HM Government

The government has been considering the recommendations of the joint report on the future of supported housing produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and will be also publishing its response to that on the same day.

Supported housing supports some of the most vulnerable people across the country and the government’s priority is to safeguard its future.

• DCLG – 0303 444 1209
• DWP – 020 3267 5144

Drivers planning to travel on the M4 and M5 to Cardiff on Saturday are advised to allow extra time for their journeys due to two sporting events in the Welsh capital.

New Home Office regulations will allow police to use body-worn video to record interviews with suspects, under plans being consulted on today (Wednesday 25 October).

Police can already use evidence captured by wearable cameras but the changes will mean that, for the first time, they can be used for suspect interviews away from the police station setting.

It follows joint work between the Home Office and police to help maximise time spent on the frontline by officers and reduce unnecessary trips to and from police stations.

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd said:

Having met officers across England and Wales, I’ve seen how technology is bringing 21st century solutions to age-old policing problems.

I want our police officers to have access to the best possible equipment, and to be able to use it to bring greater efficiency to frontline policing.

We will keep looking for ways to save time and work more effectively, and we will do everything we can to support forces as they adapt for the future.

By the end of this year 60,000 body-worn video cameras will have been deployed by police forces across England and Wales.

As part of the new regulations, the Home Office is also strengthening the protections in place for interviewees and will require all interviews with suspects to be recorded when a working audio device is available.

The new plans set out in full suspects’ rights and entitlements and also include a definition of vulnerability, so that it is clear when interviews must be conducted with independent support for the suspect from an appropriate adult and, if one is requested, a solicitor.

The Queen has been pleased to approve that the honour of Knighthood or Damehood be conferred upon Simon James Bryan, Q.C., Akhlaq Ur-Rahman Choudhury, Q.C., Jonathan Lionel Cohen, Q.C., Julian Nicholas Goose, Q.C., Gwynneth Frances Knowles, Q.C., Juli… read more

£17 million of new funding has been announced by the Chancellor today, helping to unlock real benefits for the NHS and patients. This money, as part of our ambitious industrial strategy, will help new drug discovery and support mental health treatment, translating the UK’s scientific expertise into real life treatments.

The life sciences industry provides medical treatments which the NHS and its 60 million patients rely on every year. The industry is also critical to the UK economy – with over 5,000 companies employing nearly 235,000 workers and generating £63.5 billion turnover.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:

We have a successful and resilient economy which is supporting a record number of people into employment. My focus now, and going into the Budget, is on boosting productivity so that we can deliver higher-wage jobs and a better standard of living for people across the country.

That is why I am visiting the Francis Crick Institute, where they are using cutting-edge research to generate real-life health improvements. The UK has world-leading expertise in life sciences – an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of people – and it is through supporting growth in these cutting edge industries that we will build a competitive economy that works for everyone.

Science minister, Jo Johnson said:

The UK is home to world-leading expertise in life sciences with over 5,000 companies and turnover of £64 billion and the government is committed to continuing to help this sector go from strength to strength.

Through the recently published Life Sciences Industrial Strategy and our progress towards a Life Sciences Sector Deal, we are determined to cement the UK’s position as a global leader and capitalise on its strengths to encourage both economic growth and improve health outcomes for patients.

The Chancellor is visiting the Francis Crick Institute, the largest biomedical research laboratory in Europe, which was created with £350 million of government investment. The ‘Crick’ houses 1,250 scientists and 250 other staff conducting cutting-edge biomedical research to enable the discovery of drugs and treatments of the future.

The Chancellor announces funding for three new areas:

1. Cryo-electron microscope – £5 million for a state of the art microscope to build 3D models of biological components. This can help drug discovery become faster and cheaper

2. Innovation hub – £7 million to set up a new lab with state of the art equipment and research scientists. This lab will establish the UK Centre for Engineering Biology, Metrology and Standards

3. Business catalyst – £5 million to expand the ‘Confidence in Concept’ business catalyst scheme and boost treatment for mental health. This scheme has already produced 26 business spin-outs, 70 patents and £277 million of follow on funding from the private sector

25 new jobs were also announced today by GammaDelta Therapeutics, a British company founded by scientists from the Crick, King’s College London and Cancer Research UK. The company recorded £100 million worth of investment earlier this year to develop the drugs of the future.

The UK is a world-leader in the life sciences. The UK represents just 0.9% of the global population but produces 15.2% of the world’s most highly-cited articles. Research productivity in this sector is twice as great as the United States and almost three times greater than in Germany. We have an internationally-recognised life sciences cluster in the South East of England, comprising Oxford, Cambridge and London and the area between them. It houses four of the world’s top twenty universities (three in the top ten), four of the top ten medical sciences faculties in the world and some of the world’s largest research institutes – the Sanger Institute, the Francis Crick Institute and Harwell. The government is supporting the sector by increasing investment in R&D by an extra £2 billion a year by the end of this Parliament.

The Life Sciences Industrial Strategy was published in August. It is an industry led project bringing together businesses, from across the medical technology, biopharmaceutical, and digital sectors, as well as charities, academia and the NHS.