Transforming foundation industries: apply for a fast start project

The aim of this competition is to bring businesses from different foundation industries together to work on common resource and energy efficiency opportunities.

Foundation industries are:

  • cement
  • paper
  • glass
  • ceramics
  • metals
  • bulk chemicals

We will fund cross-sector and collaborative research and development projects aimed at improving the productivity and competitiveness of the sectors’ companies and supply chains, and encourage companies to stay in the UK.

Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £5 million in innovation projects for the foundation industries through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Project details

These will be cross-sector, collaborative, fast start, short duration, industrial research and development (R&D) projects.

Your project can focus on any part of the manufacturing process, including:

  • feedstock inputs
  • production
  • material product development

Your project must not focus on fuel switching or technologies for the capture of emissions, such as carbon capture and storage.

Eligibility

Your project must:

  • have total eligible costs between £50,000 and £500,000
  • be collaborative
  • be led by a UK registered business of any size, or a research and technology organisation
  • include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
  • include at least 2 businesses, of any size, from at least 2 foundation industry sectors
  • last between 3 and 12 months
  • be ready to start in July 2020

You do not need to be in the foundation industries to lead the consortium.

Competition timeline

The competition is open for applications and closes on 5 February 2020 at midday.

There are briefing events for potential applicants:

  • 14 November 2019: London
  • 20 November 2019: Wales
  • 21 November 2019: Northern Ireland
  • 22 November 2019: Online
  • 27 November 2019: Scotland


Academy NW seminar: “Prevention is better than court”

seminar audience

seminar audience

Thursday, 28 November, 2019

featuring

Tom Dooks │ Senior Manager │ Youth Justice Services (CE, CWaC, Halton & Warrington)

and

Sean Creaney │ Lecturer in Psychosocial Analysis of Offending Behaviour │ Edge Hill University

In this free seminar Tom will present a model for diverting children away from the criminal justice system, and explore the strategic challenges inherent in designing, sustaining and scaling out diversionary schemes. Sean will then examine the extent and nature of children’s participation in decision making in youth justice. He will also critically explore children’s ability to express agency and influence matters that affect them and discuss the challenges professionals experience when centralising the voice of the child.

For further details and booking follow this link

Published 30 October 2019



Prisoner escort contracts awarded

Prisoner escort contracts awarded

The revised contracts for the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS) will build on the current arrangements within England and Wales – introducing an updated fleet of escort vehicles with enhanced safety and security features, and an innovative digital platform which provides real-time data on the location of detainees and prisoners who are being moved.

These changes will improve the efficiency of the PECS service as well as overall safety, security and decency for prisoners. They will also realise significant benefits during the 10-year term of the contracts such as reducing the number of delays at court, stopping mixed transportation of adult and youths and minimising the time a prisoner spends in a court cell or prison van.

The contracts were awarded following a competitive procedure. GEOAmey Ltd and Serco Ltd offered the best overall bids in terms of quality and cost and the contracts will start from 29 August 2020.

Performance will be monitored through monthly meetings to ensure high standards are maintained and suppliers are held to account.

Notes to editors

  1. PECS provides the safe and secure transport of prisoners, including: adults; children and young people to and from Police Stations; Courts; Prisons; Secure Training Centres (STCs); and Secure Schools (SCHs)
  2. PECS has been managed by private sector providers since 1994. The fourth generation of contracts will commence 29 August 2020.
  3. Serco Ltd has been selected to provide the service across the whole of the South of England region and GeoAmey PECS Ltd will cover the North region.
  4. For further information please contact the Ministry of Justice press office on 0203 334 3536.

Published 30 October 2019



78 NHS trusts to receive new cancer screening machines

The 78 trusts that will benefit from funding for new cancer testing and detection technology have been announced.

The new machines will improve screening and early diagnosis of cancer, and are part of the government’s commitment to ensure 55,000 more people survive cancer each year.

Last month the Prime Minister announced the extra £200 million in funding for new cancer screening equipment. 78 trusts will receive funding over the next 2 years to replace, refurbish and upgrade:

  • CT and MRI scanners – bringing in alternatives with lower radiation levels
  • breast screening imaging and assessment equipment

Replacing and upgrading machines will improve efficiency by:

  • making them easier to use
  • being quicker to scan and construct images
  • reducing the need to re-scan

This new equipment also brings new capability, with many machines enabled for artificial intelligence (AI) so the NHS is ready for the challenges of the future.

Each trust has been allocated funding for new machines based on an assessment of local infrastructure and local population need. They will all contribute to the NHS Long Term Plan’s goal of catching three-quarters of all cancers earlier when they are easier to treat.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

This new state-of-the-art equipment for 78 trusts across England will ensure doctors and clinicians can help even more people survive a cancer diagnosis and stop the disease as early as possible.

It’s mission critical that the technology our NHS uses to prevent and diagnose cancer is brought into the 21st century. We have backed the roll-out of these new machines with £200 million in funding, as part of our Long Term Plan, backed by an extra £33.9 billion a year.

Cally Palmer, National Cancer Director at NHS England, said:

Cancer survival is at a record high thanks to better prevention, earlier diagnosis and world-leading treatments in the NHS.

This major investment in the best modern scanning technology will benefit patients in every part of England, helping us to achieve the NHS Long Term Plan’s ambitions of catching tens of thousands more cancers earlier when they are easier to treat, saving 55,000 more lives every year.

East of England

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Bedford Hospital NHS Trust

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust

Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

London

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

Whittington Health NHS Trust

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

Barts Health NHS Trust

Midlands

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

North East and Yorkshire

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

North West

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust

Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

South East

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Isle of Wight NHS Trust

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

South West

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

North Bristol NHS Trust

Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust



Joint Statement on Xinjiang

Mr. President,

I have the honour to read this statement on Xinjiang on behalf of a group 23 countries including:

Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United States of America and of course the United Kingdom.

We share the concerns raised by the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in their August 2018 Concluding Observations on China regarding credible reports of mass detention; efforts to restrict cultural and religious practices; mass surveillance disproportionately targeting ethnic Uighurs; and other human rights violations and abuses in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

We call on the Chinese government to uphold its national laws and international obligations and commitments to respect human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, in Xinjiang and across China. The Chinese government should urgently implement CERD’s eight recommendations related to Xinjiang, including by refraining from the arbitrary detention of Uighurs and members of other Muslim communities. In view of these concerns, we call on all countries to respect the principle of non-refoulement.

Furthermore, we call on the Chinese government to allow the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Special Procedures immediate unfettered, meaningful access to Xinjiang.

Mr. Chair, I’ll close with a question: What measures should the Chinese government undertake to address the concerns raised in CERD’s Concluding Observations regarding restrictions on the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to freely participate in cultural life?