On Wednesday 12 December 2018 at Westminster Magistrates Court, Ms Namrata THAKKAR aged 37 years of Priory Gardens, London, Acton, pleaded guilty to two counts of providing unregulated immigration advice and services between 1 January 2016 and 18 March 2017.

Namrata Thakkar was employed as a recruitment consultant/immigration adviser between May 2012 and January 2017. As part of her employment she was required to be regulated by the OISC to provide immigration advice and assistance to persons recruited from all over the world to work in the UK. When her employment was terminated she continued to provide immigration advice, which she was no longer qualified to provide.

She was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for one year. She was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1500 and a victim surcharge of £115.

On sentencing District Judge Blake, said,

“I see these as very serious offences where the starting point for sentence is one of custody….I give you credit for the guilty pleas, the considerable mitigation that you have repaid the fees charged, and your deteriorating health issues”

Speaking about the decision, Deputy Immigration Services Commissioner Dr Ian Leigh said,

“These are serious offences that are aggravated by incompetent service … and I am pleased with the outcome in this case.”

Notes to the Editor

1. The OISC is an independent public body, established under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to regulate the provision of immigration advice and services in the UK.

2. For further information contact Victoria Bovill-Lamb, Manager Investigations and Intelligence Team at the OISC on 0207 211 1591.

At around 22:04 hrs on 1 December 2018, a passenger travelling on a train from Bath to Bristol struck her head on a tree branch near to Twerton, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Bath Spa station. The train was travelling at about 85 mph (137 km/h) and the passenger sustained fatal injuries.

The train was the 20:30 Paddington to Exeter service formed of a GWR High Speed Train (HST). Witness evidence indicates that the passenger was standing at a door on the side facing away from the other track. The door was fitted with an opening droplight window, which is used to access the door handle fitted to the outside of the door. A yellow ‘Caution’ label above the door states ‘Do not lean out of window when train is moving’. The window was reported to have been opened and the passenger had her head out of the window.

Our investigation will encompass examination of the measures in place to control the risks from persons leaning out of train windows, including the threat from vegetation.

Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry, the British Transport Police or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.

You can subscribe to automated emails notifying you when we publish our reports.

• Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, visits wine and cheesemakers in the South East to highlight the success of home-grown produce and their economic potential

• Minister champions local businesses in the South East and urge them to take advantage of global exporting opportunities

Today (11 January 2019), visiting Winterdale Cheesemakers who are whetting local appetites with its award-winning Kentish cheese, and Hush Heath Wine Estate who specialise in sparkling rosé, Liz Truss will champion the success of the UK food and drink industries.

The UK cheese sector is going from strength to strength in terms of export demand, highlighting the economic opportunities available to businesses large and small from new markets.

Latest figures show that cheese exports alone were worth over £600 million to the UK economy, rising by nearly a quarter in 2017 driven by increased demand from Asian markets.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss said:

The South East is leading the way as one of the UK’s strongest exporting regions, offering impressive local-grown produce.

People around the world enjoy the best of British cheese and wine and we want this success to continue, ensuring UK businesses have every opportunity to increase their trade which will lead to more jobs and higher wages.

The South East is the UK’s strongest region for exports, exporting the highest value of goods in of any UK region. Since 2010 employment is higher and unemployment has also fallen faster in the South East than in London, with over 360,000 more people in employment and 140,000 more businesses.

featuring

Dr Kieran McCartan │ Professor of Criminology │ University of the West of England

and

Lisa Rowles │ Director of Innovation & Evidence│ Khulisa

(Plus pre-recorded input from a service user discussing their experiences and the role of trauma in their journey)

Please see the attached flyer for further information and how to book

PDF, 348KB, 1 page

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email academy@noms.gsi.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Published 11 January 2019

When snow and ice are forecast, an army of workers descends on to our motorways and major A roads in a fleet of gritters, to keep traffic moving.

Highways England stores around 280,000 tonnes of salt at its 127 depots, spread across the country at strategic locations but salt has already come on a long journey before it leaves the depots to reach its final destination on the road.

Salt (sodium chloride) comes from salt mined hundreds of metres underground. The salt is extracted generally by using a continuous mining machine.

The salt travels along conveyors to a machine where it is crushed and inspected to ensure it is the correct grade to be used on roads.

It is then brought up to ground and transported by lorries to our depots where it is stored until needed. Each lorry can transport 28 tonnes and our purpose built salt barns can hold anything up to 8,000 tonnes.

Highways England’s National Winter and Severe Weather Team Leader, Paul Furlong said:

Salt works by lowering the freezing point of moisture on the road surface, so that it has to be colder before it can turn to ice. In order for it to become really effective, dry salt has to form a brine solution on the road surface.

It is this brine that is responsible for lowering the temperature at which water freezes on the road surface to prevent ice from forming. To make this process occur quicker our vehicles spread concentrated brine on to dry salt as it is spread, which helps the salt react more quickly.

The brine we use is much more salty than sea water. Sea water contains about 3.5% salt while our brine contains around 23%.

To decide on the type of salt treatment needed, a range of methods are used, such as weather station and road condition information.

Paul added:

The amount of salt we need to use can vary and no two days will necessarily require the same treatment. However, it is important to realise that salt won’t necessarily stop snow from settling but it will help when it comes to ploughing the snow off the road.

When spreading salt our gritters will have all their amber beacons flashing and will be travelling no faster than 40mph. Our vehicles could be found in any lane although on standard 3-lane motorways they will often be in the middle lane, so we would encourage drivers to give them enough space. When snow ploughing, our vehicles will be found working on our roads at speeds around 20mph, so drivers are urged to drive with particular care during snow conditions.

Various advice and information about our winter services will be used on all of our social media channels – Twitter @HighwaysEngland, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, simply search Highways England. We also have regional twitter feeds where you can keep up to date with regional issues.

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.