Dorothy Gradden, head of legacy ponds at the nuclear site, was presented with her medal in recognition of her services to the nuclear industry.

She attended Buckingham Palace with her son Josh and partner Paul Stewart, who also works at Sellafield Ltd.

Dorothy said:

It was an incredible day.

To walk through the Palace gates, under the Royal balcony and up through the steps into the ballroom, knowing who has walked up those steps before you was just mind boggling. I’ll never forget it.

The Duke of Cambridge expressed an interest in Dorothy’s work to decommission the legacy ponds, during a private conversation while presenting the award.

He said he’d never actually visited Sellafield but had skirted around its no-fly zone on several occasions while serving with the RAF.

When asked how she managed to do a job which involves moving legacy hazards on a daily basis, Dorothy replied “safely”.

It was while in the cloakroom of Buckingham Palace that Dorothy found herself standing next to the author of the world’s best-selling book series, Harry Potter.

Dorothy said:

I was adjusting my hat and there was JK Rowling in the mirror standing next to me adjusting hers. It brought home just how big a day this was.

Dorothy is in charge of decommissioning the two open air nuclear storage ponds at the Sellafield site, a programme that has taken huge strides forward under her watch.

She said:

I really do feel that this is what my career has been all about. I have the best job on site, technically challenging, leading a large culture change programme and delivering risk and hazard reduction every day. It really is a privilege to do this job.

A total of 60 people received their awards on the day, from the fields of education, business, theatre, music and the diplomatic service. After visiting the Palace in the morning, there was a treat of afternoon tea at the Savoy.

The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• which Environment Agency offices you can visit to see the application documents on the public register
• when you need to comment by

Gender pay gap legislation introduced in April 2017 requires all employers of 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap as of 31 March 2017.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, expressed relative to men’s earnings.

You can also:

• explore this data on a dashboard

• export all national gender pay gap data

The Environment Agency consults the public on certain applications for waste operations, mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities. In some cases they also consult on draft decisions for environmental permits. The arrangements are explained in its Public Participation Statement
These notices explain:

• the Environment Agency’s proposed decision and the reasons and considerations on which they’ve based this
• additional relevant information available since the application was advertised
• any information or guidance provided by the Secretary of State relevant to the application

Geoffrey Blake, trading as Ventnor Haven Fisheries in the Isle of Wight, was sentenced at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on 11 December 2017 in a prosecution brought by the MMO.

The court heard how the company, a registered buyer of first sale fish, failed to submit 369 sales notes in either electronic or paper form to the MMO within 48 hrs of the landing taking place between 25 February 2016 and 1 September 2017.

Mr Blake pleaded not guilty but was convicted by the court and ordered to pay a fine of £500, costs of £500 and a victim surcharge of £50.

A spokesperson for the MMO said:

The requirement to submit sales notes within 48 hours enables the MMO to gain an accurate picture of fish stocks on which to base its fisheries management decisions.

When, as in this case, sales notes are not submitted that picture becomes partial, distorted or inaccurate. This prosecution shows that the MMO will take the appropriate enforcement action to prevent such a situation occurring.