News story: Minister talks trade at UK’s largest bio-science campus

Alderley Park in Cheshire offers facilities for research & development (R&D) focused life science companies at every stage of their life-cycle, from start-up right through to becoming established as a global corporation.

Whilst on site the Minister will meet with the AMR Centre, who play a key role in the British response to global threats from anti-microbial resistance (AMR), to learn about their international projects and find out about the UK’s wider trading opportunities presented by AMR.

The company is a joint private-public initiative which aims to accelerate the development of new treatments and diagnostics in the fight against the growing global impact of resistance to antibiotics.

Minister of State at the Department for International Trade, Baroness Fairhead, said:

There is an ever-increasing worldwide demand for the UK’s life sciences goods and services with £33.5bn being exported last year. The AMR Centre, part of the Northern Power House, is a key part of this. It is a global centre of excellence and the work they do has the potential to save lives across the world.

Our Export Strategy aims to support their growth overseas. Indeed, we offer a range of support to businesses, large and small, which includes providing finance help through our award-winning credit agency, UK Export Finance, advice from our network of Export Champions and a wealth of resources and opportunities on GREAT.gov.uk.

Dr Peter Jackson, Executive Director of The AMR Centre said:

It’s great to be able to showcase the internationally-important centre of excellence in the fight against drug-resistant superbugs here at the AMR Centre and with our partners across the North West.

In the UK, we have a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on our world-class universities, our drug development expertise and our global leadership on the AMR agenda to make a real difference for patients around the world.

The Minister previously met with the AMR Centre on a trade mission to the Boston BIO Conference earlier this year, where businesses from across the Northern Powerhouse were able to connect with potential US buyers and like-minded firms.

To expand their international profile, the company has made use of DIT support to further their overseas contacts including help and advice on attending trade shows in the likes of Germany, Japan and the US, and has already signed antibiotic development contracts with companies in the USA and Sweden.

DIT is also helping wider businesses in Alderley Park with their exporting ambitions. The local International Trade Advisor, Sara Pomfret has set up regular drop in sessions on site to offer advice and support to any local business that needs it.

Dr Chris Doherty, managing director of Alderley Park, said:

Science crosses borders and innovation is a powerful enabler driving the UK economy forward. Alderley Park is a major science and technology location for UK Plc and key asset within Bruntwood SciTech, the UK’s leader in creating innovation districts.

We very much welcome the support from DIT in helping our customers take their ideas to global markets.

The government recently launched a new Export Strategy which sets out how DIT will support businesses of all sizes to make the most of the opportunities presented by markets around the world.

A collaboration with business, developed after extensive engagement with a range of UK firms – the Strategy sets a new ambition from government to increase exports as a proportion of UK GDP to 35%.



News story: Third Courts and Tribunals Service Centre announced

Graphic of various communications channels
  • Part of the £1 billion court reform programme, Courts & Tribunals Service Centres will provide easier access to justice services.
  • Plans are already underway to open the first two centres in Stoke-On-Trent and Birmingham from January 2019.

Courts & Tribunals Service Centres are a key part of the transformation of courts and tribunals. They will bring together expertise under one roof and improve and modernise processes to give users of the justice system a better, seamless service. The service centres will enable users to access the support they need more quickly and easily in one place.

Loughborough has now been chosen to house the third of these centres. This follows on from those already planned to open in Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham from January 2019.

The Loughborough service centre will hold around 200 employees, bringing the total to around 1000 across all three sites. The service centre is expected to be fully operational by May 2020 but justice services may start moving there by the end of 2019. They will deal with all aspects of handling cases including new applications, managing queries from the public and professional users; and supporting the judiciary in progressing cases and listing hearings.

Nicky Morgan, Member of Parliament for Loughborough, said:

Access to justice is extremely important, so I am delighted that the latest Courts & Tribunal Service Centre will be based in Loughborough. This is also good news for local employment, confirming that our town is a great place for many different employers to be based.

Half of our workforce will continue to be based in courts and tribunals and will work hand in hand with the new service centres.

Existing HMCTS employees who are affected by the changes will be given priority to apply for roles in service centres and will be supported through the process.

The announcement of this service centre is part of the £1bn being invested in transforming courts and tribunals, making the justice system simpler to access, convenient to use and more efficient to run; utilising technology to bring the processes of justice into the 21st century.

Susan Acland-Hood, HMCTS CEO, said:

Our service centres will transform the services we offer to all HMCTS users, making it easier, quicker and more efficient to access support. For HMCTS colleagues, the new service centres will offer the opportunity to work in modern, well designed spaces with support available to develop their skills and expertise in the justice system.

Published 23 November 2018
Last updated 26 November 2018 + show all updates

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Press release: Campaign to cut plastics around the coast gets boost thanks to Environment Agency

Firm agrees to pay nearly £25,000 to the Marine Conservation Society following breaches



Press release: Campaign to cut plastics around the coast gets boost thanks to Environment Agency

Firm agrees to pay nearly £25,000 to the Marine Conservation Society following breaches



Press release: Campaign to cut plastics around the coast gets boost thanks to Environment Agency

A campaign aimed at reducing waste pollution in our oceans and on beaches has been given a boost of more than £24,000 after the Environment Agency accepted an enforcement undertaking from a group of companies for failing to comply with waste and recycling regulations.

Angel Springs Holdings Ltd of Wolverhampton, subsidiary companies Angel Springs Ltd and Fillongley Spring Water Ltd had failed to register between 2009 and 2016 under regulations covering packaging waste.

Fillongley Spring Water Ltd joined the group in 2014 and Angel Springs Ltd also failed to comply with packaging regulations between 2009 and 2013.Therefore Angel Springs Holdings Ltd failed to comply with packaging regulations on behalf of the group between 2009 and 2016.

Now, following agreement with the Environment Agency, Angel Springs Holdings Ltd has given a sum of £24,329.54 to the Marine Conservation Society, for the breaches by its two subsidiary companies. The Marine Conservation Society, is a UK charity working solely to protect the sea, shores and wildlife that lives in and around them. The money will be used to support the charity’s Bincentives campaign in schools around the country and through social media.

Environment Officer with the Environment Agency, Beth Haste said:

Enforcement Undertakings offers are an effective enforcement tool used by the Environment Agency, to enable companies to address historical non-compliance under the Packaging Regulations, through actions that will ensure compliance with the relevant legislative requirements and support for suitable environmental projects, without attracting a criminal record.

The Packaging Regulations require companies which annually have a turnover of more than £2 million and handle 50 tonnes or more of packaging, to take responsibility for packaging when it becomes waste.

We believe the contribution to the Marine Conservation Society’s Bincentives schools environmental education project will support the principles underpinning the Packaging Regulations.

Rochelle Ferguson, Trusts and Grants Manager with the Marine Conservation Society, added:

The Marine Conservation Society is so grateful to have received support towards our education programme, more specifically, towards Bincentives which is designed by children, for children, to provide an incentive to do the correct thing with their litter. As an anti-littering resource for secondary schools, Bincentives is a valuable educational tool for raising awareness of the issues of littering with a hard to reach age group.

The campaign is self-led, giving students the responsibility for taking charge of the issue and the poster design is appealing to the age group. Bincentives has proved popular with schools, with over 250 schools downloading a copy so far.

The full list of Enforcement Undertakings is now available on this page.