This archive gathers solutions-journalism stories and milestones from the United Kingdom — covering health, environment, social policy, science, and more. Browse 388 articles documenting progress made by communities, researchers, and organizations across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Campaigners celebrated the first “dramatic” results from Middlesbrough’s scheme, which found a vast reduction in re-offending rates and use of street drugs, and significant improvements in participants’ health and quality of life, including seeing those homeless at the outset placed in accommodation.
More than one million people in the U.K. have given up smoking since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study by the nonprofit Action on Smoking and Health. Almost half (41%) said it was a direct response to heightened health concerns due to COVID-19.
BP wants to create a 10-fold increase in annual low carbon investments in the coming decade, to $5 billion a year by 2030, and it says it is working on its promise of net zero-emissions by 2050.
Use of plastic carrier bags in England has continued to fall – by 59% in the last year alone – since the introduction of the 5p charge. Sales of single-use plastic bags have dropped by 95% in England’s supermarkets since the charge was introduced in October 2015.
A new blood test for prostate cancer is producing a 99% accuracy rating—precision that has never before been achieved for a blood test of this particular kind of cancer. The test can also determine the exact stage and progression of the cancer, reducing the need for invasive biopsies and scans.
The U.K.’s biggest pension fund, the government-backed National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) scheme with nine million members, is to begin divesting from fossil fuels in what climate campaigners have hailed as a landmark move for the industry.
Eligible individuals from Hong Kong currently can come to the U.K. for six months without a visa. With the rule change, they will have the right to live and work in the country for five years. After that, they will be allowed to apply for settled status and then again for citizenship.
The new bottle, developed in partnership with venture management company Pilot Lite, will be made from sustainably sourced pulp to meet food-safe standards and will be fully recyclable in standard waste streams.
“We believe that transparency about carbon footprint will be an accelerator in the global race to zero emissions, and it is our ambition to communicate the carbon footprint of every product we sell.”
The project near Manchester, U.K., will use spare green energy to compress air into a liquid and store it. The new liquid air battery is due to be operational in 2022 and will be able to power up to 200,000 homes for five hours, and store power for many weeks.
