find out about the Environment Agency’s ‘Supporting Citizen Science Project’ and …
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Planning reform and housing
The Government has this week announced first steps in reforming the planning system to get Britain building and bring about the biggest increase in social housing and affordable housebuilding in a generation. In a speech on Monday [8th July], the …
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Driving local growth through a “new era” of devolution: No 10 mayoral roundtable
The first-ever cross-party mayoral meeting bringing together England’s metro mayors was held in Downing Street this week (9 July 2024). Word of the meeting first hit The Guardian's Monday front page, highlighting the new Government’s plans to power up Britain …
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UK NSC’s multi-layered approach to understanding multi-cancer detection tests
The UK NSC is working to understand multi-cancer detection tests and their possible impact on screening through multiple strands of work.
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Coverage of government announcement on steps to reform water sector
Today we are looking at coverage of today’s water company roundtable held by Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed.
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Coverage of Secretary of State, Steve Reed’s attendance at the Great Yorkshire Show
There has been significant coverage of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed’s first official visit since taking office at the Great Yorkshire Show. The Secretary of State met with farmers and stakeholders, including visits to the NFU and CLA stands. Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner also attended the event.
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Noctilucent Clouds and meteor showers: the night sky in July 2024
July provides an opportunity to see two meteor showers, Noctilucent Clouds and even the core of the Milky Way galaxy.
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Whooping cough: my daughter spent the third week of life in an induced coma
In this blog post, Jenny, from Hampshire, shares the story of her daughter Layla and her struggle with whooping cough at 3 weeks old.
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Army swimming team in overseas training camp
The Army Swimming Team recently spent two weeks in Gibraltar as part of their Overseas Training Course in preparation for the upcoming Inter-Services Competition to be held at Aldershot Garrison Sports Centre in July. 25 swimmers, from across a range …
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B Company volunteer reserve service medals awards ceremony
The Royal Gibraltar Regiment’s B Company recently came together to honour the achievements of several of its members. Following their evening drills, a parade was held to recognise their dedication to the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Reserves. The Volunteer Reserve Service …
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A simpler, clearer and faster way to decide when to consult Natural England on planning applications that might affect a SSSI
By Sarah Middlehurst, Senior Officer, Natural England Today sees the launch of a new tool that will help local planning authorities (LPAs) decide when to consult Natural England on planning applications that might impact a SSSI. The new and improved …
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Changes to our address for service policy and practices
Our new requirement aims to increase clarity and consistency, and reduce requisitions.
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Trees for bees: how Wakehurst is using citizen science to help pollinators
In our second post to celebrate Bees’ Needs Week, Senior Policy advisor Sian Watts sat down with Wakehurst’s pollination research lead Dr Janine Griffiths-Lee, to find out how they use citizen science to help pollinators.
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How to get the most out of your agency briefing
A good agency briefing will set your project up for success from the start, but it can be confusing knowing what to include. Learn Design102’s top tips for writing a creative brief, from the ‘must-haves’ to ‘nice-to-knows’.
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Commander UKStratCom and DirOb visit
General Sir James Hockenhull KBE ADC, the Commander of UK Strategic Command and Dr Sam Griffiths, Director Overseas Bases, recently made a visit to British Forces Gibraltar. The visit was a great opportunity for the recently appointed Dr Griffiths to …
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Building mentally healthy workplaces
Team leaders from across government share how they support their colleague's mental health.
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Launching the new Policy Lab prospectus
Donna Ward, Director of Strategic Policy in the Department for Education, launches Policy Lab's new prospectus. From catalytic interventions to ambitious system change, read on to find out about Policy Lab's methods, offer and impact.
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Powering the next generation of rocket scientists
The national Race2Space competition, in which students from universities across the UK will hot-fire rocket engines they have designed and built, is well underway at the Westcott Space Cluster.
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Recruitment - independent member of ARAC (digital)
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is an arm’s length body of the Department for Business and Trade. Since 2021, we’ve had responsibility for guarding the UK against economic harm caused by unfair trading practices. We undertake investigations into imports to the …
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LEGO, memes and a made-up department - running training for ICS Digital
Find out how we made our ‘introduction to ICS Digital’ training interesting for Learning at Work week.
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Setting the Standard
The days after a general election, especially when power transfers to another political party, are a hectic time in government. After campaigning hard and knocking on doors, the new teams and staffers must familiarise themselves with their roles and departmental …
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Letter to the education workforce from Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has written a letter to the education workforces to make clear the valuable role they will play in the government’s agenda for change. To all working in early years, children’s services, schools, further and higher education, …
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New screening masterclass dates announced
Two new dates have been announced for our popular screening masterclasses in autumn 2024.
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5 simple actions to help pollinators this Bees’ Needs Week
The Environment Blog is back! We’ll keep you updated with all the latest policy news. But it’s also Bees’ Needs Week, so today we’re writing about how you can support pollinators with 5 simple actions.
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Business and consumer surveys: a new approach to gathering evidence for our investigations
The TRA conducts investigations into allegations of unfair trading practices and makes recommendations to government on appropriate measures (such as tariffs) to defend UK economic interests. Here at the TRA, we’re trying to make it easier for supply chain businesses …
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2024 annual call for topics is open
The UK NSC’s 2024 annual call for new screening topics has opened, giving stakeholders the chance to propose potential new screening programmes, new technologies we have not previously reviewed, modifications to current screening programmes, or early updates to topics the committee has considered recently.