Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH), based at Cleator Moor, in West Cumbria, is a new initiative developed by Copeland Borough Council with support from the NDA and Sellafield Ltd.

The NDA are committed to investing in those communities where it is progressing its nuclear decommissioning mission and this funding, which will be used to develop the new iSH campus, aims to unlock millions more from government as part of the £22.5million Cleator Moor Town Deal.

The campus will create around 700 new job opportunities and is set to generate an additional £40million per year of revenue for local businesses.

Sellafield Limited have also provided crucial funding from the inception of the project through the social impact multiplied programme. Funding of £4.2million has been invested to date with further financial support through the Cleator Moor Town Deal.

The campus will create a place where businesses and industry can come together to collaborate, problem solve and develop innovative solutions that bring benefits, both locally and across the UK.

NDA Chief Executive, David Peattie, said: “We work with our communities to invest in projects that deliver a positive and long-lasting legacy, providing significant social and economic benefits.

“The iSH will create jobs and opportunities for generations to come and provide a space for organisations to collaborate and come up with solutions to global industry challenges.

“Working with Sellafield Ltd and Copeland Borough Council, our investment aims to leverage in millions more than we could provide alone, helping to maximise the benefit of our mission to the West Cumbrian community.”

John Maddison, Managing Director of iSH, said: “We thank those in the NDA, along with those in Copeland Borough Council and Sellafield, who have given our programme their support and this vital financial backing.

“iSH is an initiative of regional, national and international significance which will create jobs, enable collaboration, enhance skills, provide access to business support, and bring a range of economic, environmental and social benefits to the community.

“We will build on the industry excellence of the NDA, Sellafield and its supply chain and through collaboration will turn that into opportunities for businesses and organisations to grow and create more skills, training and employment, making a positive difference to people’s lives, the community and the environment.”

Working with and through its operating companies, the NDA has invested over £70million in socio-economic initiatives in communities around its sites over the last five years, leveraging millions more of funding in the process.

The NDA socio-economic programme co-creates effective economic interventions with community stakeholders using independently produced economic assessments which guide where investments can achieve the greatest impact.

To date, this has seen the delivery of new schools, jobs, skills, and training facilities in the communities in which we operate.

Legislation to unlock new technologies to boost food production and support farmers to grow more productive crops will return to Parliament today – paving the way for Britain to become the best place in the world to invest in agri-food research and innovation

Third Reading of the Bill is scheduled for today (Monday 31 October) and is expected to be introduced in the House of Lords the following day.

By introducing a more proportionate and science-based regulatory system for precision-bred plants and animals, it will unlock opportunities to develop crops that are more resilient against disease and the effects of climate change such as drought and flooding, and less reliant on pesticides.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:

We are already seeing how new genetic technologies can increase yields, make our food more nutritious and result in crops that are more resistant to disease and weather extremes.

British scientists are leading the world in precision breeding and this Bill will put Britain at the forefront of agri-research and innovation – opening the door for more investment and continuing our work to provide farmers with the tools they need to innovate and use new, smart technologies.

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill covers precision-bred plants and animals developed through techniques such as gene editing, where the genetic changes could have occurred naturally or through traditional breeding methods. This is different to genetic modification (GM), which produces organisms containing additional genes.

While there is great potential for increasing innovation, the government recognises that there is a need to safeguard animal welfare in the new regulatory framework. That is why we are taking a step-by-step approach, enabling use of precision breeding technologies with plants first followed by animals later.

Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser Gideon Henderson said:

This is an important time for agricultural science.  The ability to use gene editing to make precise, targeted changes to the genetic code of organisms, in a way that can mimic traditional breeding, enables development of new crop varieties that are more resistant to pests, healthier to eat, and more resilient to drought and heat as climate changes.

For centuries, traditional breeders have made use of our understanding of genetics to breed plant varieties with desirable characteristics. Gene editing allows precision breeding to make the same type of genetic changes in a far more efficient and precise way, significantly reducing the time needed to create new varieties.  Precision breeding is a powerful and important tool to help us tackle the challenges of biodiversity and climate change, while feeding a still growing global population.

Professor Nigel Halford, Crop Scientist at Rothamsted Research, said:

It is tremendously exciting to see this Bill progress to the House of Lords because it will pave the way for this powerful technology to be used in crop improvement rather than just research.

We are already behind much of the world in the application of precision breeding techniques and we are keen to see the Bill become law as soon as possible.

Further information:

The Bill will:

• Remove plants and animals produced through precision breeding technologies from regulatory requirements applicable to the environmental release and marketing of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).
• Introduce two notification systems; one for precision bred organisms used for research purposes and the other for marketing purposes. The information collected will be published on a public register on GOV.UK.
• Establish a proportionate regulatory system for precision bred animals to ensure animal welfare is safeguarded. We will not be introducing changes to the regulations for animals until this system is in place.
• Establish a new science-based authorisation process for food and feed products developed using precision bred plants and animals.

Opportunities brought by the new legislation:

Climate resilient wheat

• Developing wheat that is resilient to climate change will help to increase food production from a crop that 2.5 billion people are dependent on globally.
• Researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have used gene editing techniques to identify a key gene in wheat that can be used to introduce traits such as heat resilience whilst maintaining high yield.
• This discovery presents an exciting opportunity to identify variations of the gene that can give wheat varieties resilience to climate change.

Non-browning banana

• Bananas are a key food crop globally – but there is significant wastage with over 50% not consumed and 10% – 15% lost due to fruit bruising post-harvest.
• Tropic, a leading agricultural biotechnology company in the UK, has recently developed a non-browning banana using precision breeding techniques.
• Given the fruit’s high perishability, this innovation has the potential to reduce the amount of bananas that are wasted, reduce carbon emissions and provide higher farmer revenues.

Disease resistant chickens

• Bird flu is a major threat to farmed chickens worldwide, with some strains killing up to 100 per cent of birds in a flock. In some cases, variants of the virus can infect people and cause serious illness.
• In a collaboration between Imperial College London, the Pirbright Institute and the Roslin Institute, a research study has shown potential in using gene-editing to produce chickens that are resistant to the disease. The virus was no longer able to grow inside cells with the genetic change.
• The use of gene editing could help to control the spread of the disease which is urgently needed to protect chickens and to reduce the risk to human health.

On Rothamsted Research:

Rothamsted Research is a world-leading, non-profit research centre that focuses on strategic agricultural science to the benefit of farmers and society worldwide.

It is also the longest-running agricultural research institution in the world dating back to 1843.

Its key aims include:

• Deliver know-how, data, better practices and new technologies to improve performance, resilience and value.
• Raise the productivity of crop and livestock systems.
• Tackle weed, disease and insect resistance to agrochemicals and improve soil health.
• Enhance natural capital and reduce agriculture’s carbon and nutrient footprint.
• Add novel nutritional, health and bioeconomical value to crops and other products.

The government will carry out a wholesale refresh of the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, to protect its citizens from new, emerging and persistent threats.

In the UK and overseas, there has been a shift towards self-initiated terrorists operating independently from organised groups with increasingly personal ideologies, warped views used to justify violence.

The tactics and methodologies used by terrorists are diversifying and becoming increasingly fragmented.

To meet those threats, the counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) will be updated to reflect these new challenges. This will involve seeking a diverse range of views and engaging security experts from across the UK and overseas, so that CONTEST continues to robustly protect the British public from terrorist threats.

­Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, said:

Terrorists seek to divide us and sow hatred. We will not let them. Our commitment to the values we cherish is too strong.

But as the nature of terrorism continues to evolve and endure, so must we.

We will ensure that our response to the terror threat continues to be world-leading and ensure we have a strategy that allows people to go about their lives freely and with confidence.

The update will take into account a series of important reviews, including the second volume of the Manchester Arena Inquiry, set to be published next week.

In addition, the findings from the Independent Review of Prevent, led by William Shawcross, will strengthen the government’s ability to stop individuals being drawn into terrorism in the first place.

The government will do everything possible to strengthen the UK’s protection against terrorist attacks.

This includes a renewed commitment to introduce the Protect Duty, which will enhance the safety of public venues while avoiding placing additional burden on small businesses.

The UK counter-terror system already encompasses the efforts of more than 20 government departments and agencies.

Since 2017 alone, more than 200 recommendations have been implemented in response to terrorist attacks, including the creation of the world’s first multi-organisational Counter Terrorism Operations Centre, in London in June 2021.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing­­­, Matt Jukes said:

Since its launch in 2003, CONTEST has proved to be an enduring and effective strategic framework for the UK’s counter terrorism response, but it shouldn’t stand still.

Today’s threat is dominated by increasingly fragmented ideologies, self-initiated terrorism, and the reach of hateful online ideologies into the lives of the young people.

It is vital that any future strategy reflects these learnings and also looks forward to the collaborations we will need in the future to keep people safe.

Counter Terrorism Policing, uniquely, has made an evolving contribution to all four pillars of the CONTEST strategy and will continue to be at the heart of our preparedness for the terrible moments when attacks happen.

The government expects to publish an updated and enhanced version of CONTEST next year. In the meantime, it will continue to deliver a counter-terror strategy to keep the public safe.