CLAIM “It is thanks to our United Kingdom NHS that we are able to distribute a life-saving vaccine across the whole of our country” – Boris Johnson, statement to Parliament, January 6 2021.
DOORSTEP ANSWER
BACKGROUND On January 6, 2021, the Prime Minister announced to the House of Commons the decision to impose a third total lockdown in England, including school closures, despite rejecting such action in the days prior. A lockdown in Scotland had previously been announced by the SNP Government at Holyrood. The PM was questioned by SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, who asked Johnson four pointed questions: What steps were being taking to ensure there were sufficient vials to transport Covid-19 vaccines; would further restrictions be placed on entry to the UK; would the Government provide financial aid for the self-employed during the new lockdown; and why was the Scottish Government being denied new Treasury funds to help businesses north of the Border during the
By Omolabake Fasogbon
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with Kobo360, has launched a Temperature-Controlled Logistics, TCL, solutions programme to assist Nigeria in overcoming challenges in the food and health sector.
To this end, IFC has announced an open call to innovators from around the world to come forward with climate-smart and TCL cooling solutions that will see to Nigeria’s food waste challenges, support its health sector, and reduce energy consumption level.
According to IFC, The techEmerge TCL Nigeria programme aims to offer market access and a pool of up to $1 million in funding to top innovators.
Northern Ireland s five health trusts and a meat processor in Co Antrim are today named and shamed as rogue employers who failed to pay the minimum wage.
Around 1,350 workers across NI were short-changed by a total of £104,000, according to the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Doherty & Gray in Ballymena is the top local offender in a list of companies described by BEIS as rogue employers named and shamed for failing to pay minimum wage . Read More
All have had to pay the arrears in wages as well as financial penalties.
In a list of 139 UK employers, Doherty & Gray is number four for failing to pay £43,470.16 to 128 workers. The company behind sausage brand Hull s of Ballymena said its minimum wage policy over a three-year period had been audited by HMRC in 2018. It said it had always paid wages at and above the correct rates.
ICE to host new UK carbon emission auctions and futures contracts
December 23, 2020 6:08 pm UTC, Darren Sinden
ICE already offers futures on European Emission Allowances, the European contracts have been rallying strongly over recent weeks posting a series new all-time highs
Energy Exchange ICE is to further enhance its ESG and low carbon credentials by hosting new UK emission auctions as part of the recently announced UK Emissions Trading Scheme or UK ETS.
The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced last week that it would launch a new emissions trading scheme that would replace existing arrangements from as soon as January 1st 2021.
Image Credit: MOHAMED ABDULRAHEEM/Shutterstock.com
The UK government has recently granted £3.1 m ($4.1 m) to a joint project developing advanced chemical recycling for plastics to produce virgin-quality materials from low-quality plastic waste. Recycling Technologies, a growing UK-based advanced recycling company, is in partnership with industry giants Neste and Unilever to create virgin-quality plastic with chemical recycling.
Virgin-Quality Materials from Low-Quality Waste
Despite decades of government and special interest programs, funding, and changing social attitudes towards the environment, plastic products are still consumed and disposed of in vast quantities. Only 30% of plastic waste in Europe is recycled according to the latest figures, and this issue is undoubtedly worse in less developed economies.