The £17.8 million project, led by the Environment Agency, helps to protect 378 homes and 165 businesses in the town centre from flooding from Eller Beck and Waller Hill Beck, which rise very quickly after heavy rain. The project is designed to provide the town with this new level of protection over the course of the next 100 years.

Skipton has suffered from flooding from these becks as recently as December 2015. Prior to this Skipton has experienced a significant flooding in 1908, 1979, 1982, 2000, 2004 and 2007. A life was lost as a result of the 1982 flood.

Construction of the scheme started in March 2015, where two flood storage areas have been created upstream of Skipton at Eller Beck near Skipton Golf Club, and Waller Hill Beck to slow the flow of water from the surrounding hills, reducing the risk of the becks causing floods in the town centre.

The new flood storage areas can hold a combined total of 111 million gallons of water equivalent to 168 Olympic sized swimming pools, or 5.2 million bathtubs.

Eller Beck near Skipton Golf Course is the larger of the two storage areas. A 13 metre high, 610 metre wide earthworks dam has been built which can hold 433,000 cubic metres of water or 95 million gallons. Normal flows pass unrestricted through a pipe known as a culvert within the dam, but during a flood, a barrier called a penstock will be lowered to block off the culvert inlet so that water can be held back to form a reservoir.

The dam at Waller Hill is 9 metres high, 105 metres wide, and has the capacity to hold 72,000 cubic metres of water, or nearly 16 million gallons. A concrete culvert with inlet and outlet has been constructed to allow the beck to flow during normal conditions, which allows high river flows to be held back.

The scheme also includes 300 metres of new flood defence walls including new raised walls that have been constructed in the town centre at Morrison’s car park, and near private gardens and a children’s play area further upstream in the town. Some of the defences have been clad in matching stone to blend in with other buildings in the conservation area.

Environmental considerations include an otter ledge running through the culvert as well as an otter hedge running around the outside of Eller Beck Dam. These new wildlife-friendly additions will help to open up access for any local otter populations. A significant number of trees have also been planted around the two sites as well as further up the catchment including alder, oak, white willow as well as holly, hazel and blackthorn hedgerows.

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said:

Skipton is a town which knows the devastating impacts of flooding. We can never prevent all flooding, but we can reduce the risk of it happening and the damage if it does. I am delighted that this scheme will see hundreds of homes and businesses better protected for years to come.

This scheme forms part of more than half a billion pounds worth of government funding which we are investing across the whole of Yorkshire between 2015-2021 to reduce flood risk to nearly 60,000 properties.

The majority of the funding for the project has come from the Environment Agency which has contributed over £11m. Further funding also came from the Defra Growth Fund (£1.7m), North Yorkshire County Council (£750k), Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee £300k and Yorkshire Water (£250k).

The scheme will also open up land to development for businesses which will have a positive impact on job creation and economic activity in the area and therefore benefits from Government Growth Deal funding, a deal between government and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) to transform regional economy. The awarding bodies are the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership which awarded the scheme £1.2m, and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, which extended a further £1.5m.

The scheme has also been made possible with support from Skipton Town Council, local businesses, the local community, and Craven District Council, who played an integral part in the successful application for significant Local Growth Funding.

The Slate Landscape of North-West Wales will be the UK’s next preferred nomination for UNESCO World Heritage site status, Heritage Minister Michael Ellis announced today.

The area – which runs throughout the county of Gwynedd – is said to have “roofed the 19th century world” as slate from its mines was exported around the globe.

The landscape was assessed for World Heritage Status by a UK panel of experts this summer and it will be formally presented to UNESCO next year.

It will then be considered by the International Council of Sites and Monuments followed by the World Heritage Committee in 2021. Should it be approved, the Slate Landscape will join the likes of Grand Canyon National Park, The Great Barrier Reef and the Lake District as a designated World Heritage Site.

The site was the world’s greatest exporter of slate during the mid 19th century, becoming a key part of the social and economic fabric of North Wales. The slate mined from the area also had a significant impact on global architecture with its materials used on a vast range of buildings, from terraces to palaces all around the world.

If inscribed it would be the fourth World Heritage Site in Wales, alongside the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward at Gwynedd and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said:

Gwynedd’s slate landscape is hugely important. Its vast quarries and mines have not only shaped the countryside of the region but also countless buildings across the UK and the world.

This is a crucial milestone on the road to becoming a World Heritage site and the global recognition that brings. While the UNESCO nomination process is very thorough, I believe this unique landscape would be a worthy addition to the list.

UK Government Minister for Wales, Mims Davies said:

It gives me great pleasure to see that the world-renowned slate landscape of Gwynedd has been selected as the UK Government’s preferred UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.

An accolade such as this not only highlights the immense beauty and history that Wales has to offer but also acts as a catalyst to investment and tourism. The status which is globally recognised would help to revive and grow the economy of the slate areas that have had such a significant influence on the communities and heritage of North West Wales.

The UK currently has 31 other World Heritage sites and can nominate one site per calendar year. Jodrell Bank Observatory was nominated in January 2018, and has recently undergone an evaluation mission by UNESCO’s expert advisers. A decision on inscription for that site will take place during the annual committee meeting next summer.

A Parliamentary reception on the Slate Landscape, attended by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, will take place this afternoon.

Notes to editors:

• The World Heritage Centre manages over 1000 sites around the world and the UK has 31 World Heritage sites.

• Once a nomination is submitted, UNESCO’s expert advisors assess the site, and make a recommendation to the World Heritage Committee.

• The news, which comes after the Slate Landscape passed the UK’s rigorous technical evaluation process, signals the Government’s support in principle for a nomination to be formally submitted in mid 2019.

• In Wales, there were 1 million visits by overseas tourists in 2017, spending £369 million in the local economy.

• In addition, British residents took 9 million overnight trips to Wales in 2017, spending £1.6 billion.

Updated: We have added the Welsh translation.

The government has announced how it will take tougher action on fraud and save hundreds of millions of pounds for the NHS over the next 5 years, increasing the money available for improving patient care.

The plans were announced by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock.

The new approach will start with a commitment to halve prescription fraud, which costs the NHS £256 million a year.

Prescription exemptions will be digitised, allowing pharmacies to check whether the patient does not have to pay charge before their medication is dispensed. This will be piloted next year, before being rolled out across the NHS.

The focus on prescriptions is one aspect of a wider crackdown on NHS fraud, which will prevent up to £300 million being lost to fraud by April 2020. This is part of the government’s commitment to ensuring public finances are managed responsibly and that every penny invested goes towards improving care.

Further measures being introduced to stop fraud include:

• a new partnership between the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and the fraud prevention service Cifas, allowing NHS counter-fraud professionals to access Cifas data

• more collaboration and data sharing between the NHS Business Services Authority and NHSCFA to identify the small number of pharmacists and dentists claiming payments for services they have not carried out

• the introduction of a new counter-fraud profession in central government, bringing together around 10,000 counter-fraud specialists, including 400 focused on fraud in the NHS

NHSCFA will take forward these measures. It will work with its data-sharing partners to analyse large amounts of information and identify anomalies, unusual activity and inconsistencies in the NHS, referring to NHS investigators for further action.

NHSCFA was set up in November 2017 and replaces NHS Protect, which has been working to stop fraud since 2010.

Fraud in the NHS ranges from a few pounds, to hundreds of thousands and occasionally millions.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

Those who abuse the NHS and choose to line their own pockets with money that should be spent on patients and frontline care will no longer have anywhere to hide. The new technology and analysis, combined with intel and experience of counter-fraud specialists will form the starting point of this new fight against NHS fraudsters.

We’re determined to make sure every penny of the extra funding we are giving the NHS as part of our long-term plan is properly spent. The message is clear: the NHS is no longer an easy target, and if you try to steal from it you will face the consequences.

Sue Frith, interim CEO of the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, said:

I am delighted that the Health and Social Care Secretary is showing such a keen interest in addressing fraud and supporting the NHS Counter Fraud Authority in its vital mission to prevent and detect fraud against the NHS. It is key to our success that we collaborate with others and I am confident that as we work with partners this ambitious target will be achieved.

The more data sets we are able to access from partners such as Cifas and the NHS Business Services Authority, the more fraud we can detect and prevent. NHSCFA are actively engaging with the fintech sector to identify technological solutions that could enhance data examination and exploitation capability.

Former service personnel who left service after 1 April 2018 may be entitled to arrears of pay following the 2018 pay increase. To ensure that any arrears of pay are received, bank account and address details must be kept up to date and the JPAC centre informed of any changes on 0800 085 3600.

Background

The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body’s (AFPRB) recommendation for 2018 was a 2.9% increase in pay for all personnel up to 1-star level (Commodore, Brigadier and Air Commodore) and the Senior Salaries Review Body’s (SSRB) recommendation was for a 2.5% pay increase for all officers of 2-star rank and above.

The first part of the pay increase is 2% pensionable pay which was paid in September salaries backdated to 1 April 2018 for officers up to 1-star level and officers ranked 2-star and above will receive their 2% pensionable pay increase in November salaries.

The second part of the pay increase is the bonus element which is 0.9% for officers up to 1-star level and 0.5% for officers ranked 2-star and above. This element will be delivered in two lump sum payments one in November 2018 and one in March 2019

All personnel who have left the service after 1 April 2018, or will do so before March 2019 will receive pro-rata payments for the period of service that they completed.

It is vital that bank account and address details are kept up to date for these payments to be made

Published 23 October 2018