Press release: Heineken paying £160,000 over pollution incident

The Environment Agency has accepted an enforcement undertaking from a major brewer following a pollution incident on a Herefordshire Brook.

The Environment Agency has accepted an offer of £160,000 for an enforcement undertaking from brewer Heineken UK following a pollution incident at their cider factory in Hereford, which saw several thousand fish killed.

Heineken have also paid more than £12,000 to cover the Environment Agency’s legal costs.

The incident, at their Bulmer’s cider plant in August 2014, was caused when a container of ammonia-contaminated water was emptied to a surface water drain which connected to the Widemarsh Brook.

At the time it was estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 fish were killed including bullhead, minnows, juvenile chub & dace.

Environment Agency spokesperson Dave Throup said:

It’s very unfortunate that a significant pollution of one of Hereford’s main watercourses happened as a result of Heineken’s actions.

However, we are pleased that the company is planning to make a positive contribution to the county’s environment by offering this enforcement undertaking.

As a result of the enforcement undertaking, £150,000 will go the Wye & Usk foundation and £10,000 to Yazor Widemarsh & Eign Brook restoration project.



Green Party: Government disability benefit cuts foster prejudice against disabled people

3 February 2017

* Jonathan Bartley, co-leader: Government policy based on false idea that sick and disabled are guilty until proven innocent

The Green Party has condemned Government plans [1] to cut disability unemployment benefit in a bid to get more disabled people into work.

Jonathan Bartley, who co-leads the Green Party as a job share so he can care for his disabled son Samuel, said:

“These cuts are illogical, based on a false premise and clearly pernicious.  Cutting a benefit designed to support sick and disabled people into employment, is no way to help them into work.

“Those at the receiving end are those that even the Government accepts are sick and disabled.  But these cuts will drastically reduce the quality of life for many disabled people and is tantamount to kicking people when they are down.

“Government policy is increasingly based on the false idea that the sick and disabled are guilty until proven innocent, and that if they can be beaten hard enough by a weaponised welfare state they will be forced to find work.

“The Government should instead be focusing on removing the real barriers to finding work.  This includes more support, not less, and working with employers to ensure that the world of work is accessible in every way through practices such as flexible working.  It should also include tackling the widespread prejudice against disabled people which the Government is itself fostering.”

Notes:

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/03/cut-to-disability-benefits-may-make-return-to-work-harder-claim-mps

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Green member of House of Lords seeks to ‘abolish’ herself

3 February 2017

* Green peer seeks to transform House of Lords from within

* Jenny Jones: Lords reform is essential for proper scrutiny of Brexit process

Jenny Jones, Green member of the House of Lords, will today (February 3) continue her fight to transform the unelected chamber.

Baroness Jones’ House of Lords Reform Bill will get its second reading on Friday, with reform of the Lords more important now than ever to enable proper scrutiny of the Brexit process.

Baroness Jones hopes to gather support from within the Lords for her plans to replace the House of Lords with a democratic and effective second chamber. This would use proportional representation to elect a new house, but keep many existing peers as non-voting experts.

Her Bill is the first with this mix of proposals to come from within the Lords.

Jenny Jones said:

“I’m not the only Lord who wants to abolish their right to vote in the second chamber, but I’m aiming to be one of the most energetic peers in making it happen. I’m relatively new to the Lords and I hope my fresh approach will help fast track the various discussions about Lords reform.

“The referendum vote in favour of Brexit makes Lords reform both urgent and inevitable. The government could try to push through all kinds of bad ideas on the back of the Brexit negotiations, the Great Repeal Act and hasty trade deals.

“We need an effective and democratic chamber to help scrutinise the secondary legislation and the international deals.

“The Government may well give itself so-called Henry 8th powers to just unilaterally repeal or amend European laws after the Repeal Act passes, opening the door to a bonfire of environmental and social protections. We need a second chamber that has the legitimacy and popular backing to challenge the use of such anti-democratic powers.”

Notes:

1 https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldordpap.htm

Jenny’s bill is the third on a list to be taken at 10am on Friday 3rd June. Nine peers in addition to Jenny have put their names down to speak so far.

House of Lords Reform Bill [HL] Second Reading [Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb]

If the bill is read a second time, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to move that the bill be committed to a Committee of the Whole House

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Cancer Research UK’s warning of cancer rates amongst women rising faster than those amongst men should be a warning shot to Ministers – Hodgson

Sharon Hodgson MP, Shadow Minister for
Public Health, reacting
to Cancer Research UK’s report into women’s cancer rates rising faster than
men’s, said:

“Cancer
Research UK’s warning of cancer rates amongst women rising faster than those
amongst men in the next 20 years due to a lack of prevention measures should be
a warning shot to Ministers that their policies are failing the health of our
nation.

“Despite
the radical upgrade we were promised in the Five Year Forward View two years
ago, the Government’s mishandling of the NHS has seen this upgrade fall by the
wayside and has been exacerbated by the deep cuts to public health funding we
have seen.

“The
Government has a lot of work to do when it comes to their Cancer Strategy, but
they cannot let it be undermined by weakening preventative measures which can
address these issues at source. Ministers need a serious rethink when it comes
to their approach to public health.”

Ends



Theresa May must take action or the divisions between north and south will become even deeper – Rayner

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the first report of the Northern Powerhouse, said:


“This report from George Osborne’s think tank is
all very well, but let’s not forget that he was a Chancellor in a Tory
Government that presided over falling school budgets, a chronic teacher
shortage and not enough good school places.



“The Tories’ huge cuts to schools funding will hit
schools in the North hard, making the problems highlighted in this report even
worse. The Northern Powerhouse means nothing unless the Government is
prepared to invest in education, skills and infrastructure.

“Theresa May must take action or the divisions
between North and South will become even deeper, with working people paying the
price for inequality. The Government must stop undermining our schools’ ability
to deliver an excellent education for all by failing to invest in our
children’s future.”