9430posts
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Want to improve services across health and care? Become a DHSC service assessor
Find out how to become a DHSC service assessor.
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Ruth Davis: nature, trade and partnership – reflections from China
Ruth Davis shares her reflections from her recent visit to China with the Defra Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds. Read this post to find out more.
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Backing Britain’s Carers: Proposed New Rights in the Spotlight
Learn about DBT's consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children, which will close on 1st September 2026.
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Building resilience for the future of the UK’s AGR programme
Steve Wordsworth, Head of Spent Fuel Services at Sellafield Ltd, explains how the NDA Group supports energy security and the defueling of the UK’s remaining AGR stations.
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Reflections from the Nutrition Society Irish Section 2026 Conference
Naomi Davidson, Head of Science and Surveillance and Registered Nutritionist, shares her reflections from the Nutrition Society Irish Section Conference 2026, held at Ulster University’s Coleraine campus, and what the event meant for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Northern Ireland.
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Fish Health Inspectorate and the Pet Fish Trade - safeguarding the health of fish and shellfish
The primary role of the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) is to safeguard the health of fish and shellfish in England and Wales by controlling serious listed diseases and assessing/intervening in emerging disease threats. They authorise the activities of fish and …
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Inside the Environment Agency’s fish lab: protecting fisheries from invasive species and disease
This week marks Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) Week, a chance to shine a light on the quiet, often unseen work protecting our waters.
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Eight years at the heart of change: signing off from SSAC
It feels slightly surreal to be writing this. After eight years as the Wales member of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC), I’m stepping away. That’s long enough for the role to stop being “new” and start feeling like part …
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Air conditioning rules
There has been media coverage this week suggesting that air conditioning is banned in homes. This is incorrect. Air conditioning can be installed in both existing and new homes. In most cases, planning permission is not required to install it …
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Small but mighty: the backbone of our sector
Small charities are the lifeblood of civil society: deeply embedded in their communities, trusted by those they serve, and often the first to respond when needs arise.
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Update on the National Adult Safeguarding Board
On the 16 July I chaired the first National Adults Safeguarding Board, created in direct response to Baroness Casey's safeguarding recommendations set out in her letter to the then Secretary of Health and Social Care on 3 March 2026, and …
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River Roding work in East London: Setting the record straight
The Environment Agency has issued a warning letter to the River Roding Trust following an investigation into unpermitted work carried out at Alders Brook in Ilford.
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Tackling planning delays: PropTech Innovation Fund Round 6 pilots now underway
11 consortiums of technology companies, local planning and combined authorities have been selected for Round 6 of the Digital Planning Programme’s PropTech Innovation Fund, to pilot digital solutions targeting blockers to housing delivery.
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Tackling flood risk inequality
Flooding affects many communities across England. As climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, new Environment Agency research shows that ensuring our approach to flood risk management is both effective and equitable has become more important than ever.
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The Next Frontier: unlocking in-orbit manufacturing of medicines
The UK is taking steps to support the development and manufacture of innovative medicines in microgravity. Through collaborative work between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the UK Space Agency, the UK has published the first dedicated …
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How have approaches to managing Koi herpes virus (KHV) in fisheries changed?
Protecting fish health and supporting sustainable fisheries is a key priority for the Environment Agency. We work closely with partners and fishery managers to reduce the risk and impact of fish health incidents, including Koi herpesvirus (KHV), which affects carp and presents a risk to recreational fisheries from potential significant fish mortalities.
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An IP journey: Moti Me and children’s physiotherapy
We spoke to industrial designer and founder Katie Michaels about how intellectual property has supported the development of Moti Me, a children’s physiotherapy device, helping her protect the product’s innovation, design and brand as the business grows and reaches more families.
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Over £1 million saved - how Shaw Education Trust turned supply staffing into a strategic asset
This is the final post in a three-part series. In our first post, we outlined the supply staffing challenges Shaw Education Trust (SET) faced. In our second post, we explained how they built their compliant master vendor model. Here, we …
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The Farming Roadmap
Farming Roadmap 2050: Growing England's Future sets out a clear vision for the future of farming in England. It brings together the government's long-term plans, priorities and commitments for the farming sector in a single place, providing greater clarity and direction for farmers and the wider industry.
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Our response to the Farming Profitability Review
Alongside the Farming Roadmap 2050: Growing England’s future, we’ve published our response to the Farming Profitability Review (FPR), an independent review led by farmer and former NFU President, Baroness Minette Batters.
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New £53 million investment for farming innovation
The Farming Innovation Programme (FIP),will receive an additional £53 million investment this year. This means that those trialling new technologies and innovative approaches to cut costs, improve productivity and strengthen business resilience on farms will be able to benefit from a total investment of £123 million across the 2026/27 financial year.
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The ILAP and the Aligned Pathway – What’s the difference?
The Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) and the MHRA-NICE Aligned Pathway both support earlier patient access to safe and effective medicines but they serve different purposes and are accessed at different points in development. The ILAP provides early, coordinated …
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Reducing requisitions: building a culture of excellence at Attwells
How Attwells solicitors reduced avoidable requisitions through leadership, culture change and smart use of HM Land Registry resources.
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Click, buy, harm: The growing threat of invasive species online
APHA’s Emma Brand explains how APHA is protecting the United Kingdom by uncovering illegal online invasive species sales to defend our wildlife before damage takes hold.
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Renters’ Rights Act: how content design and policy collaborated to deliver the guidance
The Renters’ Right Act changed the law for 11 million tenants who live in private properties in England and the 2.3 million landlords who rent them out. Find out how content design and policy teams worked together to help them prepare for the changes, and what the teams learnt on the journey.
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How Shaw Education Trust built a compliant, trust-wide supply model - and how yours could too
This is the second post in a three-part series. In our first post, we described the supply staffing challenges Shaw Education Trust (SET) faced and why acting early was essential. Here, we explain how they built their solution. Once SET …
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My first 100 days as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency
Ian Young CBE, Chief Scientific Advisor at the Food Standards Agency, reflects on his first 100 days in the role. He shares what he’s learned about how we use science and evidence to keep food safe and protect consumers.
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Introducing Ask DBT: Our new AI tool for making sense of the intranet
How we built a tool that gives colleagues from across DBT a way to ask questions in plain English and get clear, trusted answers drawn entirely from intranet content.
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Tribunals in 2026: progress, partnerships and plans for the future
Tracy Parker-Priest reflects on a year of significant change across tribunals, from increased digital uptake to implementing new policy change. She shares what's been achieved, what's ahead, and how tribunals are continuing to serve the people who need them most.
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Grey squirrels: managing an invasive species to support woodlands and our native red squirrels
Baroness Hayman of Ullock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Biosecurity, Borders and Animals) discusses the significant impact invasive grey squirrels have on our woodlands and native red squirrel populations, and the landscape-scale effort needed to manage them.
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Making every customer call count through more joined-up data
Kieran Lewis reflects on a recent project to integrate multiple data sources into a single Customer Relationship Management interface, improving call centre efficiency and customer experience by saving time per call and allowing agents quicker access to relevant information, and with ongoing and further improvements still to come.
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Achieving our objectives; Supporting our stakeholders: OFAC-OFSI Enhanced Partnership Exchange 2026
Sanctions are among the most powerful tools available to the U.S. and UK governments in advancing our respective foreign policy and national security interests. In January 2026, as part of the continuing Enhanced Partnership, the HM Treasury’s Office of Financial …
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A survey for the pig sector
The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) has launched a survey of the UK pig sector to better understand current challenges, awareness of the Fair Dealing Obligations and experiences across the supply chain.
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Amardeep’s story of resilience and ambition
Amardeep Panesar shares her journey from growing up in East London to becoming a senior school leader, highlighting the challenges she faced and how she pushed through them.
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Kieran’s story: From reluctant student to inspirational teacher
Kieran Anderson shares his story of how he got into teaching
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How to keep cool and stay well during hot weather
During the summer, many of us enjoy the longer days, warmer evenings, and time outdoors. But warmer weather also brings real risks to health, especially when temperatures climb higher than usual.
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What the UK NSC looks for when considering new screening tests
As part of its open call process, the UK NSC can accept proposals for new screening tests that are supported by evidence published in peer-reviewed literature.
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How Shaw Education Trust took control of supply staffing - and what your trust could learn from it
For Shaw Education Trust (SET), a multi-academy trust of 31 schools across England, supply staffing had become one of the largest and least controlled areas of expenditure, with annual costs rising to over £5 million*. SET took a step back …
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Turning plastic waste on our beaches into vital scientific data
Have you ever walked along a beach and noticed pieces of plastic waste washed up along the shore? Don’t walk past it. There might be valuable scientific data attached (as well as removing litter from the beach being the right …
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Designing services for people who’ve lost trust online
Rachel Malic, content designer at HMRC shares how to design to rebuild trust in using public services for people who have been affected by scams.