The report ‘West Cumbria Opportunities and Challenges’, provides an accessible, evidence-based picture of need across West Cumbria, with examples of projects which improve the lives of residents.

The aim is that businesses looking to invest in the area can use the report and focus their activities that can make the greatest impact.

Sellafield Ltd commissioned Cumbria Community Foundation to produce the report independently, as a follow up to 2017’s Oxford Economics report on the economic impact of Sellafield.

Gary McKeating, Head of Community and Development at Sellafield Ltd said:

Our Social Impact strategy, published last year, illustrates a significant shift in thinking.

We have always recognised the close interdependency between our business and the local community and as we continue to make Sellafield safer, sooner, we are working to make sure that our local community, the UK as a whole and the nuclear sector receives the maximum value from the £2billion of taxpayers’ money spent at Sellafield every year.

As a world class business, dealing with some of the most complex scientific and engineering challenges on the planet, we want our activities to benefit as many people and businesses as possible. This isn’t just something for Sellafield Ltd, it’s for all of those companies in our supply chain as well.

There’s a lot to be done, but by working collectively, we can address the issues raised in the report, and the entire community can succeed. Look at how the investments from Sellafield Ltd and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority leveraged in excess of £30 million for the new Campus Whitehaven. This represents the biggest educational investment in Whitehaven for over half a century and will address some of the issues highlighted in the report.

This is an illustration of the kind of social impact we should all be striving to achieve, and this report will help because it highlights the issues and areas in which work can be most impactful.

The Asian Longhorn Beetle (ALB) has been eradicated in the UK following six years of trapping and surveillance work

The Asian Longhorn Beetle (ALB) – an insect which poses a risk to broadleaved trees such as oak and silver birch– has been eradicated in the UK following six years of trapping and surveillance work by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Forestry Commission.

The pest was initially discovered in Kent in 2012, most likely introduced through infested imported wood packaging material.

The pest is a serious threat to a range of broadleaved trees, including species grown commercially for timber and fruit production. The larvae of the beetle feed on the wood of living trees, boring galleries, or tunnels in the trunks and branches. The galleries can penetrate all the way from the outer layer to the heart wood, and a severe infestation can kill the tree.

Lord Gardiner, Defra Biosecurity Minister said:

I am delighted that we have been able to eradicate Asian Longhorn Beetle – this is a testament to the dedication and hard work carried out by our Plant Health service.

Globalisation in trade, increased travel and the diversity of plants entering the UK mean more threats to plant health. Our strong response includes investing more than £4.5m to strengthen our border security, recruiting and enhancing training for new plant inspectors.

Furthermore, we identify and assess new threats to our trees by using the UK Plant Health Risk Register, the most comprehensive in the world, containing over 1000 pests and diseases which are regularly reviewed and prioritised for action

Nicola Spence, Defra Chief Plant Health Officer said:

Asian Longhorn Beetle would pose a serious threat to our treescape if allowed to establish, so it is great news that it has been officially eradicated in the UK.

Strong biosecurity relies on everyone playing their part – in our forests, at borders or when buying plants. It is important that we continue to raise awareness of the simple things that people can do to protect against pests and diseases, such as sourcing plants from a reputable nursery.

The resting places of Captain (Capt) Cecil Thomas Tuff, The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) and Captain Eric Wilson Edwards, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), have been identified more than a hundred years after they lost their lives during World War I. To mark their sacrifice two rededication services were held on the Western Front at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Oosttaverne Wood Cemetery, Belgium yesterday (for Capt Tuff) and at Gouzeaucourt New British Cemetery, France earlier today, Wednesday 15 May (for Capt Edwards).

Both services, which were organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), part of Defence Business Services, were conducted by the Reverend Ian Kemp CF, Chaplain to 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment.

Members of The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, the antecedent regiment to both The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) and The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) were present at both services.

The final resting places of these two Captains came to light after researchers submitted evidence that suggested that they had been found. Further research by the MOD’s JCCC and the National Army Museum was undertaken to corroborate the evidence and the identification of the ‘Unknown Soldier’ graves were both confirmed by the JCCC.

Rosie Barron, JCCC said:

Both of these men gave their lives in the service of their country and left behind families who mourned their loss. It has been a privilege to organise these two rededication services, to complete their stories and to share these experiences with the families of Capt Tuff and Capt Edwards.

Captain Cecil Thomas Tuff

Capt Tuff was born in Rochester, Kent. Having previously served with The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), on 6 August 1914, two days after the outbreak of the First World War, he re-joined the regiment and was attached to the 1st Battalion before being sent to the Western Front.

On 17 April 1915 five mines were exploded under Hill 60 near Ypres. This was followed by an attack by British forces to retake the hill. Hill 60 had been held by the Germans since 10 December 1914 and was of strategic significance as it overlooked the town, affording the Germans observational advantage. 1st Battalion The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) took part in the subsequent attack and it was during this assault that Capt Tuff was killed on 18 April 1915. Capt Tuff was 29 years old.

Capt Tuff’s body remained on Hill 60 until after the Great War when he was recovered and buried in Oosttaverne Wood Cemetery as an unknown Captain. He was commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres.

Mrs Prunella Scarlett LVO, the great niece of Capt Tuff, who attended the rededication service at Oosttaverne Wood Cemetery with her brother Mr Geoffrey Tuff, said:

The Tuff family is thrilled that the grave of our great uncle Cecil has been found. We are so grateful to all those involved in the research, particularly the researcher Martin Stoneham, whose initiative it was after reading the names on his local World War I memorial.

Captain Eric Wilson Edwards

Capt Edwards was born in Lee, Kent. He was a partner in the firm Braikenridge & Edwards Solicitors. In January 1916 he was commissioned into The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) and was posted to 6th Battalion.

On 30 November 1917 the Battalion was ordered to consolidate a defensive position at Heudicourt, south of Cambrai, which the enemy had broken through. Upon reaching the position, they dug in, but were unable to stop the advance. It was during this attack that Captain Edwards went missing. Capt Edwards was 26 years old.

After the Great War, Captain Edwards was buried in Gouzeaucourt New British Cemetery as an unknown Captain. He was commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval.

Andrew Knowles-Brown, great nephew of Capt Edwards said:

How do I feel – humbled, surprised, saddened and elated! None of my living family ever met Eric. My grandfather, Lewis, died when I was in my early teens, so it was only when I started looking at my family history that I found out about Eric.

Now I am happy, happy to know Eric has a place and has been in a cemetery for a little over 101 years, even though it was not known. My youngest daughter is the same age as Eric was when he made his final sacrifice, for his future relations, who he would never know.

The Reverend Ian Kemp CF, said:

A little over a 100 years ago these two officers gave their all for our country and so being able to honour their sacrifice in the rededication in their respective graves is both a great privilege and the least we can do in response.

Gareth Hardware, CWGC Head of Horticulture for Western Europe Area said:

It is a privilege to rededicate the graves of Captains’ Cecil Thomas Tuff and Eric Wilson Edwards in the presence of their families. Commemorated on a Memorial to the Missing for almost 100 years, the identification of their last resting places enables the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to renew our commitment to care for their graves, in perpetuity.

Two new headstones the names of Captain Tuff and Captain Edwards have been provided by the CWGC.

The Hannay Partnership Ltd has been placed into provisional liquidation. This followed a hearing at the High Court in Manchester on 15 May 2019 after an application was issued by the Insolvency Service on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The Official Receiver has been appointed as the provisional liquidator and has responsibilities to protect the company’s assets pending the outcome of a petition to wind-up the company in the public interest.

As provisional liquidator the Official Receiver will:

• take control of the company from those currently responsible
• take steps to protect the company’s assets
• provide a point of contact for those who have had dealings with the company

The provisional liquidator also has the power to investigate the affairs of the company to protect assets including any third party, or trust monies, or assets in the possession of, or under the control of the company.

The case is now subject to High Court action and no further information will be made available until the petition is heard on 2 August 2019.

All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the companies should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 2 Floor, 3 Piccadilly Place, London Road, Manchester, M1 3BN or via email: piu.north@insolvency.gov.uk quoting CIB57536.

The Hannay Partnership Ltd (Company Number 08435649). It was incorporated on 7 March 2013. The company’s registered office is 248 Price Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England, CH41 3PS

The petitions were presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Official Receiver was appointed as provisional liquidator of the companies on 15 May 2019 by HHJ Hodge QC, a Judge of the High Courts of Justice Business and Property Courts in Manchester.

Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Further information about live company investigations is available here.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available here.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Hudson’s sentence is increased to 14 years, comprising a 10 year imprisonment and a 4 year extended licence.

A man who sprayed ammonia in another man’s face after breaking into his home has had his sentence increased following an intervention from the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox QC MP, under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

David Hudson first confronted James Sanders 3 days before the break-in, grabbing him, kneeing him in the head and punching him to the ground. Later, the offender followed Mr Sanders – who was walking his dog – home and forced his way into the flat whilst holding a squeezy bottle and a Stanley knife.

When the dog bit Hudson on the ankle Mr Sanders tried to retrieve the dog, at which point the offender squirted liquid into the victim’s eye, causing irritation to his eyes and throat. Hudson was arrested at Stanstead Airport when returning from Spain, having fled there after the incident. Fortunately, the victim did not suffer lasting physical injury.

Hudson was originally sentenced to 8 years and 9 months’ imprisonment at Basildon Crown Court in March. His sentence has now been increased to 14 years, comprising a 10 year imprisonment and a 4 year extended licence following a hearing at the Court of Appeal.

Speaking after the hearing, the Attorney General said:

“While I am relieved the victim did not suffer any permanent physical damage, the fact is that throwing a corrosive substance can cause severe and lifelong injuries. The Court of Appeal has rightly increased Hudson’s sentence to reflect this.”