A Russian rocket blasted into space this month to investigate whether any methane gas is present on Mars, as part of the joint ExoMars project created by the European and Russian space agencies. Methane is a gas created by living microbes, and if it were to be detected it would be a revelation in the space industry as it could prove that life exists or existed on the red planet, some 225 million kilometres away from the Earth (which is itself something of a shock, given that in 2003 Mars was a mere 56 million kms away). We already know there is life-giving water on Mars.  Just like the Earth it has ice caps, although the water they contain is more elusive.  The American space agency NASA made a huge discovery in 2006 when it found there was water flowing through the planet in even the hottest months of the year, and that the ‘lines’ that appear on our satellite images of Mars are streaks of flowing salt water. That’s when the questions ‘did life exist on Mars, and can we find out?’ really started to arise. The ExoMars project involves sending up a Trace Gas Orbiter to sniff the Martian atmosphere for methane, and if the results are positive then this would establish that methane has been generated via geology or a biological process. As part of the same mission, a stationary lander called Schiaparelli will test the technology for a subsequent mission – ExoMars 2018 – which will see a UK-built rover collect soil samples filled with water particles and drill below the planet’s surface to look for other signs of life.  That’s when the search for Martian life will start in earnest. These two projects combined will cost an eye-watering £900 million but isn’t it worth it for the chance to make one of the biggest discoveries of all time?  What a time to be alive! Planetary scientist Dr Peter Grindrod, from Birkbeck, University of London, who is funded by the UK Space Agency, certainly thinks so.  “It’s incredibly exciting,” he enthused.  “This is a series of missions that’s trying to address one of the fundamental questions in science: is there life anywhere else besides the Earth?  Finding that life exists elsewhere in the solar system would be a huge discovery, so the evidence has to be strong.  As they say, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Wouldn’t it be amazing to find out if there really is Life On Mars, or if there has been in the past.  It’s astonishing to think there could be more than just us Earthlings in our solar system!

What is P272? P27what? You aren’t alone in the dark about P272.  P272 is regarded as one of the biggest shakeups to the business electricity market since deregulation. Sounds more like a character out of star wars,  but here are some facts on P272,  which we have put together hopefully jargon free. If you unsure on how P272 affects your business please do not hesitate to contact us for free on 0800 781 7626, we will be delighted to help you further. You may also like to view our infographic and visit our support page dedicated to the P272 OFGEM legislation. The Facts – What Is P272 P272 is a new regulation which has been implemented by OFGEM. It affects the way suppliers settle electricity consumption for businesses with a specified energy use. Resulting in sites being changed to half hourly. Remember, remember the 5th November… “Guy Fawkes?”. No, no… this is when the P272 migration began! The deadline for all sites to be settled to Half-Hourly is 1st April 2017. Don’t be fooled by the date, it really is 1st April! Also, don’t be put off by the 2017 threat – it’ll be here before you know it! The settlement is being put in place in order for suppliers to balance the amount of energy being purchased from the Generators. The aim for P272 is to make the readings more accurate via the half hourly consumption. This will provide distributors with more understanding on electricity use. This results in networks ensuring they are sufficiently developed and maintained. Ultimately, P272 helps you and your business manage and also use the energy smartly. It gives you the opportunity to see where and when you are consuming energy. Also, a more accurate settlement which could lead to better tariff rates… something nobody would say no to, agreed? Now you (hopefully) have a little more understanding of P272 here is how to prepare: Learn if your portfolio is affected. Speak to your supplier, they will be more than happy to explore your options with you. Select your Half-Hourly Meter and Data Collector. If your business has a maximum demand electricity supply categorised by profile classes: 05 06 07 08 And you have an Automated Meter Reading meter of which is capable of HH data collection and remote programming. Just to let you know… 160,000 sites are affected so it is definitely worth double, maybe even triple checking! “How do I check?!” I hear you say? Simple… you just check the S number at the top of your electricity bill to find out your sites profile class.   Believe it or not, P272 can be very beneficial for you and here’s why: You receive accurate billing It offers you the ability to avoid peak times of electricity use It gives you an insight on your energy usage It allows you to make room for an opportunity of improvement and efficiency REMEMBER… This is an OFGEM regulation affecting ALL maximum demand meters and ALL electricity suppliers equally. If you’re being advised P272 does not affect your business, please let us double check this for you.  

Everyday thousands of elderly patients are unable to leave due to a lack of care available in the community. A solution for this has risen, see what you think… A recent debate has come around regarding the NHS to fund for Care Homes to give beds to elderly patients who have been in hospital for a substantial amount of time in a result of a lack of care available for the vulnerable patients when they leave the hospital. Therefore, the NHS are keeping these patients in their beds which is also resulting in newly arrived patients to be on trolleys in the hospital corridors. This new campaign has been classed as a ‘win-win’ by the Government as it will be freeing up hospital beds while bringing ‘vital investment’ to the care sector. It seems to be almost unbelievable that the change hasn’t been discussed or arranged earlier as no serious issues have been brought to light. Overall in the NHS in England, 4 300 patients are stuck in hospital because of discharging issues. This is taking up what looks like the small percentage of 4% of general hospital beds, yet when you take into consideration the 4% of newly arrived patients that could be given a proper hospital bed when they are most in need, it puts into perspective how this arrangement should be escalated to begin as quickly as possible. If these underlying issues continue the way they are, the number of patients stuck in hospitals could increase by 1 000 in the short time of 5 years. If the changes were to be made, the NHS would benefit just as much as the patients as they would save themselves a grand total of £3.3bn by preventing the costs of having to increase hospital space and provide more hospital beds. Whereas, the more appropriate way to spend £3.3bn would be to cover the cost of the following: all patients suffering delay, Care Home staff and the facilities needed in the Care Home to attend to specific needs of the patients. If these changes were to take place, the patients that would be moved into the funded Care Homes would receive temporary 24-hour round the clock care from the staff at the Care Home. This would be until a more permanent provision of care can be arranged. ResPublica director, Phillip Blond, said that “the bed blocking crisis in the NHS is only getting worse… leaving newly arrived patients on trolleys in hospital corridors”. The term crisis is vaguely used yet it gives an insight of the severity of the issue and the lack of attention this has been given in the past as it is ‘only getting worse’. In other words, we need to cure this problem before it’s too late. Furthermore, we all know that prevention is better than cure so therefore the question “why are we only thinking about acting now?” is being raised in many people’s minds. The extra money from this project will help Care Homes stay afloat in comparison to last years’ threats of potentially losing around 37 000 beds which could be lost due to the minute percentage of fees paid by the council. If this new arrangement were to take place and the health and care sectors “worked better together” it would be aided by Better Care Fund. Better Care Fund was launched last year it was announced by Government in June 2013. The purpose of the fund is to ensure a transformation in integrated health and social care. The trust has been labelled as one of the most ambitious programmes across the NHS and the local government. The idea is that Better Care Fund creates a single pooled budget to focus specifically on the NHS and government to work more closely together placing their well-being as the focus of health and care services. This fund involves an astounding £5.3bn annual pot to be pooled within these sectors. It seems almost bizarre that we, as a country, are not already undergoing these procedures to help those who are in need of the support that is quite clearly available to be provided to these patients who are trapped in a world in which they have no vision of escape for the foreseeable.

  It’s certainly no costa del sol! So why is Germany the leading producer of solar generation? From last year the German government decided to close all its nuclear producing plants after the Fukushima nuclear accident closing immediately 8 nuclear power plants and committing to close all others by 2022. Germany are looking to replace the powerplants with renewable solutions such as bio-mass, wind and solar. German solar power plants now produce a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity which is equal to 20 nuclear power plants at full capacity.  Germany is now a world leader in the solar power generation market. After such incredible steps Germany’s aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2020 means they are certainly well on their way!