We are pleased to announce that the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship is now open for applications.

You’ll need to complete an online application form. This will take about 20 minutes to complete and you can save your progress as you go.

The next stage will be the online tests, these are made up of 3 sections:

• Verbal and numerical reasoning tests (Take around 6 minutes for each exercise)
• Situational judgement questionnaire (untimed, takes around 20-30 minutes to complete)
• Competency questionnaire (untimed, takes around 20-30 minutes to complete).

If you are successful at this stage you will be invited to attend the Fast Track Assessment Centre for a half-day event that will feature:

• a group task
• a written task
• a strengths-based interview.

Good luck with your applications, we look forward to meeting you soon.

Published 28 February 2018

Mr Dan Chugg has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Burma.

Mr Irfan Siddiq OBE has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Sudan.

In 2017 just 1.3% of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) customers, living on metered estates, switched energy supplier. In response to these low switching figures, the CMA is collaborating with UKLPG, the trade association representing LPG suppliers, to remind customers of their switching rights and supply options.

The CMA has published a switching factsheet and short animation for LPG customers on metered estates. Both guides highlight what customers need to know and do in order to switch.

Alongside the CMA’s switching factsheet and animation, UKLPG has updated its guidance for members about how best to communicate with residents about their supply and switching options.

Peter Hill, CMA Assistant Director (Remedies):

Having choice is key to ensuring you get a good deal on your energy supply. Switching has to be a collective, unanimous decision on an LPG metered estate – this is why we are urging customers to join with neighbours to make switching decisions together and not to rush into a new contract without speaking to those who live around them first.

UKLPG’s Chief Executive Rob Shuttleworth said:

LPG provides low carbon gas to hundreds of thousands of homes not connected to the gas grid. On metered estates, LPG is stored in large communal tanks and then piped to homes to be used just like mains gas.

We welcome the CMA’s new publications for metered estate residents and to support this we have produced further Q&A guidance to equip customers with the information they need to fully understand their energy supply options, this can be accessed via our website.

International confidence in the UK’s automotive sector was bolstered today (Wednesday 28 February) as Toyota announced it will build its new generation Auris model at its Burnaston factory in Derbyshire.

In a further vote of confidence for UK engineering expertise, the majority of engines for the new model will be sourced from the company’s Deeside factory in north Wales, helping secure 3,000 jobs across the 2 sites.

Business Secretary Greg Clark welcomed the decision during a visit to the Burnaston factory earlier today, where he met teams who will be working on the new model. The decision was helped in part by government investment of more than £20 million announced last year to support the upgrade of the facility and the installation of a new production platform to make the plant more competitive and enable it to build more advanced vehicles.

The investment follows the publication of last month’s landmark sector deal between government and the automotive sector, a vital moment in establishing the UK’s leadership in meeting the Future of Mobility and Clean Growth Grand Challenges.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

We have been clear in our commitment to ensuring the automotive sector continues to go from strength to strength which is why, through the Industrial Strategy, we established a landmark Automotive Sector Deal that will see us working with industry to put the UK at the forefront of new technologies and future investment decisions.

Toyota’s decision to build its new Auris model in Burnaston is testament to the highly-skilled and committed workforce that helps make the UK’s automotive sector one of the most productive in the world, and this government will continue work to create the best possible environment to maintain this fruitful relationship.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

Toyota’s commitment to the UK is an enormous economic boost for Deeside and Wales as a whole. Toyota has played a crucial role in helping to demonstrate why Wales continues to be a prime location to invest and do business through its anchor status on Deeside.

I visited the company’s HQ in Toyota City in Japan last year where I was encouraged by the long term approach given to their investment decisions.

This major announcement is fantastic news and a massive vote of confidence for UK manufacturing and for Wales as a go-to inward investment destination.

Toyota has a long-established relationship with the UK, producing 4 million vehicles and 5 million engines over the last 25 years. Today’s announcement follows Toyota’s decision last year to invest over £240 million to upgrade Burnaston to improve the plant’s competitiveness by installing its latest production platform – the Toyota New Global Architecture – to ensure the plant produced the most advanced models for the European market. This will be the third generation Auris to be built at the Burnaston factory, underlining the skill and expertise of the plant’s world-class staff.

The UK’s automotive sector continues to thrive with the UK currently the third largest European car producer with the highest productivity among Europe’s automotive producing nations. The sector generates £14.6 billion, representing 8.2% of the UK’s total manufacturing gross value added.