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A scheme to encourage the best experienced professionals to swap the boardroom for the classroom is to be backed by government funding to expand into Hastings, School Standards Minister Nick Gibb has been announced today (5 January).

Now Teach – a charity set up to help people put skills acquired during a successful career to use in the classroom – has encouraged nearly 50 talented professionals to change their lives and retrain as a teacher in maths, science and modern foreign languages.

The £350,000 investment announced today will help the charity to drive this work forward, focusing on recruiting people from leading careers and sharing their skills in key subjects – with recruits to date including a former NASA scientist, a hostage negotiator and the head of a hospital trust.

It is part of the government’s plan to ensure that all schools can attract the teachers they need to give every pupil a world-class education. It builds on initiatives such as the Maths and Physics Chairs Programme, which recruits post-doctoral researchers into teaching.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:

There are now a record number of teachers in our schools – 15,500 more than in 2010 – but we want to continue exploring every opportunity to attract the best and brightest into the profession.

Great teachers are at the heart of our plans to ensure every young person reaches their potential, and the expertise that these experienced professionals have can be put to great use in the classroom, teaching pupils valuable knowledge and skills.

Many existing recruits have been inspired by its founder, former Financial Times journalist Lucy Kellaway, who this year re-entered the classroom at the age of 57 to become a maths teacher at Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney.

Co-founder of Now Teach Lucy Kellaway said:

We are delighted that the government is contributing to Now Teach to help us during our second year. We look forward to working closely with the Department for Education in years to come.

The package of funding will allow Now Teach to move into Hastings, one of the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas, to attract a broader range of successful professionals into schools and to explore other areas of the country to extend its reach – and Now Teach will host a launch event at Hastings Pier on Saturday, 20 January for interested would-be teachers.

Today’s announcement builds on a number of measures to recruit and retain high-calibre teachers, including a £75million investment in teachers’ professional development and a further £42million for training announced in the Budget.

In addition, the Government has also announced:

• A student loan forgiveness pilot for teacher in shortage subjects working in areas of the country struggling with recruitment;
• A £30 million investment to support around 300 schools nationwide to recruit and retain talented teachers by creating new funded initiatives, ensuring schools have access to national teacher supply programmes and strengthening local partnerships with and between schools – facilitating the establishment and strengthening of local partnerships, such as working with Teaching Schools; and
• The introduction of the new, strengthened national professional qualifications, as well as a £10million fund to support teachers in the areas that need it most.

There are currently around 400 commercial and community radio stations that are limited to broadcasting to small geographic areas on analogue (FM/MW) frequencies under outdated regulations. The new approach means these stations will be able to reach a wider audience to the areas they serve on digital radio.

Over 60 per cent of households now own a digital radio and the changes are designed to encourage a widespread rollout of small radio networks, within county areas, on a Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) platform.

Digital Minister Matt Hancock said:

Local radio is much loved and vitally important as a source of objective and in touch local news. As more power is devolved locally, and as local newspapers struggle, local radio’s role in the community is becoming more and more critical. So we are working hard with stations and listeners to make sure the rules are up to date, and give local radio the chance to use new digital technology to reach audiences, new and longstanding, old and young. Today’s publication marks another step forward in that work. I’m very grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to make this progress.

Ford Ennals, Chief Executive Officer at Digital Radio UK said:

We welcome publication of the DCMS consultation on small-scale DAB which is an important enabling technology that can help hundreds of local commercial and community stations broadcast on DAB for the first time. This consultation is particularly important as there is much work still to be done to fully consider the best use of the limited spectrum available and how small-scale can work most efficiently alongside existing local and national DAB multiplexes to help maximise the benefits to listeners.

The Government will now consult on the best approach for a licensing process that is appropriate for small scale DAB radio multiplexes, with the aim of having a new licensing arrangements in place by the end of the year. The consultation will run for 8 weeks, and closes on the 28 February 2018.

Ash Elford, Digital Development Manager, Angel Radio, who runs the small-scale multiplex in Portsmouth, said:

After over two years of successfully broadcasting local DAB services to Portsmouth, it is good to see a process for the full-time licencing of many more local multiplexes for cities and towns starting to take shape. We hope that the successes we have achieved so far with technical innovations and broadcasting smaller commercial, niche and community services can be replicated across the UK as soon as possible.

David Duffy, Director, Niocast Digital, who run Manchester’s small-scale DAB multiplex, said:

Niocast welcomes the small-scale DAB consultation as an important next step in the development of digital radio across the UK.

Dean Kavanagh of Switch Radio and Multiplex Manager, BrumDAB SSDAB in Birmingham, said:

We welcome the news of the upcoming DCMS Small Scale DAB consultation. As we have seen already, this additional layer of DAB has brought with it significant benefits for listeners – unlocking a world of new and exciting programming that otherwise would not have had a home. This consultation represents the first steps towards providing this exciting platform for all.

Notes to Editors

1. DAB radio services are broadcast as multiplexes. A radio multiplex consists of a number of DAB radio stations bundled together to be transmitted digitally on a single frequency in a given geographic area. This makes it a more efficient way of transmitting sound signals compared to analogue radio, where stations are broadcast on individual frequencies.
2. Stations currently need a DSP (Digital Sound Programme) licences to broadcast on a digital radio multiplex. The government is consulting on a new type of DSP license – a C-DSP – for community radio stations. C-DSP licence holders would benefit from being able to access the Community Radio Fund and other social/third sector funding (just as existing analogue community radio station licence holders are able to do so) and the reserved capacity for community radio stations on small scale radio multiplexes.
3. There has been a steady and consistent increase in the take up of digital radio over the past 10 years and digital’s share of all radio listening currently sits at 48.8% and 61.1% of households own a DAB radio set (RAJAR Q3 2017).
4. Ofcom’s International Communications Market Report 2017 indicates that digital radio listening is higher in the UK than in the other 16 comparator countries.
5. The Broadcasting (Radio Multiplex Services) Act 2017 gives the Secretary of State a power to modify (through secondary legislation) the various procedures, provisions and conditions that are attached to the award of radio multiplex licences in Part 2 of the Broadcasting Act 1996.
6. DCMS provided funding for a two-year (2014-16) programme of work by Ofcom, building on previous technical development testing in Brighton, to examine the practical viability of a new approach to DAB transmission, known as small scale DAB.
7. As part of the programme DCMS provided funding for Ofcom to conduct 10 technical trials of small scale DAB in cities and towns across the UK. The trials were designed to test the viability of small scale DAB technology and have involved more than 100 small radio stations broadcasting on terrestrial DAB for the first time, including some new services. These 10 trials were initially licensed by Ofcom for 9 months. The trial licences were subsequently extended up to 2 years after a request by DCMS.

The Prime Minister will be in Wokingham, Berkshire, today [Wednesday 3 January] to meet one of the estimated 16,000 people who have already benefited from changes to stamp duty announced by the Government in the Autumn Budget.

The stamp duty changes will mean a saving of up to £5,000 for first-time buyers in Wokingham.

The Government has abolished stamp duty altogether for first-time buyer purchases up to £300,000, and made this relief available for the first £300,000 of properties worth up to £500,000, providing help for people in higher value areas.

The changes mean a stamp duty cut for 95% of all first-time buyers who pay it and no stamp duty at all for 80% of first time buyers, with savings of up to £5,000.

Over 16,000 first-time buyers are estimated to have already saved thousands of pounds since the changes took effect in November, with over a million first-time buyers set to benefit in total over the next five years.

Ahead of the visit, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

I have made it my personal mission to build the homes this country needs so we can restore the dream of home ownership for people up and down the UK.

In the Autumn we set out ambitious plans to fix the broken housing market and make sure young people have the same opportunities as their parents’ generation to own their own home.

This has had an immediate impact, with thousands of people already making savings thanks to our stamp duty cut, and over a million first-time buyers over the next 5 years are expected to save money that they can put towards a deposit, solicitors’ fees or furniture.

We are building a Britain that is fit for the future and our message to the next generation is this – getting on – and climbing up – the housing ladder is not just a dream of your parents’ past, but a reality for your future.

The stamp duty change builds on the steps already taken to help young people enter the housing market – including the successful Help to Buy scheme and introduction of Lifetime ISAs.

At the Autumn Budget the Government announced the UK will deliver an average 300,000 additional homes each year by the mid-2020s through targeted new financial support and reforms to the planning system. These measures mean that we are on track to raise annual housing supply by the end of the Parliament to its highest level since 1970.

The Budget set out a series of other measures to boost the housing market including:

• Providing £1.1bn to help prepare sites for developers to build homes on
• Providing £1.5bn in SME loans to build houses
• Providing £630m to provide infrastructure to accelerate homes on small sites
• Providing £1bn in borrowing for councils to build new council homes
• Providing £2.7bn of grants to local authorities for strategic infrastructure to support new house building
• Investing £400m to transform estates
• Providing financial guarantees worth £8bn to support housebuilding
• Reforming developer contributions to ensure that funding for new infrastructure and affordable housing is made simpler and quicker

From today (2 January), fishermen targeting certain fish in the North Sea must land everything they catch as the next phase of the discard ban for demersal species comes into force, Fisheries Minister George Eustice has announced.

The discard ban, also known as the landing obligation will encourage sustainable fishing by ending the wasteful practice of throwing dead fish overboard.

It has been gradually introduced to allow time for fishermen to adapt to the new rules, and today, the existing ban for cod, whiting and saithe has been extended to include more vessels in the North Sea. Fishermen targeting saithe in North Western Waters, including the Irish Sea, will be required to land it for the first time.

Commenting on the next phase of the discard ban, Fisheries Minister George Eustice said:

The UK is leading the way in championing sustainable fishing, and the latest phase of the discard ban will help put an end to the wasteful practice of throwing fish back, dead, overboard.

Together with careful quota management, the discard ban will help us create a profitable fishing industry and safeguard our marine environment.

Today’s extension of the discard ban follows the successful introduction of the pelagic ban in January 2015 and the demersal ban in 2016.

From today (Tuesday 2 January 2018), applicants can apply for the Countryside Stewardship Woodland Creation Grant – a scheme to help landowners reap the environmental and financial benefits of woodland creation.

The grant is open to all qualifying land managers. Successful applicants will receive a two-year capital grant of up to £6,800 per hectare, as well as an opportunity to apply for annual maintenance payments for ten years.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

Planting trees is one of the best ways we can invest in our environment for future generations. They provide a haven for wildlife, reduce flood risk and improve water quality – making them some of our most cherished assets.

I have seen first-hand how planting trees can really make a difference at places such as the Lowther Estate in Cumbria, so I would urge landowners to apply to this scheme.

Richard Greenhous, Forest Services Director for the Forestry Commission, said:

Aside from the environmental benefits, planting trees on your land can offer an alternative source of income.

Your local Woodland Officer can provide advice and support throughout the application process.

Guidance and application forms for the scheme were made available in September to give potential applicants more time to develop their plans. The process has now been streamlined to make it easier to apply.

Alongside the Woodland Creation Grant, landowners can also apply for the Woodland Creation Planning Grant to help with planning and proposals. This grant has already supported two large-scale planting schemes in England this autumn: Doddington North Moor in Northumberland and the Lowther Estate in Cumbria.

The Forestry Commission has appointed a new team of specialised woodland creation officers to assist landowners through the application process for large scale projects.

More information on the funding options available is available here and applicants can contact the Forestry Commission for further advice and assistance.

Case study

Mr Hugh Davis, the owner of Treworder Barton Farm in Cornwall, has received funding from the Countryside Stewardship Woodland Creation Grant to plant a new productive woodland that enables him to quickly produce a crop of timber for wood markets. The grant has covered 80 per cent of the planting costs with an ongoing payment of £200 per hectare for the next 10 years.

Speaking about his application, Mr Davis said:

Planting is relatively straight forward. For the first two years, you need to keep weeds under control and protect young trees from other threats, for example pests, frost or drought. Once they are established, looking after the trees is relatively low maintenance.

The thing with forestry is that you can’t play catch up. You need to plan ahead and invest sooner rather than later. I’m very pleased I’ve done it.