New figures show the number of new apprenticeships in England increased by almost two-thirds to almost half a million last year.

The Business Department said the figures show growth has taken place at all levels of learning and for every age range across the whole country.

The figures showed there were 457,200 apprenticeship starts in the 2010/11 academic year, which is an increase of 63.5% over the previous 12 months.

Skills Minister John Hayes said:

“Clarity of policy, strength of commitment and certainty of purpose has delivered record numbers of apprenticeship starts, outstanding success rates and growth across all sectors.

“This success, mirrored in every English region, is putting businesses on stronger ground to deliver a more balanced economy. It is equipping young people with the skills that build prosperous careers, and forging communities in which the common good is served through creative endeavour and purposeful pride.”

Lib Dem Lords Thomas, Carlile, Clement Jones and Phillips have tabled a set of amendments for debate tomorrow to improve Ken Clarke’s proposed bill to end the so-called ‘compensation culture’.

The amendments are intended to tighten up and improve the proposalsd to prevent so-called ‘referral fees’ in personal injury cases which are a cause of ambulance-chasing lawyers encouraging people to put in spurious claims.

Thefour Liberal Democrat peers have tabled amendments to prevent law firms from (among other things) sending unsolicited spam texts, and advertising in hospitals. They will also stop the practice of insurers persuading accident victims to settle for low-level damages without allowing them to take legal advice.

Care Plus Employability is supporting National Apprenticeships Week, which is taking place between 6-10 February, by hosting an event for local businesses and organizations to find out how an apprentice can benefit their business.

The event is taking place on February 9, from 1 – 4pm at Tukes, Brighowgate, Grimsby.

Sharon Stead, Employability Services Manager at Care Plus, said:

“Apprenticeships can provide real benefits to organisations as well as delivering real returns to your bottom line. Training apprentices can be more cost effective than hiring skilled staff, leading to lower overall training and recruitment costs, as well as demonstrating to customers and suppliers that you are committed to investing in your local people.

“Employability supports the worklessness agenda of North East Lincolnshire in supporting unemployed people on a pathway to sustainable employment by delivering a variety of employment initiatives, including apprenticeships. We can offer a variety of apprenticeships including but not limited to administration, reception, IT, finance, domestic, health and social care, catering and team leading.

“I would encourage any public, private or third sector organisations to come along to the event to find out more about the benefits an apprentice can bring to your organisation and also how the Employability team can support you.”

The Care Plus Employability Team can help by:

• supporting with all aspects of recruitment (job descriptions, adverts, interviews) and put forward to you the best candidates

• organising the fully funded Apprenticeship Framework (Training)

• support you and the candidate throughout the apprenticeship

To find out more visit the information session on Thursday February 9 at Tukes, Brighowgate, Grimsby, between 1-4pm or telephone Sharon Stead on 01472 266996.

*PLEASE NOTE THIS INFORMATION SESSION IS FOR BUSINESSES/ORGANISATIONS AND NOT INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN BECOMING AN APPRENCTICE. INDIVIDUALS SHOULD CONTACT THE EMPLOYABILITY TEAM ON 266995.*

It will soon be announced in the London Gazette that the Knighthood conferred upon Fred Goodwin as a Knight Bachelor has been cancelled and annulled.

This decision, not normally publicised in advance, was taken on the advice of the Forfeiture Committee, which advised that Fred Goodwin had brought the honours system in to disrepute.

The scale and severity of the impact of his actions as CEO of RBS made this an exceptional case.

In 2008 the Government had to provide £20bn of new equity to recapitalise RBS and ensure its survival and prevent the collapse of confidence in the British banking and payments system. Subsequent increases in Government capital have brought the total necessary injection of taxpayers’ money in RBS to £45.5bn.

Both the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury Select Committee have investigated the reasons for this failure and its consequences. They are clear that the failure of RBS played an important role in the financial crisis of 2008-9 which, together with other macroeconomic factors, triggered the worst recession in the UK since the Second World War and imposed significant direct costs on British taxpayers and businesses. Fred Goodwin was the dominant decision maker at RBS at the time.

In reaching this decision, it was recognised that widespread concern about Fred Goodwin’s decisions meant that the retention of a Knighthood for “services to banking” could not be sustained.

Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Leeds North West, Greg Mulholland, has demanded answers from the Secretary of State for Justice in the House of Commons, after it was brought to Greg’s attention on Friday that a barrister who pleaded guilty to stealing £81,000 was allowed to continue defending another fraudster, and that that trial was delayed to allow for the lawyer to be tried himself.

David Friesner defended Jack Henry, who was convicted of 14 consumer crimes in Bradford Crown Court, just a fortnight after pleading guilty to stealing from his own Manchester chambers in Leeds Crown Court on 12th January, whereupon he was told that he was likely to face jail upon being sentenced. Henry’s trial had to be delayed to allow for his lawyer to face charges relating to the theft of tens of thousands of pounds from his own Chambers in 2008 and 2009.

Mr Mulholland called on the Justice Secretary, Rt Hon Ken Clarke, to take measures to close the loophole whereby lawyers who are themselves facing charges in court, including those found guilty, can represent others facing charges. This can in turn, as in this case, delay that trial, at the expense of both the defendant and the tax payer. He is reinforcing this message in letters to the Secretary of State and the Bar Standards Board, who have now suspended him.

Greg commented:

“I was astonished when I found that a barrister had been allowed to carry on defending people, having been convicted of a serious criminal offence. How can he stand before a jury and talk about the character of the defendant, when he has himself admitted to significant offences, and awaits sentencing? It is quite simply a criminal representing a criminal.

“For David Friesner to simply return back to defend Mr Henry, as a convicted criminal himself, is just extraordinary. The fact that Jack Henry’s case was actually delayed, whilst his own barrister’s criminal case was heard, is a farce, with such delays costing considerable money, and wasting the court’s time.

“Ridiculously, until the Bar Standards Board belatedly suspended Mr Friesner today, following the story being widely reported in the press, there was the very real possibility that he could have instructed in a case before Mr Justice Singh, who convicted Mr Friesner and will sentence him on February 10th.The actions of the Bar Standards Board defy commonsense and this needs looking into.

“This brings the legal system into disrepute, and the Secretary of State must now look at introducing mandatory automatic suspensions for those legal representatives involved serious criminal cases. This is a ridiculous loophole, and it must be closed.”

The following article originally appeared on the Liberal Democrat Voice Website:

Lib Dem MPs, including the party’s deputy leader Simon Hughes, look set to obtain concessions from Iain Duncan Smith to win their support for the Coalition’s controversial welfare bill, which will introduce a benefit cap of a maximum of £26,000. Here’s how The Guardian reports the news:

The government is expected to make a series of concessions in the coming days on it controversial £26,000 household benefits cap to win over wavering Liberal Democrat MPs. Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, is expected to agree that a discretionary fund should be established to ease the burden on families who could be made homeless at a sensitive time in their children’s education.

There are growing expectations that Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem deputy leader who has voiced concerns about the cap, will be won over by a new “discretionary fund”. Hughes has expressed fears that the cap, which includes housing benefit, could force thousands of families out of their homes in London and the south-east.

The discretionary fund would allow councils to exempt some families from the cap for a limited period of time if, for example, a child was due to sit examinations. The fund, which would only apply to existing recipients, would be modelled on the system that was set up after Hughes voiced fears last year about the impact of the housing benefit cap.

The cap, which will mean that no working household will be allowed to receive benefits of more than £26,000, is due to come into force in April 2013. This means that councils will have around a year to introduce the changes … The Lib Dems have argued that showing discretion for a limited period of time could avoid families moving into expensive bed and breakfast accommodation if they are forced out of their rented home but need to remain in the same area for their child’s schooling. The government is also looking at the introduction of a grace period for people who suddenly lose their jobs and are immediately hit by the cap.

Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne — who supports the cap in principle — has called for the Coalition to agree a local rate for the cap in recognition higher living costs, especially in London. It’s a curiously inconsistent position for Labour to adopt as Lib Dem blogger Mark Thompson highlights here in a post titled ‘Have Labour just made a big mistake on the benefits cap?

The coalition has been pushing the idea of regional pay bargaining for a while now which has thus far been responded to by protest from Labour MPs. How can they now credibly fight that when they have made pretty much the exact same argument the government make in favour of it in the context of a benefits cap?

According to a recent survey carried out by ICM, more than half of Britons have not drawn up a will, with most not doing so as they feel they do not have enough assets to make it worthwhile.

Out of of 2,028 adults questioned a total of 63% admitted they do not have a will in place. More than half (57%) of married or co-habiting respondents said they had no such provision.

The poll, which was commissioned by investment managers Brewin Dolphin, found that according to 30% of respondants, the most popular reason for not making a will was not having enough possessions to make it worthwhile.

Feeling too young (24%), not seeing it as important (24%) and viewing it as too morbid (13%) were other popular excuses.

ICM, which carried out the research, found that the arrival of children (18%) was the most popular reason for sorting out affairs.

Other motivation cited include reaching a certain age (15%), getting married (13%) and taking out a mortgage (12%).

Brewin Dolphin head of corporate affairs Charlotte Black said:

“Will-making should definitely be on the 2012 resolution lists for 63% of British residents.

“If they didn’t have one and died suddenly, their estate could go to a relative who they wouldn’t necessarily choose to benefit”

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP Mark Williams has welcomed the Government’s announcement that a ten-year deal between the Post Office and the Royal Mail has been reached.

After ending Labour’s Post Office closure programme, which saw more than 7100 Post Offices disappear in their 13 years in office, this deal made by the Liberal Democrat Minister for Postal Affairs gives additional certainty to subpostmasters across the UK and covers the full range of Royal Mail products available at post offices such as first and second class post, parcels, air mail, recorded and special deliveries.

Commenting, Mark Williams said:

“After years of Post Office closures under the Labour Government, it is excellent news that Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing by ensuring that the Post Office has a sustainable future ahead of it through investment, and by brokering this deal with Royal Mail. Post Offices are a vital part of our communities and are the lynchpin of our towns and villages, even more so in our rural communities in Ceredigion.

“Labour left Royal Mail in a terrible mess, and I am pleased that it is Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government who have stopped closures and put Royal Mail and the Post Office on a secure footing. These plans mean that we will never see the kind of planned closures that devastated local communities under the previous Government.”

Making sure homes are properly insulated and have decent heating can make a big difference to reducing energy bills and keeping warm and well.

Fuel poverty is on the up in the UK with almost seven million households estimated to spend more than 10% of their income on fuel. Did you know that Warm Front is the only Government-funded scheme to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency in the poorest households in England? The scheme is set for an underspend of up to £30 million this year. Older people, families and people with long-term health problems are the ones who will miss out on much-needed help. Consumer Focus joined forces with National Energy Action to encourage anyone who thinks they may be eligible for Warm Front to put in a claim.

The scheme means you can have up to £3,500 of work done on your home to get it insulated and get central heating – £6,000 where oil central heating and other alternative technologies are needed.

Last year the scheme was so popular it was over-subscribed but this year the numbers applying are down dramatically. By the end of December 2010, 139,000 people had applied for help under the scheme – compared to just 40,000 at the end of 2011.

So what’s stopping people from applying for Warm Front?

Part of the explanation for such a dramatic reduction in applications is that the total money for scheme was cut by over two thirds – from £366 million in 2010 to £143 million this year. Some people seem to think the scheme had been completely scrapped. This was reinforced by the Government making it harder to be eligible for the scheme. So disabled people getting Disability Living Allowance or families with older children on low incomes, for example, were excluded this year, but another major factor has been the weather – it has been much milder and that has kept demand down.

The group who are eligible for Warm Front are those who are on income-related benefits who automatically get a Cold Weather Payment when it’s cold for seven days or more. To find out more look on Directgov. People can apply for the scheme online, by post, or by phone on 0800 316 6004 (or textphone 0800 072 0156), Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm. Apply quickly before the money is lost and you lose out!

Humberside Police have received reports of two men who have been visiting houses in the area looking for repair work. These men are using a red coloured van and although carrying ID and claiming to work for Shoreline, this is not the case.

Bogus callers often prey on the elderly and vulnerable in order to get make money by carrying out work that is often poor and at an extortionate cost to the home owner. There are also bogus callers out there who try to talk their way in before using distraction methods to steal items or cash from within.

Humberside Police are running Operation Liberal which targets bogus callers of this nature and shares information force wide in order to stop them from having an easy time in another area.

As part of this operation, Police are reminding the public to exercise caution when allowing callers in to their property and consider the following advice:

When someone calls at your door and offers to do repairs to your home, asks for urgent help, or claims to be a company representative, follow these simple steps to help protect yourself and your home from bogus callers.

LOCK: Keep your front and back doors locked, even when at home.

STOP: Before you answer, stop to think if you are expecting anyone. Check that your back door is locked and any keys are taken out. Look through the spy hole or the window to see who it is.

CHAIN: If answering the door, keep the bar or chain on while you are talking to the person on the doorstep. (When the door is shut and locked, leave the bar or chain off in case of an emergency.) Some bogus callers target older and vulnerable people saying they need help urgently. They may ask you to help them outside the house or ask to use a phone or request a drink. Only offer to help if you have someone with you. Don’t worry if you choose not to help it is not rude or unfriendly.

CHECK: If someone who looks official calls at your door, always ask for and carefully check their identity card, even if they have an appointment. Do they look like the person on the card? Do their details match any prior correspondence? Close the door while you do this. If you are not expecting them and they don’t show you an identity card, do not let them in until you have double-checked their validity.

IF IN DOUBT RING THE COMPANY THEY CLAIM TO BE FROM. GENUINE CALLERS WILL SUGGEST YOU DO THIS AND WILL BE SUPPORTIVE OF THIS ACTION.

If you have been a victim of a bogus caller or have been approached recently please contact Humberside Police right away on 101