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Culture Secretary concerned at BBC Scotland cuts
Following confirmation by the BBC Trust of budget cuts and the loss of up to 120 jobs in Scotland, Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop has said she has great reservations about the potential impact of the cuts in Scotland. Ms Hyslop said: “As a result of the UK Government’s damaging licence fee agreement, BBC Scotland’s [...]
(Continue reading)Approval for Poleglass developments welcomed
SDLP Dunmurry Cllr Brian Heading has welcomed the approval of planning applications for social housing and a youth centre in the Dunmurry Lane and Poleglass areas of his district in Northern Ireland. Cllr Heading said: “I am delighted that the application for the construction of social houses has been approved at Upper Dunmurry Lane. This [...]
(Continue reading)BCC: Challenges remain though rise in employment is encouraging
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said that the rise in employment is encouraging, but that youth unemployment and the number of people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job still present challenges. The latest unemployment statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that in the three months leading [...]
(Continue reading)BPF disappointed at Government ‘pre-pack’ figures
The British Property Federation (BPF) has expressed disappointment at Government figures which show an increase in insolvency professionals failing to comply with guidance governing pre-pack administrations. Figures published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) show that non-compliance with SIP 16 guidance, which ensure that creditors are given sufficient information to understand a [...]
(Continue reading)Salmond welcomes plans for £80m Marine Harvest investment
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has welcomed Marine Harvest’s plan to invest around £80m to grow its business and support jobs in rural communities as he met the chair of the Norwegian-based company in Oslo to discuss its new ‘five-year’ plan for Scotland. Marine Harvest, which operates 38 fish farms in Scotland supporting around 460 [...]
(Continue reading)Scottish Health Secretary welcomes HAI figures
Scottish Government Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed the figures released by Health Protection Scotland showing that healthcare-associated infections have fallen. Ms Sturgeon, said: “Tackling healthcare-associated infections is one of my key priorities and I am pleased to see that the national programme of targeted interventions is having such a positive impact. “These figures released [...]
(Continue reading)CRD IV proposals will make doing business overseas easier – CBI
Following the latest capital requirement proposals from the Economic and Financial Affairs Council and the European Parliament – the so-called “CRD IV” package – the CBI has said the trade finance proposals will make doing business with overseas markets easier and has welcomed plans on credit valuation charges. However, they have said that it’s not for [...]
(Continue reading)CBI: Employers ‘more confident about hiring’
Following the latest official labour market data, showing that employment rose by 105,000 in the three months to March and that unemployment fell by 45,000 on the previous quarter, the CBI has said the figures show that employers are more confident about hiring. Katja Hall, CBI Chief Policy Director, said: “The fall in the official [...]
(Continue reading)1000 new council homes announced by Southwark
The council has set itself a target to build 1000 new council homes before 2020, a significant step to address the council’s priority for delivering genuinely affordable housing in the borough. The ambitious plans aim to make use of sites around Southwark and will utilise spaces which are underused, vacant or problematic for large-scale development, [...]
(Continue reading)Surrey more than halves waste sent to landfill
Surrey has saved millions of pounds on its landfill tax bill by more than halving the amount of waste it buries in the ground. In the three-year period from 2007/08, the county council reduced the amount of waste it sent to landfill from 64% to 33%. This means that Surrey buried around 200,000 tonnes less [...]
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