One year on from the Brexit vote and the talks between the UK and our European neighbours have finally begun.
Already, this weakened Tory government is on the back foot.
Jun262017
Jun262017
Award winning social business to launch new service and create 66 new jobs in South Wales Valleys
The new service, which will create 66 new jobs over the next eighteen months in the South Wales valleys, is backed by £222,600 from the Welsh Government and will enable Connect Assist to launch the service imminently.
There is a high demand for such a service following a number of high profile allegations of mal-practice by fundraising agencies in recent years. As a consequent a number of charities pulled their contracts with these agencies, many of which ceased trading.
The new service for charities will include the provision of emergency appeal response lines and fundraising appeals. It will also handle enquiries around the work that each charity undertakes as well as enquiries around supporting charities.
Connect Assist, which is based in Nantgarw and celebrated it 10th anniversary last year, was set up with the main aim of making a positive difference to people living and working in the Valleys
Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:
“The Welsh Government is pleased to support Connect Assist in launching this new service which will be creating a significant number of local jobs and offering a range of career opportunities for people.
“Connect Assist currently employs 100 people and its work over the past ten years has made a real impact, supporting and helping people into employment which has been recognized through a number of well deserved awards.”
Ron Moody, Client Services Director said:
“We are delighted to be launching this much needed ethical fundraising service. Having worked with the charity sector for over a decade helping charities to help their beneficiaries, this new fundraising and supporter care service is a natural extension to our offering. Support from the Welsh Government is a very important element to the launch and our objective of creating sustainable jobs.’’
The organization focuses on providing information, advice guidance and support to individuals facing challenging circumstances. It has a strong track record of providing professional multi-channel helpline and contact centre services, web systems and consultancy services to not for profit organisations throughout the UK.
Connect Assist delivers 365 days a year 24 hours a day running professionally staffed charity helplines for organisations enabling people to contact the service at any time and in the way that suits them best.
Jun262017
Press release: Low Pay Commission visit to Newport and Gwent
The visit to Newport and Gwent in June is part of a programme of visits the Low Pay Commission (LPC) is making around the UK during 2017 to gather information on how the National Living Wage is operating.
Peter Donaldson and Professor Sarah Brown will meet a number of representatives in Newport and Gwent to hear first hand what impact the National Living Wage is having on businesses and workers.
Low Pay Commissioner Peter Donaldson said:
Hearing directly from those affected by the National Living Wage and other minimum wage rates is an important part of the Commission’s work and informs our recommendations to the government. Our visits take us around the UK and we welcome the opportunity to hear how the National Living Wage has affected people in Wales.
Notes:
- The Low Pay Commission is an independent body that advises the government about the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage.
- The LPC is responsible for:
- carrying out extensive research and consultation, and commissioning research projects
- analysing relevant data and actively encouraging the Office of National Statistics to establish better estimates of the incidence of low pay
- carrying out surveys of firms in low-paying sectors
- consulting with employers, workers and their representatives and taking written and oral evidence from a wide range of organisations
- making fact-finding visits throughout the UK to meet employers, employees and representative organisations
- There are 9 Low Pay Commissioners drawn from a range of employee, employer and academic backgrounds:
- Bryan Sanderson
- Kay Carberry
- Neil Carberry
- Professor Richard Dickens
- Peter Donaldson
- Professor Sarah Brown
- Clare Chapman
- John Hannett
- Brian Strutton
- All the Commissioners serve in an individual capacity. They are supported by a secretariat, which has 8 members of staff and is based in London.
- If you are are involved in a business, are a worker, or have information you would like to share with commissioners about the effects of the National Living Wage or Minimum Wage, and would like to meet the Commissioners, please contact the LPC secretariat using the contact details below.
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Jun262017
Xi urges coordinated efforts to deepen overall reform
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for more coordinated efforts to carry out reforms and review all existing major reform programs.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at the 36th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, which he heads.
All departments and localities should be devoted to delivering reforms and should ensure all results are reviewed, according to a statement released after the meeting.
The group called for timely corrections to problems uncovered during inspections and any lax implementation of reforms should be addressed.
Departments and authorities should track reform implementation and assess overall outcomes, the statement said.
The meeting saw the passing of guidelines and plans including a pilot plan on establishing Qilian Mountains National Park, measures to improve people’s lives and a system to supervise natural resource exploitation.
The leading group stressed that mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises (SOE) is important to overall SOE reform, vowing to complete the mixed-ownership reform by the end of this year.
Emphasizing the important roles of Chinese enterprises overseas and outbound investment in maintaining the security of China’s overseas interests, the group called for improved supervision and regulation of overseas investment.
It was decided at the meeting that China would open wider to foreign investors and continue innovation-driven development following two years of effective practice in free trade zones in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian.
Jun262017
Press release: Additional responsibilities for Medicines Discovery Catapult
Catapult to be centre for medicines; diagnostics; biomarkers; trial support.
The board of directors of the Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) and the Precision Medicine Catapult (PMC) have proposed the transfer of some aspects of the scientific mission of PMC to the MDC.
MDC will now focus on: medicines; diagnostics; biomarkers; early-stage clinical trial support. They believe the move reflects the change in precision medicine becoming mainstream and integrated within modern drug discovery, and will drive efficiencies and serve as a community one-stop shop for all drug-based approaches. The PMC will close as an entity in its own right.
This proposal is endorsed by Innovate UK under its commitment to developing targeted and efficient innovation support through its network of Catapults throughout the UK.
To deliver a more distributed approach to precision medicine and with reduced need for a centralised resource, Innovate UK will instead use its funding to maintain its support for the precision medicine sector, providing funding for competitive grants open to applications from businesses and precision medicine regional centres of excellence from all over the UK.
This will provide many expert groups with the capability to set their own strategies beyond the previous constraints of the PMC.
Contact PJ Taylor, media and stakeholder communications partner, for more information: 07950 225 001 or email pj.taylor@innovateuk.gov.uk.