Jan Vertonghen honor Player of the Month

    

      

Pic::jan vertonghen player of the month (BPL) show with tropy..pic courtesy:::wp/es

Jan Vertonghen honor Player of the Month

sports reporter,London(wp/Es):::

Tottenham may not have been celebrating after their 2-2 draw with Basle last night but Jan Vertonghen has something to smile about after being named Barclays Premier League Player of the Month for March.

The Belgium defender kicked off the month with a man-of-the match performance in the 2-1 North London derby victory over Arsenal and went on to score three league goals including a double against Liverpool.

Vertonghen signed for Spurs last summer from Dutch side Ajax and the international has since made 27 appearances for Andre Villas-Boas’s team.

Spurs won two out of their four March fixtures and remain third in the Premier League with Chelsea in close pursuit.

The 25-year-old has also played an important role in Tottenham’s Europa League campaign, scoring in the first-leg last 16 tie against Inter Milan.

fitness&health chain ITSU open 20 more outlets in London

    

      

business reporter,London(weastar times/wp/es):::

fitness&health chain ITSU open 20 more  outlets in London

business reporter,London(weastar times/wp/es):::

Itsu, the London-focused sushi chain set up by the founders of Pret a Manger, today secured a £14 million finance deal that will see it open more than 20 new outlets in the capital and create 350 new jobs.

Pret’s founder Julian Metcalfe opened the first itsu restaurant in Chelsea in 1997, and the chain now operates 38 shops in London plus two large restaurants. However it remains famous for being at the heart of a Russian spy scandal, with its Piccadilly outlet being the site where Alexander Litvinenko ate before being admitted to hospital with radiation poisoning.

Itsu said its financing package, which was arranged with HSBC, will fund expansion over the next three years.

Mark Frettingham, HSBC’s Head of Corporate Banking for southern England, said: “HSBC is delighted to be supporting itsu and its strong management team. They are putting significant energy into seeking out exciting opportunities for expansion without compromising their principles.”

Itsu’s sales have accelerated despite the economic downturn, with managing director Gerard Longhran last year reporting them up 30% year-on-year.

 Metcalfe is also rolling out an itsu retail line, including its iced white tea sold in branches of Waitrose, and branded miso soups on supermarket shelves this spring.

new reform save £24 million from corruptfree civil servants

    

      

new reform save £24 million from corruptfree civil servants 

national report(weastar times/wp/es):::

Ministers have revealed that they expect to save £24 million by squeezing thousands of civil servants from two departments into one building.

Under the plan, 1,300 staff from the Department for Communities and Local Government will move from their Eland House base in Bressenden Place in Victoria to space at the Home Office in Marsham Street in the middle of next year.

There are already about 10,000 staff at the Home Office, but the move is seen as critical to achieving the savings demanded by the Treasury.

Brandon Lewis, the minister for local government, said: “At DCLG, we believe in making sure taxpayers get value for money. By sharing services and streamlining our property portfolio, this move will allow us to continue practising what we preach.”

The Government will pay a break-fee for ending the department’s tenancy of Eland House early, but officials refused to reveal the amount, citing “commercial sensitivity”. However, they said DCLG would save £8 million in office accommodation costs, with the remaining savings coming from the building’s running costs.

The department was asked to slash spending by more than any other Whitehall department when the Coalition came to power in 2010. It then had 2,200 staff and now has 1,200, with a further 100 workers from other bodies also housed at Eland House.

Helen Kilpatrick, director-general of finance and corporate services at the Home Office, said: “As budgets continue to tighten, we want to target resources where they are needed most. And we want to set a strong example right at the centre. This is not just about saving money.

“The move provides us with a great opportunity to place the Home Office at the forefront of civil service reform, developing ways of working flexibly and sharing resources and knowledge across departments.”

Her DCLG counterpart Sue Higgins said: “Our aim is to use our resources — people, public money and property assets — as efficiently and creatively as possible to deliver real change.”

COUNTRY TRAVEL:::a day in helford

    

      

travel desk:::
The Shipwrights Arms overlooking a beauiful creek in Helford changed hands in 2012, and re-opened in time for the Easter weekend 2013 after a re-fit. It was very long overdue a refurbishment and new energy, because the location has to be one of the most beautiful in Britain, with views down the Helford River, but it had been going downhill for a number of years. I popped in for a quick pint after walking Frenchman's Creek, and enjoyed a very well kept locally brewed beer (Harbour Light) and checked out the menu. There is something to be said for a pub menu which is not complicated as you know the the chef will focus on doing a few things really well - this one looked interesting, and also had a few pub staples (fish and chips for £10, pasties for much less). Definitely worth dropping in for a look and a bite to eat - even the soup and bread should be good - the manager is well known locally for making her own artisan bread which is sold in the region.

for further details you can get on national tourism authourity.OR TRY  VISITENGLAND.COM
spot address&contact
address::Helston Village, Helston TR12 6JX, THE ROYAL ENGLAND
contact:+44 (0)1326 231235

Royal Society plans summer game competition in july

    

      

Royal Society plans summer game competition in july

ict reporter,BP(weastar times/g):::

Every July, the Royal Society runs its Summer Science Exhibition, a week-long event showcasing the latest in science and engineering research from across the country.

This year, the fellowship has a new idea to promote and explore the ideas on show. Developers are being invited to take part in a 12-hour game jam in May, each tasked with creating a playable concept based around one of the exhibits at the summer event. Each team will be paired with a scientist, who'll explain their work and help with the development process. Five of the teams will then receive £2000 to further refine their concept so that the games will be ready for the summer.

The Royal Society has teamed up with Unity, which develops a well-known 3D engine for indie studios, as well as digital portal Indie City, which will host the games online.

"The Summer Science Exhibition is one of the highlights of the Royal Society's year," says Professor Peter Sadler, chair of the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition selecting committee. "We're very excited to be introducing a new element to the Exhibition this year in the form of the Games Jam. An increasing number of exhibitors have used games as a way of communicating their science over the last few years and we're hoping that by giving some of them an opportunity to be part of the Games Jam it will bring state-of-the-art creativity and innovation to their video games and some fantastic news ways of bringing their cutting-edge research to life for our visitors."

It's another interesting example of major institutions using games to increase awareness and accessibility. The Science Museum has embraced interactive media, running games on its site to publicise and expand on current exhibitions; the Tate Modern, too, has successfully used games as a way of encouraging people to explore its collection – see Hide&Seek's excellent Tate Trumps.

If you're a studio, or at least an experienced developer with three friends to drag in, you can find out about the Summer Game Jam here – you'll need to complete the entry form by 1 May.

countrywide Government must listen for new councils(LG) welfare reforms

    

      

countrywide Government  must listen for 

new councils welfare reforms

national report(weastar times/wp/g):::

implementation of some of the most far reaching welfare reforms of the past 60 years began on 1 April. Following a five and a half month inquiry, the communities and local government committee, which I chair, has published a report looking at the implementation of these reforms and the role that local authorities are playing.

In the report we have identified several areas important to the successful implementation of the welfare changes. While none merit an outright red card, we called on the government to act swiftly to address our concerns.

Later this year the government is switching the payment of housing support from the landlord directly to the claimant. As a result, housing associations and local authorities may face increased rent arrears and collection costs. During our inquiry the government provided assurances that the reforms will not undermine the financial viability of housing associations. It now needs to show how that guarantee will be made good. If the changes are to stand a chance of working, adequate safeguards are vital.

Direct payment to tenants are being piloted and tested in six areas and information and lessons from these must be available and acted on before national rollout begins later this year. In addition, the government has agreed that vulnerable tenants can be excluded from the switch to direct payments. But we don't yet have a clear definition of who these 'vulnerable' tenants are. This must be provided quickly.

During our inquiry we heard concerns from professionals in local authorities, who will have to implement and operate the changes, about the readiness of the ICT systems. In particular, we heard that the systems for fraud detection within universal credit were still only at an early stage of development. This is concerning given that the new system is going to start in the next few months. The government has to ensure that the benefit system will not be left vulnerable to fraud either during or after the transition.

The changes starting on 1 April are part of a much wider set of changes, which include social sector size criteria aka the bedroom tax, the benefit cap and local council tax support schemes – all of which will increase the pressures on both claimants and local authorities.

While the government is aware that some of the welfare changes place new burdens on local authorities, it needs to assess the impact of the whole programme, particularly on collection rates, rather than of individual changes in isolation. My committee has therefore called on the government to work with the Local Government Association to assess the cumulative impact of reforms.

The government also has to look at the impact of the changes on individual claimants. It was disappointing that it does not see it as a priority in claims for universal credit where requests are made for information to be passed on to councils to determine entitlement to council tax subsidy.

Local authorities have a valuable contribution to make in planning and targeting local welfare provision and have a long track record of delivering major reforms. The significance, timetable and volume of the changes this month should not, however, be underestimated. The government must act on my committee's recommendations, listen to local authorities and do all it can to assist them in their efforts to implement the changes successfully and on time.