Category: Gov Press Releases

The Connected Communities Innovation Fund, delivered in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and innovation foundation Nesta, will support people and places to thrive through the power of volunteering. The fund also builds on the work already underway between DCMS and Nesta to encourage people of all ages to volunteer and to ensure people see social action as a routine part of their lives.

16 grantees will receive a portion of the fund, with projects using the money to develop and test early stage ideas as well as scaling programmes which are currently having a positive impact.

Examples of projects that will receive funding are:

• EqualArts who will receive £244,000 to expand it’s HenPower project across the country. The programme uses hen-keeping to build relationships between care home residents and the wider community and helps to improve wellbeing, while reducing loneliness and depression.
• The Restart Project will be given £204,000 for its project that aims to prevent electronic waste by training people in their community to repair devices instead of throwing them away.
• Volunteer Action North East Lincolnshire (VANEL) will be handed £77,500 to scale the works its doing to harness the skills of retiring and retired blue lights service personnel to help the community prepare, respond and recover from emergencies.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society said:

Volunteering has a hugely beneficial impact on people’s lives. It has the power to harness community spirit and strengthen local areas by improving people’s wellbeing and decreasing social isolation .

This investment will create more opportunities for people to share their skills while supporting people in need – it will also help provide a rewarding experience for the volunteers themselves. I am looking forward to seeing the impact it has on a range of areas over the next few years.

Quote from Carrie Deacon, Head of Social Action Innovation at Nesta :

We know that when citizens share their time, knowledge and skills alongside public services, communities can achieve great things together. By supporting these innovative social action projects to develop and grow we know they will transform lives, and make a significant impact on some of the biggest social challenges we face. We’re excited to be supporting these projects over the next two years’.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Connected Communities Innovation Fund will support the best innovations that mobilise many more people throughout their lives, to support people and places to thrive, alongside public services.

The Connected Innovation Funds grantees are:

• British Red Cross will receive £75,000 to transform their ways of working by shifting their focus to community assets. They will train community groups to support each other during times of need, particularly responding to and recovering from emergencies in a confident and consistent manner, testing the initiative in three London boroughs.
• Cities of Service will receive £235,425 to scale its ‘The Next Generation project model which mobilises volunteers to meet city-wide challenges with four local authorities to involve more people to improve their lives and their neighbourhood.
• Church Action on Poverty will receive £170,250 to expand it’s Self-Reliant Groups model which arrange for a small groups of people – usually from disadvantaged backgrounds – to meet weekly, save money, share skills, and use their savings to set up micro-enterprises or support one another with loans.
• Equal Arts will receive £244,000 to expand it’s HenPower project by 60% across the country. The project uses hen-keeping to build relationships between care home residents and wider communities to improve wellbeing, reduce loneliness and depression.
• Grandparents Plus will receive £276,94 for its ‘Kinship Connect’ project that brings together kinship carers to help themselves by building face to face and online communities of support.
• Hull UK City of Culture 2017 Ltd will receive £250,000 for a project that will build on the success of Hull’s City of Culture year by mobilising more volunteers to enhance the wellbeing of Hull residents, encouraging social interaction, building confidence and generating confidence to take part, with a focus on tackling isolation.
• In2Science will receive £250,000 to support local 16-17 olds from disadvantaged backgrounds to go on to study STEM degrees at university by leveraging the expertise and passion of local scientists, engineers, and technology and maths professionals.
• Library of Things will receive £74,978 to reinvents libraries and improves lives by providing cheap access to useful things like power and gardening tools, cleaning equipment and by enabling volunteer-led skill-sharing events. They will use the grant to formalise their model, develop their volunteering offer and grow their team to scale sustainably.
• Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network will receive £74,987 to develop a volunteer-led support programme for older people who have experienced fraud, or are at greater risk of being a victim of fraud, by working in partnership with local police, victim support and charities.
• North Yorkshire County Council will receive £100,000 for it’s ‘Enhance North Yorkshire’ project which coordinates individual volunteers and established groups within the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise sector and local businesses to support collaborative emergency response and management, building on their successful volunteer-led Major Incident Response Team which has already responded to 170 emergencies in North Yorkshire.
• Oomph! Will receive £84,950 to improve the mental and physical outcomes of frail, lonely older people through volunteer-led walks that connect them to the community.
• The Restart Project will receive £204,000 to prevents electronic waste by changes the way people consume electronics. The project will host ‘Restart Parties’ where volunteers repair electronic devices and train people in the community to repair their own devices.
• The Southampton Collective will receive £75,000 to empower communities to take action on air pollution by training volunteer citizen-scientists to build and deploy low-cost air quality monitors around Southampton to generate data, raise awareness and ultimately change behaviour to tackle air pollution in the city.
• UpRising Leadership will receive £270,000 for it’s ‘1 Million Mentors’ programme which aims to ensure every young person in the country has access to a trained mentor as they transition into adulthood. They aim to train and match a million mentors to a million young people over the next ten years. They will use the funding to expand their work in 14 new areas in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and London.
• Volunteer Action North East Lincolnshire will receive £77,500 to scale this work up to harness the skills of even more retiring and retired blue lights service personnel to help the community to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
• Volunteer Centre Camden will receive £86,925 for its Coordinating And Mobilising Emergency Response Activists project which will involve volunteers in emergency responses in the London Boroughs of Camden and Hammersmith and Fulham. The programme will develop a bank of known and trusted volunteers for local authorities, so they can be activated to support and collaborate with public service responses.

Each of the organisations’ progress will be documented and findings published on Nesta’s website.

The investment, announced today by the Department for Health and Social Care, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England marks the start of a 3-year programme worth £25 million that will reach the whole country by 2021.

It forms part of the government’s commitment to reduce suicides in England by 10% by 2021 and will support the zero suicide ambition for mental health inpatients announced by Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt in January of this year.

Currently one person every 90 minutes dies by suicide in the UK and approximately two thirds of these are not in contact with mental health services.

The funding, which has been allocated to 8 sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) with a high level of need, will help to ensure people know high-quality confidential help is available within their community. It will include targeted prevention campaigns for men; psychological support for people with financial difficulties; better care after discharge; and improved self-harm services for all ages.

The funds are set to improve suicide prevention strategies, signposting and raising awareness through to improving quality for safer services and will help drive better surveillance and collection of data on suicide, attempted suicide and self-harm.

It builds upon major work from all local authorities to put multi-agency suicide plans in place, and work for a close join up between health services, public health teams and the voluntary sector.

Jackie Doyle-Price, Minister for Mental Health, said:

Every single suicide is a tragedy – which is why this funding is so vital. Working with the Samaritans and others in high risk areas, we will make sure people get the care they need as early as possible, because that is what saves lives. All local areas are developing suicide prevention plans and this work will support our ‘zero suicide’ ambition in mental health inpatient units.

Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive at Public Health England, said:

Suicide destroys lives and is devastating for the loved ones they leave behind. We need to do everything we can to offer more help to people in distress and this is a big step towards that.

Claire Murdoch, NHS England Director for Mental Health, said:

The NHS is committed to improving mental health services and increasing people’s access to help, when they need it the most. Working closely with families, councils, government and charities like the Samaritans, the additional funding and suicide prevention plans confirmed today will mean more people in crisis, in some of the most under-served parts of the country, will be able to get the crucial support they need.

Working closely with those who have been impacted by suicide and those with national expertise, including the Samaritans, the areas to receive funding this year have been identified due to their high level of need and will focus on particularly at-risk groups such as men and those who self-harm.

The areas set to receive funding are:

• Kent and Medway
• Lancashire and South Cumbria
• Norfolk and Waveney
• South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw
• Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
• Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
• Coventry and Warwickshire
• Durham, Darlington, Teesside, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby

Ruth Sutherland, Samaritans Chief Executive Officer, said:

Suicide is an urgent and complex issue with 3 times more people dying by suicide than in road accidents. We welcome these measures as an important first step, targeting those who are most at risk of taking their own life. We will continue to work with the government to help ensure its funding supports multi-agency working to achieve strong prevention measures in all local areas in order to reduce deaths by suicide.

The £25 million investment over 3 years is in addition to significant investment in mental health as part of the NHS Five Year Forward View for mental health to deliver accessible high-quality care. This includes expansion in crisis care for all ages, children and young people’s services and services for pregnant women and new mothers which should also support a reduction in suicides.

Background

1. Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. We do this through world-leading science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and providing specialist public health services. We are an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and a distinct organisation with operational autonomy. We provide government, local government, the NHS, Parliament, industry and the public with evidence-based professional, scientific expertise and support. Follow us on Twitter: @PHE_uk and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland.
2. Please remember if you are reporting on suicides to follow the Samaritans media guidelines to help prevent copycat suicides from occurring.
3. Suicides in the UK: 2016 registrations provides data on registered deaths in the UK from suicide analysed by sex, age, area of usual residence of the deceased and suicide method.
4. Reported road casualties in Great Britain: 2016 annual report.

A 3-day summit to celebrate Northern innovation and discuss the future direction of the Northern Powerhouse will take place this summer, the government announced today (16 May 2018).

The Northern Powerhouse Business Summit, part of the Great Exhibition of the North, is the first event of its kind ever to be held by government and will take place from 4 to 6 July 2018 in NewcastleGateshead.

The summit will bring together small businesses, government ministers, Northern Mayors, and business leaders from across the North of England. Together they will help to shape the next stage of the Northern Powerhouse through panel discussions, presentations, workshops and speeches.

It will be held at the heart of the Great Exhibition of the North, on the site where 19th century engineer George Stephenson designed the world’s first locomotive – the Rocket.

From the Industrial Revolution to the government’s Industrial Strategy, themes of discussions across the 3 days will include how the Northern Powerhouse can be at the forefront of the Strategy, including the role of the North in the government’s ‘Grand Challenges’. These challenges are: growing the Artificial Intelligence and data driven economy, clean growth, the future of mobility and an ageing society.

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry said:

The Northern Powerhouse is a top priority for our government and it is right that it should be central to the Great Exhibition of the North.

The last Great Exhibition was in 1851, when the North was powering the Industrial Revolution. This summit is about making sure that the Northern Powerhouse is creating a Northern economy fit for the future with the North at the forefront of a fourth Industrial Revolution.

The event will explore the creativity and innovation of northern businesses – from SMEs to FTSE100s – and the role the Northern Powerhouse will play in maximising the opportunities of Brexit.

There will also be discussion on how to tackle the North-South divide in educational attainment and outline the measures government is undertaking to reverse historic under-investment in northern transport and super-connect the great cities and towns of the North.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism Michael Ellis said:

The Great Exhibition of the North is a watershed moment for NewcastleGateshead that will celebrate not only art and culture, but the incredible design and innovation from across the North.

This business summit will bring Northern leaders together to showcase the region’s industrial strengths and attract future investment.

Leader of Newcastle City Council, Councillor Nick Forbes, said:

The Northern Powerhouse Business Summit will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase all that is great about our region and we are delighted to be hosting this event in NewcastleGateshead as part of the Great Exhibition of the North.

Building a stronger northern economy and maximising opportunities for investment is crucially important – not just for our region but for the whole country.

This event will bring together key people and organisations who can develop the blueprints for future growth in the North.

Cabinet Member for the Economy at Gateshead Council, Councillor John Adams, welcomes the summit and said:

It will provide a platform to showcase the breadth of talent and capabilities of Northern business to a national and international audience, showing that we can compete globally in sectors including manufacturing, digital, and business services and it will demonstrate the exciting and rewarding careers that are available to people here in the North East.

Follow the Northern Powerhouse Business Summit on Twitter by searching #NPHSummit. For updates on the Great Exhibition of the North, please follow @GetNorth2018 or search: #GetNorth2018

The Northern Powerhouse Business Summit is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and will be free to attend.

Confirmed speakers and the final programme will be announced in due course.

The Northern Powerhouse Business Summit forms a key part of the Great Exhibition of the North, being held from 22 June 2018 until 9 September 2018. The Exhibition is expected to attract more than 1 million national and international visitors to NewcastleGateshead, generating £184 million to the local economy. For more information on the Great Exhibition of the North visit www.getnorth2018.com

Further information

Background: Northern Powerhouse Business Summit

The Northern Powerhouse Business Summit aims to provide businesses from across the North with learning, networking and commercial opportunities, as well as shine a spotlight on the start-ups and scale-ups which call the North their home.

With a line-up of industry speakers, together with interactive workshops and an exhibition of Northern SMEs, businesses which attend can expect to be inspired by stories of innovation from across industry.

Government ministers will attend the summit to engage key leaders on their views for the future of the Northern Powerhouse.

The summit is being delivered by NewcastleGateshead Initiative, supported by delivery partners BeaconHouse Events, HemingwayDesign, Digital Catapult, Thinking Digital and Sunderland Software City.

Background: Northern Powerhouse

Since the Northern Powerhouse was launched in 2014:

• the North’s economy has grown by £21 billion (GVA, ONS 2014/15; 2015/16); almost half a million jobs have been created since 2010 and more power has been transferred from Whitehall to the North than under any government in decades
• the government has also committed to investing more to improve northern transport than any government in history; shaved off 15 minutes on train journey times between Liverpool and Manchester; created and funded Transport for the North, the country’s first sub-national transport body; committed £337 million to upgrade the Tyne and Wear Metro in the North East; and ring-fenced £3 billion to dramatically upgrade the rail route between Manchester and Leeds
• in 2016 we published the Northern Powerhouse Strategy, outlining plans to boost economic growth by improving transport connections, strengthening education and skills outcomes, boosting levels of trade and investment, and strengthening private sector growth
• last year, we launched the £400 million Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and rolled out finance to over 100 northern firms so they can start up, grow, and expand their operations globally
• we have also undertaken over 50 Northern Powerhouse Trade Missions to promote northern businesses and investment opportunities to the world – from San Francisco to Dubai. Over the past 2 years, the number of foreign investments in the North has increased at double the national average
• the government has invested £3.4 billion in the Northern Powerhouse for projects to boost local economies through Northern Powerhouse Growth Deals since 2014

About Great Exhibition of the North 2018:

• in October 2016, NewcastleGateshead was selected to host Great Exhibition of the North; NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) led the bid and is the lead delivery partner for the Exhibition, working closely with colleagues at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Sage Gateshead, Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and a board chaired by Sir Gary Verity
• City Delivery Partners including Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Gateshead College and NUFC are also providing vital support for Great Exhibition of the North
• on 27 February the BBC announced a partnership to support Great Exhibition of the North
• Great Exhibition of the North is supported by Premier Partners Virgin Trains, Accenture and CISCO
• funding has also been secured via Innovate UK, VisitBritain, Royal Commission for the Exhibition 1851, the Sir James Knott Trust and Reece Foundation and by England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014 to 2020
• National Lottery players have supported the Great Exhibition of the North through £1.7 million of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund; Big Lottery Fund and Arts Council England
• Womble Bond Dickinson, Ward Hadaway, Siemens, Port of Tyne, Virgin Money, BT, Robertson and NewSubstance are proud partners of Great Exhibition of the North
• Newcastle Airport, Greggs plc, Go North East, Tyne & Wear Metro and Northumbrian Water, Shout Digital, Stagecoach, PwC, Nexus, the Barbour Foundation and Ubisoft are supporting partners

About the European Regional Development Fund:

• the Great Exhibition of the North is receiving up to £636,800 offunding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014 to 2020
• the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for the European Regional Development Fund
• established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations
• for more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding

Ali Cakirgoz, 61 of Waltham Abbey, is subject to a disqualification order which prevents him from acting as a director for 12 years.

Total Engine Replacement Limited was incorporated in February 2015, advertising replacement engines on numerous websites that were all registered to the company.

But Trading Standards and the Insolvency Service began to receive complaints from customers who said they hadn’t received their products and couldn’t get hold of anyone at Total Engine Replacement.

The Insolvency Service carried out an initial investigation into the company’s activities before gathering enough evidence to place Total Engine Replacement into compulsory liquidation in September 2016 after a petition was presented by the Secretary of State.

Investigators found that despite accepting payments from their customers, Total Engine Replacement failed to deliver any of the products they had promised. Customers who then attempted to complain were left frustrated as the company left emails unanswered and disconnected telephone numbers.

In little over a year, Total Engine Replacement failed to provide goods to the value of at least £58,000 to around 58 customers.

The director, Ali Cakirgoz, did not co-operate with the enquiries and when asked, failed to maintain adequate accounting records. This meant investigators were unable to establish exactly how much money was received, where the money was paid into and what were the company’s current levels of assets and liabilities.

Following the disqualification, Ali Cakirgoz is now prevented from acting, directly or indirectly, as a director of a company having allowed Total Engine Replacement to trade with a lack of commercial probity and failing to maintain adequate accounting records.

Irshard Mohammed, Investigation Supervisor with the Insolvency Service, said:

Ali Cakirgoz had a total lack of regard for his customers. But thankfully his bogus sales activities finally caught up with him and we have been able to put the brakes on his deceitful activities.

Both the winding-up proceedings and the subsequent disqualification action show that we will use the full weight of our powers to take firm action against both companies and individuals that operate in such an unscrupulous way.

Notes to editors

Total Engine Replacement Limited (CRO No. 094600350) was incorporated on 26 February 2015 and was registered at 10-12 Marshgate Lane, Marshgate İndustrial Estate, London E15 2NH.

Details of Ali Cakirgoz’s disqualification undertaking

On 6 April 2018 the Court made a Disqualification Order against Mr Cakirgoz, effective from 27 April 2018, for a period of 12 years. The matters of unfitness which Mr Cakirgoz did not defend in the disqualification proceedings were that:

• During the period between February 2015 and October 2015 Mr Cakirgoz caused and/or allowed the company to trade with a lack of commercial probity in that it failed to provide goods to the value of at least £58,065 paid for by at least 58 customers
  • Engines were marketed for sale through a number of similarly named websites and orders taken either over the phone or by email
  • Quotes were provided and sales invoice raised in the name of the company
  • Quotes were provided and sales invoices raised in the names of unconnected 3rd party companies
  • The engines were not delivered as promised and customers were unable to contact the company as their websites were taken down, email addresses unanswered and telephone numbers disconnected
  • The company was not registered at the registered office address
  • Between 26 February 2015 and 28 October 2015, at least 59 complaints totalling £58,065 were made to Action Fraud by customers who had not received the goods that they had paid for
• Mr Cakirgoz failed to maintain, preserve and/or deliver up adequate accounting records for the period February 2015 to October 2015 and as a result it has not been possible to fully ascertain:
  • How much money has actually been received by the company and the full details of all of its customers
  • Which bank accounts the funds have been paid into
  • What has happened to the known funds of £86,691 paid to the company
  • What the current position with regards Assets & Liabilities is

Disqualification

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service (England and Wales)

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7596 6187 or 020 7637 6498

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

Schools in the North of England will benefit from a £6 million investment to improve maths teaching across the region and help increase pupils’ confidence in mathematics, School Standards Minister Nick Gibb has confirmed today (16 May).

To mark the first National Numeracy Day, Mr Gibb has confirmed that £1.75 million of funding will be used to create two new ‘Hubs’ in Central Lancashire and Cheshire to help spread best teaching practice and improve local pupils’ knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of mathematics.

The remaining funding will support the expansion of a south Asian ‘mastery’ approach to teaching maths in the region. Some of the leading performers in maths in the world, including Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong use this teaching style.

The announcement today is part of the government’s plans to raise academic standards across the country, helping more people to secure a good job, an apprenticeship or go on to further study or training.

There are already almost 387,000 more children in good or outstanding schools in the North of England than in 2010 and 87 per cent of schools in this region were rated as good or outstanding at their last inspection.

Minister for School Standards Nick Gibb said:

Thanks to our reforms and the hard work of teachers, standards are rising in our schools and the proportion of primary school pupils reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and maths went up 8 percentage points last year. We have also introduced a more rigorous maths curriculum and now have record numbers studying maths at A level.

But poor numeracy still costs the UK a staggering £20 billion every year and we want more pupils to feel confident using numbers as it can open up a wide range of options for future study, training and work.

Thanks to a £74 million investment there are already over 2,500 schools across the country involved in the Teaching for Mastery approach, and today’s announcement will help ensure more children in the north have access to a world-class maths education.

Maths is one of the most in-demand skills in the labour market and it is already the most popular subject at A level, with almost 25% of students choosing to study it. The government is determined, through its modern Industrial Strategy, to increase the number of people understanding and studying maths, helping them to secure good jobs and boosting the UK economy.

The ‘Maths Hubs’ in Central Lancashire and Cheshire will initially be led by three schools in each region and will help to ensure more teachers in the area have the knowledge and skills to provide high quality maths teaching. School recruitment for involvement is now open and the programme aims to start running this Autumn.
Today’s announcement is supported by a £70 million investment to boost school performance in the north as part of the Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy. It also builds on a number of other measures to improve numeracy across the country, including:

• An increased emphasis on Teaching for Mastery, to ensure pupils master the basics of mathematics from an early age. Thanks to a £74 million investment there are already over 2,500 schools across the country involved in the Teaching for Mastery approach, and the additional funding announced in Autumn 2017 will expand the Teaching for Mastery programme to reach 11,000 primary and secondary schools in total by 2023;
• Introducing a new multiplication tables check for Year 4 to help ensure every child knows their times tables by heart, a fundamental skill for more complex mathematics;
• Allowing universities in England to apply to open specialist 16-19 Maths Schools to help more young people learn from the best mathematicians in the country. This is backed by £350,000 of funding each year to support outreach work with local schools and colleges, sharing their specialist skills;
• Fully funding maths up to GCSE level, so that adults of every age and background can take a course to get the skills they need for everyday life;
• Updating Functional Skills maths qualifications to improve their quality as well as their recognition amongst employers; and
• Embedding English and maths across all major strands of technical education, including traineeships, apprenticeships and future T levels.

National Numeracy Day is set to be an annual celebration of the importance of numbers in everyday life and will help to reframe attitudes to numeracy. The day aims to bring together individuals, employers, educators and supporters from across the UK to help improve numeracy levels.

The government will also create Assistant Maths Hub Leads in 17 regions across the Northern Powerhouse regions, which will see Maths Hubs recruit respected school leaders in low engagement areas for one year – tasked with developing better partnerships between local schools and their Maths Hub.

The educational attainment for children in areas that have faced long-term challenges is also being improved through the Department for Education’s 12 Opportunity Areas – five of which are in the north.

Find out more about the Maths Hubs here

• new research shows UK life sciences sector is soaring with record turnover of over £70 billion and SMEs accounting for 82% of businesses and 24% of all UK life sciences employment
• in 2017, the UK received the highest level of life science foreign direct investment projects in Europe – the highest in 7 years
• the new Council follows on from the transformative Life Sciences Sector Deal, part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which drew substantial investment from 25 global companies

The inaugural meeting of the new UK Life Sciences Council takes place today (16 May 2018). Business Secretary Greg Clark and Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt will chair the Council, which will also be attended by a range of industry experts, including Pascal Soriot from AstraZenca who will co-chair, J&J, MSD and ABPI. The main objective of the Council is to ensure the UK continues to be a global leader in life sciences.

This comes as new research published today shows the UK continues to have one of the most productive health and life sciences sectors in the world. Health and life sciences are worth over £70 billion to the economy and provide jobs for almost 241,000 people across the country. The group will focus on progress in delivering the modern Industrial Strategy’s Life Sciences Sector Deal, launched in 2017, which will support the sector to develop and launch the next generation of medicines, technologies and diagnostics and provide better care and treatments for millions of patients.

The fourth annual Life Science Competitiveness Indicators report also shows that the UK continues to attract significant private equity investment, with over £660 million invested in 67 UK projects in 2016. The UK also accounts for 12% of total life sciences academic citations and 18% of the most-cited publications, the 2nd highest share above China, Germany and Canada.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

I welcome the first meeting of the new Life Sciences Council today, which will drive research, development and innovation in this thriving sector far into the future. Further advancing the UK’s global leadership in life sciences is a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy – our plan for high-quality jobs and growth across the whole country.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

From Edward Jenner developing the first successful small pox vaccine to Rosalind Franklin providing breakthrough research on the structure of DNA, UK life sciences have changed the world for the better.

We are extraordinarily well placed to play a leading role in this revolution in the life sciences. Our universities and research institutes rank among the best in the world, nurturing and attracting some of the most inventive people on earth.

Record turnover and foreign direct investment is a vote of confidence in the UK which we will build on as we work towards making Britain the best place in the world to develop and launch innovative medicines, technologies and diagnostics to help people live longer, healthier and happier lives.

Pascal Soriot, industry co-chair of the Council, said:

I am pleased to co-chair the new Life Sciences Council at an exciting but challenging time for the UK industry. With all the uncertainties of Brexit and patient access to medical innovations, the successful implementation of an ambitious industrial strategy is critical to ensure Britain remains a pioneer in life sciences and the sector continues to drive economic growth.

With 2 Secretaries of State and industry leaders representing medical devices, biotech as well as pharmaceuticals, the new Life Sciences Council brings together expertise across UK life sciences to provide the strategic direction needed to thrive in the competitive global environment.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said:

The UK continues to be a highly attractive destination for inward investment and global talent. With more than 5,000 life sciences companies and a strong culture of scientific innovation, our offer to the world as a global partner for investment and trade is clear.

As the UK’s international economic department, the Department for International Trade promotes investment and export opportunities. We invite healthcare and life sciences innovators to work with us, driving growth in every part of the country.

Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy said:

The UK has always been at the forefront of scientific innovation and research, developing ground-breaking treatments that can transform patients’ lives.

The world-leading 100,000 Genomes Project, and the NHS Genomic Medicine Service that launches this autumn, are fantastic examples of our ambition to pioneer the most advanced approaches to healthcare in this country.

As part of the Life Sciences Sector Deal, which brought together significant commitments and investments into the UK by 25 global organisations from across the sector, the government has worked closely with industry to deliver its strategic vision and in the last 6 months has launched major projects, including:

• allocating £30 million from a £100 million study to sequence the UK Biobank, providing a unique resource to identify new drug therapies and redefine the gold standard for genome sequencing
• announcing the world’s first study to establish centres of excellence in digital pathology and medical imaging in the NHS, which when set up will, using the digital images generated, help develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for more accurate diagnosis of diseases, potentially improving NHS efficiencies
• in the process of creating up to 5 Digital Innovation Hubs across the UK, which will support the development of algorithms and machine learning for real-world studies and clinical trials. Being delivered by Professor Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research UK (HDRUK), the Hubs will enhance the UK’s global competitiveness in clinical trials and creating a unique business environment
• investing £65 million through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to establish three advanced therapy treatment centres across the country, which will support medicine manufacturing and provide industry with access to cutting-edge technology to commercialise and develop innovations at scale

The modern Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It sets out how we are building a Britain fit for the future – how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.

The Industrial Strategy committed to increased government investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 and 3% over the longer term – delivering an estimated increase of £80 billion over the next 10 years. The Life Sciences Sector Deal set out plans for the Health Research Authority to speed up approvals for clinical trials.

Additional quotes:

ABPI CEO, Mike Thompson said:

Global pharmaceutical companies are excited about UK science, our world leading Universities and unique research centres like the Crick Institute.

The Life Sciences Council signals our joint commitment to implementing the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy to ensure the UK becomes a home for even more global companies to research, develop, manufacture and launch the next generation of medicines and vaccines.

Michelle Brennan, EMEA Company Group Chair, Johnson & Johnson Medical Device Companies said:

I am delighted to be joining the Life Sciences Council, supporting the implementation of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy in collaboration with our government partners. The Strategy is key to the UK remaining an attractive place for the Life Sciences industry to invest and to ensure that patients continue to benefit from the latest medical innovations. The NHS has an important role to play in the success of the strategy, with the potential to become an early adopter of new technologies and an engine for innovation and research. Johnson & Johnson is committed to working in partnership with both the NHS and government to make their ambition a reality.

Phil Thomson, President, Global Affairs, GSK said:

Bringing government, the NHS and industry together through the Council is an important step in ensuring the UK remains globally competitive in life sciences. We must all continue to work together through the Brexit negotiations to ensure the supply of medicines, regulatory alignment and the needs of patients remain priorities.

Notes to editors

Full list of Council attendees

Government

• Greg Clark, Business Secretary
• Jeremy Hunt, Health and Social Care Secretary
• Liam Fox, International Trade Secretary
• Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliament Under Secretary of State for Health
• Simon Stevens, NHS England
• Kristen Mcleod, Office for Life Sciences
• Steve Oldfield, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
• Sir Mark Walport, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• Matthew Speers, Department for International Trade (DIT)
• Gareth Davies, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
• Professor Chris Whitty, Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC)

Industry

• Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca
• Jean-Christophe Tellier, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of UCB
• Mike Thompson, Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
• Philip Thomson, President of GSK
• Peter Ellingworth, Chief Executive of Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI)
• Dr Roger Perlmutter, Executive Vice President of Merck & Co
• Michelle Brennan, President of Johnson & Johnson Group
• John Young, Group President of Pfizer Innovative Health
• Steve Bates, CEO of the UK BioIndustry Association
• Jackie Hunter, CEO of Benevolent AI
• Professor Sir John Bell, Life Sciences Champion
• Professor Jeremy Farrar, Director of The Wellcome Trust
• Haruo Naito, Director, Representative Corporate Officer and CEO of Eisai Co

The minister has signed the order which relaxes licensing hours for licenced premises in relation to a ‘celebration period’.

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said:

The government’s decision to extend the licensing hours to mark the Royal Wedding has received overwhelming support.

I know that people across the country will be celebrating this memorable occasion and this extension will help us to raise a toast to the happy couple.

Parliamentarians approved the government’s plans to extend licensing hours on the nights of Friday 18 and Saturday 19 May until 1am the following mornings, after debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords, to allow the country to celebrate the wedding of HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Since the Licensing Act was introduced in 2003, licensing hours have been extended for a number of significant occasions including the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations in 2016.

President Erdogan, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Downing Street today.

The UK-Turkey relationship is indispensable.

The issues we have discussed underline just how important it is that we work ever more closely together to make our people safer and more prosperous.

I’d like to start by addressing the troubling situation in Gaza and the West Bank, which President Erdogan and I have discussed today.

The loss of life we have seen is tragic and extremely concerning.

Such violence is destructive to peace efforts and we call on all sides to show restraint.

There is an urgent need to establish the facts of what happened yesterday through an independent and transparent investigation, including why such a volume of live fire was used and what role Hamas played in events.

Palestinians have the right to protest, but these protests must be peaceful. We are concerned that extremist elements are seeking to hijack legitimate protests to further their own objectives.

And while we do not question the right of Israel to defend its borders, the use of live fire and the resulting loss of life is deeply troubling. We urge Israel to show restraint.

It is in everyone’s interests for peace and stability to prevail in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The discussions we have had today have covered the breadth and depth of our relationship.

Allow me to say a few words on each of the key topics we’ve discussed.

Firstly, we are NATO allies and remain firmly committed to the Alliance as the best way of guaranteeing our collective security.

Since my visit to Ankara in January last year, both Turkey and the UK have suffered grievous attacks by terrorists.

As Daesh is defeated militarily, we are aware of the risk of foreign fighters dispersing from Syria and Iraq.

To counter this we have today agreed to take concrete steps towards measures that will formalise our information sharing.

Our intent is to agree that when Turkish authorities return a British Citizen suspected of terrorist offences to Britain, they will do so with vital evidence such as media taken from mobile devices and transcripts of interviews.

This will support our efforts to secure the convictions of those who seek to do us harm.

We have also reaffirmed our commitment to deepen co-operation between the Home Office and the Turkish Ministry of the Interior.

This commitment means that we will look at how our police, border, customs and coastguard agencies can share information more easily in order to tackle the terrorists and organised criminals involved in money laundering, drug smuggling and people and arms trafficking.

Turkey is on the frontline of many vital issues for the UK, particularly in Syria where it is an important member of the Global Coalition Against Daesh.

Today President Erdogan and I have reaffirmed our commitment to defeating Daesh and the need for a political settlement to end the war and provide stability for all of Syria, Turkey and the wider region.

We also agreed on the need to ensure humanitarian access in Syria and on the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law and the protection of civilians by all sides.

We reiterated our condemnation of the terrible chemical weapons attacks in Douma and on the streets of Salisbury.

While clearly the two incidents differ in order of magnitude, they are part of a pattern of disregard for the global norms that prohibit the use of chemical weapons.

Today President Erdogan and I agreed on the importance of restoring the international norm that the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent and can never be acceptable.

I underlined once again the UK position that the Salisbury attack was not just an act of attempted murder in Salisbury – nor just an act against the UK by Russia.

It was an affront to the rules based system on which we all depend.

The conflict in Syria has led to the displacement of millions of people, both within Syria and beyond.

I pay tribute to Turkey’s extraordinary generosity in hosting more than three and a half million Syrian refugees and educating more than 600,000 Syrian children.

We recognise the enormous effort that the Turkish authorities are making to give those refugees the help they need.

In total the UK has committed more than £750 million both bilaterally and through the EU budget to the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, in order to support those efforts.

During this visit the UK and Turkey have agreed high-level talks between our countries to explore ways in which we can work together to build capacity in the region and reduce the flow of migrants.

The importance of the UK-Turkey partnership is also demonstrated by our growing trade relationship.

Trade between the UK and Turkey has increased by more than 50 per cent over the past decade and is now worth more than £15 billion.

We continue to build on this and look to our future trade relationship once the UK leaves the EU.

During my visit to Ankara in 2017, we agreed to establish a trade working group to explore ways to liberalise and increase trade between the UK and Turkey.

Our officials continue to work together to build a solid foundation on which our relationship can flourish.

During my visit to Turkey, BAE Systems and TAI also agreed to collaborate on the pre-design phase of Turkey’s new TFX fighter jet, which resulted in a contract worth more than £100 million being signed in August 2017.

This was the start of a deep and enduring defence partnership, including a new and unique government-to-government agreement that set a new framework for co-operation and dialogue, including between our defence ministries and air forces.

And today we can discuss the next phase of this project, Rolls Royce’s bid to co-design the engine for the TFX fighter jet. This would support the development of aerospace engineering capability and jobs in the UK and Turkey and we look forward to continuing discussions.

Finally, the UK stood with the Turkish people when its democracy came under attack in July 2016.

It is right that those who sought to overthrow the democratically elected government are brought to justice.

But it is also important that in the defence of democracy – which has been facing extraordinary pressures from the failed coup, instability across the border from Syria and from Kurdish terrorism – Turkey does not lose sight of the values it is seeking to defend.

That is why today I have underlined to President Erdogan that we want to see democratic values and international human rights obligations upheld.

Throughout this process and in the face of the shared challenges ahead, the UK will remain a true friend to Turkey.

So President Erdogan once again thank you for your visit and for such productive talks.

Sir Alan Duncan said:

Crimea is part of Ukraine, and its annexation by Russia is a breach of international law.

The opening of this bridge represents yet another violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, and a further example of Russia’s reckless behaviour. We continue to work with partners to oppose the annexation, including by maintaining a robust package of sanctions.

The UK also remains deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Crimea, where we have seen the systematic persecution of minority groups and of those who voice their opposition to Russia’s illegal annexation of the territory. We call again for Russia to release all Ukrainian political prisoners held in Crimea and in Russia, and to allow unrestrained access for international human rights monitoring bodies to the peninsula.

Further information

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Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, said:

This Government is committed to delivering a United Kingdom that works for everyone and so I welcome today’s Labour Market Statistics, which show a continued strength in the Northern Ireland economy.

The unemployment rate is down to its lowest ever level of 3.1% from over 8% in the wake of the recession and, crucially, the employment rate is up to one of the highest rates on record at 69.7%.

More than 15,000 new jobs were created over the last year, meaning more people with the security of a regular pay packet to provide for themselves and their families.