The UK continues to significantly boost its world-leading offshore wind manufacturing industry, with over 1,340 jobs created and protected across the Humber region thanks to £266 million of UK government and private sector investment, the government has announced today (Monday 9 August).

Offshore wind manufacturers Siemens Gamesa and GRI Renewable Industries will receive grant funding from the government’s £160 million Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme, announced as part of the Prime Minister’s ten point plan, to further develop manufacturing facilities in the Humber region. Both companies will be supplying essential components to offshore wind farms providing clean power across the UK – as well as for export around the world.

The investment will be a huge boost for the Humber region, helping to revitalise this industrial heartland, bring in vital investment and job opportunities for the area and level up the rest of the UK, all whilst support the UK’s commitment to eradicating its contributions to climate change.

Siemens Gamesa will invest a total of £186 million to expand its blade manufacturing site located near Hull, creating and safeguarding up to 1,080 direct jobs. As a result of the investment, the company will be able to manufacture the next generation of offshore wind turbines and blades greater than 100 meters.

Additionally, GRI Renewable Industries is the second confirmed company to build facilities at Able Marine Energy Park, Hull, with £78 million investment in an offshore wind turbine tower factory, creating up to 260 direct jobs.

This follows the announcement over £180 million of private sector investment from offshore wind manufacturers in the Humber and in Newcastle-upon-Tyne last month, and another £95 million from government to create two new offshore wind ports on the Humber and on Teesside earlier this year – building the UK’s offshore wind capacity for clean electricity generation as dirty coal power is phased out.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

The Humber region embodies the UK’s green industrial revolution, with new investment into developing the next generation of wind turbines set to create new jobs, export opportunities and clean power across the country.

With less than a hundred days to go until the climate summit COP26, we need to see more countries embracing new technologies, building green industries and phasing out coal power for a sustainable future.

Business & Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

With its close proximity to some of the world’s largest offshore wind farms and strong skills base, the Humber region is vitally important for the growth of the British offshore wind industry and is at the heart of our green recovery.

Our announcement backed by private investment will give a boost to this important industrial heartland, creating and supporting thousands of good quality jobs across the region while ensuring it is on the frontline of developing the next generation of offshore wind turbines.

The Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme was announced by the Prime Minister last year as part of his ten point plan to build factories that will develop components for next generation wind turbines. It is designed to support the delivery of manufacturing investment in the offshore wind supply chain. It provides grant funding for major investments in the manufacture of strategically important offshore wind components, from turbine blades to subsea cables.

Minister for Investment Gerry Grimstone said:

The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and these investments are further evidence of the confidence foreign investors have in both the sector and in the UK economy.

Our Global Investment Summit later this year will show how the UK can shape the future of green investment and will be a platform to drive further investment into exciting industries of the future.

Today’s announcement continues to deliver on the Prime Minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution and meeting his target of quadrupling the UK’s offshore wind capacity to produce 40GW of energy from offshore wind by 2030 – enough to power every home in the country.

This continues to lay the groundwork for British businesses and workers to take full advantage of the booming offshore market in the UK and internationally, support up to 60,000 jobs in the industry, and help eliminate the UK’s contribution to carbon emissions by 2050.

CEO of the Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business Unit Marc Becker said:

Since our offshore blade factory opened in Hull in 2016, Siemens Gamesa has proudly served as the catalyst for the powerful growth the area has seen. The rapid development of the offshore wind industry – and continued, strong, long-term support provided by the UK government for offshore wind – has enabled us to power ahead with confidence when making these plans. We’re committed to unlocking the potential of wind energy around the globe, with solutions from Hull playing a vital role.

Siemens Gamesa continues to be the leading supplier of offshore wind turbine technology in the world’s leading offshore wind market, the UK. Through safe, efficient, and reliable manufacturing, over 1,500 blades from Hull have been delivered to customers worldwide. We’re very much looking forward to adding to the approx. 1.4 GW of clean power capacity these blades help provide as a part of our offshore Direct Drive wind turbines.

Chairman & CEO GRI Jon Riberas said:

We are proud to participate in this major project to power British homes and communities with wind energy towards sustainability and carbon neutrality. This project will create a worldwide leader in the offshore sector in a market that is increasingly demanding and constantly evolving.

This investment swiftly follows an announcement made in early July when the UK government announced over £180 million of private sector investment for offshore wind manufacturers SeAH Wind Ltd and Smulders Projects UK who will build facilities located on the Humber and at Wallsend in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, creating and safeguarding more than 1,000 jobs.

In March this year, the government also announced up to £95 million investment to establish 2 new ports on the Humber and on Teesside to enable manufacturers to build the next generation of offshore wind projects.

Together these new ports will have the capacity to house up to 7 manufacturers to support the development of the next-generation offshore wind projects, substantially boosting the UK’s offshore wind manufacturing base while directly creating around 3,000 new jobs each.

In addition, US energy giant GE Renewable Energy have announced an investment in a major new offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing plant, the first investment on Teesside. This brand new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will directly create around 750 jobs in the area to supply the Dogger Bank Wind Farm project.

• the funding is part of the £160 million announced by the Prime Minister last year to further develop the UK’s offshore wind capabilities
• the finalisation of detailed agreements and grant funding amounts will only follow a satisfactory due diligence phase

• Three-year project to accelerate rollout of broadband and mobile signal in rural areas
• Scheme also aims to help reduce leakage from the public water supply

Fibre broadband cables could be fed through the country’s water pipes as part of the government’s plan to speed up the nationwide roll out of lightning-fast broadband and mobile coverage in rural areas.

Four million pounds is available for cutting-edge innovators to trial what could be a quicker and more cost-effective way of connecting fibre optic cables to homes, businesses and mobile masts, without the disruption caused by digging up roads and land.

Civil works, in particular installing new ducts and poles, can make up as much as four fifths of the costs to industry of building new gigabit-capable broadband networks.

This new scheme could turbocharge the government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit plan to level up broadband access in hard-to-reach areas as well as the £1 billion Shared Rural Network which will bring strong and reliable 4G phone signals to many of the most isolated parts of the country.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said:

The cost of digging up roads and land is the biggest obstacle telecoms companies face when connecting hard-to-reach areas to better broadband, but beneath our feet there is a vast network of pipes reaching virtually every building in the country.

So we are calling on Britain’s brilliant innovators to help us use this infrastructure to serve a dual purpose of serving up not just fresh and clean water but also lightning-fast digital connectivity.

The project will also look to test solutions that reduce the amount of water lost every day due to leaks, which is 20% of the total put into the public supply. It will involve putting connected sensors in the pipes which allow water companies to improve the speed and accuracy with which they can identify a leak and repair it. Water companies have committed to delivering a 50% reduction in leakage, and this project can help to reach that goal.

Deployment challenges for essential utilities such as water and telecoms are complex and tightly regulated because both are parts of the country’s critical national infrastructure. The project will consider these regulatory barriers as well as the economic, technical, cultural and collaborative challenges and impact on consumer bills.

Any solution used to trial fibre optic cables in the water mains will be approved by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) before being used in a real world setting. The DWI requires rigorous testing ahead of approving any products that can be used in drinking water pipes, and fibre has already been deployed in water pipes in other countries such as Spain.

The government is already considering giving broadband firms access to more than a million kilometres of underground utility ducts to boost the rollout of next-generation broadband – including electricity, gas and sewer networks – and will soon respond to a consultation on changing regulations to make infrastructure sharing easier.

The government has already given broadband suppliers access to existing infrastructure to help speed up roll out, with electricity poles used extensively throughout England to carry broadband cables.

Stephen Unger, Commissioner at the Geospatial Commission, said:

Fibre is the future of digital communications. Its unmatched performance and reliability can seamlessly connect our society together. But it took over a hundred years to build the legacy copper network, so replacing it with fibre won’t be easy.

The best way to meet this challenge is to use existing infrastructure, such as the water pipes that already reach every home and business in the country. Our ambition must be for reliable broadband to become as easy to access tomorrow as drinking water is today.

The Fibre in Water project is due to conclude in March 2024. The final year of the project will explore scaling proven solutions right across the country.

Deadline for applications to the competition is 4 October.

ENDS

The government has launched a competition to select a consortium, which could comprise telecoms companies, utility providers and engineering companies, to lead and deliver the project. As part of this, a region or multiple regions of the country will be selected to host the trial.

The Fibre in Water competition is being run by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in partnership with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Geospatial Commission

The announcement comes after Highways England invested a similar amount in the south west last year and follows the Government’s continued drive to level up transport in regions right across the country.

Responsible for motorways and major A-roads, the company’s investment will fund vital infrastructure and boost both connections and local economies as we build back better from the pandemic.

Well-known motorways and major A-roads including the M4, M5, A40 and A38 are all included in the package. Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists all set to benefit from the planned works, which include road resurfacing and maintenance, the creation of cycle lanes, improved signage and landscaping.

Funded from the Government’s Road Investment Strategy, in total Highways England will spend £200 million during the financial year into more than 121 of these kinds of schemes across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall.

This is in addition to the multi-million A30 dualling scheme in Cornwall and A303 dualling scheme in Sparkford which are both under construction.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said:

This Government is committed to levelling-up transport right across the country, helping people get to work or education, and to see family and friends.

This multi-million-pound investment is a real reflection of that commitment. It will ensure road-users right across the south west enjoy safer, quicker journeys, and that the local economy can build back better from the pandemic.

Highways England Regional Director Andrew Page-Dove said: 

Hundreds of thousands of drivers use our roads every day for work journeys, home deliveries and the movement of the goods and services, so it’s essential we keep them in a good condition to ensure safety and reliability.  

With this investment, Highways England will continue to deliver the essential maintenance and upgrades throughout the region to improve safety and help keep drivers on the move.

Highways England has a comprehensive maintenance programme, with schemes including:

• M5 junction 11 Golden Valley – bridge refurbishment and resurfacing
• M4 junction 15 – additional lane to create improved access to housing and jobs
• M5 between junction 23 and 25 – introducing message signs, incident detection and signalling, queue protection, speed management and enhanced CCTV coverage
• A38 Mowhay bridge – widening the footpath for cyclists and pedestrians
• A40 in Gloucestershire – upgrading six miles of cycleway

It’s not just motorists who will benefit either. Since 2015 the company has invested more than £85 million towards the creation of 160 new and upgraded cycle ways across England, providing safe, attractive and accessible facilities for people to cycle for work, shopping and leisure.

Recently, the company completed a local authority project to improve the National Cycleway Network between Cribbs Causeway and Severn Beach, with a scheme also nearing completion on the A36 in Salisbury, while the £2.89 million Mowhay project will see the current footbridge modified for both cyclists and walkers, and another project set to start on the A38 in Plymouth.

This latest investment into the region’s roads follows on from last year’s essential maintenance programme which saw Highways England pump £200 million into road renewal and maintenance projects.

From April 2020 to March 2021, the company resurfaced nearly 200 miles of road throughout the region – the equivalent of nearly 16,000 double decker buses parked back-to-back. 

This, along with the renewal of 42 miles of barriers, 950 miles of road markings and 31 miles of drainage, helped ensure motorists in the south west continued moving smoothly and safely.

Highway England’s workers also helped light the way for drivers by laying more than 91,000 road studs, 150 lights and 29 new traffic lights, along with installing 93 new traffic signs.

To ensure the roads are safe for all, staff also inspected 22,000 road signs, carried out 12,500 miles of walked inspections and inspected all electrical assets, alleviating the need for unforeseen closures.

With work taking place throughout several lockdowns, Highways England contacted 100,000 people in the region to ensure those who needed to make essential journeys in line with government guidelines, were kept well informed and able to do so.

Road improvements included:

• M4 junction 21 to junction 19 eastbound, resurfacing 13 miles of carriageway
• M4 junction 19 to junction 20 westbound, resurfacing 5 miles of carriageway
• M5 junction 11 to junction 13 southbound, resurfacing 6 miles of carriageway
• M5 junction 17 to junction 15 northbound, resurfacing 13 miles of carriageway
• A30 Fingle to Woodleigh westbound, resurfacing 7 miles of carriageway
• M5 junction 14 to junction 12 northbound, resurfacing 13 miles of carriageway

Along with resurfacing, the company also kept motorists safe with various winter precautions and treatments, and huge investment into driver awareness.

Over the winter months, Highways England undertook 3,829 precautionary treatments covering 252,000 miles, spreading nearly 14,000 tonnes of salt and potassium acetate and introduced 20 new of gritters to its fleet.
The company is investing £20m into a driver information scheme on the M5 between junction 23 and 25 that will deliver message signs, incident detection and signalling, queue protection, speed management and enhanced CCTV coverage.

Completing in October, the improvements will enable Highways England to monitor the network more effectively, warn drivers of road conditions, manage traffic speeds during times of congestion, provide improved network information and enable better management of incidents. 

To keep up to date with the latest travel information on these projects and the work of Highways England, follow @HighwaysSWEST on Twitter or visit the Highways England website.  

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Overview/Objectives

1. The Combatting’s Conflict Stability and Security Fund. It partners with countries in Latin America to tackle threats including serious organised crime (from drugs to money laundering to environmental crime), grand corruption and instability/conflict.

2. There are various channels used to move money internationally – whether incoming or outgoing – such as, but not limited to, trade, banking positions, foreign direct investment, and portfolio investment. Each of those will have different relative levels of importance to a given country and including as illicit finance moves between countries. Each country may also experience different levels of vulnerability to the misuse of those channels by a range of actors and whether working within a country or transnationally across the region.

3. To better understand the vulnerability of the focus countries to illicit financial flows and relevant importance of those flows the CIEP seeks an implementing partner who will be able to analyse such vulnerability and prioritise them according to a matrix with four variables:

   a.	channels used for illicit financial flows (e.g., international trade, foreign direct investment, etc.);
   b.	volume of those flows;
   c.	counterpart countries where those flows originate or are destined (not restricted to the focus countries); and
   d.	sectors generating those flows (e.g., classification based on the Harmonised System used for international trade).

4. The final analysis should, at a minimum, include in relation to each focus country:

   a.	vulnerability ranking for each of the four variables mentioned above;
   b.	composite ranking incorporating 4.a (Channel), 4.b (Volume) and 4.c (Counterpart);
   c.	composite ranking as 5.b, plus 4.d (Sector);
   d.	the vulnerability ranking evolution over the past 10 years and their average;
   e.	list of actionable recommendations for tackling the identified vulnerabilities/shortfalls; and
   f.	methodology used to assess/quantify each variable.

5. The CIEP invites Bidders to propose further channels than the four mentioned above and different sectorial classifications.

6. The focus countries which the programme seeks analysis of are: Colombia, Peru, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

Project bids

The project bid should not exceed GBP150,000 albeit the programme will consider bids proposing compelling activity in excess of that. Bidders will need to submit a proposal with the following requirements:

1. Propose methodology. Maximum of three pages describing the approach and operational methodology that will support the proposed delivery solution, providing evidence of the capacity, capability, experience and expertise of the organisation to deliver the proposed solution within the location(s) and context (including the thematic context) specified. Bidders should support their response with evidence from similar/relevant projects already delivered;

2. Curriculum vitae(s) of those proposed to work on the project (maximum of two pages per person);

3. FCDO Project Proposal Template that should include a detailed project plan that includes a clear project timeline and supporting detail;

   Project Proposal Form above £10k (MS Word Document, 81.6KB)

4. And Activity Based Budged template, with a detailed breakdown of cost per activity proposed in the Project Proposal. The project must have completed all activity within four months of signing the grant agreement.

   Activity Based Budget Template (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 26.8KB)

Official Development Assistance

All expenditures must qualify as Official Development Assistance (“ODA”). ODA is a term created by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to measure aid. ODA should be undertaken by the official sector (official agencies, including state and local governments, or their executive agencies) and has promotion of economic development and welfare as the main objective.

Priorities

We are seeking an implementer to carry out a series of country-specific analyses wrapped ultimately into a regional analysis.

It is anticipated the majority of the research will be able to be completed from public, open sources although some close-source interviews may also be necessary. As appropriate, Embassies in region may be able to assist the implementer in making contact with key stakeholders in State agencies/institutions and in order to provide a fuller picture of the movement of IFFs within or out of a country.

Albeit some country-specific, sectoral analysis is called for to demonstrate where and how IFFs are generated within focus countries, the report should nonetheless concentrate on cross-border flows and so as to improve understanding of the international dynamics/mechanisms (trade-based money laundering; free-trade zones etc) that allow for IFFs to proliferate across the region.

Scope and scale

The scope and scale of the personnel, resource and time required to complete this project can be set out within an implementer’s bid for activity. We anticipate a small team (not necessarily located within any particular of the focus countries but with an ability to reach into each) will be necessary and that the analysis can be completed within four months of signing the grant agreement.

Output features

Structure: for the implementer to decide, as long as it responds to the items identified in the specific Overview/Objectives section of this document.

Format: PDF Report.

Language: Spanish/English.

Confidentiality:

We anticipate the implementer may be an institution engaged in building awareness around the issues raised by this study.

In principle, the UK Government would not object to the products of this project being made public and, indeed, with implementers including an element of awareness raising around those products as part of overall project design.

In so far as information may be gleaned from sensitive sources though, the parameters of such permission will need to be discussed and agreed with the Embassies at the time of signing a contract/grant.

Private consultancy firms, consortia of multidisciplinary experts or non-profit organisations can participate in this call for bids.

How to bid: General Guidance on Project Proposals

1. Stage 1: Potential implementers are invited to submit a full proposal (template attached) to CSSF.CIEP@fcdo.gov.uk by 29 August 2021, 11.59pm Bogotá time. We will not receive proposals after this deadline.

2. Stage 2: The CIEP Programme team will evaluate all proposals and decide which should move forward to consideration by a technical committee of the programme board due to take place mid-September 2021.

3. Stage 3: The CIEP Programme team will seek to notify the successful bidder before October 2021 and with a view towards activity starting as early as possible in end of October 2021.

Duty of Care

The implementer is responsible for the safety and well-being of their personnel and third parties affected by their activities under this grant agreement, including appropriate security arrangements. They will also be responsible for the provision of suitable security arrangements for their domestic and business property.

HMG will share available information with the implementer on security status and developments in country where appropriate.

The implementer is responsible for ensuring appropriate safety and security briefings for all of their personnel working under this contract and ensuring that their personnel register and receive briefing as outlined above.

Travel advice is also available on the FCDO website and the implementer must ensure they (and their personnel) are up to date with the latest position.

Tenderers must develop their tender response on the basis of being fully responsible for Duty of care in line with the details provided above. They must confirm in their tender that:

1. They fully accept responsibility for security and duty of care;

2. They understand the potential risks and have the knowledge and experience to develop an effective risk plan; and

3. They have the capability to manage their duty of care responsibilities throughout the life of the contract.

Acceptance of responsibility must be supported with evidence of capability. In providing evidence, Tenderers should consider the following questions:

1. Have you completed an initial assessment of potential risks that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding, and are you satisfied that you understand the risk management implications (not solely relying on information provided by FCDO)?

2. Have you prepared an outline plan that you consider appropriate to manage these risks at this stage (or will you do so if you are awarded the contract) and are you confident/comfortable that you can implement this effectively?

3. Have you an appropriate mechanism in place to monitor risk on a live/on-going basis (or will you put one in place if you are awarded the contract)?

4. Have you ensured or will you ensure that your staff are provided with, and have access to, suitable equipment and will you ensure that this is reviewed and provided on an on-going basis?

5. Have you appropriate systems in place to manage an emergency/incident if one arises?

Gender sensitivity

The FCDO views gender equality and women’s rights as central to promoting peace and stability overseas. This project will take into account any gender-related differences where data is available; consider its contribution to reducing inequality between persons of different gender; and ensure that the project does no harm to any particular gender group.

As such, gender must be fully integrated across all aspects of the intervention. The project design must be underpinned by a gender analysis that is monitored and updated regularly, and that demonstrably shapes the project’s design and implementation, with concrete commitments and action demonstrating the project is suitably privileging gender.

The work plan and project monitoring mechanism must set out how the implementer proposes to adopt a gender-sensitive approach that demonstrates compliance with UK Equality Act 2010. The implementer is expected to mainstream gender in all activities of the project by integrating a gender equality perspective that takes into account the needs of all beneficiaries, men, women and LGBTQ+ people.

Conflict sensitivity

The FCDO requires implementers to take a robust approach to conflict sensitivity. This includes going beyond ‘do no harm’ principles to include maximising opportunities for positive effect on peacebuilding and conflict dynamics, such as improved community relations, enhanced mediation, and good governance.

The FCDO also expects implementers to demonstrate an understanding of how the project might affect/is affected by extremist groups and can contribute to addressing drivers and enablers of violent extremism. This requires a well elaborated conflict sensitivity plan, including how conflict sensitivity will be brought into design (including processes, baseline analysis), implementation, monitoring, evaluation and lessons learning, and conflict sensitive communications. It requires the Implementer to have the required team capacities, and an approach to building the capacity of beneficiaries and other stakeholders on conflict sensitivity.