The following summary of planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week is correct as of Friday 17 March but could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. All our improvement work is carried out with… read more
I send my warmest wishes to everyone celebrating the festival of Nowruz in Britain, Iran and around the world.
At this time of year families and friends will be gathering to celebrate the New Year and mark the start of spring.
To everyone celebrating Nowruz in the UK – I wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful new year.
Har ruzetan Nowruz, Nowruzetan piruz.
read moreJoint statement from Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson
The shadow cabinet met today to discuss Labour’s policy and election plans and had a robust and constructive discussion about the challenges and opportunities ahead.
The shadow cabinet agreed on the need to strengthen party unity. It recognised the right of groups across the spectrum of Labour’s broad church to discuss their views and try to influence the party so long as they operate within the rules.
The leadership represents the whole party and not any one strand within it. No one speaks for the leadership except the leadership themselves and their spokespeople.
The shadow cabinet agreed our local and Mayoral election strategy and what a united Labour Party can and must offer the whole country after seven years of Tory austerity in terms of jobs, housing, education and health and social care.
We will fight for a Britain where people aren’t held back and where everyone in every community can lead a richer life.
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party
Tom Watson, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
read moreWith wintry weather forecast, icy roads, sleet and snow could make driving conditions more difficult in some areas. Always adjust your driving according to the conditions and plan your journey. Reduce your speed and drive with extra care, even when roads have been gritted.
During adverse weather, you should:
Even after roads have been treated in winter, driving conditions may remain challenging, especially if the road location and layout mean there is a high risk of ice. Be aware that ice forms more easily on:
Try not to brake suddenly in icy conditions – it may lock up the wheels and you could skid.
If you start to skid:
You can find out more about driving in wintry conditions at the page below:
You can reduce your chances of breaking down by regularly servicing your car. You should also:
During winter you are advised to carry a winter kit in your vehicle. It should include:
If you’re planning a long trip or if severe weather is forecast, you may want to also have in your car:
You should always plan your journey and check the latest weather and travel advice.
If the conditions are bad, ask yourself whether you really need to travel – or if you can delay your journey until conditions improve.
If you must travel, plan your journey carefully.
However carefully you plan your journey, things can go wrong. An accident or bad weather could mean that a road is closed for a time.
You can get up-to-date traffic information at the following link:
If you find yourself on a stretch of road that is closed, stay in the car and listen to traffic news.
Do not travel in heavy rainstorms unless absolutely necessary.
In flooded areas, drivers should not:
In more shallow but passable water:
Do not attempt to walk through flooded areas. Even shallow water moving fast can sweep you off your feet and there may be hidden dangers such as:
If you do become stranded in flood water and you feel there is a risk to life, dial 999 for emergency assistance.
Plans to revolutionise the courts to make them more straightforward and efficient, and deliver swifter justice for victims, will be outlined by the Justice Minister Sir Oliver Heald QC today.
The Prisons and Courts Bill, which also contains a range of measures to help boost the reform of our prisons, will be debated by MPs in the House of Commons this week (week commencing 20 March 2017).
Measures in the ground-breaking Prisons and Courts Bill will mean that more cases can be progressed securely online and through video and telephone conferencing, eradicating the need for many administrative hearings to take place in the traditional courtroom setting and reducing the need for travel.
To ensure justice is also open and seen to be done, video booths will be installed in courts across England and Wales to allow members of the media and public to observe virtual hearings from court buildings anywhere in the country. Lists and results of cases that have taken place online, as well as those concluded in a physical courtroom, will also be available digitally.
Justice Minister Sir Oliver Heald QC said:
Britain has the best justice system in the world, but it should also be the most modern. Victims and the most vulnerable are at the centre of our changes, which will help deliver swifter and more certain justice for all.
We want courts that are efficient and fit-for-purpose, with facilities across the entire estate that are modern, user-friendly, and work in favour of our hard-working and dedicated judges and magistrates.
The Prisons and Courts Bill underpins this vision – building on the good progress we have already made in improving the experience of all users and cementing our reputation for global legal excellence so victims get the justice they deserve as quickly as possible.
The Prisons and Courts Bill proposes an extension to the use of video links and virtual hearings which allow victims to take part in cases without having to meet their alleged attacker face-to-face.
Under our virtual hearings measures a further 60,000 pre-trial hearings in the magistrates’ court and 17,000 contested bail hearings can also take place by video, along with 30,000 pre-trial hearings in the crown court. This will save around 34,000 hours of courtroom time. Proposals to introduce online convictions for some limited offences will also benefit the courts. Potentially around 8,000 offences – including 7,000 cases of people travelling without a train and tram ticket, and a further 1,300 cases of people fishing without a licence – could be handled online, taking away the need to be in a courtroom.
Bill measures will also mean around 420,000 summary and triable either way offences can be progressed without the need for administrative hearings to take place in a court. For example, offenders will be able to enter a plea online reducing the need to go to court until they need to attend trial or a hearing where they can be sentenced.
Discussions between the court and legal representatives about issues such as trial location will be able to take place via email or telephone or video conferencing, instead of being in a courtroom.
The government is also removing the requirement for indictable only offences to have a ‘first appearance’ in the magistrates’ court, instead sending those cases straight to the crown court.
The Prisons and Courts Bill underpins our investment of over £1 billion for a modern justice system. The government is investing over £850 million to modernise and digitise the courts, and preserve the full majesty of the physical courtroom for cases that require it, in addition to around £250 million to deliver a fully connected criminal courtroom. This will result in savings of £252 million a year for the taxpayer.
We will move from too many underused and badly maintained buildings to fewer, better buildings with modern facilities. More modern and robust technology will be put in place in courts, such as Wi-Fi, modern telephony and screens for sharing evidence, to make the lives of our excellent judiciary and legal professional users easier.
The Prisons and Courts Bill also provides courts with the power to put an end to domestic violence victims being cross-examined by their alleged attackers in the family courts, calling time on what the Justice Secretary has described as a “humiliating and appalling” practice.
Car insurance premiums will also be cut by around £40 a year, with new fixed tariffs capping whiplash compensation pay-outs and a ban on claims without medical evidence, helping to crack down on the compensation culture epidemic.
In addition, the legislation sets in law for the first time that a key purpose is to reform offenders as they are punished for the crimes they have committed.