As well as lifting hundreds of miles of roadworks in congestion hotspots, the plan also includes enhancing rail services, postponing and accelerating rail engineering works, and cutting ticket charges to help travellers with their journeys.
The plan was outlined by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in the House of Commons yesterday.
The catalyst for the lifting of roadworks is thought to the temporary easing of the government’s regional three tiered approach of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions for five days over Christmas – allowing three households to mix in a bubble and travel to other parts of the country – from 23rd to 27th December.
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New Christmas travel measures will minimise disruption and help people #TravelSafely over the Christmas period.🎄🎁
A total of 778 miles of road works are set to be lifted across the UK.
Although unconfirmed, it is thought this will be targeted at first to congestion hotspots around shopping centres close to motorways – the Trafford Centre being identified as one of which.
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Announcing the lifting of road works, Mr Shapps said: “With many people carefully considering whether to travel to see loved ones this Christmas, we’re taking steps to try to ease journeys [and so] clearing 778 miles of roadworks and postponing rail upgrade works will ease congestion, minimise disruption and allow extra services to run.
“Were working with transport operators to help people see their loved ones, safely.
“We ask everyone to closely consider their journey, plan and book ahead, be patient, and be considerate of fellow passengers – and particularly staff who have worked so hard all year – by following the guidance carefully, including keeping space and wearing a face covering on public transport.”
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The government has also confirmed it is working with the devolved administrations on plans to ensure it takes an “aligned approach” as far as possible.
We’re lifting 778 miles of roadworks 🚧 altering rail upgrades to allow extra services🚆and waiving admin fees to help passengers travel safely at Christmas.
The announcement also comes after an AA survey revealed that one in four drivers (24%) are planning a journey by car over the festive period, and with research suggesting there will be 7.9 million motorists on the road this Christmas, compared with around 17 million last year.
Of the 16,500 drivers surveyed in the poll, 48% claimed they were planning a Christmas journey via main roads or motorways on 24th December – indicating Christmas Eve would be the busiest day for road travel.
And the last Saturday before Christmas – 19th December – is expected to be the worst day for shopping traffic.
You can find more information via the gov.uk website here.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Hundreds of staff to strike at four Greater Manchester hospitals next week
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week.
More than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – are walking out for three days next week after union UNISON says an offer to ‘resolve’ a dispute was withdrawn before discussions could take place.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 24, Wednesday 26, and Friday 28 August.
In particular, staff from all four sites will also gather in Salford on Wednesday (26 August) for a ‘unified’ day of protest.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
“Those at the top of NCA have shown a lack of leadership and made their disregard for their staff clear,” explained UNISON North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan.
“A deal was put on the table but taken away before we had chance to talk it over. We are ready to continue negotiations, but it’s obvious NCA has no intention of resolving this.
“This isn’t complicated. Staff are simply asking for what their contract says they’re entitled to. Nothing more.”
The Manc -
4th December 2020 
