From Parliament to Pembrokeshire: Welsh Secretary to answer Welsh Questions from Wales for first time in history
Do not meet others, even friends or family.
You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.
Cellnex’s purchase of Arqiva cleared by CMA after thorough review
Both companies are independent providers of telecommunication infrastructure, including towers, pylons and masts, across the UK. As a result of the deal, Cellnex will acquire more than 7,000 sites currently operated by Arqiva.
Following a thorough investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that the deal does not raise competition concerns in the supply of large telecommunication infrastructure like mobile towers and pylons. Cellnex is only a small player in this market at present and competition between the 2 companies has been limited. While the CMA has carefully considered whether Cellnex was in the process of expanding its UK presence before the merger, it ultimately found that Cellnex would not have been a significantly stronger competitor if it had not bought the Arqiva business.
The CMA also found that, following the merger, the combined business will continue to face competition from several other independent providers, including WIG and Freshwave Group. Major customers such as mobile network operators can also continue to use their own existing infrastructure sites, or develop their own new sites, as they do for the majority of their demand at present.
In addition, the CMA examined whether the deal would lead to a loss of competition in the future in the supply of ‘small cell’ telecommunication infrastructure, which is expected to be particularly important for 5G roll-out. Again, Cellnex is not a significant presence in this market at present, but the CMA carefully considered whether it was in the process of expanding to compete more strongly. Ultimately, the CMA did not find concerns because Cellnex’s plans were modest and the presence of a number of emerging companies and alternative technologies mean that customers will still have a significant amount of choice even after the merger.
To reach its conclusions, the CMA assessed a wide range of evidence and actively engaged with key players in the telecoms sector, including mobile network operators and Ofcom. The CMA also considered how ongoing market developments, such as the anticipated UK-wide roll-out of 5G and the Shared Rural Network project – which aims to improve mobile coverage in rural areas – might affect its assessment.
For media enquiries, contact the CMA press office on 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk.
Chinese graduates of UK universities donate two ventilators to the NHS
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330 Chinese graduates who attended British Universities have made personal donations of £38,000 to buy two ventilators for the NHS
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A total of 78 ventilators have been shipped to the UK today (Tuesday 21st April)
The ventilators have been shipped today on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Shanghai to London alongside 76 other ventilators that have been purchased by the British Government alongside PPE for NHS Hospitals.
The former students were all part of the UK Government’s Chevening programme which enables future global leaders to study in the UK and create positive change around the world.
Minister of State for Asia Nigel Adams said:
Thank you to the graduates from the UK Government’s Chevening programme for their fundraising efforts.
In total we have now shipped over 800 ventilators from China and we continue to seek deliveries for more.
The donation was coordinated by Chevening alumni Alex Zhang who studied an MBA at Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge in 2008.
In the open letter the Alumni said:
We wish to show our support and care by standing with British people in fighting with the pandemic. We have good faith and wish a full and swift success in our joint effort.
Chinese graduates of UK universities donate two ventilators to the NHS
The alumni group attached a note to each ventilators that read “We are with you” and included the Chinese proverb 风雨同舟 (which means ‘through wind and rain, we stand together / we are all in the same boat).
There are currently over 200,000 Chinese students studying in the UK and over 600,000 alumni from UK universities. UK Alumni are the bedrock of UK -China relations forming a strong professional network of ambassadors who can promote effective relations between UK and China.
Notes to Editors
Annex A
Dear British People,
Year 2020 saw a pandemic of COVID-19 pestering the whole world with a magnitude unseen before. We find that the United Kingdom, despite its high-quality health-care system, also suffers greatly from the pandemic, with most hospitals and health institutions coping badly and in dire need of medical supplies.
As the alumni of Chevening Scholars who have a fond memory of studying in UK, we wish to help British people ride out the storm by making our modest contributions. To that end, within one week, 330 Chevening scholars from different cities and various industries joined together, donated 38 thousand pounds, and purchased two sets of ventilators, which will be handed over to Department for Health & Social Care, UK next Monday (27th April 17).
As our motto of being visionary, initiative and exemplary goes, we Chinese Chevening Scholars wish to show our support and care by standing with British people in fighting with the pandemic. We have good faith and wish a full and swift success in our joint effort. Also we wish an early recovery and reunion with family to all suffering from the epidemic!
Long live the friendship between our two countries, and as Queen Elizabeth says in her recent public address: we will join with all nations across the globe in the common endeavour, and we will meet again!
With love from 330 Chinese Chevening Scholars
Dounreay lends a hand to the Higlands
Do not meet others, even friends or family.
You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.
COP26 President speech at opening of Placencia Ambition Forum
COP26 President Alok Sharma gave a video speech at the opening of the Placencia Ambition Forum on Monday 20 April 2020:
We can’t all meet in person today.
It is only right that we follow the best scientific advice on COVID-19 and do everything we can to avoid the spread of this deadly disease.
We must also follow the best scientific advice on climate change.
It tells us failure to act will have irreversible consequences.
As temperatures continue to rise, droughts and heatwaves will become more common.
Crops will fail.
Sea levels will rise.
Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense.
Lives will be lost.
Communities uprooted.
Nature and biodiversity will be devastated.
And a catastrophic economic cost will be exacted.
We know that many people are already feeling these devastating effects.
Whether we live in the South or the North, the East or the West, we share one life-giving but fragile planet. And all our futures are intrinsically linked.
As incoming Presidency, with our partners Italy, we pledge to keep a focus on increasing climate ambition and action, even through this very difficult period.
I wanted to commend Belize for its leadership in hosting the Forum and ensuring the voices of the most vulnerable are heard.
The Placencia Ambition Forum serves as a timely reminder that climate change is an existential issue.
The world needs to see more ambition to tackle the climate crisis. More ambition on adaptation and resilience, more ambition on mitigation, and more ambition on support to vulnerable countries. And that ambition needs to translate into real world action.
Every country must come forward with the highest possible ambition in their nationally determined contributions and long-term strategies.
I want to recognise those countries that have already shown leadership with more ambitious NDCs – the Marshall Islands, Suriname, Norway and, of course, just recently, Chile.
I hope many more will follow in their footsteps. The UK will play its part and come forward with an increased NDC well ahead of COP26.
Together we can build resilience in our communities, societies and economies, creating jobs and tackling climate change.
Our Presidency is committed to raising the voices of those most affected, but least able to address climate change. We will work to ensure these communities are supported to recover in a clean, resilient, inclusive and healthy way.
To do so we need to transform global financial flows. We will use our presidency to unlock action by the financial sector.
I look forward to welcoming you to COP26.
The focus of the forum is to drive climate action and ambition in Nationally Determined Contributions in the lead up to COP26 and beyond in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic.