Notice: CV34 6DA, National Grid Gas plc: environmental permit application advertisement

The Environment Agency consults the public on certain applications for Radioactive Substances Activity. The arrangements are explained in its Public Participation Statement

These notices explain:

  • what the application is about
  • how to view the application documents
  • when you need to comment by

The Environment Agency will decide:

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  • what conditions to include in the permit (if granted)


Press release: Foreign Secretary calls for international effort to tackle wildlife crime

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) facility in London today (Monday 19 February) to see illegally traded wildlife products seized by the Met Police before they could be sold on the black market in the UK.

Many of the cases the WCU deals with involve cross-border smuggling and require police collaboration with international agencies, underlining the need for greater international cooperation to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

The Foreign Secretary saw items seized in successful WCU operations. This includes the recent Abbas Allawi case, where Met Police raided a Watford property using trained search dogs and found wildlife goods with a street value of over £1 million stashed in his attic.

The Foreign Secretary was shown items including seven rhino horns weighing over 16kg, and dozens of raw ivory tusks and carved ivory specimens as well as animal trophies including a stuffed lion’s head and tiger skins. He heard how there is online demand for primates, including severed monkey hands turned into trinkets and monkey skulls.

During the visit the Foreign Secretary said:

When we think of the illegal wildlife trade, the slaughter of elephants, rhinos and other species teetering on the brink of extinction, we think of Africa, Asia and distant countries where some think this acceptable. We rarely associate this crime with our own shores. To say I was angry to see the haul of ivory, rhino horns, animal furs and other items in the gross menagerie of seized illegal animal products in London is an understatement.

This is not just a crime taking place overseas. Criminal lowlifes operate right here in the UK and the Met Police and other forces are working to stop them in their tracks. Criminal gangs trafficking wildlife across UK borders will not be permitted to operate with impunity, but this requires a global effort, tackling both the supply and demand of this odious trade.

We will not let up our efforts to ensure that future generations can share our planet with rhinos and elephants and that the criminals who seek to harm them face justice.

The Foreign Secretary also learned about a new technique for taking fingerprints from ivory. The technique was tested on ivory from the WCU facility from previous seizures, and it increases the chances of building a legal case against perpetrators.

This follows on from the Foreign Secretary’s recent visit to Asia where he viewed illegally trafficked ivory and pangolin scales seized by Thai customs.

In October the UK will host an international conference on the illegal wildlife trade, bringing together global leaders to work to end wildlife crime.

Further information



Correspondence: Air quality plan: letter requesting progress update

Updated: Added the letters to Southampton and Derby City Council (dated 10 September 2018).

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey has written to leaders of Birmingham, Southampton and Derby City Council outlining concerns at the progress of plans to improve air quality.



News story: Non-executive Director of NS&I has contract extended

The government has extended James Furse’s contract as a Non-executive Director on the board of NS&I for a further year, up to 31 December 2018. James is a Non-executive Director of Ageas UK Insurance and prior to joining the NS&I board in January 2012, he was Managing Director of John Lewis Partnership financial services. Non-executive members of NS&I’s board ensure a sound strategy is in place to meet the organisation’s remit of raising cost-effective debt financing for the government. They also act as an external source of advice, with oversight of risk control and ensuring NS&I’s links with its outsourcing partner, Atos, remain open and transparent. NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.

Further information

The current NS&I board members are:

  • Ed Anderson – Non-executive Director and Chairman of the board
  • Ian Ackerley – Chief Executive
  • Peter Cornish – Director, Risk
  • Dax Harkins – Director, B2B
  • Jill Waters – Acting Director, Retail
  • Rodney Norman – Director, Finance
  • Mark Keene – Acting Director, Partnership
  • Sarah Tebbutt – Director, People and Strategy
  • James Furse – Non-executive Director
  • Sharmila Nebhrajani OBE – Non-executive Director
  • Christopher Fisher – Non-executive Director
  • Mario Pisani – HM Treasury representative


News story: UK agrees sale of HMS Ocean to Brazil

HMS Ocean heading for the Caribbean. Crown copyright.

Sold to the Brazilian Navy for around £84M, the profit generated from the sale will be reinvested in defence at a time when the Royal Navy is being strengthened with two types of brand new frigates and two huge aircraft carriers.

HMS Queen Elizabeth, which will eventually take on the role as the nation’s new flagship, recently set sail from the port of Gibraltar carrying two Chinooks and four Merlin helicopters as she readies for helicopter trials at sea.

Throughout HMS Ocean’s impressive 20 years since entering service in 1998, she has covered more than 450,000 nautical miles. The long-planned decision to take her out of service in 2018, as she reaches the end of her planned service life, was confirmed in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015.

Her military record spans from Operation Palliser during the Sierra Leone civil war to Operation Ellamy as part of an international coalition in Libya in 2011.

Most recently, HMS Ocean demonstrated her humanitarian and disaster relief capabilities when she bolstered the hurricane relief effort on Operation Ruman in the Caribbean last summer. It is fitting that one of her final operations mirrored that of her first, when in early 1999 she was deployed at short notice to render assistance to Honduras and Nicaragua in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch.

The sale of HMS Ocean was managed by the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA), which is part of the MOD’s procurement organisation, Defence Equipment and Support. The Authority provides an efficient sale and disposal services to the armed forces as well as customers in the UK and overseas.

Clive Walker, Head of DESA, said:

We have a proven track record of supplying surplus defence equipment on a government to government basis. The successful sale of HMS Ocean to the Brazilian Navy will provide a financial return to the UK which will now be reinvested in defence.

HMS Ocean will decommission from the Royal Navy in March, with plans for the Brazilian Navy to take possession of the ship in June 2018. Modifications to the ship will be made by UK companies Babcock and BAE Systems in the meantime, with this work funded by Brazil.