New figures show that almost 4,000 children in care were adopted in 2012 - an increase of 15% and the highest ever since records began.
The annual 'looked-after children' statistics show that 3,980 children were adopted across England between April 2012 and March 2013, up from 3,470 the previous year. This is higher than in any year since 1992, when comparable records began.
Rail passengers could soon be given extra confidence that they are getting the best deal on their journeys under new plans announced by the coalition government on Wednesday (18 September 2013).
Rail Minister Norman Baker has announced plans for a pilot scheme that could see all long-distance rail tickets sold on a single-leg basis and allow passengers to more easily “mix and match”...
Firefighters will strike over pensions on Wednesday (25 September), the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has announced. The strike will take place for four hours, between noon and 4pm.
Almost 80% of members voted in favour of industrial action in a ballot that ended earlier this month, although union officials say that they have left the strike to the last possible moment to allow for the...
The government will invest in a trial of flexible ticketing as part of its drive to give commuters a better deal on the railways, Rail Minister Norman Baker announced today (16 September 2013).
The Department for Transport will run a competition next year to select a train operator to run a pilot on a busy commuter route into London so it can assess the benefits.
Aspiring entrepreneurs from across Britain will get financial backing from the government under a £69 million package of support that will help create tens of thousands of new businesses, according to the government.
David Cameron has announced the new funding which will include:
Business mentoring and funding for people who are unemployed but want to start up a company
The government has lent its support to encourage people to leave money to charity in their wills.
As part of this week’s Remember A Charity in your Will campaign the Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd will call on UK solicitors to raise the topic with clients.
The joint letter from the minister and Remember A Charity will accompany a nationwide poster campaign and social...
Measures to reduce "burdensome" accounting red tape for micro-businesses have been confirmed today by Business Minister Jo Swinson. In the government response to the consultation on how best to implement the EU’s Micros Directive, published today, the UK’s 1.5 million micro-entities will now become exempt from certain financial reporting requirements.
Army of around 500 volunteers to help consumers compare, switch, save and get the help they need.
Energy Secretary Edward Davey will join forces with the retailer John Lewis on Monday 9 September, to flick the switch on a product labelling trial that puts the lifetime electricity running costs on washing machines, washer dryers and tumble dryers.
Discussions are set to begin with the Duchy of Cornwall to end the lease on HMP Dartmoor, a male category C prison in West Devon, according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice.
While the Justice department says final decisions on the site are a long way off as the lease has a ten-year notice period, but but the age and limitations of the prison mean that it does not have a long...
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation fell by 0.1% to 2.8% in the year to July 2013, down from a 14-month high of 2.9% in June, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The largest contributions to the fall in the rate came from air fares, plus price movements (in some cases the result of seasonal sales) in the recreation & culture, and clothing & footwear...
