John Leslie Allison has been ordered to remove waste he illegally disposed of on land off Delves Lane, Colne.

A north east waste management company has been fined thousands of pounds for breaching environmental laws leading to a fly infestation which blighted the local community.

Niramax Group Limited appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Monday 15 January where it pleaded guilty to breaching its environmental permit, leading to a fly infestation at its site at Monument Park, Washington.

It also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an enforcement notice by not removing waste as required at its site at Tofts Farm in Hartlepool after large amounts of waste tyres created a potential fire hazard.

The prosecution follows an investigation by the Environment Agency. They were fined a total of £16,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.

Flies on the waste at the Washington site

Fly infestation

Lee Fish, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court that at the Washington site a pre-arranged audit took place on 2 April 2015 where Environment Agency officers discovered a fly infestation.

Two of the bay doors to the waste shed were not operating satisfactorily which caused problems with pest control measures. Waste was not sufficiently divided between the four bays.

A second visit on 9 April saw the flies still present both outside and inside the waste storage shed. Efforts had been made to empty the waste from the bays. A visit on 12 April saw the site and issues had been cleared.

During the investigation Environment Agency officers spoke with neighbouring businesses and residents which confirmed the impact of the infestation.

Excessive tyre storage

At Hartlepool, where Niramax treats waste tyres, the Environment Agency originally attended the site in June 2015 after receiving complaints about dust.

On 28 July an Action Plan was signed by the operator to resolve a number of permit breaches, which included a dust management plan. And the large amounts of waste tyres on site were to be stored within bays in accordance with permit conditions and fire prevention guidance.

The operator agreed to return the site to compliance by 30 November 2015.

In February 2016, Environment Agency officers attended the site to assess its compliance with its permit. It was noted the site was still operating as it was in June the previous year and the bays were still buried under piles of waste tyres.

An enforcement notice was served on the company to clear the site of tyres by 14 June, 2016. On 15 June the Environment Agency visited the site, and while the amount of shredded tyre waste had reduced permit breaches were still evident – waste was not contained in the bays and no fire breaks were noted.

The bays were capable of storing 1490.4m3 and the contents were measured to be 2461.71m3.

Piles of waste tyres at the Hartlepool site.

‘Negative impact on local areas’

The company told the court that they had been caught out by an unseasonably sharp rise in temperature. This meant their fly suppression methods proved inadequate.

At the tyre site they suffered when a fluctuation in the market made it more difficult to remove the shredded tyres from the site. They said they had done everything in their power to comply with the enforcement notice.

Rachael Caldwell, Enforcement Team Leader at the Environment Agency in the north east, said:

Environmental laws exist for a reason – to protect the environment and communities – so it is vital that waste operators meet the conditions of their permits.

In both of these cases there was a negative impact on the local areas, which is extremely unpleasant and unacceptable and not something communities should have to endure.

We always treat operators fairly and ensure they understand the potential impact their activities can have, and work together with them to help bring sites into compliance.

At Hartlepool we gave Niramax ample opportunity to bring their site back into compliance, and at Washington we gave them five days to act on what was a serious fly infestation.

But they repeatedly showed little regard for the detrimental impact on their neighbours and the environment. And during our investigation they even described our actions – to protect the environment and the community – as ‘nit picking’.

I hope this case reassures our communities that we will do everything possible to ensure operators comply with their permit, and take enforcement action when they don’t.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP

A 16 year old boy has had his sentence increased after Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP referred his original sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

The teenager from South East London, who cannot be named due to his age, was originally sentenced to 6 years in a detention centre last October at Woolwich Crown Court. The Court has increased the sentence to a 12 year extended sentence comprising of 6 years detention and a 6 year extended licence.

On 19 April 2017 the offender approached the 46 year old victim who was walking through Sutcliffe Park in Eltham. He showed her a knife that was concealed in his waistband and told her to ‘walk normal’. He threatened to stab her in the face if she tried to run away.

After leading the victim to some bushes, he instructed her to remove the lower part of her clothing and he raped her. After the attack, the victim tried to run away but the offender caught up with her and grabbed her bag. There was a struggle over the bag before the offender managed to run away and the victim was able to call for help.

Speaking after the hearing, the Attorney General said:

This attack left the victim fearing for her life. The original sentence failed to take proper account of the seriousness of the offence and the danger this young man poses to the public. I am pleased the Court has now seen fit to increase his sentence, and I hope it can bring some comfort to the victim and her family.

Published 16 January 2018

Councils in England will receive an additional £29 million to boost their support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) and care leavers, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid confirmed today (16 January 2018).

Today’s funding builds on the work government is already doing through its safeguarding strategy to address the specific challenges faced by some of the most vulnerable children in society, and the professionals who care for them.

This funding will enable some councils to step up their support by providing homes for asylum seeking children that are currently resident in other local authorities that are operating at full capacity.

It will also allow councils to reduce local resource pressures to the benefit of their wider communities.

Communities Minister Lord Bourne said:

We have a proud history of hosting, supporting and protecting those in need, including some of the most vulnerable children. This new funding will enable more councils across England to provide support to those children who need a place to call home.

The funds will also bring a range of benefits to the whole community by increasing the number of foster carers available and reducing pressures on existing services.

We are grateful to councils who continue to provide care and support to vulnerable children, and it’s encouraging to hear of the enthusiasm among councils in welcoming more children to their areas, especially where they haven’t had an opportunity to do so previously.

Today’s announcement of £29 million will increase capacity to support asylum-seeking children and builds upon government’s existing projects around refugees and migration, including:

• The £100 million Controlling Migration Fund to alleviate pressures on local services such as housing, education and health services resulting from recent migration. Many of the projects funded also support migrants to integrate into their communities, for example by providing English language classes. £16 million from the Controlling Migration Fund is included in the total announced today.

• We increased the funding we provide to local authorities by 20% for unaccompanied asylum seeking children under 16, and by 28% for unaccompanied asylum seeking children aged 16 or 17. We also increased the funding we provide for former unaccompanied asylum seeking children who go on to attract leaving care support by 33%.

Case studies

Shropshire

Shropshire will use £170,000 of funding to welcome more children into the area, in part to reduce pressures on neighbouring local authorities. Council leaders are developing specialist support to achieve this, including training for foster carers and expanding English language teaching across the county. In 2016 to 2017 the county supported 14 unaccompanied asylum seeking children, with an ambition to welcome an additional 42 children in the coming months.

North Yorkshire

A groundbreaking new approach to welcoming asylum-seeking children in North Yorkshire will provide young people with a chance to integrate fully with their communities through an intensive 12 week programme involving introductions to the region and British culture, fast tracked English language lessons and peer mentoring.

Devon

Devon will use £145,000 to support community volunteers and local residents who want to help welcome child refugees to their communities

Croydon

Croydon propose specialist training and support for over 360 existing foster carers to help them understand cultural barriers and to promote the integration of vulnerable children into British society.

The government is currently conducting a review of the funding arrangements for England’s 4,560 unaccompanied asylum seeking children in partnership with local authorities.

Further information

The Controlling Migration Fund is designed to support local areas facing pressures linked to recent immigration.

See further details of the successful bids for funding being announced today in the Controlling Migration Fund unaccompanied asylum seeking children successful bids table (PDF, 106KB, 6 pages)

See further information on the additional funding allocation to help local authorities build their capacity to care for these vulnerable children in the UASC additional funding allocations table (PDF, 55.8KB, 6 pages)

The £28.9 million announced today includes £19 million announced by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid in the House of Commons on 19 December 2017.

£9 million has been allocated today towards specific projects from the Controlling Migration Fund, the additional £20 million will be shared between all local authorities currently supporting more than 10 asylum seeking children.

This government believes we must do more to make sure nobody is excluded and everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Bringing the country even closer together is a shared responsibility. For its part government is fully committed to helping people in more isolated communities to engage with the wider world, help new arrivals to this country to learn about and respect British culture and values and help more people to learn English. We will be bringing forward our strategy to further strengthen community integration shortly.

The National Transfer Scheme was launched in July 2016 to ensure a fairer allocation of unaccompanied asylum seeking children across the UK. A significant number of local authorities from all regions in England have participated in the scheme so far. As a result the National Transfer Scheme has successfully transferred a large number of children away from local authorities with a disproportionate number of unaccompanied children in their care.

The next wave of allocations from the Controlling Migration Fund will be announced in the coming months.

Local authorities who look after unaccompanied asylum seeking children receive £41,610 a year for under 16 years old, and £33,215 a year for those aged 16 and 17. We also provide local authorities with £200 per week for former unaccompanied asylum seeking children who go on to leaving care leavers support.