Latest News
Appointments at Boundary Commission for Wales
Carl Sargeant, the Minister for Local Government and Communities, has announced three appointments to the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales. Richard Owen Watkin has been appointed as Chair for a three-year term from 15 June and following a public recruitment exercise, David Powell and Ceri Stradling have been appointed as members for three years [...]
(Continue reading)CAP reform flexibility progress
The first sign of progress towards much-needed flexibility on the CAP reform greening elements was welcomed by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead. In three key areas of greening – environmental certification, permanent grassland and crop diversification – the EU Commission tabled an update which sought to address some of the concerns that had been raised [...]
(Continue reading)500 new jobs for Scotland announced by Aker Solutions
Plans by Aker Solutions to add another 500 jobs to its current 2700-strong operation in the North East were announced as Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond held talks at the international oil services company’s headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Aker Solutions, already one of the largest employers in the region, has a growth target for the [...]
(Continue reading)£115,000 funding for Omagh environmental improvements
Northern Ireland’s Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland has announced a £115,000 funding boost for environmental improvements in Omagh. The funding, from the Department’s Neighbourhood Renewal Investment fund, will upgrade the existing Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) at O’Kane Park to modern day standards. Improvements will be made for access for persons with disabilities, along with [...]
(Continue reading)Shapps: revamped Right to Buy to deliver thousands of new homes
Details of plans for how thousands of new affordable homes are to be built using the cash proceeds from the Government’s reinvigorated Right to Buy scheme were unveiled by Housing Minister Grant Shapps. The Minister said he was responding to appeals by local authorities for more time to take advantage of the new scheme by [...]
(Continue reading)Regular Derry-Dublin rail service needed, says Dallat
SDLP East Derry MLA John Dallat has called for a renewed commitment to establish a regular rail service between Derry and Dublin during Assembly Questions to the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness on cross-border issues. Mr Dallat also welcomed the commitment to upgrade two sections of the A5 road network. He said: “The rail network [...]
(Continue reading)Search begins for new Chief Construction Adviser
The Government has begun the search for a successor to Paul Morrell as the Government’s Chief Construction Adviser. Mr Morrell, who was first appointed to the position in December 2009, will step down in November after completing two successful terms in post. Working with BIS and the Cabinet Office, he has led on the implementation [...]
(Continue reading)£14m investment into pharmaceutical industry
Funding of over £14m from a consortium of six pharmaceutical companies is to be invested into research on the development of new drug treatments for major global diseases. The University of Dundee and the Medical Research Council (MRC) announced the academia-pharma collaboration which includes firms AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Merck-Serono (the Pharmaceutical [...]
(Continue reading)Today’s children won’t get state pension until age 77, says PwC
New PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) projections suggest that someone born today is unlikely to receive their state pension until they reach 77, and their children will be working into their mid 80s. The Queen Speech’s outlined plans that the state pension age will be linked to longevity, after increasing it to 67 by 2028, but PwC projects [...]
(Continue reading)Eighth person arrested in connection with A4e fraud
A woman has been arrested in connection with the allegations of fraud which have been levelled at welfare-to-work company A4e. She is the eighth person to be detained in connection with the investigation. The woman was questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud before being released on bail. Millions of pounds worth of government [...]
(Continue reading)
