Category: 0 Reviewed

A call for evidence on reducing the cost of energy has been launched by the government today, following the independent review by Professor Dieter Helm CBE.

On 25 October, Professor Helm concluded his independent review which outlines recommendations on how to reduce costs in the power system, whilst ensuring the UK meets its climate change targets.

Building on the government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper, Professor Helm was asked to consider the whole electricity supply chain of generation, transmission, distribution and supply, and recommend how to reduce costs in each part.

The Government is now calling on industry, businesses and consumer groups to give their opinions on Professor Helm’s recommendations to government.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said:

Energy bills are too high for consumers. We have been clear that we are committed to bringing down costs, both for households and for businesses.

I commissioned this review to start a debate about the future of our energy markets. Now I am opening up that debate, asking everyone with an interest to give us their views on Professor Helm’s ideas for bringing down the cost of energy for consumers.

Scotland’s biggest city is to reap benefits worth nearly £150 million. It follows a £24 million investment from the UK government into digital infrastructure and open data, making Glasgow a world-leading smart city.

The £24 million invested in the city since 2013, through Innovate UK, funds projects that connect the city together and help Glasgow save money and energy and develop the technologies of the future.

Speaking from the City Operations Centre in Glasgow, which has benefited from Innovate UK’s funding, Scottish Secretary, David Mundell said:

This fantastic return on investment demonstrates that targeted funding from the UK Government can lead to great results, benefiting businesses, visitors and communities.

Projects funded through this program demonstrate the innovative ways that modern technology and data can be used to make a tangible difference to the lives of people in cities across the world.

Projects funded so far have reduced energy costs in the city through intelligent street lights that adapt to people’s activity; created apps that give visitors and residents the open to plan their routes; and combined multiple separate city systems to allow teams to work on projects that cross multiple different disciplines.

These projects include an:

• intelligent street lighting demonstrator, which showed how the city can use smarter streetlights to improve lighting quality, reduce energy usage and make maintenance more efficient. The pilot scheme also collected useful data that could have a positive impact on the quality of life and public safety in the 2 test locations, Riverside Walkway and Gordon Street, such as noise detection, movement detection, air pollution detection and WiFi service
• active travel demonstrator, which showed how the city could be made friendlier for both cyclists and pedestrians. It has the potential to inform strategies that could help Glasgow reach the Scottish Government target of 10% of all journeys being completed by bike
• energy efficiency demonstrator, which showed how obtaining increasingly accurate information could help inspire ways to cut emissions, reduce overheads and address issues of fuel poverty. By creating a detailed, data-rich portrait of Glasgow’s consumption, it became possible to identify and act upon factors that change energy behaviours
• integrated social transport demonstrator, which helped some of Glasgow’s most vulnerable citizens access social and educational services. Smart integration and route scheduling software will increase flexibility and responsiveness, while also reducing operational costs and making it easier for the same transport to be used across various organisations

Background

Innovate UK

Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency, an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. It drives productivity and growth by supporting businesses all over the UK to realise the potential of new technologies, develop ideas and make them a commercial success.

Future cities demonstrator

• in 2012, Innovate UK launched the future cities demonstrator programme. The objective was to discover the value that could be delivered to a city through integrating city services and systems
• the focus was on innovative combinations of tools and techniques available off the shelf to demonstrate what could be achieved with what was already available
• cities developed bids for funding based on their feasibility study to demonstrate in practice how integration of city systems could add value
• Glasgow was awarded £24 million to implement its proposal
• The project produced ROI of £144 million and positively impacted citizens and small to medium-sized enterprises. Read the full success story

Contact: pressoffice@innovateuk.gov.uk or 07766 901150.

The government is making crucial progress on the domestic legislation needed for Brexit, taking forward the next two Brexit Bills to Parliament.

The Trade Bill and the Customs Bill will allow the UK to set the groundwork to becoming an independent global trading nation, providing necessary certainty for businesses and international trading partners to make the most of this opportunity.

Key measures in the Trade Bill include provisions for the UK to implement existing EU trade agreements, helping ensure that UK companies can continue to access £1.3 trillion worth of major government contracts in other countries and creating a new trade remedies body to defend UK businesses against injurious trade practices.

Further tax-related elements of the UK’s trade policy will be legislated in the Treasury’s Customs Bill – Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill – as part of the creation of a new UK tariff regime. This includes the trade remedies and unilateral trade preferences which provide preferential trade access to UK markets for developing countries.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

For the first time in over 40 years the UK will be able to shape our own trade and investment agenda – and we are determined that businesses and consumers can take advantage of this opportunity.

We are getting on with delivering a successful Brexit, by seeking a deep and special partnership with the EU, and by boosting our existing trading relationships with old partners while opening up access to new and exciting markets across the world.

The Bills follow engagement with stakeholders including the Scottish and Welsh Governments and Northern Ireland leaders after the Trade and Customs White Papers were published in October.

Trade Bill

The Trade Bill laid in Parliament today will:

• create powers to assist in the transition of over 40 existing trade agreements between the EU and other countries
• enable the UK to become an independent member of the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) ensuring UK companies have continued access to £1.3 trillion worth of government contracts and procurement opportunities in 47 countries
• establish a new independent UK body, the Trade Remedies Authority, to defend UK businesses against unfair trade practices
• ensure the UK Government has the legal abilities for gathering and sharing trade information

Customs Bill

The government also laid resolutions for the Customs Bill, which will enter Parliament shortly. The Bill will allow the government to create a standalone customs regime and amend the VAT and excise regimes. It will:

• charge and vary customs duty on goods
• specify which duties are payable on which goods
• set preferential or additional duties in certain circumstances – for example, to support developing countries
• maintain a functioning movement of goods from the day we leave the EU by continuing the VAT and excise regimes in line with the final deal reached in negotiations

ENDS

Further information

• For more information on the Trade Bill please contact the DIT press office on 020 7215 2000.
• For more information on the Customs Bill please contact the HMT press office on 020 7270 5000.

Farmers, foresters and landowners are today being encouraged to plan ahead for the next round of funding for woodland creation, which opens for applications in just two months.

From 2 January 2018, landowners can apply for up to £6,800 per hectare to plant and protect more trees under the Countryside Stewardship Woodland Creation Grant – a scheme to help landowners make the most of their land and reap the benefits of woodland creation.

Not only do woodlands help to protect wildlife, improve water quality and manage flood risk, they also offer landowners an alternative source of income, help to boost timber production, and bring economic growth to rural areas.

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

By investing in tree planting now, landowners can both benefit financially and help to secure a brighter future for our environment.

I would encourage landowners to talk to their local Woodland Officer and start planning now before the scheme opens for applications to be submitted in January.

We have made guidance available much earlier this year and brought in a number of improvements to the scheme – and our Forestry Commission teams are on hand to provide advice and support throughout the process.

The Woodland Creation Grant is open to all land managers, and successful applicants will receive a two-year capital grant, alongside an opportunity to apply for annual maintenance payments for ten years.

Guidance and application forms for the scheme were made available in September to give potential applicants more time to develop their plans, and a number of improvements have been made this year to make it easier to apply.

Applicants can contact the Forestry Commission for further advice and assistance.

Alongside the Woodland Creation Grant, landowners can also apply for the Woodland Creation Planning Grant to help with planning and proposals, as well as the Woodland Carbon Fund – a scheme designed to encourage large-scale planting and reduce our carbon footprint.

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 on the Forestry Commission website.