This week marks four years since the MDP first adopted use of Project Servator a policing tactic that aims to disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the Defence community and public.

Even at distance Project Servator officers can still use their specialist training to spot the tell-tale signs of criminal activity or intent. Our Project Servator deployments have continued, with suitable social distancing, during the COVID-19 pandemic and have expanded to include HM Naval Base Devonport and the surrounding area, with our officers often working in partnership with their colleagues in Devon and Cornwall Police. We are also currently trialling Project Servator at RAF Menwith Hill, with joined up working alongside North Yorkshire Police.

In addition to operational delivery of Project Servator, and since late 2019, we have trained more than 950 people to watch out for signs of potential criminal activity, in and around the defence sites from which MDP Project Servator officers operate. From March 2020, the See Check and Notify (SCaN) training has been delivered by us remotely, working with Base security teams, partners, stakeholders, local businesses and employers. This training has been undertaken in accordance with the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

As Superintendent Steffen Morgan-Fisher, MDP Project Servator Strategic Lead, explains:

Over the past year we have continued to build a network of vigilant contacts across the Defence estate and in the surrounding communities. Using SCaN training and our Project Servator deployments, we have further promoted a security minded culture and enhanced onsite resilience and our interoperable working relationships with security partners. This means that more people in and around the sites we protect, now have a better understanding of what to look out for and the importance of reporting anything suspicious that they see or hear, or that just doesn’t seem right.

Project Servator is founded on a collective responsibility to be vigilant and that approach is as important as ever. It remains vital for now that people follow the rules to stop the spread of COVID-19 but, the threat of terrorism has not gone away: the need to be alert in and around the sites we protect is still of the utmost importance.

I thank all who have taken part in SCaN training and engaged with our Project Servator officers during the past year. Communities defeat terrorism and by working together, we can all help to keep each other and the nation’s defences safe.

MDP Project Servator – what you will and won’t see

• unpredictable deployments: you can expect to see officers pop up at any time, and anywhere in and around Whitehall, Portsmouth, Clyde, Coulport, Devonport, Menwith Hill, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield and at other Defence locations and events

• officers operating in highly visible police uniform and in plain clothes: so, some you will see and some you may not

• community engagement: posters and QR codes (in replacement of handbills currently) are used to support deployments and we’ll say hi if we see you, so feel free to ask us about what we’re doing and why

• a range of supporting resources (some you will see and some you won’t): these include police dogs, armed officers, vehicle engagement points, CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)

• joined up working with policing and security partners, including the service police, the Ministry of Defence Guard Service and other local police forces

• social media posts showing our deployments in operation: follow MDP on Facebook and Twitter and search #TogetherWeveGotItCovered, #ProjectServator

How you can help

If you see or hear anything suspicious or if something just doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts and report it to a police officer or member of security or staff immediately. We’ll do the rest.

Reports can also be made in confidence on the ACT website.

More information

• MDP Project Servator: GOV.UK
• Sign up for the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) e-learning course and become a Counter Terrorism (CT) Citizen
• Project Servator was first developed and introduced by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and the City of London Police in 2014 and is now used by a growing number of police forces in the UK, Gibraltar and Australia
• in February 2020, among 180 nominees at the annual Government Security Conference Awards, the MDP received a ‘Highly Commended’ Team Award for delivery of Project Servator.

Ofsted will inspect schools and further education & skills (FES) providers in the summer term to provide reassurance about how well children and learners are catching up, but it will not resume a full programme of graded inspections until September.

Following extensive discussion with government and education leaders, Ofsted today confirmed that it will undertake on-site, lighter-touch inspections in the summer term. Unlike ‘full’ inspections, these visits will allow inspectors to assess how well schools and FES providers are educating their learners and keeping them safe, but they will not result in a grade.

However, where the evidence strongly suggests that a school’s current grade is no longer a fair reflection of its work – for example where the school is graded ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ but has clearly improved – inspectors will be able to convert to a full, graded inspection either immediately or later in the term. As always, Ofsted will do the same if a visit to a higher-graded school highlights a significant cause for concern.

Ofsted is currently piloting some limited changes to inspection methods to take account of the challenges raised by COVID-19. An updated set of inspection handbooks with full details of these changes will be published after the Easter break. Ofsted is also working closely with Sir Kevan Collins on how its work can support the longer term education recovery.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said:

Inspections play an important role. They look at the quality of education received by children, they provide information to parents and the government, and they help headteachers identify areas for improvement.

Our inspections this summer will recognise the current challenges facing schools and help support the catch up of all pupils. We will not grade schools before the autumn – unless we see significant improvement or we identify significant concerns. This continues our step-by-step approach towards a full programme of graded inspections in the autumn.

Any graded inspections carried out in the summer term will maintain the 4 key education inspection framework (EIF) judgements, but with additional flexibility in recognition of current contexts.

All inspection activity will typically be on site. Before the inspection, providers and inspectors will agree safety measures to ensure the inspection is COVID-19 secure. Inspectors will also take a lateral flow test before arriving at the setting.

Schools

Monitoring inspections will begin from 4 May, under the EIF. These will not result in a change of grade.

Where inspectors find evidence that an inadequate school has improved, they can convert the monitoring visit to a full inspection, which would be graded. If schools judged ‘requires improvement’ on 2 or more consecutive occasions are found to have improved, inspectors will recommend that a full inspection is carried out before the end of the summer term.

Ofsted will also inspect ‘good’ schools that, due to the pandemic, have not had an inspection within the statutory 5-year window.

Ofsted will also inspect some ‘outstanding’ schools that request an inspection, prioritising those that have gone the longest without an inspection.

Other than where significant concerns are raised, Ofsted will not inspect secondary schools during the first half of the summer term, to allow them to focus on teacher-assessed grades.

Ofsted will continue to prioritise emergency inspections of all schools where significant concerns are raised.

Further education providers

New provider monitoring visits (NPMVs) will continue throughout the summer term. And Ofsted will continue to conduct emergency monitoring visits or full inspections of providers where serious concerns are identified.

From 4 May, monitoring visits to requires improvement and inadequate providers will also resume, where appropriate.

Full EIF inspections of new providers that have had an NPMV will also begin in the summer term.

Early years

Graded inspections of some registered early years providers will begin from 4 May. Ofsted will continue to carry out urgent inspections where there are significant concerns about a provider.

Non-association independent schools

Additional inspections of non-association independent schools, as commissioned by DfE, will continue throughout the summer term. And from 4 May, standard inspections of some independent schools will resume.

Initial teacher education

Initial teacher education (ITE) inspections will begin from 4 May. These will be carried out in line with Ofsted’s new ITE inspection framework.

For more on plans under each inspection remit, visit the Ofsted: coronavirus (COVID-19) rolling update.

• From today, groups of 6 people, or 2 households, are allowed to meet outside

• Scientists and medics are urging the public not to be tempted to meet indoors as the risk of spreading the virus is significantly higher inside

• Public urged ‘Let’s take this next step safely’ in new campaign

The public are being reminded they must stay outside when meeting others as part of the next step of easing Covid restrictions in a new film released today narrated by GP Dr Hilary Jones MBE.

The film highlights the impact of fresh air on reducing the risk of transmission and forms part of wider government ‘Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air’ which reminds people to ‘take this next step safely’ as we gradually emerge from lockdown. The public information campaign will run across TV, radio, press, digital, out of home advertising and social media and with the TV advert airing for the first time at approximately 19.15pm on ITV on Monday 29 March.

The new guidance allows the public to see family and friends, but reiterates the importance of sticking to the rules, in order to stop the spread of the virus. The scientific explainer film illustrates the difference of how the COVID-19 virus behaves indoors compared to outdoors as groups of 6 people, or 2 households, are allowed to meet outside for the first time since December.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

Every day we get closer to beating this virus. We have already vaccinated over half of the adult population – and we have new vaccines coming on stream – but we must remain vigilant.

I know the last few months have been challenging, and many people are excited to be able see friends and family outdoors for the first time in months.

As we see from rising cases in Europe, this virus still poses a very real threat. We have come so far thanks to the vaccine rollout and that progress must be protected. So let’s take this next step safely, when you meet others do so outdoors, and keep a safe distance.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said:

Thanks to the efforts of the public we have reduced the number of cases and deaths but the virus is still in circulation.

The evidence is very clear that outdoor spaces are safer than indoors. It is important to remember this as we move into the next phase.

Around 1 in 3 people with coronavirus show no symptoms, so anyone could be spreading it without knowing. Someone who is infected releases particles into the air by coughing, talking or breathing.

Research shows the risk of infection is significantly lower in fresh air than indoors because:

• the closer you are to people, the greater the risk of breathing in infected particles, particularly when indoors, as it is harder to physically distance

• when indoors, smaller droplets and aerosols containing the virus that causes coronavirus (COVID-19) can remain suspended in the air for some time, especially if there is no ventilation and therefore build ups are more likely to be inhaled by others

• when outside in fresh air, the virus disperses more easily

• when outdoors, there is more room to distance, reducing the risk of breathing in larger particles from an infected person

It is important those who have had a vaccination continue to follow the rules. The full impact of the vaccine on transmission of the virus is not yet known, therefore it may be possible to spread the virus, putting others at risk.

Professor Catherine Noakes, from Leeds University, who advised on the film, said:

It’s important we stick to the guidance and stay outdoors when we are meeting with people who are not from our household or bubble. An infected person releases particles into the air by coughing, talking or simply breathing.

The closer you are to people, the greater the risk of breathing in infected particles. When we are outdoors, the risk of infection is significantly lower as fresh air disperses and blows COVID-19 particles away, and we have more space to social distance from each other.

When outdoors, stick to groups of 6, or 2 households. Keep a safe distance and meet outside, because you’re much safer in fresh air.

GP Dr Hilary Jones said:

As we are approaching these milestones out of lockdown, we all must be vigilant and follow the new guidelines where we can, especially as we can now see our friends and family.

We’ve learnt a lot about COVID-19 and how it transmits, but we’ve also learnt how to reduce the spread, and research shows that it’s much safer to meet people in the fresh air than indoors.

As well as staying outside with people not in your household or bubble, remember to continue with other health behaviours such as washing your hands, covering your face and making space to reduce your risk of COVID-19.

To support this message, psychologist Laverne Antrobus also shares her tips and advice on overcoming pressure from friends and family to break the rules. She advises to prioritise your needs; know that it’s OK to say ‘no’; show your family and friends you’re concerned; discuss the new guidance; and look to the future.

Psychologist Laverne Antrobus said:

The new guidance around meeting a group of people outdoors is really exciting and is a big step in right direction, however, it’s really important to stick to the guidance and only meet outdoors.

This may mean being put in situations where you have to say no to joining a large group of more than 6, or perhaps feeling pressured to go indoors with people outside your bubble.

It is so important to set your boundaries and be assertive in those situations, and to continue following the guidance to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the virus.

Hands. Face. Space and Fresh Air. campaign urges the public to adopt simple health behaviours and work together to keep their distance and control the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

We must all take this next step safely. Visit gov.uk/coronavirus for more information. 

Measures to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows will be put into law, the government confirmed today (Monday 29 March), as part of an ambitious agenda to build back greener from the pandemic.

During wet weather, storm overflows act to prevent sewers becoming overloaded with a combination of sewage and rain and release diluted wastewater into rivers. However, their use has increased in recent years as climate change has led to greater rainfall and water infrastructure has not kept pace with population growth.

Reducing the reliance of water companies on storm overflows is important to help cut pollution in waterways, and earlier this year the Government announced it was working with Philip Dunne MP on shared ambitions to tackle high levels of sewage in our rivers, following the introduction of his Private Member’s Bill in 2020.

This ambition has now been turned into action, with the government confirming that a number of key policies will be made law. This will create three key duties to oversee some of the changes needed to improve our water environment:

• a duty on government to publish a plan by September 2022 to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows;
• a duty on government to report to Parliament on progress on implementing the plan; and
• a duty on water companies to publish data on storm overflow operation on an annual basis.

This builds on the work already underway by the Storm Overflows Taskforce, set up in September 2020 to bring together government, the water industry, regulators and environmental NGOs to accelerate progress in this area.

Through the Taskforce, water companies have committed to increase the number of overflows they will improve over the next five years. This means a further 800 overflows will be investigated and nearly 800 improved between 2020 and 2025.

The government expects to consult on potential options for ways to eliminate harm from storm overflows to take forward later this year.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

Putting new commitments to improve our rivers into law is an important step forward to cut down the water sector’s reliance on storm overflows.

This step is one of many – but an important one nonetheless – to provide greater protection for our water environment and the wildlife that relies on it.

I would like to thank Philip Dunne for his commitment to championing this vital cause as we continue to work with him and others to make real progress in this area.

Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said:

I introduced my Private Members Bill to help tackle the scourge of sewage discharges polluting our waterways. Due to the impact of the pandemic on the Parliamentary timetable, I have been working to encourage the Government to adopt the key principles of my Bill.

I am delighted that the Environment Minister has honoured her pledge to seek a legislative route to give effect to the main objectives: from the Government updating Parliament on the progress it is making in reducing sewage discharges, to placing a duty on water companies to publish storm overflow data.

Today’s commitment by the Government means all the hard work with campaigners and colleagues in Parliament over the past year is not wasted and we shall work in the next session to find the best route to turn this into statute.

The Environmental Audit Committee is also holding an inquiry at present into measures to improve the water quality of our rivers, so I am also looking forward to the recommendations which emerge being able to inform the next stage of the Government’s work to improve water quality.

Chair of the Environment Agency Emma Howard Boyd said:

We all have a responsibility to protect our water environment and I am pleased to see government accelerating the delivery on its pledge to drive further improvements and reduce the reliance of the water sector on storm overflows.

While storm overflows play an important role in not overloading our sewers, it is vital that water companies strive to keep their use to an absolute minimum. Our changing climate will put more pressure on our drainage network so it’s great to see this commitment to action.

We look forward to working with the government, the Taskforce and Philip Dunne MP to bring about the urgent changes needed to protect our precious water environment so we can enjoy clean and healthy rivers for generations to come.

While today’s announcement sees the government take a leading role in driving forward the action needed to enhance the health of our rivers, the work of the Taskforce so far has also highlighted the importance of close collaboration – across government, industry, businesses and the public at large – to eliminate harm from storm overflows given the scale of the challenge and the time it will take to achieve.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of The Rivers Trust, said:

We welcome this further announcement from the government, which includes legal duties on the government and water companies. We look forward to understanding specific details on how this legislation will be introduced.

Delivering a plan will require contributions from the whole of society, in particular landowners, housing developers, highway constructors and homeowners, to divert clean water away from sewers. People also need to play their part by not flushing oil, sanitary products, nappies and other unflushables down drains and sewers where they cause blockages.

This concerted action needs to be driven by the government with legislation and funding for infrastructure and public education. We are delighted that Philip Dunne’s Private Member’s Bill, which The Rivers Trust has supported from the outset, has led to this step change.

• New Office for Health Promotion will lead national efforts to improve and level up the public’s health

• It will help ministers design and operationalise a step change in public health policy

• New approach will see action across government to improve the nation’s health by tackling obesity, improving mental health and promoting physical activity

The new Office for Health Promotion will lead national efforts to improve and level up the health of the nation by tackling obesity, improving mental health and promoting physical activity.

The Office will recruit an expert lead who will report jointly into the Health Secretary and the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty. The Office’s remit will be to systematically tackle the top preventable risk factors causing death and ill health in the UK, by designing, implementing and tracking delivery policy across government. It will bring together a range of skills to lead a new era of public health polices, leveraging modern digital tools, data and actuarial science and delivery experts.

The Office for Health Promotion will sit within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and will lead work across government to promote good health and prevent illness which shortens lives and costs the NHS billions every year, building on the work of Public Health England.

It will enable more joined-up, sustained action between national and local government, the NHS and cross-government, where much of the wider determinants of health sit.

A large proportion of people’s health outcomes (around 80%) are not related to the healthcare they receive but due to wider preventable risk factors (such as diet, smoking, exercise). The new Office will help inform a new cross-government agenda which will look to track these wider determinants of health and implement policies in other departments where appropriate. This Office and approach will be modelled on successful methods to this agenda internationally, such as in Singapore, which has a Health Promotion Board, and has pioneered new digital public health schemes, such as their ‘National Steps Challenge’.

The Office will address and tackle important public health issues, including obesity and nutrition, mental health across all ages, physical activity, sexual health, alcohol and tobacco, amongst other areas.

As England cautiously eases restrictions over the coming months, preventing the onset of avoidable physical and mental illness and protecting the nation’s health will be the top priority for this government. From today, outdoor organised support resumes as part of the roadmap, and the government is urging people to get outside and get active to help improve their health and prevent some illnesses.

The new office will recruit expert leadership, ensuring it is informed by high-quality data and evidence to support decision-making and delivery to improve health across the nation.

The new Office will combine Public Health England’s health improvement expertise with existing DHSC health policy capabilities, in order to promote and deliver better health to communities nationwide. By combining and enhancing these functions, the Office will play a vital role in helping the public lead healthier lives.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

The new Office for Health Promotion will be crucial in tackling the causes, not just the symptoms, of poor health and improving prevention of illnesses and disease.

Covid-19 has demonstrated the importance of physical health in our ability to tackle such illnesses, and we must continue to help people to lead healthy lives so that we can all better prevent and fight illnesses.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

Good physical and mental health are central to our happiness and well-being. Yet so much of what keeps us healthy happens outside of hospital and the health service.

By establishing the Office for Health Promotion we will bring health promotion into the heart of Government, working to the Chief Medical Office, so we can level up the health of our nation, working across national and local government.

Prevention is better than cure. By putting in place innovative prevention measures, we can help everyone to live longer, healthier lives as we ease back to normality, and relieve pressures from our NHS.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed many of the vulnerabilities in the health of the population – from obesity to mental ill health, and it is more important than ever to support people in achieving healthier lives.

Ill-health amongst working-age people alone costs the economy around £100 billion a year. By focusing on the prevention of poor health and improving health outcomes, this will reduce the pressures on the NHS, social care, and other public services.

The plans set out today will ensure there is a focus across the whole of government to deliver greater action on prevention of ill health. There will be a new cross-government ministerial board on prevention, which will drive forward and co-ordinate action on the wider determinants of health to level up inequalities.

Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said:

Preventing ill health and supporting our communities to live healthy lives is very important.

The non-direct harms of Covid on the public’s health will not be trivial. We need an evidence-informed and collaborative approach to health promotion and to support this recovery.

The Office for Health Promotion will work across both national and local government as well as with the NHS, academia, the third sector, scientists, researchers and industry to develop evidence informed policies.

The government will also be strengthening the national focus and capability of NHS England and the focus of local health partners on supporting better health, as part of a drive to put better population health front and centre for the whole health and care system.

This forms a key part of the planned Health and Care White Paper, with integrated care systems bringing together the collective resources and strengths of the local system, the NHS, local authorities, the voluntary sector and others to improve the health of their area.

By joining up care, this will level up inequalities across the country and address the many determinants of health and wellbeing, to prevent or intervene early in ill health.

Important progress has been made in recent decades enabling people to live longer, healthier lives, but evidence shows that, on average, 20% of people’s lives are spent in poor health.

Today’s announcement follows the establishment of the new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), set to launch in April. With the UKHSA leading on health security, the Office for Health Promotion will focus on health improvement, leading at a national level to exert influence across the health and care system and beyond.

The Office for Health Promotion will be established by the autumn. The government will set out more detail on plans and ambitions for improving the public’s health later this year.

Work, Health and Disability Green Paper Data, 2016

PHE The Health Profile for England 2018: Chapter 1