Dipesh J Shah OBE has today (21 July 2020) been announced as Highways England’s new chair to lead the government’s ambitious plans to level up road infrastructure across the country.

Following a competitive selection process he will take up the role on 1 September 2020 and will be responsible for the delivery of the second 5 year road investment strategy. The £27 billion strategy, known as RIS2, began in April 2020 and will further improve the safety, reliability and connectivity of England’s strategic road network.

Mr Shah takes over from Colin Matthews who, since 2014, had led the organisation through a period of significant change, from its initial establishment as a government-owned company, through to its delivery of the RIS1 programme and subsequent plans for RIS2.

Dipesh J Shah OBE said:

I am honoured to be invited to chair Highways England, which plays a pivotal role in connecting communities across England.

I look forward to working with colleagues to deliver the very significant programme of improvement and expansion of the road network in support of the government’s levelling-up agenda.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said:

This government is determined to build our way out of COVID-19, providing the infrastructure, jobs and skills needed to support our economy.

I am delighted that Dipesh Shah will be leading the Highways England team at this crucial time, delivering major projects that will really make a difference to communities across the country.

I’d also like to thank Colin Matthews for seeing Highways England through its first phase as a new company, including the successful delivery of the first road investment strategy.

Dipesh brings extensive experience from both the public and private sectors. Previously, he has chaired several organisations including a listed power utility, housing association and the European industry association for solar.

He has also served on the boards of Thames Water, Babcock International and the Crown Estate, as well as on boards in the infrastructure, financial services and energy sectors. Dipesh was formerly the CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, having earlier held several senior positions at BP.

The jetty is used to load and unload ammunition. The original jetty was last upgraded in 1970 and had reached the end of its natural life. It needed to be rebuilt so that the facility could continue to be used by the Royal Navy’s existing vessels and to make it suitable for the new aircraft carriers. The infrastructure works are expected to provide the new jetty with a design life of up to 50 years.

Contractors VolkerStevin are undertaking the project with completion planned for 2021. The original jetty has been demolished ready for the construction of its replacement. All waste from the jetty demolition has been transported on barges to recycling facilities on the Clyde to minimise disruption to the public and will be reused for construction. The project team has also installed 97 jetty head piles into the sea bed to support a reinforced concrete deck for the new jetty.

The works also include the installation of 5 mooring dolphins which will be connected to the jetty by a pedestrian access bridge, and two of these piles for the mooring dolphins have been installed. 2 modular fender spacer units will be placed in front of the new fender panel and will move with the tide to prevent the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers’ overhanging flight decks from colliding with the jetty.

The project also includes the installation of 2 modern pedestal cranes, fire-fighting equipment, stores, back-up generators and pre-fabricated modular buildings for offices. To secure the site, new fencing and a CCTV system will be installed. Part of the project will see 14 mooring points installed on the dolphins to ensure the aircraft carriers can be securely berthed and resist tidal movement.

Craig Macdonald, DIO’s Project Manager, said:

The demolition of the existing jetty is an important step in preparing the site for vital infrastructure works to support the Royal Navy’s surface fleet in loading and unloading ammunition.

Glen Mallan benefits from supplies of ammunition from Defence Munitions Glen Douglas, the largest weapons storage facility in western Europe, and can handle the high volume of ammunition needed for the surface fleets.

We are pleased demolition has been completed along with the installation of 97 piles into the seabed. Infrastructure works are progressing as planned and we look forward to continuing to work in collaboration with VolkerStevin, Jacobs, local contractors and other partners to complete this crucial project.

John McLoughlin, Marine and Defence Sector Director for VolkerStevin said:

We are delighted to be delivering this key piece of infrastructure for DIO which further strengthens our relationship following the successful completion of other critical projects, including the Queen Elizabeth Class Carrier Base Porting Infrastructure at HMNB Portsmouth and the Ro-Ro facility upgrade and refurbishment scheme in the Falklands Islands.

Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions International Vice President Jon Swift said:

As Principal Service Provider, we managed the contract on behalf of DIO as part of a dedicated team with the vision and drive to keep this project moving forward. Through early contractor engagement and close collaborative working, we are in a good position to deliver within budget and programme constraints, providing the Royal Navy with an important facility for years to come.

Fortunately, Coronavirus has only had a minor impact on the project. DIO’s primary concern is for the safety of our team who continue delivering critical infrastructure for defence. This work is considered by the government and MOD to be critical national infrastructure. Safety precautions have been put in place and DIO continues to work closely with our contractors to monitor the situation and ensure the safety of our workforce. Our staff and contractors on site are following the latest government and social distancing guidelines to help protect against Coronavirus.

Work on the jetty refurbishment continues in line with the latest government guidance and is set to be completed in early 2021.

Priti Patel today (21 July) set out the action the Home Office is taking in response to the Wendy Williams Windrush Lessons Learned Review.

This will include comprehensive training for everyone working in the Home Office to ensure they understand and appreciate the history of migration and race in this country. Every existing and new member of staff working for the Home Office will be required to undertake this learning.

Greater emphasis will be placed on taking a more compassionate approach to individual applications and decision makers will be empowered to use their own discretion and pragmatism.

The department will also increase engagement with civil society and the public at an early stage to build evidence for policy. A move which the Home Secretary said would change the Home Office’s openness to scrutiny.

To ensure the Home Office reflects the diverse communities it serves, diverse shortlists for senior jobs and specialist mentoring will be introduced. This will ensure more Black, Asian and minority ethnic people will be in senior roles to drive cultural change.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

I am driving change to implement the important findings of the Lessons Learned review to make sure nothing like this can happen again.

The action I have taken will ensure cultural change at the department, leading to more diverse leadership.

I want the Windrush generation to have no doubt that I will reform the culture of the department so it better represents all of the communities we serve.

The Home Secretary also announced an evaluation of the compliant environment policy and measures. The evaluation will make sure there are the right protections in place to protect against immigration abuse, whilst ensuring no one with a legal right to be here is wrongly penalised.

This action, alongside the other work underway to implement the findings of the Wendy Williams Lessons Learned Review, will help ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again.

The work to respond to and act on the Windrush Lessons Learned Review is being informed by the cross government Windrush working group co-chaired by Bishop Derek Webley.

All of the recommendations have been grouped into different themes of work, to ensure the lessons from the review are being applied and delivered across all Home Office activity.

The five themes are:

• righting the wrongs and learning from the past
• taking a more compassionate approach – putting people above cases
• more Inclusive and rigorous policy making
• greater openness to scrutiny
• creating an inclusive workforce

A delivery plan has been drawn up to ensure meaningful and rapid action; an approach welcomed by Wendy Williams.

The Home Secretary is also introducing more diverse shortlists for senior jobs, with specialist mentoring and sponsorship programmes to help develop a wider pool of talent.

The Home Secretary and Bishop Derek Webley will continue to co-chair meetings of the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group to reach and support those affected by Windrush. The group will also examine the wider inequalities affecting the Windrush Generation and their descendants across employment, education, health and more.

Bishop Derek Webley, co-chair of the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group said:

I and others on this group know the communities who have been affected well. We live, work and dwell among them. They have endured a great deal for a long time, and they must not be disappointed again.

The true story of the Windrush generation is one of courage, faith, and hope. One of success and achievement. That is where we need to get to, and this process represents another positive step on the journey there.

Three sub groups have been established to look at how to implement the Lessons Learned recommendations, how to design the new Windrush Community Fund, and how to work with the new Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

The Home Secretary will publish a comprehensive improvement plan in response to the Windrush Lessons Learned Review in September, which will show how the Home Office is delivering on the recommendations and working to be more diverse and worthy of the trust of the whole communities it serves.

The Parole Board today publishes its Annual Report and Accounts for 2019/2020.

The Board is an independent body that works with other criminal justice agencies to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released into the community.

Statistics contained in the annual report show The Board conducted more parole hearings than ever before in 2019/2020 with a total of 29,327 hearings. This included a record high 8,264 face to face oral hearings as well as 21, 063 paper hearings.

While The Board’s caseload increases, it continues to deliver independent, impartial and quality decisions by ensuring they are fair, respect the rights of the prisoner but always put public safety first. The Parole Board operates like a court by making difficult, impartial decisions by considering evidence without fear or favour.

In 2019-20 the Board:

• Directed the release of 3,157 prisoners;
• Recommended 689 prisoners were suitable for open conditions;
• Decided that 10,066 prisoners needed to remain in custody for the protection of the public;
• More than doubled the proportion of Parole Board members from a BAME background from 5% to 12%;
• Processed 145 applications for reconsideration following the introduction of the new mechanism in July 2019.

Transparency remains a high priority in which the Parole Board has made strides in the last year, in 2019-20 the Board issued 1,739 summaries outlining the reasons for its decisions for victims, the public and members of the media.

The Board was prevented from disclosing why its panels had decided an offender should be released or kept in prison until 2018. But since May 2018, victims and members of the public have been able to request summaries of the reasons for a decision. Over 3,000 summaries have now been issued.

Parole Board Chief Executive Martin Jones said: “I am delighted to introduce my fifth review as Chief Executive of the Parole Board. 2019/20 has seen continued progress in the openness and transparency of Parole Board decisions with more than 3,000 decision summaries published for victims, the public and members of the media.

“The Board also fully incorporated the new reconsideration mechanism, which allows the Secretary of State or prisoner to ask for a parole decision to be reviewed if they felt it was irrational or procedurally unfair.

“Our decisions are of critical importance to victims, prisoners, families and public safety. We therefore welcome this crucial safeguard in the system which allows an avenue for people to scrutinise these decisions.

“The Board’s caseload also continues to grow, and I am confident we are in a strong position to handle the increase in work, with more hearings conducted than ever before.

“The coronavirus pandemic threw up unprecedented restrictions and challenges for The Board at the end of 2019/20, however I am proud to say The Parole Board acted promptly and decisively to change its way of working and ensure the parole system continued to operate efficiently and effectively. We have learned important lessons and will continue to strive to improve and adapt to the most effective way of working.”