The money has been made available by the inshore and inland rescue boat grant fund and is the fourth round of funding under this 5-year, £5 million scheme.

Five charities across the length and breadth of Wales will use the funding to purchase new lifeboats and maritime equipment including lifejackets, helmets, boots, ropes, knives and torches.

They are:

• Ferryside Lifeboat – £7,363.20
• Loughor Inshore Rescue – £10,242.08
• North Wales Mountain Rescue Association – £28,155.44
• Porthmawr SLS – £17,380.62
• Rhoose Lifeguards – £5,679

UK Government Minister in Wales Guto Bebb said:

Wales benefits from countless volunteer and charitable organisations working round the clock to help during emergencies on our rivers, lakes and inshore waters, as well as during flooding and other extreme weather. This funding supports the vital rescue services they provide.

Supporting our volunteers remains an integral part of the UK Government’s ongoing drive for a fairer society. I am delighted to see Welsh rescue services benefitting in this latest round of funding, ensuring they have the equipment and resources they need to provide their crucial, life-saving services.

Maritime Minister John Hayes said:

Every day water rescue volunteers risk their safety to protect the lives of people across the UK. Their dedication and highly specialised skills are absolutely crucial to providing inshore and inland rescue services.

This extra money means that the volunteers and charities can purchase the lifeboats and equipment they need. It means that assistance is never far away for those in need or in distress on or around our waterways.

Since its launch in 2014, the grant has provided water rescue services up and down the UK with funding for new boats, vehicles and equipment.

A total of 62 organisations will receive a share of the £1m funding for 2017-18 after their bids were considered by an expert panel.

Chaired by the Department for Transport and made up of representatives from DfT, DEFRA, devolved administrations, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, RNLI and the Royal Yachting Association, the panel assessed bids taking into account:

• How the equipment listed supports or enhances the organisation’s rescue capability
• Evidence that the items funded represent good value for money
• Applicants were also required to match fund 10% of the costs of funded items, and to provide a letter of support from the authority that tasks them to rescues

Sir Alan Massey, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said:

These smaller, independent charities are the lifeblood of our communities, playing a vital role in supporting the daily lives of thousands of people across the UK.

We often need to remind ourselves that these brave women and men may be called at any time of the day or night to assist persons in difficulty. Those persons may be lost or injured, in trouble at sea, or needing to be rescued from fast-flowing water or floods.

It’s essential that funding like this is available to independent lifeboats so that they have the proper emergency equipment to aid in rescues. This funding will help meet their goals and ease their financial burden.

The Queen has approved the re-appointment of Beth McHattie as a Member of the Churches Conservation Trust for a period of three years from 7 November 2017.

Beth McHattie is currently the Communication Consultant at Allchurches Trust and was a formal Deputy Director of Communications and Head of Media at English Heritage, and before that was Head of Corporate Press at Sotheby’s.

At around 04:25 hrs on 17 October 2017, a maintenance train ran away for a distance of about 4 miles, from a location north of Markinch station in Fife. The train had struck a tree that had fallen across the track. The resulting damage to the underside of the train had caused the brakes to be irreversibly released.

Prior to the collision, the train had been water jetting leaf debris from the rails. The driver saw the tree shortly before impact and applied the emergency brake. The train was travelling at around 40 mph (64km/h) when it hit the tree.

The train continued to slow following the collision, due to the uphill gradient. It came to a rest, but then started to roll backwards. Having made an emergency call on the train radio, the two train crew jumped from the train onto the trackside and suffered minor injuries.

The train eventually came to a stop on a low point near to Thornton North Junction, after having oscillated up and down the adjacent track gradients several times.

Our investigation will determine the sequence of events that led to the runaway. It will also consider:

• the design of the train’s braking system
• the actions of the train crew
• the proximity of other trains on the affected route

Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry, or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.

You can subscribe to automated emails notifying you when we publish our reports.

Ministerial statement regarding a further extension to the decision deadline for the proposed Silvertown Tunnel.

The government is making crucial progress on the domestic legislation needed for Brexit, taking forward the next two Brexit Bills to Parliament.

The Trade Bill and the Customs Bill will allow the UK to set the groundwork to becoming an independent global trading nation, providing necessary certainty for businesses and international trading partners to make the most of this opportunity.

Key measures in the Trade Bill include provisions for the UK to implement existing EU trade agreements, helping ensure that UK companies can continue to access £1.3 trillion worth of major government contracts in other countries and creating a new trade remedies body to defend UK businesses against injurious trade practices.

Further tax-related elements of the UK’s trade policy will be legislated in the Treasury’s Customs Bill – Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill – as part of the creation of a new UK tariff regime. This includes the trade remedies and unilateral trade preferences which provide preferential trade access to UK markets for developing countries.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

For the first time in over 40 years the UK will be able to shape our own trade and investment agenda – and we are determined that businesses and consumers can take advantage of this opportunity.

We are getting on with delivering a successful Brexit, by seeking a deep and special partnership with the EU, and by boosting our existing trading relationships with old partners while opening up access to new and exciting markets across the world.

The Bills follow engagement with stakeholders including the Scottish and Welsh Governments and Northern Ireland leaders after the Trade and Customs White Papers were published in October.

Trade Bill

The Trade Bill laid in Parliament today will:

• create powers to assist in the transition of over 40 existing trade agreements between the EU and other countries
• enable the UK to become an independent member of the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) ensuring UK companies have continued access to £1.3 trillion worth of government contracts and procurement opportunities in 47 countries
• establish a new independent UK body, the Trade Remedies Authority, to defend UK businesses against unfair trade practices
• ensure the UK Government has the legal abilities for gathering and sharing trade information

Customs Bill

The government also laid resolutions for the Customs Bill, which will enter Parliament shortly. The Bill will allow the government to create a standalone customs regime and amend the VAT and excise regimes. It will:

• charge and vary customs duty on goods
• specify which duties are payable on which goods
• set preferential or additional duties in certain circumstances – for example, to support developing countries
• maintain a functioning movement of goods from the day we leave the EU by continuing the VAT and excise regimes in line with the final deal reached in negotiations

ENDS

Further information