News story: MAIB safety digest 2/2017 published
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A collection of lessons learned from marine accidents.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A collection of lessons learned from marine accidents.
Education Secretary Justine Greening has (1 October) announced a series of measures to place education at the heart of the government’s ambition to provide opportunity for all and ensure we are building the skills needed to secure the nation’s prosperity.
The announcements will build on the government’s record of driving up standards in education – with 1.8 million more children in good or outstanding schools than in 2010, more rigorous qualifications and fairer funding for schools, backed by £1.3 billion of additional funding.
The measures announced include:
To help more young people access the widest choice of high quality education or training, the government has outlined additional support for university students. The government has announced that it will raise the earning threshold for student loan repayments from £21,000 to £25,000 – which could mean up to an additional £360 a year for thousands of graduates early on in their career. The government is also freezing tuition fees for 2018/19 at their current rate.
The government wants to ensure every young person can reach their potential – and great teachers are at the heart of this. There are already a record number of teachers in our schools – 15,500 more than in 2010. To support more schools to attract the best staff, the Education Secretary has set out a series of measures, including:
Tackling the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is a crucial part of unlocking the potential of every child and, for many children, we know this gap is already in place before they even start primary school. In particular, research shows that five-year-old children who struggle with language are six times less likely to reach the expected standard in English at age 11 then children who have has good language skills at five, and ten times less likely to achieve the expected level in maths.
To help tackle this, the Education Secretary has set out:
We want to deliver the skilled workforce our economy needs to stay competitive. Today’s announcement includes a number of steps to continue to diversify the training and quality of qualifications on offer and ensure we remain at the forefront of higher education:
In his first visit to the Midwest, Minister for the Americas, Sir Alan Duncan will travel to Illinois, Columbus and Indianapolis next week to meet key politicians from the States: the Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, the Governor of Indiana, Eric Holcomb, and the Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel. He will also meet UK businesses investing in the US and US companies investing in the UK. The Minister will deliver a keynote speech on Britain’s global role at the Chicago Council of Global Affairs and address students at the Ohio State University and the University of Notre Dame.
Sir Alan will end his visit to the US with a stop in Washington DC, where he will meet senior political figures in the Senate, House of Representatives and the Trump Administration.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Sir Alan said:
I look forward to my first visit to the heartland of America. All three States have significant cultural, political and economic ties to the United Kingdom. Chicago, Columbus and Indianapolis are three of the largest cities in the US and contribute hugely, not just to the lifeblood of their respective states, but to America as a whole.
The relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States is one built around a common language, the common principles of freedom and democracy, and common interests. On security, defence, trade and investment, the United Kingdom and the United States are the closest of partners.
This visit is a chance for me to witness the ubiquity of the special relationship to the lives of all Americans, as well as to discuss ways to further enhance the special relationship as the UK leaves the EU.
The maximum sentence for online copyright infringement has changed from two years to ten years.
The criminal law provisions relating to online copyright infringement have changed. The maximum sentence that can be levied is now ten years. This change brings the law in line with what is already available for physical copyright infringement.
The changes affect sections 198 1(A) and 107 2(A) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act. These sections outline criminal offences arising from infringement of a performers making available right, and their communication right.
An additional mens rea has also been introduced. It must now be proved that a person “knows, or has reason to believe that the act of infringement will cause loss to the owner of the right or expose the owner of the right to a risk of loss”.
These offences do not criminalise the downloading of material, although civil action can be taken against any infringer in these circumstances.
In some circumstances the downloading of material can also involve the re-upload of the same material, which may mean the requirements of the offences are met.
To avoid the risk of any civil or criminal action being taken against you our advice is to access content legally. If you are unsure how to do this Get it Right from a Genuine Site can help you.
From 1 October 2017, changes will be made to the law on unjustified threats of infringement
The new law on threats is clearer, consistent across all relevant IP rights, and will help businesses to avoid expensive litigation.
An unjustified threat is made when someone unfairly threatens someone else with legal action for infringing their intellectual property, when no infringement has actually taken place. These threats are costly and disruptive, drive customers away and stop businesses trading legitimately in goods and services.
The law was complex, unclear, and inconsistent between the various IP rights involved. It made IP owners, particularly SMEs, reluctant to try and enforce their IP. It also made it difficult for businesses to make legitimate attempts to settle an IP dispute before going to court. The changes follow from detailed proposals put forward by the Law Commission for reform in this area of law.
Read our business guidance to find out more information on unjustified threats and how they affect the actions you can take.