The annual Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival is the largest illuminated carnival in Europe, attracting up to 120,000 spectators, and traffic levels are expected to increase between junctions 23 and 24 throughout late afternoon and evening.

Drivers are also advised that access into Bridgwater from junction 24 will be closed from 6pm on the night.

Gareth Price, Highways England emergency planning officer for the South West, said:

The carnival is a popular event in the south west and can lead to increased traffic volumes between junctions 24 and 23 of the M5, particularly between 5pm and 7pm and from 9pm onwards.

We advise all road users to allow extra time for their journeys, listen out for radio updates and to check our traffic and travel information channels.

Highways England provides live traffic information via its website.

Travel information is also available by phone from the Highways England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 and updates will be provided via Twitter.

Carnival goers can also find further information on the Bridgewater Carnival website.

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.

The First of a Kind (FOAK) competition invites bids from companies to fund existing innovations that may be in use outside the rail industry but which could benefit rail passengers. This could, for example, be to create more space in carriages or provide improved assistance to passengers with a diverse range of needs.

The competition, run by Innovate UK, is part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) wider Accelerating Innovation in Rail (AIR) scheme. This is aimed at introducing cutting-edge ways of improving the whole passenger experience on rail, such as helping rail services to run efficiently and on time.

AIR develops ideas from concept, whereas the FOAK scheme aims to fund ideas already working in the real world that could be successfully transferred to the rail industry. As they already exist, under the scheme passengers will be able to use them in trials and give feedback.

The first challenge in the FOAK competition is rolling stock. Organisations are invited to bid for funding for technology not previously used on trains and examine how they can be integrated. Later funding will focus on other aspects of the railway network.

Passengers at the heart

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said:

As well as encouraging innovative ideas from concept, we want to help develop existing ideas that can be transferred successfully to the rail industry for the benefit of passengers.

The aim of government, train operators and infrastructure managers is to put passengers at the heart of everything we do. If we can help fund development of these inventive and ground-breaking ideas then this will help support the biggest modernisation programme in rail since the Victorian era.

Ian Meikle, Innovate UK’s Director – Infrastructure Systems, said:

We want to unlock the talent of UK companies to demonstrate tomorrow’s trains today. This first of a kind competition will result in tangible, realistic prototypes that have the potential to meet the challenges of passenger journeys.

Gordon Wakeford, Chair of the Rail Supply Group, commented:

The rail supply sector is continually seeking to improve the passenger experience by developer new and better products and solutions. This competition will provide a stimulus for the many innovative companies in our sector to develop new and ground-breaking ways to enhance rail journeys.

I am confident that the rail industry will rise to this challenge with commitment and creativity.

Competition information

The Prime Minister met with the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones in Downing Street today.

As well as discussing domestic issues, they spoke about Brexit and the Prime Minister explained how the UK Government’s priority was delivering a successful EU exit that works for the whole of the UK.

On the important engagement with Wales and the other devolved administrations, they spoke about constructive dialogue at the recent Joint Ministerial Committee and the progress made on working together to establish principles on common frameworks.

They also discussed the EU Withdrawal Bill and the Prime Minister made clear that we are working to ensure that as powers are repatriated from Brussels back to Britain, the right powers are passed to the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in a way that works for all parts of the UK.

Since its launch, the Defence and Security Accelerator has assessed nearly 700 proposals from almost 400 organisations and has successfully awarded its defence portion of the ‘Open Call’ budget for this year. Subsequently the Open Call for Innovation has been paused for new Defence-related proposals.