28/08 Snapshot of the South Downs – Your chance to be a wildlife winner!

There’s exciting wildlife and landscapes to be found wherever you look
in the South Downs, from the imposing white cliffs of Beachy Head, to
the wild flowers and butterflies in the downland meadows.

You don’t even have to go that far for inspiration – there’s plenty of
amazing wildlife to be found in the South Downs' urban areas, whether
it be Brighton’s whirling Starling flocks or creepy-crawlies in your
back garden.

And it’s that wild richness that the RSPB is asking amateur snappers to
celebrate in an exciting South Downs photo competition, the winning
pictures from which will feature in a special 2008 South Downs calendar.

The prizes on offer include everything from a day on a yacht from
Chichester with Cascade Sailing, a roll down the South Downs in an ‘orb’,
and family tickets to the Otter and Owl Park, through to tickets to see
the Millais exhibition at Tate Modern!

There are two age groups in each category – ‘under 16s’ and ‘16 and
over’.

Kathy Flitton, who is organising the competition, said, “The South
Downs is stuffed with amazing wildlife and stunning views, so we are sure
that anyone with a camera will find something to inspire them.

“Whether you snap a skylark or capture a caterpillar – in images, of
course! – we’d love see what wild things excite you. And you will be
helping us help wildlife in the process.”

The competition is open to all except full-time professional
photographers and RSPB employees and their families. Entries must be submitted by
24 October 2007 and the charity requests that each entry should be
accompanied by a donation. Suggested amount is £3 for under 16s and £5 for
16 and over. The money will help support the RSPB’s conservation work
protecting wildlife and their habitats in the South Downs and beyond.


For an entry form and full conditions of entry, please contact: Kathy
Flitton on 01273 775333, email her on kathleen.flitton@rspb.org.uk, or
write to Kathy at RSPB, South East Regional Office, 42 Frederick Place,
Brighton, BN1 4EA.

Winning photographs will be displayed at Due South Restaurant on
Brighton’s seafront where the prize-giving will take place.

Judges for the competition include acclaimed RSPB photographer Andy
Hay, and Marco Holt, winner of the Brighton and Hove wildlife photographer
of the year award with his spectacular shot of Sparrowhawk and prey.

25/12 Cash injection for four community hospitals

Cash injection for four community hospitals




- Multi-million pound funding will deliver thousands more minor ops and
medical checks closer to patients' homes -
- 'Under threat' community hospitals set for major overhaul -
- Deal signed to drive forward Government's community hospital plans -




- Multi-million pound funding will deliver thousands more minor ops and
medical checks closer to patients' homes -
- 'Under threat' community hospitals set for major overhaul -
- Deal signed to drive forward Government's community hospital plans -

Health Minister Lord Warner today announced £44.5 million in funding
for four new community hospitals and health centres. The facilities are
the first to be funded from a £750 million fund for new community
hospitals and services to provide NHS patients with minor operations,
medical tests and follow-up care outside of large hospitals.

The state-of-the-art community hospitals and services in Sunderland,
Bristol, Gosport and Minehead will offer speedy access to medical checks,
ranging from hearing tests to endoscopies, as well as day surgery and
urgent care units.

The funding will give Gosport War Memorial Hospital a major face-lift
under a £6.1 million refurbishment, while £26 million for a new Minehead
Community Hospital will replace the town's old hospital in Somerset.

In total, it is expected that the new facilities will perform around
25,000 medical tests, treat 30,000 minor injuries and handle 20,000
outpatient appointments every year in a major shift of care into community
settings.

Health Minister Lord Warner said:

"A modern health service needs a significant amount of care provided in
state-of-the-art community hospitals. This model of care suits peoples'
daily lives and will help many patients' maintain their independence."

"Today's funding underlines our commitment to the future of community
hospitals and shows our desire to replace outdated and unsuitable
buildings with modern facilities fit for the future."

"These new NHS facilities will turn our white paper proposals for more
care closer to home into reality for thousands of patients. This is
just the first group of new hospitals and there will be more throughout
2007 as we invest £750 million in similar schemes over the next five
years."

Barbara Moore, chief executive of the Community Hospitals Association,
said:
"We are delighted to hear news of the first communities to benefit from
funding to modernise and extend the services available from upgraded or
new community hospitals. Many people will be very relieved that the
future of their community facilities is now secured. We look forward to
seeing this repeated in many other areas."

The four community facilities receiving funding are:

- Washington Primary Care Centre, Sunderland - a new £8.9 million
health centre conveniently located in a shopping centre. Opening in 2008,
the centre will provide a walk-in urgent care and illness unit,
diagnostic and treatment services, kidney dialysis and substance misuse service.
- Gosport War Memorial Hospital, Hampshire - a £6.1 million
refurbishment of the existing community hospital. The investment will deliver six
additional consulting suites, an endoscopy clinic, additional
diagnostic imaging facilities, and 10 rehabilitation beds. Services will open
from 2007.
- Yate Health and Children's Integrated Services Centre, Bristol - a
new £9 million health centre (£5 million provided by the department)
offering outpatient and diagnostic services, an urgent care service, 10 GPs
and community audiology, midwifery, baby clinics. The centre is
expected to open in late 2008.
- Minehead Community Hospital - a major £26 million (£24.5 provided by
the department) redevelopment of the outdated community hospital into a
modern health, leisure and educational park called 'New Horizons'. The
20 bed hospital will include a new diagnostic centre and day theatre,
as well as new dental facilities and urgent care unit. Set to be fully
operational from late 2009.

In July, the department invited Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to bid for
capital funding to build a network of community hospitals, health
centres and polyclinics. These first four successful bids represent just
those PCTs with the most advanced plans. A further round of proposals is
expected from PCTs in January.

The department also announced today that it has completed a deal to
become sole owner of Partnerships for Health (PfH), the public private
partnership set up to encourage investment in GP premises and health
centres.

The deal will assist the implementation of the community hospital
programme. NHS patients will benefit from a more focused delivery of the
community hospital programme, as the department will be able to use the
skills within PfH to support community ventures.

Lord Warner continued:

"Gaining sole ownership of Partnerships for Health is good news for
patients and the NHS in the long term. This deal gives us access to the
skilled and experienced people needed to take forward our plans for a new
generation of NHS community hospitals.

"Patients will benefit from the continued delivery of these community
hospitals, while the deal will also help ensure that the new PCTs can
hit the ground running as they take forward the ongoing NHS LIFT
programme."

James Stewart, Chief Executive of Partnerships UK said:

"Partnerships UK helped develop a major new investment programme for
the health sector. With the primary health schemes delivered and the
market having reached a high level of sophistication and maturity, the time
is now right for us to recycle our skills and resources in other
sectors.

"This has been a highly successful programme which will leave a lasting
impression on the health sector and the patients that use its
facilities right across the country."

In addition to the existing NHS community hospital estate, there are
now 654 one-stop health centres, offering GPs and one or more extended
primary care service, such as dentistry, physiotherapy, health visitors,
pharmacy, optometry, or social work, have opened since 2000, beating
the NHS Plan target of 625 new centres by December 2006.

06/11 Tax cheat ordered to pay £1.2 million

Tax cheat ordered to pay £1.2 million


Company director Nicholas Davies, from Portsmouth, was ordered to pay
£1,233,485.69 and given a 2 year suspended sentence at Southwark Crown
Court on Monday 31 October 2006. He had previously been found guilty on
3 October 2006 of Cheating the public revenue under common law between
3 April 1989 and 5 October 2004.

The Court heard that the fraud centred on Mr Davies transferring
commission payments from his German suppliers, correctly due to his Company
Non-Corrosive Control Lines Ltd, to a series of bank accounts outside
the UK in his name. By the time of his arrest in October 2004, Mr Davies
had accumulated nearly £2.7 million in these accounts. As well as not
declaring the correct Company profits, he did not declare the interest
that he had earned on the evaded profits on his own tax returns. The
final loss to the Crown was over £1.2 million.

Joe Rawbone, HMRC Investigator said: "This has been a complex
investigation requiring visits to tax jurisdictions outside the UK to obtain
evidence. It has been proved that Nicholas Davies knowingly and
deliberately set out to commit fraud. The efforts made to secure the guilty
verdict reflect the seriousness of the crime, and should serve as a warning
that HMRC will pursue those who attempt to steal money in this way."

His Honour Judge Hardy said, in sentencing Mr Davies: "Normally this
offence would be one that merited a substantial custodial sentence
because of the seriousness of dishonesty, but (the Judge) bore in mind a
number of mitigating circumstances."

This case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue & Customs
Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority that
reports to the Attorney General, and is responsible for the prosecution
of all HMRC cases in England and Wales.