The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is looking to recruit members for the Eastern, North Western, North Eastern and Northumberland Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs).

Each IFCA needs members who will take a balanced approach to caring for our seas, assessing the priority and importance of all users and stakeholders. The vacancies are an opportunity for someone who wants to improve the quality of the inshore area and are available in the following regions, the:

• Eastern IFCA is looking for two new members; interest is welcomed from those who have experience and interest in commercial fishing; the marine environment; or with other relevant interest and experience. In addition, applicants from Suffolk would be particularly welcome.
• North Western IFCA is looking for two new members; interest is welcomed from those with experience and interest in commercial fishing; recreational fishing; the marine environment; or with other relevant interest and experience.
• North Eastern IFCA is looking for one new member; applicants are encouraged who have experience and interest in recreational or commercial fishing, particularly with mobile gear.
• Northumberland IFCA is looking for one new member; interest is welcomed from those with experience and interest in commercial fishing/potting.

Andrew Wareing, Director of Business Development and Transformation for the Marine Management Organisation, which is responsible for appointing local people with relevant expertise to the IFCAs, said:

“These are rare, exciting opportunities for people with experience and a passion for their inshore marine area to play a major part in shaping how their local area is managed. If you want to make a positive difference and help balance economic, social and environmental needs, we would be pleased to hear from you.”

The deadline for applications is as follows:

• Northumberland IFCA: 12:00 Wednesday 16 May 2018
• North Eastern IFCA: 12:00 Monday 28 May 2018
• Eastern IFCA: 12:00 Thursday 31 May 2018
• North Western IFCA: 12:00 Friday 8 June 2018

The role is on a voluntary basis although relevant expenses may be reimbursed.

More information on the vacancies and how to apply

You can email ifcarecruitment@marinemanagement.org.uk or telephone 0208 225 6659 or 0208 026 5171 for more information.

Background

There are 10 IFCAs around the English coastline and they are responsible for sustainably managing sea fisheries and conservation within 6 nautical miles from shore. They have the power to make byelaws to protect resources and the environment in their area as well as also enforcing national and European fisheries legislation.

IFCAs are either committees or joint committees of the local authorities that fall within an IFC district. They are tasked with sustainably managing inshore sea fisheries and conserving their local marine environment. They are made up of representatives from local councils along with people from across the different sectors that use or are knowledgeable about the inshore marine area, such as commercial and recreational fishermen, environmental groups and marine researchers, who offer their time voluntarily.

The Marine Management Organisation, Environment Agency and Natural England also each has a statutory seat on the IFCA. Through their local management and funding structures, IFCAs help put local councils, communities and businesses, and individual citizens in the driving seat, allowing them to play a bigger part in the protection and enhancement of their inshore marine environment.

Good afternoon everyone.

What a fantastic occasion to come together and recognise the importance of artificial intelligence.

I want to stress the importance of this Sector Deal for us in Government and its vital place at the heart of the Industrial Strategy.

And to look forward and talk about what we can all do to create the perfect environment for AI to flourish here in the UK.

After all, this technology is changing things at a greater pace than ever before.

Although, if you think about it, the current pace of change is likely to be the slowest pace of change we’ll see for the rest of our lifetimes.

So if you don’t like change much then I don’t have good news for you..

And that’s down to the nature of data technologies, and especially AI.

For while old-fashioned consumption is a one off: once you’ve eaten the apple, you don’t have the apple …

… and standard investment is additive: build a bridge and you’ve got a bridge…

… development of artificial intelligence is compound: the system stays with you, and it learns and gets better over time.

So I believe wholeheartedly that we are in the early stages of a revolution that is going to change all of our lives.

And crucially, if we use AI in the right way, we can create a more prosperous economy with better and more fulfilling jobs. We can protect our environment by using this planet’s resources more efficiently. We can make governments smarter by using the power of data to improve our public services. And we can make sure we solve problems for other people so they can live better lives. That is what this is all about. McKinsey recently published an assessment of how AI could transform 19 crucial industries.

It estimated that the the potential increase in value that AI can provide to these industries is between 3 and a half and 5 trillion dollars for these 19 industries.

Today’s Sector Deal is about showing our commitment to leading the world in the critical AI industry.

We already have organisations at the cutting edge – in biomedicine, law, finance, research, cybersecurity – that all can become even stronger through using AI in their operations, products and services.

We have some of the best facilities available for businesses to develop AI…

world-class universities like this one – other universities are available…

…and a strong startup culture.

And we are already working across Government, and with businesses, to deliver on the ambitious recommendations of the AI Review.

This work is bearing fruit. In December, the UK was ranked first amongst OECD countries in our readiness to implement AI in public service delivery.

And so we feel very strongly that we are at the front of the race to develop AI.

But we are absolutely determined to stay there and I hope you can see from the cross-Government effort today that this is something that unites us across Government.

This Deal has also brought together business, academia and Government to make sure the UK stays at the forefront.

I just want to highlight a few of the things that I found most exciting.

The new doctoral training places. Increasing 8,000 more computer science teachers in school.

Making sure we get the physical infrastructure right. Like the next generation of 5G and full fibre networks – we’re investing over a billion pounds in those.

And we need to invest in data too. Because data is part of our infrastructure. Just as maps help us navigate in the real world, data helps us navigate to a decision.

And for AI systems, data is the experience needed to be able to process information and interact usefully with the world around us.

We need to ensure making high quality public datasets available continues to drive policy.

From public transport apps like Citymapper that make it so easy to find your way around London, to flood warning apps that give updates in real time during a flood incident.

To a new app that we saw yesterday, from a company that uses artificial intelligence and data on weather and airline flight schedules, to predict even before the airlines know, the probability of a flight being delayed.

These are some of the many brilliant ideas that are already coming to the fore in the UK.

And of course a word on the ethics. Because it is critical that we build ethics we believe in into AI from the start.

And we do the work now to ensure that the correct ethical frameworks are in place.

Our Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation is intended to unlock the usefulness of that data, whilst protecting its value for organisations and keeping people’s data secure.

And ensuring that ethics and innovation are mutually reinforcing, not mutually exclusive.

Trust underpins a strong economy, and trust in data underpins a strong digital economy.

We will do all we can to build the conditions for AI to succeed and develop here in the UK. The ethics, the data and the infrastructure.

And our doors are always open to talk about what more we need to do to make sure this happens in the UK.

The revolution is already starting.

We need to act now, and act together, and steer this to benefit everyone in the UK.

The UK can be at the heart of the AI revolution. We have some of the best minds, the best companies, the best universities in the world.

We have a Government committed to making the UK a leading power in artificial intelligence.

And from today, we have a deal that commits government and industry, working in partnership, to the tune of a billion pounds – to make sure that the UK stays in the first rank of AI economies.

Thank you.

The UK has outlined its position on the briefing by the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic held at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) today on “the staged incident in Syrian Duma on 7 April, with the participation of unwitting comedians and other witnesses from the famous ‘White Helmets’ footage broad (sic) to The Hague straight from the site of the event.”

Good afternoon, and welcome to this ‘Investing in the UK’ event.

It is a pleasure to have so many of you attending today.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is, first and foremost, a forum of cooperation and a chance to strengthen our partnerships with friends and allies.

This event is, then, a welcome opportunity for me to talk exclusively about the strengths of the United Kingdom!

As Secretary of State for International Trade this is something that I’ve had the opportunity to practice all over the world, from Sydney to Vancouver, from Bangkok to Bogota – and everywhere in between.

Fortunately, it’s a message that I’ll never get tired of delivering.

For some less well-informed investors, the economy of the UK begins and ends in London.

There is no denying that our capital is one of the great global cities.

It is the world’s foremost financial centre – a hive of commercial activity unrivalled anywhere in Europe with an economy roughly the size of Sweden’s.

Moreover, it is a city that continues to be at the cutting edge of new industries. Take, for example, technology.

Last year, new tech companies were founded in London at the rate of one an hour.

In that same period, more tech venture capital was invested in this city than in Germany, France, Spain, and Ireland combined.

I could go on about the merits of London. But the department I lead has a remit covering the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and is tasked with spreading the prosperity and opportunity of international trade across the whole country.

Moreover, today’s event is designed to showcase the vast commercial prospects that exist both inside and outside our capital.

Few people realise that almost 80% of the UK’s GDP is generated outside London.

The UK remains the number one destination for inward investment in Europe, with an open, liberal economy, a flexible and dynamic labour market, business-friendly taxation and regulation and a strong, transparent rule of law.

Fundamentally, the UK is a safe and stable economy in which to invest, with a proven track record of returns for our global partners.

I’m delighted that we are joined today by a panel of 6 recent investors in the UK, hailing from across the Commonwealth, who will share their experience of doing business here.

You will hear their stories of successful investments across the country, including:

Seqirus from Australia, whose centre of excellence in Liverpool has created 100 new jobs in developing a new flu vaccine.

South Africa’s Fair Tree Capital, whose hotel portfolio spans South West England and the Lake District.

And Royal Enfield Motorcycles, whose new technology centre in Leicestershire involves significant UK-India cross collaboration on engineering and design.

Added to this, I am delighted to announce that India’s Wadhawan Global Capital will invest £300 million into the UK over the next few years, supporting 1,000 jobs.

This is just one of 55 potential deals that we have identified across 17 Commonwealth member states, collectively worth over £2.7 billion, and creating some 5,800 jobs.

I very much look forward to learning what Wadhawan’s plans are during the fireside chat later in this session.

Our panellists’ businesses are part of an extensive pattern of investment that exists between the UK and the Commonwealth.

In the 2016/17 financial year, there were 384 new FDI projects in the UK from Commonwealth investors – 17% of the overall total.

These created almost 10,000 new jobs across the country and safeguarded a similar number.

The importance of our Commonwealth partners to the UK economy cannot be overstated.

India is the fourth-largest source of UK FDI, just behind the United States and China.

In turn, India comes just ahead of Australia and New Zealand, which together have overtaken Japan to land 127 new projects in the UK.

It is no wonder that 2016/17 was the most successful year for FDI in this country’s history, given the strength of our regional diversity.

By this I don’t mean the bewildering array of accents and cultures spread over this small island, but the regional expertise that exists to support certain industries.

Wales, for example, has recently seen a £3 million investment from the Melbourne-based life science firm Medical Ethics.

The company cited the UK’s proven capacity to provide the expertise required to commercialise their technology, including regulatory affairs, manufacturing and clinical studies.

Tax subsidies and patent incentives were also a contributing factor, giving the UK a competitive edge when compared to other locations around the world.

Meanwhile, South West England boasts strong links with the aerospace and nuclear industries, with the presence of Rolls Royce and Airbus, as well as the new reactor development at Hinkley Point, creating a highly skilled local workforce.

The South East is home to globally renowned film studios at Pinewood and Leavesden, while Cambridge and East Anglia plays host to ‘Silicon Fen’, as well as Europe’s most important life science and research clusters.

It also hosts Motorsport Valley – a globally leading cluster of high-performance technology, motorsport and advanced engineering companies that includes the majority of the world’s Formula 1 Teams.

The area also contains Silverstone race circuit – familiar to many as the home of the British Grand Prix.

Most importantly, the UK’s 2 flagship regional economic development programmes – the Midlands Engine and the Northern Powerhouse – are having a significant impact on Britain’s regional prosperity, creating a wave of new commercial opportunities.

The Midlands is now home to the largest number of medical technology companies in the country, with 8 world-class research universities combining their collective excellence to drive cutting edge innovation, research and skills development.

And the Northern Powerhouse has brought together the great cities and towns of the North of England to form a global hub of advanced manufacturing and energy capability.

We have the National Graphene Centre in Manchester.

We have Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre; the home of Boeing’s new high-tech component manufacturing facility – much praised when I visited Boeing’s Headquarters in Seattle last week.

And we have the National Innovation Centre for Data, which opened in Newcastle last year.

These regions were the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. Now, once again, they are world leaders in science, industry and technology.

And let’s not forget Northern Ireland, with its burgeoning machinery and engineering sector.

Or Scotland, which is leading the world in the uptake and development of renewable energy.

With all of these, I hope I have given you a flavour of the vast opportunities that are available in this county and inspired you to look to London and beyond for your investment.

My Department for International Trade is committed to ensuring that the UK continues to be a global leader in attracting foreign investment.

Earlier this month we launched our new FDI strategy, designed to focus our efforts on maximising wealth creation across the whole UK, and to transform DIT from one of the most respected investment promotion organisations in the world, to the most sophisticated.

Our 3-part approach will make innovative use of data in measuring the economic impact of projects.

It will identify those opportunities across the UK with the greatest potential for international investors.

And it will target government support precisely where it will have the greatest positive impact on the economy.

DIT, together with our overseas business partners, intends to fully realise the potential of every part of the United Kingdom, and build a more prosperous future for Britain, the Commonwealth, and the world.

Now, I’m sure you’re all as eager as I am to hear from our panellists, but first, I have the great pleasure of introducing the Lord Mayor of London.

For more than 8 centuries, the Lord Mayor and the City of London Corporation have been London’s beating commercial heart.

They have been instrumental in the City’s success and have forged its international reputation.

This afternoon, we have the pleasure of his views and experience on the almost limitless investment opportunities that London has to offer.

Lord Mayor – welcome.