Any motorway lessons learner drivers take are voluntary, but they must be with an approved driving instructor in a car with dual-controls displaying L plates. However, motorway driving is not being added to the driving test as part of this change.

Driving instructors will only take learner drivers on the motorway when they have the right skills and experience to drive in a high-speed environment.

Highways England has recorded film footage about the law change to allow learner drivers to gain experience on motorway driving.

Highways England and learner drivers on motorways

Highways England has also supported the creation of a website, The Driving Hub, which features a series of free instructional learning modules to help instructors prepare learners for motorway driving. There is also lots of driving and safety advice for all road users.

Highways England Executive Director for Safety, Engineering and Standards, Mike Wilson said:

This change in the law will develop a smarter generation of road users because, for the first time, approved driving instructors will be able to teach their students the skills associated with using motorways safely in a practical situation. That will ultimately help all motorway drivers.

We look forward to supporting learner drivers as they develop these new skills and get invaluable practical knowledge and experience of using motorways.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) emphasises that motorway lessons will give learner drivers the confidence, skills and experience they need to use motorways safely. During lessons, learner drivers will get training on:

• how to join and leave the motorway, overtake and use lanes correctly
• using smart motorways correctly
• driving at high speed in motorway conditions
• motorway-specific traffic signs
• what to do if a vehicle breaks down on a motorway

DVSA Chief Driving Examiner, Mark Winn, said:

DVSA’s priority is to help you through a lifetime of safe driving.

Allowing learner drivers to have motorway lessons was supported by 80% of people who gave their feedback on this change, with the public recognising the importance of developing these skills in a controlled environment.

I’m delighted that a new generation of drivers can now drive on the motorway to gain valuable experience, including overtaking safely and lane discipline.

DVSA is also reminding all drivers about the basic rules for motorway driving. As with any vehicle on the motorway, motorists should keep a safe distance from a learner driver in front.

On the motorway, motorists should also drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If overtaking slower-moving vehicles, drivers should return to the left-hand lane as soon as it is safe to do so.

When overtaking, the lane should be sufficiently clear ahead and behind. Do not cut in on the vehicle once overtaken when you move back over.

Since 2013, the police have had the power to issue fixed penalty notices for careless motorway driving, such as tailgating and middle-lane hogging. The fixed penalty is £100 with 3 points on the driver’s licence.

General enquiries

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

Media enquiries

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

We wish to make wholesalers and veterinarians aware that Elanco Animal Health has issued a recall of Stresnil 40 mg/ml Solution for injection for Pigs (Vm 00006/4141).

Elanco has identified that inconsistencies in the cleaning process have led to low levels of a previous product being carried over into the Stresnil batch listed below:

• Product: Stresnil 40 mg/ml Solution for Injection for Pigs – Batch No. PP1466 EXPIRY: 30-09-2019

For further information regarding the recall, please contact Matthew Edwards, email: elanco_orders@lilly.com Tel : 01256 779519

Over £2.5 billion worth of government-owned RBS shares were sold last night as part of the government’s policy to return the bank to private ownership. 925 million shares were sold at a price of 271p per share, reducing the government’s shareholding by 7.7% to 62.4%.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

This sale represents a significant step in returning RBS to full private ownership and putting the financial crisis behind us. The government should not be in the business of owning banks. The proceeds of this sale will go towards reducing our national debt – this is the right thing to do for taxpayers as we build an economy that is fit for the future.

The government sold its shares in an overnight placing managed by UK Government Investments (UKGI).

I am delighted to welcome you all to Downing Street and to have this opportunity to celebrate your outstanding success at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

In total over 880 athletes from across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey took part.

And it is wonderful that so many of our medallists have been able to join us today.

For you made history on the Gold Coast.

Scotland and Wales each secured their biggest ever number of medals at an overseas Games…

…including Scotland’s double-gold medallists Matt Rotherham and Neil Fachie…

.. and Wales’ double-medal winning Olivia Breen.

There was Rhys McClenaghan winning Gold for Northern Ireland on the Pommel Horse.

And who can forget Team England’s historic last gold in beating Australia in the netball.

As Australia head coach Lisa Alexander said – there has been a “seismic shift of power” in world netball – and I know we are all looking forward to the Netball World Cup that is taking place in Liverpool next year!

But with 229 medals in total I could go on listing all your achievements for a very long time, but first of all I just wanted to say to you not just congratulations, but a huge thank you.

Thank you, because although we all see the performances when it comes to the Commonwealth Games, you have all put in enormous hours of training to get to that place and of course along the way you have had to make sacrifices in order to be able to deliver that success.

Thank you also to your coaches – your families, to your friends – who have played a big part in supporting you.

And thank you for the entertainment, inspiration and excitement that you provided to millions of us who were staying up late or getting up early to watch what was happening and to see your success over there in the Gold Coast.

I have to say that it was a really exciting time, there was a real sense here of the tremendous achievement of our athletes over in the Gold Coast.

But there was some other things that mattered as well as the haul of medals.

It was first Games of its kind where men and women competed for the same number of medals.

It was also the largest ever para-sports competition fully integrated within the main programme.

I think we should just be clear about what that means.

Not para-sports as a standalone Games with its own separate medal table.

But rather the biggest ever example of para-sport taking place in the same Games – with its results counted in the same medal table.

Another legacy was the part you played through sport in helping to strengthen relations between Commonwealth nations across the world.

And that’s vitally important, because the Commonwealth isn’t just defined by its common past – but also by the contribution it can make to our common future.

And we are a unique family of nations that span six continents and represent a third of the world’s population.

So when we come together, we can help to tackle some of the world’s great challenges – just as we did at the Commonwealth Summit in London that was immediately after the Commonwealth Games, with agreements ranging from strengthening cyber security and tackling plastics in our oceans to fighting malaria.

And last but not least, your success in these Games will have done something else – it will have inspired countless young people to take up sport themselves – with all the benefits that will bring, not just for the future of elite sport but for the health and well-being of people in every part of our country.

And I hope that we can build on all of these legacies when we host the next Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.

Delivering these Games will be an extraordinary feat.

Normally you have about seven years to prepare for hosting a major international sporting event.

Birmingham will be doing it in a little over four.

The handover ceremony itself is normally a year and a half in the making; but Birmingham has already done it in around twelve weeks.

But with our unparalleled experience and expertise – that stretches from the London Olympics and Paralympics to Glasgow 2014, the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and the World Athletics Championships last year – we have the capability to deliver.

And I think in Birmingham, we have the perfect host.

With more than 300,000 residents in West Midlands born in a non-UK Commonwealth country, we have a city and wider region that is fully representative of the Commonwealth family.

We are making a £70 million investment in Alexander Stadium – I was there towards the end of the games. Together with the upgrading of facilities across the city we will have an economic and sporting legacy for the region that will be felt for years to come.

And with all of your efforts – and those of others you have inspired, some of whom will by then have earned their own place at the top of world sport – I am sure that we will have yet another historic set of medals for all our teams.

So let’s together build on everything you achieved in the Gold Coast this Spring.

Let’s make Birmingham 2022 the greatest ever Commonwealth Games delivered in the fastest ever time.

And ensure that your fantastic achievements on the Gold Coast aren’t just part of our history – but an inspiration for our future – for millions of people across our country, and for generations still to come.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister spoke to the new Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, earlier today.

The Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Sánchez on his new role, noting that Spain was a close ally and that we shared a long history of friendship and co-operation. She said we look forward to continuing our work together across the full range of our common interests and objectives, including our close security cooperation and commercial ties.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the Spanish victim of last year’s London Bridge attack, Ignacio Echeverría. They agreed that his efforts to save others during the attack were truly heroic.

The Prime Minister said the UK was leaving the EU but not Europe, and our relationships with the EU and member states would always be extremely important to us. They agreed on the importance of protecting the rights of Spanish people in the UK as well as the many UK citizens in Spain.

On Gibraltar, the Prime Minister said the UK would continue to engage constructively with the Government of Gibraltar and the Spanish Government, to address issues arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

They looked forward to meeting at the June European Council.