Tag: 2023

PRESS RELEASE : Russia blocks discussions at Kimberley Process Plenary [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 November 2023.

Russia has blocked discussions on conflict diamonds and Ukraine at the Kimberley Process Plenary in Zimbabwe.

At the most recent Kimberley Process Plenary meeting, held in Zimbabwe from 6 to 10 November 2023, Russia consistently used the rules around consensus to block attempts from Ukraine, the UK and others to discuss the implications of their full scale invasion of Ukraine on the Kimberley Process and its objective to delink conflict from diamonds.

Russia exports around 30% of the world’s rough diamonds and accrues a significant amount from the proceeds which are contributing to its illegal war effort in Ukraine.

Since the full-scale invasion, the UK and other Kimberley Process members have been pressing the Kimberley Process to discuss the issue and to work on expanding the definition of ‘conflict diamonds’.

In addition to having a substantive discussion on the issue blocked, Russia and other Kimberley Process participants then blocked the inclusion of a factual reference to the attempt to add the discussion to the agenda of the Plenary. This resulted in the failure to issue a final communique.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:

Despite many productive conversations at the Plenary, we are disappointed it was not possible to discuss the link between Russia’s proceeds of rough diamonds and the financing of Russia’s illegal, premeditated, and unprovoked war in Ukraine.

It is also regrettable that a final communique reflecting attempts to discuss this were blocked by Russia and a small number of participants. The Kimberley Process has achieved much since its creation and we remain committed to ensuring it continues to work towards eradicating the link between diamonds and conflict.

The United Kingdom remains committed to supporting the Kimberley Process in important initiatives such as establishing a Permanent Secretariat in Botswana; the Review and Reform cycle, and broadening the definition of ‘conflict diamonds’. We will continue to actively contribute to the Kimberley Process while pressing for reform.

December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Royal Navy Warship HMS Spey makes inaugural visit to India [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 November 2023.

The Royal Navy warship, HMS Spey, has made her inaugural visit to India following in the footsteps of sister vessel HMS Tamar. The Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessel arrived in Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Berthed alongside Naval Component Command (NAVCC) Head Quarters on the outskirts of Port Blair, Royal Navy officials onboard Spey welcomed their Indian military counterparts for planning discussions.

Defence Advisor to India, Brigadier Nick Sawyer, hosted a discussion on maritime security challenges and priorities within the Bay of Bengal with Indian Navy Senior Officers, Chief of Staff Andaman and Nicobar Command, Rear Admiral Sandeep Sandhu and Cdre Sugreev.

Lt Cdr Bridget Macnae RN, HMS Spey’s Executive Officer (temporarily in Command) said:

“Frequent port visits and multilateral exercises between the Indian Navy and Royal Navy continue to support our ever-expanding relationship and operational interaction and cooperation. The UK and India firmly believe in, and promote the Rules Based International System; we share an interest in upholding international maritime law and supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

UK’s Defence Advisor to India, Brigadier Nick Sawyer said:

“We deeply value our relationship with India in a shared endeavour to confront those who challenge the rules-based system and ensure peace and prosperity on and from the sea. The sixth visit of Royal Navy ship to India within a year is the clearest demonstration of that as well as the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt in action.”

At sea, HMS Spey hosted a number of Indian Navy service personnel onboard whilst the ship conducted a maritime manoeuvre exercise with an Indian Naval patrol vessel further developing operational interoperability between the two nations.

HMS Spey’s crew took the opportunity to explore the Islands rich culture and diversity, whilst also discovering incredible flora and fauna in the national park and swimming alongside rich marine life at many of the idyllic beaches and coves.

December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine: UK national statement to the IAEA [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 November 2023.

The UK statement at the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting, under agenda item 6: nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine.

Chair, given the late hour I start with an apology for speaking for more than 3 minutes but I must begin by responding to comments from the Russian Federation related to the use of depleted uranium in Ukraine.

Chair, the United Kingdom has used depleted uranium in its armour-piercing shells for decades. This is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or nuclear capabilities. Russia knows this perfectly well because Russia also uses depleted uranium based ammunition. I hope, Chair, that the Russian Ambassador is not deliberately trying to mislead the Board and I emphasise that the UK is in full compliance with its safeguards obligations in this regard.

Chair, the United Kingdom thanks the Director General for his comprehensive report on Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine and for the regular updates, the most recent of which was released earlier this week. These reports continue to provide the only independent source of information on the state of nuclear safety, security and safeguards at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which remains under illegal Russian control.

Chair, we heard a long intervention from the Russian Ambassador, challenging multiple paragraphs of the DG’s report before the Board today. However, we prefer to rely on the IAEA’s assessment, which in our view, paints a worrying picture of the deterioration of nuclear safety at the ZNPP.

There is currently no comprehensive, systematic maintenance programme. Overall levels of maintenance are significantly lower than before the conflict. As the report states, “reduced maintenance of safety systems might result in a higher failure rate of other systems and components irrespective of the plant’s shut down state, and might affect the safe operation of the plant.”

Although the report refers to a small increase in daily staffing levels during the reporting period, the total number of staff has reduced significantly since the start of the conflict and this impacts safety across the site, including in the main control rooms.

Russia continues to replace experienced Ukrainian staff with new Russian personnel, unfamiliar with the site and its procedures.

The report states that the staffing situation is “not sustainable and may have implications for nuclear safety and security.”

The Russian Ambassador disagreed with that assessment – that is his prerogative – but we prefer to believe the independent, expert assessment by the DG and his team.

Chair, in addition the report tells us that there is still no alternative steam source on site despite the regulatory order issued by the Ukrainian Regulator, SNRIU, on 8 June and repeated urging from the IAEA.

The IAEA team continues to struggle to secure adequate access, having to make advance requests and being “prevented from accessing critical areas for very long periods of time”.

This means the IAEA cannot make a clear assessment that the DG’s Five Concrete Principles are being observed at all times. For these reasons – and there are many more examples in the report – the situation at ZNPP should remain the Board’s most serious nuclear safety concern.

For these reasons, Russia’s seizure and continued control of ZNPP has been the focus of 3 Board of Governors resolutions and, most recently, a General Conference resolution, passed with cross regional support.

The Russian Ambassador talked about the number of votes in favour so I think it is important to remind colleagues that the resolution was adopted with only 6 votes against – an overwhelming majority in support. That resolution calls for the plant to be returned to the full control of the competent Ukrainian authorities and deals directly with matters of nuclear safety, security and safeguards, which have everything to do with this organisation’s mandate.

In stark contrast to the situation at the ZNPP, the DG’s report sets out the situation at Ukraine’s other nuclear plants – those that are under Ukrainian control: All nuclear safety and security systems at South Ukraine, Khmelnytskyy and Rivne NPPs continue to operate as designed and to be fully functional. The plants’ operating staff conduct regular operational testing and preventive maintenance of the systems.

No failures or challenges to their operation were reported. All 3 plants have sufficient qualified operating staff to ensure the safe and secure plant operation.

All of this has been achieved against a backdrop of frequent air-raid alarms; a powerful explosion close to the Khmelnytskyy NPP, which damaged the windows of several buildings at the site; and, with the onset of winter, the looming threat of renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including power lines connected to the plants.

We recognise the heavy toll this takes on the Ukrainian operating staff and welcome the IAEA’s work, with Ukraine, to support the physical and mental welfare of staff.

Given the Russian Ambassador’s comments to this Board I will close with a reminder of the UN General Assembly Resolution adopted on 12 October 2022, which declared that, inter alia, the attempted illegal annexation of 4 regions of Ukraine on 4 October has no validity under international law.

With these remarks, the UK takes note of the report GOV/2023/59 and asks that it be made public.

Thank you, Chair.

December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Autumn Statement drives forward mission to level up [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 24 November 2023.

A major £450 million pound levelling up package revealed at this week’s Autumn Statement.

The Chancellor outlined a major £450 million pound levelling up package at this week’s Autumn Statement which will drive economic growth in all parts of the country. This new funding comes on top of the billions we have already allocated through Levelling Up Partnerships, Investment Zones and additional money for transformative projects across the country.

The continued backing for our mission to Level Up comes after the third round of allocations from the Government’s flagship Levelling Up Fund which has now awarded £4.8 billion to initiatives that will drive economic growth in communities everywhere.

Investment Zones and Freeports

Investment Zones are an opportunity to embed innovation throughout the economy. They support the growth of priority sectors, leveraging existing strengths to drive rapid expansion. This week we announced new Investment Zones, each of which has already received investment from the private sector: focused on advanced manufacturing in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, on green industries in the East Midlands, on life sciences in West Yorkshire, and, in partnership with the Welsh Government, two Investment Zones for Wales – one in Cardiff and Newport and a second in Wrexham and Flintshire.

We also increased the duration of Investment Zones and Freeports, which will last to ten years – doubling their value to communities across the United Kingdom. The government is also creating a £150million flexible Investment Opportunity Fund to support Investment Zones and Freeports to secure business investment over the next five years.

Levelling Up Partnerships

The UK Government has committed £80 million for the expansion of the Levelling Up Partnerships programme to Scotland, for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Argyll and Bute, Dundee, and the Scottish Borders. We have worked closely in collaboration with Scottish Government on the methodology to select places and will design a programme that fits within the Scottish policy context.

We will work with Welsh Government on potential opportunities in Wales and continue to work with local stakeholders on how best to level up communities in Northern Ireland. The programme extends the announcement of 20 initial Levelling Up Partnerships in England at Spring Budget 2023, which built on the success of initial trials of such partnership working in Blackpool, North East Lincolnshire and Northumberland.

Bespoke Levelling Up Capital Funding

Following the third round of the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, we have committed a further £37.5 million for five additional capital projects. This will support regeneration, transport and culture, and will fund; the Isles of Scilly Museum and Cultural Centre; Fakenham Leisure and Sports Hub; the Inspiring Eden Enterprise Hub; transport in Chepstow, including through the town’s Transport Hub; and in Warrington, by improving local connections.

We are also providing £15m to Bolsover to ensure all Priority Places, identified by the Levelling Up Need metrics set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, have received government investment. There will also be £5 million for Barrow-in-Furness – where significant contributions to national security are being made, but investment is needed to unlock housing growth, regenerate the town centre, and deliver a range of measures across transport, skills and education

Devolution

The Autumn Statement also represents another step forward for devolution seeing more power transferred from Westminster to local people who know their communities best.

We have confirmed four new devolution deals – ‘level 3’ mayoral deals for Greater Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire; and non-mayoral deals for Cornwall and Lancashire at level 2. We have also confirmed that we are in advanced negotiations with Devon and Torbay about a ‘level 2’ devolution deal for the area.

As we widen the pool of devolution, we also continue to deepen it: a new ‘level four’ in our devolution framework offers local authorities more devolved spending in the future, greater control of spending from the Affordable Homes Programme, and more local control over adult skills, transport, and achieving net zero. For Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, we have published a new memorandum of understanding that sets out how these areas will exercise control over a single funding settlement.

Housing

We can only level up if we build the beautiful homes that communities need. The Autumn Statement backed the Government’s long-term plan for housing which provides the roadmap for how this can be achieved.

The plan focuses on building the right homes in the right places, including ambitious plans to accelerate developments in Cambridge, Leeds and London.

Cambridge, Leeds and London

We will tackle their respective challenges, whether that is by addressing water scarcity near Cambridge or supporting ambitious plans for a new West Yorkshire mass transit system, as part of Network North.

In Leeds, £2 million will support Leeds City Council to develop integrated plans for three new city quarters that will bring together housing, transport and economic investments to transform the liveability and productivity of the centre of Leeds.

In London, £23 million for a new bus network will unlock housing as part of Docklands 2.0.

In Cambridge, we are allocating £9 million – including £5 million of new funding – to improve the barrier of water scarcity and accelerate the new Cambridge Delivery Group.

Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme

Our housing associations and local authorities are critical to boosting overall housing supply, we cannot build the homes we need without them. By extending the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme by £3 billion we will help the already successful scheme support the delivery a total of 20,000 new affordable homes, as well as supporting works to improve quality and energy efficiency.

Home Buying Process

This Government is committed to removing the barriers that make buying a home unnecessarily difficult. We will exploit the potential of new technology to improve the buying and selling process, including running pilots to develop ‘proptech’ products and digitise council property data. We will continue our reforms to the process of purchasing and selling homes.

Homelessness prevention

The Government has allocated £450 million across two years to a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund, which will help support Afghans on resettlement schemes and others in temporary housing need. This funding allows councils to manage homelessness pressures more effectively and makes it easier for vulnerable people to find settled accommodation.

The government is providing £120 million for local authorities to invest in homelessness prevention, supporting private renters to remain in their homes and providing temporary accommodation to families and individuals. We will also continue to support our guests from Ukraine, rightly extending the ‘thank you’ payments for sponsors across the UK into a third year.

The government is increasing the Local Housing Allowance to cover the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will make 1.6 million low-income households better off, with an average gain of £800 in 2024-25. Rates will be raised across Great Britain in April 2024.

Planning

We will maintain a focus on the blockers to development, recognising the scale of the challenge. We are injecting up to £17 million in additional funding into the planning system to help local authorities reduce planning application backlogs, making it easier to get new homes approved and built.

Where there are reasonable proposals to reconfigure homes, we will make this easier, consulting on a new permitted development right to streamline planning decisions for homeowners.

We are also publishing a new prospectus on infrastructure delivery that sets out how we will go further than our current reforms. Only by building major infrastructure faster and cheaper will we prepare the UK for the challenges of the 2030s and 2040s, lay the foundations for the economy of the future, and make sure that everyone, everywhere, benefits from the opportunities ahead.

Nutrient Neutrality – Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund

Unlocking much needed homes held up by defective EU rules remains a priority. The House of Lords voted against Government proposals that would have unlocked over 100,000 homes, whilst protecting and improving the environment. This is despite the reforms having had the strong support of housebuilders and local authorities. The Government is now focusing on making rapid progress in unlocking homes within the existing legal framework, in order to meet our manifesto commitment to build one million homes over this Parliament. That is why we will make £110 million available through the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund, to help planning authorities in affected areas deliver tens of thousands more homes before the end of the decade.

In response to the Nutrient Neutrality measures, the following stakeholders said:

Melanie Leech, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation

We welcome these measures, which promote growth, through incentivising planning delivery. Long and uncertain time taken in planning can increase risk and project costs considerably. On complex projects, developers are generally willing to invest in planning delivery if it guarantees a good service.  We await the details, but the principle of what the Chancellor is doing is very much supported.

Local Development Orders (LDOs) are an innovative part of our planning regime, offering locally determined flexibility. We have long been supporters of their greater use, as we believe they can help support the regeneration and repurposing of places like town centres. It is therefore well received that the Government is putting some resource behind some local planning authorities, to allow them to test LDOs.

Simon Carter, Chief Executive of British Land

The time it takes to secure planning permission is increasing. We therefore welcome the specific measures announced by the Government today, to speed up planning delivery and provide greater certainty for developers and investors. We are strong advocates for practical, deliverable planning reform, to unlock urban regeneration and drive growth and productivity in towns and cities across the country.

Mark Allan, Chief Executive of Landsec

We’ve been campaigning for a focused approach to planning reform to unlock the huge potential of brownfield urban regeneration. The measures announced today, combined with a plan to provide proper resourcing of the planning system, should move us in the right direction to generate more growth, more homes and more jobs around the country.

December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Report by the Head of OSCE Mission to Moldova – UK response [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 November 2023.

Ankur Narayan, UK Delegation to the OSCE, reiterates the UK’s unwavering support for the OSCE Mission and for a peaceful, comprehensive and lasting settlement to the Transnistrian conflict.

Thank you, Chair. Ambassador Keiderling, welcome back to the Council and thank you for your report.

Let me state at the outset that the United Kingdom’s resolute support for the OSCE Mission remains steadfast. The Mission’s critical efforts to monitor the Security Zone, facilitate ongoing 1+1 meetings and ensure access to justice for victims of human rights abuses are instrumental to securing the foundations of a lasting peace. The importance of freedom of movement of Mission members in order to effectively deliver these crucial functions is therefore paramount and must be safeguarded.

We agree with your assessment that the importance of ongoing talks between Chisinau and Tiraspol is now greater than ever, and thank the Mission for its facilitation of the 1+1 meetings. The tenth edition of the annual Donors Forum, which brought together civil society representatives from both sides, speaks to the value of direct dialogue in preventing escalation, reversing the deterioration of relations between Tiraspol and Chisinau and laying the groundwork toward a negotiated settlement. We call on both sides to build on this positive momentum and redouble their efforts to find common ground on the many shared issues affecting peoples on both sides of the Nistru.

The UK’s position is unchanged; we continue to support a peaceful, comprehensive and lasting settlement to the Transnistrian conflict on the basis of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognised borders, and with a special status for Transnistria. It is to this end that I reiterate our hope to see the Mission return to a 12-month mandate come December. A yearly mandate would grant the Mission the predictability, the certainty, and sustainability it needs to continue its good work and charter a course toward this objective amidst a challenging environment, made worse by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Ambassador, we are grateful for your unflinching focus on human rights in the region and commend the Mission’s efforts in promoting freedoms of media and expression, combatting human trafficking and addressing the scourge of gender-based violence. There is much still to be done however and we call on all member states to strengthen our commitment to the Mission to support it in fulfilling this crucial role.

Ambassador, at your last appearance at this Council in April, the UK reiterated our concern at the ongoing presence of Russian Forces on Moldovan sovereign territory, in contravention of international law. I repeat that concern today, noting that no progress has been made towards their immediate withdrawal. This too extends to the presence of hazardous material stored at Cobasna, where a considered and thorough proposal for the removal and demolition of the contents of the ammunition site must now be shared as a matter of urgency.

In closing, Ambassador, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you and your team for your dedication to support peace and security on both banks of the Nistru. Thank you.

December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : On the 10th anniversary of the Euromaidan, and over 630 days of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine – UK statement to the OSCE [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 November 2023.

Ambassador Neil Holland says the UK and its allies are committed to providing Ukraine with the needs to defend itself against Russia, highlighting the UK Foreign Secretary’s visit to Ukraine.

Thank you, Mr Chair. 21 November marked 10 years since the Euromaidan, where Ukrainians stood up for their future as citizens of a sovereign, democratic and prosperous European state. Today, Ukraine continues to fight for its future and defend our shared values of freedom and self-determination.

The UK will continue to defend the values of the international system that Russia is shattering, including the Helsinki Final Act principles which are the cornerstone of this organisation.

For more than 630 days, Russia has carried out its unprovoked, premeditated, and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state. Russia’s egregious actions infringe upon the very principles of the OSCE, and the OSCE’s wide-ranging agenda. Today’s Permanent Council is no exception. We will discuss the silencing of journalists and dissenting voices in Russia and the temporarily Russian-controlled territories. We will also discuss violence against women and girls, Russia’s full-scale invasion brings with it devastating reports of conflict-related sexual violence against Ukrainian women and girls.

Last week, my Foreign Secretary visited Kyiv. He visited Odesa and saw Ukraine’s progress in pushing back Russian forces. He also announced £10 million for Ukraine’s Red Cross Society appeal to provide medical supplies to communities impacted by Russia’s aggression.

The UK and our allies are committed to providing Ukraine with the needs to defend itself as it fights for survival and territorial integrity. This is the swiftest, and only path to a just and sustainable peace based on the UN Charter, where Ukraine can pursue its ambitions as a sovereign nation. We will stand by Ukraine for however long it takes, and Ukraine will prevail. Thank you.

December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Science, Innovation and Technology backed in Chancellor’s 2023 Autumn Statement [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 23 November 2023.

A raft of measures worth hundreds of millions from compute to quantum and life sciences research to pro-innovation regulation were announced in the Autumn Statement yesterday (Wednesday 22 November).

Tax cuts for working people and British business headlined the Chancellor’s ‘Autumn Statement for Growth’ today to build a stronger and more resilient economy. The plan to unlock growth and productivity includes boosting business investment by £20 billion a year, getting more people into work, and cutting tax for 29 million workers – the biggest tax cut on work since the 1980s.

In science, innovation and technology, a new £500 million investment in artificial intelligence in compute will support the UK’s world leading scientists and AI researchers to continue delivering extraordinary new discoveries benefiting us all – giving AI start-ups and other businesses access to cutting edge compute that boosts productivity and innovation and helps make our country the best place in the world to create an AI start-up.

Developing this computing power also benefits society beyond lifting economic growth, helping us tackle climate change and power the discovery of new drugs.

Additionally, five new Quantum Missions were unveiled to galvanise academics, industry and private investors to commit time and resource towards hitting significant milestones, like embedding quantum sensing into the NHS.

We are also backing businesses to scale up with new funding, providing clearer rules on stakes for ‘spinout’ companies and strengthening pro-innovation regulation with new regulatory sandboxes offering supervised real-life or simulated tests to trial new products, services or business models to meet safety standards while also fostering creativity and technological advancement.

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan, said:

I believe that the UK’s incredible science and tech success story is all about having the skills for the future, investment in scale-up and sensible regulation.

The Chancellor’s Statement injects even more fuel into our science and tech economy – and will help to realise my vision for a country where more high value British jobs are driving us faster toward amazing discoveries that will help us live longer, healthier, happier, easier lives.

Among the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) policies announced in the Autumn Statement are:

Tech and investment

Compute

The Chancellor announced a £500 million investment in AI compute over two years as part of an expansion of the AI Research Resource – providing the UK’s world leading scientists and AI researchers with access to cutting-edge computing power that is necessary to process complicated, lengthy tasks.

This investment will help researchers make the extraordinary discoveries, such as better understanding climate change, discovering new drugs, and maximising the use of AI to improve lives.

This will also provide our AI start-ups and other small medium enterprises (SMEs) with access to this resource driving productivity and innovation and helping make the UK the best place in the world to create an AI start-up.

Quantum Missions

The Chancellor launched five new Quantum Missions aimed at securing the UK’s status as a world leader in the technology, by setting clear milestones for inward investment and research in areas like computing, healthcare and navigation.

Quantum technologies – one of the government’s five critical technologies – are devices and systems using quantum mechanics to provide capabilities that ‘classical’ machines like binary computers cannot. They could bring enormous benefits to the economy, such as making it possible to solve complex problems impossible to solve with even the most powerful high-performance classical computers, and opening entirely new frontiers in sensing, timing, imaging, and communications.

With the biggest impacts for quantum technologies expected in the long-term, these missions will help crystallise the activity and investment needed in the public and private sectors to achieve ambitious milestones for this technology.

The Missions, backed by our £2.5 billion Quantum Strategy, are:
- By 2035, there will be accessible, UK-based quantum computers capable of running 1 trillion operations and supporting applications that provide benefits well in excess of classical supercomputers across key sectors of the economy.
- By 2035, the UK will have deployed the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale, pioneering the future quantum internet.
- By 2030, every NHS Trust will benefit from quantum sensing-enabled solutions, helping those with chronic illness live healthier, longer lives through early diagnosis and treatment.
- By 2030, quantum navigation systems, including clocks, will be deployed on aircraft, providing next-generation accuracy for resilience that is independent of satellite signals.
- By 2030, mobile, networked quantum sensors will have unlocked new situational awareness capabilities, exploited across critical infrastructure in the transport, telecoms, energy, and defence sectors.
Semiconductors

We have announced plans to make it easier for semiconductor manufacturers to grow and stay in the UK.

The Chancellor clarified the government’s priorities for the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), to ensure it is able to invest in critical supply chains where the Bank’s strategic objectives can be met, including semiconductor manufacturing. The Bank are actively engaging with the sector and exploring market opportunities. UKIB has £22 billion of financial capacity.

Making chips isn’t cheap, and it takes a huge amount of energy. So, as well as unlocking new sources of funding, the British Industry Supercharger scheme will bring energy prices for eligible British chip makers in line with those in other major economies around the world.

Enterprise creation and scale-up

Full expensing

The Chancellor announced that full expensing – a 100% first-year allowance for main rate expenditure – and the associated 50% first-year allowance for special rate expenditure would be made permanent. This will deliver the largest business tax cut in modern British history and means the UK has the lowest headline corporation tax rate and most generous capital allowances in the G7.

This will enable businesses to invest in technology and the Office for Budget Responsibility says it will increase annual investment overall by around £3 billion a year and a total of £14 billion over the forecast period.

The overall impact of the Chancellor’s growth measures will increase business investment in the UK economy, by around £20 billion a year within a decade, nearly 1% of GDP at today’s level – the biggest ever boost for business investment in modern times, a decisive step towards closing the productivity gap with other major economies and the most effective way we can raise wages and living standards for every family in the country.

Spinouts

University spin-out companies play a hugely important role for the UK economy, with investment increasing almost five-fold since 2014. The independent review – led by Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner of Cambridge Innovation Capital – recommended innovation-friendly policies that universities and investors should adopt to make the UK the best place in the world to start a spin-out company. To capitalise on this strength, the government is accepting all the review’s recommendations and setting out how it will deliver them.

Several leading universities have endorsed the recommendations of the review, and the government will provide £20 million to foster more spin-out companies.

In the past, many spin-outs deals were created from scratch, which is both inefficient and sometimes fails to learn the lessons from previous success stories. Today’s recommendations aim to speed up the process and build on TenU’s University Spin-out Investment Terms Guide by recommending 10-25% university equity for life sciences spinouts, and 10% or less for less IP-intensive sectors, common in software. This will make it easier for investors to back companies, knowing the founders retain a significant stake in the company and its success.

Discovery Fellowship

To deliver against the government’s Science & Technology Superpower ambitions, the government is supporting the new Faraday Discovery Fellowship, which is intended to be backed by a £250 million endowment to the Royal Society.

This significant long-term investment in top research talent will support at least 30 leading mid-career scientists and researchers for up to ten years each, to conduct ground-breaking and discovery-based research in STEM in the UK. Prospective researchers will be able to apply via an application process that minimises bureaucracy.

Research projects will span a broad range of STEM subjects, which could include government priority science and technology areas such as Engineering Biology and Quantum, ensuring the UK remains at the cutting edge of scientific research.

This long-term endowment investment builds on the new £150 million Green Future Fellowship programme, announced recently by the government, which is intended to be delivered by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Venture Capital skills fellowship programme

To further strengthen the UK’s renowned venture capital industry, the Chancellor has announced a £3 million fellowship programme scheme to develop a new generation of science and tech venture investors.

The scheme – which will be developed and piloted by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology – aims to produce the next generation of world-leading investors capable of investing in the vanguard of science and tech – helping deliver breakthroughs in such things as vaccines, AI, and robots.

Places for up to 20 people currently working in venture capital will be available in the pilot scheme, which could be rolled out over subsequent years. The Fellowship will provide participants with the training and network to fast-track their careers within the venture capital industry to become leaders within their firms, with the potential to set up their own VC funds in the longer-term.

The programme follows a recommendation from the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology and will complement the world-renowned Kauffman Fellowship in the US which has trained over 800 investors who manage funds worth over $1 trillion – helping to generate growth and drive innovation in the economy.

Battery Manufacturing

Alongside the Department for Business and Trade’s battery strategy, the Chancellor announced:
- £50 million for developing the UK’s battery world-class capabilities, from R&D to industrialisation.
- £11 million to fund collaborative R&D in battery development incorporating technologies such as AI.
Government’s response to the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) organisational Landscape Review

The government has published its response to Sir Paul Nurse’s Review of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Organisational Landscape. The response sets out ambitious actions the government is taking to evolve the landscape of organisations performing RDI in the UK to be more diverse, resilient and investable. This builds on progress already made since the publication of the Review, including the creation of the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the publication of the Science and Technology Framework.

The response makes a wide range of commitments, such as: maximising the impact of public sector RDI organisations, for example by providing £25 million to provide core small and medium-scale research infrastructure; supporting RDI talent by, for example, establishing world-class Discovery Fellowships backed by a £250 million endowment; and making the UK a world-leader for philanthropic partnerships, demonstrated by the recently announced new consortium of philanthropic funders for UK Biobank. All of this will be underpinned by a data- and evidence-driven approach.

The actions announced in the response will help to drive national prosperity and create a system that is greater than the sum of its parts, spearheading the government’s ambitions to be a Science and Technology Superpower.

Skills

National Academy focussed on mathematical sciences

The government has consistently emphasised how essential it is to build mathematical capabilities in the UK and recognises the importance of providing support to this sector in a long-term and sustainable way.

We have seen the success that the existing National Academies have had over many years in supporting research in their disciplines.

The government will support the creation of a National Academy focussed on mathematical sciences. We will be engaging key stakeholders in the mathematical community on the best way to do so and will be providing further details of this engagement shortly. As part of our commitment to supporting this work, we are willing to back this initiative with up to £6 million of seed funding over the next three years, subject to business case.

Life Sciences

Life Sciences is a key strength of the UK economy, critical to our health, wealth and resilience. As part of the £4.5 billion unveiled by the Chancellor for strategic manufacturing sectors, the government has committed £520 million for life sciences manufacturing to build resilience for future health emergencies and capitalise on the UK’s world-leading research and development.

The Chancellor also announced that we are further backing UK innovation by investing £10 million, with an additional £10 million from Scottish Enterprise, in a world-class Oligonucleotides Manufacturing Innovation Centre of Excellence.

Further to this, the government is providing £51 million to the UK’s largest ever research study – Our Future Health – a world-leading resource for health research. This funding will support Our Future Health to recruit hundreds of thousands of new volunteers and to genotype the first 1 million participants, supporting the development of better ways to prevent, detect and treat diseases.

Regulation

Regulatory sandboxes

DSIT has launched regulatory sandboxes for telecommunications spectrum sharing, engineering biology, and space to support a pro-innovation approach to regulation and standards which stimulates demand for science and technology, attracting investment while representing UK values and safeguarding citizens.

Telecommunications: Spectrum Sharing – Radio frequency spectrum (spectrum) is the range of invisible electromagnetic waves that enable all wireless technology, from mobile phones, and Wi-Fi to aircraft navigation and satellite applications The Wireless Infrastructure Strategy and Spectrum Statement outlined that increased spectrum sharing will be a key feature of 5G, 6G and future networks. The spectrum sandboxes, facilitated through Ofcom’s sandbox framework, will test and demonstrate such sharing between networks, for example, between different private networks used on a localised basis such as in a factory, farm, transport hub or office. This will inform government and Ofcom on the role of more intensive spectrum sharing supported by appropriate authorisation models.

Engineering biology – Engineering biology is the design, scaling and commercialisation of biology-derived products and services that can transform sectors or produce existing products more sustainably. Earlier this year, DSIT established the Engineering Biology Regulators Network (EBRN) and will channel the insights from the call for evidence to guide the EBRN, ensuring the sandboxes effectively tackle the most pressing regulatory challenges faced by the industry.

Space – The government is currently undertaking a regulatory review due to conclude in March 2024. In collaboration with operators and the Civil Aviation Authority, the government will develop the regulatory sandbox and testbed initiatives. This will act as an enabler for both understanding the current regulatory environment and for developing detailed, mutually agreed guidance for these missions going forwards.

Space

Earth Observation investment

The Chancellor unveiled almost £47 million in funding this financial year to boost activity and innovation in the Earth observation sector as the UK re-enters Copernicus from January 2024.

With around 18% of UK GDP underpinned by satellite services, this fund will support businesses that provide and use Earth observation data, including small and medium enterprises, to explore new projects and bolster the economy.

Low-earth orbit satellite development

The Chancellor confirmed £15 million of calls are now open under the £60 million European Space Agency Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems programme, allocated to the UK’s Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit scheme. This will fund the next generation of satellite communications development and boost the UK’s leadership in the ever-growing satellite market for the next 10-15 years.

It will support UK-based suppliers in developing the technologies needed to build the next generation of low Earth orbit satcom satellites, which are key to offering connectivity in remote and rural parts of UK, bridging the digital divide and levelling-up our country while growing the economy.
December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Media Freedom remains a vital component of shared security – UK statement to the OSCE [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 November 2023.

Ambassador Neil Holland recalls the vital contribution of media freedom to security in the OSCE region, and calls on Russia and Belarus to live up to their OSCE commitments.

Thank you Chair, and welcome back to the Permanent Council Madam Ribeiro. Thank you for your report.

We firmly believe that media freedom remains a vital component of our shared security. It underpins democratic institutions and is fundamental to the protection of individual human rights. Conversely, disinformation leads to polarisation and makes societies around the world less secure.

We remain a strong supporter of your mandate and commend your personal commitment to ensuring resolute action at a time of increasing challenges. The UK has a long history of defending media freedom and holding those who abuse or restrict it to account. We founded the Media Freedom Coalition together with Canada in 2019. We know that securing media freedom requires continued investment and effort in all participating States. Our International Development White Paper, published just this week, repeats our commitment to the principle of media freedom.

We were pleased to welcome you to the UK during your visit in October 2023. This was an important opportunity to take stock of progress on our recently updated National Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists, to discuss new UK legislation on online safety and to curb the chilling effect of Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation on pluralism and media freedom.

We look forward to continued co-operation, including sharing the UK’s experience of media regulation in a dynamic online environment.

Mr Chair, the wider picture for media freedom remains dismal. As you note in your report, Madam Ribeiro, journalists and other media workers face torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment in many parts of the OSCE region.

Moreover, and too often, states have criminalised journalism itself. At least 14 journalists have been killed in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia continues to persecute dissenting voices in Ukrainian territory under its temporary control, as it has been doing in Crimea since 2014.

This year’s Moscow Mechanism report found that freedom of expression in Belarus has been grievously undermined. Legislation can target any independent voice, particularly critics of government or of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. Anyone who administers social media networks or communication channels for listed so-called “extremists” can face serious charges, even of terrorism.

Such actions are not compatible with participating States’ obligations under international law and their OSCE commitments. The UK once again calls on Russia and Belarus to live up to their OSCE principles and commitments, to enable freedom for the media to report on matters of public interest without undue interference, threats and intimidation.

In closing, I would again like to thank you again Theresa for your commitment to your mandate and your professionalism in the defence of media freedom. The UK will continue to reiterate in this Council and beyond the importance of free media for human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law.

December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Mission to explore life on Mars one step closer as UK team to replace Russian components for Mars Rover [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 23 November 2023.

A UK team has been awarded more than £10 million to replace Russian components in the Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover.
- Key instrument for the £10 million Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover will now be built in UK
- the Mars Rover, which will search for signs of life on the Red Planet, aims to launch to Mars in 2028
- comes as Chancellor commits up to £47 million to grow UK Earth observation sector and confirms initial £15 million to develop satellites connecting rural areas
A European mission to explore life on Mars has been given a major boost after a UK firm was awarded more than £10 million to replace Russian components in the Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover, Space Minister Andrew Griffith announced today (Thursday 23 November).

The rover, which was built by Airbus in Stevenage as part of a European Space Agency programme, was due to launch in 2022 before collaboration with Russia’s space agency was cancelled following the illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Now, the UK Space Agency will provide an additional £10.7 million to a UK team to replace a Russian-made instrument on the Rosalind Franklin rover, with the aim of launching to Mars in 2028. It brings the total government investment in the Rosalind Franklin, through the UK Space Agency, to £377 million.

The rover is expected to travel several kilometres across the planet in search of a site with high potential of evidence of life on Mars. It will collect samples by drilling to a depth of around two metres below its surface, before using next-generation instruments to analyse findings in an onboard laboratory.

The new funding will allow a UK team, led by the University of Aberystwyth, to build the new instrument, named Enfys – meaning ‘rainbow’ in Welsh. It will identify targets on the surface of Mars for sampling and analysis, which could in turn reveal evidence of life on the Red Planet.

Enfys will work with University College London’s (UCL) Mullard Space team’s panoramic camera to identify minerals – enabling the rover to drill for samples to be analysed by other instruments on board.

The announcement comes on the final day of the UK Space Conference in Belfast, which has brought experts and innovators from across the world in government, industry and academia together to shape the future of space.

Science, Research and Innovation Minister, Andrew Griffith, said:

Is there life on Mars?’ That has been asked by mankind for generations and this UK investment is an exciting opportunity to enhance our understanding of the Red Planet and perhaps finally answer that very question.

It is also just the surface of our support for the UK’s growing space sector with further funds unlocked for earth observation firms to gather key climate data and low earth orbit satellites to better connect rural areas and level up the UK.

Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, Dr Paul Bate, said:

The UK-built Rosalind Franklin rover is a truly world-leading piece of technology at the frontier of space exploration. It is fantastic that experts from the UK can also provide a key instrument for this mission, using UK Space Agency funding.

As well as boosting world-class UK space technology to further our understanding of Mars and its potential to host life, this extra funding will strengthen collaboration across the fast-growing UK space sector and economy.”

It follows yesterday’s (Wednesday 22 November) announcement by the Chancellor, in his Autumn Statement, of almost £47 million in funding this financial year to boost activity and innovation in the Earth observation sector as the UK re-enters Copernicus from January 2024.

The fund will support businesses that use Earth observation data including small and medium enterprises, to explore new projects and bolster the economy, with around 18% of UK GDP underpinned by satellite services.

The Chancellor confirmed £15 million of calls are now open under the £60 million European Space Agency Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems programme, allocated to the UK’s Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit scheme. This will fund the next generation of satellite communications development and boost the UK’s leadership in the ever-growing satellite market for the next 10-15 years.

It will support UK-based suppliers in developing the technologies needed to build the next generation of low Earth orbit satcom satellites, which are key to offering connectivity in remote and rural parts of UK, bridging the digital divide and levelling-up our country while growing the economy.

Principal Investigator on Enfys at Aberystwyth University, Dr Matt Gunn, said:

This is a challenging and complex technical endeavour which has the potential to make a significant contribution to our search for signs of life on Mars. The instrument team, both here in Aberystwyth and in the partnering institutions are all very much looking forward to receiving measurements from the planet’s surface to expand our knowledge of the Mars environment.

We learned a lot during the development and testing of PanCam and it is a privilege to be leading the fantastic team of people who will put that knowledge into practice once again to develop a new instrument for the mission.

The latest UK Space Agency investment in the Mars Rover builds on existing work by UK institutions involved with the project, including the University of Leicester, Bradford University and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory as key players in the development of the CCD camera on the Raman Laser Spectrometer (Raman LIBS).

This can detect the presence of chemical compounds including minerals and specific types of ‘biomarkers’ – chemicals indicative of past or present life – that are produced by primitive micro-organisms to enable them to adapt to life in extreme environments.

Notes to editors

The Mars Rover project will be led by the European Space Agency with further support from the UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, the Science and Technology Facilities Council RAL Space and Qioptiq Ltd.

The Rosalind Franklin, is part of the ExoMars programme that will explore the surface of Mars and will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth. It will collect samples with a drill down to a depth of two metres and analyse them with next-generation instruments in an onboard laboratory.

The UK team developing Enfys, led by the University of Aberystwyth, will replace the Russian-built Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars (ISEM).

Enfys will work with University College London’s (UCL) Mullard Space MSSL-led Pancam.
December 4, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Three Board Members appointed to the National Citizen Service Trust [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 23 November 2023.

His Majesty the King has appointed Catrin Anderson, Jonathan Freeman and Duncan McCourt as Board Members of the National Citizen Service Trust.
Catrin Anderson

Appointed for a three year term commencing 1 December 2023.

Catrin is an experienced people leader in dynamic, innovation-led organisations, having worked at Zoopla Property Group, Dyson and Amazon.

Catrin joined Houseful (previously Zoopla Property Group) as Chief People Officer in 2019 where she has been the driving force behind significant organisational and cultural transformation. Previously at Dyson, Catrin led a global team during a period of high growth and significant change, including the establishing of the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology. Beforehand Catrin spent 5 years at Amazon, working with senior leaders across the full portfolio of businesses in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Catrin is an active advocate for the development of young talent and the creation of opportunities where young people can learn, safely make mistakes, and explore their potential. Having recently assumed responsibility for Environmental, Social and Governance at Houseful, she has supported the promotion of the company’s partnership with both Future Frontiers and the Mayor’s Fund for London. She has coached several young people, offering guidance to enable them to realise their personal, academic and sporting potential.

Born and raised in West Wales, Catrin has a MA in French and German from Cambridge University and speaks four languages. She is a proud mother of two, a hockey player, marathon runner, avid rugby and football fan, and part-time surfer.

Jonathan Freeman MBE

Appointed for a three year term commencing 1 December 2023.

Jonathan is an award-winning CEO committed to social impact with a track record of leadership across the charitable sector, private sector and Senior Civil Service. Jonathan is founder CEO of the CareTech Foundation, the leading corporate foundation in the social care sector that supports and champions the social care sector, care workers and those living in care through its four grant streams. Jonathan is also Group Sustainability Director of specialist care and education provider CareTech Ltd, the first holder of this role for the company and, indeed, the UK social care sector.

Jonathan is also Managing Director of Earlsbrook Consulting, providing strategic consultancy support to corporates, charities and philanthropists. Jonathan was previously Managing Director of Mosaic, the then HRH The Prince of Wales’s youth mentoring charitable initiative, and before that a member of the Senior Civil Service.

Jonathan’s voluntary roles include:

Chair of Trustees, Carers Worldwide;

Governor (trustee), The Legal Education Foundation;

Founder Chair, Social Care Sustainability Alliance;

Vice-Chair of the cross-sector charitable Championing Social Care initiative; and,

Remuneration Committee, St. Anne’s College, Oxford University

Jonathan was recognised with an MBE for charitable services in Her Majesty The Queen’s New Year’s Honours List 2021.

Duncan McCourt

Appointed for a three year term commencing 1 December 2023.

Duncan is a Partner at Brunswick Group Advisory Ltd, helping international businesses deal with complex political and regulatory issues.

Duncan joined Brunswick from the UK Treasury, where he was Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to former Chancellor Rt Hon Phillip Hammond MP, providing advice on, among other issues, Brexit, financial services and healthcare. He also served as a Special Advisor to Phillip Hammond in his then capacity as the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. He was campaign director and office manager for Andrea Leadsom MP from 2010 to 2015 and, before that, was chief executive at MCA Ltd for five years, a management consulting firm, providing managerial and strategic advice to large companies. He also worked in European equity strategy for Credit Suisse and JP Morgan Chase in London, and consulted at the World Bank and KPMG in Washington, D.C.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Board Members of the National Citizen Service Trust are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Catrin Anderson and Jonathan Freeman have not declared any significant political activity. Duncan McCourt declared he has canvassed on behalf of, and was a Special Advisor for, the Conservative party.
December 4, 2023