Dr Jennifer Hoyle

Dr Jennifer Hoyle is a Consultant Respiratory Physician and Occupational Lung Disease Lead at the Pennine Acute NHS Trust, based at North Manchester General Hospital. She has been appointed as an independent member due to her extensive experience.

Since 2018 Jennifer has been the clinical respiratory lead for Greater Manchester and East Cheshire Strategic Clinical Network. She has run a busy Occupational Lung Disease department since 2004, is a member of GORDS UK (Group of Occupational Respiratory Disease Specialists) and the British Thoracic Society. Jennifer is also an Honorary Lecturer at Manchester University and has published widely on occupational lung disease including interstitial occupational diseases.

Daniel Shears

Daniel Shears from the GMB Union has been appointed as a representative of employees.

As the National Health, Safety and Environmental Director with the GMB Union, Daniel is responsible for the provision of specialist advice and guidance on all aspects of health and safety at work and the environment for members employed in both the public and private sectors. He is also a member of the Unite union and has been a member of the Labour Party since 2008. Daniel’s appointment means that there is continued equal representation of employees and employers on the Council, in compliance with Schedule 6 of the Social Security Act 1992

Lesley Francois

Lesley Francois is a solicitor with Slater & Gordon LLP and has been appointed as an independent member with legal experience.

She has more than 15 years representing victims of industrial disease and serious injury and although she specialises in mesothelioma and other asbestos related cases, Lesley has also represented those with occupational asthma, hand arm vibration syndrome and other work related upper limb disorders.

The Chair of the Council, Dr Lesley Rushton, welcomed the new appointments and the wealth of experience they will bring in taking IIAC’s work forward.

Over half-a-million Indians visited the UK within a 12-month period, according to the latest quarterly report on Migration Statistics published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics.

This was an 11% increase compared to the previous year. The report, published every quarter by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, shows that Indian and Chinese nationals together accounted for nearly half (49%) of all visitor visas granted.

The number of Indian students studying in the UK has seen a remarkable 42% increase. In addition to the visitor visas, nearly 22,000 Indian nationals received a Tier 4 (study) visa for the year ending June 2019 – up from approximately 15,000 the previous year. The number of Indians studying in the UK has almost doubled in 3 years and is now at the highest levels since 2011.

Indian nationals continue to receive more skilled work visas than the rest of the world combined, accounting for 52% of all Tier 2 visas granted globally. More than 56,000 Indians received skilled work visas – a 5% increase compared to the previous year, which is also the largest increase for any country.

British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith said:

The continued rise in these figures is fantastic news for the UK-India relationship. It also shows that the UK continues to be a welcoming place for Indians to work, study and vacation. It looks like the number of Indian fans who travelled to the UK for the Cricket World Cup in England and Wales was even greater than we imagined and I hope to see even more visitors from India in the future.

The more Indians who visit, the stronger the living bridge becomes between our two countries. I look forward to working with our partners in India to ensure this impressive record continues.

Further information

All figures in the Q2 2019 report relate to the year July 2018 to June 2019. The full statistical release can be found online on the Office for National Statistics’ website.

Migration statistics are updated quarterly to provide insight into UK visa trends. Upcoming releases will cover a 12-month period in the following format:

• Q3 2019: October 2018 – September 2019 (released November 2019)
• Q4 2019: January 2019 – December 2019 (released February 2020)
• Q1 2020: April 2019 – March 2020 (released May 2020)

As per this guidance the migration statistics are currently classified as experimental and may be subject to change.

The Prime Minister recently announced a new fast-track visa offer to cement the UK as a science superpower, building on the existing Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa route. Under the new scheme:

• eligible individuals will receive a three-year visa
• there will be no minimum salary requirement and
• individuals do not need to secure a job before arriving in the UK.

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Mail to: Ashwamegh Banerjee

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In an interactive workshop run by HS2 Ltd, members of the Derbyshire BME Forum were tasked with taking on the role of bridge builders.

The Derbyshire BME Forum works to deliver and support activities that will increase opportunities for Black and Minority Ethnic young people (BME) and communities in Derbyshire. Fifteen youngsters participated in the HS2 Ltd session, which was held at Donut Creative Arts Studio (DCAS) in Chesterfield on Wednesday 31 July.

After learning about the complexities of constructing major infrastructure components, the young people, aged 10 to 19, were given boxes full of craft materials and challenged to build a bridge over a series of mini obstacles. Once built, the bridges were put to the test by laying track and running a model railway across them.

Skills

Prior to this, the youngsters took part in a quiz which matched their interests and skills to a potential future role helping build HS2, from design to construction, and from cyber security to customer experience.

Judith Rowe, Engagement Advisor at HS2 Ltd, said:

At the peak of construction, over 30,000 people will play a role in delivering Britain’s new high speed railway. HS2 is investing in young people now to help address the country’s skills shortage and ensure we leave a lasting talent legacy for the future.

At events such as these we are introducing children to a diverse range of career opportunities that HS2, and the wider construction industry, can offer. We want to encourage them to think about how they might play their own part in this once in a generation project that will bring Britain closer together.

From 2033, Chesterfield will be served by HS2, offering new, improved and faster rail services that will reduce journey times and free up space on existing lines for more local services. The region will also be served by a new East Midlands Hub in Toton, which will provide high-speed connections to core UK cities and a journey time of just 16 minutes to Chesterfield.

Jobs

Not only will Derbyshire benefit from dedicated HS2 services at Chesterfield, the proposed HS2 Infrastructure Maintenance Depot at Staveley offers major opportunities for the area. It is estimated that the construction of the depot could support up to 75 roles and, once operational, the facility will provide 200 high skilled jobs. In addition, Derbyshire County Council’s masterplan includes 1,500 new homes and 800 new jobs around the site.

12-year-old Sharmaine Carabana from Chesterfield, said:

We do need HS2, because we have so many cars that can damage the environment and pollute the earth, but using one train that goes around everywhere is better than having lots of cars that use petrol and pollute the skies.

With the bridge building activity, we had to consider things that might happen in the real world, such as building over roads or rocky ground. Working for the railway would really interest me as there’s lots of different areas you can get involved with, from building to design, and you can use your skills to enable people to travel around.

10-year-old Antonio Pelayo from Chesterfield, said:

HS2 is great. If I worked on HS2, I would be a digital defender, so I could protect all the railway’s information.

Applicants

At HS2 Ltd, 19 per cent of its staff identify as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME). The organisation has already taken a number of positive steps towards increasing the number of BAME applicants and staff this year, including launching its own multi-cultural employee’s network, and working with its supply chain to attend BAME recruitment events to encourage more diverse young talent into the infrastructure sector.

HS2 Ltd is the first company in the sector to trial ‘blind recruitment’ which, like auditions on TV’s ‘The Voice’, takes away everything other than technical ability at the very first stage of recruitment. This removes any unconscious bias – where, unknowingly people often favour those presenting in their own image.

The Derbyshire BME Forum aims to ensure BME youngsters can play an integral role in influencing decisions made about their lives in the county. Consisting of representatives aged 10 to 25, the Forum meets every three months and helps young people to participate in social affairs, identify issues affecting their lives and their mental health and wellbeing, and exchange experiences, information and ideas. The Forum is jointly run by Links CVS – the Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire Council for Voluntary Service and Action Ltd – and Derbyshire County Council.