Highways England has advised drivers using the M5 in Gloucestershire to plan ahead and allow extra travelling time during next week’s world famous Cheltenham Festival.

The popular event runs from Tuesday, 14 March until Friday, 17 March with more than 200,000 people expected to attend throughout the week.

The Festival concludes with Friday’s Gold Cup which can see more than 65,000 people attend on a single day. The busiest times on the roads are expected to be between 9.30am until 12.30pm each day. Queues are likely on the approach to M5 junction 10 southbound, and on all approaches to M5 junction 11.

Gareth Price, Highways England emergency planning officer for the South West, said:

Junctions 10 and 11 of the M5 are like to be busy on these days, particularly Friday, 17 March.

Our aim is to keep the Highways England network running whilst keeping road users safe and informed. We advise all drivers to check our traffic and travel information channels, set off early and allow plenty of time for their journeys.

Highways England provides up-to-date traffic information via its website, via Twitter @highwaysSWEST, local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile platforms.

Drivers, business owners and residents are invited to find out more about plans to widen a section of the road that connects the M6 with the city of Stoke-on-Trent.

Highways England is developing a scheme to widen the A500 from two to three lanes between Porthill (A5271) and Wolstanton (A527), helping to reduce congestion and improve journey times.

Highways England will be working in collaboration with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to ensure the scheme will tie in with the local authority’s proposed improvements at the A500 Wolstanton junction and the associated access into the Etruria Valley site.

Highways England project manager, Malcolm Mitson, said:

This scheme will improve journeys for people using the A500 by easing the flow of traffic and reducing congestion, making journey times more reliable. And increasing capacity with a third lane will support the growth of the local economy as well as improve safety.

It is proposed the speed limit will be lowered from 70mph to 50mph, for safety and consistency with other parts of the route in urban areas.

It’s also proposed to close the public footpaths that run alongside the A500, instead providing an alternative footpath/cycle way at a safer distance from the main carriageway, as well as safe pedestrian access to cross the road at Porthill junction.

The scheme, part of the government’s £15.2bn road investment strategy, will take approximately 18 months to complete, with construction starting by spring 2020 and opening to traffic autumn 2021.

People attending the exhibitions will be able to see plans of the proposals, find out more about the scheme and ask questions of the project team.

Highways England will be attending events being run in conjunction with Stoke-on-Trent City Council on:

• Wednesday 15 March, 9am to 3pm, at Middleport Medical Centre, Newport Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 3NP
• Thursday 16 March, 2pm to 8pm, at Bradwell Lodge Community Centre, Bradwell Lane, Porthill, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 8PS

General enquiries

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

Media enquiries

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

The change sees what was the A12 between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft now become a part of the A47. This ensures that the A47 is a continuous trunk road from Peterborough to Lowestoft, while the A12 is a continuous trunk road between Ipswich and London.

Work started in mid-January and was expected to be completed tomorrow (Wednesday 8 March), but was actually completed last Wednesday (1 March). Most of the affected signage has had patches stuck on detailing that the road is now the A47 rather than A12, while signage that needed replacing now displays the new road name.

This has delivered on one of the commitments in the Government’s Road Investment Strategy, which will see a record £15 billion invested in England’s motorways and trunk roads, with £3 billion of that in the East of England.

Highways England project sponsor Steve Cox said:

Highways England is committed to ensuring that our work causes minimal disruption for drivers across the East of England, and we are pleased to have been able to complete this work early to ensure that is the case. This work now ensures that both the A47 and A12 are continuous trunk roads connecting our important towns and cities.

The renumbering follows recent improvement work to the A47 Acle Straight as the road passes through The Broads, which saw improvements to traffic signs and road markings at the A1064 roundabout, Wherryman’s Way and the Halvergate junction.

It also comes ahead of consultations into major upgrades elsewhere on the A47 that will be start in 2020, with a series of consultations into these set for the public to share their views at to be launched shortly. These works will include:

• dualling of the A47 between Norwich and Dereham
• improving the A11 and A47 Thickthorn junction
• dualling the A47 between Norwich and the Acle Straight
• improving two junctions at Great Yarmouth, including reconstructing the Vauxhall roundabout

Martin Wilby, chairman of the Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Transport and Development Committee, said:

We support the work that Highways England has recently been carrying out in the east of the county and, like many people in Norfolk, are looking forward to their forthcoming consultation on the major improvements they intend to make to the A47. These upgrades to the A47 will make a huge difference to the county and its prosperity, and we’ll be working with Highways England to do all we can to ensure they can get underway as soon as possible.

General enquiries

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

Media enquiries

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

Sir Alan Duncan will attend the first ever Polish-British Belvedere Forum, which brings together experts from both countries to discuss future relations, and deliver a speech to its official opening.

He will also hold talks with Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, and Defence Under-Secretary of State Tomasz Szatkowski, where they will discuss European security and defence, NATO and UK-Poland ties.

Sir Alan said:

The UK and Poland enjoy a close and enduring relationship. Our shared history is important. But our shared future matters even more.

The first ever Polish-British Belvedere Forum is a clear demonstration of that closeness, and will encourage, accelerate and deepen our ties.

I am proud that we have a dynamic Polish community in the UK – which is important to all of us – and I look forward to continuing to develop our close relationship on my trip to Warsaw.

We are leaving the EU, but we are not leaving Europe, and my message to our friends and allies in Poland is that we want to build a real partnership, and maintain the strongest possible links, including through a bold and ambitious free trade agreement with the EU.

The Belvedere Forum, which takes place tomorrow [March 9], is a new annual event that brings together more than 100 British and Polish experts from business, academia, media and politics to discuss opportunities, interests and cooperation between our two countries.

The UK and Poland governments agreed to establish the Belvedere Forum in 2016. This year’s forum, the first of its kind, will look at British-Poland relations up to 2025, and takes place at the prestigious Belvedere Palace in Warsaw.

Further information

1. The economic forecast

Growth in the UK economy picked up through 2016. Employment has reached a record high of 31.8 million people.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) now forecasts that the UK economy will grow by 2% in 2017. The OBR also forecast that the economy will grow at a slightly slower rate in 2018, before picking up to 2% in 2021.

2. Cutting borrowing and stabilising the public finances

Britain has a debt of nearly £1.7 trillion – around £62,000 for every household in the country.

In 2009-10 the UK borrowed £1 in every £5 that was spent. This year it is set to be £1 in every £15.

Borrowing is forecast to be reduced by nearly three quarters by 2016-17.

3. £2 billion for adult social care over the next three years

This will help councils to provide high quality social care to more people and help to ease pressure on the NHS.

4. £425 million investment in the NHS in the next three years

£325 million will be invested in a first set of the best local Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs).

STPs are the NHS’s plans for improving patient services in local regions, developed collaboratively by NHS service leaders and their local partners.

£100 million will go to A&E departments in 2017-18, to help them manage demand ahead of next winter, and help patients get to primary care faster. For example, it will provide more on-site GP facilities and more space in A&E units for assessment of patients when they arrive.

5. Investment in technical education for 16 to 19 year olds rising to over £500 million

New T-levels for 16 to 19 year old technical students will be introduced from autumn 2019. Students will be able to choose from 15 different routes such as construction, digital or agriculture.

The number of hours of training for these students will increase by over 50%. As part of the course, all students will take part in an industry work placement.

The government will also provide maintenance loans for students doing higher-level technical courses at National Colleges and Institutes of Technology – like those available to university students.

6. £300 million investment for new academic research placements

£90 million will provide 1,000 new PhD places, including in science, technology, engineering and maths.

£210 million will create new fellowships, including programmes to attract top global talent to conduct research in areas such as bioscience and biotechnology, quantum technologies, and satellite and space technology.

7. Loans for part time and doctoral students from 2018

The government will provide maintenance loans for people entering part time degrees, and doctoral loans of up to £25,000 to support higher-level study.

8. £536 million for new free schools and to maintain existing schools

£320 million will go to new free schools. Free schools are funded by the government but set up by groups like parents, charities or community and faith groups.

£216 million will be invested in school maintenance.

9. Free transport for children from poorer families who go to selective schools

Children aged 11 to 16 who get free school meals or whose parents are on the Maximum Working Tax Credit will get free transport to their closest selective school, if it is between two and 15 miles away from their home.

Children aged 8 to 16 are already entitled to free transport to their closest suitable school, if they live more than three miles away.

10. Tax-Free Childcare will soon be available to working parents

Tax-Free Childcare will provide up to £2,000 a year in childcare support for each child under 12.

Parents will be able to receive up to £4,000 for disabled children up to the age of 17.

Parents of younger children will be able to apply for the scheme first, with all eligible parents able to access the scheme by the end of the year.

Working parents in England will also be able to apply for an additional 15 hours of free childcare for three and four year olds, bringing the total to 30 hours a week.

11. New ways to protect consumers

The government will investigate ways to protect consumers from unnecessary costs and inefficiencies, including:

• preventing consumers being charged unexpectedly when a subscription is renewed or a free trial ends
• making terms & conditions simpler and clearer including in digital contracts, like when you sign up to a social network
• fining companies that mislead or mistreat consumers

12. £270 million to launch the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Initial funding will support research and innovation in universities and businesses, in areas like:

• developing artificial intelligence and robotics that will work in extreme environments, like offshore energy, nuclear energy and space
• designing and manufacturing better batteries for new electric vehicles that will help improve our air quality
• improving medicine manufacturing technologies to speed up patient access to drugs

13. Improving transport with the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF)

The government is funding improvements to transport infrastructure, including:

• £690 million for new local transport projects, to improve congestion on roads and public transport
• £220 million to improve congestion points on national roads, with £90 million going to the North and £23 million to the Midlands
• supporting local projects in the next twelve months like improvements on the A483 corridor in Cheshire and on the Leicester Outer Ring Road

14. A new strategy to make the UK a world leader in 5G technology

£16 million for a national 5G Innovation Network to trial new 5G technology.

And £200 million for local projects to build fast and reliable full-fibre broadband networks.

15. A three-year NS&I Investment Bond with a market-leading interest rate of 2.2%

The bond will be available for 12 months from April 2017.

The government announced the NS&I Investment Bond at Autumn Statement 2016. It will be open to everyone aged 16 and over with the flexibility to save between £100 and £3,000 over three years.

16. The Lifetime ISA will be available from 6 April this year

The Lifetime ISA will allow younger adults to save up to £4,000 each year and receive a bonus of up to £1,000 a year on these contributions. Funds can be withdrawn tax-free to put towards a first home or saved until a person turns 60.

17. Marking International Women’s Day

A new £5 million fund will go to projects celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act next year, and to educate young people about its significance. The Representation of the People Act (1918) was the first legislative step towards equal voting rights for men and women.

Working with businesses and the public sector, the government will also invest £5 million to increase the number of returnships, helping people back into employment after a career break.

And another £20 million will support organisations working to combat domestic violence and abuse or supporting victims. This increases the total funding for implementing the government’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to £100 million by the end of Parliament.

18. Small Businesses and landlords under the VAT threshold will have an extra year to prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD)

Unincorporated businesses (businesses owned privately by one or more people) that have an annual turnover below the VAT registration threshold will have until April 2019 to prepare before MTD becomes mandatory.

Under MTD, businesses will use digital software to keep tax records and update HMRC quarterly.

19. £435 million to support businesses affected by the business rates relief revaluation

This means no small business that is coming out of small business rates relief will pay more than £600 more in business rates this year than they did in 2016-17.

Funding for local authorities will allow them to provide £300 million of discretionary relief to provide help to businesses most affected by the revaluation.

And from April 2017, pubs with a rateable value up to £100,000 will be able to claim a £1,000 business rates discount for one year.

20. The main rate of National Insurance contributions (NICs) for the self-employed will increase

Currently, the self-employed may have to pay both Class 4 and Class 2 NICs:

• Class 4 NICs at 9% are paid on profits between £8,060 and £43,000
• Class 2 NICs are paid on profits of £5,965 or more

From 2018, Class 2 NICs will be abolished. Class 4 NICs will rise to 10% in April 2018 and to 11% in April 2019.

Taken together, only a self-employed person with profits over £16,250 will have to pay more as a result of these changes.

This better reflects the fact that the differences in contributory benefit entitlement between the self-employed and employees are now small, following the introduction of the new State Pension in April 2016.

In the summer, the government will also consider whether there is a case for greater consistency in parental benefits between the employed and self-employed.

21. Tax-free dividend allowance will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,000 from April 2018

This will reduce the tax difference between the self-employed and those working through a company. Typically, general investors will need over £50,000 worth of stocks and shares outside an ISA to be affected.