This means you will not be able to tax your vehicle online, by phone or at the Post Office. Vehicle tax is for the whole month, so if your tax will expire at the end of this month you’ll still have time to tax your car when the service is back to normal on Monday morning.

Not all services are affected and you’ll still be able to view and share your driving licence details with third parties including car hire companies. To avoid any disappointment it’s best to generate a check code now as the codes are valid for 21 days. You can also renew your ten year photocard driving licence at the Post Office.

Remember, it’s against the law to drive an untaxed vehicle on the road. If you buy a car during this weekend you won’t be able to tax it until 6am on Monday 20 August.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the most up to date information.

The Highways England team behind a proposed A30 upgrade in Cornwall are not only concentrating their efforts on improving lives with their dualling scheme – they have also been busy helping a local village near Truro with their community project.

Highways England is working hard on the final design details of the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross improvement scheme, but members of the team took time out to help Chacewater villagers transform their recreation ground.

A group of 10 Highways England and project team staff pitched in to join villagers in clearing their neglected recreation area into a tranquil community space.

The combined two-day effort saw dead trees and branches felled, ivy, brambles and nettles cleared away, re-planting and wooden crates repurposed into benches to restore a tranquil haven for the whole community to enjoy.

Chacewater Parish Council spokesman Rob Knill said:

This is a project we’ve been dreaming up for the last 10 to 15 years, to refurbish and recover a lot of the recreation ground here – and the work that’s been done by the Highways England team has been fantastic.

Josh Hodder, Highways England Project Manager for the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross scheme, added:

As a company, we undertake a lot of voluntary work and it was good to be involved with a community project within the area of our scheme – it was an amazing team effort and the transformation is going to make a real difference for the village.

The team have also attended a number of community events in the region – the Golowan Festival and Royal Cornwall, Stithians and Camborne shows – and will also be taking part in this week’s Falmouth Festival and the Cornish Steam and County Fair (16-19 August).

Highways England will be submitting a Development Consent Order later this summer to begin the planning process for the scheme.

And Mr Hodder added:

Since consultation earlier this year, we have been progressing with details of the design, working to reduce impact on the environment, and continuing our engagement and discussions with local communities.

We’re continuing that engagement over the next two weeks and I’d urge anyone with an interest to come and chat with us to find out more and answer any questions they might have.

Following the opening of Cornwall Council’s A30 Temple to Higher Carblake dualling scheme last year, the project proposes to dual eight miles of single carriageway between the Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross roundabouts, unlocking one of the last bottlenecks in Cornwall and improving journey times and safety for residents, businesses and visitors.

The cost of developing the scheme is being partly funded by an £8 million contribution from the European Regional Development Fund, with an additional £12 million for the construction phase. The remainder of the cost of developing and delivering the scheme will be funded by central Government.

Subject to statutory approval, construction is planned to start in spring 2020.

In the meantime, anyone wanting further information can go to the scheme website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

They are being installed across Great Britain as a part of a national upgrade to our energy system.

Smart meters put people in control of their energy use by showing them how much energy they use in pounds and pence via an easy to understand In-Home Display.

With accurate information at their fingertips, consumers can easily understand how they can make small changes to the way they use energy in order to use less and save money on their bills. This information can help them choose a better tariff or switch supplier, increasing their savings even further.

Smart meters also communicate directly with your energy supplier meaning you will get accurate bills and only pay for what you use without the hassle of providing meter readings yourself or taking time out of your day to let the meter reader in.

Consumers with smart pre-payment meters will be able to top up directly online, through an app or at the local shop. No more keys or cards, making it much more convenient. The prepay in-home display will have an easy-to-understand screen that will show how much credit is left. So no more late-night dashes out to top up your energy balance.

Smart meters are the building blocks of a smarter energy system fit for the 21st century.

Over 11 million meters are already empowering consumers to reap the rewards of a smarter energy system – with 400,000 more meters benefitting homes and businesses every month. 8 out of 10 of those with a smart meter would recommend them to friends and family.

In the future, consumers will be able to choose for their new smart household gadgets and appliances to talk to their smart meter and help reduce their household bills. For example, your smart washing machine can automatically run at the cheapest time of the day, directed by information coming through your smart meter.

The government is committed to every home and small business being offered a smart meter by end 2020 – you can choose whether to have one or not. There are clear standards of conduct, overseen by energy regulator Ofgem, that require suppliers to treat consumers fairly and not mislead them when marketing the benefits of smart meters to their customers.

What are the benefits of smart meters?

• smart meters put consumers in control of their energy use, so they can save money on their bills – those savings will be worth more than £1.2 billion a year by 2030
• they provide easier, accurate billing and will help consumers choose the best deal for them
• no more estimated billing – something we only seem to tolerate in utilities – no more having to crawl under the stairs or to take time out of your day to provide manual readings to your supplier
• smart meters are set to be the cornerstone of the smart energy system of the future, potentially saving Great Britain up to £40 billion between now and 2050

What do energy consumers who already have smart meters think?

• 82% of people with smart meters say they have a better idea of their energy costs
• 8 out 10 people with smart meters say they would recommend them to friends or family
• 90% of people with a smart meter say they are satisfied with the installation process
• hundreds of thousands of energy consumers are choosing to have smart meters in their homes every month

Myths

Myth 1: Smart meters stop people from switching and lock them into one supplier

Fact: That is simply untrue. All consumers can switch whenever they want. In fact households with smart meters are more likely to switch than those who don’t have one, with 23% of people with smart meters switching in the last year, versus 17% without a smart meter.(1)

Myth 2: Smart meters don’t really help you save money

Fact: Not true. More than 80% of people with smart meters have taken steps to reduce their energy use and as a result, cut their bills.(2) It is estimated smart meters will take £300 million off consumer’s bills in 2020, rising to more than £1.2 billion per year by 2030 – an average annual saving of £47 per household.(3) 8 in 10 consumers with a smart meter would recommend one to family and friends.(4)

Myth 3: People are being forced to have smart meters installed

Fact: Not true. Those customers who want to benefit from having a smart meter can have one installed at no extra cost, but installing a smart meter is always the customer’s choice and people have the right to say no.

Myth 4: Suppliers are bullying consumers into having a smart meter installed

Fact: Ofgem has made it clear suppliers must treat customers fairly and their communications must be complete, accurate and not misleading. Ofgem will take up complaints with energy suppliers for customers who feel they are being bullied or coerced into getting a smart meter.

Myth 5: Smart meters can be hacked and are a safety hazard in the home

Fact: Smart meters are secure, with a security system developed by leading experts in industry and government including GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre.

Smart meter installations are also making British homes safer. In 2017, over a quarter of a million safety issues, unrelated to the smart meter installation, were identified by smart meter installers, as a result of free visual safety checks, helping to protect households across Great Britain.

Myth 6: Suppliers are installing ‘dumb’ meters that fail when you switch supplier

Fact: All smart meters offer the same smart functions to customers. Some first generation smart meters may lose some smart functionality if consumers switch but 93% of those installed remain unaffected. This issue is only temporary however and all smart meters will retain their full capabilities when they are enrolled into the national wireless smart meter network. This upgrade will begin early in 2019 and will happen automatically without the consumer needing to do anything.

Myth 7: Consumers with poor mobile signal can’t get a smart meter

Fact: By the end of the year more than 95% of households will have signal, rising to 99.25% by the end of 2020 – meaning that almost every household who wants one will be able to have a smart meter.

Myth 8: Suppliers aren’t making enough progress on the rollout of smart meters

Fact: Over 400,000 smart meters are being installed every month and 11 million are already operating across Great Britain. Ofgem holds suppliers to account to ensure they are meeting their obligations to roll out smart meters and can fine energy companies for missing targets.

Myth 9: Smart meters can turn off your fridge without you knowing

Fact: No they can’t. It will always be up to consumers to decide when to use their appliances. In the future smart meters will allow consumers to be rewarded when they use appliances at times when energy is cheaper.

Myth 10: Smart meters mean suppliers can charge higher prices without you knowing

Fact: Energy suppliers can only charge prices customers have agreed to – and that won’t change. Customers with smart meters can access tariffs that allow them to get cheaper prices at times when demand is low – but it will always be the customer’s choice.

1. Ofgem, ‘Consumer engagement survey 2017’ (September 2017)
2. Smart Energy GB, ‘Smart meters and energy usage: a survey of energy behaviour before and after upgrading to a smart meter (April 2017)
3. BEIS, Smart meter roll-out (GB): cost-benefit analysis (November 2016)
4. BEIS, ‘Smart Meter Customer Experience Study 2016 to 2018 (August 2017)

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