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Press release: Flood risk management scheme for Worcestershire village opens

Today (Thursday 4 October) celebrates the official opening of a £4.1 million flood risk management scheme, which will reduce the risk of flooding for 272 homes and businesses in Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot.

Nigel Huddleston MP for Mid-Worcestershire, Worcestershire County Councillor Liz Eyre BEM, who represents Broadway, and Tony Jones, retired Chief Engineer from Wychavon District Council, will be unveiling a plaque and burying a time capsule at Badsey Brook in Broadway. Anthony Parry from the Environment Agency will be giving an outline of the scheme.

Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot were severely flooded in 2007 following record breaking rainfall across the area and the villages were again flooded in 2012. The new flood storage area, sited at an 18 acre field in Broadway, will be able to hold up to 135,000 cubic metres of water during times of flood and will only allow a set amount of water to flow downstream at times of intense and high rainfall. This will reduce flood risk to 57 properties in Broadway and 215 properties in Childswickham and Murcot.

The Badsey Brook flood risk management scheme has been delivered as part of the Environment Agency’s £2.6b capital investment programme to reduce flood risk to 300,000 homes by 2021.

The Environment Agency, Worcestershire County Council, Wychavon District Council, Broadway Parish Council and Childswickham Parish Council worked in partnership to secure over £2 million of Government Grant in Aid funding towards the scheme. The Environment Agency’s English Severn and Wye Regional Flood and Coastal Committee also contributed £1.2million. Worcestershire County Council and Wychavon District Council and the local parishes contributed the remaining £900,000.

As a condition of the planning application, detailed archaeological investigations, part funded by Worcestershire County Council, were carried out at the site, unearthing evidence of settlements dating back around 8,500 years. Finds included a beaker dating from around 2,000 BC and skeletons of a mother and baby.

Daniel Wilkinson from the Environment Agency said:

Flooding has a devastating impact on the lives of people and communities that are affected. It’s brilliant that by working with our partners we have found a solution that is designed to greatly reduce the risk of flooding for residents living in Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot.

Nigel Huddleston MP commented:

I am delighted that after so much hard work the Badsey Brook scheme is being officially opened. Broadway and Childswickham in my constituency suffered terrible flooding in 2007 and 2012, so it is a huge relief to see substantive action taken to avoid this happening again.

Flooding is personally, financially and environmentally devastating and as local MP I would like to thank the Environment Agency, Worcestershire County Council, Worcester Archaeology, English Severn and Wye Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, construction workers and local people for contributing to the completion of this vital scheme. May it protect people, businesses and properties for years to come.

Barrie Parmenter, Chair of Broadway Parish Council, added:

On behalf of Broadway Parish Council, I would like to thank the Environment Agency, Worcestershire County Council, Wychavon District Council and all other agencies for commissioning the flood scheme in Broadway. This now means that hundreds of families will no longer live in fear of flooding when severe weather reports are issued for the district.

Cllr. Emma Stokes, portfolio holder for environment and street scene for Wychavon District Council said:

We’re very pleased to be investing in this important flood alleviation work which will protect many homes in the local area. Flooding impacts not just on residents’ homes but is an incredibly stressful process to go through. This scheme will offer protection and peace of mind. We’re also really pleased to see former Wychavon employee Tony Jones supporting the official opening. This recognises his hard work and dedication to flood alleviation over the years.

Link: Press release: Flood risk management scheme for Worcestershire village opens
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Ending late payments to small businesses

  • Proposals include measures to empower trade bodies to highlight best and worst practices in payment behaviour in order to deliver practical improvements
  • Part of the modern Industrial Strategy, helping our small businesses deliver growth and jobs

New measures to end the problem of late payments to small businesses by large companies who abuse their position in the market have been unveiled today (4 October 2018) by the Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst as she launches a call for evidence.

Nearly a quarter of UK businesses report that late payments are a threat to their survival. Tackling them represents a huge opportunity for economic growth, with research from the Federation of Small Businesses suggesting it could add £2.5 billion to the UK economy and keep an extra 50,000 businesses open each year.

The new proposals, building on action government has already taken to improve access to finance and the appointment of the Small Business Commissioner, include:

  • the call for evidence to consider the best way company boards can put in place responsible payment practices throughout their supply chain, for example giving a non-executive director specific responsibilities for the company’s prompt payment performance
  • promoting innovative technologies, such as the latest accounting software, to help small firms manage their payments processes, and empowering trade bodies to highlight the best and worst practices in payment behaviour

Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said:

Our 5.7 million small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and ensuring we remain one of the best places in Europe to start and grow a small business is a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.

Over the past 5 years the amount owed to businesses in late payments has halved, but we will go further to make sure all of our small businesses are treated fairly.

Today’s new call for evidence will help us identify the most effective way possible to tackle this issue once and for all and ensure small businesses are on a level playing field with their larger counterparts.

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chairman Mike Cherry said:

Late payment is the biggest challenge affecting small businesses and it is good to see the government getting serious about this issue, especially when it comes to large firms paying their supply chains promptly.

The voluntary Prompt Payment Code is not working when it allows signatories like Carillion to pay on terms of over 120 days, so we want to see a new tough and transparent compliance regime being proposed.

Involving the Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal with the Code is also right as it shows a more joined-up approach to this difficult issue. Further, it is a positive step that central government will set an example – paying 90% of undisputed invoices from small and medium-sized businesses within five days.

The publication of the new call for evidence follows an announcement by the Business Secretary Greg Clark earlier this week where he set out other new measures to support small businesses, including:

  • the Small Business Commissioner to join the Prompt Payment Code’s Compliance Board to support his role in tackling late payment
  • the Board to consider all complaints made about compliance as part of regular reviews, and report on all cases of signatories being removed from the Code
  • further reform to the Code to be considered including whether the Small Business Commissioner should have a greater role in its administration

Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal said:

I welcome the opportunity to join the Prompt Payment Code’s Compliance Board. I am looking forward to working with the Prompt Payment Code Administration Team and improving current processes to ensure timely payments, which will encourage growth and productivity for SMEs across the UK.

The government has also set the ambition that all its departments commit to paying 90% of undisputed invoices from SMEs within 5 days and ensure all government departments have a dedicated non-executive director responsible for prompt payment, improving payment practices and exploring how better to use technology to make payment processes more efficient.

Some large businesses use late payments and extended payment terms to exert control over small businesses in their supply chain, and the government will now seek the views of the UK business community on how best to ensure small businesses are given a fair deal.

Cabinet Office Minister for Implementation Oliver Dowden said:

We expect the highest payment standards from both government and big business.

That is why we will commit to central government aiming to pay 90% of undisputed invoices from small and medium sized businesses within five days. Small firms can also report poor payment practices via our Mystery Shopper service, which ensures their voices are heard.

We are listening to businesses and doing more than ever to level the playing field for small businesses to win work in the public sector.

Emma Jones, MBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, said:

We’re delighted the government has taken this step to ensure they are setting the right example in paying within five days and further enforcing the prompt payment of invoices for SMEs.

There is absolutely no doubt that late payment, often 60 days and even beyond, has a dramatic and disproportionate effect on smaller firms, which often rely on cashflow to fund trade and avoid unnecessary debt. The continued attention on the issue of late payment should enable UK enterprise to further flourish.

The Call for Evidence launched today forms part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which is committed to creating a fair and just business environment and ensuring Britain is one of the best places to start and run a small business.

It will be open until 29 November 2018 and the government is encouraging, businesses, trade associations and other interested parties such as academics to contribute their views to it.

Notes to editors:

The Call for Evidence will be available from 9:30am on 4 October 2018.

Late payment occurs when a business has been supplied goods or services on credit but fails to pay within the agreed term. Legally, if no explicit payment terms have been agreed, payment is assumed to be due after 30 days for the purposes of charging statutory interest.

Enterprise Nation is a small business support network that represents the views of thousands of UK small businesses.

Link: Press release: Ending late payments to small businesses
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Mark Field: Why does reconciliation in Sri Lanka matter to the UK?

Next year Sri Lanka will have enjoyed 10 uninterrupted years free from the misery of armed conflict. Whatever your view on how Sri Lanka has progressed since, that very fact alone is one to cherish. I know how deep the scars from decades of conflict run. When I visited last year I heard first-hand from the families of disappeared persons. It was a stark reminder of how much all communities in Sri Lanka have suffered.   

I was delighted to be coming back to Sri Lanka. This will be my second in 12 months as Minister for Asia and the Pacific, and it would be all too easy to simply look forward to England’s tour of Sri Lanka, and what a timely celebration that series will be of the enormous goodwill in the UK for Sri Lanka, its people and its culture.   

But I want to use this opportunity to take a hard look at the distance Sri Lanka has travelled since the war ended, and the path ahead. In my conversations with the government I will be commending the progress made on the commitments it made to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2015 and 2017, while urging greater and faster progress where they have not been met.   

First, it is important to recognize the positives. The UK did just this at the September session of the UNHRC in Geneva, along with the co-sponsors of Resolution 34/1, Germany, Macedonia and Montenegro. 

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has begun its work. We stand with everyone able to show the courage and determination to advance the Office’s work, and I am looking forward to meeting some of the Commissioners while I am in Colombo.

There has also been progress on returning private land in the north to its owners, with further commitments to return more land that today is still occupied by the military. The UK has been supporting this effort. In Muhumalai, in the Kilinochchi district, I heard last year from families benefiting from land returns and the work of the HALO trust, a UK-funded de-mining charity. Just this August we announced a further £1.4 million to support further de-mining and resettlement; a tangible demonstration of our continued commitment to supporting the people of Sri Lanka. 

But I must be candid with you: the pace of progress on a number of key issues remains much slower than we had hoped for. I know, not least from the UK’s experience in Northern Ireland, that it is not easy dealing with the legacy of conflict between communities. Time helps, but time alone does not heal all wounds. And as time passes, lack of progress in delivering key steps can undermine communities’ confidence in reconciliation efforts. It can lessen the positive impact of good work that is done too.   

So what will I be focusing on specifically when in Colombo this week?

Finding the truth is fundamental. The experience of countries that have recovered – or are recovering – from conflict around the world is that this is essential to restoring real confidence among communities, between citizens and the armed forces, and between voters and governments. To this end, I would like to see much more progress on national accountability and truth-seeking mechanisms that Sri Lanka committed to in 2015. 

The Prevention of Terrorism Act is something I am regularly asked about by the diaspora and others here in the UK. We would like to see it replaced, as part of wider security sector reform, with a new Counter-Terrorism Act which meets international standards. I am glad that the UK has been able to share its experiences in this area.   

There is also an ongoing process to consider reform to important provisions of the Constitution, including devolution of political authority. I hope that a way forward can be found on this central issue.   

Some ask why any of this should matter to the UK. There are also those who like to represent the Geneva resolution in particular as interference by the international community in Sri Lanka’s domestic affairs. This is unfortunate and unfair. The UK, along with many other friends of Sri Lanka, continues to warmly endorse the government’s principled decision to co-sponsor a resolution that provides a valuable framework for peacebuilding and reconciliation.   

Progress here will help us discuss much more: from post-Brexit trade, education, to the Commonwealth, security in the Indian Ocean, and tackling serious organised crime.   

Next March the UNHRC will assess the progress Sri Lanka has made. In Colombo I will be urging the government to drive forward its reconciliation efforts with a clear plan for delivery, and offering the UK’s steadfast support for their efforts.   

Sri Lanka still has an historic opportunity to take the steps necessary to build enduring stability and prosperity. I firmly believe this is the future that the vast majority of Sri Lankans want, whether they be at home or overseas, and we all have a part to play in achieving that shared goal.

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Link: Press release: Mark Field: Why does reconciliation in Sri Lanka matter to the UK?
Source: Gov Press Releases

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BS ISO 24698-1:2018 Rubber, raw. Determination of bound acrylonitrile content in acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) Combustion (Dumas) method

Combustion test methods
Determination of content
Rubber
Raw materials
Synthetic rubber
Chemical analysis and testing
Acrylonitrile
Nitrile rubber

Link: BS ISO 24698-1:2018 Rubber, raw. Determination of bound acrylonitrile content in acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) Combustion (Dumas) method
Source: BSI Standards