Press release: Waste vehicle seized from gang

A vehicle belonging to an organised gang operating in South East England has been seized by the Environment Agency and Thames Valley Police, as part of an ongoing waste crime investigation. The vehicle is believed to be linked to the operation of an illegal waste site in the Maidenhead area.

The seizure, which took place last week, comes as the Environment Agency and the police move forward in their investigation to capture those responsible for occupying land unlawfully and accepting tonnes of waste, often from unsuspecting sources, leaving behind the rubbish to be cleared at the expense of the landowner or taxpayer.

Illegal waste crime drains the UK economy of £1 billion each year in clean-up costs and lost tax revenues. It has a devastating effect on the environment and local communities with pest infestations and fires, which could lead to water and land contamination plus air pollution from smoke.

Nick Daykin, Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader, said:

This is a great result in an ongoing investigation with Thames Valley Police to apprehend a group of unscrupulous individuals. The power to seize vehicles is a relatively new and is now an important weapon in our armoury for disrupting this type of criminal activity. This is a big message to the criminal fraternity: you set up site yesterday, we will have one of your vehicles off the road today and we will do it again tomorrow!

Using illegal waste dealers may seem tempting in terms of cost, but it can help fund organised crime. Everyone has a responsibility for their own waste and if your waste is found at an illegal site you could be facing fines of up to £5,000. To avoid this, we encourage members of the public and local businesses to ask their waste carrier for proof of their Waste Carrier’s Registration and to ask to see a ‘waste transfer note’ and if possible take a photo of it on their phone.

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All press enquiries: 0800 141 2743



News story: Government publishes call for evidence on cycle safety

Cycling Minister Jesse Norman has set out his plans to help people to walk and cycle more, as part of a push for the UK to leave cars behind for shorter journeys.

This comes as the Department for Transport publishes a call for evidence on cycling in this country, asking for a range of views and opinions from the public on everything from improved infrastructure to education for all road users.

This is part of the government’s drive to make cycling and walking safer, while encouraging more people to take up cycling at all ages as part of a green revolution in transport.

Mr Norman also announced today (9 March 2018) that he has awarded £100,000 of seed funding to 3 innovative cycling safety projects. These pilots aim to tackle a range of issues, including reducing the cost of e-bike batteries through recycling used laptop batteries.

Cycling Minister Jesse Norman said:

We need to become a nation of cyclists, and this government wants to make cycling the natural choice of transport for people of all ages and backgrounds.

The call for evidence published today will support an open, comprehensive and thorough review across government to encourage active travel and improve safety for all road users, and I hope that as many people as possible take the time to read and respond to it.

We are determined to make cycling safer and easier across the country, and we are continuing to invest. Today we’re announcing an investment of £100,000 each in 3 innovative cycle safety projects, in addition to the recent £7 million of funding to improve cycle safety. This is all part of the first-ever statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

This announcement comes as a report, recommending that there is a case for a new offence to be introduced to tackle dangerous cycling, has been published by the Department for Transport.

The independent report, written by legal expert Laura Thomas, finds there is a strong case for changing the law to tackle the issue of dangerous and careless cycling that causes injury or death. If this were to be introduced, it would bring cycling in line with serious driving offences.

This follows a multimillion pound government funding boost for cycle safety in February. 8 cities, which the government has already been helping to lead the way in promoting cycling, were given the chance to bid for an additional £6.5 million of funding to trial new schemes which improve safety. This will support the government’s aim of encouraging more people to cycle as part of everyday journeys.

Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Cycling UK said:

Cycling UK has long campaigned for a review of all road safety laws and enforcement, so it is encouraging that these points will be considered in the call for evidence.

We want to see more people cycling safely, and will actively engage with the review to ensure it addresses the causes of dangers for cyclists and the barriers to more cycling.

Xavier Brice, CEO of walking and cycling charity Sustrans said:

We welcome the government’s ‘Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy safety review’ and especially the inclusion of pedestrians in the review. This is something we advocated. Safety concerns are some of the greatest barriers to more people choosing to walk and cycle and we are pleased that the review is seeking to make it easier for everyone to travel on foot or by bike, and recognises the wide benefits that active travel brings to individuals and societies.

Road safety applies to everyone, regardless of travel mode and we broadly support the case for a new offence to tackle dangerous cycling. However, it must remain proportional as people on bikes rarely cause harm to others through their own actions but, like pedestrians, are particularly vulnerable to motor vehicles which are by far the largest cause of death and serious injury on our roads. It is therefore good to see this as only one part of a much wider safety review to enable more people to walk and cycle every day.

In April last year, the government published the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, setting out its vision to remove barriers and double the number of cyclists by 2025.

Therefore, the remaining £500,000 will be set aside to support Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival project – a successful initiative which is helping to get more people cycling safely and confidently across the country.

The government wants cycling and walking to become the norm by 2040 and will target funding at innovative ways to encourage people onto a bike or to use their own two feet for shorter journeys.

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Assisted bin collections information

Useful update from the Celebrate Age Network :





The Brexit Vision

Following the rejection of the UK’s very generous offer to the EU by the Commission and the Parliament, I am reminding people why we voted Leave by publishing the relevant section from my recent lecture.
The negotiating mandate put out by the EU falls well short of a Good Deal for us and for them, as it seeks to tie us down in far too many ways without offering a good reason to accept their terms.

The main benefits of Brexit come from once again being a self governing country

I find it extraordinary that so many who make their living out of government and politics

Are so defeatist about this greatest of countries

Why do they doubt our abilities to shape good laws

Frame a good economic policy

And trade with the five continents of the world based on what we are good at?

Why do they both say they love the EU

Yet have such a low view of it that they think its main aim will be to do us down

Why do they tell us every clause and line of the Treaties has to be enforced against the UK

Yet all those great clauses in the Treaties that require the EU to be a good neighbour and trading partner of nearby states will in their view go unenforced and unheeded

If the EU is as logical and legal as they say our future friendly relationship is assured

And if it is not and the Treaty is made for breaking, it need not concern us what it says, especially once we are out

Anyone who walks the corridors and great rooms at Westminster

Must see there the heroic story of our islands

There on the walls and in the sculptures are the establishment and the rebels

The winners and the losers, the great moments of our history

There is the signing of Magna Carta, the taming the King in the seventeenth century,

The union of the crowns,

The saving of Europe from Napoleon,

The passage of the Great Reform Bill and the triumph of the suffragettes

So many made common cause to put the people in charge through their vote

And to put Parliament in charge of carrying out their wishes

All the time we remained in the EU there were an increasing number of laws we could not change

More taxes we could not control. More money that someone else spent away from our shores

This system took away the very freedoms our ancestors fought for and established

Once back these powers will be used well and sometimes badly, but always as a result of strong argument and heated votes here at home,

We will doubtless have economic reversals out of the EU as we did in it

But the difference matters

Next time when mistakes are made they will be our mistakes

They will be mistakes the British people can punish and put right

More importantly

Taking back control gives us immediate opportunities

To legislate wisely
And to grow our prosperity

That is why I voted for Brexit

That is why many of the 17.4 million voted for Brexit

That is why many who voted Remain

Will be winners too from this course

Once we are at last out of the EU.

This great people

This once and future sovereign

Will have many contributions to make to the world

As we have in the past

Let us be a voice for freedom

A strong arm for peace

And a force for good around the globe



‘WINGS INDIA 2018’ Event Gets Underway

The four-day biennial event ‘WINGS INDIA 2018 ‘, jointly organized by Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India and FICCI got underway in Hyderabad today. The theme of the four-day biennial event this year is ‘India-Global Aviation Hub’.

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