News Category
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Government update on heat strategy
One year on from the launch of the UK’s first ever heat strategy, the Government has set out the next steps to ensure low carbon heating plays an important role in the nation’s energy mix. The scale of the challenge is huge, with over 80% of heating used in UK homes, businesses and industry produced by burning fossil fuels, and over a third of the UK’s carbon emissions coming from the energy used to produce heat. However, ...
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Search for Chalara-resistant Ash intensifies
A major project to find Chalara-resistant Ash trees has been announced by Defra. The £1.5 million scheme, which forms part of the Chalara Management Plan published earlier this week, will see a quarter of a million young Ash trees planted in up to 25 sites. The sites will mainly be in East Anglia as this is the area with the most cases of Chalara, and the young trees will be exposed and monitored in the search for ...
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Rural broadband fund launched
Businesses in England’s remotest spots could benefit from superfast internet as the third round of the £20 million Rural Community Broadband Fund opens today. The fund aims to help rural communities with limited or no internet to access superfast broadband, giving rural businesses a greater opportunity to profit and grow. Environment Minister, Richard Benyon, comments: “By getting people better connected, the Government’s £20 million broadband fund will give businesses and a boost and benefit the local economy.” The ...
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CAP policy deals stuck
The UK has struck a number of deals to keep the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on its path of reform. In response to pressure, the Agriculture Council has provided reassurance that each of the four UK countries can continue to implement CAP regionally. Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, comments: “A one size fits all approach to CAP just doesn’t work. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales must be allowed the freedom to deliver outcomes tailored to their own ...
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New route for SMEs to highlight problems with banks
In the wake of the interest rate swap mis-selling scandal, the Government wants to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to highlight the problems they are experiencing with banks. Representative bodies of SMEs and consumers generally can now apply to be designated as "super-complainants" to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Once designated they will have a fast-tracked route to raise issues in financial services markets with the new regulator, which will be required to ...
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Chief Medical Officer highlights veterinary use of antibiotics
In a new report, the Government's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, highlights the threat of infections increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics. The study notes that antibiotic use is not limited to humans, as a large quantity of antimicrobials are used every year in veterinary practice and in the fishing and farming industries. Currently, evidence suggests that this is not a major cause of resistance in bacteria that affect human health (at least in the UK), ...
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Wales drives up food hygiene standards
The Welsh Assembly’s Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act 2013 will see Wales become the first country in the UK to introduce a mandatory scheme requiring food businesses to openly display their hygiene ratings. Having already received the Royal Assent, it will require food businesses to display their food hygiene ratings - from between 0 (urgent improvement necessary) to 5 (very good), based on their compliance with food law requirements. The scheme will come into operation later this ...
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Tesco commits to UK sourced meat
Speaking at the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference yesterday, Tesco chief executive, Philip Clarke, admitted "customers don’t like what they’ve been hearing about how some of the meat they put on their plates is produced". Mr Clarke went on to say that he wants to create a supply chain that customers can understand, and set out the vision of a "bright future" for British agriculture with the promise of a "sincere commitment" to source meat closer ...
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Call for new research on E.coli
A report published today by the Food Standards Agency in Scotland recommends investigating the use of feed additives and cattle vaccines in the control of E.coli O157 on UK farms. This serious gastrointestinal pathogen can be transmitted from cattle faeces to humans via the environment or through the food chain and the research identifies three control strategies worthy or further investigation as follows: the use of probiotics in feed the vaccination of animals measures for improving biosecurity on farms However, ...
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NFU launches “Buy British” campaign
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has launched a "Buy British" campaign in response to the scandal of horse meat being passed off as beef, which has highlighted the complexity of the food chain in some imported products. Adverts encouraging consumers to buy British are running across the national press, with the tag "Great British Farmers produce Great British food". With shopper confidence leading the agenda, Brits are being reminded to look out for the farm assurance logo ...
