7365posts
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Update on Environment Agency investigation
On 18 November 2021, the Environment Agency and Ofwat announced separate major investigations into possible unauthorised discharges at thousands of wastewater treatment works.
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Basic Payment Scheme: December 2022 Payments
As most will be aware, Direct Payments are being gradually phased out from 2021 to 2027. Progressive reductions were introduced to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in 2021, with the money saved going back to farmers through the rollout of …
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ESA Council of Ministers: Decision time for shaping the future of space
The next meeting of the European Council of Ministers will take place in November in Paris. But what is it all about?
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The Annual National Hive Count is now live
Adam Parker, National Bee Unit Beebase and Advice Manager, and Bronwen Hopkins, Seasonal Bee Inspector, explain why the Hive Count is central to the Healthy Bees Plan 2030. This blog contains an informative video about submitting information to the Hive Count.
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Further reports of egg shortages
There has been further coverage of some supermarkets reporting shortages in supplies of eggs, following the avian influenza outbreak and rising costs for farmers due to the war in Ukraine.
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Untapped potential from design research for public policy
Professor Ramia Mazé from London College of Communications reports the latest thinking from our policy design university network.
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Inter Faith Week: My Hijab, Fatema's Story
Inter Faith Week is all about 'working together with mutual respect'. We are excited to be able to share a powerful story from the perspective of one of our colleagues, Fatema, who has worked in HMRC for over 30 years. …
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Improving access to justice by encouraging early engagement with legal representation
Read about our joint behavioural pilot with police forces in Norfolk and Suffolk, where we’re promoting early engagement with legal representation in police custody.
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Raising awareness about AMR: toolkits for healthcare professionals
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) demands action and education by professionals and the public alike. This blog collates resources and materials for raising awareness that have been developed by UKHSA, Health Education England and partners.
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Want to help protect our trees? Find out what you can do with simple biosecurity
It is not always possible to see tree pests and diseases and they spread easily in soil or organic material carried on footwear, clothing, and bike tyres. Some tree diseases need water to disperse, so the risk of these being spread increases when conditions are wet.
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Working with content designers to improve GOV.UK information for cattle keepers
Paul Wilkinson and Danielle Vincent share their experience of their teams working together to make information on GOV.UK simpler and clearer for cattle keepers.
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MHRA Process for approving Manufacturing Authorisations or API Registrations in relation to unlicensed Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use
Several companies have contacted the MHRA regarding cannabis-based products for medicinal use. This blog provides information on what authorisations are required in order to manufacture within this sector of the pharmaceutical industry. For an overview of unlicensed Cannabis-Based Products for …
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Sustainable Farming Incentive: Winter Cover Crops
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has received a number of queries from farmers and rural businesses about the way winter cover crops work under the Sustainable Farming Incentive. We have put together some information about cover crops, and how they …
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Using design principles to make our work simple
Laurence Berry gives examples of how you can apply the principles of 'do less' to your work
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Environmental land management schemes: progress update
Yesterday, Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP, Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries and Janet Hughes, Programme Director, Future Farming and Countryside Programme appeared before the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The session was part of a committee inquiry into the rollout of the new environmental land management schemes.
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Around the World in Eighty Ways
Today, we published a report developed for us by Frontier Economics on the topic of circumvention. But what is circumvention, and why do we care about it? Imagine a countervailing duty on Prussian telegraph keys has just come into force. …
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Health on the High Street: The Role of Public Libraries
November is men's health awareness month. Darren Smart from Somerset libraries tells us about how Somerset libraries are supporting the NHS to bring health to the high street.
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COP27 Update: employers prioritising green skills training
November is the United Nations Climate Change summit COP27. With the conference in its second week, we want to highlight some of the brilliant employers working hard to provide green skills training to their apprentices, with a total of 70 …
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Create a flexible tutoring model to maximise the academic impact of tuition
The Bemrose School in Derby has pupils aged 3-19. They started delivering tutoring in October 2020 to compensate for lost learning during the pandemic. Executive headteacher, Neil Wilkinson encourages other schools to develop a flexible tutoring model that is responsive …
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Is it time to retire the .gb top level domain?
CDDO’s Securing Government Services team discuss the domain name system that allows people to easily find websites and other internet services. Here they question removing legacy services such as the .gb. domain
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Self Care Week 2022: exercise your power
Self Care Week, the annual national awareness campaign, encouraging support for self care across communities, families and generations, is back and lead, once again, by the Self Care Forum.
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Whatever you do, don’t click on the link!
During International Fraud Awareness Week, Neil Freebury, our Head of Intelligence, talks about fraud and the importance of not clicking on that suspect link.
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The RPA Podcast: Episode 4
Welcome to the fourth episode of The RPA Podcast. In our latest episode, Richard Anderson, who leads the Field Officer teams at the RPA, talks about the RPA’s more collaborative approach to inspections and visits, and the improvements we …
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The RPA Podcast: Episode 4 Transcript
Executive Summary The Rural Payments Agency’s more collaborative approach to inspections and visits RPA has introduced a more partnership-based approach to inspections, moving away from the penalty-based system under the EU to a more farmer-focused visit for schemes such as …
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Cost of living: supporting food charities and businesses to deliver food you can trust
Katie Pettifer, Director of Strategy and Regulatory Compliance, introduces our new guidance to help community food charities keep food safe.
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Too hot to handle? Adapting to the impacts of marine climate change in the Gulf
As world leaders meet at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) in Egypt this week, Cefas Middle East Programme Director Will Le Quesne discusses the challenge of climate change facing the world’s …
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Enabling delivery teams to understand and apply the Government Service Standard
Kerry, a content designer from DFE, describes her work with service assessors and teams across the department to ensure that the government Service Standard and collective community standards can be found, understood and applied.
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A breakthrough year for digital sustainability
This year has been a transformative period for sustainable ICT, and the publication this week of the 2021-22 Greening Government ICT report marks the latest milestone on our important journey.
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No excuse for illegally burning waste
People burn waste to avoid the charges for taking wastes to permitted waste sites for recovery or where this is not possible, disposal. This is waste crime.
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How we are helping more students benefit from foreign language lessons
Modern foreign languages like French, German and Spanish are really useful to know – not just for visiting counties that speak those languages, but employers increasingly see language skills as highly desirable. That’s why we are investing £14.9 million over the …
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Refurbishing a historic London barracks
Our DIO teams in the South East oversee a rich and diverse historic estate. We're responsible for the maintenance of some iconic sites including Horse Guards Parade, MOD Main Building in Whitehall, and Wellington Barracks, which is only a …
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An update to Find a Grant - Apply for a Grant!
Lucia Webster provides a programme update; introducing Apply for a Grant, the application process for a limited number of grants on Find a Grant.
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Shaping my business analyst career through learning and development
Kelly is shaping her career through learning and development opportunities. Find out how a Business Analysis conference boosted her career confidence.
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A day in the life of a Service Designer in Defra
Interested in joining Defra as s Service Designer? Hannah Rutherford-Roke tells us about her role as a Senior Service Designer and why she chose to work for Defra.
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Keeping everyone safe and secure in school
In this blog, Russ Bland, Head of crime, fire and health and safety resilience for the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA), tells us about the targeted work that his team are doing to keep schools with particular risks as safe and secure as possible.
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DEFRA: Programme Manager- Grade 6
Do you have the leadership, technical skills & experience to be at the centre of shaping and delivering a World Class Construction Programme? Can you be instrumental in growing the right culture where H&S is at the heart of how …
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GOTT: Senior Manager, Capability and Delivery Partnerships, Tech Transfer Strategic Partnerships- Grade 6
Are you interested in a stretching and fast-faced role helping to deliver on the government's priority to become a science superpower? Would you like to play a key role in building partnerships with public sector organisations and supporting procurement processes …
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Government Office for Tech Transfer (GOTT): Technology Transfer Strategic Partner- Grade 7
Do you enjoy identifying and developing new opportunities for commercialisation and knowledge transfer? Are you successful at building relationships and fostering partnerships? Would you like to play a key role in boosting the exploitation of public sector innovations and driving …
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Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT): Senior Policy Advisor- Grade 7
Are you interested in a stretching and fast-faced policy role, helping to deliver on the government's priority to become a science superpower? If so, this opportunity could be perfect for you! The UK’s public sector is a thriving source of …
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GCHQ: Software Solutions Architect
We are GCHQ, we unlock the complex world of communications to make a real difference to the safety of the nation. We work closely with our partners in the intelligence community to safeguard Britain’s people, interests, and businesses from threats …