The department is fully prepared for all eventualities and has conducted extensive planning against reasonable worst case scenarios. I have been in discussions with the chancellor and will continue to work across government to prepare.

If claimants cannot attend their jobcentre appointment in person because of self-isolation, work coaches can exercise discretion, so claimants should engage with them and they will not be sanctioned – as long they let us know before the appointment.

And as my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister set out last week ‘nobody should be penalised for doing the right thing’.

That’s why the government’s safety net also extends to those who are self-employed or who work in the gig-economy. They can apply for Universal Credit or new-style ESA. Advances are available for Universal Credit immediately.

Madame Deputy Speaker, these are exceptional circumstances and we will support workers to do the right thing for their health and the protection of public health.

Chair,

The UK thanks the Director General for the Nuclear and Radiation Safety report as contained in GOV/2020/2.

I would like to draw out some of the report’s key policy areas from a UK perspective. First, the UK is committed to transparency and places great value in the self-assessment and international peer review process, which enables the UK to enhance its radiological safety framework. The 60 peer reviews and advisory missions that were carried out globally, including an Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission to the UK in October 2019, are a crucial part of our shared commitment to both transparency and continuous improvement. We look forward to supporting the further development of these missions, including around ageing management, and commend their holistic focus on leadership, management and safety culture.

Secondly, The UK fully supports the Agency’s continuing focus on the revision of Safety Guides to reflect lessons learned. We continue to support the development of commensurate and outcome-focused Emergency Preparedness and Response arrangements for consistent use across Member States.

Finally, the interface between safety and security offers significant opportunities to support objectives in both areas. Security should be taken into account in the development of safety guidance. Although distinctive, they are interdependent and complementary aspects of safe, responsible peaceful uses of nuclear. As was agreed by Member States in the Ministerial Declaration at the International Conference on Nuclear Security, we encourage the IAEA to continue to facilitate a coordination process to address the interface between nuclear security and nuclear safety.

The UK is s a strong supporter of the Unified System for Information Exchange (USIE). It provides an essential platform for transparent communication during incidents and emergencies. USIE also provides a mechanism for sharing, on a voluntary basis, information on security-related incidents and emergencies. This is important, as nuclear and radiological incidents can realistically straddle both areas.

Chair,

I will take this opportunity to update you briefly on two of the UK’s key nuclear safety achievements over the past six months:

First, increasing diversity is a key priority, in order to drive innovation through a diversity of thought across all areas, including safety. We have continued to deliver this through the UK’s Nuclear Sector Deal, supporting industry to achieve its commitment to 40% women in nuclear by 2030. On 5 December 2019, the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group, together with Women in Nuclear UK, jointly launched a Nuclear Sector Gender Roadmap. The roadmap sets out a plan of action across five themes – Attraction, Retention, Indicators, Industry Guidance and Enablers. We welcome the Agency’s commitment to gender parity in the professional grades by 2025, and initiative like what we celebrated at lunchtime will underpin progress towards this.

Member states need play their part also.

Second, the Agency’s ongoing support for Member States on decommissioning and waste management is invaluable and we were delighted to host the Technical Meeting on Achieving the Site End State at Dounreay in October 2019. Our National Decommissioning Authority has taken a number of important steps at Sellafield, including a retrievals programme to remove radioactive waste from high hazard facilities – a significant milestone on the journey to decommission these facilities.

Chair,

In partnership with the international community, we will continue to drive forward our vision for the UK’s nuclear future. With innovation and collaboration at the core of how we work with industry and international partners, we look forward to working together to ensure that nuclear remains a safe, secure and cost-effective part of the energy mix as we transform our energy system to deliver net-zero.

With these comments, the UK takes note of the Director General’s report on Nuclear and Radiation Safety as contained in GOV/2020/2.

The barrier will be used to prevent any water spilling from the Ouse Washes Flood Storage Reservoir to the Welney village.

Historically, when the Washes flooded and the water level at Welney reached a predetermined level, we created a temporary flood barrier across the road using large sand bags.

Now a more robust barrier will be deployed on the Welney Wash Road where it intersects the Middle Level Barrier Bank.

Vital work

Project lead Nicola Oldfield said: “This is a really vital part of our long-term investment in refurbishing and maintaining the Ouse Washes Flood Storage Reservoir and protecting surrounding properties.

“To accommodate this barrier preparatory work needs to be carried out over a 14 week period in 2021 which will involve the temporary closure of Welney Wash Road.

“We appreciate that closing the Welney Wash Road will have considerable impact on the local community.

“We want to reduce that impact as much as possible by working with residents and businesses to identify the most appropriate time of year to close the road for the construction works.”

Consultation

The Environment Agency wants to hear the local communities’ opinions on timings of the road closure to help us decide the best period to do the work.

Construction is expected to take 14 weeks and the road will need to be closed for approximately 6- 8 weeks to install a concrete slab across it.

There are times of the year when construction cannot go ahead, due to birds overwintering and nesting on the Washes between November and July.

Therefore the working window is from July to October each year.

The Environment Agency continually engages with Natural England, and we are liaising with them to explore the potential to extend this window for the barrier foundation works.

An online survey will be available for comments the following link will go live on March 12 There will also be a public drop-in on March 18 from 3.30-7:30pm at the William Marshall Centre, Welney.

Noticeboards displaying project information and contact details are located on the bank near Earith Sluice.

They are in the Anchor Inn car park at Sutton Gault, at Welches Dam on the RSPB Reserve and near the old parish hall at Welney.

Invisible Shield: Countering IEDs by novel technology and techniques seeks innovative proposals to thwart adversaries, terrorists and criminals from using everyday communications items such as radios or mobile phones and networks to trigger homemade bombs and explosives.

Lieutenant Colonel Barber said:

Our adversaries readily manipulate and exploit everyday electronic and communication devices to enable improvised threats to the public as well as our military and security forces.

Enhancing the UK’s Electronic Counter Measures capability through new and novel technologies to counter complex and fast evolving threats in the electromagnetic spectrum is vital to deliver life-saving protection.

We must consider any novel or innovative solution to this challenge that has the potential to enhance our existing capability, allowing us to maintain our advantage and protect the nation, and our people, from emerging threats.

The competition, run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Strategic Command, is particularly looking at:

• Novel spectrum survey techniques to capture and analyse Radio Frequency signals
• Techniques to quickly and effectively neutralise target devices
• New and novel hardware and system components

The competition is expected to have at least £1.5m available in funding for Phase 1 with funding anticipated for further development in Phase 2.

DASA expects to fund up to 10 proposals during Phase 1.

A summary of the competition and requirements can be found here.

The competition will formally launch in April 2020 when full details and requirements will be released.

DASA and Dstl will be hosting a launch event in London on the 29 April 2020 where potential bidders can hear more about the competition, have 1-to-1 sessions with the project team and meet with other potential bidders with the view of partnering.

You can register to attend the launch event on Eventbrite, here.

DASA finds and funds exploitable technology to give Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and UK security a strategic advantage over adversaries while supporting the nation’s prosperity.

DASA works with scientists from Dstl, academia, and industry to rapidly develop these new technologies.