The following summary of planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week is correct as of 17 February but could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. All our improvement work is carried out with the aim of causing as little disruption as possible.

Devon

A30 at Woodleigh, west of Exeter: survey work

Eastbound lane will closed from 8pm to 6am overnight from Monday to Friday for survey work from Monday 20 February to Saturday 11 March 2017.

A38 at Smithaleigh, east of Plymouth: drainage work

Westbound lane will be closed from 8pm to 6am overnight from Monday 20 February 2017 to Saturday 4 March 2017.

A38 Voss Farm, east of Plymouth: carriageway work

Eastbound lane will be closed from 8pm to 6am overnight from Tuesday 21 February 2017 to Wednesday 22 February 2017.

A38 Smithaleigh, east of Plymouth: drainage work

Westbound lane will be closed between the exit and entry slip roads from 8pm to 6am overnight from Tuesday 21 February 2017 to Wednesday 22 February 2017.

A38 between Deep Lane and Smithaleigh, east of Plymouth: drainage work

Eastbound lane will be closed between the exit and entry slip roads from 8pm to 6am overnight from Wednesday 22 February 2017 to Friday 3 March 2017.

Cornwall

A30 Cornwall, between Temple and Higher Carblake, east of Bodmin: improvement scheme

There will be a 24-hour eastbound and westbound lane closures/contraflow and 40 mph speed limit until Tuesday 4 July 2017.

A30 Cornwall, Hayle Bypass, east of Penzance: drainage works

There will be a 24-hour lane closure and 40 mph speed limit until Saturday 25 February 2017.

A30 Cornwall, Callywith, Bodmin: junction improvements

There will be speed restrictions on slip roads for junction improvements until Monday 17 July 2017.

A30 Cornwall, Longrock Bypass, east of Penzance: vegetation clearance

There will be a westbound lane closure from 9am to 4pm from Monday 20 February 2017 to 24 February 2017.

A30 Cornwall, between St Erth roundabout and Loggans Moor roundabout, east of Penzance: drainage works

Eastbound and westbound carriageway will be closed overnight from 8pm to 6am from Monday 20 February 2017 to Saturday 25 February 2017.

A30 Cornwall, Blackwater, east of Redruth: drainage works

Westbound lane will be closed from 9am to 4pm from Tuesday 21 February 2017 to Thursday 23 February 2017.

A38 Cornwall, between Latchbrook and Saltash Tunnel, west of Plymouth: junction improvements

There will be 24-hour narrow lanes & 30mph speed limit for Carkeel roundabout junction improvements until Tuesday 28 February 2018.

A38 Cornwall, between Dobwalls & Turfdown, east of Bodmin: scheme work

There will be a 30 mph speed limit between Two Waters Foot and St Neot junction for slope stabilisation works. The work will take place until Wednesday 12 April. There will be a 24-hour westbound diversion via A390 and North Lane to rejoin the A38 west of Two Waters Foot. (Trago Mills accessed via A38 as normal). This is in place until Thursday 25 May 2017.

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.

South West Water has been ordered to pay £205,000 in fines and costs for discharging sewage into the Fal estuary in Cornwall. The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

On 26 August 2013 untreated sewage overflowed from the water company’s Newham sewage treatment works near Truro into the Fal, an internationally important shellfishery, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

The illegal spill occurred after a piece of redundant grating fell and partially blocked an inlet at the works, causing sewage to back up and overflow into the estuary via a storm storage outfall. The spill continued for about 9.5 hours, during which time enough sewage escaped to fill 4,563 bath tubs (730,000 litres).

The discharge occurred close to mussel and oyster beds at Malpas and Grimes Bar. As a precaution, these shellfisheries were temporarily closed by Cornwall Port Health Authority because of the possible risk of contamination by harmful viruses and bacteria such as Norovirus and e.coli.

The decision to close the shellfish beds was taken just before the start of the commercial harvesting season (1 October). Although most harvesting is done during the commercial season, there is a risk small quantities of shellfish may be hand-picked by individuals outside of this time and there would have been a potential risk to those consumers.

Sewage at the Newham treatment works normally undergoes a high level of treatment (tertiary) including ultra violet (UV) that kills bacteria and disinfects effluent. An UV disinfection system is required at this site because of the Fal estuary’s designation as a shellfishery.

The sewage discharged over a bank holiday on 26 August was settled and screened, but otherwise untreated and occurred outside of a storm event. This would have resulted in a significant increase in levels of bacteria in parts of the Fal estuary and meant the treatment works was in breach of its Environment Agency permit.

Mark Pilcher, team leader for the Environment Agency in west Cornwall, said:

It is essential large sewage works bordering estuaries with conservation designations and also containing shellfish beds are operated and inspected to a high standard to prevent unpermitted sewage spills posing risks to public health and the environment.

In this case an inspection programme or removal of a redundant grating structure would have removed the risk of this grating falling into the sewage works and blocking it leading to the spill of sewage.

South West Water Limited was fined £185,000 plus £20,000 costs after pleading guilty to 2 offences under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 including, on 26 August 2013, causing pollution of the Fal estuary through the illegal discharge of sewage and failing to maintain a saline tank valve at its Newham sewage treatment works. The water company was fined £175,000 for the first offence and £10,000 for the second. The case was heard at Truro Crown Court on 15 February 2017.

In a speech at the Chartered College of Teaching’s inaugural conference, Education Secretary Justine Greening set out her ambition for a high-status teaching profession, backed up by high-quality continued professional development and pledged her support for teachers as the body of experts who are key to driving social mobility.

Addressing an audience of over 450 teachers, Justine Greening described the launch of new the College of Teaching as a historic moment for the teaching profession. Commenting on the launch she said:

Teaching deserves all the hallmarks of the other great professions – with a high bar to entry, high-quality initial training and a culture of ongoing self-improvement.

So it’s crucial that, like other experts, teachers now have a professional body with a shared commitment to ever-improving standards, disseminating evidence on what works, and driving progress for the profession as a whole.

And I especially want to see a new generation of teachers becoming part of the Chartered College of Teaching – to help safeguard and shape the profession’s future.

The Education Secretary also outlined plans to strengthen the teaching profession so that every child has access to an excellent teacher, including:

• making absolutely clear that QTS will not be scrapped – instead, the government will work with the sector to develop and introduce a newly strengthened QTS from September 2019, so that all school leaders will want all their teaching staff to achieve it
• announcing the first round of bidding for the £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund – to enable new, high-quality continued professional development (CPD) provision to be delivered where it can make the most difference, including in the 12 opportunity areas
• new, fully revised gold-standard national professional qualifications (NPQs), developed in partnership with the teaching profession, to be implemented from September this year. £10 million from the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund will be made available to incentivise take-up of the new NPQs for high-potential professionals working in the most challenging schools

Underlining the importance she placed on ensuring teachers have the right support and skills so they are able to help all young people fulfil their potential, the Secretary of State said:

Teachers are the great drivers of social mobility in our country. We know that the single biggest in-school influence on a child’s life chances is the quality of teaching they receive.

It is important that all teachers are supported with the right framework that will allow them to become the best professionals they possibly can be.

I want to work with the profession to make sure this happens, with a golden thread through every teacher’s career from initial training and QTS through continued professional development, especially in those early post-QTS years, through to specialism or leadership.

Great teaching transformed my life, and I want to make sure that happens for today’s generation of children in our schools. I will do all I can to ensure teachers have the right support that will enable them to spread opportunity for children and young people – particularly those who need it most.