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Background: The 2022/23 influenza season in the United Kingdom saw the return of influenza to prepandemic levels following two seasons with low influenza activity. The early season was dominated by A(H3N2), with cocirculation of A(H1N1), reaching a peak late December 2022, while influenza B circulated at low levels during the latter part of the season. From September to March 2022/23, influenza vaccines were offered, free of charge, to all aged 2–13 (and 14–15 in Scotland and Wales), adults up to 49 years of age with clinical risk conditions and adults aged 50 and above across the mainland United Kingdom. Methods: End‐of‐season adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates against sentinel primary‐care attendance for influenza‐like illness, where influenza infection was laboratory confirmed, were calculated using the test negative design, adjusting for potential confounders. Methods: Results In the mainland United Kingdom, end‐of‐season VE against all laboratory‐confirmed influenza for all those > 65 years of age, most of whom received adjuvanted quadrivalent vaccines, was 30% (95% CI: −6% to 54%). VE for those aged 18–64, who largely received cell‐based vaccines, was 47% (95% CI: 37%–56%). Overall VE for 2–17 year olds, predominantly receiving live attenuated vaccines, was 66% (95% CI: 53%–76%). Conclusion: The paper provides evidence of moderate influenza VE in 2022/23. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Existing cross-cultural research on animal welfare often overlooks the way that policy and law are not the exclusive domain of central government. This can result in an over-simplification or misrepresentation of the true situation. The political culture and institutional arrangements for governing the modern state are more complex than a "one-size-fits-all" approach. It is argued that cross-cultural research needs to give greater attention to differences within as well as between unitary states. Specifically, it needs to examine developments in constituent nations and territories. Here we illustrate this by drawing on new research in the United Kingdom, and examine how 'devolution'—or decentralized government for Wales and Scotland—is providing contrasting opportunities for NGOs, campaigners, and the public to lobby to improve animal welfare policy based on local practices, beliefs, and demands (collectively known as the "political culture"). Our findings show how this is important because it results in contrasting animal welfare policies and laws in the constituent nations of the UK. It is argued that extant cross-cultural research on animal welfare often overlooks or gives insufficient attention to new governance theory, civil society, politics, and the realities of devolved or (quasi-)federal, multi-level governance in the modern state. This paper synthesizes relevant social theory and draws on new empirical findings of civil society accounts of campaigning on animal welfare policies and law in the United Kingdom. It is presented as a corrective to arguably reductive, earlier unitary state-based analyses. Our core, evidence-based argument is that cognizance of civil society activism and the contrasting institutional governance structures and political cultures of constituent nations in unitary states—such as the UK—are providing opportunities for the territorialization of legally grounded animal welfare regimes, and culturally distinctive practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooding in 2021 has highlighted the increased risk to national resilience. This is against a backdrop of the UK climate projected to become more extreme over the next few decades. This paper considers the notable river and surface water flood events within England and Wales during 2021 and examines the performance of the Flood Forecasting Centre in highlighting the flood risk to our customers. We reflect on team debriefs as well as feedback and surveys from our customers. We distil our learnings and make connections with improvements in our underpinning science, forecasting tools, products and services. Finally, we highlight challenges associated with surface water flooding and suggest how we may collectively start to overcome these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of dyslexia identification has increased significantly over the last two decades. Yet there is debate over whether there are distinct biological and cognitive differences between those with literacy difficulties and the subgroup of people identified as dyslexic. This is the first paper that provides evidence for this ongoing debate by investigating the socio-demographic factors, outside biology and cognition, that predict whether a child is identified as dyslexic in the UK. Using secondary data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study, this paper examines the socio-demographic factors that predict whether a child's teacher identifies them as dyslexic at age 11. Gender, season of birth, socio-economic class and parental income are found to be significant predictors of the dyslexia label. Therefore, factors seemingly unrelated to the clinical aspects of dyslexia influence whether a child is identified as dyslexic in England and Wales. This suggests that label may not be evenly distributed across a population; furthermore, it may also indicate that resources for support may not be fairly allocated. The findings further support the argument that a 'dyslexic sub-group' within poor readers is created due to the impact of environmental factors. The results from this national-scale study thus questions the reliability, validity and moral integrity of the allocation of the dyslexia label across current education systems in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British supermarket-panel data suggest no increases in overall sales and purchases of alcohol following COVID-19 lockdowns, yet survey and mortality data suggest otherwise. This paper attempts to unravel the paradox. Based on purchase data of 79,417 British households from Kantar Worldpanel, we undertake controlled interrupted time series analysis of the impact of COVID-19 confinement introduced on 23rd March 2020, and variably applied during 2020, compared to purchases during 2015 to 2019 as controls. We also undertook Poisson regression analyses to estimate if changes in purchases differed by household socio-demographic and economic factors. Excess off-trade household alcohol purchases (expressed as grams of ethanol) following the introduction of confinement, were 29.2% higher (95% CI = 25.8% to 32.5%) for the post-confinement months of 2020, being larger until mid-July 2020 (37.5%, 95%CI = 33.9 to 41.26%) when pubs re-opened with restrictions, and smaller (24.6%, 95%CI = 21.6 to 27.7) thereafter. During the time of complete pub closures, and fully adjusting for no on-trade purchases, household purchases of alcohol did not change when compared with the same time period during 2015–2019 (coefficient = -0.9%, 95%CI = -5.6 to 3.8). Excess purchases from 23rd March to 31st December 2020 varied by region of Great Britain, being higher in the north of England, and lower in Scotland and Wales. Excess purchases were greater in the most deprived households, compared with the least deprived households. Excess purchases increased substantially as the amount of alcohol normally purchased by a household increased, with the top one fifth of households that normally bought the most alcohol increasing their purchases more than 17 times than the bottom one fifth of households that bought the least alcohol. That the heaviest buyers of alcohol increased their purchases the most, with some independent impact of socio-economic disadvantage, might explain why reported alcohol problems and recent alcohol-related death rates might have increased. A conclusion of this is that alcohol policy to reduce high consumption of alcohol, and the availability of help and treatment to reduce alcohol consumption become more important during extraordinary times, such as COVID lockdowns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (GMEP) ran from 2013 until 2016, and was probably the most comprehensive programme of ecological study ever undertaken at a national scale in Wales. The programme aimed to (1) set up an evaluation of the environmental effects of the Glastir agri-environment scheme and (2) quantify environmental status and trends across the wider countryside of Wales. The focus was on outcomes for climate change mitigation, biodiversity, soil and water quality, woodland expansion and cultural landscapes. As such, GMEP included a large field survey component, collecting data on a range of elements including vegetation, land cover and use, soils, freshwaters, birds and insect pollinators from up to 300 1 km squares throughout Wales. The field survey capitalised upon the UKCEH Countryside Survey of Great Britain, which has provided an extensive set of repeated, standardised ecological measurements since 1978. The design of both GMEP and the UKCEH Countryside Survey involved stratified-random sampling of squares from a 1 km grid, ensuring proportional representation from land classes with distinct climate, geology and physical geography. Data were collected from different land cover types and landscape features by trained professional surveyors, following standardised and published protocols. Thus, GMEP was designed so that surveys could be repeated at regular intervals to monitor the Welsh environment, including the impacts of agri-environment interventions. One such repeat survey is scheduled for 2021 under the Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring and Modelling Programme (ERAMMP). Data from GMEP have been used to address many applied policy questions, but there is major potential for further analyses. The precise locations of data collection are not publicly available, largely for reasons of landowner confidentiality. However, the wide variety of available datasets can be (1) analysed at coarse spatial resolutions and (2) linked to each other based on square-level and plot-level identifiers, allowing exploration of relationships, trade-offs and synergies. This paper describes the key sets of raw data arising from the field survey at co-located sites, 2013 to 2016. Data from each of these survey elements are available with the following Digital Object Identifiers. Landscape features, https://doi.org/10.5285/82c63533-529e-47b9-8e78-51b27028cc7f, https://doi.org/10.5285/9f8d9cc6-b552-4c8b-af09-e92743cdd3de, https://doi.org/10.5285/f481c6bf-5774-4df8-8776-c4d7bf059d40; Vegetation plots, https://doi.org/10.5285/71d3619c-4439-4c9e-84dc-3ca873d7f5cc; Topsoil physico-chemical properties, https://doi.org/10.5285/0fa51dc6-1537-4ad6-9d06-e476c137ed09; Topsoil meso-fauna, https://doi.org/10.5285/1c5cf317-2f03-4fef-b060-9eccbb4d9c21; Topsoil particle size distribution https://doi.org/10.5285/d6c3cc3c-a7b7-48b2-9e61-d07454639656; Headwater stream quality metrics, https://doi.org/10.5285/e305fa80-3d38-4576-beef-f6546fad5d45 ; Pond quality metrics, https://doi.org/10.5285/687b38d3-2278-41a0-9317-2c7595d6b882; Insect pollinator and flower data, https://doi.org/10.5285/3c8f4e46-bf6c-4ea1-9340-571fede26ee8; Bird counts, https://doi.org/10.5285/31da0a94-62be-47b3-b76e-4bdef3037360. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adolescent self-harm in Europe is a major public health challenge and shares a risk continuum with suicide. Recent research demonstrates a strong risk correlation with attempting suicide in the community-based adolescent self-harm population group, similar to research findings for populations in health settingbased research. In the UK increasing rates in hospital admissions represent the "tip of the iceberg" within the community, with potentially two thirds of the population group not accessing health services for support. This brings many health risks, including an increased suicide risk. Finding a solution to these issues requires a preventative intervention approach for young people, including community-based delivery to address service access barriers. Secondary schools are posited as key settings where this type of support could be delivered. But emerging UK research demonstrates challenges in completing adolescent self-harm research with young people in schools. Objectives: This paper centres on a current adolescent self-harm preventative intervention research project in Cardiff University. It focuses on ethical research practice in community-based adolescent self-harm research. Methods: This paper appraises some of the core ethical issues, challenges and their management in completing adolescent selfharm prevention intervention research in secondary school settings in Wales. It also provides an overview of the project's innovative safety protocol design. Results: This project was successful in managing the potential risks to the school-based adolescent research participants. Conclusions: This work helps address some of the current research barriers to completing adolescent self-harm prevention intervention research in schools, to facilitate shared solutions to the urgent public health challenge of adolescent self-harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While the available resource in terms of waste process heat in the UK is substantial, there are a wide variety of issues to consider and barriers to overcome in order to realise its potential. This paper discusses one particular factor, namely public opinion. We describe the results of two focus groups with a potential domestic client group, namely elderly people, and the postal questionnaire responses of 323 individuals living in the proximity of a large potential heat source, namely the Corus steel-works in Port Talbot, Wales. While those questioned were broadly supportive of the idea of district heating, particularly if this would involve reductions in domestic heating costs, both the qualitative and quantitative work revealed significant concern about contractual lock-in. In contrast, the stability of long-term demand is highly valued by those responsible for the supply-side. We also observe some gender differences in first reactions to district heating and the role of environmental commitment. We conclude that while the results imply that an appeal to the environmental performance of district heating with waste heat may facilitate acceptance, trust-building and price inducements will also be required to overcome end-user concerns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background In recent decades, labour market participation has fallen in men, with large amounts of this decline accounted for by increases in permanent sickness. There is speculation that the rising numbers of permanently sick incorporate more people with less severe conditions than was previously the case. This paper examines the relationship between labour market position and subsequent mortality around State Pension Age. Methods Using linked census and death records in the ONS Longitudinal Study, samples of men aged 55-69 and women aged 50-64 were selected from each decennial census, 1971-2001 and their health followed up. Differences between the employed, unemployed and economically inactive in age-specific death rates, Standardised Mortality Ratios and odds of reporting limiting long-term illness were examined. Results Labour market activity in late middle age has changed since 1971. For example, the proportion of men employed at ages 60-64 years has fallen by 39%, and the proportion permanently sick has more than doubled. Despite this change, there has been stability in the RR of mortality between labour market positions. Working people have the lowest risk of premature death, while, relative to working people, the permanently sick continue to have mortalities around three times higher among men and four to five times higher among women. Conclusion The evidence does not support the notion that the permanently sick are becoming less seriously ill. The persistence of the group's raised mortality suggests that measures aimed at encouraging later life employment should ensure provision of work environments suitable for people with chronic illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do regional boundaries defined by governments respect the more natural ways that people interact across space? This paper proposes a novel, fine-grained approach to regional delineation, based on analyzing networks of billions of individual human transactions. Given a geographical area and some measure of the strength of links between its inhabitants, we show how to partition the area into smaller, non-overlapping regions while minimizing the disruption to each person's links. We tested our method on the largest non-Internet human network, inferred from a large telecommunications database in Great Britain. Our partitioning algorithm yields geographically cohesive regions that correspond remarkably well with administrative regions, while unveiling unexpected spatial structures that had previously only been hypothesized in the literature. We also quantify the effects of partitioning, showing for instance that the effects of a possible secession of Wales from Great Britain would be twice as disruptive for the human network than that of Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Possible solutions for zero energy building design in UK are discussed in this paper. Simulation software (EnergyPlus and TRNSYS 16) are employed in this study, where EnergyPlus simulations are applied to enable facade design studies considering building materials, window sizes and orientations and TRNSYS is used for the investigation of the feasibility of zero energy houses with renewable electricity, solar hot water system and energy efficient heating systems under Cardiff weather conditions. Various design methods are compared and optimal design strategies for typical homes and energy systems are provided. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In England and Wales, criminal prosecutions for recklessly causing serious bodily harm by transmitting HIV have occurred since 2003. Understanding how people respond to the application of criminal law, will help to determine the likely impact of prosecution. As part of a wider qualitative study on unprotected anal intercourse amongst homosexually active men with diagnosed HIV in England and Wales, 42 respondents were asked about their awareness of criminal prosecutions for the sexual transmission of HIV, and how (if at all) they had adapted their sexual behaviour as a result. Findings demonstrate considerable confusion regarding the law and suggest that misunderstandings could lead people with HIV to wrongly believe that how they act, and what they do or do not say, is legitimated by law. Although criminalisation prompted some respondents to take steps to reduce sexual transmission of HIV, others moderated their behaviour in ways likely to have adverse effects, or reported no change. The aim of the criminal justice system is to carry out justice, not to improve public health. The question addressed in this paper is whether desirable public health outcomes may be outweighed by undesirable ones when the criminal law is applied to a population-level epidemic. En Angleterre et au Pays de Galles, la transmission du VIH fait l'objet de poursuites pénales pour dommages corporels par imprudence depuis 2003. Comprendre comment la population réagit à l'application du droit pénal aidera à déterminer l'impact probable des poursuites. Dans le cadre d'une étude qualitative plus large sur les rapports anaux non protégés entre homosexuels actifs avec une infection à VIH diagnostiquée en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles, on a demandé à 42 répondants s'ils savaient qu'ils risquaient des poursuites pénales pour transmission sexuelle du VIH et comment (le cas échéant) ils avaient adapté leur comportement sexuel en conséquence. Les conclusions révèlent une confusion considérable quant à la loi et suggèrent que des malentendus pourraient amener des personnes séropositives à penser à tort que ce qu'elles font et ce qu'elles disent ou non est légitimé par la loi. Bien que la criminalisation ait incité quelques répondants à prendre des mesures pour réduire la transmission sexuelle du VIH, d'autres ont modéré leur comportement de façons qui auront probablement des effets négatifs, ou n'ont pas indiqué de changements. L'objectif du système pénal est de rendre la justice, pas d'améliorer la santé publique. Cet article se demande si les conséquences indésirables ne risquent pas de l'emporter sur les résultats souhaitables de santé publique quand le droit pénal est appliqué à une épidémie au niveau de la population. En Inglaterra y en Gales, desde 2003 se interpone acción penal por imprudencia temeraria al causar graves daños corporales mediante la transmisión del VIH. Entender cómo las personas responden a la aplicación del derecho penal ayudará a determinar el probable impacto de la acción judicial. Como parte de un estudio cualitativo más amplio sobre el coito anal sin protección entre los hombres homosexualmente activos diagnosticados con VIH, en Inglaterra y Gales, 42 entrevistados fueron interrogados respecto a su conocimiento de la acción penal por la transmisión sexual del VIH, y cómo (o si) habían adaptado su comportamiento sexual por consiguiente. Los resultados demuestran considerable confusión respecto a la ley e indican que los malos entendidos podrían llevar a las personas con VIH a creer erróneamente que la forma en que actúan y lo que digan o dejen de decir, son legitimados por la ley. Aunque la penalización motivó a algunos entrevistados a tomar medidas para reducir la transmisión sexual del VIH, otros moderaron su comportamiento en formas que probablemente tendrán efectos adversos, o no informaron ningún cambio. El propósito del sistema de justicia penal es hacer cumplir la justicia, no mejorar la salud pública. La interrogante tratada en este artículo es si los resultados deseables para la salud pública pesan menos que los indeseables cuando el derecho penal se aplica a una epidemia a nivel poblacional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Dogs are considered property under U.K. law, while owners generally regard their canine companions as family. Reports that the number of stolen dogs in England and Wales rose from 1788 in 2016 to 1909 in 2017 led to public calls to change the law. Recognising that a more robust analysis of dog theft crime statistics is required, we gathered dog theft data for 2015, 2016, and 2017 from 41 of 44 police forces. This paper examines how dog theft crime statistics are constructed, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these data, and categorises, maps, and measures dog theft changes temporally per police force in England and Wales. Our findings reveal there has been an increase in dog theft crimes, with 1559 thefts in 2015, 1653 in 2016 (+6.03%), and 1842 in 2017 (+11.43%), and a decrease in court charges related to dog theft crimes, with 64 (3.97%) in 2015, 51 (3.08%) in 2016, and 39 (2.11%) in 2017. The actual number of dog theft crimes will be higher as three forces could not supply useable data. There is a need for a qualitative study to understand dog theft crime in different parts of the country, and a standardised approach to recording dog theft by all police forces in England and Wales. We recommend classifying dog theft (or pet theft more generally) as a crime in itself under the Sentencing Guidelines associated with the Theft Act 1968. Dogs are considered property under U.K. law, while current discourses of pet ownership place canine companions as part of an extended family. This means sentences for those who steal dogs are not reflective of a dogs' sentience and agency, rather in line with charges for those who steal a laptop or wallet. This is particularly problematic as dog theft is currently on the rise in England and Wales, leading to public calls to change the law. Recognising that a more robust analysis of dog theft crime statistics is required, we gathered dog theft data for 2015, 2016, and 2017 from 41 of 44 police forces through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. This paper uses these data to examine how dog theft crime statistics are constructed, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these data, and categorises, maps, and measures dog theft changes temporally per police force in England and Wales. Our findings reveal there has been an increase in dog theft crimes, with 1559 in 2015, 1653 in 2016 (+6.03%), and 1842 in 2017 (+11.43%), and a decrease in court charges related to dog theft crimes, with 64 (3.97%) in 2015, 51 (3.08%) in 2016, and 39 (2.11%) in 2017. There were police force inconsistencies in recording dog theft crime, which meant some data were unusable or could not be accessed or analysed. We recommend a qualitative study to understand stakeholder perspectives of dog theft crime in different areas, and a standardised and transparent approach to recording the theft of a dog by all forces across England and Wales. This could be achieved by classifying dog theft (or pet theft more generally) as a crime in itself under the Sentencing Guidelines associated with the Theft Act 1968. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decarbonisation of heating in the United Kingdom is likely to entail both the mass adoption of heat pumps and widespread development of district heating infrastructure. Estimation of the spatially disaggregated heat demand is needed for both electrical distribution network with electrified heating and for the development of district heating. The temporal variation of heat demand is important when considering the operation of district heating, thermal energy storage and electrical grid storage. The difference between the national and urban heat demands profiles will vary due to the type and occupancy of buildings leading to temporal variations which have not been widely surveyed. This paper develops a high-resolution spatiotemporal heat load model for Great Britain (GB: England, Scotland a Wales) by identifying the appropriate datasets, archetype segmentation and characterisation for the domestic and nondomestic building stock. This is applied to a thermal model and calibrated on the local scale using gas consumption statistics. The annual GB heat demand was in close agreement with other estimates and the peak demand was 219 GWth. The urban heat demand was found to have a lower peak to trough ratio than the average national demand profile. This will have important implications for the uptake of heating technologies and design of district heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data for over 40 variables relating to all the towns in England and Wales with populations of over 50,000 in 1966 and 1971 have been subjected to component analysis. Cluster analysis was then used on the component scores. The objective was to identify the most influential factors which differentiate between the populations of the towns. Details of the construction of a socioeconomic index are given, and this paper investigates in particular the relationship between such an index and car ownership rates. The changes in the travel to work mode over the 5-year period are described. Individual towns with extreme values on each variable are indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calculating Repeating Thermal Bridges (RTBs) for Timber Frame (TF) closed panels that could occur in Offsite Manufactured (OSM) Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), such as exterior walls for nearly-to-zero operational energy dwellings to be constructed in Wales, United Kingdom (UK) is discussed in this paper. Detailed calculations for linear RTBs due to the TF components are often neglected when evaluating thermal transmittance (known as U-values hereafter). The use of standard TF fractions does not allow the designer to perceive their detrimental impact on RTBs and consequent U-values for exterior walls. With the increase of the thermal performance of exterior walls and as such lower U-values due to ever-tightening Building Regulations, specifically related to the energy use and carbon emissions from the space heating of dwellings, then the impacts of RTBs requires more investigation. By not calculating the potential of linear RTB at the design stage could lead to a performance gap where assumed U-values for exterior walls differ from manufacture to onsite. A TF detail from the Welsh manufacture has been chosen as a case study, to develop and apply a methodology using manufacturing drawings to evaluate TF fraction and their effect on the thermal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air quality and energy consumption are among the top ten environmental priorities in seaports as stated by the European Sea Ports Organization. Globally, it is estimated that 15% of energy consumption can be attributed to refrigeration and air conditioning systems in fishing activities. There is a real need to understand energy usage in fishery ports to help identify areas of improvements, with a view to optimize energy usage and minimize carbon emissions. In this study, we elaborate on ways in which a simulation capability can be developed at the community level with a fishery port, using a real-world case study seaport in Milford Heaven (Wales, UK). This simulation-based strategy is used to investigate the potential of renewable energy, including local solar farms, to meet the local power demand. This has informed the development of a simulation-based optimization strategy meant to explore how smart energy communities can be formed at the port level by integrating the smart grid with the local community energy storage. The main contribution of the paper involves a co-simulation environment that leverages calibrated energy simulation models to deliver an optimization capability that (a) manages electrical storage within a district an environment, and (b) promotes the formation of energy communities in a fishery port ecosystem. This is paving the way to policy implications, not only in terms of carbon and energy reduction, but also in the formation and sustained management of energy communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]