HM Government

Among the recommendations of the multi-partner panel is the need for a Good Design Guide and design being central to a review of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges which is used across the world. (See the published report).

The panel was set up to support the development of a culture where good design is at the heart of everything within Highways England and the wider road sector. This coincides with Highways England delivering the biggest programme of Government investment in a generation. The panel’s focus is on strategic input rather than scheme specific details, targeting where its expertise, insight and guidance will have most positive impact and wider benefit such as standards, procurement and evaluation.

Highways England Chief Highway Engineer Mike Wilson said:

As we continue to successfully deliver the first Road Investment Strategy, I share the aspiration that as well as our roads being safe, efficient and affordable, that they are also beautiful. I do not underestimate the challenge of this; it requires a culture shift for Highways England and the wider roads sector. We will now review the recommendations and provide an update in due course.

The Panel has made the following key recommendations:

• Highways England should publish the design vision and principles recommended by the Panel and should work to develop a Good Design Guide.
• Highways England should ensure that its design vision and principles are implemented effectively and that the Good Design Guide becomes a practical tool across its projects and wider operations.
• Highways England should establish a specific objective aimed at ensuring that a design led approach, as set out in the design vision and principles, is at the heart of the review of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.

The panel members come from a range of disciplines and represent stakeholders who have a passionate interest in the design of the Strategic Road Network:

• Campaign for Better Transport
• Design Council/Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)
• Transport Focus
• Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation
• Institution of Civil Engineers
• Landscape Institute
• Historic England
• The Prince’s Foundation
• Institution of Structural Engineers
• Royal Institute of British Architects
• Campaign to Protect Rural England
• Natural England
• National Trust

Sarah Weir OBE, Chief Executive, Design Council said:

Highways England are to be congratulated on the approach they have taken in establishing its Design Panel and having it focus on the strategic aspects of design, and we are delighted to have contributed to its work and proud to be a part of it. The Design Panel’s report sets a design challenge for Highways England that puts design processes and thinking at the heart of the planning and development of the strategic road network. The Design Council fully endorses the Design Vision and comprehensive ’10 Principles of Good Design’ and welcomes the focus on valuing both the beauty of the places through which roads pass and the experience of people that live with and use road infrastructure. The Design Council supports Highways England’s use of these principles through its planned Good Design Guide for the review of it’s overarching Design Manual, and encourages Highways England to use these as the means by which designs for future road infrastructure are measured, so that the full benefits of good design can be released through their work.

Phil Carey, Policy Advisor to Transport Focus, said:

As the Panel’s report makes clear, at the heart of good design must be a road that works well for users – one that puts safety first, is easy to use, and is as far as possible a pleasure to travel on.

Clare Warburton, Senior advisor for Transport at Natural England and one of the report authors said:

Consideration for communities, the natural beauty and character of places as well as their surrounding landscapes in road design, is essential if we are to create a lasting, resilient transport legacy that contributes positively to the natural environment.

Ian Wilson, Assistant Director Operations (South West), National Trust, said:

The National Trust is hugely supportive of Highways England’s emphasis on improving the design and environmental standards of our roads. Building or improving roads in sensitive landscapes such as World Heritage Sites or AONBs is not easy. We are delighted to be working with Highways England and other partners to lift the standard of design and ensure that our roads function well and respect the places and communities through which they pass.

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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The Department of Health has confirmed the appointment of Professor Jonathan Van-Tam as the new Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England.

Professor Van-Tam will take up the position on 2 October 2017. He replaces Professor John Watson who is retiring after 4 years in the role.

The Deputy Chief Medical Officers are senior public health leaders who support the Chief Medical Officer – the most senior adviser on health and medicine to the UK government.

Professor Van-Tam is an internationally recognised flu, vaccine and respiratory expert. During his 25-year career, he has advised the World Health Organization, the UK Government and The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on influenza and other respiratory virus infections.

He graduated in medicine from the University of Nottingham in 1987, trained in public health medicine from 1991, and became a Senior Lecturer at the University of Nottingham in 1997.

In addition to publishing 150 scientific papers, Professor Van Tam has also held the following posts:

• 2004 to 2007: Head of the Pandemic Influenza Office at the UK Health Protection Agency
• 2005 to 2009: part of the UK national Scientific Pandemic Influenza Committee (SPI)
• 2007 to 2017: consultant to the World Health Organization on influenza
• 2007 to date: Professor of Health Protection at the University of Nottingham
• 2009 to 2010: part of the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) during the influenza pandemic
• 2010 to 2017: leader of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Pandemic Influenza and Research
• 2013 to 2017: Editor-in-Chief of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses
• 2014 to date: Chair of the UK Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (NERVTAG).

Professor Van-Tam said:

It is a great honour to be given the opportunity to serve as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England. I am looking forward to the work ahead with enormous enthusiasm.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer said:

I would like to congratulate Professor Van-Tam on his appointment. His track record speaks for itself; he will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the role and I look forward to working closely with him.

Professor John Watson has been a fantastic Deputy Chief Medical Officer. I would like to thank him for his huge contribution to public health and for his expert support.

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A public consultation on additional information to support an application by Dover Harbour Board (DHB) for aggregate dredging activity off the Kent coast closed on 28 September 2017. The MMO recognises there is a high level of public interest in this … read more

MHRA and Care Quality Commission (CQC) set out key principles to support their collaboration on improving public health.

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Ofsted has today (29 September) published a new 5 year strategy.

The strategy, developed in conjunction with serving heads, teachers, and social workers from around the country, sets out how Ofsted will deliver its mission of improving the lives of children and young people.

The strategy centres on a fundamental guiding principle that the organisation will be:

“A force for improvement through intelligent, responsible and focused inspection and regulation”.

The strategy describes how Ofsted will conduct inspection and regulation that is:

• intelligent: our work will be evidence-led and our evaluation tools and frameworks will be valid and reliable.

• responsible: our frameworks will be fair. We will seek to reduce inspection burdens and make our expectations and findings clear

• focused: we will target our time and resources where they can lead directly to improvement

The principle will be underpinned by 3 core values:

• children, young people and learners first

• independence

• accountability and transparency

The strategy commits to an ambitious programme of work, which will inform the 2019 inspection framework development. Ofsted is currently undertaking a series of parent focus groups to understand how our reports can provide more information and enable choice. Ofsted will undertake research and learn from others to ensure that Ofsted is reliably measuring the right things, and that these measures add up to a meaningful overall judgement. For example an international seminar on the validity of lesson observation in November which will inform future practice, and research is being undertaken on the impact of the current grading structure.

Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector of Ofsted, said:

I am pleased to announce our new corporate strategy, which will set Ofsted’s direction during my tenure as Chief Inspector. I am determined that Ofsted will be a force for improvement.

By really drilling down on how, where and why we inspect and report, we can ensure that inspection and regulation are more than the sum of their parts. One of our greatest strengths is our bird’s eye view of the education, training and care systems. Over my time in office, we will do more to aggregate the insights from individual inspections, so that we can better encourage and support improvement across all the areas we inspect and regulate.

This high-reaching strategy commits us to inspection that is intelligent, responsible and focused. It will allow us to tackle emerging challenges and take advantage of new opportunities, ensuring that we can have maximum impact in improving young people’s lives.

Julius Weinberg, Chair of Ofsted, said:

With our new Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman well established in post, and Ofsted celebrating its 25th anniversary this is the ideal time to set out our new 5 year strategy. We have taken this opportunity to ensure that our strategy is evidence based and takes account of the wider environment; educational, political and economic.

The strategy is the product of significant engagement with both our inspection workforce and those we inspect. Through that engagement we have been able to build a clear picture of where Ofsted adds most value and what more we need to do to fulfil our mission of being a force for improvement.

The strategy also recognises the vital importance of Ofsted’s independence and commits it to being transparent and accountable in all its work, just as others are held others to account by Ofsted.

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