Tag Archives: HM Government

The Queen spoke at a ceremony in Portsmouth’s naval base this morning, attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, Chancellor Philip Hammond and military chiefs.

In her role as the ship’s Lady Sponsor Her Majesty addressed guests before the Ship’s Commanding Officer, Captain Jerry Kyd, read the commissioning warrant. The iconic White Ensign was then raised, symbolising the commissioning of the nation’s future flagship into the Royal Navy’s fleet.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

Today marks the start of a hugely significant chapter for the Royal Navy, and indeed the nation, as the future flagship is commissioned into Her Majesty’s fleet. It is an honour to witness the crowning moment of an extraordinarily busy year for the Royal Navy that has seen us name the second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, cut steel on the first Type 26 frigates and launch the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Our new aircraft carrier is the epitome of British design and dexterity, at the core of our efforts to build an Armed Forces fit for the future. For the next half a century both carriers will advance our interests around the globe, providing the most visible symbol of our intent and commitment to protect the UK from intensifying threats, wherever they may come from.

Having successfully completed her second stage of sea trials off the south coast of England, the carrier is back alongside at her home port of Portsmouth. Over 10,000 people across the UK have contributed to the delivery of the ship under the Aircraft Carrier Alliance.

Completing final build activity and preparing for helicopter trials in the New Year, HMS Queen Elizabeth will head to the United States for initial flight trials off the coast in autumn 2018. There are currently 150 Royal Navy and RAF personnel training in the US on our 13 F-35 jets.

The UK has worked closely on both the F-35 and carrier programmes with the US, our pre-eminent partner within NATO, enabling us to fly aircraft from each other’s ships. Both of the UK’s new carriers will be able to operate alongside NATO and coalition allies.

Admiral Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said:

In hoisting the White Ensign from HMS Queen Elizabeth today, Britain has confirmed her place among the world’s great maritime powers in the most majestic and muscular terms.

The Queen Elizabeth-class carriers will sit at the heart of a modernised and emboldened Royal Navy, capable of projecting power and influence at sea, in the air, over the land and in cyberspace, and offering our nation military and political choice in an uncertain world.

But our greatest strength of all is the young sailors and marines upon whose shoulders our continued security and prosperity rests. They are starting their careers as a new chapter opens for the Royal Navy – and like all those who have gone before them, they are ready to serve their Queen and Country.

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne also attended the commissioning ceremony. Crown Copyright.

Both new aircraft carriers will be able to perform a wide range of tasks, from humanitarian and disaster relief to fighting terrorism and high-end warfighting. In what has been termed, ‘the Year of the Royal Navy’ the second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, was named in Rosyth and is structurally complete.

This year the Royal Navy has also had steel cut on the first of the Type 26 frigates and Dreadnought submarines, the launch of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, provisioning for a new class of frigate, the Type 31e, float out of the fourth Astute submarine, HMS Audacious, the naming of two Offshore Patrol Vessels and the arrival of our first two MARS Tankers in the UK.

Last month the Defence Secretary visited HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time while at sea, meeting the crew and thanking them for their work towards UK defence.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, said:

Congratulations from the Royal Air Force to the Royal Navy on achieving another important milestone in the UK’s Carrier Strike capability. I know the RAF and RN F-35 crews are looking forward to starting to fly from HMS Queen Elizabeth next year.

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Roads Minister Jesse Norman visited Cumbria today (7 December 2017) to see a world-first innovation which could see communities affected by floods reconnected more quickly.

The minister saw pioneering technology which will allow bridges to be re-opened more quickly, improve resilience at key flooding hotspots and help to prevent communities from becoming isolated.

The BridgeCat, which has been developed by the Department for Transport, Cumbria County Council and Gaist Solutions, uses sonar and an underwater camera to provide detailed information about a bridge’s condition. It combines this with sensors to measure the damage caused by floodwater.

Jesse Norman witnessed the first trial of the innovative equipment taking place today at Salterwath Bridge near Kendal.

In the 2015/16 winter storms, 792 bridges in Cumbria were affected. Previously divers have been sent to assess damage once floodwater has receded, but they can only visit a small number each day, causing a delay to vital road links being re-opened.

Roads Minister Jesse Norman said:

A good transport system is vital to any community and essential to a thriving economy.

The BridgeCat is an exciting, world-leading innovation which will help bridges to open more quickly after severe weather, reconnecting communities and minimising disruption.

In December 2015, Storm Desmond broke the United Kingdom’s 24-hour rainfall record, with 341.4 mm of rain falling at Honister Pass in Cumbria.

Since then, the department has provided more than £191 million to help authorities repair damage to their transport infrastructure and the majority of repairs have now been undertaken. The Linton Bridge in Leeds was the latest to reopen in September this year following the 2015/16 winter.

Councillor Stewart Young, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said:

This is important technology for Cumbria – the BridgeCat trials are exciting, and if successful, will enable us to gather important information about the condition of our bridges, which in turn helps us to plan and prioritise works much more efficiently and effectively. I’m also delighted to be working in partnership with the Department for Transport and Gaist Solutions on this innovative new project – the technology will be a vital tool in our ongoing flood recovery and resilience works.

Jenny Roberts, Senior Project Manager for BridgeCat at Gaist Solutions Limited, said:

At Gaist we focus on addressing national resilience issues to benefit local communities, collaborating on highly innovative projects aimed for social good. BridgeCat embodies these values completely and I am extremely excited to be taking this incredibly important asset on its first step in the journey towards deployment in Cumbria. We have a lot of learning to do, but we also have a great team in place and I have every confidence that we will be gathering useful data from day one.

The BridgeCat will also be used to monitor the ongoing condition of bridges across the county to keep them safe and properly maintained.

Over the coming weeks, the BridgeCat system will be trialled at a number of sites in Cumbria. The trials will enable teams to test the system components and to ensure efficient operation. It will also provide an opportunity for the BridgeCat team to gain experience of operating the equipment and analysing the data gathered by the inspection.

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Organisations can apply for a share of £4 million to carry out feasibility studies into the development of nuclear advanced modular reactors.

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Our primary mission is to lead the commercial development of fusion power and related technology and position the UK as a leader in sustainable nuclear energy. Our scientists and engineers are working with partners around the globe to develop fusion… read more

As well as strengthening collaboration between the two countries on mutually important cultural issues, commercial deals between British and Chinese companies were signed at this week’s UK-China High-Level People-to-People Dialogue (P2P).

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley met Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong at the Southbank Centre as part of a number of dialogues championing the relationship between the two nations across culture, the creative industries, sport, youth and tourism.

In the Royal Festival Hall, Minister for Creative Industries Matt Hancock and his Chinese counterpart, Vice-Minister Tong Gang, witnessed the signing of the eleven creative deals. Some of the exciting collaborations include:

• The Building Centre announced a partnership with Shanghai Creative City that will see investment in the UK to build a China-UK Innovation Centre in London, potentially creating 100 new jobs

• Popular Cbeebies show “Octonauts” will be expanded in China and the rest of the world through a partnership between Silvergate Media and Chinese firm Wanda

• Veteran Warwickshire-based video game specialists Codemasters teaming up with Chinese partners to launch video games into the Chinese market

• Soccer Manager will be co-developing their online football management games into China

China is one of the most important markets for UK creative export opportunities, with DIT aiming to double creative exports and the number of creative businesses exporting through the Creative Industries International Strategy by 2020.

Latest statistics suggest that British exports to China totalled £16.8 billion in 2016, an increase of 2.4% on the previous year, and announcements like todays show that growth is set to continue.

Last week DCMS announced the Creative Industries contributed almost £250bn to the UK economy in 2016 up 3.6 per cent year-on-year and up 29 per cent since 2010. Creative sectors now account for 14.2 per cent of the UK’s GVA.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said:

The UK’s creative industries, our culture and sport, play a vital role in shaping how we are seen around the world and boosting the economy.

And it is fantastic that in the first half of this year tourism from China increased by 47 percent, with visitors spending a record £231m.

China is a global cultural leader and I am delighted to develop future opportunities and deepen our relationship throughout this important week of events.

Minister for Investment, Mark Garnier, said:

UK exports to China are growing strongly, but it’s clear that there is still vast untapped demand for British goods and services in the Chinese market.

The opportunities for growth are there, and we will continue to cultivate relationships such as these, not only to build the UK culture of exporting, but also to help businesses of all sizes forge ties with potential buyers and investors.

Toby Evan-Jones, Business Development Director, Codemasters, said:

As the world’s largest gaming market, with a value of over $24 billion in 2016, the strategic importance of China for any video game business is clear. For a number of years, Codemasters has been actively exploring strategic alliances within China and we’ve been lucky enough to build some very strong relationships during this time, with multiple deals signed in recent months. This includes the release of two of our games on PC in China, DiRT 4 and F1 2017, in collaboration with Tencent.

This year’s P2P celebrates the opening of the V&A gallery at Design Society in Shekou, the first permanent presence of a British museum outside the UK. The event also looks forward to the display of the Terracotta Warriors for the first time in over a decade in the UK at Liverpool World Museum in 2018. Other key agreements and announcements as part of the P2P in other DCMS sectors include:

• A renewal of the current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism (due to expire in September 2018) aiming to increase the number of visitors between UK and China

• Cooperation between the China Academy of Cultural Heritage and Historic England on the preservation and innovative management of the Great Wall of China and Hadrian’s Wall

• The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Fuzhou Culture and Tourism Investment Company signed an MoU to recreate Shakespeare’s birthplace and family home in China at a new centre celebrating three great literary figures – Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Tang Xianzu, the region’s own famous son who is regarded as the Shakespeare of the East.

• An MoU promoting cultural cooperation between Shanghai Municipal Administration and Festivals Edinburgh through a series of initiatives including the exploration of opportunities for artists, arts professionals and senior cultural influencers, knowledge transfer in aspects of festival management and the development of relationships aimed at an exchange of productions

• The Royal Opera House and the Shanghai Grand Theatre Arts Group signed an MoU setting out a framework of exchange and joint activities

The British Library and Shanghai Library to co-operate on the exhibition “Treasures from the Literary Archive”

Other UK-Chinese creative partnerships announced at the signing ceremony include:

• Chinese Company Beijing Yidiantong Productions Ltd to acquire the sole and exclusive license of TV shows “Alice’s Adventures Underground” and “Adventures in Wonderland” in China

• BYD, the sixth-largest car manufacturer in China, will launch a rally car in Codemaster’s DiRt 4 game

• A documentaries partnership between UK Company Clipper Media and Chinese Company Shuimu Xinxin Media on “Sherlock Holmes” and “The Porcelain City”

• A film co-production on “The Overseas Chinese”, a large-scale TV series themed on overseas immigration, between UK Company Propeller TV and Chinese Company Shanghai QianYi Zhicheng Culture and Media

• An MoU to collaborate on pre-recorded, live-stream, stage and live performance technology and intellectual property between the Royal Opera House and Chinese Company Tencent

• A music agreement between UK Company Really Useful Group Ltd and Chinese Company SMG Performing Arts Group

• A co-production of the film “Special Couple” between UK Company Zephyr Special Couple Ltd and Shanghai Dimension Film

Both the UK and Chinese governments acknowledged successful cooperation in culture, tourism and sport since last year, including:

• Increased exchange and partnership between public cultural institutions, including exhibitions such as “A History of the World in 100 Objects” co-presented by the National Museum of China, Shanghai Museum and the British Museum and cooperation between city art festivals, such as the cooperation agreement between Shanghai and Edinburgh

• The Royal Shakespeare Company’s programme of co-produced translations of Shakespeare’s work for Chinese audiences the Royal Opera House performing arts skills exchange programme with UK partners and the Shanghai Grand Theatre

• Opening of the Design Society in Shenzhen and its inaugural exhibition Values of Design, at the new V&A Gallery and the launch of the China-UK Arts Management Professional Development Programme

• The British Council and Beijing University jointly hosted China-UK Cultural Heritage High Level Dialogue in February 2017

• The UK-China Gaming Creative Skills Workshop to share policy and know-how in game development and marketing and implementation of the Film Co-Production Agreement and TV Co-Production Agreement.

• Cooperation between UK and Chinese publishing houses and publication of Chinese-themed books in the UK

• China carried out the “Beautiful China 2017 Year of Silk Road Tourism” campaign in the UK

• VisitBritain partnered with SuperSports, China’s official Premier League broadcaster, to launch a competition to find China’s biggest Premier League fan

• Chinese Wushi, Dragon Dance and Rouli Ball teams visited UK for exchange and training

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