Appointments have been made to England’s National Park Authorities (NPAs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Conservation Boards.

The following appointments have been made for four years:

New Forest NPA

• George Meyrick
• Stephen Trow

Peak District NPA

• Janet Haddock –Fraser
• Lydia Slack
• Yvonne Witter

Broads Authority NPA

• Tristram Hilborn
• Tim Jickells

Lake District NPA

• Sabine Mosner
• Tiffany Hunt

Matthew Bradbury has been reappointed to the Broads Authority for a further four-year term. Further information on Matthew can be found here.

Nick Holliday has been reappointed to the Exmoor NPA for a further 12 months. Further information on Nick can be found here.

Ken Bodfish has been reappointed to the South Downs NPA for a further 12 months. Further information on Ken can be found here.

Peter Murray and Mike Bell have been reappointed to the Northumberland NPA for a further 12 months. Further information on Peter and Mike can be found here.

John Shaw and Paul Mainds have recently been appointed to The Chilterns AONB Conservation Board for a three-year term and three Members have been reappointed for a further three years:

• Alison Doggett, Colin Courtney and John Nichols

The following four members have been appointed for three year terms to the Cotswolds AONB Conservation Board:

• Brendan Costelloe
• Graham Hopkins
• Dominic Morris
• Ed Macalister-Smith

Additional information regarding the members listed will be made available on the Cotswolds AONB and Chilterns AONB websites

There is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if significant) to be made public. The appointees have not declared any significant political activity in the past five years.

Pete Waterman, famed record producer and rail enthusiast, is one of 5 judges announced today (2 September 2019) for the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Transform a Pacer competition. The competition, which launched in July 2019, marks the retirement of Pacers from the railway network.

Community groups across the North have been invited to submit plans and ideas for how an old Pacer carriage could be converted into a vibrant public space. From a café to a yoga studio, DfT is opening the floor to ideas on how the Pacer carriages could be renovated to continue to serve communities.

The winning proposals will see 3 Pacer carriages, donated by rolling stock company Porterbrook, installed ready for transformation.

Pete Waterman will be joined by industry experts and rail enthusiasts, a community engagement and sustainability expert and a local politician in deciding the winner. The judging panel includes:

• Pete Waterman (Head Judge)
• Tim Dunn (Railway enthusiast, historian, broadcaster and presenter of Trainspotting Live)
• Mary Grant (the CEO of railways rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook)
• Jools Townsend (Chief Executive of The Association of Community Rail Partnerships – ACoRP)
• Trudy Harrison, MP for Copeland

Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris said:

Pacers have connected communities across the North for more than 30 years, but they have outstayed their welcome and are being replaced by modern trains and extra services improving travel for thousands more passengers.

As they end their years of service, we are opening the floor to local groups across the North to submit their ideas on how they can be used, I am looking forward to seeing their proposals.

Rail entrepreneur and judging panel Chair Pete Waterman said:

This competition provides a fantastic opportunity for community groups to actively engage with the rail network to make a difference to their local areas.

I’m delighted to be chairing the judging panel to oversee the proposals put forward ensuring they are realistic, credible and provide a real benefit to wider northern communities

Railway enthusiast, broadcaster and historian, Tim Dunn, said:

Taking an old train and turning it into something else is tricky: it requires not just creativity, but a serious plan for ongoing maintenance too. For the right groups, this is an opportunity to create something that’s unlike any other; a real bonus. I’m excited about seeing proposals that harness the unique features and heritage of Pacers, as well as ensuring that they’re a true community asset going forward.

Copeland MP, Trudy Harrison, said:

Pacer trains were made here in West Cumbria and all my life I have watched the iconic carriages trundle down our Cumbrian Coastal Line carrying passengers along their journey.

Now the Pacer carriages are embarking on their new journey it is an honour and a privilege to be involved in the decision process. I love a ‘doer-upper’ project, looking at the creative process and engineering, coupled with community uses, so this is going to be great fun, for a great cause.

On Wednesday 4 September 2019, between 12pm and 1.30pm, a live question and answer session is being given by Pacer competition officials. Competition questions can be submitted online before the session, entering the event code ‘Pacer’.

To celebrate the role of the Pacers, Northern has also produced a toolkit for schools, and is running an art competition for pupils to encourage them to think creatively about how the Pacer carriages can be refurbished.

Northern have started to retire some of their Pacer fleet and is rapidly rolling out £500 million worth of investment in new and refurbished trains, which will deliver more frequent services, comfortable seats and improved accessibility.

Most of Northern’s Pacer trains will be out of passenger service by the start of 2020.

It comes as part of a significant investment by both government, Network Rail and train operators as part of the Great North Rail Project to transform the national rail network, delivering more than 4,500 new carriages to UK passengers.

DfT is investing £13 billion through to 2020 to transform transport across the region and is focussed on supercharging transport connections.

Between 2019 and 2024, the government will also invest around £3 billion in additional funding to upgrade the Transpennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York to deliver faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys with more seats. The Prime Minister has also announced his backing for a new Manchester to Leeds line.

The UK has deployed a three-strong team of humanitarian experts to the Bahamas to begin immediate work on assessing the damage and support needed following Hurricane Dorian.

Hurricane Dorian is a category five hurricane, with wind speeds reaching up to 185 mph as it passed over the Bahamas.

The team of DFID experts, who departed from London this morning, are expected to arrive in the region later today and will work closely alongside the Bahamas Government and the Caribbean’s regional disaster management agency (CDEMA) to assess the scale of the damage and help coordinate the relief effort.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

My thoughts are with everyone affected by this devastating hurricane which is causing widespread disruption.

I have sent an initial team of experts to the Bahamas to help assess the damage and coordinate the UK’s response, including any potential use of military assets if required.

The UK is a world leader in providing disaster relief, and it’s right that we support the people of the Bahamas in their time of need.

The British Royal Navy auxiliary ship Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay has been pre-positioned to the region to offer her support if required. The ship is capable of carrying specialist water rescue vehicles and includes a helicopter that can be used to deliver humanitarian aid. RFA Mounts Bay has relief supplies on-board including water carriers, hygiene kits and shelter kits.

This is in addition to UK support provided for the deployment of specialist teams in the region from CDEMA – including engineers, health professionals and logistics experts – who will support the local authorities’ response and assess whether further international assistance is required.

Notes to editors

1. The Bahamas is not eligible for Official Development Assistance under internationally agreed rules because of its Gross National Income per capita. International aid rules do not prevent the UK from responding to humanitarian crises like this. For this particular crisis, we are drawing non-ODA funding from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).
2. Final costs will depend on the path and intensity of the storm, how many teams are needed to deploy and for how long.

Ministers have wasted no time in backing up their promise to tackle the challenges faced by our nation’s proud veterans – securing a £5 million funding boost in this week’s spending round, to be announced by Chancellor Sajid Javid on Wednesday.

The cash, won by the Cabinet Office, will fund additional staff and resources, so that the newly-established Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) can drive cross-Whitehall action to support veterans’ welfare.

The OVA will join up support and coordinate existing funding – holding other parts of government to account for delivering the Armed Forces Covenant and action on mental and physical health, education, employment and veteran homelessness.

Charities, MPs and the Sun newspaper made their concerns about the need for a coordinated approach to the post-service needs of Armed Forces personnel clear with their calls for top politicians to sign a Veterans’ Pledge.

Since becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has acted quickly to establish the OVA – and send a clear message that it will have real clout across Whitehall and beyond.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Oliver Dowden, will represent veterans issues at Cabinet, and lead the OVA alongside Veterans Minister and former soldier, Johnny Mercer. They will drive policy from the heart of government and coordinate Whitehall machinery to make sure ex-service personnel get life-long support.

Chancellor Sajid Javid said:

This Spending Round is focused on public services. And no-one has given more than the service men and women who lay their lives on the line for all of us. Supporting them when they leave service is not just our responsibility but also our duty, which is why we’ve made funding the launch of the Office of Veterans Affairs a top priority.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Oliver Dowden, said:

Now that we’ve secured this additional funding, we can use it to fight for them from the heart of government, and make sure this country never lets down those heroes who risked their lives to keep us all safe.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans, Johnny Mercer said:

The Prime Minister has given us a great responsibility to make sure our veterans are supported in every aspect of their lives, including their healthcare, housing, and employment opportunities. We’re already hard at work bringing together the right people across government, and this new funding will be instrumental in making this vision a reality.

Hosted by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

The Chevening Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Fellowships are aimed at mid-career academics or professionals who are dedicated to the promotion of academic activities which encourage a more informed understanding of the culture and civilisation of Islam and contemporary Muslim societies.

The following fellowships are a collaboration between the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and OCIS:

• Chevening OCIS Fellowship
• Chevening OCIS Abdullah Gül Fellowship

Course/programme structure

Fellows will undertake a 6-month period of self-directed research focusing on their own project on the culture and civilisation of Islam and contemporary Muslim societies in a global context.

Fellows will benefit from meeting a multi-disciplinary group of scholars focusing on the Islamic world and have the opportunity to develop contacts with relevant individuals, discuss issues relating to the Islamic world, including Islamic history, classical Islamic sciences, economics and Islamic finance, and the study of Muslims in the West. Fellows will contribute to the Centre’s objective to encourage and promote sustained dialogue and collaboration within the global academic community of the culture and civilisation of Islam and contemporary Muslim societies. OCIS is a Recognized Independent Centre for the University of Oxford and provides a meeting point for the Western and Islamic worlds of learning.

This fellowship programme will commence in October 2020. Fellows will need to develop their own research project to focus on during their fellowship prior to arriving in the UK.

Benefits

• six-month period of research at OCIS
• living expenses for the duration of the fellowship
• return economy airfare from home country to the UK
• allowance package for research-related activities
• access to a programme of cultural events and activities organised by the FCO and the Chevening Secretariat

Eligibility

The Chevening OCIS Abdullah Gül Fellowship is available to applicants from Turkey.

To be eligible for a Chevening OCIS Fellowship, you must:

• demonstrate the potential to rise to a position of leadership and influence
• demonstrate the personal, intellectual and interpersonal attributes reflecting this potential
• return to country of your citizenship at the end of the period of the fellowship
• hold a postgraduate level qualification (or equivalent professional training or experience in a relevant area) at the time of application
• have significant professional and/or academic research experience (at least five years)
• provide evidence of meeting at least the minimum English language abilities for Chevening Awards
• not hold British or dual-British citizenship *not be an employee, a former employee, or relative of an employee (since July 2016) of Her Majesty’s Government (including British embassies/high commissions, the Department for International Development, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Department for International Trade, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office), the British Council, or a staff member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities

Note: Immediate relatives are defined as parents or step-parents, siblings or step-siblings, children or step-children, spouse, civil partner or unmarried (where the couple have been in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years)

Please note that applicants who have previously received financial benefit from a HMG-funded scholarship or fellowship are eligible to apply after a period of five years following the completion of their first HMG funded award. In these cases, applicants will be required to demonstrate their career progression from that point.

Application requirement

Applicants should be prepared to outline a short proposal on the area of academic research they would like to conduct at the time of application submission. The proposal should include a main research question and how the applicant intends to conduct this research while in residence at the Centre.

All applications for a Chevening Award must be made through the Chevening designated online application system (OAS), which can be accessed through www.chevening.org.

If you have a question related to Chevening Scholarships and Fellowships applications please visit the frequently asked questions page.

Chevening Scholarship applications will close on 5 November 2019 at 12:00 UK time.