The new prison at Glen Parva, Leicestershire, will play a crucial role in cutting crime by training up to 500 prisoners at a time in the skills of the future such as coding, recycling and waste management to help them find a job on release in new and emerging technologies and dramatically reduce their chances of reoffending.

All prisoners will also have access to in-cell technology to work towards a range of qualifications, such as maths, English, IT and engineering.

The major infrastructure project acts as a blueprint for the government’s ambitious prison-build programme, which will create 20,000 modern, rehabilitative places by the mid-2020s. The programme is backed by unprecedented funding of £3.8 billion confirmed in last week’s Spending Review.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said:

We are delivering the biggest and most innovative prison-building programme in a century.

Glen Parva represents the future, using in-cell technology to raise literacy and numeracy standards, and designing workshops to get offenders into work – to drive down re-offending, and protect the public.

In all, the new prison will be 35 per cent greener than HMP Berwyn in North Wales which was opened just 4 years ago.

The new prison, opening in 2023, has been largely built off-site using cutting edge technology – speeding up construction and minimising waste. Rubble from the old, demolished prison on this site has been reused and will use green energy including more than 960 solar panels and infrastructure for electric vehicle charging points.

The construction project has also piloted the use of power generators which have been converted from diesel use to be fuelled by specially treated vegetable oil – cutting CO2 by 90 per cent through this fossil-free technology.

Following on from Glen Parva, the next four new prisons have been specially designed to further cut carbon emissions by at least 85 per cent – ultimately saving 280,000 tonnes of carbon and slashing energy bills by £100 million.

As part of the government’s plans to build back greener and reach net zero by 2050, prisoners will also help to plant over 3,500 trees this winter, which will prevent 875 tonnes of carbon emissions during their lifetime. Tree nurseries will be established at a further seven prisons which will eventually grow 100,000 trees from seed every year and provide offenders with the opportunity to gain horticultural skills and qualifications – bolstering their chances of employment on release.

Offenders at HMP Garth are being trained up in the production of LED lights, which use 62 per cent less electricity and are expected to save the Prison Service around £2.5 million in energy costs a year once installed across the estate.

And an additional £12 million investment is funding the installation of solar panels at a further 19 prisons in England and Wales, bringing the total number of panels across the estate to over 20,000. More than 200 electric vehicle charging points are also being installed for staff across 40 jails.

Notes to Editors

• Our next 4 prisons will be built to operate as net zero in the future – see GOV.UK for further information
• when built, the new jail in Glen Parva will create around 1,700 modern prison places

• Government and NHS updates booster booking system to allow people to book their jab a month in advance, making it easier and more convenient to get a vaccine

• Change to system means booster can be pre-booked before someone is eligible

• Booster programme continues at pace with more than 9.3 million top-up jabs already administered

• Immunity to COVID-19 reduces over time, particularly for older adults and at-risk groups

The government and the NHS have changed the booster booking system to make it even easier for people to get their jab.

From Monday 8th November, the National Booking System will allow someone to pre-book their booster appointment a month before they are eligible.

Everyone aged over 50 and all those most at risk from COVID-19 should get a booster six months after their second dose. Currently, someone can only book an appointment at six months.

From Monday, they will be able to book their appointment after five months. This means that someone could pre-book their jab for the day they reach the six month milestone, rather than waiting days or weeks for a convenient appointment.

More than 9.3 million people have already received their top-up vaccine, ensuring the vital protection they have secured from their first two doses is maintained over the winter months. This change to the booking system will further speed up the booster rollout, getting more jabs in arms and protecting our loved ones.

People can also book by calling 119 or get vaccinated at hundreds of walk-in sites across the country six months after their second dose without an appointment. Those eligible can use the NHS online walk-in finder to locate the most convenient site.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

COVID-19 vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and your family ahead of a challenging winter and this change to the booking system will make it as easy as possible for people to book their booster jabs.

This will accelerate the booster programme, ensure the NHS is able to vaccinate people as quickly as possible, and importantly help more people maintain protection against COVID-19 as we know immunity will dip over time.

Please do not delay – come and get the jab to keep the virus at bay.

The colder weather traditionally leads to increased transmission of viruses and will be challenging for the NHS.

Vaccines give high levels of protection but immunity reduces over time, particularly for older adults and at-risk groups, so it is vital that vulnerable people come forward to get their COVID-19 booster vaccine to top-up their defences and protect themselves this winter.

The latest evidence from SAGE shows that protection against symptomatic disease falls from 65%, up to three months after the second dose, to 45% six months after the second dose for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, and from 90% to 65% for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Protection against hospitalisation falls from 95% to 75% for Oxford/AstraZeneca and 99% to 90% for Pfizer/BioNTech.

Although the vaccine effectiveness against severe disease remains high, a small change can generate a major shift in hospital admissions. For example, a change from 95% to 90% protection against hospitalisation would lead to doubling of admissions in those vaccinated.

The booster programme is designed to top up this waning immunity. Early results from Pfizer show that a booster following a primary schedule of the same vaccine restores protection back up to 95.6% against symptomatic infection.

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said:

The COVID-19 booster programme is making great progress – thank you to the NHS and everybody who has come forward so far to secure vital protection ahead of the winter.

I encourage everybody eligible for a booster and flu vaccine to book your jab as soon as possible to keep yourself and your loved ones safe over the coming months.

Last week, clinical guidance was updated to enable COVID-19 boosters to be given slightly earlier to those at highest risk, where this makes operational sense to do so. This includes care home residents who may have received their second doses at different times to be vaccinated in the same session, as long as it has been five months since their second dose. It may also help with other vulnerable groups, such as housebound patients, so that they can have their flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time.

Vaccine confidence is high with data from the Office for National Statistics showing nearly all (94%) of those aged 50 to 69 say they would be likely to get their COVID-19 booster if offered, with the figure rising to 98% for those over 70.

NHS national medical director Stephen Powis said:

Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff well over seven million people in England have already received their lifesaving booster vaccine, as the NHS moved at pace to get jabs in arms, within less than 48 hours of getting updated advice from the JCVI.

While this winter is undoubtedly going to be different, the most important thing you can do is come forward for both your Covid booster and flu jab as soon as possible – now with the added convenience of booking in advance – making it even easier to protect yourself and loves ones.

Flu is another winter virus that can be serious. To give people the best protection over winter, those eligible for a free flu vaccine should come forward and book an appointment at either their GP practice or their local pharmacy, or take it up when offered by their employer or other healthcare provider.

The offer of a first and second COVID-19 vaccine remains open to anyone who is eligible. Vaccines are available free of charge and from thousands of vaccine centres, GP practices and pharmacies. Around 98% of people live within 10 miles of a vaccination centre in England and vaccinations are taking place at sites including mosques, community centres and football stadiums.

There are more than 500 extra vaccination sites now compared to April this year, with 1,697 vaccination centres in operation in April 2021, and over 2,200 vaccination centres in operation now.

Vaccines are also available for those aged 12-15 to offer the best possible protection this winter in schools, as well as over 200 vaccine centres.

The government has launched a nationwide advertising campaign, encouraging people eligible to get their booster and flu jabs to protect themselves and their loved ones and help reduce pressures on the NHS. This includes outdoor billboards, broadcast and community radio and TV.

Forty-five governments, led by the UK, will pledge urgent action and investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming at the COP26 Nature and Land-Use Day happening today (Saturday 6 November).

Approximately one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, forestry and other land-use – creating an urgent need to reform the way we grow and consume food in order to tackle climate change.

Urgent action on land use is needed as demand for food increases. We are currently losing forests, damaging soils and rapidly destroying other ecosystems that play a critical role in absorbing carbon and cooling the planet. Farmers’ livelihoods are also under increasing pressure as climate change impacts on productivity. To help farmers adapt and to make our food system more resilient for the future, more sustainable practices are essential.

Countries from across the world will set out their commitment to transform agriculture and food systems through policy reforms, research and innovation in order to reduce emissions and protect nature, whilst securing food and jobs. This includes leveraging over US$4 billion of new public sector investment into agricultural innovation, including the development of climate resilient crops and regenerative solutions to improve soil health, helping make these techniques and resources affordable and accessible to hundreds of millions of farmers.

This commitment includes a pledge to support internationally agreed “Action Agendas” which set out steps that governments, farmers and others can take through policy reform and innovation to deliver the changes necessary for sustainable food systems. Sixteen countries will launch a “Policy Action Agenda” and more than 160 stakeholders will join a “Global Agenda for Innovation in Agriculture” to lead the way on the global transition towards climate resilient agriculture and food systems to more sustainable ways of farming.

As part of the Prime Minister’s commitment to spend at least £3 billon of International Climate Finance on nature and biodiversity, the UK will launch a new £500 million package to help protect five million hectares of rainforests from deforestation, an area equivalent to over 3.5 million football pitches. The funding will create thousands of green jobs, including in sustainable agriculture and forestry, throughout rainforest regions and generate £1 billion of green private sector investment to tackle climate change around the world.

Speaking ahead of Nature and Land-Use day, Environment Secretary George Eustice said:

To keep 1.5 degrees alive, we need action from every part of society, including an urgent transformation in the way we manage ecosystems and grow, produce and consume food on a global scale.

We need to put people, nature and climate at the core of our food systems. The UK government is leading the way through our new agricultural system in England, which will incentivise farmers to farm more sustainably, create space for nature on their land and reduce carbon emissions.

There needs to be a fair and just transition that protects the livelihoods and food security of millions of people worldwide – with farmers, indigenous people and local communities playing a central role in these plans.

UK will also outline a range of new funding commitments from the £3 billion fund for nature, including:

• Nearly £25 million out of the £150 million from BEIS’ Mobilising Finance for Forests (MFF) programme will be invested to develop sustainable supply chains in tropical countries
• An investment of over £38 million into a new global research initiative through the world’s leading agricultural research organisation, the CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research), to address the climate crisis and protect nature while advancing gender equality, poverty reduction, and food and nutrition security
• The UK will contribute up to £40 million of international climate finance to establish the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate. The Global Centre will address critical research gaps in how the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity can deliver climate solutions and improve livelihoods in developing countries

The UK will also launch a £65 million Just Rural Transition support programme to help developing countries move towards more sustainable methods of agriculture and food production. This will include support to ensure that farmers are included in policy-making processes, including through consultations, trials and pilot programmes for new technologies and approaches.

The UK will announce its support for the US/UAE-led Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C) which will mobilise over £4 billion of new global public sector investment in agricultural innovation, research and development over the next five years with contributions from over 30 countries for public and private sector as well as knowledge partners.

These new partnerships will help accelerate adoption of more climate resilient and sustainable agriculture practices to deliver healthy diets, improve the trade in agricultural goods, contributing to a healthier planet and a more prosperous future.

The production of commodities such as beef, soy, palm oil and cocoa is a major driver of deforestation. Twenty-eight governments, including the UK, representing 75% of global trade in key commodities that can threaten forests – such as palm oil, cocoa and soya – have come together through the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Roadmap which was created at COP26 to deliver sustainable trade and reduce pressure on forests, including support for smallholder farmers and improving the transparency of supply chains.

As holders of this year’s G7 and COP26 Presidency, Nature and Land-Use day will build on the Government’s promise to lead both the UK and the nations of the world to build back greener, secure a global net zero and keep 1.5 degrees within reach.

In a landmark step, almost 100 high-profile UK companies will agree to work towards halting and reversing the decline of nature by 2030 and commit to getting ‘Nature Positive’. This includes OVO Energy announcing its commitment in planting one million trees in the UK within the next year and Severn Trent pledging to restore over 2,000 acres of peatland across England and Wales by 2025. Burberry has also unveiled a new biodiversity strategy, which includes the assurance that all its key material will be 100% traceable by 2025, for instance, through sourcing more sustainable cotton, leather and wool, as well as recycled polyester and nylon. Commitments also include a pledge by Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose to cut their environmental impact across climate, deforestation and nature in a ‘Retailers Commitment for Nature’ with WWF.

UK Clean Growth, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands said: 

If we are to keep the 1.5 degrees target in reach, we need to work with other nations to halt global deforestation, investing in the sustainable trading of commodities that will help communities thrive, while protecting our planet for generations to come.

Backed by a £500m package of support, today’s historic UK commitment at COP26 will help protect millions of hectares of land, boosting rural communities and forest-friendly businesses, while creating thousands of green jobs across the world’s rainforest regions.

WWF Chief Executive Tanya Steele said:

The climate and nature crisis are two sides of the same coin and we can’t turn things around unless we transform our food system, which is destroying forests and habitats in some of our most fragile landscapes. The commitment from leading UK supermarkets to halve the food retail sector’s environmental impact by 2030 will help millions of families make their weekly shop greener and help reverse the loss of nature.

Justin Adams, Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum said:

The FACT Dialogue process has created new momentum – from 28 countries – to work on issues of trade, forests and finance in an integrated way. Bringing these governments together – from the global south and north – to tackle the issue of commodity production and deforestation head on is a very significant development. Continued dialogue after COP26 will be critical to progress.

The full package of commitments and action includes:

Agricultural reform and innovation:

• A Global Action Agenda on Innovation in Agriculture – launched today – to transform food systems under climate change.  It was launched with support from more than 150 allies from governments, researchers, farmers and businesses. It will drive action to close the innovation gap that limits our efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change, while accelerating efforts towards greater food security around the world.
• The Policy Action Agenda – launched today – sets out pathways and actions that countries can take to repurpose public policies and support to food and agriculture, to deliver these outcomes and enable a just rural transition. It also sets out actions and opportunities for other stakeholders (international organisations, food producers, financial entities, researchers, civil society and others) to channel their expertise, knowledge and resources in support of this agenda.
• A new global initiative launched to reach 100 million farmers at the centre of food systems transformation with net zero and nature positive innovations by 2030 via a multistakeholder platform convened by World Economic Forum (WEF) involving farmers’ organisations, civil society, businesses and other partners.
• New UK funding to the CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) the world’s leading agricultural science and innovation organisation, which will create and scale new crops and technologies yielding climate, nature, health, gender and economic impact (£38.5m over two years). Funding will support the development and deployment of:
• Crop varieties that are climate-resilient (more resistant to heat, drought and flooding) and more nutritious (with elevated levels of essential micronutrients);
• agricultural practices that are more productive, sustainable and climate-resilient;
• new livestock varieties, diagnostics and management practices, which reduce the risks faced by pastoralists and livestock keepers;
• Foresight and trade off tools for risk management of, and resilience to, major threats emerging from the food system, including anti-microbial resistance and emerging zoonotic diseases;
• evidence on better policies to help poor farmers use new technology to access markets, reduce risks and increase incomes.  
• A new UK Government initiative to transform climate-resilient food systems through research and innovation. The Gilbert Initiative will coordinate investments in evidence generation, technology development and delivery to support a food system that by 2030 feeds nine billion people with nutritious, safe foods; uses environmental resources sustainably; enhances resilience and adaptation to climate change; and generates inclusive growth and jobs.

Ocean Action:

• At COP26, more than 10 new countries signed up to the 30by30 target, including Bahrain, Jamaica, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar, Samoa, Tonga, Gambia and Georgia.
• The UK announced a £6m investment into the World Bank’s PROBLUE, as part of its Blue Planet Fund – supporting the development of the blue economy to act as a key driver of growth in small island developing states (SIDS) and coastal least developed countries. The programme works across a broad range of activities, from sustainable tourism to developing aquaculture markets; from fostering the transition to circular economies to investment into NbS as a powerful vehicle for delivering disaster risk reduction and improved water resource management.
• The UK also announced it that it will be contributing to a UN-led programme to support the government of Fiji in issuing its first sovereign blue bond. The blue bond will help to create a supportive environment for sustainable ocean finance in Fiji, supporting projects that improve ocean health and support the livelihoods of coastal communities. 
• The UK has also announced an additional £1m contribution to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), in addition to the £5m we announced earlier this year. GFCR is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of coral reef ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. The UK’s contribution will go into helping developing countries within the Caribbean, India Ocean, Pacific and Southeast Asia prevent the extinction of vital coral reefs by exploring techniques such as sewage treatment and the management of marine protected areas.
• The Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, a multi-sector collaboration designed to drive investment into coastal natural capital by pioneering ground-breaking finance products that incentivise blended finance and private investment, hosted a roundtable yesterday that saw commitments towards the partnership’s target to secure over at least $20m USD from largely private finance.
• The UK announced its intention to work together to help establish a new cross-Administration UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership to progress the evidence base on these habitats. Through this partnership, UK Administrations will work together to address key research questions related to blue carbon policy, including working to fill the evidence gaps that currently hinder inclusion of saltmarsh and seagrass habitats into the UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory.
• The UK also announced that the Environment Agency have published pioneering toolkits to support the restoration and protection of blue carbon habitats to combat climate change. The three handbooks will focus on saltmarsh, seagrass and intertidal sediments and will be instrumental in informing the restoration of blue carbon habitats in the UK and beyond.

Sustainable production and consumption:

• The Forest Agriculture Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, co-chaired by the UK and Indonesia, was launched in February 2021 and brings together 28 of the largest consumer and producer governments of beef, soy, cocoa and palm oil.  They have collaborated to ensure that these goods can be traded in a way which strengthens economic development, food security and improves livelihoods – while avoiding deforestation that causes climate change and biodiversity loss.
• The FACT roadmap identifies actions on four critical and related areas of work which are central to achieving the FACT Dialogue’s overall objectives: trade and market development, smallholder support, traceability and transparency, and research, development and innovation. This roadmap actions puts countries on a path to ending deforestation whilst promoting sustainable trade and development.
• The £500m UK funding package drawn from the £3bn International Climate Finance committed for nature and biodiversity will fund a second phase of the Investment in Forests & Sustainable Land Use (IFSLU) programme and will support the delivery of the FACT Roadmap.

Private Sector Action:

• The CEOs of Co-Op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose have joined forces to sign WWF’s ‘Retailers Commitment for Nature’ in which they commit to cutting their environmental impact across climate, deforestation and nature and leading the way for the whole food retail sector to halve its overall impact on the natural world by 2030. The supermarkets have committed to take action across seven areas – climate change, deforestation, sustainable agriculture, sustainable diets, marine, waste and packaging.

Thank you Madam President.

On behalf of the Core Group consisting of Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, I am is pleased to introduce this draft resolution HRC / S-32 / L.1, as orally revised. The oral revisions have been posted on e-delegate.

Madam President,

Swift, effective and strong action by this Council in response to the military takeover of 25 October in Sudan, is the reason we and others called for today’s Special Session.

The draft resolution we present today, in our view, achieves that. It has been the product of extensive consultations over the last few days, including with Sudan as the country concerned, the African Group, and other delegations. We are deeply grateful to all those who have worked with us so constructively and intensively on the draft resolution that we have before us today.

Madam President, this draft resolution delivers three key outcomes:

First, it condemns in the strongest possible terms the military takeover of 25 October in Sudan, and joins the calls made elsewhere, including by the African Union and the United Nations Security Council, for the immediate restoration of its civilian-led government, and the release of all those detained arbitrarily, since the takeover began.

Second, it requests the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to update the Council, at its next regular Session, on the human rights situation since the takeover. The continued excellent work of the OHCHR Country Office in Khartoum will be crucial to achieving this.

Third, the Council requests the High Commissioner to designate an Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, who will provide further monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation since the takeover, and present a comprehensive written report to the Council at its 50th session. The term of office of this Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, will conclude upon the restoration of its civilian led government. This restoration should be immediate.

Madam President,

The Core Group understands that this text enjoys the support of the country concerned, and of the African Group following our intensive consultations.

Accordingly, we hope that all States, members and non-members alike, will support wholeheartedly this resolution. In doing so, the Council will demonstrate clearly that it stands in solidarity with the people of Sudan in their struggle for democracy and human rights.

Thank you