The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is working with The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and Netmums to drive home the message that laser pointers are not toys.

With laser pointers becoming increasingly popular among children, OPSS and its delivery partners want to raise awareness of the dangers to eyesight from misuse.

This follows rising concern around the sale and use of laser pointers as they become both cheaper and more powerful.

The Government’s Call for Evidence in December 2017 set out the current understanding of the market for laser pointers and the legal framework for ensuring these products are safe.

It asked for comments on the nature and scale of the issues with laser pointers and heard from many leading eye experts in the UK who highlighted the risk of permanent damage from retinal burns as a result of misuse.

As a result, the Government promised a three-point action plan:

• increase support for enforcement around the import of high powered laser pointers
• encourage more effective voluntary labelling on devices
• raise public awareness of the dangers to eyesight from misuse

The following set of materials have been created in consultation with leading UK ophthalmologists.

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Published 3 December 2018

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is pleased to confirm that Her Majesty the Queen has approved the following senior appointments to the top echelon of the Armed Services:

Vice Admiral Timothy Fraser CB is to be promoted Admiral and appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, in succession to General Gordon Messenger;

Vice Admiral Tony Radakin CB is to be promoted Admiral and appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, in succession to Admiral Sir Philip Jones;

Air Marshal Michael Wigston CBE is to be promoted Air Chief Marshal and appointed as Chief of the Air Staff, in succession to Air Chief Marshal Sir Steven Hillier;

Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders CBE, DSO is to be promoted General and appointed Commander Joint Forces Command, in succession to General Sir Christopher Deverell.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

I am delighted to congratulate this new group of defence chiefs on their appointments. Forward-looking and keen to modernise the Armed Forces, these are the transformational leaders we need in these challenging times.

The appointment of a new generation of commanders will ensure that Britain remains ready to face the threats of tomorrow and continues to be a major player on the world stage.

Vice Admiral Tim Fraser CB

Tim Fraser was educated at Lord Williams’ School in Oxfordshire and joined the Royal Navy in 1982. A surface warfare officer, he has had the privilege of commanding four ships: the patrol craft HMS ARCHER (1989-1991); the T42 Destroyers HMS GLOUCESTER (1997-1998) and HMS CARDIFF (2001-2003; as the Captain Fifth Destroyer Squadron); and the aircraft carrier HMS ILLUSTRIOUS (2006-2007).

He has also served as the United Kingdom Maritime Component Commander in Bahrain (May 2010 to November 2011), commanding Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships in the Middle East, and additionally serving under the Commander US Fifth Fleet as the Deputy Commander of the Combined Maritime Forces.

In between sea and operations appointments he has served as the Surface Flotilla Staff Navigating Officer, as an Assistant Director in the Navy’s Personnel Strategy Directorate and as the Head of Navy Resources and Plans on the Central Staff (2007-2010). On promotion to Rear Admiral in January 2012 he led the Navy Command HQ Defence Reform implementation in 2012 prior to serving as the Senior British Military Advisor at CENTCOM HQ in Tampa, Florida (September 2012- January 2014).

On return from the States he spent three years in the MOD as the Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Capability and Force Design), which included SDSR 15. He was appointed as Chief of Joint Operations in June 2017 on promotion to Vice Admiral.

Tim Fraser attended the UK Higher Command and Staff Course in 2006 and the US Pinnacle Course at the Joint and Coalition Warfighting Centre in April 2012. He was made a Companion of the Bath (CB) in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Vice Admiral Tony Radakin CB

Tony Radakin was appointed Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff in March 2018.

Commissioned in 1990, his early sea service was as an Officer of the Watch in HMS Leeds Castle, navigator of HMS Andromeda, command of HMS Blazer and then serving as operations officer in HMS Beaver. This period incorporated security duties in the Falklands, NATO embargo operations in the Adriatic, as well as escort duties in the Iran/Iraq Tanker war, and countering smuggling in Hong Kong and the Caribbean.

Commands have ranged from Lieutenant to Rear Admiral of ashore, afloat and international forces. This includes HMS Blazer and Southampton URNU, HMS Norfolk, the Naval Training Team in Iraq (where he was awarded the Bronze Star), the Iraqi Maritime Task Force, Portsmouth Naval Base, and Commander of UK Maritime Forces and NATO’s High Readiness Maritime Component Commander. It also encompasses commanding in Iraq on Operation Telic three times as a commander, captain and commodore.

Other than Britannia Royal Naval College, his staff appointments have been in either joint or defence roles. These consist of operational planning at Permanent Joint Headquarters, military assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Defence, a financial and capability programmer in the Equipment Plan Directorate, military assistant to the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, and Head of Strategy Management (involving finance, capability planning and strategic force development). Most recently he was Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces Command with specific responsibilities for people, infrastructure and the UK’s permanent overseas bases.

His education includes reading law at Southampton University, qualifying as a barrister, the Advanced Command and Staff Course, an MA in International Relations and Defence Studies, and the Higher Command and Staff Course. He has also graduated from several US courses including the US Combined Forces Maritime Component course, Capstone course and the inaugural UK/US Future Leaders’ course. In 2017 he attended the London Business School’s Senior Executive Programme.

Air Marshal Mike Wigston CBE

Air Marshal Mike Wigston was appointed Deputy Commander Capability and Air Member for Personnel and Capability in August 2018.

Appointments in operational headquarters have included Al Udeid Airbase, Qatar, as the Chief of Combat Operations in the Combined Air and Space Operations Centre; Basrah International Airport, Iraq as Commander 903 Expeditionary Air Wing; and one year in Afghanistan as the Director Air Operations in Headquarters ISAF Joint Command. He was appointed CBE in 2013 for his contribution to that mission.

Staff appointments in the Ministry of Defence have included Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of Defence Staff working for General Lord Richards and, from July 2013, for General Lord Houghton. In January 2015, he was appointed Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and Commander British Forces Cyprus. In March 2017, he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, responsible for the strategic coherence and coordination of the Royal Air Force, and oversight of the RAF100 centenary programme.

His education and training includes reading engineering science at Oriel College, Oxford; the Advanced Command and Staff Course; an MA in defence studies from King’s College, London and the Higher Command and Staff Course.

Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders CBE DSO

Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders was commissioned into The Royal Green Jackets in 1986 with whom he served in Germany, Northern Ireland, Canada and Norway. He has commanded on operations in Crossmaglen, West Belfast, Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the staff, he served as Chief of Staff of 1st Mechanised Brigade, deploying to Oman and Kosovo. On promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 2003, he served in Baghdad as a strategic planner and Pol-Mil adviser to the US Commander of CJTF-7. In 2004 he was posted to the Staff College as a member of the Directing Staff. He commanded 2RGJ (becoming 4 RIFLES) from 2005-2008, including a tour of Basra in 2007.

He attended the Higher Command and Staff Course before establishing the post of Colonel Army Strategy in May 2008 in the MOD. He commanded 20th Armoured Brigade 2009-2012 in Germany and in Afghanistan as Task Force Helmand 2011-2012. After a brief period in Washington as the Chief of Defence Staff’s Liaison Officer to the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he served as Head of Operations ‘A’ in the MOD.

Promoted to Major General in March 2013, he served for two years as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations), before taking over as GOC 3 (UK) Division in May 2015. He assumed his current post as Commander Field Army in December 2016.

He was awarded the OBE in 2004, the DSO in 2008, and the CBE in 2012. He speaks fluent French and Norwegian.

Lieutenant General Sanders enjoys cycling, ski mountaineering and fly fishing. He is fond of whisky and Spurs.

Academics, legal professionals and court reform experts will also be attending the two-day event, which begins today, at the headquarters of global law firm DLA Piper with up to 200 guests expected.

The forum will focus on the development of online courts and is being hosted jointly by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the Society for Computers and Law (SCL), a charity focused on the development of IT-related law.

The government is delivering an ambitious programme of court reform, which aims to bring new technology and modern ways of working to the way justice is administered. In collaboration with the senior judiciary and HMCTS, £1bn is being invested to reform the courts and tribunals system.

Speaking ahead of the event, Susan Acland-Hood said:

The forum is a unique opportunity to hear and learn from those countries reforming their court systems and developing online courts.

We have the highest calibre of delegates attending this ground-breaking event demonstrating how the changes we are making here are at the forefront of a wider international movement to improve both access to and efficiency of our court systems.

President of the Society for Computers and Law, Professor Richard Susskind said:

More people in our world now have access to the internet than access to justice. Against that backdrop, we are delighted to have assembled experts from more than 20 countries to work together in bringing our court services into the 21st century.

Online courts, in my view, are the most promising way of ensuring that many more people are able to understand and enforce their legal rights.

The first day of the forum will include speeches from Justice Secretary David Gauke and the Lord Chief Justice, as well as presentations from HMCTS and a range of international jurisdictions including the US, Singapore, India, Denmark and New South Wales.

The day will conclude with the Sir Brian Neill Lecture to be delivered by Shannon Salter, Chair of the Civil Resolution Tribunal, British Columbia in Canada.

Day two will feature debates on common issues facing policymakers, judges, technologists, and lawyers such as the use of Artificial Intelligence and technology platforms and obstacles. These will include contributions from Lord Briggs, Justice of the Supreme Court, Andrew Walker QC, chair of the Bar Council, Christina Blacklaws, President of the Law Society, and Dame Hazel Genn, Professor of Socio-legal Studies at UCL.

The event will be co-chaired by Susan Acland-Hood, Chief Executive of HMCTS, and Professor Richard Susskind, President of SCL. Sir Ernest Ryder, the Senior President of Tribunals, will be the forum’s rapporteur.

Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said:

I am delighted that so many leading court reform figures from around the world are able to come together in London to share ideas and build new partnerships on digital reform.

We face common challenges and opportunities in ensuring our justice systems work for the people who use and need them, and this forum will ensure we continue to learn from each other.

The court reform programme in England and Wales has already delivered:

• A new fully accessible online civil money claims service giving the public the ability to make a small claim online – with more than 35,000 claims made since its launch in March and user satisfaction at 90%;
• A new system for applying for divorce online, which has cut errors in application forms from 40% to less than 1%;
• A new probate system in testing, which has cut errors, quickened the process and has a user satisfaction rate of 93%;
• A pilot of fully video hearings in tax tribunals to test the potential for roll-out where appropriate across the courts and tribunals system;
• The national implementation of a new in-court system to record the results of cases digitally and instantly

• The 21 countries represented at the forum were Albania, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Qatar, Ireland (Republic), Scotland, Singapore, Ukraine and the USA.
• The full forum programme.

Government proposals to place the environment at the heart of new development have been unveiled by Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

In plans published today (2 December 2018) for consultation, developers could be required to deliver a ‘biodiversity net gain’ when building new housing or commercial development – meaning habitats for wildlife must be enhanced and left in a measurably better state than they were pre-development.

The proposed new rules require developers to assess the type of habitat and its condition before submitting plans. Car parks and industrial sites would usually come lower on this scale, while more natural grasslands and woodlands would be given a much higher ranking for their environmental importance.

Developers would then be required to demonstrate how they are improving biodiversity – such as through the creation of green corridors, planting more trees, or forming local nature spaces. Green improvements on site would be encouraged, but in the rare circumstances where they are not possible the consultation proposes to charge developers a levy to pay for habitat creation or improvement elsewhere.

These proposals would help to achieve better outcomes for nature and people with the millions of pounds invested in environmental impact mitigation by developers every year.

While some developers have already been following a biodiversity net gain approach voluntarily, the proposed standardised, mandatory approach would give them clarity and certainty on how to improve the environment through development, while also considering whether any sites – such as small and brownfield sites – should be exempt from the rules. It will still deliver the homes the country needs – making the Government’s vision of delivering 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s a reality – at the same time as contributing to the goal of passing on our environment in a better condition.

Net gain

Today’s action is the first step in the government’s ambition to embed the wider principle of ‘environmental net gain’ in development, to drive measurable improvements for all aspects of the environment such as air quality, flood defences and clean water.

The government will now work collaboratively with developers, water companies, tourism services, energy providers and waste specialists to better understand how profitable development can be a driving force of environmental improvement.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, said:

Our commitment to protecting and enhancing our natural world can go hand in hand with our ambition to build more high quality homes.

Mandating biodiversity net gain puts the environment at the heart of planning and development. This will not only create better places for people to live and work, but ensure we leave our environment in a better state for future generations.

In addition to upholding planning protections for sensitive sites such as ancient woodland and sites of special scientific interest, the consultation builds on the experiences of local authorities and developers who have already adopted net gain approaches.

This includes the Berkley Group who have committed to creating a net biodiversity gain within all their development sites and are currently working with London Wildlife Trust to build Kidbrooke Village in East London – a new 4,800 home village development that contains 20 hectares of parkland.

Biodiversity impact assessment

Elsewhere, Warwickshire County Council have trialled and implemented a system to ensure all developments lead to no net loss of biodiversity, with each development preparing a Biodiversity Impact Assessment prior to building.

Dr Julia Baker, Biodiversity Technical Specialist for Balfour Beatty, said:

Balfour Beatty strongly support the concept of Biodiversity Net Gain and the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan for sustainable use of land. We are leading the way in developing new standards, continually seeking ways for our construction projects to generate Net Gains in Biodiversity, in ways that leave wider social and environmental benefits.

Early planning allows for Biodiversity Net Gain measures to be integrated into the design, programme and budget of schemes, reducing the cost and ultimately generating long-term benefits for nature and society.

The consultation launched today plays a vital role in helping the government fulfil its aim to use and manage land sustainably, as outlined in the 25 Year Environment Plan.

It follows the launch of the revised National Planning Policy Framework in July which outlined stronger protection for the environment, ensuring wildlife thrives at the same time as addressing the need for new homes

Andrew Sells, Chairman of Natural England which has given extensive advice to Government on Net Gain, said:

Net Gain is an ambitious idea that has the potential to bring significant benefits for our declining wildlife and the environment as a whole. If Net Gain succeeds for nature then it will also be succeeding for people, because it means that they are living and working with a thriving natural environment all around them.

I am delighted that Natural England’s scientific expertise has helped to shape the concept of Net Gain and the principles that will gauge its success. We can also play an important role in helping developers and local authorities achieve Net Gain on the ground – securing a better environment for future generations.

The consultation opens on 2 December and will run until 10 February.

Both charities, which provide support to children with life-limiting illnesses and their families, will benefit from the donation as the government gives back the VAT on the X Factor charity song for the eighth year running.

Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

Sales from this year’s X Factor charity single will help children with life-limiting diseases and their families. We will donate the VAT paid on the sales, ensuring more people can benefit from this crucial funding. The single goes a huge way in raising awareness of valuable causes and the charities behind them and that’s why the government has supported the X factor Christmas single with donations worth more than £300,000 over the last eight years. From the whole government, we wish everyone in the final the best of luck.

The government has donated the VAT previously on other charity singles, including the 2016 Jo Cox Foundation single, 2015 Save the Children single, the 2011’s Military Wives Choir single, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake appeal single.

The Department of Health and Social Care will make the donation of the VAT on the government’s behalf.

Published 1 December 2018