UK vaccine exports have almost tripled in value since 2013, reaching £3.2 billion.

Officers visited more than 50 suspected illegal waste sites across the East of England in a single day, finding half were breaking the law

Bombardier Transportation has been named by the Egyptian Government as preferred bidder to build and operate a new monorail system.

• UK exports of vaccines in 2018 clocked in at £3.2 billion, more than any other G7 economy.

• Exports of vaccines to the USA are worth £2.2 billion, having nearly quadrupled in value since 2013.

• Exports of vaccines to Sub-Saharan Africa are now worth more than £20 million

• UK based vaccine manufacturers Seqirus are expanding their Liverpool site due to massive global demand.

Latest HMRC data shows UK exports of vaccines reached £3.2 billion in 2018, more than any other G7 nation and the 3rd highest in the world.

5 years ago, UK vaccine exports were worth £1.2 billion and have since nearly tripled in value. The vaccines sold by the UK protect the people all over the world from diseases such as measles and influenza.

Growing demand from the USA has been the main driver with exports there increasing rapidly from £449.3 million in 2013, to £2.2 billion in 2018. The USA now accounts for over two-thirds of all UK vaccine exports.

More recently, British vaccines have been met with fierce demand from Asia, with exports to China increasing over the past year by 287.4% to £122.4 million. This is somewhat remarkable given exports to the country 10 years ago were worth under £5 million.

Similarly, exports to Mexico in 2008 were worth just £3,000, and are now amounting to £46.2 million. During the same period exports to Canada increased from under £500,000 to heights of £52.6 million, demonstrating the rapidly growing appetite for British medical innovation in North America.

Encouragingly, exports of vaccines to Sub-Saharan Africa, a region where deadly diseases such as HIV are most prevalent, have increased from just £2.2 million in 2008 to £20.7 million in 2018.

Secretary of State for International Trade, Dr Liam Fox, said:

I want to thank the thousands of people across the country working tirelessly to produce vaccines to help fight deadly diseases such as influenza, measles, and hepatitis, not just in the UK, but across the world.

The UK is famous for its effective and reliable pharmaceuticals sector which continues to invest in new technologies to improve the quality of lives of people at home and abroad. This trust in the products it produces is reflected in the sheer levels of demand for UK manufactured vaccines, as we continue to secure more overseas revenue than any other G7 nation.

The Department for International Trade will continue to work with our fantastic NHS and pharmaceutical companies up and down the country to ensure people from all regions of the world can fight devastating diseases with the help of British innovation.

Leading vaccine producers, Seqirus has its global headquarters in Maidenhead, the UK, and produces and ships vaccines across the globe every year.

Its production site in Liverpool houses the largest vaccine manufacturing facility in the UK and is a centre of excellence for the production of an enhanced influenza vaccine for older adults. The site employs 650 highly skilled staff and manufactures over 50 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccines each year for local supply and global export.

To meet increasing demand for its products, the company is currently expanding its manufacturing capacity at Liverpool and recently expanded its headquarters at Maidenhead.

The Influenza virus constantly evolves and modifies itself, which requires new vaccines to be produced every winter and a constant surveillance of outbreaks and a potential pandemic threat.

The growth of its UK production and the use of technology such as cell-culture and egg-based manufacturing technology the company is helping to keep the deadly virus at bay.

An old Pacer could be transformed into a community space, a café or even a new village hall after Rail Minister Andrew Jones announced that a call for ideas will be launched on how the Pacer could be renovated to continue to serve communities.

After more than 3 decades of service, Pacers are being phased out alongside the introduction of a fleet of entirely new and refurbished trains across the northern network, delivering more modern and frequent services with extra seats for passengers in the north.

This summer, rail industry partners will launch a competition offering community groups the opportunity to put forward their plans to convert a Pacer into a new public space.

The Pacer will be donated by rolling stock company Porterbrook.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones said:

The Pacers have been the workhorses of the north’s rail network, connecting communities for more than 30 years, but it is clear that they have outstayed their welcome.

That is why they are being phased out completely to make way for new or fully-refurbished trains, improving journeys and creating space for 40,000 more passengers

Through this competition we can ensure that the Pacer can be transformed to serve a community near where it carried passengers in an entirely different way. What we need now are creative and exciting proposals from the public, alongside ideas from businesses keen to support this competition, as we say goodbye to Pacers on our railway.

Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry MP said:

Making the north one of the best connected regions in the UK is at the heart of our ambition for a thriving Northern Powerhouse. Replacing Pacers with a brand new fleet of trains is not just great news for passengers, it now provides this exciting opportunity for our grassroots community groups across the north to bring people together through this competition.

I travelled to school on a Pacer train and I look forward to getting on board again to see how these old carriages will continue to provide a valuable service for many years to come.

Senior sponsor at Network Rail, Andrew Morgan, said:

As part of the Great North Rail Project, we have lengthened platforms, remodelled track and altered Victorian structures across the north. These upgrades have paved the way for new and refurbished longer trains, allowing the pacer train to be phased out.

Managing Director of Arriva Rail North, David Brown, said:

Northern is introducing 101 new trains worth £500 million, the first of these new trains will be carrying customers this summer, and at the same time we will start to retire the Pacer trains. Using a Pacer as a valued community space is a very fitting way to commemorate the service they have provided since they entered service a generation ago.

More than 100 new trains will be rolled out by Northern and TransPennine Express from this year, offering more comfortable seats and improved accessibility.

It comes as part as part of a significant investment by both government, Network Rail and train operators as part of the Great North Rail Project to transform the national rail network, delivering more than 4,500 new carriages to UK passengers.

Making the north one of the best-connected regions in the UK is at the heart of the government’s ambition for a thriving Northern Powerhouse.

Department for Transport is investing £13 billion through to 2020 to transform transport across the region and is focussed on supercharging transport connections for years through our support for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Between 2019 and 2024, the government will also invest around £3 billion further in upgrading the Transpennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York to deliver faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys with more seats.

On Sunday 19 May (2019) the rail industry launched a new timetable that has seen around 1,000 extra services a week added across the country.