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Press release: Unpaid internships are damaging to social mobility

An overwhelming majority of the UK public support the introduction of a legal ban on unpaid internships lasting 4 weeks or more.

New polling data released by the Social Mobility Commission, found that 72% of the public back a change in the law – with 42% ‘strongly supporting’ a ban.

The survey also reveals that 80% of people want companies to be required to openly advertise internships and work experience opportunities, rather than organise them informally.

YouGov polling of nearly 5,000 people has been released ahead of the second reading of Lord Holmes of Richmond’s Private Members’ Bill in the House of Lords on Friday 27 October, which proposes a ban on unpaid work experience or internships lasting more 4 weeks.

The Social Mobility Commission, an independent public body which monitors progress towards improving social mobility, has repeatedly called for a ban in its successive State of the Nation reports to Parliament.

Many interns fall under the definition of ‘worker’ under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and are already legally entitled to be paid the national minimum/living wage. But the law, as it stands, is not being enforced effectively. A lack of clarity means many companies exploit the loophole or are unaware of the legal requirements to pay interns.

A broad consensus of support for a ban has emerged in recent years:

  • the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility called for a ban on unpaid internships over 4 weeks after hearing evidence on barriers to social mobility
  • in April, the Institute for Public Policy Research published a report which provided new evidence that internships have increased to around 70,000 a year and also recommended a ban after 4 weeks. Many times this number – up to half – are locked out of these opportunities because they are unpaid and/or restricted to networks
  • leading businesses and trade bodies support a 4-week limit. The Institute of Student Employers, Arts Council, UK Music, Creative Skillset, The Royal Institute of British Architects, Business in the Community, Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion and Trust for London all oppose long-term unpaid internships
  • The Matthew Taylor review into employment practices recently concluded: “It is clear to us that unpaid internships are an abuse of power by employers and extremely damaging to social mobility.”
  • A 4-week limit is supported by two-thirds of businesses, with only 1-in-8 opposing the legislation (YouGov 2014)

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn, Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said:

Unpaid internships are a modern scandal which must end. Internships are the new rung on the career ladder. They have become a route to a good professional job. But access to them tends to depend on who, not what you know and young people from low-income backgrounds are excluded because they are unpaid. They miss out on a great career opportunity and employers miss out from a wider pool of talent. Unpaid internships are damaging for social mobility. It is time to consign them to history.

Lord Holmes of Richmond added:

Unpaid internships leave young people in a catch-22 situation; unable to get a job because they haven’t got experience and unable to get experience because they can’t afford to work for free. The practice is clearly discriminatory, crushes creativity and competitiveness and holds individuals and our country back. It’s time we consigned them to the past, to the novels of Dickens.

Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust and of the Education Endownment Foundation, said:

Unpaid internships are a major obstacle to social mobility. Our research has shown that it costs an intern with no roots in the capital approximately £1,000 a month to live there. Unpaid internships prevent young people from low- and moderate-income backgrounds from getting into some of the most competitive sectors like the media, city and the arts.

It is no surprise that a majority of the public want to see an end to them. We welcome the commission’s call to ban unpaid internships that last for more than 4 weeks. There also needs to be greater transparency in recruiting for these positions, so that young people without professional networks are not at a disadvantage.

Ben Lyons, Chair of Intern Aware, added:

The government needs to show that it cares about the next generation, and crack down on long-term unpaid internships which exclude young people who can’t afford to work for free for months on end.

Notes for editors

  1. The Social Mobility Commission is an advisory, non-departmental public body established under the Life Chances Act 2010 as modified by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. It has a duty to assess progress in improving social mobility in the United Kingdom and to promote social mobility in England. It currently consists of 4 commissioners and is supported by a small secretariat.
  2. The commission board currently comprises:
    • Alan Milburn (Chair)
    • Baroness Gillian Shephard (Deputy Chair)
    • Paul Gregg, Professor of Economic and Social Policy, University of Bath
    • David Johnston, Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation
  3. The functions of the commission include:
    • monitoring progress on improving social mobility
    • providing published advice to ministers on matters relating to social mobility
    • undertaking social mobility advocacy
  4. Lord Holmes Private Members’ Bill seeks to limit unpaid internships specifically by amending the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 to make provision for the prohibition of unpaid work experience exceeding 4 weeks. The bill was given its first reading on 27 June 2017 and second reading will be on 27 October 2017.

YouGov survey methodology

YouGov surveyed 4,723 UK adults and fieldwork was conducted between 6 to 9 March 2017. The survey was carried out online and figures have been weighted and are representative of UK adults aged 18+. YouGov ensured the survey was made representative based on several criteria:

  • age and gender
  • political attention
  • region
  • education level
  • general election vote in 2015
  • EU referendum vote in 2016

YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council.

Headline YouGov survey results

Would you support or oppose a requirement for companies to openly advertise internships and work experience opportunities, rather than organise them informally? %
Strongly support 40
Tend to support 40
Total support 80
Tend to oppose 4
Strongly oppose 1
Total oppose 5
Don’t know 14
Would you support or oppose a ban on unpaid internships of longer than 4 weeks? %
Strongly support 42
Tend to support 30
Total support 72
Tend to oppose 8
Strongly oppose 2
Total oppose 10
Don’t know 17

Social Mobility Commission Communications Team

Link: Press release: Unpaid internships are damaging to social mobility
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Reforms to boost Wales’ digital infrastructure

People in areas of Wales and the rest of the UK with poor mobile coverage will soon get a significant boost to their connections thanks to UK Government action to speed up the rollout of mobile and broadband services.

Reforms made today to outdated legislation will reduce the costs of housing phone masts and other communications infrastructure on private land. This opens the way for faster and more reliable broadband and mobile services, particularly in rural areas.

Changes to the UK’s Electronic Communications Code will:

  • bring down the rents telecoms operators pay to landowners to install equipment to be more in line with utilities providers, such as gas and water;
  • make it easier for operators to upgrade and share their equipment with other operators to help increase coverage;
  • make it easier for telecoms operators and landowners to resolve legal disputes.

UK Government Minister for Wales Guto Bebb said:

I welcome the changes made today as they enable rural areas of Wales to keep pace with the digital transformation happening across the UK.

Faster broadband and mobile service seeks to benefit everyone; from local businesses looking to boost productivity and capacity, to residents who want continuous, superfast coverage.

The UK Government is committed to speeding up service and investing in new communication infrastructure, strengthening the Welsh economy. Thanks to reforms like these, the journey to digital transformation is well underway for all communities in Wales, regardless of how rural they are.

Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital, said:

It’s not good enough that many people are struggling with poor mobile and broadband connections which is why we are improving coverage across the UK.

We want everyone to benefit from the growth of digital services. Removing these outdated restrictions will help promote investment in new technologies such as 5G, and give mobile operators more freedom to improve their networks in hard-to-reach places.

By the end of the year all mobile operators are required to deliver coverage to 90 per cent of the UK and 95 per cent of all homes and businesses will be able to get superfast broadband, but more needs to be done.

These reforms will help to drive investment and stimulate the continued growth, rollout and maintenance of communication technology infrastructure, an increasingly significant area of the UK’s economy.

Hamish MacLeod, Director of Mobile UK said:

The Electronic Communications Code is an important piece of the puzzle alongside further planning reform that will help mobile operators to overcome the challenges they face with expanding their networks, while also developing innovative services for customers.

Good mobile connectivity is no longer an optional extra. It is essential infrastructure as core to modern economic activity as broadband, electricity and other essential services.

Mark Talbot FRICS, Chair of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Telecoms Forum Board, said:

RICS recognises the critical role that a modern, efficient and equitable digital infrastructure has on the future development of the UK economy. RICS has worked closely with our colleagues in DCMS to ensure that the new Code enables investment in our national digital infrastructure whilst balancing the needs of the public and private property owners.

With high speed internet seen by many as the fourth utility service the public and businesses expect access to digital services when they want and as they want, and RICS believes that the reformed Code is a great step forward towards this ultimate goal.

The old Electronic Communications Code was originally enacted in 1984, and became out-of-date as technology evolved, making it difficult for landowners and network operators to reach agreements and resolve disputes when rolling out modern digital infrastructure.

The Government reformed the Code through the Digital Economy Act, which received Royal Assent in April. The supporting regulations laid in Parliament today will bring the new Code into force, which is expected to take effect in December 2017.

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

  1. The Government has today laid draft regulations in Parliament needed to commence reform of the Electronic Communications Code. The changes will help ensure network providers achieve the coverage and connectivity targets set by government to reach the hardest-to-reach places in the UK.
  2. The Electronic Communications Code (the Code) is the legislative framework that enables electronic communications network providers to construct electronic communications networks.
  3. The Code was reviewed by the Law Commission in 2012 which recommended reform, and the Government has carried out extensive consultation with all stakeholders before bringing forward the amendments to the legislation.
  4. For further information on reform of the Electronic Communications Code:

Link: Press release: Reforms to boost Wales’ digital infrastructure
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Major flood defence exercise in Stratford

The Environment Agency’s field team will deploy a temporary flood barrier along the street. The exercise, starting at 0700, will provide an opportunity to test barrier deployment plan and procedures, train staff and test working arrangements with partners, so the barriers can be quickly and safely erected when needed during a flood with minimum disruption.

Waterside will be closed to traffic for most of the day. Pedestrians will be unable to walk along the areas immediately in front of and behind the barrier, between the Encore Pub and the junction of Waterside and Chapel Lane, for health and safety reasons. Businesses on Waterside will be accessible.

The Environment Agency is supporting communities across England that remain at risk of flooding with 40km of temporary barriers which can be deployed at suitable sites during a flood. Stratford has been identified as one of those suitable locations.

Environment Agency Operations Manager Emma Smailes said:

This is a major test of our operational equipment. Although we have carried out numerous barrier deployment exercises at our training depots, doing it on location will give our field team invaluable experience.

Cllr Daren Pemberton, Planning and Administrative Services Portfolio at Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said:

This exercise will allow Environment Agency staff and partners, including the district council, to work together and test this new barrier deployment in Stratford-upon-Avon, thereby gaining valuable training experience.

In the past Stratford-upon-Avon, and Waterside in particular, has flooded and remains at risk of flooding, so the temporary barrier will now help to protect vulnerable properties in this location during future flooding events.

Testing the assembly of the barrier is important to ensure that it all works smoothly in a live emergency situation.

Cllr Howard Roberts, portfolio holder for Community Safety with Warwickshire County Council, said:

Flooding is one of the major hazards potentially affecting Warwickshire residents and it is vital that we are prepared to respond.

Exercises like this are key to making sure that partners are well practised at working together in response to a flood emergency.

Emma added:

It’s important to remember that we can never protect 100% against flooding, and we can’t guarantee that specific communities will always have access to temporary barriers.

Local residents and businesses should be prepared by checking their flood risk, signing up to flood warnings and finding out what they can do to protect themselves and their property by visiting the Prepare for Flooding page on GOV.UK or calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188.

Environment Agency staff will be available during the exercise to provide members of the public with information about access restrictions, alternative routes and general flood advice. The exercise is likely to conclude around 1300.

Link: Press release: Major flood defence exercise in Stratford
Source: Environment Agency

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Press release: Environment Agency warns of flood risk in Devon and Cornwall

The Environment Agency is urging people to remain vigilant to potential flooding as a low pressure coastal storm is forecast to hit the south coasts of Cornwall and Devon on Saturday.

Current forecasts show a low pressure storm on Saturday 21 October which, combined with close-to-spring tides, means flood warnings are likely to be issued along the south coasts of Cornwall and Devon and will require the routine closure of flood gates.

On Thursday 19 October the Environment Agency will be deploying temporary flood barriers in Fowey. The temporary barriers are designed to give Fowey better protection from potential coastal flooding. This type of flood defence has been used to prevent flooding from rivers for a number of years but this is the first time they have been used on the Cornish coast.

Environment Agency teams have been mobilised across the area to check on flood defences, clear any river blockages and closely monitor river levels. These teams have been working around the clock to reduce the risk of flooding, and will be out in force over the weekend.

Kevin Ward of the Environment Agency said:

We urge residents to take care on the coast this weekend. Strong winds pose a risk of waves overtopping defences and we advise not to stop and admire the waves or take ‘storm selfies’.

Also, avoid exposed coastal areas and do not walk or drive through flood water, which can dirty and contain hidden debris. Just 30cm of flowing water can move a car and driving through water can also create waves.

The Environment Agency continue to monitor the situation across Devon and Cornwall and will review their plans as the forecasts are updated.

Residents and businesses are encouraged to sign up to flood warnings on the Environment Agency website. People can also call Floodline on 0345 988 1188. Once registered, if a flood warning is issued, they will receive an automatic message by telephone, SMS text message, email and/or fax.

Find out how to prepare for flooding and if your home is at risk.

Link: Press release: Environment Agency warns of flood risk in Devon and Cornwall
Source: Environment Agency

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Press release: New guidance to help charities comply with financial sanctions

New guidance has today been published by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to help ensure compliance with financial sanctions which are designed to support UK foreign policy and national security.

OFSI works closely with charities, regulators and banks to understand common challenges faced by those operating in some of the most hostile environments.

The move was prompted by requests, notably from smaller charities, asking for clearer information on issues affecting the sector so they could ensure they complied.

Rena Lalgie, Head of OFSI, said:

We realise that charities often operate in challenging environments. This practical guidance is an important step in our efforts to raise awareness of financial sanctions and help charities and NGOs better understand their responsibilities.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Charity Commission in England and Wales, and its equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, to further the UK’s sanctions and humanitarian aid policies.

Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement at The Charity Commission, said:

We have listened to feedback from our outreach work with charities operating internationally. Some charities weren’t aware that it is illegal to receive money, goods or economic resources from – or send these to – an individual or organisation subject to financial sanctions unless they have a licence or an exemption applies. Others found it challenging to navigate the rules about this. We’re pleased to have worked with OFSI on the guidance to address this knowledge gap.

We will continue to work proactively and collaboratively with international charities and other authorities to ensure that laws designed to restrict access to finances to terrorists and others are complied with, without impacting the important, often life-saving, work of many charities in high-risk areas around the world.

Further information

This guidance helps clarify what activity may be permitted under an OFSI licence and how to apply. It also promotes various sources of information and advice available to charities and NGOs, including OFSI’s email and telephone enquiry service and the Charity Commission’s toolkit for charities and NGOs.

The new guidance document is available on OFSI’s guidance page.

Link: Press release: New guidance to help charities comply with financial sanctions
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Timetable outlined for £300 million A47 improvements

Highways England will dual three parts of the 115 mile stretch of the A47 between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth, and improve several junctions and roundabouts, with work starting as early as 2018. Work on the first of the improvements – a junction upgrade at Great Yarmouth will now start next year, up to 18 months sooner than expected.

Preferred routes for each of the A47 upgrades were announced in August following public consultations earlier in the year. Until now, the date given for all of the schemes was between 2020 and 2021; today’s timetable spaces them out more evenly to ensure that there will not be too many sets of roadworks happening at the same time.

The details are in Highways England’s supplementary delivery plan, which has been published today and includes an update on how Highways England is delivering the Government’s £15bn road investment across the country, which includes a £1.5 billion project already underway to create a new 21-mile A14 link road between Cambridge and Huntingdon.

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England Chief Executive said:

Our update today is a sensible and responsible way to deliver major national investment in road infrastructure. It will keep our roads moving, deliver a lasting legacy for the country and ensure best value for money for the taxpayer.

Work to improve the A47 includes dualling the A47 between North Tuddenham and Easton, further east between Blofield and North Burlingham, along with junction improvements at the Thickthorn Interchange with the A11 plus two busy junctions in Great Yarmouth, on what was formerly the A12. Further west at Peterborough, the work involves dualling a busy stretch between Wansford (A1) and Sutton, and improving the Guyhirn junction with the A141 .

The improvements to the junctions at Great Yarmouth have now been brought forward, and will be completed between 2018 and 2019, while a package of safety improvements on the Acle Straight have already been completed.

Meanwhile the A47 works to improve the A11 Thickthorn junction and the Guyhirn junctions will start between 2020 and 2021. Work to dual the A47 between Wansford and Sutton will also start around that time. Dualling the A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham and from North Tuddenham to Easton, will start between 2021 and 2022.

The supplementary delivery plan also includes updated timings for widening the A12 between Chelmsford and the A120 – now scheduled to begin later in the 2020-21 financial year. All are still set for delivery as part of the Government’s first road investment strategy. Two technology upgrades – on the A12 and M11 – require further development to show value for money and have been paused for consideration in a future Road Investment period.

Six consultations into the £300 million A47 upgrades were held between 13 March and 21 April this year. In total, 1,447 people had their say, with 1,333 attending the 19 public events. The six projects are all part of the Government’s record £15 billion investment in England’s motorways and major A roads, with £3 billion of that being invested in the East of England.

A47 North Tuddenham and Easton

Option 2 was chosen for the dualling between North Tuddenham and Easton, which will see the A47 upgraded to dual carriageway along its existing route, with the alignment been amended to address some of the key concerns raised.

A47 Blofield to North Burlingham

For the Blofield to North Burlingham dualling, option 4 was selected which will see a new stretch of dual carriageway built a little to the south of the existing A47.

A47 Thickthorn Interchange with A11

The consultation was about a single option for the junction improvements, which will now see delivered a direct link from the A11 northbound to the A47 eastbound, and similarly from the A47 westbound to the A11 southbound, alleviating congestion at the roundabout.

A47 Great Yarmouth junctions (formerly A12)

At Great Yarmouth, the Vauxhall roundabout will be enlarged and fully signalled, and get an extended bridge and a new slip road. There will also be minor improvements at the Station Approach junction, while the Gapton roundabout will be significantly improved as it is widened and fully signalled too.

A47 Wansford to Sutton

Option 2 was chosen for dualling the A47 between the A1 junction at Wansford and the dual carriageway section west of Peterborough. This will include building a new dual carriageway to the north, at the western end, and to the south, at the eastern end. There will also be a dedicated slip road from the A1 southbound to the A47 eastbound to alleviate congestion at the junction. Since the consultation, the alignment has been amended to address some of the key concerns raised.

A47 Guyhirn

The single option proposed for the Guyhirn junction will see the roundabout enlarged and the road over the River Nene Bridge widened to three lanes to ease congestion.

For more information about our plans, visit the scheme website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Link: Press release: Timetable outlined for £300 million A47 improvements
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Winners of £51 million government competition to develop world-leading self-driving car testing infrastructure unveiled

  • the 4 projects will test the speed, safety and potential opportunities for delivering CAV innovation, helping ensure the UK remains world-leading
  • 4 consortia have been selected in this first round, led by HORIBA MIRA, Millbrook Proving Ground, TRL and the Warwick Manufacturing Group

Four projects across 5 locations in the West Midlands have today (19 October) been awarded a total of £51 million in funding for creating the environments needed to fully test CAV technology.

  • HORIBA MIRA in Nuneaton will build a new site alongside its existing vehicle test tracks where automated vehicles can be tested at the limits of their speed and handling to ensure they are safe
  • Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire and Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) based in the Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire will set up a range of different test areas mimicking increasingly realistic city driving environments, where automated vehicles can be tested before being taken onto public roads
  • 2 projects will adapt real world locations for testing of automated vehicles in live traffic:
    • TRL will lead a project to set up live test environments in Greenwich and Stratford’s Olympic Park in London
    • Warwick Manufacturing Group will set up real world test environments in Coventry and Birmingham

Reflecting the UK’s ability to compete globally in this hotly contested sector, Jim Hackett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company, opened Ford Europe’s Smart Mobility Innovation Office at the Olympic Park in Stratford yesterday. It will initially host 40 specialists brought together to develop smart mobility technologies for cities.

All the CAV projects announced today will be fully operational and advancing technology development in this sector within the next 18 to 24 months.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said:

Combining ambitious new technologies and innovative business models to address social and economic challenges lies at the heart of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy. Accelerating connected and autonomous vehicle technology development is central to achieving this ambition and will help to ensure the UK is one of the world’s go-to locations to develop this sector.

These projects, backed by government, form part of a globally unique cluster running from our automotive heartlands in the West Midlands, down through our innovation centres in Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes, through to London, Europe’s only megacity.

To achieve this, government and industry are working together to create the world’s most effective CAV testing ecosystem, integrating existing proving grounds and public road test sites across the UK’s existing automotive sector, strengthening existing capabilities and creating new ones.

This new ecosystem will be co-ordinated through MERIDIAN, a new government-backed and industry-led hub to develop CAV technology in the UK.

The MERIDIAN programme lays the foundation for a truly unique, world class, future transport technology testing ecosystem in which automotive and digital sectors can compete globally, and emerging businesses have unprecedented access to facilities.

Chair of the Auto Council Technology Group, Graham Hoare said:

Currently no other country has taken this innovative leveraged national approach and this can be a major differentiator on the global stage. This will be a globally unique set of capabilities that is co-ordinated and developed to provide a solution to industry that will enhance delivery efficiency, collaboration and knowledge growth.

Launch Director of MERIDIAN, Jim Campbell said:

As connected and autonomous vehicle technology becomes more complex, ensuring that the UK automotive industry has world-leading facilities to test and refine concepts is of imperative importance. Today’s announcement from government is a strong first step to ensure the UK achieves its ambition of becoming a global hub of CAV development in the coming years.

The MERIDIAN will offer world class CAV testing and development in the UK which allows us to accelerate research, development and adoption of these vehicles.

Director of Manufacturing and Materials at Innovate UK, Simon Edmonds, said:

This first wave of testbed infrastructure investment is crucial at establishing a UK cluster of excellence to test and develop autonomous vehicle technology. This is another good example of how the UK is leading the way on this exciting agenda, and how UK companies can take advantage of the massive opportunities it presents.

This important investment, as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, will further boost the UK’s opportunity to secure a share of the global connected and autonomous vehicles market that is expected to be worth up to £51 billion by 2020.

Automotive and technology companies will be able to accelerate their research programmes in real-life environments in UK cities, along with specially designed virtual and controlled test environments.

As well as securing high quality jobs for the future, it will unlock significant social benefits such as improving safety and provide better mobility access for the young, the elderly, and the disabled.

Yesterday the government introduced the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill as part of plans to boost the green transport revolution. The Bill will increase the access and availability of chargepoints for electric cars, while also giving the government powers to make it compulsory for chargepoints to be installed across the country and enabling drivers of automated cars to be insured on UK roads.

Notes to editors

1) The projects are the first to be funded from the government’s £100 million Connected and Autonomous Vehicles testing infrastructure programme announced in November 2016 and will be matched by industry.

2) The £51 million funding will be allocated across the UK: £31 million in the West Midlands, £7 million in Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire, and £13 million in London.

3) The winning CAV projects are:

Project title Location Public funding Total project value* Consortium partners
Smart Mobility Living Lab: London Greenwich and Stratford (Olympic Park) £13.4m £19.2m TRL (leader), Digital Greenwich, London Legacy Development Corporation, Cisco, Costain, Cubic, TfL, Loughborough University (London campus), and delivery partners, Millbrook and 5G Innovation Centre (University of Surrey)
UK Central CAV Testbed Coventry and Birmingham £17.6m £25.3m Warwick Manufacturing Group (leader), Amey, AVL, Costain, Coventry University, Horiba Mira, Transport for West Midlands, Wireless Infrastructure Group
MCTEE (Millbrook-Culham Test and Evaluation Environment) Millbrook (near Milton Keynes) and Culham (near Oxford) £6.9m £10m Millbrook Proving Ground (leader) and UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE, at Culham Science Centre)
TIC-IT (Trusted Intelligent CAVs) Nuneaton £13m £26m HORIBA MIRA (leader) and Coventry University

* Full 50% industry match will be met through operation and maintenance of the project facilities.

4) Since the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles was created in 2015 the government has awarded more than £100 million to 51 projects researching and developing connected and autonomous technology advancement.

These projects are all collaborative, involving more than 150 individual organisations from SMEs to global companies. 51 of these projects include a number of high profile trials to understand how members of the public will interact with the vehicles. These include:

  • the GATEWAY consortia which will run four autonomous shuttles around the Greenwich peninsula in November this year (2017) for the public to use
  • the UK AUTODRIVE consortia which will operate up to 40 autonomous pods in Milton Keynes in 2018
  • the VENTURER consortia which has been undertaking a series of increasingly complex trials in the Bristol area
  • a third collaborative research and development competition, now open with £25 million of funding available to the winning projects, the competition closes on 25 October

Link: Press release: Winners of £51 million government competition to develop world-leading self-driving car testing infrastructure unveiled
Source: Gov Press Releases