• Over £300m of funding could provide 2,200 more places at shared and integrated schools
• He will also meet local businesses to discuss how the government’s Budget will support them

Pupils at shared and integrated schools across Northern Ireland will benefit from £66 million of immediate funding for capital projects at 23 schools, the Chancellor announced during a visit today (Friday 23 November).

Additionally, a further £160m of projects at 13 previously announced shared and integrated schools will progress through to design and construction phases – once they’ve passed a final value for money assessment. Some £76m of other school projects have also been identified as suitable for funding and will now begin developing proposals.

The funding helps schools in Northern Ireland, that teach children from different faiths and backgrounds, expand and take on more pupils. The Chancellor announced in the Budget that shared and integrated schools would benefit from over £300 million in funding, which could boost the number in these schools by 2,200.

The Chancellor will visit one of the schools benefitting from the funding where he will meet pupils and teachers.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

The UK Government is backing these vitally important schools so they can offer a shared education to more children across Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s economy is powering ahead and the UK Government is committed to supporting a bright, shared future, helping more young people here to achieve their full potential.

Today’s announcement builds on the UK Government’s support for Northern Ireland’s education system, infrastructure and economy. Northern Ireland has seen the fastest productivity growth since 2010 in the UK. The Budget announced £350m for a Belfast City Region Deal and opened negotiations for a Derry/Londonderry and Strabane City Region Deal.

Later in the visit, the Chancellor will meet small businesses at an event organised by the Federation of Small Businesses. He will discuss the recently announced budget measures that support growth and investment – and what more the government can do to support entrepreneurs.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, said:

I am delighted that the Chancellor has delivered £300 million for shared and integrated education in Northern Ireland. This is a huge boost for young people and will help break down barriers and overcome divisions in society.

The UK Government is delivering on our commitment in the Stormont House and Fresh Start agreements to help build a shared, inclusive future for Northern Ireland.

• Highest ever Enforcement Undertaking in England
• RNLI lifeboat crew complained after sailing through raw sewage
• Local community will benefit from £400,000 towards flood defence scheme
• Nature reserve, RNLI and projects to improve water quality will receive payments

More than 142,000 cubic metres of sewage was discharged into the sea during illegal spills in 2016 and 2017. The windfall will be used to fund environmental improvements in and around the coastal town of Swanage.

The package offered by Wessex Water, the highest ever in the UK, includes £400,000 towards a local authority flood defence scheme in Swanage, £400,000 to Dorset Waste Partnership to fund the development of a doorstep recycling service for domestic fat, oil and grease, £100,000 towards the Dorset Litter Free Coast and Sea Project, £75,000 to the Durlston Country Park and Nature Reserve.

The company also offered £25,000 compensation to Swanage RNLI Lifeboat Station as an impacted third party, taking the total pay-out to £1 million.

Wessex Water made the offer as part of a legal agreement known as an Enforcement Undertaking (EU) which is a form of Civil Sanction. An EU involves a company or individual offering to put right what went wrong and compensate people and the environment. After careful consideration, the Environment Agency accepted Wessex Water’s enforcement undertaking on the basis that the company accepted breaching the legislation and payments totalling £975,000 would secure improvements to the environment including flood defence and measures to tackle fats, oil and grease – which can cause pollution to rivers and coastal waters if poured down the sink.

Mark Sitton-Kent from the Environment Agency said:

When water companies damage the environment by illegally polluting water the Environment Agency will take tough enforcement action against them including civil sanctions.

This record pay-out will secure a range of environmental improvements for the local community, tourism and future water quality.

Swanage town centre falls within a flood risk zone where temporary defences are deployed to help protect local business and property. The contribution offered by Wessex Water will benefit local residents and businesses by improving the level of flood protection in the town.

The financial contribution to Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP) will fund the development of a doorstep recycling service for fats, oil and grease. The money will be used to help determine the facilities needed for the service and fund additional resources to assist with recycling. The donation to Durlston Country Park will enable provision of equipment for animal surveys and raise awareness and promote management of the rich local environment.

The financial pay-out arose from a series of unconsented discharges from Swanage Sewage Treatment Works into Swanage Bay where it is estimated more than 142,000 cubic metres of sewage was discharged into the sea.

Notes to editor

As owner and operator, Wessex Water admitted failing to comply with the site’s environmental permit on various dates between 31 July 2016 and 3 August 2017. One of the sewage spills occurred during the 2016 Swanage carnival weekend and another was witnessed by a local RNLI lifeboat crew who complained to Wessex Water and the local authority after sailing through a plume of raw sewage off Peverill Point on 1 August 2016.

The continuing discharges prompted the local council to erect warning signs on Swanage beach on 5 August 2016.

The permit for the treatment works allows for discharges from 3 separate outfalls. Discharges should only occur when flows exceed limits specified in the permit. The works had previously operated to a high standard, but its performance deteriorated around the time of the discharges resulting in a loss in storage capacity.

A storm on 1 August 2016 caused extra flows to enter the works resulting in unconsented discharges into Swanage Bay. The pollution occurred because there was no where to store the incoming flows. Wessex Water failed to report the discharges until 3 days later. Swanage Sewage Treatment Works works is now operating in compliance with its permit and has been since April 2018.

The previous highest EU was £650,752 paid by Costcutter Supermarkets Group Limited to WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) charity in 2017 for offences under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007. The highest previous financial contribution from a water company EU – which was £375,000 paid by Northumbrian Water Limited in relation to pollution incidents from one of its sewage pumping stations between 2015 and 2016 – which was formally accepted in December 2016.

The Environment Agency has previously accepted 4 other EUs from Wessex Water, the highest of which was £200,000 for an EU relating to Wick St Lawrence, Somerset. The money was split between a number of charities and organisations to help fund environmental projects.

Alderley Park in Cheshire offers facilities for research & development (R&D) focused life science companies at every stage of their life-cycle, from start-up right through to becoming established as a global corporation.

Whilst on site the Minister will meet with the AMR Centre, who play a key role in the British response to global threats from anti-microbial resistance (AMR), to learn about their international projects and find out about the UK’s wider trading opportunities presented by AMR.

The company is a joint private-public initiative which aims to accelerate the development of new treatments and diagnostics in the fight against the growing global impact of resistance to antibiotics.

Minister of State at the Department for International Trade, Baroness Fairhead, said:

There is an ever-increasing worldwide demand for the UK’s life sciences goods and services with £33.5bn being exported last year. The AMR Centre, part of the Northern Power House, is a key part of this. It is a global centre of excellence and the work they do has the potential to save lives across the world.

Our Export Strategy aims to support their growth overseas. Indeed, we offer a range of support to businesses, large and small, which includes providing finance help through our award-winning credit agency, UK Export Finance, advice from our network of Export Champions and a wealth of resources and opportunities on GREAT.gov.uk.

Dr Peter Jackson, Executive Director of The AMR Centre said:

It’s great to be able to showcase the internationally-important centre of excellence in the fight against drug-resistant superbugs here at the AMR Centre and with our partners across the North West.

In the UK, we have a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on our world-class universities, our drug development expertise and our global leadership on the AMR agenda to make a real difference for patients around the world.

The Minister previously met with the AMR Centre on a trade mission to the Boston BIO Conference earlier this year, where businesses from across the Northern Powerhouse were able to connect with potential US buyers and like-minded firms.

To expand their international profile, the company has made use of DIT support to further their overseas contacts including help and advice on attending trade shows in the likes of Germany, Japan and the US, and has already signed antibiotic development contracts with companies in the USA and Sweden.

DIT is also helping wider businesses in Alderley Park with their exporting ambitions. The local International Trade Advisor, Sara Pomfret has set up regular drop in sessions on site to offer advice and support to any local business that needs it.

Dr Chris Doherty, managing director of Alderley Park, said:

Science crosses borders and innovation is a powerful enabler driving the UK economy forward. Alderley Park is a major science and technology location for UK Plc and key asset within Bruntwood SciTech, the UK’s leader in creating innovation districts.

We very much welcome the support from DIT in helping our customers take their ideas to global markets.

The government recently launched a new Export Strategy which sets out how DIT will support businesses of all sizes to make the most of the opportunities presented by markets around the world.

A collaboration with business, developed after extensive engagement with a range of UK firms – the Strategy sets a new ambition from government to increase exports as a proportion of UK GDP to 35%.

A campaign aimed at reducing waste pollution in our oceans and on beaches has been given a boost of more than £24,000 after the Environment Agency accepted an enforcement undertaking from a group of companies for failing to comply with waste and recycling regulations.

Angel Springs Holdings Ltd of Wolverhampton, subsidiary companies Angel Springs Ltd and Fillongley Spring Water Ltd had failed to register between 2009 and 2016 under regulations covering packaging waste.

Fillongley Spring Water Ltd joined the group in 2014 and Angel Springs Ltd also failed to comply with packaging regulations between 2009 and 2013.Therefore Angel Springs Holdings Ltd failed to comply with packaging regulations on behalf of the group between 2009 and 2016.

Now, following agreement with the Environment Agency, Angel Springs Holdings Ltd has given a sum of £24,329.54 to the Marine Conservation Society, for the breaches by its two subsidiary companies. The Marine Conservation Society, is a UK charity working solely to protect the sea, shores and wildlife that lives in and around them. The money will be used to support the charity’s Bincentives campaign in schools around the country and through social media.

Environment Officer with the Environment Agency, Beth Haste said:

Enforcement Undertakings offers are an effective enforcement tool used by the Environment Agency, to enable companies to address historical non-compliance under the Packaging Regulations, through actions that will ensure compliance with the relevant legislative requirements and support for suitable environmental projects, without attracting a criminal record.

The Packaging Regulations require companies which annually have a turnover of more than £2 million and handle 50 tonnes or more of packaging, to take responsibility for packaging when it becomes waste.

We believe the contribution to the Marine Conservation Society’s Bincentives schools environmental education project will support the principles underpinning the Packaging Regulations.

Rochelle Ferguson, Trusts and Grants Manager with the Marine Conservation Society, added:

The Marine Conservation Society is so grateful to have received support towards our education programme, more specifically, towards Bincentives which is designed by children, for children, to provide an incentive to do the correct thing with their litter. As an anti-littering resource for secondary schools, Bincentives is a valuable educational tool for raising awareness of the issues of littering with a hard to reach age group.

The campaign is self-led, giving students the responsibility for taking charge of the issue and the poster design is appealing to the age group. Bincentives has proved popular with schools, with over 250 schools downloading a copy so far.

The full list of Enforcement Undertakings is now available on this page.