The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been presented with an award for its commitment to staff wellbeing by the mental health charity Mind.

The FCO was one of 29 organisations to be named in Mind’s new Workplace Wellbeing Index, launched this week.

The Index is a new benchmark for best policy and practice and has been designed to celebrate the good work employers are doing to promote and support positive mental health.

The FCO was presented with Bronze level accreditation, reflecting the work it does to support its staff in the UK and overseas – including many who regularly deal with traumatic situations, helping British families and individuals when they have been victim to violent crimes or suffered tragedies.

Specific support networks, including trained mental health first aiders, have been created as part of this work. Recent activities to strengthen this approach have included creating wellbeing rooms, sharing best practice through blogs and supporting activities linked to Mental Health Awareness Week and National Work Life Week.

Speaking about the award Sir Simon McDonald, the Foreign Office’s Permanent Under-Secretary, said:

Our staff do a phenomenal job around the world, often in difficult circumstances, and it is vital that we look after their health and wellbeing. It is something we are very committed to and we see many benefits from, both for individuals and the whole organisation.

We are delighted our work to promote good mental health and wellbeing have been recognised by Mind.

Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind, said:

In the last few years, we’ve seen employers make great strides when it comes to tackling stress and supporting the mental wellbeing of their staff, including those with a diagnosed mental health problem. We’re delighted to recognise and celebrate employers making mental health a priority for their organisation through our Workplace Wellbeing Index. In our first year, we’ve seen good practice right across the board, from each and every one of the thirty pioneering employers to take part. The Awards event provided an opportunity to recognise those forward-thinking employers who are working hard to promote good mental health and wellbeing among their workforce.

Notes to editors:

For more information about Mind and the Workplace Wellbeing Index visit www.mind.org.uk

Further information

The Secretary of State for Health is seeking to appoint four members (one lay, three managerial) to the IRP.

For more information and to apply please visit the Public Appointments Website at: Cabinet Office

31 March 2017

The co-leaders of the Greens, Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley, delivered a ‘special message’ to young people at their Spring Conference today saying that they offer a party interested in ‘moving forward, not turning the clocks back’. [1]

Speaking to their conference in Liverpool the co-leaders – elected last Autumn – promised action against an ‘extreme Brexit’, opposition to tuition fees and action to bring ‘private rents under control’.

Caroline Lucas said:

“Whether you voted Leave or Remain, you need a Party that will stand up with consistency, integrity and conviction for your rights. For young people in particular, let down by Brexit, the Green message is one of a more hopeful alternative. Young people deserve a Party that will say loudly and clearly: freedom of movement is your right, tuition fees must be scrapped and private rents brought under control. So today we have this message for young people in Britain. If you want a Party interested in moving forwards, not turning the clock back. A Party that’s honest about the challenges we face and brave enough to build a better, more hopeful country. Then come and join us – the Green Party.”

The Green Party – who are currently fighting hard in the Manchester Gorton after coming second there in the General Election – are aiming to appeal to young voters who are disappointed with Labour’s stance on Brexit – and who won’t trust the Lib Dems after their years in coalition.

Lucas said the Greens are ‘a political movement that redistributes both money and power. One that redefines the relationship between work and life. One that embraces the future.  Pioneering and forward facing. A future better balanced between what we own and how we experience life – and tipped towards what genuinely makes us happier.’

She went on to say that her party ‘is exploring policies like a 3 day weekend, and fair pay. Local banks for the public good. People powered renewable energy. Reclaiming houses as homes, not financial assets. Education as a universal right not a commodity.  Proudly defending and sharing the benefits of free movement.’

Speaking after the triggering of Article 50 this week, and the publication of the Great Repeal Bill White Paper, Jonathan Bartley said the Greens are the only party to truly understand environmental protection.

He said:

“In the story of our future, the environment must be centre stage. It has to be. And we are the only Party that truly understands that. That’s why the Green Party is demanding a new Environmental Protection Act. One that takes everything good about EU law and goes even further.”

Notes:

1. FULL SPEECH HERE.

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New innovative video game developers will see their drawing board dreams take a step closer to reality as Culture and the Digital Economy Minister Matt Hancock announced the third round of winners of the UK Games Fund at the launch of the London Games Festival.

Fifteen projects including mobile, PC, console and VR games across the UK have been selected in the third round of funding and will now receive grants to develop their prototypes. Recognising that many small businesses lack the capital to help develop their ideas and attract private investment, the Fund invites businesses to apply for grants to take current projects and make them into working prototype games.

Aimed at helping creative young businesses get concepts off the drawing board and into production, the £4 million UK Games fund was set up to further growth, nurture talent and provide additional support to the sector which is recognised globally for its creativity and skill.

Minister of State for Digital and Culture Matt Hancock said:

I am proud of our global reputation for excellence in games development and hope this cash boost helps these projects become the leading games of tomorrow.

Video games, and the wider creative industries, are at the heart of our work on developing a new industrial strategy, and we will continue to do all we can to help build on the success of the sector and promote it as a major economic and cultural force.

To date, the UK Games Fund has awarded 55 grants, with many of these supported projects going on to secure further funding, creative development and publishing opportunities as a result of this investment. Now worth £87 billion to the economy, the creative industries are one of the UK’s greatest success stories. The Fund forms part of a package of measures government has introduced to boost working capital for the sector including the UK’s video games tax relief which supports home-grown studios and attracts inward investment.

The newly published Digital Strategy highlights how the UK Games Fund helps create the right conditions for the UK games development industry as part of the government’s plan to ensure that the benefits of digital are felt by every business and individual across the country.

Paul Durrant, Managing Director, UK Games Talent and Finance CIC said:

Interest in the UK Games Fund has continued at exceptionally high level, reflecting the potential of this sector to continue to contribute to future economic growth. This broad regional spread of talent shows how young games development businesses continue to have potential contribute to productivity increases across the UK.

Third round winners subject to final due diligence and contract include:

• Fourth State Ltd (Ipswich)
• Stormcloud Games Limited (Dundee)
• Bitmap Bureau Ltd, (Southampton)
• Robot House Games Ltd (Waterlooville)
• Quite Fresh Ltd (Brighton)
• Dumpling Design Ltd (Sheffield)
• Crash Lab Ltd (Nottingham)
• Third Kind Games Limited (Leamington Spa)
• Lost Forest Games Ltd (Horsham)
• Rogue Sun Ltd (Guildford)
• Biome Collective (Dundee)
• Vorpal Games Ltd (Manchester)
• The Chinese Room (Brighton)
• Ruffian Games Ltd (Dundee).

The UK Games Fund is managed by UK Games Talent and Finance Community Interest Company. Businesses can apply for the fourth round of funding later this year.

Read Matt Hancock’s speech at the London Games Festival

In October 2015 Government launched the £4 million UK Games Fund to help boost the development of the UK’s video games sector. Key features of the Fund include:

• Grants of up to £25,000 to help new and young games development businesses create working prototype games.

• Talent development initiatives – this includes competitions for students and graduate teams to create and showcase new games, and mentoring for businesses and individuals.

• The Fund has received more than 500 applications from young businesses since the initiative launched in 2015.

In the build up to the Battle of Passchendaele commemorations, MOD’s Defence Business Services (DBS) will, for the first time, be displaying a complete set of World War 1 service records relating to a Passchendaele veteran. The display forms the centrepiece of the MOD DBS Records exhibition at this year’s Who Do You Think You Are? Live event at the NEC Birmingham from 6 to 8 April 2017.

World War 1 service records, Crown Copyright

World War 1 service records, Crown Copyright

The MOD archives, managed by DBS, holds the records for service personnel discharged after 1921 and around 500,000 of these individuals will have seen service in World War 1. As part of the centenary anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, DBS will be looking into one soldier’s story, Company Sergeant Major John Brandie.

World War 1 service records, Crown Copyright

The son of a farm worker, John Brandie was born in Aberdeen on 1 July 1890. He enlisted into the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders in 1908, having previously worked as a Town Carter. Having survived the Battle of Passchendaele and the First World War, he became a Postal Worker and subsequently a Commercial Clerk. John Brandie died in Aberdeen on 22 Dec 1954.

World War 1 service records, Crown Copyright

John Brandie’s service record will be on display on the MOD DBS stand at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live event with experts on hand from DBS to interpret the information they contain. This faciniating documentation will provide a real insight into what life was like during that time.

World War 1 service records, Crown Copyright

The Who Do You Think You Are? Live event takes place between the 6 and 8 April at the NEC, Birmingham. For more see www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com.