Some of the UK’s most economically active and industrially intensive areas are also some of the largest producers of carbon emissions, with around a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions being produced by industry.

Two competitions aim to help the UK achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Industrial Decarbonisation challenge, part of the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

The Industrial Decarbonisation challenge will commit £170 million towards deploying technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen networks in industrial clusters, supporting the Industrial Clusters Mission to establish the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040.

Competition 1 – deployment

UK businesses will have the opportunity to apply for a share of up to £1 million to develop plans for decarbonising an industrial cluster.

Successful applicants from phase 1 will then compete for phase 2, where up to £131 million will be awarded for projects that will deliver, or support delivery of, significant emissions reductions in a UK industrial cluster by 2030.

Deployment phase 1 information

Your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £60,000 and £200,000
• be led by a UK business
• be collaborative
• last between 3 and 4 months
• aim to carry out the project work in the UK and exploit the results across other UK industrial clusters

Timeline

Competition 2 – roadmaps

UK organisations can apply for a share of up to £1 million to prepare plans for their journey to achieving low carbon and net zero industrial clusters.

In phase 2 up to £8 million will be awarded for the development of industrial cluster decarbonisation roadmaps for major UK industrial clusters. These must set out how a cluster could be decarbonised to net-zero levels.

Roadmaps phase 1 information

Your project:

• must have total eligible costs between £40,000 and £120,000
• can be carried out by a single organisation or in collaboration – which we encourage
• must demonstrate how it will collaborate within a cluster
• can last between 3 and 4 months
• can be led by a UK registered business of any size, a research organisation, public sector organisation, charity or academic institution
• must carry out its project work in the UK
• must intend to exploit the results in at least one UK industrial cluster

Timeline

The work was carried out on the Sandown-class mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV) by about 50 Babcock International employees plus specialist sub-contractors.

The Rosyth team upgraded the ship’s sonar and communications systems, overhauled her propulsion systems and generators, and improved her fresh water tanks.

Defence Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

The HMS Pembroke refit is another example of the impressive engineering skills of our Scottish dockyards.

The upgraded vessel will return to carrying out the vital work of finding and destroying underwater threats and keeping shipping lanes safe. I wish HMS Pembroke and her crew well on their next tasking.

She can operate in deep and exposed waters, using clearance divers or a SeaFox remote-controlled underwater vehicle to deal with hazards at depths of up to 200 metres.

After a refit that was on time and within budget, HMS Pembroke completed sea acceptance trials off the Scottish and Norwegian coasts a day ahead of schedule.

She will now re-join her six sister ships as part of the Faslane Flotilla at Scotland’s largest military establishment, HM Naval Base Clyde.

Two of the Faslane ships are permanently based in the Gulf and Indian Ocean, where they work with local militaries to promote peace and stability in the region and support the international effort to ensure the safe transit of oil and other goods.

Nick Fernandes, team leader, Defence Equipment & Support, said:

This is a great achievement for Defence Equipment & Support, Babcock and HMS Pembroke’s own crew, whose project management skills and collaborative working demonstrates once again or commitment to continuous improvement.

Lieutenant Commander Richard Kemp, commanding officer of HMS Pembroke, said:

It’s been a real team effort from Babcock, the sub-contractors, DE&S and my own ship’s company to get Pembroke out in such great shape.

That we have managed to sail through all of our trials in such a short time and pass them all with flying colours really goes to show what great work has gone on over the past nine months. We’re now ready to start delivering on operations wherever we are needed.

Rosyth dockyard has developed a specialism in refitting Royal Navy MCMVs and patrol vessels. Prior to the work on HMS Pembroke, HMS Penzance underwent a successful 10-month refit.

Of all the £1.69 billion that Defence procurement spends with Scottish businesses each year, approximately one billion is invested in ship building and maintenance, including submarines, supporting 5,500 jobs in the Scottish private sector.

In September 2019, the Ministry of Defence announced that Babcock is its preferred bidder to build five T31 frigates at an average production cost of £250 million per ship.

Babcock expects the Type 31 programme to sustain about 1,250 highly-skilled roles in multiple locations across the UK including Rosyth, the central build and integration site. All five vessels will be delivered by the end of 2028.

Sean Donaldson, managing director of Babcock’s Rosyth site, said:

We were delighted to complete the refit of HMS Pembroke on time and look forward to carrying out similar packages of work on the other minehunter vessels.

The aim of this competition is to bring businesses from different foundation industries together to work on common resource and energy efficiency opportunities.

Foundation industries are:

• cement
• paper
• glass
• ceramics
• metals
• bulk chemicals

We will fund cross-sector and collaborative research and development projects aimed at improving the productivity and competitiveness of the sectors’ companies and supply chains, and encourage companies to stay in the UK.

Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £5 million in innovation projects for the foundation industries through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Project details

These will be cross-sector, collaborative, fast start, short duration, industrial research and development (R&D) projects.

Your project can focus on any part of the manufacturing process, including:

• feedstock inputs
• production
• material product development

Your project must not focus on fuel switching or technologies for the capture of emissions, such as carbon capture and storage.

Eligibility

Your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £50,000 and £500,000
• be collaborative
• be led by a UK registered business of any size, or a research and technology organisation
• include at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
• include at least 2 businesses, of any size, from at least 2 foundation industry sectors
• last between 3 and 12 months
• be ready to start in July 2020

You do not need to be in the foundation industries to lead the consortium.

Competition timeline

The competition is open for applications and closes on 5 February 2020 at midday.

There are briefing events for potential applicants:

• 14 November 2019: London
• 20 November 2019: Wales
• 21 November 2019: Northern Ireland
• 22 November 2019: Online
• 27 November 2019: Scotland

Thursday, 28 November, 2019

featuring

Tom Dooks │ Senior Manager │ Youth Justice Services (CE, CWaC, Halton & Warrington)

and

Sean Creaney │ Lecturer in Psychosocial Analysis of Offending Behaviour │ Edge Hill University

In this free seminar Tom will present a model for diverting children away from the criminal justice system, and explore the strategic challenges inherent in designing, sustaining and scaling out diversionary schemes. Sean will then examine the extent and nature of children’s participation in decision making in youth justice. He will also critically explore children’s ability to express agency and influence matters that affect them and discuss the challenges professionals experience when centralising the voice of the child.

For further details and booking follow this link

Published 30 October 2019

The revised contracts for the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS) will build on the current arrangements within England and Wales – introducing an updated fleet of escort vehicles with enhanced safety and security features, and an innovative digital platform which provides real-time data on the location of detainees and prisoners who are being moved.

These changes will improve the efficiency of the PECS service as well as overall safety, security and decency for prisoners. They will also realise significant benefits during the 10-year term of the contracts such as reducing the number of delays at court, stopping mixed transportation of adult and youths and minimising the time a prisoner spends in a court cell or prison van.

The contracts were awarded following a competitive procedure. GEOAmey Ltd and Serco Ltd offered the best overall bids in terms of quality and cost and the contracts will start from 29 August 2020.

Performance will be monitored through monthly meetings to ensure high standards are maintained and suppliers are held to account.

Notes to editors

1. PECS provides the safe and secure transport of prisoners, including: adults; children and young people to and from Police Stations; Courts; Prisons; Secure Training Centres (STCs); and Secure Schools (SCHs)
2. PECS has been managed by private sector providers since 1994. The fourth generation of contracts will commence 29 August 2020.
3. Serco Ltd has been selected to provide the service across the whole of the South of England region and GeoAmey PECS Ltd will cover the North region.
4. For further information please contact the Ministry of Justice press office on 0203 334 3536.

Published 30 October 2019