I am proud to announce the publication of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) business plan for 2018 to 2019. MCA does vital work to save lives at sea, regulate ship standards and protect the marine environment. The Agency affects not just those working on the coast or at sea, it upholds the legacy of our great maritime nation.

The business plan sets out:

1. the services that the agency will deliver and any significant changes it plans to make
2. the resources the agency requires
3. the key performance indicators, by which its performance will be assessed

This plan allows service users and members of the public to assess how the agency is performing in operating its key services, managing reforms and the agency finances.

The business plan will be available electronically on GOV.UK and copies will be placed in the libraries of both houses.

Thousands of women from across the UK will benefit from £15 million from the latest round of the Tampon Tax Fund, the Minister for Sport and Civil Society Tracey Crouch announced today.

Projects that tackle sexual violence, address social exclusion among BAME women and improve mental health and wellbeing will receive funding over the next two years. The money will also be used to make grants to smaller organisations so they can deploy services that support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged women and girls in the country.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

The money generated from sanitary products is being invested in good causes that tackle the serious issues that women of all ages face. It will be used to support vulnerable women and girls and help build a Britain fit for the future.

The ten projects receiving funding from this round of the Tampon Tax are:

UK Community Foundations £3,400,000 – The Tribewoman project will support vulnerable and excluded women by making onward grants to smaller charities across the UK

Arhag Housing Association £1,040,000 – The BME Women Hub project will alleviate poverty and social exclusion among women in England

Brook Young People £1,500,000 – The ‘Let’s Talk. Period.’ project will aim to address period poverty in England.

Rape Crisis England & Wales £1,400,000 – This digital transformation project is a new approach to tackling sexual violence delivered through member Rape Crisis Centres In England

Women’s Aid Federation of England £1,509,850 – The ‘Ask Me’ project will improve the community response to domestic abuse across the UK and includes onward grants opportunities

Hestia Housing and Support £1,000,000 – The ‘Tools for the Job’ pilot project aims to transform the way that employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland deal with domestic abuse, by improving their HR policies and delivering awareness raising for staff.

The RCJ & Islington Citizens Advice Bureaux £1,090,488 – The FLOWS project will provide online-tools to improve the capacity of front-line domestic-violence agencies in England to provide legal support to women and children

Mind £1,785,554 – This project will increase the provision of mental health peer support for women experiencing, and at risk of, mental health problems and includes onward grant programme in England and Wales

St. Giles Trust £1,077,158 – The ‘Footsteps’ project aims to improve service provision to women in the Criminal Justice System in England with mental health and complex support needs

One Parent Families Scotland £1,049,590 – This Scotland only project will offer a free support and counselling service for the most disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised women most in need.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

1) Over 70 charities are already receiving grants through previous rounds of the fund, with a total of £32m of funding having been announced since Autumn Statement 2015. This latest funding brings the total investment awarded from the Tampon Tax Fund to £47m.

2) The government is committed to continuing the fund until EU rules allow a zero rate of VAT to be applied to women’s sanitary products. A decision will be made on the future of the Fund once this has been achieved. Current EU laws prohibits any Member State from applying a new zero rate of VAT. We therefore currently apply the lowest rate we can to these products (5%).

Local roads badly affected by recent winter weather will benefit from a further £100 million to help repair any potholes and other storm damage, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced today (26 March 2018).

This money will help repair almost 2 million potholes as well as help protect the roads from any future severe weather.

This is on top of the £75 million in government funding already given to councils from the Pothole Action Fund this year, as well as the additional £46 million boost for highways authorities announced just before Christmas. Around 7 million potholes will be filled due to this money, announced in the 2016 Budget.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

People rely on good roads to get to work and to see friends or family.

We have seen an unusually prolonged spell of freezing weather which has caused damage to our local roads.

We are giving councils even more funding to help repair their roads so all road users can enjoy their journeys without having to dodge potholes.

Already, £2.5 million has been allocated to Devon County Council to quickly repair the A379 which was badly damaged by Storm Emma.

The government is also investing more than £900,000 in innovations using connected vehicles to help councils more efficiently manage and plan maintenance works. These trials will ultimately help provide councils with data to enable them to repair potholes before they occur as well as maintain their other assets more effectively as part of their asset management plans. This will help prevent further potholes and other road defects occurring over time.

Blackpool Council has been given £100,000 to lead on a digital inspector scheme with 8 councils. This will see high definition cameras mounted on vehicles to collect data on road and path conditions, which is then analysed by computers to highlight where roads are deteriorating. The City of York will also get £72,000 to use a similar system to build on its pothole spotter trial.

Transport for the West Midlands, West Sussex County Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Croydon Council and Southampton City Council have also been awarded funding for road condition monitoring innovations. Swindon Borough Council will trial the use of smartphone sensors to collate road conditions and Essex County Council will work with Daimler to use information collected by its cars. Derby City Council and Oxfordshire County Council will use connected vehicles to collect data on the condition of road signs.

Westminster City Council will trial the use of cameras to provide real-time updates so people can locate parking spaces easier.

The department is also providing £30,000 to the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) to work on technological and innovative improvements to future-proof the local road network.

This fund is on top of the record £6 billion the government is providing local authorities between 2015 and 2021 to maintain and improve their roads.

*Devon will also receive £2.5 million for the A379 road repairs as announced by the Prime Minister on 7 March 2018.

Top universities in England can now apply to open specialist 16-19 maths schools to help more young people learn from the best mathematicians in the country, School Standards Minister Nick Gibb announced today.

Maths is one of the most in-demand skills in the labour market and it is already the most popular subject at A level, with almost 25% of students choosing to study it. The government is determined, through its Industrial Strategy, to increase the number of young people studying maths, helping them to secure good jobs and boosting the UK economy.

Two maths schools – King’s College London and Exeter Mathematics School – are already achieving outstanding results. In 2017 98% of King’s mathematics students achieved an A or A* in A level mathematics, for Exeter this was 75%.

Ofsted has also singled out both schools for recruiting students from disadvantaged backgrounds who had not previously had the opportunity to fulfil their potential in mathematics.

To spread that excellence across the country, the government wants top universities to establish more of these specialist schools. It is providing £350,000 dedicated funding each year to existing and future schools to support outreach work with local schools and colleges, sharing their specialist skills, helping to raise standards and get more children studying maths.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:

We want more students to study maths as it can open up a wide range of options for future study, training and work.

Thanks to Government reforms and the hard work of teachers 1.9 million more pupils are in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. We have also introduced a more rigorous maths curriculum and now have record numbers studying maths at A level.

The success of existing maths schools shows the value of tapping into the expertise of our world-class universities. We now want more institutions to follow the lead of King’s and Exeter and help our most talented students, regardless of background and gender.

Minister for the School System Lord Agnew said:

I recently visited King’s maths school and was humbled by the students I met there – their ambition and ability is inspiring. These innovative schools are giving the mathematicians of tomorrow – many from disadvantaged backgrounds – the opportunity to take their talents to the next level. We want more leading universities to open these schools and help encourage more young people across the country to study maths at A level and beyond.

King’s College London Mathematics School has 140 pupils currently studying for A levels in maths and further maths as well as other maths related subjects. Last year’s average A level result was A+. At Exeter Mathematics School, there are 120 pupils studying these qualifications and achieving excellent results. Both schools have close links to their universities which support the schools and provide teaching from their top mathematicians.

Professor the Baroness Alison Wolf, founding governor of King’s College London Mathematics School said:

Setting up the maths school has been a wonderful experience for King’s. It has brought people together from right across the university, and enabled us to serve London and society in new ways. And we bask in reflected glory from the students’ achievements.

Professor Janice Kay, who was instrumental in setting up Exeter Mathematics School said:

Exeter Mathematics School has been a fantastic success story. The Ofsted rated ‘Outstanding’ school is also delivering outstanding results for its students: over 50% of its latest graduating cohort obtained places at Russell Group institutions.

Promoting maths participation and skills development in the region, a strong social mobility focus, increasing the number of young women mathematicians and developing outreach are founding principles. University staff have been integrally involved and in partnership with the School, Exeter College and industry, we have been able to do more to nurture and inspire the next generation of mathematicians and scientists.

Charlie Stripp, Chief Executive of Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) Chief and Director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics said:

The expansion of the Maths Schools programme will extend opportunities to students with a passion and talent for mathematics, whatever their background, to develop their potential and access the most prestigious maths-related university degree courses. Linking with the Maths Hubs and the Level 3 Maths Support Programme, and building on the success of the Exeter and King’s College Maths Schools, the new schools will enhance our national provision of maths education.