Donald Brydon, Chairman of Royal Mail Group, has announced the launch of an independent inquiry to be led by Sir Gordon Langley into the prevalence and consequences of attacks by dogs on postal workers in the UK, with the objective of making recommendations to address them.

There are between three and a half thousand and four thousand dog attacks on Royal Mail employees each year, resulting in injuries - many severe, - and considerable trauma. 

Despite significant organisational effort to control employee exposure, and an outstanding and ongoing campaign - Bite Back, led by the CWU - the number of attacks remains unacceptably high. The inquiry will look more widely than just at primary legislation and therefore will look beyond current proposed amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The inquiry will:

A consultation on the development of a safety system for adventure activities in Scotland has been launched by the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison.

The Scottish Government is considering the best way forward for Scotland in light of the UK Government's plan to replace the statutory Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) with a new voluntary code of practice.

The AALA was established in 1995 to licence caving, climbing, trekking and watersports operators after four young people lost their lives canoeing at Lyme Bay in Dorset.

The consultation seeks views on three proposals: