The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.
These notices explain:
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said:
“We can confirm that the Ministry of Justice has referred the case of Antoni Imiela for an parole review. The review is following the standard 6 month process for all indeterminate sentence prisoners and will be reviewed on the papers in the first instance. The review may be concluded on the papers or alternatively it may be directed to an oral hearing.”
Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will hit the ground running in 2018 when he hosts the next meeting of his EU Exit Expert Panel in Cardiff today (Thursday 11 January 2018).
The panel forms part of the UK Government’s nationwide engagement with those with key interests in our exit from the EU.
Mr Cairns will gather representatives from Welsh businesses, universities and the voluntary, farming, food and health sectors at Caspian Point to discuss their priorities for Brexit and to update them on negotiations and the progress of the Withdrawal Bill.
As we move closer towards our exit from the European Union, the job of listening to, and understanding the needs of, those who live, work and do business in Wales becomes ever more important.
The UK Government’s overriding goal is to make sure that the voices of sectors from all parts of the UK are listened to as we navigate an exit that works for everyone.
That is why I am working with experts from across all sectors in Wales to examine the challenges posed by Brexit and to explore the great opportunities for growth in business and employment.
The EU (Withdrawal) Bill is a key piece of legislation in the national interest which will convert EU law to UK law on exit day, ensuring certainty and continuity as we leave the EU.
The Secretary of State for Wales established the Expert Panel to work with him to deliver a smooth and orderly exit from the EU in Wales. The fifth meeting today builds on the constructive conversations they have already had on how powers returning from the EU should be exercised after exit day.
Highways England today renewed its focus on design with the launch of a set of design principles which will inform future road schemes – to ensure its roads better serve the people who use them and the environments through which they pass.
The company, responsible for delivering the Government’s £15bn Road Investment Strategy, says that as well as connecting people and places, there should be renewed focus on improvements which are long lasting, sensitive to their surroundings, and enhance the quality of life.
The design principles released today put people at the heart of its work.
Responsible for England’s motorways and main A roads, Highways England also announced the launch of a new body, comprised of experts across the industry, to provide support to designers on major projects. Early reviews include the Lower Thames Crossing and the A303 Stonehenge improvements.
Highways England’s Chief Highways Engineer Mike Wilson said:
We are delivering the biggest level of investment in England’s strategic road network for a generation.
We need to make sure that Highways England and the industry think in the right way when it comes to good design. The ten principles of good road design are to help us achieve that and will underpin our major improvements going forward.
We want roads that not only connect the country and communities, but which achieve a higher quality of life; that are designed in a way that is sensitive to the surroundings; provide greater economic vitality and use resources in a more efficient and innovative way.
The ten principles of good road design were published today following the recommendations of the Highways England Strategic Design Panel. They are that good road design:
The panel was set up to support the development of a culture where good design is at the heart of everything within Highways England and the wider road sector. This coincides with Highways England delivering the biggest programme of Government investment in a generation. The panel’s focus is on strategic input rather than scheme specific details, targeting where its expertise, insight and guidance will have most positive impact and wider benefit such as standards, procurement and evaluation.
At the start of the Year of Engineering, acknowledging that good engineering changes people’s lives, Highways England has set out a design vision that:
We aim to put people at the heart of our work by designing an inclusive, resilient and sustainable road network; appreciated for its usefulness but also its elegance, reflecting in its design the beauty of the natural, built and historic environment through which it passes, and enhancing it where possible.
The new principles and vision have been launched at the start of the Year of Engineering, a government campaign to get many thousands more young people to consider engineering as a career. Highways England will work with suppliers to bring young people face to face with their work, offering them the opportunity to see first-hand the range of jobs on offer and the difference infrastructure projects make to people’s lives.
Examples of previous good design include the use of traditional dry stone to reinforce the A590’s connection to the Cumbrian landscape. Other examples of good design include the A3 Hindhead tunnel bypass and the decommissioning of the old road and the inclusion of a ‘green bridge’ on the A556 in Cheshire.
The green bridge over the A556 in Cheshire is seamlessly integrated with the context and allows for wildlife to cross
Earlier today Highways England released images of a new green bridge on the A556 Knutsford to Bowdon scheme opened last year. The A556 project’s green measures earned it a prestigious Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice last year.
As recommended by the Strategic Design Panel, Highways England recently established an independent design review panel. This new design review panel provides expert and independent design advice to the Strategic Design Panel, Highways England and their design teams to ensure that the design vision and principles of good road design are applied to individual schemes.
The ten new principles of good road design and vision will underpin the updated Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges was first published in 1992 and is the standard for the design, maintenance and operation of the strategic road network and is widely used for other roads in the UK and across the globe. The new manual will be rolled out in phases and is expected to be complete by March 2020.
Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.
Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.
Launching the 25 Year Environment Plan, the PM will set out the government’s determination to leave our environment in a better state than we found it.
She will outline steps for a cleaner, greener Britain – with avoidable plastic waste eliminated by the end of 2042.
To help achieve this, the government will extend the 5p carrier bag charge to all retailers in England. To date, we have used nine billion fewer plastic bags as a direct consequence of introducing the charge.
The government will also work with supermarkets to encourage them to introduce plastic-free aisles in which all the food is loose.
This will give consumers the choice to make greener decisions and promote the use of less damaging plastic packaging.
To encourage industry to take more responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products and make them easier to recycle, the government will also look at how the tax system or charges could further reduce the amount of waste we create. A call for evidence on how to reduce the use of single-use plastics will begin next month.
In addition we will to inject new funding into plastics innovation through a bid into the government’s £7 billion research and development pot.
It is estimated that 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since the 1950s.
Research indicates that without urgent action to cut demand this is likely to be 34 billion tonnes by 2050.
In the UK alone, during its recent Great British Beach Clean Up, the Marine Conservation Society found 718 pieces of litter for every 100 metre stretch of beach surveyed, and of this rubbish from food and drink made up at least one fifth.
In a speech, Theresa May is expected to say:
We look back in horror at some of the damage done to our environment in the past and wonder how anyone could have thought that, for example, dumping toxic chemicals, untreated, into rivers was ever the right thing to do.
In years to come, I think people will be shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly.
In the UK alone, the amount of single-use plastic wasted every year would fill 1,000 Royal Albert Halls.
This plastic is ingested by dozens of species of marine mammals and over 100 species of sea birds, causing immense suffering to individual creatures and degrading vital habitats. 1 million birds, and over 100,000 other sea mammals and turtles die every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste. One in three fish caught in the English Channel contains pieces of plastic.
This truly is one of the great environmental scourges of our time.
Today I can confirm that the UK will demonstrate global leadership. We must reduce the demand for plastic, reduce the number of plastics in circulation and improve our recycling rates. To tackle it we will take action at every stage of the production and consumption of plastic.
Demonstrating global leadership the UK will also do more to help developing nations tackle pollution and reduce plastic waste, including through UK aid.
Mrs May is expected to add:
I want the Britain of the future to be a truly Global Britain, which is a force for good in the world. Steadfast in upholding our values – not least our fierce commitment to protecting the natural environment.
When we host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April we will put the sustainable development of our oceans firmly on the agenda.
We will work with our partners to create a Commonwealth Blue Charter and push for strong action to reduce plastic waste in the ocean.
We will direct our development spending to help developing nations reduce plastic waste, increase our own marine protected areas at home, and establish new Blue Belt protections in our Overseas Territories.
The Prime Minister will also announce plans to help more children engage with the environment. This will be delivered through £10m for school visits and a Nature Friendly Schools programme to create school grounds which allow young people to learn more about the natural world, targeting schools in disadvantaged areas first.