Fred and June Glass from Frodsham have taken advantage of a Highways England initiative which will see the owners of more than 3,000 homes across the country being offered free noise insulation by spring 2020.

Mr and Mrs Glass moved into their home around two years ago and were contacted by Highways England contractors due to its location close to the motorway.

The stretch of the M56 near their home is used by over 124,000 vehicles every day, meaning they previously had to put up with constant traffic noise at all times of the day and night.

Now, thanks to the scheme, the noise levels in their lounge and bedroom are like a library, and ventilation units have also been fitted which allow air into the rooms without the windows needing to be opened.

Funding for the free noise insulation scheme is part of a £39 million special fund which Highways England is using to reduce noise levels for people living close to motorways and major A roads; it also includes installing noise barriers and low-noise road surfaces.

Mr Glass said:

We are delighted to have new double glazed windows and frames installed, free of charge, to help with reducing the noise levels.

The entire process has been really easy and the communication with Highways England’s contractor, Forrest, and the care taken during the installation was superb.

We’re really satisfied with the end result and have noticed a huge difference in day-to-day noise levels.

The scheme will usually involve upgrading windows, bi-folding doors and patio doors in bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms and studies with double glazing as well as installing ventilation units.

Highways England has identified locations where new glazing will be the best solution for reducing noise levels, and the owners of some 3,000 eligible properties will be contacted over the next few months to be offered free windows and doors.

Ian Holmes, Principal Noise Advisor at Highways England, said:

Motorways are vital for connecting the country and supporting the economy but, at a local level, noise from the vehicles using them can affect people’s health and wellbeing.

I’m delighted that Mr and Mrs Glass have noticed a significant reduction in the noise levels in their home, and look forward to bringing similar benefits to thousands of other residents.

Highways England has appointed Bolton-based construction company Forrest to carry out the first phase of its free noise insulation initiative.

Darroch Baker, Divisional Director at Forrest, said:

As a contractor with the ability to manage all aspects of this important scheme, including resident communication, property surveying and installation of the proposed improvements, we are thrilled to be appointed by Highways England.

The project is a great opportunity to contribute to improvements in the health and quality of life of the population most exposed to high traffic noise levels.

More details on the free noise insulation initiative are available on this guidance page on how to apply for noise insulation.

Plans to grant residents from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway similar rights post-Brexit as those from EU Member States, have been outlined this week as engagement between the UK and the EEA EFTA members intensifies.

Following on from the agreement reached in December to secure the rights of the 3 million EU citizens living in the UK and the 1 million UK citizens living in the 27 Member States, government officials have met with their EEA EFTA counterparts in order to extend the deal to each other’s citizens.

The deal, which covers residency, healthcare, pensions, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and other benefits could be extended to the 18,000 Norwegian nationals, 2,000 Icelandic nationals and 40 Liechtenstein nationals living in the UK, and the 15,000 UK nationals in Norway, 800 in Iceland and 60 in Liechtenstein.

EEA EFTA citizens are covered by free movement provisions through the EEA EFTA states’ membership of the EEA Agreement. This allows them to currently move to the UK and other EU states, and similarly UK citizens are currently able to move to the three EEA EFTA states.

Following their meeting earlier this week the UK and EEA EFTA countries issued the following joint-statement:

Officials from the EEA EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and the United Kingdom met on 12 February 2018 to discuss the agreement reached by the United Kingdom and the European Union on citizens’ rights in December 2017. Positive discussions on these issues took place at the meeting and the parties affirmed their desire to secure the status and protect the rights of UK nationals living in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and nationals of those countries living in the UK.

The government has announced a review of its 25 year Bovine TB strategy to be chaired by Sir Charles Godfray, a population biologist and Fellow of the Royal Society.

Four years after the 25 year strategy was first published, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has said he believes now is a good time to review progress and consider what additional actions might be necessary now to ensure other tools and interventions are ready to be deployed in later phases of the strategy. The government has said it also envisages future reviews at five yearly intervals.

The 25 year strategy outlined a very broad range of interventions to fight the disease including tighter cattle movement controls and removal of infected cattle from herds, improved diagnostic tests, enhanced biosecurity measures, the culling of badgers in areas where disease is rife, vaccination of badgers and work to develop a viable vaccine for use in cattle.

So far, the principal elements deployed in the first phase of the strategy have been cattle movement controls, the removal of infected cattle from herds and the badger cull which covered more than 20 different areas in 2017. Michael Gove and Farming Minister George Eustice have said they want to ensure other elements of the strategy, such as cattle vaccination or developing genetic resistance, are ready to be deployed in the next phase of the strategy in order to ensure the government maintains progress towards its target of becoming officially TB free by 2038.

Farming Minister George Eustice said:

Bovine TB is a slow moving, insidious disease which presents many challenges. It is difficult to detect, can be harboured in the wildlife population and no vaccine is fully effective. There is no single measure that will provide an easy answer and that is why we are pursuing a wide range of interventions including cattle movement controls and a cull of badgers in areas where disease is rife.

Now is a good time to review progress to date and identify steps we could take now to accelerate some of the elements of our 25 year strategy that might be deployed in later phases. While the badger culls are a necessary part of the strategy, no one wants to be culling badgers forever.

Bovine TB has a negative effect on the health and welfare of affected animals and dealing with the disease costs the taxpayer an estimated £100 million a year. Over the last year alone more than 30,000 infected cattle had to be slaughtered in England.

The review’s Terms of Reference are available.

The review is due to end in September 2018. The findings will be submitted to Defra Ministers for consideration and a final report published in due course.

The Association of Public Analysts (APA) Educational Trust and the Government Chemist Programme in LGC organise an annual RSC-approved, fully residential week long postgraduate course on the analysis and examination of food and feed. The course will take place from 16 to 20 April 2018.

See attached programme for full details.

The course, over a two year cycle, offers a distinctive learning experience, validated by active practitioners in the APA Training Committee, with unique features:

• a vibrant mix of lectures, laboratory practical sessions and interactive exercises
• wide range of experts, not available together elsewhere
• up to date teaching of safety (chemical and microbiological), authenticity, analysis and the law of food, water, feeding-stuffs and fertilisers
• professional networking with peer group and leading experts, National Reference Laboratories, senior academic researchers and policy officials
• alignment with the MChemA*syllabus
• practical and relevant training in microbiology theory and hands-on laboratory work
• tuition on foreign body identification and hands-on lab training in microscopy.

The MChemA (Mastership in Chemical Anaysis) is the statutory qualification prescribed to practice as a Public Analyst by the Food Safety (Sampling and Qualifications) Regulations 2013

Who is this course for?

This course is particularly appropriate for aspiring MChemA candidates but will also be valuable for anyone working in a Public Analysts’ or food /animal feed laboratory who wishes to equip themselves with additional skills.

Course details

Topics will include food authenticity, microbiology theory and lab practical work, microscopy lab practical tuition, toxicology, drinking and bottled water quality, contaminants, food contact materials and food packaging taints. An evening session offers training in foreign body identification.

The accommodation will be in University hotel grade bedrooms with breakfast and evening meals taking place in ‘The Cedars’, located centrally on Reading University Campus. The teaching will take place in seminar rooms and laboratories.

Booking information

If you are not able to join us for the whole week, do not hesitate to consider daily attendance. See leaflet for daily rates.

Return the completed Registration form (MS Word Document, 31.7KB) to Michael Walker to book the course by 29 March.

For any queries about the course or the activities of the Government Chemist please contact

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP will visit the University of Kent’s Law Clinic today to see the pro bono work happening there.

While there, the Solicitor General will also take part in a ‘hot seat’ Question and Answer session. The students will have the opportunity to ask questions about pro bono work and Public Legal Education.

The Solicitor General will also tour the new £5 million Kent Law Clinic as part of his visit and meet staff and solicitors from the local community who volunteer there. The Law Clinic takes on pro bono cases for individuals and community organisations who are unable to afford other legal services.

The Solicitor General said:

Pro bono work often starts at universities and colleges, where students gain first-hand experience of providing legal advice and help to those in need.

The advice these students give will help make a real difference to people’s lives as well as to the communities in which they live.

They are the next generation of lawyers, and the skills they gain now will put them in good stead in their future professional careers.

The students gain practical experience of the law in the clinic, and are involved in all aspects of casework. They undertake such tasks as interviewing clients, carrying out legal research, drafting statements of cases, negotiating and appearing as advocates before the County Court and other forums.

Professor John Fitzpatrick, Kent Law Clinic director said:

We are delighted that the Solicitor General is to visit the Kent Law Clinic, and warmly welcome his support for pro bono legal projects in universities.

Working in law clinics to provide a free legal service to those who need, but cannot to pay for access to the law offers students not only a new way of learning the law itself and very useful vocational skills, but also a new perspective on law and society.

We can only make a small contribution of course, but we hope a rich one to those clients and students who are involved.