Sir Alan Duncan urges Turkey to uphold international standards following the arrest of human rights defenders in Turkey

The scheme, which will help to improve journeys on this stretch, will involve replacing key components of the bridges to provide drivers with safer and more reliable journeys for years to come. The work will include 24/7 narrow lanes with overnight lane closures and some occasional weekend carriageway closures later in programme. The work is due to be completed, weather dependent, in January 2018.

Highways England Project Sponsor Gemma Luckhurst said:

Maintaining these three bridges will prolong the life of the structures and provide the 60,000 drivers that use this section of the A303 each day with safer and more reliable journeys for years to come. We are carrying out the work on the three bridges at the same time to minimise the overall disruption.

Some weekend closures will be used to replace the waterproofing material and bridge joints, which span both carriageways. It is expected these will take place over weekends between September and December.

Anyone interested in being kept up to date with the scheme can visit our website, call the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000 or email info@highwaysengland.co.uk

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.

Public Legal Education (PLE) will be given a new focus following the launch of a panel that will bring key representatives together to support and drive forward legal education initiatives.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP will chair the first meeting of the newly established PLE Panel later today.

The Panel, formed of key organisations, will promote the importance of teaching people about the law and their basic civil and criminal rights – from knowing if you’re entitled to a refund in a shop or whether you’ve been a victim of discrimination.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Solicitor General said:

Teaching people about their legal rights and responsibilities, together with helping them gain the confidence and skills to get access to justice can really make a difference to people’s lives – as well as our legal system.

The new Panel will help drive forward Public Legal Education so more people can reap the benefits.

There are many ways to teach people about the law, such as interactive presentations, mock trials and role play exercises to awareness raising campaigns or information in leaflets – which can be tailored to different groups, from educating primary and secondary school pupils to prison inmates, community groups and homeless people.

The Panel will provide a forum for the Law Officers to work with organisations in the field, enable public legal education to flourish and to encourage initiatives which improve legal capability.

The Panel will meet bi-annually is formed of key PLE representatives including those from the following organisations: Citizenship Foundation, Legal Education Foundation, The Law Society, Bar Council, CILEX, Magistrates’ Association, Ministry of Justice, Judicial Office, Solicitors Regulation Authority, Citizens Advice, Law for Life, Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Youth Access and Law Centres Federation.

Other participants may be invited to attend meetings on an ad hoc or permanent basis with the agreement of the Panel.

Crucial difference between applications for supervision orders under s.31 Children Act and extension of an existing supervision order.

One of the world’s leading hovercraft manufacturers, Southampton-based Griffon Hoverwork, will carry out a study on using hovercraft to clear oil spills and support offshore rigs in the Caspian Sea.

The agreement, signed today with Kazakh state oil company KazMunayGas’ subsidiary KMGSS and supported by the Department for International Trade (DIT), opens up a major new market to Griffon Hoverwork and the UK. Future contracts following the study are potentially worth over £100 million for new hovercraft supporting at least 70 jobs in the Southampton area.

The signing took place as International Trade Minister Greg Hands visited the UK Pavilion at the Astana Expo, showcasing the UK’s world-leading expertise in oil & gas and other energy production.

International Trade Minister Greg Hands said:

Griffon Hoverwork is a prime example of the UK’s engineering excellence, with the sort of world-leading expertise DIT is helping to showcase at the UK Pavilion in the Astana Expo. This agreement will see the UK using hovercraft to overcome complex environmental challenges in the Caspian Sea, with huge potential for jobs back in the UK.

Managing Director of Griffon Hoverwork , Adrian Went said:

This agreement on enabling work for using hovercraft in the Caspian Sea is a huge step for Griffon Hoverwork and the UK. Its been great to have this meeting and signing, with the support of the Department for International Trade, ensuring that our UK-based engineering will help tackle the major challenges in the region.

Environmental challenges

The Caspian Sea has seen water levels drop in recent years, potentially making large parts inaccessible to ships. Hovercraft have the ability to move over shallow water without disturbing oil spills, making them ideal for resupplying oil rigs in the area and cleaning up pollution.

Griffon Hoverwork will carry out an environmental impact assessment, to ensure that hovercraft can be used without impacting on local ecosystems, using technology it has developed with Southampton University.

UK and Kazakhstan

The UK is already the 6th largest investor into Kazakhstan, and DIT has helped create 51 partnerships between UK and Kazakh companies since 2012. Greg Hands also announced a doubling of UK financial support, up to £2.5 billion, available to UK companies looking to export to Kazakhstan, or to help Kazakh companies buy products and services from the UK.

The founding companies behind Griffon Hoverwork helped develop the world’s first commercial hovercraft in the 1950s, and it already exports around the world from South America to the Far East.

The announcement comes as another UK company, Aberdeen based IPSS, opened a new site manufacturing pipelines in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. This is the first facility the company has opened overseas, supported by DIT, to gain a strong foothold in one of the world’s key oil producing regions.

Notes to Editors:

• The UK is participating at the Astana Expo which runs for three months, ending 10 September 2017. The UK Pavilion shows the UK at its creative best and is sharing the UK’s brilliant scientific and engineering expertise across the energy and mining industries.