The public are being told to keep an eye out for “a piece of history”, as the first King Charles £1 coins have officially entered UK circulation.
After the designs for the new coins were revealed back in October 2023, a total of 2.975 million £1s have now been issued to UK Post Offices and banks from today, and are currently in the process of making their way into tills nationwide.
Each of the eight UK coins feature a new design, all of which apparently highlight King Charles III‘s “passion for conservation”.
According to the Royal Mint, the bee symbol has been chosen to represent the fact that there’s more than 250 species of bee currently existing in Britain, including bumblebees, mason bees, and mining bees, and to show just what a pivotal role these “industrious insects” play in pollinating plants and fruiting trees.
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And not only can bees be found all over the country, commonly in gardens, parks, woods, orchards, and meadows, but now they can also be found on the reverse of the UK £1 coin.
The Hazel Dormouse, Puffin, and Red Squirrel are just a couple of the other species which feature on the other seven coins – which have all been created with the support of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
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Millions of new King Charles £1 coins have officially entered circulation in the UK / Credit: The Royal Mint
Rebecca Morgan, who is the Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint, the country’s official coin maker is “honoured” to confirm the new £1 has now entered circulation.
“We know there’ll be a buzz of excitement amongst collectors and the public to get this special piece of history in their change,” she added. “We hope the designs across all denominations spark important conversations about the conservation of these important species.”
Commemorative sets of the new coins are also available from The Royal Mint’s website, if you’re keen to collect them all, and will set you back £34.
Featured Image – The Royal Mint
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How will the Government’s new digital ID alternative for alcohol sales work?
Emily Sergeant
All licensed venues across England and Wales now have the choice to introduce digital proof of age for alcohol sales alongside physical.
Instead of having to hand over physical ID that contains personal information, such as names and home addresses, customers now have the choice to simply provide confirmation that they are 18 or over on their phone – helping to better protect privacy and personal safety in the process.
This means that, no matter whether you’re buying a drink at your favourite pub, heading to a festival, or enjoying a night out at a concert, you won’t need to worry if you’ve left your ID at home.
According to the Government, this new change will benefit businesses greatly too, as certified digital services are able to check that an ID is genuine and belongs to the person presenting it much easier than the alternative can, which therefore helps to reduce the risk of any fake or borrowed IDs going undetected.
Well, according to the Government, it could be as simple as a customer showing a QR code for staff to scan, or tapping their phone against a compatible reader, where staff will then receive a clear confirmation on their device that the customer has passed the age check.
This change follows a 2024 Government consultation where it was reported that 72% of respondents supported the use of digital identities for age verification when buying alcohol.
Digital Government Minister Stephanie Peacock reiterated that ‘it will remain an individual or business’ choice whether to use or adopt [digital ID]’ and that physical ID will ‘still remain a valid way’ for customers to prove their age.
“This groundbreaking change in the law will mean you do not need to carry a physical ID, nor hand over sensitive personal information such as your name or address just to prove your age, allowing everyone to feel safer on a night out,” she concluded.
Featured Image – Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
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Manchester to host G20 Summit in 2027 with more than a dozen world leaders descending on the city
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed as the host city for the G20 Summit next year.
It was already announced back in November last year that the G20 Summit would be coming to the UK in 2027, and plans were apparently already being discussed to host it in Manchester even before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister and Number 10 North was set up.
But now, ahead of this year’s leaders’ summit being held in Miami in December, it has been confirmed that the G20 Summit will arrive in Manchester in November 2027.
Manchester is said to have been picked to host the leaders’ summit because of its ‘cultural heritage’.
Bringing together 19 of the world’s largest economies and two major multilateral bodies – the European Union and the African union – G20 members who will be invited to attend the summit next year make up 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population as a whole.
Manchester has been confirmed to host the G20 Summit in 2027 / Credit: 10 Downing Street | Paul Kagame (Flickr)
G20 members are also some of the UK’s closest economic partners, the Government insists.
17 of the UK’s top 20 global export markets attend the summit, as do 18 of the UK’s top 20 sources of foreign direct investment.
The presidency of the G20 is currently held by the US but will pass to the UK after the leaders’ summit hosted by the president at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in December.
The 2027 summit will be held at Manchester Central, it has been confirmed, and other locations across the UK will also host other G20 events as part of the year-long presidency, but these are yet to be announced.
Emily Sergeant -
20th August 2024 
