Severn Trent unveils project to support young offenders

Severn Trent Water has partnered with young offenders’ mentoring charity, Trailblazers Mentoring, in a programme to support men preparing for release from HMP Brinsford in Wolverhampton. The programme is part of the water company’s project to “help 100,000 people living in the Midlands reach their full potential.”

Through the partnership, Severn Trent employees, trained by Trailblazers, will offer mentoring to the offenders. As well as providing mentoring, the company is developing employability workshops in, for example, cv writing skills, to be delivered in the prison. Severn Trent said its first group of 12 mentors have finished their training ready to start to practise over the next year.

The water company said the partnership builds on its ten-year programme to support 100,000 people living in its region, helping people into employment by providing work experience and employability training. For each of the ten years Severn Trent said it will provide up to 500 work experiences for school pupils, as well as run employability workshops and sessions in community centres in the heart of local communities.

Trailblazers, which has 25 years’ experience of providing mentoring services to young men in prison, reported that an average around 57% of young offenders reoffend in the first year of leaving prison, compared to 9% of prison leavers who have a mentor.

Infrastructure investor sentiment towards Europe’s water sector has slumped in the current quarter year with the regulatory regime and political environment named as chief barriers according to a recent survey by the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA).

In its six

monthly poll of investors the UK was largely among the pack in its the index of perceived barriers (see

table). But it towered above the rest on “unattractive regulatory regime” and political instability.

In his foreword to the the association’s Infrastructure Pulse report, published by management consultant Alvarez and Marshall, chief executive of the GIIA, Jon Phillips said “Investor sentiment towards the UK remains inconsistent. Whilst the value of Sterling is lowering asset values for overseas buyers, the UK’s political and regulatory environment is seen as challenging.”

He w

ent on to say the survey revealed “the US, Canada and large parts of northern Europe

emerging as the most desirable investment destinations, whilst the likes of the UK, France and Italy find themselves some way behind.” Respondents scored their outlook for “attractiveness of, and opportunities for, your fund’s infrastructure investment” at a little over 1 for the UK with the Nordics and Germany holding the greatest allure in Europe at around 2 and the US drawing more than 3.

The greatest improvements in investor confidence compared to scores for the final quarter of 2022 were in US and Canada across all the markets and the Nordics remained most attractive European destination. Elsewhere in E

urope, Italy; France; and Benelux saw a significant declines in investor sentimen over the same peiodt. On paper t

he UK appears to have generated an outstanding turnaround in investor confidence since the final quarter of 2022 when it was only marginally above zero. However that period included the six weeks of Liz Truss’ premiership.

Phillips said the level of uncertainty called for policymakers to be “proactive

in encouraging private sector investment,” and for “streamlining regulatory processes, improving project pipelines and providing long-term, stable frameworks.”

According to RSK, research for the strategy has identified five main hazards that the region faces from climate change:

• river and surface water flooding;

• sea level rise and coastal flooding and erosion;

• water scarcity and drought conditions;

• extreme temperature fluctuations and

• interacting and cascading impacts.

RSK pointed out that the region’s 1500 km coastline bears the brunt of storms from the Atlantic, with low lying and coastal communities susceptible to coastal flooding and erosion. It highlighted also that inland, there are vast areas of exposed natural habitat, such as Dartmoor. “Tourism is a key part of the area’s economy and so helping seasonal businesses and coastal communities prepare for sea level rise is of the utmost importance here,” said RSK.

The Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Environment Agency-chaired, Climate Impacts Group has worked with WRc and the RSK Centre for Sustainability Excellence to draft a Climate Adaptation Strategy that “emphasises how collaboration can increase resilience across the region, with an action plan highlighting where efforts should be focused over the next five years.”

Climate and Sustainability director at RSK Group subsidiary, ADAS, Charles Ffoulkes ,said: “Summers are increasingly becoming hotter and drier, with drought conditions, water scarcity and wildfires becoming an increasing concern, which will impact the rural economy as crop failures and reduced productivity become more fre

quent across the region.”

The draft strategy includes a risk assessment of the impact of climate change in the region, a strategic adaptation plan, which sets out the conditions needed to enable regional partners to act on adapting to climate change together, and an action plan focused on the next five years.

Ffoulkes said: “This plan primarily focuses on adaptation planning and action at the policy and organisational level, and its purpose is to set out how the region can create the conditions and capacity for everyone to adapt to climate change together. We see individuals, families and communities out there that want to do something, but they are not sure what or how. By providing the enabling conditions, knowledge and where applicable, funding, adaptation action can occur more easily at all levels of society.

The Environment Agency’s area director for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Mark Rice, said: “Significant impacts from climate change are now inevitable, but we can successfully respond to the climate emergency through greater, collective focus on adaptation to the increased hazards that are already evident… By responding to the consultation, [the public] will have the opportunity to influence the future resilience of [their] community.”

The group has made the summary, adaptation strategy and a series of accessible ‘quick-reads’ available on its webs

ite, where the public is also invited to respond to the questionnaire.

Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, working together with RSK Group subsidiaries ADAS and Water Research Council (WRc) have published for consultation a draft regional climate change strategy to tackle the main threats the region faces from climate change.

According to RSK, research for the strategy has identified five main hazards that the region faces from climate change:

• river and surface water flooding;

• sea level rise and coastal flooding and erosion;

• water scarcity and drought conditions;

extreme temperature fluctuations and

• inter

acting and cascading impacts.

RSK pointed out that the region’s 1500 km coastline bears the brunt of storms from the Atlantic, with low lying and coastal communities susceptible to coastal flooding and erosion. It highlighted also that inland, there are vast areas of exposed natural habitat, such as Dartmoor. “Tourism is a key part of the area’s economy and so helping seasonal businesses and coastal communities prepare for sea level rise is of the utmost importance here,” said RSK.

The Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Environment Agency-chaired, Climate Impacts Group has worked with WRc and the RSK Centre for Sustainability Excellence to draft a Climate Adaptation Strategy that “emphasises how collaboration can increase resilience across the region, with an action plan highlighting where efforts should be focused over the next five years.”

Climate and Sustainability director at RSK Group subsidiary, ADAS, Charles Ffoulkes ,said: “Summers are increasingly becoming hotter and drier, with drought conditions, water scarcity and wildfires becoming an increasing

concern, which will impact the rural economy as crop failures and reduced productivity become more frequent across the region.”

The draft strategy includes a risk assessment of the impact of climate change in the region, a strategic adaptation plan, which sets out the conditions needed to enable regional partners to act on adapting to climate change together, and an action plan focused on the next five years.

Ffoulkes

said: “This plan primarily focuses on adaptation planning and action at the policy and organisational level, and its purpose is to set out how the region can create the conditions and capacity for everyone to adapt to climate change together. We see individuals, families and communities out there that want to do something, but th

ey are not sure what or how. By providing the enabling conditions, knowledge and where applicable, funding, adaptation action can occur more easily at all levels of society.

The Environment Agency’s area director for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Mark Rice, said: “Significant impacts from climate change are now inevitable, but we can successfully respond to the climate emergency through greater, collective focus on adaptation to the increased hazards that are already evident… By responding to the consultation, [the public] will have the opportunity to influence the future resilience of [their] community.”

The group has made the summary, adaptation strategy and a series of accessible ‘quick-reads’ available on its website, where the public is also invited to respond to the questionnaire.