While climbing to 19,000 feet, the pilots received an ‘altitude mismatch’ message and returned to Exeter Airport. An inspection after landing found a small white crystalline deposit covering three of the four static pressure holes on the left primary static probe. Primary static probes are used to measure pressure, which along with other data allows the Air Data Units to calculate parameters such as altitude, indicated and true airspeed and temperature.

The investigation found that a non-approved product was probably used to improve the seal between a testing device and the probe during maintenance immediately before the flight, and this may have resulted in the blockage of the static holes, leading to the altitude mismatch message. Two Safety Recommendations have been made to prevent similar incidents. The maintenance organisation has taken safety action to introduce tighter controls on the test kit equipment.

Read the report.

Published 31 October 2019

Shortly after reaching cruise at 36,000 feet, the commander’s attitude indicator malfunctioned affecting numerous aircraft systems, and the aircraft climbed 600 feet. After a significant time delay an inertial reference system (IRS) caution was displayed. The IRS calculates an aircraft’s position. The crew followed the actions detailed in the quick reference handbook, but erroneous information continued to be displayed to the pilot in command and other systems were also affected. The aircraft was flown manually to Edinburgh where it landed safely.

The investigation found that the left IRS suffered a transient fault which had led to an erroneous calculation of position. False position information led to the incorrect attitude information on the commander’s primary flight display and the autopilot responded by initiating a slow climb.

One Safety Recommendation is made to Boeing and safety action has been taken as a result of the investigation.

Read the report.

Published 31 October 2019

Public Health England (PHE)’s latest English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance (ESPAUR) report shows that there were an estimated 61,000 antibiotic resistant infections in England during 2018 – a 9% rise from 2017.

The Keep Antibiotics Working campaign is back to alert the public to the risks of antibiotic resistance, urging people to always take their doctor, pharmacist or nurse’s advice on antibiotics.

Antibiotics are essential to treat serious bacterial infections such as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. They also help to ward off infections during chemotherapy, caesarean sections and other surgeries.

However, while antibiotics are vital to treating life-threatening infections, they are frequently being used to treat less serious illnesses such as coughs, earache and sore throats that can get better by themselves.

Taking antibiotics encourages harmful bacteria that live inside you to become resistant, meaning that antibiotics may not work when they are really needed.

When an infection – such as a urinary tract infection (UTI) or skin infection – doesn’t respond to an antibiotic, it has the potential to cause serious complications, including bloodstream infections and hospitalisation.

The threat of antibiotic resistance continues to grow and the ESPAUR report shows that antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections – which can be very serious – rose by a third (32%) between 2014 and 2018.

As well as urging the public to always take their doctor’s, pharmacist’s or nurse’s advice on antibiotics, the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign provides effective self-care advice to help people and their families feel better if they are not prescribed antibiotics. The campaign includes TV, radio and digital advertising.

Dr Susan Hopkins, AMR Lead, Public Health England said:

We want the public to join us in tackling antibiotic resistance by listening to your GP, pharmacist or nurse’s advice and only taking antibiotics when necessary.

Taking antibiotics when you don’t need them is not a harmless act – it can have grave consequences for you and your family’s health, now and in the future.

It’s worrying that more infections are becoming resistant to these life-saving medicines, and we must act now to preserve antibiotics for when we really need them.

The ESPAUR report highlights that changes in antibiotic use are associated with changes in antibiotic resistance. There has been a 17% drop in antibiotic prescriptions written and dispensed in general practice since 2014.

There is no evidence that reduced antibiotic use in primary case has led to more people being admitted to hospital with serious infections.

Dr Hopkins also commented:

We have seen positive steps taken to reduce antibiotic use without affecting people’s recovery when they are unwell, and GPs should be congratulated in their ongoing work to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said:

Antibiotics are one of the most powerful tools we have against infection. Resistance to these drugs therefore places much of modern medicine in jeopardy. A key component of our response to this problem is to ensure people use antibiotics appropriately.

The decrease in consumption of antibiotics is good news but the rise in resistant infections shows the threat is increasing and so there is more to be done.

Antibiotic resistance is not just a matter for clinicians – the public also have a crucial role to play in helping to preserve these vital medicines.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs said:

Antibiotics can be lifesaving drugs, but when bacteria become resistant to them – as they increasingly are – they will cease to work, and in many cases we will then have no viable therapeutic alternative, which could be disastrous for the patients affected.

GPs are already doing a good job at reducing antibiotics prescribing, but it can’t be our responsibility alone – we need the public to understand that antibiotics are neither a cure nor an appropriate treatment for many minor self-limiting conditions and viral infections, and if a GP advises against antibiotics, they are doing their best for the patient’s own good, and that of wider society.

The ESPAUR report is available online.

Antibiotic-resistant infections rose from 55,812 to 60,788 between 2017 and 2018.

Antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections increased from 12,972 in 2014 to 17,108 in 2018.

Correspondence from the Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins MP, to Carolyn Harris MP following the second reading of the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019.

The letter thanks members for their contributions and sets out the government’s position ahead of committee stage.

The Regulator of Social Housing has today (31 October 2019) published the response to its consultation on proposals to introduce a new Rent Standard from 1 April 2020.

The consultation, which ran from May to July 2019, followed a Direction to the regulator by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in February 2019 to publish a Rent Standard.

The Direction set out the government’s rent policy for social housing for the next five years and covers all areas of rent setting as well as the requirement for RSH to undertake the regulation of local authority rents for the first time. It was supplemented by a comprehensive ‘Policy Statement on Rents for Social Housing,’ which provides much of the detail needed by providers to ensure that they comply with rent setting requirements.

The Rent Standard will implement policy for social housing rents when the requirements of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 come to an end.

There were 127 responses to the consultation, with the sector giving a very positive response to the proposals. Key points from the consultation were:

• Most respondents (92.7%) felt that RSH had accurately reflected the requirements of the Direction in its proposed Rent Standard.
• The majority (81.3%) also said the information in conjunction with the policy statement gave providers an appropriate level of clarity about the rules on rent with which they would be required to comply.
• Issues identified around drafting of the Rent Standard have led to changes to its layout.

As a result of the consultation, the new Rent Standard has been finalised and will come into force on 1 April 2020.

Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of RSH, said:

Having consulted with a wide range of stakeholders and taken into account their feedback, we are confident that our new Rent Standard, which will come into effect from April 2020, reflects the Government’s Direction, which it had previously consulted on. It updates our role with regards to monitoring local authority registered provider rents.

The Decision Statement and response to the consultation is available on our website.

Notes to editors

1. The Government’s consultation Rents for social housing from 2020-21 which ran from September to November 2018, is on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s website

2. More information can be found on the Government’s 2019 Direction on Rents and the Rent Standard issued in 2015

3. RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.

Press office contact details

See our Media enquiries page. For general queries, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.