News story: British firms secure £2 billion of deals at Expo in Shanghai

The UK delegation secured more than £2 billion of commercial deals across a range of sectors including creative industries, healthcare, education, energy, mining and aviation. The deals include:

  • a £30 million partnership between Clipper Media Capital and Arca Pictures on film co-production
  • a deal between TPP and Shanghai Kunfu Bio Technology to roll-out an AI-led health management app in Shangai
  • a deal signed by Rolls Royce worth more than £850 million

In addition to the commercial deals that will have immediate benefits for the UK economy, CIIE saw China take some significant steps towards further opening its economy.

China’s ongoing efforts to open up, increase imports across both goods and services and improve the business environment were welcomed by the UK government, as were President Xi’s calls to relax investment restrictions in the education and healthcare sectors.

The UK delegation at the China International Import Expo

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said:

Shanghai Expo was a major success for UK firms with more than £2 billion of deals signed by businesses of all sizes – from SME’s in the creative industries to global powerhouses like Rolls Royce. China demonstrated a real desire for British goods and collaboration with British firms and the UK delegation took full advantage.

There were also very encouraging signs that China is genuinely committed to further opening up of its economy. And while we welcome the signals, we want to see a clear timeline for liberalisation and even further opening up including easing investment restrictions across all sectors, amending technology import-export regulations and ensuring government procurement follows WTO standards.

Further liberalisation in the services sector, in particular, is key for British firms as we have the world class expertise that many Chinese businesses need in order to reach their economic potential.

Baroness Fairhead, Minister for Trade and Export Promotion, said:

The UK Pavilion at the CIIE in Shanghai exhibited the very best of British innovation in areas like education, AI and big data where we are truly global leaders. UK businesses used this unique platform, and benefited from our country’s position as a ‘Country of Honour’, to secure substantial new sales.

There is real and significant demand in China for British products and services. Indeed, recent research from Barclays shows that Chinese consumers are willing to pay more for goods made in the UK because of their trusted quality.

Our department’s new Export Strategy aims to ensure British businesses are properly supported to capitalise on this opportunity. Our goal is to help UK companies build even further on last year’s impressive 28% growth of exports to China.



CoRWM plenary meeting dates and locations 2020

Calendar page

All our plenary meetings are open to the public.

Forthcoming CoRWM open plenary meetings are listed below. All dates are subject to change; please check this page for updates to meeting dates and locations.

Each plenary session ends with questions from the public and an opportunity to comment.

Date Time Presenter Location
15 September 2020 10am to midday   Cardiff
24 November 2020     Edinburgh

If you’d like to attend any of the plenary meetings, please email corwm@beis.gov.uk at least 1 week prior to the date of the meeting.

Please inform us of any access or other requirements that you have.

We are unfortunately unable to accommodate attendees who have not registered in advance.

Published 12 November 2018
Last updated 22 July 2020 + show all updates

  1. September 15 meeting to run from 10am until midday.

  2. 20 May 2020 open plenary cancelled.

  3. 18 March 2020 open plenary cancelled.

  4. The 18 March plenary will start at 10am instead of midday.

  5. September and November 2020 details added.

  6. Added 2020 dates.

  7. 12 November 2019 open plenary cancelled.

  8. 11 September 2019 open plenary cancelled.

  9. The 9 May Plenary will start at 12pm noon instead of 11am.

  10. Plenary session date changed from 13 November to the 12 November.

  11. September 2019 plenary meeting venue confirmed as London, 1 Victoria Street.

  12. June open plenary cancelled.

  13. First published.



News story: Apprenticeships at WorldSkills UK Live – 15 to 17 November

Bringing together over 70,000 young people with employers and a wide range of learning opportunities, including apprenticeships, WorldSkills UK Live hosts and promotes a diverse range of sectors, from engineering, construction, business, IT, hospitality, healthcare and creative arts.

Over the course of the three-day event, National Apprenticeship Service colleagues will deliver nine Spotlight Talks, to young people, parents and employers alike, on the benefits of apprenticeships, whilst running two main events. On day one, an NHS Round Table Event will reflect on and celebrate the commitment of NHS organisations across England in the recruitment of apprentices. On the same day, an Apprenticeship Ambassador Network event will celebrate the good work of apprenticeship ambassadors in reaching out to new and potential apprentice employers as well as apprentices to join the Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network.

The National Apprenticeship Service will have a presence throughout the event, with stands in the main hall, in the staff room and teacher zone and also in the university zone. Apprenticeship experts will be on hand to answer apprenticeship queries from young people, parents, teachers, employers and anyone else with an interest in apprenticeships.

For those organisations who work with employers to recruit apprentices, there will also be two smaller stands situated in the NEC for those organisations who are interested in finding out more about apprenticeships.

The National Careers Service will also be represented with 40 professionally trained careers advisers at the show. They will be on hand to offer impartial advice and guidance to visitors on everything related to careers. Careers advisers will also be delivering spotlight sessions and will be in the staff room talking about what the National Careers Service offer.

Keith Smith, Director, Apprenticeships, Education and Skills Funding Agency said:

WorldSkills UK Live is a huge hub of skills activity over three days, showcasing brilliant career options, skills competitions and giving everyone who attends the opportunity to explore ideas for their future careers.

Apprenticeships are an excellent career option, whether you are leaving school or college, or looking for a new career path. And our presence at WorldSkills UK Live means we can reach out to all those individuals considering an apprenticeship and support them with the next step. In addition, we will speak to employers about the benefits apprentices can bring to their businesses. We will also reach out to teachers and careers guidance staff, to provide them with the knowledge they need to help individuals make informed decisions about apprenticeships.

This three-day event really does bring skills and careers opportunities to life and is a fantastic moment in the skills calendar for apprenticeships.

Find out more about WorldSkills UK Live and following @worldskillsuk on Twitter.



Press release: Event brings North East Flood Wardens together

Teams of volunteer flood wardens across the North East are playing a vital role in helping protect their communities



Press release: Event brings North East Flood Wardens together

From Cleveland to Northumberland, there are groups of flood wardens in communities in the North East.

On Tuesday November 6, the Environment Agency hosted an event to say thank you, to bring groups together in one place and show how by working together they can be more resilient to flooding.

Flood wardens – from areas including Corbridge, Morpeth, North Tyneside and Croft-on-Tees – were also given a tour of the new state-of-the-art North East Area Incident Room, which opened a year ago, where it was explained to them the steps the Environment Agency takes during an incident.

Phil Taylor, the Environment Agency’s Flood Resilience Team leader for the North East, hosted the event along with the four Flood Community Engagement Officers who work across the region to support communities in preparing for flooding. He said:

The event was really successful and was our chance to say thank you to them for taking the time out of their busy lives to support their communities in preparing for and during and after a flood.

By bringing the different flood warden groups together, they were able to share ideas about their community flood plan, and learn from each other’s experiences. And it was an opportunity to talk about the work we are doing to recruit more wardens and set up new groups in communities at risk.

The local knowledge flood wardens can provide on the ground is invaluable. They complement our work by implementing their community action plans and offer a key point of contact for us to be able to warn and inform.

Northumbrian Water also attended the event with some of their volunteer Water Rangers as the two organisations work together to understand how both sets of volunteers can join forces.

The Environment Agency’s four Flood Community Engagement Officers – Taryn Al-mashgari for Tyne and Wear, Sarah Duffy for Cleveland, Anna Caygill for Durham and Darlington and Colin Hall for Northumberland – work together with local authorities to help communities understand the different types of flooding, whether they are at risk, and how to prepare in the event of a flood.

The Environment Agency is encouraging people to learn how to Prepare Act Survive in a flood to reduce the impacts of damage.