A guide to heat pump deployment

14 March 2024
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Olivia Smalley, head of policy and communications at the Heat Pump Association, reflects on the pivotal role that local government and officials will play in the transition to low-carbon heating such as heat pumps.

21 projects awarded share of Rewild London Fund

14 March 2024
21 projects awarded share of Rewild London Fund
The Mayor of London has announced 21 projects have been awarded a share of £1 million in Rewild London funding.
The aim is to improve the environment and make the capital more resilient to climate change.
The successful projects include encouraging amphibians back to Archbishops Park, boosting beavers’ habitat in Enfield and transforming a neglected Victorian pond into a wildlife oasis.
The funding is intended to improve the condition of 40 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) in London.
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RAAC identified in Welsh social housing

14 March 2024
RAAC identified in Welsh social housing
The Welsh Government has announced that RAAC has been identified in a small number of Trivallis-run social housing properties in the Hirwaun area.
In summer summer 2023, the UK Department for Education reported incidents of RAAC had emerged at schools over the summer period which gave rise to concern over a potential higher safety risk.
In September 2023 the Welsh minister for finance and local government and the minister for education and welsh language set out the actions being taken to assess the wider public estate, including social housing.
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Building plans

Government announces updated 'extremism' definition

14 March 2024
Government announces updated 'extremism' definition
The Government has announced "an updated, more focused" definition of 'extremism' "to tackle the ever-evolving threat of extremism in the UK".
The new definition will be used by government departments and officials alongside a set of engagement principles, "to ensure they are not inadvertently providing a platform, funding or legitimacy to groups or individuals who attempt to advance extremist ideologies that negate our fundamental rights and freedoms and overturn the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy."
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Managing risk and saving lives

13 March 2024
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A row of fire extinguishers.
Zoe Giles, fire risk consultant at the Fire Protection Association discusses the fundamentals of protecting buildings through fire risk assessments and her own journey as a fire risk consultant.