Developed in collaboration with the UK Space Agency and with support from key stakeholders, the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) has outlined the universities, companies, funding bodies and networks that form the UK space sector.

The map is now available publicly through a free, interactive, web-based tool, allowing users to search and visualise the sector as never before. It will deliver high-quality insights and showcase our excellent space sector across the world.

Iain Hughes, Market Intelligence Manager, UK Space Agency said:

This tool will bring genuine value to stakeholders across the space sector and beyond. By providing access to new data, visualisations and search functions, it will generate insights that will help companies identify opportunities, improve their strategies for growth, and increase collaboration.

Andy Bennett, Knowledge Transfer Manager for Space at KTN said:

KTN supports innovative organisations by creating diverse connections to drive positive change. We have built landscape maps in many sectors in order to give a representation of current UK capabilities and activities which help identify and drive opportunities in innovation. This UK Space Sector Landscape Map showcases our knowledge and aims to support those both inside and outside the sector to build new collaborations. We hope that it supports our ambitious UK space sector to continue to grow and succeed.

The UK space sector is a huge economic success story, growing by over 60% since 2010. In addition, the sector supports wider UK economic activities worth an estimated £300 billion through the use of satellite services. This market is expected to grow further as government support unlocks commercial opportunities.

What does the map include?

The map includes:

• over 340 space manufacturing businesses, from launch vehicle providers and satellite manufactures to component and materials suppliers
• over 300 satellite applications companies who deliver satellite communications services, process satellite data or develop applications dependent on GNSS or Earth observation data
• 44 space operation companies including launch services, launch brokerage services, proprietary satellite operation and ground segment operators
• 170 organisations offering ancillary services including consultants, IT and software services providers, insurers and legal services
• 67 research groups and universities across the UK with their research interests
• incubation centres, networks, funding opportunities, key sector organisations and developing spaceports

This tool will continue to improve and evolve over time, capturing the UK space sector as it grows. Companies and organisations belonging to the space sector not currently listed are invited to notify KTN for inclusion.

The interactive map allows users to search and filter by a range of data points including market segment, company details, technologies, expertise and capabilities. The satellite applications companies can be searched by the key markets they serve.

All featured organisations are also geographically tagged, allowing users to pan around the UK virtually, explore regions of interest, and to visualise the relationships between local space networks.

How can the UK Space Sector Landscape Map help?

The tool will offer value to all stakeholders interacting with the UK space sector by:

• identifying regional clusters of expertise to support local growth ambitions, signposting space support networks, and informing users’ strategies for investing around the UK
• supporting collaboration and innovation by providing a comprehensive and searchable directory of companies and organisations
• identifying UK capabilities, gaps, strengths, and opportunities to inform the development of the National Space Strategy and national space programmes
• informing market intelligence strategies, including the identification of potential collaborators or competitors within market segments, or new supply chains and customers
• signposting of public and private space-focused funding bodies
• provision of a knowledge base to inform analysis among the UK space community and sector researchers
• raising profiles of UK space organisations of all types and sizes, providing a free platform to promote expertise and capabilities and inform a range of stakeholders

With less than 6 months to go before the EU Settlement Scheme’s application deadline of 30 June 2021, European citizens are being urged to apply now to secure their rights in UK law.

The latest official statistics published today (21 January 2021) show that up to 31 December 2020 there had been almost 4.9 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme.

This includes more than 4.4 million applications from England, 243,600 from Scotland, 80,700 from Wales and 78,500 from Northern Ireland up to 31 December 2020. In December alone there were 402,300 new applications to the scheme as people applied before the end of the transition period.

Minister for Future Borders and Immigration Kevin Foster said:

Reaching almost 4.9 million applications to the hugely successful EU Settlement Scheme is terrific news. There is less than six months before the 30 June 2021 deadline and I would encourage all those eligible to apply now to secure their rights under UK law.

A wide range of support is available online and over the telephone if you need it and we are funding 72 organisations across the UK to ensure no one gets left behind.

The EU Settlement Scheme was launched on 30 March 2019 and at its height Home Office caseworkers were regularly processing up to 20,000 applications a day. The highest number of applications processed in one month was more than 400,000 in October 2019.

The EU Settlement Scheme uses cutting edge technology, including the EU Exit: ID Document Check app which allows people to apply from the comfort of their own home in as little as 15 minutes.

The Home Office also has a dedicated team of more than 1,500 people working on the EU Settlement Scheme, with support available seven days a week by telephone and by email. We have provided up to £17 million to a network of now 72 organisations across the UK who support vulnerable people in applying to the scheme. They include charities, local authorities and local government associations.

The Home Office has also run three bursts of marketing campaigns, spending £4.6 million. The latest burst ran throughout December 2020 to encourage EU citizens across the UK to apply.

Welcome Secretary General. And thank you for your address to the Permanent Council today and for setting out so clearly your approach to the role and your priorities. You have the UK’s support and confidence to deliver on this agenda.

You are no doubt already aware that the role of OSCE Secretary General is a challenging one and you are assuming this role during extremely challenging times. COVID-19 continues to impact on OSCE business and directly on the work of the Secretariat.

Although the organisation has adapted extremely well to the virtual environment within which we are all currently forced to operate, there will be aspects of OSCE business, and of your role –relationship building, diplomacy, outreach, support for conflict prevention and resolution – that really benefit from in person, face to face interaction, which I hope we can all return to soon. That said, your able team have demonstrated virtual multilateralism can work and a key priority now should be to capture all of that learning and best practice (including around reducing the organisation’s environmental impact) so we do not simply return to old behaviours and practices.

Your three priorities – effective and efficient management; strengthening trust and dialogue and promoting and protecting the OSCE’s comprehensive security concept across all three dimensions – which you identified during your hearing and again today are from our perspective, exactly right.

I’m pleased that you have prioritised the effective and efficient management of the organisation, working in partnership with the Heads of Institution and Field Missions, and with us, the participating States. Every effective organisation must be underpinned by robust, objective and clear financial, Human Resources, legal and oversight processes which support good governance and decision making, a safe open and inclusive working environment, merit based recruitment and efficient, results based budgeting.

It is the responsibility of all organisations to put in place appropriate, effective internal governance systems and processes to protect staff from bullying and harassment and to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse. The consequences of failing to do so are grave, both for the victims and for the reputation of the organisation. Participating states have a crucial role to play here, including through our secondment of personnel into OSCE structures. The UK remains a strong supporter of clear efforts to promote and advance gender equality, undertake tangible actions on UNSCR 1325 in the OSCE, and create a culture which values diversity within the OSCE’s executive structures.

The relationship between the Secretary General and the 57 participating States is key to organisational effectiveness. We are pleased that from the outset you have committed to regular, transparent engagement with delegations here in Vienna. And in return we should all commit to giving you and our new Heads of Institutions the space and flexibility you require to do your jobs effectively and to form your own views on organisational effectiveness, efficiencies and on any areas in need of reform.

We also recognise the importance of a strong, supportive relationship between the Secretary General and the OSCE Chair, particularly in response to emerging risks to security in the OSCE region, early warning or conflict prevention. In response to regional or internal crises, the OSCE has an impressive range of tools, guidance and support to offer but whether those tools can be deployed successfully depends on the level of trust between the participating states and OSCE structures, and the willingness of those States to accept help when it is offered.

You are right also to focus on the promotion of the OSCE’s unique comprehensive security concept and the interlinkages between the three Dimensions. In your external engagement with other multilateral organisations, it will continue to be important to increase international awareness of the OSCE’s role, its areas of expertise, where it can add real value, and to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.

Congratulations once again on your appointment. We look forward to working with you and your team on all of these issues. And thank you to Ambassador Tuula Yrola for her excellent job in acting as Secretary General and Officer in Charge, during the important period at the end of last year.

• 13% of all PCR swab tests since start of pandemic carried out in first fortnight of January 2021
• Significant improvement in test turnaround times: 85.0% of in-person test results returned the next day after the test was taken, compared with 63.0% the week before

NHS Test and Trace has continued to reach a high volume of cases and contacts and, with improving turnaround times for tests, the service has seen a record-breaking start to the new year.

In the first 2 weeks of January, NHS Test and Trace has carried out more than 13% of the PCR tests conducted to date. Approximately 331,000 people received a positive result, with NHS Test and Trace identifying an estimated 47% of new infections.

Not only are record numbers of people being tested, but NHS Test and Trace has successfully reached 86.7% of the people who received a positive test result, and 92.9% of their contacts, making a real impact in breaking chains of transmission. In total during the week of 7 to 13 January, 874,552 people who had either tested positive or were a recent close contact of someone who had tested positive, were reached and told to self-isolate – people who might otherwise have gone on to unknowingly infect others.

People can also have confidence that if they have symptoms and need a test, they can get one quickly and conveniently. NHS Test and Trace’s vastly expanded test site network now has more than 800 test sites in operation, including 448 local test sites. The median distance travelled for a test is just 2.2 miles, compared to 5.1 miles as recently as September.

Test results are also coming back more quickly. For this reporting period, 85.0% of in-person test results returned the next day after the test was taken, compared with 63.0% the week before.

The Lighthouse Laboratory at Charnwood, which began processing at the end of November, has met its target capacity of delivering 50,000 test samples a day by early 2021 following its ramp up phase. The Charnwood Lighthouse Laboratory, 1 of 2 operated by Perkin Elmer, sits alongside Alderley Park, Cambridge, Glasgow, Milton Keynes and Newport, and will be joined by the Newcastle, Brants Bridge and Plymouth laboratories in the coming months.

In addition to the growing Lighthouse Lab network, we have partnership agreements with Randox in Northern Ireland, the University of Birmingham and a range of public, private and academic sectors including NHS trusts, commercial suppliers and not-for-profit organisations.

Last week the government announced an additional £20 million to local authorities to cover the cost of the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme, to ensure people continue to have access to the support they need to stay at home and reduce the transmission of COVID-19. This includes an additional £10 million to enable local authorities to continue making discretionary payments to people who fall outside the scope of the main scheme, but who will still face hardship if required to self-isolate.

Health Minister Lord Bethell said:

NHS Test and Trace has delivered impressive results so far this year, not least in demonstrating its ever-increasing testing capacity. More than 13% of PCR tests conducted to date were carried out in the first 13 days of January 2021 – a phenomenal achievement for a national service that has existed for just 9 months. Week by week, people are able to access tests faster and more conveniently than before, underlining the continuous improvement being made to the service.

While our testing capacity continues to grow as part of the government’s winter plan, NHS Test and Trace is also deploying hundreds of thousands of rapid tests to identify asymptomatic cases. Almost one million LFD tests were conducted in this reporting week and we will continue to innovate and evolve our testing capability.

Around 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 don’t display symptoms, meaning you can infect others unknowingly. It is therefore crucial that we continue to follow public health guidance, and all play our part by following the rules and reducing our social contact to slow the spread of the virus.

Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, Baroness Dido Harding, said:

The pace of our response has been set by the virus and I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to ensure NHS Test and Trace is meeting this challenge. It has been a strong start to the year. More than 7 million people had been successfully contact-traced since the start of NHS Test and Trace, a testament to the service’s performance levels.

There is no doubt that as we have built and scaled the service, we have learnt more and more about how to counter the spread of the virus. This is an overall national effort and no one organisation or team can do this on their own. With 290 local tracing partnerships now in operation, the combined local expertise of local authorities with the data and resources of NHS Test and Trace ensures that the service continues to grow from strength to strength.

Testing

As of 20 January, more than 62 million tests have been processed in the UK in total since testing began, more than any other comparable European country.

In the latest reporting week, 971,537 lateral flow device (LFD) tests have been carried out, with 2,599,617 conducted in total since first introduced in October.

Pillar 1 test results made available within 24 hours is the same as last week’s total (94.7%) and this has remained broadly consistent since Test and Trace began. 92.9% of satellite tests were received within 3 days after the day they were taken, compared with 86.8% the previous week. For satellite test centres, 87.5% were received within 72 hours compared to 75.4% in the previous week.

Over the past months, the government has put in place the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history. NHS Test and Trace now has the capacity to carry out more than 790,000 tests per day, compared to 2,000 just 9 months ago.

Tracing

So far, more than 7 million cases and contacts have been reached and told to self-isolate by contact tracers.

Tracing performance has remained high with 86.7% of cases and 92.9% of contacts reached last week. The proportion of contacts reached within 24 hours once identified as a contact was 98%.

351,567 positive cases were transferred to contact tracers between 7 and 13 January, with 304,789 reached and told to self-isolate.

Between 7 and 13 January, 613,524 people were identified as recent close contacts, with 96.2% of those with communication details provided reached and told to self-isolate. Since Test and Trace launched 88.5% of close contacts for whom communication details were provided have been reached.

Background information

The weekly statistics from the 33rd week of NHS Test and Trace show in the most recent week of operations (7 to 13 January):

1. The proportion of contacts reached by tracing service remains consistent at 92.9%
2. 86.7% of people who tested positive and were transferred to the contact-tracing system were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts, compared with 87.7% the previous week
3. 96.2% of contacts where communication details were given were reached and told to self-isolate, compared with 95.9% the previous week
4. 85.0% of in-person test results were received the next day after the test was taken, compared with 63.0% of tests the previous week (England only)
5. 94.7% of pillar 1 test results were made available within 24 hours, consistent with last week’s total
6. 53.7% of in-person test results were received within 24 hours after the test was taken, compared with 31.6% the previous week
7. 92.9% of satellite tests were received within 3 days after the day they were taken, compared with 86.8% the previous week. For satellite test centres, 87.5% were received within 72 hours compared to 75.4% in the previous week. In the most recent week, approximately 82% of tests from satellite test centres were care home tests and removing the 18% of tests from other sites slightly decreases the percentage of tests received within 3 days after the test was taken to 92.6%
8. Launched on 28 September 2020, the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme is administered by lower tier and unitary authorities in England, with an initial £50 million of government funding for local authorities to cover the cost of administering the scheme
9. As of 13 January, the NHS Test and Trace app has been downloaded 21,416,429 times and 785,085 QR posters have been generated