Retro electric motorcycles and high-power batteries to help electric vehicles travel longer distances are just 2 of the concepts receiving a share of £49 million government funding today (3 November 2020) – supporting the automotive sector’s quest to go green and creating thousands of new jobs in the process.

31 projects are receiving a portion of £10 million from the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, to support to development of low carbon emission technologies for vehicles, such as state-of-the-art motors and high-performing batteries for electric vehicles. One winning project, Thurso+, will look at upscaling a battery cell production facility in Scotland – boosting UK battery manufacturing capability.

Meanwhile, £29 million is being awarded to 6 projects through the government’s APC16 competition, with winners expected to create 2,880 jobs and save 15.8 million tonnes of CO2. One project, expected to create over 500 jobs, will develop infrastructure to collect and recycle electric vehicles and their batteries. This will boost UK capability to re-use materials from vehicles at the end of their life, namely electric vehicle batteries and the chemicals within them – with the potential to save vehicle manufacturers thousands of pounds shipping battery packs abroad for recycling.

Finally, 12 projects have been selected as part of the government’s £10 million Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator (ARMD) competition, including a project led by Nissan – which will implement automation technologies to quickly charge electric vehicle batteries in the factory, increasing productivity and slashing costs on their electric vehicle production line.

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.

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said:

Today’s £49 million investment in projects from retro electric motorcycles to high-power batteries, will boost our transition to zero-emission vehicles, helping us meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals and driving growth by increasing skilled jobs in the UK automotive sector.

This funding comes hot on the heels of the £2.5 billion support we have announced to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles and enhance chargepoint infrastructure across the wider roads network.

By continuing to support vital research and development, these funding pots will assist the sector in its recovery in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic while further accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicles, 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.

About the winners

The funding streams are being delivered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), an organisation that has so far funded 113 low carbon projects in the sector to save over 225 million tonnes of CO2.

Of the 31 winners under the Automotive Transformation Fund, 14 will look at scaling up product manufacturing, 9 will assess the feasibility of large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK and 8 will look at advanced manufacturing processes for electric vehicle technologies.

These projects include:

1. TALGA [Cambridge] – Ramping up the electric vehicle market relies heavily on improving the distance electric vehicles can travel. This can be boosted by improving the density of electric vehicle batteries – meaning how much of the chemical ‘lithium’ a battery can store. This project will increase battery density, enabling electric vehicles to travel significantly longer distances.

2. Thurso+ [Thurso, Scotland] – Noting a surge of demand from customers for battery cells for electric vehicles, AMTE Power is scaling up its battery cell production facility in Scotland, 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.

Winners under the £29 million APC16 competition include:

1. BSA Company Ltd – The Electric BSA project [Banbury] – For the first time in history, a true retro motorcycle will be powered by a battery powered electric engine. This motorcycle being developed will have the best of both the worlds – old retro charm paired with futuristic, green technology. This project is expected to create 255 jobs.

2. European Metal Recycling Ltd – RECOVAS [Warrington] – As more vehicles become electrified, greater volumes of batteries are required – which eventually must be repurposed or recycled. Exporting these materials for recycling is unsustainable; this project, expected to create 535 jobs, will develop the infrastructure in the UK to collect and recycle electric vehicles and their batteries.

Winning demonstrators under the £10 million ARMD competition include:

1. Nissan – NABCO [Sunderland] – Nissan is the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the UK. In collaboration with Newcastle University this project will develop an automated process of battery charging in the factory, boosting efficiency on the production line and driving out the cost of electric vehicle manufacturing.

2. Bamford Bus Company Ltd [London] – This project will deliver a zero-emission electric single-deck bus that can either be powered by electric batteries or a hydrogen fuel-cell. The vehicle will test new technologies and help bus operators decide what blend of electric and fuel-cell buses are required in the zero-emission fleets of the future.

About the Advanced Propulsion Centre

The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) accelerates the industrialisation of technologies which will help to realise net-zero emission vehicles. It is at the heart of the UK government’s commitment to end the country’s contribution to global warming by 2050.

Since its foundation in 2013, APC has funded over 113 low-carbon projects, involving more than 290 partners. The technologies developed in these projects are projected to save over 225 million tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of removing the lifetime emissions from 8.8 million cars.

• Prime Minister announces new whole city testing approach to launch in Liverpool from Friday with hundreds of thousands of new, rapid turnaround tests deployed
• all residents and workers will be offered repeat COVID-19 testing, even if asymptomatic, to find more positive cases and break chains of transmission
• tests to be provided through a partnership between Liverpool City Council, NHS Test and Trace and Ministry of Defence, with logistical support from Armed Forces personnel

Everyone living or working in Liverpool will now be offered COVID-19 testing, whether they have symptoms or not, in the first pilot of whole city testing in England made possible by the dramatic increase in testing capacity and new technologies.

At the request of and in close collaboration with local leaders, the Prime Minister is announcing the first deployment of whole city testing in order to help support the local area to find even more people with coronavirus to control the spread of the virus and gain more data on the number of cases across the city, which are already among the highest per 100,000 in the UK. Testing will begin this week.

Residents and workers will be tested using a combination of existing swab tests, as well as new lateral flow tests which can rapidly turn around results within an hour without the need to be processed in a lab, as well as LAMP technology due to be deployed in Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for NHS staff.

The pilot will help to inform a blueprint for how mass testing can be achieved and how fast and reliable COVID-19 testing can be delivered at scale.

Local leaders who invite mass testing will benefit from receiving a clearer picture of the number of cases across the city, enabling them to make informed decisions to manage the spread of the virus and support their communities. The greater the number of people who participate, the greater the accuracy of the local picture, which will mean better local decision-making to suppress the virus to help communities get back to doing more of the normal things they like to do.

Testing will be carried out in sites across the city, including a large number of new sites determined by local leaders. There will be a variety of ways to book a test, including online, walk-up, or by invitation from the local authority. Testing will be carried out in new and existing test sites, using home kits, in hospitals and care home settings, and schools, universities and workplaces.

Positive results from tests will be collected by NHS Test and Trace, and published as part of the daily case numbers, including how many positive cases are detected with this new method of testing. Results will be received from NHS Test and Trace via text and email.

Anyone who tests positive, using either a lateral flow test or an existing swab test, must self-isolate along with their household immediately and their contacts will be traced. Those who test negative will need to continue to follow all national guidance.

These more advanced tests will help identify infectious individuals who are not displaying symptoms and help far more positive cases so they can self-isolate and prevent the virus from spreading, in a first step towards rolling out mass testing more widely across the UK.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

I want to thank the civic leaders of Liverpool for volunteering to join the UK’s first city-wide population testing pilot and the people of Liverpool for taking part.

These tests will help identify the many thousands of people in the city who don’t have symptoms but can still infect others without knowing. Dependent on their success in Liverpool, we will aim to distribute millions of these new rapid tests between now and Christmas and empower local communities to use them to drive down transmission in their areas.

It is early days, but this kind of mass testing has the potential to be a powerful new weapon in our fight against COVID-19.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:

Last month we set out our ambition to use the latest mass testing technologies to bring this virus under control.

Mass testing will help us to control this virus, by finding it even before people get symptoms. I’m delighted we can now roll out mass testing to whole cities – starting with the City of Liverpool. Using half a million of the very latest rapid tests, this rollout can help suppress the virus and give residents and workers some peace of mind.

I want to thank local leaders, Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson and City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, and Liverpool’s Director of Public Health Matt Ashton, who will continue to work hand in hand with our dedicated armed forces to provide tests to anyone who wants one, fully supported by NHS Test and Trace.

Everyone in Liverpool can help play their part by getting a test and following the rules, including the critical basics of ‘Hands. Face. Space’.

Eligible individuals who test positive – and contacts who are required to self-isolate – will be entitled to the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment in the same way as a regular swab test ordered through NHS Test and Trace.

Whole city testing aims to protect those at highest risk and find asymptomatic cases to help prevent and reduce transmission in the community. By testing a large proportion of a single town or city more positive cases can be identified and told to self-isolate to help control the spread.

Liverpool is in local COVID alert level very high and weekly cases currently stand at 410.4 per 100,000, as of 25 October. The government’s strategy is to suppress the virus while supporting the economy, education and the NHS, until an effective vaccine is widely available. Local action is at the centre of the government’s response, and engagement with local authorities is, and will continue to be, a key part of this process.

Liverpool City Council will set out how residents and workers will be able to access the tests this week.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:

During negotiations with central government, myself and Steve Rotheram have always highlighted the need for enhanced public health intervention measures in Liverpool and the wider city region, and we were keen that we should be considered for any new strategies to tackle the worrying rise in COVID-19.

We are pleased that our numerous conversations have resulted in Liverpool becoming a pilot for mass testing, which will help to quickly identify people who have the virus and reduce transmission substantially.

We are seeing a slow reduction in figures in Liverpool which shows we are on the right path and residents and businesses are working together and following guidelines for the greater good.

We hope this new initiative boosts our efforts, and we will continue to see the numbers of positive cases drop across the city.

Alongside NHS Test and Trace and commercial partners, the Ministry of Defence will supply additional military personnel to support the COVID-19 mass testing initiative in Liverpool through assisting local authorities with planning logistics locally, and delivering the additional lateral flow testing part of the programme. Roughly 2,000 personnel will be deployed from Thursday 5 November.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Armed Forces have deployed specialist planners, medics and logisticians to assist with the Government response to the outbreak through the COVID Support Force. When the national testing programme launched, the Armed Forces provided invaluable support, deploying thousands of personnel at short notice across 236 mobile testing units, carrying out more than 700,000 tests. As part of the sustainable testing model for the long term, personnel were replaced with civilian operators, but Armed Forces have continued to bolster local logistics and outbreak management.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

Since the start of the pandemic, the Armed Forces have worked with colleagues across government to increase the national testing capacity. We will be deploying 2000 talented Armed Forces personnel to, once again, rise to the challenges posed by COVID-19 to ensure we go above and beyond for the Liverpool community – we will have your backs throughout the trial.

The military are uniquely placed to help with the fight against COVID-19 and remain ready to support with the mass testing initiative in Liverpool along with the additional needs of the country at this time.

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

Mass testing has the potential to enable us to find the vast majority of people who have coronavirus, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not, and therefore dramatically enhance our ability to stop the spread of the virus. This first deployment of whole city testing in Liverpool is a really important step forward and is thanks to the big increase in testing capacity and our investment in new testing technologies.

NHS Test and Trace will continue to work closely with local leaders, directors of public health and the Armed Forces to ensure Liverpool residents and workers can benefit from these advances. By everyone in Liverpool coming forward to get tested, and isolating if they need to, we have a real opportunity to make a massive difference.

Lateral flow tests are intended to detect the presence or absence of coronavirus by applying a swab from the nose and throat to a special test kit, and provide results without the need for a full scale laboratory.

LAMP is a new type of testing technology which stands for loop mediated isothermal amplification, and provides the ability to deliver significant volumes of tests.

PCR swab tests are the tests that have been used as the default. These tests look for the genetic code (RNA) of the virus. The test involves taking a swab of the throat and nose. The test will confirm if an individual who is showing symptoms of the virus currently has it. It will not confirm whether they have had it and have now recovered.

Avian influenza of the H5N8 strain was confirmed at a premises near Frodsham in Cheshire on Monday 2 November.

Testing today (Tuesday 3 November) has confirmed this is a highly pathogenic strain related to the virus currently circulating in Europe.

All 13,500 birds at the farm will be humanely culled to limit the spread of the disease. A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected site to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

This case is unrelated to the H5N2 strain which was confirmed in at a small commercial premises near Deal in Kent on Monday.

Public Health England (PHE) advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency advises that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss, said:

Avian flu has been confirmed at a commercial broiler breeder rearing farm near Frodsham in Cheshire. Immediate steps have been taken to limit the risk of the disease spreading and all remaining poultry at the farm will be culled.

Public Health England has confirmed that the risk to public health is very low and the Food Standards Agency advises that bird flu poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.

Bird keepers should remain alert for any signs of disease, report suspected disease immediately and ensure they are maintaining good biosecurity on their premises.

We are urgently looking for any evidence of disease spread associated with this farm to control and eliminate it.

Dr Gavin Dabrera, Consultant in Acute Respiratory Infections at PHE said:

There have never been any confirmed cases of H5N8 in humans and the risk to public health is considered very low.

We continue to work closely with Defra throughout this investigation.

A Food Standards Agency spokesperson said:

We advise that, on the basis of the current scientific evidence, avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.

Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, remain safe to eat.

A detailed investigation is in progress to determine the most likely source of this outbreak.

Wild birds migrating from mainland Europe during the winter period can spread the disease to poultry and other captive birds. There are some simple measures that all poultry keepers, whether they are running a large commercial farm, keeping a few hens in their back garden, or rearing game birds, should take to protect their birds against the threat of avian flu.

These include:

• Keeping the area where birds live clean and tidy, controlling rats and mice and regularly cleansing and disinfecting any hard surfaces
• Cleaning footwear before and after visits
• Placing birds’ feed and water in fully enclosed areas that are protected from wild birds, and removing any spilled feed regularly
• Putting fencing around outdoor areas where birds are allowed and limiting their access to ponds or areas visited by wild waterfowl
• Where possible, avoid keeping ducks and geese with other poultry species.

Further information on how to help prevent the spread of the disease can be found on gov.uk.

Mr President,

The United Kingdom would like to thank Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), for his presentation and thank the Court for its annual report to the United Nations. The United Kingdom notes that during the reporting period important progress has been made, despite the practical challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Promoting international criminal justice and the rule of law are fundamental elements of the United Kingdom’s foreign policy. The United Kingdom has always been, and remains, a strong supporter of the aims and objectives of the Court. The United Kingdom strongly supports justice and accountability, and an end to impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern. The ICC has an important role to play in achieving this as part of the rules based international system.

Mr President, the United Kingdom continues to provide significant financial, practical and political support to the Court. The United Kingdom is currently enforcing the custodial sentence of Mr Ahmed Al Faki Al Mahdi. This demonstrates our continued practical cooperation with the Court. The United Kingdom recognises the serious challenges facing the Court at this time. We strongly believe that Court officials must be able to carry out their work independently and impartially, without fear of sanction.

Mr President, the United Kingdom believes the Court forms an important part of the rules based international system. That is why the United Kingdom has clearly set out that we believe changes are needed in order for the Court to face the future with confidence. We will continue to support positive reform of the Court, so that it operates as effectively as possible. In particular, the United Kingdom welcomed the establishment of an Independent Expert Review at last year’s Assembly of States Parties, as part of an inclusive State Party driven process for identifying and implementing measures to strengthen the Court. Meaningful reform is a process, not an event, and requires careful and determined attention over a sustained period of time, across many aspects of the Court’s work. It is now essential that work is taken forward to ensure that the necessary changes are made to strengthen the Court. The United Kingdom looks forward to working with States Parties, the Court and civil society to make sure this happens, alongside parallel work strands, to help the Court operate as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Mr President, the United Kingdom believes that the election of the best possible judges and Prosecutor is vital to the future of the ICC. In line with our wider commitment to the Court, the United Kingdom has selected Judge Joanna Korner to be the United Kingdom’s candidate for forthcoming election to the ICC’s judiciary. We strongly recommend Judge Korner to all States Parties. Judge Korner has a clear vision of the positive changes that she can make to the Court, as demonstrated in her public pledges. Moreover, Judge Korner is one of the United Kingdom’s finest judges, offering nearly thirty years of judicial experience, trying some of the most complex and challenging cases. Judge Korner has also served for eight years as a Senior Prosecuting Trial Attorney in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Most important of all, Judge Korner is forthright about the critical need to support victims, including children and victims of sexual and gender-based violence who have suffered the most appalling crimes.

Mr President, the United Kingdom strongly supports the aims of the ICC and believes the Court has a pivotal role to play in the delivery of justice and as part of the rules based international system. We will continue to demonstrate this support to the Court, and to work together with States Parties and the Court to strengthen and build a Court that is more effective and more efficient, and that ultimately delivers justice for victims and accountability for the most serious crimes of international concern.

• UK testing capacity increased to 519,770 to help meet demand over the winter period, in ongoing expansion of testing
• this follows announcements of new Lighthouse Labs and partnerships joining the lab network
• rapid testing innovations will further boost testing capabilities

As a result of partnerships with NHS and university labs, new cutting-edge testing innovations and a recruitment drive boosting the UK’s coronavirus diagnostic network, NHS Test and Trace has rapidly expanded testing capability ahead of winter.

In order to meet the unprecedented scale of challenge this pandemic presents, the government has built a national coalition of people and organisations – from national and local government, the NHS, Public Health England, the military, academia, epidemiology, the private and not-for-profit and community sectors – to create a massive scale testing and tracing programme.

Health and Social Secretary Matt Hancock said:

I am so grateful to the teams who have worked tirelessly over the past few months to meet this milestone, building the UK’s daily coronavirus testing capacity to 519,770. More testing means more cases of coronavirus are identified, helping break chains of transmission and stopping this disease spreading.

NHS Test and Trace is a crucial weapon against this virus – but it’s no silver bullet. As cases are rising, everyone must continue to play their part by following new restrictions and advice of NHS Test and Trace if they are contacted.

The government’s commitment to increasing testing capacity has seen the number of labs across the UK’s growing diagnostic network grow through a combination of public, private and academic partnerships.

More than 3,000 new recruits have joined the lab network since April, while advances in innovation and technology continue to speed up processing and add to capacity.

Since the first UK test site opening at the end of March, more than 600 test sites are now in operation across the UK, with up to 40 new test sites opening every week, making the median distance people are now travelling to a test centre just 2.8 miles. The government is committed to continue expanding the capacity of the network of UK test sites and laboratories to make it even easier to get tested and reduce the time it takes to receive test results.

A critical part of the government’s testing efforts is the use of new technologies and innovations, deployed in ways that will have the most impact in protecting people at risk, finding the virus and enabling life to get back to as normal as possible.

As the Prime Minister has outlined, we have started a number of pilots across schools, universities and workplaces to assess the use of rapid lateral flow antigen tests. This is in addition to ongoing pilots in Southampton and Salford using the LAMP no-swab saliva test and LAMP asymptomatic testing for NHS staff.

In addition to these pilots, last week new Primer Design Rapid Turnaround PCR tests were rolled out across 86 NHS Hospitals, which will provide 34,000 tests to patients each day.

NHS staff have received training to use the tests within hospitals, which can deliver results within 90 minutes. The new tests will help to further strengthen the coronavirus response this winter, arming both clinicians with the ability to identify COVID-19 cases quickly and ensure the most appropriate care for patients.

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

Thanks to thousands of people working around the clock we have built the largest diagnostic network in British history and we are processing tests at an unprecedented scale.

As we set out to do, we exceeded our aim of 500 testing sites and reached our target capacity of 500,000 by the end of October. But we will not stop. We will continue to expand capacity to improve test turnaround times, push forward testing innovations to make sure anyone who needs a test can get one.

Our first line of defence from coronavirus is washing our hands, wearing a mask and keeping our distance. I urge everyone to remember this and follow guidance provided by NHS Test and Trace to protect our loved ones as we move into winter.

Health Minister Lord Bethell said:

To respond to the coronavirus we have built a major testing and tracing system from scratch in five months, and we are constantly working to expand and improve it with new technologies and innovations.

We are working tirelessly to make sure everyone who needs a test can get one, including by bringing in new labs that can process tens of thousands of tests a day, opening new test sites, and trialling new rapid tests that will give results on the spot.

At the same time as expanding NHS and PHE capacity as quickly as possible, the government has set up a growing network of Lighthouse Labs in partnership with a variety of suppliers including NHS Trusts, commercial suppliers, and not-for-profit organisations, in order to process test samples from an entirely new network of testing sites across the UK and from new routes such as home testing and mobile units. This new network of laboratories is in additional to NHS/PHE laboratories.

We have 5 Lighthouse Laboratories operating across the UK (Milton Keynes, Alderley Park, Glasgow, Cambridge and Newport). We have additional Lighthouse Laboratories in Charnwood, Newcastle, Brant’s Bridge and Plymouth coming online over the coming months.

In addition to the growing Lighthouse Lab network, we have partnership agreements with Randox in Northern Ireland and a range of public, private and academic sectors.

More partnership agreements with the public, private and academic sectors will see capacity grow by tens of thousands of tests in the coming months. The University of Birmingham, Health Services Laboratories in partnership with University College London, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London and King’s College London, will all also join the nationwide effort to increase capacity by tens of thousands over the winter.

Maximum capacity is classed at around 85% in order to ensure that the system will operate safely and reliably – this approach aligns with other health and care systems.

There can be a negative impact on turnaround times if labs operate at, or near, maximum capacity. To give our labs headroom to operate efficiently we have rapidly expanded our capacity, opening new laboratories around the country, allowing us to work towards a utilisation rate that will support improving turnaround times while still processing more than a million test a week.

Read more information on labs.

On 16 October, the Prime Minister announced the launch of test pilots in schools, universities and the NHS