A new rover set to visit Mars and collect the first ever samples from the planet to be brought back safely to Earth, will be designed in Stevenage by Airbus following the award of a £3.9 million contract by the European Space Agency (ESA).

The sample fetch rover will retrieve samples left by NASA’s Mars 2020 rover and transfer them to an ascent vehicle. This will put them into orbit about the planet, where they will then be brought back to Earth by a separate spacecraft.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

“This remarkable new project, which will see samples brought back from Mars to Earth for the first time ever, demonstrates Britain’s world-leading scientific and engineering innovation.

“Winning this contract builds on the UK’s world-renowned expertise in space and robotics which the government is supporting through the UK Space Agency and the major investments in our modern Industrial Strategy.

“One rover bound for Mars in 2020 is already under construction by Airbus in Stevenage and the knowledge and expertise honed there will now be applied to designing this new mission, which aims to safely deliver – for the first time – material to Earth from another planet.”

The UK is a founding member of ESA, which is independent of the European Union. This means the UK’s membership will continue after we leave the EU, delivering economic benefits and ensuring British companies, universities and other organisations continue to be at the forefront of space exploration, satellite manufacture and technology applications.

British ESA astronaut Tim Peake said:

“This is an exciting new era where businesses and space agencies are working closer than ever before on ambitious missions to expand our knowledge of the Solar System and deliver benefits to people’s lives. The close collaboration between the UK and ESA will place Britain at the forefront of innovative missions to explore the Moon, Mars and beyond.”

Tim Peake joined the science minister at the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications, which employs 103 staff at Harwell and has supported hundreds of UK companies. As the leading funder of ESA’s ARTES programme into telecommunications research the UK sees one in four commercial telecommunications satellites substantially built in the UK.

During the visit, the Minister and Tim Peake visited STFC RAL Space which will be the home to the National Satellite Test Facility. RAL Space’s Autonomous Systems Group are also contributing to the ESA Mars rover mission.

The UK space sector is growing, worth £13.7 billion to the economy and employing more than 38,000 people across the country. The UK is a world-leader in small satellite technology, telecommunications, robotics and earth observation, while British universities are some of the best in the world for space science. As technology evolves and reduces the cost of access to space, there is an exciting opportunity for the UK to thrive in the commercial space age.

The visit took place on the 70th anniversary of the NHS and a number of healthcare applications for space were also discussed. Last week the UK Space Agency with the support of ESA, launched a competition to find hi-tech solutions to the major health and care challenges facing the NHS, using technology originally designed for space, with up to £4m available.

A man who repeatedly sexually abused a young girl over a number of years has today had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred it for being too low.

Richard Hyde-Gomes, who was in his early 30s at the time, sexually abused his victim over a period of several years while she was under the age of 15. This included one occasion of attempted rape. Hyde-Gomes was arrested after the victim managed to record him apologising to her.

Hyde-Gomes was originally sentenced at Croydon Crown Court in April, where he received 10 years’ imprisonment. Yesterday, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 16 years.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

Hyde-Gomes carried out a campaign of sexual abuse against his victim over a number of years, robbing her of her childhood. I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed to increase his sentence, and hope that this brings some comfort to the victim.

The 2018 International Climate Finance (ICF) results, published today, illustrate the impact of UK investments in tackling climate change and protecting vulnerable people.

ICF supports international poverty eradication now and in the future by supporting investments that have lower carbon emissions such as clean energy, and by helping developing countries build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The UK has committed to spend at least £5.8 billion on this effort between 2016 and 2021, through DFID, BEIS and Defra. Today, the government can announce the latest set of results that show this work has:

• Supported 47 million people to cope with the effects of climate change – equivalent to the population of Spain
• Provided 17 million people with improved access to clean energy
• Reduced or avoided 10.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (tCO2e) – approximately equivalent to the yearly emissions of 2.5 million cars
• Installed 590 MW of clean energy capacity
• Mobilised £3.3 billion public and £910 million private finance for climate change purposes in developing countries.

Minister of State for International Development, Harriett Baldwin said:

Today’s results show further progress in tackling climate change for the people around the world who are affected most by the devastating impact on their communities and livelihoods.

Extreme climates cause devastating drought and hunger, and these results reflect the immense impact UK aid is having in supporting some of the world’s poorest and most fragile countries. At the same time, we are helping to make the world safer and cleaner which benefits us all here in the UK.

The Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Claire Perry said:

The UK is hugely proud of our track record as innovators and pioneers in International Climate Finance. The UK has already slashed its own emissions by over 40% since 1990 whilst growing our economy ahead of the G7 – creating jobs and prosperity through investment in new clean tech sectors – and we want to share this learning through our overseas development spending. Today’s results show the immense impact that our international climate finance is having on people’s lives in developing countries and beyond, proving that well directed finance can transform lives, cut carbon and create new global markets for green goods and services.

Environment Minister, Thérèse Coffey said:

The UK continues to demonstrate our leadership in dealing with global environmental issues. Climate change is a cross-cutting issue with inextricable links between forests, climate, people and ecosystem services.

These results demonstrate the importance of international climate finance and the impacts that we can have worldwide when we deliver this finance effectively. The UK will continue to support countries to protect the world’s most biodiverse forests and contribute to development that is sustainable.

ICF programmes

One of the programmes to benefit from ICF investment is Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED)

BRACED builds resilience and adaptation to climate extremes and disasters in 13 countries across the Sahel, East Africa and South and Southeast Asia. BRACED has already helped over 5 million people and aims to assist up to 10 million people to cope with – and become more resilient to – extreme weather events and climate extremes.

One of BRACED’s programmes creates livestock corridors in Africa’s Sahel region to provide benefits for nomadic herders such as animal clinics and solar powered wells where vast droughts and arid land threaten livestock and drive conflict.

Future Climate For Africa (FCFA) research is helping scientists understand the scale and impact of climate change in Africa. For example, in Rwanda, FCFA worked with farmers to protect their most valuable crop, coffee, from the increased temperatures caused by climate change. Farmers were shown how to grow crops such as bananas in the same area as their coffee crops, providing shade for the coffee fruit against the harsh temperatures. The banana plants also provide an extra source of income, access to extra food, and fertiliser for the soil.

Other work includes changing the way clean energy markets operate, with a focus on improving health, safety and economic opportunities. For example, UK aid has provided clean and reliable energy to health clinics helping to save lives in some of the poorest parts of the world. This provides clean, reliable energy to keep medicines from spoiling, and provides lighting and electricity 24/7.

Phoebe, an Assistant Nurse in charge of a health centre in Uganda, supported by UK aid said:

For a long time, many women didn’t come here. We didn’t have any electricity. Mothers would die while giving birth at night. All of us were afraid. The electricity has really helped us. We’re now able to carry out all main operations. The community knows about the electricity and they are coming here now. The power provides access anytime.

Notes to editors

The UK has committed to spend at least £5.8 billion of International Climate Finance (ICF) between 2016 and 2021. This builds on the £3.87bn that the UK spent on climate activities between 2011 and 2015. UK ICF supports a portfolio of investments managed by the Department for International Development, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

While quality assuring data used for this publication, the UK government identified an error in how expected results were calculated which has resulted in a downward revision in the expected results for the ‘Number of people with improved access to clean energy’ from 77 million to 36 million people.

Achieved results have been presented as those cumulatively achieved up to 2017/18. Due to time lags in confirming results achieved, these results may not fully represent those actually delivered by ICF programmes by the time of reporting.

Where a programme receives funding from other donors or sources, the results attributable to the UK’s ICF are calculated as a percentage share of the overall results achieved. The results percentage share is equal to the percentage share of the donor funding that HMG has provided.

Some 35 pupils at Shireland Collegiate Academy in Waterloo Road, Smethwick were given an insight into problem-solving skills and engineering design as part of the Year of Engineering campaign, backed by Highways England.

The campaign aims to bring young people face to face with engineering experiences and role models by showcasing the creativity and innovation of engineering careers. By engaging with youngsters, it also helps to widen the pool of young people from all backgrounds who are willing to consider the profession, diversifying a workforce that is 91% male and 94% white.

And the visit to Smethwick, which took place on Thursday 28 June, was fitting given its proud industrial heritage which dates back to at least the mid-16th century.

Highways England Executive Director of Human Resources, San Johal, said:

This was a wonderful opportunity to speak to youngsters in an area which has a background of industry and engineering. It was great to spend a morning encouraging future generations to consider working with Highways England. By speaking to youngsters and getting them to think about engineering as part of this campaign we can build links with schools to increase the awareness of what Highways England has to offer as a future employer.

Those attending the event also had the opportunity to take part in a special question and answer session with senior members of the Highways England executive team where they could learn more about apprenticeships programmes with Highways England and possible routes into the sector.

Shireland Collegiate Academy is a large inner city secondary school in Smethwick. Over the past few years the Academy has gained a reputation for effective use of technology to improve standards, innovative curriculum design and embedding new approaches to learning. The Academy has been judged as Outstanding by Ofsted in 2006, 2010 and 2013.

Head of Design and Engineering from Shireland Collegiate Academy, Liam Fletcher, said:

Working in collaboration with Highway’s England has been an exciting opportunity to offer our students an invaluable insight into the world of work with a particular focus on engineering.

We had the pleasure of welcoming members of Highway England’s executive team to the academy. Our students really enjoyed the chance to listen to the journeys taken by the executive team to reach their positions and were even more excited to find out how they could begin their own journeys.

Any young people inspired to explore a career in engineering are encouraged to visit the Year of Engineering website which has further information.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

A man who sexually assaulted a young girl has today been immediately imprisoned after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence under the ULS scheme.

Kevin Ryan, 64, sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl, groping her under her clothing. The crime was reported after the victim’s mother found her crying in her room. The assault has had a considerable, lasting impact on the victim.

Ryan was originally sentenced at Warwick Crown Court in April, where he was given a sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment suspended for 2 years. Yesterday, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 3 years imprisonment.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

Ryan acted without consideration for the significant and long-lasting emotional damage it would cause his victim. I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed with my referral, and hope this increased sentence will bring some comfort to the victim and her family.