Jul62017
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh said that in last three years, tribal farmers submitted more than 5,000 plant varieties through KVKs for registration at Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Rights Authority.
Jul62017
Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, commenting on today’s figures on the estimated impact of the household benefit cap on parents by age of youngest child, said:
“Today’s figures highlight the huge impact the new, lowered household benefit cap has on lone parents who make up well over half of households affected, with nearly 80% having children under five.”
“As we warned, the impact of this and the Government’s other social security cuts is pushing more children into poverty, punishing them for their parent’s circumstances.
“The Government must listen to the High Court’s judgement that this policy is discriminatory and unlawful, marking another blow in their failing austerity agenda.
“Labour has stood against the reduction of the benefit cap. We need to tackle our struggling economy, labour market inequalities and the high cost of housing rather than penalising children.”
“We will transform the social security system so that, like the NHS, it is there for us all in our time of need.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
• Today’s figures can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-estimated-impact-on-parents-by-age-of-youngest-child.
• Lone parents make up 63% of households estimated to be in scope for the lower cap and of these lone parents 78% have a youngest child under the age of 5
• The High Court judgement on the 22nd June ruled that the benefit cap is unlawful and illegally discriminates against single parents with young children under the age of two.
Jul62017
Passengers travelling into and out of Bristol are set to benefit from a fleet of modern trains providing extra seating, air-conditioning, wi-fi and at-seat plugs.
Smart ticketing is also to be rolled out locally with trials of contactless payments now underway at 11 stations in the area to make journeys easier.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling today (6 July 2017) visited Bristol Temple Meads station to welcome the modern diesel Turbo trains, which launched for the first time on the Severn Beach line into the city this week and also to see progress on the smart ticketing trials.
The first train in the modern fleet marks stage one in a full rollout in the Bristol and wider area, providing passengers with more space and more comfort on their journeys to and from work.
They are being introduced on commuter routes into Bristol, Taunton, Cardiff, Gloucester and Portsmouth over the next year. The route between Temple Meads and Severn Beach via Clifton Down and Avonmouth was chosen first because it has seen some of the strongest growth of any community rail line in the country.
The introduction of electric trains between Maidenhead and London Paddington since May has allowed the release of the more modern diesel trains for passengers in the Bristol area.
Mr Grayling also saw a new pilot scheme at the station to introduce ticketless travel on rail journeys into and out of the city. The ‘Touch’ smart ticketing pilot is currently being tested at stations on the same Severn Beach line into Bristol and is jointly funded by train operator Great Western Railway (GWR) and Bristol City Council.
It is due to launch in September and will allow passengers the option of tapping in and out using cards as well as tickets. Gates along the route are being upgraded with smart readers as part of testing for the scheme. Smart ticketing is much more convenient for passengers because it allows paperless commuting and speedy, tap-and-go travel. It allows them to avoid queues when buying tickets and makes it easier to replace lost, stolen or damaged tickets.
During his visit, Mr Grayling met with GWR’s Engineering Director Andrew Mellor and representatives from Bristol City Council to see progress on the scheme and to take a look inside the cabs of the new Turbo fleet. He said:
The rollout of the more modern trains is great news for passengers in and around Bristol because they offer more seats, more facilities and greater comfort. It is a demonstration of our determination to put passengers at the heart of everything we do.
I applaud GWR and the City Council as well for their investment in the future of our railways with their smart ticketing venture. This is an excellent example of the vision the government spelled out at the end of last year – to give every passenger across the country the option of travelling on rail with a smart ticket or card by the end of 2018.
Nationally, the government has committed £80 million to expanding smart ticketing across the country. Around 450 stations across the south-east have already been upgraded to support the initiative.
Jul62017
The Environment Agency consults the public on certain applications for waste operations, mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities. The arrangements are explained in its Public Participation Statement
These notices explain:
The Environment Agency will decide:
Jul62017
6 July 2017 – Rising prices of cereals, meat and dairy products have pushed the global food price index up by 1.4 per cent compared to last month and 7.0 per cent compared to last year, the United Nations agriculture agency has said.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the rise in the Food Price Index – a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities – was largely because of surging prices of high-protein wheat due to deteriorating crop conditions in the United States.
“June marked the second successive month of increase in the value of the Food Price Index,” read an update issued by the UN agency.
On the other hand, price indices for vegetable oils and sugar declined by 6.5 points (3.9 per cent) and nearly 31 points (13.4 per cent), respectively, it added.
The fall in the Sugar Price Index marked a new 16-month low. The prices have fallen steadily since February, with the continued decline reflecting large export availabilities, in particular robust Brazilian supplies.
“Weak import demand has exerted further downward pressure on [sugar] quotations, especially as purchases by the world’s leading importer, China, have slowed following the imposition of high import tariffs,” said FAO.
In terms of the indices, the Cereal Price Index averaged 154.3 points in June (up 6.2 points compared to May); Vegetable Oil Price Index, 162.1 points (down 6.5 points); Dairy Price Index, 209 points (up 15.9 points); Sugar Price Index (197.3 points, down nearly 31 points).
The Meat Price Index averaged 175.2 points in June (up 3.2 points). However, this value was derived using a mixture of projected and observed prices as most prices used in the calculation of the Index were not available when the Food Price Index was computed.
Also today, FAO announced that despite tightening supply conditions for high-protein wheat, global cereal supplies are likely to remain abundant in the coming year.
“World cereal stocks are expected to expand further to a new record high of around 704 million tonnes,” said the UN agency, announcing its updated Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released today.
According to the Brief, the June forecast for global wheat output in 2017 were revised down, while those of maize and rice rose and global cereal production this year is likely to total 2,593 million tonnes, some 0.6 per cent below that of 2016.