Includes news on:
A polythene film manufacturer was sentenced for safety breaches after a worker trapped his hand in machinery.
Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court heard how the injured person broke the little finger on his right hand while operating machinery in March 2014 at Total Polyfilm Ltd.’s Brighouse plant.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to adequately manage the risk of workers being injured when operating machinery. Also it was found the workers failed to operate in the correct way of working when using this equipment.
Total Polyfilm Ltd of Walton Summit Estate, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £697.
After the hearing HSE inspector Jacqueline Ferguson commented: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
Notes to Editors:
Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases.
Changes to arrangements for reviews and appeals in GCSEs, AS and A levels
Ofqual has today (16 February) announced a number of decisions about the future arrangements for reviews of marking, reviews of moderation, and appeals services.
The exams regulator for England announced in July 2016 a number of decisions related to how it intended to make the systems schools and colleges use to challenge GCSE, AS and A level results in England clearer, more consistent, and fairer for all students. Today’s decisions were deferred at that time so that more evidence could be gathered about their potential impact. In light of feedback from a range of stakeholders, Ofqual has decided:
to introduce the requirement for exam boards to make marked GCSE scripts available to centres, before their deadline for requesting a review of marking, for the summer 2020 exam series onwards
to introduce the requirement for exam boards to provide the reasons for review of marking decisions automatically for the summer 2020 exam series onwards
to introduce the requirement for exam boards to grant learners the ability to request results of centre-marked assessments for the summer 2018 exam series onwards
to defer implementation of the removal of automatic grade protection that currently applies, following a review of moderation for at least two years. During this time, we will review the approaches exam boards take to moderation before deciding whether to remove this protection
Ofqual has announced requirements for key dates for the completion of reviews and appeals. These will ensure common, minimum timelines for centres and students.
A final decision regarding extending the grounds for appeal will be taken later this Spring once analysis of a pilot study has been completed. Official statistics on GCSE, AS and A level result appeals will be published on 21 March 2016.
Ofqual has also launched a survey for teachers about their experience of the review of marking and moderation services (formerly known as EARs).
Minister for Skills and Science Julie James today saw how, since the arrival of superfast broadband, the Becws Islyn bakery has been used as a hub to provide a wi-fi network for the centre of the village.
The pilot project was undertaken by Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig with members of the local community. As a result, locals and visitors to the village at the western tip of Gwynedd can now access a wi-fi network.
The system is analytics-enabled, which helps promote Aberdaron and its attractions to new and existing visitors. Five thousand email addresses used by people logging into the wi-fi have been collected. These visitors now receive regular information about Aberdaron, encouraging them to return to the village and helping to build relationships.
More premises in the village are due to get access to superfast broadband when further engineering work is carried out by engineers from Openreach, BT’s local network business, on behalf of the Superfast Cymru the partnership between the Welsh Government, BT, UK Government and European Regional Development Fund, bringing faster broadband to areas which would otherwise not receive it.
Many parts of Wales, including the whole of Gwynedd, would not have had access to superfast broadband without the intervention of Superfast Cymru. As a result of the programme, 49,941 premises in the county now have access to superfast broadband, with more gaining access every day as the rollout continues.
Eight out of ten premises in Wales can now access superfast broadband compared with just over half two years ago. Wales has the highest availability of superfast broadband among the devolved nations.
The Minister said:
“It’s been great to see how the community here in Aberdaron have taken advantage of the superfast broadband connection to Becws Islwyn to create a wi-fi network.
“Superfast Cymru is about bringing faster broadband to areas which would not receive it, such as Aberdaron. Fast and reliable broadband is of increasing importance to all of us – businesses and households.
“We know there is more to do before Superfast Cymru comes to an end this year, and we’re already looking at how to reach the final few premises in Wales once the project is over. It’s encouraging to hear the positive impact of this kind of project as we look at those next stages.”
Geraint Jones of Becws Islyn said:
“Everyone expects access to wi-fi now, even when you’re on holiday in a rural area like Aberdaron. It’s great that the bakery has access to superfast broadband, which in turn has been a hub for the community wi-fi.
“The feedback from visitors has been very positive and it has been a boost for the business encouraging more people to come to the bakery’s café.”
Becws Islyn has increased its number of full time employees from one to four, with part time employees totalling 14.
Ed Hunt, director for next generation broadband in Wales, said:
“It was a significant engineering challenge to make our fibre network available in Aberdaron due to its isolated location. We’ve worked hard to make this happen and we’re pleased to be part of such an innovative and forward thinking programme. It’s great to see villagers making full use of the technology. Fibre broadband is such an important part of everyday life nowadays and people expect to be able to access it even when they’re away from home. I’m sure visitors to the local area will be delighted to find they have access to a superfast connection and it’ll be a boost to local attractions now that people can easily look them up online.”
Jonathan Jenkin, Nuclear Decomissioning Authority Stakeholder Relations and Socio Economics Manager said
“Supporting this project has given a huge boost to the local businesses helping to mitigate the socio-economic impact of decommissioning Trawsfynydd and ensuring sustainability within rural communities. Expanding provision of free wi-fi will further strengthen rural infrastructure as well as attracting more visitors to the area.”
The wi-fi project was funded through the Welsh Government’s Rural Communities – Rural Development Plan 2014 – 2020, which includes Welsh Government and European funding for rural Development. It is also part funded by the Nuclear Decomissioning Authority and Gwynedd Council.
The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
This decision includes the permit and decision document for: