Summary

At around 14:32 hrs on 19 October 2018, a London bound, London North Eastern Railway passenger train traversed a section of track at Sandy South Junction, where an emergency speed restriction of 20 mph (32 km/h) was in place, at approximately 121 mph (195 km/h).

The emergency speed restriction had been put in place at around 14:00 hrs the previous afternoon because a crack had been found in a crossing associated with a set of points.

The train driver had become unwell earlier in the journey. On experiencing worsening symptoms, the driver decided to take medication which he kept in his bag. He was reaching for the medication when the train approached the warning equipment associated with the emergency speed restriction. As a consequence of feeling unwell and reaching for his medication, he was distracted and did not reduce the speed of the train in response to the audible and visual warnings that he received.

The driver was not aware prior to starting his journey that there were any emergency speed restrictions in place on the route, although Network Rail had sent out a notice to all the affected train and freight operating companies to inform them that the speed restriction was in place. London North Eastern Railway’s control centre did not pass this message on to its drivers, in line with its then current procedures. These procedures had been in place since a Rule Book change in June 2008 when the requirement to notify drivers of freight and passenger trains of the presence of emergency speed restrictions was removed from the Railway Rule Book after a request from a freight operating company and an analysis by RSSB. This led to the committee responsible for the decision concluding that lineside warning equipment placed on the approach to a restriction to indicate its presence was sufficient notification for drivers. The RAIB has found that the information that this conclusion was based on did not cover all the factors that should have been considered and that the way the railway industry handled the Rule Book change was inconsistent.

Recommendations

The RAIB has made five recommendations, the first of which is addressed to train and freight operating companies to minimise the risk of drivers not being aware of speed restrictions in their route before commencing their journeys. The second is addressed to Rail Delivery Group and Network Rail, to look at available technologies to provide drivers with additional warnings of speed restrictions near to the location of the restriction. The next, addressed to Network Rail, is to consider the design of the emergency speed indicator to ensure it is conspicuous for as long as possible in bright sunlight and in shadow. The fourth is to London North Eastern Railway to train its drivers in the safest ways to divide their attention between the line ahead and things which may temporarily require some of their attention if it is not practical to stop the train. The last recommendation is addressed is to RSSB, to review the processes around the removal of existing rules from the Rule Book, and monitoring the consequences of such changes.

Notes to editors

1. The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.
2. RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.
3. For media enquiries, please call 01932 440015.

Newsdate: 1 August 2019

The comprehensive review considers the considerable body of evidence published since the last review of the scientific evidence by the UK’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) in 1994.

Based on 47 systematic reviews and meta-analyses, The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) concludes that:

• higher saturated fat consumption is linked to raised blood cholesterol
• higher intakes of saturated fat are associated with increased risk of heart disease
• saturated fats should be swapped with unsaturated fats
• there is no need to change current advice that saturated fat should not exceed around 10% of food energy

Professor Paul Haggarty, Chair of the Saturated Fats and Health Working Group of SACN, said:

Looking at the evidence, our report confirms that reducing saturated fat lowers total blood cholesterol and cuts the risk of heart disease.

Our advice remains that saturated fats should be reduced to no more than about 10% of dietary energy.

Survey data since the 1980s shows that the main sources of saturated fats have changed little in the last 30 years. Intake of saturated fats has fallen over this time, but it remains above recommendations at around 12% of dietary energy.

Cereals and cereal products (for example, biscuits, cakes and pastries), milk and milk products (mainly cheese and milk), and meat and meat products are the main contributors to saturated fat intake.

Professor Louis Levy, Head of Nutrition Science at Public Health England (PHE), said:

SACN’s review supports and strengthens current advice. We recommend eating foods high in saturated fat less often and in smaller amounts and swapping to unsaturated fats to help achieve a healthy, balanced diet.

We all need to take action, but food manufacturers, suppliers and caterers have a particular responsibility in helping people to do this.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is an advisory Committee of independent experts that provides advice to PHE as well as other government agencies and departments across the UK. Its remit includes matters concerning the nutrient content of individual foods, advice on diet and the nutritional status of people.

National Diet and Nutrition Survey data indicate that mean intakes of saturated fats remained above UK government recommendations. In 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016, mean intakes as a percentage of total dietary energy were 12.4% to 13.0% in children (age 4 to 18 years), and 11.9% (19 to 64 years), 12.5% (65 to 74 years) and 14.3% (75 years and over) in adults (Roberts and others, 2018).

The recommendation applies to adults and children aged 5 years and older. It does not apply before 2 years of age and applies in full from 5 years of age. A flexible approach is recommended to the timing and extent of dietary change for individual children between 2 and 5 years.

Recommendations are consistent with international guidelines including those made in the USA and Australia and by the World Health Organisation and European Food Standards Agency.

Cereals and cereal products (mainly biscuits, buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies), milk and milk products (mainly cheese and milk), and meat and meat products were the main contributors to saturated fat intake in all age groups.

In children aged 4 to 10 years, milk and milk products (30%) (about half from whole milk and cheese) and cereals and cereal products (27%) (mainly pizza, biscuits, buns, cakes, pastries, fruit pies and puddings) were the largest contributors to saturated fat intake.

Meat and meat products (17%) was the other main contributor. (Roberts and others, 2018).

Examples of swaps that can be made to reduce saturated fat include:

• cooking with oils instead of butter
• using a lower fat spread instead of butter
• choosing lean meat or oily fish instead of red or fatty meat
• switching to semi skimmed milk instead of full fat
• using yogurt instead of cream
• having a piece of fruit as a snack instead of cake or biscuits
• replace some meat in meals with beans or pulses

The UK is calling on other countries to provide more financial support and to work with the UN, the WHO and the government of the DRC to tackle Ebola in the region, one year after the outbreak began.

The UK is at the forefront of responding to the outbreak and has so far committed support including funding for a life-saving vaccine, vital work to engage communities and training for local health workers.

However, money alone will not fight this disease; over the past two weeks alone it has killed 100 people. A new Ebola case confirmed on 30 July in Goma city emphasises the risk of further spread, the need for better-supported communities and strengthened health services and effective preparedness. The UK has been clear that a truly international effort is needed to end the most challenging public health emergency in recent history.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

Ebola has already taken far too many lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Shockingly it has wiped out entire families and, a year after this outbreak started, it is showing no sign of slowing down.

The UK has led the way in tackling this killer disease and we can be proud of our support to create a life-saving Ebola vaccine which has inoculated 180,000 people so far.

Diseases like Ebola have no respect for borders. This could be spread beyond DRC. It is essential that the rest of the international community steps up to help. If we don’t act now, many thousands more lives could be lost.

UK support has gone directly on:

• Vaccinating more than 180,000 people in the DRC, which has been shown to be 97% effective in at-risk people including health workers.
• Safe and dignified burials to allow families to bury loved ones without becoming infected themselves.
• Ebola screening at border posts including temperature checks for countries neighbouring DRC such as Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
• Supporting the training and vaccinating of health workers in Uganda, where three people with Ebola were brought first to a UK aid-funded treatment centre. Preparedness and swift action prevented further infection.
• Supporting the training of health workers in Rwanda and vaccination planning and screening on Rwanda’s borders.
• Helping to procure sanitation equipment in South Sudan.
• A specialist UK-funded humanitarian expert deployed to Burundi to support preparedness and coordinate UK support.

There have been more than 2,600 cases reported and 1,750 lives claimed since the outbreak. In the last six months, the number of cases has increased dramatically and conflict continues to prevent health workers from getting to those most in need.

During the 2014 outbreak in Sierra Leone, the global community worked together to stop the spread of Ebola and the country is now rebuilding itself. The UK is using knowledge learnt during the 2014 outbreak to strengthen our response in the DRC and to enable a community-led response.

This has seen awareness-raising and training developed with local communities, especially for women who are more likely to get the disease due to their role as primary carers. Indeed, many female survivors are caring for babies and young children whose parents are being treated for Ebola, and orphans whose parents have died from the virus.

The UK has already deployed experts from the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (PHRST) to the DRC. Funded by UK aid through the Department of Health and Social Care, these have included epidemiologists and data scientists in eastern DRC, as well as support to the WHO in Geneva.

Notes to editors

1. Free-to-use video content is available to download here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1riV7sM9YmsSAbJkeLio4sWZBWw8cxJ8k
2. The UK is calling for a new, stronger approach to responding to the Ebola outbreak, including tackling the mistrust of communities, which have suffered decades of conflict, and in some cases do not believe Ebola is real.
3. The DRC outbreak is second in scale only to the West Africa outbreak of 2013 to 2016.
4. Public Health England considers the risk to the UK to be very low/negligible.
5. The UK continues to support partners on the ground including the WHO, UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross (IRFC) and Red Crescent Societies.

From 1 August 2019, the adult education budget (AEB) will devolve, to give 6 mayoral combined authorities (MCA’s) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) the opportunity to align adult education skills provision with local area needs. The move allows the MCA’s and GLA to make decisions about the allocation of the adult education budget, to support the needs of residents and local economic priorities.

The adult education budget supports eligible learners aged 19 and over and provides them with the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship, or other learning.

The mayoral authorities receiving the devolved adult education budget are: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West of England and the Greater London Authority.

ESFA Chief Executive Eileen Milner said:

To prepare for the devolution of the adult education budget, ESFA and the Department for Education have been working collaboratively with the mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority to support a smooth transition into operational readiness.

As part of this work, Memoranda of Understanding were agreed to provide clarity of roles and responsibilities, and to outline joint ways of working to support providers understanding of the changing landscape.

We have also ensured through our regular communications with providers and the sector, that they are aware of the changes and can plan accordingly.

ESFA continues to be responsible for:

• the remaining adult education budget that is not devolved to combined authorities / GLA
• continuing AEB funded learners in England, including residents in a devolved authority area who have not completed their learning by 31 July 2019 – for one year only
• learners resident in England, including those resident in a devolved authority area, undertaking a 19-24 traineeship programme
• providers who meet specified and published criteria to be funded nationally in 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021

More information on AEB devolution is available on GOV.UK.

Our report on the grounding of the Russian registered bulk carrier Kuzma Minin after dragging its anchor in Falmouth Bay on 18 December 2018, is now published.

The report contains details of what happened, the subsequent actions taken and recommendation made: read more.