A fresh wave of innovative companies will be moving into Culham Science Centre after the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) signed a new agreement to build an 8,000 square metre research and development building.

A 35-year income strip forward funding agreement with Legal & General was agreed this month, with the £40 million building comprising engineering and office space due to be completed in mid-2024. Planning permission has been granted and the work will be carried out by Kier construction.

It is the latest boost for the evolving South Oxfordshire campus and forms part of a major regeneration programme. It will facilitate growth and deliver economic gains while helping to solve complex and critical challenges across a range of sectors.

In June 2021, UKAEA and General Fusion announced the Canadian firm would build its Fusion Demonstration Plant at the Culham campus. In addition, further upgrades are taking place across the UKAEA site to advance fusion energy and adjacent technologies, including robotics, computing and artificial intelligence. Applications for these technologies are expected in a range of fields, including space exploration, mining, healthcare, and transport.

Antonia Jenkinson, UKAEA’s Chief Financial Officer and Director of Property, said: “We believe fusion could be part of the world’s future energy mix, and are working with a wide range of science, engineering, and technology companies at our Culham Science Centre to achieve it.

“Our work here continues to create jobs and drive economic growth, while helping place the UK at the forefront of the international scientific community. This new investment into Culham will help support companies contributing to the UK’s world-recognised fusion technology cluster, while developing a supply chain and skills base required to solve challenges across a much broader range of sectors.”

Derek Gilby, Head of Long Income, LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General), said: “In line with Legal & General’s commitment to drive science and technology growth across regional cities, we are delighted to work with UKAEA and bolster our investment into the Oxfordshire region.

“Today’s announcement follows Legal & General’s existing £4bn partnership with the University of Oxford, where we are meeting our long-term pension commitments through creating real assets to provide new housing and innovation facilities, which in turn, boosts productivity, retains talent, and creates new jobs. It’s clear that meaningful partnerships between the public and private sector have never been more important in successfully supporting our towns and cities.”

Owned and managed by UKAEA, Culham Science Centre combines world class publicly funded research into fusion with commercial organisations, including the Culham Innovation Centre, to create a powerhouse of high technology innovation and enterprise. It is home to the record-breaking Joint European Torus, the most powerful operating fusion machine in the world, as well as Oxfordshire Advanced Skills apprentice centre and leading robotics facility, Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE).

Other private tenants include Reaction Engines and EnerSys ABSL.

The new four-storey office building will include a rig hall for research and development and multi-storey carpark. It will be designed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard as part of UKAEA’s long-term sustainability goals, as announced this week, and capable of multi-tenant occupancy.

Antonia added: “The development of public and private partnerships is of huge benefit to our mission to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy. We’ve had strong interest in the new building, which will be versatile and support the growth of innovative companies aligned to UKAEA’s own aims.”

Fusion energy has great potential to deliver safe, sustainable, low carbon energy for generations to come. It has been described as the ultimate energy source, based on the same processes that power the sun and stars.

By the end of 2021 the global private fusion sector had raised over $4bn in private investment, with $2bn of this increase coming in the previous 12 months. UKAEA was advised by JLL and Burgess Salmon for the new funding agreement.

A multi-million pound investment in the UK’s first-ever magnet materials refiner was launched today (Friday 22 July 2022) – securing hundreds of jobs in East Yorkshire, and a strong foothold for Britain in the international market.

This comes as the government publishes the UK’s first ever ‘Critical Minerals Strategy’ to bolster the resilience of supply chains and seize on the economic opportunities of growing industries, such as electric vehicle manufacturing and offshore wind.

Speaking at the official opening of Pensana’s £145 million Saltend site today, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed that the facility will be developed to process the critical minerals used in magnets, a key component for manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs). Pensana expects operations to begin at the end of 2023.

The facility is backed by the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, an £850 million programme to electrify Britain’s automotive supply chain and protect our nation’s competitiveness in the global market. It will make the UK one of the only places in Europe to have the facility to refine the rare earth oxides used in the creation of magnets, and will also lead to the creation of 126 new and skilled jobs in the area.

As set out in the new ‘Critical Minerals Strategy’, minerals such as graphite, lithium and silicon are vital to the economy, as they are key components of products ranging from laptops to aircraft. But supply chains are complex and markets are volatile, with most critical minerals sourced from just a handful of countries, particularly China. This leaves UK jobs and industries reliant on minerals vulnerable to market shocks and geopolitical events. Ensuring UK firms have a resilient and sustainable access to critical minerals will be vital for the growth of future industries such as EV manufacturing, which will support jobs across the UK for decades to come, and national security.

That’s why today’s strategy sets out plans to develop more robust supplies of these minerals for the vast range of industries reliant on them, protecting Britain’s interests into the future. The measures include bolstering domestic production, building the UK’s skills base, carrying out world leading research and development, and enhancing reuse and recycling. It also notes the importance of working with international partners and like-minded allies to build trading relationships and diversify supply chains.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

With rising geopolitical threats, Britain needs to move quickly to secure the rare earth minerals necessary to supply our future industries. Most of these minerals are sourced from just a handful of countries, leaving Britain vulnerable to market shocks. We need to develop and strengthen our own supply chains to protect our national security into the future.

Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is a timely reminder of how global events beyond our control can impact supply chains, with profound consequences for the economy. To boost our domestic resilience, today’s Critical Minerals Strategy lays out our plan to bring high value manufacturing back to the UK to protect our country’s future access to supplies.

Our support for Pensana’s new facility in Yorkshire shows we are already putting the Strategy’s aims into action to diversify our supply chains away from dominant market players.

Pensana Chairman Paul Atherley said:

Pensana is delighted to have secured funding from the UK government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, which demonstrates the government’s support for Pensana’s role in securing the UK’s magnets metals supply chain.

Our Saltend rare earth processing hub will be the world’s first independent and sustainable rare earth separation plant, with plans to produce 5% of the global magnet metals in 2024. This will play a vital role in transforming the UK’s EV and Offshore wind industries, as well as creating high value local jobs in the Humber region.

Production of critical minerals is expected to rise sharply – some as much as 500% by 2050. They are often irreplaceable in the products people rely on for their daily life, in clean technologies and national security – from electric vehicles and mobile phones to wind turbines and fighter jets.

The new strategy sets out an ‘ACE’ framework, with plans to accelerate growth of the UK’s domestic capabilities, collaborate with international partners, and enhance international markets. Work to develop the UK’s onshore supply chains forms just one part of what is planned domestically, with a focus on rebuilding skills, boosting research, and recycling and reusing more as well.

Actions are also planned to use the City of London’s unique position as a global trading hub for metals and minerals to make global markets more effective in delivering the minerals we need. Part of this will be to push for better environmental, social, transparency and governance standards in critical mineral markets worldwide. Holding the market for critical minerals to higher standards helps reduce the likelihood of unforeseen events causing supply problems.

The UK’s mineral mining heritage dates back to the Bronze Age. Cornish tinners, for example, were renowned and exported their innovations and expertise around the world. The UK has pockets of mineral wealth including lithium, tin, tungsten and others, found from the Highlands of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall, as well as clusters of expertise in refining and material manufacturing.

This follows the creation of the UK’s first Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) based in Nottingham. The Centre will improve the resilience of the UK’s critical mineral supply chain by providing policymakers with up-to-date data and analysis on supply, demand, and market dynamics.

1. Government support for the Pensana Saltend facility was provided through the Automotive Transformation Fund, the automotive pillar of the Global Britain Investment Fund. The Automotive Transformation Fund is an £850 million programme to industrialise the EV supply chain. This includes unlocking private investment in gigafactories, battery material supply chains, motors, power electronics, and fuel cell systems. It is being delivered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, based in Coventry.

2. The situation surrounding critical minerals – and which minerals are considered ‘critical’ – is constantly evolving. In January, the British Geological Survey (BGS) undertook the first UK criticality assessment. The BGS have now been appointed by the government, to run the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, which will regularly update this assessment and provide policymakers with a range of up-to-date data and analysis on supply, demand, and market dynamics.

3. The government draws on expert knowledge on critical minerals from across academia, finance, and industry, through the Critical Minerals Expert Committee. The Committee will continue to meet, to advise on the delivery of the Critical Minerals Strategy.

4. The government is also supporting businesses that are working on access to new, innovative sources of raw materials found in the UK.

5. Cornish Lithium and Geothermal Engineering are collaborating to build a zero carbon, lithium extraction pilot plant at an existing site in Cornwall. This £4 million project will be part supported from the government’s ‘Getting Building Fund’, via a £14.3 million allocation to the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

6. Cornish Lithium, alongside the Natural History Museum and Wardell Armstrong, were awarded over £350,000 for the project ‘Securing a Domestic Lithium Supply Chain for the UK (Li4UK)’.

7. In August last year, British Lithium Limited (BLL) was awarded an Innovate UK Smart Grant, with match funding of up to £500,000 from the government to progress its research and development of hard rock lithium extraction in the St Austell area of Cornwall.

8. The UK is already working with international partners through groups like the Minerals Security Partnership, and the International Energy Agency’s Critical Mineral Working Group, to responsibly develop global supply chains.

9. The government is also working closely with likeminded international partners to strengthen supply chain resilience.

10. The UK has a leading role in developing global standards in the critical minerals supply chain through work with the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals, the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative, the UN, the G7 and others.

Industry support for the Critical Minerals Strategy

Jeremy Wrathall, Founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium said:

Cornish Lithium is delighted that the UK’s first-ever Critical Minerals Strategy has now been published. This outlines the way forward for a new, domestic, supply chain of the minerals that enable industrial and social decarbonisation. Cornish Lithium is proud to play its part in accelerating the development of this domestic supply chain and looks forward to building a sustainable source of lithium and other critical minerals in Cornwall.

The UK is particularly fortunate that Cornwall has historically been shown to have many of the critical elements needed for the move to Net Zero and sustainable extraction of these minerals in Cornwall builds on the County’s tradition of mineral extraction that dates back to the Bronze Age. The Strategy highlights that a domestic source of these critical minerals generate greater resilience for the UK economy as we move away from the fossil fuels on which we have relied for so long.

Sinead Kaufman, Chief Executive, Minerals at Rio Tinto said:

Rio Tinto welcomes the publication of the UK government’s Critical Minerals Strategy as an important component in the path to net zero. We are delighted to have contributed as a member of the Critical Minerals Expert Committee along with an informed and diverse range of representatives from academia, finance, industry and government. We now look forward to helping implement parts of the strategy as a partnership with government. As a UK headquartered company with global operations in more than 35 countries, Rio Tinto is well placed to support the UK government in securing the critical minerals needed for net zero.

Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American said:

Vital to delivering the technologies and infrastructure required for a low carbon future is a sustainable and responsibly sourced supply of critical metals and minerals. The secure supply of those future-enabling metals and minerals will only be possible through the collaboration of the government, businesses, including in the mining sector, and other key role-players. We welcome this UK Critical Minerals Strategy which outlines many key elements of how such partnerships can deliver to support the UK’s strategic objectives.

Isobel Sheldon OBE, Chief Strategy Officer at Britishvolt said:

It is an absolute imperative that the UK has a clear and concise strategy when it comes to the critical materials required for the energy transition. UK government’s foresight of creating a world-class battery cell ecosystem, from R&D to mass production, is being matched with policy to help ensure we have the right materials required to successfully produce battery cells at scale. This is a hugely impressive piece of work, incorporating the need for localised materials conversion, where possible, and also recognises the need to create skills and train the talent of the future. ESG requirements have also been accounted for, to ensure the minimal environmental footprint. It’s great to also see that recycling has been captured in this detailed future-looking policy. The UK is redefining benchmarks and setting the standards for a successful energy transition, that will result in renewable energy independence.

Maurits van Tol, Chief Technology Officer at Johnson Matthey said:

The critical minerals strategy is key to ensuring the supply of technology metals to UK manufacturing industries. Metals such as iridium and the other platinum group metals are essential to the sustainable technologies Johnson Matthey is developing for global markets, which will advance the UK government’s net zero decarbonisation strategy.

Paul Atherley, Chairman of Pensana said:

Pensana welcomes the government’s Critical Minerals Strategy. The strategy underlines the importance of establishing in the UK a secure magnet metals supply chain to drive the green energy transition. Pensana’s Saltend rare earth processing hub will be the world’s first independent and sustainable rare earth separation plant, with plans to produce 5% of the global magnet metals by 2024. We are grateful for the government’s support for this project and look forward to continuing to work together to position the UK at the forefront of the green industrial revolution.

Nitesh Shah, CEO of Metalysis said:

Metalysis welcomes the UK’s first Critical Minerals Strategy. Through our unique midstream processing technology, we are seeking to revolutionise the design and application of metals and alloys in a range of sectors critical to the UK’s economic, energy and national security. We share government’s ambition to position the UK as a strategic location for midstream materials manufacturing. Being based in South Yorkshire, we are keen to support the ‘levelling up’ agenda in the process.

Sir Mick Davis, CEO of Vision Blue Resources said:

I welcome the proactive approach that the UK government is setting out to facilitate responsible investment across critical minerals value chains.

Vision Blue Resources was founded to accelerate the responsible supply of resources necessary to facilitate the transition to clean, green energy. Having recently made a strategic investment in Cornish Metals, this strategy should enhance the prospects for wider investment in this crucial sector for the UK.

Simon Moores, CEO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said:

This is a crucial strategy to build critical mineral supply chains for the biggest industrial engines of the 21st century, especially lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, and energy storage.

Karen Hanghøj, Director of the British Geological Survey said:

The new Critical Minerals Strategy represents a strong commitment from the government to ensuring the UK has secure and sustainable access to the raw materials needed to ensure economic prosperity, and the transformation to net zero. In hosting the new UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, BGS is proud to be playing a key role in delivering this new strategy.

Neil Glover, President of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) said:

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) welcomes the UK government taking a strategic view on critical raw materials. We look forward to continuing to contribute to the evidence-based policies that will play a vital part in the achievement of our net-zero commitments and in supporting the future of manufacturing in the UK.

      Aberavon 11,600 12,100 Aberconwy 7,100 6,800 Aberdeen North 13,300 9,300 Aberdeen South 7,700 5,800 Airdrie and Shotts 13,400 13,300 Aldershot 10,500 6,800 Aldridge-Brownhills 8,300 8,300 Altrincham and Sale West 7,000 6,600 Alyn and Deeside 9,200 8,400 Amber Valley 10,700 10,200 Angus 11,000 9,100 Arfon 7,600 6,100 Argyll and Bute 9,600 9,400 Arundel and South Downs 6,700 6,800 Ashfield 14,300 13,700 Ashford 13,200 10,800 Ashton-under-Lyne 16,100 11,100 Aylesbury 10,300 8,000 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 14,100 12,700 Banbury 10,900 8,800 Banff and Buchan 9,500 8,500 Barking 24,900 10,700 Barnsley Central 13,800 12,000 Barnsley East 14,700 13,700 Barrow and Furness 10,300 10,700 Basildon and Billericay 11,300 8,100 Basingstoke 10,300 7,900 Bassetlaw 12,800 12,000 Bath 8,000 6,400 Batley and Spen 16,200 10,100 Battersea 11,700 5,800 Beaconsfield 6,300 5,700 Beckenham 6,000 5,100 Bedford 15,000 9,100 Belfast East 14,600 14,900 Belfast North 26,600 24,000 Belfast South 13,900 13,500 Belfast West 27,100 24,700 Bermondsey and Old Southwark 22,100 10,400 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 10,600 8,800 Berwick-upon-Tweed 7,600 7,600 Bethnal Green and Bow 26,000 11,100 Beverley and Holderness 9,000 9,200 Bexhill and Battle 10,500 10,400 Bexleyheath and Crayford 9,400 7,800 Birkenhead 19,100 15,100 Birmingham, Edgbaston 15,900 9,200 Birmingham, Erdington 23,400 13,600 Birmingham, Hall Green 24,600 11,400 Birmingham, Hodge Hill 30,600 14,100 Birmingham, Ladywood 32,400 11,700 Birmingham, Northfield 19,200 13,100 Birmingham, Perry Barr 22,900 10,700 Birmingham, Selly Oak 15,400 10,000 Birmingham, Yardley 23,400 12,700 Bishop Auckland 13,400 12,000 Blackburn 22,600 13,100 Blackley and Broughton 28,800 14,900 Blackpool North and Cleveleys 14,900 12,600 Blackpool South 18,400 12,300 Blaenau Gwent 12,000 11,800 Blaydon 10,900 10,000 Blyth Valley 11,800 10,400 Bognor Regis and Littlehampton 13,200 10,700 Bolsover 12,600 13,700 Bolton North East 17,700 11,100 Bolton South East 20,500 12,400 Bolton West 11,700 9,800 Bootle 21,000 15,800 Boston and Skegness 17,100 12,900 Bosworth 9,100 8,700 Bournemouth East 14,600 9,000 Bournemouth West 14,000 9,400 Bracknell 8,400 6,700 Bradford East 25,600 12,300 Bradford South 19,800 11,600 Bradford West 26,400 12,200 Braintree 9,300 7,900 Brecon and Radnorshire 7,200 7,600 Brent Central 30,600 12,100 Brent North 19,000 8,500 Brentford and Isleworth 17,500 7,900 Brentwood and Ongar 7,300 6,400 Bridgend 10,400 11,300 Bridgwater and West Somerset 13,000 10,800 Brigg and Goole 9,000 8,300 Brighton, Kemptown 14,400 10,700 Brighton, Pavilion 11,900 7,100 Bristol East 13,200 9,500 Bristol North West 12,400 10,200 Bristol South 16,600 12,700 Bristol West 14,400 7,000 Broadland 8,000 8,200 Bromley and Chislehurst 9,400 6,900 Bromsgrove 7,500 7,600 Broxbourne 11,200 8,000 Broxtowe 8,500 8,100 Buckingham 6,300 6,300 Burnley 16,300 11,200 Burton 12,300 8,900 Bury North 12,000 8,900 Bury South 13,500 10,500 Bury St Edmunds 9,600 8,900 Caerphilly 13,000 13,500 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 7,600 7,300 Calder Valley 11,400 8,500 Camberwell and Peckham 23,300 10,200 Camborne and Redruth 13,000 10,000 Cambridge 9,800 6,200 Cannock Chase 11,700 10,700 Canterbury 11,100 9,400 Cardiff Central 10,500 6,900 Cardiff North 7,600 7,800 Cardiff South and Penarth 18,600 13,400 Cardiff West 15,100 11,200 Carlisle 10,900 9,500 Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 8,800 9,900 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire 9,700 9,600 Carshalton and Wallington 11,600 7,900 Castle Point 8,400 8,400 Central Ayrshire 12,700 11,400 Central Devon 8,500 7,900 Central Suffolk and North Ipswich 7,900 7,900 Ceredigion 8,500 7,800 Charnwood 7,800 7,400 Chatham and Aylesford 12,800 9,500 Cheadle 6,500 7,300 Chelmsford 9,400 7,500 Chelsea and Fulham 11,000 5,600 Cheltenham 9,900 7,200 Chesham and Amersham 5,500 5,000 Chesterfield 12,800 12,200 Chichester 9,500 8,400 Chingford and Woodford Green 10,400 6,700 Chippenham 8,500 8,200 Chipping Barnet 12,500 7,600 Chorley 10,800 9,600 Christchurch 7,200 8,100 Cities of London and Westminster 11,900 6,200 City of Chester 10,400 8,700 City of Durham 9,800 10,100 Clacton 15,200 14,900 Cleethorpes 11,100 9,700 Clwyd South 9,400 8,500 Clwyd West 9,900 10,100 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 14,100 14,000 Colchester 13,900 10,600 Colne Valley 12,200 9,200 Congleton 7,900 8,500 Copeland 8,400 9,300 Corby 13,300 10,900 Coventry North East 21,200 12,600 Coventry North West 13,900 9,800 Coventry South 13,700 9,200 Crawley 14,100 8,500 Crewe and Nantwich 12,200 10,100 Croydon Central 19,100 10,200 Croydon North 26,600 11,200 Croydon South 11,400 7,800 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 11,600 11,500 Cynon Valley 12,300 12,100 Dagenham and Rainham 17,000 9,300 Darlington 13,900 9,900 Dartford 11,100 8,600 Daventry 7,700 7,000 Delyn 8,300 8,300 Denton and Reddish 12,600 9,800 Derby North 13,300 10,200 Derby South 21,700 13,000 Derbyshire Dales 5,600 6,300 Devizes 7,500 6,700 Dewsbury 15,600 10,100 Don Valley 12,900 11,900 Doncaster Central 17,100 11,500 Doncaster North 15,500 12,300 Dover 13,000 11,400 Dudley North 13,700 9,600 Dudley South 11,000 8,500 Dulwich and West Norwood 16,600 7,800 Dumfries and Galloway 12,700 12,600 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 9,300 9,600 Dundee East 11,400 10,200 Dundee West 14,700 11,400 Dunfermline and West Fife 11,100 9,600 Dwyfor Meirionnydd 6,800 6,100 Ealing Central and Acton 16,900 7,100 Ealing North 19,500 8,800 Ealing, Southall 16,600 7,700 Easington 15,200 14,000 East Antrim 12,300 13,800 East Devon 9,300 9,300 East Dunbartonshire 5,100 7,000 East Ham 30,000 11,000 East Hampshire 6,700 6,000 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 11,200 11,800 East Londonderry 17,000 16,800 East Lothian 11,000 9,800 East Renfrewshire 7,300 8,900 East Surrey 8,100 7,400 East Worthing and Shoreham 10,100 8,800 East Yorkshire 11,700 10,500 Eastbourne 15,200 12,200 Eastleigh 9,300 8,300 Eddisbury 8,600 8,700 Edinburgh East 12,800 9,300 Edinburgh North and Leith 11,800 7,600 Edinburgh South 6,900 6,000 Edinburgh South West 11,000 8,200 Edinburgh West 8,000 7,300 Edmonton 25,600 10,500 Ellesmere Port and Neston 10,800 10,200 Elmet and Rothwell 7,700 8,500 Eltham 12,400 8,200 Enfield North 18,500 9,100 Enfield, Southgate 12,300 6,600 Epping Forest 9,300 6,900 Epsom and Ewell 6,500 6,500 Erewash 11,600 9,700 Erith and Thamesmead 18,200 9,900 Esher and Walton 7,000 5,900 Exeter 11,800 9,600 Falkirk 13,400 12,500 Fareham 6,500 6,600 Faversham and Mid Kent 9,700 8,500 Feltham and Heston 21,200 9,700 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 16,400 16,400 Filton and Bradley Stoke 8,200 7,500 Finchley and Golders Green 15,700 7,700 Folkestone and Hythe 14,600 13,900 Forest of Dean 8,800 8,300 Foyle 24,900 23,000 Fylde 8,500 9,100 Gainsborough 10,500 10,300 Garston and Halewood 17,200 15,100 Gateshead 17,000 12,200 Gedling 10,400 9,200 Gillingham and Rainham 11,900 9,000 Glasgow Central 18,500 11,400 Glasgow East 20,900 17,200 Glasgow North 10,600 7,600 Glasgow North East 20,300 15,500 Glasgow North West 16,100 12,400 Glasgow South 13,800 11,100 Glasgow South West 18,900 15,000 Glenrothes 14,600 12,400 Gloucester 15,200 11,100 Gordon 6,300 6,200 Gosport 10,200 8,700 Gower 8,200 10,000 Grantham and Stamford 10,900 9,400 Gravesham 12,700 9,400 Great Grimsby 16,200 10,200 Great Yarmouth 16,600 12,800 Greenwich and Woolwich 19,600 9,000 Guildford 6,800 5,800 Hackney North and Stoke Newington 25,900 11,100 Hackney South and Shoreditch 24,200 11,400 Halesowen and Rowley Regis 12,100 9,400 Halifax 17,600 10,700 Haltemprice and Howden 5,700 6,500 Halton 15,200 13,300 Hammersmith 19,000 8,500 Hampstead and Kilburn 17,200 8,400 Harborough 8,600 8,200 Harlow 12,900 8,300 Harrogate and Knaresborough 8,200 7,300 Harrow East 12,800 7,300 Harrow West 14,100 7,000 Hartlepool 17,500 14,000 Harwich and North Essex 8,400 9,000 Hastings and Rye 18,600 13,000 Havant 11,800 9,700 Hayes and Harlington 18,700 8,800 Hazel Grove 7,900 8,100 Hemel Hempstead 11,200 8,200 Hemsworth 13,700 13,100 Hendon 19,800 9,300 Henley 5,500 5,400 Hereford and South Herefordshire 10,200 8,900 Hertford and Stortford 8,000 6,400 Hertsmere 10,000 7,500 Hexham 5,500 6,200 Heywood and Middleton 17,000 12,400 High Peak 8,700 8,200 Hitchin and Harpenden 6,000 5,700 Holborn and St Pancras 21,700 11,900 Hornchurch and Upminster 11,000 8,500 Hornsey and Wood Green 17,200 8,000 Horsham 7,300 6,800 Houghton and Sunderland South 14,900 13,500 Hove 12,600 8,300 Huddersfield 15,900 9,900 Huntingdon 9,300 8,100 Hyndburn 15,700 11,200 Ilford North 13,000 7,500 Ilford South 22,800 8,900 Inverclyde 13,300 12,400 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 11,000 9,800 Ipswich 16,100 10,600 Isle of Wight 18,300 17,300 Islington North 18,700 10,000 Islington South and Finsbury 17,900 10,300 Islwyn 10,500 11,600 Jarrow 12,600 10,900 Keighley 12,500 8,800 Kenilworth and Southam 5,300 5,300 Kensington 14,100 7,400 Kettering 10,800 8,800 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 14,400 12,300 Kingston and Surbiton 11,100 6,900 Kingston upon Hull East 16,200 10,900 Kingston upon Hull North 17,000 9,700 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 17,100 9,900 Kingswood 7,700 7,600 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 14,700 11,600 Knowsley 23,000 18,300 Lagan Valley 12,400 14,100 Lanark and Hamilton East 13,400 13,400 Lancaster and Fleetwood 10,400 9,200 Leeds Central 26,600 11,900 Leeds East 19,700 10,500 Leeds North East 11,100 7,400 Leeds North West 6,600 5,400 Leeds West 16,500 9,400 Leicester East 21,100 10,400 Leicester South 20,100 9,700 Leicester West 20,000 10,400 Leigh 13,900 11,800 Lewes 8,800 8,400 Lewisham East 17,400 8,700 Lewisham West and Penge 17,200 8,200 Lewisham, Deptford 20,100 8,300 Leyton and Wanstead 15,300 6,800 Lichfield 7,700 7,900 Lincoln 15,100 10,800 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 14,500 13,400 Liverpool, Riverside 20,800 13,900 Liverpool, Walton 23,800 17,700 Liverpool, Wavertree 17,100 11,700 Liverpool, West Derby 19,900 15,900 Livingston 14,100 13,400 Llanelli 12,500 13,400 Loughborough 10,000 7,700 Louth and Horncastle 12,600 13,600 Ludlow 7,700 7,600 Luton North 14,500 8,500 Luton South 19,700 8,900 Macclesfield 7,700 7,600 Maidenhead 6,600 5,300 Maidstone and The Weald 10,800 7,900 Makerfield 11,300 11,200 Maldon 7,100 6,800 Manchester Central 27,500 13,900 Manchester, Gorton 24,100 11,100 Manchester, Withington 12,500 7,900 Mansfield 15,300 14,100 Meon Valley 7,000 6,400 Meriden 14,000 11,500 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 13,400 13,100 Mid Bedfordshire 7,600 7,200 Mid Derbyshire 6,000 7,000 Mid Dorset and North Poole 6,400 6,300 Mid Norfolk 9,700 9,400 Mid Sussex 7,300 6,700 Mid Ulster 16,000 17,100 Mid Worcestershire 9,600 8,700 Middlesbrough 21,600 12,600 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland 13,700 11,700 Midlothian 10,300 10,300 Milton Keynes North 14,500 9,400 Milton Keynes South 15,600 10,900 Mitcham and Morden 16,000 7,700 Mole Valley 5,600 5,700 Monmouth 7,800 8,800 Montgomeryshire 6,800 6,500 Moray 9,200 8,000 Morecambe and Lunesdale 12,800 10,800 Morley and Outwood 9,700 8,600 Motherwell and Wishaw 15,500 14,300 Na h-Eileanan an Iar 2,900 3,200 Neath 11,100 12,700 New Forest East 7,100 7,500 New Forest West 6,700 7,200 Newark 9,500 8,800 Newbury 8,000 6,400 Newcastle upon Tyne Central 19,100 10,700 Newcastle upon Tyne East 13,800 9,000 Newcastle upon Tyne North 12,500 10,600 Newcastle-under-Lyme 9,800 9,100 Newport East 12,000 10,000 Newport West 13,300 11,400 Newry and Armagh 20,400 19,500 Newton Abbot 9,800 9,600 Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford 16,200 13,800 North Antrim 16,800 16,800 North Ayrshire and Arran 14,800 12,900 North Cornwall 10,900 8,700 North Devon 11,100 9,200 North Dorset 7,500 7,600 North Down 10,500 12,700 North Durham 13,100 11,500 North East Bedfordshire 8,700 7,700 North East Cambridgeshire 14,100 12,300 North East Derbyshire 9,500 10,400 North East Fife 6,300 6,200 North East Hampshire 5,000 5,100 North East Hertfordshire 8,100 7,300 North East Somerset 7,500 7,200 North Herefordshire 7,800 7,500 North Norfolk 8,900 8,800 North Shropshire 10,500 9,800 North Somerset 6,500 7,000 North Swindon 11,600 9,400 North Thanet 14,300 12,300 North Tyneside 16,100 13,000 North Warwickshire 10,400 9,600 North West Cambridgeshire 13,600 10,500 North West Durham 12,800 12,000 North West Hampshire 8,300 7,300 North West Leicestershire 8,900 8,400 North West Norfolk 11,300 10,300 North Wiltshire 6,500 6,400 Northampton North 11,500 7,800 Northampton South 14,100 8,400 Norwich North 10,900 8,700 Norwich South 13,900 9,600 Nottingham East 19,600 10,400 Nottingham North 21,900 14,300 Nottingham South 13,900 9,100 Nuneaton 12,200 9,500 Ochil and South Perthshire 11,000 10,400 Ogmore 11,300 11,900 Old Bexley and Sidcup 6,600 6,300 Oldham East and Saddleworth 18,100 11,400 Oldham West and Royton 20,600 12,000 Orkney and Shetland 3,600 4,000 Orpington 7,000 6,200 Oxford East 12,100 7,700 Oxford West and Abingdon 6,400 5,900 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 10,800 11,000 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 13,000 11,400 Pendle 15,000 9,900 Penistone and Stocksbridge 8,200 9,200 Penrith and The Border 6,700 6,800 Perth and North Perthshire 10,600 9,700 Peterborough 22,700 12,300 Plymouth, Moor View 14,000 12,900 Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport 18,100 12,100 Pontypridd 9,400 10,000 Poole 10,200 8,400 Poplar and Limehouse 27,000 10,700 Portsmouth North 12,000 8,600 Portsmouth South 15,800 8,600 Preseli Pembrokeshire 10,400 9,200 Preston 18,400 10,800 Pudsey 7,600 6,500 Putney 10,700 5,300 Rayleigh and Wickford 6,800 7,200 Reading East 10,000 5,900 Reading West 12,400 7,700 Redcar 14,900 11,900 Redditch 10,500 8,100 Reigate 7,200 6,700 Rhondda 12,600 12,200 Ribble Valley 7,300 7,900 Richmond (Yorks) 8,000 8,300 Richmond Park 8,100 5,400 Rochdale 21,800 12,700 Rochester and Strood 12,500 10,000 Rochford and Southend East 17,200 10,700 Romford 11,300 7,400 Romsey and Southampton North 6,400 5,700 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 6,500 6,000 Rossendale and Darwen 12,600 10,100 Rother Valley 10,800 11,000 Rotherham 17,200 12,300 Rugby 9,600 7,900 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 7,400 6,300 Runnymede and Weybridge 7,400 6,400 Rushcliffe 6,300 6,800 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 16,300 14,900 Rutland and Melton 7,400 7,000 Saffron Walden 7,400 6,500 Salford and Eccles 19,600 12,900 Salisbury 8,500 7,400 Scarborough and Whitby 13,500 11,300 Scunthorpe 12,900 9,700 Sedgefield 12,200 11,600 Sefton Central 7,000 9,400 Selby and Ainsty 7,900 7,500 Sevenoaks 6,900 6,900 Sheffield Central 14,300 9,000 Sheffield South East 14,300 11,900 Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough 22,700 15,200 Sheffield, Hallam 4,600 5,400 Sheffield, Heeley 15,200 11,300 Sherwood 11,200 11,700 Shipley 9,500 7,600 Shrewsbury and Atcham 10,200 9,400 Sittingbourne and Sheppey 15,500 13,400 Skipton and Ripon 7,100 7,100 Sleaford and North Hykeham 9,700 10,900 Slough 19,700 8,700 Solihull 8,000 8,300 Somerton and Frome 9,600 8,400 South Antrim 12,800 15,000 South Basildon and East Thurrock 12,200 9,400 South Cambridgeshire 6,700 6,700 South Derbyshire 9,100 9,000 South Dorset 11,100 10,100 South Down 17,000 18,000 South East Cambridgeshire 8,100 7,300 South East Cornwall 10,100 9,200 South Holland and The Deepings 11,100 9,800 South Leicestershire 8,400 7,600 South Norfolk 8,800 8,600 South Northamptonshire 7,400 7,000 South Ribble 8,600 9,000 South Shields 15,500 11,600 South Staffordshire 8,400 8,400 South Suffolk 7,800 7,300 South Swindon 12,800 8,600 South Thanet 15,600 11,900 South West Bedfordshire 10,300 7,900 South West Devon 6,900 8,000 South West Hertfordshire 6,600 6,000 South West Norfolk 11,200 10,400 South West Surrey 6,100 6,000 South West Wiltshire 9,700 8,900 Southampton, Itchen 14,900 9,900 Southampton, Test 15,800 9,700 Southend West 9,700 7,500 Southport 12,300 11,200 Spelthorne 8,800 7,000 St Albans 7,500 5,900 St Austell and Newquay 13,900 10,600 St Helens North 14,400 13,900 St Helens South and Whiston 16,400 14,800 St Ives 11,000 8,500 Stafford 9,200 8,400 Staffordshire Moorlands 6,300 7,000 Stalybridge and Hyde 14,100 10,500 Stevenage 10,700 8,800 Stirling 8,700 8,400 Stockport 13,700 9,500 Stockton North 15,800 12,200 Stockton South 11,500 9,800 Stoke-on-Trent Central 14,800 9,600 Stoke-on-Trent North 16,200 11,800 Stoke-on-Trent South 13,100 11,000 Stone 6,000 7,400 Stourbridge 10,600 8,400 Strangford 12,500 14,400 Stratford-on-Avon 7,500 6,900 Streatham 17,400 7,100 Stretford and Urmston 13,800 10,300 Stroud 8,700 7,600 Suffolk Coastal 8,800 9,300 Sunderland Central 17,200 13,800 Surrey Heath 6,900 6,500 Sutton and Cheam 8,900 6,000 Sutton Coldfield 7,100 7,400 Swansea East 14,700 13,100 Swansea West 12,100 10,600 Tamworth 10,400 8,800 Tatton 6,300 6,600 Taunton Deane 12,000 10,300 Telford 15,500 12,200 Tewkesbury 8,300 7,500 The Cotswolds 7,000 6,600 The Wrekin 10,300 9,600 Thirsk and Malton 8,300 8,400 Thornbury and Yate 6,300 7,000 Thurrock 16,300 9,800 Tiverton and Honiton 9,800 9,300 Tonbridge and Malling 7,900 7,500 Tooting 11,400 5,900 Torbay 16,300 13,600 Torfaen 13,100 12,700 Torridge and West Devon 10,800 10,000 Totnes 9,800 9,200 Tottenham 31,900 12,000 Truro and Falmouth 10,100 8,000 Tunbridge Wells 8,300 6,800 Twickenham 8,300 5,700 Tynemouth 10,900 9,300 Upper Bann 20,300 20,600 Uxbridge and South Ruislip 11,500 7,300 Vale of Clwyd 12,200 12,000 Vale of Glamorgan 12,800 11,900 Vauxhall 19,100 8,400 Wakefield 13,400 10,000 Wallasey 15,500 13,900 Walsall North 18,700 12,500 Walsall South 19,200 11,200 Walthamstow 19,200 7,800 Wansbeck 11,600 10,800 Wantage 8,600 7,400 Warley 18,200 10,200 Warrington North 12,000 10,400 Warrington South 9,900 9,000 Warwick and Leamington 8,800 6,700 Washington and Sunderland West 14,900 12,700 Watford 12,300 7,800 Waveney 14,500 12,900 Wealden 8,100 7,700 Weaver Vale 10,100 9,700 Wellingborough 12,900 10,100 Wells 11,100 9,600 Welwyn Hatfield 10,700 7,900 Wentworth and Dearne 15,100 13,900 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 5,100 4,900 West Bromwich East 16,800 10,800 West Bromwich West 17,800 11,500 West Dorset 8,800 9,100 West Dunbartonshire 15,600 13,400 West Ham 33,100 12,500 West Lancashire 11,500 10,500 West Suffolk 10,300 8,600 West Tyrone 17,400 19,000 West Worcestershire 8,400 8,400 Westminster North 18,600 10,000 Westmorland and Lonsdale 6,000 6,700 Weston-super-Mare 14,400 12,100 Wigan 14,600 12,300 Wimbledon 6,700 4,100 Winchester 5,900 5,700 Windsor 6,500 5,200 Wirral South 6,500 7,800 Wirral West 6,800 8,200 Witham 7,900 7,400 Witney 7,500 7,000 Woking 7,900 6,800 Wokingham 6,000 5,400 Wolverhampton North East 17,000 10,300 Wolverhampton South East 18,700 11,000 Wolverhampton South West 13,200 8,000 Worcester 11,300 8,600 Workington 9,700 9,500 Worsley and Eccles South 16,700 12,400 Worthing West 10,500 10,000 Wrexham 9,600 8,600 Wycombe 11,000 6,400 Wyre and Preston North 6,900 8,500 Wyre Forest 12,000 10,200 Wythenshawe and Sale East 19,200 13,400 Yeovil 11,500 9,800 Ynys Môn 9,000 8,200 York Central 10,300 6,900 York Outer 5,300 6,200             [1] Estimates rounded to the nearest 100. Numbers may not add up due to rounding. For a small number of claimants, it has not been possible to determine a Parliamentary Constituency. They have still been included in the totals.    

Thank you, Madam President.

The use of the veto is a heavy responsibility. It is, therefore, one that should not be used lightly. It is 50 years since the United Kingdom last vetoed a Security Council resolution unilaterally.

When we negotiate resolutions our objective is to reach agreement, and where necessary, win arguments in votes, rather than use our veto to block Council action.

Unfortunately, the same is not true of Russia. Russia has now used its veto 17 times since 2011 to block the Council’s efforts to protect the Syrian people. This is in addition to the numerous other times they’ve used it, including to protect themselves following their illegal invasion of Ukraine.

These 17 vetoes are a significant cause of the international community’s failure to protect the Syrian people from the Assad regime — a failure that has undermined and weakened the Council, and which should weigh heavily on our collective conscience.

The unilateral Russian use of its veto to block a humanitarian resolution for a mechanism upon which 2.4 million people rely is particularly egregious.

Humanitarian need in Syria is the highest it has ever been. We heard repeatedly from the UN and NGOs that renewal of the cross-border mechanism for 12 months was necessary to provide the operational certainty to meet humanitarian needs.

The explanation we heard from Russia today is pure fiction. This includes their farcical suggestion that the UK, alongside the US and France, blocked their proposed text. Let us be clear on the facts — their proposed text was supported by only one other Member of the Council. Two votes in favour is far from the nine required to pass. No amount of disinformation can change the fact that only one Member of the Council chose to politicise this issue. The UK approached this negotiation as we have every year since 2014 — on the basis of humanitarian need, and humanitarian need alone.

We commend the penholders, Norway and Ireland, for their efforts to secure a resolution that would maintain this vital humanitarian lifeline in the face of Russian intransigence — and which achieved 13 votes in favour.  And we should be clear, under resolution 2642 the intent of the Council is to maintain this mechanism for 12 months.

The UK will continue to support the UN’s efforts to deliver its Humanitarian Response Plan, and we call on other UN member states to do likewise.

Finally, as we have said many times before, a genuine political process is the only sustainable means of ending suffering in Syria.

Thank you.