Pulse.Assent

The Historic Building Restoration Grant is being piloted in Dartmoor, Lake District, Northumberland, Peak District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks with £2 million of funding available.

The aim of the scheme is to help save the iconic historic farm buildings in the English National Parks from falling out of use. Owners of these buildings from today can apply for a grant offering 80% towards the cost of restoration. This can include replacing the roof, weatherproofing the exterior, or other restoration works so that the building can be used again for farming purposes.

The scheme is open for applications until 31 January 2019 and, once approved, agreement holders will have two years to complete the works.

The grant is also supported by an implementation plan so that applicants can work with National Park advisors on developing a management plan to deliver the restoration, working with conservation consultants as necessary. This work is 100% funded so applicants can seek the advice they need to develop high quality applications and secure funding for their projects.

Lord Gardiner, Defra Minister for National Parks said:

The British countryside, including those historic farm buildings that dot some of our most iconic landscapes, is a truly precious natural asset. I am delighted that we are able to open this new set of grants supporting the restoration of traditional farm buildings.

Land managers who apply for this scheme will not only be safeguarding our rural history and culture, but also regenerating traditional buildings for use today and for future generations.

Sir Laurie Magnus, Chairman of Historic England said:

Historic England warmly welcomes this scheme and its endorsement of the value and importance of traditional farm buildings. Many farm buildings, in my view, are as important as churches in contributing to the beauty and the character of the English landscape. The partnership approach being piloted by Historic England, Natural England and upland National Parks will be of immense value in helping owners to maintain and conserve these buildings and to retain their significance for future generations.

Over the winter months, thousands of riders declare their motorbikes as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) – meaning they can keep their bikes off the road without paying tax.

Recent figures from the DVLA show that of those bikers who only ride part of the year, more than half will take their motorbike out at the start of the “bank holiday season”.

The Easter weekend marks the time when many bikers choose to put their motorbikes back on the road. So the DVLA is providing the truth behind some of the myths around ‘SORN’ing and taxing a motorbike.

Myth 1: “I can still keep my motorbike on the road after I’ve SORN’d it – I just can’t drive it.”

Whilst your motorbike is declared ‘SORN’ it can’t be kept on a public road – so it must be kept in a garage, on a drive or on private land.

Myth 2: “If I’m only going out on my motorbike once I don’t need to tax it.”

By law, motorbikes must be taxed before they’re ridden or kept on the public road. If not, you risk being caught and fined a lot more than the annual cost of taxing your motorbike.

However, there is one time this isn’t the case.

You can ride a motorbike to a pre-arranged MOT appointment under ‘SORN’ – but you must have motor insurance.

Myth 3: “Using a motorbike while its SORN’d is not a big deal.”

Using any vehicle on the public road while it’s declared SORN is a criminal offence under Section 29 of the Vehicles Excise & Registration Act 1994. The maximum fine is £2,500.

Myth 4: “There’s a lot of admin and cost involved in taxing again after SORN.”

Taxing online can take minutes and you’ll receive instant confirmation that your motorbike is legal to ride on the road. You can tax online with your log book (V5C) to hand. If you don’t have your V5C, you can go to a post office to apply for one. They can tax for you at the same time.

Myth 5: “I’ve just bought the motorbike so the ‘SORN’ or tax is transferred to me.”

In the same way that tax isn’t transferred when a motorbike is sold, ‘SORN’ is also not transferred to the new keeper. You must tax a vehicle before you put it on the public road. So, if you’re buying a motorbike and want to take it out straight away – remember to tax it. You can do this at the side of the road on your phone – through the website or contact centre – as long as you have the green new keeper’s slip from the V5C.

Myth 6: “I don’t pay for my tax – it’s free, so I don’t need to tax it or ‘SORN’ it.”

Even if your motorbike is ‘nil rate’ and you don’t need to pay anything when you tax it, you still need to renew your vehicle tax each year and will still need to make a ‘SORN’ if you’re not renewing your vehicle tax.

Myth 7: “The motorbike isn’t registered in my name yet. So I can’t tax it or ‘SORN’ it.”

If you’ve just bought the motorbike, you can still do this, as long as you have the green new keeper’s slip from the log book (V5C). If you don’t have any documents, you can apply at a Post Office.

Rohan Gye, Vehicles Service Manager, said,

While there may be a number of myths about SORN the rules are clear and easy to understand – you must tax your motorbike before putting it on the road. If you’ve SORN’d your bike over the winter months the quickest and easiest way to tax is online.

For more information from DVLA on taxing a vehicle and to do it online today visit www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax.

A team of Highways England staff is supporting the Brimsham Green School students as part of a programme focused on turning the students’ fundraising ideas into a reality while completing personal challenges to develop their confidence, teamwork and resilience.

The students challenged staff to select a theme and build something creative from Lego in just four minutes at a fundraising event last week, as well as making a presentation on their charitable efforts to a group of Highways England staff.

Highways England mentor Charlotte Collinson said:

We have worked with the group of nine students to build a set of skills that will help them whatever they choose to do in future. As well as being satisfying to watch a shy group of young people build their confidence, it’s a great way to promote the careers on offer in highways England.

We were really impressed with their ideas for fundraising – the Lego challenge was particularly popular with our design and engineering colleagues and we loved the wacky results. This was supported by a cake sale and a table football challenge.

This is the second year Highways England has supported the project and as more staff become involved we hope to continue with more teams in future.

Run by local youth charity Envision and backed by the Careers and Enterprise Company, the 12-week Community Apprentice programme sets young people the challenge of making a difference in the community.
The Brimsham Green team is in competition with other local schools and mentors are also in competition with those from other local businesses, as well as a second Highways England team based at Brunel House, Aztec West which is supporting Bradley Stoke Community School.

During May the project will culminate in a Boardroom challenge where students will present their achievements to a group of local business leaders and an overall winner will be announced.

Homelessness charity Caring in Bristol was chosen without hesitation by the students to benefit from their fundraising activities. Demonstrating a real commitment to helping homeless and vulnerable people through this charity which runs a range of projects to help people 365 days a year, the young people set a fundraising target of £400 plus donations. At the Highways England day they had already exceeded this, raising over £400, with more events to follow.

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.

Highways England has joined forces with Keep Britain Tidy and has been taking part in its Great British Spring Clean.

Around 200,000 bags of litter are collected every year from the motorway network.

This month Highways England and its teams all over the country have collected an additional 8,129 bags of litter, despite the severe weather.

Some of the unusual items collected include push bikes, fridges, settees, wallets and a bin full of rubbish collected from the A1(M).

This video gives a first-hand account of what it is like collecting litter from the side of the motorway network.

Great British Spring Clean March 2018

Highways England’s head of customer and operational requirements, Freda Rashdi, said:

We are pleased to be able to support the Great British Spring Clean by organising litter picking activities across the country, especially at our key hotspot areas.

We already collect vast amounts of litter from motorways every year but we’d much rather be spending our time carrying out other essential maintenance work.

The litter on our roads can cause a hazard to drivers, our workers and wildlife, so I’d urge everyone to keep a bag in their car which they can use for rubbish, and then put it in the bin when they get home to improve the experience of all drivers who use our roads.

Highways England has also released a time-lapse video showing the build-up of litter at junction 2 of the M606 near Bradford – a known litter hotspot.

Tackling litter on England’s major roads – timelapse

The video features ‘grab-cam’ footage where a camera was secured to a litter grabber to show a few of the thousands of individual pieces of litter collected every year.

Allison Ogden Newton, chief executive at Keep Britain Tidy said:

I’m delighted that Highways England has joined forces with us to support this year’s campaign. It is shocking that people still think its ok to throw litter from a vehicle, which creates substantial additional cost for Highways England, threatens other road users and harms the wildlife that lives in our roadside verges.

I’m really looking forward to working with Highways England to clean up our roads and inspire many more people to use a bin or simply take their rubbish home.

• over 200,000 sacks of litter are collected by our contractors every year – that’s around 550 bags every day or 110 bags per mile of Highways England motorway network
• at approximately £40 per bag – roughly the same cost as fixing a pothole – it’s not cheap and could be best spent on other maintenance projects
• litter causes a threat to wildlife and leads to flooding if drains become blocked
• it also puts workers who are collecting the rubbish from the side of busy motorways at risk
• a plastic bottle, if not collected, can take 450 years to biodegrade
• Highways England is responsible for collecting litter from motorways. Local authorities are responsible for the management of litter on all-purpose trunk roads. For further information please look at our Litter Strategy.

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.

• International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox launches the National Trade Academy Programme to help more businesses export
• ‘BOFTAS’, Board of Trade Awards, also launched in Preston today, celebrating the success of top performing companies of all sizes from across the UK
• Since July 2016, the Department for International Trade has helped UK companies to start or grow their exports, securing thousands of deals and, in the last year alone, has created 64,000 new jobs and safeguarded a further 28,000 by attracting investment into the UK

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox will launch the National Trade Academy Programme and Board of Trade Awards at the second meeting of the revamped Board of Trade in Preston today (Thursday 29 March).

The National Trade Academy Programme will offer a variety of new learning opportunities to upskill and engage students, businesses and academics. Building international trade and investment related skills and knowledge across the UK, the Programme will help foster a culture of exporting through a broad range of initiatives. This will include training and events in all parts of the country, such as a prestigious International Trade Summer School – run in partnership with the City of London – helping our future exporters turn their ideas and ambitions into Britain’s global exports.

Dr Fox will also recognise companies which have shown exceptional performance in international trade through the new Board of Trade Awards. A hallmark of British quality, these awards will become a globally-recognised certificate of excellence, shown on product labels of successful businesses of every size and from every corner of the UK.

Four Board of Trade Awards winners will be announced today: engineering group Arup (North West), The Anglesey Sea Salt Company – Halen Môn (North Wales), bird feed and fish bait producers John E Haith (Haith’s) (Yorkshire and the Humber) and Blue Kangaroo Design, a Gateshead-based creative agency which has worked with the biggest names in the toy, entertainment and licensing industry including the likes of Universal Studios, Hasbro and the Walt Disney Company (North East).

All winners of the award must be headquartered and registered in the UK and have demonstrated outstanding contribution to international trade and investment.
The UK’s trading performance continues to improve.

Since its creation following the EU referendum, the Department for International Trade (DIT) has helped thousands of UK companies to start or grow their exports. Last year alone, DIT helped British businesses secure nearly 10,000 deals, worth tens of billions of pounds in exports and attracted 1,859 investment projects – creating 64,000 new jobs and safeguarding a further 28,000, while planning the UK’s future trade policy.

Speaking ahead of the Board of Trade meeting in Preston, International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

As the UK’s international economic department, DIT is creating the global appetite for British goods and services, and attracting record investment into the UK. Today we are celebrating those companies who have demonstrated exceptional innovation, generating prosperity for their local communities.

Inspiring and educating the next generation of British exporters is equally important, and our new National Trade Academy Programme will help secure jobs, growth and prosperity for the future, and help make the UK a global trading nation once again.

Today’s Board of Trade meeting takes place against a backdrop of growing exports in all regions of the UK. Latest ONS figures show the export of British goods and services rose by 11.5% to £625.9bn in the year to January 2018.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The Department for International Trade (DIT) secures UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade. We are an international economic department, responsible for:

• bringing together policy, promotion and financial expertise to break down barriers to trade and investment, and help businesses succeed
• delivering a new trade policy framework for the UK as we leave the EU
• promoting British trade and investment across the world
• building the global appetite for British goods and services

About the National Trade Academy Programme

The National Trade Academy Programme will offer a range of initiatives that seek to engender a culture of exporting and ensure that we are constantly striving to become a nation of confident exporters and international trade experts with a solid understanding of the importance of international trade and investment.

In order to achieve this we need to ensure that we continually identify ways to furnish businesses and individuals with the skills and knowledge they require to become proficient exporters, and that there are worthwhile development opportunities available.

The Board of Trade National Trade Academy Programme will offer a variety of upskilling and thought leadership opportunities for students, businesses and academics. It will build international trade and investment related skills and knowledge across the UK and help foster a culture of exporting through a broad range of initiatives. It will include training and events such as an International Trade Summer School to help students and entrepreneurs turn their ideas and ambitions into Britain’s global exports. The initiatives will be run by the Department for International Trade as well as partners organisations.

About the four Board of Trade Awards winners announced today

North West England – Arup Group Limited

ARUP is an independent firm of designers, planners and engineers, consultants and technical specialists, seeking opportunities in four broad markets – cities, transport, energy and water. It has more than 13,000 employees across the globe with permanent offices in 35 countries worldwide. Many of the world’s most iconic sports stadia are Arup projects – such as Beijing’s Water Cube, the Singapore Sports Hub and London Aquatics Centre.

During the UK Prime Minister and Secretary of State for International Trade’s recent visit to China, ARUP signed two deals with Chinese partners to explore project opportunities along the Belt and Road. The Belt and Road Initiative is being championed by the Chinese Government to promote connectively between China, the rest of Asia and through to Europe. The MoUs (Memoranda of Understanding) with COVEC (China Overseas Engineering Group Co. Ltd) and STEC (Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd) will help unlock business opportunities to support the development of critical infrastructure along the routes.

The deals were signed by Arup Chairman, Gregory Hodkinson, and Arup’s East Asia Chairman, Michael Kwok, in the presence of the UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Dr Liam Fox.

On receiving the Board of Trade Award, Paul Grover, Associate Director at Arup, said:

“It is tremendous that some of the many, many thousands of people who work tirelessly to put our skills and expertise on the global map are getting the recognition they deserve. Promoting and delivering trade and investment across the whole of the UK is at the heart of our entrepreneurial tradition as a major global player in global markets.

For a firm like ours, DIT has proven itself to be a truly effective partner. Helping to establish contacts. Building a strong investment narrative. Clearing trade barriers and working alongside industry to secure the overseas investment that has helped create new jobs, development and regeneration in the North and elsewhere.

North East England – Blue Kangaroo Design

Gateshead-based creative agency Blue Kangaroo has been in business for 11 years. The company has a team of 13 who work with some of the biggest names in the toy, entertainment and licensing industry, including the likes of Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Hasbro and The Walt Disney Company.

The team is comprised of strategic, creative thinkers, designers and illustrators who produce standout creative for clients across EMEA, North America and APAC.

The company has been exporting for the past five years, over which time the company has seen huge growth with over 70% of its services being exported. This coming year the company is expecting to see significant growth within Asia.

The company has been working with the Department for International Trade for a number of years, completing the Passport to Export programme shortly afterwards and benefiting from market visit support as well. Since then, the company’s Managing Director Jason Knights has become a keen advocate for exporting and recently attended an Northern Powerhouse Starter Mission visit to Copenhagen in March 2017 as a mentor.

Managing Director Jason Knights offers encouragement to new exporters saying:

Don’t be afraid to try exporting – you will be surprised to see how receptive the world is to working with UK businesses.

Exporting is a key part of the Blue Kangaroo business plan and is fundamental to the growth of our company. We recognised the vast opportunity abroad and now sell more than 70% of our services overseas.

The Department of International Trade has played a huge part in our export journey, from the day we got involved with them we have seen continual growth. Winning this award is recognition for all of the hard work that the team here at Blue Kangaroo Design puts in on a daily basis.

Yorkshire and the Humber – John E Haith (Haith’s)

John E Haith, based in Grimsby, was founded in 1937 and produce animal feed. Not only do they supply many of the UK’s most successful bird-keepers and bird-breeders they export SUPERCLEAN™ bird foods across the globe.

The company has recently reported three export wins for exporting carp fishing bait to Germany, Romania and France. If like me you were thinking, what does bird feed have to do with fishing? During the 1960s, when modern boiled baits were being developed in the UK, the first specialised carp fishing bait base mixes were formed using Haith’s bird food ingredients intended for feeding to Cage and Aviary Birds. These ultimately came to be known as “bird food baits” and – though time has passed -they remain one of the most popular carp fishing baits in current use across the EU.

DIT have a long-standing relationship with this company, and have been working together since 2012 – from Export Communication Review, Passport to Export we have offered advice and support on how to export and continue helping them to grow their exports.

Simon King Associate Director at Haith’s:

When I think of the dynamic businesses operating within Yorkshire and the Humber, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed and proud for Haith’s to be the only exporter in the region recognised with a Board of Trade Award for 2018. So, why us? All I can add is that we take exporting/international trade seriously, and every member of the Haith’s team goes out of their way to ‘wow’ our overseas clients.

It hasn’t been easy. We’ve invested in our brands and protected our intellectual property overseas. But we’ve trusted our genuine clients enough to give them space to make great products with our ingredients and in return, we’ve earned their trust. Our formula is simple: great products, great service and eyes in the back of our heads! And that’s where the services of DIT have added tremendous value – they’ve helped us to focus; they’ve challenged us to get out of the office and shake hands with business owners who very much feel Britain is great. It’s always a team effort.

North Wales – The Anglesey Sea Salt Company, Halen Môn

Situated in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Halen Môn, the Anglesey Sea Salt Company has been making sea salt since 1997, and exporting its products since 2001 when the company joined forces with an American distributor.

Today, Halen Môn’s sea salt is enjoyed across the world. It has been served at the London 2012 Olympics, a Royal Wedding and is a vital ingredient in Green & Blacks Chocolate and Piper’s Crisps. The company continues to build their international reputation and currently exports to more than 15 countries.

In 2015, the company opened a new visitor centre that offers guided tours, tasting sessions and unique insights into how their sea salt is produced. The centre is part of a new salt-cote that the company has built with support from the Welsh Government, the AONB Sustainability Fund, the Lottery Coastal Communities Fund, the Fisheries Local Action Group, and HSBC. The company has also created more than twenty jobs in the local area and supports many more through their ‘local business preferred’ policy of using local suppliers.

The Department for International Trade has assisted the company with export and labelling regulations and helped organise meetings with potential customers in overseas markets. The company also relied on Welsh and UK Government support to apply for, and successfully obtain, Protected Designation of Origin status in 2014, which supports the company’s exporting strategy.

For further information

• Contact the DIT Media Team on 020 7215 2000 or email newsdesk@trade.gov.uk
• Follow us: @tradegovuk and gov.uk/dit