International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan visited Burleigh Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent today [May 12] to see first-hand how the Government’s trade deals are supporting businesses to sell their products across the world.

Established in 1851 in Burslem, Burleigh is a British luxury brand renowned for its manufacturing traditions. Burleigh’s iconic brand was sold in 82 countries last year, with a turnover of £2.5million.

Secretary Trevelyan met with Burleigh Managing Director Jim Norman to discuss export opportunities that the UK’s trade strategy is securing. The Department for International Trade has supported Burleigh since 2012, and the company now exports to the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

The visit followed the Prime Minister holding a cabinet meeting in Stoke-on-Trent earlier today to discuss how this week’s Queen’s Speech will deliver for people by boosting our economic growth, improve living standards and level up opportunities across the country.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

It is great to see British businesses exporting across the world thanks to our brilliant free trade agreements. Businesses who export are support higher paying jobs, and help grow the economy across the UK.

Seeing Burleigh succeed shows the high demand for quality British products, and I will continue to champion great British exporting success stories in every sector.

One of Burleigh’s biggest export markets is Japan, with a 60% growth in exports worth £250,000 in 2020. This is made possible by the UK’s free trade agreement with Japan, which was the UK’s first major trade deal as an independent trading nation and will increase with Japan by an estimated £15.7billion.

Businesses like Burleigh will also benefit from the removal of tariffs on 100% of UK goods exports from entry into force of the UK’s ground-breaking free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand – the first trade deals negotiated from scratch by the UK as an independent trading nation.

Managing Director Jim Norman said:

Burleigh has exported to global markets since it’s inception in 1851 and we are keen to continue benefiting from free trade around the world.

It has been fantastic to show the Trade Secretary around our pottery today and to thank her and her Department for their support and advice that maintains and develops our long-established tradition of exporting.

Exporting is essential to the West Midlands, and in 2021, the region exported £25.5 billion worth of goods making it the 6th highest goods exporting region – this was 8% of UK goods exports in 2021. Exporting and export related industries support nearly 10% of all jobs in the West Midlands region, and DIT’s Export Academy, which was piloted in the Midlands has supported 1,311 businesses since its launch in December 2020.

Last year, DIT launched an ambitious new ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ plan to help businesses across the UK double exports and sell their world-class products around the globe, such as Burleigh Potteries.

During April, there were six new detentions of a foreign flagged vessel in a UK port.

1. In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson’s inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) publishes details of the foreign flagged vessels detained in UK ports each month.

2. The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships that are inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS. This allows the ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.

3. Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. When a ship is found to be not in compliance with applicable convention requirements, a deficiency may be raised. If any of their deficiencies are so serious, they have to be rectified before departure, then the ship will be detained.

4. All deficiencies should be rectified or in agreed class/ flag condition before departure.

Notes on the list of detentions:

• Full details of the ship: The accompanying detention list shows ship’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) number which does not change throughout the ship’s life and uniquely identifies it. It also shows the ship’s name and flag state at the time of its inspection.
• Company: The company shown in the vessel’s Safety Management Certificate (SMC) or if there is no SMC, then the party otherwise believed to be responsible for the operation of the ship at the time of inspection.
• Classification society: The list shows the classification society responsible for classification of the ship only.
• Recognised organisation: Responsible for conducting the statutory surveys and issuing statutory certificates on behalf of the flag state.
• White (WL), grey (GL) and black lists (BL) are issued by the Paris MoU on 01 July each year and shows the performance of flag state.
• Deficiencies: The deficiencies listed are the ones which were detainable. Further details of other deficiencies can be provided on request.

SHIPS DETAINED IN MARCH 2022

Vessel Name: SPIRIT OF BRITAIN

GT: 47592

IMO: 9524231

Flag: Cyprus (white list) Company: P&O Ferries Holdings Ltd

Classification society: Lloyd’s Register

Recognised organisation: Lloyd’s Register

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: Lloyd’s Register

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: Lloyd’s Register

Date and place of detention: 11th April 2022 at Dover

Summary: Twenty three deficiencies with six grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01214 – Endorsement by flag state	Missing	Yes
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions	Not as required	Yes
11106 – Fast Rescue Boats	Not properly maintained	Yes
07115 – Fire-dampers	Not as required	Yes
14104 – Oil filtering equipment	Inoperative	Yes
01220 – Seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA)	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was released 22nd April 2022.

Vessel Name: DOCTOR STRANGE

GT: 1556

IMO: 8503096

Flag: Antigua and Barbuda (white list)

Company: F&L Schifffahrt GmbH & Co KG

Classification society: DNV AS

Recognised organisation: DNV AS, RINA Services S.p.A.

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: RINA Services S.p.A.

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: DNV AS

Date and place of detention: 13th April 2022 at King’s Lynn

Summary: Nineteen deficiencies with eight grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
02199 – Other (Structural conditions)	Other	Yes
11112 – Launching arrangements for survival craft	Not as required	Yes
11124 – Embarkation arrangement survival craft	Inoperative	Yes
10111 – Charts	Expired	Yes
10111 – Charts	Not updated	Yes
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Incomplete	Yes
11128 – Line-throwing appliance	Missing	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was released 22nd April 2022.

Vessel Name: MAYFAIR SPIRIT

GT: 51255

IMO: 9476460

Flag: Malta (white list)

Company: Crystal Pool Srl

Classification society: RINA Services S.p.A.

Recognised organisation: RINA Services S.p.A.. Lloyd’s Register

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: Lloyd’s Register

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: Lloyd’s Register

Date and place of detention: 26th April 2022 at Port Talbot

Summary: Eleven deficiencies with two grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
04113 – Water level indicator	Broken	Yes
04102 – Emergency fire pump and its pipes	Inoperative	Yes

This vessel was released 29th April 2022.

Vessel Name: SUPER RUBY

GT: 30965

IMO: 9308120

Flag: Marshall Islands (white list)

Company: VR Marine Management Pte Ltd

Classification Society: American Bureau of Shipping

Recognised Organisation: American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas

Recognised Organisation for ISM DOC: Bureau Veritas

Recognised Organisation for ISM SMC: American Bureau of Shipping

Date and place of detention: 27th April 2022 at Immingham

Summary: Twenty deficiencies with four grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
07101 – Fire prevention structural integrity	Not as required	Yes
02108 – Electrical installations in general	Not properly maintained	Yes
07115 – Fire-dampers	Not as required	Yes
07125 – Evaluation of crew performance (fire drills)	Lack of familiarity	Yes

This vessel was still detained 30th April 2022.

Vessel Name: BALMORAL

GT: 43537

IMO: 8506294

Flag: Bahamas (white list)

Company: Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Ltd

Classification society: DNV AS

Recognised organisation: DNV AS

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: DNV AS

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: DNV AS

Date and place of detention: 28th April 2022 at North Shields

Summary: Eight deficiencies with four grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
04108 – Muster list	Incomplete	Yes
07125 – Evaluation of crew performance (fire drills)	Lack of Familiarity	Yes
04121 – Crew familiarization with Emergency Systems	Not as required	Yes
04121 – Crew familiarization with Emergency Systems	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was released 29th April 2022.

Vessel Name: BERENDINA HERMINA

GT: 454

IMO: 8121537

Flag: Panama (white list)

Company: No ISM Managing Company

Classification society: N/A

Recognised organisation: N/A

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: N/A

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: N/A

Date and place of detention: 30th April 2022 at Hull

Summary: Twenty-five deficiencies with five grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
01214 – Endorsement by flag state	Missing	Yes
03102 – Freeboard marks	Not properly marked	Yes
01117 – International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP)	Invalid	Yes
11110 – Stowage and provision of liferafts	Not as required	Yes
10113 – Automatic Identification System (AIS)	Inoperative	Yes

This vessel was still detained 30th April 2022.

DETENTIONS CARRIED OVER FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS

Vessel Name: PRIDE OF KENT

GT: 30635

IMO: 9015266

Flag: Cyprus (white list)

Company: P&O Ferries Holdings Ltd

Classification society: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: Lloyds Register

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: Lloyds Register

Date and place of detention: 28th March 2022 at Dover

Summary: Forty-seven deficiencies with thirteen grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
07106 – Fire detection and alarm system	Not as required	Yes
13108 – Operation of Machinery	Lack of Familiarity	Yes
07125 – Evaluation of crew performance (fire drills)	Lack of training	Yes
13104 – Bilge pumping arrangements	Not as required	Yes
11106 – Fast rescue boats	Inoperative	Yes
18420 – Cleanliness of engine room	Not as required	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
07105 – Fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions	Not as Required	Yes
07109 – Fixed Fire extinguishing Installation	Not as required	Yes
07101 – Fire Prevention Structural Integrity	Not as required	Yes
01214 – Endorsement by Flag State	Not as required	Yes
07109 – Fixed Fire extinguishing Installation	Not as required	Yes
02101 – Closing Devices/Watertight Doors	Not as required	Yes
02122 – Openings to cargo area, doors … scuttles	Not as required	Yes

This vessel was still detained 30th April 2022

Vessel Name: POSEIDON

GT: 1412

IMO: 7363217

Flag: Iceland (Not listed)

Company: Neptune EHF

Classification society: NA

Recognised organisation: NA

Recognised organisation for ISM Doc: DNV-GL

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: N/A (SMC issued by Flag)

Date and place of detention: 19th July 2018 at Hull

Summary: Ten deficiencies with two grounds for detention

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
02106 – Hull damage impairing seaworthiness	Holed	Yes
07113 – Fire Pumps	Insufficient Pressure	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 30th April 2022

Vessel Name: TECOIL POLARIS

GT: 1814

IMO No: 8883290

Flag: Russian Federation (White list)

Company: Tecoil Shipping Ltd

Classification society: RMRS

Recognised organisation: RMRS

Recognised organisation for ISM DOC: RMRS

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: RMRS

Date and place of detention: 6th June 2018 at Immingham

Summary: Twenty-seven deficiencies with six grounds for detentions

Defective item	Nature of defect	Ground for Detention
10104 – Gyro compass	Inoperative	Yes
10127 – Voyage or passage plan	Not as required	Yes
15150 – ISM	Not as required	Yes
11104 – Rescue boats	Not properly maintained	Yes
11101 – Lifeboats	Not ready for use	Yes
01117 – International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP)	Invalid	Yes

This vessel was still detained on 30th April 2022

Vessel Name: CIEN PORCIENTO

GT: 106.

IMO No: 8944446.

Flag: Sweden (White list)

Company: Open Window Inc.

Classification society: Unclassed.

Recognised organisation: Not applicable.

Recognised organisation for ISM DOC: Not applicable.

Recognised organisation for ISM SMC: Not applicable

Date and place of detention: 4 March 2010, Lowestoft

Summary: Thirty deficiencies including seven grounds for detention

This vessel was still detained on 30th April 2022

Notes to Editors

• The MCA is a partner in the Sea Vision UK campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the sea and maritime activities. Sea Vision promotes the importance and economic value of the sector and works to highlight the exciting range of activities and career opportunities available to young people within the UK growing maritime sector.

• Follow us on Twitter: @MCA_media

For further information please contact Maritime and Coastguard Agency Press Office, on: +44 (0) 2380 329 401 Press releases and further information about the agency is available here.

Measures have been brought forward to change the law to allow more healthcare professionals like specialist nurses to complete DVLA medical questionnaires. This will help speed up the return of medical information needed to make a licensing decision following the pandemic and industrial action.

By law, all drivers must meet the medical standards for fitness to drive and each year DVLA makes over 500,000 medical licensing decisions. To help make these decisions, DVLA often requires questionnaires to be completed by a driver’s doctor or consultant.

Currently, the Road Traffic Act 1988 only enables registered medical practitioners (doctors who are registered with the General Medical Council) to complete DVLA medical questionnaires.

This has contributed to delays to medical applications throughout COVID-19, particularly as DVLA medical checks were understandably deprioritised at times during the pandemic and in December 2021/January 2022 where NHS resources were needed to support the booster vaccination programme.

This proposed change in the law will enable more people – who must be registered with certain professional bodies – to join the list of those able to complete medical questionnaires required as part of the medical licensing process.

DVLA Chief Executive Julie Lennard said:

We were pleased to see that the consultation responses supported the idea of increasing the range of medical professionals who are able to complete DVLA medical questionnaires. This is in line with the way GP practices and hospital teams increasingly work and will improve the process for those notifying DVLA of a medical condition. This will also ease the pressure on hard-working doctors by widening the number of medical experts who can provide the necessary information.

Today’s announcement follows a public consultation launched on 8 November 2021, the response to which has been published today. The consultation received over 400 responses, including from the general public and medical professionals, with 82% of respondents strongly agreeing or agreeing with the proposals.

The proposed law change will mean that any healthcare professional registered with the following Councils will be legally authorised to complete DVLA’s medical questionnaires:

• The General Chiropractic Council
• The General Medical Council
• The General Optical Council
• The General Osteopathic Council
• The Nursing and Midwifery Council
• The Health and Care Professions Council

Reasons expressed for supporting the change included the provision of more flexibility and that it may result in quicker licensing decisions by DVLA.

Transport Minister Baroness Vere said:

Changing this law makes sense. Doing so will safely improve the application process for hundreds of thousands of motorists across the country, whilst easing the pressure on our doctors and consultants. It’s great to see these important proposals progress into law.

DVLA handles millions of transactions every year and there are no delays with online services, which have been working as normal throughout the pandemic. Customers are encouraged to use these services where possible.

The vast majority of transactions are back to normal processing times. There are also no delays to HGV applications, with straight forward applications being processed within around five working days.

From 15 May 2022, services on the popular Dartmoor Line will be doubled – giving passengers travelling between Exeter and Okehampton the option to travel more frequently with hourly trains.

The line reopened last November, restoring a regular, year-round service for the first time in almost 50 years and is part of the government’s £500 million manifesto commitment to ‘Restore Your Railways’.

With more frequent services between Okehampton and Exeter, the upgraded Dartmoor Line offers new links for work, study and leisure travel. It will benefit students heading to the colleges in Exeter, as well as tourists travelling to Dartmoor, easing congestion on local roads and helping boost the local economy.

The line was the first to reopen under the flagship programme and was fully restored in just 9 months. It was delivered £10 million under budget, transforming a mothballed former freight railway to regular passenger services.

The restored line has been hugely popular, with more than 50,000 journeys undertaken in the first 20 weeks since the line reopened, more than double the number predicted. Passenger numbers at Crediton have also increased by 39% against pre-pandemic levels.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

The huge success of the Dartmoor Line shows that when you get the service right the public will respond with increased demand.

This is one example of the bright future in store for our railways as we begin to reform the sector in the run-up to the creation of Great British Railways. Put the customer first and you’ll get the results.

The Department for Transport, Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) alongside project partners Devon County Council, Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and Dartmoor Railway Association (DRA), have worked together to reopen this line ahead of time and under budget.

Benefitting from the application of Rail Project SPEED approaches, the Dartmoor Line has been transformed into a successful, full 7 days a week passenger operation.

Rail Minister Wendy Morton said:

I am so proud to be here today to see the amazing work completed on the Dartmoor line and the beginning of a new hourly service between Okehampton and Exeter.

After speaking with regular users of the service, it’s clear how central it already is to the community, residents and businesses.

By not only restoring this great railway, but doubling the number of daily services, it will bring even greater benefits to local people for generations to come.

The Restoring Your Railway Fund was launched in January 2020 to reinstate axed local services and restore closed stations, many of which were cut following Dr Beeching’s report on ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’ in 1963.

The fund is focused on delivering schemes that can level up the country, reconnect cut-off communities, improve access to jobs, homes and education and boost opportunity across the country, with a further £16 million being committed to Restoring Your Railway projects in the south-west peninsula. This includes:

• £5 million towards Wellington and Cullompton stations
• £7.88 million towards Edginswell station (Torbay)
• £3.11 million towards Marsh Barton station (Exeter)
• £50,000 towards Tavistock to Plymouth
• £50,000 towards Mid Cornwall Metro

Michelle Handforth, Network Rail’s Wales and Western Regional Managing Director, said:

I’m delighted our recent upgrades have enabled the Dartmoor Line services to increase to hourly, which will undoubtedly bring a further boost to tourism, the local community and regional economy for many years to come.

This Sunday will mark another momentous milestone in the history of the Dartmoor Line as we celebrate the return of the first hourly services in nearly 50 years and I am extremely proud that we have delivered on this promise we made to the government.

Mark Hopwood, GWR Managing Director, said:

Delivered £10 million under budget and within 9 months, ahead of time, since opening, the line has averaged around 2,000 journeys made every week – supporting local businesses, greater access to education and work for thousands who live locally and providing a gateway to explore Dartmoor for visitors.

This increase to hourly services will further increase the benefits from the reopening of this railway line and I am delighted we are able to mark the occasion.

The demand for services shows just how important good rail connections are for the community they serve.

To make the restoration possible, Network Rail’s team of engineers worked tirelessly to deliver a huge programme of work to physically reopen the line in just 9 months, including laying 11 miles of new track and installing 24,000 concrete sleepers and 29,000 tonnes of ballast in a record-breaking 20-day period.

Over the past 15 days, Network Rail’s team of engineers has been working tirelessly, upgrading parts of the 14-mile stretch of Dartmoor Line. Along the line, at Fatherford and Coleford, engineers have completed further improvements to the drainage and track bed to enable faster line speeds ready for the increase to hourly services.

GWR identified suitable rolling stock and developed a robust timetable with franchise funding ahead of funding being agreed for the infrastructure elements of the project.

The project has also hugely benefitted from strong local support spearheaded by Devon County Council, without which it would have taken far longer to reach the point where regular year-round services can be restored after almost 50 years.

GWR, Dartline Coaches and Devon County Council have also made sure that local transport is all coordinated, ensuring easy bus and train connections to the rest of the country are easily accessible from the Dartmoor Line.

This includes better bus links to Tavistock, 7 days a week direct from Okehampton station, as well as the existing facilities for cycling and walking, enabling more people to explore this wonderful area.

More work is currently being undertaken on the station buildings to enable the restoration of the cafe and other facilities.

In a case prosecuted by the Environment Agency at Peterlee Magistrates Court on 10 May 2022, Malcolm Smith (68) of Norwich Grove, Darlington received a 23-week suspended sentence. His daughter, Lisa Palmer (38) of Eggleston View, Darlington, received a suspended sentence of 18 weeks. Both were each fined £500 and ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge.

Magistrates found both to have acted recklessly and were wilfully blind to the risk of what could happen when storing such large quantities of oil in close proximity to residential property.

On Thursday 14 June 2018 County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue Service attended a fire at the Ramshaw Storage removals firm on Swan Street, Evenwood, following a report of a small amount of rubbish on fire in a metal container.

Upon arrival, the fire service was presented with a significant blaze within one of a number of steel shipping containers stored on site. They were told these containers only held furniture from removals. However, it quickly became apparent that shipping containers were actually being used to illegally store approximately 50,000 litres of diesel.

On the day of the fire a significant number of properties surrounding the commercial site were evacuated. Most households were allowed to return to their homes the following day but seven properties on Newholme Crescent remained unoccupied for six months due to diesel contamination, odour, and firewater run-off.

Black smoke from the fire could be seen for miles, a strong smell of oil persisted for several days and asbestos from a building at the yard was found in the adjoining gardens. Contaminated soil to a depth of one metre had to be removed from the affected gardens to make them safe and the ground floor of the properties had to be stripped away to enable diesel to be pumped from under the floorboards.

Investigations found the incident had caused significant levels of hydrocarbon pollution to land and groundwater, and huge volumes of oil had entered the sewerage network. This meant Northumbrian Water had to undertake a massive operation to make sure the local water supply was safe. They recovered 18,000 litres of oil and 7.2 million litres of oil contaminated effluent from the local sewage treatment plant, which was transported away for recycling. The filters were re-seeded and flushed with at least £66,000 spent on tankers, disposal and staff overtime. They also replaced the water supply pipework as a precaution.

Malcolm Smith and Lisa Palmer admitted failing to comply with the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Regulations 2001, which set out how diesel must be stored to prevent the risk of harm to people and the environment.

They also admitted responsibility for causing groundwater pollution, as a result of the illegally stored diesel escaping and polluting the environment.

Lisa Palmer additionally admitted a third charge related to illegal waste burning, which sparked the major fire.

A third family member who denied the charges, was acquitted after the court found that they had not had any custody or control over the stored diesel.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

Businesses must take their environmental responsibilities seriously. We welcome this judgement and hope that it sends out a strong message to others that they will be held to account if they fail to meet their environmental obligations. Thanks to the swift response from the various agencies who attended the incident, even more widespread damage to property and river pollution was averted.

We will continue to collaborate with businesses to help them to make the best choices for water quality, but anyone caught breaching environmental laws faces enforcement action, up to and including prosecution.