Day: October 12, 2018

A groundbreaking project led by Natural England to help churches that host large bat roosts has been granted £3.8 million of funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

This new round of funding will help deliver a five year partnership project, bringing together wildlife, heritage conservation and church organisations to save bats and protect churches for future generations.

The UK’s bat population has suffered significant historical decline which is why they are protected by UK law. Loss of natural habitats means some bat species have been forced to find safe havens in buildings including historic churches.

Many church communities live harmoniously with bat roosts. However, in some cases bats are causing irreparable damage to historically significant church monuments and memorials as well as impacting upon the people who use the buildings.

Recently approved techniques and a new licence developed by Natural England to permit necessary work will be used to improve both the natural and historic environment and to support the people who care for them.

The Bats in Churches project will:

• Find practical solutions to enable 102 of the most severely impacted church communities to reduce the impact of bats on the church, without harming them
• Create a new network of fully trained volunteers who can undertake bat surveys and support congregations who have bat roosts at their church
• Train professional ecologists and historic building specialists in new techniques and build knowledge to improve their advice to congregations
• Collect and collate up-to-date data from over 700 churches across England, helping to build a specialist knowledge base of bats and their use of churches
• Strengthen local communities so people value and engage with their local natural and historic built heritage

Natural England is working in partnership with The Church of England, Historic England, Bat Conservation Trust and Churches Conservation Trust to deliver this ambitious and innovative project.

Natural England Chairman, Andrew Sells, said:

England’s bat population has suffered historic decline which has forced many to find refuge in some of the nation’s historic churches.

The funding announced today will give great impetus to the partnership of heritage, wildlife and church organisations which aims to resolve conflicts. Together these groups are demonstrating astonishing passion and drive in working together to save these wonderful animals and protect cherished churches across the country.

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:

Places of worship and nature are both priorities for us, but they don’t always coexist harmoniously. Finding ways to solve this problem is beneficial to bats, churches and their congregations and is a really good use of National Lottery players’ money.

Kit Stoner, Chief Executive of the Bat Conservation Trust, said:

We are absolutely delighted with the news that HLF will continue to fund the Bats in Churches project. This means we can build on the collaborative and innovative approach we have taken so far in finding sustainable ways to support churches with large bat roosts in a way that will benefit bats and people.

Church and conservation communities can continue to work together to protect historic medieval church buildings, artefacts and bats.

Protecting our natural and historical heritage will create a lasting legacy that will benefit present and future generations.

Deborah Lamb, Deputy Chief Executive at Historic England, said:

Volunteers caring for historic places of worship face a great challenge. When they also have to share the building with bats the situation can be overwhelming.

I am delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has agreed to support the Bats in Churches partnership so we can apply the outcome of a decade of research to places that need help. This should make life easier for everyone who uses or loves historic churches that host bats.

Peter Aiers, Chief Executive of the Churches Conservation Trust, said:

I love churches, iconic buildings of England and I love bats, however, humans and bats are not always happy pew fellows!

Many of the CCT’s historic churches have co-existed in harmony with bats for a long time. We want that to continue, but we also rely on volunteer support to keep our churches open and used by the community.

Increasingly volunteers find it a struggle to look after a church with large numbers of bats. This project is critical to our understanding of how we can support them and better look after our heritage, and we are delighted that the HLF has decided to back this creative partnership project.

Rt. Hon. Sir Tony Baldry, Chair of the Church Buildings Council, said:

Bats are part of God’s creation and this project will enable churches to maintain their primary role as Places of Worship whilst ensuring the sustainability of both our historic and natural heritage.

Dame Caroline Spelman, Second Church Estates Commissioner, said:

This ground-breaking partnership project means that at long last churches will be empowered to tackle the issues that have caused tension between churches, communities and bats leading to benefits for all involved’

The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has urged sheep farmers to remain vigilant for bluetongue virus (BTV) after the disease was picked up and dealt with in a consignment of four sheep imported from France.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Pirbright Institute identified the disease as part of routine post-import testing when the sheep were brought to Lancashire. The four sheep have been humanely culled as a result.

Bluetongue does not affect people or food safety. The virus is transmitted by midge bites and affects cattle, goats, sheep and other camelids such as llamas. It can reduce milk yield, cause infertility and in the most severe cases is fatal for infected animals.

The midges are most active between May and October and not all susceptible animals show immediate signs of contracting the virus.

Action is being taken to ensure the spread of the disease is prevented, with movement restrictions at the affected premises. This follows similar action taken for two affected cattle last month.

Strict rules on the movement of livestock from regions affected by bluetongue are already in place. However, sheep farmers are strongly reminded to:

• Discuss their needs with a private veterinary surgeon and consider the risks and the health status of animals when sourcing stock from regions affected by bluetongue virus, such as France.
• Consider what additional guarantees the seller can provide as to the animal’s vaccination status before purchasing (for example – by requesting that a pre-export test is carried out to prove immunity to BTV).
• Ensure that imported animals are accompanied by original health certificates and are kept by the person who ordered the consignment.
• Prevent the disease spreading by practising good biosecurity on their farm premises.
• Stay alert to any signs of the disease, such as mouth ulcers and drooling from the mouth and nose, and report to APHA immediately.

Chief Veterinary Officer for the UK, Christine Middlemiss, said:

Bluetongue does not pose a threat to human health or food safety, but the disease can have a serious impact on farming productivity by causing sheep infertility. This is particularly important at this time of year.

This detection is another example of our robust disease surveillance procedures in action but must highlight to farmers the risks that come with bringing animals from disease-affected areas into their herds. It is also a clear reminder for farmers that the disease remains a threat, despite coming towards the end of the season when midges are active.

Farmers must remain vigilant and report any suspicions to APHA. They should also work with importers to make sure effective vaccination needs are complied with and that all animals are sourced responsibly.

The UK Government has worked closely with a number of groups to raise awareness of the threat of bluetongue through the Joint campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB). More information about bluetongue is available here.

Skills Minister Anne Milton announced today (12 October 2018) the first 37 providers to receive funding from the Taking Teaching Further (TTF) programme, which has been set up to help recruit the best and brightest candidates from industry into the post-16 and further education workforce and support an ongoing exchange between industry and FE.

The colleges and providers, in areas ranging from Cumbria and Northumberland, to Kent and Norwich, will aim to recruit the country’s first 80 TTF teachers from specific sectors and encourage them to retrain to work in those institutions.

Alongside the support to train new teachers, 20 innovative projects are also being funded totalling over £900,000 to explore how industry and the further education sector can work together to make sure students gain the knowledge and skills businesses really need.

Taking Teaching Further was launched in June as a pilot programme to further boost the quality of the post-16 teaching workforce by bringing in more diverse experiences and skills.

The scheme represents one part of the government’s wider investment in the further education sector as it prepares to introduce the first gold standard T Level qualifications from 2020 – high-quality technical courses equivalent to A levels. T Levels will provide young people with the cutting-edge skills and experience they need to secure a good job or progress into further training.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton said:

Attracting talented people to teach in Further education has never been more important. We are transforming technical education in this country with the introduction of new T Levels. We want staff with industry skills to pass on their expertise to the next generation.

I’m thrilled that we have a chance to bring industry to colleges and it will be exciting to see the differences they can make to their colleges and the students they teach. Further education changes lives, and our inspiring teachers are a huge part of that.

Chief Executive of the Education and Training Foundation David Russell said:

The Taking Teaching Further programme shows how our sector is rising to the challenge of building the country’s future. This programme will add significant impetus to the recruitment of world-class teachers and trainers into FE who combine teaching excellence with hands-on industry experience.

Those who have been successful in this first tranche will set a new benchmark for bringing in talent and expertise to improve technical teaching and support the development of our brilliant FE workforce.

Taking Teaching Further focuses on supporting priority sectors, including the first T Level subjects to be taught –Education and Childcare, Digital, and Construction – as well as Engineering and Manufacturing and other STEM subjects. The next round will open for applications in December.

The first 3 T Levels will be taught in more than 50 colleges from 2020, with the remaining 22 phased in after that. This landmark reform will provide young people with a genuine choice between technical and academic education post-16.

Colleges and FE providers to host the first TTF teachers:

• Blackpool and the Fylde College
• Bridgwater and Taunton College
• Buckinghamshire College Group
• Calderdale College
• Capital City College Group
• City College Norwich
• City College Plymouth
• East Kent College
• Grimsby Institute
• Kirklees College
• Lakes College
• Learning Skills Partnership
• Leicester College
• Northampton College
• Northumberland County Council
• Oldham College
• Petroc College
• Reaseheath College
• St Helens Chamber
• Tameside College
• Wakefield College
• Walsall College
• West Suffolk College

Colleges and FE providers to run first projects:

• Abingdon and Witney College
• Bath College
• Blackburn College
• Bournemouth and Poole College
• Calderdale College
• DN Colleges Group
• East Kent College
• Genius Solutions
• Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network
• Harlow College
• Learning Skills Partnership
• London South East Colleges
• North Kent College
• Northampton College
• Petroc College
• Sandwell College
• The Consortium of Vocational & Educational Trainers (COVET)
• The Isle of Wight College
• Walsall College
• Weston College

Plans to raise standards across the entire property agent sector so home buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords and leaseholders receive the best service possible have been announced today (12 October 2018) by Housing Minister Heather Wheeler MP.

A new working group, chaired by Lord Best, and made up of experts from across the property sector will consider options. This will include the case for regulation and the introduction of mandatory qualifications for all property agents so tenants, homebuyers and sellers can be confident they are getting a professional service and are being charged fairly.

At the moment, anyone can operate as a property agent without any qualifications or professional oversight. Many take a professional approach and sign up to standards of practice through membership of a professional body, but others do not.

The working group will consider the entire property agent sector to ensure any new framework, including any professional qualifications requirements, a Code of Practice, and a proposed independent regulator, is consistent across letting, managing and estate agents.

Speaking following the announcement, Housing Minister, Heather Wheeler MP said:

For too long, many people have faced incurring fees and bad service from a number of property agents. People should have confidence when buying, selling or renting a home.

Lord Best’s wealth of knowledge will provide a valuable insight and help us make necessary changes to ensure consumers have confidence when buying, selling, letting or renting their home.

Lord Best will be joined by representatives of agents and consumers, as well as independent experts, with the group instructed to report back to government in summer 2019.

Lord Best said:

There have been calls for tighter, fairer regulation of property agents from those representing tenants, landlords and agents themselves.

I am delighted to work with government, industry and consumers to advise on how we can accomplish this in practice, and I look forward to our working group achieving real progress together.

Other members of the group include representatives from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the National Landlords Association, Citizens Advice, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA Propertymark) and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA Propertymark). This is to ensure the entire sector is represented and the needs of both businesses and consumers are considered.

Further information

Lord Best is an independent cross bencher and social housing leader. See his full biography.

The principal aim of the Regulating Property Agents Working Group will be to advise the government on a new regulatory approach to letting, managing and estate agents, in line with the government’s responses to its calls for evidence on:

• protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market
• and improving the home buying and selling process

In particular, the Working Group will be responsible for advising on:

• a model for an independent property-agent regulator, including how it will operate and how it will enforce compliance
• a single, mandatory and legally-enforceable Code of Practice for letting and managing agents, and whether similar could be provided for estate agents
• a system of minimum entry requirements and continuing professional development for letting, managing and estate agents
• a standardised approach for presenting transparent service charges to leaseholders and freeholders
• an easier statutory-backed process for consumers to challenge unfair service charges
• whether other fees and charges which affect both leaseholders and freeholders are justified; should be capped or banned
• further measures to professionalise estate agency
• as well as additional matters which in its opinion support the aims above

Recommendations are of relevance to the whole of the UK. Lettings and managing agents powers are devolved, but estate agency powers are reserved.

A recent survey by Which? found that 85% of landlords who use an agent are satisfied with the service and 67% of tenants were satisfied with the way their agent repairs and maintains their home.