Dounreay Materials Test Reactor (DMTR) was the first operational nuclear reactor in Scotland and achieved criticality in 1958. It was built to test the effects of radiation on different materials and operated for 11 years.

The demolition of the reactor building will be a major skyline change for Dounreay and will signify another major hazard reduction milestone at one of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) sites.

The NDA’s Director of Nuclear Operations, Alan Cumming, said:

Dounreay site, and the surrounding communities, have made an incredible contribution to the advancement of the UK’s nuclear industry for several decades. That contribution continues to this day with the pioneering work being carried out at Scotland’s largest nuclear decommissioning project.

The start of the work to demolish Dounreay Materials Test Reactor represents a significant step in our mission to decommission and clean-up the legacy from the very earliest days of the UK’s nuclear industry.

The 3-year contract has now been awarded to Cavendish Nuclear and its partners, local firm JGC Engineering, KDC and Frazer-Nash Consultancy, for the dismantling of the reactor block and demolition of the structure.

This is the culmination of a decade-long project to remove the internal structures from the reactor and its support buildings including a fuel storage pond, waste drum store and post-irradiation examination cells.

Dounreay project manager, Bill Lambie, said:

When DMTR was constructed in the late 1950s, it was technologically advanced and innovative. Sixty years on, its demolition will be an important demonstration of the decommissioning progress being made at Dounreay.

We were very encouraged by the response from the supply chain and our team has worked hard to undertake a robust assessment of each of the competing bids before awarding the contract.

Cavendish Nuclear director, Natalie Nisbet, said:

I am delighted our innovative and collaborative approach to reactor dismantling, using proven and cost-effective technology in conjunction with the local supply chain, will deliver the greatest skyline change seen at Dounreay for many years.

Cavendish Nuclear and its partners have pledged to source materials and services from local sub-contractors as part of its commitment to the socio-economic development of Dounreay’s supply chain and wider Caithness community.

This is the latest in a number of major contracts to be awarded in the last year as the site’s closure programme progresses.

Graham Construction was awarded a three-year contract in October and will soon begin to build an intermediate level waste storage facility on the site.

Meanwhile, Nuvia also recently announced that it had won a multi-million pound contract to remove residual liquid metal coolant from Dounreay Fast Reactor.

Dounreay, which was once the UK’s centre for fast reactor research, is now Scotland’s largest decommissioning project. The work is being delivered by Dounreay Site Restoration Limited on behalf of the NDA.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today provisionally cleared Menzies Aviation’s takeover of part of Airline Services’ business after an in-depth investigation allayed competition concerns.

The 2 firms supply airlines in the UK with a variety of support services including the de-icing of aircraft and ground handling.

An initial Phase 1 probe raised concerns that the merger could restrict choice for airlines at a number of key airports in England and Scotland for both de-icing and ground handling, potentially leading to higher prices or a worse service. These concerns led to the merger being referred to a Group of independent CMA Panel members for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation.

The CMA has today issued its provisional findings. Based on a thorough evaluation of the wider evidence base in the Phase 2 inquiry, it has found that the market for ground handling services is particularly dynamic, with a strong recent history of companies entering the market to compete for contracts. With regard to de-icing services, the CMA has found that competition between Menzies and Airline Services is very limited such that the merger would not lead to a substantial lessening of competition.

The CMA is currently inviting comments on its findings until 9 January 2019. It will then consider any submissions it receives before reaching a final decision, the deadline for which is 28 January 2019.

Further information can be found on our case page.

A statue of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, which was part-funded by the Government Equalities Office’s (GEO) Centenary Fund, will be unveiled in Manchester today (14 December).

Manchester, Emmeline’s hometown, is one of seven centenary cities and towns – chosen for their strong suffrage history – which received a total of £1.2 million from the GEO fund.

The statue, created by award-winning sculptor Hazel Reeves, shows Emmeline standing on a chair imploring her audience to support women’s suffrage, and is only the second ever statue of a woman in Manchester.

Culminating celebrations of the centenary year across the country, the statue marks the significant contribution and achievements of women in Manchester to the suffrage movement.

Minister for Equalities Baroness Williams said:

“As a councillor in Trafford for 13 years I’m proud of Manchester’s role in the history of women’s suffrage, and, while it’s taken one hundred years, I can’t think of a better choice than to honour Emmeline Pankhurst in this way.

“By funding projects like this we are encouraging the next generation of women to get involved in our democracy so that they can have an equal voice in the decisions that affect them.

“What made this campaign so special is the personal dedication of all those involved, and the support for both Emmeline as the public choice, and the brilliant sculptor Hazel Reeves to bring this local hero back to her home streets.”

The centenary cities project is helping Manchester to build a legacy from its suffrage celebrations through democratic engagement programmes with the Pankhurst Trust, and the statue of Emmeline.

The statue will be unveiled as part of a whole day of celebrations starting with a procession at the People’s History Museum, the Pankhurst Centre and ending at St Peter’s Square.

Across the country, women have participated in training in political leadership, media relations and public speaking, supported by the government’s £5 million suffrage centenary fund.

Notes to editors:

• The statue received £200,000 from the GEO’s Centenary Fund
• At the council planning meeting where the statue project received planning permission, a young girl chosen from a local school made the case for the statue to the planning board
• The £5 million Centenary Fund is supporting projects that raise awareness of this democratic milestone and encourage more women to participate in democracy
• It includes £1.2 million funding for local celebrations in Centenary Cities – Bolton, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, London, Manchester and Nottingham

All government funded home chargepoints for electric vehicles must use innovative ‘smart’ technology from July 2019, the government announced today (14 December 2018), fulfilling the commitment in the Road to Zero Strategy published earlier this year.

This means chargepoints must be able to be remotely accessed, and capable of receiving, interpreting and reacting to a signal. Smart charging can also reduce high peaks of electricity demands, minimising the cost of electric vehicles to the electricity system – and keeping costs down for consumers by encouraging off-peak charging.

Alongside this the government has also announced that they have maintained grants to install chargepoints at home and in the workplace at their current level of up to £500, making charging easier for consumers and ensuring that plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles can be used to their full potential.

Jesse Norman, Roads Minister, said:

The government wants the UK to be the best place in the world to build and own an electric vehicle, and through leadership and innovation it is paving the way to a zero emission future.

We have already supported the installation of over 100,000 home chargepoints. Now the measures announced today will give more people the opportunity to make the move to electric.

Automotive Minister Richard Harrington said:

Today’s measures will make it easier for consumers to move towards electric vehicles, helping us power towards a cleaner, greener future.

Through our modern Industrial Strategy and Automotive Sector Deal, we are investing to ensure the UK is the leading destination for the innovation and manufacture of electric vehicle batteries and technologies to help all parts of the UK reap the economic benefits of these innovations.

The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme has supported the delivery of domestic chargepoints to consumers since 2014 and has delivered over 60,000 grants to date.

This summer the government published the Road to Zero strategy, built around a core mission for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040, and to achieve key elements of the modern Industrial Strategy to ensure the UK leads the industries of the future and boosts its competitiveness.

The measures outlined in the Road to Zero Strategy amount to nearly £1.5 billion of investment and represent one of the world’s most comprehensive packages of support for zero-emission vehicles.

Don’t let your mates drink and drive – that’s the message for young men in this year’s Christmas THINK! campaign, which launches today (Friday, 14 December 2018).

Three new films are being released, based on the award-winning #matesmatter campaign, which last year had the biggest shift in over a decade in young people’s attitudes towards drink driving.

One of the films sees friends in a pub intervene when a man picks up his car keys after he has been drinking, kicking the keys around the venue before they’re taken away by the landlady, who calls for a taxi. Another shows a couple kissing, ignoring everything around them until a man picks up his car keys and goes to leave. The couple break the embrace and the boyfriend kisses the man as the girlfriend takes the keys, and says “Someone’s getting the bus home.”

Christmas drink drive video: time to tackle

Road Safety Minister Jesse Norman said:

Drink driving needlessly puts human lives at risk.

Our hard-hitting THINK! campaigns have already shown a positive impact on road users, encouraging safer behaviour so as to reduce the number of people killed and injured.

This festive season, the simple message is that friends need to step in and stop their friends from getting behind the wheel after drinking.

A recent RAC survey showed more than two thirds of people would urge their friend not to drive if they thought they were over the limit. This THINK! campaign provides simple solutions to encourage 18 to 24 year-old men to step in if they see their friend trying to drive home after drinking any alcohol.

The films will be broadcast online and on social media during the Christmas and the party season as well as at football grounds, on Spotify and in pubs.

RAC road safety spokesperson Pete Williams said:

Drink-driving wrecks lives and we would encourage every driver to consider whether they really want to take the risk of mixing alcohol with being behind the wheel this Christmas.

Regrettably, we have seen the number of people who admit to having driven while over the limit increase by 50% in the past 12 months from 8% to 12% so we welcome this hard-hitting campaign. It delivers a strong message that drink-driving is not acceptable, and also encourages people to speak up if they see their friends doing it.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Roads Policing, Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said:

Driving under the influence of drink or drugs is an incredibly dangerous and selfish decision to take, and it can have devastating consequences on people’s lives.

Far too many people still attempt to drive under the influence and we are better prepared to catch them than ever before. We will ensure that they face the full penalty of law.

Our message is the same all year round: do not do it.

The Department for Transport has also today announced the winners of stage 1 of the competition for new mobile breathalysers, in conjunction with the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS).

These breathalysers will enable police officers to test drivers instantly at the road side, saving police time as well as getting drink drivers off the roads immediately as they won’t have time to sober up on their way to police station.

The winners are Lion Laboratories and Intoximeters: companies that produce instruments to test alcohol on the breath. Their designs will now go be submitted for Home Office testing, with a view to being ready for 2020.

In addition stage 2 of the competition will now be open for bids from manufacturers who are able to provide devices for police forces for trials.