LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: * 459 unauthorised Blue Badges cancelled in Wirral Council, saving over £363,000 for the taxpayer. * Potentially fraudulent permits identified with a data matching tool through the Public Sector Fraud Authority's National Fraud Initiative. * Nationally, the estimated value of Blue Badges cancelled was over £34 million across the past two years. Over 450 Blue Badges have been cancelled after findings sh...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: Memories of the Late Queen Elizabeth shared by members of the public and those who knew her are now live as part of a milestone digital archive into her life, and can be viewed at www.queenelizabeth.com. Also launching today is a fully digitised version of the Court Circular (Queen Elizabeth's official diary) covering the entirety of Queen Elizabeth's reign from 1952 to 2022. The digitisation gives the public a ...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: * Health assessments for disability and sickness benefits to be automatically audio recorded as standard. * The change moves from an opt-in system - used by fewer than 3% of claimants - to opt-out as the default. * Recordings to be used to improve assessment quality and improve transparency. The change means that claimants undergoing assessments for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Work Capability Assessment...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: * The Royal Navy willprocureat leastsix Common Combat Vessels,as part of the system that will replacethe current Type 45 destroyers. * This Common Combat Vesselwill be the Royal Navy's first 'Hybrid' warship, coordinating uncrewed systems in the air, on the surface and under the sea to deliver more resilient air defence. * The programme will sustain jobs and skills across UK shipyards, withthe ship'sadaptabledesi...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: Established in 2001 following the part‑privatisation of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is the Ministry of Defence's in-government science and technology organisation, providing unique expertise, crucial insights and innovative mission-winning solutions essential for maintaining UK warfighting readiness in an increasingly dangerous and ...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: Petrofac Facilities Management Limited (PFML) paida£569,157compound settlementandhasbecomethe first company to bepublicly namedby HMRCfor accepting such a penalty. The breaches by PFML occurred in 2022and 2023whilethe company waswinding down its Russian operations.Thecompany supplied sanctioned industrial goods to individuals connected to Russia and provided technicalassistancerelating to those goods. PFML...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: The UK Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, made her first visit to Egypt from 17 to 18 June. During her visit, the Foreign Secretary met with interlocutors including Foreign Minister Dr Badr Abdelatty and Chief Commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) Dr Ali Shaath. The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Abdelatty co-chaired the third meeting of the bilateral Association Cou...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: The Prime Minister hosted a roundtable discussion this morning with hospitality organisations working to support those facing barriers to employment, training and education, setting out the government's ambition to ensure every young person can fulfil their potential regardless of background. He set out the government's focus on technical education and skills, arguing that university should not be seen as the on...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: Nigel devoted his working life to the service of others and over a career spanning more than three decades, became a highly respected figure in the British trade union movement, championing the interests of workers in telecommunications, information technology, financial services and beyond. Nigel graduated first from the University of Reading and received his Master 's degree in Industrial Relations from the Un...
LONDON, June 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news: * £580 million funding for Dstl infrastructure, including building a new laboratory to expand work against biological warfare threats. * New lab named after former British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, one of founders of NATO. * Organisation renowned fornew technologiesand chemical weapons analysis, includingDragonFirelaser, drone technology for Ukraine and Novichok nerve agent response. Expert UK...