On Friday, it will be one year since the appalling, hate-filled murder Labour MP Jo Cox. Her friends and family don’t want it to be a mournful occasion. Jo was a passionate campaigner, and inspired by her, they want us … read more
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party said:
“I feel very angry that it was possible for the fire to spread in the way it did. I feel very angry that so many have lives have been lost when the system didn’t work.
“The many residents I met today are very angry too; their concerns about the building were not responded to and their questions were not answered.
“They asked me to speak for them when I get back to Parliament and I will make sure I do, alongside their new MP Emma Dent Coad.
“There are thousands of tower blocks around our country. Every single person living in one today will be frightened. They need answers to provide them with security and peace of mind.
“Kensington is a tale of two cities – it is among the wealthiest parts of this country but the ward where this took place is one of the poorest.
“The judge-led public inquiry must be speedy and all residents should have access to legal aid and the support they need.
“Residents must also be re-housed, using requisition of empty properties if necessary, in the community they love.
“I would like to give thanks to the firefighters who risked their lives to save the lives of others, and the police and the paramedics who did the same.
“Some hard questions need to be answered. It cannot be right that in the 21st century a fire like this happens.
“It’s the responsibility of Government to tell us why the lessons of Camberwell, Southampton and Shepherds Bush have not been learned.
“There must be a proper ministerial statement in the Commons when the Commons is once again sitting and the Government must also immediately make sure the families affected have the resources they need.”
Scotland has a good education system. Under the SNP, Higher exam passes are up a third. A record number of school leavers are going on to continued education, training or work. And more young people than ever before are studying … read more
15 Jun 2017
John Swinney should apologise to parents at schools who want to come out of local authority control, following his statement in Holyrood today.
For years, the SNP has hinted it would allow parents, such as those at St Joseph’s Primary in East Dunbartonshire, to take control.
However, the education secretary said such a move would not be part of Scottish Government school reforms today, which instead focused on more minor measures.
The Scottish Conservatives have repeatedly called on ministers to give parents the power to take schools out of local authority control if it was in the best interests of teachers and pupils.
The campaign group linked to St Joseph’s has also met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as part of its drive to make changes to Scottish Government policy.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liz Smith said:
“We want to see a school system that encompasses more choice and diversity, giving real devolution to headteachers.
“That’s because we believe it’s the existing system, not our teachers, which is responsible for delivering weaker standards in so many areas of our schools.
“So while we welcome the general principles behind the reforms, we don’t think the reforms go nearly far enough.
“They are half-baked and only pay lip-service to real devolution.
“These reforms are not enough to deal with the root cause of the problems faced.”
Scottish Conservative West of Scotland MSP Maurice Golden said:
“John Swinney owes the parents of St Joseph’s a full apology.
“For two-and-a-half years, the parents of St Joseph’s have been strung along by the Scottish Government.
“They’ve been led to believe that their plans would be given a fair hearing. It turns out those assurances counted for nothing.
“This whole episode has shown up a Scottish Government which doesn’t listen.
“The SNP should be ashamed of the way it’s handled this from start to finish.”
The Scottish Conservatives have repeatedly called for parents to be able to take schools out of local authority control:
http://www.scottishconservatives.com/2015/02/first-ministers-warm-words-consensus-ring-hollow/
read moreHSL is to run a 1 day course on Principles of Incident Investigation and Failure Analysis.
6 July 2017
The ability to carry out a detailed and accurate mechanical failure analysis is a key skill for many sectors of industry particularly engineering, manufacturing and research and development. From costly delays in production due to the failure of vital plant or tooling through to catastrophic failures with potential insurance and safety implications; all require the application of scientific analytical methods of inquiry.
HSL are offering a unique opportunity to engage directly with our incident investigation professionals and take full advantage of our decades of failure analysis experience. This course is aimed at individuals or companies that maintain, contract or are seeking to develop failure analysis capability. While the course will focus primarily on the investigation of mechanical and engineering failures, many of the principles covered will be directly transferable to investigations of any type. The course will explain the common strategies and tactics of the failure analysis process from the initial response through to presenting your findings.
The course will address the following areas:
This entry level course would be most useful for H&S managers, insurance professionals, design and process engineers and other professionals seeking to better understand the forensic, scientific and analytical process.
The course will be run at the HSL laboratory in the spa town of Buxton. Buxton is in the heart of the Peak District and has good links to mainline train stations and Manchester International Airport.
Details of hotels in the Buxton area can be found at www.visitbuxton.co.uk
The cost of this course is £600 per person (includes course notes, certificate of attendance and lunch/refreshments).
Book CoursePlease note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers. If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this.
For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit
at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806.