Today (1 October 2018) the government and Cornwall Council have announced that direct flights between Newquay Airport and London Gatwick have been secured for a further 4 years, backed by funding from both organisations.

The service will see daily flights between the 2 airports, with 3 return flights on weekdays and 2 per day at weekends. Operated by FlyBe, the service will commence from October 2018.

This follows success of the previous route offered by Flybe, which saw demand almost double over 3 years. Gatwick flights now account for 40% of all passengers using Newquay Airport.

And the funding has further increased confidence in the airport, with other airlines operating new routes from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

Public Service Obligation routes are used to subsidise vital air connections and economic and social development in peripheral regions, where a clear business case is put forward.

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) are scoping the potential for an innovation competition addressing injury prevention in the British Army by means of wearable technology. We would like to engage the market to explore market interest and to aid the scope and design of a potential future competition in advance of launch. This will provide us with an understanding of what already exists for injury prevention that can be adapted for military use as well as truly novel solutions.

Background

A study in December 2017 showed that 19.8% of personnel were medically downgraded. Of the physical injuries represented in this figure the most common were musculoskeletal injury (MSKI), environmental injury (from heat and cold) and noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). As with any organisation requiring a physical presence there is an irreducible minimum. The best sports teams work with a 7 to 12% margin for all illnesses and this accords with Commander Field Army’s target of 90% deployability. In addition to the human cost behind these figures the rehabilitation of manpower capability accounts for over £100 million per annum.

The British Army is seeking rapid innovations to improve the deployability and overall health of service personnel through the use of data science and technology. The aspiration is to employ practical sensors (wearable technology) that will provide indicators and warnings prior to injury; to allow for early intervention and prevention of injuries.

The three focus areas for this market exploration are:

1. MSKI prevention: MSKI is recognised as the leading cause of medical discharge in the British Army. The study showed that 61% of the Army’s non deployable personnel were as a result of MSKI, of which the average soldier took 9.5 months to fully recover
2. environmental injury prevention: heat and non-freezing cold injuries (NFCI) accounted for 2.5% of downgraded service personnel
3. NIHL prevention: 5% of service personnel downgraded were due to NIHL, an increase on the previous year

All three areas are significantly impacting the operational effectiveness of the British Army notwithstanding the personal impact on our personnel.

What we want

We are interested in potential solutions that utilise science and technology as a means to prevent, not treat, injury in service personnel. We are looking for novel methods to provide early warning or prevention methods for physical injury, specifically using practical wearable technology.

We are also interested in ideas involving novel approaches to the data management and subsequent identification of issues using existing technology.

In the long term any technology must be scalable across the whole force, and should be compatible with the realities of military usage, such as robustness, and cyber security.

We are interested in potential solutions that aim to address any or all of the areas at any level of maturity, particularly those that are at a higher technology level which could be trialled within 6 months. Potential solutions should be presented by teams with the experience and knowledge necessary to establish sound scientific evidence for any potential technology.

By completing the Capability Submission Form neither the Government nor yourselves are committing to anything, but your submissions will be used to help focus the direction of the work and the requirements for a possible themed call in this area in the future.

What we do not want

We are not interested in literature reviews, paper-based studies, preventative medicine, non-technical solutions or marginal improvements to existing capabilities.

We are not interested in static scanning technologies or invasive technologies.

We are not interested in any novel theories for biomarkers or proxies for emerging issues which do not have a sound established scientific basis in the literature.

How to submit a Capability Submission Form

Complete the attached short form
Capability Submission Form for Wearable Technology
(ODT, 867KB)

, noting the word limits, and then email it to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk by midday 19 October 2018.

Please only provide details of one product or capability per form. If you have a number of potential solutions then please submit multiple forms.

If you have any questions then please email accelerator@dstl.gov.uk with Wearable Technology in the subject line.

How we use your information

Information you provide to us in a capability submission form, that is not already available to us from other sources, will be handled in-confidence. By submitting a capability submission form you are giving us permission to keep and use the information for our internal purposes, and to provide the information onwards, in-confidence, within UK Government. DASA will not use or disclose the information for any other purpose, without first requesting permission to do so.

The latest collection of cases detailing analyses of accidents involving vessels from the merchant, fishing and recreational sectors is now available here.

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon gave the following statement at the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 28 September 2018:

The UN Human Rights Council concluded its 39th session today with important resolutions on Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Burma and a number of other pressing issues.

As I said during my speech at the Council on 17 September, human rights remain under threat around the world. The United Kingdom remains committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and the rules based international system, of which the Human Rights Council is such an important part. It is essential that we work together with other UN member states to ensure accountability for those who violate the rights of their citizens.

While visiting the Council I was delighted to meet High Commissioner Bachelet during her inaugural session. Her extraordinary wealth of knowledge as well as her professional and personal experience will be invaluable in her role – I wish her well.

Burma

I welcome the Council’s establishment of a mechanism to collect and preserve evidence of the human rights atrocities carried out, primarily by the military, in Burma. This resolution, tabled jointly by the OIC and the EU, shows that the international community as a whole is united in its focus on Burma. The mechanism is an important stepping stone on the road to accountability and justice; Burma now needs to show it will cooperate with this mechanism. Burma’s government and military must also show that its Commission of Inquiry will be an impartial, independent and credible process that leads to perpetrators of human rights violations being held to account.

Syria

Turning to Syria, the Council must continue to shine a light on the dire situation there and I welcome the resolution adopted by the Council. The Commission of Inquiry has exposed the ongoing violations of international law, including the regime’s persistent use of chemical weapons, torture and forced displacement. Further steps to protect civilians are urgently needed, and so the agreement between Russia and Turkey to avoid a military offensive in Idlib is encouraging.

Yemen

I am pleased that the mandate of the Yemen Group of Eminent Experts has been renewed, though disappointed that a single consensus resolution was not possible. Given the gravity of the situation in Yemen it is important to give the Group of Eminent Experts more time to fully examine the conflict and to ensure that their conclusions accurately reflect the conduct of all parties in future reporting. It is clear that many incidents and alleged violations, committed by all parties, have not yet been fully documented, particularly those by Houthis in Hodeidah and the rest of Northern Yemen.

Venezuela

Elsewhere, I welcome the Lima Group’s resolution on Venezuela which reflects the deep international concern at the sharply deteriorating social and economic conditions affecting the Venezuelan people.

Sudan, Burundi, Central Africa Republic, Somalia and DRC

I am pleased that the Council renewed the Mandate of the Independent Expert on Sudan and note the Government of Sudan’s commitment to open a fully mandated OHCHR office. I also welcome the renewal of mandates of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi and the Independent Expert for Central Africa Republic, as well as the Council’s continued focus on the human rights situations in Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo.

I welcome the work of the Office of the High Commissioner to bring attention to the issue of the safety of journalists, and the strong message sent by the resolution adopted by the Council. States which stifle free speech and prevent or restrict media freedom do not thrive; politically, socially or economically. I condemn the increasing pattern of threats and intimidation of journalists, media workers and all those who want to freely express their views.

The work of the Human Rights Council is vital in bringing states together to protect and promote universal human rights around the world.

The UK Government plays, and will continue to play, an active role at the Council and will continue to support its efforts to hold to account those who perpetrate violations and abuses of human rights.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on Twitter @tariqahmadbt

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Charities can boost their donations by an extra 25 per cent for fundraisers like Macmillan Cancer Support’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ if they ask for donations rather than charging for food and drink.

Gift Aid can be claimed on charitable donations from taxpayers, but not when the money is given in exchange for goods. It is feared that many charity bake sales could be losing out because they directly charge for the item they are selling.

On the day of Macmillan’s Coffee Morning, which last year raised over £27 million to help support people living with cancer, the Minister is clarifying that by asking for donations instead of charging for food and drink, they can make the contributions go further. Macmillan has said that if everyone claimed Gift Aid on their Coffee Morning donations this year an extra £2 million could be raised.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Robert Jenrick, said:

From the Great British Bake Off to Macmillan’s charity Coffee Mornings, baking is one of our favourite national pastimes and one that often benefits great charities. We want to support this bake-off fever.

Too many are missing out on an extra 25 per cent boost to donations, which is costing good causes dearly.

That’s why I’m clarifying the Gift Aid rules for anyone running a Coffee Morning. If you ask people to make a donation and offer them a coffee or cake, you could be making 25 per cent more on the funds you raise.

Gift Aid costs no extra to add on to your donation. It allows charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASC) to claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated. To add Gift Aid to a donation, you must have paid income or capital gains tax that year worth at least the value of the Gift Aid being added and give the charity permission to claim it.
The Small Donations Scheme, introduced in 2013, does not require a declaration to be made for donations worth up to £20, making it simpler for charities to get extra support from government.