Homes England has agreed funding deals with 12 local authorities to deliver 4,000 homes across England. The funding totalling £55million has been awarded through the Government’s £450 million Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) Programme and will support local authorities with a range of work required to prepare their sites for the development of new homes such as infrastructure enabling works, planning and technical expertise and site remediation.

The LAAC programme prioritises the use of modern methods of construction, which will increase the pace of delivery across the developments by an average of 40 percent.

The funding will be used to kick start the development of 4,000 new homes across England, including 1,400 at a 400 acre site at Horton Heath, Eastleigh. Eastleigh Borough Council purchased the site in 2018 and the development will benefit from £20.8million of LAAC funding to accelerate the delivery of a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom homes, including a minimum of 30 percent affordable housing.

Today’s announcement includes deals with local authorities from across England:

North:

City of York Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, Pendle Borough Council

South:

Eastleigh Borough Council, Medway Council, Dorset Council

Midlands:

Leicestershire County Council, High Peak Borough Council, City of Lincoln Council

East:

Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, South Norfolk Council

Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP, said:

“We haven’t built enough homes in this country for far too long – and our accelerated construction programme is here to change that, and fast.

“This £55 million funding boost will help councils get 4,000 new homes built across the country using the latest modern methods that cut down on construction time.

“We must keep building more, better, faster to meet our ambition to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.”

Stephen Kinsella, Executive Director for Land at Homes England, said:

“This funding will enable local authorities to accelerate housing delivery by enabling them to prepare sites for development and bring forward the construction of new homes incorporating modern methods of construction.”

ENDS

For more information contact Kate Hall, Communications Officer at Homes England on 0115 852 6900 or email kate.hall@homesengland.gov.uk

Notes to editors:

The Official Receiver, David Chapman, and Special Managers from EY – Alan Hudson, Hunter Kelly and Sam Woodward – announced today that certain parts of the business and assets of British Steel Limited (BSL) have been sold to Jingye Steel (UK) Ltd and Jingye Steel (UK) Holding Ltd (together Jingye).

The sale to Jingye includes the steelworks at Scunthorpe; UK mills in Teesside and Skinningrove; shares of FN Steel BV; and the TSP Engineering business based in Cumbria.

Discussions continue to resolve the regulatory approvals required to sell BSL’s French subsidiary, based in Hayange, to Jingye.

The sale secures approximately 3,200 jobs, while around 400 employees who have not received offers of employment are being supported by Job Centre Plus and the National Career Service to find new employment.

The Official Receiver said:

The sale of British Steel is the culmination of nine months of work to transition this business to a new owner committed to its future. I am grateful to the British Steel workforce for their professionalism during difficult times as the business continued to trade and to its customers who have continued to show their confidence in the products the company produces. This show of commitment was an essential element in concluding the sale.

My team and the Special Managers at EY are very pleased to have completed the sale. This is the best outcome in the liquidation and also ensures continued high-quality raw steel production in Scunthorpe.

Special Manager, Sam Woodward at EY, commented:

Maintaining the business in challenging market conditions whilst the right deal was secured, is testament to the commitment of BSL’s employees, customers, suppliers and the Trade Unions. Without it, the most likely outcome would have been the closure of the business, the loss of its rich heritage and significant impact on BSL’s supply-chain.

We would particularly like to thank the BSL workforce for their loyalty, through what has been an uncertain and difficult time for them and their families. The way that they have continued to produce a world leading product is a tribute to their ingenuity and desire to keep this business alive.

Jingye has shown a great desire to effect ambitious plans that will invest in British Steel and help the business to once again be competitive on the world map.

Sam Woodward added:

Although British Steel has been sold, securing approximately 3,200 jobs, around 400 employees have not received offers of employment in the new company. We recognise this will be a challenging time for those affected and support and advice has already been, and will continue to be, provided.

Further information

• On 22 May 2019 the High Court ordered British Steel Limited into compulsory liquidation. The Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator
• This page is being kept updated
• You can subscribe to receive an email alert when updates are available

Special Managers

The Court has appointed Hunter Kelly, Sam Woodward and Alan Hudson of EY to act as Special Managers to assist the Official Receiver with his duties as liquidator.

Change of company names in the liquidation

Following the sale of British Steel to Jingye, ‘British Steel Limited – in Compulsory Liquidation’ is now known as ‘SLB 2020 Limited – In Compulsory Liquidation’

Information for employees

Following the sale of British Steel to Jingye, the employment contracts of British Steel employees have been terminated. Jingye have engaged with British Steel employees and their representatives regarding new employment contracts.

The information in this section provides advice about claiming money you’re owed and where you can seek support.

Who is eligible?

You can apply to the Insolvency Service for redundancy and other payments if:

• you worked for British Steel Limited under an employment contract
• you live in England, Scotland or Wales

All redundant British Steel employees can apply to RPS for money you are owed, even if you are now employed by Jingye.

You can’t apply to the Insolvency Service if you live in Northern Ireland. Find out about your rights in Northern Ireland if your employer is insolvent.

How to apply

The Special Managers will give you details about how to apply and will also give you a case reference number (for example CN12345678).

Once you have this information you can apply online.

What you can apply for

What you can apply for depends on your circumstances. The Insolvency Service can pay:

• redundancy pay: if you’ve worked for British Steel Limited for at least 2 years
• pro rata holiday pay (known as ‘holiday pay accrued’): the leave you were entitled to take between the start of your leave year and the date you were made redundant

There are caps on what we can pay you for each type of claim. Find out how much we can pay you.

Paying your claim

On average the Insolvency Service’s redundancy payments service pays redundancy and related claims within 14 days of receipt of information.

Find more information about what we can pay.

Please don’t contact us about how to claim or to check the status of your application. This will help us deal with everyone’s application as quickly as possible.

An employee helpline has been established to answer any questions you may have. You can contact the Special Managers by email or you can phone 0161 333 2666.

Getting help

Redundancy: help finding work and claiming benefits.

Information for suppliers

You will need to register as a creditor in the liquidation if:

• you haven’t been paid for goods or services you’ve supplied to British Steel in liquidation
• you have paid British Steel in liquidation for goods or services that you haven’t received
• you are a worker or self-employed contractor who provided services to British Steel in liquidation

To register as a creditor you will need to complete a Proof of Debt form which you should then email to the Special Managers.

Once you have registered and the Special Manager receives your Proof of Debt form they will add you to the list of creditors and include you on future correspondence about the case.

Advice is available for businesses who face challenges arising from British Steel’s liquidation.

Sale of TSP Projects Limited

On 30 August 2019 the Official Receiver announced that TSP Projects Ltd (TSPP), a wholly owned subsidiary of British Steel Ltd (In Compulsory Liquidation), has been sold to SYSTRA Ltd.

Based in York, TSPP provides consultancy, design, engineering and on-site project management services. The sale of TSPP’s shares to SYSTRA Ltd – the UK subsidiary of French-based SYSTRA Group – will expand SYSTRA’s footprint in the UK and preserve over 400 jobs at TSPP. This transaction is a solvent sale and TSPP is not in any insolvency proceedings and remains liable to continue to support its pension scheme.

Other enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about British Steel you can email the Special Managers.

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) invites all those with a professional interest in ‘alternatives to Battery Power’ to a demonstration and discussion event on the 28th May. Our suppliers will be showcasing their projects’ innovation progression, developed through the MOD’s Beyond Battery Power Phase 2 competition; and a panel of experts from across government, military, industry and academia will be debating the societal demands and challenges for future alternatives to battery power.

The demonstrations will be led by our funded suppliers: University College London (UCL), University of Sussex and Artec Vida. UCL will display how the team has pioneered printed circuit board (PCB) fuel cells technology; the University of Sussex will showcase their development of a semi-free piston high-energy density generator; and Artec Vida will demonstrate an innovative prototype LPG-fuelled generator that is quieter, more durable and more efficient than previous models.

We are particularly interested in your attendance at this event if you have an interest in commercially exploiting such technologies.

Ian Ellerington, Head of Technology Transfer at the Faraday Institute will deliver the keynote speech. The Faraday Institute endeavours to make the UK the go-to place for the research, development, manufacture and production of new electrical storage technologies. Ian Ellerington joined the Faraday Institute after six years in central government where he was responsible for the government’s energy innovation programme.

Ian will join an esteemed panel discussion, chaired by DASA, including representatives from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the British Army and the competition programme. The panel will be open to questions and we will be encouraging a healthy discussion on generating alternative power sources, the potential for collaboration, and realistic exploitation routes to the end user. DASA’s Exploitation Manager and Business Mentor will be on hand too for further discussion.

To attend the event

To participate in this demonstration event, please register by close of play 22 May on the Eventbrite page . Please note that places for this event are limited.

Find out more about the Beyond Battery Power competition.

Help us improve GOV.UK

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone.

Email address

Send me the survey Don’t have an email address?

UK aid is investing in new research to develop nutrient-rich, climate-resilient super crops to improve the diets of people in the world’s poorest countries, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart announced today (Wednesday 22 May)

The Department for International Development (DFID) is to give fresh funding to help create the crops, which will improve the health and nutrition of women, adolescent girls and children under five in almost 14 million households in the developing world by 2022.

The UK aid funded crops are also bred to be more resilient to climate change. They are on display this week at the Chelsea Flower Show in a garden developed by female education charity, CAMFED. It is the first garden in the show’s history to feature such super crops.

International Development Secretary Rory Stewart said:

I’m proud that DFID is not only part of the first ever RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden to showcase climate-smart crops, but that we are also working with CAMFED to train female entrepreneurs in sustainable farming methods to support their communities in Zimbabwe.

It is often the poorest people who are the most affected by increasingly erratic weather and rising temperatures, which is why UK aid is supporting the development of the latest technology and science to help crops withstand drought and floods.

I hope the thousands of visitors to the show enjoy the garden and are inspired to take their own steps to help tackle climate change and protect our environment for future generations around the world.

Many varieties of these nutrient-rich crops can provide up to 80% of the daily vitamins required for women and children. These biofortified crops are also bred to have higher yields.

UK aid has already played a major role in the development of biofortified crops, which are now grown and harvested across 30 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-Asia. They include maize, cassava and sweet potato, all rich in vitamin A, beans and millet, rich in iron, and wheat and rice, rich in zinc.

DFID’s chief scientist Charlotte Watts said:

CAMFED’s garden captures so well the opportunities that science and innovation provide for modern development in Africa.

By harnessing climate and nutrition-smart technologies like biofortified crops, we can improve the livelihoods of thousands of women and girls. These crops are not just more resilient to droughts and diseases but provide a sustainable source of much needed nutrients to rural communities.

These, in combination with the transformative impact of education, are empowering women to run agricultural businesses and lift themselves and their households out of poverty.

Notes to editors

• DFID has announced today that it is investing a further £33 million in research on biofortification through its international research partnership with the CGIAR’s HarvestPlus and the International Potato Center.
• Biofortification is a proven technology which reduces nutritional deficiencies in crops. It helps minimise the gap between micronutrient requirements and actual intake by increasing levels of vitamin A, iron, and zinc— three of the micronutrients identified by the World Health Organization as most lacking in diets globally.
• The CAMFED Garden at RHS Chelsea “Giving Girls a Space to Grow”, aims to raise awareness of the role young women play in food production in Africa, and their leadership in tackling climate change. The garden features biofortified crops, alongside a range of crops that are typically grown in Zimbabwe. Also, on show are solar pumps and solar lights. The crops and solar technology have all been developed with support from UK aid through DFID’s Research and Evidence Division. After the show the garden will be moved to the Eden Project in Cornwall.
• HarvestPlus and the International Potato Center are developing more nutritious varieties of staple food crops, which contain higher amounts of vitamin A, iron or zinc. Regular consumption of these super crops improves people’s diets and health.
• HarvestPlus and the International Potato Center are both part of the international agricultural research system known as the CGIAR. The CGIAR is a network of 15 independent agriculture research centres operating in around 100 countries globally.
• The World Health Organisation estimates that around two billion people worldwide suffer from hidden hunger or a lack of key vitamins and minerals like iron and vitamin A.