Environment Minister Ian Pearson and Financial Secretary to the Treasury John Healey will this afternoon meet eleven of the major UK consumer electronic retailers to discuss how they can help deliver more energy...

My Lord Mayor, Mr Governor, My Lords, Aldermen, Mr Recorder, Sheriffs, ladies and gentlemen.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life is holding a public hearing in Edinburgh on 27 June 2006 to take evidence on the role of the Electoral Commission in Scotland. The hearing which is open to the public is...

OFT withdraws specific Mastercard decision to focus on legality of current credit card interchange fees as a whole; original legal and economic reasoning correct, but OFT will not pursue past arrangements

STATEMENT

The Young Consumers of the Year Competition, run by the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and sponsored principally by the OFT, celebrated its 20th anniversary in London yesterday.

A Lebanese company has given an assurance to the OFT that it will no longer market the Lipo-Slim product in the UK using a mailing which has attracted a number of consumer complaints.

In a series of meetings in Iraq, Defence Secretary Des Browne has secured important undertakings from the Iraqi Government on delivering a new security plan for Basra. The high level talks focussed on measures which...

Lord Drayson, Minister for Defence Procurement, today announced that the MoD had entered into a groundbreaking partnering arrangement with AgustaWestland which will improve the speed of delivery of new helicopters...

On the eve of the UN Small Arms Review Conference, Des Browne, Secretary of State for Defence has renewed calls for an International Arms Trade Treaty.

The Merchant Seafarers' bravery assisting the Armed Forces in military operations is now being formally commemorated with today's launch of the new UK Merchant Seafarers Veterans' Badge. The launch begins a series...

Workplace transport claims 66 lives a year with over 6300 people suffering injury. In the reporting year 2004/05, these incidents cost the British taxpayer over £200 million with the cost to industry considerably...

Responding to Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) report on the unannounced inspections of four short-term non residential immigration holding facilities and their review of detainees under escort, ...

21 June 2006: Highways Agency Traffic Officers begin patrols on motorways in Hampshire today completing the implementation of the Traffic Officer Service in the South East of England.

Cabinet Minister Hilary Armstrong today thanked Bernard Herdan for his independent report on the review of the Charter Mark Scheme and the measurement of customer satisfaction with public services - 'The Customer...

Today the Government set out its vision for a partnership approach between public, private and third sectors to deliver the services that people want in the way that suits them best.

Proposals to help mesothelioma sufferers receive proper compensation were put forward by Lord Falconer, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, and John Hutton, Secretary of State for ...

"VICTIMS' FAMILIES CONFINED TO SILENCE NO MORE"

Rachel Lampard and Lord McIntosh have been appointed to the Board of the Gambling Commission, Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, announced today.

Lottery 'tick boxes' pilot to give public a say in Lottery grants The public will get more say in where Lottery grants go under a pilot voting scheme announced today by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media ...

Nigel Walker has been appointed to the board of UK Sport, Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport, announced today.

Government publishes advice on how councils can help live events prosper

MARINE SCIENTISTS HEADING FOR A NEW HOME IN SUFFOLK

Modernised Sea Fisheries Committees (SFCs) will deliver improved management of fish stocks and the marine environment in England, Minister Ben Bradshaw announced today.

Strategic long term thinking is essential to protect the sustainability of the water supply in England, a meeting of major water industry players has emphasised.

Professor Sir William Stewart and Mr Marcus Agius have been appointed as Trustees to the Board of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales met on 13, 14 and 15 June 2006 for the 2006 annual pay negotiations. The Board has proposed introducing a new Wages Order that will come into force on Sunday 1...

Joint announcement by the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs and HM Treasury

Defra today welcomed the House of Lords' decision to allow, for the first time, face-to-face trading of meat and fish at New Covent Garden Market, Nine Elms in central London.

Defra has today published a review that considers possible methods for containing the spread of novel genes in GM crop plants. This issue is of potential relevance to the risk assessment of new types of GM crop. ...

The Pesticides Forum issued its 2005 Annual Report today.

The latest Pesticide Residues Committee's (PRC) quarterly report found that 61.1% of the 1247 samples of 24 different foods tested had no detectable residues, and 36.9% contained levels below the maximum residues...

The latest results from the Pesticide Residues Committee's (PRC) programme of pesticide residue testing in fruit and vegetables supplied to school children found that one sample contained a pesticide above the legal...

A new drive to modernise mental health services was launched today by Health Minister Rosie Winterton. She published a document outlining ten key changes that mental health providers should make to improve quality...

Drug treatment services across the country will receive an extra £95.2m this year, the Public Health Minister Caroline Flint announced today.

NHS staff will be better equipped to identify and support victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse, thanks to guidance being developed by a cross-Government programme being launched today.

Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Health, held a private meeting in her office at Richmond House with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster. The Cardinal was joined by Lord Brennan QC ...

- Random checks on GP appointment times come into force- - New survey addresses concerns over accuracy of GP access target tests -

Social entrepreneurs are to help create new ways to provide choice in health and social care, thanks to a new unit established today in the Department of Health.

David Behan is to join the Department of Health as the new Director General for Social Care. He is currently Chief Inspector at the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

Plans to ensure that children with kidney problems get the best possible treatment were set out today by Health Minister Rosie Winterton. "The National Service Framework for Renal Services - Working for Children...

Twilight years for North Sea? Clearly not, says Energy Minister

Thousands of working parents stand to benefit from new rights to more maternity and paternity leave and pay after the Work and Families Bill received Royal Assent last night. Businesses will also benefit from a ...

Wicks welcomes green light for Climate Change Bill

Employers have a crucial role to play now in tackling undersaving, James Purnell, Minister for Pension Reform said today.

Mr Bernard Whiteside MBE has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Ecuador in succession to Mr Richard Lewington who will be retiring from the Diplomatic Service. Mr Whiteside will take up his...

The FCO Minister for Africa, Lord David Triesman, has welcomed the recent deployment to Darfur of the UN/AU Technical Assessment Mission.

The Foreign Secretary has today welcomed the transfer to the Netherlands of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who will face trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting in The Hague.

The Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett today condemned the Israeli airstrike which yesterday caused civilian deaths in Northern Gaza. She said:

Ms Frances Guy has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Lebanese Republic in succession to Mr James Watt CVO who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Ms Guy will take up her ...

The Minister for Africa, Lord David Triesman, today welcomed reports of agreement being reached at talks in Khartoum between the Somali Transitional Federal Government and representatives of the Islamic Courts Union...

I have set the Central Office of Information the following targets for 2006–07.Financial: To break even, taking one year with another.Efficiency: To achieve a 2.5 per cent reduction in the unit costs of output.Quality...

I have set the Central Office of Information the following targets for 2006-07.Financial:To break even, taking one year with another.Efficiency:To achieve a 2.5 per cent. reduction in the unit costs of output.Quality...

The Department for Constitutional Affairs is responsible for maintaining a list of accredited bodies able to carry out court-directed scientific tests for parentage in accordance with a direction made by a court...

I am very pleased to announce substantive progress on two commitments we made under the defence industrial strategy: the signature of a strategic partnering arrangement with AgustaWestland andthe award of a contract...

The Government have accepted the findings of the Review Board for Government Contracts as detailed in their report of the 2006 annual review of the profit formula for non-competitive Government contracts. I will...

The Justice and Home Affairs Council was held on 1-2 June 2006 in Luxembourg. My noble and learned Friend the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, and my noble Friend Baroness Ashton attended the meeting. I thought...

During business questions on Thursday 9 March, in response to a request for a debate on the conduct and management of the NHS from the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), the then Leader of the House, my right...

Rivers Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland. It acts on behalf of the Department as the statutory drainage and flood defence authority for Northern...

I am pleased to announce that the Government have today written to the Low Pay Commission setting out the terms of reference for their 2007 Report.The Commission is asked to:Continue to monitor, evaluate and review...

Treatment for patients with heart attacks in England and Wales is now better than anywhere else in the world and is continuing to improve, according to new figures published on 22 June.

£8.7bn current budget deficit in May

Total Production rises in 3 months to May

Asked if there had been any developments on Grace and Favour homes for ministers, the PMOS referred journalists to his previous answer on the subject. Put to him that it was a matter of public record when these ...

Asked if the Prime Minister believed that the time was right for a joint committee to reinvestigate and re-examine the abortion issues, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister's approach was what almost all Prime...

Asked if the securing of tickets for 350 school children disappointed by fraudulent tickets at the World Cup in Germany was down to Richard Caborn's charm and diplomacy, the PMOS said that it was down to a team ...

Put that Sir Ian Blair had said in his speech today that Forest Gate was justified, and people had only heard the family's side of the story, therefore, if there was another side of the story, shouldn't the Government...

Asked for the Prime Minister's view concerning a replacement for the Trident nuclear defence programme following the questions raised at PMQs earlier, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister would express that view...

The Queen has been pleased to approve that Paul Jenkins, be appointed in succession to Dame Juliet Wheldon DCB QC as Her Majesty's Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service.

Press briefing from the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman on: Paedophiles and News of the World, 7/7 Inquiry, Judges, Iraq and Football