UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has today launched a consultation as part of its Open Access Review.

The consultation will inform the development of a new open access policy, aimed at ensuring that the published outputs of research are widely and freely accessible to all.

The UK government and UKRI recognise open access as an important part of achieving maximum impact from public investment in research.

The consultation opens today 13 February and will close on 17 April.

UKRI will use responses to inform its final policy, which it intends to announce later in 2020.

Published 13 February 2020

Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the Cabinet Office today (Thursday 13 February) to recognise the work it undertakes on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government and to thank the civil servants from across government for their work on a range of issues.

They were welcomed to the Cabinet Office by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill and Permanent Secretary Sir John Manzoni, alongside the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove and Cabinet Minister Oliver Dowden.

This was followed by a tour of 70 Whitehall, a briefing on responding to national emergencies, and presentations from civil servants showcasing the breadth of Cabinet Office work, including:

• preparations for the UN Climate Summit COP26

• the Geospatial Commission’s National Underground Asset Register pilots

• the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s (IPA) work on the Proton Beam Therapy Programme, which is helping to treat cancer in children

After the presentations, Their Royal Highnesses met with apprentices, senior officials and employees from all divisions.

Concluding the day, Their Royal Highnesses unveiled a commemorative photograph in front of staff to mark the visit.

Addressing Cabinet Office staff, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales said:

It is fascinating to see what is happening at the heart of the government in the Cabinet Office. I realise what an immensely important role you all play… and I greatly respect the value, the immense amount of intelligence, concern and real desire for public service.

Thank you for everything you do and the difference you make in this country.

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is leading a new venture to offer second careers to military veterans.

Part of defence innovation funding, the pilot project is focused on investing in STEM at Dstl.

Many veterans now have a technical background or specialist skills, and Dstl wants to harness those skills, as part of what’s known as the ‘enterprise approach.’

Dstl took an existing platform, Talent Retention Solutions (TRS), a not-for-profit organisation which has worked to retain STEM skills for Government for other departments, and created a Defence-branded pilot website.

The project is led by Dstl as the biggest user of science skills in MOD.

A Dstl spokesperson said:

“We’re trying to work out where these skilled veterans are – it’s a different way to try and reach that community.

“We’re not just offering you a job; this is an opportunity for a second career within MOD, one which includes personal development and qualifications.

“It’s a fairly wide approach – the focus is slightly different. We’re after broad range of technical skills across nine different roles and we wanted a range of applicants.”

It’s possible the platform could be extended to multiple Defence STEM employers.

Dstl already employs a large number of veterans.

Nicholas Barsby, Chief of Staff of the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), said:

“My role is to bring the experiences and skills that I learnt from my full career and try and help out the people here to do their job in delivering innovation.

“I was really privileged to be able to help out, in my final years, with both Afghanistan and Iraq bringing in some urgent operational requirements which directly saved lives.

“It’s that focus and energy which I saw then being applied to help those guys out in the field that I was very pleased to support and doing so again now in a different way.”

The site is now live, with roles across the Air, Sea and Land domains, as well as niche and scarce skills .

Nick Barsby talks about life as a veteran at Dstl

The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission’s community representatives have chosen Thelma Stober and Michael Lockwood as their co-chairs.

The Commission will be working closely with the bereaved, survivors and the community to decide the most fitting and appropriate way to remember those who lost their lives in the Grenfell tragedy, and how the memorial site will be owned and managed in the long term.

The community-led Commission is made up of representatives of the bereaved families, survivors of the fire, and local residents.

The co-chairs will ensure that the Commission’s work to decide the memorial involves the community at every stage.

The community representatives said:

We are pleased to have selected 2 co-chairs to support the community on our journey towards a fitting memorial.

Both bring a range of skills from their extensive careers across the public sector including Michael’s previous role supporting the Grenfell community, and Thelma’s experiences of the 7/7 memorial as a survivor of that terrible event.

This unique, combined experience will further strengthen the work we’re about to begin with our incredible community to determine how we should best remember all those affected by the Grenfell tragedy.

In a joint statement, co-chairs, Thelma Stober and Michael Lockwood, said:

We are honoured to have been selected by the community representatives to co-chair the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission and will work tirelessly to support them to deliver a memorial that reflects the wishes of the bereaved families, survivors and local community.

The role of the Commission is vital in making sure that those who lost their lives in the tragedy are commemorated and are never forgotten.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

I welcome the appointment of Thelma Stober and Michael Lockwood as co-chairs of the independent Memorial Commission, as chosen by the community.

It is right that the bereaved, survivors and community are at the heart of the decision-making process on the memorial.

The government is committed to supporting the community in their work to create a fitting memorial to honour those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Thelma Stober

Thelma Stober is Head of Legal and Company Secretary at the Local Government Association and survived the 7/7 London terror attacks. She sits on the government’s Victims’ Panel advising on improving the criminal justice system for victims of crime and is also a trustee for the London Emergencies Trust.

She was selected to represent the United Kingdom at the second International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism, on 21 August 2019, by the United Nations at its headquarters in New York.  

Michael Lockwood

Michael Lockwood is the Director-General of the Independent Office of Police Complaints. Prior to this he was chief executive of the London Borough of Harrow Council.

Michael was brought in by the government immediately after the Grenfell Tower fire to lead on the recovery work and engagement with the bereaved, survivors and local community and to head up the site management team. During this time, Michael engaged with the bereaved and survivors after the tragic fire.

Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission

The Commission comprises 10 community representatives made up of 5 bereaved, 3 former residents of Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk who lost their homes, and 2 residents from the Lancaster West estate. This composition of community representatives will enable the bereaved to have the majority say.

Representatives were selected by the bereaved families, survivors and local residents.

The Commission will seek the views of the local North Kensington community to develop a proposal for a fitting memorial.

The Commission will publish a report setting out its findings once its work is complete.

Administrative support to the Commission is provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The government and council have no plans to redevelop the site. They have publicly stated that if the bereaved, survivors and local community do not want the site to be redeveloped, it will not be redeveloped.

No decision has yet been made about the future of the Tower.

More information about the Commission can be found on its website.

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has an ongoing remit to monitor the operation of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW), and to assess the impact of increases in the levels of those minimum wages. It undertakes continuous evaluation of the impact of minimum wage upratings on the sectors and groups of workers most affected, and on the labour market more generally. The Commission draws upon a range of evidence in making its assessment, including a number of research projects commissioned specifically to inform its recommendations. As in previous years, we wish to commission a number of new research projects to inform its future work.

The Invitation to Tender is on Contracts Finder (please find links below) and has a deadline for all five projects of 2pm on Monday 2 March 2020. The topics we wish researched are:

Information about previous LPC research projects is available on our website. A summary of the main findings from these is available in Appendix 2 of our 2019 Report.

Please direct all enquiries through UKSBS Research and Contracts Finder. Details of how to apply are given in the links provided for the individual projects.

Please note that BEIS now uses UK Shared Business Services Ltd Procurement Portal for its portal. This has replaced EMPTORIS. You will need to register for the new system.