Government secures £89 million deal to export UK aerospace expertise to Brazil

Press release

Government support provides a boost to the British aerospace industry in UKEF’s first deal with leading Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer, the third largest commercial jet manufacturer in the world.

The deal will help Embraer access critical parts, components and technology from UK suppliers that will enhance its commercial and defence aircraft programmes.
This is a part of broader initiatives by both nations to strengthen trade ties and will promote future collaboration between UK suppliers and Brazilian manufacturers in aerospace.
UKEF provided support by acting as guarantor to the lender, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch (“JPMorgan”), ensuring Embraer benefits from flexible repayment terms.

UK Export Finance, the UK’s export credit agency, has supported an £89 million loan to Embraer.

This was made possible through partnership with JP Morgan, who acted as the lending bank and arranger for this deal.

Securing UK exports to this major manufacturer means UK goods and services will be embedded in aircraft that fly 145 million passengers globally every year.

UKEF can help overseas buyers access financial support to make their projects happen, provided they commit to sourcing goods and services from the UK. This helps open new doors for world-class British suppliers to trade overseas. Through UKEF, the UK can also help international buyers access finance and insurance when it is not available from the private sector.

UKEF has over £3 billion available to help Brazilian buyers access the finance they need to trade with the UK, with the ability to provide guarantees in Brazilian Reals so that Brazilian businesses can access finance in their own currency.

Samir Parkash, interim CEO of UKEF said:

Now, with this UKEF first deal with Embraer, we can export world renowned British expertise and technology in the aviation and aerospace industry to Brazil – an economy that was rapid in recovering pre-pandemic levels of economic activity, that keeps on growing strong in 2022 and is an important trading partner to the UK. In fact, in the four quarters up to Q1 2022 trade in goods and services between the two nations increased by 18% year-over-year reaching £6.5bn.

Antonio Carlos Garcia, Chief Financial Officer of Embraer, said:

This first Embraer deal with UKEF shows the success of our strategy to diversify our suppliers and financial partners. We are always looking for actions that improve the profile of our debt, and this operation is another step in that direction.

John Meakin, Global Head of Export & Agency Finance at JP Morgan, said:

We are delighted to support a strategically important global client in the aviation sector to meet their objectives and partner with UKEF in delivering commercially relevant financing. The financing structure is flexible and innovative, and it would not have been possible without the commitment of all parties involved in rolling out this milestone program.

Published 24 October 2022

Nick de Bois CBE appointed as British Tourist Authority Chair

The term of appointment will be for three years, commencing on 1 November 2022 until 31 October 2025. Interim Chair Dame Judith Macgregor will resume her duties as a BTA Board Member.

Nick de Bois has been Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board for three years since June 1 2020, until his appointment as Chair of the British Tourist Authority. During this time and acting in an independent capacity, he led the government’s review into the funding and structures of England’s Destination Management Organisations.

Nick de Bois was Member of Parliament for Enfield North from 2010 to 2015. Prior to his election, he was founder and Managing Director of Rapiergroup, an international events and exhibitions management agency that he set up in 1988 delivering conferences, exhibitions and digital content for U.K. and International based clients.

In 2016, he was appointed Chairman of the UK Government’s first U.K. Events Industry Board bringing together industry and government agencies to advise the government on the implementation of its Business Events Strategy launched in 2015. This strategy set about securing an increase of inbound international visitors by winning new international events hosted at U.K. destinations. In addition, the board advised on securing growth of international visitors to established domestic events.

He resigned as Chair of the U.K. Events Industry Board in July 2018 to join the Department for Exiting the European Union as Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State Dominic Raab MP.

Nick lives with his wife Helen in Hertfordshire. He is also an author of “Confessions of a Recovering MP” and his first novel Fatal Ambition as well as being a contributory program host and broadcaster.

Nick was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2022.

Remuneration and Governance Code

This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Nick will be offered remuneration of £40,000 per annum. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Nick has declared he was the Conservative Party candidate for the constituency of Enfield North in the 2017 General Election.

Fiona Pollard appointed as VisitEngland Advisory Board Interim Chair

News story

The Secretary of State has appointed Fiona Pollard as VisitEngland Advisory Board Interim Chair for 9 months, whilst the appointment process for a permanent Chair is conducted.

Nick de Bois CBE has stepped down as Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board to become Chair of the British Tourist Authority. Fiona Pollard has been appointed Interim Chair, with her term of appointment commencing on 1 November 2022 until 31 July 2023.

Fiona joined the VisitEngland Advisory Board in March 2018, and was reappointed for a second term in March 2022.

Fiona runs her own events company and sits on several boards, including the Roman Baths, one of the most visited tourist attractions in England.

After a career in The City working in the derivatives sector with a number of international banks, Fiona ran the Hop Farm Country Park in Kent until 2006. She still has close connections with the County organising the Leeds Castle Classical Concert each summer. She is a former Board member of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and the Kent Messenger group of radio stations. Fiona was also a founding member of the Kent Tourism Alliance and one of the original Trustees behind the Turner Contemporary art gallery in Margate.

Remuneration and Governance Code

This Interim Chair appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This role is remunerated at £345.00 per day. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Fiona has declared no activity.

Published 24 October 2022

Professor Julian Dowdeswell reappointed to Royal Museums Greenwich Board

News story

The Prime Minister has reappointed Professor Julian Dowdeswell a Trustee of Royal Museums Greenwich for a second term of four years.

Professor Julian Dowdeswell has been reappointed as a Royal Museums Greenwich Trustee Trustee, for a four-year term commencing 3 September 2022 until 2 September 2026.

Julian has been Professor of Physical Geography in Cambridge University since 2002. He has just retired from almost 20 years as Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute. He is a glaciologist, studying the form and flow of glaciers and ice caps and their response to climate change, and the links between former ice sheets and the marine geological record. Julian has worked, on the ice and from aircraft, in Antarctica and many parts of the Arctic. He has also undertaken many periods of work on icebreaking research vessels in the Southern Ocean and the Arctic.

Julian has represented the UK on the councils of both the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and is a past chair of the UK National Committee on Antarctic Research.

Julian was awarded the Polar Medal by Her Majesty the Queen and has also received the Founder’s Gold Medal from the Royal Geographical Society and the Lyell Medal of the Geological Society of London. He has recently co-written a popular science book, “The Continent of Antarctica’.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Trustees of Royal Museums Greenwich are not remunerated. This reappointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Professor Julian Dowdeswell has not declared any significant political activity.

Published 24 October 2022

What works in youth justice – ideas for now and the future

For decades academics, policy makers, practitioners and other experts have deliberated on how best to create safer communities by preventing offending by children. For the past 20 years or more, the body of evidence known as the ‘Child First’ approach has been proven to be the best way of achieving this.

With that in mind, at the YJB we set out to answer two questions:

How far do we think we are from achieving a “Child First” system?
What could we do to achieve a “Child First” system?

To provide answers we brought together more than 200 stakeholders – all experts in their fields within or connected to youth justice. They came together in groups across England and Wales to provide their thoughts on the current system and ideas for the future.

Using a systems map methodology, with independent validation generously provided by Professor Kate Williams from University of South Wales, we looked at the themes which appeared in stakeholders’ answers.

The results were fascinating. Not just the themes suggesting where we could improve, but also the breadth of ideas for change. It’s difficult to distil the thousands of thoughts we collated into just a few key messages, so I encourage everyone to view the full presentation. But to give you a flavour, across both England and Wales experts consistently raised the need to do the following:

recognise the youth justice system as part of a wider system and make changes beyond – like improving understanding of why children offend
collect the right data and to share it with agencies effectively
enable greater child and workforce participation and collaboration
challenge current reforms to go further, including police and courts, and to reflect this in changes to inspection
review training for youth justice staff, including supporting staff to deal with trauma, and in Wales to build on in-depth trauma informed training already delivered

From the above, it’s clear there’s lots to work on to finally achieve a system which fully utilises Child First evidence, but we didn’t just receive a ‘wish list’ from partners, they also came full of brilliant ideas – from quickly implementable, no-cost ideas to long-term ideas involving complex changes to law, policy or investment.

We recognise that with complex systems there is no quick and free panacea. At the YJB we’ve committed to continue bringing together experts and to provide spaces for collaboration and further discussion. We will also consider how we can act on ideas for change within our gift and support others to make changes that are within their power.

As youth justice experts we all agree that the success of the youth justice system is reliant on many organisations and individuals. That’s why I’m asking all of you who are directly and indirectly involved in youth justice to read the findings, share them with colleagues and to consider how you and your organisation can use this information to support your own work and contribute to the changes suggested.

I take great heart in the number of ideas for improvement. For me it shows that there are solutions, that there is great hope and that there are many of us that care deeply for the communities and children who are most affected by crime. Thank you to all of you who took part in discussions and offered your expertise, to those who have helped make sense of the evidence and to everyone who continues to work tirelessly to improve the lives of children and our communities.