Day: December 28, 2017

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

I am appalled by this despicable attack on a cultural centre in Kabul which has claimed so many innocent lives, and my heartfelt condolences go out to the victims and their families.

We remain determined in our resolve to help the Afghan people overcome terror and we are committed to supporting the Afghan Government in seeking a brighter future for its people.

Initial reports suggest that Daesh in Afghanistan have claimed responsibility. The disregard for humanity shown today bears all the hallmarks of their hateful ideology which must be countered wherever it is found. This is what the brave men and women of Afghanistan are committed to doing, with the help and support of their regional and international partners, the UK included.

ENDS

The improvements, worth just over £67 million in total, will mean opportunities in Wigan, Greater Manchester, Marlow in Buckinghamshire, Newton in Nottinghamshire, Cumbria and Plymouth.

Highways England is making a £16.6 million contribution towards the schemes from its Growth and Housing Fund, alongside private sector developer contributions and other public funding making up the rest.

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England Chief Executive, said:

Each of these improvements will ensure England’s strategic road network continues to make a valuable contribution to the prosperity of our country.

We will continue to use our Growth and Housing Fund, working with a range of local stakeholders to unlock further development sites around the country.

The designated £100 million fund was set up as part of the government’s £15 billion investment in roads and provides financial contributions towards the cost of road improvements needed for new developments that provide new jobs and much needed homes.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Transport investment is crucial to a strong and resilient economy – that’s why we are making the biggest investment in roads in a generation, spending £23 billion across the country to improve journeys for motorists.

These upgrades from Highways England will benefit the regions, giving a boost to businesses and better access to the jobs and homes that people want.

The Designated Fund is part of Highways England’s award-winning “The Road to Growth” strategic economic growth plan. The plan received national recognition from the Institute of Economic Development (IED) for having the “greatest economic impact” at their 2017 annual awards ceremony.

The five schemes announced today are:

A404/A4155 Westhorpe Interchange improvements, Buckinghamshire

The scheme will create the opportunity for up to 560 jobs at the Globe Business Park and enable over 22,000 sqm of vacant space that would be brought back to life and used by businesses. In total, the project will receive funding of £1.75 million which is being made up of £1.18 million from the Growth and Housing Fund, £500,000 private finding and an additional £63,000 provided by the Local Enterprise Partnership. Work on the scheme is expected to commence late 2018/spring 2019.

M58 Wigan Link Road (Greater Manchester)

This package of work is designed to improve accessibility in the area, help to reduce congestion and create smoother journeys for drivers. The scheme will also unlock the Pemberton Park development site and 250 new homes and support the delivery of a further 170 homes and 2,600 jobs at the neighbouring ‘Bell Site’. The £23.6 million package of work will be funded by £5 million from the Growth and Housing Fund, a public funding contribution from Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, £10.9 million from Greater Manchester growth deal and £3.1 million provided by private developers. The site is expected to be open to traffic during winter 2020.

A46 RAF Newton (Nottingham)

Allocated £2.9 million from the Growth and Housing Fund, a new link bridge over the A46 will be installed connecting the former RAF Newton site with critical transport links and public amenity services in central Bingham. The scheme will also receive £970,000 of private funding and will unlock the land to create up to 550 local homes and deliver substantial benefits to improve safety and conditions for vulnerable road users.

A590 Cross-a-moor (Cumbria)

This scheme will see an upgrade of the existing junction at Cross-a-Moor, Cumbria into a four arm roundabout which will provide a number of key local development sites with direct access to the A590 trunk road. The £5.05 million scheme has been allocated £3.05 million from the Growth and Housing Fund, £2.03 million in third party match funding which will include £1.73 million of private funding and a contribution from South Lakeland District Council. The scheme will also unlock 106 local homes, and three further sites with the potential to deliver 895 new homes In the future.

Forder Valley Link Road (Plymouth)

This £37.84 million package of works includes the construction of the Forder Valley Link Road which will connect the A386 at Derriford to the A38 to the east of the city. Allocated £4,470 from the Growth and Housing Fund, the link road will form part of a range of transport interventions that will help to accommodate a number of developments and will unlock up to 651 homes, and 1,227 additional jobs. The scheme will also be funded by a private match of £6.4 million.The scheme is fully supported by both the local authority and the LEP (local enterprise partnership, with a substantial £22.55 million of other public (LEP) funding also being brought forward to enable the scheme to progress.

Highways England’s Growth and Housing Fund has so far made contributions of over £77 million to improve 21 improvements, unlocking over 38,000 new homes and more than 44,000 jobs around Swindon, Exeter, Weston Super Mare, Darlington, Scunthorpe, Grantham, Warrington, Honiton, Derby, Foxdenton (Oldham), Taunton, Durham, Daventry, Southampton, Leicestershire and Whiteley (Hampshire).

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.

Rogue landlords have been put on notice as government has announced today (28 December 2017) a raft of new measures to crack down on bad practices, stamp out overcrowding and improve standards for those renting in the private sector.

Housing Minister Alok Sharma has set out how, subject to parliamentary clearance, landlords renting properties in England occupied by 5 or more people, from 2 or more separate households will need to be licensed.

The move, affecting around 160,000 houses, will mean councils can take further action to crack down on unscrupulous landlords renting sub-standard and overcrowded homes.

Government has also set out details of criminal offences which will automatically ban someone from being a landlord. From April next year, someone convicted of offences such as burglary and stalking can be added to the database of rogue landlords and be barred from renting properties.

These latest measures build on government action to date to drive up safety and standards in the private rented sector. This includes bringing in fines of up to £30,000 for dodgy landlords, protections for tenants from revenge evictions and £12 million funding for councils to take enforcement action in hotspot areas.

Housing and Planning Minister Alok Sharma said:

Every tenant has a right to a safe, secure and decent home. But far too many are being exploited by unscrupulous landlords who profit from providing overcrowded, squalid and sometimes dangerous homes.

Enough is enough and so I’m putting these rogue landlords on notice – shape up or ship out of the rental business.

Through a raft of new powers we are giving councils the further tools they need to crack down these rogue landlords and kick them out of the business for good.

The move will also benefit wider communities fed up with living near shoddily maintained properties without proper bins, dumped rubbish and anti social behaviour. Landlords will be held responsible for making sure the council’s rules on refuse and recycling are followed.

New rules will also come into force setting minimum size requirements for bedrooms in houses of multiple occupation to prevent overcrowding. As part of the licencing requirements, local councils will be able to make sure only rooms meeting the standard are used for sleeping.

Further information

The new measures announced today were subject to consultation with the majority of responses supporting the new proposals:

• Consultation on proposed banning order offences under the Housing and Planning Act 2016
• Houses in Multiple Occupation and residential property licensing reforms

Houses in multiple occupation

There are around 4.3 million households in the private rented sector in England, with around 500,000 houses in multiple occupation.

The new licensing rules only apply to certain houses in multiple occupation in England.

National mandatory licensing currently only applies if properties are 3 or more storeys. This is being changed so flats and one/two-storey properties will be brought within scope.

Minimum space requirements

Rooms used for sleeping by 1 adult will have to be no smaller than 6.51 square metres, and those slept in by 2 adults will have to be no smaller than 10.22 square metres. Rooms slept in by children of 10 years and younger will have to be no smaller than 4.64 square metres.

The licence must specify the maximum number of persons (if any) who may occupy any room and the total number across the different rooms must be the same as the number of persons for whom the property is suitable to live in.

Banning orders and landlord database

A small number of rogue or criminal landlords knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a range of measures to tackle rogue landlords:

• civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution – came into force April 2017
• extension of Rent Repayment Orders to cover illegal eviction, breach of a banning order or failure to comply with a statutory notice – came into force April 2017
• banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders – to be implemented in April 2018
• a database of rogue landlords/letting agents convicted of certain offences – to be implemented in April 2018

• Proposals could allow everyone onboard to stream videos simultaneously
• Fibre optic cables and mobile masts could be rolled out alongside tracks to provide gigabit speeds to trains
• Ministers now looking at “future proofing” rail connectivity to help pave the way for a 5G rollout

The Government has fired the starting gun on an ambitious plan that could see the UK’s train passengers to benefit from a dramatic improvement in onboard mobile and Wi-Fi connections.

The rapid growth of mobile data requirements and the use of smartphones and tablets now means that consumers expect high quality, reliable connectivity everywhere. As part of its 5G strategy the Government has committed to improving coverage where people live, work and travel – including on trains.

Minimum standards for mobile connectivity on new franchises already being introduced, but today’s proposals set out how, working with industry, connectivity for passengers on all mainline routes could be dramatically improved by 2025.

Each train could get speeds of around 1 Gigabit Per Second (Gbps). This would future proof the connectivity, and in practice could allow several hundred passengers to stream uninterrupted video content at the same time.

Minister for Digital Matt Hancock said:

We want people to be able to get connected where they live, work and travel. This means improving connections on Britain’s railways now, and making sure they are fit for the future. We’ve got a long way to travel but our destination is world-class signal for passengers. This will not only make journeys more enjoyable and productive, but will help improve the operation and safety of the railway and deliver economic benefits for the whole of the UK.

Bruce Williamson from Railfuture said:

Wi-fi has moved from being an optional extra to something essential for the 21st century rail passenger, so we welcome any improvements to capacity and coverage. It should become absolutley standard for all trains on the British railway network to have seamless connectivity, as it’s essential for attracting the smartphone connected generation to rail, as well as the business traveller working on the move. Very soon, trains without wi-fi will become unthinkable, and rail passengers will look forward to the day when the phone doesn’t cut out in tunnels.

Rail passenger connectivity is largely delivered through mobile phone networks operating from remote (non-trackside) masts, meaning coverage is patchy and in many places, non existent. To deliver the improvements, upgraded trackside infrastructure could be required for reliable connectivity in areas of high passenger demand and in hard to reach areas such as tunnels.
Delivering this will involve laying fibre along the tracks, mounting wireless devices on masts (and other trackside infrastructure) to transmit the signal to the train; and providing power supplies to these masts.

To help us understand some of the technical and practical deployment challenges of trackside infrastructure, work has already begun on a trial on the Trans Pennine route between Manchester and York, in partnership with Network Rail. This will ensure we know how best to make use of existing trackside infrastructure and utilise Network Rail assets, as well as testing suitable track-to-train radio systems to deliver services to passengers under real-life conditions. This pilot is part of the government’s £31 billion National Productivity Investment Fund, which has already earmarked £1bn specifically for improving Britain’s digital infrastructure, ensuring the UK is match-fit for the future.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

We are investing record levels delivering the biggest rail improvement plan since Victorian times to improve services for passengers – providing faster, better and more comfortable trains with extra seats.

Improved mobile connectivity will help passengers to keep up with work, connect with friends or even check the latest journey information online while on the move, as we continue to build and develop a railway fit for the twenty-first century.

A call for evidence has now been launched on the different ways the improvements could be delivered to support the Government’s ambitions to have a digitally connected railway that meets customers expectations and cements the UK’s place as a world leader in 5G technology.

Notes to Editors

1. Take part in the consultation

2. Network Rail already owns trackside fibre along parts of the rail corridor. Where possible, it will make available access to trackside assets (e.g. fibre, underground ducts, masts and power) on an appropriate basis, to support commercial models.

3. The project could be delivered via:

• dedicated trackside infrastructure comprising base stations/masts, fibre to backhaul the signal from the masts to the core telecoms network, and access to power for these systems

• a radio system external to the train that links it to the trackside system. The radio system including spectrum must be capable of meeting growing passenger demand

• in-carriage systems that provide Wi-Fi and/or mobile network connectivity

More than 40 British doctors, nurses and firefighters from the UK’s Emergency Medical Team (EMT) are making their way to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh to save thousands of lives at risk from a rapid and deadly outbreak of diphtheria.

This is the first ever deployment of Britain’s EMT since it was certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2016 and will see more than a dozen medical heroes fly out shortly after Christmas on 28 December, followed by the rest in the days after.

The UK’s latest response follows a formal request for assistance from the WHO and the Government of Bangladesh after more than 2000 suspected cases and 22 reported deaths from the airborne virus. This is expected to increase significantly over the Christmas period and there are currently not enough staff or beds to manage the outbreak.

Diphtheria is a fast spreading, extremely deadly infection, and there are a reported 160 new cases every day in Cox’s Bazar which is home to more than 600,000 Rohingya people who have recently fled the violence and military persecution in Burma. It is especially dangerous for children who are particularly vulnerable. It causes extreme difficulty breathing, inflammation of the heart which can lead to heart failure, problems with the nervous system and fatal paralysis.

People in the UK are routinely vaccinated against diphtheria; however, the overcrowded camps are a breeding ground for this fatal disease. DFID is already providing vaccines in response to the crisis.

The EMT will be deployed to Cox’s Bazar for six weeks, where clinicians will work using existing health facilities. This will include 36 NHS medics, such as doctors, nurses and epidemiologists who will provide immediate specialist life-saving care to tackle the diphtheria outbreak, as well as around five logistics staff from UK fire and rescue services who will provide expert advice to create the right infrastructure for the EMT to start their urgent work.

The UK’s support will strengthen the capacity of the Government of Bangladesh and NGOs to manage future outbreaks.

An advance team will travel to Cox’s Bazar on 27 December to make logistical preparations. Following pre-deployment training, all remaining staff will be deployed from the 28 December, with the first wave leaving from Manchester Airport.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

This will be an absolutely critical deployment, in a race against time for men, women and children at risk of dying from one of the world’s cruellest infections.

Our brave British medical heroes are the world leaders in saving lives, acting rapidly in crisis to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.

I have heard first-hand the harrowing stories of Rohingya families who have escaped persistent persecution, violence and tragedy. In the face of this new horror it is absolutely right that we step up to end their relentless suffering and stop them falling prey to a rampaging, preventable disease that could kill thousands.

Department of Health Minister Steve Brine said:

The UK has a proud tradition of supporting nations in need.

Today marks another proud moment in the history of the NHS as selfless clinical staff once again show their skill, commitment and passion for helping people around the world.

Notes for Editors:

1. The UK’s Emergency Medical Team is a collaboration between DFID, the NHS, Public Health England, UK Med – a register of NHS volunteers ready to deploy to emergencies, Handicap International and the UK Fire and Rescue Service. This is the first deployment of the EMT since it was verified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in December 2016. UK medical personnel have previously been deployed to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013 and the Nepal earthquake in 2015.
2. The deployment will be funded from DFID’s Bangladesh humanitarian budget – up to £650,000 has been earmarked for the EMT.
3. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection. It most often causes infection of the upper respiratory tract. Diphtheria is most commonly spread from person to person through respiratory droplets (coughs and sneezes), or by direct contact with either respiratory secretions or infected skin lesions. Respiratory diphtheria usually occurs after an incubation period of 2-5 days. It causes life-threatening airway obstruction (suffocation) if untreated
4. The first suspected case of diphtheria was reported on 10 November at an MSF clinic in Cox’s Bazar. The outbreak was confirmed through laboratory testing on 04 December 2017. As of 23/12, 2,248 suspected cases of diphtheria and 22 deaths have been reported.
5. In response to the diphtheria outbreak in Cox’s Bazaar, existing clinical facilitates are being converted and scaled up. This is currently being led by Médecins Sans Frontières MSF and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). However IOM and other international NGOs are unable to manage the complex care needs of these patients, which is why they require the support of UK staff.
6. IOM will provide the medical facilities for the deployment. WHO will provide drugs. UK EMT will provide a specialised clinical team, clinical oversight, some key medical equipment not available in country, and accommodation and transport for staff.
7. Following the request for international assistance by the World Health Organisation on 15 December, a UK EMT team travelled to Bangladesh to conduct an emergency assessment, and recommended the deployment of the EMT.
8. Staff will be rotated out of Cox’s Bazaar after three weeks, to ensure they remain fresh. Staff will have a diphtheria booster injection before deployment and will then be at minimal risk of contracting the disease.
9. The International Development Secretary visited Cox’s Bazar in November 2017, where she announced extra UK aid for the humanitarian crisis, providing urgently needed food now and ensuring more lives are not put at risk when international funding starts to run out in February 2018. This brings the UK’s total humanitarian support to £59 million since 25 August 2017.
10. Free-to-use video content is available to download here.