Tag Archives: HM Government

The Government wants to make the UK a world-leading destination for companies offering launch services. New legislation to regulate launch is currently before Parliament and in early 2018 the UK Space Agency will announce the outcome of its call for grant proposals to achieve low cost access to space. In total 26 proposals were submitted to the call, and the UK Space Agency is currently considering grant applications to support the first launches from UK soil.

These initial missions from the UK will pave the way for a commercial launch market, where multiple small satellite launch vehicles and sub-orbital spaceplanes could pursue rising global demand from a number of UK spaceports.

Launch companies that choose to base themselves in the UK will benefit from access to the UK’s world class space and aerospace manufacturers on their doorstep. The LaunchUK roadshows aim to raise awareness of this opportunity and the wider benefits of having launch capability in the UK – to companies in the supply chain, for example.

Science Minister Jo Johnson, speaking at the first Launch UK event in Belfast on 9 November, said:

“This is genuinely one of the most exciting industrial opportunities the country has.

“We need to get behind it as government and we are. We’re pulling together a really exciting programme for industry that we want you to be aware of to take full advantage of it.

“One of the things we’re doing is to put in place a new regulatory framework that will make it possible for us to compete in new segments of the space value chain.

“We see this as an opportunity that is going to be good for businesses in this sector throughout the UK, in every part of the country.”

LaunchUK will spread new opportunity throughout the space and aerospace sectors. The UK Space Agency and its partners want to explore how the market could develop, what opportunities it offers for new supply chains, and how the benefits can be delivered across the UK.

The following roadshows are coming up:

• Nottingham, 15 November 2017
• Harwell, 24 November 2017
• Durham, 29 November 2017
• Cardiff, 5 December 2017
• Glasgow, 15 December 2017

There will also be a chance for the public to find out more about plans for small satellite launch and sub-orbital flight from UK spaceports, with each roadshow having an open evening with experts from the UK Space Agency and Civil Aviation Authority on hand to answer questions.

Visit our [LaunchUK Roadshow event page] for more information.](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/launchuk-roadshow)

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We are here on the European end of the efforts to keep the Iran nuclear deal going after what we were doing last week in Washington, trying to make sure that they don’t unscramble it on the Capitol Hill and the White House.

And clearly the effort is all about seeing what we can do to push back on some of the disruptive things that Iran is doing in the region, whilst not throwing the baby out with bathwater and keeping an essential nuclear deal going. The deal whereby Iran pledges not to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for economic co-operation. There will be obviously discussion on the Middle East more widely, the stability of the region. Everybody wants to see for instance a sovereign and independent Lebanon as I said in a statement last night.

More widely than that we got new sanctions on Venezuela – which we, the UK has been leading on, trying to get Mr Maduro to see sense about what he is doing and we’ll be looking at the new European plans for defence and security co-operation. The UK is supportive of these as I often say. We are there as a flying buttress to support the cathedral and we think there’s a lot of promise in the ideas and we’ll be backing them up.

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Amongst the discussions was a meeting with her Australian counterpart, Minister Christopher Pyne, who is responsible for procurement for the country’s military.

Australia is the UK’s 13th biggest export market, with £8.6bn of goods and services sold in 2015 and the Type 26 Global Combat Ship has been shortlisted for Australia’s Future Frigate programme.

The Type 26 is an advanced Anti-Submarine Warfare frigate that will provide essential protection to Britain’s nuclear deterrent and new aircraft carriers.

Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin said:

From the first world war to defeating Daesh in the Middle East right now, the UK and Australia continue to fight side-by-side for the values we both share.

In the face of mutual intensifying threats, the strong relationship between our countries allows vital discussions over how best to protect ourselves. As the Australian Navy looks for a new frigate, the Type 26 is a very strong candidate and I hope to see it form the backbone of our Five Eyes partners’ navies for decades to come.

Minister Baldwin touring Australian Navy Fleet Command facilities in Sydney.

The visit to Australia comes shortly after Minister Pyne came to London and met Minister Harriett Baldwin earlier this month.

During his visit, BAE Systems announced that they had awarded a further 15 manufacturing contracts to suppliers of the Type 26 programme. Not only did that increase the number of UK maritime jobs supported by the programme to over 4,500, but it also included contracts with two Australian companies, showing the deepening co-operation between the British and Australian defence industries.

The Australian Army show Minister Baldwin the Bushmaster vehicle.

On the flipside of the countries’ export relationship, the UK was Australia’s fifth largest export destination in 2016, valued at almost A$15bn. Whilst in the country, the Defence Minister viewed a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle demonstration.

The Bushmaster protected vehicle, already in service with the Australian Army, is manufactured by Thales Australia and is one of two potential solutions under consideration as the UK looks for another troop-carrying vehicle and protected battlefield ambulance. A decision on the procurement, package two of the UK ‘Multi-Role Vehicle–Protected programme’ (MRV-P), is anticipated next year.

Alongside Australian Defence Minister Pyne the Defence Minister announced the intention to look at the feasibility of fitting a cutting-edge Australian radar on future British warships. The pair announced that a capability study to fit CEA Technologies’ ‘CEAFAR’ radar to British ships will begin early next year at the second Australia/UK Defence Industry Dialogue in Adelaide. The radar is already in-service with the Australian Navy.

Minister Baldwin at CEA with British High Commissioner to Australia, Menna Rawlings, looking at radar systems.

The Defence Minister also laid a wreath on behalf of the UK at a Remembrance Sunday commemoration event in Canberra on Saturday.

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Sir John Parker has been appointed as the lead non-executive director for the Cabinet Office and will take up the role from 15 November.

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Public Health England (PHE) has announced the projects which have been awarded funding from the HIV Prevention Innovation Fund for 2017 to 2018. The projects have been chosen from across England to receive total funding of £600,000 from the Department of Health through PHE.

PHE received over 70 submissions from different organisations for funding for local HIV prevention initiatives. Projects that provided innovation were welcome, especially those that:

• acknowledge and address the wider determinants of high risk behaviour
• promote the prompt diagnosis of both HIV and other STIs, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM)
• address stigma associated with HIV
• integrate HIV prevention into health promotion and service delivery in other health areas
• support increased knowledge, awareness and understanding including of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, especially in currently underserved populations

HIV remains a public health concern despite major advances in treatment and reductions in diagnosis. In 2015, an estimated 101,000 people in the UK had HIV with 13,500 unaware and at risk of unknowingly passing on the virus to others. The risk of infection is higher in certain groups of the population; such as gay and bisexual men and Black African communities. However, targeted and innovative local initiatives that reach out to these and other groups can help reduce the risk of people contracting or passing on HIV.

Two examples of local initiatives receiving funding from PHE are the Sex Talk project run by National Prison Radio which will create information designed for prisoners to address issues of stigma around HIV and the Sholay Love project run by NAZ which aims to raise awareness of HIV and STIs and encourage testing amongst south Asian gay men in London, Bradford and Leeds.

Commenting on the innovation fund and the winning projects, Public Health Minister Steve Brine said:

Now in its third year, the HIV Prevention Fund continues to foster local innovation projects which aim to tackle HIV in more targeted and impactful ways, especially for those most at risk. The 12 projects announced today will boost local action and spread best practice to further reduce rates of HIV across the whole country.

Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement, PHE said:

The HIV Innovation Fund continues to foster new approaches to HIV prevention. The 12 projects receiving funding have been chosen as they offer new and exciting ways to address key issues in HIV prevention, working particularly with groups at high risk. These projects will help share innovation and best practice around the country, helping other areas to replicate progress in London on lowering rates of HIV.

More information

The 12 HIV Innovation Fund projects are:

• Digital anti–stigma campaign (developing digital content, videos and social marketing targeting higher risk communities) – Martin Fisher Foundation, Brighton and Hove
• I Am Because We Are (Challenging HIV issues and stigma within Black African communities) – BHA For Equality, Greater Manchester
• Improving uptake and safe use of PrEP in underserved populations (creating online assessment tools for PrEP and facilitating safe usage) – Terence Higgins Trust, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
• MAP Tyne and Wear (capturing local knowledge about male sex workers to inform and shape other sexual health services) – Gateshead, Sunderland and North Tyneside
• “MIND” The Gap (developing a HIV and sexual health training programme for mental health service staff) – Herts Aid, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire
• PrEP (raising awareness of PrEP amongst MSM, BME and trans communities) – Spectra, South West London
• Prepping for PrEP (improving awareness of PrEP amongst at risk African communities by engaging key community members) – Positive East, East London and Hertfordshire
• PROMOTE (creating digital outreach and support services for male sex workers and their clients) – Bristol Drugs Project, Bristol
• Reducing Barriers to Testing (facilitating self-testing within Black African communities – Terence Higgins Trust, Wolverhampton
• Sex Talk on National Prison Radio (creating information for prisoners to address issues of stigma around HIV) – Prison Radio Association, England, Wales and Scotland
• Sholay Love (raising awareness of HIV and STIs and encouraging testing amongst south Asian gay men) – NAZ, London, Bradford, Leeds
• The Morning After Project (providing education and harm reduction in chemsex via a dedicated project worker) – Summit House Support, Dudley

Background

PHE Innovation Fund:

The National HIV Prevention Innovation Fund is funded by the allocation from the Department of Health to PHE for HIV prevention and sexual health promotion. This is the third year of the innovation fund in which PHE have awarded funding to a total of 32 projects (7 in 2015 to 2016, 13 in 2016 to 2017 and 12 in 2017 to 2018). Projects submitting HIV prevention proposals to the HIV Innovation Fund must have local authority endorsement in order to be eligible for the fund. The innovation fund is advertised at the HIV Prevention England website where application details are available.

HIV in the UK, 2016 PHE report:

The HIV in the UK 2016 report, estimated 101,200 people were living with HIV in the UK in 2015. Of those, 13,500 or 13% were unaware of their infection and at risk of passing on the virus to others. The majority, 69% were men and 31% were women. The HIV prevalence in the UK is estimated to be 1.6 per 1,000 population, or 0.16%. HIV incidence among gay, bisexual and other MSM remains high. HIV incidence (the number of new infections) among gay, bisexual and other MSM, hereafter referred to as gay or bisexual men, remains consistently high; in England an estimated 2,800 gay or bisexual men acquired HIV in 2015 with the vast majority acquiring the virus within the UK. Overall in 2015, 47,000 gay or bisexual men were estimated to be living with HIV, of whom 5,800 or 12% remained undiagnosed. (Updated estimates of the number of people living with HIV will be published by PHE on 15 November 2017).

HIV: Surveillance, data and management:

The HIV in the UK Health Protection Report and annual HIV data tables comprise the number of HIV diagnoses, late HIV diagnoses and numbers accessing HIV care. Data can be interrogated and analysed at Local Authority level via an online tool allowing a range of outputs to be generated. The December 2016 edition of Health Matters, PHE’s resource for local authorities and health professionals focuses on increasing HIV testing.

HIV testing:

It is easy to get tested for HIV. Testing is freely available through GP surgeries, local hospitals and sexual health clinics as well as on self-sampling and self-testing (see NHS Choices for further information). As well as getting tested, using a condom with new or casual partners protects against HIV and other STIs.

Public Health England (PHE)

Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. We do this through world-leading science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and the delivery of specialist public health services. We are an executive agency of the Department of Health, and are a distinct organisation with operational autonomy to advise and support government, local authorities and the NHS in a profesionally independent manner. Follow us on Twitter: @PHE_uk and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland.

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