A man has been fined for running an illegal scrapyard in Teesside.

Anthony Hanley, 34, of Marton Burn Road in Middlesbrough, appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 20 March where he pleaded guilty to two charges of operating a scrapyard without a permit.

He was fined £800, ordered to pay costs of £4,000 and a victim surcharge of £80.

Prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency, Simon Crowder told the court that Hanley is the owner of Cliffs Autos which deals with end of life vehicles.

To take end of life scrap vehicles on to a site, the operators need an environmental permit for disposal of vehicle waste to ensure no risk to the environment by preventing fluids from going into the ground or into drainage systems.

Illegal site

On 25 August 2016 Environment Agency officers attended the illegal site at King George Terrace in Middlesbrough where they saw a sign offering to buy vehicles ‘dead or alive’, leading them to believe Hanley wanted to buy scrap vehicles.

Officers noticed there was in excess of 30 end of life vehicles stored at the premises. The defendant was co-operative with officers and was told to clear the site within 28 days.

On 12 September the same year, officers returned to the site and saw the number of vehicles had now reduced, and a further visit in December saw the site had been cleared.

But on 7 April 2017, the two Environment Agency officers returned to the site to see it had resumed operation again, with in excess of 30 end of life vehicles present, with some leaking fluids on to the ground.

Illegal sites ‘impact on the environment’

Rachael Caldwell, Enforcement Team Leader at the Environment Agency said:

Hanley was given the opportunity to clear the vehicles of waste but when we returned to check the site it was full again.

Environmental permits are needed for a reason – they ensure operators have the correct procedures and equipment in place to protect the environment.

Not only do illegal sites impact on the environment but they undermine legitimate businesses. Every day our officers are out on the ground identifying illegal waste sites and taking the necessary action.

Almost £300 million government investment in Greater Manchester, the West of England and Oxfordshire is set to help deliver thousands of much-needed new homes for local communities, Housing Secretary Sajid Javid announced today (21 March 2018).

Greater Manchester is set to receive £68 million funding to support the Mayor’s ambitious target of delivering 227,200 homes by 2035 and boost economic growth across the Northern Powerhouse.

Government support for the West of England will help to nearly double the number of new homes being delivered historically, increasing from around 4,000 homes to 7,500 homes a year. This will deliver much-needed homes and support the local economy.

Ministers have also approved a housing deal with Oxfordshire worth £215 million that will help deliver a further 100,000 new homes for local people. This follows a similar deal agreed with the West Midlands last week to support the Mayor’s ambitious plan to deliver 215,000 homes across the region.

This latest announcement comes as the government has also announced that Housing Infrastructure Fund bids, from a further 44 areas for projects to help unlock more homes across country, have been shortlisted to the next stage of the competitive process.

A potential £4.1 billion funding will be available for vital infrastructure like roads, bridges, new schools and medical centres, which are needed for new communities.

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid said:

This government is determined to build the homes this country needs. That’s why we’re working with ambitious areas across England and backing them with investment and support.

This new housing investment in Greater Manchester, the West of England and Oxfordshire will help build much-needed homes, giving more people the opportunity to get on the property ladder.

We’re also investing in local infrastructure like schools, roads and hospitals, so that we can help unlock even more new homes in the areas where they’re needed most and build a Britain fit for the future.

Greater Manchester housing package

This funding will support a focus on developing brownfield land for housing and getting more homes built on small sites.

The government package includes:

• £50 million for a Land Fund to help councils in the region to prepare brownfield land for housing development
• taking 4 Housing Infrastructure Fund projects through to the next stage of assessment for funding
• up to £8 million for capacity funding to boost support for housing delivery across the region
• £10.25 million funding to help regenerate the Collyhurst Estate in north Manchester
• new flexibilities on the existing £300 million Housing Investment Fund to allow more homes to be delivered through loans to developers

Mayor of Greater Manchester Combined Authority Andy Burnham said:

I welcome this Housing Deal from government and the £50 million Greater Manchester’s Leaders have secured that will allow us to build on more of Greater Manchester’s brownfield sites.

It brings us closer to our ambitions and is a clear statement of intent as we move towards publishing the rewritten Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.

As we look to build the homes Greater Manchester needs, we must do everything we can to make sure as much brownfield land as possible is made available for development. This is the best way to ensure we minimise the impact on our green spaces.

But this isn’t just about numbers of homes and land for development. I’ve been clear that I want to see more truly affordable homes built and more homes available for social rent across Greater Manchester.

I also want the rewritten Greater Manchester Spatial Framework to specify a date by which all new homes built across Greater Manchester should be net zero carbon. This is all part of my ambition.

West of England housing package

The West of England – covering Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset – is a high housing demand area. Across the region, the average house prices are more than 8 times average incomes, with Bath more than 10 times the average income.

The government’s interim package supports the Mayor’s with ambitious plans to deliver more homes and tackle affordability challenges. It includes:

• £3 million of funding for specialist support to help the region deliver large housing development
• taking 2 Housing Infrastructure Fund projects through to the next stage of assessment for funding
• exploring the potential for a deal with housing associations in the region to deliver more affordable homes

West of England Mayor, Tim Bowles said:

We have worked closely with government to secure this announcement, which will see millions of pounds invested in delivering new homes in the West of England. We know that we need more homes, to buy and rent – homes where they are needed at prices people can afford.

This deal will support us to work with our constituent councils, and North Somerset council, to build homes and communities that are well-connected.

Oxfordshire housing deal

The first completed government housing deal has been confirmed with Oxfordshire’s 6 local authorities – Cherwell, Oxford City, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire County Council – and the Local Enterprise Partnership, OxLEP.

The deal, which is worth £215 million, will:

• deliver 100,000 homes by 2031 – which is significantly above the Local Housing Need figure in the draft National Planning Policy Framework – playing a key role in the emerging Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor where the government recognises the need to build up to 1 million new homes in the area by 2050 to maximise its economic potential
• provide £150 million of the funding to build much needed bridges, roundabouts and roads
• deliver more than 1300 affordable homes by dedicating over a quarter of the new funding, £60 million, to support these new homes

Oxfordshire is also home to 3 garden towns and villages – at Bicester, Didcot and Oxfordshire Cotswold – where government has invested almost £4 million to deliver an additional 30,000 homes.

Cllr Bob Price, Chair of the Oxfordshire Growth Board said:

I’m pleased that so many councillors of all parties and from all parts of the county have backed the deal. It represents a comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing Oxfordshire’s severe housing shortage and infrastructure challenges.

It demonstrates the government’s commitment to working with Oxfordshire and recognises the critical role the county will play in driving forward the UK economy post-Brexit, attracting global investment.

The government has said the deal represents a ‘downpayment’ on a pipeline of infrastructure investment for Oxfordshire – and we in the county will work with them to ensure that happens.

Housing Infrastructure Fund

With the government committed to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, the £5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is part of a comprehensive programme to fix the broken housing market.

Last month, ministers confirmed 133 council-led infrastructure projects that received a total of £866 million funding to support local work that will make housing developments viable and get much-needed homes built quicker.

The latest bids from 44 areas across England are for high-impact infrastructure like key roads, rail links and schools with the potential to deliver over 400,000 homes.

They will now move to the co-development stage, where government officials will work with these areas to further develop their bid and assess the projects. However, not all projects will receive funding after this stage or funding amounts could change to the amount originally bid for.

Without this financial support these projects would struggle to go ahead or take years for work to begin, delaying the homes these communities need.

Together with the government’s Industrial Strategy, this funding will provide high-quality infrastructure to support economic growth.

Successful bids will be announced from autumn 2018 onwards and local authorities would then begin building the necessary infrastructure to help speed up new homes being built.

Further details

See further details on the housing packages.

The Housing Infrastructure Fund is a government capital grant programme to help unlock new homes in areas with the greatest housing demand. Funding is awarded to local authorities on a highly competitive basis.

The £5 billion fund is divided into 2 streams:

• a Marginal Viability Fund – available to all single and lower tier local authorities in England – to provide a piece of infrastructure funding to get additional sites allocated or existing sites unblocked quickly. Bids have a soft cap of £10 million
• a Forward Fund – available to the uppermost tier of local authorities in England – for a small number of strategic and high-impact infrastructure projects. Bids have a soft cap of £250 million

The government will be progressing Forward Funding projects to go through to co-development in the coming weeks, with final funding announced from autumn 2018 onwards. Find more information on the areas being taken forward to co-development.

The Environment Agency has today published its new charging scheme for regulatory permits and services, which will be effective from 1 April 2018.

The new charges have been introduced so that businesses and organisations cover the full cost of the services they receive rather than the public – this represents a more financially-sustainable model which is simpler, fairer and more effective and that will lead to long-term environmental improvements. Charges for permits and other regulatory services have remained static for the last 7 years.

The charges were drafted with feedback from industry and were subject to a public consultation. The consultation response document is also being published today, which includes the changes we have made as a result of comments we have received from customers, trades associations and the public.

The charges reflect the amount of regulatory effort needed at a site and will allow the Environment Agency to invest further in our permitting service. Businesses that are well-managed and low-hazard present a low environmental risk and will be charged less. Higher-risk or poor-performing businesses will be charged more.

Neil Davies, Environment Agency Director of Regulatory Charges, said:

Our work to regulate industry protects and enhances the environment. The changes that have been announced following the recent consultation will mean that businesses and not the public pay for the full services they use. This is more financially-sustainable, will lead to a better service to businesses and long-term improvements to the environment.

We have been engaging with trade associations over the last year while we were developing these proposals. Their input into this process has been really valuable and the feedback has helped shape the new fee structure.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

The Environment Agency carries out a valuable role in regulating the impact of businesses and industry on the environment and it is right that those that benefit from this service should cover the full cost.

The new charging structure will create a simpler, fairer and more sustainable system which will enable better regulation and protection for the environment.

The new charges will come into effect on the 1st April 2018 – the start of the new financial year.

joint press conference

Jens Stoltenberg

Welcome to NATO headquarters, it’s really a pleasure to meet you here today and also thank you for updating me on the latest developments on Salisbury investigation. The attack was the first use of a nerve agent on Alliance territory. It showed a total disrespect for human lives and the attack was an unacceptable breach of international norms and rules. NATO allies have been united in condemning this attack and they have offered their support to the ongoing investigation. Russia’s response so far has demonstrated a clear disregard for international peace and security, we continue to call on Russia to provide complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. And we welcome the UK’s co-operation with the OPCW in the investigation of this horrendous attack.

The attack in Salisbury comes at the background of a pattern of reckless behaviour by Russia and NATO is responding to this pattern of behaviour. We have seen the illegal annexation of the Crimea, violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukraine. We have seen Russia’s continued efforts to destabilise Eastern Ukraine. And we have seen that Russia continues to interfere in our democratic and political processes and undermine our democratic institutions. We have seen different types of hybrid tactics including cyber-attacks. NATO’s approach to Russia is firm, defensive and proportionate. It combines strong deterrents and defence with openness to a meaningful dialogue. So Foreign Secretary, thank you once again for coming here. Russia will continue to seek to divide us but NATO allies stand united and we stand in solidarity with the UK. So welcome.

Foreign Secretary

Well thank you very much Jens and thank you for welcoming us today to NATO. We met to discuss, as you’ve just said, the attack against Sergei and Yulia Skripal using a military grade nerve agent and you and I, Secretary General, are clear that the use of such an agent is a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a flagrant breach of international law and I’d like to extend my gratitude to you Jens for the personal statement you made so soon after the attack.

We share the view that the poisoning of Sergei Skripal is not an isolated case, but the latest in a pattern of reckless behaviour by the Russian state. That behaviour goes back many years. From Russia’s annexation of Crimea, to cyber-attacks and its involvement in the Syrian war, Russia has shown itself, the Russian state has shown itself to have a blatant disregard for international order, for international law and values, our values. Those values sit in the heart of NATO and everything that we do, which is why our NATO allies have shown such strong and undivided support. The North Atlantic Council statement issued last week is a clear, powerful statement of political support and demonstrates NATO’s unity, capability and determination to respond to the challenges that we face together. We stand united in the face of adversity, be it in response to the attack in Salisbury or the threat to any NATO ally, which is the founding principle of this organisation. Thank you.

Question from the BBC

What practical concrete steps is NATO willing to take now to put further pressure on Russia in the wake of the Salisbury attack, actions over deeds? And Foreign Secretary, what action of this kind have you requested from your European and NATO allies? And secondly on Brexit, isn’t the case that today’s agreement is once again an example of the UK side making concessions in order for this to move forward?

Jens Stoltenberg

Well we have expressed strong political support to the United Kingdom and that is important because it shows that all 29 NATO allies stand united, we stand in solidarity with the United Kingdom and the UK is not alone. We are responding as an Alliance. Second, NATO allies offered immediately after the attack support to the ongoing investigation if so requested by the UK. The UK has world-class expertise, capabilities to deal with this investigations themselves but if there is a request NATO is ready to provide support. And thirdly, and that is perhaps the most important role of NATO, is that NATO is responding to this pattern of reckless behaviour by Russia which we have seen over many years. So we are now in the process of implementing the biggest reinforcement of collective defence since the end of the Cold War with battle groups deployed to the eastern part of the Alliance, with the high readiness of our forces tripling the size of the NATO response force. But also the fact now we see increased defence spending across Europe and Canada for the first time in many years.

So NATO is responding to Russia which is responsible for aggressive actions in Crimea, which is responsible for reckless behaviour in many cases, and the attack in Salisbury takes place on the background of this reckless behaviour we are seeing over a long period of time and NATO is responding to that.

Foreign Secretary

Thanks Jens. I just wanted to say on the reaction of the world and all our friends and allies, it really is very striking the contrast between the powerful statements of support the UK is getting today and over the last few days with the much more muted reaction you saw 12 years ago after the death of Alexander Litvinenko. And I think there is a reason for that and it is that across so many parts of the world we are seeing, there are countries who directly or indirectly have experience now of disruptive or malign Russian behaviour and that’s why what we are doing now is working with our friends and partners on all sorts of measures. Tackling cyber warfare, intelligence sharing to do that, working together, we discussed this in the EU just now, working to tackle disinformation that comes from Russia.

A lot of the fake news that is pumped out. Tackling hybrid warfare as Jens just said, one of the key things that NATO now has to consider. And of course looking at how we go after the money, that may or may not have been, very likely has been corrupted or illicitly obtained. Of course, we in the UK now have powers to do that since the Criminal Finance Act of last year. There are ways of taking money away, unexplained wealth orders that we can put in place. Those can be done, and are being done now in concert with our friends and partners around the world, many of them in NATO. So, that is the work that is going on. On Brexit, all I can say is that there is a great step forward in negotiation, how about that. I think things are going extremely well.

Question

The same question for both of you, Foreign Secretary, you today had a meeting with the EU where they unconditionally expressed their solidarity. From your perspective what would be the best way forward for the EU, the UK and NATO to do something together to increase the pressure on Russia?

Foreign Secretary

Thanks, a chance for me to repeat, if I may, the last answer, there are things we can and must do together. Tackling the disinformation from Russia and the UK has been helping to fund that at a EU level. Tackling cyber together, sharing intelligence about what Russia is up to in cyber warfare, which has had an impact on many countries around the European Union and in NATO. And going after the money that has been illicitly or corruptly obtained. That is one of the most important ways forward, unexplained wealth orders. We have a National Crime Agency, and National Economic Crime Unit that are looking at this kind of stuff right now. But you can only do it in concert with partners around the world. And it’s very, very heartening and encouraging to find the level of support not just here in NATO, but in Washington and capitals around the world. Thank you very much everybody.

Jens Stoltenberg

Let me just echo what Boris Johnson said. I totally agree with him, we work together with the EU on hybrid, on cyber and on many other issues which are relevant to our response to Russia, and working with partners, for instance our eastern partners. So, this shows the importance of strong NATO-EU co-operation and we have been able to bring that co-operation to a new level. Unprecedented strong co-operation and that’s part of our response to a more assertive Russia.

The independent panel supporting the Government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding invites views to inform its work.

The independent panel appointed to inform the Government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding has launched a call for evidence today (21 March).

The panel is seeking views from all interested parties on the four areas it has been asked to consider:

• Choice: identifying ways to help people make more effective choices between the different options available after 18, so they can make more informed decisions about their futures.
• Value for money: looking at how students and graduates contribute to the cost of their studies, to ensure funding arrangements across post-18 education in the future are transparent and do not stop people from accessing higher education or training.
• Access: enabling people from all backgrounds to progress and succeed in post-18 education, while also examining how disadvantaged students receive additional financial support from the government, universities and colleges.
• Skills provision: making sure we have a post-18 education system that is providing the skills that employers need.

Chair of the review panel Philip Augar said:

This is an ambitious and wide-ranging review. We begin with no preconceptions. Our priority is to undertake a thorough examination of the evidence and to hear from a broad range of stakeholders who like us are committed to ensuring the system works for everyone.

I very much hope that many of you will contribute to our call for evidence so that the review will be able to deliver a system that incentivizes choice and competition, improves access and delivers the skills the economy needs in a way that provides value for students and taxpayers.

The call for evidence will run until Wednesday 2 May 2018. The independent panel will publish their report at an interim stage and the review will conclude in early 2019.

Published 21 March 2018

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