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PRESS RELEASE : Nuclear test veterans to receive medal as event remembers their service 70 years on [November 2022]
The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 21 November 2022.
- Prime Minister announces new medal to honour the service of veterans of Britain’s nuclear tests on ‘plutonium anniversary’
- 22,000 veterans are expected to be eligible for the new honour, marking their service and contribution to the United Kingdom’s nuclear test programme.
- Comes as veterans and their families gather at the National Memorial Arboretum today to pay tribute to nuclear heroes, who have kept the country safe for 70 years
A new medal is to honour the significant contribution of veterans and civilian staff from across the Commonwealth, who participated in Britain’s nuclear testing programme, the Prime Minister will announce today.

The award comes as the country pays tribute to the veterans of the United Kingdom’s nuclear test programme at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire this morning.

The event, which takes place 70 years after the first British test of a nuclear weapon, will be attended by the Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and Veterans’ Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer.

Service personnel, veterans and their families, and representatives from military charities will also attend.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

I am incredibly proud that we are able to mark the service and dedication of our nuclear test veterans with this new medal. Their commitment and service has preserved peace for the past 70 years, and it is only right their contribution to our safety, freedom and way of life is appropriately recognised with this honour.

This medal is an enduring symbol of our country’s gratitude to each and every person who played a part in this effort and their loved ones who supported them.

The veterans and civilians who participated in the United Kingdom’s nuclear test programme, the first of which was known as Op Hurricane, made the UK the third nuclear power. This work contributed to achieving the nuclear deterrent – the ultimate guarantee of UK sovereignty which continues to keep us safe today, and helps guarantee international security.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said:

This medal honours those who served far from home, at a crucial time in our nation’s history.

To this day the nuclear deterrent remains the cornerstone of our defence, and that is only because of the service and contribution of the brilliant veterans and civilian personnel.

It’s right that we mark this contribution today, 70 years on from Britain’s first nuclear test.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

I am delighted that a commemorative medal can be given to our Nuclear Test Veterans, who have made an invaluable contribution to the safety and security of the UK, and who we recognise and value for their enduring service to our nation.

The Nuclear Test Medal will be a commemorative medal that can be worn by recipients.

The medal also recognises the contribution made by veterans and civilians from across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Kiribati. All service personnel and civilians under UK command, including close partners from the Commonwealth and Pacific region, who participated in, or were present at, the British or American nuclear tests at the Montebello Islands, Christmas Island, Malden Island and Maralinga & Emu Field, South Australia between 1952 and 1967 will be eligible for the medal. This also includes scientists and local employees..

It is estimated that around 22,000 veterans will be eligible for medallic recognition.

The medal can be awarded posthumously. Veterans, their families and next of kin will need to apply for the medal, which will be free of charge. It is expected that the first awards of the medals will be made in 2023.

To further recognise the contribution of veterans of Britain’s nuclear tests, the government is investing £450,000 into projects which will commemorate and build further understanding of the experiences of veterans who were deployed to Australia and the Pacific.

As part of that funding, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs is launching an oral history project to chronicle the voices and experiences of those who supported the UK’s effort to develop a nuclear deterrent.

Due to start in April 2023 the project will run for two years, giving nuclear test veterans the opportunity to be interviewed, and contribute to an accessible digital archive of testimonies about their time working on the tests.
21/11/2022
PRESS RELEASE : Hebburn engineering boss Michael Hansen banned for Bounce Back Loan abuse [November 2022]

The press release issued by The Treasury on 21 November 2022.

Michael Hansen, 42, from Hebburn has been disqualified as a director for 10 years after overstating the turnover of his engineering firm to claim a £40,000 Bounce Back Loan to which his business was not entitled.

Hansen was the sole director of MH Property & Engineering Services Limited, which was incorporated in 2019 and traded as a property and engineering firm from Monkton Lane in Hebburn until it went into liquidation in November 2021.

When the company’s turnover decreased during the pandemic, Hansen applied for a Bounce Back Loan to help support his business, stating the company’s turnover to be £160,000.

Bounce Back Loans were a government scheme to help businesses to stay afloat during the Covid pandemic. Companies could apply for a loan of between £2,000 and £50,000, up to a maximum of 25% of their turnover. The money was to be used for the economic benefit of the company, under the rules of the scheme.

MH Property and Engineering Limited struggled to recover the custom it lost during the pandemic and went into liquidation, owing more than £42,000 and triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators discovered that during the company’s first year of trading, up to June 2020, MH Property and Engineering Limited’s turnover was £8,294 and the company had therefore received nearly £38,000 more than it had been entitled to through the Bounce Back Loan scheme.

They also found that around £14,000 had later been withdrawn or paid out of the company’s bank account, followed by a transfer of around £24,600 to Hansen himself between November 2020 and August 2021.

Hansen was unable to show investigators that the money had been used for the economic benefit of the company.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Michael Hansen after he did not dispute that he had overstated the turnover of MH Property and Engineering Services Limited to gain more than £37,900 to which it was not entitled, and had failed to make sure the money was used for the economic benefit of the company.

His disqualification started on 11 November 2022 and lasts for 10 years. The ban prevents Hansen from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Mike Smith, Chief Investigator of the Insolvency Service said,

Covid Support Schemes were a lifeline to businesses across the UK protecting jobs and preserving businesses.

We will not hesitate to take action against directors who have abused Covid-19 financial support like this, and Hansen’s lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.

Notes To Editors

Michael Hansen is of Hebburn and his date of birth is November 1980.

MH Property and Engineering Limited company number 12061331.

21/11/2022
Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at the COP27 Closing Plenary

The speech made by Alok Sharma, the outgoing COP26 President, at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on 20 November 2022.

Thank you Mr President to you and your team for all your work. And I also want to thank the secretariat and the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies.

It hasn’t been easy. But I want to begin by recognising the progress on loss and damage. This is historic.

The decision that we have taken here has the potential to support and increase that support for the most vulnerable.

And I very much welcome that.

And the scale and the range of needs will require contributions from the widest range of sources and parties.

Of course the critical work now lies ahead to ensure that potential is realised.

But friends, and I have to say this, this is not a moment of unqualified celebration.

Many of us came here to safeguard the outcomes that we secured in Glasgow, and to go further still.

In our attempts to do that, we have had a series of very challenging conversations over the past few days.

Indeed those of us who came to Egypt to keep 1.5 degrees alive,

and to respect what every single one of us agreed to in Glasgow,

have had to fight relentlessly to hold the line.

We have had to battle to build on one of the key achievements of Glasgow.

The call on all Parties to revisit and strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions.

We have ultimately reiterated that call here.

And it is critical that commitment is delivered by all of us, including by the major emitters in this room who did not come forward this year.

But we also wanted to take a definitive step forward.

We joined with many Parties to propose a number of measures that would have contributed to this.

Emissions peaking before 2025, as the science tells us is necessary.

Not in this text.

Clear follow-through on the phase down of coal.

Not in this text.

A clear commitment to phase out all fossil fuels.

Not in this text.

And the energy text, weakend, in the final minutes.

Friends, I said in Glasgow that the pulse of 1.5 degrees was weak.

Unfortunately, it remains on life support.

And all of us need to look ourselves in the mirror, and consider if we have fully risen to that challenge over the past two weeks.

Colleagues, I will not be in this chair at COP28, when our ambition, and our implementation, is tested in the Global Stocktake year.

But I assure you, indeed I promise you, that if we do not step up soon,

and rise above these minute-to-midnight battles to hold the line,

we will all be found wanting.

Each of us will have to explain that, to our citizens, to the world’s most vulnerable countries and communities,

and ultimately to the children and grandchildren to whom many of us now go home.

Thank you.

21/11/2022

PRESS RELEASE : Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania – Giles Portman [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 21 November 2022.

Mr Giles Portman has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania in succession to Mr Andrew Noble LVO. Mr Portman will take up his appointment during October 2023.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Giles Matthew Portman

Married to: Lucie Portman

Children: 2

Dates	Role
2021 to 2022	FCDO, Director Europe, Europe Directorate
2020 to 2021	FCDO, Director EU Exit, Europe Directorate
2019 to 2020	FCO, Deputy Director EU Foreign and Security Policy, Europe Directorate
2015 to 2019	European External Action Service, Brussels, Head of East Stratcom Task Force
2011 to 2015	European External Action Service, Brussels, Adviser to the High Representative/Vice President
2007 to 2011	Ankara, Deputy Head of Mission
2003 to 2006	United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union, Brussels, First Secretary
2002 to 2003	FCO, Head, EU Public Diplomacy, Europe Directorate
1998 to 2001	Prague, Second Secretary
1996 to 1997	United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the United Nations, New York, Adviser
1995 to 1996	FCO, New Entrant, European Union Department (Fast Stream)
1994 to 1995	Depart of Transport, New Entrant, British Rail Privatisation (Fast Stream)

21/11/2022

PRESS RELEASE : Retailers David Okot and Jason Meads disqualified after abusing covid loans [November 2022]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 November 2022.

David Okot from Deptford, South-East London, received an 11-year disqualification, while Southsea’s Jason Meads has been banned for 10 years.

The retailers are now prevented from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

David Ocaya Okot (40) was sole director of B&S News Ltd, which traded as a newsagent and convenience shop, B&S Newsagents, on Manor Lane in Lewisham, London.

David Okot purchased the shop in 2014 and ran it successfully until 2020 when increased competition in the area and rising costs meant that the business was no longer viable. The shop closed in January 2020 after failing to find a buyer.

Investigators, however, uncovered that David Okot successfully applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for B&S News Ltd in July 2020, despite being ineligible as the government-backed loan was only available for businesses trading during pandemic. This was after the company had stopped trading.

Further enquiries found that David Okot caused B&S News Ltd to transfer close to £50,000 from the company bank account into his personal account. The former convenience store owner said he was looking to relocate the business with the money but investigators found no evidence to support this claim.

And Jason Meads, from Southsea, Portsmouth, was the sole director of Hodl Clothing Limited. The company was incorporated in April 2018 and operated as an online clothing retailer.

The company, however, went into liquidation in October 2021 before the Insolvency Service uncovered Jason Meads had received government loans Hodl Clothing Limited wasn’t entitled to.

Investigators discovered that Hodl Clothing Limited applied for 2 Bounce Back Loans and received £37,500 after Jason Meads falsely claimed turnover was £150,000 when turnover was £0.

Further enquiries uncovered that Jason Meads transferred more than £36,000 from the Bounce Back Loan to a personal account but could not provide any evidence that the funds were used for the economic benefit of Hodl Clothing Limited.

Tom Phillips, Assistant Director at the Insolvency Service, said:

Bounce Back Loans were offered to financially support viable businesses through the pandemic. The directors of these two retail companies have abused the Bounce Back Loans support scheme. David Okot applied for a loan despite having closed down his business before the pandemic, while Jason Meads used vastly exaggerated turnover figures to obtain more funding than his company would otherwise have been entitled to.

Thanks to the work of our diligent investigators, we have removed these rogue directors from the corporate arena. Both David Okot and Jason Meads have received top-bracket disqualifications, which should serve as a stark warning to other directors that there are serious consequences to those who have abused Bounce Back Loans.

Notes to editors

David Okot

David Ocaya Okot is from Deptford and his date of birth is May 1972.

B&S News Ltd (Company number 09141191).

On 31 October 2022, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from David Ocaya Okot for 11 years, after he did not dispute that B&S News Ltd obtained a Bounce Back Loan and failed to used it in its entirety for the economic benefit of the company. Nor did B&S News Ltd did not meet the criteria to apply for the loan.

Jason Meads

Jason Richard Meads is from Southsea and his date of birth is March 1989

Hodl Clothing Limited (Company number 11314684)

On 10 October 2022, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Jason Richard Meads, after he did not dispute that he caused the Company to apply for 2 BBLs totalling £37,500 using overstated turnover figures in the application form and consequently Hodl received £37,500 more monies that it was entitled to from the BBL scheme. Furthermore, he did not dispute that he failed to ensure that the BBL funds were used for the economic benefit of the Company. Mr Mead’s ban is effective from 31 October 2022 and lasts for 10 years.

21/11/2022
PRESS RELEASE : UK services industry welcomes extension of Swiss visa agreement [November 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for International Trade on 21 November 2022.
- UK and Switzerland agree three-year extension to the Services Mobility Agreement (SMA), enabling UK professionals to work in Switzerland for up to 90 days a year permit free
- Extension welcomed by UK services industry, which accounts for around 80% of the UK’s GDP and workforce
- News comes ahead of negotiations on an ambitious new trade deal between the two services superpowers in 2023
Following intensive discussions, the UK and Switzerland have today agreed to extend the Services Mobility Agreement. The deal, which has been in operation since the start of 2021, has had a transformative effect on companies’ ability to provide services in each other’s countries by allowing employees to easily work in both states.

The extension of the agreement means UK professionals – from accountants and lawyers to advertising creatives – can continue to travel and operate freely in Switzerland for up to 90 days a year without needing a permit.

Switzerland is the UK’s sixth largest export market for services, worth over £12 billion in exports last year. ‘Other business services’, including accountancy, architectural, and legal services made up the majority of these, worth £6.5 billion, while financial services accounted for £1.9 billion.

The SMA will be rolled over for a further three years, providing UK and Swiss companies with welcome certainty. Moving skilled people between countries is vital to services exports, facilitating the delivery of projects and face to face conversations that help to win new clients and get deals done.

The two countries have also agreed to launch negotiations next year on a new free trade agreement, which will establish long-term arrangements for services mobility and boost trade between the UK and Switzerland even further, in 2023.

Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said:

The UK and Swiss economies are both services powerhouses and closely aligned. Today’s agreement is a win-win for both sides. From financial services in Edinburgh to cyber security in Wales, the deal ensures UK businesses capitalise on the huge opportunities on offer.

This is just the beginning. I am excited to launch negotiations on an ambitious, future-facing trade deal with Switzerland that will boost our already incredibly strong trading relationship, worth £39 billion last year.

Switzerland is a world leader in innovation and has placed top of the Global Innovation Index for twelve consecutive years. It offers huge opportunities for companies across the UK, who already export billions in services there every year. Scotland, home to Edinburgh’s thriving financial services scene, exported over £700 million in services to Switzerland in 2020 while Wales, with its cyber security hub, exported £175 million.

Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry said:

Businesses across the UK will welcome today’s extension of the Services Mobility Agreement, as called for by the Trade in Services Council. With four in five UK jobs located in the services sector, the ability to work in Switzerland is hugely beneficial for firms trading with the UK’s 7th largest export market. Business will hope this injects crucial momentum as the UK and Switzerland prepare to negotiate an enhanced FTA.

The CBI’s co-chairing of the UK-Switzerland Bilateral Trade and Investment Council will provide an important forum for firms to discuss ways to further unlock new and exciting trade opportunities with Switzerland.

Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, Chris Hayward, said:

The extension of the Service Mobility Agreement is hugely welcome. Access to the world’s best talent, and a capacity to move highly skilled labour between the UK and Switzerland is of paramount importance to the financial and professional service sector.

The UK and Switzerland are the two largest financial centres in Europe which means strengthening our services trade relationship is a top priority for the sector. Looking ahead, we hope to see the mobility agreement expanded, incorporated and future proofed within a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.
21/11/2022
Stan Newens – 1982 Parliamentary Question on Cruise Missiles

The parliamentary question asked by Stan Newens, the then Labour MP for Harlow, in the House of Commons on 16 November 1982.

Mr. Newens asked the Secretary of State for Defence when the first cruise missiles are due to be deployed in the United Kingdom.

The Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr. Peter Blaker)

In the absence of concrete results in the arms reduction negotiations in Geneva on intermediate nuclear forces, cruise missiles are due to be deployed in the United Kingdom by December 1983.

Mr. Newens

As the United States, on many occasions, particularly recently, has made it clear that it is prepared to put United States interests before those of Britain where it suits it, how on earth can the deployment of American owned and controlled cruise missiles in this country be justified? Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that the majority of people in Britain today reject this proposal?

Mr. Blaker

The hon. Gentleman appears to misunderstand the reasoning behind the proposed installation of cruise and Pershing II missiles in Europe. That action is due to be taken, in the absence of an arms reduction agreement, at the request of the European countries. It is intended to demonstrate to the Soviet Union and to Western Europe that the United States is fully committed to the defence of Western Europe.

Mr. Cartwright

Has the Minister noted statements by United States officials that development problems affecting cruise and Pershing II missiles are no worse than those affecting any new weapon system? Does he find that choice of words comforting? Is he convinced that the cruise will be ready on time?

Mr. Blaker

According to the information that I have, I expect the cruise to be ready for deployment by the end of next year. The tests being conducted on the Tomahawk cruise missile, which is the relevant one, show a success rate of over 80 per cent.

Mr. Stokes

Is my hon. Friend aware that most people hope that the sooner these weapons are deployed in the United Kingdom the better, especially in view of the threat from the growing number of Soviet SS20 missiles? Will my hon. Friend do all in his power to counter the dangerous and misleading opposition to the stationing of these weapons here?

Mr. Blaker

I agree with my hon. Friend about the urgency of this problem. When NATO first proposed in 1979 the installation of cruise and Pershing missiles, and simultaneous negotiations with the Soviet Union to make that deployment unnecessary if agreement could be reached, the number of SS20s in the Soviet Union was just over 100. The figure is now 324. I believe, therefore, that the imbalance that existed in 1979 has worsened. We shall try to reach a disarmament agreement, but in the absence of such an agreement we must press on with our plans.

Mr. Strang

Is the Minister aware that the brave women of the Greenham Common peace campaign are representative of the views of millions of women in this country? Has he recognised that the harsh decision of the authorities to imprison them will increase rather than decrease the determination of women and men throughout Britain who are determined to oppose this dangerous escalation of the nuclear arms race?

Mr. Blaker

It is clear to me that the vast majority of people in this country believe in nuclear deterrence combined with a policy of multilateral negotiations for arms reduction. The case of the women at the so-called peace camp at Greenham Common is not a matter for me.

Mr. Colvin

Will my hon. Friend confirm that cruise missiles are defensive or retaliatory, and that they are in no way offensive or first-strike weapons.

Mr. Blaker

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. They travel at about the same speed as a British Airways jet. They would take three hours to reach Moscow.

Mr. Denzil Davies

Is the Minister aware that the original decision to deploy cruise missiles, far from bringing America and Western Europe closer together, has created confusion and dissension, especially by raising the spectre of limited nuclear war in Europe? Why do not the Government cancel the project, which is a major and dangerous step on the ladder of nuclear escalation?

Mr. Blaker

If there is confusion, it has been caused largely by some of the unilateralist organisations which have been spreading false information. I have previously told the House that one CND leaflet contained five gross errors of fact, three of which are conceded either by Monsignor Bruce Kent or by Lord Jenkins of Putney, a former hon. Member of this House. A limited nuclear war is not an objective of Western policy. The introduction of cruise missiles is intended to demonstrate that the United States is bound into the defence of Western Europe.

Mr. Davies

Will the hon. Gentleman concede that the whole object of a cruise missile is to fight a nuclear war on the Continent of Europe? Why is that not a limited nuclear war?

Mr. Blaker

The right hon. Gentleman is talking rubbish.

21/11/2022
Robert Hicks – 1982 Parliamentary Question on HMS Fisgard

The parliamentary question asked by Robert Hicks, the then Conservative MP for Bodmin, in the House of Commons on 16 November 1982.

Mr. Hicks asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has yet determined the future use of the land now occupied by HMS “Fisgard”, Torpoint; and if he will make a statement.

The Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Mr. Jerry Wiggin)

As has been announced, HMS “Fisgard” is due to close in December 1983. Provided that there is no other Ministry of Defence requirement for the land and buildings there, the property will be passed to the Property Services Agency for disposal in the usual way.

Mr. Hicks

Will my hon. Friend state whether there is any prospect of the Royal Marines or some other Service unit occupying this valuable and extensive site? If not, can he give the House the assurance that he will instruct the PSA to get on as quickly as possible with the sale of the site for some other positive use?

Mr. Wiggin

As the search has not been completed, I cannot say whether there will be any other Service use. If there is not, I can give my hon. Friend the assurance for which he asks. I can also inform him that the Royal Marines will not be going there.

21/11/2022
Michael Heseltine – 1982 Speech on Department of Environment Finances and New Enterprise Zones

The speech made by Michael Heseltine, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, in the House of Commons on 15 November 1982.

With permission, Mr. Speaker, I will make a statement about certain public expenditure programmes for the Department of the Environment. This follows the statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 8 November. Details are being laid in the Vote Office. I shall also announce the designation of new enterprise zones.

As my right hon. and learned Friend said, for the first time since 1977 a Government’s public expenditure plans have not had to be revised upwards from one year to the next. The total of planned expenditure for my own programmes has also remained broadly the same. However, as a result of the considerable success of the programme of sales of council houses and of other assets, significant additional resources are now being realised by local government. In 1983–84 these sales should be worth about £1,750 million. This allows for a marked increase in certain capital programmes.

I deal first with housing. For the current year I have asked local authorities to accelerate their capital programmes in order to spend closer to the national provision. I have offered additional capital allocations for all authorities which need them. Local authorities can increase their expenditure on home improvement grants this year without limit. The Government agree with the proposal—endorsed by The House Builders Federation—that local authorities should buy completed, or nearly completed, low-cost homes direct from house builders for sale, under shared ownership arrangements, to first-time buyers and those on the waiting list. I urge local authorities to promote these schemes.
I have also discussed with the Housing Corporation the effective use of additional resources this year. I have agreed an increase of £150 million in the corporation’s cash imit for 1982–83 to £680 million. This allows additional expenditure on fair rent, hostel and low-cost home ownership schemes and the refinancing of private borrowing guaranteed by the corporation.

For 1983–84 the gross capital provision for housing will be increased from this year’s provision of £3,190 million to £3,243 million. This is about £340 million above the expected outturn for the current year, taking account of the forecast additional spend from my statement today. It will sustain a substantial increase in construction and improvement activity. I have already announced the continuation of the higher improvement grant rates until the end of 1983–84. I shall be taking additional steps to assist local authorities to meet the resulting demand.

I deal now with other Department of the Environment programmes. For the current year, 1982–83, local authorities have been invited to seek any additional allocations they need for derelict land, urban programme expenditure, or other projects. The grant to the Sports Council is also being increased to allow increased capital expenditure, particularly in communities where the needs are greatest and where the development of small facilities can provide a basis for partnership between voluntary organisations and local government. The Minister for the Arts and I are making a further grant of £5 million to the national heritage memorial fund. I will also provide additions to the grants to the Nature Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission.

A breakdown of Department of the Environment programmes for 1983–84 is shown in the figures placed in the Vote Office. The external financing limit for water authorities will allow capital investment to be increased from £632 million to £677 million. Provision for gross capital expenditure on local environmental services will be £605 million compared with forecast outturn this year of £481 million. Within the smaller programmes there will be an increase in the heritage, conservation and sports budgets from £156 million to £165 million.

I shall be concentrating further additional resources on the urban and derelict land programmes. The House will be aware that I recently launched a new initiative under the urban and derelict land programmes and invited local authorities to submit viable schemes, provided that they attract substantial funds from the private sector. The response from local government and the private sector has greatly exceeded expectations. We have bids of £275 million from the public sector put forward in conjunction with a potential further £900 million of investment from the private sector, spread over a number of years. Our initial appraisal shows that in the first year a public contribution of £85 million could be necessary. I have therefore increased accordingly the £70 million originally earmarked. Substantial private sector funds will flow as a consequence of this injection of Government support. The balance of both public and private expenditure will be invested over subsequent years.

In addition, I am increasing the remaining special budgets for the urban and derelict land programmes. Including the £85 million for the joint schemes, the urban programme will be increased from an expected outturn of —280 million this year to —348 million next year, the derelict land programme will be increased from £59 million to £75 million; and the resources of the urban development corporations of London and Merseyside will be increased from £64 million to £67 million. In total, the public expenditure provision for these programmes next year will be £490 million—an increase of £87 million or 22 per cent. on the likely outturn for this year.

As a further part of our efforts to restore economic health to rundown industrial areas, I can tell the House the Government’s decisions on the designation of new enterprise zones in England.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 27 July that the Government intended to designate 11 new zones, seven of them in England. More than 50 English authorities have submitted bids, many of high quality.

As a result, the Government have decided that, in England, we should go ahead with nine new zones; in Allerdale and North-East Lancashire in the North-West; Rotherham and Scunthorpe in Yorkshire and Humberside; Telford in the West Midlands; North-East Derbyshire and Wellingborough in the East Midlands; Middlesbrough in the North-East; and in North-West Kent, including parts of Rochester, Gillingham and Gravesham. The Government have also decided to extend the existing zones at Speke in Liverpool and Wakefield in West Yorkshire. There will be further detailed discussions.

These programmes give priority to capital expenditure. Significant additional resources arise from the success of local government—which I commend—in selling council houses to their tenants and in realising other assets. The announcements today underline our commitment to the inner cities and to the restoration and improvement of some of the most rundown and depressed industrial areas of our society, and there is an enhanced opportunity for capital investment by much of local government.

21/11/2022
David Ennals – 1982 Parliamentary Question on Pressurised Water Reactor at Sizewell

The parliamentary question asked by David Ennals, the then Labour MP for Norwich North, in the House of Commons on 15 November 1982.

Mr. Ennals asked the Secretary of State what representations he has received concerning his decision to refuse financial support to organisations wishing to present to the public inquiry evidence against the establishment of a pressurised water reactor at Sizewell, Suffolk; and if he will now reconsider his decision.

Mr. Lawson

I have received 12 letters on this matter since I wrote to the inquiry inspector on 21 September. My decision stands.

Mr. Ennals

Is the Secretary of State aware that this inquiry is of great national as well as local importance because it may determine the pattern for energy and capital expenditure over the next 20 years? Does he agree that it is vital that the public should know that both sides of the argument have been effectively and properly put forward? Bearing in mind the funds available to the Central Electricity Generating Board, does he agree that some assistance should be given to organisations taking a contrary view so that the case may be fairly presented?

Mr. Lawson

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about the importance of the inquiry, but I do not agree on the other points. As time is short, I merely refer him to the arguments that I set out at considerable length in my letter to Sir Frank Layfield explaining why I did not think it right to do as the right hon. Gentleman suggests. As I know that the right hon. Gentleman has great concern for the views of the trade unions, I am sure that he will be pleased to know that I have received a letter from the Employees’ National Committee for the Electricity Supply Industry, the chairman and secretary of which are Mr. Frank Chapple and Mr. John Lyons, expressing strong opposition to any public funding for the objectors at the Sizewell inquiry.

21/11/2022