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Government launches 'one stop shop' flood website - but the hard numbers behind it need a closer look

A new hub promises to make checking your flood risk easier, but the eye-catching £27.9bn benefit figure and £4.2bn funding pot aren't quite as new as the headline suggests.

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Google Maps now shows near-live petrol prices in the UK, but mind the £40 figure

The government says drivers checking Google Maps before filling up could save £40 a year, but that number is an estimate, not a guarantee.

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Jobcentres now offer free careers advice - but don't expect a revolution overnight

The National Careers Service has been folded into the DWP, putting careers advisers alongside work coaches - here's what's actually changed and for whom.

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Government shortens empty homes rule - but will councils actually use it?

Ministers say slashing the qualifying period for empty home takeovers from two years to six months will free up housing - the catch is councils rarely used the old powers either.

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Government says 14.5 million free child bus trips this summer - but who's actually counting?

The DfT is crowing about its summer bus scheme's numbers, yet the headline figure comes straight from the bus industry itself, not an independent tally.

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Government promises 42 new youth hubs - but the small print is thin on cash and dates

Ministers say tens of thousands of young people will get "seamless" mental health, jobs and crime-prevention support under one roof - the announcement just doesn't say how much it costs or when the doors open.

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Guides

Fancy editing the map the whole internet quietly relies on? Here's the catch

A viral guide promises you can improve OpenStreetMap in 15 minutes flat - but seasoned contributors reckon there's an easier way in, and a few things worth knowing first.

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NHS to pay healthcare students' placement costs upfront - but not all of them

A new scheme promises to stop nursing and midwifery students fronting hundreds of pounds for clinical placements - provided they qualify for the right funding pot first.

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Guides

The strange art of justifying text by hand, one word at a time

A 1990s Super Metroid FAQ, written entirely in ASCII, has resurfaced as proof someone once justified 17,000 words without a single line of code - though a viral X-Files anecdote attached to it doesn't quite hold up.

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Guides

Government promises crackdown on cowboy builders, but the small print is doing a lot of work

A new 'Approved Code' and milestone payments sound reassuring, but joining up is voluntary and the bailiff reforms are barely sketched out.

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Guides

New planning rules promise a 'default yes' for homes near stations - but nobody's said what 'near' means

The government says thousands of homes will get fast-tracked next to well-connected stations - just don't ask how close, how many, or when.

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Guides

How to find out whether the kit on your network is already being attacked

CISA publishes a free list of every vulnerability it has confirmed is being exploited in the wild. It is a far better patching queue than severity scores, and you do not need a security budget to use it.

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