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Services across England now lag far behind East Germany, as experts call for ‘universal basic infrastructure’ in UK

fpjl2 — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 10:34:16 +0000

A new report outlines the dismal state of England’s physical and 'social' infrastructure – from public services in health and education to the parks, cinemas and train stations that prop up communities – when compared to similar regions in what was once East Germany.

̽��ֱ��report’s authors call for a “universal basic infrastructure” (UBI) if the UK is to ‘level up’ its regions and lift itself out of 'flatlining' productivity rates. This UBI would see a minimum level of public and private sector services covering everything from broadband to bus routes.

Researchers matched eleven parts of England such as Manchester and Peterborough with German areas close in population and productivity, primarily in the former Soviet bloc – as this region was a central case study in the UK government’s flagship 2022 ‘Levelling up’ White Paper.

̽��ֱ��report, led by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, found that in 2021, German towns, cities and regions have on average twice as many hospitals and pharmacies per 100,000 people as their English counterparts.

Places in Germany have over 11 times more mental health centres and practitioners, and eight times more further education providers, than equivalent parts of England, according to 2021 data.*

In 2020, German areas also have twice as many railway stations per 100,000 people as matching English areas, although England averages almost four times more bus stops than Germany.

“Access to physical and social infrastructure across England is highly variable, and shortfalls in provision affect both declining and growing areas,” said report co-author Professor Diane Coyle from Cambridge ̽��ֱ��’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy.

“But even England’s wealthier areas are falling short of equivalent places in Germany, and have seen notable declines in a wide range of types of infrastructure over much of the last decade.”

̽��ֱ��report shows that areas such as Cambridge and Manchester have more healthcare facilities per 100,000 people, for example – as well as more banks, museums and restaurants – compared to areas such as Bolton, Rochdale and Stevenage.

In fact, Cambridge, one of the country’s wealthiest locations outside of London, has over twice as many banks and building societies, on average, and over six times as many further education providers, as Oldham, Central Bedfordshire and Rochdale.

However, the team also found that many elements of “social infrastructure” right across all eleven English areas have tumbled since 2014, regardless of regional wealth and average rates of income.

̽��ֱ��availability of public transport, GP practices, hospitals, mental health care, police stations, banks, cash machines, post offices, primary and further education facilities, theatres, swimming pools, museums, shopping centres, and chemists have declined across almost all English areas analysed in the report.

All local authorities analysed in the report reduced at least one type of health service between 2014 and 2023. For example, Blackpool, Central Bedfordshire, Stevenage and Stoke-on-Trent all decreased their number of clinics, GP practices, hospitals, and dental treatment centres.

Even in Cambridge the number of further education facilities per 100,000 people halved between 2014 and 2023, and GP practices per capita fell by over 14%.

̽��ֱ��number of police stations per capita fell in all places except Bolton, and the number of public parks and gardens reduced in four out of the five areas with data. Contrary to public perception, however, the number of libraries increased across most authorities in the report.

“Universality across the nation is key when it comes to the infrastructure that facilitates most aspects of our daily lives,” said report co-author Stella Erker from Cambridge ̽��ֱ��’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy.

“ ̽��ֱ��community assets we should all have access to, not just schools and doctors but parks, trains, pubs and gyms, are the foundation for human wellbeing, which in turn underpins economic growth.”

̽��ֱ��researchers point out that even rapidly expanding places in England are seeing social infrastructure go in the opposite direction – an impediment to desperately needed house-building.

For example, Bedford sits in the ‘Ox-Cam-Arc’ – an economic boom region encompassing Oxford, Cambridge and London – and is growing at three times the national rate, expanding by nearly 18% between 2011 and 2021.

Yet the town has seen local services weaken, with reductions per capita in everything from bus stops and rail facilities to GP capacity, primary schools, and local banks and cashpoints, since 2014.

̽��ֱ��report calls for “provision presumptions”: thresholds at which existing services cannot be reduced. Coyle, Erker and their co-author Prof Andy Westwood from the ̽��ֱ�� of Manchester argue that a minimum UBI level should be tied to an area’s population growth.

Added Westwood: “Achieving a minimum level of universal basic infrastructure is an ambitious but necessary goal if we want to create economic opportunity across the country. It would prevent the current ‘postcode lottery’, and serve as a catalyst for growth in ‘left behind’ areas, as well as places that are growing rapidly but too often without adequate infrastructure and services.”

Full list of towns, cities and areas analysed in report as follows:
England: Bedford, Blackpool, Bolton, Cambridge, Central Bedfordshire, Manchester, Oldham, Peterborough, Rochdale, Stevenage, Stoke-on-Trent.
East Germany: Bautzen, Cottbus, Erfurt, Halle an der Saale and Rostock. ̽��ֱ��report also used data from Hagen in the Ruhr, a post-industrial town in the west of Germany.

*In 2021, German places averaged at 45 mental health centres and practitioners per 100,000, compared to 4 in English places. In 2021, German places averaged at 14 further education providers per 100,000 population, compared to 2 providers in the English places.

Per capita access to hospitals, mental health services, and further education facilities in German towns and cities – primarily in the former GDR – now outstrip equivalent areas in England, often several times over, according to research.

Even England’s wealthier areas are falling short of equivalent places in Germany

Diane Coyle

Bjoern Wylezich/Getty

Intercity 2 train at Warnemünde station in Rostock, one of the parts of eastern Germany look at in the report.

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New results deal a blow to the theoretical sterile neutrino

sc604 — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 08:58:21 +0000

̽��ֱ��results were gathered by an international team at the MicroBooNE experiment in the United States, with leadership from a UK team including researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��two most likely explanations for anomalies that were seen in two previous physics experiments: one which suggests a sterile neutrino, and one which points at limitations in those experiments, have been ruled out by MicroBooNE.

̽��ֱ��fourth neutrino

For more than two decades, this proposed fourth neutrino has remained a promising explanation for anomalies seen in earlier physics experiments. In these previous experiments, neutrinos were observed acting in a way not explained by the Standard Model of Physics – the leading theory to explain the building blocks of the universe and everything in it.

Neutrinos are the most abundant particle with mass in our universe, but they rarely interact with other matter, making them hard to study. But these elusive particles seem to hold answers to some of the biggest questions in physics – such as why the universe is made up of more matter than antimatter.

A 170-ton neutrino detector the size of a bus was created to study these particles – and became known as MicroBooNE. ̽��ֱ��international experiment has close to 200 collaborators from 36 institutions in five countries, and is supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in the UK.

Standard Model holds up

̽��ֱ��team used cutting-edge technology to record precise 3D images of neutrino events and examine particle interactions in detail. Four complementary analyses released by the international MicroBooNE collaboration, at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), deal a blow to the fourth neutrino hypothesis.

All four analyses show no sign of the sterile neutrino, and instead the results align with the Standard Model. ̽��ֱ��data is consistent with what the Standard Model predicts: three kinds of neutrinos only. But the anomalies are real and still need to be explained. Crucially, MicroBooNE has also ruled out the most likely explanation to explain these anomalies without requiring new physics.

These results mark a turning point in neutrino research. With the evidence for sterile neutrinos becoming weaker, scientists are investigating other possibilities for anomalies in perceived neutrino behaviour.

“This result is incredibly exciting as it suggests something far more interesting than we expected is happening – it’s now our goal to find out what this could be,” said Dr Melissa Uchida, who leads the Neutrino Group at Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory.

“This heralds the start of a new era of precision for neutrino physics, in which we will deepen our understanding of how the neutrino interacts, how it impacted the evolution of the universe, and what it can reveal to us about physics beyond our current Standard Model of how the universe behaves at the most fundamental level,” said Professor Justin Evans from the ̽��ֱ�� of Manchester, co-spokesperson of the experiment.

“Cambridge has played an integral part in this experiment both through the software — the reconstruction algorithms that allow us to distinguish particles and their interactions in MicroBooNE and through the analysis itself,” said Uchida. “With half the data still to analyse and more exotic avenues to pursue, there is an exciting journey ahead.”

̽��ֱ��UK at MicroBooNE

̽��ֱ��UK has taken a leading role in MicroBooNE, leading the development of state-of-the-art pattern recognition algorithms, making world-leading contributions to the understanding of neutrino interactions in the argon, and bringing a broad range of expertise to these searches for the elusive sterile neutrinos.

UK universities involved in MicroBooNE are Manchester, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Lancaster, Warwick and Oxford.

Mission to understand neutrinos

With our understanding of neutrinos still incomplete, the UK through STFC has invested in a science programme to address these key science questions, as well as invest in new technologies.

̽��ֱ��UK government has already invested £79 million in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), and the new PIP-II accelerator, all hosted by Fermilab.

This investment has given UK scientists and engineers the chance to take leading roles in the management and development of the DUNE far detector, the LBNF neutrino beam targetry and PIP-II accelerator.

Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of STFC and one of the first UK physicists to join MicroBooNE, said: “This much-awaited result is a significant step our understanding of neutrinos. This extremely challenging measurement is also important in that the MicroBooNE experiment used a new technology to record detailed images of individual neutrino interactions.

“ ̽��ֱ��successful use the liquid argon imaging technology is a major stepping stone towards DUNE.

“Once complete by the end of this decade, DUNE will use several detectors each of the size of an extra-deep Olympic swimming pool, but with liquid argon replacing the water, to measure the movements and behaviours of neutrinos.”

Adapted from an STFC press release.

Results from a global science experiment have cast doubt on the existence of a theoretical particle beyond the Standard Model.

Cindy Arnold, Fermilab

Teams prepare to move the MicroBooNE cryostat from DZero to the Liquid Argon Test Facility (LArTF), USA.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Black hole trio holds promise for gravity wave hunt

jfp40 — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 17:05:48 +0000

An international team, including ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge scientists, led by Dr Roger Deane from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cape Town, examined six systems thought to contain two supermassive black holes. ̽��ֱ��team found that one of these contained three supermassive black holes – the tightest trio of black holes detected at such a large distance – with two of them orbiting each other rather like binary stars. ̽��ֱ��finding suggests that these closely-packed supermassive black holes are far more common than previously thought.

A report of the research is published in this week’s Nature.

Dr Roger Deane from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cape Town said: ‘What remains extraordinary to me is that these black holes, which are at the very extreme of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, are orbiting one another at 300 times the speed of sound on Earth. Not only that, but using the combined signals from radio telescopes on four continents we are able to observe this exotic system one third of the way across the Universe. It gives me great excitement as this is just scratching the surface of a long list of discoveries that will be made possible with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).’

̽��ֱ��team used a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to discover the inner two black holes of the triple system. This technique combines the signals from large radio antennas separated by up to 10,000 kilometres to see detail 50 times finer than that possible with the Hubble Space Telescope. ̽��ֱ��discovery was made with the European VLBI Network, an array of European, Chinese, Russian and South African antennas, as well as the 305 metre Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Future radio telescopes such as the SKA will be able to measure the gravitational waves from such black hole systems as their orbits decrease.

At this point, very little is actually known about black hole systems that are so close to one another that they emit detectable gravitational waves. According to Prof Matt Jarvis from the Universities of Oxford and the Western Cape, ‘This discovery not only suggests that close-pair black hole systems emitting at radio wavelengths are much more common than previously expected, but also predicts that radio telescopes such as MeerKAT and the African VLBI Network (AVN, a network of antennas across the continent) will directly assist in the detection and understanding of the gravitational wave signal. Further in the future the SKA will allow us to find and study these systems in exquisite detail, and really allow us gain a much better understanding of how black holes shape galaxies over the history of the Universe.’

Dr Keith Grainge of the ̽��ֱ�� of Manchester, an author of the paper, said: ‘This exciting discovery perfectly illustrates the power of the VLBI technique, whose exquisite sharpness of view allows us to see deep into the hearts of distant galaxies. ̽��ֱ��next generation radio observatory, the SKA, is being designed with VLBI capabilities very much in mind.’

While the VLBI technique was essential to discover the inner two black, the team has also shown that the binary black hole presence can be revealed by much larger scale features. ̽��ֱ��orbital motion of the black hole is imprinted onto its large jets, twisting them into a helical or corkscrew-like shape. So even though black holes may be so close together that our telescopes cannot tell them apart, their twisted jets may provide easy-to-find pointers to them, much like using a flare to mark your location at sea. Indeed, the high radio frequency Arcminute Microkelvin Imager (AMI) telescope at Cambridge, used in the paper, shows emission from this black-hole system that increases at high frequency, a phenomenon directly due to extremely compact jets yet with relativistic speeds. This may provide sensitive future telescopes like MeerKAT and the SKA a way to find binary black holes with much greater efficiency.

̽��ֱ��discovery of three closely orbiting supermassive black holes in a galaxy more than four billion light years away could help astronomers in the search for gravitational waves: the ‘ripples in spacetime’ predicted by Einstein.

This exciting discovery perfectly illustrates the power of the VLBI technique, whose exquisite sharpness of view allows us to see deep into the hearts of distant galaxies.

Dr Keith Grainge

Roger Deane (large image); NASA Goddard (inset bottom left; modified from original)

Helical jets from one supermassive black hole caused by a very closely orbiting companion (see blue dots). ̽��ֱ��third black hole is part of the system, but farther away and therefore emits relatively straight jets.

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Yes