News story: infocus global: EMERGE Boston 2017 mission – apply to take part

Applications are now open for the first Innovate UK infocus global entrepreneur mission for women focusing on human and machine interaction.

Innovate UK, Digital Catapult and the British Consulate General Boston are inviting female entrepreneurs to take part in a new global trade mission to the US.

EMERGE Boston 2017 is a one-week delegation of female founders to Boston, Massachusetts. It takes place from 10 to 15 October 2017.

The mission will coincide with Boston’s HUBweek, a collaboration that will bring together the most creative and inventive minds in technology, science and innovation.

EMERGE Boston 2017 will provide access to new international market opportunities for up to 15 UK SMEs looking to grow globally. It offers:

  • access to Boston’s innovation community and networks
  • a chance to pitch your ideas to investors
  • mentoring support
  • practical workshops
  • coaching and training
  • a technology showcase at HUBweek’s Demo Day

Are you eligible?

EMERGE is for female-led innovative startups and SMEs based in the UK. You can apply if you are a female founder working in human and computer interaction innovation with high growth potential. These can include:

  • artificial intelligence / machine learning
  • robotics
  • the Internet of Things
  • virtual and augmented reality

How to apply

  • register your interest and receive application details by email
  • complete the application form and provide a link to your 2-minute video pitch
  • contribute £1,500 towards the cost of the mission
  • the deadline for applications is Monday 4 September 2017
  • we will notify successful applicants on Friday 15 September 2017

About infocus

Innovate UK launched the infocus programme in 2016. Its aims are to:

  • get more women innovating in business
  • give female entrepreneurs the support they need to grow their businesses
  • create new role models for the next generation

Why go on a mission?

Take part in EMERGE Boston 2017 and you could:

  • get a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in exporting to the US
  • find potential customers, investors and partners
  • get insight into new markets for human machine interaction
  • discover fresh ideas and insight from international thought leaders
  • boost your profile in the UK and overseas through the GREAT Britain campaign
  • improve your company and product pitches for international customers and investors
  • learn how to develop a market-entry strategy


News story: £325 million invested in NHS transformation projects

On 19 July 2017, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens announced £325 million of capital investment for local projects that will help the NHS to modernise and transform care for patients.

Local capital investment schemes in 15 areas of the country have been given the go ahead, with the largest sums being used for urgent care in Dorset, surgery in Greater Manchester and cancer care in Cumbria.

The projects receiving funding include the following:

  • in Greater Manchester, hospitals will deliver significant improvements in urgent and emergency care by concentrating services in 4 hub sites across the city, expected to save around 300 lives each year in general surgery alone

  • in Bedfordshire local doctors and nurses are developing a primary care hub on the site of Bedford Hospital, which is expected to improve access to same-day appointments for around 50,000 patients and reduce the number of patients attending the hospital’s A&E department unnecessarily

  • in Derbyshire an ‘Urgent Care Village’ will be created at the Royal Derby with GP services, a frailty clinic and mental health services, to ensure patients receive the right care in the right place, first time, and avoid going to A&E unnecessarily

This initial funding has been targeted at the strongest and most advanced schemes in the STP categories based on an assessment of leadership and service performance. All plans have been developed locally in consultation with the public.

The funding was secured in the Budget in March when the government also committed to make further capital investment available in the forthcoming Autumn Statement.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

This funding will support strong local plans to help the NHS modernise and transform care for patients.

A measure of success of these transformation partnerships is that people can see and feel improvements being made in their local area – there are already excellent examples of this across the country and this money will allow them to go further and faster.

NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens said:

Today we’re firing the starting gun on the first wave of major service upgrades and care redesign which will benefit people living in counties, towns and cities across England. For patients it’ll mean easier GP appointments, modern A&Es, and better cancer and mental health care. For staff, we’re putting our money where our mouth is in backing these practical plans developed by doctors, nurses and local NHS leaders.

This is the first down payment of much needed investment in modern equipment and NHS facilities, with more promised in the autumn and beyond. Today is proof positive that when you back the NHS with investment, both patients and taxpayers see the practical benefits.

The strongest STPs have performed well across indicators in 3 broad areas: hospital performance, patient-focused change, and transformation.



Corporate report: Environment Agency annual report and accounts 2016 to 2017

The report details operational and financial information and highlights projects and progress towards the Environment Agency’s corporate objectives.



Official Statistics: UK protected site Extent and Condition Statistics results to 2016

The extent indicator is a calculation of the net (non-overlapping) extent of protected areas using mean high water as the boundary between the at-sea and on-land measures. The indicator was expanded in 2014 to include wider countryside designations. The extent of protected areas is assessed over time since 1950, in the marine and terrestrial environments. The site condition statistic covers the cumulative proportion of Areas of Special Scientific Interest (Northern Ireland) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (England and Scotland) in ‘favourable’ or ‘unfavourable-recovering’ condition, over the last decade. These statistics are part of the UK Biodiversity Indicators.



Official Statistics: Latest official statistics on tuberculosis (TB) in cattle in Great Britain – monthly

Updated: Updated with latest statistical notice for July 2018.

This publication presents official monthly statistics on tuberculosis (TB) in cattle (i.e. bovine TB) in Great Britain. The statistics are obtained from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) work management IT support system, which is used for the administration of TB testing in GB. They are a snapshot of the position on the date on which the data were extracted. The information is subject to regular revision until all test results are available.

More detailed statistics for GB, England, Scotland, Wales and the English regions are provided in the accompanying spreadsheets. These datasets are updated monthly. The full statistical notice, including the headline statistics, is updated every quarter.

  • for quarterly national statistics see here
  • for datasets see here

Next update: see the statistics release calendar

For further information you can contact:
tb.statistics@defra.gov.uk
Twitter: @DefraStats