Tag: Department for Transport

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 1 February 2023.

The Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund will help to get young people from all backgrounds into aviation.

The government is today (1 February 2023) announcing the winners of its Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund, which will help to get young people from all backgrounds into aviation.

Eleven non-profit organisations have been selected, with £700,000 going to fund outreach programmes and events to show the next generation what opportunities the aviation sector can offer.

For those who have previously struggled to get a foothold in this exciting industry, the aim of the fund is to break down barriers – targeting those schemes which provide an entry point for people who are from underprivileged backgrounds or under-represented groups.

It forms part of the new Generation Aviation campaign which recognises that, for the sector to successfully adapt to the challenges of tomorrow, it needs a robust, open, and diverse workforce – with a reliable pool of talent from the full range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and other critical roles.

The Transport Secretary will announce the winners today at the very first Aviation Council – one of the first commitments in the government’s 10-year strategy for the sector, Flightpath to the Future.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

Innovation propels aviation and for it to face up to tomorrow’s challenges it needs an open and diverse workforce that can bring fresh ideas and ways of working.

Our Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund recipients will be key to that, inspiring the next generation into the sector and helping to build an aviation workforce fit for the future.

I was pleased to chair the first ever Aviation Council today and continue our healthy collaboration with industry, supporting it in every way we can, so it can continue to push boundaries.

Among the 11 winning organisations are:

Resilient Pilot – a non-profit organisation who will receive £100,000 to develop a special mentoring and coaching programme for young students aged 11 to 18, inspiring the next generation to explore exciting and rewarding careers in the UK’s aviation sector.

The Air League – a charity which will receive £50,000 to support their Soaring to Success programme, looking to improve social mobility and helping support 35,000 spaces on their programme and up to 1,100 flying and engineering taster days and workshops targeted at young people from lower socio-economic groups.

Aerobility – a charity which will also receive over £100,000 to fund their Equal Skies Charter, aimed at increasing accessibility in the sector. They will use the funding to work with partners across the industry to raise the level of understanding of what disability is and what accessibility means to their organisation.

Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the air transport and aerospace sectors contributed at least £22 billion to gross domestic product (GDP) each year and provided at least 230,000 jobs across all regions of the country directly. However, there are several challenges ahead, from decarbonisation to changing travelling patterns following the pandemic.

Tackling these challenges is the aim of Generation Aviation, which forms part of the government’s 22-point plan to support aviation as it recovers from the pandemic. Also included in the campaign is the government’s aviation skills recruitment platform (ASRP) – which signposts careers and opportunities to people looking to enter or move up in the industry – among other schemes.

Organisations meeting the criteria for the Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund were able to apply for a share of £700,000, with funding decisions agreed by a joint panel of the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority – which manages the fund on DfT’s behalf.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 1 February 2023.

Passengers will be boarding the world’s first fully sized, self-driving bus service in Edinburgh from the Spring, after it was awarded a share of £81 million in joint UK government and industry support for self-driving transport technology.

Passengers will be boarding the world’s first fully sized, self-driving bus service in Edinburgh from the Spring, after it was awarded a share of £81 million in joint UK government and industry support for self-driving transport technology.

The project is one of seven successful projects from around the UK, and forms the most advanced set of commercial, self-driving passenger and freight operations anywhere in the world.

The grants, part of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Connected and Automated Mobility programme, will help British companies seize early opportunities to develop experimental projects into offerings ready for the market.

The joint government and industry funding winners are:

• CAVForth II – Fusion Processing – £10.4 million to launch the world’s first operational, full-sized, self-driving bus service, in Edinburgh, with Stagecoach and Alexander Dennis
• V-CAL – North East Automotive Alliance – £8 million to roll out self-driving and remotely piloted HGVs between the Vantec and Nissan sites in Sunderland
• Hub2Hub – HVS – £13.2 million to develop a new, zero emissions, self-driving HGV with Asda
• Sunderland Advanced Mobility Shuttle – City of Sunderland Council – £6 million to build and trial a self-driving shuttle service to the University of Sunderland and the Sunderland Royal Hospital
• Project Harlander – Belfast Harbour – £11 million to deploy a self-driving shuttle service around Belfast Harbour
• Multi-Area Connected Automated Mobility – Conigital – £15.2 million to establish a remote driving control hub, to oversee self-driving vehicles operating in Solihull and Coventry, with the NEC and local councils.
• Project Cambridge Connector – Greater Cambridge Partnership – £17.4 million to trial on-demand, self-driving taxis, to complement existing transport services in parts of Cambridge

£42 million in government funding is being matched by industry.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said:

In just a few years’ time, the business of self-driving vehicles could add tens of billions to our economy and create tens of thousands of jobs across the UK. This is a massive opportunity to drive forward our priority to grow the economy, which we are determined to seize.

The support we are providing today will help our transport and technology pioneers steal a march on the global competition, by turning their bright ideas into market-ready products sooner than anyone else.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

Self-driving vehicles including buses will positively transform people’s everyday lives – making it easier to get around, access vital services and improve regional connectivity.

We’re supporting and investing in the safe rollout of this incredible technology to help maximise its full potential, while also creating skilled jobs and boosting growth in this important sector.

Almost £600,000 is also being awarded for feasibility studies, looking into how self-driving technology could improve public transport in four parts of the UK. These projects will look into potential routes where automated vehicles could operate exclusively from other traffic, to relieve congestion on the A414 through Hertfordshire and Essex, parts of Eastern Cambridge, Birmingham and Solihull, and Milton Keynes.

Innovate UK Executive Director for Net Zero, Mike Biddle, said:

The Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) sector is of crucial importance to the UK, with the potential to deliver safer, cleaner and more efficient transport systems across a wide range of settings.

This latest, multi-year round of government’s Commercialising CAM funds builds on the success of previous collaborative R&D programme, stimulating innovation to ensure the UK is at the forefront of the transition towards the commercialisation of self-driving services.

Self-driving vehicles could revolutionise public transport and passenger travel, especially for those who don’t drive, better connect rural communities and reduce road collisions caused by human error. Forecasts predict that by 2035, 40% of new UK car sales will have self-driving capabilities, with a total market value for connected and automated mobility worth £41.7 billion to the UK. This could create nearly 40,000 skilled jobs in connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology.

The government is also committed to introducing legislation that will enable the safe and timely rollout of self-driving vehicles on UK roads. Under a proposed ‘safety ambition’ for self-driving vehicles to be equivalent in safety to a competent and careful human driver, vehicles will need to meet certain standards to be allowed to ‘self-drive’ on the roads throughout the lifetime of the vehicle. Organisations overseeing self-driving vehicles could face sanctions if standards are not maintained.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 31 January 2023.

Airport take-off slots to return to pre-pandemic levels.

The UK government has today (31 January 2023) laid regulations before Parliament that brings airports slots rules for the upcoming summer season back in line with pre-pandemic levels, while retaining certain flexibilities to support the aviation industry’s recovery.

From 26 March 2023, airlines will once again need to use their slots 80% of the time in order to keep them – the ratio in place before passenger numbers dropped as a result of the pandemic. It’s a vote of confidence in the aviation industry as demand for international travel returns – with passenger numbers at UK airports reaching 85% of equivalent 2019 levels by October 2022.

The government remains focused on reducing disruption and ensuring a positive passenger experience for those taking a well-earned break this summer. As part of that, airlines will be able to hand back up to 5% of their slots before the start of the season, to help plan realistic schedules and avoid last-minute cancellations.

The Transport Secretary will announce the new measures during his keynote speech at the Airport Operators’ Association’s (AOA) annual conference today, where he is expected to say:

Today, I can confirm that slots rules will return to normal this summer. But we’re maintaining the safety net introduced during covid…and airlines can hand back 5% of slots to help minimise last minute cancellations.

Now we’re able to start a new, more optimistic, conversation about the future. About an industry no longer constrained by outdated practices, but modernising its infrastructure and operations. No longer the poster child for environmental decline, but committed to a future of sustainable flight. And no longer at risk of becoming a diversity desert, but attracting talent from all backgrounds.

These are just some of the areas where aviation has a golden opportunity to move from recovery to renewal. And I look forward to working with all of you to make that happen.

Airlines will also continue to benefit from increased flexibility over when they are justified not to use their slots, for example, where either end of a route is affected by COVID-19 restrictions. This will reduce the risk of environmentally damaging so-called “ghost flights” – empty planes flying just to make the slots usage ratio.

A bit like parking spaces for planes, slots are used to manage capacity at the busiest airports. A slot gives permission for an airline to use the full range of airport infrastructure (runway, terminal and gates, for instance) necessary to operate an air service at an airport on a specific date and time.

To retain their slots for the next equivalent season, airlines must use their slots a certain number of times – but during the pandemic the usage ratio was reduced to provide relief to airlines as they saw a drop in demand as result of COVID-19 restrictions. Without these alleviations, there would have been a rise in ‘ghost flights’.

The decision follows a period of consultation with the sector on how the government can best support its recovery while ensuring slots get used where demand allows.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 25 January 2023.

Funding for 7 local highways authorities to develop and use new technologies to reduce emissions, improve regional connectivity and move to net-zero local roads.

Future roads could be built using asphalt made from grass cuttings and ‘carbon capturing’ cement, supported by £30 million government funding awarded to 7 innovative, net zero projects.

Seven projects spread across the UK, from Lanarkshire to Devon, have been awarded funding today through the Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads competition. The programme supports projects led by local highways authorities focused on tackling the long-term decarbonisation of highways infrastructure, such as streetlights, and transforming local authorities’ approach to decarbonising roads.

The winning projects include cutting carbon emissions from our streetlights to producing asphalt made from green waste like grass cuttings. Other projects plan to drive changes to the design, construction and maintenance of typical UK highway construction, as well as plans to develop a first-of-its-kind system approach to creating a net carbon negative model for green infrastructure delivery.

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

The UK is a world leader in technology and innovation and we must use that strength to drive decarbonisation and the next generation of high tech jobs that go alongside it.

We are supporting this vital agenda to help level-up through £30 million funding for ground-breaking projects and boosting regional connections to support growth.

The government is determined to create good, well paid jobs – via innovation and investment across the UK – as we accelerate the road to net zero.

The 7 successful local highways authorities and their partners will be provided funding, subject to due diligence, to develop, test, pilot and roll out new technologies to facilitate decarbonisation, including in supply chain emissions. The 7 successful bids are:

• Highways CO2llaboration Centre for materials decarbonisation, Transport for West Midlands: supporting upskilling and developing a team in the West Midlands to decarbonise highways via 2 initiatives, including a ‘Highways CO2llaboration Centre’, and demonstrator sites showcasing and monitoring innovative decarbonised highway materials
• UK Centre of Excellence for Material Decarbonisation in Local Roads, North Lanarkshire Council: creating a centre that will develop a materials testing programme identifying and deploying the latest tech for road construction, in addition to testing and deploying recycled materials from other industries to build roads
• a net carbon-negative model for green infrastructure management, South Gloucestershire Council and West Sussex County Council: aims to develop a first-of-its-kind approach to creating a net carbon negative model for building and delivering green infrastructure, for example recycling biomass from green waste
• A382 Carbon Negative Project, Devon County Council: aims to drive changes to the design, construction and maintenance in typical aspects of highway construction to reduce carbon emissions, and to build a new link road including walking and cycling options
• Ecosystem of Things, Liverpool City Council: aims to introduce an ‘Ecosystem of Things’, exploring a scalable and transferrable approach to understanding various systems (including design, public spaces, materials/process technology, recycling infrastructure and the legal, contractual and procurement processes) at city level to embed and adopt decarbonisation initiatives
• decarbonising street lighting, East Riding of Yorkshire Council: plans to work on increasing efficiency for low carbon lighting to make sure they can still be clearly seen by drivers and to create a framework for an alternative manual for highway lighting, signing and road marking
• Net Zero Corridors, Wessex Partnership: will pioneer net zero roads that are built without creating more carbon emissions overall in Somerset, Cornwall, and Hampshire in 9 ‘net zero corridors’ linking rural and urban areas

Live Labs 2 is designed to ensure innovations are shared across the whole of the UK and bidders were encouraged to create partnerships across the public and private sector, and academia. As such, the winning projects will be working together across 4 interconnected themes, including:

• a green carbon laboratory: examining the role that non-operational highways ‘green’ assets can play in providing a source of materials and fuels to decarbonise highway operations, for example, using biomass from green waste to create alternative fuels and asphalt additives
• a future lighting testbed: researching the future of lighting for local roads to determine what is needed in the future and how they can be further decarbonised
• a UK centre of excellence for materials: providing a centralised hub for research and innovation that would help test construction materials and their use
• corridor and place-based decarbonisation: working to create decarbonisation across specific, wider regions and corridors covering both urban and rural areas

Live Labs 2 is funded by the Department of Transport (DfT) and organised by The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), which represents ‘directors of place’ who are responsible for providing day-to-day services, such as local highways, as well as strategic long-term delivery.

Mark Kemp, President of ADEPT, said:

Tackling the carbon impact of our highways’ infrastructure is critical to our path to net zero but hard to address, so I am pleased that bidding was so competitive. Live Labs 2 has a huge ambition – to fundamentally change how we embed decarbonisation into our decision-making and to share our learning with the wider sector to enable behaviour change. Each project will bring local authority led innovation and a collaborative approach to create a long-lasting transformation of business as usual.  I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn from our successful bidders and taking that into my own organisation.

This programme follows the previous and successful Live Labs 1, a £22.9 million innovation programme that focused on adoption of digital technology across the local roads sector in England.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 23 January 2023.

New aviation ambassadors to inspire young people to pursue a rewarding and successful career in aviation.

The government has revealed the names of the next cohort of aviation ambassadors who will engage with young people and help inspire them to pursue a rewarding and successful career in aviation.

Working with the government, the ambassadors will share their skills and experience, particularly with young people and underrepresented groups, to highlight the wide range of opportunities available in the sector.

They will help to raise the profile of aviation, promoting it as an exciting and accessible career, supporting the development and expansion of career pathways, developing outreach activities in communities across the country, and supporting efforts to champion diversity, accessibility and social mobility.

This work is vital to ensuring we have a workforce fit for the future, helping retention and recruitment, and ensuring a sustainable talent pipeline.

Aviation Minister Baroness Vere said:

This year’s cohort of aviation ambassadors yet again shines a light on the enormous talent we have in our world-leading sector.

From champions for women and girls’ opportunities to young people who have already proven themselves to be rising stars in the industry, I look forward to working with our ambassadors to encourage more and more people to consider a career in aviation.

We’ll continue doing everything in our power to support ongoing growth in the sector following the pandemic, nurture fresh talent, and realise a new generation of aviation workers.

This year’s group of inspirational individuals includes 16-year-old Jack Jenner-Hall, the UK’s youngest pilot who qualified as a glider pilot at the age of 14. Jack is passionate about aviation and STEM and is keen to share this passion to inspire people to get involved with the aviation industry and show that anything is possible, whatever your age.

Kanchana Gamage also joins this year’s cohort. As the founder of the Aviatrix Project, Kanchana leads initiatives to encourage women and girls and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to consider a career in aviation and aerospace.

The group also includes Brian Wheeler, who’s was paralysed in May 2018 with a rare condition called Cauda Equina Syndrome and was told it was unlikely he would ever walk again. He not only learnt to walk, he ran a half marathon in 2021 raising money for the disabled flying charity Aerobility, where he is a trustee.

The full group includes:

• Adel Charles, UK HR Director at dnata UK Ltd
• Brian Wheeler, NATS Deputy General Manager of Operations
• Carol Anderson, aviation lawyer, Clyde & Co
• Daniela Agachi, fuel cell engineer and mentor at ZeroAvia
• Emma Henderson MBE, CEO of Project Wingman
• Jack Jenner Hall, glider pilot and aviation advocate
• Keith Bennett, drone and counter-drone capability lead for West Midlands Police
• Kanchana Gamage, founder of the Aviatrix Project
• Kathan Dudhela, the UK’s youngest flight instructor and the world’s youngest flight examiner
• Katherine Moloney, Director of Transair Flight Equipment
• Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee, Senior Flight Systems Engineer at BAE Systems
• Suzy Morgan, captain on the Boeing 777 at British Airways
• Tetyana Shevchenko, accountable manager, airworthiness coordinator, compliance manager and pilot

Outreach programmes will see the ambassadors inspiring young people by providing practical experience, and engaging with the next generation to help solve current and future challenges faced by the industry.

Importantly, the work of this year’s cohort will showcase the varied job opportunities in aviation, including for those that have worked in aviation roles before and those that haven’t, and including less well known roles that people may not have considered before.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 19 January 2023.

Target reached to switch over a quarter of all government cars to ultra-low emission vehicles.

The government is powering forward towards decarbonising its central car fleet, as it has been confirmed today (19 January 2023) that it hit its target in switching over a quarter of all its cars (25.5%) to ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV).

Having a higher rate of ULEV vehicles in its fleet means the government is on track to meet its 2027 target for the entire fleet be fully zero emission.

As set out in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Greening government commitments in 2021 to 2025, the government was required to transition a minimum of a quarter of its car fleet to ultra-low emission vehicles by the end of 2022. As of the latest data from September, 25.5% of all central government cars were ultra-low emission vehicles, reaching the target 3 months ahead of schedule.

Technology and Decarbonisation Minister Jesse Norman said:

As the UK moves towards a cleaner transport network, the government is doing its part, with over 25% of its central car fleet being battery-powered 3 months earlier than planned.

It’s critical that progress in decarbonising fleets is matched elsewhere. We will continue to forge ahead, to complete the switch by 2027 and help make the UK a world leader in decarbonisation.

With the electric vehicle (EV) sector showing year-on-year growth, today’s announcement demonstrates the government’s commitment to decarbonising its own vehicle fleet. The target is just a first milestone as government looks to decarbonise the entirety of its central car and van fleet to zero emission vehicles by 2027 – faster than the wider phase-out date, which sees the sales of new petrol and diesel cars banned by 2030.

Across the wider market, the UK continues to lead the way in transitioning to battery-powered cars, as 1 in 5 cars sold in 2022 had a plug. According to the latest industry statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, sales of EVs overtook those of diesel in 2022 for the first time.

With a burgeoning EV sector, the government has also made great strides in boosting the charging network. The £10 million Local electric vehicle infrastructure (LEVI) pilot, part of the wider LEVI fund, is expected to deliver 1,000 local chargepoints across England, with 9 local authorities receiving funding. Winning projects are supported by an additional £9 million in private funding. This will improve access to EV chargers, particularly for residents without off-street parking, supporting the nation’s uptake of zero emission vehicles.

The government is committed to ending the sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 as we work towards a carbon-free transport network.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 18 January 2023.

New legislation will grant more powers to prosecute people for the dangerous misuse of watercraft, such as jet skis.

New legislation is being introduced to crack down on the dangerous misuse of watercraft such as jet skis, with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency being granted more powers to prosecute perpetrators of accidents.

The new law will come into force on 31 March 2023, before the busy summer period and will enable watercraft users to be prosecuted and bound by the same laws that apply to ships in order to help to prevent accidents.

This follows a boom in the watercraft industry during the pandemic, with the number, size, power and availability of watercraft like jet skis increasing, and their use in UK waters rising significantly.

Today’s (18 January 2023) move by the government will help ensure the UK continues to have some of the safest waters in the world.

Maritime Minister, Baroness Vere said:

The watercraft industry is thriving and it’s great to see more and more people enjoying leisure activities. However, they must do so safely.

That’s why we’re introducing a new law to crack down on any dangerous misuse of watercraft like jet skis. It will give the Maritime and Coastguard Agency greater power to prosecute those responsible for causing accidents or entirely avoidable tragedies.

We’ll continue working to ensure our country’s coasts and waters are safe for everyone.

Watercraft are not currently covered by wider maritime safety legislation. The new law will mean those found guilty of using their watercraft in a dangerous manner could receive an unlimited fine and/or up to 2 years in prison.

For those who cause accidents involving loss of life, the new offences could be used to better prosecute perpetrators alongside wider manslaughter charges.

Personal and recreational watercraft will also be bound by the ‘Highway Code of the sea’ – international regulations which require users to act safely by maintaining a lookout, driving at safe speeds and outlining their responsibilities to other vessels.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 18 January 2023.

The Department for Transport has today (18 January 2023) launched a public consultation on the future of MOTs in Great Britain.

Views are being sought to update MOT testing for cars, motorbikes and vans to ensure roadworthiness checks continue to balance costs on motorists while ensuring road safety, keeping up with advances in vehicle technology, and tackling vehicle emissions.

To ensure MOTs remain fit for the future, the consultation launched today is seeking views on proposals to change the date at which the first MOT for new light vehicles is required from 3 to 4 years. The average MOT costs £40 and the move could save motorists across Great Britain around £100 million a year in MOT fees.

Since the MOT was introduced in 1960 – and especially in recent years – there have been major developments in vehicle technology such as lane-assisted driving which have increased road safety, while the spread of electric and hybrid cars is rapidly changing the nature of vehicles on our roads.

Any changes to the MOT will be supported by an information campaign led by the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to inform drivers of the updates to MOTs and remind them of their responsibility to keep vehicles roadworthy.

Ensuring that the UK maintains its world-class record on road safety is at the heart of the proposals. Data shows that most new vehicles pass the first MOT test at 3 years. With the number of casualties in car collisions due to vehicle defects remaining low, government analysis shows the change from 3 to 4 years for the first MOT should not impact road safety.

Undertaking roadworthiness testing 4 years since the vehicle’s registration is already standard practice across many European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

The consultation also seeks views on the frequency of MOTs and how to improve monitoring of emissions to tackle pollution to bolster the environmental efficiency of vehicles.

Potential new measures include introducing testing of pollutants such as particulate number (PN) and NOx to ensure diesel, petrol and hybrid cars always meet emissions requirements throughout their lifespan.

Among the proposals, the consultation will consider whether electric vehicles’ batteries should be tested to improve the safety and reliability of EVs, if additional measures should be introduced to tackle excessively loud engines, and how the DVSA can continue to crack down against MOT and mileage fraud.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 9 January 2023.

Government launches a new fund to help small to medium-sized businesses to develop greener and more efficient solutions for freight.

– new funding to scale up and roll out innovative tech across the industry to decarbonise freight and improve transport links

– £7 million over 3 years to develop ways to make it easier to move freight from one mode of transport to another and improve journey times and predictability

– new solutions could help clean our air, reduce traffic, create UK jobs and allow people to get their packages and goods more quickly

Delivering freight across the UK could become more efficient and cleaner thanks to a £7 million government-backed fund launched today, 9 January 2023 that will roll out innovative new ideas and technology across the industry.

The freight innovation fund (FIF) will go to up to 36 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They will then work with industry-leading companies to develop innovations to make freight more efficient, resilient and greener, such as ways to improve how freight moves between rail, road and maritime transport.

By giving innovators the opportunity to test their ideas, the fund aims to help SMEs roll out new technology and ways of working to unlock potentially huge efficiencies and emissions reductions across the sector. This can include how to organise containers better so they can be more easily broken up for the final part of their journey or how to improve links between rail, maritime and road transport.

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

Our freight industry is vital to underpinning the economy and keeps Britain moving, so it is crucial we invest in new innovations to make it greener and quicker.

This fund will accelerate new ideas and technologies, helping to develop a future pipeline of innovations that can be rolled out to create jobs and allow everyone to get their goods faster and easier.

The innovation fund was announced last year within the government’s future of freight plan, the first-ever cross-modal and cross-government plan for the UK freight transport sector. It targets the 5 priorities for the freight sector identified in the plan, including being cost-efficient, reliable, resilient, environmentally sustainable, and valued by society.

Working to bolster the capacity of the freight network – for example, to anticipate, absorb, resist or avoid disruption and quickly recover from disruption when it does occur – can increase the resilience of supply chains across the country for a wide variety of industries.

The fund will look to support ideas and tech addressing, in particular, 3 long-standing issues in the freight sector.

– a lack of large-scale cross-industry data collection and sharing between different modes of freight transport, such as road, rail and maritime, that could improve efficiencies and coordination

– difficulties in inter-modal transport, such as between rail and road, and ways to improve how large consignments are broken up into smaller ones, which could reduce emissions and traffic

– improvements in freight distribution in ports across different transport modes that could create knock-on benefits with timings, efficiencies, and predictability of the rest of the journey

The government’s future of freight plan sets a strategy for the government and industry to work closely together to deliver a world-class, seamless flow of freight across the UK’s roads, railways, seas, skies and canals.

The plan also explains how identifying a National Freight Network will help to better understand freight movements and their value to the economy.

The FIF builds on previous government initiatives designed to support increased research and development in the freight industry; previous technologies supported in other funds include:

– Hypermile who developed an artificial intelligence programme that offers real-time feedback to help heavy goods vehicle drivers save fuel

– Fishbone Solutions developed a programme that uses vibrational data from rail freight wagons and artificial intelligence analysis to determine whether the wagons are working correctly

– CGA Simulation created a tool that simulates urban environments to predict the best place for infrastructure to enable radical development in logistics

– Delivered by Connected Places Catapult, the fund will give SMEs access to technical and business support from the organisation.

Nicola Yates OBE, CEO at Connected Places Catapult, said:

Each year in the UK, we transport 1.6 billion tonnes of freight using many different modes of transport, and it has never been quicker or easier. The freight sector makes a huge contribution to our economy and contributes significantly to domestic carbon emissions.

Today, we are delighted to be working with Department for Transport to launch this freight innovation fund as part of their future of freight strategy. The fund will help us to work with innovators and industry partners to develop a pipeline of technology and data innovations that will tackle the freight sector’s emerging needs, ensuring that resilience, efficiency and carbon reduction are core to the sector’s future.

Kate Jennings, policy director at Logistics UK, said:

Efficient logistics is vital to the UK and, as a sector, businesses are innovating to drive down emissions while ensuring the availability of the products households, businesses and public services rely on every day. Achievement of the UK’s net zero target is a challenge our members are committed to but this will require continued partnership between the government and industry to achieve. This innovation fund will be a welcome route for our member organisations to develop and access the technologies needed for goods to be moved in an increasingly green and cost-efficient way.

SMEs will benefit from a freight innovation fund accelerator, which will provide bespoke business support to innovators to help them access private investment, as well as a freight innovation cluster, a community of innovators within the freight industry that hosts regular networking events and activities.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 2 January 2023.

Millions of families, commuters and school children are being encouraged to take up healthy habits this year. Local councils will benefit from skills training and a boost to green jobs thanks to a £32.9 million scheme launched today (2 January 2023) which will enable them to develop thousands of well thought-through local walking and cycling schemes, co-created by the communities that will use them.

As people across the country are looking to kickstart the year with healthy resolutions, the government expects to see millions shake up the way they travel.

The investment will help local councils in England design, develop and consult on high-quality active travel schemes that work for residents and consider the local road network. These could include new school safety zones to encourage active travel, improved walking and cycling infrastructure on local high streets as well as new cycle and wheelchair paths.

The measures aim to get more people of all groups walking and cycling and help to address the barriers that exist. Surveys show the number one issue putting women off cycling is how safe they feel on the roads with 79% of women supporting more protected cycle lanes being built. Safety will therefore be the major focus for the new designs and routes.

This funding will support local authorities to maximise active travel investment by enhancing their technical skills. Local councils will be investing in resources dedicated to co-creating schemes communities want. Activities being funded include network planning, public engagement exercises and bespoke training for councillors and staff. The fund could see hundreds of new green jobs created across England.

Making active travel part of everyday journeys can improve health, cut costs and protect the environment. Cycling UK has estimated that if people cycled short journeys, they would save an average of £126 per year in fuel costs alone and would burn hundreds of extra calories each week.

Active Travel Minister Jesse Norman said:

Leaving the car and walking and cycling instead is an easy way to get fit, save money and reduce your carbon footprint.

Better designed schemes, which take into account the views of local people will help deliver improvements that have widespread local support.

Skills training and local community engagement will help local authorities to make active travel an attractive choice for getting around.

Developing teams that lead active travel programmes will create more cost-effective and well-targeted projects. Local authorities will learn how to enhance their engagement with residents, businesses and other road users to ensure schemes are delivered with local support.

National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, said:

If we want to enable hundreds of thousands more people to walk, wheel and cycle for everyday trips then we need to deliver high-quality schemes that make it feel easy, fun and safe.

Of course, ensuring the right technical skills are in place at a local level is vital but so is engagement. Survey after survey has shown strong community support for making space for active travel but it’s vital that people get strong input into helping to decide what is the right solution for their area.

The funding will also be used to engage under-represented groups and enable more children to walk, wheel and cycle to school. Community engagement programmes will give individuals the confidence to walk and cycle safely through cycle training, school walking groups and bike rental schemes.

Xavier Brice, Chief Executive Officer of Sustrans, the charity that makes it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle, said:

Sustrans is pleased to see this investment in training and community engagement which will ultimately lead to high-quality infrastructure developments across England that help people choose to use their cars less.

This funding is crucial in ensuring that travelling actively is a safe and accessible option for all, particularly as we work towards the government’s goal of 50% of all journeys in towns and cities being walked or cycled by 2030.

We’re looking forward to seeing ambitious plans being brought to life and continuing our work to support our local authorities in doing so.

People will benefit from better access to jobs and education through initiatives such as outreach to schools and employment centres.

The ‘capability fund’ will support local councils across the country to train and retain local engineers and planners, creating a skilled active travel workforce able to collaborate effectively with local communities and conduct high-quality engagement and consultation sessions.

As well as enabling local councils to hire and retain skilled professionals, this multi-million-pound investment will deliver specialised training, driving up skills and ensuring consistent, high-quality schemes are set up across England to give people truly attractive active travel choices.