Tag: communications

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Press release: Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iran in April 2018

Mr Rob Macaire CMG has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran in succession to Mr Nicholas Hopton who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Macaire will take up his appointment in April 2018.

Commenting on the appointment, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

Iran has an important role to play in the Middle East region, but it is essential that it does so in a constructive way – something I made clear during my visit to Tehran in December last year. The Iran deal, signed in 2015, was a huge diplomatic success. The product of years of patient and persistent diplomacy that extinguished the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

In that vein, I am pleased that Rob will be applying his wealth of international experience to the leading HMG’s engagement in Tehran. We face challenges – including the ongoing cases of British dual-nationals detained in Iran – and areas for potential collaboration. I look forward to working with him across these areas.

Mr Macaire said:

I am honoured to be appointed the new British Ambassador to Iran. The UK’s continued engagement with Iran is vital to our goal of making the Middle East region a safer and more stable place. I look forward to working with the Government of Iran and with international partners to preserve the nuclear deal and deepen our bilateral relationship, through constructive engagement on human rights, trade, and seeking political solutions to the conflicts in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Robert Macaire CMG

Married to: Alice Macaire

Children: Two

2016 – present Language Training

2011 – 2016 BG Group plc. Director of Government/Public Affairs and Political Risk

2008 – 2011 Nairobi, British High Commissioner

2006 – 2008 FCO, Director, Consular Services

2004 – 2006 New Delhi, Political Counsellor

2002 – 2004 FCO, Head, Counter Terrorism Policy Department

1998 – 2002 Washington, First Secretary, Middle East and Counter-terrorism

1998 FCO, Head of Sierra Leone Unit, Africa Directorate

1997 –1998 FCO, Head of Southern Africa Section, Africa Directorate

1996 – 1997 FCO, Head of MEPP Section, Near East and North Africa Department

1995 – 1996 FCO, Head of Levant Section, Near East and North Africa Department

1991 – 1995 Bucharest, Second Secretary (Know How Fund)

1990 FCO, Falkland Islands Department

Further information

Media enquiries

For journalists

Link: Press release: Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iran in April 2018
Source: Gov Press Releases

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The Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating) Consequential Amendment Regulations 2018

These Regulations amend the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/1004) (“the Contributions Regulations”) with effect from 6th April 2018. They are made in consequence of annual regulations setting the rate at which Class 2 National Insurance contributions are payable and which are made under section 141 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5) and section 129 of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8).

Link: The Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating) Consequential Amendment Regulations 2018
Source: Legislation .gov.uk

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The Tax Credits and Childcare (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018

These Regulations amend the Tax Credits (Definition and Calculation of Income) Regulations 2002 (“the Income Regulations”), the Tax Credits (Claims and Notification) Regulations 2002 (“the Claims Regulations”), the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002 (“the Entitlement Regulations”) and the Childcare Payments Regulations 2015 (“the Childcare Regulations”).

Link: The Tax Credits and Childcare (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018
Source: Legislation .gov.uk

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Press release: Highways England wants to hear your views

The organisation is using the mobile visitor centre for the second year following 2017’s successful trial to engage with the public, and will give road users and local residents the chance to speak to staff that will be coming to their area, starting with Essex and Suffolk throughout March.

The minibus facility will open out into a larger exhibition, which will feature displays and presentations about road works in the area and road safety.

Highways England Capital Delivery Team Leader, Aran Nugent, said:

We are aware that the work we do has an impact on our road users, and so Highways England is eager to better engage with drivers and local residents so we can hear their comments, allay their concerns and answer any questions they may come to us with.

This mobile exhibition offers us an excellent opportunity to better get into those communities we will be working alongside, so we can speak with people to explain the work we are doing and the benefits it will bring for them, their town and this region. Last year we had a good response with people coming along to learn about roadworks and share their views, so we hope that interest will continue and grow further in 2018.

In the last financial year (2017/18), Highways England spent £61.4 million on essential maintenance across the East, including £3.5 million on new noise barriers on the M40 in Buckinghamshire, £3.1 million for a new roundabout with Harwich Road and the A120 near Wix, and a £3.5 million repair to the accident damaged Saddlebow Interchange on the A47 near King’s Lynn.

This essential maintenance work is in addition to the longer term investment work, including new dual carriageways on several sections of the A47, widening the A12 in Essex, the £1.5 billion Cambridge to Huntingdon A14 upgrade, and the £4.4 – £6.2 billion Lower Thames Crossing.

Now drivers will be able to speak to Highways England staff about this whole range of road works that are happening soon and further in the future, with £34.4 million committed to maintaining the East’s roads over the next year.

In the next financial year (2018/19), Highways England’s maintenance work will include £2.75 million on resurfacing the A14 between Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds, £2.5 million on bridge repairs on the M1, A14 and A1, £2.25 million on resurfacing the A12, and a further £2.24 million on replacing digital message signs on the same road. Our work in the next year will include laying enough tarmac to fill 20 football pitches, enough white lining to fill an Olympic swimming pool, and enough cats’ eyes to reflect enough light collectively to be seen from space.

In March, the exhibition is set to visit:

  • Boreham House on Thursday 15 and the town’s Springfield Sainsbury’s on Friday 16
  • Chelmsford city centre (outside Barclays) on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20
  • Lion Walk, Colchester town centre on Wednesday 21, Thursday 22
  • Braintree Freeport on Friday 23
  • Great Bromley Village Hall on Monday 26
  • Bricklayer’s Arms, Little Bentley on Tuesday 27
  • Bypass Nurseries, Capel St Mary, on Wednesday 28
  • Ipswich County Council (Russell Road) on Thursday 29

The exhibition will then head to Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire in April, before covering the A47 with Norfolk and Peterborough in May.

These dates may be subject to change, and interested visitors are asked to stay up to date with the latest information by following @HighwaysEast on Twitter.

Members of the public are invited to attend the mobile visitor centre to speak with Highways England staff, which will include traffic officers at some of the exhibitions.

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.

Link: Press release: Highways England wants to hear your views
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iran

Mr Rob Macaire CMG has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran in succession to Mr Nicholas Hopton who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Macaire will take up his appointment in April 2018.

Commenting on the appointment, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

Iran has an important role to play in the Middle East region, but it is essential that it does so in a constructive way – something I made clear during my visit to Tehran in December last year. The Iran deal, signed in 2015, was a huge diplomatic success. The product of years of patient and persistent diplomacy that extinguished the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

In that vein, I am pleased that Rob will be applying his wealth of international experience to the leading HMG’s engagement in Tehran. We face challenges – including the ongoing cases of British dual-nationals detained in Iran – and areas for potential collaboration. I look forward to working with him across these areas.

Mr Macaire said:

I am honoured to be appointed the new British Ambassador to Iran. The UK’s continued engagement with Iran is vital to our goal of making the Middle East region a safer and more stable place. I look forward to working with the Government of Iran and with international partners to preserve the nuclear deal and deepen our bilateral relationship, through constructive engagement on human rights, trade, and seeking political solutions to the conflicts in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Robert Macaire CMG
Married to: Alice Macaire
Children: Two
2016 – present Language Training
2011 – 2016 BG Group plc. Director of Government/Public Affairs and Political Risk
2008 – 2011 Nairobi, British High Commissioner
2006 – 2008 FCO, Director, Consular Services
2004 – 2006 New Delhi, Political Counsellor
2002 – 2004 FCO, Head, Counter Terrorism Policy Department
1998 – 2002 Washington, First Secretary, Middle East and Counter-terrorism
1998 FCO, Head of Sierra Leone Unit, Africa Directorate
1997 –1998 FCO, Head of Southern Africa Section, Africa Directorate
1996 – 1997 FCO, Head of MEPP Section, Near East and North Africa Department
1995 – 1996 FCO, Head of Levant Section, Near East and North Africa Department
1991 – 1995 Bucharest, Second Secretary (Know How Fund)
1990 FCO, Falkland Islands Department

Further information

Media enquiries

For journalists

Link: Press release: Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iran
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Scrapyard permit dodger claims end-of-life vehicles were for resale

The owner of an Exeter scrapyard has been given a suspended prison sentence for operating an illegal vehicle dismantling business.

Max Newbery was also ordered to pay £8,470 costs at the end of a 2-day trial before Exeter magistrates.The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

The court heard that in March 2014, the Environment Agency suspended the defendant’s environmental permit after he failed to pay the site’s annual permitting fee over a period of 5 years.

The scrapyard, at Barley Villas Yard, Redhills, Exeter, continued to accept vehicles despite it no longer being a permitted facility. Between 27 March 2014 and 25 February 2016 a minimum of 51 vehicles were accepted at the scrapyard.

When questioned, Newbery claimed he bought the vehicles with the intention of selling them on. He refused to accept they were waste as defined by the 2008 Waste Framework Directive which states that waste is ‘any substance or object which the owner discards or intends or is required to discard’.

Two women who took cars to the defendant’s scrapyard both said they were disposing of their vehicles. One described her’s as ‘Scrap, not a goer’ and the other, ‘Nobody would buy it.’ An Environment Agency officer, who visited the site, said in his professional opinion, all the cars brought to the scrapyard were end-of-life vehicles.

When questioned about the poor condition of some of the vehicles, Newbery claimed they had been ‘vandalised by children’, yet there was no CCTV at the site and little in the way of security to safeguard the vehicles he insisted were suitable for re-sale.

In addition to suspending his permit, the Environment Agency served Newbery with an Enforcement Notice requiring him to carry out improvements to the infrastructure of the scrapyard to minimise the risk of pollution and protect human health. Newbery said complying with the notice would be ‘expensive’ and it was therefore ‘unreasonable’ of the Agency to expect him to do so.

Magistrates were told the defendant’s business had an annual turnover of more than £50,000 and that he had recently obtained planning permission for the site. This had increased its value to around £600,000 and had prompted Newbery to try to sell it.

Jacob Hess of the Environment Agency said:

Scrapyard operators are required by law to put in place appropriate environmental safeguards to protect human health and the environment. The defendant continued running his scrapyard without making any of the legally required infrastructural improvements.

He avoided investing in the business as this would eat into his profits and continued making money from an illegal site.

Appearing before Exeter magistrates, Max Newbery, of Barley Villas Yard, Redhills, Exeter
received a 24-week prison sentence, suspended for 2 years, and was ordered to pay £8,470 costs after being found guilty of operating a regulated waste facility without a permit and failing to comply with an enforcement notice in contravention of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

Editor’s notes

Environmental permits are necessary to minimise the risk of pollution or harm to human health from operations at waste sites such as scrapyards. There are set procedures for de-polluting and dismantling of end-of-life vehicles that contain potentially hazardous substances including engine oil, clutch fluid, coolant, brake fluid, gearbox oil, lead acid batteries, power steering fluid, screen wash, fuels, CFC’s and lead wheel balancing weights.

Link: Press release: Scrapyard permit dodger claims end-of-life vehicles were for resale
Source: Environment Agency

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Press release: Plymouth Skip Hire boss nearly jailed for dumping rubble

A judge has told a Plymouth man he escaped prison ‘by the skin of his teeth’ in a case brought by the Environment Agency.

Connor Calam fly-tipped waste on the edge of Dartmoor while subject to a suspended prison sentence for driving offences. The custodial sentence was very nearly activated by Exeter Crown Court.

The court heard a farmer found a large quantity of rubble and other waste deposited across a track near Pudson Farm, Okehampton in January 2017. The waste blocked access to three of his fields. The farmer reported the incident to the Environment Agency and local council and was told he would have to pay for its removal and safe disposal.

Enquiries by the Environment Agency traced the waste back to Plymouth Skip Hire in Stonehouse, Plymouth operated by Connor Calam, also known as Riley James.

The building waste came from insurance repairs carried out on a property in Plymouth by a local company that paid the defendant £245 to remove the material on the understanding he was a registered waste carrier.

Plymouth Skip Hire ceased trading in April 2017. Zenith Construction Ltd, whose waste was illegally tipped by the defendant, later paid for its removal as a goodwill gesture to the farmer.

Phil Butterworth of the Environment Agency said:

This prosecution is a timely reminder to businesses and home owners to ask three simple questions when getting someone in to dispose of their waste.

Is the person registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier – ‘ask for proof’’? Where do they intend to take the waste and can they provide a receipt? If they can’t provide satisfactory answers to these questions, don’t hand over your waste.

Appearing before Exeter Crown Court for sentencing on Tuesday 6 March 2018, Connor Calam, of Seaview Avenue, Lipson, Plymouth was fined £2,000 for breaching a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £2,500 costs. He was also made the subject of a 12-month community order, ordered to pay £260 compensation to Zenith Construction Ltd plus an £85.00 victim surcharge.

His Honour Judge Ralls QC said ‘Fly-tipping in a beautiful part of the country is a serious matter’ and warned the defendant he’d escaped being sent to prison ‘by the skin of his teeth.’

The sentencing followed an earlier hearing where the defendant was found guilty of disposing of controlled waste on land at Pudson Farm, Okehampton between 10 and 27 February 2017 without an environmental permit contrary to Section 33 of the Environment Protection Act 1990.

Link: Press release: Plymouth Skip Hire boss nearly jailed for dumping rubble
Source: Environment Agency