British farmers and food producers are set to benefit from a valuable new market as Taiwan prepares to welcome British pork exports for the first time.

UK pork exports were worth £290 million to our economy last year, reaching over 80 export markets. This new agreement is expected to be worth more than £50 million over the next five years.

The deal also means UK exporters can further tap in to the overseas demand for parts of the pig carcass that are not commonly purchased in the UK, such as offal. This means UK farmers and pork processors will be able to generate income for the whole carcass.

The eagerly awaited deal has been secured by the UK government, working with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP). Exporters can take advantage of the market as soon as the administrative listing process is completed and export certification is made available.

It follows a number of recent successes for UK food and drink exports, which reached a record level of £22 billion in 2017. Last month, China lifted its two-decade long ban on UK beef exports following the BSE outbreak. The agreement will allow official market access negotiations to begin, estimated to be worth over £250million in the first five years alone.

A team of the Government’s leading trade experts continue to provide guidance to UK businesses as they enter into overseas markets for the first time or consider expanding their current global customer base – ensuring they are poised to take advantage of the increasing opportunities Brexit presents.

This is complemented by the government’s Food is GREAT campaign, which highlights the success of current exporters and showcases the UK’s top quality food and drink.

Thank you for that introduction Charlie, and it is fantastic to be here at the University of Edinburgh to sign off on the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal.

We are in one of the great cities of our United Kingdom, at a time of year when it serves not just as the capital of Scotland but as the cultural capital of the world.

I had the privilege of experiencing first-hand some of the cultural riches that the Edinburgh Festivals have to offer earlier today, and a great pleasure it was to do so.

The Festivals are an international calling-card for Edinburgh and the surrounding area and when people come to take part in them they find a city and a region that has huge potential for the future.

You see it clearly in the imagination and creativity on display here every August.

But you see it too in the innovative and ground-breaking work that goes on in this city and area all year round.

In great universities and colleges.

In high-tech businesses.

In financial and legal services hubs.

This is a city and a region that has so much to offer Scotland, the UK and indeed the world.

The Edinburgh and South East City Deal is all about building on those strengths to open up new opportunities for the future…

…in the creative industries, in research, in housing, in transport and in skills…

…and it will have a lasting legacy.

The UK and Scottish Governments are both helping to build the IMPACT Concert Hall – a new venue to cement Edinburgh’s place as the world’s Festival City.

The City Deal partners also want to turn Edinburgh into the Data Capital of Europe.

So we are providing capital investment to develop new data storage and analysis technology here in Edinburgh.

This great new facility, the Bayes Centre, will open in the autumn with UK Government investment, and will provide shared working spaces for applied data science and artificial intelligence research teams.

It is one of five hubs across the city that will use data technology to support research and development activity in sectors of the future, from fin-tech and robotics to bio tech and health sciences.

I want the UK to lead the world in these technologies.

I want us to have the best regulation, the most advanced research and the most lucrative commercial applications.

The City Deal will put Edinburgh at the cutting edge of that work and it is exciting to think about the future possibilities that this investment will open up.

UK City and Growth Deals are a key part of our Modern Industrial Strategy.

The UK Government has already committed over £1 billion to them here in Scotland.

Five have been signed, and three more are being negotiated.

Just like the Modern Industrial Strategy as a whole, they are a partnership between Government at all levels, business and academia to combine our resources and to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

Because I believe we can achieve far more together than we ever could apart.

So thank you to all the Deal partners for your work to get us here.

The University of Edinburgh, who have hosted us today, as well as Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University, and Queen Margaret University.

To the local authorities: Edinburgh City Council, Midlothian Council, East Lothian Council, West Lothian Council, Scottish Borders Council and Fife Council.

And of course our colleagues in the Scottish Government.

This is a great day for the south-east of Scotland and an exciting step towards a brighter future for this wonderful part of the UK.

Foreign Office Minister of State for the Overseas Territories Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon visited the British Virgin Islands between 31 July and 1 August to discuss hurricane preparedness and to see the progress on recovery since last year’s hurricanes.

During his visit, the Minister visited sites affected by last year’s hurricanes, including a school, a hurricane shelter, the Fire Service headquarters and a police station. He saw how UK support is helping the islands’ recovery efforts, and he handed over the purpose-built temporary Court House to the Government. This new UK-funded building will allow the Supreme Court and Magistrates’ Court to function fully again whilst a permanent building is constructed.

Lord Ahmad visited RFA Mounts Bay, which will remain in the region throughout the hurricane season to provide rapid assistance to Caribbean islands if needed. He also met the board of the Recovery and Development Agency to hear how they plan to implement further vital recovery work.

Foreign Office Minister of State for the Overseas Territories, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

The UK has played a crucial role in assisting the region to recover from last year’s unprecedented and devastating hurricanes, providing aid and support to help British Overseas Territories.

However, there is still more to be done before the islands fully recover and the UK stands ready to help. We are working with partners across the Caribbean to make sure that plans are being put in place to prepare for future hurricanes.

Lord Ahmad held talks with Premier Orlando Smith and the Cabinet to discuss their concerns about the UK’s Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act as well as meeting members of the financial services industry to hear their views. The Minister also met with business and tourism representatives during his visit.

This visit to BVI follows an earlier tour of the region by the Minister in May to the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Anguilla.

Further information

Mr Clark was given an insight into the complexities of the Cumbrian nuclear plant, including a rare glimpse inside the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP).

The open-air pond was originally used to store used nuclear fuel from the Magnox reactors – the UK’s first generation of nuclear power stations that generated low-carbon electricity for more than half a century.

Now 66 years old, the FGMSP is one of a number of buildings prioritised for clean-up by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

Accompanied by the NDA’s Chief Executive, David Peattie, Mr Clark learned about the progress being made in cleaning up Sellafield and how the latest cutting-edge technology is helping to do the work quicker, safer and more cost-effectively.

ROVs at Sellafield

Working to overcome the unique decommissioning challenges at Sellafield has also allowed the NDA, and the supply chain, to develop export opportunities for this new technology, as part of its contribution to implementing the Nuclear Sector Deal.

During the day the Secretary of State also met with Sellafield’s Chief Executive Paul Foster and key employees including apprentices and new recruits starting out in the nuclear sector.

David Peattie said:

The Secretary of State’s visit to Sellafield was a chance for us to demonstrate the fantastic progress being made in decommissioning the site, as well as how the knowledge and expertise within our industry makes the UK a world-leader in nuclear decommissioning.