HM Government

The government is developing plans for Britain’s first digital intercity railway in the north, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced today (22 September 2017) as the government invests a record £13 billion in improving journeys across the region.

As part of the Great North Rail Project, major upgrades are being developed for the TransPennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York from 2022 – to slash journey times between Leeds and Manchester to 40 minutes.

Digital signalling technology is already in operation on the London Underground, and Network Rail will now develop options to make the TransPennine route the first digitally controlled intercity rail line in the country.

Network Rail will receive up to £5 million to develop proposals for embedding digital technology between Manchester and York, to help us deliver a more reliable and safer railway. This includes looking at a system of advanced train traffic management – so that a computer works out how to route the trains most efficiently along the line.

This government has launched the biggest modernisation programme of railways in the north since the steam age – and we are investing £40 billion in our network across the country.

The government is also bringing HS2 – Britain’s new railway – to the north, the Pacer trains are being scrapped by the end of 2019 and major investment in motorways is also underway across the region.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

We are about to see a digital revolution in our railways, and we want the north to lead the way.

New technology on the Manchester to York route will help us deliver a more reliable and safer railway, with more space for passengers.

Travel will be transformed across the north as we invest £13 billion to improve journeys, expand our motorways, scrap the outdated Pacer trains, and spend £55 billion on HS2 to cut journey times between our great northern cities.

Developing proposals for digital-control on the TransPennine route is to be paid for from a £450 million digital railway fund announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement last year.

On the London Underground 3 lines already have in-cab signalling, which has meant trains can safely run closer together.

Also in the capital, the Thameslink programme will use digital technologies so 24 trains per hour can run through the centre of the city from December 2018 on just 2 tracks with 2 platforms. Crossrail trains will also run with in-cab signalling.

Work to deliver improvements to the TransPennine railway line have already begun.

The Great North Rail Project has already delivered improved services between Liverpool and Manchester, with the fastest journey cut by 15 minutes, new direct services between Manchester Airport and Glasgow, and the upgrade of Manchester Victoria station.

The government is working with Rail North and councils across the region on the project, and Network Rail is working on plans for the upgrade.

The government is also investing £55 billion in HS2 which will slash journey times between Leeds and Birmingham to 57 minutes from 1 hour 58 minutes today. Journeys between Manchester and London will be reduced to 1 hour and 8 minutes from 2 hours and 8 minutes today.

All of the Pacer trains which run on Northern trains will be phased out by the end of 2019 and sent to the scrapyard, as the government delivers a 21st century revolution to transport.

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The review commissioned by the government and led by the current Chair of ITV Sir Peter Bazalgette, outlines key recommendations for how the Creative Industries can underpin the UK’s future economic growth. It highlights how the sector is continuing to outperform other sectors in terms of employment, having already grown 300,000 jobs between 2011 and 2015.

The review makes a number of recommendations on how government and the Creative Industries can work together to remove barriers to growth. It spans issues from access to finance, intellectual property, trade and creative clusters – areas with high concentrations of ambitious companies who will drive regional growth.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said:

The UK’s Creative Industries are an economic powerhouse and the government is committed to removing the barriers to its growth.

The key challenge now is turning these ideas into a strong partnership, which is credible and has buy-in from both government and industry.

I encourage the sector to do what it does best – think creatively and work with us on achieving a compelling and ambitious deal that allows the UK Creative Industries to continue to thrive.

Other asks include a strategy to attract and develop young talent to make the Creative Industries more accessible, including a careers programme for secondary schools and expanding the UK’s network of Saturday Clubs.

The review’s recommendations will now be considered carefully by the Government as part of its Industrial Strategy and used to inform work towards a sector deal in the coming months. In response the Government has already announced the opening of the £80 million Creative Industries Clusters Programme competition, led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

The UK’s booming Creative Industries contribute nearly £90 billion to the economy and employ more than two million people.

The review unveiled today demonstrates our world-class talent and expertise in these areas and reflects the industry’s vision for how we build on these strengths, now and in the future. We are grateful to Sir Peter Bazalgette for his excellent work. We will be working with him in the coming months towards a sector deal that helps us grasp the opportunities ahead.

The £80 million Creative Industries Clusters Programme being launched today will deliver a further boost to our creative industries, help spread prosperity and grow the creative skills base across the UK.

This funding means that from today, eight areas of the country will be able to establish creative Research and Development (R&D) Partnerships between universities and businesses. The Programme, which is supported by £39 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and matched by industry, will help catalyse economic growth and provide the skills needed for the jobs of the future and respond to challenges identified by the creative industries in their cluster.

And a new Policy and Evidence Centre will help fill the gaps in our understanding of the creative industries – from the full value of their economic contribution to how they compare internationally.

Sir Peter Bazalgette said:

In every scenario the Creative Industries are set to be of central importance to the UK’s future success. We have two great assets: the English language and our creativity, but the skills and business models of this sector are of increasing importance.

My report recommends simple ways of maximising the potential of this crucial sector which I’d like to see become part of the government’s developing Industrial Strategy.

I urge government to ensure the final strategy is based on a fundamental understanding of what these industries need to thrive.

Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Facebook and chair of the Creative Industries Council, said:

On behalf of the Creative Industries Council, I welcome Sir Peter Balzalgette’s report, which makes clear how vital our industries are to the economy of the 21st century, and frames an exciting ambition for growth and jobs over the next decade.

Sir Peter has identified some important priorities for action: we strongly share his desire to promote innovation, intellectual property and access to finance for growing creative enterprises; to support growth in international trade and creative clusters around the UK; and to secure the pipeline of diverse talent which our industries need in order to thrive.

The Council looks forward to working with Government, and all parts of the industry, over the coming weeks in order to secure a Sector Deal which builds on Sir Peter’s review and cements the UK’s position at the heart of a thriving global creative economy.

John Kampfner, CEO of Creative Industries Federation said:

The Federation welcomes Sir Peter Bazalgette’s review and the growing acknowledgement by government that the creative industries are an essential part of the country’s future growth. We are also pleased to see that many of the recommendations the Federation and our membership submitted to the review have been reflected within it.

Building the pipeline of talent to supply the creative workforce is crucial to ensure the continued success of the sector – the fastest growing of the UK economy worth £87bn. That is why the Federation particularly welcomes the initiatives around skills including our idea for a Creative Careers Campaign within the Bazalgette review.

Sir Peter was commissioned to undertake the review by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley and Business Secretary Greg Clark following the Government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper in January.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The review’s findings show the industry played a key role in the UK’s economic recovery. It contributed £87.4 billion in GVA in 2015, 5.3% of the UK economy (comparable to the Construction or Information sectors) and between 2010 and 2015 grew by 34% – faster than any other sector.
• It also outperformed other sectors in terms of employment growth: between 2011 and 2015, employment in the sector increased by 19.5% (circa 300,000 jobs) compared to 6.3% average across the wider UK. The sector is also a net exporter of services (£11.1bn surplus in 2014).
• The report also finds that creative occupations, which make up a high proportion of Creative Industries jobs, are highly resistant to automation with 87% of creative workers in the UK at low or no risk, meaning their share of the workforce is likely to rise steadily in coming years.
• Sir Peter Bazalgette is Chairman of ITV and Chair of HM Government’s Holocaust Memorial Foundation. He serves on the Advisory Boards of BBH and YouGov and is currently Chair of the Baillie Gifford Non-Fiction Book Prize. From 2013 until 2017 he was Chair of Arts Council England. He is also a former Non-Executive Director of the DCMS.

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The charity regulator has improved its guidance on reporting serious incidents, to help charities report appropriate matters as soon as possible after they occur.

The Commission says there is significant under-reporting of problems by charities, which is putting charities at potential risk of further harm, including reputational damage.

How to report a serious incident in your charity replaces previous guidance and follows a consultation with charities.

The new guidance:

• includes new tools, such as examples and checklists to make it clearer to trustees what they should, and should not, report to the regulator
• provides greater clarity on incidents resulting in “significant financial loss”, making clear that losing significant funding or contracts that the charity can’t replace should be reported to the regulator
• no longer requires trustees to report if their charity doesn’t have a safeguarding policy in place, as that information is now captured through the annual return.

The Commission says that reporting a serious incident to the regulator helps trustees demonstrate that they are taking appropriate action to deal with it. It reminds trustees that by reporting a serious incident, they can limit reputational and actual harm to the charity, and allows the Commission, if asked, to state that the trustees handled the situation responsibly.

Serious incident reporting also helps the Commission to gauge the volume and impact of incidents within charities and to understand the risks facing the sector as a whole, and to respond, for example with guidance or alerts to the wider sector.

Sarah Atkinson, Director of Policy and Communication at the Charity Commission, said:

Trustees cannot always foresee or prevent a serious event arising in their charity. What they should do, however, is to act responsibly and quickly when something does go seriously wrong, taking steps to limit risk and protect their charity from further harm. Making an incident report to the Commission is one of the most important ways trustees can demonstrate that they are doing just that. Our updated guidance helps charity trustees understand when and how to submit a report.

I would like to thank those who took part in the consultation. We have listened to your contributions and I am confident that we have improved the guidance as a result.

She added:

We remain concerned about significant under-reporting of serious incidents to the Commission. Too often, our casework shows that an incident could and should have been reported to us at a much earlier stage. I urge trustees to act quickly and responsibly in reporting serious incidents as soon as they occur, using the dedicated reporting facility at rsi@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk.

A serious incident in a charity is described as an “adverse event, actual or alleged, which results in harm to a charity’s work, beneficiaries or reputation; the loss of a charity’s money or assets, or damage to a charity’s property”. Last year, charities reported 2,181 incidents to the Commission, over half of which (55%) related to safeguarding; around one in seven (14%) related to fraud or money laundering, with a third of reported frauds being internal (‘insider’) fraud.

Serious incident reporting has been increasing steadily year-on-year since 2011-12, when 1,027 incidents were reported, but the Commission continues to find events and problems in its case work that should have been reported to the regulator at an earlier date.

In future, trustees will be able to report serious incidents via the Commission’s online services, making it easier for trustees to submit timely and accurate reports.

An analysis of the Commission’s consultation on the revised guidance is also published today.

Ends

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Visitors to West Bay, near Bridport, will see up to 60 metres of temporary coastal defence barriers deployed in East Beach car park in preparation for any future tidal incidents.

The barriers – one of 4 types used by the Environment Agency – are large, self-supporting, recyclable containers filled with aggregate. They are covered with an impenetrable membrane which prevents water from getting through. They are also fitted with a lid to prevent loss of fill material during over-topping and extreme weather conditions.

Exercise organiser and engineer Dan Hooper said:

West Bay is a high risk flood area because of strong south westerly winds, high tides and the close proximity of properties to the sea and nearby River Brit, so it’s essential we are ‘incident-ready’ by carrying out exercises like this.

These barriers are relatively new to the Environment Agency so this exercise provides us with an opportunity to get to grips with them. We are learning how we open, connect and fill them using a stockpile of beach materials already located on site.

Sharpening our practical skills and knowledge means we can better protect homes, businesses and the environment quickly and safely should a major incident be expected in West Bay or anywhere along the Dorset coast.

Partner agencies have been invited to observe the exercise, including representatives from the British Army, Dorset Local Resilience Forum (local authorities, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, Dorset Police, Civil Contingencies Unit) and the West Bay Harbourmaster.

One of the Environment Agency’s new Incident Command Units (ICU) will also be on site recording footage of the exercise. The WiFi-enabled ICU acts as a mobile incident room and a temporary headquarters for staff out in the field, enabling better site management, situational awareness and visibility in flood risk communities.

Part of the car park will be cordoned off, but vehicle users will still be able to access the remainder of the car park and beach.

Notes for editors

West Bay is a designated World Heritage Site and situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Environment Agency is currently working with West Dorset District Council, co-ordinated by the Dorset Coast Forum, to identify and improve the coastal defences in West Bay and make the beaches more resistant to storm damage, while also preserving the iconic views and amenities.

The ‘Jackbox’ flood defence barriers are made by Hesco. They are easy to store and transport and can be deployed quickly by 2 people and a machine. They can be filled with earth, sand, gravel, crushed rock or other granular materials and are easily removed.

Media opportunity

Members of the media are invited to observe the exercise from 11am. Interviews with Dan Hooper will be available at 12pm. Please confirm your attendance with the press office (telephone 0800 917 9271).

Attendees should be appropriately dressed and will be asked to sign in on arrival/given high-visibility clothing and hard hats (if crossing the cordoned off area).

The nearest available alternative car park will be at:

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On 20 September 2017 Ni Li and Zhixiong Li pleaded guilty to a breach of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 at Brighton Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard how on 15 June 2015, 361 live American lobsters and 35 Dungeness crabs were released off Brighton on the Sussex coast by a party of over 100 Buddhists as part of a religious ceremony. The court was told how Zhixiong Li organised the party and oversaw the release, and that Ni Li procured the Lobsters from a specialist fish merchant in London. The action was contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which is in place to protect indigenous species from invasion by non-native species. When the release was discovered swift action by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) working with the local fishing industry led to a significant number of the non-native animals being recovered.

Ni Li was fined £3,500, ordered to pay £9000 in compensation, costs of £3000 and a victim surcharge of £170.00.

Zhixiong Li was fined £500.00, ordered to pay £9000 in compensation, costs of £3000 and a victim surcharge of £50.00.

The compensation was awarded to the MMO to pay for the action to recover the non-native species. Commenting on the prosecution a spokesman for the MMO said:

“The size of the fines in this case recognises the significant risk to the marine environment posed by offences of this nature.

The MMO would like to thank both the local fishing industry for their significant assistance in the recovery of the animals from our seas and the Buddhist community for their help in communicating and educating people on the risks posed by the release of non-native species into our waters.”

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