Food redistribution organisations across England will benefit from £3.25 million of government funding to help them cut food waste and redistribute up to 14,000 tonnes of surplus stock during the coronavirus outbreak.

From overcoming operational barriers in obtaining, storing and transporting food safely from restaurants as they close in response to coronavirus, to supporting drops in volunteer numbers, grants will be available to redistributors working hard to ensure valuable food supplies do not go to waste.

All food redistribution businesses and charities will be encouraged to bid for grants over the coming month, including those whose volunteer programmes have been affected by social distancing measures or those that cannot access their usual commercial support network.

This funding comes as the government continues to engage with the food industry to ensure the nation is fed, and people across the UK are supported in getting the food and groceries they need.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

I am proud of the many organisations across the UK working to ensure food and supplies are provided to those who need it most need during this challenging time.

This funding will support people in need while ensuring that we minimise the amount of food which goes to waste – benefiting both society and the environment.

Food Waste Champion Ben Elliot said:

Now more than ever, it is of paramount importance that we ensure good food does not go to waste.

This money will support food redistribution organisations to continue their pivotal work in delivering food to those who need it.

The Defra-funded grant scheme will be managed by sustainability not-for-profit WRAP, which works closely with governments, businesses, and redistribution organisations to minimise food waste.

Chief Executive of WRAP Marcus Gover said:

It is critical in these unprecedented times that we maximise the amount of surplus food redistributed.

These grants offer crucial financial support to redistribution organisations, where it will have the most impact. We know from managing redistribution funds that this money will make a huge difference to many people.

Today’s funding is the latest in a series of government grants to help tackle food waste, with last year’s Food Waste Reduction Fund ensuring nearly 2,000 tonnes of surplus food did not go to waste.

Rene Meijer, CEO of Sheffield-based food redistribution organisation The Food Works, said:

Over the past two weeks we have doubled the amount of food we redistribute, as many tonnes of food goes spare from businesses closing and people change their shopping habits.

Surplus food redistribution is all about providing resilience to the community, and at a time like this we need resilience more than ever to ensure good food does not go to waste and reaches those who need it.

It comes as the government introduces a series of measures to support people in getting the food they need during the coronavirus outbreak. On Sunday 29 March, the government delivered the first food parcels to vulnerable people who are being shielded from coronavirus – containing food and household items such as potatoes, fruit and tinned goods.

The government has also temporarily relaxed competition law to allow supermarkets to share data with each other on stock levels, co-operate to keep shops open and share distribution depots and delivery vans.

Application windows for the fund will be split in to three phases. For more information click here.

• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
• If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak we are following the Government’s advice on social distancing, with most Marine Management Organisation (MMO) colleagues now working remotely.

The health and wellbeing of our stakeholders, customers, partners and of course our MMO colleagues is our priority in these exceptional times. As a result of this we are changing the way we deliver our services including how we handle fishing vessel licensing applications.

The following guidance sets out the temporary changes to existing processes to ensure we continue to deliver a timely service in a safe way.

How to apply for your fishing vessel licence

Step one

Simply email your local admin office and let them know you want to apply for a Fishing Vessel Licence.

Step two

Your query will be picked up by our local FVL Admin Officers. The Admin Officer will then make contact with you by email, or by telephone if required.

Step three

You will be directed to or sent a form to complete via email (if there is more than one applicant, we will ask the initial contact for their details and we will then contact them to confirm they wish to proceed).

Step four

During this process we will ask for Photo ID, either a driving licence or passport. We will request further checks, if necessary. We will also require an electronic signature – the Admin Officer will advise how to do this.

Step five

Once the form is signed, checked and processed, it will be sent to the countersigning officer. Once everything is agreed a temporary electronic licence will be emailed out to the applicant.

Step six

Once operations are fully back to normal, the team will issue a full paper licence to replace the temporary electronic licence.

• UK Export Finance (UKEF) can insure UK businesses against the risk of non-payment when selling internationally
• the department’s export insurance scheme has been extended to major markets, including the US and EU
• government-backed insurance for UK exports to these markets will be available immediately

UK Export Finance has today announced it is expanding the scope of its Export Insurance Policy (EXIP) to cover transactions with the EU, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the USA with immediate effect. Exports from the UK to these markets totalled £499 billion last year, accounting for 74% of all international sales from the UK.

UKEF will help companies concerned about the impact of Coronavirus to export with confidence, by offering insurance that can cover up to 95% of the value of an export contract. The insurance will protect against the risk of non-payment should UK exporters’ customers become insolvent or their government actions make fulfilling the contract impossible.

Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart MP said:

Exports play a crucial role in our economy and it’s right that UK businesses trading internationally are protected during this challenging time.

That’s why we are offering a guarantee to these businesses that they will get paid, so they can continue to export with confidence and support the UK economy.

More than 230,000 businesses exported goods and services from the UK last year and over 95% of these were SMEs.

The Coronavirus pandemic is expected to put pressure on the ability of exporters to agree payment terms, while commercial credit insurance may become harder to obtain. By insuring against non-payment with UKEF, UK suppliers will have the confidence to continue trading and can offer more flexible payment terms to overseas buyers.

UKEF extends its cover to include countries that were previously excluded from the scheme after the European Commission relaxed rules this week regarding the provision of short-term export credit insurance.

ENDS

At about 22:43 hrs on Monday 23 March 2020, a 3-coach class 170 passenger train, operating the 21:05 Cardiff Central to Birmingham New Street service, was approaching Bromsgrove station when it collided with a class 66 locomotive that had become derailed at the end of a siding. The passenger train suffered significant damage along the side of all three vehicles, although it remained on the track and did not derail. There were 4 passengers and 2 crew on board the passenger train and none reported any injuries.

The locomotive had just travelled from Bescot to Bromsgrove, to act as a banking locomotive required to assist heavy freight trains up the 1 in 37 Lickey incline to the north of the station. It derailed as it ran through the buffers at the end of the siding adjacent to the mainline, and stopped with its front left corner foul of northbound trains. The driver of the locomotive was not injured in the collision, although the locomotive suffered damage to the corner of the leading cab.

Our investigation will identify the sequence of events which led to the accident. It will also consider any factors relevant to operation of the locomotive, how the risk of overrun within the siding was controlled and any relevant underlying factors.

Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.

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