NHS ‘fails’ children
CHILDREN with mental health conditions are being “failed” by the NHS and ministers must step up action to increase staff numbers to combat the problem, a group of MPs has said.
A report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee found that recruitment work had progressed more slowly than planned, pointing to research that found just three in 10 children and young people with a diagnosable mental health condition received treatment in 2017/18. ALL UK airports must buy anti-drone equipment because the Royal Air Force should not have to step in every time the devices are flown near runways.
That is the view of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, who says airports have to invest in technology which can detect and deter the gadgets.
The military has been called in to the UK’s two busiest airports in recent weeks after drone sightings caused flights to be grounded.
Departures at Heathrow were suspended for an hour on Tuesday night, while the travel plans of 140,000 Gatwick passengers were affected over three days shortly before Christmas.
Both airports have said they will invest millions of pounds to tackle the threat from drones.
A system which can detect, track and ground the devices has been installed on the roof of Gatwick’s South Terminal following last month’s chaos.
Many of Britain’s busiest airports, such as the main London airports, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Edinburgh, all told the ministers that they have drone detection equipment in place or are planning to install it, the Birmingham Mail understands.
Civil Aviation Authority figures show that 120 near-misses between drones and aircraft were reported in the year to December 4 2018 – up 29 per cent on the total of 93 in the whole of 2017.
Just six incidents were recorded in 2014 before they became fashionable.
Aviation minister Baroness Sugg and security minister Ben Wallace held a meeting with airport bosses on Thursday to discuss plans to crack down on the problem. The Department for Transport is setting up a cross-Government drone security action group to ensure close cooperation with the Home Office, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice.
“I think that everyone would be expecting all airports to be having this detection, and deterrence effect also, at all commercial airports in the future,” said Mr Williamson.
“It is a logical thing for them to be investing in. It wouldn’t be right to expect the RAF to be the people that are constantly stepping in on this.”
On Tuesday, the Government announced a package of measures designed to give police extra powers to combat drones. The exclusion zone around airports will be extended to a 5km radius, drone operators will have to take a competency test and police will also be able to issue fixed-penalty notices.