To all those who contribute to our fishing, seafood and aquaculture industries,

Thank you.

As a nation we are all undoubtedly going through one of the greatest health challenges of a generation and over the past few weeks the Government has taken some unprecedented steps; instructing people to stay at home, to protect our NHS and save lives.

I know these are challenging times for us all and I would like to pay particular tribute to those of you who are, where possible, continuing to work and help feed our nation – your work is vital.

Coronavirus has affected every part of our economy and this has been felt particularly severely by our fishing, seafood and aquaculture industries – where so much of our great produce is sold around the world.

Sectors right across the economy shoulder a similar burden and the Chancellor has been clear from the start that we will do whatever it takes to support people through such unprecedented times, announcing economy-wide support for business and the self-employed. I will continue to work with industry so fishermen and fisheries businesses understand how to access this support.

On Thursday we announced further measures to support the seafood sector, with a specific fund to secure the long-term future of the English fishing industry, by helping fishing and aquaculture businesses to meet the fixed costs they face, such as insurance, equipment hire and port costs.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) will administer this £10 million fund, contacting eligible registered owners and licence holders directly. A proportion of the fund will go to support initiatives to encourage the public to buy locally-caught fish. Further guidance on the detail of the scheme will be published in the coming days.

To the public, I urge you to support your local fishermen at this time. I am particularly pleased to see home delivery initiatives to connect consumers with local fishmongers, fishermen and merchants. The Marine Management Organisation is working closely with industry to help facilitate these arrangements.

I also want to mention the invaluable work carried out by specialist charities for fishing communities. Details of these organisations are available on the Marine Management Organisation’s website.

I am immensely grateful for all those in the fishing, seafood and aquaculture industries who continue to operate in these testing times, or who have reduced operations to limit the spread of the disease.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Prentis MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rapid development and production of a coronavirus vaccine will be driven by a new government-led Vaccine Taskforce, Business Secretary Alok Sharma announced today (Friday 17 April).

The taskforce, led by Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan van Tam, will support efforts to rapidly develop a coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible by providing industry and research institutions with the resources and support needed. This includes reviewing regulations and scaling up manufacturing, so that when a vaccine becomes available, it can be produced quickly and in mass quantities.

Representatives from government, academia and industry are coming together to form the taskforce. Members will include government Life Sciences Champion Sir John Bell, as well as AstraZeneca, and the Wellcome Trust.

The taskforce will focus on 5 strands of activity including:

• supporting the discovery of potential coronavirus vaccines by working with the public and private sector, rapidly mobilising funding, supporting leading academics and identifying ways to fast-track clinical trials
• preparing the UK as a leader in clinical vaccine testing and manufacturing, working with companies already at the forefront of vaccine development
• reviewing government regulations to facilitate rapid and safe vaccine trials
• developing funding and operational plans for the procurement and delivery of vaccines
• building on the UK’s research and development expertise to support international efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine

The taskforce is also working closely with the Bioindustry Association, which has set up an industry-led group, to accelerate vaccine development and manufacturing.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said:

UK scientists are working as fast as they can to find a vaccine that fights coronavirus, saving and protecting people’s lives. We stand firmly behind them in their efforts.

The Vaccine Taskforce is key to coordinating efforts to rapidly accelerate the development and manufacture of a potential new vaccine, so we can make sure it is widely available to patients as soon as possible.

Today’s announcement is part of the UK’s wider efforts to support and accelerate the development of a vaccine for coronavirus. This includes the UK already pledging £250 million from the government aid budget, the biggest donation by any country, to the international programme to develop a coronavirus vaccine under the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:

We’re doing everything possible to save lives and beat this disease, and that includes working flat out with businesses, researchers and industry to find a vaccine as quickly as possible.

The UK is world-leading in developing vaccines. We are the biggest contributor to the global effort – and preparing to ensure we can manufacture vaccines here at home as soon as practically possible.

Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said:

The UK is home to world leading scientists, researchers and companies who are all at the forefront of vaccine development and manufacturing.

The taskforce will ensure that any potential coronavirus vaccine, when available, can be produced quickly and at scale so it can be made available to the public as quickly as possible.

The government also announced today 21 new coronavirus research projects set to benefit from a share of around £14 million in government funding.

One new project led by the University of Oxford will trial an anti-malarial drug believed to have anti-inflammatory properties to determine whether it could diminish the effects of COVID-19 on people in high risk groups. GP surgeries across the UK have been invited to take part in this ground-breaking trial, to ascertain whether it could reduce the need for affected patients to go to hospital and speed up their recovery.

Other projects receiving vital government funding from this new pot include:

• Imperial College London testing a vaccine against coronavirus that aims for the body to produce more protective antibodies
• Public Health England developing a new antibody that could offer protection against infection and disease progression of coronavirus
• Public Health England studying how COVID-19 can be transmitted from person-to-person by determining how long it can survive in the air and on different materials found in hospitals and households like fabric, plastics, metals and ceramics

This follows an initial £10.5 million allocated to 6 promising coronavirus projects in March, 2 of which are enabling pre-clinical and clinical vaccine trials, as well as supporting researchers to develop manufacturing processes to produce a vaccine at a million-dose scale.

Additionally, funding under the international CEPI programme is helping scientists and researchers, including those in the UK, continue to lead global efforts to develop a workable coronavirus vaccine. Pioneering British researchers at the University of Oxford are among its recipients, alongside the universities of Edinburgh, Liverpool, Southampton and Bristol. UK aid is working with CEPI to ensure any coronavirus vaccine, once developed, is available and affordable to the NHS.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said:

The UK has some of the best vaccine scientists in the world, but we need to take account of the whole development process. This taskforce will ensure the UK can take an end-to-end view. This includes funding research, like the recent NIHR/UKRI call, and ensuring manufacturing capability to deliver a COVID19 vaccination as quickly as possible.

UK Research and Innovation Chief Executive, Professor Sir Mark Walport said:

The research community’s response to the COVID-19 crisis has been outstanding. In a matter of weeks, researchers have formed projects to develop potential vaccines, repurpose existing drugs and explore the potential for new medicines, and to examine how the virus is transmitted and causes wide variation in symptoms. Pre-clinical trials of vaccines and clinical trials of drugs are already underway.

The pace at which this work has been carried out is tribute to the UK’s world-class research base and its dedication to the fight against this disease.

The UK has a long-term commitment to vaccines investment and is the largest funder to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance. Gavi will play a key role in making any new coronavirus vaccine available and affordable to the world’s poorest countries, which will help to slow the global spread of the disease and protect the British public from a deadly second wave of the disease. Gavi has helped to immunise over 760 million children worldwide in the last 20 years.

Notes to editors

Altogether 27 research projects have received a share of a £25 million investment. This follows a government research call to accelerate coronavirus studies and support the UK’s world-class scientists and researchers to further the development of vaccines and treatments, as well as improve diagnosis and understanding of the disease.

Find out more about the research projects announced today.

This announcement is part of a £25 million research response, which was announced in February. The first round of projects were announced on 23 March and the second round of projects announced today. The funding is being managed by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Through the Joint Initiative on Research in Epidemic Preparedness (JIREP) in collaboration with Wellcome, the UK government has provided up to £5 million to the initiative, which was announced on 6 March 2020. Details of these UK aid-backed research projects were announced yesterday.

• Symptomatic staff working in a greater number of professions will now be able to access coronavirus testing
• Testing will allow those currently unable to return to work because they or a member of their family or household have symptoms of coronavirus to know whether they do have the virus
• Frontline workers now eligible for testing will include the police, the fire service, frontline benefits workers and those working with vulnerable children and adults among others
• Where there is extra testing capacity, testing will be expanded to other groups of workers that need it, including those delivering critical medical, energy, utility, transport and food supplies

Access to testing for those with symptoms of coronavirus will be extended across England to include additional frontline workers and symptomatic members of their family or household to allow the key worker to return to work.

Thanks to increased testing capacity the government is extending testing to a wider group of frontline workers in addition to patients, NHS or social care workers who need one. 

This follows the launch of the government’s partnership with universities, research institutes and companies to begin rollout of the network of new Lighthouse Labs and drive-through testing sites across the UK, with over 20 testing sites opened to date.

This network is providing thousands more polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab tests, which are used to identify if someone currently has the virus, for frontline workers. This means those who test negative for coronavirus can return to work as soon as possible to support essential services.

The government is already working with local resilience forums to get additional critical workers in their areas tested, including police officers, fire and rescue service employees, and those running the justice system.

The full list of eligible workers now includes:

• all NHS and social care staff, including hospital, community and primary care, and staff providing support to frontline NHS services (for example accommodation, catering) and voluntary workers
• police, fire and rescue services
• local authority staff, including those working with vulnerable children, adults and victims of domestic abuse, and those working with the homeless and rough sleepers
• defence, prisons and probation staff, and judiciary
• frontline benefits workers

Anyone who is eligible – has symptoms of coronavirus a high temperature or new continuous cough – and would like to be tested should speak to their employer.  The relevant employers will be provided with information on how to make an appointment with the programme either from their local resilience forum or direct from the Department of Health and Social Care. 

See the updated guidance on getting tested: Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested

Government departments, national agencies and local resilience forums can refer other critical workers in their area for testing, but this will be determined by need and testing capacity available.

Where there is extra testing capacity, we will also expand testing to other groups of workers that need it. This will include those delivering critical medical, energy, utility, transport and food supplies in both the public and private sector.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said:

“I am determined to ensure that everyone who needs a coronavirus test should be able to have access to one. Today’s expansion of testing will allow even more vital workers to return to the front line.

“We have built up capacity in the system with new testing and diagnostic facilities backed by Britain’s world-class scientists and industry partners. This means we are now able to give even more workers who support and protect us the ability to know if they have coronavirus if they have been demonstrating symptoms.

“Testing is key in our battle against coronavirus and we will continue to prioritise patients, NHS and social care workers but we now have the ability to provide more people with the certainty they need to get back to the front line when it is safe to do so.”

The government is working with local resilience forums across the country to offer tests to additional critical workers or members of their family or household with symptoms which means that they are currently isolating and unable to return to work.

The devolved administrations will operate their own eligibility criteria.

To build capacity the government is also developing mobile testing units and a home test kit that can be delivered to someone’s door so they can test themselves, and their family, without leaving the house.

This follows further increased testing capacity at Public Health England (PHE) labs and NHS hospitals, which has meant that testing is taking place both for key NHS staff and patients.

In time a new website will enable eligible individuals to book a test directly. It will be another significant step forward in the coronavirus national testing programme.

UK calls for ‘long term’ approach to prepare for future pandemics at World Bank meeting

• International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan calls for ‘long-term’ approach to tackling disease outbreaks at World Bank Meetings
• UK support to World Bank will help build more resilient economies in the developing world and support the global economic recovery
• Welcoming the landmark G20 debt relief package for developing countries, Ms Trevelyan highlighted how it will help focus spending to end the pandemic sooner

The World Bank must help developing countries build stronger economies and healthcare systems – leaving them better able to deal with future disease outbreaks and protecting the UK from new infections, International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said today (Friday, 17 April) at the Bank’s Spring Meetings.

Ms Trevelyan, the UK Governor to the Bank, warned it was also necessary to think longer-term – and with greater international co-operation – to make sure more countries are able to fight against future pandemics in order to protect the world from more deadly outbreaks.

Health experts have warned that if coronavirus is left to spread in developing countries, this could lead to a second wave of the virus in the UK later in the year, putting further pressure on our NHS.

Relieving the debt burden to tackle the pandemic

Low-income economies spend on average around 10% of their government revenues on interest payments, with many countries spending far more, such as Ghana where the figure is closer to 40% – far more than they often can spend on healthcare.

A G20 agreement this week to pause $12 billion worth of debt repayments for the poorest countries means some of this money can now be channelled towards helping them deal with the impacts of the pandemic. This will reduce the risk of a second wave of infections, including to the UK, and help manage the impact of a global economic downturn.

Statement to the World Bank

In her World Bank Governor’s statement, co-authored with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, Ms Trevelyan called for the World Bank to help the poorest countries “build back better,” making them more resilient and better able to deal with future crises which would help protect the whole world.

She added: “The World Bank Group should ensure that any post crisis recovery builds resilience to natural disasters, climate change, threats to the environment and biodiversity; supports investment in long term and low carbon sustainable development, green jobs and green energy, and responds to other economic vulnerabilities.

“The support provided to health systems must leave a legacy of strengthened global health security so that we are better prepared for the next pandemic.”

Speaking at the World Bank Meetings, held virtually today because of the pandemic, she repeated the need to plan for the future. She spoke of the importance of getting children back into school, saying the disease was “creating an education emergency that could have devastating impacts on girls in the poorest countries of the world”.

Ms Trevelyan welcomed the $160 billion funding package agreed last month by the World Bank to help developing countries fight and recover from the pandemic and its economic impacts, also aiding the whole world economy.

On this week’s G20 debt relief package and the World Bank’s financial support she said: “No-one is safe until we are all safe. We must now all use this firepower to address the health and economic challenges ahead. We should deploy this firepower effectively, to make the tough choices and target the resources to the most vulnerable countries and people and especially, to women and girls.”

Yesterday (Thursday, April 16), the Chancellor reiterated the Government’s commitment to help the world’s poorest countries recover from the outbreak – doubling the UK’s £2.2 billion loan to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, allowing it to expand support for low-income countries.

Notes to editors:

Protecting our site

We have reduced operations at the site to a level where we require a minimum number of people to leave their homes each day to keep Dounreay in a safe and secure state. Our over-riding priority at this time is to maintain the site in a safe and secure state and so avoid placing any additional burden on our front-line services – the NHS, the Highland Council and other resilience partnership organisations.

We recognise the primacy of NHS Highland, the Highland Council and other resilience partnership organisations who are leading the fight against coronavirus and protecting our community from harm. DSRL is committed to supporting these organisations in whatever way we can, without comprising the safety and security of the site.

Protecting the NHS

Every worker confined to home is playing a vital part in protecting the ability of the NHS to help those in need by slowing the transmission of the virus from one person to another.

DSRL support to Highland Council and NHS

We have placed all resources not considered essential to the safety and security of the site at the disposal of Highland Council and NHS Highland. This may result in DSRL asking staff with particular skills and experience to leave their homes and come to work, at the site or elsewhere, to work on projects as a paid employee.

Volunteering

DSRL has notified key workers whose continued availability to work is essential to the safety and security of the site. Key workers should not volunteer if this conflicts with their availability to work.

DSRL support to other organisations

DSRL is giving priority to requests received through Highland Council and NHS Highland. We will consider requests from other organisations that do not conflict with this or our ability to maintain the safety and security of the site.

What we have done so far

• All PPE except stocks considered essential to site safety and security made available to NHS Highland
• Equipment and member of staff provided to NHS Highland to support patient assessment centre at Caithness General Hospital
• Offer to underwrite anticipated losses by Caithness Chamber of Commerce up to £10,000 following decision to defer membership renewals
• Protective screens provided to local GP surgeries
• Donation to Wick Food Bank for purchase of freezers
• Posters produced for Caithness Voluntary Group
• Hi-visibility marshall jackets and protective screens provided to local shops
• PPE provided to Thurso branch of RNLI
• £30,000 donation to North Highland Initiative for dedicate fund to support community initiatives to support vulnerable individuals.
• Bottles delivered to local producers of hand sanitiser
• PPE provided to local undertaker
• PPE provided to Royal Mail
• PPE provided to Wick John O’Groats Airport
• Collaboration with third parties to source three welfare cabins and install at GP surgeries for segregation of patients

Managing Director Mark Rouse said:

We are committed to ensuring that Dounreay plays its part in sustaining the community during the coming weeks and months.