Heather Blyth

Heather has delivered many successful strategic initiatives in the media and cultural sectors. She has experience working for large multi-national organisations including Sky and Virgin Media and has consulted for a range of other broadcasters and media companies. At Sky, she was part of the launch team for the much-loved Sky Atlantic and she facilitated the creation of Europe’s biggest on-demand library of arts content under the Sky Arts banner. She also supported the business case and delivery of Sky’s investment into original content, which is set to more than double by 2024. This has resulted in award winning programmes such as Chernobyl, Patrick Melrose and Portrait Artist of the Year.

She is experienced across strategy, transformation, operational and insight roles and is skilled at bringing diverse teams together and creating frameworks that enable creativity to thrive whilst delivering strong business results.

Heather has two big passions. Firstly, ensuring we have a strong, enriching arts and cultural sector, open to all. Secondly, she is dedicated to helping empower girls and young women to reach their potential. She has a master’s degree from Oxford University and an MBA from Durham University. She lives with her husband and young daughter.

Paul Eccleson

Paul Eccleson is currently Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Munich Re’s Legal Expenses Insurance arm. He is also Finance Trustee for The Natural Theatre Company in Bath. He lectures at Postgraduate level in the Psychology of Financial Crime and Corporate Ethics at the International Compliance Association Paul is a financial crime and fraud investigation consultant, having successfully led one of the UK’s largest private prosecutions. His work has also included award-winning behavioural economics research in the area of customer understanding of complex products.

Paul has worked in senior positions across a range of industries. His early career was in artificial intelligence and e-commerce. Whilst a senior research manager with Hewlett-Packard, he led the implementation of one of the UK’s first e-commerce sites, winning the 1999 Financial Times Public Sector Website award for innovation.

Paul was born and raised in Birkenhead and has maintained close contacts with National Museums Liverpool, who he still sees as his cultural parent.

Rita Mclean

Rita McLean is an independent museums and heritage consultant with over 30 years experience of working across the UK heritage and cultural sectors in a range of strategic, advisory and operational roles. She was Director of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery from 2004 until 2012 and during this time responsible for initiation and delivery of a number of major capital development projects, collections development and interpretation programmes, workforce and audience diversity initiatives. She was awarded an honorary doctorate for services to heritage and culture by the University of Birmingham in 2010.

Current consultancy work includes assignments for the National Lottery Heritage Fund as a project consultant and expert adviser. She served for several years as an Artistic and Quality Assessor for Arts Council England.

Rita is a member of the National Trust’s Collections and Interpretation Advisory Group and Midlands Region Advisory Board. She is also a member of Birmingham Cathedral’s Fabric Advisory Committee.

Tony Wilson

Tony was born and educated in Liverpool. He studied a degree in law at the University of Nottingham before returning to Liverpool to commence his legal career.

He practiced law for 43 years. He was Senior Partner of Hill Dickinson from 2001 to 2011. During his term of office, the firm enjoyed considerable growth becoming a top thirty law firm with national and international offices. In 2005 Hill Dickinson became the first sponsor of Capital Culture 2008 and became the legal adviser to the Capital of Culture Board. He led Hill Dickinson to its current Headquarters in St. Paul’s Square, Liverpool – one of the largest office developments in the City.

Tony practiced as an Insurance lawyer and was senior legal adviser to a mutual insurer. He advised national retailers on claims handling and litigation strategies. He represented professionals with regard to proceedings before their regulators.

Tony is currently chair of the Liverpool Business Improvement District and a Trustee of the Liverpool Biennial. He has extensive board experience having previously been a board member of Liverpool Vision and the North West Business Leaders’ team. In 2005, he attended Harvard University and obtained a certificate in law firm management.

Isabel Chadwick

Isabel Chadwick has lived in the Northwest of England all her life. After graduating in Economics, she joined BDO’s Manchester Office qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1992.

Since leaving practice Isabel has spent the majority of her career working within the Financial Services Sector in organisations undergoing large scale change. This has included acquisitions, disposals, mergers and turnarounds, working in roles supporting the businesses through their transformation programmes. In 2013 she joined the turnaround team at the Co-operative Bank where she held the position of Commercial Operations Director.

In 2018 Isabel left the Co-operative Bank and set up a consultancy business which focuses on helping clients deliver complex change in their organisations; she is passionate about supporting businesses to achieve their potential. Isabel lives in Cheshire with her teenage daughter.

These roles are not remunerated. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments, the process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Neither Heather Blyth, Isabel Chadwick, Paul Eccleson, Rita Mclean, and Anthony Wilson have declared any activity.

Work on the Box Encapsulation Plant (BEP) and SIXEP Continuity Plant (SCP) sites ceased when the lockdown hit on 23 March 2020.

Since then the organisation has been planning a phased restart. These projects are the third and fourth to bring construction teams back on-site.

As with their predecessors, every effort has been made to ensure employees are as safe as they can be whilst at work.

Construction sites offer more outdoor work and space to move around, meaning that social distancing can be easier than in other parts of the business – especially with fewer people on-site. But there are still new safety measures for people coming back on-site at BEP and SCP that change the working day.

These include new one-way systems, socially distanced change rooms and canteens, barriers, and changes to the way people access and leave the site.

SCP construction manager Steve Gilroy said:

Our project is fundamental to protecting and enabling the site’s future mission of high hazard reduction, post operational clean out and broader decommissioning of the site, so returning the project to construction activities is time critical.

The project team have worked closely with our supply chain partners, including workforce representatives, to prepare the site to ensure our workforce can return to work with confidence that their safety is our top priority.

Learning from other major construction projects at Sellafield and nationally has been incorporated into the SCP restart arrangements, which are based on a phased approach with careful consideration of our work activities.

The work that will restart includes continuation of excavation activities that were paused in March, foundation formation works for the two main buildings and associated asbestos remediation activities. This phase is anticipated to take 6 to 8 weeks to complete, during which time we will be working up the restart plan for the next phase.

I’d like to thank the wider Projects Delivery Directorate restart cell for their support, valuable insights and learning from other major projects and the Sellafield Ltd and supply chain workforce representatives for their constructive engagement.

BEP Construction Manager Dave Beirne said:

We’ve completed the Covid-19 control measures and undertook a walk round as a management team with the project trade union safety representatives to confirm the suitability of our arrangements.

Our initial plan for construction work covers the first 8 weeks and what we will be doing has been specially selected to ensure our teams can work at distance, as well as being on or close to the project critical path.

We’ll be continuing work to close our temporary construction access opening, installing primary and secondary steelwork, painting, fire boarding and floor installation.

The first of our projects to restart construction was our Box Encapsulation Plant Product Store Direct Import Facility (BEPPS-DIF), on 11 May. Since then work there has concentrated on:

• trialling and verifying the stacking of waste stillages up to nine high in its vault
• for the first time under system control; moving the bogie which brings packages from the Direct Import Facility through the cells and into the vault
• electrical installation progressing

Senior Project Manager Mike Robinson said:

We’ve also been assessing the effectiveness of our arrangements seen during and since the restart. We want to build on the learning we’ve had as the first project to return to construction activity.

Through daily feedback sessions we’ve seen increased confidence from our workforce in the arrangements and approach we put in place and this is helping us decide on our next steps as well as helping the other projects that are set to restart.

A Grimsby factory will produce millions of personal protective equipment (PPE) masks to support health workers and businesses across the UK during the pandemic thanks to foreign investment secured by the Department for International Trade.

With machines installed, Hygiene Austria plan to begin mask production this week and the project will create around 60 new jobs in the area.

The company is set to produce around 10 million mouth-nose safety and FFP2-masks per month which are often used by healthcare professionals as well as coloured face masks for children.

The Department for International Trade helped Hygiene Austria collaborate with key suppliers and UK health services to meet demands for PPE, keeping trade flowing and building diverse supply chains as the nation looks to sustainable recovery from this pandemic.

Ranil Jayawardena, International Trade Minister said:

Sourcing PPE for our frontline workers is so important to this government and – through international trade and investment – it’s great that we’ve been able to help local people by creating good jobs, making vital supplies here in Britain.

Through building contacts and exploring opportunities across the country, DIT assisted Lenzing to set up facilities in Grimsby for the British market. This shows what we can do for Grimsby and is testament to our innovation and excellence in this field.

During these challenging times, DIT colleagues – both in Britain and around the globe – stand ready to help companies expand and invest, as we all work together to combat this ghastly virus.

Founded in April 2020 to produce face masks for those in need during the global pandemic, Hygiene Austria was set up as joint venture between Lenzing and Palmers Textil.

Those behind the venture say they hope it can also contribute greatly to the local economy in North East Lincolnshire by providing the vital PPE needed to ensure workplaces can keep operating.

Phil Munson, Managing Director at Grimsby said:

We are eager to play a leading role to ensure the primary health care to the UK population as a key supplier teaming up with our NHS. Moreover, we can count on highly experienced service and maintenance personnel here in Grimsby.

Although proud to work for Lenzing and its strong Austrian background, many of the team at the Grimsby plant were born locally and are keen to help in any way they can to support and strengthen the local economy. We are proud to both create jobs, support our fantastic NHS and care workers and support local businesses wherever we can.

This success story is a sign of things to come as domestic production is being ramped up across the UK. The Government recently announced a boost in domestic production with companies signing contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE in the UK, including facemasks, visors, gowns and aprons.

The Department for International Trade alongside colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Health and Social care have been working around the clock since the outbreak began to provide PPE for our frontline workers. As the nation looks to diversify supply chains for future investment, new avenues are being unlocked to secure vital equipment in the fight against coronavirus.

Notes to editors

• 60 new jobs are expected to be created within the next 3 months
• Lenzing already employs 210 people at the Grimsby site.
• Machines have been installed and are undergoing commissioning with production of masks planned for this week

About the Department for International Trade (DIT)

DIT helps businesses export, drives inward and outward investment, negotiates market access and trade deals, and champions free trade. We also secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment.

We champion free trade by:

• supporting and encouraging UK businesses to drive sustainable international growth
• ensuring the UK remains a leading destination for international investment
• opening markets, building a trade framework with new and existing partners which is free and fair
• using trade and investment to underpin the government’s agenda for a Global Britain and its ambitions for prosperity, stability and security worldwide.

DIT support during Coronavirus

The Government is supporting businesses and employees through a package of measures to help manage the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19). These measures include financial support packages for businesses, support for employees’ wages and Export Insurance Policy (EXIP). Visit the Business Support website for more information about these additional measures and find guidance here for UK businesses trading internationally.

The Environment Agency has launched a second period of consultation on Endless Energy’s application for a permit to build and operate a waste incinerator at a site on Aire Valley Road, Keighley.

Local residents and interested groups are invited to submit any new relevant information on the draft decision for Endless Energy’s proposals for a waste incinerator in Keighley before a final decision is made on whether the permit is issued.

The Environment Agency is minded to issue the permit following a rigorous environmental assessment of the proposed activities, taking into account all of the comments made in the first consultation that closed on 13 December 2018.

The draft permit sets out conditions needed to protect air quality, groundwater and surface water to ensure the safe storage, management and disposal of wastes. It will also impose conditions to minimise the risk of accidents, noise and odour and also maximise energy efficiency. If the permit is issued, the Environment Agency would robustly enforce these strict conditions to ensure that Endless Energy’s operations do not cause harm to people or the environment.

Carly Chambers, Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

Following our assessment of the application, we believe that the proposal meets the legal requirements of the Environment Permitting Regulations and that it will be designed, constructed and operated in a way that will not harm human health or the environment. Unless any new information comes to light which significantly changes our assessment we will be legally obliged to issue the permit.

Our regulatory controls for the incineration of waste are in place to protect people and the environment. We do not permit activities that pose an unacceptable risk.

This further stage of consultation gives the public and interested groups an opportunity to see our decision making process, have their say on the draft environmental permit and bring to light any new information that they believe may require us to modify or change our final decision.

Responses to the consultation can be made electronically or by post although we would encourage all who can to respond electronically. This will facilitate the consultation during the Covid-19 restrictions.

We have also extended the consultation period from 4 weeks to 6 weeks. The consultation period will start on 8 June 2020 and conclude on 21 July 2020.

To access the application documentation, visit the consultation website at: consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/bd21-4lw-endless-energy-limited-epr-zp3537at

People can comment on the proposals by responding directly on the website or emailing pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Envelopes containing postal responses must be clearly marked ‘Endless Energy Consultation’ and be sent to Environment Agency, Permitting and Support Centre, Land Team, Quadrant 2, 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield, S9 4WF.