Developing our North Sea oil and gas has been a Great British success story.

Since the first wells started producing in the 1960s we have created a secure domestic energy supply, created thousands of high quality jobs, delivered billions to the economy and driven the growth of a huge engineering sector that we have exported to the world.

Even with the amazing improvements in North Sea production, volumes are declining and we are now importing almost half of our gas supplies.

Although we are in no way reliant on Russian gas despite what the Russians would have you believe.

Because gas is so important for our economy we know that we will need it for decades to come.

It also fits with our world-beating climate goals as it generates less CO2 than oil and coal.

That is why every estimate of our 2050 emissions reductions targets from the independent Climate Change Committee includes gas in our energy mix and why it is right to continue to look for gas that can be safely extracted from the potentially huge reserves hundreds of metres beneath our feet.

And there are other benefits too.

Shale gas extraction could provide a big clean growth boost for local communities as part of our modern Industrial Strategy – bringing thousands of high quality jobs, local investment and financial benefits to many parts of the country.

And our world-leading environmental regulations mean we could create even more investment and export opportunities from innovations like recycling waste water.

There are those who argue strongly against shale gas, using the most colourful and scaremongering language they can find and intimidating local communities and decision makers with lots of protestors from out of town.

In my experience, most of these arguments are made by people who actually just don’t want us to use gas at all – now or ever.

While we should all be hugely proud of our huge progress on renewables that delivers almost 30 percent of our electricity needs, we cannot meet our energy and heat needs now, or for many years to come, at a price we can afford, without using the gas that geography has gifted us.

That is why we committed to support the development of onshore British shale gas and to deliver a clean safe and affordable energy supply for the country.

It is why I have set out these changes to the planning and regulation regime to make sure there is support available for all involved in this process.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke this afternoon with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of the G7 summit next month.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Trudeau for his support at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April in London. They reflected on the positive work done at the summit and both agreed they were looking forward to continuing this momentum at the G7.

Prime Minister Trudeau welcomed the significant commitment made at the summit by the UK to girls’ education in developing countries. He noted this would be a key area for Canada at the G7, to which the Prime Minister offered her support.

The leaders had a broad discussion about the upcoming G7, including the importance of the G7’s rapid respond mechanism to hostile state activity. They reflected on the common ground their countries shared on security matters.

They agreed that coordination between members states would be key across the G7, with Prime Minister Trudeau reiterating his ongoing support to work begun by the UK at CHOGM on ocean plastics.

The Queen has been graciously pleased to signify Her intention of conferring the following Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life:

Nominations from the Leader of the Conservative Party

1. Diana Barran MBE – founder and lately chief executive of SafeLives

2. The Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Garnier QC – lately Member of Parliament for Harborough and former Solicitor General

3. The Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst – lately Member of Parliament for Saffron Walden and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons

4. The Rt. Hon. Peter Lilley – lately Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden and former Secretary of State for Social Security

5. Catherine Meyer CBE – founder and lately chief executive of Action Against Abduction

6. The Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles – lately Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar and former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

7. The Rt. Hon. Sir John Randall – former Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Treasurer of HM Household and Deputy Chief Whip. Vice-Chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister

8. Amanda Sater, JP – lately Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. Chairman of StreetGames and of The Queen’s Club Foundation

9. The Rt. Hon. Andrew Tyrie – lately Member of Parliament for Chichester and former Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee

Nominations from the Leader of the Labour Party

1. Martha Osamor – campaigner on immigration, employment rights and racial discrimination

2. Pauline Bryan – author and campaigner

3. Iain McNicol – lately General Secretary of the Labour Party

Nomination from the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party

1. Dr. William McCrea – lately Member of Parliament for South Antrim

Privy Council Appointments

The Queen has been pleased to approve that Baroness Chakrabarti be sworn of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.

Knighthoods

The Queen has been pleased to approve that the honour of Knighthood be conferred upon The Rt. Hon. David Evennett MP.

The conference will bring together the Borderlands Partnership, stakeholders and local and national politicians in a bid to enhance the proposals that will be made to both the UK and Scottish governments later this year.

Keynote speakers at the conference will include David Mundell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, and Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work. Other keynote speakers still to be announced.

David Mundell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland said:

The Borderlands Growth Deal is a genuinely innovative initiative and has the potential to transform the economy of the whole region, both in the South of Scotland and across the border, creating jobs and increasing prosperity. It aims to build on the successes of city and growth deals across Scotland that are already delivering benefits for people and businesses. I have been impressed with proposals put forward by partners and look forward to continuing fruitful discussions as we work towards a deal.

Keith Brown MP, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work said:

We have made clear our commitment to a deal for the Borderlands that will drive inclusive growth across the area. Indeed, we want to see every part of Scotland benefit from this sort of focussed, transformational investment.

We want to ensure that the Borderlands deal complements the Scottish Government’s commitment to establishing a new enterprise agency for the South of Scotland, and have been running a series of events across the South of Scotland to hear what the people who live and work in the area want. I look forward to the event in June as an opportunity to hear from stakeholders across the Borderlands – their aims, aspirations and ambitions for the deal and how was can work together to make them happen.

Carlisle MP John Stevenson was confirmed as the Borderlands Champion for England in the UK Prime Minister’s Questions on 2 May 2018.

John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle, added:

Borderlands is a unique opportunity for our region. The work which the five Councils have already done is very encouraging. I am delighted, as the Prime Minister’s Champion for the Borderlands, to support the Conference. It will offer participants a chance to hear what work has been done as well as have the opportunity to influence the proposals.

The conference will take place between 9am and 3.30pm. Places can be booked via http://www.borderlandsgrowth.com/get-involved

The conference will enable stakeholders to hear about the work to date, the ambition for the Borderlands region and give them the opportunity to provide their input through workshop sessions.

The proposed Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal is unique and is a partnership that brings together the five cross-border local authorities of Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council and Scottish Borders Council to promote the economic growth and competitiveness of the area that straddles the Scotland-England border.

A Borderlands Partnership spokesperson said:

Our first conference is a fantastic opportunity for key stakeholders from right across the area to hear about the work of the Partnership so far and the very positive support we’ve had from both governments to date. Later this year we will submit further propositions regarding potential programmes and projects that could be developed under the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal to the two governments. The conference workshops will give the many stakeholders the chance to discuss these at an early stage and provide their feedback and input and their support will help strengthen our case.

The partners are working on a collective ambition to unlock the potential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth across the south of Scotland and north of England.

The themed topics that the Borderlands Partnership has been working on are: Energy; Digital; Transport Connections; Business; Destination Borderlands; Quality of Place; Rural Productivity; and Skills and Innovation.
The Borderlands partners continue to meet key stakeholders on an ongoing basis.

If you would like to discuss opportunities, ideas and possible working relationships, or would just like more information, visit the Partnership website http://www.BorderlandsGrowth.com or email info@borderlandsgrowth.com.

Optical and photonics business Qioptiq has opened a new £3.7 million warehouse in St Asaph, North Wales, that will support an £83 million contract with the Ministry of Defence.

The six-year contract saves the MoD £47 million and means Qioptiq will ensure vital night vision equipment is available to UK armed forces around the globe.

The company’s success came after it realised it needed to take a more collaborative approach to its work and gain outside expertise on reducing costs through a leaner supply chain.

It entered into a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Cardiff Business School and KTP associate Thanos Goltos.

Expertise helped Qioptiq win major contract

Thanos worked for Qioptiq under the supervision of business school academics. His expertise in inventory forecasting showed how the business could reduce its inventory by 25%.

Peter White, managing director of Qioptiq, said:

The KTP has produced outstanding results. Historically, we operated a complex supply chain, but Thanos’s expertise has developed a toolset we could use to support our integrated logistics supply operations.

For this opportunity we acknowledged we needed to take a more collaborative approach to external funders and expertise. The partnership has helped secure a major contract from the MoD to support equipment vital to the safety of our soldiers in frontline operations.

Qioptiq designs and manufactures photonics products for a range of markets including medicine, life science, defence, manufacturing and aerospace. It is part of the US corporation Excelitas Technologies, which employs more than 500 people in North Wales.

Thanos said:

It was a great opportunity for me to put my expertise to good use under supervision from two highly experienced academics. It’s been a tough, enjoyable journey, and the results have been well worth the effort.

The KTP was co-funded by the Welsh Government, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Innovate UK. The Welsh Government also invested in the new warehouse at St Asaph.