Press release: Further environmental checks for Grenfell site

  • Additional environmental checks to reassure survivors and local residents following Grenfell Tower fire
  • Past land-use assessment underway and soil testing programme proposed
  • Air quality testing to date indicates that the risk to public health is very low
  • Up to £50 million already committed by the NHS to fund long-term health services for survivors and local residents

Additional environmental checks are to be carried out in and around the Grenfell Tower site to provide extra reassurance to survivors and local residents.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, NHS England, Public Health England and the Environment Agency have joined forces to ensure the bereaved, survivors and wider North Kensington community receive health assurances and support.

In addition to up to £50 million committed by NHS England to carry out a 5-year health monitoring programme, as well as ongoing air quality monitoring at the site, the plans involve:

  • further environmental sampling of the site, including comprehensive soil analysis to check for any signs of contamination
  • water analysis will take place if required
  • wider health monitoring and treatment options to reassure those affected

Secretary of State for Communities, the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said:

We take the wellbeing of Grenfell Tower survivors and local residents extremely seriously and it’s essential they have peace of mind regarding their health.

The government is asking leading experts from the Environment Agency to make sure soil surveying around the tower is comprehensive and that analysis will be provided to the public.

We recognise the concerns the community have raised with us, and we are clear that we will do whatever it takes to give them the reassurance they need and deserve.

Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Dr Patrick Vallance added:

I fully support the decision of the Secretary of State to commission further environmental analysis and stand ready to offer scientific advice on the process.

Public Health England’s Regional Director for London, Dr Yvonne Doyle, said:

Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy we have been working very closely with local health partners and the Grenfell community to ensure that they have access to best available public health evidence and advice.

It is not unusual to find areas of contamination in cities which is often associated with historic land use or heavy traffic. It is generally considered to be very low risk to health because people would need to be exposed to the soil over long periods of time.

We will continue to speak to local people and community groups to ensure they have all of the information they need about health.

The immediate risk to health in the aftermath of the fire was from potentially contaminated air and independent air quality monitoring was commissioned by Public Health England, which has shown the risk to public health to be consistently low.

Soil testing will determine whether there are contaminants identified beyond those which we would expect to be present in cities like London.

Many parts of the land that will be investigated are known to be former industrial sites where contamination can already exist, but the examinations that will be carried out will determine if remediation is required.

Contaminated land is generally considered to be very low risk to health, as any impact would be the result of exposure over a long period.

Further information

Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, health services have specifically targeted survivors, bereaved, neighbouring residents and the wider North Kensington community. This has included extended appointments and health checks, including physical and mental health, and enhanced case management. NHS England has also delivered ongoing respiratory fast track provision and community engagement on health and wellbeing to identify any unmet needs.

Advice to the public remains unchanged. Local residents who are concerned about their health should contact their GP. Further information is available on the North Kensington Health Response website.

The air quality around the Grenfell Tower will continue to be monitored daily and the findings published weekly by Public Health England. See results and general health advice.

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Link: Press release: Further environmental checks for Grenfell site
Source: Gov Press Releases

Press release: Lord Chancellor announces 2% pay increase for judges

  • Government responds to annual pay review
  • Biggest pay rise for judges in 10 years
  • Separate major review of judges’ pay also published

The rise is in line with that of other public-sector workers, including doctors and police officers, and follows the annual pay review for 2018/19 by the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB). It will come into effect immediately and be backdated to April 2018.

The Government has also today published the recommendations of a separate major review of judges’ pay by the SSRB. This was commissioned by the Government in October 2016 to take account of wider issues facing the judiciary, including recruitment and retention.

The SSRB’s recommendations, which have been published today, will now be considered and responded to in full at a later date.

Lord Chancellor David Gauke said:

Our independent judiciary is the cornerstone of the rule of law, and effective remuneration is critical to the continued attraction and retention of high calibre judges.

I am pleased to announce today a 2% pay increase across the judiciary – the highest in 10 years.

Alongside this, the SSRB has published its findings following a major review of judges’ pay. We will carefully consider the recommendations and respond in due course.

The Lord Chancellor has also announced that the recruitment and retention allowance for High Court Judges will remain in place until the Government has responded to the major review.

The quality and dependability of the judiciary is a critical part of maintaining the UK’s reputation as the leading centre for international dispute resolution, and English law as a pre-eminent choice for contracts.

Notes to Editors:

Link: Press release: Lord Chancellor announces 2% pay increase for judges
Source: Gov Press Releases

The Armed Forces Pension Schemes and Early Departure Payments Schemes (Amendments Relating to Flexible Working and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018

These Regulations amend the Armed Forces Pension Scheme Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/438), the Armed Forces Early Departure Payments Scheme Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/437), the Armed Forces Pension Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/2336) and the Armed Forces Early Departure Payments Scheme Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/2328).

Link: The Armed Forces Pension Schemes and Early Departure Payments Schemes (Amendments Relating to Flexible Working and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018
Source: Legislation .gov.uk

Press release: September 2018 Price Paid Data

This month’s Price Paid Data includes details of more than 96,300 sales of land and property in England and Wales that HM Land Registry received for registration in September 2018.

In the dataset you can find the date of sale for each property, its full address and sale price, its category (residential or commercial) and type (detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat or maisonette and other), whether it is new build or not and whether it is freehold or leasehold.

The number of sales received for registration by property type and month

Property type September 2018 August 2018 July 2018
Detached 22,902 23,132 21,568
Semi-detached 25,127 26,430 24,964
Terraced 25,333 26,426 25,554
Flat/maisonette 17,081 17,471 17,368
Other 5,912 6,306 6,267
Total 96,355 99,765 95,721

Of the 96,355 sales received for registration in September 2018:

  • 73,463 were freehold, a 1.3% increase on September 2017
  • 11,270 were newly built, a 25% increase on September 2017

There is a time difference between the sale of a property and its registration at HM Land Registry.

Of the 96,355 sales received for registration, 21,016 took place in September 2018 of which:

  • 450 were of residential properties in England and Wales for £1 million and over
  • 251 were of residential properties in Greater London for £1 million and over
  • 2 were of residential properties in West Midlands for more than £1 million
  • 3 were of residential properties in Greater Manchester for more than £1 million
  • none were residential properties in Cardiff for more than £1 million

The most expensive residential sale taking place in September 2018 was of a terraced property in Kensington and Chelsea for £14,000,000. The cheapest residential sale in September 2018 was of a terraced property in Hyndburn for £18,000.

The most expensive commercial sale taking place in September 2018 was in Ascot for £23,625,000. The cheapest commercial sales in September 2018 were in Ruislip and Benfleet for £100.

Access the full dataset

Notes to editors

  1. Price Paid Data is published at 11am on the 20th working day of each month. The next dataset will be published on Wednesday 28 November 2018.
  2. Price Paid Data is property price data for all residential and commercial property sales in England and Wales that are lodged with HM Land Registry for registration in that month, subject to exclusions.
  3. The amount of time between the sale of a property and the registration of this information with HM Land Registry varies. It typically ranges between two weeks and two months. Data for the two most recent months is therefore incomplete and does not give an indication of final monthly volumes. Occasionally the interval between sale and registration is longer than two months. The small number of sales affected cannot be updated for publication until the sales are lodged for registration.
  4. Price Paid Data categories are either Category A (Standard entries) which includes single residential properties sold for full market value or Category B (Additional entries) for example sales to a company, buy-to-lets where they can be identified by a mortgage and repossessions.
  5. HM Land Registry has been collecting information on Category A sales from January 1995 and on Category B sales from October 2013.
  6. Price Paid Data can be downloaded in text, CSV format and in a machine readable format as linked data and is released under Open Government Licence (OGL). Under the OGL, HM Land Registry permits the use of Price Paid Data for commercial or non-commercial purposes. However, the OGL does not cover the use of third party rights, which HM Land Registry is not authorised to license.
  7. The Price Paid Data report builder allows users to build bespoke reports using the data. Reports can be based on location, estate type, price paid or property type over a defined period of time.
  8. HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales.
  9. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
  10. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for some 85% of the land mass of England and Wales.
  11. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry.
  12. Follow us on Twitter @HMLandRegistry, ourblog, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Contact

Press Office

Trafalgar House
1 Bedford Park
Croydon
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Link: Press release: September 2018 Price Paid Data
Source: Gov Press Releases

Press release: Dstl trio named as finalist for the 2018 Women in Defence UK awards.

After making the shortlist announced in September, Penny Brookes, Carolyn Stothard and Petra Oyston progressed to the final three for their respective categories. The awards recognise exceptional women, men and teams in UK defence and this year, organisers have received over 300 nominations from across the defence community, including the Armed Forces, the MOD civil service and the defence industry.

Penny is a finalist in the Most Collaborative Award category, highlighting individuals who can demonstrate that creating a collaborative working arrangement within their organisation or working with another one creating a positive effect.

Her nominator said:

Penny has built an international research team that is delivering cutting-edge forensic techniques to benefit defence and security. She is quick to give credit to others; members of her team frequently receive awards and are asked to be plenary speakers at conferences. Penny’s role as the conductor of this diverse orchestra is often missed, and she deserves wider recognition.

Reflecting on her nomination, Penny said:

I’m really proud to be nominated for this award. Although this falls within the category for individual awards, this award is for all of my colleagues (women and men) who research and develop forensic techniques. We are a diverse project team of over forty staff across five divisions of Dstl engaging across government, with UK academia, commercial partners and international partners within Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Petra has made the final three in the Innovation Award category, for excellence in innovation that has multiplied the effect of the UK defence mission.

Commenting on her award and work Petra, said:

Dstl is a science and technology organisation, and innovation is at the heart of what we do. I work with so many motivated, talented people, doing rewarding innovative research that makes a real difference to our Armed Forces, and so being nominated for this award is just so amazing and really reflects the team effort. I have been leading an effort evaluating synthetic biology and the opportunities this technology creates for defence capability. Using the power of biology we have overcome some of the challenges that have held back progress in improved and affordable armour materials in recent years.

Carolyn is included as a finalist in the Unsung Heroines category, celebrating those women, who, on an enduring basis, have improved the ‘lot’ of people in defence, essential to an organisation’s output but never seeking recognition for what they do.
Described as “caring, understanding and sensitive”, Carolyn is a dedicated line-manager, mentor and mediator and has supported many with mental health difficulties and neurodevelopmental conditions. She improves people’s lives while developing a productive and inclusive working environment.

Carolyn said:

I am both surprised and genuinely delighted to be nominated for this award. I am proud to be able to raise the profile of women in Dstl, and the many and varied roles they undertake. I am simply a representative of all the many unsung heroines within the organisation. I consider myself to be extremely lucky to work for Dstl, which delivers such interesting, and important work – and moreover having the opportunity to work with some exceptional individuals.

Congratulations also go to Debra Carr, who made the shortlist for the Most Collaborative award and Michelle Nelson, who was shortlisted in the Outstanding Contribution award category.

The awards dinner takes place on Tuesday 6th November, when the winners of each category will be announced in the presence of the Secretary of State for Defence, The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP.

Link: Press release: Dstl trio named as finalist for the 2018 Women in Defence UK awards.
Source: Gov Press Releases