Day: February 14, 2018

It has been a momentous month for healthcare agreements between the UK and China, with the announcement of numerous collaborations by UK companies in healthcare and life sciences with their Chinese partners.

Over £500 million of healthcare and life science deals were signed in the visit by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for International Trade.

The deals signify the closer working between the UK and China to develop faster, safer and more effective diagnostics, therapeutics and healthcare services.

Future of Medicine signings

The Secretary of State witnessed UK-China deal signings at the Future of Medicine event in Beijing, China. The event celebrated the future of medicine through stronger relationships between our 2 countries in personalised medicine, artificial intelligence and digital health.

In a speech delivered to leading Chinese healthcare companies, the Secretary of State said:

Advances in medicine and technology are opening up new opportunities to manage and cure disease. Today accelerated access programs bring novel therapies to patients faster than ever before.

New technologies and advancements cannot be developed in isolation though. To successfully help a population they need to be integrated into the infrastructure of a country’s healthcare system. This is an exciting challenge facing both the UK and China, tackled through greater collaboration during this golden era.

Other recent signings

Other signings witnessed by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State include deals between China’s Food and Drug Administration and the UK Medicine and Health Products Regulatory Authority, and TPP and First Chengmei Medical add weight to the increasingly strong relationship between UK-China healthcare companies.

Sharing the stage with the former NHFPC Vice Minister Jin Xiaotao, the Secretary of State said:

The UK has a population of approximately 65 million, the size of one Chinese province. With a population of 1.4 billion the data that can be generated through health care collaborations in China has a huge global worth.

List of Signings

The full list of the healthcare and life sciences deal signings, in conjunction with the Prime Minister’s and Secretary of State’s visit are:

• Trinity College Cambridge and Tus-Holdings: Tus-Holdings signed an agreement to invest over 200 million into the Cambridge Science Park
• AstraZeneca China and Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems signed an agreement to work together to tackle counterfeit drugs on the e-commerce platform
• The University of Manchester and Peking University Health Science Center signed an agreement to cooperate in the areas of Biology, Medicine and Health and to extend collaboration on a new Joint Technological Platform for biomarker discovery
• Medopad and Peking University Smart Health Lab signed an agreement to work together to configure new care models and patient monitoring solutions
• Medopad and China Resources Guokang (Shanghai) Pharmaceutical Co. signed a contract to transform how patients with chronic and high cost diseases are cared for
• Congenica and Digital China Health signed a MOU on genomic data analytics research and development to implement a medical big data strategy in China
• Beijing UniteGen Co. Ltd signed an agreement to expand the existing commercial deal with Congenica to provide genomic diagnosis solutions for Chinese rare disease patients
• Nine Health Global and Tsingdata D-LAB signed an agreement to collaborate in the development of bid data health analytics
• Eight Great Technologies and Leaguer International Co signed an agreement to create a 5 billion RMB fund to invest in UK emerging technologies
• TPP and First Chengmai Medical Industry Group have signed an agreement to work together to deliver an integrated healthcare platform for electronic records
• China’s Food and Drug Administration and the UK Medicine and Health Products Regulatory Authority agreed to exchange safety information on medicines and medical devices to protect patients in the UK, China, and around the world

More information on China healthcare opportunities

Contact us at Healthcare UK to discuss how we can help you, whether you are a UK-based supplier or an international buyer.

• immediate improvements made after ministers and inspectors demand action
• prison improves mental health services, boosts anti-violence measures and repairs the estate
• Justice Secretary makes clear there is more to be done, and will use this process to get the basics right at Nottingham and across the prison estate

Building on improvements made at the prison last year, care for the most vulnerable offenders will be dramatically improved, with NHS England supporting HMP Nottingham with an additional £200,000 to improve mental health services.

Specialist healthcare staff will now spend additional time with those most at risk of self-harm, and more detailed mental health assessments will be completed by trained professionals.

A local suicide prevention policy has also been launched, providing additional staff training in managing vulnerable offenders, and the prison will continue to work closely with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to make sure all recommendations on deaths in custody are implemented.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said:

I’ve been absolutely clear that conditions in some of our prisons are unacceptable, and I will not stand for them.

We’ve already taken immediate action to address failings identified by the Chief Inspector, but this action plan is only the beginning.

The most troubling and tragic of the problems at HMP Nottingham is the unacceptable level of self-harm and deaths. To address this, we have established a new suicide prevention policy, boosted the mental health assessment and referrals process, and got extra support from the NHS.

But we can’t stop there and I am committed to getting the basics right at Nottingham and across the estate. We must stop the drugs, violence and self-harm, and clean up our prisons so we can focus on making them safe and secure places for rehabilitation.

The plan also sets out how HMP Nottingham has:

• carried out a full review of safety and violence, with body worn cameras now fully operational and staff receiving additional conflict resolution training
• committed to recruiting 100 new officers to boost the prison’s frontline, as well as increasing mentoring for new recruits and less experienced staff
• completed over 800 maintenance tasks, including repairing windows and damaged cells, with monthly inspections resulting in significant improvements to cleanliness

This action plan comes after ministers introduced the Urgent Notification process last year, meaning prisons that require urgent attention will have 28 days to introduce tough measures that will drive improvement. Last month, HMP Nottingham was issued with the first ever Urgent Notification by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.

Since then, the prison has taken wide-ranging action to address the concerns of the Chief Inspector, building on improvements already made prior to the Urgent Notification being issued.

Today’s action plan comes in advance of the final inspection report into HMP Nottingham, which is due to be published later this year.

Notes to editors

• The Urgent Notification for HMP Nottingham was issued on 19 January, and was the first such notification issued to any prison in England and Wales.
• The Secretary of State has 28 days to publicly report on action taken to resolve issues raised by inspectors.
• More information on Urgent Notification can be found on GOV.UK.
• For more info, please call the MOJ Press Office on 0203 334 3536.

Related link

Justice Secretary’s response and plan of action

The 14th and 15th February will see the launch of Horticulture Connect, a ‘first of its kind’ conference promoting horticultural market links between the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Rwanda, held at Kigali Convention Center. This conference provides a strong opportunity to introduce British and Dutch investors and buyers of horticultural produce to Rwandan producers and exporters, and the event will be a starting point in creating firm trade and investment opportunities.

The British High Commission, working with Lord Dolar Amarshi Popat, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda and Rwanda, have been at the forefront of establishing an air link between the United Kingdom and Rwanda. In addition, Lord Popat has visited the country to advocate on behalf of British business interest as well as to encourage increased trade and investment between the two countries. On his most recent visit, he discussed with the Rwanda Development Board the possibility of hosting a horticulture market conference that would enable increased Rwandan exports of flowers as well as fruits and vegetables to the UK using the newly established air link.

A trusted airlink between Kigali and Amsterdam was already established in 2010 with 5 flights per week, and since April 2013, KLM serves Kigali by a daily flight, connecting Rwandan products to the European market. The Netherlands actively supports the horticulture sector in Rwanda, and through its global auctioning system in flowers provides an enabling infrastructure for potential future exports to the UK and other European destinations. The recently developed HortInvest Program, which is financed by the Netherlands, aims to develop the horticulture value chains in Rwanda. For this event, 2 Dutch importers of horticultural produce (Van Oers United and Del Monte Foods) will visit Rwanda and meet with their potential business partners.

Establishing these types of connections is critical to growing Rwanda’s exports and opening up opportunities for investors. A recent visit by the private sector players with NAEB and RwandAir to the UK New Covent Garden Market has indicated the need to further explore opportunities for developing more robust trade relations in exports of fresh produce. Rwandan horticultural exporters currently face significant market access constraints mainly due to the lack of effective connections to European markets. On this last point, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Netherlands embassy in Rwanda see strong prospects for the horticulture sector’s role in driving economic development. Sarah Metcalf, Head of DFID Rwanda said: “Horticulture Connect presents an exciting opportunity to engage with local and international businesses on the themes of inclusive economic growth and rural livelihoods. We also look forward to showcasing DFID programmes and partners contributing to Rwanda’s growing horticulture sector, such as TMEA (Trade Mark East Africa), AFR (Access to Finance Rwanda), and FONERWA (Rwanda’s national Climate Change fund)”.

Hon. Gerardine Mukeshimana, the Minister of Agricultural and Animal Resources said, “The conference seeks to move beyond the conversations held before and create a business platform that provides delegates with tangible opportunities to establish relationships and engage with our local producers. It is one of the key factors in the growth of investment in agri-export sector.”

Rwanda is known for offering investment opportunities and is among the region’s fastest growing economies. Rwanda has been frequently on top rankings for the best place to do business and to invest in Africa, with an average GDP growth of 8% for the last decade.

End.

Notes to Editors:  DFID Rwanda has a range of programmes supporting the agricultural sector, including a major £43m Programme of Support to Agriculture (POSA), a £23.5m Improving Market Systems for Agriculture in Rwanda (IMSAR) programme, and others important to the sector such as TMEA (Trade Mark East Africa), AFR (Access to Finance Rwanda) and FONERWA (Rwanda’s national Climate Change fund)).  Further information about DFID’s activity in Rwanda is available at http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/countries/RW/ and https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/dfid-rwanda.  The Kingdom of the Netherlands also has a range of programmes supporting the agricultural sector in Rwanda, including a $22M donation to the Multi Donor Trust Fund for Feeder Roads, an Integrated Water Resources Program of $44M that will run until 2020, a Landscape Restoration Program of $19 M that will start this year and will run for 4 years and a Horticulture Value Chain Development Program (HortInvest) of $20M that started recently and will run for 4 years.  The export of horticulture products from Rwanda to the Netherlands in 2016 was worth $625.000 (mainly cut flowers, vegetables and plant extracts), while the import was worth $390.000 (mainly seeds).

Today (14 February 2018) Tax-Free Childcare opens to all remaining eligible families: parents whose youngest child is under 12. The new scheme helps working parents with the cost of childcare.

It’s quick and easy to apply, and parents could save thousands of pounds each year. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2,000 per child per year. HM Revenue and Customs has been gradually rolling out Tax-Free Childcare since April 2017.

The money can go towards a whole range of regulated childcare, including nurseries, childminders, after-school clubs and holiday clubs.

Parents, including the self-employed, can apply online for Tax-Free Childcare by visiting Childcare Choices. Parents can also access the government’s childcare calculator through Childcare Choices, which helps parents to choose which government support is best for them.

Nicole, a mum of twins from Greater London, who uses Tax-Free Childcare, said:

“I was concerned about the cost of childcare, because I don’t get any other support, and I’m a single mum with 15-month-old twins. Tax-Free Childcare has taken a big burden off my shoulders

“It’s massively helped me: the extra money makes a huge difference, and I find the system really easy to use. It allows me to comfortably work full time, knowing that my children are being well looked after.”

Elizabeth Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“Tax-Free Childcare will cut thousands of pounds from childcare bills and is good news for working parents.

“More parents will be able to work if they want to and this demonstrates our commitment to helping families with the cost of living.

“All eligible parents with children under 12 can now apply through Childcare Choices and should take advantage of the available support.”

Since opening the service, through which parents can apply for both Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare, more than 340,000 families have successfully applied. Of these, more than 190,000 have a Tax-Free Childcare account.

The childcare service builds on the childcare support already available to thousands of families, including:

• 15 hours free childcare for families in England
• enhanced childcare support through Universal Credit
• tax credits for childcare

What’s Tax-Free childcare like?