Author Archives: HM Government

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Donna Gilmore, 31, of New Lane, Eccles, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, was understandably distraught when Bailey, her 2-year-old Shi Tzu, disappeared from the house, not far from the M60, earlier this month.

A few days later, after a search of the area and a social media campaign from Donna’s friends and family had failed to bring Bailey home, a dog was spotted near junction 12 of the motorway by Highways England traffic officers Mark Wellman and Dave Lavelle.

Mark and Dave, who both work at the Rob Lane outstation at Newton-le-Willows, spotted the dog on the wrong side of the safety barriers on a bridge overlooking the eastbound M62, on the approach to the M60. Traffic was temporarily stopped for everyone’s safety and so Bailey could be retrieved. He was taken away to be checked by a vet – while the search for its owner began.

Dave, 58, from Davyhulme in Trafford, said:

We had heard reports of a dog in the area over a few days so we were keeping a look out for safety reasons as much as anything as stray animals can cause drivers to swerve and brake suddenly, leading to collisions. “At the time we spotted him, we had no idea it was Bailey but we posted a picture on Twitter hoping someone would recognise him and – to cut quite a long story short – a police officer I know and whose daughter is a friend of Donna’s made the connection.

And Mark, 51, from Warrington, added:

We dropped Bailey back home at the weekend – he was a bit dishevelled but none the worse for his 6 day adventure – and of course Donna was absolutely thrilled.

Dave and I are just glad we were able to help. Pets do occasionally stray onto the motorway and unfortunately some get killed – but even in those cases Highways England works hard to reunite pets with their owners and deal with each case as sensitively as possible.

There was an added bonus – Bailey’s return also reunited him with his 10-month-old son Fudge.

Detective Sergeant Hayden Roberts, the dad of Donna’s friend Cerian, has now written to Highways England on behalf of Donna to thank Mark and Dave for their efforts.

He said:

The Twitter picture got back to me via Cerian who hoped I could find out where Bailey had been taken to. I happened to know Dave from a previous job so as a longshot I contacted him – but I had no idea he had actually been involved in Bailey’s rescue!

Dave called me back a short time later with the details that Bailey had been taken to the RSPCA in Salford I was able to call my daughter and an overjoyed Donna to give them the good news.

Donna and my daughter asked me to write thank Dave and Mark for the outstanding and caring service they have provided. This is definitely a story with a very happy ending!

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

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Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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As part of our continued commitment to deliver a high-quality service to our customers, stakeholders and partners, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is embarking on a major operational transformation programme across all three of our expert centres – the MHRA regulatory centre, the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) and the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). This includes significant investment in our digital capabilities and infrastructure.

Understanding your needs and priorities is essential to inform our plans and will help us to strategically shape our services, investment decisions and underlying operational processes and systems. The work we do now will underpin how we are able to meet your needs for years to come.

To help us gain this insight, we have developed a short online survey – in collaboration with PA Consulting, a consulting, technology and innovation firm, and Woodnewton Associates, an independent strategic research agency – to help us understand more about your experience of working with us and your views on where and how we need to do things differently.

The survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete, depending on how many different parts of the Agency you deal with. In line with the rules of the UK Market Research Society, your contribution will be held in strict confidence and information will not be passed to us in a way that would allow any individual contribution to be identified. You can forward the survey on to others who you think would like to share their views with us.

The survey closes on Tuesday 27 September.

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• Government establishes taskforce of senior financial experts to accelerate growth of green finance and the UK’s low carbon economy.
• Proposals announced today will build on the UK’s global leadership, including development of world’s first green financial management standards with the British Standards Institute.
• The transition to a low carbon economy offers Britain a multi-billion pound investment opportunity, creating high-value jobs and boosting exports.

New measures to accelerate investment in clean growth by building on the UK’s strength in green finance will be set out later today by Climate Change Minister Claire Perry at the opening ceremony of Climate Week in New York.

Green finance includes private sector investments in technologies, infrastructure and innovative start-ups that can create jobs and allow businesses to expand, boosting economic growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Between 1990 and 2016, UK GDP has grown by 67%, while carbon emissions have fallen by 42%, proving it is possible to reduce emissions and grow the economy.

Although the green finance agenda has gained global momentum in recent years, the market must accelerate to meet climate change commitments. An estimated $13.5 trillion of investment is needed between 2015 and 2030 in the energy sector alone, for countries to meet their Paris Agreement targets. The Government recognises that much of this investment will come from the private sector and wants to use the UK’s green finance capabilities to provide a real national economic boost and help meet global challenges.

Claire Perry, Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry said:

Britain has already shown the world that a strong economy and efforts to tackle climate change can, and should, go hand in hand. Now is the time to build on our strengths and cement our position as a global hub for investment in clean growth.

The transition to a low carbon economy is a multi-billion pound investment opportunity and a key part of this Government’s Industrial Strategy. Developing standards to promote responsible investment in sustainable projects and establishing the Green Finance Taskforce will help ensure businesses across the UK take full advantage of it.

Britain’s financial sector is already a world-leader in green finance. Enabling this sector to develop further will not only assist the transition to a low carbon economy but also ensure London remains the world’s leading global financial centre.

It is important for public and private partnerships to work together and the Green Finance Taskforce announced today will bring together a top team of financial experts, including leading figures from Aviva, Barclays, HSBC, Legal & General and the Bank of England, as well as academics and sustainability experts.

The Taskforce, chaired by Sir Roger Gifford, former Lord Mayor of London, will be given six months to deliver ambitious proposals to accelerate investment in the transition to a low carbon economy, creating high-value jobs and opportunities for UK businesses. It will examine a range of interventions, from making infrastructure investment more sustainable to scaling-up green mortgages.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay said:

Financial services are a British success story and the sector has the power to drive green and sustainable development.

It is a priority of mine that people are able to access financial products that support their values, whether that be sharia-compliant loans or green mortgages that have a positive environmental impact. This taskforce will keep the UK at the forefront of green finance and help deliver choice for consumers.

Investors in the UK’s low carbon economy need to feel assured about what constitutes a ‘green investment’ and the environmental impacts of green-labelled investments. Government will therefore work with the City of London’s Green Finance Initiative and the British Standards Institute to develop a set of voluntary green standards to promote responsible investment practices.

The Government has also officially endorsed recommendations published by the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and encourages all listed companies to implement this new, voluntary framework to align climate-related risk management and financial governance. These recommendations represent a key milestone in the global low carbon transition, and have been backed by over 100 businesses worldwide with a market capitalisation of more than $3 trillion.

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