Author Archives: HM Government

The Inglis Bridge, which is believed to be the only known surviving Mark 1 version, has been removed from over a 7m wide watercourse to the north of the M180 in South Yorkshire.

The bridge, which has not been used since the end of the Second World War, was the responsibility of Highways England and will be renovated by the Royal Engineers Association at the army base in Nottingham. A partial segment of the bridge will be sent to the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent when renovations are completed.

Highways England project manager Russell Mclean said:

This has been a fascinating project to be involved in. We were approached by the Royal Engineers Association earlier this year who were interested in renovating a segment of the bridge for their museum.

We were only too happy to help them with their request although the removal of the bridge did prove to be difficult as the bridge has been there for a long time so we weren’t sure how the structure was going to hold when we removed it. Luckily we were able to remove a large enough segment which can now be put proudly on display in the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent.

The 50 feet bridge was removed by a cradle that was bolted to the roadway of the structure and lifted by a 400 tonne crane. The bridge was then split into 2 so it could be transported to the army base.

Members of the Royal Engineers Association were invited to the removal of the bridge.

Jim Johnstone of Doncaster Royal Engineers Association said:

The members of the Doncaster Branch of the Royal Engineers Association have never been involved in a project of this magnitude. In collaboration with Mr James Brooke, the farmer, who kindly donated the bridge to us we feel that we are saving a piece of Corps history that otherwise would have been lost. From the members of the Branch we must also thank Highways England for the tremendous assistance given in the recovery of the bridge.

Inglis bridges were the first modular bridges (that is a bridge which could be built, used, dismantled and built elsewhere) provided for access across rivers and gaps during the war as they could be constructed in a short space of time and could take a large amount of weight. They were usually assembled by a team of 12 men and a turntable.

Counterweight was attached to the home bank side of the pre-erected structure which was then swung across the river to the far banking area.

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Metal theft has fallen by more than three quarters in 4 years following action by government to tackle a spike in these crimes.

A review into the Scrap Metal Dealers Act, which brought in tough measures to crack down on the trade in stolen metal, has revealed the number of thefts has dropped from nearly 62,000 per year in 2012/13 to around 16,000 in 2015/16, potentially saving the UK economy hundreds of millions of pounds.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed police-recorded metal thefts in England and Wales fell to fewer than 13,000 in 2016/17.

At its peak, metal theft was estimated to cost the economy more than £220 million per year, prompting the introduction of strict new licensing requirements for scrap metal dealers, identity checks for those selling scrap metal and the creation of a new offence for dealers to purchase scrap metal for cash.

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins, said:

Metal thefts can have a hugely negative impact on victims and the wider community, particularly when items which form part of our nation’s heritage such as war memorials, the statues in our parks and town centres, or other sites of religious, community or cultural value are callously targeted.

I am pleased the Act continues to be a powerful weapon against this form of criminality and the robust measures put in place in 2013 are working to regulate the industry and deter people from stealing metal or dealing with stolen scrap metal.

We will continue to work with a range of partners to identify whether more can be done to prevent these crimes from occurring and ensure that those involved are brought to justice.

The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was a response to an increase in metal theft between 2009 and 2011. The sectors severely affected by this crime included, power, transport and telecommunications – and the security of our national infrastructure was under threat – but religious sites and churches were also frequently targeted with metal stolen from rooves and altars.

The purpose of the Act was to enforce stricter regulations of the metal recycling sector to make it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal and reverse the upward trend in thefts.

The Act:

• requires a scrap metal dealer to hold and display a licence, issued by the relevant local authority. This can be either a site licence or a mobile collector’s licence
• permits local authorities to charge a licence fee, set locally, at cost recovery
• allows for the closure of unlicensed sites
• requires local authorities to provide appropriate information to enable the Environment Agency in England and the Natural Resources Body for Wales to maintain national registers of licences
• requires scrap metal dealers to verify the identity and address of persons from whom they receive metal makes it an offence for a scrap metal dealer to purchase scrap metal for cash
• sets out the record-keeping requirements in respect of any scrap metal received or disposed of by scrap metal dealers
• provides the police and local authorities with a right to enter and inspect scrap metal dealers’ premises

Read the report.

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Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) enable insurers to transfer large and complex risks to capital market investors. A UK regime will help to strengthen the sector’s contribution to the UK economy and enhance the UK’s position as a leader in this global industry. Increased capacity in the market should help reduce costs for insurers, which is good for business and consumers.

Currently UK insurers use ILS to help manage the risks of their business by arranging deals with off-shore vehicles. These rule changes ensure the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) can apply a fit-for-purpose regulatory approach to Insurance Linked Securities vehicles, bringing the UK’s expertise and influence to a growing market.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay said:

London is the largest global hub for commercial and specialty insurance and reinsurance, and can offer a wide range of expertise unmatched in the global market. By bringing Insurance Linked Securities deals to the UK, not only can we open up a valuable new market, but we can also ensure its world-class regulation, bringing benefits to the economy, UK businesses, and consumers.

Insurance Linked Securities are a form of alternative risk transfer which gives protection buyers new options to transfer risk to the capital markets. They are commonly used to mitigate catastrophic risk arising from natural disasters where the human and economic costs are high – new research commissioned by the Department for International Development shows that disasters cost $30 billion a year across 77 of the poorest countries.

Use of Insurance Linked Securities has grown very significantly in recent years and is now an established part of the global reinsurance market. Capital backing Insurance Linked Securities stands at around $90 billion. Consultancy firm EY has estimated that this market could grow to a value of $224 billion by 2021.

Insurance Linked Securities use a range of specialist skills and services to arrange the deals, including underwriting, risk modelling, brokerage, legal and capital markets expertise.

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New medicines and vaccines, for diseases such as malaria and HIV, may be introduced for the first time in LMIC’s where there are weak or no regulatory systems in place for effective safety monitoring. These new treatments have been developed with urgent public health needs in mind and therefore the need to gather and analyse information quickly on their safety and effectiveness is important.

The healthcare and regulatory systems in these settings may often lack the tools, training and capacity to operate a robust safety monitoring system. Whilst great progress has been made with many of LMIC’s now involved as members of the World Health Organization Program for International Drug Monitoring, the experience in collecting, assessing and acting on adverse reaction data, and risk management planning is limited.

Without an effective system, public health programs are at risk and patients may be affected, should they suffer from adverse drug reactions (ADRs) which are not promptly identified and treated. This can consequently undermine the program and result in a loss of trust in the product or a vaccine. Ultimately, this may lead to lower uptake and therefore, the disease not being effectively treated.

WHO and the Gates Foundation have launched ‘Project Smart Safety Surveillance’ (also known as Project 3-S) to help LMIC’s identify, assess, and adequately manage the risks associated with new products. MHRA will be joining this initiative to bring regulatory expertise to the project. This will be for a three-year period where it is intended to run three pilot exercises in different LMIC settings.

Dr Ian Hudson, Chief Executive Officer at MHRA said:

We are delighted to be involved in such an important global initiative. New drugs and vaccines are being brought to the market for the first time in public health programmes in settings where the safety monitoring and regulatory systems need strengthening. The expertise we can bring to the project will help national safety monitoring centres identify risks and benefits early and take appropriate regulatory action to support global heath.

Dr Dan Hartman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said:

The Triple S project is vitally important to the success of public health programmes to combat some of the world’s major diseases. When a new medicine or vaccine is being used it is critical that potential risks are identified early and well understood. The involvement of MHRA in this project will ensure scientific and regulatory expertise are developed within the national centres.

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