Politics

Press release: UK firms secure lucrative ‘green’ construction contract with government support

In a significant collaboration between UK firms Carillion and Zaha Hadid Architects, and leading UAE-based environmental management company Bee’ah, support from UK Export Finance (UKEF) has helped secure a contract to build Bee’ah’s new headquarters in Sharjah, UAE, worth tens of millions of pounds.

Bee’ah’s headquarters was designed by the late Dame Zaha Hadid, the world-renowned British architect. It will be built by Carillion and will be the first building of its kind in the city of Sharjah to be powered entirely by renewable and recoverable energy sources, whilst utilising recycled materials in its construction.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

Our support to help Carillion secure this contract shows the UK’s global leadership in sustainable engineering, and our pioneering expertise in developing smart cities and green buildings for the future. The UAE is a key partner in the region and 5,000 UK companies work in there. Through UKEF, the government is ensuring that British firms can be the first choice to support the country’s ambitions.

The headquarters will be powered by low- and zero-carbon sources, including solar power and waste-to-energy and will be one of the most advanced buildings in the region. Using British architectural and construction expertise, the design has been developed to use natural light and temperature management systems where possible.

Zafar Khan, Group Finance Director, Carillion, said:

This contract cements Carillion’s position as a market-leader in the Middle East, as well as our credentials in sustainable construction. Our ability to offer our customers in the region the support of UK Export Finance is an invaluable asset, making our bids more attractive and helping us win contracts in a competitive global marketplace.

HE Salim bin Mohamed Al Owais, Chairman of Bee’ah, said:

As pioneers in environmental sustainability in the Middle East, Bee’ah is proud of our international alliances and the partnerships we have forged to advance our ambitious strategic goals. This agreement is a significant moment in the history of the region. It demonstrates Bee’ah’s dedication and commitment to delivering on promises to the people of the UAE by providing tangible solutions to the greatest environmental challenges that face modern civilisation.

The headquarters is expected to be operational by the end of 2018, moving towards the major milestone of being powered by 100% renewable energy by 2021.

The financing deal provides for both the construction and design of Bee’ah’s new headquarters; UKEF will support the Carillion and Zaha Hadid contracts under its Direct Lending Facility. HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd has acted as arranger on the transaction, and HSBC Bank Plc is the agent.

The construction phase of the project is expected to last 30 months.
The Department for International Trade is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us.
UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, working alongside the Department for International Trade as an integral part of its strategy and operations.
It exists to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for want of finance or insurance from the private market. It provides finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and ensure they get paid for export contracts.
Sectors in which UKEF has supported exports include: aerospace, construction, oil and gas, mining and metals, petrochemicals, telecommunications, and transport.
UKEF has a regional network of 24 export finance managers supporting export businesses.
UKEF supports exporters with a range of products that include:
- Bond insurance policy
- Bond support scheme
- Buyer & supplier credit financing facility
- Direct lending facility
- Export insurance policy
- Export refinancing facility
- Export working capital scheme
- Letter of credit guarantee scheme
Find the latest information on UKEF’s country cover positions
Bee’ah, headquartered in the Emirate of Sharjah, is an integrated environmental and waste management company, founded in 2007, through an Emiri decree by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, as a public private partnership (PPP) with the Sharjah City Municipality.

February 9, 2017 HM GovernmentHM GovernmentGB • Governmental • HM Government • political

Theresa May has lost control of the NHS this winter – Ashworth

“Theresa May has lost control of the NHS this winter”: Labour reacts to latest performance data

NHS England has today published full year 2016 data for a number of key NHS indicators, including waiting lists, ambulance response and delayed transfers, which show the health service stretched to the limits.

The BBC has also published leaked figures showing January’s A&E performance to be the worst since records started.

Labour said the figures showed Theresa May was failing patients and renewed calls for the Government to bring forward extra support for health and social care in the March budget.

Jon Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said:

“Theresa May has lost control of the NHS this winter and patients are paying the price as target after target is missed and standards of care deteriorate. Thousands more people are waiting for treatment, people are stuck in hospitals even when they’re well enough to go home, and key standards on cancer care and ambulance response times are being missed.

“These are some of the worst figures we have seen. Experts are saying that standards are being pushed back fifteen years or more. Behind each of these statistics is a patient suffering and in unacceptable discomfort. It’s making Theresa May’s utter disregard for the dire state of the NHS all the more disgraceful.

“The Government has failed the NHS right across the board. Urgent action is required and Labour is calling for a sustainable funding package for health and social care to be brought forward in the March Budget, so that the NHS and its patients never have to go through a winter like this again.”

Ends

February 9, 2017 GovWorldMagLabourGovernmental • Labour • Labour Party • political

Labour has demonstrated that we respect the result of the referendum – Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, following tonight’s votes, said:

“Labour has demonstrated that we respect the result of the referendum by voting to begin negotiations to leave the EU, with the overwhelming majority of Labour MPs supporting our party’s position.

“In recent weeks, Labour has forced the government to reveal what their plan for Brexit actually is.

“Both from their public statements and the amendments their MPs have voted down, the Conservatives have made clear they are determined to use Brexit to turn Britain into a bargain basement tax haven.

“Labour has a profoundly different vision for our country, with a plan to rebuild and transform Britain so that no one and no community is left behind.

“Article 50 is just the start of the negotiating process. Labour will be using every opportunity, both in Parliament and in the country, to protect jobs, rights and living standards, and achieve the best possible deal for Britain.”

February 9, 2017 GovWorldMagLabourGovernmental • Labour • Labour Party • political

Brexit bill: Green MEPs blast MPs for failing to stand up for Parliamentary democracy

9 February 2017

* Molly Scott Cato MEP: “While the government is moving us towards the hard Brexit cliff edge, it is Labour that seems willing to push us off.”

* Keith Taylor MEP: “As Greens, we believe the British people should have the final say on the Brexit deal, once it is clear what the outcome of the negotiations are.”

* Jean Lambert MEP: “How bizarre that, as an MEP, I am guaranteed a right to vote on this but my MP has to plead for the privilege.”

UK Green MEPs, Molly Scott Cato, Jean Lambert, and Keith Taylor have issued a stinging condemnation of British MPs after Theresa May’s Brexit bill denying Parliament any real say in the process sailed through the Commons.

The Prime Minister rejected calls for MPs to have a meaningful role in shaping the proposed divorce deal. The government, instead, confirmed that the parliamentarians elected to represent the British and Northern Irish people will only be offered a ‘take it or leave it’ vote on the final deal.

UK Green MEPs, who will get an opportunity to play a part in the EU’s negotiating process and cast a significant vote on the final terms of the deal, hit out at the Government for undermining the sovereignty of the UK Parliament.

Molly Scott Cato MEP, the Green Party’s Brexit spokesperson and MEP for the South West, said:

“I am delighted that 122 MPs voted against the Brexit bill. With Labour, Lib Dem, SNP, and Plaid Cymru MPs joining Green MP Caroline Lucas to reject the Bill unamended, we have seen a progressive alliance against the government’s plans for an extreme Brexit.

However, while the government is moving us towards the hard Brexit cliff edge, it is Labour that seems willing to push us off. The Party has shown itself hopelessly divided and the failure to oppose the government on this the most critical of issues has played straight into the hands of the Tory Right.

Greens have been clear throughout: we cannot support triggering a process that will see the UK leave the single market and customs union and threatens to turn us into Europe’s biggest tax haven. We need clear guarantees on worker and consumer rights and assurances there will be no weakening of environmental protections.”

Jean Lambert, the Green MEP for London, said:

“It’s outrageous that MPs appear grateful to be offered a vote on the final deal, rather than demanding this as a Parliamentary right. How bizarre that, as an MEP, I am guaranteed a right to vote on this but my MP has to plead for the privilege. And if my elected representative in UK Parliament has to plead, what say will the public get? The sidelining of Parliament and the British people is unacceptable.

The UK Parliament has chosen to set out little clear guidance for the Government on content or process: on what basis will MPs judge the final deal?”

Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for the South East and a plaintiff in so-called ‘Dublin Case‘, said:

“Theresa May has justified her riding roughshod over Parliamentary democracy by claiming the British people have united to back Brexit. They haven’t. Far from it. The mandate for an extreme Brexit is non-existent. According to the latest polls, just 39% of the British public support the Prime Minister’s vision of an extreme Brexit. Meanwhile, 48% of people want Britain to either remain a member of the EU or, at least, maintain a close relationship with our European neighbours.

Yet the Government has confirmed that it will only offer MPs a Hobson’s choice: the UK either leaves the single market and negotiates a new deal with the EU or ends up with no deal at all, in which case the Government promises to make the country a tax haven outside Europe.

I know we can do better than this. Which is why I am fighting in the courts for the British people to be given the choice they are being denied. The EU referendum should have been the start of a democratic process, not the end of one. As Greens, we believe the British people should have the final say on the Brexit deal, once it is clear what the outcome of the negotiations are.”

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February 9, 2017 GovWorldMagGreen PartyGB • Governmental • Green Party • political

Statement to Parliament: Commercial spaceflight

We intend to publish a draft spaceflight bill later this month, dedicated to commercial spaceflight in the UK. This legislation will be fundamental to enabling small-satellite launches and sub-orbital flights from the UK, ensuring the UK is well placed to take advantage of a growing global market. The government’s intention is to introduce this Bill formally early in the next session, following a period of scrutiny and engagement with industry and other interest groups.

The space sector is vital to the future of the UK economy, with a strong record of creating high-value jobs and generating wealth across the country. To help the creation of the space launch market in the UK, the UK Space Agency is inviting commercial space consortia to apply for grant funding to take the action that will make our ambitions a reality.

Together, the proposed legislation and grant funding announced today will have the potential to enable commercial spaceflight from a UK spaceport by 2020.