Public Health England (PHE) has today, Monday 11 March 2019, published a review of evidence on how to improve air quality in the United Kingdom.

The review informs local and national government on actions to improve outdoor air quality and health.

Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to health in the UK, with between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths a year attributed to long-term exposure. There is strong evidence that air pollution causes the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and lung cancer, and exacerbates asthma.

Professor Paul Cosford, Director of Health Protection and Medical Director at PHE, said:

Now is our opportunity to create a clean air generation of children, by implementing interventions in a coordinated way. By making new developments clean by design we can create a better environment for everyone, especially our children.

Key interventions local authorities can take include:

• promoting a step change in the uptake of low emission vehicles – by setting more ambitious targets for electric car charging points, as well as encouraging low emission fuels and electric cars
• boosting investment in clean public transport, as well as foot and cycle paths to improve health
• redesigning cities so people aren’t so close to highly polluting roads
• discouraging highly polluting vehicles from entering populated areas – for example, with low emission or clean air zones

This work could involve designing wider streets, or considering using hedges to screen against pollutants when planning new infrastructure.

Professor Cosford said:

We recommend that at a local level, any new policy or programme of work which affects air pollution should aim to deliver an overall benefit to the public’s health.

So transport and urban planners will need to work together, with others involved in air pollution to ensure that new initiatives have a positive impact.

Decision makers should carefully design policies, to make sure that the poorest in society are protected against the financial implications of new schemes.

National government policy can support local actions by creating the right incentives. These include policies which promote vehicles with low exhaust emissions or allow controls on industrial emissions in populated areas to take account of health impacts.

Background

Public Health England was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to review the evidence for effective air quality interventions, and provide practical recommendations for actions to improve air quality.

PHE’s review built on the Air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in UK (2017) from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT).

The review also built on Air pollution: outdoor air quality and health (2017), published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which focussed on transport related interventions – to include other pollutants and reviews of interventions in industry, agriculture, transport and planning and behavioural change.

PHE’s review supported the development of Defra’s final Clean Air Strategy published in January 2019.

Photo by Tobias Toft. Used under Flickr Creative Commons.

The 3rd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles will be established as a Specialised Infantry Battalion and will begin recruiting in 2019.

The 3rd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles will join other members of the Specialist Infantry Group, to complete plans set out in the 2015 Defence Review to establish up to five Specialised Infantry Battalions. These specialised Infantry Battalions are designed to provide expert capacity building and training skills with a focus on niche capabilities or areas of the world.

For more than 200 years, Gurkhas have been an integral part of the British Armed Forces and have demonstrated exceptional military aptitude, with a 100% pass rate through basic training. Gurkha soldiers continue to make an exemplary contribution to the British Army through the unique skills they offer, including specialist language skills, which enable them to build longstanding relationships with the United Kingdom’s global partners.

Alongside this new role, the Ministry of Defence will also be enhancing the support some Gurkha units already provide to the Army, for example the UK led NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, and establishing additional Gurkha Engineer and Signals Squadrons . These are crucial capabilities to enable the UK to meet its global defence commitments.

The new units will allow Gurkhas to access more career opportunities, including promotion and increased chances to serve a full 24-year Army career within the Brigade of Gurkhas.

Minister for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster said:

The Gurkhas have built an outstanding reputation for their skill and bravery as soldiers through centuries of service and sacrifice.

They bring unique expertise and perspective to the United Kingdom and British Army which makes them an ideal choice to form a third battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles as a Specialised Infantry Battalion.

Colonel of the Royal Gurkha Rifles Major General Gez Strickland DSO MBE said:

The Royal Gurkha Rifles is delighted to be able to support the Army by creating a third battalion. The specialised infantry role is exciting and challenging and we look forward to learning new skills and making new partnerships around the world as we begin the new task. We are enormously proud of the Army’s confidence in our ability to take this on.

During February, there were four new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port.

1. In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson’s inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping, and in compliance with the EU Directive on Port State Control (2009/16/EC as amended), the Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA) publishes details of the foreign flagged vessels detained in UK ports each month.

2. The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships that are inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS. This allows the ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.

3. Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. When a ship is found to be not in compliance with applicable convention requirements, a deficiency may be raised. If any of their deficiencies are so serious they have to be rectified before departure, then the ship will be detained.

4. All deficiencies should be rectified before departure.

5. When applicable, the list includes those passenger craft prevented from operating under the provisions of the EU Directive on Mandatory Surveys for the safe operation of regular Ro-Ro ferry and high speed passenger craft services (1999/35/EU).

Notes on the list of detentions

• Full details of the ship. The accompanying detention list shows ship’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) number which is unchanging throughout the ship’s life and uniquely identifies it. It also shows the ship’s name and flag state at the time of its inspection.
• Company. The company shown in the vessel’s Safety Management Certificate (SMC) or if there is no SMC, then the party otherwise believed to be responsible for the safety of the ship at the time of inspection.
• Classification Society. The list shows the Classification Society responsible for classing the ship only.
• Recognised Organisation. Responsible for conducting the statutory surveys: and issuing statutory certificates on behalf of the Flag State
• White (WL), Grey (GL) and Black lists (BL) are issued by the Paris MoU on 01 July each year and shows the performance of flag State.

SHIPS DETAINED IN FEBRUARY 2019

Vessel Name: ELG

GT: 1130

IMO: 8314287

Flag: Moldova (Black list)

Company: Adoken Shipping Ltd

Classification Society: Bulgarian Register of Shipping

Recognised Organisation: Bulgarian Register of Shipping

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: Bulgarian Register of Shipping

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: Bulgarian Register of Shipping

Date and Place of Detention: 12th February 2019 at Gibraltar

Summary: Eleven deficiencies with four grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
04103 – Emergency lighting, batteries and switches	Inoperative	Yes
11125 – Embarkation arrangements rescue boats	Inoperative	Yes
18302 – Sanitary Facilities	Not properly maintained	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	No
10111 – Charts	Missing	No
14499 – Other (MARPOL Annex IV)	Other	Yes
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Missing	No
11104 – Rescue Boat	Not ready for use	Yes
14503 – Garbage management plan	Not as required	No
11104 – Rescue Boat	Not ready for use	No
01220 – Seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA)	Invalid	No

This vessel was released on 18th February 2019

Vessel Name: BRAGE VIKING

GT: 6279

IMO: 9475791

Flag: Norway (White list)

Company: Viking Supply Ships

Classification Society: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: DNV GL

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: DNV GL

Date and Place of Detention: 13th February 2019 at Montrose

Summary: Six deficiencies with three grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01106 – Document of Compliance (DoC/ISM)	Survey out of window	Yes
01102 – Cargo Ship Safey Contruction (including exempt.)	Entries missing	No
01320 – Garbage record book	Not as required	No
01315 – Oil record book	Not properly filled	No
01107 – Safety Management Certificates (SMC/ISM)	Invalid	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was released on 14th February 2019

Vessel Name: KADRIYE ANA

GT: 1637

IMO: 9449235

Flag: Panama (White list)

Company: Blue Way Shipping Corp Ltd

Classification Society: BV

Recognised Organisation: BV

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: Phoenix Register of Shipping

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: Phoenix Register of Shipping

Date and Place of Detention: 20th February 2019 at Barking

Summary: Thirty deficiencies with eight grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01310 – Signs, indications	Missing	No
18407 – Lighting (Working Spaces)	Inoperative	No
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions	Not as required	No
05115 – Radio log (diary)	Not as required	No
10116 – Nautical publications	Missing	Yes
10103 – Radar	Inoperative	Yes
11118 – Lifejackets incl. provision and disposition	Not as required	No
04103 – Emergency, lighting, batteries and switches	Inoperative	Yes
11124 – Embarkation arrangement survival craft	Not properly maintained	No
16105 – Atmosphere testing instrument	Not properly maintained	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
10106 – Compass Correction log	Not properly maintained	No
10105 – Magnetic compass	Not as required	Yes
05110 – Facilities for reception of marine safety inform	Wrong location	No
10112 – Electronic Charts (ECDIS)	Not as required	No
11110 – Stowage and provision of liferafts	HRU improp. fitted	No
10133 – Bridge operation	Lack of familiarity	Yes
11107 – Stowage of rescue boats	Not as required	No
07118 – International shore-connection	Not as required	No
11122 – Radio life-saving appliances	Missing	Yes
18203 – Wages	Not according to SEA	No
01104 – Cargo Ship Safety Radio (including exemption)	Missing	No
01220 – Seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA)	Expired	Yes
10116 – Nautical publication	Not updated	Yes
01308 – Records of seafarers’ daily hours of work or rest	Incorrect entries	No
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Not as required	No
01220 – Seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA)	Invalid	No
04109 – Fire Drills	Lack of training	No
11110 – Stowage of provision of liferafts	Not Properly stowed	No
11117 – Lifebouys incl. provisions and disposition	Not as required	No

This vessel was released on 28th February 2019

Vessel Name: VICTORY

GT: 28400

IMO: 9165293

Flag: Marshall Islands (White list)

Company: Maremar Tanker Corp

Classification Society: Indian Register of Shipping

Recognised Organisation: Indian Register of Shipping

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: Lloyds Register

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: Lloyds Register

Date and Place of Detention: 19th February 2019 at Gibraltar

Summary: Six deficiencies with four grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
10103 – Radar	Inoperative	Yes
05107 – Maintenance/duplication of equipment	Inoperative	No
11108 – Inflatable liferafts	Damaged	Yes
11101 – Life boats	Not ready for use	Yes
18413 – Anchoring devices	Not properly maintained	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 28th February 2019

DETENTIONS CARRIED OVER FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS

Vessel Name: ARESSA

GT: 1926

IMO: 7612498

Flag: Togo (Black list)

Company: Aressa Shipping Ltd

Classification Society: DBS

Recognised Organisation: DBS

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: DBS

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: DBS

Date and Place of Detention: 23rd January 2019 at Goole

Summary: Twenty Three deficiencies with thirteen grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01137 – Civil Liabilty for Bunker and Oil Pollution	Expired	Yes
01113 – Minimum Safe Manning Document	Invalid	Yes
01123 – Continuous Synopsis Record	Missing	Yes
01106 – Document of Compliance DOC/ISM	Entries missing	Yes
01336 – Certificate of documentary evidence of financial security for repatriation	Missing	Yes
01337 – Certificate of documentary evidence of financial security relating to ship owner’s liabilty	Missing	Yes
01140 – Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance (Part l and ll)	Missing	Yes
01220 – Seafarer employment agreement	Not as required	Yes
01330 – Procedure for complaint under MLC 2006	Missing	Yes
11110 – Stowage and Provision of Lifejackets	Expired	Yes
11128 – Line throwing appliance	Inoperative	No
11124 – Embarkation arrangement of survival craft	Not properly maintained	No
11117 – Lifebuoys incl provision and disposition	Not as required	No
11102 – Lifeboat inventory	Not as required	No
11135 – Maintaining of life saving appliances	Not as required	Yes
13108 – Ventilators, Air pipes casings	Corroded	Yes
10105 – Magnetic compass	Not as required	No
10104 – Gyro compass	Inoperative	No
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire resistant divisions	Missing	No
04103 – Emergency, lighting, batteries and switches	Not as required	No
07115 – Fire – dampers	Not as required	No
01214 – Endorsement by flag state	Missing	No
01199 – Other certificates	Other	No

This vessel was still detained on 28th February 2019

Vessel Name: KUZMA MININ

GT: 16257

IMO: 7721263

Flag: Russian Federation (Grey list)

Company: Murmansk Shipping Co

Classification Society: RMRS

Recognised Organisation: RMRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: RMRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: RMRS

Date and Place of Detention: 18th December 2018 at Falmouth

Summary: Thirteen deficiencies with six grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
18401 – Medical Equipment, medical chest, medical guide	Expired	No
11108 – Inflatable liferafts	Expired	No
01220 – Seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA)	Expired	Yes
18314 – Provisions quantity	Insufficient	Yes
11128 – Line-throwing appliance	Expired	No
11101 – Lifeboats	Damaged	No
01139 – Maritime Labour Certificate	Expired	Yes
01101 – Cargo Ship Safety Equipment (including exemption)	Survey out of window	Yes
10104 – Gyro compass	Inoperative	Yes
07115 – Fire – dampers	Not as required	No
11117 – Lifebuoys incl. provisions and disposition	Not as required	No
01104 – Cargo Ship Safety Radio 9 (including exemption)	Survey out of window	Yes
11117 – Lifebuoys incl provision and disposition	Not as required	No
04103 – Emergency, lighting, batteries and switches	Not properly maintained	No

This vessel was still detained on 28th February 2019

Vessel Name: POSEIDON

GT: 1412

IMO: 7363217

Flag: Iceland (White list)

Company: Neptune EHF

Classification Society: NA

Recognised Organisation: NA

Recognised Organisation for ISM Doc: DNV-GL

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: DNV-GL

Date and Place of Detention: 19th July 2018 at Hull

Summary: Ten deficiencies with two grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01199 – Other certificates	Other	No
01218 – Medical	Incorrect language	No
02106 – Hull damage impairing seaworthiness	Holed	Yes
07113 – Fire Pumps	Insufficient Pressure	Yes
07103 – Divisions – Decks, bulkheads and penetrations	Not as required	No
12107 – Ballast, fuel and other tanks	Not as required	No
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire resisting divisions	Not as required	No
01101 – Cargo Ship Safety Equipment (including exemption)	Missing	No
01102 – Cargo Ship Safety Construction (including exemption)	Missing	No
01104 – Cargo Ship Safety Radio (including exemption)	Missing	No

This vessel was still detained on 28th February 2019

Vessel Name: TECOIL POLARIS

GT: 1814

IMO No: 8883290

Flag: Russian Federation (Grey list)

Company: Tecoil Shipping Ltd

Classification Society: RMRS

Recognised Organisation: RMRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM DOC: RMRS

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: RMRS

Date and Place of Detention: 6th June 2018 at Immingham

Summary: Twenty-Seven deficiencies with eight grounds for detentions

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01123 – Continuous synopsis record	Entries missing	No
01218 – Medical certificate	Missing	No
01320 – Garbage record book	Incorrect	No
01308 – Record of seafarers’ daily hours of work or rest	False	No
04110 – Abandon ship drill	Insufficient frequency	No
10105 – Magnetic compass	Inoperative	Yes
10128 – Navigation bridge visibility	Not as required	No
10104 – Gyro compass	Inoperative	Yes
11122 – Radio life-saving appliances	Inoperative	No
11129 – Operational readiness of lifesaving appliances	Not as required	Yes
04109 – Fire drills	Lack of communication	No
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Not as required	Yes
10123 – International code of signals – SOLAS	Missing	No
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
05110 – Facilities for reception of marine safety inform.	Not as required	No
05199 – Other (radiocommunication)	Other	No
11104 – Rescue boats	Not properly maintained	Yes
11101 – Lifeboats	Not ready for use	Yes
10101 – Pilot ladder and hoist/pilot transfer arrangements	Unsafe	No
06105 – Atmosphere testing instrument	Not properly maintained	No
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire resisting divisions	Not as required	No
01117 – International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP)	Invalid	Yes
14604 – Bunker delivery note	Not as required	No
01315 – Oil record book	Not properly filled	No
02105 – Steering gear	Not properly maintained	No
02108 – Electrical installations in general	Not properly maintained	No
11134 – Operations of life saving appliances	Lack of familiarity	No

This vessel was still detained on 28th February 2019

Vessel Name: CIEN PORCIENTO (General Cargo)

GT: 106.

IMO No: 8944446.

Flag: Unregistered.

Company: Open Window Inc.

Classification Society: Unclassed.

Recognised Organisation: Not applicable.

Recognised Organisation for ISM DOC: Not applicable.

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: Not applicable

Date and Place of detention: 4 March 2010, Lowestoft

Summary: Thirty deficiencies including seven grounds for detention

This vessel was still detained on 28th February 2019

Notes to Editors • The MCA is a partner in the Sea Vision UK campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the sea and maritime activities. Sea Vision promotes the importance and economic value of the sector and works to highlight the exciting range of activities and career opportunities available to young people within the UK growing maritime sector at www.seavision.org.uk

• Follow us on Twitter: @MCA_media

For further information please contact Maritime and Coastguard Agency Press Office, on: +44 (0) 2380 329 401 Press releases and further information about the agency is available here.

A campaign to raise public awareness of the North of Tyne Combined Authority mayoral election and encourage people to register to vote begins today.

Residents in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland, the 3 councils which make up the region, will see the campaign giving them information on the election and how to vote.

The campaign will use visuals running across social media, radio advertisements and posters at numerous locations.

Similar awareness campaigns ran across the UK ahead of previous mayoral elections in Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Tees Valley and Sheffield.

The campaign will end on 7 April with the election taking place on 2 May 2019.

Northern Powerhouse, Devolution and Local Growth Minister, Jake Berry, MP said:

The government is committed to fulfilling an ambitious devolution agenda that transfers power away from London to local areas which means that regions should be led by locally elected leaders who act for their communities.

I urge people to ensure their voices are heard in the upcoming North of Tyne Combined Authority mayoral elections on 2 May 2019.

Pat Ritchie, North of Tyne Combined Authority Electoral Returning Officer said:

The North of Tyne elected mayor will represent everyone in the North of Tyne area for the next 5 years.

It is important that all residents in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland make sure they are registered and able to vote in the election of a North of Tyne Combined Authority Mayor on 2 May 2019.

See more information on the North of Tyne Combined Authority mayoral election and how to vote.

The funding, drawn from the multi-million Transformation Fund, will spark a step change in the development of application software for the Armed Forces and allow the rapid adaption of the state-of-the-art technology to be used in extreme environments, from natural disasters to the frontline.

The crucial technology will also give the military the warfighting edge they need to outpace adversaries and combat emerging threats, allowing those on the ground to demand responsive software that can visualise and automate secure, critical information, tailored to their mission, anywhere in the world.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

From major natural disasters to the frontline on the battlefield, our Armed Forces are quick to react and even quicker to adapt. This technology matches that agility by enabling the creation of specialist digital applications that are tailored, secure and responsive.

By deploying this technology into the hands of our military, from sailors serving in the Caribbean, to pilots working in the Middle East, we will ensure we have a fighting force fit for the future, equipped with state-of-the-art technology at their fingertips.

The new approach, championed by Joint Forces Command, will allow defence specialists to create and tailor applications rapidly to meet an operational commander’s requirements, assure its robustness and security, and deploy it on military networks in a matter of days.

As a mission evolves and changes, the application will be able to be adapted and changed to keep step with the demands of the operation.

The capability, dubbed PREDA – Platform for Rapid Exploitation of Digital Applications – is similar to the technology being introduced by the United States Air Force (USAF) and US Marine Corps, which has already seen direct benefits from putting modern applications and decision support software directly in the hands of the war-fighter, when and where it is needed.

The USAF has already delivered 18 tailored applications to support planning, command and control functions at its Air Operations Centers. Further applications are being explored in budgeting and acquisition, cyber defence and logistics.

Whilst the approach is initially expected to provide tools to support decision making and command and control, the initiative could be rolled out to other disciplines, such as cyber defence, logistics and medical support.

The technology is expected to be in use on operations across the globe by the end of the year.

The funding for the innovative Application and Software Design comes after the Defence Secretary announced a £66m funding injection for military robotic projects last week.

As part of the Modernising Defence Programme, the Defence Secretary has dedicated millions of pounds to transforming defence, arming the British military with innovative technology through fast-tracking new projects.

The MOD is embracing transformation at an ever-faster rate and the Transformation Fund is focused on investments in truly high-tech innovation that will develop the Armed Forces of the future.