Huge strides are being made in the clean-up mission.
Highlights included cutting holes in the world’s oldest nuclear store and bringing down the site’s tallest chimney.
Thanks to our world-class workforce and supply chain for making 2017 a year to remember…
The UK has taken delivery of its 14th F-35B Lightning II which flew into Beaufort, South Carolina last week. Crown copyright.
Operated jointly by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, the F-35 Lightning jets will be able to operate on land or embarked on the UK’s new aircraft carriers. This delivery is a significant milestone for the Lightning Programme and in particular, alongside the formal commissioning of the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier into the Royal Navy earlier this month, demonstrates the advancement towards the establishment of the UK’s Carrier Enabled Power Projection capability.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
This Christmas delivery is the 14th jet to join our fleet of fifth-generation F-35 fighters over in the US. The Carriers have taken centre-stage this year, and next year we look towards these aircraft joining us in Britain and taking off from HMS Queen Elizabeth’s enormous deck to undertake First of Class Flight Trials. With our famous Royal Air Force coming into its 100th anniversary, the F-35 keeps us right at the cutting-edge of combat air power.
Peter Ruddock, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin UK said:
There are more than 500 UK companies in our supply chain who play a vital role in producing every F-35 and we are proud to have delivered the UK’s 14th aircraft on schedule. More than 260 F-35s are now flying from 14 bases around the world and we look forward to supporting the UK’s Lightning Force, as they prepare to bring their F-35s to the UK and achieve initial operational capability next year.
There are currently some 200 British personnel based at Beaufort testing the aircraft and getting them ready to arrive in the UK next summer as 617 Squadron. Preparations are also being made for First of Class Flight Trials, due to take place on HMS Queen Elizabeth later next year. The programme is on schedule to achieve Initial Operating Capability from land next year with Initial Operating Capability Carrier Strike in 2020. In addition to its short take-off and vertical landing capability, the F-35B’s unique combination of stealth, cutting-edge radar, sensor technology, and electronic warfare systems brings all of the access and lethality capabilities of a fifth-generation fighter.
The UK has taken delivery of its 14th F-35B Lightning II which flew into Beaufort, South Carolina last week. Crown copyright.In 2018, the aircraft – along with the Navy and RAF pilots and ground crew – will arrive in the UK to officially stand up at RAF Marham in Norfolk. RAF Marham will be the Main Operating Base for the Lightning Force in the UK and from here, they will deploy forward to either embark on-board our Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, or operate from Deployed Operating Bases.
Following successful trials on the land based ski-ramp design which is featured on the UK flagship, and with the RAF Marham runway infrastructure completed as part of a £250m major investment programme in preparation for the F-35 arrival, Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin earlier this year announced that the F-35 was cleared for take-off.
As the only level one partner on the F-35 programme, the UK has been working closely with the US from the outset. UK industry will provide approximately 15% by value of each F-35 to be built, which are due to total more than 3000 in number. The programme has already generated $12.9Bn worth of orders for the UK and at peak production the programme will support over 24,000 jobs in the UK.
Some milestones reached on the F-35 programme this year include:
The Chair of an independent review into building regulations and fire safety has found that a “universal shift in culture” is required to rebuild trust amongst residents of high-rise buildings and significantly improve the way that fire safety is assured.
Dame Judith Hackitt, who was appointed by government to lead an Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety following the Grenfell fire, has published her interim findings today (18 December 2017).
Alongside her interim report, Dame Judith is calling on the construction industry, building owners, regulators and government to come together to address the ‘shortcomings’ identified so far.
The interim report finds that:
Chair of the review, Dame Judith Hackitt said:
I have found that the regulatory system for safely designing, constructing and managing buildings is not fit for purpose. The current system is highly complex and there is confusion about the roles and responsibilities at each stage. In many areas there is a lack of competence and accreditation.
While this does not mean all buildings are unsafe, it does mean we need to build a more effective system for the future. That is why I am today calling for the construction industry, building owners, regulators and government to come together to identify how to overcome these shortcomings together.
The interim report sets out 6 broad areas for change:
Dame Judith has consulted widely in developing her interim report and will continue to do so in the coming months before making her final recommendations.
She continued:
I have been deeply affected by the residents of high rise buildings I have met and I have learned so much from them. These buildings are their homes and their communities. They are proud of where they live, but their trust in the system has been badly shaken by events of the last few months. We need to rebuild that trust.
The independent review will now undertake its second phase of work – including targeted work in partnership with the sector and other stakeholders.
A summit involving government and representatives from the building industry will take place in the New Year and a final report will be published in spring 2018.
See the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: interim report.
The 6 broad areas for change are outlined in summary from page 9 of the interim report and in greater detail from paragraph 1.6 on page 16.
In producing her interim report, Dame Judith Hackitt has:
The Review was commissioned in July 2017 and the terms of reference were published in August 2017.
It is reporting to the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and the Home Secretary Amber Rudd and is examining:
The Review is complementary to the Public Inquiry. It is forward looking and focused on ensuring a sufficiently robust regulatory system for the future and to provide further assurance to residents that the complete system is working to ensure the buildings they live in are safe and remain so. The work of the Review will be shared with the Inquiry team.
Dame Judith was Chair of the Health and Safety Executive from October 2007 to March 2016. She previously served as a health and safety commissioner between 2002 and 2005.
She was made a Dame in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to health and safety and engineering, and in particular for being a role model for young women. She was awarded a CBE in 2006.
In April 2016, she was appointed as Chair of EEF, The Manufacturers’ Organisation.
Dame Judith is a chemical engineer and graduated from Imperial College in 1975. She worked in the chemicals manufacturing industry for 23 years before joining the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) in 1998. She became Director General of CIA (from 2002 to 2005) and then worked in Brussels for the European Chemical Industry Association (CEFIC).
She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in July 2010 and currently chairs the External Affairs Committee.
Dame Judith is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a member of council. She was President of IChemE from May 2013 to May 2014.
Dame Judith is also Chair of Semta – the Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance, and a non-executive director of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.
read moreThe Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend Sarah Elisabeth Mullally, DBE, MA, BSc, MSC, DSc(Hons), RGN, Suffragan Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter for election as Bishop of London in succession to the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Richard John Carew Chartres, KCVO, PC, on his resignation on the 28 February 2018.
The Right Reverend Sarah Mullally, DBE, (aged 55) studied first at South Bank University for her BSc followed by a MSc and then at Heythrop College, University of London where she got her MA. She was awarded Honorary Doctorates of Science from Bournemouth University, (2004), University of Wolverhampton (2004) and University of Hertfordshire (2005) and was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 for her contribution to nursing and midwifery.
She is a late ordinand who before ordination was Chief Nursing Officer in the Department of Health. She trained for the ministry at the South East Institute for Theologian Education and served her first curacy at Battersea Fields in Southwark Diocese from 2001 to 2006. From 2006 to 2012 she was Team Rector at Sutton in Southwark Diocese. From 2012 to 2015 she was Canon Residentiary and Canon Treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral before taking up her current role in 2015 as Suffragan Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter.
Sarah Mullally is married to Eamonn and they have two children. She has continued her interest in the health service having been a non executive director at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust then at Salisbury NHS Foundation Hospital. She is a member of Council at King’s College London University. She is a novice potter.
read moreNew research from the Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator highlights the generosity of the British public at Christmas – and suggests that younger people are savvier about the charities they donate to than other age groups.
44% of 18 – 24 year olds said that they would give up their smartphones for the month of December to raise £500 for a charity of their choice. This is compared with under a third of the rest of the population. Youngsters also intend to make the highest financial donation to charity this Christmas, with an average pledge of £31.29.
This generosity is backed up by a strong awareness among that age group about the importance of making basic checks on a charity before giving, suggesting that young people are making informed choices about who they give to. Over half of young people said that they usually do checks on a charity before donating to them, compared with just 29% of over 75s.
The Commission is reminding the public that its online register holds a wide range of information about charities, including who sits on their trustee board, how they spend their money and whether the charity is or has been formally investigated by the Commission.
This research shows that Christmas remains a time of generous charitable giving, and that is to be celebrated. I’m particularly pleased that young people give generously, but also that they are more likely to make basic checks before giving to their chosen charity than people from their parents’ generation.
This hints at a welcome shift in the public’s relationship with charities and shows why charities should be open and transparent about the way they are run and how they spend their money. By doing so they can encourage donors’ trust and generosity.
The research finds that the most common way people check before giving is to perform an internet search, followed by looking for a registered charity number. Donors can perform more substantial checks by looking at the Commission’s register, or checking that they comply with the Fundraising Regulator’s guidance and Code of Fundraising Practice.
For those wanting to limit unwanted communications from charities, the Fundraising Preference Service is a popular choice, with 28% of people surveyed saying they would use it to opt out from fundraising requests.
Brits still overwhelmingly prefer to give money directly to street collectors, and 1 in 10 respondents said that they have been approached to give money to charities that they did not know.
The British public are generous givers but the research shows a surprisingly high number of people who give without checking where their donation is going. It’s important for donors to remember that they are entitled to know what their donations are being used for and to consent (or not) to the ways in which their personal data will be used.
Donors can also exercise control over which charities contact them and by what methods. The Fundraising Preference Service puts members of the public in the driving seat and, having launched the service just 6 months ago, it’s good to see so many of the public already aware of how to use the service as a last resort where they need to stop unwanted communications from named charities.
The research also found that:
Charitable giving is a unique national tradition that we should be proud of. This year we have seen brilliant generosity from the British public and we want this to continue over the festive period – but continue safely, with a ‘check by default’ mentality among donors.
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