The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will charter another civilian aircraft to help British nationals and their dependants leave Wuhan for the UK. The charter flight is expected to leave in the early hours of Sunday morning local time (9 February) to land at RAF Brize Norton.

The FCO wants to ensure that all British nationals in Hubei province contact our dedicated team to register if they want to leave on the flight on our 24/7 number +86 (0) 10 8529 6600, or the FCO in London on (+44) (0)207 008 1500.

On the flight there will be a small number of medics to provide support to passengers, if required, and FCO officials will also be on board to provide assistance.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

We have been working round the clock to help British nationals leave Hubei province, on UK, French and New Zealand flights.

The Foreign Office is chartering a second and final UK flight with space to help all British nationals and their dependants remaining in Hubei to leave.

I encourage all British nationals in Hubei to register with our teams if they want to leave on this flight.

Notes to Editors:

• All British nationals in Hubei province if they want to leave on this flight should contact our 24/7 number +86 (0) 10 8529 6600 or the FCO in London on (+44) (0)207 008 1500.
• For queries related to the measures in place to support British nationals following their arrival at RAF Brize Norton, media are advised to contact the Department of Health and Social Care on 0333 3201654 (out-of-hours number until 8am), 020 7972 5724 or 020 7972 6023.

Published 4 February 2020

2020 / 2021 Themes

This year the BHC is seeking to support projects in Belize that focus on the following themes:

• Environment / Conservation – relating to climate change, eliminating single use plastics, maritime, tackling illegal wildlife
• Human rights – in particular to promoting girls’ education, LGBT rights, preventing sexual violence, reducing Modern Slavery, Freedom of Religion or Belief
• Security & Justice – in particular strengthening the capacity of the criminal justice system and law enforcement, improved access to justice and protection of rights for all citizens
• Economic and sustainable growth – relating to better business environments in key sectors

Please note these examples intend to give an idea of the sort of areas we are looking for. However, do not restrict your bids to these areas.

Bidding Guidance

• The BHC will run a competitive bidding process in order to ensure we use our allocation for projects that are of high quality and deliver value for money
• The projects must directly benefit Belize and support programmes linked to the UK’s thematic priorities (see above)
• Projects are funded for a single financial year running from April 2020 to 28 February 2021, with no expectation of continued funding beyond this period
• Maximum budget limit: $26,000.00 BZD
• At least 85% of the project funding should be spent by December 2020
• There are no pre-payments. Reimbursements will be made three months in arrears once activities have taken place and all receipts submitted

Assessment

Bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Alignment with the above mentioned thematic priorities and project outcomes (results)
• Outcomes are achievable within the funding period
• Project design includes clear monitoring and evaluation procedures
• Sustainability demonstrating that project benefits continue after the funding ends and showcasing long term impact in Belize
• Risk and financial accountability procedures
• The organisation’s safeguarding policies that ensure protection of beneficiaries
• Overall value for money

Criteria and eligibility

In order to bid, your organisation or agency must demonstrate that it has previous experience in project management (preferably working with international agencies or organisations), sufficient technical, financial, personnel and logistical capacity.

We are particularly interested in project bids that will add value and impact via innovative activities to improve relationships and cooperation between all stakeholders (civil society organisations, the general public, relevant institutions and the Government of Belize).

Projects should demonstrate how they will make a difference e.g. by covering an existing gap in the system or promoting practical change.

Results should be clear, measurable and sustainable. Priority will be given to projects that draw on UK experience and expertise and strengthen UK-Belize co-operation.

How to Bid

To bid you need to fully complete in English a Project Proposal Bid Form (ODT, 59.5KB) and an Activity Based Budget Template (ODS, 21KB). Bids will not be considered if both forms are not received.

Activity Based Budgets should list the activities needed to deliver the outcomes (results) of the project. All costs should be in Belizean dollars.

Process

1. Project bids must be received by midnight on Sunday 1 March, 2020. Late or incomplete bids will NOT be considered
2. Completed Bids must be submitted to: mellissa.rivero@fco.gov.uk and copied to: Brithicom@btl.net
3. Projects will be examined and a shortlist submitted to the British High Commission Project Board by mid March 2020. The Project Board may request further information
4. The BHC aims to sign grant agreements with successful project implementers in April 2020
5. Unsuccessful bids will be informed

What you cannot bid for

The project fund cannot be used to pay for:

• Recurrent monthly costs (staff salaries, rents, bills or consumables)
• Projects that are purely of a political, military or religious nature
• Computers, sports equipment or text books
• Flights at any class other than Economy
• Consultancy fees where these form the majority of the funds. Any consultancy fees included in a project must be less than 10% and will be closely monitored to ensure value for money

After the bid

The bidding round is an open and competitive process, assessed by the British High Commission Project Board in Belize.

• We aim to issue the Project Board decision by early April
• Once a bid is approved, a Grant Contract will be signed with all successful bidders. In the documents section you will find an example of a Grant Contract Agreement Template (PDF, 825KB, 24 pages). Your organisation will be expected to sign the contract within one week of the funds being awarded. Failure to do so will result in the funds being re-allocated
• The implementing organisation will be required to submit quarterly reports, financial reports and a final evaluation of the project. The Implementing organisation is expected to meet deadlines set by the BHC
• Please note there are no pre-payments. Reimbursements will be made three months in arrears once activities have taken place and all receipts submitted. Implementing organisations will request repayments using an invoice (including receipts and a financial report of spend) and the repayments will be carried out during those dates agreed upon in the respective contract
• The budget should be presented in Belizean Dollars. All payments will be made to a bank account held in Belize

Please send any questions regarding the call for bids to: mellissa.rivero@fco.gov.uk, Mellissa Rivero, Project Officer.

The deadline for the phase-out of coal from Britain’s energy system is planned to be brought forward a year to 1 October 2024, the Prime Minister has announced today (4 February 2020) in a speech to launch COP26.

The government will consult on bringing the deadline for ending unabated coal forward from 2025 to 2024, part of its drive to go further and faster on decarbonising the power sector, as it works towards net zero by 2050.

New statistics released today show the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.1% between 2017 and 2018, thanks in large part to the rapid decline of coal-powered electricity generation. Last year more than half of the UK’s electricity came from low-carbon sources.

This means the UK has cut its emissions by 43% since 1990 while growing the economy by more than two thirds – the best performance of any G7 nation.

Business and Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom said:

The UK has a proud record in tackling climate change and making the most of the enormous economic potential of clean technologies. This is my number one priority, and we will raise our ambition in this year of climate action.

Coal-generated energy will soon be a distant memory as we plan to decarbonise every sector of our economy, enabling a greener future for all our children.

The Prime Minister today set out the UK’s position as a world leader in the response to climate change and called on all nations to strive towards net zero emissions.

The government will also bring forward an end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition is feasible, subject to consultation, as well as include hybrids for the first time.

Coal is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel and is responsible for harmful air pollution. Last year Great Britain went 3,700 hours without using coal for power, nearly 5 times more than the whole of 2017. There are currently 4 active coal generators, one of which has announced closure in March 2020.

Britain was one of the first countries in the world to commit to ending unabated coal generation. Existing policies are already cutting our reliance on coal from around 40% in 2012 to less than 3% in 2019. The contribution of renewables is now at record levels, standing at 33%.

Read the Prime Minister’s full speech, delivered at the Science Museum.

The announcement comes as statistics released today show the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.1% between 2017 and 2018.

In November 2015, the government announced its intention to consult on proposals to end unabated coal generation in Great Britain by 2025. The government response to that consultation was published in January 2018.

The plan to bring forward the date of phasing out unabated coal will be subject to a public consultation. Unabated means that the plant has not invested in abating technology, such as carbon capture and storage.

The contribution of renewables to the UK electricity system in 2018 is available.

Last year Britain went for more than 5 months in total without using coal to produce electricity. In May it went for over a fortnight in one stretch – the longest coal-free period since the 1880s.

Improvements in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) may result from a unique collaborative experiment being conducted by The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and representatives from the Five-Eyes nations (UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). Two satellites are due to rendezvous for the experiment in near-Geostationary Orbit this month (February 2020).

Known as Phantom Echoes, the experiment aims to demonstrate how allied SSA sensors and processing capabilities can be integrated to enhance the performance over individual systems working independently to improve Space safety for UK and allied satellites in and near Geostationary Orbit. A combination of simulation and real-world events will be used to understand the strengths and constraints of each system that will advise the development of operational SSA architectures within the Coalition Space Operations (CSPO) initiative.

A cooperative observation campaign will be conducted using allied ground-based telescopes and Space-based sensors to observe the Northrop Grumman Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) that was launched into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (at 36,000km altitude above Earth’s surface) on 09 October 2019 from Kazakhstan. The first of its kind, MEV will dock with a commercial communications satellite approximately 300km above Geostationary Orbit and provide manoeuvre capability that extends the lifetime of the host. The Phantom Echoes team will use this event to understand the challenges posed in observing this unique mission as the two satellite manoeuvre towards each other and perform docking operations.

Published 4 February 2020

Following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, the United Kingdom’s Representation to the European Union (UKRep) in Brussels becomes the United Kingdom’s Mission to the European Union, shortened to UKMis Brussels. Formally, the Mission is titled the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Mission to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community’.

The Mission continues to be led by Sir Tim Barrow, who becomes the UK’s Ambassador to the EU. Katrina Williams, formerly Deputy Permanent Representative, becomes the UK’s Deputy Ambassador to the EU. Matt Baugh, formerly UK Ambassador to the EU Political and Security Committee, becomes Director, External Security and Development.

These changes follow the UK putting in place all the necessary legal steps for the Withdrawal Agreement to come into force at 11pm on 31 January, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson signing the Withdrawal Agreement on 24 January.

After Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab signed the Instrument of Ratification, our final legal obligation confirming the UK’s departure, Sir Tim Barrow deposited the Instrument with the Council of the European Union on 29 January.

Following ratification by both parties, the Agreement entered into force at 11pm on Friday 31 January, bringing about the UK’s departure from the EU.