The world’s largest fleet of zero emission HGVs will take to UK roads through plans to achieve cleaner air and greener jobs, while helping to keep costs down on consumer goods.   Transport Minister Trudy Harrison revealed over £200 million of government funding will be injected into an extensive zero emission road freight demonstrator programme, at Logistics UK’s Future Logistics Conference this morning (12 May 2022).

The 3-year comparative programme will begin later this year to help decarbonise the UK’s freight industry with initial competitions for battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology launching shortly.

This could see hundreds more zero-emission HGVs rolled out across the nation and save the industry money, thanks to overall running costs of green vehicles being cheaper than petrol and diesel equivalents. More efficient deliveries will in turn enable haulage companies to keep the price of goods down and protect customers from rising costs.

The transition to zero-emission trucks will also help improve air quality, create greener jobs and deliver on COP26 pledges while reducing reliance on imports of foreign oil. Eliminating fossil fuels from road freight and improving the UK’s energy supply resilience will help to protect drivers and businesses from increasing global energy prices.

The demonstrations will help gather evidence on the future refuelling and recharging infrastructure needed to drive the smooth transition to a zero-emission freight sector by 2050.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said:

Our road freight industry is one of the most efficient in the world and contributes over £13 billion to the UK economy each year.

But we must accelerate our journey towards our net zero goals, and we’re committed to leading the way globally on non-zero emission road vehicles.

Our ambitious plans will continue to ensure food is stocked on the shelves and goods are supplied while eliminating fossil fuels from HGVs and making our freight sector green for good.

The demonstrations will help the UK’s freight sector reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by finding which zero emission technologies are best suited to the heaviest road vehicles in the UK.

An open-call competition will be launched for manufacturers, energy providers and fleet and infrastructure operators to showcase their green technology on UK roads. This will begin with demonstrations of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell HGVs.

The announcement expands the Department for Transport’s (DfT) successful £20 million zero emission road freight trials which ran last year, delivered by Innovate UK.

As part of these trials, commercial vehicle manufacturer Leyland Trucks rolled out 20 DAF battery electric HGVs for use by public sector organisations, including the NHS and local authorities, to support the uptake of battery electric trucks, enabling learning to be gathered from field testing vehicles in a real-world, real-time logistics environment.

This project, along with 6 successful feasibility studies, helped prepare for the demonstrations, which will take place at scale over the coming years.

Michelle Gardner, Acting Deputy Director – Public Policy, Logistics UK, said:

Logistics businesses are committed to decarbonising their operations, but to ensure a smooth transition they need clarity on the path to zero tailpipe emission HGVs. The trials announced today will play a crucial role in identifying the right technological solutions to help enable this.

Given the breadth of the vehicles used across the logistics sector and scale of innovation required to reach net zero Logistics UK is also pleased that government has launched a consultation to identify potential exemptions to the 2035 phase out date.

During the speech in Farnborough, among industry leaders, Minister Harrison articulated plans to deliver on ambitious pledges made at COP26 last year that all new HGVs sold in the UK will be zero emission from 2040. This puts the UK on course to be the fastest G7 country to decarbonise its fleet of road vehicles.

Today, DfT published the full response to a public consultation on phase out dates for the sale of new, non-zero emission HGVs, confirming the scale of our ambition to eliminate carbon emissions from road freight.

Further to this, DfT is fulfilling its commitment to consult with industry to identify potential exemptions to the 2035 phase out date for HGVs, weighing 26 tonnes and under, which may need longer to transition to zero emission technologies. The call for evidence opened today and will last until 22 July 2022.

These announcements and investment reaffirm the government’s commitment to eliminating carbon emissions from road freight while supporting economic growth, improving air quality, and making UK towns and cities healthier places to live.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Earlier this week, as countries across Europe marked the 77th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, remembering the courageous efforts of those who fought in World War II, Russian hypersonic missiles were being fired at civilian locations in Odesa and the bodies of civilians seeking shelter were being pulled from the rubble of a school in Bilohorivka. I wish to pay respects to all the Ukrainian civilians who have died, and those who continue to suffer because of the Russian government’s unprovoked, unjustified and premeditated war. I want to focus today on two key elements – civilian infrastructure and cultural property.

A little over a year ago, Russia joined with others at the UN Security Council to unanimously adopt Resolution 2573, condemning deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian objects in situations of armed conflict and urging all parties to protect critical civilian infrastructure. This built on prior Resolutions 2286 and 2417. Yet, Russia has repeatedly and remorselessly used targeted and dumb munitions on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including nuclear facilities, government buildings, schools, and transportation, not to mention medical facilities and hospitals, which have unique protections under International Humanitarian Law. 

Working alongside Ukraine, the international community will continue to expose the facts on the ground. The Moscow Mechanism report highlighted clear violations of International Humanitarian Law by Russian forces, including deliberate attacks on the Mariupol Maternity House and Children’s Hospital and the Mariupol Theatre, which was clearly marked as housing children.  As of today, there have been over 200 verified attacks on Ukraine’s health facilities, according to the WHO.  The Ukraine Ministry of Health reports that 21 hospitals have been destroyed. Stretched healthcare facilities in the East are having to respond to gender-based violence, including Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, and urgent sexual and reproductive health needs of women and girls.  Russia’s actions have triggered a health crisis in Ukraine, and in the surrounding region, which has profound implications for global health.

Alongside schools and hospitals, contrary to its obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention, Russia is targeting cultural property. As verified by UNESCO, 127 cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the war.  This includes the Hryhorii Skovoroda National Literacy Memorial Museum in Kharkiv region, as mentioned by my Ukrainian colleague earlier. This is not collateral damage, as some in Russia would have us believe. Russia is deliberately waging a war with no distinction between military and civilian targets, with no regard for the Ukrainian people, their history or their culture, and using an information operation to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty, create false pretexts, and obscure the truth.

Mr Chair – we will not let war crimes go unaccounted for. Obligations under International Humanitarian Law are non-negotiable and perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine will face justice.  The International Criminal Court investigation is underway and the UK Government is working closely to identify and collate evidence of atrocities and crimes so that we, alongside international partners, can assist the investigation.  The UK has also deployed a team of specialist war crimes experts to Poland to support the Ukrainian government in its investigations, and Attorney General Braverman has met with Prosecutor General Venediktova to discuss how British expertise can contribute to bringing war criminals to justice.

We will continue to do everything we can to ensure Ukraine succeeds. G7 partners are tightening the pressure on the Putin regime through severe sanctions.  The UK is providing an overall package of humanitarian, economic and military support worth $2 billion, including a $272 million package for aid agencies on the ground providing vital medical and food supplies. We will continue to work with our Allies to ensure President Putin’s aggression beyond Ukraine is contained.

Mr Chair – since the end of the Second World War, the world has dedicated efforts to peace and stability and the principle that never again should people have to suffer such horrors. The OSCE stands for the principles of the Helsinki Final Act: respect for each other’s sovereignty, individuality, and territorial integrity; non use of force and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. These principles have been breached in the most profound way by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. But these principles remain essential for European security.  We will continue to stand up for those courageous civilians in Kramatorsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Donetsk, Mariupol and other cities who are fleeing intense fighting, struggling without food and water, and tragically losing their lives whilst taking shelter in schools and other buildings.

Ukrainians have shown the world over the course of the last two and a half months that no amount of force can overcome the dauntless strength and courage of a people determined to be free. However long it takes, we are determined to see Ukraine prevail with its sovereignty restored.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Thousands of young people will benefit from additional mental health support in their schools, colleges and universities, the government has announced.

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, the Department for Education is today (12 May 2022) announcing a further £7 million for schools and colleges to train a senior mental health lead, bringing the total amount of funding for 2022/23 to £10 million.

Senior Mental Health Leads will play an important role in helping schools and colleges embed a culture of openness when it comes to mental health, whilst also forging stronger links with local health services to ensure young people can access the right level of support.

The Government’s green paper committed to offering training to all eligible settings in England by 2025, and new figures released today show that the Government is well on track to achieve this. Over 8,000 schools and colleges claimed a £1,200 grant to train a senior mental health lead between October 2021 and March 2022, which includes half of all state-funded secondary schools in England – well above ambitions to reach one third of settings.

The new investment will mean up to 8,000 more schools and colleges – the equivalent of two-thirds of eligible settings – will be able to apply for a training grant by the end of this financial year, which will support them to promote and support the mental health and wellbeing of all pupils.

Children and Families Minister, Will Quince, said:

It is vital that we continue to support the wellbeing and mental health of young people alongside their academic recovery, and senior mental health leads will play an important role in doing this. I am grateful to those who have signed up for training so far, as well as all education staff who actively support their pupils’ wellbeing.

I am continuing to work across government to ensure we meet the commitments set out in our mental health green paper. This includes rolling out mental health support teams so that millions of children across England can access the support they need.

Feedback from schools on the training has so far been positive, with one member of staff writing that they “feel much better prepared and empowered to support students”, which going forward will be vital as pupils return to normality following the pandemic.

Funding for five leading charities and organisations working to tackle bullying and champion respect has also been announced today, to continue supporting pupils in thousands of schools in England. After a successful first six months, these organisations will receive an additional £1 million to continue the rollout of training and support programmes until March 2023.

These are:

• National Children’s Bureau (Anti-Bullying Alliance)
• Diversity Role Models
• Equaliteach
• Anne Frank Trust
• The Diana Award

The grants will focus on projects aimed at tackling bullying against children who identity as LGBT, those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and victims of hate-related bullying. It follows previous grants worth £1 million provided to the organisations in November, as well as an additional £3.5 million to various charities working within the anti-bullying space in previous years.

Today’s new report also details the outcome of the Wellbeing for Education Return and Wellbeing for Education Recovery programmes, which provided local authorities with £15 million of additional funding over the course of the pandemic to help pupils recover from the emotional impact of the pandemic. Findings show that over 14,000 state-funded schools and colleges in England benefitted from the two programmes. 92% of councils who responded to a survey from the Department said the funding improved their plans to support schools and colleges, while 77% reported the funding had helped to improve joined-up work locally to support mental health.

Additional information on the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams is also included in today’s report, which follows the news that more than 2.4 million children and young people now have access to in school and college support. NHS England has also announced that over 500 teams will be confirmed this year, which will surpass the Government’s original ambition to have 400 teams in place by April 2023.

To further support individuals with their mental health, the Department of Health and Social Care recently launched a call for evidence to inform a new 10 year mental health plan. This will set an ambitious agenda for setting out where the mental health of the nation should be a decade from now. It seeks views from the public, those with lived experience of mental ill-health and health and care professionals on how support and services should adapt for the future.

Minister for Mental Health Gillian Keegan, said:

The last two years have been particularly challenging and although children are incredibly resilient, it’s crucial they can access mental health support as early as possible.

We’re making great progress on better supporting young people’s mental health and this additional funding to train senior mental health leads will complement our work on the accelerated rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and expansion of community services which is well underway.

We have recently opened a call for evidence and I encourage people of all ages to share their views to inform a new 10-year mental health plan to keep the nation in positive mental wellbeing.

The £10 million funding for senior mental lead training includes a £3 million pre-commitment that was announced in February 2022.

Schools can find further information on how to register for a senior mental health lead training grant here.

The transparency data release on the ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Implementation Programme’ is available here.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) delivers videos, co-created with 11–18-year-olds with input from clinical experts and charities, which address topics affecting young people’s mental health (such as managing unhelpful thoughts, bullying and sleep) and model self-care behaviours. These videos are shared with young people via social media (eg Snapchat and Instagram) and via Better Health-Every Mind Matters

OHID also offers lesson plans for Year 6 and Key Stages 3 and 4 to support the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum and enable teachers to support the wellbeing of students. Written and peer reviewed by teachers, the lesson plans feature films co-created with young people to encourage pupil discussion and are accessible via OHID’s dedicated teacher website, the School Zone.

To further support students and marking this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme of ‘loneliness’, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in partnership with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, is also encouraging people to ‘Lift Someone Out of Loneliness’.

Minister for Civil Society and Youth, Nigel Huddleston, said:

We know our young people are disproportionately affected by loneliness. Mental Health Awareness Week is an important moment for everyone to do what they can to help and this £10 million investment from the Government will ensure more students will have access to mental health pathways in our schools.

In a meeting of Cabinet, ministers will discuss how the Queen’s Speech will deliver for people by boosting our economic growth and recovery, improve living standards and level up opportunities across the country – with Stoke-on-Trent being a prime example of levelling up in action. They will also discuss the upcoming major events for this year, including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and Commonwealth games which will provide a tremendous opportunity to boost pride in Britishness and serve an important role in the economic renewal and recovery in this country.

The Queen’s Speech has been designed to deliver direct benefits for communities like Stoke, for example, with a new bill that will improve the planning system to give residents a louder voice, making sure developments are beautiful, green and accompanied by new infrastructure and affordable housing. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will help spread opportunities by creating more of the jobs, homes and high streets that people want, as well as empower local leaders to regenerate their areas and ensure everyone can share in the United Kingdom’s success.

The Government will also continue to deliver improvements to transport networks across the UK through our Transport Bill, providing for reliable services, reducing journey times and spreading economic growth to all regions. And the Handsacre Link which will connect HS2 to the West Coast will allow compatible trains to stop at Stoke-on-Trent helping to relieve congestion, improve reliability and speed up journey time.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

I’m delighted to bring Cabinet to Stoke-on-Trent today – a city which is the beating heart of the ceramics industry and an example of the high skilled jobs that investment can bring to communities.

This government is getting on with delivering the people’s priorities and tackling the issues that matter most to the public.

This week we’ve set out how we’ll use new landmark legislation to grow our economy to address the cost of living, and level up opportunities for communities across the country.

The Government has injected £56 million into Stoke-on-Trent from the first round of the Levelling up Fund which will go towards boosting the supply of quality housing in the city, as well as attracting visitors to the new arena in the City Centre Regeneration Area and putting heritage assets to good use for now and the future.

Stoke-on-Trent also received six successful Community Renewal Fund bids totalling over £3.5 million for projects supporting education, jobs and boosting skills. This includes Discover: Boosting Digital Inclusion in Stoke-on-Trent (£616,520), SHARP – Sector Hub Action Research Project (£516,787) and Stoke-on-Trent Digital Innovation and Education Hub.

The Prime Minister has called on cabinet colleagues and departments to double down on exploring innovative ways to ease pressures on household finances, promoting the support that is available but not widely taken up, and helping people into high-quality, well-paid jobs across the UK.

Over the coming months we will continue examining what more we can do to ease the pressures on hard-working people and families on top of the existing £22 billion package, which includes boosting the incomes of the lowest paid through a rise in the National Living Wage, saving a typical employee over £330 a year by increasing National Insurance thresholds, and providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills.