Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) caterpillars found on trees recently imported from the Netherlands.

Woodland managers, land owners, the forest industry and tree nurseries are being urged to remain vigilant after the Plant Health Service intercepted a finding of Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) caterpillars on trees recently imported from the Netherlands.

Swift action is being taken to eradicate this finding in Hampshire, including surveillance and tracing work. However, the case highlights the need for continued vigilance to protect the UK’s trees and forests against pests and diseases.

OPM is an established pest in parts of London and surrounding areas, but the rest of the country is designated as a Protected Zone (PZ).

OPM caterpillars feed on oak leaves and can increase trees’ vulnerability to attack by other pests and diseases, making them less able to withstand adverse weather conditions such as drought and floods.

Professor Nicola Spence, Defra Chief Plant Health Officer, said:

Since 2012 we have invested more than £37 million in tree health research, including a dedicated programme of research and development on oak.

We are working with local authorities and land managers to tackle OPM with a control programme of treatment and surveillance and in 2018 we introduced tighter restrictions on the importation of oak trees to England.

Dr Anna Brown, Head of Tree Health & Contingency Planning, Forestry Commission, said:

Those of us involved in importing or trading plants must maintain our vigilance against exotic pests and diseases such as OPM. There is a lot we can do such as buying British, only buying stock from reputable, responsible suppliers and inspecting imported plants.

Inspect, inspect and inspect again – we can’t check imported plants too often for signs of trouble. Don’t presume that because your supplier found no evidence of a pest or disease that you won’t either. You might spot something that they have missed.

The Forestry Commission, councils and land managers tackle the pest with an annual control programme of tree treatment.

Increased measures to protect the country from the spread of OPM were introduced in 2018. Restrictions on the import of most species of oak into England have been introduced as part of these regulations to protect native trees.

If you suspect OPM, you should not attempt to destroy or move infected material yourself as the nests and caterpillars can pose some risks to human health. Visit the Forest Research website for more information on how to identify OPM.

To report sightings of pests and diseases, use the TreeAlert online portal.

Thousands of new cycle spaces will be added to rail stations around the country thanks to new investment in the Cycle Rail programme.

Thousands of rail commuters will be able to make cycling a seamless part of their journeys thanks to a £6.8 million government investment.

Cycling and Walking Minister Michael Ellis has today (14 June 2019) announced an extra 2,300 cycle spaces to be built at 48 stations across England, enabling commuters to cycle directly to the station and lock up their bike securely.

The investment is part of the Cycle Rail programme, now been backed by over £40 million from the Department for Transport. It has helped tens of thousands of cyclists to make their journeys to work joined up and sustainable.

Michael Ellis, said:

Cycling to your nearest station and catching a train to work is a great way to keep healthy, reduce emissions and help make our towns and cities vibrant places to live.

But to make this a reality, I know that the right infrastructure needs to be in place. This latest investment will see many more stations become accessible for cyclists, so that greener travel options – whether as part of a longer or shorter journey – become the norm.

The Cycle Rail programme has already tripled the number of cycle parking spaces at more than 500 stations, bringing the total to over 80,000.

This includes the creation of integrated cycle hubs at key railway stations, including at Hove, where 150 additional bike spaces with secure key card access and CCTV have been provided, alongside a cycle maintenance, hire and repair business.

At Preston, cyclist access to the station has been improved by the completion of a cycle path alongside a cycle hub, providing safe parking for more than 200 bikes.

Xavier Brice, CEO for Sustrans, the walking and cycling charity, said:

Walking and cycling should be the easiest way for everyone to get to their local station, making our towns and cities better places to live by reducing congestion and air pollution, and improving our physical and mental health. But it’s not always easy.

Train operators and their partners have come up with a range of schemes that will make it easier for people to get to and from their station under their own power, which we hope will encourage more people to choose cycling and walking as part of their everyday journey.

Phillip Darnton, Chair of the Cycle Rail Working Group, said:

This latest, most welcome grant to the Cycle Rail Working Group continues the Department for Transport’s successful funding programme which, over the last 5 years, has directly led to the number of trips to and from stations by bike more than doubling.

This cost-effective investment really does work.

Today’s announcement includes financial contributions from wider station development projects, including the Chisholm Trail cycle route in Cambridge and 280 additional spaces being provided for ongoing improvement works at Chatham station in Kent.

It coincides with Cycling UK’s national Bike Week, which raises awareness of different cycling options to get as many people as possible on their bikes. As part of the week, the government has already launched the refreshed Cycle to Work scheme, providing employees with a tax exemption to access adapted bikes and e-bikes, making it easier to have a greener commute.

It follows a government push to help people to make more conscious transport choices and understand how these contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

This includes a commitment to end the sale of new conventional diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040, investment in hybrid trains, the doubling of investment in cycling and walking since 2010, along with the £2.5 billion Transforming Cities Fund which will develop innovative public transport schemes in some of England’s biggest cities.

The number of older opiate users in treatment in England has tripled in just 12 years, a report by the ACMD reveals today.

The number of people over 40 seeking treatment for opiate misuse has increased three-fold over the last 12 years, raising fears that ageing opiate users with complex needs will come to dominate demand on substance misuse services in future.

In its advice to the Home Secretary today, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will also raise concerns that this group is increasingly being failed in their recovery from substance abuse, as services are not catering for their additional complex needs.

Chair of the ACMD, Dr Owen Bowden-Jones, said:

This ageing cohort is likely to dominate future demand on substance misuse facilities which is why more needs to be done now to help these people access services that meet their needs.

Services need to be urgently improved to better manage the complex needs of this ageing group now and in the future.

The ACMD commissioned the report to investigate the changing age profiles of those seeking treatment for drug use and explain why current services are not meeting their needs.

The report focuses on drug services particularly treating older patients for opiate/opioid use.

Among the ACMD’s finding include:

• the number of opiate users in treatment over 40 has increased from approximately 25,000 in 2006 to more than 75,000 in 2018
• ageing drug users are less likely to have access to the resources they need to manage the complex needs of this group
• the death rate for opioid users increases the older the user

Recommendations by the ACMD also include:

• an assessment of the current skills, treatment and support to address the complex physical and mental health issues of older drug users
• in order to better understand how best to provide support and services to the ageing cohort, ongoing analysis of treatment demographics and drug use habits among older people

The ACMD’s full report can be found on GOV.UK: Ageing cohort of drug users

The Education and Skills funding Agency (ESFA) has opened an Expressions of Interest (EOI) for small and medium sized employers and supporting training providers that currently have a non-levy contract to help the ESFA in its initial phase, to test the system functionality of the apprenticeship service for employers who do not pay the Levy.

Small and medium sized employers that do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy, as well as their supporting training providers, can now express their interest to help ESFA shape its services so it meets future needs for all employers. To apply to test the service:

• the employer must have an apprenticeship vacancy that will result in an apprentice starting in August, September or October 2019, for the application to be accepted

• as this is a test phase, the training provider should already have a contract with ESFA for supporting employers that do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy, and have money left in their non-levy funding allocation

This follows news that, in future, small and medium sized employers will be able to access the full benefits of the apprenticeship service, even if they don’t pay the Apprenticeship Levy.

The Apprenticeship Levy is paid by employers with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million and is used to help fund apprenticeships and skills development across the country.

From August, a small number of employers who do not pay the levy and their associated providers will be able to set up accounts on the apprenticeship service through our first test phase.

The test phase will take place between August and December 2019. The purpose of this test phase is to help make sure the service meets employer and provider needs, ahead of it being opened up to a wider audience.

Providers not involved in the initial test phase will not be disadvantaged when we further roll out the service and no new funding is available through this functional test.

During this development phase, we will be working with employers and supporting providers to test a modest volume of apprenticeship starts.

Before employers and providers apply, they should consider:

• the training provider should already have a contract with ESFA and have money left in their allocation for non-levy funding
• the employer and provider must have an established relationship before submitting to the EOI process
• the employer must have an apprenticeship vacancy that will result in a start for the period between August and October 2019 for the application to be accepted
• the applicants who take part in the development will be allocated on a first come, first served basis; the ESFA will not be able to guarantee an apprenticeship start until the selection has been made and applicants have been notified

When applying, employers and providers must:

• submit a joint application and agree whether it will be the employer or the provider who will make the application – and have permission to do so on the other party’s behalf
• ensure the provider referenced in the application is on the ESFA Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) at the point of submission
• ensure the employer referenced in the application submission has an annual pay bill of under £3 million per annum

The EOI will have two application windows. The first will open on 13 June 2019 and close 05 July 2019, after which the ESFA will select employers and supporting providers who have starts in August, September or October.

The second window to submit an EOI for ESFA to select employers and supporting providers, who have starts in November and December 2019, will open later in the summer.

We have published further information on GOV.UK.

Heavy rain in Herefordshire last week led to a number of pollution incidents caused by soil running off into rivers and large quantities of mud washing onto the county’s roads resulting in hazardous driving conditions.

With a lot more rain forecast the Environment Agency with Herefordshire Council are continuing to target landowners to remind them of their responsibilities.

In heavy rain, soil can be dramatically washed away from fields. Better soil management can help reduce instances of soil loss which causes water pollution, exacerbates flooding and creates dangerous conditions on the county’s roads.

Satellite imagery and footage from drones will be used to identify bare, sloping agricultural fields where soil run-off is most likely. Using this intelligence, the landowner will be visited to make them aware of the potential issues and guidance on better soil management practices.

This is particularly important for the River Wye; one of the biggest threats to this special area of conservation comes from run-off from agriculture. Herefordshire’s famous sandy red soils are generally very fine and become extremely mobile during heavy rain storms, meaning it is not unusual for soil and sediment to enter watercourses and harm the delicate gravel ecosystems.

Dave Throup, the Environment Agency’s Herefordshire Environment Manager said:

Agricultural pollution and soil run-off is a significant problem, which is why we are using targeted patrols and a number of other methods to try and tackle the issue. Working with our partners from Herefordshire Council and Natural Resources Wales we can identify those sites that pose a risk to the environment and work with farmers to prevent pollution incidents happening in the first place.

Clive Hall, Herefordshire Council’s Acting Assistant Director Highways and Transport, said:

Anyone with concerns of excessive mud on the road that is presenting a hazard to road users should call Balfour Beatty Living Places on 01432 261800 (calls are monitored 24/7). They will assess the risk and take the action required to return our roads to as safe a state as we can.

Environment Agency staff respond to pollution incidents 24/7 to contain pollution and protect water quality. We investigate pollution incidents to find the source, stop the problem and understand how best to reduce any impacts on local communities and the environment. We would urge anyone who notices pollution to land or water to call our hotline: 0800 80 70 60.