The UK’s construction industry has hardly changed in 40 years. It is not as efficient as it could be, and faces a looming skills gap brought on by an ageing workforce.

A new £72 million Core Innovation Hub will help to lead a transformation in construction, make it more productive and importantly create new, high-value jobs at the same time.

By supporting research and development in digital and offsite manufacturing, the hub will advance new knowledge and approaches in construction, bring forward new jobs and build the supply chain.

New skills and a more diverse workforce

Introducing more standardised modular components, construction techniques and processes will remove some of the risks and create safer, more efficient work.

This will require a brand new skill set and help to diversify the available workforce. It is anticipated this could open up job opportunities with new groups, including the unemployed and people who are homeless or have disabilities.

As one of the largest sectors in the UK economy – estimated to employ around 9 per cent of the total UK workforce, equating to 3.1 million people – there is potential for even more people to enter the profession from a range of backgrounds and benefit from the opportunities.

Better places to live and work

The Core Innovation Hub will develop digitally-driven, standardised approaches that improve the whole-life performance of built assets and create higher-quality, cost-effective buildings that are more comfortable to live and work in.

The investment is through the £170 million transforming construction challenge, part of the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund that is being delivered by UK Research and Innovation.

Sam Stacey, Challenge Director, UK Research and Innovation, said:

We need to transform construction so that we can create affordable places to live and work that are safer, healthier and use less energy.

By taking a lead in the UK, we can increase our ability to export. Global demand for efficient buildings is rising rapidly, driven by the pressures of urbanisation, affordability and the need to cut emissions.

Delivering homes and buildings the nation needs

The Core Innovation Hub is a partnership between the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Building Research Establishment and the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Digital Built Britain.

The hub was announced last week by Business and Industry Minister Richard Harrington during a visit to the Building Research Establishment.

He said:

From the introduction of virtual reality to off-site manufacturing, our modern Industrial Strategy is helping the UK construction sector to develop new techniques and skills – modernising the sector and delivering the homes and buildings our nation needs.

At a government event in Bristol with businesses, researchers, civic leaders and industry representatives to mark the first anniversary of the modern Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark will announce new support for the UK’s leading aerospace sector and the next generation of transport to tackle ground congestion and pollution in towns and cities.

The deal will develop ‘Future Flight’ – including electric planes with vertical take-off capability, goods and service drones, to autonomous aircraft.

Mr Clark is expected to say:

For the past 2 years, I have been engaging with businesses, large and small, up and down the country about our post-Brexit economy. They have been clear and consistent in telling me what is needed to preserve jobs, open up new opportunities and build on the success of our trading relationships. An economy that will continue to be open and enterprising, driving invention and innovation through high regulatory standards, providing good quality, well-paid jobs throughout the country – with a reputation as a dependable and confident place to do business. This will be the test of a successful our long-term economic partnership with the EU. The withdrawal agreement is a significant first step in building our future relationship, while no deal puts this all at risk.

Our modern Industrial Strategy is the government’s long-term plan for preparing and investing in our post-Brexit economy. And I could be in no better place than Bristol to mark this first anniversary. It is an honour to be visiting a city that has been at the heart of British industrial innovation for centuries. You can look out over the Avon and be reminded of the ingenuity of the floating harbour built here in 1809. The engineering behind it overcame one of the world’s highest tidal drops, stopping cargo ships getting stranded at low tide and opening-up the city to trade.

And today, Bristol still exerts this influence. You can see it the world-leading advanced manufacturing plants of GKN, and the global cultural impact of animation companies like Aardman. Such world-beating enterprise will continue to be the UK’s calling card once we have left the EU.

Truly world-leading science, innovation and business have no borders. Now – more than ever – we need to ensure that we remain an open, frictionless economy that welcomes talent while nurturing it at home.

The hard-fought deal that the Prime Minister has secured has rightly been welcomed by businesses large and small throughout the country. I know many of you will be watching developments in Parliament in the coming days. I want to reassure you that the Prime Minister and I, together with our Cabinet colleagues, are intent on securing a good Brexit deal that delivers the certainty for business and therefore people’s livelihoods – up and down the country.

Today’s package also includes:

• A multi-million pound package of new investment to turbo-charge UK industry in support of the modern Industrial Strategy and put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future, including up to £125 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to develop future flight
• £15 million government investment for GKN Aerospace’s new Global Technology Centre in Bristol. The centre is expected to open in 2020 and will ensure the UK is a hub for world class innovative technology for the next generation of fuel-efficient aircraft
• The new government-industry Aerospace Sector Deal which includes support proposals for supply chain SMEs to boost their competitiveness on the global stage and a pledge to increase the number of women in aviation
• Follows yesterday’s announcement of the £1.3 billion Life Sciences Sector Deal 2 with record investment in diagnostics and early intervention to help people live healthier, longer lives
• The next steps for establishing a technical education system that will rival the best in the world, with an action plan for the introduction of the new T level qualifications as set out by the Secretary of State for Education in a speech at Battersea Power Station today
• Also, includes the Bio-economy strategy which was published earlier in the week to help double the size of the bio-economy to £440 billion by 2030, setting out an ambition for world-leading standards for bio-based and biodegradable plastics

New Aerospace Sector Deal

As part of the deal, the government is launching the Future Flight Challenge, which will provide up to £125 million to aerospace and other manufactures to research and engineer new technologies and infrastructure, which industry will match. This will support the development of electric and autonomous aircraft and transform the future of transport in urban areas as we utilise our airspace to ease congestion. Industry will initially focus on smaller aircraft and drones to ensure the suitability of the new technologies before developing them for larger passenger aircraft. It means that by 2026, the government and industry will have jointly invested more than £4 billion in the future of UK aerospace.

Speaking about the deal, Greg Clark will say:

The UK’s contribution to the global aerospace industry cannot be underestimated. Half of the world’s modern large passenger aircraft have wings designed and built here in the UK; and every 2.5 seconds, a Rolls-Royce powered aircraft takes off or lands.

But we are not complacent. The future of aerospace is cleaner, greener, and more efficient, and we want the UK to be the pioneers of new technology that will pave the way for increased electrification and autonomy in commercial aviation.

This deal is our modern Industrial Strategy in action, combining the forces of government and industry to boost a sector that is vital to our future economy, export capabilities and will place the UK at the forefront of the next generation of air travel.

Supporting the deal, Baroness Sugg, Minister for Aviation said:

The UK is a global leader in aviation innovation. From urban air mobility vehicles to small electric aircraft and drones, we are already developing exciting new forms of transport.

Through the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge and alongside our forthcoming Aviation Strategy, we are exploring how these new technologies will change the way we travel, helping create the right conditions for the UK’s aerospace and drone industries to take off.

ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said:

A strong long-term partnership between government and industry is essential for UK aerospace to meet the challenges of global competition and new market opportunities.

The Aerospace Sector Deal demonstrates the UK’s commitment to continue as one of the most attractive locations for the global aerospace and aviation industries.

The Future Flight challenge will ensure the UK takes a lead in delivering cleaner, quieter and more innovative aircraft. We must fast-track the electrification of flight, exploit the global potential of new urban mobility solutions and pioneer autonomous aviation.

The modern Industrial Strategy, published last year, sets out how the whole of the UK can build on its strengths, extend them into the future, and capitalise on new opportunities. Investing in science and research to keep the UK at the forefront of new technologies and the benefits they bring. Nurturing the talent of tomorrow – through more outstanding schools, world-leading universities and the technical skills that will drive the economy. And transforming the places where people live and work – the places where ideas and inspiration are born – by backing businesses and building infrastructure not just in London and the South East but across every part of our country.

It sets out Grand Challenges to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future, ensuring that the UK takes advantage of major global changes, improving people’s lives and the country’s productivity. The first 4 are focused on the global trends which will transform our future:

• AI and data
• ageing society
• clean growth
• the future of mobility

It has been taken forward at pace over the last year:

• Innovative ideas that bring together world-class UK science, research and innovation to develop cutting edge products and services of the future have received an extra £1.7 billion making it the largest increase for 40 years (to £7 billion). That includes £210 million to develop new medical diagnostic tools and treatments, £90 million for the food and farming industry to embrace agri-tech and £184 million for 41 UK universities to train the next generation of world-class scientists and engineers.
• 6 sector deals between government and industry have been published – from construction and automotive to nuclear and the creative industries, including £1.9 billion of investment in life sciences and £1 billion for artificial intelligence. They are not only about attracting investment and growth, but also ensuring we have the skilled, diverse workforce we need for the future.
• Plans for new technical qualifications (T-levels) and to transform the quality and quantity of apprenticeships. Furthered the connectivity of Britain’s towns, cities and rural areas, including the first allocations of the £190 million full-fibre challenge fund and £25 million for 6 5G testbeds across the UK.
• Opened the Transforming Cities Fund with billions of pounds ready to go to projects that drive productivity by improving connections within city regions.
• Opened the Faraday Institution in Oxford to keep the UK at the forefront of global battery manufacture. Announced plans for a new spaceport in Sutherland
• The UK now has the fastest growing infrastructure investment across the G7, providing £31 billion of additional capital spending to areas critical to improving productivity.
• Lunched the £9 million Centre of Data Ethics and Innovation to act as an advisory body to government and regulators on ethics of data and its use, including for AI.
• Launched the Patient Capital Fund, which will invest £2.5 billion in our most innovative companies.

Notes to editors

The aerospace sector deal includes:

• up to £125 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund for the Future Flight challenge
• a commitment to encourage more women into aviation
• £13.7 million to support SMEs to commercialise technologies
• the UK Aerospace Research Consortium of leading aerospace engineering universities will help industry understand emerging technologies, encourage collaboration and boost research and development
• encouraging the UK’s Aerospace sector to work with Local Enterprise Partnerships to deliver Local Investment Strategies
• collaborating with Devolved Administrations by putting in place apprenticeship standards that will help deliver the skilled individuals needed by the UK for it to prosper

Other funding to be announced today from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund includes projects to develop smart sustainable plastics packaging, accelerate early diagnostics in healthcare, harness the power of quantum technology, drive up manufacturing productivity (Made Smarter) as well as future flight. The funding will be delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, subject to business case approval and match funding from industry.

More than 100 Ministers, international sports organisations and experts from around the world will meet in London today to reaffirm the global commitment to tackling corruption in sport.

Delegates at the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) will discuss how to manage conflicts of interest in awarding major sporting events to ensure the process is fair and transparent.

They will also develop tools to prevent corruption around procurement at sports events and the way infrastructure contracts are awarded.

Today’s summit represents a strengthening of the international commitment to protect sport from the corrosive effects of corruption.

It is the first high-level IPACS meeting since the partnership was launched at the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Forum on Sport Integrity last year. The partnership’s mission is to bring international sports organisations, governments and inter-governmental organisation together “to strengthen and support efforts to eliminate corruption and promote a culture of good governance in and around sport”.

Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said:

We are proud to support the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport and today’s event is another important step in the ongoing fight to eliminate corruption from sport. Every fan and athlete should have faith that contracts are fairly awarded, events are given to the strongest bid and the highest standards of governance are being upheld.

Our Sporting Future strategy sets out a commitment to tackle corruption in sport and, working alongside our international partners and UK Sport, I am pleased to see that significant progress is being made through IPACS.

Co-ordinated by a Core Group of partners including the Council of Europe, the IOC, the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), the UK Government, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), IPACS consists of a Steering Committee composed of governments, sports organisations and inter-governmental organisations.

Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, said:

The IOC remains committed to fight corruption in sport at all levels. Integrity entails credibility, and corruption threatens the very credibility of sports organisations as well as competitions. We know we cannot win this fight alone, but need the support of governments when it comes to anti-corruption legislation and law enforcement.

That is the value of IPACS, a very pragmatic partnership which can get together quickly and offer effective solutions on pressing topics. The high-level support IPACS received today is invaluable and will further strengthen our team efforts.

Gabriella Battaini Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, said:

Match-fixing, illegal betting, bad governance, insider information, conflicts of interest, and the use of clubs as shell companies: the Council of Europe covers all these aspects through the Macolin Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, signed today by the UK Minister of Sport, as well as through the Council of Europe anti-corruption body, GRECO.

We are ready to develop further an inclusive co-operation framework with states and other international stakeholders to be put at the service of our IPACS partners. Because, when it comes to corruption in sport, there must be a change of gear. We must enable national governments, international organisations and sporting bodies to demonstrate their capacity to take on this problem in a spirit of unity, determination and effectiveness. IPACS was founded for precisely this purpose – and together we will meet the challenge”.

Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Deputy Secretary-General-elect of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said:

IPACS is further evidence that corruption can be defeated only through collective partnerships and actions. The OECD’s experience in the fight against all forms of corruption serve as the basis of our engagement with IPACS. Fighting corruption in sport is fighting corruption globally.

Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said:

In all of our efforts to combat corruption and organized crime, UNODC emphasizes the need for multi-stakeholder approaches which can set international standards and build capacities, while harnessing the expertise and experience of all actors.

IPACS, of which UNODC is a core member, is a great example of such an initiative. Together we can promote integrity, stop criminals from exploiting sport for illicit gain and harness the power of sport as a force for development and peace.

Attendees at the three-day summit include representatives from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association, Interpol and the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Yesterday (5 December) delegates reiterated their full commitment to upholding and implementing internationally recognised standards of integrity and anti-corruption in sport through engagement and collaboration with IPACS.

The next meeting of IPACS will take place by mid-2019, with the aim of discussing potential new focus areas for the Partnership and reporting on progress achieved since the 2018 High Level event.

Notes to editor:

• Corruption is not unique to sport. But the selection and organisation of major sporting events, the rapid commercialisation – and huge business interests and value – of sport, and the behaviours and structures that govern it carry high risks of corruption.
• As the custodians of sport, many international sports organisations have increasingly recognised the need for greater transparency and have taken active steps to reform and strengthen how they are structured and function, in line with major reform agendas such as the Olympic Agenda 2020.
• IPACS responds to efforts and calls by governments and other public authorities around the world to intensify the fight against corruption in sport. These include, amongst others, the commitment made by leaders at the 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit; the adoption of resolution 7/8 on corruption in sport by the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in November 2017; the resolutions adopted at the 14th and 15th Council of Europe Conferences of Ministers responsible for Sport in Budapest 2016 and Tbilisi 2018; and calls made by G20 leaders in the 2018 Hamburg Leaders Communiqué and – most recently – the 2019 Buenos Aires Leaders Communiqué.

The sweeping review of the rail industry, announced by the Transport Secretary in September, has moved significantly forward with the launch of the call for evidence today (6 December 2018).

Keith Williams, independent chair of the Rail Review and former British Airways chief executive, is inviting evidence from a wide range of stakeholders in all parts of the country, including passenger representatives, businesses, leading thinkers and investors, and local and devolved bodies and governments.

He is travelling across the country visiting cities, towns and regions that depend on rail connections, listening and gathering information that will help inform a transformation of the rail industry to benefit passengers and support a stronger, fairer economy.

Keith Williams said:

Creating a railway for the 21st Century passenger is at the core of this review.

We’re launching a call for evidence and want to hear from passengers, the industry, leading thinkers and investors – and also the cities, towns and regions who depend on their rail connections.

Next year, after forensic investigations and conversations with people across the country, we will deliver a white paper with ambitious proposals for change.

The review will consider ambitious recommendations for rail reform, building on the government’s franchising strategy and bringing track and train closer together to reduce disruption and improve accountability. It will also consider regional partnerships and how we can use innovation to improve services and value for money for passengers.

The government will publish a white paper on the review’s recommendations, with the implementation of reforms planned to start from 2020.

The businesses have come forward in the 6 months since the launch of the Education and Employment Strategy, which set out a series of measures to boost prisoners’ skills while in custody and improve their chances of securing work on release.

Reoffending costs the taxpayer £15 billion each year and evidence shows that ex-offenders in employment are up to 9 percentage points less likely to commit further crime.

A major focus of the strategy is to encourage a culture change within companies so that they see beyond an offender’s conviction to their potential as an employee.

The interested businesses span a range of sectors, including construction and retail, and they could join employers such as Virgin Trains, DHL and Recycling Lives which are among more than 300 around the UK already seeing the benefits of employing those with a criminal record.

Having registered their interest, the businesses will now work with the Ministry of Justice to explore how to take forward their relationship with prisons.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said:

I passionately believe that building up offenders’ skills and helping them into work encourages offenders turn their backs on crime, benefitting them and society as a whole.

I am delighted that so many businesses are recognising the value of giving ex-offenders a second chance and a job — their interest sends a clear message to offenders that if they work hard and behave well in prison then real opportunities await them.

I would encourage more businesses to consider getting involved in our New Futures Network and help ex-offenders into work.

Andy Milner, CEO of Amey, said:

At Amey, we believe in hiring the best people for the job, no matter what their background or history. For us, hiring ex-offenders is not only the right thing to do but it also makes good business sense.

There is a growing skills gap within our industry and within our prison population there is a pool of highly motivated people learning new skills such as engineering, carpentry and plumbing who just need someone to believe in them to help change their lives.

The ‘Passport into Employment’ programme we have in place as part of our prisons maintenance contract together with our waste recycling partnership with Recycling Lives is helping to support men and women to transform their lives and demonstrates our commitment to rehabilitating ex-offenders.

Other achievements since the strategy was launched include:

• Prisons in Yorkshire have secured a £250,000 investment to start a construction academy at HMP Leeds – to equip offenders with valuable skills ahead of release.
• A new body, the New Futures Network, has been established to build partnerships between prisons and employers – filling skills gaps in companies by providing job opportunities for men and women on release from custody.
• More than 160 education providers have signed up to deliver education in prisons, after a new system was put in place. Governors will be running competitions to bring in these new providers from April.

The new construction academy in Yorkshire will offer fully accredited qualifications to prisoners and will be funded by a £250,000 grant.

Offenders who graduate from the academy will help plug the skills gap in the sector – 44% of small and medium house-building businesses claim the shortage of skilled workers is reducing their ability to construct more homes.

The innovative new academy, based at HMP Leeds, is due to open in February 2019 and will benefit 168 participants across 7 prisons in the region each year.

Since the launch of the Education and Employment Strategy in May, a new body, the New Futures Network, has been established to work with employers to generate training and job opportunities.

It has already begun work in 3 areas – Yorkshire, Tees and Wear and Wales – and will be rolled out across England and Wales in 2019.

The Network, launched in October this year, will follow up with the 120-plus businesses and broker partnerships to create more prison workshops, paid placements for serving prisoners and jobs on release.

In November a new system was put in place providing governors with access to education providers from across the country. This has already attracted more than 160 education bodies, businesses and charities, providing courses ranging from construction to life skills and money management.

Notes to editors

• The project to establish the new construction academy will be delivered in partnership with the charity Bounce Back, which already works with HMP Brixton to train prisoners for construction.
• The academy is due to open in February 2019, with prisoners working to get the building itself ready prior to that.
• All skills training will be structured to take into account the average length of stay, average length of sentence, the need for continuity of learning, teaching of soft skills and tailoring the experience to the meet the needs of industry to ensure the best possible opportunity of employment outcomes post release.
• The launch of the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System has given governors direct access to a wide variety of educational providers, charities and businesses, to commission services for their prisons. So far more than 160 have signed up. They will be able to begin delivering courses from next April.