This new Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition is seeking novel approaches to stopping or impeding tanks and other heavy armoured vehicles on the battlefield while minimising collateral damage.

DASA welcomes proposals relating to physical barriers or effects (such as traps and rapid ways to build them) as well as invisible barriers or effects (including electromagnetic and other non-explosive technologies).

Systems for defence utility and with potential security applications, including those for urban deployment, are also welcome.

Up to £1 million of funding is available in Phase 1 of this competition to fund proof-of-concept solutions. Additional funding is anticipated to be available for future phases to move towards a deployable solution.

Full details are available in the competition document.

The competition will close at midday on 8 November 2018.

If you have any queries on this competition, please do contact us at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

Published 28 September 2018

In the dataset you can find the date of sale for each property, its full address and sale price, its category (residential or commercial) and type (detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat or maisonette and other), whether it is new build or not and whether it is freehold or leasehold.

The number of sales received for registration by property type and month

Of the 99,765 sales received for registration in August 2018:

• 76,239 were freehold, a 2% increase on August 2017
• 11,504 were newly built, a 60% increase on August 2017

There is a time difference between the sale of a property and its registration at HM Land Registry.

Of the 99,765 sales received for registration, 28,423 took place in August 2018 of which:

• 557 were of residential properties in England and Wales for £1 million and over

• 317 were of residential properties in Greater London for £1 million and over

• 6 were of residential properties in West Midlands for more than £1 million

• 4 were of residential properties in Greater Manchester for more than £1 million

The most expensive residential sale taking place in August 2018 was of a detached property in Camden, London for £11,450,000. The cheapest residential sale in August 2018 was a terraced property in Shildon, County Durham for £21,000.

The most expensive commercial sale taking place in August 2018 was in Tower Hamlets, London for £99,750,000. The cheapest commercial sale in August 2018 was in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire for £150.

Access the full dataset

Notes to editors

1. Price Paid Data is published at 11am on the 20th working day of each month. The next dataset will be published on Friday 26 October 2018.

2. Price Paid Data is property price data for all residential and commercial property sales in England and Wales that are lodged with HM Land Registry for registration in that month, subject to exclusions.

3. The amount of time between the sale of a property and the registration of this information with HM Land Registry varies. It typically ranges between two weeks and two months. Data for the two most recent months is therefore incomplete and does not give an indication of final monthly volumes. Occasionally the interval between sale and registration is longer than two months. The small number of sales affected cannot be updated for publication until the sales are lodged for registration.

4. Price Paid Data categories are either Category A (Standard entries), which includes single residential properties sold for full market value, or Category B (Additional entries), such as sales to a company, buy-to-lets where they can be identified by a mortgage and repossessions.

5. HM Land Registry has been collecting information on Category A sales from January 1995 and on Category B sales from October 2013.

6. Price Paid Data can be downloaded in text, CSV format and in a machine-readable format as linked data and is released under Open Government Licence (OGL). Under the OGL, HM Land Registry permits the use of Price Paid Data for commercial or non-commercial purposes. However, the OGL does not cover the use of third party rights, which HM Land Registry is not authorised to license.

7. The Price Paid Data report builder allows users to build bespoke reports using the data. Reports can be based on location, estate type, price paid or property type over a defined period of time.

8. HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales.

9. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.

10. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for some 85% of the land mass of England and Wales.

11. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry.

12. Follow us on Twitter @HMLandRegistry our blog and LinkedIn and Facebook.

Contact

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is a species of hornet which is not native to the UK. It is smaller than our native hornet and single hornets pose no greater risk to human health than other hornets or bees.

However, they do pose a risk to honey bees and pollinating insects. This is why we are keen to stop this insect establishing in the UK, and why you should report suspected sightings.

There have also been reports in other countries of Asian hornets becoming aggressive when their nests are disturbed. If you find a nest, don’t try to remove it yourself – it can be dangerous and should only be done by experts.

When a sighting is confirmed, experts from the National Bee Unit (NBU) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will work quickly to find and destroy any active nests in the area.

Current situation

The latest case of Asian hornet was confirmed near Christchurch, Dorset on 1 October 2019. Two nests have subsequently been destroyed. This follows earlier confirmed sightings south west of Ashford in Kent on 9 September 2019 and the Tamworth area of Staffordshire on 2 September 2019, where a nest was subsequently located and destroyed. Earlier in the year a single hornet was confirmed in New Milton, Hampshire. In all cases the hornets were spotted and reported by a member of the public.

Since 2016, there have been a total of 17 confirmed sightings of the Asian hornet in England and nine nests have been destroyed.

How to spot an Asian hornet

Asian hornets:

• have a dark brown or black velvety body
• have a yellow or orange band on fourth segment of abdomen
• have yellow tipped legs
• are smaller than the native European hornet
• are not active at night

Guidance on how to identify an Asian hornet.

How to report an Asian hornet

If you suspect you have seen an Asian hornet you should report this using the ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app:

You can also report sightings by email: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk. Please include information on location, date and number of Asian hornets you have seen. Please also include a photo if you can to help our experts identify the insect.

Alternatively, you can fill out an online report form

If you find a nest, don’t try to remove it yourself – it can be dangerous and should only be done by experts.

What to do if you keep bees

If you keep bees, you should:

Read our guidance on the Asian Hornet

Monitor for its arrival

Use monitoring traps in your apiaries. Watch our video on how to make a monitoring trap:

Watch our video on how to make a monitoring trap

Ensure your BeeBase records are up to date with apiary locations

We encourage you to update your apiary records online and record if you have set Asian Hornet traps.

Report any suspect sightings

If you suspect you have seen an Asian hornet you should report this using the iPhone and Android app ‘Asian Hornet Watch’, by filling out an online report form or by emailing alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.

Visiting countries where Asian hornet is widespread

The Asian hornet is native to China but arrived in Europe in 2004 and is now widespread in parts of France, Spain, the Channel Islands and Portugal.

It presents no greater risk to human health than a bee so there is no need for you to take extra precautions in these countries.

However, there have been cases where Asian hornets have been found in bags or camping equipment of travellers returning from those countries, particularly in spring and late autumn.

Before returning to the UK you should check your luggage, especially if it’s been kept outside during your trip. If you do spot an Asian hornet on your return to the UK you should report it with the dates and places you went on holiday, and ideally a photo of the insect.

Recent confirmed sightings and announcements – 2019

• Christchurch, Dorset – confirmed 10 October, nest destroyed
• Christchurch, Dorset – confirmed 1 October 2019 – nest destroyed
• Ashford, Kent – confirmed 9 September 2019 – single hornet captured
• Tamworth area, Staffordshire – confirmed 2 September 2019 – nest destroyed
• New Milton, Hampshire – confirmed 3 July 2019 – single hornet captured

Confirmed sightings in 2018

• Dungeness, Kent – confirmed 15 October 2018 – single hornet captured
• Guildford, Surrey – confirmed 28 September 2018 – single dead hornet
• Brockenhurst, Hampshire – confirmed 26 September 2018 – nest destroyed
• New Alresford, Hampshire – confirmed 24 September 2018 – nest destroyed
• Fowey, Cornwall – confirmed 20 September 2018 – nest destroyed
• Hull, Yorkshire – confirmed 9 September 2018 – single dead hornet
• Liskeard, Cornwall – confirmed 7 September 2018 – single dead hornet
• Fowey, Cornwall – confirmed 3 September 2018 – nest destroyed
• Bury, Lancashire – confirmed 13 April 2018 – single hornet sighted with photograph

People as young as 17 can apply for the first ever civil service economics apprenticeship with successful candidates being offered a starting salary of more than £20,000 (£22,000 in London). Around 75 new starters will take up their posts across government from Autumn 2019.

Economists play a key role advising ministers, analysing evidence and helping improve policy decisions. They can do everything from helping to write Budgets to predicting how people will travel around or communicate in the future.

The apprenticeship is part of the government’s drive to open up opportunity – and follows the new T-levels which aim to create a world-class technical education system to help people succeed in the economy of the future.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:

I want talented young people from all backgrounds to be able to access careers in government. As the Treasury launches the government’s first ever economics apprenticeship, we will grow a new generation of economists who can apply their skills and knowledge to the opportunities and challenges in this country.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton said:

I’m thrilled this new, high-quality professional economist apprenticeship has been approved.

These apprentices will have the opportunity to gain a degree while getting vital on the job training, giving them a head start in their careers.

Launching the new programme, joint heads of the Government Economics Service, Clare Lombardelli and Sam Beckett said:

We’re delighted to launch this new apprenticeships programme for the Government Economic Service.

Creating this new opportunity for talented young people from all over the country will bring a wider and more diverse group of people into the Government Economic Service.

We are looking forward to working with these new apprentices on a whole range of important issues which affect the lives of people across the country.

HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Department for Education and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will offer the apprenticeships which will be based around the country.

The Government Economic Service Degree Apprenticeship Programme (GES-DAP) will be delivered in partnership with the University of Kent and will be open to candidates with GCSE maths at grade B (6) or above and 96 UCAS points – equivalent to CCC at A-level or MMM/DD BTEC Diploma/Certificate.

The programme is open to eligible young people aged between 17-27. The application process will open in December 2018. For more information on the programme and how to apply visit the gov.uk website.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now investigate concerns raised that people who stay with their provider – often on default or roll over contracts – can end up paying significantly more than new customers. Citizens Advice refers to this as a ‘loyalty penalty’.

The super-complaint identifies five ‘essential’ markets where Citizens Advice has concerns about such penalties:

• savings accounts
• mortgages
• household insurance
• mobile
• broadband

Citizens Advice has also asked the CMA to focus on vulnerable customers, who it fears can be hardest hit.

The CMA will now consider the concerns raised, and what should be done about them. This will include engagement with relevant regulators such as the FCA and Ofcom.

It will publish a response within 90 days and possible outcomes include:

• making recommendations to government to change legislation
• action by sectoral regulators
• taking competition or consumer enforcement action
• launching a market investigation or market study
• deciding there is no action required

This list is not exhaustive and there could be more than one outcome depending on the results of the investigation.

Daniel Gordon, Senior Director at the CMA said:

We will now carefully consider the concerns raised by Citizens Advice, and any further evidence on this issue. Our response will set out the CMA’s views on this important issue and any next steps we think are needed to make sure businesses don’t take unfair advantage of their long-standing customers.

The CMA is inviting interested parties to provide any evidence which may be useful to its assessment.

Find out more on the loyalty penalty super-complaint page.

Notes for editors

1. The Enterprise Act 2002 (the Act) makes provision for designated consumer bodies to make super-complaints. A super-complaint, as defined by section 11(1) of the Act, is a complaint submitted by a designated consumer body that ‘any feature, or combination of features, of a market in the United Kingdom for goods or services is or appears to be significantly harming the interests of consumers’. Citizens Advice is a designated consumer body. Within 90 days after the day on which a super-complaint is received, the CMA must say publicly how it proposes to deal with it.

2. In its super-complaint Citizens Advice defines vulnerable consumers as those on low incomes, older people, people with health problems and those with lower levels of formal education.

3. Enquiries should be directed to the CMA’s press team: press@cma.gov.uk, or 020 3738 6460.