Lord Duncan travelled to Caithness to learn more about work on Scotland’s largest nuclear clean-up and demolition project. Located in the far north of Scotland, Dounreay employs around 1,200 staff and a similar number of people through the supply chain.

From the mid-1950s, Dounreay was the UK’s centre of research into fast reactors until 1994. The experimental nature of these now-redundant facilities, poses some complex decommissioning challenges that continue to require technological innovation and excellence.

The NDA spends more than £177 million a year to decommission Dounreay. A significant part of this is spent in the local economy. NDA works in partnership, through the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership (CNSRP), to support the local community and manage the impact of the future closure of the Dounreay nuclear site.

On learning more about the challenges and opportunities faced at the site and in the local communities, Lord Duncan said:

It was fascinating to see first-hand the decommissioning of Dounreay and meet the men and women behind the work.

I was impressed with the site’s commitment to safety, as well as the considerable investment the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Dounreay are making in the local community.

Introduction to Dounreay

LLWR responded to its charity of the year like never before and raised a record £8,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The sum included a company donation of £2,250 and Sue McDonald, Fundraising Manager for Macmillan, Cumbria, was delighted with the total.

She said: “It has been fantastic working alongside everyone at LLWR for the last year. The enthusiasm to fundraise was awesome and everyone was keen to get involved with the many, varied activities. I was blown away to discover that the total raised for Macmillan Cancer Support was £8,000.

“This will make a real difference to the lives of local people living with cancer. I’d like to say a massive ‘thank you’ from Macmillan and from me personally, to everyone who has played a part in raising this phenomenal total.

“Big thanks also to LLWR for allowing the fundraising to happen and for the generous corporate donation. I hope everyone concerned is feeling really proud.”

On her arrival in Luanda, Minister Harriett Baldwin said:

I’m delighted to be in Angola for my first visit and I look forward to discussing with government ministers and civil society representatives how we can work closer together on issues important to the UK and Angola. This includes economic cooperation, demining, and women’s empowerment, all in support of shared prosperity.

I am also interested in how our countries can work together to combat the terrible illegal wildlife trade, following the recent Giants Club meeting in Botswana which I attended alongside Angolan representatives, and ahead of the major conference we are hosting in London this October.

Notes:

Minister Harriett Baldwin is the UK’s Minister for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Minister of State at the Department for International Development. She is responsible for Africa, consular policy and international crime.

The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for waste operations, mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities. The arrangements are explained in their Public Participation Statement

These notices explain:

• what the Environment Agency led variation is about
• when you need to comment by

A Northumberland farmer who was fined £19,000 last year for twice polluting a protected watercourse has been ordered to pay a further £2,854.56 in fines and costs for failing to fix the source of the pollution.

John Laing, 54, of New Heaton Farm in Cornhill-on-Tweed, Northumberland, appeared at Berwick upon Tweed Magistrates’ Court on 5 April 2018 having previously admitted contempt of court.

The court heard that in January 2017 Laing was ordered by Newcastle Magistrates’ Court to repair the storage unit by 30 June 2017. Without remedial works, there remains a continued risk of silage leaking from a silo storage unit into a tributary that flows into the River Till.

The order had required Laing to carry out specific works to capture and prevent any effluent from escaping the silo, and provide written certification from a chartered engineer that the works had been completed to the required standards. Environment Agency officers made several visits to the farm before and after the deadline to check whether the works had been completed.

While Laing had enlisted the services of a builder, work had not started before the June 2017 deadline. Subsequent visits by Environment Agency officers in August and September 2017 revealed that some work had begun but not as agreed and to a poor standard.

In mitigation, Laing said he had relied on the assurances of a builder as to the quality of the remedial work and was no longer using the storage facility himself.

Neil Paisley, Senior Agriculture Officer at the Environment Agency, said:

John Laing has repeatedly shown a disregard for the law and a disregard for the
environment since an initial pollution incident in 2014.

Pollution of any watercourse is a serious offence because of the devastating impact it can
have on fish, wildlife and ecosystems. We will take action against anyone who fails to act
in accordance with environmental laws and fails to comply with orders to ensure pollution
is prevented.