NewzIntel.com

Category: Great Britain

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: 1 May – UKIMS Registration – The Answer to the Irish Sea Border?

    Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland

    Briefing Note:

    1 May – UKIMS Registration – The Answer to the Irish Sea Border?

    It has been suggested that businesses can to a very significant degree avoid the new parcels border that comes into force today, and indeed the wider customs border, such that they are only subject to minimal paperwork, so long as they become UKIMS (UK Internal Market Scheme) Registered. This greatly underplays the difficulty.

    There are three problems:

    Many Companies are Ineligible for Easements

    The first problem is that easements are only available for companies with a turnover of less than £2 million. Put another way, if your company has a turnover of more than £2 million you will have to make full customs declarations. This is a major constraint. While £2 million might sound like a lot of money to an individual, it is not for a company that employs people. Although there are some movements (some food, health, and construction materials) in relation to which the EU has intimated a willingness to waive the £2 million limit, in most contexts it will apply. See: Apply for authorisation for the UK Internal Market Scheme if you bring goods into Northern Ireland – GOV.UK

    This is a dark day especially for Northern Ireland manufacturers with a turnover of more than £2 million, who depend on getting their inputs from Great Britain, many in parcels, rather than the Republic which is not a manufacturing economy.

    Not all Good Movements Qualify for Easements

    The second point to make is that even if you comply with the ceiling imposed on Northern Ireland aspiration by the £2 million threshold, not all goods movements are eligible for this simplified procedure in any event. The Government has divided goods into three Categories.

    • Category 1 goods have to be moved subject to full customs declarations. They are ineligible for the simplified procedure.
    • Category 2 goods have to be moved subject to full customs declarations unless both the following are met:
    • they do not fall under Category 1
    • a H8 controlled declaration, or a I1 C&F controlled declaration is submitted

    Even in this event full simplification is denied. An 8-digit commodity code is required as well as licensing and documentary controls.

    Thus, if the option of UKIMs movements is not taken from you by means of your having a turnover of over £2 million, it could be taken from you if you move Category 1 goods and, even if you can avoid a full customs declaration in moving Category 2 goods, you will have to negotiate additional hurdles and complexity beyond the UKIMs mechanism.

    UKIMs Easements Do Not Remove the Border

    Finally, even if you benefit from UKIMs easements this does not have the effect of removing the border. You still have to have an export number and provide information that you don’t have to provide when moving goods within an internal market. You also have to apply to become UKIMS registered which is complicated and you have to be subject to ongoing checks. None of these burdens are placed on you if you move goods within an internal market, as in GB, or anywhere else for that matter. These burdens testify to the presence of the border.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: £3.4 million for Scotland’s hydrogen future

    Source: Scottish Government

    Projects across the country to receive a share of funding.

    Eleven projects designed to accelerate Scotland’s hydrogen economy are set to benefit from a share of £3.4 million funding.

    The Scottish Government funding will help develop green hydrogen production, improve the hydrogen supply chain, and enhance hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure.

    Opening a parliamentary debate on Scotland’s hydrogen future, Acting Net Zero Cabinet Secretary Gillian Martin said:

    “Hydrogen stands as a critical pillar of Scotland’s route to net zero by 2045, but also, alongside the development of our offshore wind capacity, as one of Scotland’s greatest industrial opportunities since the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea.

    “A just transition remains at the heart of our approach, and we are determined that no community, particularly those which have powered our economy for generations, will be left behind as we move away from burning fossil fuels towards a low carbon energy system.

    “We are working to build a hydrogen economy in which the benefits of our energy transition are shared, and which harnesses the full potential of our skilled people, our worldclass industries, and our natural resources.”

    In September 2024 the Scottish Government invited projects to apply for a match-funding grant award of up to 50%, to the maximum value of £2 million.

    Shortlisting saw 18 projects invited to submit a full application to delivery partner Scottish Enterprise, with funding ultimately provided to 11 successful projects.

    Background

    Hydrogen action plan – gov.scot

    Lead Organisation

    Project Title

    Council Area

    Grant Award

    European Marine Energy Centre

    Sustainable Fuels Orkney

    Orkney Islands

    £375,000

    Green Cat Hydrogen Ltd.

    Creca Hydrogen Facility

    Dumfries and Galloway

    £490,088

    Green Cat Hydrogen Ltd.

    Strathallan Hydrogen

    Perth and Kinross

    £320,549

    Green Cat Hydrogen Ltd.

    Binn Ecopark Hydrogen

    Perth and Kinross

    £258,478

    Protium Green Solutions

    Protium Lanark – Hydrogen Island

    South Lanarkshire

    £450,619

    SSE Hydrogen Developments

    Peterhead 1&2 Hydrogen

    Aberdeenshire

    £162,600

    Statkraft Hydrogen UK Holding Ltd

    Shetland Hydrogen Project 2 Pre-FEED

    Shetland Islands

    £270,500

    Storegga Hydrogen (Cromarty)

    Cromarty Hydrogen Phase 2 Longman

    Highland

    £238,400

    Storegga Hydrogen (Cromarty)

    Cromarty Hydrogen Phase 2 Muir of Ord

    Highland

    £290,155

    Glacier Energy

    Feasibility and Industrial Research

    Aberdeen City

    £382,000

    Hydrasun

    Standardised Tube Trailer Industrial Hydrogen Offtaker Panels

    Multiple: Aberdeen City; Glasgow City; Highland

    £147,122

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tak£500+ applications are now open for your chance to receive up to £1000!

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    Launching the new Tak£500+ project for 2025 is the Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Councillor Sarah Duffy with the Participatory Budgeting Working Group.

    Applications for the Tak£500+ project are now open and groups can receive up to an incredible £1000 for a project to benefit their area!

    This Participatory Budget Fund encourages local residents within the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon borough to apply for funding for a project that they think will have a positive impact on their community.

    This is the fourth year of this fantastic project so, if you have an idea in mind of something that would bring value to your area and support your community, especially in these increasingly difficult times, look no further!

    There are seven information sessions taking place over the new few weeks where you can find out all you need to know, so come along and find out more!

    “Tak£500+ is an excellent opportunity to get funding for a project in your local community and really make a difference to those living in your area. I would encourage everyone to come along to one of the information sessions and see how you can benefit from this fantastic project,” commented Councillor Sarah Duffy, Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

    “I have seen the difference that the Tak£500+ project has made to local communities and the incredible impact it has had across the borough. This project is now in its fourth year and continuing to grow – so don’t miss out on the chance to receive up to £1000 to help benefit the residents in your area.”

    Information sessions are as follows:

    • Thursday 1st May: Craigavon Civic and Conference Centre, 7pm – 8pm
    • Friday 2nd May, Online via Zoom, 10am-11am
    • Tuesday 6th May, Banbridge Civic Building, 7pm-8pm
    • Wednesday 7th May, Chamber at Armagh Palace Demesne, 7pm – 8pm
    • Thursday 8th May, Online via Zoom, 10am-11am
    • Thursday 8th May, Online via Zoom, 2pm-3pm
    • Tuesday 13th May Online via Z00m, 7pm-8pm

    Both constituted groups and non-constituted groups can apply for funding to help bring an idea to life. Ideas can be based on the Take 5 Ways to Wellbeing – which are a great guide to helping you to look after yourself and others during these uncertain days, including keeping you connected to the people around you and encouraging communities to lean on each other.

    Applications can be made online here: www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/take500plus

    If you need more information or support, please contact a member of the PB Working Group who will be happy to help you. Full contact details are online or alternatively, you can email

    *protected email*

    This project is being taken forward by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Community Planning Partnership and has been funded by a range of partners including the Public Health Agency, ABC Council, Heritage Places, Southern Health and Social Care Trust, PSNI, Department for Communities, Ark Housing, Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Arbour Housing.

    It has also been supported by the Community and Voluntary Panel, the Children and Young Peoples Strategic Partnership, the Policing & Community Safety Partnership, Education Authority and Sport NI.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Attorney general’s statement on Jewish Heritage Month

    Niki Sharma, Attorney General, has released the following statement marking Jewish Heritage Month: 

    “As Jewish communities around the world conclude Passover celebrations, we in British Columbia enter May proudly recognizing and celebrating Jewish Heritage Month, a time to honour the rich history, culture and contributions of Jewish people to our province.

    “Since the late 1800s, Jewish Canadians have played an integral role in B.C.’s vibrancy and growth, from David Oppenheimer, the mayor of Vancouver when Stanley Park opened, to Lumley Franklin, who successfully oversaw the effort to link B.C. to England via telegraph. Today, we are proud that our province is home to one of the fastest-growing Jewish populations in all of Canada.

    “As we celebrate Jewish Heritage Month, we must confront the alarming rise of antisemitism in B.C. and around the world. For several years now, too many Jewish people in B.C. have reported an upsurge in both hate crimes and hateful sentiment targeting them. This has only worsened and is unacceptable. Every incident of hate is a stark reminder of the work that still lies ahead of us as we try to build a more understanding and accepting province.

    “This May, let us not only celebrate the achievements and resilience of Jewish people in British Columbia, but also reaffirm our commitment to standing against antisemitism.

    “By learning from the past and embracing diversity, we strengthen the bonds that unite us as one community made up of many communities. Together, let us mark Jewish Heritage Month with reflection and resolve.”

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Virginia Giuffre’s treatment in the media highlights the great consequences of accusing high profile men of abuse

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lindsey Blumell, Lecturer in Journalism, City St George’s, University of London

    Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent accusers of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has died at age 41. Her family said she died by suicide at her farm in Australia.

    Giuffre had long accused Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. She brought a civil sexual assault case against him, which Andrew ultimately settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. He has denied all claims against him. But the accusations and his friendship with Epstein ultimately led to Andrew’s partial withdrawal from public life.

    Giuffre’s story is a poignant reminder of the great consequences to anyone who speaks out about their abuse, especially someone who speaks out against the powerful.

    Giuffre was not just a victim of Epstein’s crimes, she was also the focus of brutal tabloid media coverage in the UK and around the world. That’s not to say there weren’t moments of great reporting. But those were often overshadowed by sensationalising and stereotyping that regularly accompany reporting on those who come forward with allegations of sexual abuse.

    A search for Virginia Giuffre on news database Factiva yields over 25,000 results. It’s hard to imagine carrying the weight of so much attention, positive or negative.

    News coverage was a mix of support and scrutiny, starting almost 15 years ago and then intensifying in the last six years, when Epstein was arrested. He died while in jail, awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.

    The first wave of news coverage on Giuffre dates back to early 2011. The tabloids and broadsheets often referred to Giuffre (known as Virginia Roberts then) as a “masseuse” or more explicit terms, while also reporting that she was a minor when she was first allegedly sexually exploited and abused by Epstein and only 17 when she first met Prince Andrew. Coverage largely included one-word quotes from Giuffre, but nothing that humanised her to readers.

    The Times and other publications reported on Andrew’s friendly connection to Epstein – though there was no direct accusation against him at that time.

    There was a breezy tone to coverage that focused on catchy wordplay headlines between the prince and the “pervert” Epstein. Epstein was already a registered sex offender in 2008, but there was little reflection on his horrendous actions that led him to that title.

    More glaringly, there was little to no concern for Giuffre or other survivors. They were salacious fodder. There was little empathy for what they experienced and the risks they took speaking publicly. The main focus was on the apparent embarrassment of Andrew’s friendship with Epstein, which eventually led to the prince stepping down from his trade envoy role.

    The important men and their roles were the news angles. Giuffre was only a supporting character.

    The second wave of news coverage on Giuffre happened in 2019, when Epstein was arrested for accusations of child sex trafficking. She was named in court documents and noted as a victim of Epstein in media, but was again overshadowed by Epstein’s connections to other powerful men such as Donald Trump or Bill Clinton (both deny knowing of Epstein’s crimes).

    None of this is to imply that those linked to Epstein shouldn’t be named and investigated. But, as my research shows, when powerful men are accused, the coverage largely revolves around those powerful men and the monetary or career consequences to them. The survivors and the abuse and trauma they experience are a footnote.

    Research shows that how journalists evaluate the newsworthiness of a story often values power structures, men’s perspectives and celebrity status. Therefore, when someone like Giuffre does come forward, her story and voice come secondary to the more powerful accused.

    Changing headlines

    A shift in the tone of coverage came in 2020, when Giuffre and others were the focus of a Netflix docuseries on Epstein’s crimes. Watching the detailed accounts from so many humanised Giuffre and others, while showing the tremendous weight put on survivors when they come forward. Their stories elicited empathetic responses from viewers.

    News coverage has made some progress in the last decade due to the ##MeToo movement and survivors speaking out. However, this has since been tempered by a backlash to #MeToo – and problematic attitudes persist within news and entertainment industries. Threats of legal action from those accused can leave journalists hesitant to report on sexual abuse.

    In February 2022, Andrew settled a civil sexual assault case with Giuffre for an undisclosed amount. The coverage was more sensitive to Giuffre than a decade prior – the mislabelling and scandalising were mostly left out – but still lacked survivors’ perspectives. Andrew was stripped of his royal and military titles at the time but appears to remain in standing with the royal family unofficially.

    There has also been compassion in the coverage of Giuffre’s death, particularly in interviews with her family and friends. There are calls for accountability from Andrew, as well as the usual, terrible tabloid coverage exploiting the situation.

    One limitation of reporting on sexual abuse cases is that often survivors don’t want to speak publicly to news media because of the tremendous risks and consequences they face. Survivors face backlash when telling friends and family in their private circles because they are blamed, or are not believed. These consequences are intensified when survivors go public.

    Several organisations have provided guidelines to news organisations on how to report more fairly and accurately on sexual abuse.

    Many people who experience sexual abuse never come forward. Giuffre did, and repeatedly spoke to media for over a decade. While some news organisations learned how to be more sensitive, the focus has never been enough on her story, her life and her determination.

    If any of the content in this piece affects you or someone you know, resources are available.

    In the UK: Samaritans are available by phone, for free, at 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org. Further resources can also be found here.

    Contact Rape Crisis England & Wales online or by phone at 0808 500 2222.

    If you are in crisis in the US, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

    Lindsey Blumell receives funding from City St George’s, University of London

    – ref. Virginia Giuffre’s treatment in the media highlights the great consequences of accusing high profile men of abuse – https://theconversation.com/virginia-giuffres-treatment-in-the-media-highlights-the-great-consequences-of-accusing-high-profile-men-of-abuse-255443

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Starmer treating Scotland as an afterthought as he avoids by-election

    Source: Scottish National Party

    Scotland will always be an afterthought to Labour

    Keir Starmer’s reported absence from the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse is yet another example of how the Labour party treats Scotland, says Katy Loudon, the SNP’s candidate in the by-election.

    In comments reported in the Daily Record, Labour’s Scottish leader, Anas Sarwar said that he didn’t expect Keir Starmer to be campaigning in the by-election, excusing his absence on the basis of “national security”. Yet he has found time to campaign in local elections in England.

    Other reports describe how Keir Starmer is not playing well on the doorsteps in light of widespread backlash to Labour decisions like cutting the Winter Fuel Payment from 900,000 Scottish pensioners, and £5 billion of cuts to support for people with disabilities.

    Katy Loudon said his absence shows that Scotland is little more than an afterthought to this Labour government, and it is no surprise he will be avoiding this by-election.

    “The Labour Party has lost its way, saying they’ll reduce bills by £300 and then doing the opposite and cutting support for disabled people”, she said.

    She continued by saying, “The Prime Minister is clearly embarrassed by his own record, but he owes it to the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse to answer for it.

    “While Keir Starmer remains missing in action, the SNP under John Swinney’s leadership is taking action to keep key bills lower and improve our NHS.”

    Cllr Loudon concluded: “This election is a chance to send a message to Labour that we expect them to keep their promises  – and to vote for the SNP, a party that always wants what’s best for Scotland.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: NHS: Farage’s dire healthcare plans will “cost lives” say Greens

    Source: Scottish Greens

    01 May 2025 Health

    Reform are a threat to people and planet.

    More in Health

    The leader of Reform UK’s plans to introduce private healthcare insurance to the UK would “cost lives”, says Scottish Greens health spokesperson Gillian Mackay MSP.

    The statement was said by the millionaire politician Nigel Farage during an interview with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, where he said “I do not want it [the NHS] funded through general taxation.”

    The Reform UK MP implied that he would instead replace it with a system of private insurance, which would cost working people across Scotland more.

    Scottish Greens have always stood up for publicly owned healthcare in Scotland and criticised moves from the Labour UK government to implement privatisation in sectors of the NHS south of the border.

    Scottish Greens health spokesperson Gillian Mackay MSP said:

    “Nigel Farage is a millionaire who has no problem funding his own healthcare, but he wants to push these dire plans to punish the least well off in society, the families and communities most likely to need crucial healthcare.

    “Healthcare must always be accessible and free for everyone. We have that right now in Scotland, and any suggestion to introduce private insurance is a blatantly obvious attempt to Americanise our healthcare system.

    “I have no doubt that these proposals from Farage would cost lives. Charging patients to access healthcare will have tragic consequences for those who need healthcare the most.

    “Our NHS needs help to deal with the disastrous staffing crisis caused by the withdrawal from the EU – which Scotland didn’t vote for -, and recovery from one of the worst health crises in centuries. This kind of political distraction isn’t going to help the nurses, doctors and patients; it simply drives profit from ill health.

    “Scottish Greens have always worked to protect Scotland’s NHS, in the 2025/26 budget we supported a £2 billion increase in frontline NHS funding in order to reduce waiting times, improve access and ensure everyone can access the healthcare they need.

    “With the real prospect of a far right  Reform government without a single MP in Scotland, independence has never been so crucial. Next year, Scotland can reject the dire and dangerous ideas of Reform UK and Nigel Farage, by voting for Scottish Green MSPs who will protect our NHS, put money in people’s pockets and tackle the climate emergency.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Lloyds Bank PLC: 2025 Q1 Interim Management Statement

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LONDON, May 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    Lloyds Bank plc
    Q1 2025 Interim Management Statement
    1 May 2025

    Member of the Lloyds Banking Group

    FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

    This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to the business, strategy, plans and/or results of Lloyds Bank plc together with its subsidiaries (the Lloyds Bank Group) and its current goals and expectations. Statements that are not historical or current facts, including statements about the Lloyds Bank Group’s or its directors’ and/or management’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as, without limitation, ‘believes’, ‘achieves’, ‘anticipates’, ‘estimates’, ‘expects’, ‘targets’, ‘should’, ‘intends’, ‘aims’, ‘projects’, ‘plans’, ‘potential’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘could’, ‘considered’, ‘likely’, ‘may’, ‘seek’, ‘estimate’, ‘probability’, ‘goal’, ‘objective’, ‘deliver’, ‘endeavour’, ‘prospects’, ‘optimistic’ and similar expressions or variations on these expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements concern or may affect future matters, including but not limited to: projections or expectations of the Lloyds Bank Group’s future financial position, including profit attributable to shareholders, provisions, economic profit, dividends, capital structure, portfolios, net interest margin, capital ratios, liquidity, risk-weighted assets (RWAs), expenditures or any other financial items or ratios; litigation, regulatory and governmental investigations; the Lloyds Bank Group’s future financial performance; the level and extent of future impairments and write-downs; the Lloyds Bank Group’s ESG targets and/or commitments; statements of plans, objectives or goals of the Lloyds Bank Group or its management and other statements that are not historical fact and statements of assumptions underlying such statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that will or may occur in the future. Factors that could cause actual business, strategy, targets, plans and/or results (including but not limited to the payment of dividends) to differ materially from forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: general economic and business conditions in the UK and internationally (including in relation to tariffs); imposed and threatened tariffs and changes to global trade policies; acts of hostility or terrorism and responses to those acts, or other such events; geopolitical unpredictability; the war between Russia and Ukraine; the conflicts in the Middle East; the tensions between China and Taiwan; political instability including as a result of any UK general election; market related risks, trends and developments; changes in client and consumer behaviour and demand; exposure to counterparty risk; the ability to access sufficient sources of capital, liquidity and funding when required; changes to the Lloyds Bank Group’s or Lloyds Banking Group plc’s credit ratings; fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, exchange rates, stock markets and currencies; volatility in credit markets; volatility in the price of the Lloyds Bank Group’s securities; natural pandemic and other disasters; risks concerning borrower and counterparty credit quality; risks affecting defined benefit pension schemes; changes in laws, regulations, practices and accounting standards or taxation; changes to regulatory capital or liquidity requirements and similar contingencies; the policies and actions of governmental or regulatory authorities or courts together with any resulting impact on the future structure of the Lloyds Bank Group; risks associated with the Lloyds Bank Group’s compliance with a wide range of laws and regulations; assessment related to resolution planning requirements; risks related to regulatory actions which may be taken in the event of a bank or Lloyds Bank Group or Lloyds Banking Group failure; exposure to legal, regulatory or competition proceedings, investigations or complaints; failure to comply with anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing, anti-bribery and sanctions regulations; failure to prevent or detect any illegal or improper activities; operational risks including risks as a result of the failure of third party suppliers; conduct risk; technological changes and risks to the security of IT and operational infrastructure, systems, data and information resulting from increased threat of cyber and other attacks; technological failure; inadequate or failed internal or external processes or systems; risks relating to ESG matters, such as climate change (and achieving climate change ambitions) and decarbonisation, including the Lloyds Bank Group’s or the Lloyds Banking Group’s ability along with the government and other stakeholders to measure, manage and mitigate the impacts of climate change effectively, and human rights issues; the impact of competitive conditions; failure to attract, retain and develop high calibre talent; the ability to achieve strategic objectives; the ability to derive cost savings and other benefits including, but without limitation, as a result of any acquisitions, disposals and other strategic transactions; inability to capture accurately the expected value from acquisitions; and assumptions and estimates that form the basis of the Lloyds Bank Group’s financial statements. A number of these influences and factors are beyond the Lloyds Bank Group’s control. Please refer to the latest Annual Report on Form 20-F filed by Lloyds Bank plc with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), which is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of certain factors and risks. Lloyds Bank plc may also make or disclose written and/or oral forward-looking statements in other written materials and in oral statements made by the directors, officers or employees of Lloyds Bank plc to third parties, including financial analysts. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the forward-looking statements contained in this document are made as of today’s date, and the Lloyds Bank Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The information, statements and opinions contained in this document do not constitute a public offer under any applicable law or an offer to sell any securities or financial instruments or any advice or recommendation with respect to such securities or financial instruments.

    FINANCIAL REVIEW

    Income statement

    The Group’s profit before tax for the first three months of 2025 was £1,177 million, 26% lower than the same period in 2024. This was driven by higher operating expenses and a higher impairment charge. Profit after tax was £881 million (three months to 31 March 2024: £1,159 million).

    Total income for the first three months of 2025 was £4,371 million, broadly in line with the same period in 2024 (three months to 31 March 2024: £4,385 million). Net interest income of £3,244 million was up 4% on the prior year (three months to 31 March 2024: £3,127 million), driven by a higher margin and higher average interest-earning assets. Other income decreased by 10% to £1,127 million (three months to 31 March 2024: £1,258 million). The decrease in other income reflected improved performance in UK Motor Finance, with fleet growth and higher average vehicle rental values, which was more than offset by negative market volatility and a reduction in income from fellow Lloyds Banking Group undertakings.

    Total operating expenses of £2,884 million were 6% higher than in the prior year. This reflects higher costs, combining inflationary pressures, timing of strategic investment including planned higher severance front-loaded into the first quarter of 2025 and business growth costs, partly offset by cost savings and continued cost discipline. This is alongside higher operating lease depreciation, as a result of fleet growth, the depreciation of higher value vehicles and declines in used electric car prices over 2024.

    No net remediation charge was recognised by the Group in the first three months of 2025 (three months to 31 March 2024: £25 million). There have been no further charges relating to motor finance commission arrangements. The Supreme Court heard the appeal of the Wrench, Johnson and Hopcraft decision in early April and has stated that it is likely to produce its judgment in July. The FCA has indicated that the decision will inform its next steps in the discretionary commission arrangements (DCA) review and that it will confirm within six weeks of the decision if it is proposing a redress scheme and if so, how it will take that forward. The FCA has also noted that its next steps on non-DCA complaints will be informed by the decision.

    The impairment charge was £310 million, up from £70 million in the three months to 31 March 2024. Asset quality remained resilient in the quarter. The charge included strong portfolio performance in Retail, more than offset by a higher charge in Commercial Banking, partly due to the non-recurrence of a release from loss rates used in the model in 2024. The charge also included a £100 million central adjustment to address downside risks to the base case related to the potential impact from US tariff policies announced at the start of April. These were becoming apparent around the balance sheet date and were determined to not be fully captured within the modelled divisional ECL allowances. This is partially offset by benefits to the MES from small increases to house price and wage growth expectations.

    FINANCIAL REVIEW (continued)

    Balance sheet

    Total assets were £5,143 million, or 1%, higher at £616,356 million at 31 March 2025 (31 December 2024: £611,213 million).

    Financial assets at amortised cost were £3,135 million higher at £508,032 million (31 December 2024: £504,897 million) with increases in loans and advances to customers. This included growth of £4,807 million in UK mortgages and growth across UK Retail unsecured loans, credit cards, UK Motor Finance and the European retail business. Lending balances reduced in Commercial Banking as a result of repayments of government-backed lending. The growth in loans and advances to customers was partly offset by a £908 million reduction in reverse repurchase agreements, a £302 million reduction in loans and advances to banks and a £1,474 million reduction in debt securities.

    Cash and balances at central banks decreased 1% to £42,000 million. Financial assets held at fair value through profit or loss increased by £733 million, due to increased reverse repurchase agreements. Derivative financial assets were £520 million lower at £3,715 million (31 December 2024: £4,235 million), driven by interest rate and currency movements in the period. Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income were stable in the period at £30,682 million. Other assets were £1,853 million higher, primarily reflecting increased settlement balances.

    Total liabilities were £3,230 million higher at £574,696 million (31 December 2024: £571,466 million). Customer deposits of £456,574 million increased in the period by £4,780 million. Retail deposits increased by £2,637 million in the period, driven by net inflows to limited withdrawal and fixed term deposits alongside higher current account balances. Commercial Banking deposits were up in the quarter, aided by short term balances.

    Other liabilities increased by £1,034 million reflecting increased settlement balances, while debt securities in issue decreased by £2,789 million, with higher levels of maturities in the period.

    Total equity increased to £41,660 million at 31 March 2025 (31 December 2024: £39,747 million). The increase primarily reflected profit attributable to ordinary shareholders alongside unwind of the cash flow hedge reserve and issuance of an AT1 capital instrument in February 2025 to Lloyds Banking Group plc.

    Capital

    The Group’s common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio reduced to 13.6% at 31 March 2025 from 13.7% at 31 December 2024. Profit for the first three months of the year was offset by the accrual for foreseeable ordinary dividends and an increase in risk-weighted assets.

    The Group’s total capital ratio at 31 March 2025 remained at 19.9% (31 December 2024: 19.9%). The increase in CET1 capital and the issuance of a new AT1 capital instrument were offset by the increase in risk-weighted assets and a reduction in tier 2 capital reflecting an instrument call and other movements.

    Risk-weighted assets increased by £3,955 million to £190,951 million at 31 March 2025 from £186,996 million at 31 December 2024. This reflects the impact of lending growth, but also includes a temporary c.£2.5 billion increase primarily due to hedging activity that is expected to reverse by the third quarter. The growth in risk-weighted assets was partly offset by continued optimisation activity and other movements.

    The Group’s UK leverage ratio increased to 5.5% at 31 March 2025 from 5.4% at 31 December 2024, reflecting an increase in the total tier 1 capital position, partially offset by an increase in the leverage exposure measure. The latter reflects increases across loans and advances and other assets, due in part to lending growth, partially offset by a reduction in the measure for securities financing transactions.

     
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT (UNAUDITED)
               
      Three
    months
    ended
    31 Mar
    2025
    £m    		     Three
    months
    ended
    31 Mar
    2024
    £m    		  
           
    Net interest income 3,244     3,127  
    Other income 1,127     1,258  
    Total income 4,371     4,385  
    Operating expenses (2,884 )   (2,728 )
    Impairment (310 )   (70 )
    Profit before tax 1,177     1,587  
    Tax expense (296 )   (428 )
    Profit after tax 881     1,159  
           
    Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders 774     1,069  
    Profit attributable to other equity holders 98     86  
    Profit attributable to equity holders 872     1,155  
    Profit attributable to non-controlling interests 9     4  
    Profit after tax 881     1,159  
               
     
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (UNAUDITED)
               
      At 31 Mar
    2025
    £m    		     At 31 Dec
    2024
    £m    		  
               
    Assets          
    Cash and balances at central banks 42,000     42,396  
    Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 3,054     2,321  
    Derivative financial instruments 3,715     4,235  
    Financial assets at amortised cost 508,032     504,897  
    Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income 30,682     30,344  
    Other assets 28,873     27,020  
    Total assets 616,356     611,213  
    Liabilities          
    Deposits from banks 3,899     3,144  
    Customer deposits 456,574     451,794  
    Repurchase agreements 38,474     37,760  
    Due to fellow Lloyds Banking Group undertakings 3,981     4,049  
    Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss 4,538     4,630  
    Derivative financial instruments 5,327     5,787  
    Debt securities in issue at amortised cost 42,492     45,281  
    Other liabilities 12,844     11,810  
    Subordinated liabilities 6,567     7,211  
    Total liabilities 574,696     571,466  
    Total equity 41,660     39,747  
    Total equity and liabilities 616,356     611,213  
               

    ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION

    1.  Basis of presentation

    This release covers the results of Lloyds Bank plc together with its subsidiaries (the Group) for the three months ended 31 March 2025.

    The Group’s Q1 2025 Interim Pillar 3 Disclosures can be found at: www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/investors/financial-downloads.html.

    Accounting policies

    The accounting policies are consistent with those applied by the Group in its 2024 Annual Report and Accounts.

    2.  Loans and advances to customers and expected credit loss allowance

    At 31 March 2025 Stage 1
    £m    		     Stage 2
    £m    		   Stage 3
    £m    		   POCI
    £m    		   Total
    £m    		     Stage 2
    as % of
    total    		   Stage 3
    as % of
    total
    Loans and advances to customers                          
    UK mortgages 275,816     31,912   4,137   6,016   317,881     10.0   1.3
    Credit cards 13,875     2,327   261   –   16,463     14.1   1.6
    UK unsecured loans and overdrafts 9,660     1,325   171   –   11,156     11.9   1.5
    UK Motor Finance 14,197     2,491   131   –   16,819     14.8   0.8
    Other 18,462     471   151   –   19,084     2.5   0.8
    Retail 332,010     38,526   4,851   6,016   381,403     10.1   1.3
    Business and Commercial Banking 25,778     2,946   1,160   –   29,884     9.9   3.9
    Corporate and Institutional Banking 36,705     2,528   1,007   –   40,240     6.3   2.5
    Commercial Banking 62,483     5,474   2,167   –   70,124     7.8   3.1
    Other1 (414 )   –   –   –   (414 )        
    Total gross lending 394,079     44,000   7,018   6,016   451,113     9.8   1.6
                               
    Customer related ECL allowance (drawn and undrawn)
    UK mortgages 52     245   322   179   798          
    Credit cards 199     308   130   –   637          
    UK unsecured loans and overdrafts 167     240   114   –   521          
    UK Motor Finance2 170     118   75   –   363          
    Other 14     14   38   –   66          
    Retail 602     925   679   179   2,385          
    Business and Commercial Banking 133     183   172   –   488          
    Corporate and Institutional Banking 108     149   323   –   580          
    Commercial Banking 241     332   495   –   1,068          
    Other3 50     50   –   –   100          
    Total 893     1,307   1,174   179   3,553          
                               
    Customer related ECL allowance (drawn and undrawn) as a percentage of loans and advances to customers
      Stage 1
    %    		     Stage 2
    %    		   Stage 3
    %    		   POCI
    %    		   Total
    %    		          
    UK mortgages –     0.8   7.8   3.0   0.3          
    Credit cards 1.4     13.2   49.8   –   3.9          
    UK unsecured loans and overdrafts 1.7     18.1   66.7   –   4.7          
    UK Motor Finance 1.2     4.7   57.3   –   2.2          
    Other 0.1     3.0   25.2   –   0.3          
    Retail 0.2     2.4   14.0   3.0   0.6          
    Business and Commercial Banking 0.5     6.2   14.8   –   1.6          
    Corporate and Institutional Banking 0.3     5.9   32.1   –   1.4          
    Commercial Banking 0.4     6.1   22.8   –   1.5          
    Other         –   –            
    Total 0.2     3.0   16.7   3.0   0.8          
                                   

    1 Contains central fair value hedge accounting adjustments.
    2 UK Motor Finance includes £178 million relating to provisions against residual values of vehicles subject to finance leases.
    3 Other includes a £100 million central adjustment that has not been allocated to specific portfolios.

    ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)

    3.  UK economic assumptions

    Base case and MES economic assumptions

    The Group’s base case scenario is for a slow expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) and a modest rise in the unemployment rate alongside small gains in residential and commercial property prices. Inflationary pressures remain persistent, but gradual cuts in UK Bank Rate are expected to continue during 2025. Risks around this base case economic view lie in both directions and are largely captured by the generation of alternative economic scenarios.

    The Group has taken into account the latest available information at the reporting date in defining its base case scenario and generating alternative economic scenarios. The scenarios include forecasts for key variables as of the first quarter of 2025. Actuals for this period, or restatements of past data, may have since emerged prior to publication and have not been included. The Group’s approach to generating alternative economic scenarios is set out in detail in note 19 to the financial statements of the Group’s 2024 annual report and accounts.

    The Group had included assumptions for expected tariffs and potential responses in its quarter-end base case conditioning assumptions prior to announcements at the start of April. Initial non-UK tariffs announced in the first few days of April and the immediate market response were larger than expected. Accordingly, the Group has adopted a £100 million central adjustment to reflect the potential ECL impact, informed by high level sensitivity to key UK economic metrics based on tariff scenarios. Subsequent developments through April were judged to relate to conditions after the balance sheet date and will be reflected in the second quarter reporting period.

    UK economic assumptions – base case scenario by quarter

    Key quarterly assumptions made by the Group in the base case scenario are shown below. GDP growth is presented quarter-on-quarter. House price growth, commercial real estate price growth and CPI inflation are presented year-on-year, i.e. from the equivalent quarter in the previous year. Unemployment rate and UK Bank Rate are presented as at the end of each quarter.

    At 31 March 2025 First
    quarter
    2025
    %    		 Second
    quarter
    2025
    %    		 Third
    quarter
    2025
    %    		 Fourth
    quarter
    2025
    %    		 First
    quarter
    2026
    %    		 Second
    quarter
    2026
    %    		 Third
    quarter
    2026
    %    		 Fourth
    quarter
    2026
    %
                     
    Gross domestic product growth 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
    Unemployment rate 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8
    House price growth 3.8 3.8 2.4 1.7 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.8
    Commercial real estate price growth 2.6 2.8 2.7 1.3 0.9 0.7 0.8 1.1
    UK Bank Rate 4.50 4.25 4.00 4.00 3.75 3.75 3.50 3.50
    CPI inflation 2.8 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.0 2.8 2.6 2.7
                     

    ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION (continued)

    3.  UK economic assumptions (continued)

    UK economic assumptions – scenarios by year

    Key annual assumptions made by the Group are shown below. GDP growth and CPI inflation are presented as an annual change, house price growth and commercial real estate price growth are presented as the growth in the respective indices within the period. Unemployment rate and UK Bank Rate are averages for the period.

    At 31 March 2025 2025
    %    		   2026
    %    		   2027
    %    		   2028
    %    		   2029
    %    		   2025-2029
    average
    %    		  
                 
    Upside            
    Gross domestic product growth 1.3   2.2   1.6   1.5   1.4   1.6  
    Unemployment rate 4.1   3.2   3.1   3.1   3.2   3.3  
    House price growth 2.9   5.9   6.8   5.4   4.3   5.1  
    Commercial real estate price growth 6.1   5.7   2.6   1.0   0.4   3.2  
    UK Bank Rate 4.43   4.72   4.86   5.06   5.20   4.85  
    CPI inflation 3.3   2.8   2.8   3.1   3.0   3.0  
                 
    Base case            
    Gross domestic product growth 0.8   1.4   1.6   1.6   1.5   1.3  
    Unemployment rate 4.7   4.8   4.6   4.5   4.5   4.6  
    House price growth 1.7   1.8   1.9   2.5   2.9   2.1  
    Commercial real estate price growth 1.3   1.1   1.2   0.6   0.3   0.9  
    UK Bank Rate 4.19   3.63   3.50   3.50   3.50   3.66  
    CPI inflation 3.4   2.8   2.5   2.5   2.4   2.7  
                 
    Downside            
    Gross domestic product growth (0.2 ) (0.9 ) 0.9   1.5   1.5   0.6  
    Unemployment rate 5.6   7.4   7.6   7.3   7.0   7.0  
    House price growth 0.5   (3.4 ) (6.7 ) (4.2 ) (1.1 ) (3.0 )
    Commercial real estate price growth (4.7 ) (5.7 ) (1.7 ) (2.2 ) (2.3 ) (3.4 )
    UK Bank Rate 3.83   1.67   0.96   0.65   0.42   1.51  
    CPI inflation 3.4   2.8   2.0   1.5   1.0   2.1  
                 
    Severe downside            
    Gross domestic product growth (1.1 ) (2.3 ) 0.7   1.4   1.5   0.0  
    Unemployment rate 6.8   10.0   10.2   9.7   9.3   9.2  
    House price growth (0.6 ) (8.4 ) (13.8 ) (9.6 ) (5.0 ) (7.6 )
    Commercial real estate price growth (12.5 ) (13.3 ) (7.1 ) (5.7 ) (4.9 ) (8.8 )
    UK Bank Rate – modelled 3.38   0.39   0.09   0.03   0.01   0.78  
    UK Bank Rate – adjusted1 4.25   2.94   2.80   2.76   2.75   3.10  
    CPI inflation – modelled 3.4   2.5   1.3   0.4   (0.2 ) 1.5  
    CPI inflation – adjusted1 3.8   3.8   3.2   2.7   2.4   3.2  
                 
    Probability-weighted            
    Gross domestic product growth 0.5   0.6   1.3   1.5   1.5   1.1  
    Unemployment rate 5.0   5.6   5.6   5.4   5.4   5.4  
    House price growth 1.4   0.5   (0.8 ) 0.1   1.3   0.5  
    Commercial real estate price growth (0.4 ) (1.0 ) (0.1 ) (0.7 ) (1.0 ) (0.6 )
    UK Bank Rate – modelled 4.07   3.04   2.81   2.76   2.74   3.08  
    UK Bank Rate – adjusted1 4.16   3.30   3.08   3.04   3.01   3.32  
    CPI inflation – modelled 3.4   2.7   2.3   2.1   1.9   2.5  
    CPI inflation – adjusted1 3.4   2.9   2.5   2.4   2.2   2.7  
                             
    1 The adjustment to UK Bank Rate and CPI inflation in the severe downside is considered to better reflect the risks to the Group’s base case view in an economic environment where the risks of supply and demand shocks are seen as more balanced.
                             

    CONTACTS

    For further information please contact:

    INVESTORS AND ANALYSTS
    Douglas Radcliffe
    Group Investor Relations Director
    020 7356 1571
    douglas.radcliffe@lloydsbanking.com

    Rohith Chandra-Rajan
    Director of Investor Relations
    07786 988936
    rohith.chandra-rajan@lloydsbanking.com

    Nora Thoden
    Director of Investor Relations – ESG
    020 7356 2334
    nora.thoden@lloydsbanking.com

    Tom Grantham
    Investor Relations Senior Manager
    07851 440 091
    thomas.grantham@lloydsbanking.com

    Sarah Robson
    Investor Relations Senior Manager
    07494 513 983
    sarah.robson2@lloydsbanking.com

    CORPORATE AFFAIRS
    Matt Smith
    Head of Media Relations
    07788 352 487
    matt.smith@lloydsbanking.com

    Emma Fairhurst
    Media Relations Senior Manager
    07814 395 855
    emma.fairhurst@lloydsbanking.com

    Copies of this Interim Management Statement may be obtained from:
    Investor Relations, Lloyds Banking Group plc, 33 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1HZ
    The statement can also be found on the Group’s website – www.lloydsbankinggroup.com

    Registered office: Lloyds Bank plc, 25 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7HN
    Registered in England No. 2065

    This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Nephrops Stunning & Tailing Prototype

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Case study

    Nephrops Stunning & Tailing Prototype

    The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) has supported the development of an innovative onboard machine to electrically stun and tail nephrops, improving animal welfare and working conditions in the UK scampi supply chain.

    Key facts

    • Applicant name: Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability (FIS)
    • Location: England
    • Type of project: Onboard innovation, animal welfare, seafood processing efficiency
    • Project value: £205,000
    • Grant value: £100,000
    • Date awarded: July 2024

    Project details

    This project was led by Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability (FIS), a coalition of seafood leaders championing precompetitive, problem-solving innovation across UK fisheries.

    With support from the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, this collaboration between seafood processors Whitby Seafoods and Young’s Seafood, retailers Sainsbury’s and M&S, seafood tech experts Optimar, and academics from the University of Stirling successfully designed, built and tested a prototype onboard stunning and tailing machine.

    The ability to stun and tail nephrops (langoustines) at sea represents a step forward for the UK’s seafood sector – improving crew working conditions, meeting new animal welfare expectations, and reducing costs. Economic modelling by Seafish concluded that developing such equipment could bring real efficiency benefits for the fleet.

    This prototype has now been successfully trialled on an English-owned nephrops trawler, proving it can withstand the harsh conditions of commercial fishing while operating as expected. The project has broken new ground even by global standards, demonstrating the potential for automation in challenging onboard environments.

    Kara Brydson from Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability said:

    This was our first time applying for FaSS, and we were tackling a tough challenge – bringing together processors, retailers, equipment manufacturers and academics to solve a longstanding issue in nephrops fisheries. The FaSS team understood the complexity of English seafood supply chains and supported us to deliver a truly groundbreaking prototype that could benefit the entire UK scampi sector.

    Project outcomes

    • Successful development of a working prototype of an onboard electrical stunning and tailing machine for nephrops.
    • First-time collaboration across the UK scampi supply chain – from vessel operators to processors and major retailers.
    • Proof of concept trial demonstrating the machine’s durability and effectiveness under real-world commercial fishing conditions.
    • Academic input from the University of Stirling to monitor performance, welfare outcomes and practical application.
    • Raised industry readiness to meet new animal welfare standards for crustacean handling at sea.

    Supported outcomes

    • De-risked the cost of developing and testing innovative, pre-competitive seafood technology.
    • Improved potential for humane animal handling across nephrops fisheries.
    • Strengthened collaboration between seafood businesses, fostering shared innovation.
    • Advanced the conversation on automation and welfare in seafood production.
    • Positioned English seafood supply chains to better meet future market and regulatory expectations.

    This case study demonstrates the legacy of the FaSS in supporting England’s catching, aquaculture and processing sectors, as well as enabling projects that are improving the marine environment. It also supports MMOs commitment to ensuring a prosperous, innovative and sustainable future for the fishing industry.

    View more Fisheries and Seafood Scheme: Selected case studies – GOV.UK

    Updates to this page

    Published 1 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: FMQs: Scotland cannot afford more broken climate promises

    Source: Scottish Greens

    01 May 2025 Climate

    Climate inaction could leave Scotland billions of pounds poorer.

    More in Climate

    The First Minister must ensure that his Government does not backtrack their targets for tackling Scotland’s climate emergency, says Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater.

    Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Ms Slater highlighted the importance of keeping promises when it comes to climate action, after news that the SNP have cut their car use reduction targets. 

    In her first question to the First Minister, Ms Slater said: 

    “As with their climate targets, the Scottish Government is not on track to meet its targets to cut car use. 

    “Instead of putting forward a practical plan for success, it sounds like their preferred solution is to just drop the target altogether. 

    “We urgently need to cut car use to tackle the climate emergency.

    “We need cheaper trains, buses and ferries to drive up passenger numbers.

    “We need better connections for rural communities.

    “And we need public ownership of bus services so that they are run for the people who use them, not for private profit.

    “Will the First Minister confirm, is the Scottish Government scrapping their car use reduction target?”

    Following a response from the First Minister, Ms Slater laid out the financial loss Scotland will face if our governments fail to take climate action now.

    In her second question, Ms Slater said: 

    “Scotland cannot afford any more broken promises on climate. 

    “If we don’t act now, economists have found that Scotland could be up to £140 billion poorer by 2035. 

    “People have been paying the price of a lack of progress to insulate our homes and move away from expensive gas heating, through their soaring energy bills 

    “There is no route to net zero by 2045 that doesn’t involve making our homes warmer and cheaper to heat by insulating them and replacing moving away from gas heating systems. 

    “Bold action is needed on climate to get Scotland back on track.

    “What new action will next week’s Programme for Government contain to reduce our sky high energy bills, and achieve the rapid cut needed in the use of fossil fuels?”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council gets keys to New Riverbank School

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    Aberdeen City Council has taken ownership of its £29million New Riverbank School following completion of building work, it was announced today (01 May 2025).

    The keys to the new primary school located on Coningham Gardens, Tillydrone, which replaces the existing Riverbank School on nearby Dill Road, were handed over on Friday 25 April, by contractor Robertson Construction Eastern, who delivered the project for the Council.

    The school is being temporarily called New Riverbank School to avoid confusion with the existing Riverbank School.  Once the existing Riverbank School has been renamed the term “New” will be dropped from the name.

    The new primary school will open on Friday 9 May 2025 to pupils and staff, which will allow the pupils of the existing Riverbank School to decant to the new school in advance of the summer recess.

    Councillor Martin Greig, Convener of Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “It is a great experience to hold the keys for our New Riverbank School in Tillydrone.  Council teams are now preparing the classrooms and other spaces to welcome pupils into the building later this month. It will be an amazing place to learn together.

    “The new school has excellent facilities for the benefit of all pupils and for the community. The 3G sports pitch and other high quality external areas will support educational activities, play and pupil wellbeing in general. I am delighted we are at this stage of getting ready to open the doors.”

    Councillor Jessica Mennie, vice-convener of Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “It’s great that the construction work has been completed and we have the keys to the New Riverbank School. In the coming weeks, the final touches will be made to the facilities to enable pupils and staff to ‘settle in’ before the summer holidays.”

    Elliot Robertson, CEO, Robertson Group, said: “At Robertson, we are committed to creating sustainable, innovative spaces that inspire and support the next generation. The new Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) school at New Riverbank School is a testament to this vision, and to the commitment shown by Aberdeen City Council to deliver a warm, natural environment that enhances wellbeing and has been proven to enhance attainment. Working with the Council to deliver this facility, we’ve not only reduced the environmental impact but also provided pupils and staff with an educational setting where they can truly learn, play, and achieve together.”

    The new three-stream school will provide a learning environment for up to 651 primary-age pupils with Early Learning and Nursery provision for up to 60 children. The facilities also include a 3G sports pitch and external outdoor play and learning facilities.

    The new school has been built on the site of the former Tillydrone Infant School and on part of the former St Machar Primary School site.

    A date for the official opening of the new Riverbank School will be arranged once the pupils and staff have ‘settled in’ to their new school. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK-Nigeria partnership to detect, disrupt and deter fraud

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    UK-Nigeria partnership to detect, disrupt and deter fraud

    An agreement between the UK and Nigeria will help to better protect UK citizens from fraud as law enforcement collaboration is stepped up.

    The public will be better protected from fraud as law enforcement collaboration between the UK and Nigeria is stepped up under a new joint fraud action plan agreed between the 2 countries today.

    The partnership will provide increased protection for victims by focusing on earlier detection of threats, faster law enforcement intervention, and the disruption of cross-border criminal networks before they can cause harm. It will also support stronger systems to help prevent people from falling victim to fraud in the first place.

    Key elements of the joint action plan include:

    • information sharing and operational coordination, including the potential for joint law enforcement operations involving the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Nigeria’s Office of the National Security Adviser
    • development and strengthening of national fraud strategies through the exchange of best practice, frameworks, and lessons learned, along with potential joint public awareness campaigns to deter fraudsters
    • exploration of collaboration between financial, online, and telecoms regulators and industry bodies in both countries to help close loopholes exploited by criminals
    • sharing insights on the misuse of financial systems, with the potential for joint studies and research into emerging threats
    • identifying training needs and delivering capacity-building initiatives, starting with targeted training for Nigerian prosecutors by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, with further programmes planned, subject to funding

    70% of fraud cases involve an international element. Today’s agreement forms part of a wider effort to build a unified international response to fraud – an issue continuing to harm individuals, undermine economies, and threaten national security.

    The UK’s Minister for Fraud, Lord Hanson, has been in Abuja this week for meetings with Nigerian counterparts and other strategic partners. Lord Hanson, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and agreed the action plan today, formalising a commitment to deeper collaboration.

    Minister for Fraud, Lord Hanson, said:

    Fraud ruins lives. It strips people of their savings, their confidence, and their sense of security. The fact so many of these crimes now originate overseas makes our international partnerships more important than ever.

    Our new agreement with Nigeria will help us better identify and stop fraud before it happens, crack down on criminals who exploit our systems, and ultimately protect the public from the devastating impact of fraud.

    My meetings in Abuja have been hugely constructive, giving us the opportunity to align our efforts and take meaningful action to prevent further harm. I’m proud to have signed this agreement, which sets both our nations firmly on the path to a safer and more resilient future.

    As one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies, the UK and Nigeria recognise the shared threat fraud poses to their prosperity and long-term stability.

    According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, fraud is the most commonly-experienced crime in the UK, with more than 1 in 15 adults affected each year. In the year ending December 2024, an estimated 4.1 million incidents were recorded – almost 43% of all incidents recorded by the survey. The societal harm is also severe, with fraud against individuals in England and Wales alone estimated to cost £6.8 billion annually in 2019 to 2020.

    Beyond the financial damage, the emotional and psychological toll on victims is devastating. Many report lasting emotional harm, while increasingly sophisticated criminals are using emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to design realistic scams difficult to detect.

    Financially motivated sexual extortion (FMSE) is a particularly cruel form of exploitation, with many victims tragically taking their own lives due to these scams. The NCA is committed to raising awareness, providing targeted support to victims, and improving the investigation and prosecution of offenders, both in the UK and internationally.

    National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, said:

    Building on the foundation of the past successes, we must confront crime with greater seriousness, deepen collaboration across all fronts; addressing enablers, supporting victims, and pursuing perpetrators, and sustain an unyielding commitment to protect our societies.

    Deputy Director of Fraud at the NCA, Nick Sharpe, said:

    Over 70% of fraud impacting the UK is estimated to originate overseas or have overseas links. 

    However, those same fraudsters often also target victims in their own country. 

    This memorandum of understanding with the Federal Republic of Nigeria underscores our shared commitment to tackling a threat that causes significant harm to citizens of both nations.

    By sharing vital intelligence, conducting joint operations, and working to identify and address vulnerabilities, we will strengthen our collective response – ensuring that criminals are brought to justice, wherever they are.

    In November 2024, the UK-Nigeria Fraud Dialogue was launched to further strengthen the 2 nations’ shared commitment to combating fraud. The dialogue serves as a forum for regular exchanges of views and ideas, bringing together representatives from cybersecurity, law enforcement, and policy institutions, and provides a platform to review progress under the MoU.

    Updates to this page

    Published 1 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council expresses concern at BT job losses

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Council expresses concern at BT job losses

    30 April 2025

    Members of Derry City and Strabane District Council today voted in favour of a Notice of Motion expressing great concern that BT intends to close their offices in Derry with the loss of up to 140 jobs.
    Elected Members, as part of the proposal, agreed to seek an urgent meeting with BT’s Corporate Management to discuss the decision and the impact it will have on the local economy.

    At the monthly meeting of Full Council, Elected Members voted unanimously in favour of the notice of motion that stated: “Council will meet with BT Corporate Management to express our concern and the concerns of people across the city feel at the announcement that they will close their Derry facility. 

    “Council sends its solidarity to BT workers and their families and commits to do everything we can to support them.  

    “Council will meet with the CWU to offer our support. 

    “Council requests the Economy Minister and Invest NI work with Council and the trade union to do everything possible to support workers and employment here.”

    Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Lilian Seenoi Barr, who chaired the meeting added: “News from BT Group regarding the proposed closure of their Derry office is deeply concerning.

    “My immediate thoughts are with the 140 individuals and their families who are directly impacted by this announcement.

    “While BT Group outlines their rationale for this decision, citing a modernisation programme and consolidation of their estate, the potential loss of these jobs in our city is a significant blow.

    “Our city has a skilled and dedicated workforce and we will work tirelessly to mitigate the impact of this proposed closure and to continue attracting and retaining quality jobs in our city.

    “I will be following up with BT Group directly to express these concerns and to advocate for them to reconsider their decision and to take all the necessary steps to protect those impacted in our community.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 100 Days of Fighting Fake News

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: 100 Days of Fighting Fake News

    lass=”text-align-center”> From Stories on Criminals to Statistics, DHS has been Holding the Media Accountable for Spreading Disinformation to the American people 
    WASHINGTON— During President Trump’s 100 days in office, the Department of Homeland Security published a non exhaustive list of facts, to help set the record straight on numerous false and misleading stories that have spread around news coverage and social media

    The list can be found below:
    The Facts on Noteworthy Individuals Deported or Prevented from Entering the U

    S

    The Deportation Of American Citizens

    The media has FALSELY claimed that ICE is deporting US citizen children of illegal aliens

    This is false

    In both cases the mother made the determination to take her children with her back to Honduras

    DHS takes our responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure that children are safe and protected

    The Trump Administration is giving parents in this country illegally the opportunity to self-deport and take control of their departure process with the potential ability to return the legal, right way and come back to live the American dream

    The CBP Home app is a free and easy way to self deport

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia – The “Maryland Man”

    Garcia is NOT an American citizen

    He is a citizen of El Salvador who had been living in the country illegally

    In 2019, two courts – an immigration court and an appellate immigration court – ruled that he was not only a member of MS-13, but that he was in our country illegally

    There was a deportation order for him dating back to 2019

    Further details about Garcia’s history prove that he is far from innocent

    In 2020, his wife filed a petition for protection citing three separate instances of violence
    In 2021, his wife filed for a restraining order against him due to domestic violence

    In 2022, Garcia was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol with 8 people crammed into one car

    Despite telling the officers that they were going on a trip from Houston, Texas to Temple Hills, Maryland, there was no sign of luggage in the car

    It was later revealed that the vehicle Garcia was driving during this stop was registered to another illegal alien who had been convicted of human trafficking, Jose Roman Hernandez Reyes

    The media further claimed that the Supreme Court ordered the Trump Administration to return Garcia to the United States

    This is another falsehood

    The Supreme Court unanimously overturned that judge’s ruling but instead said that the United States should “facilitate” Garcia’s return

    This would only be possible if the government of El Salvador decided to return him, in which case the United States would have to provide transportation

    It’s up to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and the government of El Salvador if they want to return him

    But as President Bukele said during his Oval Office visit with President Trump, he has no intention of releasing a terrorist and sending him back to the United States

    When President Trump declared MS-13 a foreign terrorist organization, Abrego Garcia became no longer eligible for any form of immigration relief in the United States

    He had a valid deportation order

    Furthermore, the Supreme Court also held that EVEN IF El Salvador returned this MS-13 member to the United States, we could deport him a second time

    NO version of this legally ends with him ever living in the U

    S

    , because he is a citizen of El Salvador

    The foreign policy of the United States is conducted by the President – not by a court – and no court in the United States has the power to conduct the foreign policy of the United States

    Dr

    Rasha Alawieh – “The Brown University Assistant Professor”

    Dr

    Rasha Alawieh was an assistant professor at Brown University

    She was in the United States with an H-1B visa

    She was deported back to her home country of Lebanon after she admitted to attending the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, a brutal terrorist who led Hezbollah and was responsible for killing hundreds of Americans

    The media tried to portray Alawieh’s case as an example of a “lawful immigrant” being deported

    But they completely ignored her direct and alarming ties to radical Islamic terrorism, including her veneration of a dead terrorist leader

    Alfredo “Alex” Orellana – “The Caregiver”

    Alfredo “Alex” Orellana has multiple charges on his record from 2012 to 2019, including: distributing drugs, drug possession, assault and battery, failure to appear to court (twice), theft at the second degree, and larceny

    He has since been arrested and faces deportation

    The New York Times wrote a lengthy article on Orellana’s case

    Their article painted a picture of a loving 31-year-old caregiver who was the “best friend” of a 28-year-old autistic man

    They also pointed to the fact that Orellana had a green card

    The press tried to paint him as a victim who was a caretaker, despite violent charges on his record

    Jerce Reyes Barrios – “The Venezuelan Soccer Player”

    Jerce Reyes Barrios was in the United States illegally

    He was a member of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang, and he was deported to El Salvador

    He has tattoos that are consistent with those indicating membership in the vicious Tren de Aragua gang

    His own social media indicates that he is a Tren de Aragua member

    That hasn’t stopped the media, however

    They tried to whip up a frenzy over this deported criminal gang member, publishing wild claims that he was deported because of a tattoo of a soccer team on his arm

    The facts are the facts

    Our intelligence assessments go beyond just social media and tattoos

    We are confident in our findings

    Nascimento Blair – “The Ex-Con”

    Blair was an illegal alien living in the United States who was tried and convicted for kidnapping and sentenced to 15 years in prison

    The New York Times published a fawning profile about this criminal illegal alien

    In 2008, he was ordered removed out of the country

    However, because of the Biden administration’s open border policies, this criminal illegal alien was released onto the streets of New York

    The Trump administration is putting the American people first by getting this criminal illegal alien off the streets and out of our country

    “The French Scientist Denied Entry Over His Political Views”

    In March, a French scientist was denied entry into the United States

    The researcher in question was in possession of confidential information on his electronic device from Los Alamos National Laboratory

    This was in clear violation of a non-disclosure agreement – something he admitted to taking without permission and attempted to conceal to authorities

    The mainstream media ran with the baseless narrative that this individual was blocked from entering the U

    S

    because of social media posts that were critical of President Trump

    This lie was even echoed by France’s Minister for Higher Education, Philippe Baptiste

    His political beliefs were not considered at all in his removal

    Marie Lepère and Charlotte Pohl – “German Tourists Turned Away on Vacation”

    Two German tourists were denied entry after attempting to enter the U

    S

    under false pretenses

    Both claimed they were touring California but later admitted that they intended to work

    One used a Visitor visa, while the other used the Visa Waiver Program

    Under U

    S

    immigration laws, work is prohibited for these visas

    The media version of events depicted two young women who tried to go on a five-week backpacking trip through the United States

    The media claimed that the two – aged 18 and 19 – were “deported” because they simply wanted to go on a fun, loosely-planned trip

    These travelers weren’t deported—they were denied entry

    And the reason for their removal was visa fraud, not because of the planning nature of their so-called “vacation

    ”

    Jose Hermosillo – “The American Citizen Detained by Border Patrol”

    Hermosillo turned himself in to immigration authorities on April 8

    He approached Border Patrol in Tucson, Arizona and declared that he had entered the U

    S

    illegally

    He completed a sworn statement identifying as a Mexican citizen who had entered unlawfully

    He was processed and appeared in court on April 11

    Afterwards, he was held by the U

    S

    Marshals in Florence, Arizona

    A few days later, his family presented documents showing U

    S

    citizenship

    The charges were dismissed, and he was released to his family

    The media, instead of reporting the facts, created a false and baseless story that an American citizen was illegally detained

    Hermosillio’s arrest was the direct action of his own actions and statements

    When his citizenship was confirmed, he was promptly released back to his family

    Kseniia Petrova – “The Russian Scientist Trying to Cure Cancer”

    Kseniia Petrova, a Russian researcher working for Harvard University, was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country

    A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits

    Messages found on her phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them

    She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it

    But upon her detainment, the media rushed to defend her by claiming that her research could help to cure cancer

    The facts of the matter are simple: Petrova broke the law and actively planned to do so

    Her research does not make her exempt from the laws of our country

    Renato Subotic – “The MMA Coach”

    Subotic is an MMA coach who entered the United States under a visa waiver program that prohibits compensation – only travel reimbursements are allowed

    When Subotic was detained under American law, the media claimed that he was thrown in prison and deported for no real reason

    Here are the facts: Subotic couldn’t meet the requirement to prove he wasn’t being compensated for participating at a high-dollar, multi-day event

    The law is clear: the burden of proof is on the traveler

    Since he couldn’t provide detailed answers or the necessary documentation for compensation related to the work event, he was held until the next available flight out the following day

    Ricardo Jesus Prada Vasquez – The “Disappearing” Delivery Driver

    Yet again, the media has manufactured a fake controversy on behalf of a terrorist gang member and criminal illegal alien

    Ricardo Jesus Prada Vasquez is a Venezuelan national and confirmed member of Tren De Aragua

    He entered the United States illegally on November 29, 2024 at the Brownsville, Texas Port of Entry via the CBP One App

    The Biden administration, like it did with so many other dangerous criminals, released Prada Vasquez back into the United States

    On January 15th, Prada was encountered trying to enter the U

    S

    from Canada

    He was detained, investigated, and confirmed as a member of TDA and a public safety threat

    On February 27, a judge ordered him removed from the U

    S

    He was then removed to El Salvador

    The media, however, has falsely claimed that Prada Vasquez was an innocent delivery driver who was “disappeared” by the government

    Prada Vasquez was living and working in the U

    S

    illegally, he was a member of a criminal gang designated as a terrorist organization, and was deported with full compliance with American law

    Jeanette Vizguerra – “The Activist Who Needed Sanctuary”

    Jeanette Vizguerra is a convicted criminal alien from Mexico who has a final order of deportation issued by a federal immigration judge

    She illegally entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, on Dec

    24, 1997, and has received legal due process in U

    S

    immigration court

    The media, however, has tried to turn her into a martyr

    They claim she was an “activist” who needed “sanctuary

    ” In reality, she getting famous and making money for breaking the law

    Under President Trump, this is a nation of laws

    We will find, arrest, and deport illegal aliens, no matter how famous the media thinks they are

    Vizguerra was in the United States illegally

    She was convicted of breaking the law

    She was deported

    If you come to our country illegally, we will deport you, and you will never return

    The safest option for illegal aliens is to self-deport, so they still have the opportunity to return and live the American dream

    The Facts on Those Who Have Abused The Privilege of a Student Visa 

    Yunseo Chung – “The Columbia Student”

    Yunseo Chung, who was born in South Korea, is a Columbia University student who engaged in concerning conduct on-campus

    This includes her being arrested by NYPD during a pro-Hamas protest at Barnard College

    Mahmoud Khalil – “The Activist Leader at Columbia”

    Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student from Syria, is one of the ringleaders of the vicious, anti-American, anti-Semitic protests at Columbia University

    His activities are aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization

    On March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U

    S

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Khalil

    But upon his arrest, radical student protesters at Columbia and across the country have attempted to turn him into a martyr, waving signs and banners bearing his likeness

    Taking over private buildings, inciting violence, harassing Jewish students, defacing buildings, and passing out terrorist propaganda do not constitute free speech

    A judge ruled that Khalil’s deportation can move forward

    He will be removed from our country

    Mohsen Mahdawi – “The Palestinian at Columbia University”

    Mahdawi is a Palestinian who has been living in the United States on a visa while he was studying at Columbia University

    Like many other anti-Israel student protesters, supporters in the media tried to claim that Mahdawi was a victim of political persecution

    But his rhetoric on the war in Israel proves his terrorist sympathies

    In the wake of October 7, Mahdawi said he could empathize with Hamas’s attack on Israel

    He appeared on “60 Minutes” justifying the massacre

    He organized and led pro-Hamas protests on Columbia University’s campus, harassed Jewish students, and openly displayed his support for a terrorist organization

    Leqaa Kordia – “The Palestinian at Columbia University”

    Leqaa Kordia was another Columbia Student who actively participated in anti-American, pro-terrorist activities on campus

    However, her arrest had nothing to do with her radical activities

    Kordia was arrested for immigration violations due to having overstayed her F-1 student visa, which had been terminated on January 26, 2022 for lack of attendance

    Dogukan Gunaydin – “The University of Minnesota Student”

    Dogukan Gunaydin, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota,was arrested after a visa revocation by the State Dept

    related to a prior criminal history for a DUI

    Contrary to the mainstream media’s quick speculation that he was arrested due to his involvement in student protests, his protest activity had nothing to do with his detainment

    Badar Khan Suri – “The Georgetown Foreign Exchange Student”

    Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media

    The media calls him a “scholar” who was innocent of any wrongdoing, even though he was married to the daughter of a senior advisor for to Hamas terrorist group

    Momodou Taal – “The Cornell University Student”

    Taal was unapologetic in his pro-terrorist views

    Taal, a foreign student studying at Cornell University, participated in pro-Hamas protests on campus

    He has a pinned post on his X profile that talks about a so-called “Zionist genocide,” and also states “Long live the student intifada!”

    Other Fake News Narratives Corrected 

    The Biden Administration’s inflated deportation numbers

    DHS uncovered what should be a massive scandal: the Biden administration was cooking the books on ICE arrest data

    They were purposefully misleading the American public by categorizing individuals processed and released into the interior of the United States as ICE arrests

    Of course, the media ignored this fact

    Instead, they falsely claimed that the Biden administration had carried out more arrests than the Trump administration

    Tens of thousands of cases recorded as “arrests” were, in fact, instances where illegal aliens were simply processed and released into American communities

    Many of these were violent criminals and gang members

    The previous administration counted these as arrests even though no immigration enforcement action was taken

    During fiscal year 2024, ICE made 113,431 arrests but the vast majority of those were what we call “pass-through” arrests

    They are called pass-through arrests because ICE didn’t take enforcement actions against these aliens

    They just passed through ICE before they were released in the U

    S

    interior and told to report to an ICE office

    None of the arrests made by ICE since January 20th are pass-through arrests

    The difference between recent arrests and those from Biden’s last year is that, now we’re taking enforcement actions against each and every illegal alien arrested

    ICE Boston Militia rumors:

    The media eagerly fed and spread a false social media rumor that an ICE agent who conducted arrests of criminal illegal aliens in New England was a “militia leader” from Arizona

    The reality? He is a federal law enforcement office who has worked with ICE to help keep New England communities safe for years

    This claim was not only false, but also inflammatory and places the safety of federal officers in jeopardy

    Our ICE officers are facing 300% increase in assaults while carrying out enforcement operations

    Due process and treatment rumors in CECOT:

    These aliens HAVE had due process – we have a stringent law enforcement assessment in place that abides by due process under the U

    S

    Constitution

    The reality is that prison isn’t supposed to be fun

    It’s a necessary measure to protect society and punish bad guys

    It is not meant to be comfortable

    What’s more: prison can be avoided by self-deportation

    CBP Home makes it simple and easy

    If you are a criminal alien and we have to deport you, you could end up in Guantanamo Bay or CECOT

    Leave now

    DOGE and ICE allegedly collecting sensitive data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

    The Biden administration flooded the U

    S

    with tens of millions of illegal immigrants, many of which are exploiting the American taxpayer by illegally getting Medicare and other benefits meant for law-abiding Americans

    President Trump consistently promised to protect Medicare for eligible beneficiaries

    To keep that promise, DOGE, CMS, and DHS are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving these benefits not meant for them

    The media claimed that ICE is working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access sensitive personal information in order to identify illegal aliens

    These claims are meant to frighten the American people, when in reality this process is working to keep them and their benefits safe from exploitation by illegal aliens

    ICE HSI presence at schools

    ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) works relentlessly to protect Americans, especially children, who are put in danger by illegal alien activity

    This includes investigations into potential child sex trafficking

    But the media has tried to spin their investigative work into the idea that they are going to elementary schools to arrest children

    HD Cooke Elementary School, Washington D

    C

    At the HD Cooke Elementary School in Washington D

    C

    , ICE did not conduct any enforcement action at the school

    HSI agents were present at the school unrelated to any kind of enforcement action

    Russel Elementary and Lillian Elementary in Los Angeles:

    At two different elementary schools in Los Angeles, California, HSI officers were conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border

    It had nothing to do with immigration enforcement

    DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked

    Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and Secretary Noem take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to reunite children with their families

    In less than 70 days, Secretary Noem and Secretary Kennedy have already reunited nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children with a relative or safe guardian

    Immigrant children detained at Old McDonald Farm in New York

    In early April, a raid was carried out on a dairy farm in New York after the execution of a federal criminal warrant for an illegal alien in possession of + distributing child sexual abuse materials

    Upon the execution of the search warrant at Old McDonalds Farm in Sackets Harbor, New York, authorities encountered seven additional illegal aliens on the premises, including a mother and her three children

    We immediately began conducting an investigation to ensure these children are not being sexually exploited

    But rather than address the very real evidence of child sexual abuse, the media chose to focus on the fact that a woman and her three children were taken into custody

    DHS takes its responsibility to protect children seriously and our ICE officers are working every day to remove pedophiles from American communities

    TDA members being identified via tattoos

    Some have claimed that DHS’ assessments of TDA and other gang memberships are based solely on the tattoos that certain illegal aliens have

    DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media

    Tren De Aragua is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth

    They rape, maim, and murder for sport

    President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow criminal gangs to terrorize American citizens

    We are confident in our law enforcement’s intelligence, and we aren’t going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one

    That would be insane

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Dusty Days Are Here Again for El Paso

    Source: NASA

    Spring and early summer are generally dusty in the Borderplex region of the Chihuahuan Desert—a transnational area that spans parts of southern New Mexico, West Texas, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. With the region gripped by exceptional drought, this has been especially true in 2025.
    The latest in a string of storms lofted particles from dried lakes and other parched sources in northern Chihuahua and New Mexico and sent them streaming toward El Paso, Juárez, and Las Cruces. The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image on April 27, 2025. The event followed a large dust storm that hit the region a week earlier, as well as other major dust storms in early and mid-March.
    Research indicates that March, April, and May are typically the most active months for airborne dust in El Paso. But the dust season so far this year has been “truly exceptional—one for the record books,” said Thomas Gill, an environmental scientist at the University of Texas at El Paso. For decades, Gill has used satellite observations and models to track dust activity around the planet and in the Borderplex region.
    He said this latest event is the tenth “full-fledged dust storm” of the year in El Paso, meaning it was dusty enough to restrict visibility to less than half a mile. For comparison, the average is 1.8 storms per year. “You would have to go back to 1936—during the Dust Bowl—to find a year with more,” Gill said. During the Dust Bowl years of 1935 and 1936, El Paso had 13 and 11 dust storms, respectively.
    Unusual drought and windy conditions are fueling the surge in dust. “We’re in the worst drought we’ve seen in at least a decade, and this March was the windiest we’ve seen in more than 50 years,” Gill added.
    Research shows dust storms can pose considerable hazards. In a 2023 analysis, Gill and several colleagues pointed out that the dangers of dust are often underappreciated. They contribute to deadly traffic accidents and elevate the risk of cardiorespiratory problems that lead to emergency room visits.
    Dust may also help spread a fungal infection called Valley Fever, though the precise role of dust storms remains a topic of ongoing research and debate. In another analysis, Gill and colleagues estimated that dust storms cause more than $150 billion in economic damage each year, with farmers, the health care sector, the renewable energy industry, and households bearing large costs.
    Several tools powered by NASA data and satellites are available to meteorologists, scientists, and others tracking dust storms. The Worldview browser hosts timely data and imagery from several satellites, and NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office has tools for real-time weather analysis and reanalysis.
    Gill collaborates frequently with a NASA-sponsored health and air quality team led by George Mason University’s Daniel Tong. That team is working to develop better ways of forecasting and analyzing how dust storms can affect air quality. Researchers with NASA’s SPoRT (Short-term Prediction Research and Transition) project have also developed a new technique that uses machine learning to improve the tracking of dust plumes at night.
    “It should be interesting to see how far the dust from this event travels,” noted Santiago Gasso, a University of Maryland atmospheric scientist based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “Some of it could be headed to the Great Lakes, New England, and maybe even to Greenland, as happened after one of the storms in March.”
    Up to this point in the 2025 season, the Borderplex region has seen 28 days with dust. Over the past quarter century, the average for an entire year is 22 days. “We still have several more weeks of the dust season to go,” added Gill, noting that forecasters are warning of more dust as early as this weekend.
       
    NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Adam Voiland.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Technology Enables Leaps in Artificial Intelligence

    Source: NASA

    Artificial intelligence lets machines communicate autonomously

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly, as intelligent software proves capable of various tasks. The technology usually requires a “human in the loop” to train it and ensure accuracy. But long before the arrival of today’s generative artificial intelligence, a different kind of AI was born with the help of NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley — one that only exists between machines, running without any human intervention.
    In 2006, Geoffrey Barnard founded Machine-to-Machine Intelligence Corp. (M2Mi) at Ames’ NASA Research Park, envisioning an automated, satellite-based communication network. NASA Ames established a Space Act Agreement with the company to develop artificial intelligence that would automate communications, privacy, security, and resiliency between satellites and ground-based computers.
    Central to the technology was automating a problem-solving approach known as root cause analysis, which NASA has honed over decades. This methodology seeks to identify not only the immediate cause of a problem but also all the factors that contributed to the cause. This would allow a network to identify its own issues and fix itself. 
    NASA Ames’ director of nanotechnology at the time wanted to develop a communications network based on small, low-powered satellites, so Ames supported M2Mi in developing the necessary technology. 
    Barnard, now CEO and chief technology officer of Tiburon, California-based branch of M2Mi, said NASA’s support laid the foundation for his company, which employs the same technology in a ground-based network. 
    The company’s M2M Intelligence software performs secure, resilient, automated communications on a system that runs across hundreds of networks, connecting thousands of devices, many of which were not built to communicate with each other. The M2Mi company worked with Vodafone of Berkshire, England, to build a worldwide network across more than 500 smaller networks in over 190 countries. The companies M2M Wireless and TriGlobal have begun using M2M Intelligence for transportation logistics. 
    With NASA’s help, emerging industries are getting the boost they need to rapidly develop technologies to enhance our lives. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Help Classify Galaxies Seen by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope!

    Source: NASA

    NASA needs your help identifying the shapes of thousands of galaxies in images taken by our James Webb Space Telescope with the Galaxy Zoo project. These classifications will help scientists answer questions about how the shapes of galaxies have changed over time, what caused these changes, and why. Thanks to the light collecting power of Webb, there are now over 500,000 images of galaxies on website of the Galaxy Zoo citizen science project—more images than scientists can classify by themselves. 
    “This is a great opportunity to see images from the newest space telescope,” said volunteer Christine Macmillan from Aberdeen, Scotland. “Galaxies at the edge of our universe are being seen for the first time, just as they are starting to form. Just sign up and answer simple questions about the shape of the galaxy that you are seeing. Anyone can do it, ages 10 and up!”  
    As we look at more distant objects in the universe, we see them as they were billions of years ago because light takes time to travel to us. With Webb, we can spot galaxies at greater distances than ever before. We’re seeing what some of the earliest galaxies ever detected look like, for the first time. The shapes of these galaxies tell us about how they were born, how and when they formed stars, and how they interacted with their neighbors. By looking at how more distant galaxies have different shapes than close galaxies, we can work out which processes were more common at different times in the universe’s history.   
    At Galaxy Zoo, you’ll first examine an image from the Webb telescope. Then you will be asked several questions, such as ‘Is the galaxy round?’, or ‘Are there signs of spiral arms?’. If you’re quick, you may even be the first person to see the galaxies you’re asked to classify.  
    “I’m amazed and honored to be one of the first people to actually see these images! What a privilege!” said volunteer Elisabeth Baeten from Leuven, Belgium.
    Galaxy Zoo is a citizen science project with a long history of scientific impact. Galaxy Zoo volunteers have been exploring deep space since July 2007, starting with a million galaxies from a telescope in New Mexico called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and then, moving on to images from space telescopes like NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and ESA (European Space Agency)’s Euclid telescope. The project has revealed spectacular mergers, taught us about how the black holes at the center of galaxies affect their hosts, and provided insight into how features like spiral arms form and grow.  
    Now, in addition to adding new data from Webb, the science team has incorporated an AI algorithm called ZooBot, which will sift through the images first and label the ‘easier ones’ where there are many examples that already exist in previous images from the Hubble Space Telescope. When ZooBot is not confident on the classification of a galaxy, perhaps due to complex or faint structures, it will show it to users on Galaxy Zoo to get their human classifications, which will then help ZooBot learn more. Working together, humans and AI can accurately classify limitless numbers of galaxies. The Galaxy Zoo science team acknowledges support from the International Space Sciences Institute (ISSI), who provided funding for the team to get together and work on Galaxy Zoo. Join the project now.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council online Major Energy Related Planning map goes live

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    The Highland Council has today published its Renewable Energy Mapping Tool. 

    This tool will enable those with an interest in understanding the location and type of renewable energy projects within Highland to discover not only what already exists on the ground but also the stage that any projects may be at within the planning process. The tool provides key information for each development in a single click with an easy link into the planning case file where further detailed information is required.  The information can be easily filtered in many different ways to ease a particular search.

    Cllr Ken Gowans, Chair of the Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee, said “This is an incredible piece of work that will assist our communities greatly with finding a significant amount of information related to energy related development within Highland in one map.”

    The mapping tool enables users to search for a variety of energy planning projects including: pump storage, wind, energy storage, transmission grid, transmission switching substations and convertor infrastructure, hydro and other relevant applications.

    Currently, 1,305 records of applications are included in the mapping database and detailed information about each can be viewed individually or collectively. The records include applications recorded in Highland Council’s development management system.

    The Council aims to provide an online training video on how to use this powerful mapping resource so that users can get the most out the information available to them.

    The map can be found at highland.gov.uk/energymap

    30 Apr 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Carrbridge Struan Court affordable housing ready for new social rent  

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    The Highland Council has built ten new affordable one and two bed flats for social rent on the site of the former Struan Hotel, Carrbridge which will bring much needed homes to an area with demand for this size of property.  

    The build awarded to Inverness based Compass Building and Construction Services has eight – one bed flats, and two- two bed flats built for rent and was supported by £1,467,884.53 from the Scottish Government’s More Homes Division. 

    Convener, of the Council Cllr Bill Lobban said: “Badenoch and Strathspey has been crying out for this type of one/two bed properties, and I would like to say how delighted I am that these new homes will soon be filled by new tenants. 

    “The Scottish Government’s More Homes Division funding has helped the Council to commit to the delivery of new affordable homes for rent or low-cost home ownership/mid-market rent.  Building new houses not only fills an important gap in the market but also boosts the construction industry and creates wider circular economic benefits over the longer term. 

    “Struan Court is an example of the importance of regenerating derelict areas and for many long years top of the Carrbridge wish list has been redevelopment of the derelict Struan Hotel whom the development is named after. Whilst this new development is a great example of cooperation between the Scottish Government and The Highland Council it would not have happened without the wholehearted support of the community and especially Carrbridge & Vicinity Community Council.” 

    Housing and Property Committee Chair, Cllr Glynis Campbell Sinclair said: “As part of the Highland Housing Challenge, The Highland Council is committed to improving the housing stock across the Highlands and this development not only provides much needed new homes, but it has also regenerated a derelict site.

    “The completion of Struan Court development marks the continued regeneration of the area and adds to the social housing stock at the nearby, Carr Road -Tulloch Homes Pinefield development.  I wish the new tenants every happiness in their new home and thank all involved in making this development come to fruition.” 

    The Highland’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which set out proposals for the affordable housing investment during 2023-2028, reaffirming the commitment to deliver an average of 500 new affordable homes per annum of which approximately 70% would be for affordable rent and 30% for intermediate affordable housing (e.g. low cost home ownership or midmarket rent), in line with the overall Scottish Government Targets.  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces launch of new AI tool to supercharge the approval of building permits and speed recovery from Los Angeles Fires

    Source: US State of California 2

    Apr 30, 2025

    What you need to know: The state of California is providing LA City and County a new AI-powered e-check software free of charge to speed the pace at which local governments are approving building permits.

    LOS ANGELES – Leveraging the power of private sector innovation, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence-driven software to aid Los Angeles City and County in accelerating the approval process for rebuilding permits to help communities recover more quickly from the Eaton and Palisades fires. 

    “The current pace of issuing permits locally is not meeting the magnitude of the challenge we face. To help boost local progress, California is partnering with the tech sector and community leaders to give local governments more tools to rebuild faster and more effectively.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    The software, created by Archistar, will be provided free of charge to the local governments and to users through a partnership between the state and philanthropic partners including LA Rises and Steadfast LA with contributions from Autodesk and Amazon.

    “Bringing AI into permitting will allow us to rebuild faster and safer, reducing costs and turning a process that can take weeks and months into one that can happen in hours or days,” said Steadfast LA Chairman Rick Caruso. “Working with our coalition partner Mike Hopkins and Amazon, I’m proud Steadfast LA identified Archistar as the right company to develop and apply this game-changing technology. Now we can work with great philanthropic organizations, including LA Rises, to provide this critical tool at no cost to taxpayers. We will continue bringing forward new technology and ideas to cut through red tape and expedite this recovery.”

    While the state has no direct role in the local permit approval process, Governor Newsom has worked aggressively to cut red tape, remove obstacles, and provide every available resource to local governments so they can fast-track permits and rebuild quickly. 

    The software uses computer vision, machine learning, and automated rulesets to instantly check designs against local zoning and building codes in the assessment process for building permits. This technology will allow property owners to pre-check their building plans before submission to ensure they submit valid plans, thus avoiding frustrating delays and expediting the review process once received by city or county staff.

    Once fully implemented by local leaders, this e-check tool will improve efficiency, accuracy, transparency, and speed of the rebuilding process from the Eaton and Palisades fire while also improving the experience for disaster survivors.

    “Getting residents home quickly and safely is my top priority,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “Last week, I signed an Executive Directive to spearhead an AI pilot program to streamline the permitting process for Palisades residents. With the announcement of this AI solution, we’re infusing new technologies into City Hall processes to ensure nothing stands in the way of families getting home – and to keep our recovery effort on track to be the fastest in modern California history. I thank Governor Newsom and our County partners for their collaboration on this exciting effort.”

    The County of Los Angeles has also committed to using the software and passed a Board Resolution to establish a unified permitting authority for the Altadena one-stop recovery center.

    “I’m excited to see Los Angeles County embrace innovative technology like Archistar to accelerate the rebuilding process in Altadena and neighboring communities recovering from the Eaton Fire,” said Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger. “This AI tool has the potential to save homeowners valuable time by helping them submit code-compliant plans from the start. I appreciate Governor Newsom’s stewardship of this opportunity and SoCal Grantmakers for their fiduciary support. Their help—along with collaboration from our County’s permitting departments—helped make this opportunity possible. Our collective work will help ensure we’re delivering real, efficient solutions to those working hard to rebuild their lives. Our wildfire survivors deserve nothing less.”

    “Together, government and philanthropy are standing with our community to ensure a safe, swift, and lasting recovery from the Palisades and Eaton Fires,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. “With new AI-powered tools and LA County’s One-Stop Permitting Centers, we’re cutting red tape to help residents rebuild and return home sooner. I’m grateful to Governor Newsom, Steadfast LA, and LA Rises for their investment in our recovery.”

    The technology is already being used by more than 25 forward-looking municipalities across the United States, Canada, and Australia, including cities like Vancouver, Austin, Houston and Seattle as well as states like Colorado, British Columbia (Canada) and New South Wales (Australia). In addition to providing the software free of charge in Los Angeles, the tool is now available on a statewide contract that any local government can now access quickly to streamline their own plan review process. 

    Today’s announcement is part of a broader effort to cut red tape and harness innovation in the LA fire recovery process. 

    Cutting red tape

    Governor Newsom issued an executive order to streamline the rebuilding of homes and businesses destroyed — suspending permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Act. The Governor also issued an executive order further cutting red tape by reiterating that permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act are suspended for rebuilding efforts and directing the Coastal Commission not to issue guidance or take any action that interferes with or conflicts with the Governor’s executive orders. Additionally, he signed an executive order to cut more red tape and continue streamlining rebuilding, recovery, and relief for survivors. The Governor also issued an executive order removing bureaucratic barriers, extending deadlines, and providing critical regulatory relief to help fire survivors rebuild, access essential services, and recover more quickly.

    Efficient, engaged, effective

    Since the start of his administration in 2019, Governor Newsom has made efficiency and engagement a top priority, implementing new technologies and practices that make government more efficient and responsive to the people it serves. In 2019, the Governor established the Office of Data Innovation to help advance this important work. 

    As the birthplace of tech, California is at the forefront in the study and implementation of AI in government. In 2023, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to utilize Generative AI technologies to improve state services and help solve important issues. Since that time, the state has integrated AI and other efficiency solutions to make state government work faster and even more effective.

    To help provide the Los Angeles community with a stronger voice in the rebuilding and recovery efforts, Governor Newsom launched Engaged California, a new platform that gives Californians a unique opportunity to share their thoughts and connect with other people on topics that are important to them. It creates new opportunities for Californians to connect with their government to inform and shape policy through honest, respectful discussions.

    The program was launched in February with the first use case focusing on the impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires.
     

    Partnerships Key 

    Today’s announcement was made possible through partnerships with philanthropic and community organizations who are aiding wildfire recovery in Los Angeles.

    Autodesk is a global leader in design and make technology, empowering innovators across architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, and media.

    Steadfast LA is a civic nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the rebuilding of Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires by bringing together top leaders, bold ideas, and effective solutions to get things done right and fast.

    LA Rises is a unified recovery initiative that brings together private sector leaders to support rebuilding efforts led by the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County and the State of California. In January, the Governor enlisted Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter, business leader and basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Casey Wasserman, LA28 Chairperson and President to lead and recruit others to this private sector and philanthropic effort.

    Track LA’s recovery, including the latest air quality results, at CA.gov/LAfires.

    Recent news

    Apr 30, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Gavin Newsom and the Department of Housing and Community Development today announced the awards of $118.9 million in federal funding for 29 California rural and tribal communities to create more affordable housing and supportive…

    Apr 29, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Kristina “Kris” Thayer, of Raleigh, North Carolina, has been appointed Director of The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Thayer has been Director of the Director of the…

    Apr 29, 2025

    News What you need to know: California continues to improve efficiency and engagement in state government by advancing its first-in-the-nation project to integrate cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology into state operations. Los Angeles, California –…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Notice to improve: Havant and South Downs College

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    Notice to improve: Havant and South Downs College

    A notice to improve, issued to Havant and South Downs College.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Notice to improve: Havant and South Downs College

    PDF, 296 KB, 5 pages

    Details

    This letter and its annex serve as a written notice to improve at Havant and South Downs College.

    Updates to this page

    Published 1 May 2025

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Financial health notice to improve: Mary Ward Settlement

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    Financial health notice to improve: Mary Ward Settlement

    A financial health notice to improve issued to Mary Ward Settlement.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Notice to improve: Mary Ward Settlement

    PDF, 292 KB, 5 pages

    Details

    This letter and its annex serve as a notice to improve financial health at Mary Ward Settlement.

    Updates to this page

    Published 1 May 2025

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Revised notice to improve: Furness College

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    Revised notice to improve: Furness College

    A notice to improve, issued to Furness College.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Revised notice to improve: Furness College

    PDF, 153 KB, 6 pages

    Closed notice to improve: Furness College

    PDF, 140 KB, 7 pages

    Details

    The revised notice and its annex serve as a written notice to improve quality at Furness College.

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ofqual to guard qualification standards in the long term

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Ofqual to guard qualification standards in the long term

    Regulator launches strategy to maintain standards, quality and trust in qualifications in a ‘changing world’.

    The regulator of qualifications in England has pledged to ensure qualifications can be trusted for years to come by students, employers, and wider society. 

    The Ofqual Strategy 2025 to 2028, published today, sets out the organisation’s approach as a guardian of the qualifications system, driving economic growth and protecting the value of qualifications that students take. 

    The regulator has described this approach as “stewardship”, an approach to regulation that is gaining interest around the world and takes a long-term, proactive view. 

    It comes at a time of change for education in England, with the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, reform of vocational and technical qualifications and reform of apprenticeship assessments. 

    Chief Regulator Sir Ian Bauckham CBE said:  

    Ofqual’s focus will be on ensuring that qualifications are high-quality and fair for students, unlocking future opportunities for them while supporting a productive and growing economy.  

    Our stewardship approach will enable us to respond flexibly and with agility to a changing world while maintaining the stability that underpins England’s world-leading qualifications system.

    During the next 3 years, Ofqual also aims to improve the quality and efficiency of its regulation by ensuring its rules and procedures are fit for purpose and necessary. 

    The strategy has 5 aims: 

    • steward – secure the safe, fair, and resilient delivery of qualifications and assessments  

    • innovate – oversee the improvement and reform of qualifications  

    • strengthen – strengthen the performance, capacity, and resilience of the qualifications market  

    • engage – build confidence in qualifications  

    • develop – develop the skills, processes and systems needed for effective and efficient regulation

    Background information

    • Ofqual is the regulator of qualifications, examinations, and assessments in England

    • The Ofqual strategy 2025 to 2028 can be read in full here

    • For media enquiries please contact the Ofqual press office on 0300 303 3014 or email media@ofqual.gov.uk

    Updates to this page

    Published 1 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The Coalition’s costings show some savings, but a larger deficit than Labor in the first two years

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra

    The Coalition’s policy costings have been released, just two days ahead of the federal election.

    The costings show the Coalition would run up a larger budget deficit than Labor in the first two years of government, but make a greater contribution to budget repair in years three and four.

    This arises because two big-spending Coalition policies – the fuel excise reduction and cost of living tax offset – are short term. Their impact on the deficit disappears after year two.

    Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the deficit would narrow by A$14 billion by the end of the fourth year.

    There are other spending initiatives – notably a significant increase in defence rising to $5.7 billion by the last year of the estimates, 2028-29. This will bring defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

    The vexed question of nuclear costings

    On the vexed question of nuclear power, the statement promises to fund the program primarily through equity investments in exchange for an ownership stake.

    These do not appear in the budget, on the premise that they fund commercial activities. This funding is estimated to total $118.2 billion by 2050 – well short of the $600 billion Labor has estimated the proposal will cost. There is no independent Parliamentary Budget Office costing of the number – it is based on Coalition modelling.

    Smaller sums are proposed for “community engagement” on nuclear technology ($87 million over four years) and a nuclear coordinating authority and training facility ($65 million). Both look to be in the right ballpark; they are however tiny compared with the costs of building nuclear reactors.

    Items to reduce the budget deficit include income tax increases by abolishing Labor’s top-up tax cut and public service reductions. In 2028-29 the tax increase raises $7.4 billion and public service cuts save $6.7 billion.

    A range of savings measures

    There are numerous other savings, including:

    • taxation of vaping products
    • reduction in a variety of environmental programs
    • reversing tax incentives for electric vehicles
    • cuts to the Housing Australia Future Fund
    • reduced spending on overseas aid
    • restoring the activity test for childcare
    • changing eligibility for several government welfare payment programs.

    It is a long and detailed list.

    Most of the savings appear achievable, with the notable exception of cuts to the public service. It will be close to impossible to achieve a saving of 41,000 public servants in Canberra alone without forced redundancies.

    The total Canberra public service workforce according to the Australian Public Service Commission is only around 68,000.

    Under the Coalition’s plan, some 41,000 public servant jobs in Canberra will be axed.
    Phillip Kraskoff/Shutterstock

    At the press conference announcing the costings, Opposition spokesperson Jane Hume said however the figure was 110,000.

    It is not clear where that number comes from. If the Coalition is using a different set of public service numbers to those published by the Australian Public Service Commission, it should identify where the extra come from. Off a larger base the savings would be difficult, but not completely infeasible.

    As with the Labor proposal to cut consultants, it still leaves the question of what will happen to the work those public servants were doing. Without changes to programs or activities, the Coalition will need to spend budget funds to get the work done.

    Too late for the early voters

    The costing release comes after more than 4.8 million Australians have already cast their vote. This is less than ideal for helping inform voters’ choices.

    There is precedent for releasing costings late. The Albanese opposition similarly released costings on the Thursday before polling day in 2022.

    This week, the Labor government released its costings on Monday.

    It is not clear what drives the practice of late release. One possibility is small target strategy: the less detail there is to criticise the more comfortable an opposition feels.

    There is so much detail in this Coalition announcement, and so many interest groups potentially offended, that the caution about its release may be justified.

    Savings previously announced by the Coalition include scrapping production tax credits for critical minerals and hydrogen and removing fringe benefit tax breaks for electric vehicles.

    The Coalition also plans to scrap some of the government’s off-budget funds and measures, including the Rewiring the Nation fund for electricity transmission and the Housing Australia Future Fund.

    Stephen Bartos was Parliamentary Budget Officer for the past three New South Wales state elections.

    – ref. The Coalition’s costings show some savings, but a larger deficit than Labor in the first two years – https://theconversation.com/the-coalitions-costings-show-some-savings-but-a-larger-deficit-than-labor-in-the-first-two-years-255592

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed: New $18.4B Navy Submarine Contract to Boost RI Workforce & Help Safeguard the Nation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – The enormous black cylinders that begin to take shape in the cavernous manufacturing production facilities at Quonset Point provide the United States with an unparalleled strategic deterrent that helps safeguard the nation and provides the U.S. Navy with an unmatched advantage beneath the waves.  Thousands of Rhode Island workers make critical contributions to designing, engineering, and building these next generation submarines. 

    Now, thanks to a new $18.4 billion U.S. Navy contract awarded to General Dynamics Corp, the parent company of Electric Boat, more work will commence on production of two new Virginia-class fast attack submarines.

    U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee and a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, has worked for years to strengthen America’s shipbuilding capabilities.  Reed called the awarding of the contract: “A major win for Rhode Island’s workforce that will provide added stability for the Ocean State’s industrial base while also achieving cost savings for taxpayers through production efficiencies.”

    These contracts include options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract change to $18,445,959,971. General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. is awarded $12,418,145,463, and if all options are exercised, the total value will be $17,152,265,971. The Virginia-based Newport News Shipbuilding, which is a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is awarded $1,293,694,000.  The awarded amounts include previously announced material awards, including long lead time material and economic ordering quantity material, totaling $2,103,896,000.  Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut; Newport News, Virginia; Quonset Point, Rhode Island; and other locations. Work is expected to be completed by June 2036.

    “The awarding of the contract is an important victory – for Rhode Island’s workforce, for Electric Boat and the entire supply chain, and for the Navy,” said Senator Reed.

    Senator Reed led efforts to secure over $7 billion in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to fully support the Virginia-class submarine program. 

    In 2018, Electric Boat broke ground on a 1-million-square-foot, $800-million multi-year expansion of its manufacturing facilities at Quonset Point.  Senator Reed has worked for years to help fund improvements in and around the Quonset Business Park to help attract and retain business in the area.

    “This is a smart investment that bolsters national security and benefits Rhode Island.  Rhode Islanders build the very backbone of these boats and provide our nation with a strategic, technological advantage.  This contract agreement is a testament to the skill and dedication of our defense manufacturing workforce and the local suppliers who contribute to the production of these next-generation submarines,” said Senator Reed.

    While these submarines get their start in Rhode Island, they are completed at two shipyards in Groton, Connecticut and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding facilities in Newport News, Virginia.

    As a result of the escalating submarine production workloads, and due to older workers retiring, Electric Boat has projected it will need to hire thousands of workers to fill jobs in Rhode Island in the coming years.  Currently, Electric Boat has over 24,000 employees at its facilities and offices in Rhode Island and Connecticut and is in the midst of a hiring boom.

    Hundreds of small businesses across Rhode Island supply the U.S. Department of Defense, and hardworking Rhode Islanders contribute to the creation of a wide range of military products, equipment, and services.  Additionally, Rhode Island is home to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport; Naval Station (NAVSTA) Newport; and the Naval War College.  These facilities, along with leading academic research institutions and a network of suppliers and small businesses, contribute to a defense industry that is boosting Rhode Island’s economy and leading to advancements in technology and innovation.

    A recent report by the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance (SENEDIA) shows that the total direct and indirect economic impact from defense spending in Rhode Island accounted for $7.6 billion in 2022. The report found that Rhode Island’s defense industry is growing and supported a total of 34,068 direct and indirect jobs across the Ocean State with an annual payroll of $3 billion.

    Senator Reed helped SENEDIA land multiple federal grants from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a robust regional workforce development partnership that will serve as a pipeline to help connect as many as 5,000 workers with employment opportunities that contribute to the production of submarines.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: 137-2025: Version 3.0 of the Methyl Bromide Fumigation Methodology is now in force and approved arrangement class conditions have been updated

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    1 May 2025

    Who does this notice affect?

    Import-related biosecurity treatment stakeholders, including all importers, brokerages, onshore approved arrangement holders, overseas government and industry treatment providers, relevant domestic state and territory government agencies, and other shipping, freight, and logistics peak industry bodies.

    What has changed?

    Methyl Bromide Fumigation Methodology (version 3.0)

    Version 3.0 of the  Methyl…

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: 136-2025: Conclusion of the 2024-25 Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) Risk Season

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    1 May 2025​ 

    Who does this notice affect? 

    ​​Stakeholders in the import and shipping industries—including Master Consolidators, vessel masters, freight forwarders, treatment providers, Biosecurity Industry Participants, importers, customs brokers and principal agents— associated with shipping or importing goods that require increased intervention during the 2024-25 BMSB risk season. ​

    What has changed? 

    The 2024-25 BMSB risk season ended on 1 May…

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Renewed call for information as investigation into former police officer progresses

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Renewed call for information as investigation into former police officer progresses

    Thursday, 1 May 2025 – 12:00 pm.

    Tasmania Police has renewed its call for information as the investigation into former police officer Dale Cook progresses.The investigation was announced in February to determine whether he used his position as a police officer to commit child sexual abuse crimes or any other criminal offending and identify any misconduct during his employment with Tasmania Police.Acting Deputy Commissioner Rob Blackwood said the investigation team had engaged with many people who either worked with Cook or knew him outside of his role as a police officer.“The investigation team sincerely thanks each person that has come forward to provide information, either in person or through the reporting options provided below. Every piece of information has been of value and will inform the outcomes of the investigation,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Blackwood said.“There are several avenues of enquiry outstanding, and the investigation team continues to work with oversight from the Integrity Commission to identify other criminal offending or misconduct during Cook’s employment with Tasmania Police.“The investigators would still like to hear from anyone with information.“The specialist investigation team recognises the need to offer choice and confidentiality to anyone wanting to provide information.”This includes:• Sending a direct email to the investigation team at cookinvestigation@police.tas.gov.au• Submitting an online form which allows you the option or remaining anonymous, or providing your details if you are willing to be contacted.• Submitting a report to the Tasmania Police Professional Standards online portal.• If you would like to meet in person, contact the investigation team at cookinvestigation@police.tas.gov.au and they will arrange this at a time and place that ensures confidentiality.Media outlets are reminded to be mindful of the following national guidelines when reporting on this matter.https://www.childsafety.gov.au/what-we-do/reporting-child-sexual-abuse-guidance-media-and-victims-and-survivors

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: 135-2025: Scheduled Service Disruption: Saturday 03 May 2025 – Multiple Systems

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    01 May 2025

    Who does this notice affect?

    All clients submitting the below declarations:

    • Full Import Declaration (FID)
    • Long Form Self Assessed Clearance (LFSAC)
    • Short Form Self Assessed Clearance (SFSAC)
    • Cargo Report Self Assessed Clearance (CRSAC)
    • Cargo Report Personal Effects (PE)

    Approved arrangements operators, customs brokers, importers, manned depots, and freight forwarders who are required to book and manage requests…

    MIL OSI News –