UK Government backs two exciting green Scottish projects

The UK Government has announced £508,665 for two projects in Thurso, Scotland – Thurso+ and AcouBat, led by industry partner AMTE Power.

This UK Government funding is part of £49 million awarded to projects across the UK that will create thousands of jobs, save millions of tonnes of CO2 and lead the charge towards a low carbon automotive future.

Noting a surge of demand from customers for battery cells for electric vehicles, AMTE Power’s Thurso+ project is scaling up its battery cell production facility in Thurso. They are identifying opportunities to boost manufacturing productivity and supply battery cells to specialist vehicle manufacturers.

These learnings could be applied to future development and roll-out of a significant new UK facility. Thurso+ is being awarded £225,590. AcouBat, a testing feasibility for GigaFactory cell manufacturing, is being awarded £283,075.

The funding awarded will provide a real boost to scale electric vehicle battery production in Scotland and drive improvements in battery testing.

By continuing to support vital research and development, this funding will assist the sector in its recovery in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic while further accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicles. This will help spread prosperity across the UK with the creation of thousands of new jobs, and continue to make the UK a competitive and attractive place to invest.

The UK has a proud history of automotive manufacturing success, and the government continues to support the industry as it develops greener manufacturing processes.

The government’s ambition is for the UK to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and funding of this kind will ensure the UK continues to be a world-leader in securing a prosperous, zero-carbon future.

Minister for Business and Industry Nadhim Zahawi said:

The UK is leading the global battle against climate change, and by developing cleaner vehicles, our automotive industry will help make our net zero ambitions a reality.

Backed by government funding, these trailblazing projects will help Britain to build back better by creating all-important green jobs, ensuring the sector can make further strides towards an electrified automotive future and helping to address one of the biggest challenges of our time: making transport greener.

UK Government Minister for Scotland, David Duguid, said:

Innovation is an essential part of helping to tackle the climate emergency. It’s very encouraging to see exciting green Scottish projects striving to find solutions to make the changes necessary to save our environment.

This UK-Government funding is well deserved and will help us bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. I urge others to join us in this year of climate action ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.

Letter from the Commissioner for Public Appointments to Lord Evans

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UK in India: Pledge for Progress

On 5 November, the ‘UK in India’ network and over 100 partners launched the ‘Pledge for Progress’ campaign, a joint commitment to promote gender equality and take practical steps to tackle gender challenges. The ‘Pledge for Progress’ initiative aims to empower organisations and individuals to break down gender norms and together build a gender-equal society, through five key commitments:

Lead: using our platforms to amplify the voices of women leaders, within our organisations and beyond.
Represent: seeking gender diverse representation when hosting and participating in panels and roundtables.
Embed: striving to include gender analysis in the design, implementation and evaluation of our activities.
Include: making our organisations great places for people of all genders to work and ensuring our internal policies fulfil that aim.
Mobilise: working as a collective of gender equality champions, and developing and sharing best practice to together implement this pledge.

This cross-sectoral collective of 114 organisations spanning business, education, arts and civil society have pledged to tackle gender inequality and be the change to encourage further action.

Background

Pledge for Progress forms part of wider work by ‘UK in India’ on gender equality. The UK in India network works with state governments, law enforcement agencies, education authorities and businesses in India to empower women as leaders and trail-blazers, build better and more economic opportunities for women, and promote girls’ education and positive gender roles in schools. The UK and India are working together to help ensure women and girls can reach their full potential.

Examples of some of the ongoing collaborative programmes include:

Working with the Ministry of Rural Development to strengthen resilience to the impacts of climate change and promote livelihood security among women in rural communities, as part of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Working with adolescent girls from socio-economically marginalised communities to develop their English, digital and leadership skills.
Financial inclusion programmes focusing on financial and digital literacy, which have given 12 million Indian women access to credit to build livelihoods. Projects have helped set up or scale 10,000 women-owned micro-businesses, created 6,000 jobs, and supported over 270 micro-entrepreneurs.

If you would like to get involved, contact Diana.Joseph@fcdo.gov.uk.

Published 4 November 2020
Last updated 24 February 2021 + show all updates

24 February 2021
Updated – List of partners
4 November 2020
First published.

Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire: Catherine Brooker

Press release

Ms Catherine Brooker has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in succession to Ms Josephine Gauld.

Ms Catherine Brooker has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in succession to Ms Josephine Gauld, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Ms Brooker will take up her appointment during January 2021.

Full name: Catherine Brooker

Year	Role
2016 to present	FCDO, Head Whitehall Nigeria Unit and Deputy Head of West Africa Department
2012 to 2016	Athens, Counsellor – Political
2011 to 2012	Full-Time Language training (Greek)
2009 to 2011	FCO, Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
2008	Cabinet Office, Senior Policy Advisor – International Institutional Reform Strategy
2004 to 2008	New York, Second Secretary – Political (Middle East)
2003 to 2004	Kabul, Second Secretary – Press and Public Affairs
2001 to 2002	FCO, Desk Officer for Turkey
1999 to 2001	Cardinal Hume Centre for Young Homeless People, Fundraising Officer

Further information

All the latest news is available on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office page of the gov.uk website

Media enquiries

For journalists

Email: newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

Published 4 November 2020

Medical device supplier resolves CMA concerns

Stryker Corporation (Stryker) and Wright Medical Group N.V. (Wright) both manufacture a range of orthopaedic products for patients requiring implants in their feet, ankles and hands. Following an initial Phase 1 investigation in June, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was concerned that the £4.2 billion merger between the 2 companies would have a negative impact on vulnerable patients in the UK who need ankle replacements.

Stryker has now offered to sell off its global total ankle replacement product and assets to Colfax Corporation (Colfax) who will incorporate this into their subsidiary, DJO Global. The CMA is satisfied that this full structural divestment will address its competition concerns.

The CMA has been co-operating closely with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has also been reviewing the merger. In August, the CMA announced that it had agreed to extend its consideration of an acceptable divestment package in order to align with the FTC’s timing and ensure that the divestment package would be acceptable in both UK and US jurisdictions.

Joel Bamford, CMA Senior Director of Mergers, said:

Competition in the medical device sector is vital to improve patient treatments, particularly for medical products designed to help vulnerable people suffering from serious degenerative conditions.

The close cooperation with the FTC’s inquiry and early engagement with both companies has enabled Stryker to address our important concerns about this deal and has led to an outcome that works on a global basis.

The full text of the CMA decision will be published shortly on the Stryker/Wright merger inquiry case page.

For media enquiries, contact the CMA press office on 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk.

Published 4 November 2020
Last updated 4 November 2020 + show all updates

4 November 2020
First published.