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Category: Great Britain

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Crossbench Peerages June 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street

    Press release

    Crossbench Peerages June 2025

    The King has been graciously pleased to signify His intention of conferring Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life.

    The King has been graciously pleased to signify His intention of conferring Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life upon the undermentioned:

    Nominations for Crossbench Peerages:

    1. Sir Tim Barrow GCMG LVO MBE – lately National Security Adviser. Former Second Permanent Under-Secretary and Political Director at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

    2. Dr Simon Case CVO – lately Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. Former Private Secretary to HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Former Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.

    3. Dame Katherine Grainger DBE – Chair of the British Olympic Association, former Chair of UK Sport and former Olympian. Former Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, currently Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.

    4. Dame Sharon White, Lady Chote, DBE – former Chair of the John Lewis Partnership, former Chief Executive of the Ofcom and former Second Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury.

    Citations

    Sir Tim Barrow GCMG LVO MBE

    Sir Tim Barrow served as National Security Adviser from 2022 to 2024. Prior to this he was the Second Permanent Secretary and Political Director at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). As Political Director, he worked on the biggest foreign policy issues facing the country, including playing a leading role in the UK’s diplomatic response to Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.

    Sir Tim was the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union from 2017 to 2020 and the British Ambassador to the European Union from 2020 to 2021 and played an important role in the United Kingdom’s Brexit negotiations with the EU.

    Sir Tim’s civil service career began at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1986. He served in London, Kyiv, Moscow and Brussels before his appointment as the British Ambassador to Ukraine in 2006. In 2008, he became the Ambassador to the Western European Union and the UK Representative to the Political and Security Committee. From 2011 to 2016, he served as the British Ambassador to Russia before returning to London as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Political Director.

    Dr Simon Case CVO

    Dr Simon Case was Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service from September 2020 to December 2024. As Cabinet Secretary he supported four Prime Ministers in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the delivery of the funeral arrangements for Queen Elizabeth II. Before this he was appointed Permanent Secretary at No.10.

    Simon has had a long and varied career as a senior public servant. He served as Private Secretary to HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2016 to 2017. He has also served as Director General for Northern Ireland and Ireland and Director General for the UK-EU relationship, both at the Department for Exiting the European Union, and Director of Strategy at GCHQ.

    Since leaving Government, he has been appointed as the independent Chair of the Barrow Delivery Board Barrow Transformation Fund, a £200m government package to deepen and develop Barrow’s crucial role at the heart of UK national security and nuclear submarine-building, overseen by the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. He is also a Non-Executive Director at the Ministry of Defence. Simon holds a PhD in political history from Queen Mary’s University of London.

    Dame Katherine Grainger DBE

    Dame Katherine Grainger is Britain’s most decorated female rower and the only female athlete – in any sport – to gain medals in five consecutive Olympic Games. Following her completion of two terms as Chair of UK Sport, Dame Katherine was appointed as Chair of the British Olympic Association.

    Born in Glasgow, Dame Katherine read law at the University of Edinburgh and then obtained a Masters in law from the University of Glasgow and a PhD from King’s College London. Dame Katherine began rowing in 1993, winning a silver medal at the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics, before winning a gold medal in London, and a further silver medal in Rio de Janeiro, as well as eight World Championship medals, including six gold medals.

    Dame Katherine is on the board of the Youth Sport Trust and is patron of Netball Scotland, Winning Scotland and the National Coastwatch Institution. She was appointed a DBE in 2017, following previous awards of MBE and CBE. Katherine was previously Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and is currently the Chancellor of the University of Glasgow and Honorary Colonel of the 215 (Scottish) Multirole Medical Regiment of the British Army. She is also the Honorary President of Scottish Rowing.

    Dame Sharon White DBE

    Dame Sharon White has spent much of her career in public service, holding a number of the most senior positions in the Civil Service.  She was the first black person and second woman to be a Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury, serving as the Second Permanent Secretary between 2013 and 2015, after which she was CEO of Ofcom from March 2015 to November 2019.

    Dame Sharon joined the Civil Service in 1998, working at HM Treasury, the British Embassy in Washington, the 10 Downing Street Policy Unit and the World Bank, before becoming a Director General in the Department for International Development, followed by the MoJ, DWP and HMT. Dame Sharon was appointed DBE in 2020 for Public Service. Dame Sharon is an honorary fellow at Nuffield College, University of  Oxford, and was a Non-Executive Director for Barratt Developments.

    Since leaving the Civil Service, Dame Sharon has become the Managing Director and Head of Europe for Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (the Quebec Deposition and Investment Fund), having previously been the Chair of the John Lewis Partnership from February 2020 until September 2024.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Social enterprise café opens at Keady TMAC Centre

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    (L-R) Elaine Leonard, Manager, The Appleby Trust; Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Alderman Stephen Moutray; Thomas O’Hanlon, Chairman of The Appleby Trust pictured at the launch of the new social enterprise café ‘The Gathering Rooms’ at the TMAC in Keady.

    A warm and welcoming space, friendly faces and good food at reasonable prices are on the menu at a new social enterprise café launched at the Tommy Makem Arts and Community Centre (TMAC) in Keady!

    Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is delighted to welcome The Gathering Rooms to operate a café at the TMAC – a new venture following on from The Gathering Rooms Café in Armagh, which is run by local charity, The Appleby Trust. The charity has been training and employing young people with autism since 2019.

    Since opening its doors five years ago, the project has helped over 100 young people with autism to develop practical employment and social skills to build confidence, boost independence and help to secure employment opportunities within the hospitality sector.

    The Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Alderman Stephen Moutray said:

    “Community facilities aim to be vibrant and inclusive places for people to meet and connect through social activities, workshops and classes, thereby reducing loneliness and social isolation, particularly in rural areas. This initiative will support this aim and provide training and employment opportunities to young people who may otherwise experience barriers to employment.

    “We encourage new users to visit the facility to find out more about the programme of events and activities on offer, along with support and funding available to community groups.”

    Under supervision, the young people learn how to work in the kitchen and front of house serving customers. They also get involved with the day-to-day running of the café by helping with orders and deliveries.

    Thomas O’Hanlon, Chair of The Appleby Trust said:

    “This is an exciting new venture for The Appleby Trust. As a social economy project operating across Armagh, Lurgan and Banbridge, we are committed to creating meaningful, supported employment opportunities. Through our Print It companies and our coffee shop in the Gathering Rooms, we provide valuable services while supporting those who rely on us. 

    “This new outreach marks a significant step forward — not only in expanding our footprint but in continuing our mission to support and empower individuals in our communities. We are initially operating two days a week from the TMAC, and we’re optimistic about extending this service to other locations in the future.”

    The Gathering Rooms at the TMAC will be open Mondays and Thursdays, 10am – 2pm, serving tea and coffee with freshly made scones and traybakes along with healthy breakfast options and light snacks.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Picture This: Reflections of a Hospital Curator

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    I never imagined that art curation and hospitals could be such a dynamic pair. The idea of intentionally organizing the placement of artwork around such a facility was so foreign to me that I almost missed having one of the most enlightening roles of my career. I eventually realized how wrong I was and how right this job is for me, but I did not come to this conclusion easily. After a friend nudged me multiple times to apply for this position at UConn Health, it was not long before a mutual friend urged me to read the description again thoroughly, then apply. This was in fact a job for me. My experience up to that point in my career had all but placed a billboard in front of me with a giant red arrow pointing in this direction.

    The Frank Stella piece hanging behind curator Andre Rochester outside the Health Sciences Library is among the highest-profile pieces in UConn Health’s art collection. (2023 photo by Tina Encarnacion)

    After a few friendly nudges and divine signs, I went for it. On the day of the interview, I hit a massive traffic jam caused by a statewide police procession. I called ahead from the highway, mortified, but they could see it happening outside the window. The moment felt doomed, but it led to one of the most meaningful jobs of my life. Arriving 15 minutes late, prepared with a lengthy CV, anecdotes about my art career and a decade of curatorial experience, I entered the lobby where I met my future manager. She led me to a conference room where two others patiently awaited my grand entrance. Although I arrived flustered and felt like I somehow blew this opportunity by coming in so late, the interview went well. They invited me back a couple of weeks later and presented an offer.

    “The Family” is a bronze sculpture by Wolfgang Behl. (Photo provided by Andre Rochester)

    Becoming the art curator at UConn Health has broadened my perspective of art placement and its function in the healing environment. People may not even notice art as they walk past it in our public spaces every day. Yet, how do you think patients, staff, or visitors might feel without it there? How drab and boring would it be if there was nothing to break up the empty space in our corridors? A part of healing from any ailment is mental. The atmosphere in which you endure or help someone through that process is important. Art must engage, inspire, invoke, and uplift. Art has the power to change the environment in which we place it. We decorate our homes because it makes us feel something. The same can be said about our workspace. Art is a subtle, but important part of feeling better. I have made it my personal mission to ensure people notice the art at UConn Health, but more importantly, they connect with it. Being an art curator in a hospital means wearing a few hats: interior decorator, creative consultant, and sometimes you become somewhat of a community organizer.

    UConn Health art curator Andre Rochester (left) leads an art committee of volunteers who are current and former employees, including (as of August 2024, from left) Edith Lamonica, Ann Taridona, Christine McNally, Jillian Silverberg, Felicia Vezina, Emily Ziemba, Jo Cohen, and Rachael Norris. (Tina Encarnacion/ UConn Health photo)

    The Connecticut Collection (as it was named by its founder, Celeste LeWitt) is a gem hidden in plain sight. A full spectrum of visual art can be found throughout all UConn Health locations. It started with museum-level artwork thanks to Celeste’s appeal to some of the most notable artists in the state. Through her own network and that of her cousin, world renowned conceptual artist and Hartford native Sol LeWitt, the collection quickly developed into something truly special. Since 1979, The Connecticut Collection has grown to over 2,500 works of art, including items from a wall tapestry by Frank Stella, original prints by Anni Albers, an array of sculptures by Wolfgang Behl, and a drawing by Sol LeWitt. Throughout the year, we receive donations from artists of all backgrounds- professionals and hobbyists alike- with styles ranging from landscapes to portraits, folk art, and photography. Donors also include art collectors, current and former employees, patients, and their families. What makes the Connecticut Collection so unique is we have a little bit of everybody and a little bit of everything visual arts. In 2024, an artist from Oakland, California, donated a beautiful terra cotta sculpture- a testament to the breadth of our reach as a health institution and an alignment between Celeste LeWitt’s vision and the community at large.

    “Four Seasons in New England” by Tracy Kane is 10-ft-tall, 16-ft-wide acrylic mural on wood panels. (Provided by Andre Rochester)

    This role includes processing art donations, leading an art committee, curating exhibits, and bringing awareness to the art collection. I help select art for offices, conference rooms, waiting rooms, and some patient treatment areas. In addition to the Connecticut Collection, we have two galleries. Celeste LeWitt Gallery is on the north side of our main dining facility. It was established by our previous curator, Linda Webber, in honor of the late Celeste LeWitt. During her 22-year tenure as art curator, Linda started as a volunteer, advocating for this to become a paid position, and nearly doubled the size of the collection. This position would not exist without her efforts. I start every art tour at an original painting by Linda to pay homage to her legacy by acknowledging the big shoes I had to fill upon my arrival at UConn Health. Even in her retirement, Linda’s passion for art at UConn Health is still felt. She often attends our receptions. Our newly established Connector Gallery is in the main floor corridor connecting our main building to John Dempsey Hospital.

    “Visitor in My Garden” is a painting by Stanwyck Cromwell. (Provided by Andre Rochester)

    Celeste LeWitt Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting artists from across the state of Connecticut and parts of New England. We host four exhibits per year featuring two artists at a time. This recently included a debut for Maggie Prado from our carpentry and paint team and Martha G. Trask, who works for our library. The Connector Gallery started with an exhibit for Art Connection Studio (ACS), a program of Vinfen, an organization that provides support for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. This experience inspired me to connect UConn Health with organizations and people that use art as a tool for healing and cultivate opportunities for collaboration. Later that year, this mission expanded to include ongoing employee art shows in between these collaborative exhibits.

    I met the ACS team in 2023 at one of their receptions. They partner with local artists to teach participants how to make several types of art and schedule shows for them throughout the state. I was so inspired by their art that I offered an opportunity to exhibit at UConn Health. By spring 2024, with full support from our executive leadership team, we displayed a temporary installation of their 15-foot collaborative mural which says the words “THIS ABILITY” along with paintings from three of their artists. We also called attention to our Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service. As a result of this first collaboration, our Office of Diversity and Inclusion led a campaign to recruit members of the UConn Health community to volunteer at ACS.

    From left: UConn Health employees Jameson MacInnis, Irina Bezsonova, Rachael Norris, and Jo Cohen observe some of the submissions to the fall 2024 employee art show along the hallway connecting UConn Health’s Connecticut Tower and University Tower. Norris and Cohen are members of UConn Health’s art committee, and Bezsonova’s work has been accepted for an exhibit. (Photo provided by Andre Rochester)

    We have hosted four employee exhibits in the Connector Gallery so far. This includes a solo exhibition for Irina Bezsonova, associate professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics. I am proud to say that we get at least three submissions from someone new with each call for employee artwork. We have displayed art by employees from across the entire organization. It serves as proof that there are many talented people who work at UConn Health. I am especially proud that employee artwork has had a presence in our collection from the beginning. The Connector Gallery is only one year in its journey, and the impact of these exhibits is felt by all.

    I led an effort to source artwork for the New England Sickle Cell Institute and Connecticut Blood Disorder Center, an opportunity for which I am profoundly grateful. Their leadership team trusted my vision to engage artists from across the state directly. Some of whom shared that they have a personal connection to the population we serve in NESCI/CBDC. I have also collaborated with our Office of Professional Wellbeing and Engagement to facilitate lunchtime art workshops for employees that focus on forward thinking, goal setting, and mindfulness using a lesson in color theory. I also host tours for students, employees, and occasional visitors upon request.

    It has only been a two-and-a-half-year journey for me, but so much has happened in the time I have been the art curator at UConn Health. I am digging deeper into my purpose: a personal mission to use my own progress as an artist and creative professional to help others thrive. I continue to grow in this position, and with the help of our art committee, I will find more ways to raise awareness and increase engagement with art at UConn Health.

    We must acknowledge that the scope of art at UConn Health goes beyond visual media. Creativity is the foundation for writing, music, and theater. We have an Orchestra of UConn Health (O.U.C.H.), a student acapella group, and J.J. Odom. director of buildings and grounds, is a talented drummer. Furthermore, there are authors like Lucius Downing and Shawn Brown, who work in IT. UConn Health is a premier location for medical treatment, but there is an arts community that exists among the people who work here. I have only scratched the surface but there is a deep connection between health and creativity here and I am honored to be a part of it. I hope to continue cultivating a space where art, wellness, and community thrive together at UConn Health.

    Andre Rochester is UConn Health’s art curator. (Photo by Keith Claytor, Time Frozen Photography)

    About the author: Andre Rochester is an artist, curator, and arts administrator based in Hartford. He currently serves as the art curator at UConn Health, where he oversees the Connecticut Collection and curates exhibitions that elevate healing through creativity. A passionate advocate for the intersection of art and wellness, Andre uses his platform to support emerging artists, cultivate community, and foster a culture of belonging through visual storytelling.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-State Conspiracy to Obtain Driver’s Licenses for Ineligible Applicants

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant conspired to fraudulently apply for driver’s licenses for more than 1,000 individuals who resided in states that prohibited illegal aliens from obtaining licenses

    BOSTON – A Waterbury, Conn. man pleaded guilty on June 13, 2025 to conspiring to obtain driver’s licenses for ineligible applicants, principally illegal aliens.  

    Cesar Agusto Martin Reis, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess with intent to transfer identification documents, and one count of possession with intent to use or transfer unlawfully identification documents. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 10, 2025. In December 2024, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis was charged along with four co-conspirators.

    From in or about November 2020 through in or about September 2024, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators fraudulently procured driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who resided in states that prohibited illegal aliens from obtaining driver’s licenses. Prior to July 2023, illegal aliens residing in Massachusetts were not permitted to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses. Beginning in 2019, illegal aliens residing in New York became eligible to obtain New York driver’s licenses. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators conspired to fraudulently obtain New York driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in New York, including Massachusetts residents, and after July 2023 to fraudulently obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in Massachusetts. In exchange for fraudulently obtaining the driver’s licenses, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators typically charged approximately $1,400 per customer.
     
    In New York, before obtaining a driver’s license, applicants were required to pass a written permit test and complete driver’s education coursework from a New York driving school. Online permit test-takers were required by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) to take a picture of themselves with a web camera during the test. This was to ensure that the test-taker was indeed the applicant and that there was not a person sitting with and helping the applicant with the test.  

    To avoid the customers having to take the permit tests, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators obtained several pictures of the customers sitting down, making it look as if the customers were taking the tests. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis conspired with his alleged co-conspirators to complete the permit tests for the customers online and, when prompted by the NY DMV to take pictures during the tests, and to upload the pictures that the customers previously provided – purporting to show that it was the customers who were taking the tests, not the defendants. The defendants also allegedly created fraudulent driver’s education certificates of completion, purportedly from New York driving schools, forged the signatures of driving school staff on the fake certificates and gave these documents to the customers to provide to the NY DMV.

    The NY DMV also required that applicants appear at a NY DMV location and provide documents to prove their identity and residence in New York. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis conspired with his alleged co-conspirators to meet Massachusetts-based customers at locations in Massachusetts – typically several customers at a time – and drive them to NY DMV branch locations. When they arrived at the NY DMV locations, the defendants allegedly gave the customers fraudulent documents falsely purporting to demonstrate that the customers resided in New York. The customers provided these fake records to the NY DMV staff, and the NY DMV relied on the misrepresentations to issue New York driving permits to the customers. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis conspired with his alleged co-conspirators to arrange for the NY DMV to mail the permits to locations in New York that were controlled by the defendants and provided the permits to the customers in-person. Additionally, the defendants allegedly conspired to schedule road driving license tests for the customers with the NY DMV and, again, drive the customers to New York for them to take the road tests. If the customers passed the tests, the NY DMV sent the driver’s licenses to mailing addresses in New York that the defendants allegedly controlled, and the defendants then provided the licenses to the customers.  

    The defendants allegedly conspired to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for out-of-state residents, in generally the same manner as they allegedly obtained the New York licenses for Massachusetts residents. In Massachusetts, the defendants allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain purported foreign passports to provide to the customers to use as proof of identity with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles in support of customer driver’s license applications.

    Collectively, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators fraudulently applied for licenses for more than 1,000 customers, obtained licenses for more than 600 of the customers, and collected at least hundreds of thousands of dollars.    

    The charge of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess with intent to transfer identification documents carries up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000; and the charge of possession with intent to use or transfer unlawfully identification documents, carries up to 15 years in prison, supervised release of up to 3 years, and a fine of up to $250,000.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Kelly Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the NY DMV Division of Field Investigation; the Boston, Danbury (Conn.) and Waterbury (Conn.) Police Departments; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; and the New York State Inspector General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

    The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scotland in 2050

    Source: Scottish Government

    Opportunities and challenges for the future.

    First Minister John Swinney has launched new analysis on the trends that could shape the future of Scotland in the next 10 to 20 years, saying that Scotland must “take charge of our own destiny” as an independent country to shape our own future.

    ‘Future Trends for Scotland’ sets out the plausible opportunities and challenges facing Scotland, and could inform Scottish Government policy and the work of our partners in Scotland.

    The reports show Scotland can make the most of opportunities including new energy potential, growing success in space and life sciences and widespread adoption of AI alongside the emergence of quantum technology.

    Challenges facing Scotland resonate with those seen across the world including growing risks to democracy because of mis- and disinformation, more frequent conflicts, increasing inequalities and climate change. 

    Addressing the Scotland 2050 conference in Edinburgh, First Minister John Swinney said:

    “The Scotland of 2050 will be shaped by a series of unpredictable forces, by new technologies we have only half-imagined in the pages of science fiction, by conflicts now only simmering, by people who are only just born but it will also be shaped by us. By the decisions we take, the policy choices we implement, the vision and path forward that we set out.

    “That is a great responsibility, but for me it is also exciting, inspiring, and a privilege to shape it as First Minister. 

    “With the Future Trends horizon scan, we have the best available Scotland specific analysis to inform our decisions, both now and for the future. 

    “It shows both hurdles and new horizons for our society and economy. Warnings where we need to change, or up the pace, but also doors opening, if we have the courage to walk through them with confidence, with boldness and self-belief.

    “And it is by shaping strategy and policy towards achieving long-term outcomes that we will be ready for this new world as it evolves.

    “It is only by taking charge of our own destiny, with our own hand on the tiller, that we are better able to ride the waves of change, that we are better able to shape our own future.

    “That does not mean a Scotland standing alone, but rather a nation that has worked out its place in the world, and the contribution it wants to make to the world.

    “An ongoing deep and rich partnership with the other nations of these isles, absolutely, but ultimately as a nation state in our own right, as a Member State of the world’s largest trading block, the world’s biggest social and economic community, the European Union.”

    Background

    Future Trends for Scotland – Findings from the 2024-25 Horizon Scanning Project – gov.scot

    Young People and the Future of Scotland – A Participatory Horizon Scanning Engagement – gov.scot

    Scotland 2050 Conference: First Minister’s Speech – gov.scot

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Subsea 7 – contract award offshore Norway

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Luxembourg – 17 June 2025 – Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) today announced the award of a substantial1 contract offshore Norway. 

    Subsea7’s scope includes engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of pipeline bundles, spools, protection covers and tie-ins using key vessels from Subsea7’s fleet. 

    Project management and engineering will commence immediately at Subsea7’s offices in Stavanger, Norway and Aberdeen, Scotland. Fabrication of pipeline bundles will take place at Wester, Scotland. Offshore operations are expected to take place in 2025-2027.

    Erik Femsteinevik, Vice President for Subsea7 Norway said: “We are excited to have been awarded this project. Our collaboration with our clients leverages our collective experience from past and current projects. By engaging early in the field development process, we can optimise design solutions and contribute to a positive final investment decision. Subsea7 looks forward to a safe, efficient, and reliable field development.”

    No further details are disclosed at this time.

    1. Subsea7 defines a substantial contract as being between $150 million and $300 million.

    *******************************************************************************
    Subsea7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industry’s partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs.

    Subsea7 is listed on the Oslo Børs (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62.

    *******************************************************************************

    Contact for investment community enquiries:
    Katherine Tonks
    Investor Relations Director
    Tel +44 20 8210 5568
    ir@subsea7.com

    Contact for media enquiries:
    Jan Roger Moksnes
    Communications Manager
    Tel +47 41515777
    janroger.moksnes@subsea7.com
    www.subsea7.com

    Forward-Looking Statements: This document may contain ‘forward-looking statements’ (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘future’, ‘goal’, ‘intend’, ‘likely’ ‘may’, ‘plan’, ‘project’, ‘seek’, ‘should’, ‘strategy’ ‘will’, and similar expressions. The principal risks which could affect future operations of the Group are described in the ‘Risk Management’ section of the Group’s Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements. Factors that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables, negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas companies, which is affected by fluctuations in the price of, and demand for, crude oil and natural gas; (v) unanticipated delays or cancellation of projects included in our backlog; (vi) competition and price fluctuations in the markets and businesses in which we operate; (vii) the loss of, or deterioration in our relationship with, any significant clients; (viii) the outcome of legal proceedings or governmental inquiries; (ix) uncertainties inherent in operating internationally, including economic, political and social instability, boycotts or embargoes, labour unrest, changes in foreign governmental regulations, corruption and currency fluctuations; (x) the effects of a pandemic or epidemic or a natural disaster; (xi) liability to third parties for the failure of our joint venture partners to fulfil their obligations; (xii) changes in, or our failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations (including regulatory measures addressing climate change); (xiii) operating hazards, including spills, environmental damage, personal or property damage and business interruptions caused by adverse weather; (xiv) equipment or mechanical failures, which could increase costs, impair revenue and result in penalties for failure to meet project completion requirements; (xv) the timely delivery of vessels on order and the timely completion of ship conversion programmes; (xvi) our ability to keep pace with technological changes and the impact of potential information technology, cyber security or data security breaches; (xvii) global availability at scale and commercially viability of suitable alternative vessel fuels; and (xviii) the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this document. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
    This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. 
    This stock exchange release was published by Katherine Tonks, Investor Relations, Subsea7, on 17 June 2025 at 16:40 CET.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Aberdeen prepares for Armed Forces Day Parade 2025

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    More than 1,000 serving military personnel, veterans, reservists and cadet and youth organisations are set to parade through Aberdeen city centre to mark Armed Forces Day on Saturday 28 June.

    Residents and visitors alike are invited to watch the 2025 parade, which will include local pipe bands and vintage military vehicles. 

    The parade will start at Albyn Place at 11am and go along Union Street, Union Terrace, Schoolhill, Upperkirkgate and Broad Street, finishing at the Castlegate. 

    The Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Dr David Cameron, in his role as Lord-Lieutenant will take the salute outside Marischal College in front of the City’s official flagpole on Broad Street.  

    In the interest of public safety, the following temporary road restrictions will be in place:

    From 6pm on Friday 27 June until 12noon on Saturday 28 June 2025

    There will be a suspension of parking on:

    • The north side of Albyn Place between its junctions with Albyn Grove and Rubislaw Place. Vehicles associated with the parade will be exempt.
    • Schoolhill, including the inset road
    • Union Terrace
    • Upperkirkgate
    • Wellington Place, Aberdeen, between its junctions with Crown Street and South College Street. This is to accommodate the bus diversion route.

    From 10am on Saturday 28 June until 1pm on Saturday 28 June 2025

    There will be a suspension of all waiting for any purpose, with the exception of any waiting taxis on:

    • The west side of Chapel Street, north of the junction with Thistle Street for 53 metres or thereby. This area is to provide a temporary Taxi Rank for this period.

    From 9am on Saturday 28 June until 12.30pm on Saturday 28 June

    No driving will be permitted on the following roads:

    • Albyn Place from Albyn Grove to Alford Place
    • Alford Place from Albyn Place to Union Street
    • Rubislaw Place from Albyn Place to Rubislaw Terrace
    • Victoria Street from Alford Place to Thistle Place
    • Union Street from Alford Place to Union Terrace
    • Holburn Street from Alford Place to Union Grove
    • Chapel Street from Union Street to Thistle Street
    • Bon Accord St from Langstane Place to Union Street
    • Union Row from Union Wynd to Union Street
    • Crown Street from Windmill Brae to Union Street
    • Union Terrace from Union Street to Rosemount Viaduct
    • Rosemount Viaduct from Skene Street to Blackfriars Street
    • Blackfriars Street from St Andrew Street to Schoolhill
    • St Andrew Street from Blackfriars Street to Charlotte Street
    • Belmont Street from Gaelic Lane to Schoolhill
    • Back Wynd from Little Belmont Street to Schoolhill
    • Upperkirkgate from Broad Street to Schoolhill
    • Schoolhill from Upperkirkgate to Blackfriars Street
    • Gallowgate from Little John Street to Upperkirkgate
    • Broad Street from Upperkirkgate to Union Street
    • Union Street from Broad Street to Castle Street
    • King Street from Castle Street to West North Street
    • Castle Street in its entirety

    From 10.45am on Saturday 28 June until 12.30pm on Saturday 28 June

    No driving will be permitted on the following roads:

    Taxi Ranks

    Dee Street, Back Wynd, Queen Street & Exchequer Row taxi ranks will be impacted by these road closures between 10.45am until 12.30pm on Saturday 28 June 2025.

    Chapel Street – This rank will be relocated on Chapel Street to outside Holiday Inn Express facing away from Union Street. Access for this rank will be from Thistle Street only. Waiting will be for Taxis only.

    Later opening time for Marischal College car park

    Due to the road closures nearby, Marischal College car park, which is accessed from Queen Street, will open later than usual at 1pm. All other city centre car parks will be open as normal.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: St Pius X RC Primary School and Nursery Proposed Closure

    Source: Scotland – City of Dundee

    St Pius X RC Primary School and Nursery could close at the end of the school year 2025/26. 

    The Children, Families and Communities Committee will be asked to approve the closure of the school and nursery, and rezone the catchment area of St Francis RC Primary School to include the existing St Pius X RC Primary School catchment area. 

    The St Pius X RC Primary pupil roll is in decline. The school has a capacity of 242 pupils. In September 2019, the school roll was 195. The school roll at the September 2024 census was 162, this equates to an occupancy level of 67%. The current estimated roll for August 2025 is 153.  

    Except for the Council’s Edwardian and Victorian primary schools, the St Pius X RC Primary building is now one of the oldest schools, built post-1970. Maintaining appropriate levels of condition and suitability may require significant financial investment. 

    Therefore, the committee will be asked to approve the closure of the school and nursery, and rezone the St Francis RC Primary catchment area.  

    The council ran a consultation from January 6- February 19 where feedback was gathered from to key stakeholders, including staff, pupils and parents/carers.  

    In response to the feedback, it is proposed that a closed contract bus service will be provided to all children currently attending St Pius X RC Primary who chose to continue their primary education at St Francis Primary School. 

    In addition, the council would commit to working in partnership with representatives of the Diocese of Dunkeld to ensure that religious education provision (delivered by a church approved teacher) will be available at Claypotts Castle Primary. 

    This would be supported by a strategic group including Church representatives, senior officers of the Children and Families Service and Head Teachers which has been set up and has already had an initial meeting to agree how to take this work forward. 

    The committee will hear that the closure of St Pius X RC School and nursery would result in a reduction in revenue expenditure of £677,422, in a full financial year, with a part-year saving of £423,389 in the financial year 2026/7. 

    The Committee will meet on Monday 23rd June. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Speech by FCAC Commissioner Shereen Benzvy Miller for the Open Banking Expo Canada 2025

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canada’s official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with its communications policy.

    Delivered June 17, 2025, in Toronto, Ontario

    Thank you for the invitation to speak at Open Banking Expo. It is a pleasure to be here.

    I’ll be speaking in English today, but if any of our francophone colleagues have questions or would like me to clarify anything, please don’t hesitate to come chat with me afterwards. / Je vais m’exprimer en anglais aujourd’hui, mais si les participants francophones ont des questions ou souhaitent des précisions, n’hésitez surtout pas à venir me voir par la suite.

    As you have heard, I am Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the organization responsible for implementing Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking Framework.

    This is a new role for us. In taking it on, we build on a foundation of: 

    • deep knowledge of how the banking industry in Canada functios
    • long-lasting and ongoing partnerships and collaboration with stakeholders in the financial ecosystem
    • and our research and data-driven insights on consumers’ needs, behaviours, and expectations.

    I want to update you on progress we and our partners have made in developing a secure framework for consumer-driven banking, which will protect Canadians, foster innovation, and build consumer trust.

    I will also highlight how our approach is grounded in research and data. I want to emphasize that evidence is shaping every step we take.

    Consumer-driven banking — or “open banking” — is already part of the lives of Canadians.

    A growing number of us share our financial data online with various service providers, including the many fintechs here today.

    Canadians appreciate the growing array of products and services offered by fintechs. Thanks to these, the financial industry is more inclusive and efficient than ever.

    But …. in this generally positive picture, there is an important blemish.

    It won’t surprise you to hear that I am referring to screen-scraping. I know that for many of you, screen-scraping only touches a subset of your business.

    But we can all agree that there is a better way to share data, given the host of security, liability, and privacy risks posed by screen-scraping—both for consumers and for the financial system.

    FCAC’s research on public awareness and understanding of open banking indicates a significant preference against the use of screen-scraping.

    When Canadians were introduced to the concept of screen-scraping and given an explanation of how it works—because most were unfamiliar with it—86% stated they would rather not use it.

    This finding highlights the public’s preference for trustworthy, transparent, well-regulated methods for participating in financial transactions online, that ensure privacy, security, and control over their financial data.

    Consumer trust

    Our international research tells us that trust not only strongly influences consumers’ willingness to engage with open banking products and services, but that it’s also key to increasing financial inclusion—because consumers are more willing to share financial data when they trust the system.

    We also know from the open banking experience in the UK and Australia that good design—which emphasizes transparency, control, and ease of use—significantly increases consumers’ comfort with data sharing.

    And consumer trust is not just essential for individuals—it’s a driving force for business growth and innovation.

    A Bank of England study found that even a modest increase in consumer trust made fintechs nearly 4 times more likely to invest and participate in open banking.

    This shows that when consumers feel secure about financial innovations, businesses are more willing to invest, expand, and develop solutions that drive the future of finance.

    As for consumer protection, our research confirms that most Canadians would not trust sharing their financial data without the safeguards they are used to when dealing with regulated entities like banks, such as:

    • protection from identify theft and financial losses due to data breaches or fraud
    • and clear complaints-handling and redress mechanisms to make things right if something goes wrong.
    • It follows that success will be measured by our ability to develop a financial experience that is both seamlessly integrated and highly trusted, so it becomes part of daily life.

    The same way we no longer think twice about tapping a screen to connect with loved ones, navigate a city, or take a photo.

    We envision a future—not too far off—where consumers can securely share their financial data with trusted providers at the tap of a button, receive personalized insights in real time, and switch between services with the same ease as switching between apps.

    So, how do we build consumer trust?

    We do it by getting the foundation right.

    Foundational elements

    The foundational elements are set out in the Consumer-Driven Banking Act that came into force last year. It was an important step in reshaping the financial landscape.

    Among other things:

    • The Act authorizes FCAC to implement and oversee the Consumer-Driven Banking Framework with a focus on safeguarding consumer interests.
    • The Act also grants the Minister of Finance the authority to designate a technical standards body that will be responsible for developing secure application programming interface standards to be used by participants when sharing consumers’ financial data.
    • And the Act clarifies some of the requirements—including what is the in-scope data that can be shared between Framework participants—as creates a public registry of participants by FCAC (which are requirements that are not yet in force).

    Since the Act was adopted, my team has been working closely with the Department of Finance, with industry, and with other stakeholders.

    Along the way, we have drawn important lessons from the experience of other jurisdictions, which we aim to capitalize on.

    Technical standards and common rules

    Under the new Act, FCAC will be responsible for supervising the technical standards body, the external complaints body, and the financial service providers participating in open banking, to ensure they meet their respective obligations.

    We are also developing common rules with the Department of Finance. These will address consumer protection interests, as well as privacy, liability, security, national security, and integrity obligations.

    The common rules will ensure a consistent application of safeguards and uniformity of practice by financial service providers.

    Accreditation

    We are also working on developing an accreditation process to ensure only trusted entities can access financial data when requested by a consumer.

    Accredited entities will display a common visual identifier. Upon seeing this logo, consumers will be able to trust that they are dealing with a provider that has been authorized to participate in the open-banking ecosystem.

    We want to design a process that allows for as many participants as possible, to foster innovation, encourage competition, and promote a more inclusive financial system.

    Key desired elements of the eventual accreditation scheme have already been outlined in public policy statements.

    They include the need for participants to:

    • meet national security safeguards that align with existing financial sector frameworks such as the Retail Payment Activities Act
    • provide mandatory reporting of key information to FCAC on a regular basis
    • and demonstrate robust cybersecurity and data-protection practices, and an ability to meet common rules on consumer protection.

    Together, these elements form the foundation of a robust accreditation framework that prioritizes national security, regulatory transparency, and consumer trust.

    Consumer awareness

    FCAC is also developing a consumer awareness strategy.

    To inform the strategy, we are conducting public opinion research and collaborating with international jurisdictions that have implemented open banking, to learn from their experiences.

    One lesson we have already learned is that timely communications—about how open banking works and how it will add value—are vital.

    By timely, I mean that wide-spread promotion should ideally take place as soon as there are concrete and compelling applications by participants in the Framework.

    The awareness strategy will also be driven by the reality that most consumers have never heard of open banking.

    Our research shows that only 9% of Canadians know what it is, and awareness is especially low among seniors, lower income respondents, and women.

    Moreover, of the Canadians who have heard of open banking, few understand how it works or how it can benefit them.

    We’ll have to demystify open banking and demonstrate through real-life examples how open banking can give them more control, more choice, and more confidence in their financial lives.

    Next steps

    Today, I have discussed how the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is moving with partners to establish the necessary foundational elements of Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking Framework—all based on best practices and evidence-based research.

    As for the next steps, we look forward to the next round of legislative amendments being tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Finance. These will be followed by regulations.

    And to make sure that industry players understand what’s expected of them, our Agency will issue supervisory guidance.

    This guidance will reflect the Agency’s commitment to promoting understanding and compliance within the consumer-driven banking ecosystem.

    And to facilitate collaboration, we will establish an advisory committee including members from Federal, provincial, and territorial governments.

    Our goal is to deliver a modern financial ecosystem that fosters innovation, enhances Canada’s global competitiveness, protects consumers, and maintains their trust.

    Specifically, consumers must trust that they can control, edit, manage, and delete their financial information, and that they can decide when, how, and to what extent their data are shared with others.

    Together, we can develop a framework that doesn’t just open doors to innovation but opens possibilities for every Canadian to take control of their financial journey.

    My team at the Agency and I are committed and excited about what the future will bring.

    We look forward to continuing our collaboration with all of you on developing a framework that will benefit both Canadians and Canada’s financial system

    Thank you

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell visits Hampshire coast

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell visits Hampshire coast

    The visit included viewing key sites on the Hurst Spit to Lymington coastline and meeting local campaigners to discuss climate adaptation.

    Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell , centre, with the team behind the Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy

    Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell visited the Hampshire coast on 16 June 2025 to review draft proposals for protecting a 15km stretch of coastline between Hurst Spit and Lymington from rising sea levels. 

    During his day-long visit, Alan walked along Hurst Spit to observe how the natural barrier is expected to evolve over time and discuss sustainable options for managing coastal erosion and flood risk in the area. 

    Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said: 

    Seeing this coastline first-hand brings alive the challenges we face in protecting it.

    The Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy represents our commitment to developing solutions that work with natural processes while safeguarding homes, businesses and the environment that makes this area so special.

    Alan’s visit included hearing about  the land purchase location and discussions about strategy options for the more developed area around Bath Road. He then explored one of the coastal lagoons to gain insight into the environmental aspects of the strategy as part of the Environment Agency’s Plan for Change. 

    In the afternoon, Alan met with members of the Save Lymington and Keyhaven group (SLAK) to discuss concerns raised by some local organisations about the strategy’s potential impact on the Lymington River, which is crucial to the local marine sector. 

    Claire Francis, flood and coastal risk manager at the Environment Agency, said:  

    Alan Lovell’s visit highlights the importance of this strategy to the Environment Agency.

    Having his expertise and perspective on the ground will be invaluable as we continue developing options that balance protection of properties with environmental considerations.

    The Environment Agency is working with New Forest District Council, Hampshire County Council, Natural England, and local stakeholders to develop sustainable options for the coastline.  

    Professor Martin Hurst of the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Community, said: 

    Alan Lovell’s visit gave us a valuable opportunity to see the detailed work happening with local communities to develop this strategy.

    The strategy is taking a careful, evidence-based approach that recognises both the environmental sensitivity of this coastline and its importance to local people’s lives and livelihoods.  

    By working together with residents, businesses and partner organisations, the strategy is creating a sustainable plan that will protect this treasured stretch of Hampshire coastline for generations to come.

    Over 60 residents have participated in community drop-in sessions, with more events scheduled throughout the summer. These sessions allow members of the public to ask questions or receive clarifications relating to the strategy. 

    For more information on the strategy, visit the Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy website. 

    Background

    • Alan Lovell became Chair of the Environment Agency in 2022.  

    • The Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy covers internationally designated habitats, heritage sites and residential areas. 

    • Formal consultation on the strategy will begin in June 2026. 

    • The next community engagement drop-in session for the Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy will be held 10am to 1pm on 19 June 2025 at Bridge Community Centre Cafe in Milford on Sea.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Creating a healthier Scotland

    Source: Scottish Government

    Long-term focus on prevention and service renewal.

    Supporting people to lead longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives will be at the heart of two new ten-year plans published today to create and maintain good health, prevent disease and reform health and social care services.

    The Population Health Framework aims to tackle the root causes of poor health and outlines a wide range of actions, including giving greater access to green spaces and opportunities for sport and active recreation.

    Addressing these underlying factors can increase life expectancy, reduce the gap between the most deprived communities and the national average and prevent chronic illnesses like diabetes and cardiovascular disease which disproportionately affect those in more disadvantaged areas.

    The Population Health Framework includes legislating to make the balance of foods available on promotion healthier and to restrict the location of less healthy foods in stores and on websites. Targeting the location and promotion of foods high in fat, salt or sugar will focus on those foods of most concern for childhood obesity, which mirrors the current policy in England and Wales.

    The Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework aims to ensure health and social care services are sustainable, efficient, high quality, and accessible – which includes being able to expect faster and fairer access to care. It empowers people to be more involved in and in charge of their own care and includes measures to improve access to treatment in the community; enhance preventative services and maximise the opportunities of digital innovation. There will also be a new national body called NHS Delivery, created by bringing together NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland. This will provide a focal point for training, digital and support to other health boards, with scope to deliver more national support to local services in future.

    Health Secretary Neil Gray visited Blackburn Partnership Centre in West Lothian with COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson Councillor Paul Kelly before launching the frameworks in the Scottish Parliament. The centre includes a GP practice and community centre which promotes weight loss and healthy living through exercise and low-cost, nutritious food.

    Mr Gray said:

    “Too many lives are cut short in Scotland because of illness that is preventable. We know health is not determined solely by what happens within the walls of hospitals or care homes and we want to create an environment in which everyone can live a healthy life. Through action on early years, jobs, income and building powerful communities the Population Health Framework builds the conditions to help people thrive and prevent poor health.

    “Addressing the problem of obesity and helping people eat well and maintain a healthy weight is a public health priority. We are taking wide-ranging action to support people to make healthier food choices, recognising the contribution which poor diet makes to worsening health trends.

    “Through the Service Renewal Framework we will take action to deliver care closer to home, support people to better manage their own treatment and build on innovation, digital and treatment advances. This will help shape an efficient health and social care system that is focused on prevention and early intervention, and delivers high quality care at the right time in the right place. The creation of a new national body, NHS Delivery, will help to support that journey.

    “Refocusing the whole system towards preventing ill-health from occurring or escalating can help us ensure the sustainability of our National Health Service. I am determined to ensure the measures outlined are delivered effectively and as quickly as possible as we work to transform the health of the nation.”

    Cllr Kelly said:

    “Health is created in the communities in which we live, go to school or work, and access essential services. It is at the local level where we find the key levers to tackle the root causes of health problems and ensure people live long, healthy and fulfilling lives. Local Authorities, working with key partners, are uniquely placed to shape our communities. 

    “The Population Health Framework sets out action across every building block of health. Committing to this preventative approach requires whole system working in order to intervene as early as possible and provide support to people in all aspects of their lives.

    “Currently, people from deprived communities have less access to affordable, nutritious food. The Population Health Framework sets out a priority to improve the food environment and ensure access to a healthy, balanced diet is accessible and affordable to all.

    “Alongside this, Local Government is committed to improving public services across the whole system, and the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework sets out our high level ambition for improving the sustainability of the system and services people may need in order to help them live healthier, fulfilled lives.”

    Obesity Action Scotland Chair Andrew Fraser said:

    “Obesity Action Scotland welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to taking progressive measures on retail food and drink promotions. They will improve the food environment and protect consumers from in-store choices that encourage people to purchase food that is high in fat, sugar and salt.

    “Promotions result in over-consumption of calories, and make it easy to gain weight; measures that counter this pressure on consumers will contribute to the prevention of overweight and obesity that we want to see.”

    BACKGROUND

    Population Health Framework

    Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework

    The frameworks will be implemented jointly with COSLA and build on the Operational Improvement Plan (NHS Scotland operational improvement plan – gov.scot) – launched in March – which sets out measures to improve access to treatment and lower waiting times.

    Restricting promotion of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) – Consultation on the detail of proposed regulations: Scottish Government Response – gov.scot

    Confectionary, cakes and soft drinks with added sugar will be amongst types of food covered by restrictions on promotions. They will apply in stores and online to businesses with 50 or more employees. Regulations are expected to be introduced in the Scottish Parliament this autumn.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: AGCO Slashes Total Case Injury Rates by Over 50% Across South America Using VelocityEHS Industrial Ergonomics

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VelocityEHS, the global leader in EHS & ESG software solutions, today announced that AGCO, the world’s largest pure-play agricultural equipment manufacturer, has achieved a dramatic improvement in workplace safety through its implementation of VelocityEHS Industrial Ergonomics.

    “Ergonomics improvement is about enhancing productivity, reducing cost and boosting morale by reducing employee injuries and ultimately delivering the best products for our farmers,” said Tim Millwood, AGCO’s Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer.

    In 2024 alone, AGCO conducted nearly 400 Kaizen events across six South American facilities—with more than half of those focused specifically on ergonomics and safety. The results speak volumes: Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) dropped by more than 50% in sites where the ergonomics initiative was deployed.

    These improvements were achieved primarily through low-cost, high impact solutions and were driven by a structured, bottom-up approach that empowered local teams to easily identify, assess, and reduce musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) injuries using the VelocityEHS AI-driven Industrial Ergonomics solution.

    “Our people were trained to ‘see with ergo eyes’—giving them the ability to recognize risks and spot improvement opportunities in their everyday work,” said Walid El-Sayed, Global Director of Lean Academy and Global Director of Materials Management at AGCO.

    From Training to Transformation

    The partnership between AGCO and VelocityEHS began with a bold vision: to build an internal culture of ergonomics expertise and embed safety into every layer of production. As a result, AGCO delivered a structured, scalable program—an approach that served as a practical model for implementation across facilities.

    Their program included:

    • 2 days of software training
    • 2 days of hands-on Kaizen workshops with cross-functional teams
    • Seamless integration into AGCO’s APS (AGCO Production System) using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) methodology

    Leadership That Walks the Talk

    AGCO credits its success to more than technology. The company’s leadership—guided by its core cultural beliefs: “Farmer First, Speak Up!, Team Up!”—has made a visible commitment to employee well-being.

    “I’m blessed to have leaders who don’t just talk the talk, but walk the talk,” said El-Sayed.

    Looking ahead, AGCO is now embedding ergonomics into New Product Introduction (NPI) processes—ensuring safety is designed in from the start, not added as an afterthought.

    A Shared Commitment to Safety and Innovation

    “AGCO exemplifies how operational excellence and worker well-being can go hand in hand,” said Matt Airhart, CEO of VelocityEHS. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to making ergonomics accessible, effective, and embedded in the fabric of everyday operations. Their results prove that when you empower people with the right tools and training, safety becomes a driver of performance.”

    Read the full case study on the VelocityEHS website.

    About VelocityEHS

    Relied on by more than 10 million users worldwide to drive operational excellence and achieve outstanding outcomes, VelocityEHS is the global leader in true SaaS enterprise EHS & ESG technology. The VelocityEHS Accelerate® Platform is the definitive gold standard, delivering best-in-class software solutions for managing Safety, Ergonomics, Chemical Management, and Operational Risk. In addition, Velocity offers world-class applications for Contractor Safety & Permit to Work, Environmental Compliance, and ESG.

    The VelocityEHS team includes unparalleled industry expertise, with more certified experts in health, safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, sustainability, the environment, AI, and machine learning than any other EHS software provider. Recognized by the EHS industry’s top independent analysts as a Leader in the Verdantix 2025 Green Quadrant Analysis, VelocityEHS is committed to industry thought leadership and to accelerating the pace of innovation through its software solutions and vision. Its privacy and security protocols, which include SOC2 Type II attestation, are among the most stringent in the industry.

    VelocityEHS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tampa, Florida; Oakville, Ontario; London, England; Perth, Western Australia; and Cork, Ireland. For more information, visit www.EHS.com.

    To learn more, visit www.EHS.com.

    Media Contact

    Jennifer Sinkwitts

    jsinkwitts@ehs.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Nir Eisikovits, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston

    This screenshot of an AI-generated video depicts Christopher Pelkey, who was killed in 2021. Screenshot: Stacey Wales/YouTube

    Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road range incident in 2021. On May 8, 2025, at the sentencing hearing for his killer, an AI video reconstruction of Pelkey delivered a victim impact statement. The trial judge reported being deeply moved by this performance and issued the maximum sentence for manslaughter.

    As part of the ceremonies to mark Israel’s 77th year of independence on April 30, 2025, officials had planned to host a concert featuring four iconic Israeli singers. All four had died years earlier. The plan was to conjure them using AI-generated sound and video. The dead performers were supposed to sing alongside Yardena Arazi, a famous and still very much alive artist. In the end Arazi pulled out, citing the political atmosphere, and the event didn’t happen.

    In April, the BBC created a deep-fake version of the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie to teach a “maestro course on writing.” Fake Agatha would instruct aspiring murder mystery authors and “inspire” their “writing journey.”

    The use of artificial intelligence to “reanimate” the dead for a variety of purposes is quickly gaining traction. Over the past few years, we’ve been studying the moral implications of AI at the Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and we find these AI reanimations to be morally problematic.

    Before we address the moral challenges the technology raises, it’s important to distinguish AI reanimations, or deepfakes, from so-called griefbots. Griefbots are chatbots trained on large swaths of data the dead leave behind – social media posts, texts, emails, videos. These chatbots mimic how the departed used to communicate and are meant to make life easier for surviving relations. The deepfakes we are discussing here have other aims; they are meant to promote legal, political and educational causes.

    Chris Pelkey was shot and killed in 2021. This AI ‘reanimation’ of him was presented in court as a victim impact statement.

    Moral quandaries

    The first moral quandary the technology raises has to do with consent: Would the deceased have agreed to do what their likeness is doing? Would the dead Israeli singers have wanted to sing at an Independence ceremony organized by the nation’s current government? Would Pelkey, the road-rage victim, be comfortable with the script his family wrote for his avatar to recite? What would Christie think about her AI double teaching that class?

    The answers to these questions can only be deduced circumstantially – from examining the kinds of things the dead did and the views they expressed when alive. And one could ask if the answers even matter. If those in charge of the estates agree to the reanimations, isn’t the question settled? After all, such trustees are the legal representatives of the departed.

    But putting aside the question of consent, a more fundamental question remains.

    What do these reanimations do to the legacy and reputation of the dead? Doesn’t their reputation depend, to some extent, on the scarcity of appearance, on the fact that the dead can’t show up anymore? Dying can have a salutary effect on the reputation of prominent people; it was good for John F. Kennedy, and it was good for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

    The fifth-century B.C. Athenian leader Pericles understood this well. In his famous Funeral Oration, delivered at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, he asserts that a noble death can elevate one’s reputation and wash away their petty misdeeds. That is because the dead are beyond reach and their mystique grows postmortem. “Even extreme virtue will scarcely win you a reputation equal to” that of the dead, he insists.

    Do AI reanimations devalue the currency of the dead by forcing them to keep popping up? Do they cheapen and destabilize their reputation by having them comment on events that happened long after their demise?

    In addition, these AI representations can be a powerful tool to influence audiences for political or legal purposes. Bringing back a popular dead singer to legitimize a political event and reanimating a dead victim to offer testimony are acts intended to sway an audience’s judgment.

    It’s one thing to channel a Churchill or a Roosevelt during a political speech by quoting them or even trying to sound like them. It’s another thing to have “them” speak alongside you. The potential of harnessing nostalgia is supercharged by this technology. Imagine, for example, what the Soviets, who literally worshipped Lenin’s dead body, would have done with a deep fake of their old icon.

    Good intentions

    You could argue that because these reanimations are uniquely engaging, they can be used for virtuous purposes. Consider a reanimated Martin Luther King Jr., speaking to our currently polarized and divided nation, urging moderation and unity. Wouldn’t that be grand? Or what about a reanimated Mordechai Anielewicz, the commander of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, speaking at the trial of a Holocaust denier like David Irving?

    But do we know what MLK would have thought about our current political divisions? Do we know what Anielewicz would have thought about restrictions on pernicious speech? Does bravely campaigning for civil rights mean we should call upon the digital ghost of King to comment on the impact of populism? Does fearlessly fighting the Nazis mean we should dredge up the AI shadow of an old hero to comment on free speech in the digital age?

    No one can know with certainty what Martin Luther King Jr. would say about today’s society.
    AP Photo/Chick Harrity

    Even if the political projects these AI avatars served were consistent with the deceased’s views, the problem of manipulation – of using the psychological power of deepfakes to appeal to emotions – remains.

    But what about enlisting AI Agatha Christie to teach a writing class? Deep fakes may indeed have salutary uses in educational settings. The likeness of Christie could make students more enthusiastic about writing. Fake Aristotle could improve the chances that students engage with his austere Nicomachean Ethics. AI Einstein could help those who want to study physics get their heads around general relativity.

    But producing these fakes comes with a great deal of responsibility. After all, given how engaging they can be, it’s possible that the interactions with these representations will be all that students pay attention to, rather than serving as a gateway to exploring the subject further.

    Living on in the living

    In a poem written in memory of W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden tells us that, after the poet’s death, Yeats “became his admirers.” His memory was now “scattered among a hundred cities,” and his work subject to endless interpretation: “the words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living.”

    The dead live on in the many ways we reinterpret their words and works. Auden did that to Yeats, and we’re doing it to Auden right here. That’s how people stay in touch with those who are gone. In the end, we believe that using technological prowess to concretely bring them back disrespects them and, perhaps more importantly, is an act of disrespect to ourselves – to our capacity to abstract, think and imagine.

    Nir Eisikovits directs UMass Boston’s Applied Ethics Center, which receives funding from the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He’s also a data ethics advisor to mindguard.com

    Daniel J. Feldman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries – https://theconversation.com/ai-reanimations-making-facsimiles-of-the-dead-raises-ethical-quandaries-256771

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Precise measurement standards have revolutionized museum science, helping nail down where artifacts are from

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Edward Vicenzi, Research Scientist, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution

    Museums and their bountiful collections are research bastions. Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images

    On a cool February morning in 1904, a spark ignited a fire in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Within hours, a raging inferno swept eastward across the harbor district, consuming everything in its path. By evening, the local firefighters were overwhelmed, and the city sent telegrams to the fire chiefs of major Northeastern cities pleading for help in battling the blaze.

    Washington, Philadelphia and New York, along with other cities, responded quickly with dozens of engine companies. Yet when they arrived at the scene, many responders could not hook up to Baltimore’s hydrants since each city had its own threading standards to connect fire hoses.

    The fire resulted in damages of over US$3.5 billion in today’s dollars. It created a call for a national standard of threads for hoses and fire hydrant outlets. These standards now improve emergency responses across the country – and the same concept of standardization allows for consistency and replicability in scientific research.

    An illustration of the aftermath of the Great Baltimore Fire in February 1904.
    Fred Pridham/Wikimedia Commons

    In science, the ideal way to evaluate data is related to the concept driving the calls for uniform fire hose equipment. When scientists compare their results to those obtained in other laboratories, or with previously published data, the comparisons are most meaningful if all datasets were made with standardized practices and reference materials.

    Museum scientists like us provide compelling insights into the natural world, prehistory and historical culture heritage. Like that of many other scientists, our work, and the measurements we take day to day, depends upon standard references.

    Here we offer two fascinating stories from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute that highlight how scientific measurement standards allow for exciting new discoveries:

    You are what you drink

    In 2007, the New Mexico Bureau of Reclamation exhumed the remains of dozens of Civil War-era soldiers from the ruins of Fort Craig. They had been left behind when the fort was abandoned in 1885.

    A historical view of Fort Craig, N.M.
    Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico, CC BY-NC-SA

    Anthropologists from the Smithsonian and the Bureau of Reclamation in New Mexico identified the remains as belonging to a diverse range of people – including a few dozen African American Buffalo Soldiers, a group that made up a relatively small percentage of the U.S. military at that time.

    Historical records tell researchers that most of the military units at Fort Craig mobilized out of Kentucky and Virginia, but official records don’t always tell the full story. The group of project scientists, which included one of us, Christine France, needed a way to confirm the origin of these individuals and restore some identity to these forgotten soldiers.

    The researchers decided to use stable isotope analysis on the bones. This technique counts the number of atoms of a particular element in the sample that have one or more extra neutrons – this is the “heavy” isotope – and compares it with the number of atoms that have a normal number of neutrons – this is the “light” isotope.

    Drinking water in southern latitudes has more naturally occurring heavy oxygen atoms compared with northern latitudes. If a soldier’s bones had a relatively high ratio of the heavy to the light oxygen atoms, that soldier likely spent more time drinking water from the South.

    Researchers have measured oxygen isotopes in other archaeological remains and in water all over North America, giving us a water “isotope map.” But matching the bone isotope values to the water map is like comparing apples to oranges, and every lab has subtle variations in its instruments. The scientists needed to normalize and calibrate the isotope ratios they had measured to a reference standard.

    In this case, the standard was the average oxygen isotope value of ocean water, a convention that stable isotope researchers agreed upon as a consistent and readily available value. The researchers now had a uniform way to say how many more – or fewer – heavy oxygen isotopes the bones contained compared to the ocean water standard.

    Other archaeology labs and the North American water isotope map use that same standard comparison, allowing them to directly compare all the bone isotope values to one another, and to the North American water isotope map.

    Ultimately, the method helped the team identify several soldiers who came from quite far away to join the company, including individuals who likely grew up in the mid-Atlantic, New England and Southeast.

    The exact circumstances that brought these soldiers together is lost to history. But the researchers’ ability to assign them geographic provenance with the help of reference standards gave them further insight into this pivotal time in U.S. history.

    Volcanic glass mirrors

    Humans have always been fascinated by looking at themselves in the mirror. In Mesoamerica – modern-day central and southern Mexico together with northern Central America – archaeologists have found convex round objects so finely polished that they have been termed mirrors.

    But instead of using them for vanity, shamans from ancient times likely used them as a tool to access portals to other dimensions.

    The oldest Preclassic mirrors (2000 BCE to 250 CE) were fashioned from polished iron ores, but later Postclassic period mirrors (900 CE to 1450 CE) were made from obsidian, a typically black silica-rich volcanic glass.

    The collections at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian contain six large, rectangular obsidian mirrors, purchased in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their labels state they come from the “Valley of Mexico.”

    Obsidian tablets, a view of both their front and back sides, found in the National Museum of the American Indian collections.
    NMAI, Martinez et al (2022)

    Archeologists rarely find rectangular obsidian mirrors like these at pre-Columbian dig sites. So, local artisans skilled in stone polishing likely made these unusually shaped objects upon request by Spanish invaders around the time of European contact. But which Mesoamerican culture did they come from?

    Scientists from the Museum Conservation Institute, including two of us, Thomas Lam and Edward Vicenzi, and a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, worked with staff at the National Museum of the American Indian on an effort to pinpoint which volcano created the obsidian in the mirrors.

    The location of the obsidian source would indicate whether the Aztecs who controlled eastern central Mexico, or the Purépecha who controlled an area west of the Aztecs, produced the objects, as both had ample sources of obsidian in their territories.

    To conduct such a study, the researchers required two types of reference materials: obsidian that had erupted from known volcanic locations, and a reference obsidian that scientists already knew the composition of to confirm the quality of the analysis.

    The first reference obsidians, from known locations, told the researchers about the differences in geochemistry of the volcanoes in central Mexico. That information allowed them to match the mirror analyses to the known volcanic location analyses and their map coordinates. The second reference obsidian served as a quality control specimen for the analysis.

    Museum Conservation Institute scientists used a nondestructive technique called X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to analyze ratios of elements in the obsidians. The process works by “exciting” atoms in the obsidian, and a spectrum of X-ray energies is given off as the atoms “relax.”

    Scientists analyzed the obsidian shards to see which elements were present in them in which ratios, and where in Mexico obsidian contained similar elements at similar ratios.
    Sharps et al. (2021)

    The results showed that all the specimens came from a region controlled by the Purépecha, not the Aztecs. The museum curators updated their records describing the mirrors to include this new information about their origin.

    Creating standards

    Standardized measurement procedures and reference materials play a central role in museum science. Organizations dedicated to rigorous measurement science, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal government agency, help create some of these standards and research new measurement procedures.

    Without their leadership, it would be far more difficult for researchers like us to produce high-quality data and discern the relationships between specimens in the natural and cultural heritage sciences. With quality measurement standards in our toolbox, we are finding new insights into human history and the natural world.

    Edward Vicenzi is a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Material Measurement Laboratory.

    Christine France and Thomas Lam do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Precise measurement standards have revolutionized museum science, helping nail down where artifacts are from – https://theconversation.com/precise-measurement-standards-have-revolutionized-museum-science-helping-nail-down-where-artifacts-are-from-254025

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Homes England acquires Ripon Barracks from the Ministry of Defence to pave way for 1,300 new homes

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Homes England acquires Ripon Barracks from the Ministry of Defence to pave way for 1,300 new homes

    Planning permission has been granted by North Yorkshire council for the new homes as part of a phased development plan

    Credit: Aecom

    Homes England and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have today confirmed that land at Ripon Barracks, a military site scheduled for closure, will be developed into 1,300 new homes following a sale between the two public sector organisations.

    The homes will be surrounded by natural green spaces and complemented by a new primary school, community centre and retail area to create a vibrant new community. 

    In March, the site was named as part of a trailblazer approach to development on public sector land, with a changed cross-government approach to MoD land providing a blueprint for accelerating housebuilding. A ‘tripartite taskforce’ of MoD, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and HM Treasury is working to deliver further planning changes

    The plans have been made possible by extensive collaboration work between Homes England, MoD, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and the Army Basing and Infrastructure Directorate, as part of the new trailblazer approach, with teams in all organisations working cooperatively to unlock the publicly owned site for housing delivery. The sale of Ripon Barracks is part of the MoD’s Defence Estate Optimisation (DEO) portfolio, which includes investing in key military infrastructure and releasing sites that are no longer needed by the MoD.  

    The development will be delivered in phases, with initial work beginning at the vacant Deverell Barracks site to provide the first 150 new homes. The remaining areas – Claro Barracks, Laver Banks, and the former Engineering Park – will be developed following the scheduled departure of the Royal Engineers to the nearby Marne Barracks in Catterick.

    Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary for Housing Angela Rayner, said: 

    Unlocking underused public land like Ripon Barracks is exactly the kind of practical action people want to see, and a crucial part of tackling the housing crisis we face.  

    By working with Homes England as a key delivery partner, we’re making a real difference for people in North Yorkshire by creating vibrant communities and driving economic growth. This marks another step forward in our mission to build 1.5 million homes in our Plan for Change.

    Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: 

    We are delivering on our promise to create a new, trailblazer approach to the use of public land and unlock homeownership for working families in North Yorkshire and beyond. We are working together to speed up planning permissions and housebuilding plans. This is a truly cross-government effort to remove blockers, deliver homes and boost growth in support of our Plan for Change. 

    Alongside this, we are investing more than £7 billion this Parliament on improving accommodation for military personnel and their families, providing them the standard of living they truly deserve.

    Homes England will act as the master developer for Ripon Barracks and will coordinate delivery of the essential infrastructure needed before construction can begin. This includes the planning of site-wide drainage, supporting road networks, and other key enabling works.  

    Homes England and the MoD will work together to honour the site’s military past through appreciative design, landscaping, and interpretive elements within the new community. Core design principles will preserve and integrate notable historical features of the site, such as the linear parade ground layout and the original footpath network. 

    Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:  

    This milestone achievement is the result of government bodies uniting to drive forward this government’s mission of building 1.5 million homes this parliament. By combining MoD’s land assets with Homes England’s planning and development expertise, we’ve unlocked a site with a historic past which we’re determined will shape the development’s future.

    Deputy Head of Major Disposals for DIO, Robert Smith, said:  

    This is an important milestone in bringing forward Ripon Barracks for redevelopment and is testament to the strong collaboration between all partners involved. Ripon Barracks has a rich history and this is an excellent example of how sites that are no longer needed by the military can be unlocked to bring real benefits to the local community.

    Notes to editors: 

    1. Under current DEO Army plans, 21 Engineer Regiment will move from Claro Barracks into Marne Barracks in Catterick where they will co-locate with 32 Engineer Regiment and 5th Regiment Royal Artillery in a mixture of refurbished and modern purpose-built buildings. 

    2. As well as delivering new and refurbished accommodation for over 40,000 military personnel and their families, the Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio will also deliver new and refurbished technical, training and office space for over 64,000 MOD personnel. 

    3. DEO is on target to release enough surplus MOD land for over 32,000 new homes to be built across the country, as well as a range of community enhancing construction projects including schools, offices, shops, parks and open green spaces. 

    4. Defence Estate Optimisation is the single biggest estates change programme within Defence, bringing together an ambitious portfolio of interdependent programmes, construction activity, unit and personnel moves, and land release. www.gov.uk/guidance/defence-estate-optimisation-deo-portfolio 

    5. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) was formed in 2011 as the Ministry of Defence’s estates arm, supporting the armed forces to enable military capability by planning, building, maintaining, and servicing infrastructure.  https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-infrastructure-organisation 

    About Homes England 

    We are the government’s housing and regeneration Agency, and we’re here to drive the creation of more affordable, quality homes and thriving places so that everyone has a place to live and grow.  

    We make this happen by working in partnership with thousands of organisations of all sizes, using our powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get more quality homes built. 

    Learn more about us: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/homes-england/about 

    Press Office Contact Details 

    Email: media@homesengland.gov.uk 

    Phone: 0207 874 8262

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Seafront sculpture makes mark on Southsea

    Source: City of Portsmouth

    A series of five iconic stone sculptures called the Portsmouth Markers now has a sixth member with the addition of a new piece designed by the original artist John Maine RA.

    The Portsmouth Markers have been situated at five locations along the Southsea seafront since 1974. They were originally a series of six but one disappeared from its location in the late 1970s.

    John Maine was commissioned by Portsmouth City Council to create a new sculpture entitled Portsmouth Marker 2025, adding to the five markers he created more than 50 years ago.

    It is located on the promenade close to the Pyramids where it is part of the council’s arts programme for the Southsea Coastal Scheme.

    Now an internationally recognised artist in his 80s, John said: “The Portsmouth Markers have been sited to emphasise key points along the coast. 

    “In the Solent nearby there are island fortresses and navigational markers which create intervals across the vast expanse of the sea and this inspired my approach to sculpture in landscape.

    “The space between the stones becomes part of the story. I believe that such small-scale interventions can have a powerful influence on our reading of the whole landscape. 

    “It is a pleasure to revisit the project after an extended period of time and make a new mark on the landscape.”

    Portsmouth City Council Leader Cllr Steve Pitt said:

    “Over five decades, the Portsmouth Markers have been recognisable fixtures of our seafront.

    “The sculptures are the only remaining artworks from a 1974 citywide sculpture exhibition so it’s great to see the full set completed by the current addition as part of today’s sea defence project.”

    The sixth marker near the Pyramids joins its ‘cousins’ at The Point, Hotwalls Studios, Spur Redoubt, Bandstand Field and Castle Field. Like the others, it is carved from Portland stone.

    The commission was made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England.

    Read more about the Portsmouth Markers.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Great British Energy Lands Deal to Deliver Offshore Wind Jobs

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Great British Energy Lands Deal to Deliver Offshore Wind Jobs

    Britain’s workers in industrial heartlands such as Teesside, Scotland, South Wales and East Anglia to benefit from a deal for the country’s industrial renewal.

    • Britain’s workers and industries supported as Energy Secretary and Great British Energy announce a major public-private deal to drive investment into offshore wind jobs.
    • Great British Energy’s initial investment of £300 million to catalyse a further £700 million from industry and The Crown Estate, taking the total pot to £1 billion as part of the Industrial Strategy.
    • Comes as Clean Industry Bonus allocations are confirmed, as government turbocharges delivery of clean energy jobs and growth through the Plan for Change.

    Britain’s workers in industrial heartlands such as Teesside, Scotland, South Wales and East Anglia are set to benefit from a major deal crowding in investment for the country’s industrial renewal.

    The government and Great British Energy, the UK’s publicly owned clean power company, have today (17 June) joined forces with industry and The Crown Estate to invest £1 billion in offshore wind supply chains. This will secure Britain’s renewal through manufacturing facilities and skilled well-paid jobs, delivering on government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower.

    Investment comes after the Spending Review confirmed the biggest programme of investment in homegrown energy in history and forms part of the government’s Industrial Strategy – which will include clean energy industries – sending a clear signal to the world to ‘Build it in Britain’.

    This investment will power the next generation of offshore wind in Britain, supporting British innovation from blueprint to blade. By backing the manufacturing of turbines, floating platforms, HVDC cables, and cutting-edge technologies, alongside upgrading vital port infrastructure from Leith and Teesside to Great Yarmouth and Port Talbot. This investment will unlock thousands of jobs, kickstarting growth in coastal communities and industrial towns, and secure a cleaner, more independent energy future for Britain.

    The funding is made up of:

    • £300 million announced by Great British Energy in April, which provides upfront public investment to crowd in funding from the private sector into Britain’s industrial regions.
    • £400 million from The Crown Estate, intended to support new infrastructure, including ports, supply chain manufacturing and research and testing facilities.
    • £300 million being developed by the offshore wind industry to match fund government through the Industrial Growth Plan, to deliver new investments into supply chains such as advanced turbines technologies and foundations and substructures.

    This takes the pot to £1 billion, building the industries of the future in Britain, such as floating offshore wind, and securing the UK as an attractive investment destination for international investors and existing UK companies. 

    Funding will support thousands of additional jobs – from the electricians manufacturing the turbines and blades to the engineers responsible for the construction and maintenance of wind farms. The government is giving long-term industrial certainty to hardworking British people as part of the Plan for Change.

    Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

    This is an unprecedented collaboration between public and private investors with Great British Energy crowding in millions of private sector investment from industry and The Crown Estate, to ensure that British companies and workers win the global race for clean energy.

    We are witnessing the coming of age of Britain’s green industrial revolution as we build this new era of clean energy abundance, helping deliver new jobs, energy security and lower household’s bills through our Plan for Change.

    Great British Energy Chief Executive Dan McGrail said:

    Today’s announcement highlights the unique role Great British Energy can play in the market. By providing state-backed, catalytic investment, we can deliver on our remit to crowd-in investment, giving much needed certainty to developers and investors in the clean energy sector. GBE will continue to support domestic supply chains, driving sustainable economic growth for all corners of the UK.

    RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Jane Cooper said:

    A concerted focus from industry and Government on growing the offshore wind industry’s supply chain in the UK could deliver an extra 10,000 jobs between now and 2035, boosting the UK’s economy by £25 billion. Our sector is stepping up, working closely with the Energy Secretary and the Crown Estate to create new opportunities for manufacturing high-value goods like turbine towers, blades, foundations and cables, and providing high quality jobs building, operating and maintaining offshore wind farms.

    Our ambition is to transform quaysides around our coastline into clusters of global excellence in offshore wind, bringing new jobs and investment to communities which often badly need economic renewal.

    Richard Sandford, Chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council, said;

    Growing our supply will avoid the kind of bottlenecks that push up costs and cause delays, so it is good for developers, consumers and our Clean Power Mission. We are working to match the Government’s funding to support a homegrown supply chain, and drive long-term sector growth. It’s vital that industry and Government keep working together to remove barriers so that we can get more capacity through clean power auctions and more funding to the supply chain.

    Gus Jaspert CMG, Managing Director, Marine at The Crown Estate, said:

    The power of offshore wind is not just in secure, green energy, but also in the opportunity to create jobs, investment and support economic growth across the country.  As our ambition on renewable energy grows, so too does our ambition to grow the UK’s supply chain and infrastructure.  Scaling up investment in our domestic supply chain will propel the UK towards its clean energy goals and take our world-leading sector to the next level, supporting thousands more jobs and creating an increasingly attractive environment for investors.

    The funding comes as Great British Energy have announced that leading public finance and investment institutions have come together to accelerate the deployment of funding, supporting domestic supply chain development for offshore wind projects.

    Great British Energy will bring together the National Wealth Fund, The Scottish National Investment Bank, The Crown Estate, Crown Estate Scotland and The Development Bank of Wales, agreeing to develop a unified public finance ‘ecosystem’ to build Britain’s offshore wind supply chains.

    The government will also allocate up to £544 million from its Clean Industry Bonus, which provides funding to offshore wind developers for prioritising their investment into some of Britain’s most deprived communities, and in cleaner supply chains. 

    Funding will go to developers investing in regions such as Scotland, the North East and the East Anglia. Subject to the outcome of this year’s renewables auction, industry estimates this could support up to 14,000 jobs, and drive up to £9 billion of private funding into these communities over the next four years.  For every £1 spent on the bonus, it is estimated to crowd in £17 of private investment.

    This means unlocking private sector investment into manufacturers of electrical equipment, heavy steel products, upgraded port facilities and the high-tech components needed to build floating and fixed offshore wind farms.

    This will support good jobs for British people in these regions – delivering the government’s mission to become a Clean Energy Superpower and Plan for Change.

    Notes to editors: 

    Offshore wind supply chains:

    • The funding comes as Great British Energy today have announced that leading public finance and investment institutions have come together to accelerate the deployment of funding, supporting domestic supply chain development for offshore wind projects.
    • Great British Energy, The National Wealth Fund, The Scottish National Investment Bank, The Crown Estate, Crown Estate Scotland and The Development Bank of Wales have each agreed to develop a unified, integrated public finance ecosystem to support the growth of the UK’s offshore wind sector.
    • Developers are set to contribute to the pot once they have secured a Contracts for Difference in the next auction round (AR7).

    Clean Industry Bonus:

    • Industry applied for Clean Industry Bonus in their numbers, with hundreds of bids, in a major vote of confidence for the Prime Minister’s mission to become a Clean Energy Superpower.   
    • Up to £200 million has been allocated to invest in clean energy facilities in the North East, unlocking up to an additional £4 billion private sector investment into manufacturers such as electrical equipment and heavy steel products.     
    • Up to £185 million has been allocated to Scotland, unlocking up to £3.5 billion private sector investment in ports and high-tech components needed to build floating and fixed offshore wind farms.    
    • The East of England has been allocated up to £20 million and Northern Ireland has up to £25 million to develop clean energy manufacturing capacity. 

    Offshore wind developers will now go on to bid for contracts to deliver their projects, as part of the next Contracts for Difference renewables round. This means there will be some attrition in winning CIB bids. Those project that win CfD contracts can then finalise the above investments into factories, with any unsuccessful projects in the main auction able to bid again next year.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Intermex and the New York Red Bulls Join Forces to Bring Financial Services to Northeastern Communities Through the Shared Passion for Soccer

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI, June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — International Money Express, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMXI) (“Intermex” or the “Company”), a leading money remittance provider to Latin America and the Caribbean, today announced a new official partnership with the New York Red Bulls, one of Major League Soccer’s most dynamic and community-focused clubs. This collaboration brings together two organizations committed to serving and celebrating the diverse cultural richness of the Latino community, using soccer as a powerful platform for connection.

    With over 85 million soccer fans across the United States and Latinos representing nearly 70% of MLS viewership, this partnership with the New York Red Bulls strengthens Intermex’s commitment to remain close to its customers in the northeast region — not only through financial services, but by supporting the sport that represents identity, family, and tradition for millions of Latino households.

    “Intermex was built by Latinos for Latinos. Partnering with the New York Red Bulls allows us to engage directly with the vibrant northeast latin communities we proudly serve, in one of the most culturally diverse regions in the world,” said Marcelo Theodoro, Chief Product, Marketing & Digital Officer at Intermex. “NY Red Bulls represents the cutting edge of the sport, This partnership demonstrates Intermex’s ambition to expand, grow, and redefine what it means to move money and provide financial services with meaning in the digital age.”

    “The Red Bulls and Sports Illustrated Stadium are proud to welcome Intermex to our club and venue,” said Scott Epstein, Head of Corporate Partnerships, New York Red Bulls. “As valued partners, we both pride ourselves on the exceptional customer and fan experience we strive to deliver.”

    Through this partnership, Intermex and the New York Red Bulls will collaborate on in-stadium activations, community outreach events, and cultural initiatives that spotlight the passion, pride, and identity that soccer brings to Latino families across the Tri-State area.

    About Intermex
    Founded in 1994, Intermex applies proprietary technology to enable consumers to send money from the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany to more than 60 countries. The company facilitates digital money movement through its website and mobile app, as well as through a vast network of retail agents and company-operated stores. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Intermex also operates international offices in Puebla, Mexico; Guatemala City, Guatemala; London, England; and Madrid, Spain. Learn more at www.intermexonline.com.

    About New York Red Bulls
    The New York Red Bulls are one of 29 teams in Major League Soccer (MLS). The club is owned by the global energy drink and media company Red Bull GmbH and plays its home matches at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Since joining MLS as a founding member in 1996, the Red Bulls have won three Supporters’ Shields, earned multiple playoff appearances, and continue to serve as a leader in youth development through its Academy system. The club is deeply committed to connecting with the diverse communities of the New York and New Jersey metro area through soccer, community programs, and fan engagement. For more information, visit www.newyorkredbulls.com.

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Alex Sadowski
    Investor Relations Coordinator
    ir@intermexusa.com
    305-671-8000

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: UConn to Host 57th North American Power Symposium (NAPS)

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The University of Connecticut has been selected to host the 57th North American Power Symposium (NAPS), an annual conference mainly sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The event will be held in October 2025 at Hartford Marriott Downtown, and for the first time will be co-organized with the Clean Energy Summit, an annual gathering organized by UConn’s Eversource Energy Center in partnership with Eversource Energy.

    The selection of UConn as the host institution was the result of a competitive proposal process in 2022, completed by Professor Zongjie Wang, associate director from the Eversource Energy Center, who will serve as the general chair for NAPS 2025. She will be joined by Professor Diego Cerrai, the interim director of the Eversource Energy Center, who will serve as co-chair.

    Zongjie Wang, associate director, Eversource Energy Center, will serve as the general chair for NAPS 2025 (UConn Photo)

    “NAPS has always been a student-centered conference, and for 2025 we are expanding that mission with new undergraduate-focused awards and international student engagement,” says Wang. “In past years, we have successfully supported many UConn undergraduate students to attend NAPS, where some have won Best Paper and Best Presentation awards.”

    Wang says she has seen, firsthand, how influential and valuable this platform is in shaping student careers.

    “Whether by building confidence, showcasing their research, or opening doors to internships and job offers in the energy sector, this conference provides great value for UConn and our students,” Wang adds. “As the general chair of NAPS 2025, I am committed to further expanding these opportunities by introducing additional undergraduate awards and building stronger academic/industry connections to attract a broader and more diverse pool of future power engineers.”

    Founded in 1969, NAPS is one of the longest-running power engineering conferences in North America, drawing students, faculty, and professionals from across the United States, Canada, and abroad. It serves as a launchpad for emerging scholars and a convening ground for frontier research in power systems, electric grid operations, renewable energy integration, and distribution-transmission coordination. The 2025 NAPS in Hartford will feature paper presentations, poster sessions, panel discussions, technical tutorials, and industry networking opportunities.

    NAPS 2025 will maintain its core academic focus on power systems research while creating stronger bridges to industry. UConn’s College of Engineering (CoE) enhances student experiences through new networking opportunities, career panels, and mentorship sessions involving local, regional, and national partners. The Clean Energy Summit component will showcase innovations in grid modernization, grid resilience, and workforce development, highlighting Connecticut’s leadership in energy policy and utility engagement.

    According to Emmanouil Anagnostou, executive director of UConn Tech Park, integrating the Clean Energy Summit with NAPs further establishes UConn’s key role as a leader in promoting energy conservation, utilization and research.

    “This combined event reflects UConn’s growing role as a regional hub for clean-energy research and workforce development through the Eversource Energy Center, which serves as a bridge between academic research and practical deployment across New England’s energy infrastructure,” Anagnostou says. “The summit will feature the third cohort of students participating in the Eversource-sponsored Clean Energy and Sustainability Innovation Program (CESIP). As part of this program, students research and design solutions centered around a UConn campus-focused initiative or to assist a Connecticut municipality reach their sustainable energy goals.”

    Further details—including speaker announcements, program schedule, and registration—will be posted at the official NAPS 2025 website: Summary – 57th North American Power Symposium 2025. Registration is now open.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Smriti Mandhana returns to no. 1 in ICC ODI batting rankings

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    India opener Smriti Mandhana has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings, marking her return to the summit for the first time since November 2019. The latest rankings update released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday confirmed the 28-year-old’s rise to the number one position with 727 rating points.

    Mandhana climbed one spot to displace South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, who now shares the second position with England’s captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. Wolvaardt registered scores of 27 and 28 in the first two matches of South Africa’s ongoing series against the West Indies, resulting in her slide down the rankings.

    Mandhana’s return to form has been evident in recent months. She struck her 11th ODI century during the final of the tri-series involving Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo, helping India clinch the title.

    The latest rankings update also reflected gains for several other players. Tazmin Brits of South Africa moved up five places to 27th after scoring a half-century in the opening match of the series in Barbados. The three-match series is currently level at 1–1, with South Africa responding to their four-wicket defeat in the first game by securing a 40-run win in the second.

    West Indies batters Shemaine Campbelle jumped seven spots to 62nd, while Qiana Joseph climbed 12 places to joint-67th after contributing a 60-run knock in the first ODI.

    Former South Africa captain Sune Luus featured among the biggest movers. Her innings of 76 in the second match propelled her seven places up to 42nd in the batters’ list. She also rose an equal number of positions in the bowlers’ rankings, reaching 42nd.

    On the bowling front, West Indies spinner Afy Fletcher made the most significant advance, moving into the top 20. Her four-wicket haul against South Africa lifted her to 19th on the ODI bowlers’ list, which continues to be led by England’s left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone.

    (With inputs from agencies)

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Boost to UK defence and trade as Carrier Strike Group arrives in the Indo-Pacific

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Boost to UK defence and trade as Carrier Strike Group arrives in the Indo-Pacific

    Port visits to Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, and Republic of Korea will boost UK trade and defence cooperation

    UK security and growth has received a boost as the UK-led international Carrier Strike Group (CSG25) began operations in the Indo-Pacific.

    Led by the aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, CSG25 has undertaken a joint exercise with the Indian Navy, deepening the UK’s defence relationship with a key strategic partner ahead of a port visit to India later this year. 

    The deployment, known as Operation Highmast, includes ships from Canada, Norway and Spain, and has now been joined by a New Zealand Frigate, HMNZS Te Kaha, after entering the Indian Ocean, having passed through the Red Sea. 

    The task group, which left the UK in April, previously completed exercises in the Mediterranean. 

    Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said:  

    I am delighted that our Carrier Strike Group and 4,000 Service Personnel, are now operating in the Indo-Pacific region. Working with our Allies and partners, to keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad. 

    This isn’t just about hard power; the upcoming exercises and port visits are about building influence and boosting trade opportunities both for defence and other sectors of our economy which will deliver British jobs and growth, and delivers on the Government’s Plan for Change.

    Commodore James Blackmore, Commander CSG said:  

    The deployment sends a powerful message that the UK and its allies are committed to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. It’s a privilege to lead our sailors, marines, soldiers and aircrew as we demonstrate warfighting capability.

    Over the next few months, CSG25 will join British Army and Royal Air Force units to participate in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, the Australian-led multinational exercise involving US and many other regional partners. This major exercise builds towards full operational capability of the UK’s carrier strike capability.  

    With two F-35B squadrons embarked, the RAF and Royal Navy are set to redefine the landscape of naval air power, in a move to warfighting readiness in support of NATO, while reinforcing Britain’s commitment to security in the Indo-Pacific region. 

    Port visits to Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and the Republic of Korea will showcase British defence capabilities through trade demonstrations and fairs, directly supporting the Government’s Plan for Change through economic growth. A port visit to Darwin, Australia, provides an opportunity to further develop the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the UK and the United States. 

    The Carrier Strike Group will also host the prestigious Pacific Future Forum in Japan, bringing together defence, security and technology leaders from across the region to discuss shared challenges. 

    The deployment follows the Prime Minister’s historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad. 

    Keeping the country safe is the Government’s first priority and is the foundation of its Plan for Change. The strength, capability and global reach of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force, demonstrated through Operation Highmast, is critical to the security and stability of the UK, supporting the delivery of the Government’s five missions.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Labour actively hampering Wales’ ability to invest in Welsh communities

    Source: Party of Wales

    Data shows that the Labour UK Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review will shrink the Welsh Government’s Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits in real terms within this spending review period.

    Plaid Cymru have criticised the Labour UK Government of investing less in Wales compared to other devolved nations.

    This comes after the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) has shown that the Welsh Government’s capital budget’s average annual growth forecast between 2025-26 and 2029-30 is -0.9%, while the Scottish and Northern Irish Government’s forecasts are +0.3% and +0.7% respectively.

    Plaid Cymru MS, Heledd Fychan has also criticised the Labour Welsh Government for celebrating a ‘calamitous’ spending review that does not deliver the funding Wales is owed.

    Plaid Cymru finance spokesperson, Heledd Fychan MS, said:

    “Scotland see an increase, Northern Ireland see an increase but Wales loses out. This 0.9% real terms squeeze in Wales’ capital Budget is even more proof that this Labour Government and its spending review is nothing but bad news for Wales.

    “Wales’ ability to invest in our infrastructure and our communities is actively being hampered by this Labour UK Government. Even worse, the Labour Government in Wales have decided to celebrate this calamitous spending review.

    “An insulting amount of money for rail and coal tips, and an insulting amount of capital funding from a Labour Party hellbent on short-changing Wales.

    “This spending review has highlighted the fact that Labour will never give Wales a good deal. It’s time for a Government that will fight tooth and nail for fairness for Wales, a Plaid Cymru Government.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Absentee landowners must stop blocking community buy-outs of local land 

    Source: Scottish Greens

    17 Jun 2025 Land Reform

    We must close land loopholes to give communities more power

    More in Land Reform

    Communities need greater powers to take back local land from neglectful landowners, says Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell. 

    At the moment, communities are restricted from progressing with community buy-outs of neglected land if the landowner brings a very small part of the area “into use.” 

    The Scottish Greens have brought forward amendments to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill that would force landowners to bring at least 50% of a landholding into use, otherwise it would be classed as abandoned or neglected, and be eligible for community buy-out. 

    Mr Ruskell has been supporting the community in Largo, Fife, where plans for the community buyout of local land has been blocked by the landowner converting less than 10% of the holding into a horticulture business, whilst the rest of the site including historic buildings and gardens have been left abandoned and neglected.

    Mr Ruskell said: 

    “For too long, people have been unfairly barred from bringing local land back into community ownership because of a tiny loophole in the law. 

    “It cannot be right that neglectful landowners are able to leave land ignored and derelict for many years, whilst communities are desperate to bring areas back into productive use. 

    “The Land Reform Bill should be an opportunity to tackle this kind of inherent unfairness in Scotland’s land ownership – and that’s exactly why I’ve brought these proposals forward. 

    “For folks in Largo, this ridiculous saga has gone on for too long – it’s time to close the Largo loophole for good.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Making pensions work for Britain – Pensions Investment Review

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government Non-Ministerial Departments

    News story

    Making pensions work for Britain – Pensions Investment Review

    We worked closely with HM Treasury as it undertook the Pensions Investment Review, focussed on improving returns for Defined Contribution savers.

    Credit Shutterstock

    GAD’s expertise and insight has supported the government’s work in carrying out the Pensions Investment Review and consultation process.

    The Pensions Investment Review: Final Report and consultation responses was published on 29 May 2025.

    It focused on improving returns for Defined Contribution savers and unlocking investment potential within the LGPS in England and Wales.

    These reforms ensure better outcomes for savers and support the sustainability of the LGPS, as set out in the Pension Schemes Bill which was published on 5 June 2025.

    The report is published together with the responses to the 2 consultations:

    GAD’s support

    GAD provided advice and expertise during the preparation of the Pensions Investment Review report, and provided support through GAD actuary Scott Madden, who was on secondment to HM Treasury throughout the process.

    Working closely with policy colleagues, Scott provided strategic input and policy development, contributing public and private sector pensions expertise. As part of the Whitehall team, he played a pivotal role in extensive engagement with industry and cross-government policy stakeholders and supported a broad range of government functions – from the early stages of drafting legislation to preparing communications for ministerial announcements such as the Chancellor’s Mansion House address.

    Complex, fast-paced and high-profile

    Siobhan Amutharasan, Senior Policy Adviser, from HM Treasury commented: “The pensions investment review has been a complex, fast-paced and high-profile programme of work – timely, expert and insightful actuarial advice has been critical to its delivery.

    “GAD support, particularly through a secondee actuary in the team, has meant every stage of policy development benefitted from a range of perspectives, including those with experience of public and private sector pensions investment.

    “From technical drafting to strategic planning, to stakeholder engagement – support from GAD has brought specialist knowledge, challenge and creativity in support of our policy aims.”

    GAD Actuary Eva Grace was part of the project team and commented: “It has been a privilege to work with government policy officials, combining our pensions investment experience with their policy knowledge.

    “Officials would challenge us to understand how developments can lead to improved outcomes. Some of those challenges have been difficult, but that’s exactly where government can help create solutions. We’re pleased to now be talking with stakeholders and looking at how the impact of new policy can be measured.”

    AI technology as support

    As part of work to support the government policy team with the consultation process, GAD made use of AI technology as a supportive tool to supplement the detailed manual review and analysis of consultation responses carried out by officials. This allowed key themes in the approximately 500 responses received to be identified, aiding understanding and supporting the development of insight into the data.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Rise in school leavers in positive destinations.

    Source: Scottish Government

    Growing numbers in Higher and Further Education in 2023-24.

    The number of young people in work, training or further study nine months after they left school has increased.

    The proportion of school leavers in a positive destination was 93.1% in 2023-24, up from 92.8%, according to the annual Summary Statistics for Follow-up Leaver Destinations. This is now at a similar level to the pre-pandemic peak of 93.3% in 2017-18.

    The increase over the latest year has been driven by increases in school leavers reaching Higher education (from 37.1% to 38.1%) and Further education (from 21.2% to 21.9%).

    Over the longer term, the proportion in positive destinations is up from 85.9% in 2009-10.

    Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said:

    “These figures show the proportion of Scotland’s young people achieving positive destinations is almost back to pre-pandemic levels and at a near record high.

    “The increase among those in Higher and Further Education is hugely encouraging and testament to the hard work of those young people and the extraordinary support provided by Scotland’s teachers, lecturers and other support staff.

    “The gap in positive destinations between young people from our most and least deprived communities has more than halved since 2009-10, but this latest data shows we still have more to do. We also know this cohort of young people faced significant disruption to their education during the pandemic.

    “A range of support, including from careers advisers and the Developing the Young Workforce network, is available for young people considering their options after school. I am determined to ensure young people can access the right help they need to enable them into a positive destination and this Government will continue to invest in opportunities for young people across Scotland.”

     Background

    Summary statistics for follow-up leaver destinations, no. 7: 2025 edition – gov.scot

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council Tax Collection Statistics, 2024-25

    Source: Scottish Government

    An Accredited Official Statistics Publication for Scotland.

    Scotland’s Chief Statistician today released the latest Council Tax Collection Statistics which provides Council Tax collection figures for Scottish local authorities, up to and including the financial year 2024-25.

    In 2024-25 for Scotland as a whole, the total amount of Council Tax billed (after Council Tax Reduction) was £3.077 billion. Of this total, £2.938 billion, or 95.5 per cent, was collected by 31 March 2025. This provisional in-year collection rate is the same as the figure for the previous year.

    Between 1999-00 and 2024-25, the overall total amount of Council Tax billed in Scotland was £54.034 billion, of which £52.531 billion, or 97.2 per cent, was collected by 31 March 2025.   

    Provisional in-year Council Tax collection rates for 2024-25 ranged from 89.5 per cent to 98.2 per cent across the 32 local authorities. In-year collection rates have exceeded 95 per cent over the past decade, except in 2020-21 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Background

    The full statistical publication is available at: Council Tax Collection Statistics, 2024-25. This publication contains figures on Council Tax, covering the financial years 1999-00 to 2024-25.

    The information published is used by Scottish Government to monitor council’s collection levels relating to council tax. Information is collected relating to the amounts billed and received and the year to which the payment refers.  This information is also required by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for national accounts purposes, and by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

    The next annual publication for financial year 2025-26 will be published in June 2026.  

    Further information on Council Tax Collection statistics, including previous publications can be accessed on the Scottish Government’s Local Government Finance statistics pages. 

    Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: About our statistics – gov.scot

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Building positive relationships in schools

    Source: Scottish Government

    Guidance on behaviour and consequences published.

    New guidance setting out a range of approaches for schools to consider when responding to behaviour has been published.

    Developed with input from headteachers, teaching unions, local government and educational psychologists, the guidance promotes building positive relationships and behaviour across the whole school community. It focuses on improving outcomes by reinforcing positive behaviour and working to reduce the likelihood of negative behaviour occurring in future.

    Various approaches are available to schools, ranging from classroom management approaches, to support strategies and the use of exclusion as a last resort.

    The guidance has been developed in collaboration with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS), which is jointly chaired with COSLA, to reflect that it is local government who have the responsibility for delivering education in Scotland.

    During a visit to St Brendan’s Primary School in Motherwell, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth met with teachers and parents to understand the importance of building positive relationships within schools.

    Ms Gilruth said:

    The majority of children and young people behave well in school, but where someone needs support with their behaviour, it is important that schools can respond in ways that are appropriate, supportive and respond to the needs of each individual child. Evidence clearly shows young people need structure and boundaries to support their development and having predictable consequences helps them to feel safe.

    “Responding to behaviour in our schools requires all members of the school community – staff, children and young people and parents and carers – to work together to identify the values that underpin school life, how this translates into expectations of behaviour, and to support appropriate responses. We want to create a strong partnership between home and school to help create a consistent, supportive environment where children feel safe, respected, and are better able to learn and thrive. 

    “This guidance takes account of the concerns about behaviour I have heard from teachers, support staff and teaching unions, and will be an important tool in ensuring that they are properly supported in our schools.”

    Maura Oates, headteacher at St Brendan’s Primary school said:

    “Here in St. Brendan’s Primary we consistently work hard to ensure the care and wellbeing needs of children and their families are met with warmth, care and consideration. We feel that this results in a calm, relaxed and nurturing environment where children are respectful, supportive and kind to each other.”

    “Our values are evident across the school as we are committed to ensuring very high standards for all children. We consulted all children, parents and staff when creating our vision, values and aims. Our aims reflect Gospel values and the UNCRC. These shared values are evident across the school and are developed across the curriculum. We have a very good understanding of the socio-economic context of the school and its place within the community.”

    Background

    This is the latest commitment to be delivered through the joint Relationships and Behaviour in schools action plan with COSLA.

    Guidance is clear that exclusion should only be used as a last resort, where proportionate and there is no appropriate alternative.

    Guidance on risk assessments will support schools to consider how they manage the risk of harm occurring, or a pattern of behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, harm to self or others.

    Guidance on fostering positive, inclusive and safe school environments.

    Risk assessment guidance for violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviour.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scrapping the two child limit to help end child poverty

    Source: Scottish Government

    Shirley-Anne Somerville announces start date for key policy.

    The Scottish Government will effectively scrap the impact of the two-child limit from 2nd March 2026, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has confirmed.

    On a visit to Busy Bees Bellfield parent and toddler group in Portobello, Ms Somerville said the introduction of the Two Child Limit Payment will mean 20,000 fewer children will be living in relative poverty in 2026-27, according to Scottish Government modelling.

    Speaking ahead of a statement to parliament on the publication of the annual report on Best Start, Bright Futures, the Scottish Government’s child poverty strategy, Ms Somerville said:

    “The Scottish Government has consistently called on the UK Government to end the two-child cap. Reports suggest that they are looking at the impact it is having. But the evidence is clear and families and Scotland can’t wait any longer for the UK Government to make up its mind to do the right thing and scrap the cap once and for all.

    “The Two Child Limit Payment will begin accepting applications in March next year. At less than 15 months from when we announced this in the Scottish budget, this will be the fastest that a Scottish social security benefit has been delivered.

    “This builds upon the considerable action we have taken in Scotland, including delivering unparalleled financial support through our Scottish Child Payment, investing to clear school meal debts, and continuing to support almost 10,000 children by mitigating the UK Government’s Benefit Cap as fully as possible.

    “However, austerity decisions taken by the UK Government are holding back Scotland’s progress. Modelling published in March makes clear that if the UK Government act decisively on child poverty, they could help to take an estimated 100,000 children out of poverty this year.”

    Background:

    • On average, households with children in the poorest 10% of households are, this year, estimated to be £2,600 a year better off because of Scottish Government policies. This is projected to grow to an average of £3,700 a year by 2029-30. Child poverty modelling: update – gov.scot
    • Scrapping the Two Child Limit will help keep thousands of children out of poverty and reduce the depth of poverty faced for many more. The Scottish Government’s own modelling suggests 20,000 fewer children will be living in relative poverty in 2026-27 once this payment is introduced and the Scottish Fiscal Commission estimates that overall around 43,000 children in Scotland will benefit from mitigation of the two-child limit in 2026-27.
    • The Scottish Fiscal Commission has estimated the cost of the Two Child Limit Payment to be £155 million in the  financial year 2026-2027.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New films showcase the landscapes of the South West

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    New films showcase the landscapes of the South West

    A series of six films co-funded by Natural England highlight the fragile nature of protected sites and how we can all take steps to help our environment.

    Simon Willis filming Prof John Wedgwood Clarke at Kynance. Credit Susan Willis

    The stunning beauty of the South West has inspired many writers and artists, but now Natural England has joined forces with a poet and film maker to create a series of six inspiring videos about nature on protected sites in this corner of the country.

    Taking in protected sites across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, the films, called “Wild Westcountry Odyssey” are a result of a collaboration between Natural England’s Protected Site Strategies (PSS) Research and Development Programme and the [RENEW Biodiversity project] (https://renewbiodiversity.org.uk/) at the University of Exeter. RENEW (Renewing biodiversity through a people in nature approach) is a collaboration between the University and the  National Trust, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. It also partners with major conservation bodies like the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts.

    The aim of future Protected Site Strategies will be to ensure the root causes of environmental issues – often driven by factors beyond the sites themselves – are addressed in ways that guarantee wildlife thrives on those sites, while helping nature recovery beyond their boundaries. All six of the Protected Sites chosen for the films are Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Habitat Sites.

    Each film includes two short poems, specially written by John Wedgwood Clarke. The films celebrate the beauty and diversity of nature on the sites and the key achievements and projects that have restored habitats and species and are successfully tackling environmental change and impacts resulting from human activity

    David Burton, Natural England’s Principal Officer for the Protected Site Strategies Implementation and Development programme, said:

    We supported the production of the films to research how creative media can help re-set the relationships between people and nature within the framework of Protected Site Strategies. The approach is to educate and highlight the need for nature recovery to everyone.

    Too often the environment sector has failed to communicate the plight of biodiversity in accessible, positive and thought-provoking ways. For Protected Site Strategies to realise the ambition we have set for them, resetting the relationships between nature and people in ways that build a resilient future for all, we need to harness the power of creative channels for our call to action.

    John, Simon, and the rest of the ‘Wild Westcountry Odyssey’ team have created inspirational stories through film and poetry to help set our first few Protected Site Strategies on their way.

    Simon Willis, filmmaker, said:

    It’s been a privilege to work with all the nature reserves and John. The human effort that goes into keeping them thriving for wildlife is remarkable.

    I hope our images and John’s words encourage people to look beyond the picture postcard and really value the wildlife that makes the South West such a great place to visit.

    John Wedgwood Clarke, Professor of Poetry at the University of Exeter, said:

    The South West’s diverse and beautiful landscapes have been the source of great joy for so many people and have inspired writers and artists over time. But take a closer look and you realise how fragile many of our ecosystems have become and the lengths to which our agencies and charities have to go in order to conserve their biodiversity.

    I hope these films, and the visual and verbal poetry they contain, inspire people to explore this beautiful part of the world and think about how they can support, in whatever way they can, the work the goes in to helping people and nature thrive together in these special places.

    John Clarke at Kynance. Credit Susan Willis

    Professor Rosie Hails, Director of Nature and Science at the National Trust said:

    We know that for people to protect nature and our fragile ecosystems, they have to care for it first.  By using poetry and creating these films we aim to bring the beauty of these six south-west locations into their homes and onto their mobile devices, and to inspire them to visit and to help look after these special places.

    Kynance on the Lizard Peninsula is one of our richest sites for rare and threatened species. The unique geology of granite cliffs with serpentine rocky exposures supports some of our most notable species such as land quilwort, pygmy rush and upright clover amongst the swathes of Cornish heath that make the site a National Nature Reserve. 

    As part of the Trust’s new strategy we will be targeting the rejuvenation of these important plant varieties through innovative management techniques to ensure the special species thrive into the future.

    The first of the films, which features Kynance on The Lizard, is released today on YouTube: https://youtu.be/F4Lpu61T0vM

    Others will be released weekly through to 21 July.

    Notes to editors

    Protected Site Strategies are ambitious and innovative in their approach to addressing the environmental issues impacting Protected Sites. They encourage collaborations with a wide range of stakeholders that operate at a landscape scale. This starts with the understanding that protected sites are representative examples of important places for nature and serve as indicators of healthy, naturally functioning landscapes. If the wildlife and physical environment within sites are compromised by issues such as neglect or pollution, that indicates that the broader landscape is facing challenges that affect both nature and people.

    RENEW is a five year programme led by the University of Exeter and the National Trust and around 30 other partners from various sectors. It is funded by the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and aims to tackle the challenges of biodiversity renewal through a people-in-nature approach. This initiative involves a wide range of research to understand how people engage with nature and the opportunities and challenges this presents for nature recovery.

    As a result, finding ways to balance human activities with efforts for nature recovery is central to the work of both RENEW and PSS.

    The short films are being released weekly from Monday, 16 June in the following order

    The sites are: 

    Kynance on the Lizard, Cornwall, 16 June

    Goonhilly Downs National Nature Reserve, Cornwall, 23 June

    Challacombe Farm, Dartmoor, 30 June 

    Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve, Somerset, 7 July

    Exe Estuary, Devon, 14 July

    Otter Estuary, Devon, 21 July

    Film one, Kynance: Celebrates the landscape beauty and the unique wildlife in Kynance and the return of the chough to the Lizard peninsular in Cornwall – the focus of a conservation project by Natural England, the National Trust and local farmers.

    Film two, Goonhilly: Reveals the hidden richness of nature in a seemingly bleak heath and the abandoned workings of a former quarry while celebrating the collaborative conservation efforts of Natural England and local farmers.

    Film three, Challacombe Farm: A film about Challacombe Farm on Dartmoor features a local farmer who has nurtured wildlife habitats across his farm. The farm is part of a future landscape recovery plan to improve conditions for nature across the Moor while helping farms prosper.

    Film four, Westhay Moor: Focusses on a large peat bog restoration project being carried out by Somerset Wildlife Trust. It explores the theme of climate change which is bringing about impacts on nature and people highlights how peat restoration is essential in order to mitigate them.

    Film five, Exe Estuary: Features the Exe Estuary in Devon, a vital refuge for migratory birds of great conservation concern, whose breeding and feeding grounds are increasingly threatened by intensive agriculture, development, and climate change.

    Film six, Otter Estuary: Presents the Lower Otter Restoration Project at Budleigh Salterton and the new wetlands – created by a partnership between Clinton Devon Estates, the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, the Environment Agency and the Interreg (EU) programme – that absorb the impacts of climate change and attract a wealth of wildlife.

    Photo credits: Susan Willis.

    All footage copyright Simon Willis Films. Clips can be supplied on request.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Celebrations as 17 Ministry of Defence Silver ERS Award winners are announced in Wales

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Celebrations as 17 Ministry of Defence Silver ERS Award winners are announced in Wales

    17 organisations in Wales have been awarded the 2025 Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Silver Award among more than 300 nationally.

    Employers in Wales that have actively demonstrated their support for the armed forces community through implementing practical policies in the workplace have been recognised with the prestigious Defence Silver ERS Award.

    The 17 Welsh winners will be invited to receive their award as honoured guests at a Royal Gun Salute ceremony at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay, on 17 July.

    The 17 recipients are:

    • Active4Blood
    • Andy Swan Driver Services Ltd
    • Bulldogs Boxing and Community Activities
    • Cobra Life Martial Arts Ltd
    • Events Medical Team – Saltney Ltd
    • Henry Williams and Son (Roads) Ltd
    • Platts Group
    • Riverside Retreat Veterans Camp CIC
    • Shadow Response Security & Medical Ltd
    • The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum Trust
    • Business in Focus Limited
    • IG Doors Limited
    • MPH Construction
    • Powys Teaching Health Board
    • R&M Williams Limited
    • V3 Group (UK) Ltd
    • Bridgend College

    Major General Jamie Gordon, Chief Executive of the Council of Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations, said:

    These Silver Award winners are trusted allies of defence. They don’t just talk about support—they show it, every day, through flexible policies, visible advocacy, and long-term commitment to those who serve. This is about more than good intentions, it’s about practical, sustained support that strengthens our national resilience. It is very pleasing that they have been recognised for all they do for our reservists, veterans and cadets.

    Gareth Jones, Veterans Project Manager, Bulldogs Boxing and Community Activities, said:

    Bulldogs BCA is incredibly proud and deeply honoured to have been awarded the Silver Award as part of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme. This recognition reflects our unwavering commitment to supporting the armed forces community, including veterans, reservists, and their families.

    We are thrilled that our efforts to provide opportunities, understanding, and practical support have been acknowledged at such a prestigious level. This award not only highlights the values at the heart of Bulldogs BCA, but also strengthens our resolve to continue championing those who have served our country with dedication and respect.

    To achieve Silver, organisations must proactively demonstrate that the armed forces community are not unfairly disadvantaged as part of their recruitment policies. They must also ensure that their workforce is aware of the policies that benefit defence personnel, including reservists, veterans, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, and military families.

    The scheme has 3 levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold, awarded to organisations that support defence personnel and encourage others to do the same.

    Mr Craig Middle, the MOD’s DRM for South Wales, said:

    Achieving the Silver ERS award has been a journey for all of our deserved winners. This journey has involved an exploration into what all aspects of the defence community can do for their teams. Many congratulations to all of this year’s winners – we look forward to celebrating with them in person next month.

    Find out how your organisation can support the armed forces community through the Armed Forces Covenant and Defence Employer Recognition Scheme:

    Contact

    Craig Middle, Defence Relationship Manager (DRM) for South Wales:

    Tony Fish, Defence Relationship Manager (DRM) for North Wales:

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –