A Government Spokesperson said:

“We welcome the publication of the report from Oxfam International’s Independent Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Accountability and Culture.

“This report contains serious findings and important recommendations, shaped by victim and survivors’ voices, and makes for uncomfortable reading for the whole aid sector. Aid must be delivered in a way which does no harm. Along with the Charity Commission inquiry, it will be an important step in Oxfam’s work to transform its culture and strengthen its safeguarding practices.

“We will now carefully review both the reports and their recommendations, and the International Development Secretary will shortly meet Oxfam’s Chair of Trustees to discuss next steps. Decisions on Oxfam’s funding relationship with the UK Government will be made in due course.

“The UK Government remains committed to driving up standards across the aid sector. Change must happen and the entire sector must work together to deliver it – safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.”

Work is set to start on the final stage of a £1 million scheme to refurbish a vital pumping station in north-east Essex.

The Parkeston pumping station near Harwich, located at the lower end of the Ramsey/Dock River, helps to protect homes and businesses in the area from the risk of flooding and is currently undergoing a 2 year overhaul.

The largest and final stage of the work is the replacement of the debris screen, the concrete river banks and a footbridge. New piping will also be installed for emergency pumps, should they be needed.

The work is being undertaken by contractors Jackson Civil Engineering.

Environment Agency project lead Robert Brown said parts of the structure had been deteriorating due to age and need replacing. He said:

The work will ensure the pumping station can provide the best possible level of flood protection to the low lying areas of Parkeston and Ramsey.

Without the weed screen the pumps would block and the water levels would rise significantly until they reached the lowest point of the railway embankment.

We have also been reviewing our emergency plans for the site. In the unlikely event the site has a problem we can set up large temporary pumps. Currently, this would involve closing the railway line, so we are installing permanent pipework to allow the railway to continue to operate.

The Ramsey/Dock River cannot naturally flow into the Stour estuary so all of the water, including flood water, needs to be lifted up by the pumps into the estuary.

The pumps can lift up to 3 tonnes of water a second, so the station needs to have a debris screen to ensure they do not get blocked with vegetation and rubbish.

The work will start in early June and last for around 18 weeks.

Yesterday, Tuesday 11 June 2019, The Planning Inspectorate accepted for examination an application by Esso Petroleum Company Limited for a proposed 90 km replacement pipeline project that would run from Fawley Refinery near Southampton to Esso’s West London Terminal Storage Facility in Hounslow.

The application was submitted on 14 May 2019 and the decision to accept the application was made in accordance with section 55 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended). The legislation allows 28 days from the day after the date of receipt of an application for the Planning Inspectorate to decide whether or not to accept it.

The decision and a copy of the application documents can be viewed at the Southampton to London Pipeline Project page on the Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website.

The Planning Act 2008 (as amended) sets high standards for applications and places a strong duty upon developers to involve the local community, local authorities and other stakeholders in the development of their proposal, ahead of submission.

It is now for Esso Petroleum Company Limited to publicise the fact that its application has been accepted to proceed to examination and invite people who are interested in the proposal to register with the Planning Inspectorate as an Interested Party by making a Relevant Representation.

Interested Parties in an application can:

• Say what they agree or disagree with in the application and why
• Comment on what other people have said in their representations
• Attend the preliminary meeting and say how they think the application should be examined
• Request that an open floor hearing is held
• Attend an open floor or issue-specific hearing

Request to speak at a hearing.

Ends

Journalists wanting further information should contact the Planning Inspectorate’s Press Office, on: 0303 444 5004 or 0303 444 5005 or email: press.office@planninginspctorate.gov.uk

More information on this application, including details of the developer’s website, is available in National Infrastructure’s Programme of Projects. Visit: the Projects page at https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/

Notes to editors:

The Planning Inspectorate is an agency of the Ministry for Housing, communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and operates within the policy framework prescribed in the Planning Act 2008, secondary legislation and the National Policy Statements.

The process in a snapshot

There are six key stages within the process. The summary below provides examples of when and how people have an opportunity to provide evidence to the Planning Inspectorate.

Pre-application

Key activities:

• Project development / developer’s pre-application consultation and publicity.
• Environmental impact assessment preparation and scoping, where required.

Public involvement:

• Have their say on the proposal to the developer through their pre application consultation

Acceptance by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State

Key activities:

• The Secretary of State has 28 days from the day after receipt to decide whether or not an application should be accepted for examination

Public involvement:

• Details will be posted at the Planning Inspectorate’s website on how to register as an interested party – if an application has been accepted for examination and publicised by the developer.
• Opportunity to legally challenge a decision not to accept an application.

Pre-examination

Key activities:

• Single Inspector or a Panel of Inspectors appointed.
• Preliminary Meeting called and held.
• Procedure and timetable set for examination.

Public involvement:

• Register to say what you agree or disagree with in the application
• Submit your representation
• View application documents submitted by the developer on the Planning Inspectorate website
• Attend the Preliminary Meeting
• Say how the examination should be conducted.

Examination

Key activities:

• A maximum of six months to carry out the examination

Public involvement:

• Submit more detailed comments in writing
• Comment on what other people have said
• Request and attend an open-floor hearing
• If being held, request to speak at open-floor and / or issue specific hearing(s)
• Comment on the local authority’s Local Impact Report – detailing the impact of the scheme on the local area.

Decision

Key activities:

• A maximum of three months for Planning Inspectorate to issue a recommendation to the relevant Secretary of State, with a statement of reasons.
• The relevant Secretary of State then has a further three months from receiving the recommendation in which to issue the decision.

Post decision

Key activities:

• Six weeks for any legal challenge.

Public involvement:

• Opportunity to challenge.

Previous investment in the 5G testbeds and trials programme has driven work in the healthcare, tourism, transport and broadcasting sectors. The latest investment will support similar work in the logistics and manufacturing sectors.

Projects will trial ways which can help these sectors increase their productivity and output, boosting the UK economy. The trials could cover different manufacturing processes as well as across road, air, and sea based freight logistics.

The funding was announced by Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright at the 5G World Conference as part of London Tech Week. The latest round of investment is through the £200 million project to test 5G technology that’s up to ten times faster than 4G and able to support more than a million devices per square kilometre.

Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright said:

As part of our modern Industrial Strategy, we’re making sure that Britain has a telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future.

5G is about more than mobile phone consumers having a fast and reliable connection anywhere in the country. It’s a vital piece of technology that can be used to improve the productivity and growth of our industrial sectors. That’s why we’re excited to develop new trials in areas such as manufacturing and logistics that can really benefit from 5G.

In addition to the new funding, the Government has confirmed that it will consult on proposals to simplify planning processes in England to both support the further roll-out of 4G and aid the faster introduction of 5G.

Hamish MacLeod, Director at Mobile UK, said:

Getting the planning system right for future 5G and today’s 4G networks is critical to ensure the UK continues to lead the world in digital connectivity. It is right that the Government has announced it is to look at simplifying planning processes and we stand ready to work in partnership to ensure this can happen as quickly as possible to aid the continued rollout of mobile networks.

This is part of the Government’s long-term strategy for meeting its digital connectivity targets, outlined in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review.

The plans involve tackling barriers to deployment and creating the right conditions for investment to deliver better network coverage that supports the way we live and work today.

A key part of this is making new spectrum available to increase capacity for mobile connectivity. The Ministry of Defence, in partnership with DCMS, has committed to making 168MHz of new spectrum available to facilitate the deployment of fixed and mobile networks.

This means the Government has already exceeded its target to make 500MHz of public sector spectrum available for commercial use by 2020, and will continue to work with departments to explore opportunities for more spectrum to be made available.

Notes to editors:

• We expect a public competition to launch later this year for bids to be made for the next testbed and trials in 5G. The competition will be open for bids from across the whole of the UK.
• The recent release by the Ministry of Defence of 168 megahertz in the 8 gigahertz band, puts the total spectrum released under PSSRP at 552 MegaHertz.
• The Government has undertaken a thorough, evidence-based and hard-headed review of the 5G supply chain to ensure the secure and resilient roll-out of 5G. Throughout the review, we have consulted extensively with industry and have been clear from the start on their need to comply with the government’s final decision which will be published in due course.

The ongoing protests in Hong Kong are a clear sign of significant public concern about the proposed changes to extradition laws. I call on all sides to remain calm and peaceful.

I urge the Hong Kong government to listen to the concerns of its people and its friends in the international community and to pause and reflect on these controversial measures. It is essential that the authorities engage in meaningful dialogue and take steps to preserve Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms and high degree of autonomy, which underpin its international reputation. Upholding the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, as set out in the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration, is vital to Hong Kong’s future success.