government policies

25 May 23

Britain lowers energy price cap to £2,074 a year, but bills could still rise

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Great Britain's energy price cap will fall to £2,074 a year, this summer. However, households could see little relief, as the government-imposed energy price guarantee (EPG), will come to an end at the same time. The lowering of the energy price cap could mark the first time consumers on default…

17 May 23

Self-driving cars will cause ‘moral panic’, says transport minister

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Jesse Norman told MPs that a “horrendous” part of the development of the technology will be “scare stories, particularly in the early stages”. Last month, the UK became the first European country to allow drivers to take their hands off car steering wheels on public roads, after the Department for…

02 May 23

Calls for ‘loophole’ to be closed as BP bags £500m of profits beyond expectations

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

BP announced that it made just under $5bn ($4.96bn; £4bn) in underlying replacement cost profit between January and March of this year, citing a strong performance in its oil trading business. The profit is actually a reduction from last year's gargantuan take, when BP's business benefitted from extremely high energy…

20 Apr 23

Thousands of stranded cars left undetected on smart motorways, Labour claims

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

According to Labour’s analysis of live lane breakdown incidents between 2016 and 2020, 60,925 were believed to be on roads without a permanent hard shoulder. The party then drew upon detection rates published by the Office of Road and Rail to come up with its figure of an average of…

19 Apr 23

Australia unveils roadmap to boost uptake of electric vehicles

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

As part of the plan, the federal government will introduce a fuel efficiency standard, working with the industry to finalise details in coming months, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. Apart from Russia, Australia was the only developed country to either not have or be developing fuel efficiency standards, which encourage…

30 Mar 23

UK unveils multi-million-pound green energy scheme

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The UK has presented a new, more detailed plan for investing in affordable, clean, homegrown power to mark what has been informally dubbed 'Green Day'. The government was required to present one such scheme after a court ruling found that the country's net-zero strategy is "unlawful", as it failed to…

27 Mar 23

UK making ‘negligible advances’ on infrastructure initiatives, advisers say

Geotechnical & Environmental

The UK is "moving too slowly" on projects set to push forward economic and climate targets, according to the National Infrastructure Commission's (NIC) latest Infrastructure Progress Review. The country's official independent infrastructure adviser has warned the government is at risk of failing to deliver the aims of its National Infrastructure Strategy…

21 Mar 23

Government borrowing soars amid rising energy bills

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The UK government borrowed £16.7bn in February, reaching the highest level for the month since records began in 1993, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure marked a year-on-year increase of £9.7bn. The rise in public borrowing was said to be caused by spending on energy support schemes…

21 Mar 23

Decarbonise public buildings ‘five times faster’ to meet net-zero targets, report says

Geotechnical & Environmental

The 'Public Building Energy Efficiency' report, conducted by network service providers Neos Networks, examined the actual energy usage and efficiency of over 450,000 public buildings in England and Wales. It analysed their display energy certificates (DECs) and ‘operational ratings’ (annual CO2 emission kg per m2), and highlighted the areas requiring…

15 Mar 23

UK will avoid a ‘technical recession’ in 2023, chancellor says

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

In his first full speech to Parliament, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that the UK has "proved the doubters wrong" and confirmed that the country will not enter a technical recession in 2023. Announcing the Spring Budget, Hunt stressed predictions that inflation rates will fall from their 10.7 per cent high,…

Britain lowers energy price cap to £2,074 a year, but bills could still rise

Self-driving cars will cause ‘moral panic’, says transport minister

Calls for ‘loophole’ to be closed as BP bags £500m of profits beyond expectations

Thousands of stranded cars left undetected on smart motorways, Labour claims

Australia unveils roadmap to boost uptake of electric vehicles

UK unveils multi-million-pound green energy scheme

UK making ‘negligible advances’ on infrastructure initiatives, advisers say

Government borrowing soars amid rising energy bills

Decarbonise public buildings ‘five times faster’ to meet net-zero targets, report says

UK will avoid a ‘technical recession’ in 2023, chancellor says

Electronic skin can self-heal after a cut, researchers find

IEEE President’s Note: Connecting the Unconnected

3 stories of founders building apps for the LGBTQ+ community

5 ways you can personalize your smartwatch with Wear OS

Here’s how Unilever is harnessing AI to innovate your favourite products