This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition is seeking proposals for novel and innovative technologies and approaches to access, disable and/or irreversibly destroy chemical and biological munitions, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) containing chemical and biological agents, and containers of bulk agents in challenging environments.

Following a successful Phase 1 competition, Phase 2 offers up to £1.5 million to fund emerging innovations at technology readiness level (TRL) 3 upwards to develop full-scale prototypes. Phase 2 of the competition will launch on 1 October 2019, virtually or at a location in London (to be determined).

This competition is jointly funded by the UK Ministry of Defence and the U.S. Department of Defense, and will operate under an existing memorandum of understanding between both nations.

Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, all member states are obligated to destroy any chemical weapons they own or possess, or that they abandoned on the territory of another member state. Whilst destruction technologies exist for this purpose, they are not appropriate for use in all circumstances. Recent events have increased focus on developing a toolkit to enable rapid and effective disablement or irreversible destruction of smaller caches discovered in resource-limited environments.

Through this competition, we will investigate novel or innovative new concepts or adaptions of current technologies. We expect these solutions will ultimately enable more rapid, effective and flexible destruction methods than are used for large stockpiles, and reduce logistical support requirements, whilst maximising ease of operation, transportability and ruggedness of the equipment. These improvements are expected to improve operational flexibility for a wide variety of scenarios.

This competition is focused on three main objectives:

• Access: Gain access to munitions, IEDs and bulk containers without relying on the original design features, such as filling ports
• Disable: Prevent munitions, IEDs and bulk agent being used as intended either temporarily or permanently
• Destroy: Permanently and irreversibly destroy munitions, IEDs and bulk agents

Where Phase 1 funded proposals were focused on single component parts, Phase 2 projects should focus on a system solution either by collaboration with other partners or by integration into existing technologies.

The competition will be formally launched at 13:00 on 1 October 2019. If you are interested in attending an event please register your expression of interest here by 14 August 2019 17:00 (BST). Accepted registrants will be sent full details and an agenda.

The Secretary of State for International Development Rory Stewart has appeared before world leaders at the United Nations to share the UK’s progress towards the Global Goals.

Mr Stewart used the opportunity to underline where challenges remain to meet the Goals by 2030, calling for the international community to be self-critical in its drive to achieve the ambitious targets.

The UK was a leading architect in the creation of the 17 Global Goals, designed to make the world a fairer, healthier, safer and more prosperous place for everyone, everywhere by 2030.

The International Development Secretary’s appearance at the UN yesterday (Tuesday, 16 July 2019) fulfils a commitment made by the UK and all other Member States to report back on progress towards the Goals in the form of a Voluntary National Review.

This follows the publication of a report in June this year which outlined how government, business, civil society and the public across the UK are making the Goals a reality, here at home, and around the world, and underlined challenges that remain to reach these ambitious targets by 2030.

Secretary of State for International Development Rory Stewart, said:

The Voluntary National Review process has brought the spotlight from what we do abroad to what we do at home. We have made progress. On climate for example, we have now committed to net zero by 2050. We have achieved remarkable employment figures, some of the best employment figures we have ever had historically. Over the last 10 years our education system has improved with more children in good and outstanding schools than ever before. But there are also very significant challenges in the development of Britain.

This has been a process of learning what we’ve done well and what we’ve done badly. It has been a process of learning from our devolved administrations for the work that Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales has undertaken.

For me as an International Development Secretary it has given me a unique insight into the challenges that developing countries have. The fundamental lesson from this is that development, whether abroad or at home in the United Kingdom, connects so intimately with this use of money, politics and power. And above all the lesson we must take from this is a lesson of humility.

The International Development Secretary was joined by leading British experts and advocates on data, climate and impact investment, who highlighted the need to keep the fight against the climate emergency at the heart of our work, and championed the importance of using private sector investment and data to drive progress towards the Goals.

Later this year world leaders will meet again at the United Nations General Assembly for the first Global Goals Summit. The UK will build on momentum from the review to reinforce its call for global ambition and accelerated progress in what will be the “decade of delivery” to achieve the Goals by 2030.

New inspections will examine how local services respond to children living with mental ill health, including:

• local authorities
• schools
• the police
• youth offending teams
• health professionals

The series of 6 joint targeted area inspections (JTAI) involving Ofsted, Care Quality Commission (CQC), HMI Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, and HMI Probation will begin in September this year. The inspections will include an evaluation of ‘front door’ services and how agencies are identifying and responding to children with mental ill health.

Inspectors will also undertake a deep dive inspection of how agencies assess and support the mental health of children aged 10 to 15 years old who are subject to child in need or child protection plans, or are a looked-after child.

Last year, statistics published by the NHS showed that one in 9 children aged 5 to 15 years old had a mental health disorder. In each area, inspectors will look at how agencies identify and intervene early to support children experiencing mental ill health.

Guidance published today sets out how the inspections will work in practice.

Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care, Yvette Stanley, said:

At a time when local authorities and their health partners are making difficult decisions about resources, it’s important that the needs of children with mental ill health are being met.

We are all responsible for children’s mental health. We don’t expect frontline practitioners to diagnose conditions, but we do expect them to be able to identify concerns and to know where to turn to for advice and support.

These inspections will help us to see where children’s mental health needs are being met and where things need to improve.

Ursula Gallagher, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice and Children’s Health, Care Quality Commission, said:

As part of the recommendations in our review of children and young people’s mental health services, we called for national action to make sure local services work together to support children and young people’s mental health needs.

As regulators, we also need to demonstrate the joined-up working that we expect to see in local systems. Coming together for these joint targeted area inspections, we will be able to provide an in-depth view of how agencies are supporting the mental health of children in some of the most vulnerable circumstances, and whether progress is being made to improve their care and support.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said:

Through our inspections of youth offending services, we have found support for children and young people with mental health issues to be variable across England and Wales.

We look forward to working with our partners to identify good and poor practice in this area. We want to ensure troubled children and young people get the support they need to thrive, not just survive.

JTAIs look at how effectively agencies are working together in their local area to help and protect children. Each set of joint inspections evaluates the multi-agency response to a particular issue or theme.

The findings from each inspection are published in a letter to local partnerships, clearly setting out what they are doing well and what they need to do to improve.

When all 6 inspections are complete, an overview report will be published to highlight learning and good practice on the theme of children living with mental ill health.

Under the new event management contract, CBA Events will support Sellafield Ltd to deliver a programme of employee engagement and stakeholder events at Sellafield, Warrington, and satellite offices and external venues in West Cumbria.

The contract was awarded using Sellafield Ltd’s LINC procurement tool, which is designed to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to bid for work with the company.

Head of Corporate Communications, Emma Law, said:

The contract award is further proof of the diverse breadth and depth of services that the Cumbrian SME community has to offer.

We were impressed by the CBA Events bid, both in terms of their proposed approach to working with us, but also their extensive experience with other organisations in the North West and across the UK. We look forward to working with them.

Tim Green, Director, from CBA Events, said:

We’re delighted to have been awarded this contract and are excited to start working with the Sellafield Ltd team to help deliver and progress with their events calendar.

Public sector organisations such as schools, hospitals and government departments have been reminded of the need to pay their suppliers on time and set an example for the private sector.

The government is currently warning its suppliers that they must pay 95 per cent of their invoices within 60 days, or run the risk of being prevented from securing future government contracts.

To lead by example, the government has said all public sector organisations must pay their suppliers within 30 days.

The Minister for Implementation, Oliver Dowden, said:

We are being very clear with government suppliers that they must pay their supply chain on time or face losing future government contracts.

So it’s only right that we say to the public sector that they must lead by example and make sure their suppliers are paid on time.

The government’s Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS) allows suppliers to raise any concerns they have about public sector buying and prompt payment.

Statistics published in the latest PPRS Progress Report show that between April 2018 and April 2019, the team unblocked more than £2.5m in late payments.

The majority of complaints received from suppliers regarding late payment focused on the wider public sector, with 61 coming from this area compared to eight from central government.

To help tackle the issue, the PPRS is working with the public sector to improve its payment rates and is carrying out spot checks to make sure payments are made on time.

The government’s Crown Representative for small businesses, Martin Traynor, said:

Making sure companies in the government supply chain are paid on time is very important – particularly for small businesses.

The difference between waiting 60 days and having to wait 90 days can be make-or-break for many small companies, so it’s vital that both the private and public sector work better in this area.