Clearview North September 2013 - Issue 142

businessnews LACK OF FEMALES STUDYING MATHS AND PHYSICS AT A-LEVEL The publication of exam results in the UK reveals a marked difference between the number of male and female students taking maths and physics at A-level. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is warning that economic prosperity could be at risk if more students, particularly females, do not study and successfully complete these key enabling subjects. Jayne Hall, IET Policy Advisor, said: “Maths and physics are crucial gateway subjects and vital to the industry and economy as a whole. With recent results from the IET’s Skills & Demand survey showing that only 7 per cent of the engineering and technology workforce are women, action needs to be taken at an early stage by encouraging females into these subjects. “Students are aware of the importance of A-level maths to starting a career in engineering, but the perceived importance of physics is much lower. “It is vital that we encourage more students, particularly females, to study these key enabling subjects.” Have your say on proposed acetylene regulations The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a public consultation on new regulations that will simplify the safety legislation for acetylene. The single set of regulations (referred to as the Acetylene Safety Regulations 2014 (ASR)) cover the safety of workers and the public during the production, storage and use of acetylene. HSE is seeking views from businesses and stakeholders through an eight-week public consultation, which ends on 24th September 2013. Peter Brown, Head of HID Major Hazard Policy, said: “The draft regulations aim to draw together all the pieces of legislation that are specific to the production, storage and use of acetylene. One single set of regulations should make it clearer and easier for businesses to identify what they need to do to protect themselves and their workers from the dangers of acetylene.” Creating the single set of regulations, ASR 2014, will remove duplicate provisions in existing legislation and help minimise potential confusion. www.theiet.org The consultative document and details of how to respond to the consultation are available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/ condocs/cd257.htm New powers to protect against rogue traders Victims bullied or misled into buying goods and services are set to be given new rights to get their money back from rogue traders whose unfair practices cost them billions. The new proposals, announced by Consumer Minister Jo Swinson, amending the Consumer Protection Regulations from Unfair Trading Regulations will: • give consumers 90 days to cancel a contract and receive a full refund if they have been misled or bullied into agreeing it. After the 90 days consumers can still receive a proportion of their money back - currently, it is unclear what consumers are entitled to in this situation. • give consumers new rights to recover payments made to traders who mislead or bully them into paying money that was not owed - currently, the trader can be prosecuted but the consumer finds it much more difficult to get their money back. • give consumers the right to claim compensation for any alarm or distress caused by these practices. New housing to help older and disabled people to live independently Building projects up and down the country have been given the green light to start producing homes that will support older and disabled people to live independently for as long as possible, Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb announced today. Last year the government asked local authorities to bid for a share of £300 million to boost the supported housing market. The Department of Health has now allocated funding to build more than 3,500 new homes. As part of the first phase of the scheme, the Department will now issue more than £100 million of this fund to the Homes and Communities Agency, which will work with 86 successful agencies to build 2,875 new homes across the country. Both projects are estimated to create more than 1,000 new jobs. This is in line with the Government’s commitment to strengthen the economy by boosting capital spending. Further funding will be issued to successful bidders in the next bidding phase. 62 SEP 2013 To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com

Clearview North September 2013 - Issue 142 | Page 62