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An aerial shot of Twizel Viaduct (photography by Balfour Beatty)
Highways England Historical Railways Estate (HRE) is repairing Twizel Viaduct, near Cornhill-on-Tweed in Northumberland, to extend the life of the viaduct and allow people to continue enjoying the popular attraction.
The six-arch structure, which was built in the
Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment, speaking at an International Women's Day event organised by the COP26 presidency, in partnership with Chatham House
From:
Environment Agency and Emma Howard Boyd
Coronavirus – and its many lockdowns – has led to women around the world doing more domestic chores and family care; employment and education opportunities for women are being lost.
Similarly, the impacts of climate change – such
As more people than ever opt for electric vehicles, the government announces changes to the plug-in car, van and truck grant.
From:
Department for Transport and Office for Zero Emission Vehicles
The grant scheme for electric cars, vans and trucks has been updated to target less expensive models and reflect a greater range of affordable vehicles available, allowing the scheme’s funding to go further and help more people make the switch to an electric vehicle.
From today (18 March 2021), the government
Homes will be made available in every region of England, enabling people who sleep rough to be rehoused in secure, long-term accommodation.
From:
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Eddie Hughes MP, and The Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP
Thousands more rough sleepers will be helped to rebuild their lives away from the streets thanks to a multi-million-pound investment in dedicated homes launched today (18 March 2021) by the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP.
Homes will be made available in every region of
The Flipflopi sailing boat arrives in Uganda to the source of the River Nile, to tackle plastic pollution in Lake Victoria and the East African region.
From:
British High Commission Kampala
Flipflopi, the world’s first sailing boat (‘dhow’)
Network Rail publishes report on strengthening the resilience of the UK's rail network against extreme weather conditions following the 2020 Stonehaven tragedy.
From:
Department for Transport, Network Rail, Chris Heaton-Harris MP, and The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
The government has today (17 March 2021) published Network Rail’s final report on how the resilience of the UK’s rail network can be improved, in light of the Stonehaven tragedy last year.
The report was commissioned by Transport
Welsh Government, local authorities and partners are working together on the future recovery of north Wales to ensure the region is greener, fairer and more prosperous Economy and North Wales Minister Ken Skates said today.
The Minister was speaking following the latest
The Minister for Health and Social Services Vaughan Gething has today announced over £9m in funding to create new academies designed to support the next generation of leaders within Wales’ health and care sector.
Each academy has been developed in partnership with consortia led by Welsh Universities, who will match fund Welsh Government funding.
The three academies which will be the first of their kind are:
The Welsh Government has launched a new £1.3m scheme to help the Welsh fishing and aquaculture sector following the twin hits to their businesses caused by leaving the EU and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The sector in Wales- whose largest export
A £232,000 resurfacing scheme on the C603 Carnanreagh Road, Donemana, Co. Tyrone is due to commence on 15 March 2021.
The scheme which starts near the junction with the Aghafad Road and continue southwards for a distance of 2 kilometres, will greatly improve the strength and surface quality of the road.
To facilitate preliminary works it will be
The Belfast Region City Deal will provide a platform for Northern Ireland to thrive in important sectors of the global economy such as life and health sciences and data analytics.
That was the message from Economy Minister Diane Dodds following a meeting with senior representatives of companies who are working with Queen’s University (QUB) and the Ulster University (UU) to support three City Deal Innovations projects.
In the latest in a series of meetings, the
The Executive has today announced a Covid support scheme for travel agents experiencing difficulties as a result of the pandemic.
Welcoming the Travel Agents Scheme, First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the support scheme was necessary to ensure the continued viability of the travel agency sector.
First Minister Arlene Foster said: “Local
A dashboard charting the progress of Northern Ireland’s vaccination programme has gone live from today.
It is the first step in plans to publish detailed daily data on vaccination.
Work is ongoing on the necessary data reporting and digital infrastructure for a more comprehensive dashboard.
Welcoming the new dashboard, Health Minister Robin Swann said: “Our vaccination programme is continuing to make excellent progress.
“I am committed to improving the regular flow of information on the programme. This dashboard is a step in that direction.”
The new dashboard is available at: covid-19.hscni.net/
It includes a breakdown of vaccinations administered – including health and care staff across both the HSC system and non-statutory providers.
DAERA Minister Edwin Poots MLA is leading the way on COP26, pledging that NI will play its part on the global stage to tackle climate change.
The Minister outlined his pledge as he
Employers from key sectors within Northern Ireland can now access the national testing programme as part of a targeted expansion of asymptomatic testing.
Launching the programme Health Minister Robin Swann said: “As COVID-19 infections continue to fall and the vaccination programme continues to deliver at scale and pace, it is important that we do not lose sight of the need to continue to control this virus.
“If we are to emerge from lockdown, we
A £214,000 carriageway resurfacing scheme on B66 Knock Road, Dervock will commence on Monday 15 March 2021.
The works will extend for a distance of approximately 1.1 kilometres and will greatly improve the strength and surface quality of the road.
To facilitate the works, it will be
Health Minister Robin Swann has thanked Northern Ireland’s carers groups for their vital role in making vaccinations accessible for carers.
Speaking during a virtual meeting with representatives from carers groups, the Health Minister recognised the groups’ vital role in supporting carers throughout pandemic and also assisting carers to get vaccinated.
Minister Swann said: “First and foremost
Economy Minister Diane Dodds has welcomed the publication of Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review Interim Report
Speaking on the publication of the Report the Minister said: “This is an ambitious Report which aims to deliver a UK-wide transport network that encompasses sea, rail, air and road. Improved connectivity through a better connected network is key to Northern Ireland’s economic recovery.
“Sir Peter’s review will assess connections and
If you break down - go left! That’s the message today from Highways England as it launches its biggest ever campaign to help drivers feel safer on the country’s motorways.
From:
Highways England
In a multi-million pound public information drive the company is giving motorists clear advice about what to do in an emergency.
Millions of journeys are made every day on the country’s busiest roads – motorways and major A-roads – and most are incident-free. But around 600 journeys a day involve a breakdown, and when you are on a busy motorway that can be frightening.
So today Highways England is setting out what
Digital and tech leaders can apply to the programme for an opportunity to work on some of the UK’s most important public sector challenges.
From:
Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service
The new No.10 Innovation Fellowship
Further targeted areas will have additional testing made available to control and suppress the potential spread of the COVID-19 variant first identified in South Africa.
From:
Department of Health and Social Care
Working in partnership with the local authority, additional testing and genomic sequencing is being deployed to targeted areas within Wandsworth (SW11 and SW15), where the COVID-19 variant first identified in South Africa has been found.
The increased testing is being introduced in
University of Glasgow researchers have played a key role in the first successful recovery of a meteorite on UK soil in nearly three decades.
Dr Luke Daly, from the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, was part of the international collaboration which tracked the entry of a fireball over Britain on Sunday 28 February.
Dr Daly is a member of the UK Fireball Alliance
Welsh Government has invested a further £18.7 million to extend incentives to support businesses in recruiting apprentices in Wales.
The Employer Incentive Scheme, which will now run until 30 September, is a key part of Welsh Government’s covid commitment to support businesses and workers in recovering from the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Launched in autumn 2020, the incentives have
One million people across Wales have had at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, meaning almost 40% of the adult population now have a level of protection from COVID-19.
Today’s data [9 March] shows 1,007,391 people - or 4 in 10 adults - have received at least their first dose.
192,030 have also had their second dose,
Deputy Minister and Chief Whip Jane Hutt on the launch of the ‘Hate Hurts Wales’ campaign.
In a bid to raise awareness and reporting of hate crime in Wales the Welsh Government are today launching the ‘Hate Hurts Wales’ campaign, a major anti-hate crime campaign developed and launched in Wales.
Deputy Minister and Chief Whip Jane Hutt
Vaccine roll-out continues at pace.
Invitations to coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointments will start to be issued this week for people aged 50-59, who were not included in previous priority groups.
Vacinations to those aged between 55 and 59
£340,000 in aid for those affected by conflict in Tigray.
Three Scottish-based charities will provide urgent humanitarian relief to thousands of people caught in the conflict in northern Ethiopia through the support of the Scottish Government.
Tearfund, Scottish Catholic International Aid
Farmer funding ahead of target.
More than 95% of Basic Payment Support, Greening and Young Farmer payments have been made, four months ahead of regulatory requirement.
Welcoming the progress, Mr Ewing said:
“Scotland’s farming community has worked
A scheme to make part of Manchester city centre’s busy Inner Relief Route (MSIRR) safer to cross, widen its pavements and plant more than 70 new street trees has now been completed.
The Great Ancoats Street scheme involved the installation of 21 new crossing points for pedestrians and people on bikes, improving safety for people moving between the city centre and neighbourhoods immediately to its north. A further 15 existing controlled crossings have also been revamped.
In a typical pre-pandemic weekday, Great
ROYAL Navy reservists at HMS Calliope marked a milestone as the unit’s new RHIBs took to the water for the first time.
The rigid hulled inflatable boats were lowered into Royal Quays Marina near the mouth of the River Tyne and taken eight miles (13km) upriver to Calliope’s headquarters at Gateshead.
The new boats are part of the Maritime Reserves’ transformation to better support the Royal Navy, with Calliope, Cambria in Cardiff and Eaglet in Liverpool each receiving two Gemini RHIBs.
The training will be based around the internationally-recognised RYA Powerboat Scheme which includes essential skills of seamanship, navigation and radio communications.
These RHIBs will play a significant part in shaping the future organisation and the future workforce of Maritime Reserves in the North East.
Commander Chris Bovill, CO of HMS Calliope
Calliope’s Commanding Officer, Commander Chris Bovill, said: “This is a significant milestone in delivering maritime capability to the RNR.
“These RHIBs will play a significant part in shaping the future organisation and the future workforce of Maritime Reserves in the North East at HMS Calliope.”
The RHIBs will be used to train reservists, enabling them to serve at sea with the Royal Navy fleet.
A £165,000 road improvement scheme on the A30 Ballymacash Road, Lisburn will commence on Monday 15 March.
The scheme, which extends from Laurehill Road to the Pond Park Road junction, will include resurfacing of the carriageway, widening of existing footways to provide a shared pedestrian and cycling facility and a number of crossing enhancements.
Minister Mallon said:
This investment will greatly improve this
Economy Minister Diane Dodds has welcomed the announcement Fibrus Networks has connected its first customers to Next Generation Access broadband under Project Stratum.
Just three months into the awarding of
Economy Minister Diane Dodds has launched a new FinTrU North West Assured Skills Academy offering 20 high quality training places for people with degrees.
The Assured Skills Academy will offer a four-week intensive online training course to develop core skills for the business services sector. Participants who complete the training are guaranteed an interview for a role at FinTrU’s NW Centre of Excellence.
Highlighting the opportunity, the Minister
The continued success of our Covid-19 vaccination programme will guide us to brighter days, the First Minister, deputy First Minister and Health Minister have said.
The Ministers were speaking during a
The first specialist resource bases (SRB) to open in Norfolk as part of the County Council’s investment in special educational needs are welcoming their first students.
Redcastle Primary School and Thetford Academy, part of the Inspiration Trust have benefited from newly refurbished accommodation, extra staffing and professional support to enable children with autism and other associated needs to benefit from the extra support the SRBs can provide. Both bases are open for up to 10 children initially.
SRBs are part of mainstream schools and provide places for children and young people who need extra support to access and thrive in a mainstream school environment.
Hundreds of new special school and SRB places are being created across the county under Norfolk County Council’s £120m Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Action Plan Transformation programme, which aims to increase the number of special school places whilst also strengthening support to mainstream schools to ensure children with SEND can thrive in these settings. Work is currently underway to provide a further 90 new places at eight more SRBs in mainstream schools while work is ongoing to create three new schools in Fakenham, Great Yarmouth and Easton.
As well as creating new special school places, free autism support training is being made available to all schools in Norfolk through the Education Psychology and Specialist Support scheme (EPSS).
Norfolk County Council Cabinet member for
Children eligible for free school meals will be offered them during the Easter holidays thanks to Norfolk County Council.
A child from a family that received benefits is eligible for a £15 voucher per week, a total of £30 for the entire break.
The one-off funding for the scheme comes from
DCMS has today announced the agenda for Safety Tech 2021, a world-first Expo event to showcase how technology can be used to support safer online communities.
From:
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Department for International Trade, and The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP
DCMS has today announced the agenda for Safety Tech 2021, a world-first Expo event to showcase how technology can be used to support safer online communities.
The free Safety Tech Expo, which will be hosted
UK PACT South Africa announces project portfolio of over £3 million to support SA Government climate change priorities.
From:
British High Commission Pretoria
Following the launch of the programme’s first call for proposals in South Africa on 10 July 2020, the British High Commission is pleased to announce the allocation of more than £3 million in grant funding to 10 climate change mitigation projects under its UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) Programme.
The projects were selected through a
Eight week consultation on the implementation of the Ivory Act is launched.
From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Lord Zac Goldsmith
The UK’s world-leading ban on importing, exporting and dealing in items containing elephant ivory in the UK moves a step closer today following the launch of a consultation on the implementation of the Ivory Act.
Once implemented, the Ivory Act, which was a key government manifesto commitment, will introduce a near total ban on the import, export and dealing of items containing elephant ivory in the UK, regardless of their age, allowing only for a narrowly defined set of exemptions.
Elephants are the world’s largest land mammal
Environmental charities and partners across England to benefit from fund which will create and retain jobs while restoring nature and tackling climate change.
From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, Natural England, and Rebecca Pow MP
Grants of up to £2 million each are now available to help the nation build back greener from the coronavirus pandemic, the government announced today [Tuesday 9 March].
The second round of the Green Recovery Challenge fund will award up to £40 million in grants to environmental charities and their partners across England to create and retain jobs while restoring nature and tackling climate change.
All projects must contribute to at least one of
Air Quality Grants awarded across England to fund local projects for cleaner air
From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Department for Transport, Rachel Maclean MP, and Rebecca Pow MP
Local authorities across England have been granted more than £5 million in government funding to deliver innovative projects to improve air quality.
The money, from the government’s Air Quality
The government has launched 3 new innovation challenges across key areas of the green energy sector including energy storage technology, floating offshore wind and biomass production.
From:
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP
£92 million investment will enable green innovators to drive forward the next generation of technologies that will help the UK transition to clean, green energy and tackle climate change, the government announced today (Tuesday 9 March).
The government has launched 3 new innovation
The government has published the UK’s first national action plan to protect journalists from abuse and harassment.
From:
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, The Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP, The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP, and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
It follows reports to the government from journalists who have suffered abuse and attacks while going about their work, including being punched, threatened with knives, forcibly detained and subjected to rape and death threats.
A survey of members of the National Union of
