Nearly £20 million for legal support over the next three years
Funding will help more people facing debt, employment, housing and family issues access vital advice services
Part of the Government’s Plan for Change to increase access to justice
The new grant, which will run from October next year to March 2029, is worth nearly £20 million and will improve access to social welfare and family legal support for those who need help.
It means that those on the edge of life changing moments – like eviction or bankruptcy – can get the help they need before they end up in court faced with the prospect of a costly legal bill they can’t afford.
It would also help those with debt problems get early advice on how to prevent their finances from further spiralling – saving them stress and anxiety and helping put their lives on a solid foundation.
The Access to Justice Foundation will administer and manage the grant, which organisations from across the advice sector are invited to apply for. These organisations are crucial in supporting access to justice for everyone, including vulnerable people.
Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, said:
It is absolutely vital that those facing some of life’s most challenging situations – such as debt, eviction, family issues – are able to access the support they need.
This funding will ensure that essential legal support and information is available to those who need it most and will put the sector on a sustainable footing, as part of our Plan for Change.
The Deputy Prime Minister has also announced today that the two current legal support grant programmes, the Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support Grant and the Online Support and Advice Grant, have been extended for six months, until September 2026, ensuring the continued provision of essential services.
The Government is also working closely with partners from across the sector to drive forward a long-term programme of work to improve the legal support system and make it more effective, efficient and sustainable.
Data centres can’t function without cooling systems
They work 24/7 at high speeds and get searingly hot – but data centre computer chips get plenty of pampering. Some of them basically live at the spa.
“We’ll have fluid that comes up and [then] shower down, or trickle down, onto a component,” says Jonathan Ballon, chief executive at liquid cooling firm Iceotope. “Some things will get sprayed.”
In other cases, the industrious gizmos recline in circulating baths of fluid, which ferries away the heat they generate, enabling them to function at very high speeds, known as “overclocking”.
“We have customers that are overclocking at all times because there is zero risk of burning out the server,” says Mr Ballon. He adds that one client, a hotel chain in the US, is planning to use heat from hotel servers to warm guest rooms, the hotel laundry and swimming pool.
Without cooling, data centres fall over.
In November, a cooling system failure at a data centre in the US sent financial trading tech offline at CME Group, the world’s largest exchange operator. The company has since put in place additional cooling capacity to help protect against a repeat of this incident.
Currently, demand for data centres is booming, driven partly by the growth of AI technologies. But the huge amounts of energy and water that many of these facilities consume mean that they are increasingly controversial.
More than 200 environmental groups in the US recently demanded a moratorium on new data centres in the country. But there are some data centre firms that say they want to reduce their impact.
They have another incentive. Data centre computer chips are becoming increasingly powerful. So much so that many in the industry say traditional cooling methods – such as air cooling, where fans constantly blow air over the hottest components – is no longer sufficient for some operations.
Mr Ballon is aware of rising controversy around the construction of energy-devouring data centres. “Communities are pushing back on these projects,” he says. “We require significantly less power and water. We don’t have any fans whatsoever – we operate silently.”
Iceotope
Iceotope says its tech can cut the cost of cooling by up to 80%
Iceotope says its approach to liquid cooling, which can soothe multiple components in a data centre, not just the processing chips, may reduce cooling-related energy demands by up to 80%.
The company’s technology uses water to cool down the oil-based fluid that actually interacts with computer tech. But the water remains in a closed loop, so there is no need to continually draw more of it from local supplies.
I ask whether the oil-based fluids in the firm’s cooling system are derived from fossil fuel products and he says some of them are, though he stresses that none contain PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, which are harmful to human health.
Some liquid-based data centre cooling technologies use refrigerants that do contain PFAS. Not only that, many refrigerants produce highly potent greenhouse gases, which threaten to exacerbate climate change.
Two-phase cooling systems use such refrigerants says Yulin Wang, a former senior technology analyst at IDTechEx, a market research firm. The refrigerant starts out as a liquid but heat from server components causes it to evaporate into a gas and this phase change soaks up a lot of energy, meaning it is an effective way of cooling things down.
In some designs, data centre tech is fully immersed in large quantities of PFAS-containing refrigerant. “Vapours can get out of the tank,” adds Mr Wang. “There could be some safety issues.” In other cases, the refrigerant is piped directly to the hottest components, computer chips, only.
Some companies that offer two-phase cooling are currently switching to PFAS-free refrigerants.
Yulin Wang
Yulin Wang warns of safety issues with some cooling chemicals
Over the years, firms have experimented with wildly different approaches to cooling, in a race to find the best means of keeping data centre gadgets happy.
Microsoft famously sank a tube-like container full of servers into the sea off Orkney, for example. The idea was that cold Scottish seawater would improve the efficiency of air-based cooling systems inside the device.
Last year, Microsoft confirmed that it had shuttered the project. But the company had learned much from it, says Alistair Speirs, general manager of global infrastructure in the Microsoft Azure business group. “Without [human] operators, less things went wrong – that informed some of our operational procedures,” he says. Data centres that are more hands-off appear more reliable.
Initial findings showed the subsea data centre had a power usage effectiveness, or PUE, rating of 1.07 – suggesting it was far more efficient than the vast majority of land-based data centres. And it required zero water.
But in the end, Microsoft concluded that the economics of building and maintaining subsea data centres weren’t very favourable.
The company is still working on liquid-based cooling ideas, including microfluidics, where tiny channels of liquid flow through the many layers of a silicon chip. “You can think of a liquid cooling maze through the silicon at nanometre scale,” says Mr Speirs.
Researchers are coming up with other ideas, too.
In July, Renkun Chen, at the University of California San Diego, and colleagues, published a paper detailing their idea for a pore-filled membrane-based cooling technology that could help to cool chips passively – without the need to actively pump fluids or blow air around.
“Essentially, you are using heat to provide the pumping power,” says Prof Chen. He compares it to the process by which water evaporates from a trees’ leaves, inducing a pumping effect that draws more water up through the plant’s trunk and along its branches to replenish the leaves. Prof Chen says he hopes to commercialise the technology.
New ways of cooling down data centre tech are increasingly sought-after, says Sasha Luccioni, AI and climate lead at Hugging Face, a machine learning company.
This is partly due to demand for AI – including generative AI, or large language models (LLMs), which are the systems that power chat bots. In previous research, Dr Luccioni has shown that such technologies eat up lots of energy.
“If you have models that are very energy-intensive, then the cooling has to be stepped up a notch,” she says.
Reasoning models, which explain their output in multiple steps, are even more demanding, she adds.
They use “hundreds or thousands of times more energy” than standard chat bots that just answer questions. Dr Luccioni calls for greater transparency from AI companies regarding how much energy their various products consume.
For Mr Ballon, LLMs are just one form of AI – and he argues they have already “reached their limit” in terms of productivity.
Labour pledged to decide on 150 major infrastructure projects within five years, but half (52%) of all such decisions in 2025 have faced a delay by ministers
Across 14 delayed projects, ministers have been responsible for 1,333 days of dithering beyond the initial three-month decision period
At current rates, the Government is set to miss its target by nearly a third, approving just 107 projects instead of 150
One in six approved projects also face legal challenges that can delay delivery by a year or more
Ministers are stifling major infrastructure projects through dithering and delay, new analysis shows. Despite Labour’s pledge to accelerate delivery, ministerial indecision has added nearly four years of cumulative delay in 2025 alone, and the Government is already falling behind its target of deciding on 150 projects by 2029.
A briefing published today by the Centre for Policy Studies reveals that of 27 major projects that have had or were expecting a decision in 2025, 14 (52%) have been delayed beyond the statutory three-month period for ministerial sign-off.
The consequences are severe. The Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant, which would have unlocked 8,500 homes, faced a six-month ministerial delay before eventually being cancelled due to rising costs, to which the delay undoubtedly contributed. Over £80m was spent on planning, including £14m by the council, only for the project to be scrapped.
Delays and uncertainty make infrastructure more expensive and harder to build. Projects must either risk demobilising staff or postpone construction until consent is secured. With a coin toss’s chance of facing delays of unknown length, even projects that are approved promptly are impacted by the uncertainty in the system.
Legal challenges compound the problem. One in six approved projects face court battles that can delay delivery by a year or more. Both airport expansions approved this year, Luton and Gatwick, now face legal challenges, a warning sign for the Government’s Heathrow third runway ambitions.
The Government is already falling behind its 150-project target. Ministers have made 32 decisions between the start of the Parliament and the end of 2025 but should have made 45 to stay on track. And analysis of the major projects pipeline suggests that, even without further delays or withdrawals, there will not be enough projects coming forward – in part due to the cost and uncertainty of the process. At current rates, the Government will approve just 107 major projects by 2029, missing its target by nearly a third.
Ben Hopkinson, Head of Housing and Infrastructure at the Centre for Policy Studies, said:
‘Labour promised to be the builders, not the blockers. Instead, ministers have presided over nearly four years of cumulative delay to major projects in 2025 alone. When half of all infrastructure decisions are delayed by ministerial dithering, you can’t blame the planning system – you have to blame the people making the decisions.
‘These delays have real consequences by slowing delivery, raising costs, and deterring investment. Unless the Government gets a grip, they’re on track to miss their own infrastructure target by a third.’
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) include large energy plants, motorways, railways, and airport expansions
The NSIP approval process is meant to take around 15 months from acceptance to decision, with the final three-month period for ministerial sign-off
Ben Hopkinson is the Head of Housing and Infrastructure at the Centre for Policy Studies
‘Dithering not Delivering’ is available under embargo here
For further comment and media requests, please contact Emma Revell on 07931 698246 or [email protected]
The Centre for Policy Studies is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in Westminster. With a focus on taxation, economic growth, housing, immigration, and energy abundance, its goal is to develop policies that widen enterprise, ownership and opportunity
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Maritime Electric has officially filed plans with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for the rotating power outages it says may be necessary this winter to prevent a provincewide blackout.
IRAC formally requested the plans in a letter to the utility’s CEO, Jason Roberts, dated Dec. 11. The regulator said it only learned about the potential for rolling outages, which Maritime Electric calls “load shedding,” through media coverage in late November.
The commission wanted to know whether any measures would be put in place to reduce the likelihood of rotating outages and how the utility would notify the public if such outages were necessary.
Roberts said Monday, however, that Maritime Electric filed its official application on the same day it received the letter from IRAC.
“There is some more information that we do need to file just to complete the request as outlined in the letter, but by and large, most of that information has been filed,” Roberts told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin.
WATCH | More details on Maritime Electric’s plans for rotating power outages in P.E.I. this winter:
More details on Maritime Electric’s plans for rotating power outages in P.E.I. this winter
Maritime Electric says it has now officially filed its plans for rotating power outages with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission. CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin asks the utility’s CEO, Jason Roberts, about those details and the strain on P.E.I.’s power grid.
Roberts said Maritime Electric will aim to avoid rotating outages unless they’re deemed necessary,
He said if the utility needs to use the practice, customers will be notified through Maritime Electric’s website, social media and media outlets.
“It’s kind of like planning for a storm. You don’t know exactly where the storm is going to hit, you don’t know how long it’s going to last, and you don’t know how strong it’s going to be,” Roberts said.
“We don’t know exactly where that load is going to occur, we don’t know how high it’s going to be or how much we’re going to have to shed at a particular point in time.”
In its filing to IRAC, the utility said it should be able to give people notice of up to one or two hours before it has to cut power to a particular area — but in an emergency situation, that warning could be just minutes.
Maritime Electric also said the outages will cost the utility money.
It said planning and responding to an overwhelmed power grid is labour intensive, and will likely mean overtime for many staff. But because it’s never dealt with them before, the company said it can’t say how much rotating power outages would cost.
The utility said it will also cost money to run ads to let Islanders know what’s happening.
Pressures on P.E.I.’s grid
Roberts said keeping up with the pace of change on P.E.I. has been difficult as Maritime Electric deals with an increased population and government programs that encouraged customers to convert from oil heat to electricity.
When asked whether P.E.I. is in a crisis situation when it comes to the power supply, Roberts said “it really does feel that way.”
“We’ve got an increasing demand and we’ve got a shrinking supply on the Island, and then when you look across Atlantic Canada, we’ve got the same thing happening,” he said. “We’re all faced with the same problem, and we’re all working towards adding new generation.”
WATCH | How does P.E.I.’s electrical grid even work?:
How does P.E.I.’s electrical grid even work? CBC Explains
With recent outages shining a light on the fact that the P.E.I. electrical grid is nearing capacity, you may be wondering how the Island gets power in the first place — or what the difference is between Summerside Electric and Maritime Electric. Here’s a breakdown from CBC’s Cody MacKay.
The commission has applied to add more fossil fuel power generation to the system, but is still waiting on approval from IRAC.
Roberts said a recently implemented smart meter program could help manage demand for electricity, as it will give Maritime Electric the ability to see the usage of individual consumers.
“Our job is to make sure we have enough generation and transmission capacity in place to be able to deliver the energy that you want,” Roberts said.
“On the demand side… that’s the conversation where we say, let’s try and reduce as much as we can and help each other out.”
This recall involves removing certain devices from where they are used or sold. The FDA has identified this recall as the most serious type. This device may cause serious injury or death if you continue to use it.
Affected Product
The FDA is aware that Draeger has issued a letter to affected customers recommending certain ErgoStar Catheter Mounts be removed from where they are used or sold:
Part Number
Designation
UDI-DI
MP01840
ErgoStar CM 40
04048675420736
MP01845
ErgoStar CM 45
04048675420729
MP01855
ErgoStar CM 55
04048675420729
MP01860
ErgoStar CM 60
04048675420699
What to Do
Do not use any unused affected product. Unused stock should be removed and returned to Draeger. FDA recommends replacing currently in use affected product with a comparable alternative when available and medically appropriate.
On November 10, Draeger sent all affected customers a letter recommending the following actions:
Do not use any ErgoStar CM 40, CM 45, CM 55, or CM 60 stock.
Remove unused stock and return to Draeger.
Draeger recommends using the alternative product MP01850 ErgoStar CM 50 as a replacement. This is not an identical item, but a comparable alternative.
Ensure all potential users in your facility are made aware of this Urgent Medical Device Recall Notice.
If you have forwarded affected products to third parties, please also forward this Urgent Medical Device Recall Notice.
Reason for Alert
Draeger stated that they have become aware of cases in which cracks have formed in the hose of specific ErgoStar catheter mounts. If these cracks form during use, leakage will occur. Depending on the size of the leakage and the selected ventilation pressure, the ventilator/anesthesia device can compensate for this. If the leakage cannot be compensated for, ventilation is restricted and may lead to desaturation or hypoxia for the patient.
As of November 17, 2025, Draeger has not reported any serious injuries or deaths associated with this issue.
Device Use
The ErgoStar Airway Connector conducts respiratory gases between the breathing system and the patient interface (such as an endotracheal tube mask) of a mechanically ventilated patient.
Contact Information
Customers in the U.S. with adverse reactions, quality problems, or questions about this recall should contact Draeger Customer Service at US-Medical@draeger.com or 1-800-437-2437 (press 2 at the prompt, then 1).
Additional FDA Resources
Unique Device Identifier (UDI)
The unique device identifier (UDI) helps identify individual medical devices sold in the United States from distribution to use. The UDI allows for more accurate reporting, reviewing, and analyzing of adverse event reports so that devices can be identified more quickly, and as a result, problems potentially resolved more quickly.
How do I report a problem?
Health care professionals and consumers may report adverse reactions or quality problems they experienced using these devices to MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.
This recall involves correcting certain devices and does not involve removing them from where they are used or sold. The FDA has identified this recall as the most serious type. This device may cause serious injury or death if you continue to use it without correction.
Affected Products
Product Name
Material Number
UDI-DI
MAGNETOM Verio
10276755
N/A
MAGNETOM Skyra (DE)
10432915
04056869006703
Biograph mMR
10433372
04056869006741
MAGNETOM Verio Dot
10684333
04056869006673
MAGNETOM Prisma
10849582
04056869006727
MAGNETOM Skyra fit
10849580
04056869006710
MAGNETOM Verio Dot Upgr.
10684334
04056869006680
MAGNETOM Vida (DE)
11060815
04056869039176
MAGNETOM Skyra (CN)
11410327
04056869227139
MAGNETOM Lumina (DE)
11344916
04056869230740
MAGNETOM Vida Fit
11410481
04056869245188
MAGNETOM Vida (CN)
11516152
04056869260143
MAGNETOM Lumina (CN)
11516153
04056869260136
MAGNETOM Skyra Fit BioMatrix
11516217
04056869299273
MAGNETOM Cima.X Upgr. (DE)
11689304
04056869975245
MAGNETOM Cima.X (DE)
11647158
04056869975221
MAGNETOM Connectom.X
11371480
N/A
BIOGRAPH One (DE)
11689172
04068151020472
MAGNETOM Cima.X Fit
11647159
04056869975238
MAGNETOM Cima.X (CN)
11689616
04056869996509
What to Do
If the error message “Magnet Supervision: The average heater power is above the alarm threshold. Please contact Siemens Healthineers Service” appears on your host computer, no further scans can be performed. Follow additional safety actions immediately.
On August 27, 2025, Siemens Healthineers sent all affected customers an Urgent Medical Device Correction letter recommending the following actions:
If the error message “Magnet Supervision: The average heater power is above the alarm threshold. Please contact Siemens Healthineers Service” appears on the host computer, take the following safety actions:
Do not reboot the system.
Remove the patient from the system.
Lock/secure all access to the scanning room with the system remaining energized at field.
Post a “DO NOT USE” notice on or near the device.
Call the facility’s local Siemens Healthineers service organization.
Make sure all relevant personnel are aware of this issue.
Be aware that the Magnet Stop is only intended for emergencies. DO NOT initiate a manual quench of the magnet unless there is an emergency.
Ensure all designated emergency exit routes remain unobstructed at all times and are properly marked. In particular, the exit from the examination room must be maintained at all times.
Grant access to the system so an inspection can be carried out as directed by Siemens Healthineers service organization.
Make sure all users of affected products and others who may need to be informed receive the relevant safety information provided within the notice and comply with its recommendations.
If the equipment is no longer at the facility, forward the notice to the equipment’s new owner.
You may continue to use the system until an inspection has been performed.
Reason for Correction
Siemens Healthineers is correcting 3 Tesla Siemens Healthineers MRI systems due to the potential for an ice blockage to form or currently exist within the magnet venting system. In the event of a sudden loss of superconductivity, or magnet quench, helium gas may be unable to escape through designated venting paths, leading to pressure build-up within the helium containment system. This pressure build up could rupture the helium containment system, potentially resulting in a massive helium leak into the scanning room. Rupture of the helium containment system may also manifest as an explosion, with overpressure in the MRI room and debris expelled forcefully.
The use of affected product may cause serious adverse health consequences, including cold burns, asphyxiation, trauma, and death.
As of August 29, Siemens Healthineers has not reported any serious injuries or deaths related to this issue.
Device Use
Affected 3 Tesla Siemens Healthineers MRI systems include magnetic resonance diagnostic devices (MRDD) and mMR systems, which combine MRDD and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). These devices display the internal structure and/or function of the head, body, or extremities, and may be utilized by appropriately trained health care professionals to aid in the detection, localization, and diagnosis of diseases and disorders.
Contact Information
Customers in the U.S. with questions about this recall should contact the Siemens Healthineers service organization at 1-800-888-7436.
Additional FDA Resources:
FDA’s Enforcement Report
Medical Device Recall Database
Unique Device Identifier (UDI)
The unique device identifier (UDI) helps identify individual medical devices sold in the United States from manufacturing through distribution to patient use. The UDI allows for more accurate reporting, reviewing, and analyzing of adverse event reports so that devices can be identified, and problems potentially corrected more quickly.
How do I report a problem?
Health care professionals and consumers may report adverse reactions or quality problems they experienced using these devices to MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.
Standing beneath the imposing stone walls of one of the most ancient and revered sites in the West Bank, Yishai Fleischer was blunt in his assessment of its significance in modern times.
“It’s something that should be bringing people together,…
