Author: Pulse Assent

A PIONEERING scheme to inspire a new, diverse generation of young people into property and regeneration has been backed by Homes England.

The organisation has become a trustee of the Regeneration Brainery, an immersive experience that pairs 16-21-year-olds with well-known mentors from across the industry.

Following a successful pilot last summer, Homes England have sponsored 2018’s programme, with the first week-long Brainery taking place in Manchester this Easter. It will be followed by two further events in other city centre locations later this year.

The Brainery is completely free for young people to take part and features a mix of visits to construction sites; interactive workshops; visits to workplaces; and practical tips and skills to get ahead in the industry.

It is part of a drive to challenge perceptions of regeneration, promoting people from a diverse array of backgrounds to play a role in shaping our towns and cities.

The brainchild of Manchester-based property developers CAPITAL&CENTRIC, the Regeneration Brainery could become a blueprint for encouraging ambitious young people into other industries across the UK, in turn creating inclusive communities.

Mentors include property developers; investors; local authority figures including Chief Executives; project managers; agents; planners; designers; architects; and marketers.

More trustees are to be announced soon.

Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:

“Creating vibrant new places and providing quality homes for people should be hugely inspiring career choices. Unfortunately, the opposite is true and as an industry we’re really struggling to attract young people to replace those who are retiring in the next few years. The housing crisis is as much a skills crisis.

“So, we need to work much harder and smarter to change perceptions of our industry and show how we’re making it more diverse, more modern and more progressive for young people who want to build a career while contributing to society.

“I’m determined that the new Homes England will show real leadership on these issues, so we didn’t hesitate to support the Regeneration Brainery, which is a brilliant, innovative scheme with real potential.”

Tim Heatley, co-founder of CAPITAL&CENTRIC said:

“If we’re to going to push the boundaries of how our cities and towns grow in the future, we need new ideas and creative thinkers. The launch of the Regeneration Brainery is timely, given the ongoing conversations about equality and diversity across almost every industry in the UK – especially property. There’s a lot of people accepting there’s a challenge, but few practical ideas of how to bring about change.

“For me, widening the pool of talent coming into the industry is essential. Doing so will bring fresh experiences; viewpoints; ideas and solutions. It’ll mean our built environments start to better reflect the people living in their communities – and that’s to be championed.

“We’re chuffed Homes England are our first trustee. The Brainery is a practical way to fire up young people to aspiring to a career in regeneration.”

For further information, please contact:

Lewis Jones – lewis.jones@newgatecomms.com / 07779 167 422 / 0161 233 1080
Rebecca Eatwell – rebecca.eatwell@newgatecomms.com / 07827 353113/ 0161 233 1071

https://regenerationbrainery.co.uk/

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

Today the international chemical weapons watchdog have confirmed the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical used in the attempted assassination of Mr Skripal and his daughter, and which also resulted in the hospitalisation of a British police officer. That was a military grade nerve agent – a Novichok.

This is based on testing in four independent, highly reputable laboratories around the world. All returned the same conclusive results.

There can be no doubt what was used and there remains no alternative explanation about who was responsible – only Russia has the means, motive and record.

We invited the OPCW to test these samples to ensure strict adherence to international chemical weapons protocols. We have never doubted the analysis of our scientists at Porton Down.

In the interest of transparency, and because unlike the Russians we have nothing to hide, we have asked the OPCW to publish the executive summary for all to see and to circulate the full report to all state parties of the OPCW, including Russia.

We will now work tirelessly with our partners to help stamp out the grotesque use of weapons of this kind and we have called a session of the OPCW Executive Council next Wednesday to discuss next steps. The Kremlin must give answers.

We must, as a world community, stand up for the rules based order which keeps us all safe. The use of weapons of this kind can never be justified, and must be ended.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @BorisJohnson and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

One year ago, UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, published its 3-year strategy to provide more relevant, scalable and accessible support for UK exports.

Since then, UKEF has implemented numerous innovations and supported hundreds of millions of pounds of export revenue for the UK. UKEF has also been awarded ‘best export credit agency’ by Global Trade Review, a leading international trade news source.

Rt Hon. Dr Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, said:

UK Export Finance is providing support for British business that’s more relevant, more accessible and on a greater scale than ever before. From innovations that make it easier for the UK’s SMEs to sell overseas, to bringing export opportunities to the UK supply chain, UKEF is helping to secure billions of pounds of business for hard-working UK companies.

By doing this, the government is helping the UK to become a nation of exporters, taking full advantage of the world of opportunities as the UK shapes its own trade agenda and takes its place on the world stage as a great, global trading nation.

The Business Plan was published after the 2017 general election, setting out HM Government’s ambitions to put UKEF at the heart of the UK’s trade promotion strategy, with concrete steps to:

• increase the scale of UKEF’s support
• become more customer-centric
• ensure support is relevant to businesses big and small, exporters and suppliers

More relevant to UK exporters and the UK supply chain

In the last year, UKEF has significantly increased the contribution of UK goods and services to major projects around the world. It does so using the draw of UK government-backed finance to attract overseas buyers to the UK and then directly connect UK businesses with the overseas projects it supports at one of its ‘supplier fairs’. This model makes UK exports even more competitive in the global marketplace and will secure hundreds of millions of pounds worth of export revenue for the UK.

In addition:

• In September 2017, UKEF introduced an enhanced overseas investment insurance product, offering UK businesses seeking to grow internationally greater protection against political risk on their overseas investments, particularly in fast-growing developing economies.
• UKEF, for the first time, expanded eligibility for its trade finance support to include UK suppliers of exporters, as well as exporters themselves.
• Plans are in place to further enhance support for the UK supply chain with the development of a new invoice finance product that will improve exporters’ access to capital and enable their suppliers to accelerate invoice settlement.

Supporting the supply chain means more UK businesses can realise the benefits of international trade even if they are not yet selling overseas, and will enhance the agility with which exporters can deliver orders and take on new business.

More accessible

In October 2017, UKEF launched a partnership with 5 major high-street banks to speed up the application and decision-making process for UKEF’s short-term trade finance support.

This new delivery model is helping small and medium-sized businesses access finance up to £2 million directly from their banks much more quickly and without needing to apply to UKEF separately.

UKEF also made improvements to its digital services, including a new application portal that enables banks to apply online for UKEF trade finance support on behalf of their customers, and a new online pricing indicator.

More scalable

In the last year, UKEF increased – and, in many cases, doubled – its ability to support UK exports to over 100 markets, from India and South Africa, to Mexico and Malaysia.

UKEF can now offer finance in over 60 local currencies – compared to fewer than 15 available before 2016. This allows buyers around the world to ‘buy British, pay local’, making UK exports more competitive and attractive worldwide. UKEF’s local currency offer is now one of the most flexible among its international counterparts.

Additionally, UKEF and the Department for International Trade recruited in-market experts across its priority markets, including Indonesia, UAE and Brazil to create an overseas network. The network will focus on seeking, securing and supporting overseas opportunities for UK exporters in these fast-growing markets.

New appointments

UKEF has strengthened its senior management capability and capacity in key roles, including:

• Richard Simon-Lewis, new Head of Origination, Client Coverage, Marketing and Communications
• Adam Harris, who will lead a growing team of 30 specialist underwriters as UKEF’s new Head of Civil Infrastructure and Energy
• Andy Blacksell, new Head of Underwriting Policy and Products

This will support successful delivery of the next phase of the Business Plan, as UKEF adopts a more proactive approach to supporting UK exports.

Background

• Find out more about our products and services
• Find out more about supply chain financing
• Find out more about local currency financing

• John Mahon joins Dr Liam Fox’s department to work closely with business, putting exports at the heart of UK growth
• This is the latest in a series of senior appointments as DIT ramps up preparations for post-Brexit trade. Five new HM Trade Commissioners started their roles last week.

Following a highly competitive recruitment process, the Department for International Trade (DIT) today (Thursday 12 April) appoints John Mahon as the UK’s first Director General for Exports. Reporting to the Permanent Secretary, John will lead the implementation of the government’s emerging Export Strategy as the UK prepares to leave the European Union.

A former Head of Barclays Corporate Bank, John brings a strong track record to DIT and is being hailed across Whitehall as a key hire. His appointment is the latest step in a major capability-building programme underway at DIT, across exports and investment promotion and the trade policy and negotiation businesses.

The new Director General for Exports is at the heart of the government’s post-Brexit trading plan, and is tasked with ensuring that new and existing exporters can access the right financial, practical and promotional support to sell overseas.

Welcoming John to DIT, International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

I am delighted to welcome John as our first Director General for Exports. With the IMF predicting that 90% of global growth will come from outside the EU, his role will be key to helping UK businesses unlock opportunities around the world.

John’s banking expertise will help us build the world’s best international economic department as we develop our own independent trade policy for the first time in more than 40 years – making the UK a global trading nation once again.

Minister of State for Export and Trade Promotion Baroness Rona Fairhead added:

We will soon be launching an Export Strategy to respond to the clear and growing demand from all over the world for UK goods and services. Our aim is to help UK companies of all sizes to grow by enhancing the support we offer and connecting them ever-more effectively to market opportunities. John will play a crucial role in making this happen.

John will play a vital role in DIT, reporting to Permanent Secretary Antonia Romeo, the department’s lead official, who commented:

I am very pleased to welcome John to my top team. His appointment shows that DIT is attracting the highest-calibre talent from across the public and private sectors to work on our crucial agenda. Leading our work to boost exports up and down the country, he will play a critical role in putting trade at the heart of UK growth.

Speaking about his new role, John Mahon said:

I am excited to join the Department for International Trade at such a crucial time where it will be my task to help companies everywhere to take advantage of the international demand for British goods and services. Through the government’s emerging Export Strategy, we will help businesses generate growth, prosperity and jobs in every corner of the UK.