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The plans will protect around 8,000 personnel who would otherwise be negatively affected by the income tax hikes. Personnel will be compensated with an annual payment to make sure that all troops, regardless of where they are deployed or where their families are based, will pay the same income tax.

Following the announcement of Scottish Government’s tax changes, in March Mr Williamson ordered work to start on how the Ministry of Defence would mitigate the impact, following concerns that the changes could result in Scotland becoming a less attractive place for military personnel to be posted to.

The measures announced today will protect nearly three quarters of all armed forces personnel liable for Scottish Income Tax and will help with recruitment and retention, particularly as many of those affected are personnel with specialist skills, such as aircraft and submarine engineers.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

It is completely wrong for the brave men and women of our Armed Forces to be punished for serving in Scotland by unfair raids on their pay packets by the Scottish Government.

That’s why we have taken this urgent action to ensure that our troops are treated equally and fairly.

I’m proud that the UK Government recognises the sacrifices our Armed Forces make across the United Kingdom and the world, and that today we can reassure our service personnel that they will not be left hundreds of pounds out of pocket because of decisions taken by the Scottish Government.

The financial mitigation measures will:

• Be payable to all regular personnel who pay Scottish Income Tax, regardless of where in the world they are serving. Mitigation payments of between £12 and £1,500 will be paid.
• Cover personnel for tax year 2018/19 and will be a single payment made retrospectively
• The case for financial mitigation will be reviewed annually

The MOD will continue to review the situation each year and make decisions each tax year as to whether the difference between Scottish tax and tax elsewhere in the UK is sufficient to warrant financial mitigation. The annual cost to the MOD for Tax Year 2018/19 is expected to be £4 million.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans Tobias Ellwood said:

Scotland, and military personnel who have made Scotland their home, play a key role in our nation’s defence. Whether it’s working on our nuclear deterrent, protecting NATO airspace, or building local security expertise in the Middle East, Scotland-based troops are engaged right now in protecting the UK and its allies.

Scotland Secretary David Mundell said:

Our servicemen and women make a huge contribution to the communities and the economy of Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s decision to make Scotland the most highly taxed part of the UK means they would be unfairly penalised and it’s absolutely right that the UK Government has taken steps to address that.

Scotland plays an important role in UK Defence supporting over 10,000 industry jobs and is renowned for building the world’s finest warships including the UK’s new aircraft carriers and the Royal Navy’s state-of-art Type-26 frigates.

Scotland also benefits from £1.6 billion investment in local industry and an average of £290 expenditure per person each year. Some of the most important national defence capabilities including HM Naval Base Clyde, home to Britain’s nuclear deterrent and hunter-killer submarines and RAF Lossiemouth defending the UKs airspace with its three Typhoon combat aircraft squadrons and 51st Infantry Brigade.

A consultation on proposed planning reforms for exploratory shale gas development in England has been launched by the government today (19 July 2018).

Seeking views on early proposals looking at the principle of whether to designate exploratory drilling for shale gas resources as a new form of permitted development, it would mean that planning consent would not be required.

With the government committed to ensuring that strong safeguards are in place, any new permitted development right would have to abide by both environmental and site protection laws and would not apply to exploratory drilling in sensitive areas (such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

Exploratory drilling for shale deposits are treated separately to full hydraulic shale gas extraction, both will remain subject to strict planning and environmental controls.

The 14-week consultation, open until 25 October 2018, will make sure that those with an interest in shale development can have their say and input their views.

The government will then analyse the comments and issue its response later in 2018.

Background

A further consultation on any specific legislative reforms will follow the government’s response if these are required.

Government will also consult on whether developers should be required to undertake pre-application community engagement prior to submitting a planning application for shale gas development. This consultation will be launched in autumn 2018.

View the consultation document on Gov.uk

The consultation follows the publication of a written ministerial statement on the 17 May 2018, in which the government announced a range of measures to facilitate timely decision making on shale exploration planning applications.

The organising committee for the UK’s presence at Expo 2020 Dubai today announces the panel of experts that will decide the winning design for the UK Pavilion. From architects to artists, the 11 members are looking for a design concept that will create the most original, inspiring and memorable visitor experience possible.

Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton Dame Wendy Hall; Founder and Principal of AL_A Amanda Levete CBE; UK Space Agency director Rebecca Evernden and artist Idris Khan OBE are among the panel members, and will challenge all entrants from a creative and technical standpoint.

The theme of the UK Pavilion will be ‘Innovating for a Shared Future’ and will be built in the Opportunity District of the Expo site in Dubai. The winning design will be announced later in 2018. Led by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the UK Pavilion will host a business and cultural programme to promote the UK as a world-class destination for business, education and tourism.

Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion, said:

Expo 2020 is a fantastic platform to promote Global Britain on the world stage. The UK Pavilion will demonstrate the best of British to millions of people, emphasising the high quality of the innovative goods and services produced by our world-leading businesses.

The UK has a proud history of building successful showcases at World Expos, and supported by this excellent panel, the government is confident that Expo 2020 will create even more terrific opportunities for UK companies.

Laura Faulkner, UK Commissioner and Project Director, Expo 2020 Dubai, said:

We’re delighted that such an esteemed, accomplished and varied panel are joining us to decide on the winning design of the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020.

Previous UK Pavilions at World Expos have attracted a significant number of visitors, with the Thomas Heatherwick-designed Seed Cathedral and Wolfgang Buttress’s Hive both going on to win a number of major awards.

The Pavilion will showcase the best of UK design, manufacturing, technology and much more throughout the 172 days of the Expo, and we look forward to announcing the winning design later this year.

Expo 2020 is taking place in Dubai from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021. With 180 nations participating and an expected 25 million visitors, it is a global platform to promote UK international agendas and showcase the best of British innovation, creativity and global leadership. The focus in Dubai will be on space, technology, entrepreneurship, global and regional development and creative industries.

The judging panel comprises:

• Rebecca Evernden: Director of International UK Space Agency
• Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE FREng FRS: Professor of Computer Science and Executive Director of the Web Science Institute, University of Southampton
• Idris Khan OBE: Artist
• Amanda Levete CBE; Founder and Principal of AL_A
• Sarah Mann; Head of Architecture, Design & Fashion, British Council
• Jim MacDonald, Chief Executive, Architecture & Design Scotland
• Stephen Metcalfe MP, Member of the Science and Technology Select Committee
• Professor Sadie Morgan, Director, dRMM Architects
• Kathryn Parsons MBE, Founder and CEO, Decoded, UK
• Dr Mike Short CBE, Chief Scientific Advisor, Department for International Trade
• Laura Faulkner OBE: UK Commissioner and Project Director, Expo 2020 Dubai
• Christine Losecaat MBE, Client Creative Advisor, UK Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai (advisor to the panel)

In addition to creating a stand out pavilion, UK businesses are winning a significant amount of Expo 2020 related contracts, exceeding £1.3 billion to date, playing a major part in helping deliver Expo 2020 Dubai.

Media enquiries:

• Contact the DIT Media Team on 020 7215 2000 or email newsdesk@trade.gov.uk
• Follow us on Twitter @tradegovuk and @ukpavilion2020

The government agency responsible for managing England’s motorway and major A-road network won three awards at the TyreSafe Awards 2018. It scooped the prestigious ‘Safety in the Community’ category and Online and Social campaign for for its ‘Vehicle Checks’ campaign.

It was also presented with an Emergency Services Award which was a joint initiative to pilot tyre safety checks at the charity car wash events with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS), Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS), The Fire Fighters Charity (FFC).

This is the first time the Fire Fighters Charity have introduced a theme to its charity car washes. The drivers and occupants of the vehicles going through the car washes received information and education about the importance of the tyres on their vehicle, how and when to carry out checks, and the consequences of unsafe tyres.

The national Highways England ‘Vehicle Checks’ campaign ran across television, radio and online platforms last summer and called on motorists to consider basic checks such as topping up oil, checking tyre pressures and ensuring there was plenty of fuel in the tank.

The campaign underlined the importance of checking the vehicle before setting off and drew comparisons with the high-level of safety placed on those travelling by plane.

By taking a humorous approach to the advert – which featured a pilot announcing he’d done no pre-flight safety checks whatsoever to the aeroplane – the ‘passengers’ quickly set about disembarking underlining the seriousness of safety checks before travelling.

Head of Road Safety at Highways England, Richard Leonard said:

These awards are testament to the evidence-based approach that marketing have taken since 2015 when our Health and Safety five-year plan was launched.

We work closely with TyreSafe to promote tyre safety. Our vehicle checks campaign focused on the six most important checks – two of which are tyre checks – that drivers can make to ensure they have safe journeys.

Head of Marketing at Highways England, Alison Holliday said:

We delivered four phases of this campaign during 2017/18 following a strategic review of the causes of breakdowns and collisions leading to people being killed and seriously injured on our network.

Persuading drivers to carry out vehicle checks before a long journey offered a high potential for change and the great creative approach taken in comparing the critical nature of aircraft checks to vehicle checks really caught people’s imaginations. Most importantly, the summer 2017 campaign led to a recorded drop in vehicles breaking down on our network. This is evidence that our vehicle checks campaign has contributed towards behaviour change.

Highways England has a target to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on its network by 40% before 2020 – so raising awareness of tyre safety can make a significant contribution to achieving this.
Each breakdown is a major inconvenience for driver and passengers. Even if no-one is hurt, the knock-on effect has the potential to cause congestion for thousands of other road users.

TyreSafe chairman, Stuart Jackson, said:

The diverse range of activities to engage communities in the tyre safety message and the breadth of organisations delivering them always makes this a hotly-contested category. However, this year’s winner stood out with the scale of its ambition and proven results.

Highlights included the significant reduction in breakdowns on the Strategic Road Network month-on-month during the campaign.

Some 48 per cent of the target audience saying they were more likely to perform vehicle checks having been exposed to the campaign. And 15 per cent of respondents have carried out vehicle checks prior to a recent journey having been exposed to the campaign.

Congratulations Highways England for the Vehicle Checks campaign, which claims this year’s Safety in the Community Award.

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.

Around 6,000 jobs are already supported by the project. Many of those are within the 2,000 businesses that have delivered work supporting the project, ranging from conducting the largest ground investigation programme in British history to the planting of over 7 million trees and shrubs.

HS2 Ltd Chairman, Sir David Higgins, is expected to say:

Britain invented the modern railway and it is right that, because of HS2, we have the opportunity once again to lead the world in this important sector.

As we move towards construction, we are already seeing thousands of people around the country working to bring Britain’s new railway to reality. We’re in the middle of the largest programme of early works that the UK has ever seen, leading to major construction next year; supporting jobs and businesses around the UK and building the skills base we need to export around the world.

On top of this, people only need to look to Birmingham and its booming economy to see the benefits that HS2 will bring right around the country happening already in the Midlands. Further proof that HS2 is more than just a railway.

Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, said:

HS2 will not only be the backbone of our national network, but a truly ambitious project that will drive huge economic growth right across the country.

It will create significant benefits for all, delivering improved connections between our major cities, introducing more seats and services for passengers, and creating thousands of new jobs and opportunities for people and businesses across the UK.

Sir David Higgins has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for the success of this vital project. As this report shows, before he steps down from the role of chairman, HS2 is already delivering on its incredible potential, with jobs and business opportunities already being created well before the first services are expected in 2026.

The HS2 programme will span over 15 years and then continue to provide direct economic benefits through operation and maintenance contracts once in operation. In addition to this, cities and regions across the UK are already seeing the benefit HS2 will bring, attracting new investment outside of London and the South East, beginning to rebalance the UK economy.

The report, HS2: Realising the potential, launched at an event in Leeds to an audience of over 100 business and civic leaders from across the country, also points to the transformation in rail travel that the new high speed trains will have on travel in the UK. HS2 trains will call at over 25 stations from London to Scotland, serving around 30 million people in regions representing over half of the UK economy.

Core Cities UK Vice Chair and Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Nick Forbes, said:

Core Cities UK Leaders and Mayors believe HS2 is of enormous economic benefit to all our cities, even those not directly on the route. It will pay for itself many times over. And there is no reason why HS2 should be the end of the story, we believe it can be a first step towards high speed rail for the whole of the UK.

Ensuring that passengers can move around the country easily can help companies build a critical mass of skills, talent and expertise which is necessary to increase regional productivity. But passengers also need to have confidence in rail travel, knowing that their journey will be stress free and comfortable.

Passengers on the new high speed network will experience fast, reliable services, rivalling those of other high speed networks across the globe. Trains, stations and ticketing are being designed to revolutionise the user experience, ensuring that future generations of travellers will be catered for on HS2, with any delays to service on high speed lines no longer than an average of 30 seconds.

Sir David Higgins continued:

HS2 services will be unrecognisable to today’s commuters. A service that is dependable, if you’re travelling for work, attending a meeting, or seeing family and friends, the standard set by HS2 will be world class, with the stress of tickets, delays and other frustrations designed out of the system. HS2 will be judged, in the end, if it can be considered a railway for everyone.