News Category
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Rural Community Energy Fund launched
Rural communities across England wanting to generate their own clean green power are being offered a helping hand with the launch of a £15 million government fund. The Rural Community Energy Fund, which is now open to applications, is designed to help with feasibility studies into renewable energy projects and cover the costs of applying for planning permission. Hopefully, projects will then be able to attract private finance to pay for renewable energy kit and get projects ...
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Growing gap between attitude and action on data management
More than half of European mid-sized firms say they would refuse to do business with a company that had suffered a data breach, despite the fact that 41% believe data loss is an inevitable part of daily business. That’s according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and storage and information management company, Iron Mountain. The study shows that even as European companies are experiencing a 50% annual increase in data breaches, their approach to information management is ...
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Health & Safety clarification for work experience students
The Government has outlined plans to make it easier for employers to take on work experience students, as some firms have been hampered in the past by the prospect of special risk assessments for young people. The Health and Safety Executive has now issued revised guidance to employers and the Department for Education has worked with Ofsted to publish guidance on how Ofsted will inspect Health and Safety for work experience students. Finally, to give employers peace ...
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Planning changes needed to speed up 4G
The Government must streamline the planning process for new telecoms infrastructure to boost rural businesses and safeguard farmers and their workers, the National Farmers' Union said yesterday. The NFU has written to the Communities & Local Government and Culture, Media & Sport departments calling for changes to planning rules to speed up the roll-out of 4G mobile broadband and improve mobile phone services. The Union's chief rural affairs adviser, David Collier, says: “One in fifty people in ...
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EU fisheries deal secured
A deal to reform the Common Fisheries Policy has been agreed by EU Member States and is expected to become law later this year. After lengthy negotiations, the new Common Fisheries Policy should radically transform fishing practices in Europe, with reforms including: A ban on the practice of discarding perfectly edible fish. A legally binding commitment to fishing at sustainable levels. Decentralised decision making, allowing Member States to agree the measures appropriate to their fisheries. The ban on discarding in ...
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Waste food campaign poses disease threat
The National Pig Association (NPA) has warned that recycling human food by feeding it to pigs must take place only under strictly-controlled conditions, otherwise there is a risk of outbreaks of notifiable diseases such as foot-and-mouth, classical swine fever and African swine fever. The warning comes as "Pig Idea" environmental campaigners are calling for more left-over foods to be fed to pigs as swill. While feeding pigs properly-treated and tested foods such as unsold bread and vegetables ...
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RICS launches Expert Witness Accreditation scheme
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched an Expert Witness Accreditation Service (EWAS) for the built environment sector. The scheme, which is open to all property professionals, is intended to raise standards in a sector that has not previously been subject to professional regulation. According to the RICS, the new service will operate as an industry benchmark for experts in the built environment, as it will involve robust evaluation and assessment against clear criteria and ...
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CMM makes “fantastic contribution” to Enviro-Entrepreneur Bootcamp
CMM managing director, Graham Allen, has been recognised for his "fantastic contribution" to the 2013 Enviro-Entrepreneur Bootcamp, held last month in Nottingham. This major event is hosted by the Nottingham CleanTech Centre (NCTC), for anyone with a cleantech business idea. According to Dr Nick Gostick managing director of Inntropy, which runs the Centre, feedback from the event was the best so far - one participant summed up: "The most useful and inspiring opportunity I’ve had in years". Planning ...
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Review of tariff for non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive
Office blocks, factories and community centres could be among a number of buildings across the UK to benefit from more cash for renewable heat under proposals set out by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The DECC is consulting on increasing the non-domestic tariff levels for heat generated by ground source heat pumps, large biomass and solar thermal kit accredited under the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme (RHI). The scheme, which was launched in 2011, ...
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Thousands to benefit from “Make Things Do Stuff” campaign
The Government has launched "Make Things Do Stuff", a programme aimed at inspiring a generation of young people to create, rather than just use, digital technologies. The campaign, led by Nesta, Nominet Trust and Mozilla, will bring together technology companies such as Facebook and 02 Telefonica alongside grassroots organisations that are already providing digital skills to young people across the UK. Speaking at the launch, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said: "By offering digital training to ...
