A new consultation launched jointly by the UK and devolved administrations today (25 January) will seek views on developing world-leading measures to reduce industrial emissions.

The consultation sets out a possible process for developing new “Best Available Techniques” (BAT) to limit the environmental impact of polluting industries, such as paper production, waste incineration and ceramic manufacturers, to safeguard and build on the high levels of environmental protection in the UK.

BAT are techniques designed to prevent or minimise emissions and impacts on the environment as a whole. These can include using new technology to limit polluting emissions, or improving the way that new installations for medium and heavy industries are designed, built and operated.

As a former member of the EU, the UK previously adopted EU BAT for industrial emissions. Now the UK will be able to consider the best approach for our own needs, taking into account UK data as well as reviewing international developments.

The proposed measures seek to go further than the existing EU process by conducting a public consultation on every new BAT and making oversight of the development process more transparent and collaborative with industry. In addition, the government will establish the following groups:

• A Standards Council, made up of representatives from the UK and devolved governments to maintain alignment across the four nations.
• A new Regulators Group to provide expert technical advice to the Standards Council.
• Technical Working Groups for each new BAT under consideration, made up of sector experts from regulators and representatives from the relevant industries.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

“Outside the EU we can go further in developing a tailored UK regime for better protecting the environment and public health from industrial pollution.

“This consultation delivers on our commitment to agree a common approach for developing BAT across the whole UK, ensuring that we are at the forefront of reducing industrial pollution.

“A more transparent and collaborative BAT regime is crucial for maintaining our high environmental standards, working closely with industry partners. I encourage all those with an interest to take part in this consultation.”

The UK’s current BAT regime is prescribed by the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive. We will assess feedback from all stakeholders before providing a response outlining a future policy position and next steps later this year.

Details of the consultation can be found on GOV.UK. The consultation will close for views on Sunday 18 April.

Although remote education is helping to plug the learning gap during the COVID-19 pandemic, pupil engagement and motivation remains a significant challenge for schools and parents, according to a new report.

Published today, Ofsted’s in-depth study on remote education finds that many schools are doing a good job of mitigating children’s learning loss. But keeping pupils motivated remains a challenge, despite schools having made strides in their remote learning offers.

Nearly half of parents who responded to Ofsted’s survey said that keeping their child focused on studying was a top concern, along with motivation and having enough contact with teachers. This was echoed by school leaders, with many working hard to increase pupil engagement and to find better ways for pupils and teachers to interact.

Recent government guidance has strengthened expectations around remote education. Today’s report explores the challenges schools, teachers and other providers face in meeting those expectations, and looks at the solutions they are finding to make sure children get a good education while away from the classroom. Ofsted also commissioned surveys of parents and teachers’ views about how their children were faring while learning remotely.

The report also finds:

• A large proportion of schools in England feel that they are doing well at mitigating children’s learning loss through remote education. Three-fifths of teachers surveyed said they were confident they were providing a high-quality remote education when this was needed. However, schools are at different stages of development, and there is wide variability in the remote learning on offer.

• When developing remote education, most leaders said they focused on making sure pupils were learning what they needed to, rather than focusing on the technology. Several heads said that they expected teachers – with a little adaptation if needed – to deliver lessons as they would in person, modelling answers, questioning pupils and giving feedback as normal.

• Many school leaders do not see remote education as a barrier to curriculum delivery and believe learning opportunities, levels of pupil engagement and expectations should be the same regardless. Several leaders were ambitious with their curriculum, arguing that its breadth and depth should not be compromised or narrowed for remote education.

• Parents and schools are concerned about children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their engagement with remote education. Nearly two thirds of parents of a child with SEND said they had been disengaged with remote learning, compared with almost 40 per cent of parents of children without additional needs. While some special schools have adapted their remote education to support SEND pupils, such as supplying assisted reading technology, more work needs to be done to engage children with SEND.

• Leaders who participated in the research did not always regard remote provision as an entirely temporary measure. The report highlights the potential benefits of remote learning in the long term, such as providing teaching for snow days or extended periods of illness or absence, to minimise learning loss.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said:

While remote education will help to mitigate the learning lost when children are out of the classroom, it’s clear that pupils’ motivation and engagement remains an issue. This, along with the pressure remote learning places on teachers and parents, is proving a real barrier to children’s learning and development.

Despite the challenges, I am impressed by the flexibility and innovation shown by teachers and leaders involved in our research. I hope these insights will be valuable to schools that are still developing their own remote education offer.

‘My thanks to all the teachers and school leaders across the country whose continued efforts mean that children can still receive a quality education, even in such difficult circumstances.’

From today (25 January), Ofsted is resuming monitoring inspections of schools judged to be inadequate at their previous inspection, as well as some graded ‘requires improvement’. Monitoring inspections look at the progress a school is making and encourage improvement. Unlike full inspections, they do not result in a grade. Inspections will be carried out remotely by default, but we will continue to carry out on-site inspections where we have immediate concerns – for example, about safeguarding, the leadership of a school or a failure to provide education to children.

You can read more about our monitoring inspections online.

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International collaboration is key to fight against the pandemic. To that end, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) continues to fund research projects on the effects of COVID-19 in Peru and other countries around the world.

Currently, the UK and Peru are working together on five projects, investigating communities particularly vulnerable to the pandemic, such as the elderly, children, local farmers’ markets and more. These projects funded under this scheme add to the scientific cooperation between the two countries already underway through the Newton-Paulet Fund, in partnership with CONCYTEC, and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

So far, the UK has invested around £29.3 million in more than 50 projects on COVID-19 in developing countries, reaffirming its commitment to support science and technology applied to solutions to social issues.

On the announcement of projects’ funding, UK Ambassador Kate Harrisson said:

I am delighted that Peru and the UK are collaborating on projects in response to COVID19. These projects will have a direct positive impact on the lives of thousands of Peruvians.

They will shed new light on the effects of the pandemic on food markets, fish workers, mental health in senior adults or nutrition in mothers and young children, and thus help improve their wellbeing.

The pandemic requires a coordinated and global response, and the cooperation of both countries is a sign of our commitment in this regard and our excellent bilateral relationship.

Most of the funded research focuses on the communities most affected by COVID-19 in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, and, they are carried out collaboratively between UK and local experts and institutions. The purpose and importance of these projects is to develop short and long-term social, economic and health solutions, areas that have been severely affected by the pandemic. Finally, these projects seek to improve the response capacity of developing countries to future pandemics.

The projects in Peru chosen for funding in collaboration with UKRI are the following:

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of older Peruvian adults.

• UK lead institution: University College London
• Peruvian Lead Institution: Universidad San Martin de Porres and PRISMA

Promoting health and safety in traditional food markets to combat COVID-19 in Peru and Bolivia

• UK lead institution: Royal Veterinary College
• Peruvian Lead Institution: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos

Enhancing the resilience of fishing communities to the impacts of COVID-19 in Northern Peru

• UK lead institution: University of St Andrews
• Peruvian lead institution: Inter-Agency Consortium Piura (Project Partner)

Strategies to mitigate nutritional risks in mothers and children under 2 years of age in low-income urban households in Peru during COVID-19

• UK Lead Partner: Loughborough University
• Peruvian lead institution: UNICEF Peru (Project Partner)

COVID Observatories: Monitoring the interaction of pandemics, climate hazards and food systems among the world’s most disadvantaged communities

• UK lead institution: University of Leeds
• Peruvian lead institution: Health Without Limits Peru (Project Partner)