Global accounts reports strong financial performance by social housing sector

The Home Office Right to Work Checking Service available on GOV.UK, gives employers access to up-to-date, real-time information about migrants’ right to work, making it easier for individuals to prove their rights in the UK.

The Right to Work Checking Service is secure and free to use. It was launched in April this year, however until now, employers have still needed to request paper documents alongside using the service. The changes will mean that employers can use the online service to demonstrate they conducted the necessary right to work checks on migrants and avoid a penalty if they are found to be employing illegal workers.

Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes said:

This is another step we are taking to simplify and modernise the immigration system. The online Right to Work Checking Service makes the checks simpler for employers and provides greater security as they no longer need to rely on physical documents when checking a migrant’s status, further reducing the risk of forged documents being presented.

Above all, our new checking service makes it easier than ever for migrants to view and prove their right to work in the UK.

The service is voluntary for employers and individuals. Migrants may demonstrate their right to work using either the existing document check or the online check.

Individuals will be able to authorise their current or prospective employer to see information about their immigration status to conduct the check and will be able to see exactly what information will be shared.

The online Right to Work Checking Service can be used by non-EEA nationals who hold biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards and EEA nationals who have been granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. EEA nationals who have not been granted settled status under the EEA scheme will still need to demonstrate their right to work through the appropriate documents, such as their national passport, as now.

The changes being made today will also make it simpler for UK nationals without British passports to demonstrate their citizenship by enabling them to use short birth or adoption certificates, which they can get for free, instead of the long versions.

Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR) was the first operational nuclear reactor in Scotland and achieved criticality in 1958. It was built to test the effects of radiation on different materials and operated for 11 years.

The demolition of the reactor building will be a major skyline change for Dounreay and will signify another major hazard reduction milestone at one of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) sites.

The NDA’s Director of Nuclear Operations, Alan Cumming, said:

Dounreay site, and the surrounding communities, have made an incredible contribution to the advancement of the UK’s nuclear industry for several decades. That contribution continues to this day with the pioneering work being carried out at Scotland’s largest nuclear decommissioning project.

The start of the work to demolish Dounreay Materials Test Reactor represents a significant step in our mission to decommission and clean-up the legacy from the very earliest days of the UK’s nuclear industry.

The 3-year contract has now been awarded to Cavendish Nuclear and its partners, local firm JGC Engineering, KDC and Frazer-Nash Consultancy, for the dismantling of the reactor block and demolition of the structure.

This is the culmination of a decade-long project to remove the internal structures from the reactor and its support buildings including a fuel storage pond, waste drum store and post-irradiation examination cells.

Dounreay project manager, Bill Lambie, said:

When DMTR was constructed in the late 1950s, it was technologically advanced and innovative. Sixty years on, its demolition will be an important demonstration of the decommissioning progress being made at Dounreay.

We were very encouraged by the response from the supply chain and our team has worked hard to undertake a robust assessment of each of the competing bids before awarding the contract.

Cavendish Nuclear director, Natalie Nisbet, said:

I am delighted our innovative and collaborative approach to reactor dismantling, using proven and cost-effective technology in conjunction with the local supply chain, will deliver the greatest skyline change seen at Dounreay for many years.

Cavendish Nuclear and its partners have pledged to source materials and services from local sub-contractors as part of its commitment to the socio-economic development of Dounreay’s supply chain and wider Caithness community.

This is the latest in a number of major contracts to be awarded in the last year as the site’s closure programme progresses.

Graham Construction was awarded a three-year contract in October and will soon begin to build an intermediate level waste storage facility on the site.

Meanwhile, Nuvia also recently announced that it had won a multi-million pound contract to remove residual liquid metal coolant from Dounreay Fast Reactor.

Dounreay, which was once the UK’s centre for fast reactor research, is now Scotland’s largest decommissioning project. The work is being delivered by Dounreay Site Restoration Limited on behalf of the NDA.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today provisionally cleared Menzies Aviation’s takeover of part of Airline Services’ business after an in-depth investigation allayed competition concerns.

The 2 firms supply airlines in the UK with a variety of support services including the de-icing of aircraft and ground handling.

An initial Phase 1 probe raised concerns that the merger could restrict choice for airlines at a number of key airports in England and Scotland for both de-icing and ground handling, potentially leading to higher prices or a worse service. These concerns led to the merger being referred to a Group of independent CMA Panel members for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation.

The CMA has today issued its provisional findings. Based on a thorough evaluation of the wider evidence base in the Phase 2 inquiry, it has found that the market for ground handling services is particularly dynamic, with a strong recent history of companies entering the market to compete for contracts. With regard to de-icing services, the CMA has found that competition between Menzies and Airline Services is very limited such that the merger would not lead to a substantial lessening of competition.

The CMA is currently inviting comments on its findings until 9 January 2019. It will then consider any submissions it receives before reaching a final decision, the deadline for which is 28 January 2019.

Further information can be found on our case page.

The unveiling marks exactly 100 years since some women first went to the ballot boxes and stood as candidates in a general election in the United Kingdom