This study explores the perspectives of teachers implementing the changes to A level science practical work after one year.

Birmingham and Liverpool have both passed the preliminary assessment phase in the UK city selection process for a potential 2022 Commonwealth Games bid, Sports Minister Tracey Crouch has announced today.

Both cities have been the subject of inspection visits in the last few weeks attended by an independent assessment panel, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) representatives and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport officials.

The assessment panel has recommended to government that both cities have sufficiently developed a clear initial vision as to how they would construct a compelling games programme which meets CGF requirements and which would leave a legacy for their city, the region and the UK. The panel found that Birmingham and Liverpool’s current planning demonstrates sufficient merit that both cities be given the opportunity to further develop their proposals over the coming weeks.

Birmingham and Liverpool will now undertake further, more detailed work on the cost, practicability and delivery of their plans with both cities asked to submit final proposals to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in August.

In early September the independent assessment panel will make a recommendation to the government on a preferred city before the government then makes a final decision whether to submit a formal bid to the Commonwealth Games Federation based on the overall value for money of hosting the Games.

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch said:

It is right that a proper and rigorous assessment is carried out before we decide if a formal bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games is submitted. I’ve been encouraged by the commitment and enthusiasm that both Birmingham and Liverpool have demonstrated so far in the process but it will be crucial that their final plans demonstrate good value for money, how they would leave a lasting legacy and showcase the best of Britain.

We have a great track record of hosting the biggest events in sport in the UK and I am sure that if we were to host the Games in 2022 the British people would give a warm welcome to the world and get right behind the event.

Commonwealth Games England chief executive Paul Blanchard said:

An English Commonwealth Games in 2022 would be an inspirational event and create a lasting legacy for the whole country. Five years ago this week, the country was gripped by London 2012, the best Olympic and Paralympic Games ever staged. Then in 2014 the UK hosted the memorable Commonwealth Games in Glasgow showing beyond doubt what a spectacular success an English games would be.

Birmingham and Liverpool have two fantastic sets of plans and either city would stage a Games to remember for athletes and spectators alike. There is still a huge amount of work to be done by both Government and the cities themselves but what we have seen so far promises some very exciting times ahead.

Earlier this week Team England topped the medal table at the Youth Commonwealth Games, a home Games in 2022 would give the best possible platform to our outstanding young sporting talent.

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact:

Jose Riera, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 020 7211 6971 / 07825 057405

The independent assessment panel is made up of the following people:

Nicky Roche (Chair)

Nicky is currently a Non-Executive Director of UK Sport and Chair of the UK Sport Major Events Panel. She is also Director of Strategy at Sporting Assets, a social enterprise supporting communities and local organisations to use sport for wide social impact, including how to fund and operate local sports facilities. Before that, Nicky was Chief Executive of TDFHub 2014, responsible for co-ordinating the delivery of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart and before that was Director of Operations at the Government Olympic Executive during London 2012.

Jan Paterson

Jan Paterson, MBE, is CEO of the British Olympic Foundation and Director of Olympic Relations at the British Olympic Association. She has participated in a myriad of roles including; Chef de Mission, Deputy Chef de Mission and Press Attaché at every Olympic and Olympic Winter Games between 1992 – 2016, three Commonwealth Games and four World University Games. Jan was appointed Team GB’s first female Chef de Mission and more recently was Chef de Mission for Team England at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, where the team topped the medal table. She is a member of the IAAF’s Conflict Resolution Advisory Group and was recently appointed as a member of the 2019 European Games Co-ordination Commission.

Charles Johnston

Charles is currently Property Director at Sport England where he has overall responsibility for Sport England’s investment in sports facilities across the country. A qualified engineer who also has a Master’s in Business Administration, Charles started at Sport England in 2008 from MDA Consulting where he was Chairman and CEO. He began his career at Jaguar before joining Sainsbury’s where he helped to develop Homebase stores and the Savacentre Hypermarkets as Project Manager. He progressed to become Director of Construction and Facilities.

Ian McKenzie

Ian is an Architect and Director of McKenzie Sports Architecture Ltd, a consultancy specialising in venue master planning for major sports events and the design and development of sports facilities. Previously he was Head of Venue and Village Development and Integration at Glasgow 2014 Ltd, the Organising Company for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He had responsibility for planning and managing the development of the competition and non-competition venues and the Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village.

Paul Blanchard

Paul is Chief Executive of Commonwealth Games England (CGE), the member association of the Commonwealth Games Federation. CGE is the organisation that leads and manages the participation of the English team at the Commonwealth Games, working closely with each sport’s National Governing Body, Sport England and the Games’ Organising Committee. Before that Paul was Chair of Active Surrey and Chief Executive of The Surrey Sports Park, a £36m elite training venue at The University of Surrey and has been involved in sport for over 25 years.

David Brooker

Most recently David was Director of Sport at DCMS. Before that he was Director of Legacy at the Government Olympic Executive during London 2012. David has also worked in the Home Office and the Northern Ireland Office, where he remains a Non-Executive Director.

On 18 July 2017, at Birmingham Crown Court, Rodney Wallace (55), former director of Avalon Personnel Ltd received a total sentence of 27 months imprisonment and Pauline Wallace (52), former director of Curio Bridal Boutique Ltd, received a sentence of ten months imprisonment suspended for two years after pleading guilty on the first day of their trial in October 2016.

Their case had been adjourned for a ‘Newton Hearing’ in order to determine the extent of self enrichment from the fraud committed by Rodney Wallace.

The convictions of husband and wife Rodney and Pauline Wallace follow an initial investigation and prosecution by the Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Both defendants had accepted that they had made false representations to the High Court in order to secure a Validation Order enabling them to access funds in a frozen company bank account. Thereafter, Rodney Wallace committed fraud in anticipation of the winding up of the same company by diverting £111,000 to a phoenix company. He also accepted that he and his family had received at least £42,000 of those diverted funds arising from his dishonest scheme. His diversion fraud attracted a consecutive sentence. Rodney Wallace had also failed to deliver up the books of the company.

Rodney Wallace had already been disqualified from acting as a director on 5th February 2014 for a period of 9 years.

Deputy Chief Investigation Officer Glenn Wicks, the officer in charge of the investigation, said:

This couple made a false representation to the High Court and also created a phoenix company to continue trading. Their actions showed a total disregard to not only the judicial process but to their creditors. The sentence imposed on the two shows that anyone who is prepared to break the law during the liquidation of a company will be dealt with seriously.

Notes to editors

Rodney Wallace’s date of birth is 19 March 1962. Pauline Wallace’s date of birth is February 1965.

The sentencing judge was HHJ Farrer QC. The Insolvency Service was represented by Simon Davis of St Philips Chambers. Jaime Hamilton and Jonathan Savage of 9 St John St Chambers, Manchester, appeared for the defence.

Avalon Personnel Limited (CRO No. 05815584) and the registered office was in Smethwick, West Midlands. The company was placed into voluntary liquidation on 8 July 2011.

Curio Bridal Boutique Ltd (CRO No. 06086569) and the registered office was in Smethwick, West Midlands. The company was placed into voluntary liquidation on 28 November 2012.

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Further information about the work of the Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team is available

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: * Twitter * LinkedIn * YouTube

Around 200,000 people in the UK are thought to be living with chronic hepatitis C (hep C) infection, with a substantial proportion unaware they have it. Many will be over the age of 50 and may have no or few specific symptoms. Revolutionary treatments can now cure the virus in the vast majority of cases, with best results achieved in the earlier stages of the disease.

Those infected previously faced weeks of injections, with some experiencing severe side effects and struggling to complete their treatment. Now, tablets can clear the virus quicker and more effectively, with fewer side effects. This is thought to have contributed to the recent fall in deaths from severe hep C related liver disease.

The virus, which can cause severe liver damage and cancer, is thought to affect around 200,000 people in the UK, with many unaware they are infected. In England, around one-third of those with long-term infection are believed to be over the age of 50 and many will have acquired the infection years, or even decades, earlier.

You should get tested if you:

• received a blood transfusion before September 1991, or a blood product before 1986 in the UK
• shared needles or other equipment to inject drugs, even if it was just once or many years ago
• had medical or dental treatment abroad in unsterile conditions
• had a tattoo, piercing, acupuncture, electrolysis, or semi-permanent make up using equipment that may have been unsterilised
• had unprotected sex with someone who has, or might have, hep C
• shared a razor or toothbrush with someone who has, or might have, hep C

Despite its debilitating effect on the liver, many with hep C may have no specific symptoms, with some – including tiredness and abdominal pain – easily ignored or mistaken for other conditions.

Free and simple testing is available from local GPs, sexual health clinics, genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics or drug treatment services.

The call for testing comes as Public Health England (PHE) publishes its most recent Hepatitis C in the UK report. The report, released today (28 July 2017), highlights the need to find and treat those infected with hep C in order to sustain the recent fall in deaths from the condition.

Dr Helen Harris, Clinical Scientist in PHE’s Immunisation, Hepatitis and Blood Safety Department said:

We strongly encourage anyone who may have been at risk of hep C infection to get tested, whether or not they have any symptoms. The sooner treatment starts, the greater the chance of avoiding long-term health complications. If people are unsure, they should visit their GP or take our quick online quiz to find out whether they might have been exposed to the hep C virus and would benefit from a test.

We are hopeful that the increased access to improved treatments over recent years has contributed to the latest fall in deaths from severe hep C related liver disease. This, combined with interventions to prevent infection in the first place, can help us to achieve our vision of eliminating hep C as a major public health threat in the UK.

PHE is backing World Hepatitis Day’s global #ShowYourFace campaign, which aims to increase awareness of the disease. The campaign encourages personalised photos via social media to emphasise that viral hepatitis can affect anyone.

As part of the National Surveillance Camera Strategy for England and Wales Tony Porter, Surveillance Camera Commissioner, has published a civil engagement plan.