Latest Articles By Simon Collyer

COUNCIL TAX - East Hampshire District Council is considering a two per cent increase in Council Tax to support the most vulnerable people in the district. The increase, amounting to 5p a week for the average household, would add around £215,000...

SUICIDES - The National Audit Office has today published a briefing that sets out the findings from our enquiries with the Department for Work & Pensions on the information it holds on benefit claimants who ended their lives by suicide,...

ABC MEDIA OPPORTUNITY – The ABC’s Simon Collyer attended a speed matching event run by the Media Trust, where chosen charities and social enterprise companies, met a cross-section of top media people where we pitched our opportunity in eight minute d...

The winners of this year’s Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Awards 2020 have been revealed at a special ceremony in Belfast today. Image: Rugby Star Tommy Bowe. Economy Minister Diane Dodds and rugby star Tommy Bowe presented winners with their a...

NORTHERN IRELAND - Northern Ireland Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey had ordered an end to the well-established practice of naming convicted welfare fraudsters. Hargey declared that it is “not required” of her to publish the names of people wh...

PIP - The Department for Communities has appointed Ms Marie Cavanagh to carry out the second independent statutory Review of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment. The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 states that the Dep...

APPRENTICESHIPS - The National Apprenticeship Service, part of the Skills Funding Agency, is a government agency that coordinates apprenticeships in England, enabling young people to enter the skilled trades. This week is National Apprenticeship Week...

TRAINING - The Department for the Economy, in partnership with Deloitte, is offering 20 places in a new Business Transformation Assured Skills Academy. The new Academy will provide participants the opportunity to learn valuable and in-demand skills i...

UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME - is new scheme that has already been trialled in Finland. If introduced, Universal Basic Income (UBI) would give every person a fixed, untaxed sum - which could be up to £100 a week - to live on, whether they ar...

JOB FAIR - The Department for Communities, in partnership with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, is hosting a major Job Fair in Craigavon on Friday 21st February 2020. The Job Fair will take place in the Craigavon Civic Centre bet...