• Better health outcomes through more effective and efficient research as seen throughout the pandemic
• Promoting a patient-centred, innovative and data-enabled clinical research environment
• Embedding research in the NHS to increase UK’s capacity and capability to deliver cutting-edge clinical research

Patients across the UK will benefit from a super-charged clinical research system, backed by over £64 million of dedicated investment, which will save lives across the country. 

Following the bold vision Saving and Improving Lives: The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery published in March, the UK government and devolved administrations today set out the first phase of activity to ensure research will have better health outcomes and allow more patients to be involved in, and benefit from, research of relevance to them.

The activity for the coming months will include:

• the development and trial of new COVID-19 treatments and vaccines
• making UK clinical research delivery easier through more rapid ethics reviews and faster approval processes
• boosting clinical research capacity with more virtual and remote trials
• increasing diversity and participation in research in communities traditionally under-served by research
• digitising the clinical research process to allow researchers to find patients, offer them places in trials, and monitor health outcomes

Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:

Clinical research has been vital in our fight against COVID-19 and has saved thousands of lives. Working with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments, our ambitious UK-wide vision for the future of clinical research delivery is essential if we are to build on this exciting and life saving momentum.   

We are making this vision a reality by continuing to work closely with our partners across the UK, the NHS, regulators, industry and medical research sector. We will create a more innovative, resilient and patient-centred clinical research system.

The link between research and benefit to patients through better treatments and care has never been clearer. Over the last year the UK’s research efforts fighting COVID-19 have reinforced the vital role clinical research plays in the health of the population. Continued development of new COVID-19 treatments and vaccines will ensure a front-footed approach in tackling the virus. 

The activity in the coming months will include:   

• driving the recovery of the UK’s clinical research portfolio, while continuing to develop and trial new COVID-19 treatments and vaccines – working across the UK in partnership with the research funders, the devolved administrations and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing studies that require support to recover
• making UK clinical research delivery easier, more efficient and more effective through key initiatives including rapid research ethics review allowing faster approval for research and getting trials off the ground quicker
• boosting clinical research capacity, including through increasing the number of virtual and remote trials, enabling more research to take place outside of traditional NHS settings, and expanding Patient Recruitment Centres to provide additional capacity for late-stage commercial research 
• increasing diversity and participation in research, by working with partners such as the Centre for BME Health in Leicester to develop systems and processes that enable health research to be directed to and supported within areas and communities traditionally under-served by research to increase diversity of research participants and to help tackle health inequalities
• digitising the clinical research process to make it faster and cheaper by beginning to create a holistic, data-enabled Find, Recruit and Follow-up service, allowing researchers to digitally find patients, offer them places in trials and monitor health outcomes as part of the study, making the set-up and delivery of clinical research faster, easier and more inclusive, to accelerate the development of life saving health-innovations

Lord Bethell, Minister for Innovation, said:

Working with colleagues in the devolved administrations and across the sector on this ambitious plan will ensure that we develop a clinical research environment that benefits everyone in all parts of the UK.

This is the first step in a big ambitious vision. We will continue to  build upon these strong foundations to deliver a research ecosystem that positions the UK as a global leader in cutting-edge clinical research. With research embedded across the NHS, UK will be a global leader in trials for new treatments and technologies.

Publication of the plan follows on from the historic G7 Health Ministers’ agreement to create a new Therapeutics and Vaccines Clinical Trials Charter setting out shared principles to accelerate the speed with which clinical trials generate robust evidence and how their findings can be implemented in this and future pandemics.

Eluned Morgan, Minister for Health and Social Care, Welsh Government, said: 

Wales has great opportunities for clinical research and we are fully committed to playing our part in making the UK clinical research system one of the best, if not the best, in the world. The plan launched today is a key stepping stone to achieve our collective ambitions. I am delighted to see the strong alignment to our ‘A Healthier Wales’ strategy, in which individuals are at the heart of transformation and modernisation of health and care services, and where research is embedded in high quality care. 

Health and Care Research Wales will continue to work collaboratively with all partners, across the UK and across Wales, as we seek innovative solutions and implement this ambitious plan for the benefit of the public, patients and the workforce.

Humza Yousaf, Health Secretary, Scottish Government said:

Scotland has a long history of pioneering health research and through NHS Research Scotland and the Chief Scientist Office of Scottish Government we are committed to working with our partners across the UK to create a more innovative and resilient research environment that will ultimately improve patients’ lives.

The plan we have launched today recognises the importance of collaboration and cross border working, ensuring the UK is a cohesive and streamlined location to attract, and undertake, research in a global economy.

Robin Swann, Health Minister, Northern Ireland, said:

Northern Ireland recognises the value of a UK-wide approach to clinical research and we are committed to participation in the delivery of this vision. We are already fully involved in many of the UK-wide workstreams, working in partnership towards collective and compatible solutions to create a clinical research ecosystem which benefits all patients across the UK.

Close collaborative and partnership working between organisations right across the UK through the Clinical Research Recovery, Resilience and Growth programme – which includes representatives from all UK health departments, the NHS, regulators, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), medical research charities and industry – will help make the UK one of the best places in the world to conduct cutting-edge clinical research.

Background information

Key commitments in The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery: 2021 to 2022 implementation plan include:

• continuing to deliver on existing commitments to make UK clinical research delivery easier, more efficient and more effective. This includes an offer of HRA Rapid Research Ethics Committee review as part of the roll-out of the Ethics Committee and Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) combined review of clinical trials of medicines
• reducing the variation and time spent negotiating costs for commercial research through the National Contract Value Review, ensuring an aligned process for contracting of research across the whole UK
• taking the first steps towards digitising the clinical research process to make it faster and cheaper by beginning to create a holistic data-enabled Find, Recruit and Follow-up service
• expanding flexible workforce and delivery models, including increasing capacity for research in primary and community care
• providing recognition for key groups of staff across the NHS who play a key role in delivering research, including through a new accreditation scheme for clinical research practitioners
• supporting and enabling the delivery and evaluation of innovative models of trial delivery such as hub and spoke models, decentralised models and remote participation

In addition to an immediate focus on the managed recovery of the research, the implementation plan is built around 7 key areas of action:

• improving the speed and efficiency of study set-up
• building upon digital platforms to deliver clinical research
• increasing the use of innovative research designs
• aligning our research programmes and processes with the needs of the UK health and care systems
• improving visibility and making research matter to the NHS
• making research more diverse and more relevant to the whole of the UK
• strengthening public, patient and service user involvement in research

The implementation plan sets out the first year of activities towards delivering the vision for The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery, which was published in March 2021 and was focused around 5 main themes:

1. embedding research in the NHS
2. making research more patient-centred to increase access and participation
3. enabling streamlined, efficient and innovative research
4. using data and digital tools to advance the UK research ecosystem
5. creating a sustainable and supported research workforce

The implementation plan has been developed and is being overseen and delivered by the UK Recovery, Resilience and Growth programme. This UK-wide cross-sector group is made up of the key organisations involved in the delivery of clinical research in the UK, including:

• Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
• Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
• Chief Scientist Office, Scotland (CSO)
• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
• Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW)
• Health Research Authority (HRA)
• Health and Social Care, Northern Ireland (HSCNI)
• Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
• MedTech industry representation
• NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I)
• NHS Digital
• NHSX
• National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
• Office for Life Sciences (OLS)

 Delivery of clinical research across the UK

In England, the NHS is supported by the NIHR alongside other networks delivering research. As one of the largest national clinical research funders in Europe, NIHR provides the staff, facilities, training and technology that enables research to thrive.

In Northern Ireland, Health and Social Care Research is supported through the Health and Social Care R&D Division of the Public Health Agency, to deliver on the 10-year strategy, ‘Research for Better Health and Social Care’. This strategy sets out how the health, wellbeing and prosperity of the Northern Ireland population will benefit from excellent, world-renowned R&D in health and social care, that is led from Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, NHS Research Scotland (NRS) supports clinical research activity, through partnership working between the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government and Scottish Health Boards. NRS works with Scottish universities and other organisations to ensure that Scotland provides the best environment to support clinical research.

In Wales, the NHS is supported by Health and Care Research Wales, which promotes and supports health and care research, to ensure it is of the highest international scientific quality, is relevant to the needs and challenges of health and care in Wales, and makes a difference to policy and practice in ways that improve the lives of patients, people and communities.

Supportive quotes

Dr William van’t Hoff, Chief Executive of the NIHR Clinical Research Network, said:

The pandemic has clearly demonstrated the vital link between clinical research and better healthcare. Working in partnership with the NHS throughout the country, we were able to support research that improved evidence, saved lives and enabled rapid vaccine development. Now we can build on that collaboration with partners from across the sector, to deliver the UK’s ambitious vision for clinical research delivery.

Innovation, efficiency and streamlined research processes underpin the implementation plans to make clinical research faster and easier. This will enable more healthcare professionals to be involved in research, ultimately benefiting patients across the country.

Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said:

Today’s plan is a step towards creating a more competitive clinical research ecosystem across the UK, with the potential to help transform patients’ lives.

We have a significant opportunity to take what we have learnt from the COVID-19 response and put that into improving NHS care and building a stronger UK life science industry.

Hilary Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Medical Research Charities, said:

Delivering on the future vision for clinical research requires a true UK-wide, cross sector collaborative approach. The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), is pleased to be a partner in this plan to achieve a more patient-centred clinical research environment, which empowers and encourages everyone to take part.

Iain Stewart, UK Government Minister for Scotland, said:

Never at any point in our lifetime has clinical research been more important and, through this new UK-wide plan, we want to create the most productive possible setting for that research to flourish.

The UK government will work hand in hand with all our partners to ensure we build on Scotland’s reputation as a centre of excellence for the benefit of patients in all parts of the UK and internationally.

• Plans to consult on sale of Channel 4 to ensure its future success and sustainability
• Review of regulation of video-on-demand services also in the pipeline
• Moves will feed into the government’s wider review of public service broadcasters

As part of an ongoing strategic review of the UK public service broadcasting system, the government will review the ownership model and remit of Channel 4 and consider tightening regulation of video-on-demand services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

With a fast-evolving media landscape, increasing competition and changing audience habits posing imminent challenges, moving Channel 4 into private ownership and changing its remit could help secure its future as a successful and sustainable public service broadcaster.

The government will also consult on whether the regulation of video-on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime need strengthening so they are subject to similar rules as traditional “linear” broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Sky.

It will consider whether new rules are needed to protect viewers of video-on-demand services – such as changes to age ratings and addressing impartiality and accuracy rules for documentaries and news content – alongside measures to level the playing field so public service broadcasters can compete with international rivals.

This will help ensure the country has a diverse, free and pluralistic broadcasting landscape with high standards.

The reviews will come ahead of a broadcasting white paper due in the autumn. The white paper would consider the future of the country’s broadcasting landscape with the ultimate aim of making sure it serves listeners and viewers on all platforms and across the UK.

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

Technology has transformed broadcasting but the rules protecting viewers and helping our traditional channels compete are from an analogue age.

The time has come to look at how we can unleash the potential of our public service broadcasters while also making sure viewers and listeners consuming content on new formats are served by a fair and well-functioning system.

So we’ll now be looking at how we can help make sure Channel 4 keeps its place at the heart of British broadcasting and level the playing field between broadcasters and video-on-demand services.

Channel 4

At present Channel 4 is entirely commercially funded, but it has been publicly-owned since it began broadcasting in 1982.

It has delivered its original aims, including supporting the independent production sector in the UK and creating diverse, varied and risk-taking programming.

But four decades later the broadcasting landscape is unrecognisable. Online streaming and digital terrestrial TV have flooded the market with new and varied content while at the same time intensifying the competition for advertising and being able to raise huge sums for subscriptions.

More than 90 per cent of Channel 4’s revenue comes from advertising – which is traditionally cyclical in nature – and from events-driven sponsorship activities. This makes it particularly vulnerable to market fluctuations and the decline in linear TV advertising spend.

Moving Channel 4 into private ownership could allow it to access new capital, create strategic partnerships, and reach international markets only available through the private sector. Changes to the model may also allow Channel 4 to diversify its income streams, enable it to invest in new technology and produce new content and programming.

This would better allow Channel 4 to compete and strengthen its role as a public service broadcaster and secure the long-term benefits it can bring to the creative industries and to audiences.

Video-on-demand services

Video-on-demand services available in the UK are not regulated to the same level as “linear” television channels and some services such as Netflix and Apple TV+ are not regulated in the UK at all.

Only content on the BBC iPlayer is subject to Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, which includes enhanced protections to audiences from harmful or offensive material and rules on accuracy and impartiality.

Existing audience protections on UK-regulated video-on-demand services are primarily focused on children and rules preventing content which incites hatred. Some services have introduced their own voluntary procedures – such as Netflix’s voluntary age ratings partnership with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The current landscape makes for an inconsistent, ad-hoc and potentially harmful gap in regulation between video-on-demand services alongside a potential competitive disadvantage between UK broadcasters and their internationally-funded online counterparts.

It is also almost twenty years since the UK broadcast sector’s regulatory framework was introduced in the Communications Act 2003, which was designed before the arrival of online companies such as Apple+, Amazon Prime and Netflix in their current form.

The government will also take forward existing commitments to legislate to strengthen public service broadcasters’ “prominence” online so that their video-on-demand content can easily be found and accessed on smart TVs and other platforms and devices.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• The UK’s system of public service broadcasting (PSB) is the result of a series of regulatory interventions designed to make sure UK audiences can enjoy a wide range of high-quality programmes which meet people’s needs and interests. There is no single piece of legislation covering public service broadcasting, but the Communications Act 2003 provides many of the key building blocks. For example, it designates certain broadcasters as ‘public service broadcasters’ – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, alongside STV in Scotland and S4C in Wales.
• Channel 5 and ITV are examples of successful privately-owned commercial public service broadcasters. In November 2020 the government announced that it was bringing together a Public Service Broadcasting Advisory Panel made up of experts from broadcasting and other related sectors. The panel will support the government in taking forward the recommendations in the reports from both the House of Lords Communications Committee and the DCMS Select Committee, as well as Ofcom’s PSB Review.
• Ofcom published its review on prominence in July 2019 which made a number of recommendations, including the need for new legislation to keep PSB content prominent online. Ofcom’s PSB Review builds on this, and Ofcom’s recent consultation on the future of public service media (closed 16 March 2021) has specifically sought views on the requirements around the availability of public service on-demand content.
• The Digital Radio and Audio Review was launched in Feb 2020 and is due to report to Ministers this summer. The Review is examining future trends and will consider how radio should adapt to the growing challenges and opportunities from the latest audio technologies – e.g smart speakers, as well as the impact of new consumer behaviours such as streaming.
• The White Paper will also be influenced by Ofcom’s ongoing PSB review, the government’s own strategic PSB review as well as the recommendations of the Digital Radio And Audio Review which will report this summer.

Pupils across England are set to benefit from improved school facilities, thanks to almost half a billion pounds being invested in school buildings this year.

£483 million from the Condition Improvement Fund will go to 1,199 schools. The North East and North West are set to receive the largest allocation of funding across all the English regions, with £93 million for 273 successful schools.

Many of the projects funded by Condition Improvement Fund will lead to improved classrooms, more energy efficient buildings and will reduce energy bills for schools – helping to meet the government’s net zero target.

The new School Rebuilding Programme announced by the Prime Minister last year is also on track, with the first 50 schools – supported by £1 billion in funding – confirmed in February. The government is committed to spreading opportunities across the country and ensuring every child can learn in a high-quality, supportive environment.

Site inspections and detailed planning work is underway meaning construction of the first projects will begin in autumn 2021.

Schools Minister Baroness Berridge said:

Alongside our ambitious rebuilding programme for schools over the next decade, this government is making sure children learn in the best possible environments. Providing every school with the financial support it needs to build back better for its students.

Schools are the centres of our communities and both pupils and staff need to have up-to-date classrooms to learn and work in, that’s why the government is spending £1.8 Billion this year alone to improve school buildings.

Local authorities, larger multi-academy trusts and Voluntary Aided school bodies such as dioceses, were allocated condition funding earlier this year in accordance with the latest data on their estates.

Smaller academy trusts and sixth form colleges have been able to submit bids to the Department for funding through the Condition Improvement Fund process, for essential maintenance and upgrades. The most pressing 1,199 projects across the country have today been allocated funding.

The Department expects to confirm a further 50 projects in the next wave of the School Rebuilding programme later this year. Projects will range from replacing or refurbishing individual buildings through to whole school rebuilds.

The Department also plans to consult this year to gather views on how future projects are prioritised for the long-term programme, including how evidence about schools’ condition need may be provided to support prioritisation.

ENDS

• UKEF provided £12.3 billion in financial support for UK exports to 77 countries
• UKEF more than doubled the number of UK businesses it assisted over the last two years
• Up to 107,000 UK jobs were supported and exporters were helped to keep trading through the pandemic

UK Export Finance (UKEF) provided £12.3 billion in support for UK exports from 2020-2021, almost treble the amount provided in the previous financial year, according to its new annual results published today.

UKEF’s financial backing and rapid response during the pandemic is estimated to have supported up to 107,000 UK jobs and helped to keep UK businesses and key industries afloat.

A Temporary Covid Risk Framework was introduced last April, which gave the department additional capacity to back businesses affected by COVID-19. Through this framework, UKEF provided £7.3 billion in support to exporters who were severely disrupted by the pandemic, securing up to 71,000 UK jobs at major firms like Nissan, easyJet and British Airways that may otherwise have been lost.

UKEF also committed in December to ending support for new fossil fuel projects overseas, aligned with the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. As part of this commitment, Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart, will announce today (23 June) at the International Trade Select Committee, that UKEF has created a new Renewables, Energy and Carbon Management underwriting team.

The team of 20 staff will ensure UKEF has the resources needed to deal with increased volumes of business across sectors like wind power, solar, green hydrogen, grid resilience and decommissioning, and to develop relationships across these sectors to maximise UK companies’ participation in international projects.

UKEF has launched new products in the last year to help more UK companies access the funds they need to go global, including the General Export Facility set up to support SMEs. As a result, the number of exporters, including small businesses, accessing UKEF’s support has more than doubled in the last two years, and is set to grow further as the UK continues to sign new Free Trade Agreements.

Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart, said:

UKEF stepped up when its help was needed most. Coronavirus put the UK in its most economically challenging position in decades. UKEF has been central to the government’s response and provided £12.3 billion in support of UK exports – the most in 30 years. This backing helped our nation of exporters keep selling to the world through this pandemic.

We are opening up the world’s fastest growing markets through the trade deals we are negotiating so that the UK can recover as quickly as possible from the pandemic. Thanks to the talent and dedication of UKEF staff, companies can now make the most of our ambitious trade policies. With a dedicated clean growth lending facility and the new Clean Energy team I’m announcing today, UKEF will help the economy grow back stronger, fairer and greener.

Marcus Dolman, Co-Chairman of the British Exporters’ Association (BExA), welcomed the results and said:

UKEF has stepped up and provided much needed support to sustain exporters through the pandemic. The new EDG and GEF products are already proving their value to UK exporters and to supporting UK jobs. It is also heartening to see increases in UKEF’s traditional support. The rise in the number of exporters supported is positive.

The continued expansion of UKEF’s products is vital to positioning the UK at the forefront of the Green Industrial Revolution. BExA looks forward to continuing to work with UKEF to develop their product range to ensure the UK is ready to get back out in the world when restrictions ease.

UKEF 2020-21 highlights

• UKEF underwrote a record amount of business, providing £12.3 billion in financial support for UK exports to 77 countries.
• Supported 549 companies in 2020-21, more than double the number from two years ago, supporting up to 107,000 UK jobs.
• 79% of the companies UKEF supported were SMEs, as the department backed hundreds of small export contracts in the year. Its smallest deal was £297 of export insurance for a London-based recruitment company exporting to the USA.
• Introduced a Temporary Covid Risk Framework (TCRF) to back businesses affected by COVID-19, issuing £7.3 billion of support through it.
• Underwrote its largest-ever civil infrastructure project with £1.7 billion to build two monorail lines in Cairo, supporting the first export of UK-built trains in over 12 years.
• Provided £7.6 billion of support to major exporting firms, helping to support up to 76,000 jobs through its new Export Development Guarantee including Ford, Nissan, Subsea 7, Rolls Royce, easyJet, and British Airways.
• Launched new products to help UK SME exporters take advantage of trading opportunities through the General Export Facility and Standard Buyer Loan Guarantee.
• Remains the most ethnically diverse department in Whitehall, with 31% of UKEF staff identifying as being from ethnic minority backgrounds.

About UKEF

UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, working alongside the Department for International Trade as an integral part of its strategy and operations.

Established in 1919, it exists to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for a lack of finance from the private market. It provides finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and get paid for export contracts.

UKEF’s support is provided on a commercial basis in partnership with over 100 private sector providers and the department charges a premium to cover its costs and the risk it takes on, operating at no net cost to the taxpayer over time.

The Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest, announced today by Defra, England’s Community Forests and Plymouth City Council, will be the first newly created Community Forest supported through the Nature for Climate Fund (NCF) and join England’s Community Forest network.

The scheme will receive NCF funding to develop canopy cover across the city and plant up to 500ha of woodland by 2025, which is expected to more than treble in size to 1600ha by 2034. Plymouth will plant up to 25ha in the first year of this project and receive up to £480,000 in funding from the NCF funded Trees for Climate.

Green jobs, training and skill development will come from the project for young people, who will be invited to lead on aspects of the new Community Forest, from naming it to developing its design, management and strategy.

Under Defra’s England Trees Action Plan, this project is the first of at least three new Community Forests to be created in areas most at need and is in line with the ambition to meet net zero emissions by 2050 – by 2025 England’s Community Forests will contribute over 6,700ha to woodland creation ambitions.  

The project also supports Plymouth City Council’s Plan for Trees scheme, which aims to help trees in urban areas become fit for purpose, resilient to the challenges of climate change and disease, and adaptable to whatever new challenges the future may hold.

Forestry Minister Lord Goldsmith said:

I am delighted to welcome Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest to the Community Forest network. Joining this network will enable Plymouth and South Devon to receive key support from the Nature for Climate Fund through Trees for Climate funding to plant trees and help rewild areas that are most in need.

The health and wellbeing benefits are some of the most important reasons we need to be making more space for trees.

Paul Nolan, Chair, England’s Community Forests: said:

We are really pleased to welcome Plymouth and South Devon into the Community Forest family. England’s Community Forests have been transforming the landscapes and communities in and around our largest towns and cities for 30 years. 

In that time, we have always been committed to sharing the powerful principles of community forestry as widely as possible so millions of people can experience the many benefits of trees and woodland.  Today’s announcement marks another exciting chapter in the story of community forestry across England and for the area of Plymouth and South Devon.

Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest will create space for nature, encourage enterprise and support the area’s commitment to tackle climate change. Joining the powerful partnership of 10 established Community Forests across the country will support these ambitions, enabling local people and partners to achieve truly transformational environmental and social change.

Councillor Patrick Nicholson, Deputy Leader of Plymouth City Council, said:

We are thrilled to be joining the Community Forest family and excited for the many benefits that it will bring Plymouth and the surrounding area.

The forest chimes a chord with so many of the aspirations we’re trying to achieve economically, environmentally and for health and wellbeing here in Plymouth and I’m excited to get started on the next stage.

As hosts of COP26, President of the G7 and a key player in the CBD COP15, the UK is leading the climate change agenda. Nature is our most precious asset and it sits at the heart of the world’s goods and services. We need to fundamentally change how we view the economic value of nature if we are to reverse biodiversity loss. Our economies, livelihoods and well-being all rely on nature. Plymouth Community Forest recognise this and have put an emphasis on the value trees and green space add to the mental health of local residents.

The news follows the recent announcement of funding for the Forest of Cornwall, a partnership between Cornwall Council and Defra to help identify sites in Cornwall for woodland creation and bring local stakeholders on board

EDITOR’S NOTES

The funding for Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest is through the Woodland Creation Partnership, part of the Nature for Climate Fund Programme.

England’s Community Forests are located in and around our largest towns and cities and they co-ordinate accessible woodland creation projects designed to deliver a wide range of public benefits and involve local people. Collectively, they form the country’s biggest environmental regeneration initiative and are highlighted as part of the government’s 25 Year Plan for the Environment. For thirty years the Community Forests have delivered urban, economic and social regeneration, championing green infrastructure and creating high-quality environments for millions of people.

The England’s Community Forests network includes: The Forest of Marston Vale; Great Western Community Forest; The Greenwood Community Forest; The Mersey Forest; Manchester City of Trees; Forest of Avon Trust; HEYwoods; Thames Chase Trust; White Rose Forest; the Forest of Mercia and most recently the new Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest.

England’s Community Forests are supported by the national charity the Community Forest Trust (CFT). CFT is the national charity for the community forestry network and aims to secure more investment for community forestry, ensuring a green future for all. It is supporting England’s Community Forests in the delivery of the Trees for Climate programme.

The Trees for Climate programme launched in December 2020, with the announcement of £12.1million of funding through the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund. In the first year of the programme, Trees for Climate has seen trees planted in Community Forests right across the country. When mature, these will eventually store over 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, playing an important role in the meeting the government’s net zero emissions by 2050 target.

Trees for Climate is delivered by England’s Community Forests and support by the Community Forest Trust and Cheshire West and Chester Council, who are the accountable body for the programme.

www.englandscommunityforests.org.uk

www.communityforest-trust.org