DECA Chief Executive Geraint Spearing and members of the Executive Management Board and Trades Unions greeted the Secretary of State for Defence on his arrival before a tour of the facility. The visit provided the opportunity for the Secretary of State to meet some of DECA’s team of world-class technicians and experience first-hand DECA’s electronics and components capabilities that were vital to securing the global F35 avionic component Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade assignment in November last year. This included demonstrations by the DECA team of our capabilities on in-service equipment across Air, Land and Maritime environments including some hands on experience in the DECA Capability Development Area.

The Secretary of State engaged with staff as he made his way around the Avionics Repair Facility, keen to see up close the precision work and ask questions on the activities on the shop floor including, Tornado Partnered Support, Typhoon fibre-optic cable repair work, secure communications and cryptographic activity that DECA staff from Sealand and deployed teams carried out on HMS Queen Elizabeth and DECA capabilities at our second site at Stafford.

Ian Ford, Typhoon Account Manager also provided an overview of DECA’s repair-not-replace capabilities for Typhoon components that has identified potential cost avoidance savings of over £30M that are being actively taken forward with Industry partners. Secretary of State also received an overview of DECA’s Test Solution and Software Development activities and was particularly interested in the recent obsolescence repair work and extremely positive customer feedback on urgent operational requirements for HMS Ocean’s Engine Safety System and to Sentinel Tactical Display Units.

Following a tour of the Team UK, F-35 Campaign Room, where Secretary of State was given an overview of the program and was introduced to members of the joint team (DECA, BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman), the Secretary of State addressed DECA staff in the dedicated facility that will house the global F-35 component hub saying,

I am delighted to be here today because I did want to see this facility close up and see the support you are giving to our armed forces. What you are doing here is part of helping to keep this country safe.

I have also seen something else here today. I have seen the repairs you have been doing to HMS Ocean and I hope those of you who worked on that project can take real credit and pride.

I was scheduled to come here earlier this year to congratulate you on winning the European repair hub for the F35 and also, of course, winning the case to be a global support provider. That was a partnership effort which I know many were involved in pulling together to make sure that Britain won that contract and I look forward to coming back here when some of this space is being used to service that contract.

Now that isn’t the end of the story, that contract itself opens up huge opportunities for us here in Britain. It is not properly understood that the F35 programme is the biggest fighter aircraft programme in history. Eventually we will see some three thousand aircraft in service with over a dozen different air forces.

And you are part of that and your bid to win that contract opens up future opportunities for even more F35 work. You are not only playing a critical part in our nation’s defence, you are actually doing something rather different, you are advertising Britain’s skills, British technology and British brainpower. You are advertising that to the rest of the world, so thank you.

A total of 50 members of the Armed Forces and one civilian have been named in the latest Operational Honours and Awards List.

The full list, which recognises and honours service on operations is below.

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Colonel Thomas Julian BATEMAN, MBE

Brigadier Robert Geoffrey LOWTH

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Major Simon Nicholas GUEST, Royal Army Medical Corps

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Keith TOMLINSON, MBE, Corps of Royal Engineers

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Colour Sergeant Samuel Joseph McCORMICK, MC, Royal Marines

Surgeon Lieutenant Commander William SHARP, Royal Navy

Colour Sergeant George Ashley CHANNINGS, The Parachute Regiment

Major Michael John DEVENISH, The Rifles

Sergeant Dhaniram RAI, The Royal Gurkha Rifles

Military Cross (MC)

Marine Matthew David COTTRELL, Royal Marines

Acting Colour Sergeant Christopher MORRIS, Royal Marines

Colour Sergeant Simon Timothy COX, The Parachute Regiment

Queen’s Gallantry Medal (QGM)

Sergeant Matthew Peter DOUGLAS, The Parachute Regiment

Mention in Despatches

Sergeant Will PAGE, Royal Marines

Marine David WOTHERSPOON, Royal Marines

Lance Corporal Gwyn Michael DAVIS, The Parachute Regiment

Colour Sergeant Gavin Peter HAILEY, The Parachute Regiment

Colour Sergeant Adrian Marcus MILLER, The Parachute Regiment

Queen’s Commendation for Bravery

Lieutenant James Edward MYHILL, Royal Navy

Sergeant Mathew Robert LONGHORN, The Parachute Regiment

Captain Mark POWELL, The Royal Logistic Corps

Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service

Lieutenant Commander James Alexander BROWN, Royal Navy

Chief Petty Officer Engineering Technician (Weapon Engineering) Darren John CULVERHOUSE, Royal Navy

Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Luciano DE REYA, MBE, Royal Marines

Leading Logistician (Supply Chain) Andrew James GILL, Royal Navy

Major Thomas Fergusson GLOVER, Royal Marines

Lieutenant Commander Ben Russell MARTIN, Royal Navy

Leading Medical Assistant Naomi MASON, Royal Navy Medical Service

Commander Richard Ashley NEW, Royal Navy

Acting Petty Officer Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering Submarines) Aaron SMITH, Royal Navy

Colour Sergeant Martin THOMSON, Royal Marines

Captain Benjamin Rogerson BARKES, The Light Dragoons

Colonel Nigel Jonathan BEST, OBE

Lieutenant Colonel Carl William BOSWELL, The Rifles

Sergeant David CLARK, The Royal Logistic Corps

Sergeant Matthew Peter COLLINS, Intelligence Corps

Corporal Luke John FLANAGAN, Royal Corps of Signals

Corporal Kieran Zen HAIG, The Royal Regiment of Scotland

Warrant Officer Class 2 Steven James MACTAVISH, The Royal Anglian Regiment

Corporal Christopher Carl MAY, The Rifles

Staff Sergeant Gary David MILES, Intelligence Corps

Acting Lieutenant Colonel Robert John NICHOLLS, The Parachute Regiment, Army Reserve

Lieutenant Colonel Edward David Lionel MASKELL-PEDERSEN, Royal Corps of Signals

Squadron Leader Thomas Charles John BENSON, Royal Air Force

Acting Flight Sergeant Stewart Andrew FORRESTER, Royal Air Force

Wing Commander Christopher John LAYDEN, Royal Air Force

Squadron Leader Gemma Ann LONSDALE, Royal Air Force

Squadron Leader Liam Anthony TAYLOR, Royal Air Force

Dr Gregory Benjamin FREMONT-BARNES, Civil Servant

NON-OPERATIONAL GALLANTRY

Queen’s Gallantry Medal (QGM)

Leading Seaman (Seaman Specialist) Sally Louise HUGHES, Royal Navy

Queen’s Commendation for Bravery (QCBA)

Sergeant Stephen John ALLCOCK, Royal Air Force

Government has confirmed plans for a new generation of council and housing association homes. Funding for affordable homes will be increased by a further £2 billion to more than £9 billion.

The numbers of homes will be determined on type and location of housing, and bids received for funding. With a typical £80,000 subsidy, this £2 billion investment can supply around 25,000 more homes at rents affordable for local people.

Ministers also confirmed plans to create a stable financial environment by setting a long term rent deal for councils and housing associations in England from 2020.

The funding will further support councils and housing associations in areas of acute affordability pressure, and where working families are struggling with the costs of rent and some are at risk of homelessness.

This complements recent announcements on supporting tenants in the private rented sector and on extending Help to Buy.

The government’s Affordable Homes Programme will increase from £7.1 billion of public funding to £9.1 billion, and the £2 billion additional funding for affordable housing could lever in total investment by housing associations and councils of up to £5 billion.

Since April 2010, around 333,000 affordable homes have been delivered, including 240,000 for rent. More than twice as much council housing has been built since 2010 than in the previous 13 years.

As set out in the Housing White Paper, to help encourage more investment in social housing, government will create a stable financial environment by setting a long term rent deal for councils and housing associations in England.

Under the proposal set out today, increases to social housing rents will be limited to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1% for 5 years from 2020. This will give social tenants, councils and housing associations the security and certainty they need.

Previously, the government’s affordable housing policy primarily supported ‘affordable rent’ – rents of up to 80% of local market level – and low-cost home ownership. This announcement now extends support for ‘social rent’ – which are lower rents, set according to national guidelines.

These latest measures reinforce this government’s approach to back housing of all tenures – with more social housing; extra security for those in the private rented sector; and helping people get onto the housing ladder.

With a typical £80,000 subsidy, this £2 billion investment can supply around 25,000 more homes for social rent over the course of Parliament.

The announcement on rent policy beyond 2020 will be reflected in a direction to the Social Housing Regulator, which the government will consult on next year.

Latest council housing build figures can be found within the Live Tables on house building – table 244.

Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans for an independent review of mental health legislation and practice to tackle the issue of mental health detention.

There have been concerns that detention rates under the Mental Health Act – passed more than 3 decades ago – are too high. The number of detentions has been rising year on year. Last year on average there were 180 cases a day where people were sectioned under the terms of the act.

The Mental Health Act sets out rights and obligations that govern when and how the state can detain and treat someone in relation to their mental illness. It includes specific provision for individuals in contact with the criminal justice system.

People from black and minority ethnic populations are disproportionately affected, with black people in particular being almost 4 times more likely than white people to be detained.

The review will be chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, a former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It will seek to address concerns about how the legislation is currently being used, and give recommendations for improving practice in the future.

The review will look at existing practice and evidence. It will consider the needs of service users and their families, in order to tackle injustices and improve how the system supports people during a mental health crisis.

In particular, the review will consider:

• why rates of detention are increasing – what can be done to reduce inappropriate detention and improve how different agencies respond to people in crisis

• reasons for the disproportionate number of people from certain ethnic backgrounds, in particular black people, being detained under the act, and what should be done about it

Following consultation with stakeholders, Sir Simon will produce an interim report identifying priorities for the review’s work in early 2018, and develop a final report containing detailed recommendations on its priorities, by autumn 2018.

The review is part of a set of measures to improve mental health provision and tackle what the Prime Minister has described as the ‘burning injustice’ of mental illness.

Next week (10 to 15 October 2017) the 7 female entrepreneurs will travel to Boston, Massachusetts on an international entrepreneurial mission, hosted by Innovate UK, Digital Catapult and the British Consulate General Boston.

The mission will help the women better understand and access international markets. It coincides with HUBweek 2017, the city’s festival for the future where artists, innovators and creators come together to support collaboration for innovation.

Meet the founders

All of the companies selected are innovating in human and machine interaction, such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things and virtual and augmented reality.

The female founders are:

• Claire Spencer, CEO of Data Solver, which provides privacy-by-design management software that will help businesses comply with the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
• Kriti Sharma, CEO of Lumi, which is a virtual business assistant that uses AI to help users manage admin, finance, HR and IT tasks
• Louise Doherty, CEO of PlanSnap, a social planning app that allows users to create and invite people to opt into your plan, regardless of whether or not they are on the app
• Nicole Blyth, Founder of RelocateGuru, which is designed to help the nearly 1 billion people who relocate to a new town or country every year to find friends and get local tips, advice and recommendations
• Christine Boyle, CEO of Senergy, which has developed the world’s first nanocomposite solar thermal panels. These can be manufactured and installed at 50% lower cost than existing metallic solar collectors
• Samrien Hussain, Director of Tick Tock Unlock, an immersive entertainment company that designs, builds and operates escape game venues. Future plans include supplying virtual reality experiences to other venues and launching a free-roaming product
• Diane Douglas, CEO of Vigiles is developing augmented and merged reality gamified mobile apps to improve health and safety awareness. Its first product is a fire safety app for young people in student accommodation

The businesses were chosen by a panel of judges. This was made up of Priya Guha, Ecosystem General Manager of RocketSpace, Guy Pattison, CEO and Strategy Director at Long Run Works, Sabine Hauert, President and Co-founder of Robohub.org, Natasha Lytton, Head of Marketing and Communications at Seedcamp, and Marija Butkovic, Founder and CEO of Women of Wearables.

Louise Doherty, CEO of PlanSnap.

The programme

During the mission there will be opportunities for delegates to:

• better understand the challenges and opportunities in the US
• meet and pitch to potential customers, investors and partners
• gain insight into new markets for human-machine interaction
• hear from international thought leaders
• learn how to develop a market-entry strategy
• take part in practical workshops and get mentoring support to improve pitching
• network with other entrepreneurs in the same field

They will also get the chance to get involved in UK government’s GREAT campaign, which is designed to showcase the best the nation has to offer, to encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in the UK.

About infocus

Our infocus programme is designed to support and empower people who are currently under represented in business innovation by providing them with the resources, advice and self-belief to succeed.

This mission is the latest activity being run under the infocus women in innovation campaign. Through this campaign we aim to remove some of the barriers and get more women in the UK innovating.