News Category
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Environmental Audit Committee calls for halt to fracking
Shale fracking should be put on hold in the UK because it is incompatible with our climate change targets and could pose significant localised environmental risks to public health. That is the conclusion of MPs on the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee who will attempt to amend the Government’s Infrastructure Bill in Parliament today. In a new report, the committee warns that only a very small fraction of our shale reserves can be safely burned if we are ...
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Production and construction sectors slow
UK GDP is estimated to have increased by 0.5% in Q4 2014 compared with growth of 0.7% in the third quarter of last year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), output increased in two of the four main industrial groupings within the economy: +0.8% in services and +1.3% in agriculture. During the same period, output decreased by 1.8% in construction and 0.1% in production, leaving GDP 2.7% higher than in Q4 2013.
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Cuadrilla secures shale gas licence
The Environment Agency has granted the environmental permits Cuadrilla needs to carry out operations at their proposed shale gas exploration site at Preston New Road, Plumpton in Lancashire. The Agency says it has conducted a "rigorous" assessment of Cuadrilla’s applications and will ensure the permit conditions are enforced.
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New fund to reinforce planning law
Councils across England are set to receive £1 million in funding to crack down on unauthorised development and ensure everyone plays by the planning rules. The Government has launched a Planning Enforcement Fund that will help towards the legal costs of seeking a court injunction against those who flout planning laws. Previously, councils had to shoulder the cost of court injunctions. Now, they can apply for up to £10,000 per case. Over the past decade, local planning ...
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Housing Zone shortlist published
The Government has announced the areas shortlisted to become the first "Housing Zones" in England. A shortlist of 29 areas outside London has been published, each of which have bid to become one of 10 Housing Zones, where it will be easier and quicker to build new homes on brownfield land. The 10 that are finally chosen will have access to cheaper borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board and priority access to planning and technical support ...
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Businesses well placed to grow in 2015
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has published the results of its Q4 2014 survey. With responses from almost 7,000 firms it shows that an all-time high number of businesses set out to recruit staff in the final months of last year, in both manufacturing (+36%, compared to +32% in Q3) and services (+32%, up from +28% in Q3). Other key findings are as follows: In manufacturing, both domestic balances increased substantially; domestic sales (+36%, up from +23% in Q3) and domestic ...
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First ever Capacity Market auction
Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has officially confirmed the results of the first ever Capacity Market Auction. Through the auction, the Government has procured 49.26GW of capacity at a clearing price of £19.40kW. This will cost a total of £0.96 billion (in 2012 prices), which works out at around £11 for the average household. The auction is part of a strategy to drive new investment and secure energy supplies in the short, ...
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Consumer jitters hit retail sales growth
Retail sales are predicted to grow by 2% at most in 2015, as consumer confidence remains fragile. The warning comes from the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank which reckons that political uncertainty remains a real risk to consumer confidence, with a general election and turmoil in the Eurozone expected to cause significant jitters. A possible rise in interest rates and VAT could also hit consumers’ ability to spend in the year ahead. According to the analysis, food sales will ...
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Connectivity to boost rural productivity
Productivity could grow faster in the countryside than in urban areas in the years ahead, according to Defra. Increased connectivity, the spread of innovation, growth in knowledge-based industries and changes in working patterns are expected to help rural areas catch up with urban areas over the next decade. Drivers of growth include: Improved transport links - a £15bn investment in national roads infrastructure. This includes £2bn to dual the entire A303 and A358 to the south west and ...
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£6bn package for UK science and innovation
The Government has unveiled plans to support British science and innovation with a new Science and Innovation Strategy which sets out priorities for investment and support in the years ahead. Highlights include: £3 billion to support individual capital projects and institutional capital to maintain the excellence of laboratories at universities and research institutes £2.9 billion towards large capital projects to support scientific ‘Grand Challenges’, including a £30 million UK commitment to ‘XFEL’ – an international free electron laser ...
