The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has identified a new bed bug aggregation pheromone, which acts as a powerful lure. A spin-out company from the LSHTM, Vecotech Ltd, has received a grant of £220,034 to help the commercialisation of a product to detect infestations at an early stage, which would lead to more effective control.

Professor James Logan, of Vecotech and Head of Department of Disease Control at LSHTM, said:

Bed bug control remains one of the most lucrative and growing markets in the pest management industry globally and insect numbers are also reported to be increasing rapidly.

The common bed bug bite can cause reactions ranging from minor irritation to severe allergic hypersensitivity. They are a pest of significant public health importance and a major global economic problem, widely infesting homes, hospitals and dormitories and damaging the hospitality industry through infestation of hotels, cinemas and transport.

There are a few bed bug detection methods and monitoring devices available, but there are no established products with proven reliability and efficacy for detecting low level infestations quickly.

The objective of this project is to develop an effective test prototype of this powerful lure, to be used in a bed bug-specific trap, capable of detecting early stage infestations, that is effective, sensitive, long lasting, safe, affordable and discrete.

Other projects to receive grant funding include West Midlands’ Key Forensic Services Ltd (£599,260), who are developing a desktop DNA sampling system to dramatically speed up crime scene investigation.

Also, Northern Ireland-based Almac Diagnostics Ltd (£500,001) are working on a lab and software solution to improve the success of clinical cancer trials for a range of patients, while Cambridge business Entomics Biosystems Ltd (£571,166) is leading a partnership developing an innovative system to enable insects to become a nutritious and sustainable feed ingredient for the UK poultry market.

In this round, a total of £17.44 million has been allocated by Innovate UK for projects which cover new products, processes or services that have the potential to generate significant positive impact and growth for the UK economy.

Fionnuala Costello, Head of Open Programmes at Innovate UK, said:

All of these projects are tackling issues that affect many people and cover key sectors linked to government’s Industrial Strategy. They have the potential to have a lasting impact.

The overall quality of applications from across the country was of exceptionally high standard and covers a wide range of industries, from digital and creative to biosciences and medicine development, which shows the appetite of UK businesses to innovate and grow.

Through our ongoing funding programme we are supporting hundreds of high-growth businesses, collaborations and industries to innovate and compete in future global markets.

Innovate UK’s open competition programme is available to any technology, science, engineering or industrial area for innovation projects at various stages. Projects should cost between £25,000 and £2 million and last up to 36 months. It is designed to help develop cutting-edge projects at any stage from conceptualisation, through to prototype development and demonstration, with a view to eventual commercialisation.

The UK and Ukraine have been engaging on the future growth of trade and investment links between both countries after the UK leaves the EU, including during the Ukrainian Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister – Trade Representative of Ukraine, Nataliya Mykolska’s, recent visit to London.

As the UK is in the process of exiting the EU, Ukraine welcomed the UK’s intention to avoid any disruption to trade. In particular, both countries welcomed ongoing discussions to ensure continuity of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), which facilitates more than £1.7 billion in trade between the 2 countries, once the UK leaves the EU.

The UK informed Ukraine on the UK-EU agreement, reached at the March European Council, that the UK is to be treated as a member state for the purposes of international agreements during the EU-UK Implementation Period. This should provide further certainty to both British and Ukrainian traders that there will be no disruption to the existing trading relationship during the Implementation Period, and that in particular the preferential terms of EU-Ukraine DCFTA will continue to apply to both parties during the Implementation Period.

Both countries agreed to work together to strengthen UK-Ukrainian trade.

• infringement levels down 7% points from 2015 for 16 to 24 year olds
• decrease of 5% points in the use of illegal services since 2013

While overall levels of piracy remain the same compared to 2017, there has been a drop in illegal activity by some groups. This is especially true amongst young consumers, with over half of 16 to 24 year olds now paying to access at least one subscription service.

The latest figures, from the Online Copyright Infringement (OCI) tracker, are published on British IP Day. The annual tracker measures the level of online copyright infringement in the UK. The UK has led the way in measuring online copyright infringement in this way with Australia, and more recently Canada, using the same method.

Sam Gyimah, Minister for IP, launched the report at the Alliance for IP British IP Day event. He said:

The variety of legitimate services now available to consumers is extraordinary and our world-leading creative industries have made great strides in meeting the demands of viewers and fans, so there really is no excuse for the ongoing use of illegal services.

Today’s findings are a positive step forward in stamping out online copyright infringement, but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are committed to tackling piracy and helping this vibrant sector go from strength to strength through our Creative Industries Sector Deal, a major part of our modern Industrial Strategy.

Key findings from the OCI tracker include:

• the UK has a lower overall infringement rate (25% of online content consumers) than both Canada (26%) and Australia (38%)
• levels of infringement varied by content type. TV programmes recorded the highest levels of infringement (23% amongst consumers of TV), with music (18%) and films (19%). Whereas infringement of software has decreased from 26% in 2017 to 20% this year. Infringement of sports content was 21%
• an increase in the share of consumers citing convenience, quality and fears of viruses/malware/spyware as reasons for choosing paid for services over free services
• 65% of those who consumed any of the six key content types during the past three months paid for at least some of it (an increase from 60% in 2017), this is partly due to increased spend on subscription services
• amongst infringers there was a decline in the use of BitTorrent software (from 11% of infringers in 2017 to 7% this year), while the use of Kodi remained relatively unchanged (used by 12% of infringers)

Eddy Leviten, Director General of the Alliance for Intellectual Property, added:

British IP Day is a celebration of the creativity that brings great products, brands, design and content to consumers worldwide. Today we are taking that message to Parliament and ensuring that MPs across the political spectrum understand the need to protect IP and support creators of all kinds.

The OCI Tracker is a valuable measure of progress in the UK in the use of legitimate content services but piracy levels remain at one quarter of the population, which is still far too high.

The Alliance and its members are active participants in the Sector Deal roundtables which can help to drive down piracy and counterfeiting and allow genuine content and goods to flourish. We look forward to working collaboratively to achieve concrete results.”

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Nick Court of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Department (PIPCU) said:

It is encouraging to hear that consumers are favouring subscription streaming services and that illegal streaming is becoming less attractive, especially to the young.

Digital piracy is a problem that has a number of risks associated with it, including enabling children to watch inappropriate content, and we continue to encourage people to use legitimate services in order to avoid falling victim to such risks.

We are hopeful that the younger consumers who are using these legitimate services will lead the way in encouraging all users to do the same.

The government is taking action to tackle online copyright infringement through a range of activities:

• joint funding with DCMS for the Creative Content UK campaign, Get it Right from a Genuine Site

• IPO funding of over £7.5 million for the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit

• continuing to work with search engines and copyright owners to ensure that copyright infringing websites are removed from the front page of search results.

• worked with Industry to fund a campaign fronted by Crime Stoppers to raise awareness of the risks involved in using illicit streaming devices

• made commitments through the Industrial Strategy Creative Industry Sector Deal

• launched a new series of Nancy & the Meerkats to encourage children to think about ownership of IP, whether music, video or information on the web

• in a unique partnership with UK Music, launched Music Inc in 2013, an app to give gamers an insight into the modern music industry as well as education them on aspects of copyright

• in 2015 launched crackingideas.com a portal for free IP and copyright education resources from the IPO and industry including the Industry Trust, UK Music and ALCS

Note to editors

1. The UK survey was funded by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and was undertaken by Kantar Media. The survey was conducted between March and May 2018.
2. It’s the eighth wave of a large-scale consumer tracking study into the extent of online copyright infringement, as well as wide digital behaviours and attitudes, among people ages 12+ in the UK.

The University of Liverpool Mathematics College is set to become the first of its kind in the north of England and will follow in the footsteps of successful schools opened by King’s College London and the University of Exeter.

When the school opens, it will welcome 80 talented A level pupils per year to study subjects like maths, further maths and physics.

Minister for the School System, Lord Agnew said:

I am pleased that the University of Liverpool has risen to the challenge to give the mathematicians of tomorrow an opportunity to take their talents to the next level. I visited King’s College London Mathematics School earlier this year and was humbled by the students I met there – their ambition and ability is incredible.

Academic standards are rising, with 1.9 million more children in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. As we move forward, we want more leading universities to open maths schools and offer broader outreach in their region. This will give even more young people the opportunity to excel in maths, providing them with the knowledge and skills for future success.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss said:

Maths powers our economy. Studying it to A level and beyond could add around 10% to the future earnings of students, putting more money in their pocket and giving them more job opportunities.

Today we are hosting northern universities in Parliament because we know fewer students in the North of England study maths compared with the South, and we want to change this.

That is why we introduced the maths pupil premium, to help more students study maths for longer and put them in a great position to take up skilled jobs.

Professor Dame Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool said:

The University of Liverpool Mathematics College will be a hub for the most able young mathematicians in the Liverpool city region so they can develop their knowledge and skills through the study of maths and related subjects. In today’s global economy it is essential that the UK develops the potential of our most able maths students and this initiative will help respond to that challenge.

Once open in 2020, it will give gifted mathematicians from all backgrounds the chance to boost their skills and learn from some of the best minds in the country.

In partnership with local schools, the college will work to raise aspirations and attainment levels in mathematics across the region and, alongside other schools, colleges and organisations, will provide professional development programmes for maths teachers throughout the region.

The University will also work with employers in the region to establish partnerships, giving pupils the chance to gain real business experience and the opportunity to see how their skills will support their career choices moving forward

Maths is one of the most in-demand skills in the labour market and the Royal Society has outlined maths as the key skill required by employers by 2030. It is also already the most popular subject at A level, with over 84,000 pupils choosing to study it. This is an increase of 20% since 2010. The government is determined, through its modern Industrial Strategy, to increase the number of young people studying maths, helping them to secure good jobs and boosting the UK economy.

The University of Liverpool Mathematics College also supports the aims of the Northern Powerhouse, which will create a globally-competitive northern economy with a flourishing private sector, a highly-skilled population, and world-renowned civic and business leadership, all of which will be supported by a boost to maths skills.

The most selective maths universities in the country are being encouraged to consider opening a maths school. It will give pupils access to a stretching maths curriculum as well as excellent mentoring and careers guidance by specialists at the university. Maths schools will receive an additional £350,000 to support significant outreach work with a focus on students from disadvantaged backgrounds and girls. This will ensure that pupils from all backgrounds will have the opportunity to link up with some of the best maths institutions in the country.