The following products were seized:

• 1 x 50 ml bottle of oxytocin (part used)
• 1 x 100 ml bottle of oxytocin (part used)

Oxytocin is a hormone treatment used to initiate contractions in various animals, including food producing.

These were not UK authorised products. This is an offence under regulation 26 (Possession of an unauthorised veterinary medicinal product) of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013.

This notice was issued to Castlehill Veterinary Clinic.

The following contravened the Veterinary Medicines Regulation (VMR) 2013:

• Failure to maintain adequate records of supply of veterinary medicines, contrary to regulation 23 (Records of the receipt or supply of prescription products) of the VMR
• Supplies of unauthorised veterinary medicines without valid Special Treatment Certificates, contrary to regulation 27 (Supply of an unauthorised veterinary medicine) of the VMR

The improvements required are:

• Evidence of recording must be provided to the VMD, with client & animal details, product, dose, volume, quantity and batch details
• Evidence of the systems put in place for all unauthorised supplies to have valid Special Treatment Certificates must be provided to the VMD

Since 2017 Hillingdon Trading Standards have effectively managed the safety of imported goods into the EU. They have built effective relationships with Heathrow Airport, importers and other enforcement agencies.

Between 2018/2019 the team have identified different unsafe goods that could have had disastrous consequences for the public. For example, in April 2019 Hillingdon Ports Team routinely removed from circulation up to 3,000 kg illegal skin lightening creams that can lead to long term health problems.

From left to right in the photograph: King-Yip Cheung, Senior Trading Standards Officer, Hillingdon Ports Team, Martin Traynor OBE, Small Business Crown Representative, Phil Jenkins, Senior Trading Standards Officer, Hillingdon Ports Team and Huw Jones, Assistant Director Enforcement, Office for Product Safety and Standards.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma visited Nigeria in his first overseas trip in the role to see how UK aid is helping to generate trade and investment opportunities – both for African and British businesses.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and during the two-day trip, which concluded on Friday 2 August, Mr Sharma met the country’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as well as Nigerian and British business leaders.

They discussed the billions of pounds worth of opportunities for UK trade and investment ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit, which is due to take place in London next year.

Mr Sharma also visited the Viathan Independent Power Plant in Lagos – supported by UK aid – which provides power for street lights, schools, hospitals and public buildings, that are critical for Nigerians to access healthcare, education and employment.

He also went to Kaduna in northern Nigeria where he visited a primary school to see how UK aid is helping children receive at least 12 years of quality education.

The programme includes training teachers to deliver core subjects like English, maths and science, as well as improving school enrolment and attendance.

By 2050, 1 in 10 children will be born in Nigeria and the country needs more than 3.9 million new jobs every year to keep pace with population growth.

Since 2015, UK aid has helped 360,000 children gain a decent education in Nigeria which will in turn help them find jobs and boost incomes.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

“On my first overseas trip as International Development Secretary to Nigeria, I saw first-hand Africa’s potential and am excited at the prospect of helping to develop this further at next year’s UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.

“I saw how a power plant, part-funded by UK aid, is lighting up schools and hospitals, creating jobs and supporting economic growth. This is lifting people out of poverty and helping to grow Britain’s trading partners of the future.

“A prosperous, growing and trading Nigeria is firmly in the UK’s interests and our relationship will continue to thrive as we leave the EU.”

This visit comes ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit – which is being co-ordinated by the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Trade – which is due to take place in London in January 2020.

The UK-Africa Investment Summit will bring together businesses, governments and international organisations to strengthen the partnership between the UK and Africa and help generate billions of pounds of opportunities for both British and African businesses.

The UK aims to be the biggest G7 investor in Africa by 2022 and is supporting Nigeria’s economic development through specialist expertise and financial products such as bonds.

The UK is looking to provide £1 million through a new partnership with the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) to give countries like Nigeria the expertise they need to develop such local currency bonds.

Nigeria could, through these bonds, raise the finance it needs to invest in infrastructure and create jobs. Working through the London Stock Exchange and GuarantCo, it could borrow in Nigerian naira – its own currency – without taking on the significant risk associated with borrowing in foreign currencies such as US Dollars.

This would build on the success of India’s Masala Bond market in London. Mr Sharma was part of the team that helped develop the Masala bond market in London in his previous role as the Prime Minister’s Infrastructure Envoy to India. This allowed India to raise finance on the London Stock Exchange and invest in infrastructure and create jobs.

The UK will also support the Nigerian Government to introduce key economic policies through a new £3.5 million Champions of Change initiative. This will provide UK expertise to the Nigerian Government, so they can deliver better public services, help reduce poverty and ensure economic growth is for everyone.

In addition, UK aid is working on boosting future UK-Nigeria trading relations. For example, UK aid is supporting a new programme with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council to diversify Nigeria’s exports, help non-oil exporters comply with British standards and encourage British and Nigerian traders to work more closely together.

From 2015 to 2018, UK aid to Nigeria has helped:

• 3.5 million people to receive sustainable access to clean water and sanitation;

• 10.3 million children under five, adolescent girls and women to receive food and nutrition;

• An extra 350,000 women and girls to access modern methods of family planning.

Notes to editors

• The International Development Secretary also met the Governor of Lagos Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Governor of Kaduna Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai on his trip. They discussed, among other matters, next year’s UK-Africa Investment Summit.

Viathan Independent Power plant

• UK aid has provided experts through Nigeria’s Infrastructure Advisory Facility and financial support through CDC, the UK’s development finance institution fully owned by DFID, to help develop the power plant which is lifting Nigerians out of poverty. CDC’s initial 2015 investment helped catalyse the growth of the company and bring in other investors.

Local currency bonds

• The UK has already successfully established a market for ‘Masala Bonds’, which allows Indian firms to raise finance in rupees via the London Stock Exchange, and now intends to do the same for a range of African currencies, including Nigerian naira. This will allow African countries to raise the international finance they need to invest in infrastructure and job creation, without taking on the significant risk associated with borrowing in foreign currencies such as US Dollars. The UK is the largest supporter to the PIDG.

British expertise

• The new Champions of Change programme will provide direct technical knowledge and experts to the Federal Government of Nigeria, its agencies and independent regulators in key economic sectors. This will enhance technical expertise within the public sector with the aim of better delivery of public services that contribute to inclusive growth and poverty reduction. It will identify and work with ‘champions of change’ in the Nigerian public sector and support them to drive through important reforms necessary for better public services.

As part of a rolling refurbishment programme taking place across the UK, the Coal Authority is upgrading a pumping station near Doncaster.

Built in 1987, Brotherton Marsh, in Selby, North Yorkshire, controls water levels to protect agricultural land which has been affected by subsidence from historical coal mining.

To enable arable farming to take place on the surrounding fields, excess water is pumped, via a channel system, into the nearby River Aire.

Improvements include replacing 4 pumps in 2 separate chambers, the control panel, building services, and all the valves and pipework in the scheme’s compounds.

Tom Hams, assistant project manager, said:

This is the first time the facility has undergone a major overhaul and it should be at least 25 years before it needs another.

The 4 submersible pumps, which can each deliver a flow rate of up to 150 litres a second, are operated when the fields become waterlogged after heavy rainfall or if the river floods.

There will also be energy savings, thanks to the variable speed drives on the new pumps, but we won’t know exactly what these will be until the station has been running for a while.

The Coal Authority is prioritising investment in the 82 subsidence pumping stations for which it is liable.

Brotherton Marsh is being refurbished, along with Sour Lane, in Fishlake, Doncaster, as part of a £700,000 contract with JN Bentley Ltd.

Brotherton Marsh subsidence pumping station upgraded

Read how the Coal Authority is using new technology to help make significant savings at our pumping stations across Britain.