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Press release: Report 06/2018: Passengers struck by a flying cable at Abergavenny (Y Fenni) station

R062018_180509_Abergavenny

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Summary

At about 18:05 hrs on 28 July 2017, as a northbound passenger train entered Abergavenny (Y Fenni) station, a cable drooping from the station footbridge became caught on the train’s roof. The train dragged the cable and caused it to be pulled from the footbridge until its end broke free from a distribution cabinet. Once free, the end of the cable struck a group of passengers on the footbridge stairs and caused minor injuries to three of them. A member of station staff who was on the platform, close to the footbridge, was nearly struck by the cable. The accident also caused damage to cabling running over the footbridge, the station buildings, and a signal at the end of the platform.

The cable, which provided the signal box at Abergavenny with its electrical power supply, had become detached from the cable tray running over the footbridge and was drooping down to the extent that it was foul of the train. It then caught on an antenna fixed to the roof of the rear vehicle. The cable was drooping because the nylon cable ties used to attach it to the cable tray had broken. The RAIB found that the cable had not been inspected periodically as required for electrical installations and the drooping cable was not identified during footbridge inspections. It was not reported during routine station safety checks, or after it was drooping below the bottom of the footbridge. An underlying cause was that Network Rail had no controls in place for the management of low voltage electrical supply cables that cross operational railway lines via its overline structures.

Recommendations

The RAIB has made three recommendations to Network Rail. The first calls for the replacement of the existing cable tray running over the footbridge at Abergavenny with a solution that will reduce the risk of cables hanging down. The second relates to documenting and implementing controls for the management of cables that cross operational railway lines via structures at stations. The third is to identify cables at stations that have the potential to droop over the operational railway and be struck by a train, and ensure that the responsibility for testing and inspecting these cables is documented.

The RAIB has also identified two learning points which relate to the importance of staff identifying drooping cables during safety checks and staff reporting any cables they see that are drooping or hanging down over the operational railway.

Notes to editors

  1. The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.
  2. RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.
  3. For media enquiries, please call 01932 440015.

Newsdate: 9 May 2018


Link: Press release: Report 06/2018: Passengers struck by a flying cable at Abergavenny (Y Fenni) station
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: HMRC warns on tax refund scams

HMRC is calling on people to stay vigilant in the fight against fraudsters, who are using email and text messages to scam them out of their savings.

The tax authority is currently processing tax refunds after the end of the 2017 to 2018 tax year. However, criminals are taking advantage of this by sending out scam emails and SMS-messages to trick the public into thinking they have received a tax rebate so they hand over their account and personal details.

Treasury Minister Mel Stride MP, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:

HMRC only informs you about tax refunds through the post or through your pay via your employer. All emails, text messages, or voicemail messages saying you have a tax refund are a scam. Do not click on any links in these messages, and forward them to HMRC’s phishing email address and phone number.

We know that criminals will try and use events like the end of the financial year, the self-assessment deadline, and the issuing of tax refunds to target the public and attempt to get them to reveal their personal data. It is important to be alert to the danger.

Many of these fraudulent emails and texts include links which take the user to dubious websites where their information can be stolen. These sites are a focus of HMRC’s efforts to tackle fraud. In March 2018, it requested 2,672 phishing websites be taken down and received 84,549 phishing reports. This kind of phishing is expected to continue in the coming months as genuine tax refunds are issued.

Income Tax for 6 April 2017 to 5 April 2018 will be calculated over the coming months and anyone owed a genuine tax rebate will receive a tax calculation letter by post between June and October.

If you haven’t paid the right amount at the end of the tax year, HMRC will post you a tax calculation. This can be a P800 or a Simple Assessment letter. If you have paid too much tax, the letter will explain how you can get your refund paid to you. If you have not paid enough tax, the letter will tell you how much you owe and how you can pay.

HMRC advice

HMRC advises customers to:

  • recognise the signs – genuine organisations like banks and HMRC will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or bank details
  • stay safe – do not give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in emails you weren’t expecting
  • take action – forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and texts to 60599, or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report any suspicious calls or use its online fraud reporting tool
  • check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact
  • if you think you have received an HMRC-related phishing/bogus email or text message, you can check it against the examples shown in this guide

HMRC action

HMRC has taken a range of action to protect the public from scams, including:

  • from April 2017 to March 2018, reported 14,631 malicious websites for takedown
  • from April 2017 to March 2018, received 771,227 customer phishing email/SMS referrals
  • from April 2017 to March 2018, received 1.1 million direct visits to HMRC security pages on GOV.UK
  • implemented SMS firewalling – working with industry to deliver a pilot to reduce SMS abuse, resulting in a 90% decrease in reported abuse of protected HMRC SMS tags

Link: Press release: HMRC warns on tax refund scams
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: £2 million in compensation for care home residents

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) welcomes Sunrise Senior Living Ltd’s (Sunrise) decision to give money back to the vast majority of residents who paid such fees since 1 October 2015. This will apply to residents who have left or leave within 2 years of moving in to one of the company’s care homes. If the resident unfortunately dies within this time, their family will receive the compensation.

The move comes as part of the CMA’s ongoing investigation into how some care homes charge for their services. This uncovered that Sunrise’s description of its upfront fee – running to several thousands of pounds per person – and how it would be used, was unclear. Moreover, prospective residents were having to pay out before they had secured a place at the home.

The CMA also raised concerns that the fee was non-refundable once someone had lived in the home for more than 30 days.

On top of individual pay-outs of £3,000 on average, Sunrise has provided legally-binding commitments to stop charging these upfront fees altogether for future residents. They have also agreed to abide by new CMA guidance about the charging of fees after a resident has died, which is soon to be finalised and published following a consultation.

George Lusty, the CMA’s Senior Director for Consumer Protection, said:

Care home residents shouldn’t be required to pay out thousands of pounds without being clear what they’re getting for their money. So, it’s only right that residents at Sunrise care homes will now receive compensation if they’ve paid these fees, and that future residents won’t have to make such payments at all.

The CMA welcomes Sunrise’s constructive engagement and co-operation throughout our investigation. We’re now continuing our enforcement action against other care homes, and expect all homes to review their practices to make sure they aren’t breaking consumer law. We will act if we find evidence that they are.

The CMA’s ongoing consumer law investigation into fees charged by a number of care home providers has already led to one of the UK’s leading care home providers – Maria Mallaband – dropping a contract term requiring the payment of one month’s fees following the death of a resident.

It follows a year-long study of the residential care home market, which made several recommendations to help prospective residents and their families better understand the options available to them, and ensure residents receive more effective consumer protection.

As part of this, the CMA is working on new guidance about the practice of charging families after a resident has died, and the standards of behaviour they should be meeting to comply with consumer law.

The CMA understands that Sunrise has already started the process of contacting individuals (or their families) who are eligible for an offer of redress. If you believe that you or your family member is eligible and have not been contacted you can contact Sunrise at EnquiriesCF@sunriseseniorliving.com.

Notes to editors

  • A summary of the undertakings can be found on the care homes case page.
  • The CMA opened an investigation into a number of care homes providers in June 2017 due to concerns that some of the contract terms and/or practices they use may breach consumer law. The investigation is currently focused on charging of large, upfront fees and the requirement for fees to be paid for an extended period after a resident’s death. The CMA also made clear that if it identified serious concerns regarding potential breaches of consumer law on these, or other issues, it might decide to open further investigations.
  • Whilst those companies operating or controlling Sunrise homes have fully co-operated and constructively engaged with the CMA, and agreed to make changes voluntarily and speedily, the companies do not accept that Sunrise care homes’ terms and practices breached the law. However, a decision has been made to settle on a compensation package and the companies have committed to stop charging large, one-off upfront fees to future UK residents. The final decision on whether a term or practice infringes the law rests with the courts and no such finding has been made in this case.
  • The CMA plans to consult on comprehensive guidance for care homes on the standards of behaviour they should be meeting to comply with consumer law, this will include advice on large upfront payments. The CMA has already consulted on new guidance about the practice of charging families for extended periods after a resident has died. On both these issues, Sunrise had agreed to comply with the CMA’s advice once finalised and published.
  • Compensation will be offered to residents who paid Sunrise’s Community Fee since 1 October 2015 – the date from which the CMA acquired its powers to secure financial redress – and remain in a UK Sunrise care home for less than 2 years. This includes the vast majority of residents who paid the fee and have already left or died, and going forward any current residents who leave or die within 2 years of moving in. Compensation will be calculated on a pro-rata basis depending on how long the resident lived in the home and the size of the Community Fee they paid.
  • Enquiries should be directed to press@cma.gsi.gov.uk or 020 3738 6460.

Link: Press release: £2 million in compensation for care home residents
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Lord Mayor of the City of London Charles Bowman to visit Indonesia

The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Charles Bowman will visit Jakarta on 9 May 2018 in his capacity as a global ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional sector. The Lord Mayor will discuss areas of collaboration with Indonesia on infrastructure finance, green finance and financial technology (fintech). The Lord Mayor is scheduled to meet Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Minister for State Owned Enterprise Rini Soemarno and Head of Jakarta Stock Exchange Tito Sulistio. He will also open the Indonesian Stock Exchange, where he will take part in a Green Finance Summit and meet interlocutors from infrastructure projects and financial institutions.

The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Charles Bowman said:

I am hugely excited about my visit to Jakarta, one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in South East Asia. London’s strengths as a leading international financial centre and foreign exchange hub perfectly complement Indonesia’s drive to grow its economy and expand further on the world stage. I look forward to discussing how we can further support Indonesia’s ambitious infrastructure plans, and share our expertise in infrastructure finance, green finance and fintech.

Notes to Editors:

  1. Lord Bowman was elected as the 690th Lord Mayor of the City of London in Sept 2017
  2. Find out about roles and responsibilities of Lord Mayor of the City of London here
  3. For further information please contact Embassy’s Spokesperson Ms Faye Belnis at Faye.Belnis@fco.gov.uk

Link: Press release: Lord Mayor of the City of London Charles Bowman to visit Indonesia
Source: Gov Press Releases

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The Hornsea Two Offshore Wind Farm (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2018

This Order amends The Hornsea Two Offshore Wind Farm Order 2016, a development consent order under the Planning Act 2008, following an application made in accordance with the Infrastructure Planning (Changes to, and Revocation of, Development Consent Orders) Regulations 2011 for non-material changes under paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to the Planning Act 2008. The Order reduces from 6 to 3 the permitted number authorised offshore HVAC collector substations and expands the permitted size of the platform for each of those substations.

Link: The Hornsea Two Offshore Wind Farm (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2018
Source: Legislation .gov.uk