ONS

ChemoMouthpiece, LLC. Announces the Awarding of the 510(k) Marketing Clearance by the FDA for their Oncology Supportive Care Device and Recent Closing of their Private Placement Round

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 22, 2024

announces the FDA 510(k) Marketing Clearance for their device, The Chemo Mouthpiece™.

Key Points: 
  • announces the FDA 510(k) Marketing Clearance for their device, The Chemo Mouthpiece™.
  • has just closed on their Private Placement Round of $10 million in upfront capital with a full commitment for the second tranche of additional funds in excess of $10 million.
  • "Chemo Mouthpiece™ is fully stocked, as we will begin shipping across the US within the next quarter now that we have FDA Marketing Clearance.
  • ChemoMouthpiece, LLC is a privately held medical device company that develops and commercializes propriety oral cryotherapy products for cancer patients.

Fuel poverty: as government support dries up, communities are taking action

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

That’s according to a report from the charity Citizens Advice, which says it is helping more people than ever who cannot pay for energy.

Key Points: 
  • That’s according to a report from the charity Citizens Advice, which says it is helping more people than ever who cannot pay for energy.
  • Soaring heating expenses, stagnating or declining wages and poorly maintained housing have marred millions of lives with debt and poor health.
  • Estimates suggest that 10% of excess winter deaths are directly attributable to fuel poverty and 21.5% to cold homes.

National schemes don’t go far enough

  • The government energy bill support scheme gave every household a £400 discount on their energy bills for winter 2022-2023.
  • Now some households could get £150 off their electricity bill (or added to their prepayment meter) for winter 2023-2024 under the warm home discount scheme.
  • Your local council may have other schemes so it is worth checking.
  • People may be unaware of their eligibility for the warm home discount and struggle to contact their energy supplier, as is sometimes required in Scotland.
  • They may also be loath to contact their local authority for information on nearby “warm spaces” – public places that anyone can use to stay warm, like libraries.

Warm communities

  • But our research shows that people in poverty and ethnic minority groups often do not trust city councils and local political representatives.
  • Community Energy England, a not-for-profit company, provides free resources for people who want to start community energy projects.
  • Money raised from selling this electricity has helped repay investors and funded insulation and other energy efficiency improvements for vulnerable people.

More help is needed

  • Our research also indicates that higher unemployment rates, low wages, and limited career progression in low-paid sectors frequently ends in fuel poverty, particularly among people in lower socioeconomic classes and especially those from Black communities.
  • The support currently offered should expand to involve community-led approaches to improve energy efficiency and help those in dire need.


Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.
Tolu Olarewaju does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ON Partners Validates 111% Increase in Executive Hiring for Energy and Cleantech Sectors

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 1, 2024

According to ON data, this has resulted in a 111% increase in the last three years of executive hiring in the space.

Key Points: 
  • According to ON data, this has resulted in a 111% increase in the last three years of executive hiring in the space.
  • "Amidst the transformative landscape of the energy, renewables, and cleantech sector, executive compensation has also seen a notable uptick year over year,” said Tim Conti, co-president at ON Partners.
  • According to the latest U.S. Energy Report , the talent strategies in the energy and cleantech sectors have shifted as the industry continues to evolve.
  • Further validating ONs data, Deloitte’s 2024 Renewable Energy Industry Outlook highlighted the rise of investments in the clean and renewable energy sectors.

Q4 UK Mortgage Arrears Climb Higher

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Google Trends data shows that searches for “Can’t afford mortgage” increased 200% in 2023 compared to 2021, with a notable uptick in December 2023.

Key Points: 
  • Google Trends data shows that searches for “Can’t afford mortgage” increased 200% in 2023 compared to 2021, with a notable uptick in December 2023.
  • Breaking down the arrears rate by product type, region and age reveals groups that are under particular stress:
    Residential mortgage arrears grew 5.6% compared to Q3 and 29.0% year-on-year.
  • Regionally, the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside, the North West, and the West Midlands had the highest absolute rate of arrears in the UK.
  • Every age group experienced growth in the arrears rate that ranged from 0.3 to 0.8 percentage points quarter-on-quarter.

Why the UK census should not be replaced with alternative sources of data

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 8, 2024

Scholars have expressed concern that the government intends to scrap the census altogether, in favour of using other, administrative sources of population data.

Key Points: 
  • Scholars have expressed concern that the government intends to scrap the census altogether, in favour of using other, administrative sources of population data.
  • The issue is not whether administrative data can supplement census data – it undoubtedly can.
  • They argue that using only alternative sources of information without the census to compare them against could ultimately lead to inaccuracies.

An unparalleled resource

  • It is this ambition to collect data about the complete population that makes the census so unique, unparalleled by much smaller social surveys.
  • The data collected in this way is crucial to understanding the changing social and demographic geographies of the UK.
  • As well as the finances, there are also questions around the survey’s efficacy, when multiple organisations already gather citizen data as a matter of routine.

Alternative sources

  • Most of the data is now collected and disseminated electronically rather than on paper.
  • There are also ever more ways to freely explore and visualise the data.
  • The ONS’s consultation document, entitled “The future of population and migration statistics in England and Wales”, suggests that various sources of administrative data can be linked and collated to create what is, in effect, a pseudo-census.

Potential for inaccuracy

  • A lot of effort has been made by the ONS to explore what it terms “census alternatives” and to understand their potential advantages and disadvantages.
  • Imagine, for example, that we used the national pupil database to estimate the ethnic composition of neighbourhoods.
  • Generally, however, the more we zoom into such smaller data-sets, to explore neighbourhood-level patterns and differences, the more the possibility for inaccuracy increases.
  • It provides a lot of geographically detailed data about people and places, but that information is updated infrequently.
  • As a geographer, interested in detailed understandings of where people live, that is my preference.
  • I agree with the signatories of the open letter that the government has not convincingly argued for scrapping the census.


Richard Harris had received funding from various organisations, including ESRC-UKRI, to develop research that uses census data.

DS Smith PLC – 2023/24 Half Year Results -

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 7, 2023

“While we anticipate markets to remain challenging, we remain focused on our customers and our costs and expect to deliver full year results in line with management expectations.

Key Points: 
  • “While we anticipate markets to remain challenging, we remain focused on our customers and our costs and expect to deliver full year results in line with management expectations.
  • Looking forward we remain confident in our business model and our capital and operational investment programmes which drive innovation, growth, improving productivity and environmental efficiency.”
    A complete report on DS Smith’s half-year results is available at: https://www.dssmith.com/investors/results-and-presentations/2023/ds-smit... .
  • GDP growth for rolling 6 months (year-on-year) for the countries in which DS Smith operates, weighted by our sales by country = 0.7%.
  • The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this announcement and DS Smith Plc undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

United Kingdom Construction Market Trend Analysis and Forecast 2023-2027 - Average Construction Material Price Index Rose by 5.3% YoY in H1 2023

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 7, 2023

DUBLIN, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United Kingdom (UK) Construction Market Size, Trend Analysis by Sector, Competitive Landscape and Forecast, 2023-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Key Points: 
  • DUBLIN, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United Kingdom (UK) Construction Market Size, Trend Analysis by Sector, Competitive Landscape and Forecast, 2023-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
  • According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average construction material price index rose by 5.3% year-on-year (YoY) in H1 2023, owing to the rising cost of new housing (6.4%), other new works (5.1%), and repair and maintenance (3.9%).
  • The current headwinds are also leading to an increase in the number of insolvencies in the UK's construction industry.
  • It provides:
    Historical (2018-2022) and forecast (2023-2027) valuations of the construction industry in the UK, featuring details of key growth drivers.

Cancer Drug Parity Act Gains Strong Support from Leading Healthcare Organizations

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), which leads the Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care (CIACC), fervently supports the Cancer Drug Parity Act, recognizing its profound impact on myeloma patients and their families.

Key Points: 
  • The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), which leads the Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care (CIACC), fervently supports the Cancer Drug Parity Act, recognizing its profound impact on myeloma patients and their families.
  • The Cancer Drug Parity Act would put the needs of patients first to ensure that patients, along with their healthcare providers, can choose the treatment option they deem is most appropriate”.
  • ONS is proud to support the Cancer Drug Parity Act and commends the bill’s sponsors for their leadership in ensuring parity for oral cancer treatments.”
    Recognizing the pressing need for equitable access to cancer treatments, Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), emphasized the critical issue of disparities in cost-sharing for oral chemotherapy medications.
  • For more information on the Cancer Drug Parity Act and its potential impact on cancer care, please visit https://www.access2cancercare.org/ .

United Kingdom Compact Construction Equipment Market Assessment & Forecast Report 2023-2029: Affordable Housing Initiatives and Investment in National Healthcare Plan to Spur Growth - ResearchAndMarkets.com

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 19, 2023

The "UK Compact Construction Equipment Market - Strategic Assessment & Forecast 2023-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Key Points: 
  • The "UK Compact Construction Equipment Market - Strategic Assessment & Forecast 2023-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
  • This growth in the logistics and e-commerce sectors is expected to have a positive impact on the demand for compact forklifts within the U.K. compact construction equipment market.
  • Caterpillar, Komatsu, Volvo CE, and JCB are among the top revenue generators in the U.K. compact construction equipment market.
  • Compact Construction Equipment Market Growth
    The government introduced an affordable housing delivery plan for 2022-2025 in Bristol City in 2021.

Who tracked UK COVID infections the best at the height of the pandemic? A new study provides the answer

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

We wanted to know which of these methods was the most reliable during the first two years of the pandemic.

Key Points: 
  • We wanted to know which of these methods was the most reliable during the first two years of the pandemic.
  • The gold standard surveillance was the Office for National Statistics (ONS) COVID survey.
  • This data tracked the ONS estimates very closely, though the reported numbers were usually only about 45% of the ONS data.
  • The Zoe app also tracked the ONS survey estimates closely and was a good estimate of whether infections were rising or falling.
  • For COVID, the question was can wastewater testing indicate how much infection is present in the population?
  • In our analysis, we found that counts in wastewater were moderately correlated with the prevalence of COVID in the population.

Useful additional insights

    • Even so, the other approaches provided useful additional insights.
    • NHS 111 call and website data provided useful information early in the pandemic, before other surveillance methods were established.
    • Although wastewater surveillance did little to increase our understanding of the course of the pandemic in England, this surveillance method may be useful in countries that don’t have easy access to human testing.