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  • PRESS RELEASE : Minimum income – more effective support needed to fight poverty and promote employment [September 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Minimum income – more effective support needed to fight poverty and promote employment [September 2022]

    The press release issued by the European Commission on 28 September 2022.

    Today, the Commission calls on Member States to modernise their minimum income schemes as part of the ongoing pledge to reduce poverty and social exclusion in Europe. The proposed Council Recommendation on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion sets out how Member States can modernise their minimum income schemes to make them more effective, lifting people out of poverty, while promoting the labour market integration of those who can work.

    Minimum income is cash payments that help households who need it to bridge the gap to a certain income level to pay the bills and live a life in dignity. They are particularly important in times of economic downturns, helping to cushion drops in household income for people most in need, thereby contributing to sustainable and inclusive growth. They are generally complemented with in-kind benefits giving access to services and targeted incentives to access the labour market. In this way, minimum income schemes are not a passive tool but act as a springboard to improve inclusion and employment prospects. Well-designed minimum income schemes strike a balance between alleviating poverty, incentivising work and maintaining sustainable budgetary costs.

    Minimum income and social safety nets must incorporate sufficient incentives and support for beneficiaries who can work to reintegrate in the labour market. Their design should therefore also help to fully realise the potential of the green and digital transitions by supporting labour market transitions and active participation of disadvantaged people.

    The social and economic advantages of adequate and targeted social safety nets became even more important during the lockdowns linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adequate minimum income is highly relevant in the current context of rising energy prices and inflation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as income measures can be targeted to specifically benefit vulnerable groups.

    The proposal will help achieve the EU’s 2030 social targets to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty of exclusion by at least 15 million people as set in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. It will also help Member States reach the goal that at least 78% of the population aged 20 to 64 should be in employment.

    Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, Valdis Dombrovskis, said: “Social protection systems help to reduce social inequalities and differences. They ensure a dignified life for those who cannot work – and for those who can, encourage them back to a job. At a time when many people are struggling to make ends meet, it will be important this autumn for Member States to modernise their social safety nets with an active inclusion approach to help those most in need. This is how we can fight poverty and social exclusion, and help more people into work during this challenging period.”

    Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, said: “Today, more than one in five people in the EU are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Minimum income schemes exist in all Member States, but analysis shows that they are not always adequate, reach all those in need, or motivate people to return to the labour market. Against a backdrop of soaring living costs and uncertainty, we must ensure our safety nets are up to the task. We should pay particular attention to getting young people back into work also through income support, so they do not get trapped in a vicious cycle of exclusion.”

    Well-designed social safety nets to help people in need

    While minimum income exists in all Member States, their adequacy, reach, and effectiveness in supporting people vary significantly.

    Today’s proposal for a Council Recommendation offers clear guidance to Member States on how to ensure that their minimum income schemes are effective in fighting poverty and promoting active inclusion in society and labour markets.

    Member States are recommended to:

    • Improve the adequacy of income support:
    • Set the level of level of income support through a transparent and robust methodology.
    • While safeguarding incentives to work, ensure income support gradually reflects a range of adequacy criteria. Member States should achieve the adequate level of income support by the end of 2030 at the latest, while safeguarding the sustainability of public finances.
    • Annually review and adjust where necessary the level of income support.
    • Improve the coverage and take-up of minimum income:
    • Eligibility criteria should be transparent and non-discriminatory. For instance, to promote gender equality and economic independence, especially for women and young adults, Member States should facilitate the receipt of income support per person, instead of per household, without necessarily increasing the overall level of benefits per household. In addition, further measures are needed to ensure the take-up of minimum income by single-parent households, predominantly headed by women.
    • Application procedures should be accessible, simplified and accompanied by user-friendly information.
    • The decision on a minimum income application should be issued within 30 days from its submission, with the possibility of reviewing this decision.
    • Minimum income schemes should be responsive to socio-economic crises, for instance by introducing additional flexibility regarding eligibility.
    • Improve access to inclusive labour markets:
    • Activation measures should provide sufficient incentives to (re)enter the labour market, with particular attention to helping young adults.
    • Minimum income schemes should help people to find a job and keep it, for instance through inclusive education and training as well as (post)placement and mentoring support.
    • It should be possible to combine income support with earnings from work for shorter periods, for instance during probation or traineeships.
    • Improve access to enabling and essential services:
    • Beneficiaries should have effective access to quality enabling services, such as (health)care, training and education. Social inclusion services like counselling and coaching should be available to those in need.
    •  In addition, beneficiaries should have continuous effective access to essential services, such as energy.
    • Promote individualised support:
    • Member States should carry-out an individual, multi-dimensional needs assessment to identify barriers that beneficiaries face for social inclusion and/or employment and the support needed to tackle them.
    • On this basis, no later than three months from accessing minimum income, beneficiaries should receive an inclusion plan defining joint objectives, a timeline and a tailored support package to reach this.
    • Increase the effectiveness of governance of social safety nets at EU, national, regional and local level, as well as monitoring and reporting mechanisms.

    EU funding is available to support Member States in improving their minimum income schemes and social infrastructure through reforms and investments.

    Better impact assessments for fair policies

    Today, the Commission also presents a Communication on better assessing the distributional impact of Member States’ reforms. It offers guidance on how to better target policies in a transparent way, making sure that they contribute to addressing existing inequalities and taking into account the impact on different geographical areas and population groups, like women, children and low-income households. The Communication covers guidance on the policy areas, tools, indicators, timing, data and dissemination of the assessment. The guidance presented today is also relevant for Member States when designing their minimum income schemes.

    Next steps

    The Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion will be discussed by Member States with a view to adoption by the Council. Once adopted, Member States should report to the Commission every three years on their progress on implementation. The Commission will also monitor progress in implementing this Recommendation in the context of the European Semester. The proposed instrument – a Council Recommendation – gives Member States enough leeway to determine how to best achieve the objectives of this initiative, taking into account their specific circumstances.

    Background

    Over one in five persons – or 94.5 million people in total – were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU in 2021. Social safety nets play a key role in supporting these people and helping them to (re)enter the labour market if they can. However, more effective social protection systems are needed, with around 20% of jobless people at risk of poverty not being eligible to receive any income support and estimates of around 30% to 50% of the eligible population not taking up minimum income support.

    The European Pillar of Social Rights includes principle 14 on the right to adequate minimum income. To promote social inclusion and employment and ensure that no one is left behind, the Commission has presented many additional initiatives, which complement today’s proposal. This includes the proposal for a Directive on adequate minimum wages to ensure that work pays for a decent living; the European Child Guarantee to give children free and effective access to key services; and the European Care Strategy to improve the situation especially of women and people in the care sector. The Commission Recommendation for Effective Active Support to Employment (EASE) offers guidance on active labour market policies, including upskilling and reskilling. The Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality, sets out specific guidance to implement policies for a fair transition, with particular attention to vulnerable households. Finally, the Commission proposal for a Regulation on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices seeks to address the dramatic energy price increases by reducing consumption and sharing the exceptional profits of energy producers with those who need help the most.

  • Ursula von der Leyen – 2022 Statement on New Sanctions Against Russia

    Ursula von der Leyen – 2022 Statement on New Sanctions Against Russia

    The statement made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on 28 September 2022.

    We wanted to present together the eighth package of sanctions. Last week, Russia has escalated the invasion of Ukraine to a new level. The sham referenda organised in the territories that Russia occupied are an illegal attempt to grab land and to change international borders by force. The mobilisation and Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons are further steps on the escalation path.

    We do not accept the sham referenda nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine. And we are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation. So today, we are together proposing a new package of biting sanctions against Russia.

    The first part concerns the listing of individuals and entities that will be presented by the HR/VP, Josep Borrell, in a moment.

    I want to focus on the second part of these sanctions that will further restrict trade. By that, we isolate and hit Russia’s economy even more. So we propose sweeping new import bans on Russian products. This will keep Russian products out of the European market and deprive Russia of an additional EUR 7 billion in revenues. We are also proposing to extend the list of products that cannot be exported to Russia anymore. The aim is here to deprive the Kremlin’s military complex of key technologies. For example, this includes additional aviation items, or electronic components and specific chemical substances. These new export bans will additionally weaken Russia’s economic base and will weaken its capacity to modernise. We will also propose additional bans on providing European services to Russia, and a prohibition for EU nationals to sit on governing bodies of Russian state-owned enterprises. Russia should not benefit from European knowledge and expertise.

    The third complex is concerning Russian oil. As you know, Russia is using the profits from the sale of fossil fuels to finance its war. Concerning Russian oil, you might recall that we have already agreed to ban seaborne Russian crude oil in the European Union as of 5 December. But we also know that certain developing countries still need some Russian oil supplies, but at low prices. Thus, the G7 has agreed in principle to introduce a price cap on Russian oil for third countries. This oil price cap will help reduce Russia’s revenues on the one hand and it will keep global energy markets stable on the other hand. Today, in this package, here, we are laying the legal basis for this oil price cap.

    And my last point that I want to focus on is: We are stepping up our efforts to crack down on circumvention of sanctions. Here, we are adding a new category. In this category, we will be able to list individuals if they circumvent our sanctions. So for example, if they buy goods in the European Union, bring them to third countries and then to Russia, this would be a circumvention of our sanctions, and those individuals could be listed. I think this will have a major deterring effect. Our sanctions have hit Putin’s system hard. They have made it more difficult for him to sustain the war. And we are increasing our efforts here and moving forward.

  • Boris Johnson – 2022 Comments Calling Vladimir Putin a Fraud

    Boris Johnson – 2022 Comments Calling Vladimir Putin a Fraud

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister, on Twitter on 30 September 2022.

    Vladimir Putin your speech is a fraud and a disgrace. The world must never accept your sham referendums or your cruel and illegal attempt to colonise Ukraine. We stand with the people of Ukraine and will support them without flinching until their country is whole and free.

  • David Hope – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Hope of Craighead)

    David Hope – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Hope of Craighead)

    The tribute made by David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, much has been rightly made of Her Majesty’s deep religious conviction. At the other end of the huge breadth of her character are her corgis and wonderful sense of humour. I draw from my own experience of her commitment to the Church of Scotland and her love of ponies, particularly the highland pony.

    When she was at Balmoral, Crathie was her parish church and she worshipped there every Sunday. When she was at Holyrood, in Edinburgh, she worshipped at the parish church of Canongate Kirk. It was not just the routine of worship that inspired her feelings about the Church of Scotland; it was a deep interest in what the Church of Scotland was all about.

    That was brought to my attention when I served for two years, at her request, as the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. My function was to represent Her Majesty at the beginning and end of a week when the Church met to discuss its affairs, and to attend the assembly every day for prayers as the week went on. I had the huge privilege of living in Holyrood Palace, effectively with the status of one below the Queen. I was known as “Your Grace” and, as soon as I went outside the door, the full national anthem was played—and no doubt there were some archers there as well.

    It was a very demanding week, but even more demanding was the request, two or three weeks later, to report to Her Majesty in an audience of half an hour what the Church had been discussing in its General Assembly. It was a formidable undertaking, but it was suggested to me that the atmosphere would be lightened a bit if I could offer Her Majesty a present. But this raised the question: what present can you possibly give a Queen that she has never received before? Among the many charities she supported is the Highland Pony Society, of which she was patron. We have seen on many occasions her love of ponies as well as horses—particularly the Highland pony, which she bred at Balmoral with great success. My wife, who has ponies, suggested that we might make a cushion on which we would embroider the portrait of a pony—and that is what we did.

    The next question is: how do you present the Queen with a cushion? I asked one of the people masterminding the audience how to do this. I asked him, “Will you hand the cushion to Her Majesty for me?” He said, “No, not at all, you must take it in yourself”. So I walked into the audience clutching a cushion under my arm, took the three steps forward, bowed and—I am afraid to say—blurted out, “Your Majesty, I have a present for you”. It was remarkable to see a lovely smile spread across her face, particularly when she saw what was on the cushion. “Ah, I must take this to Balmoral”, she said. So I felt that I had scored some success there.

    However, the second year, I had to do the same again—give her a full report on what the Church had been doing—and we wondered what we should present this time. My wife said, “Well, last time it was a cushion with the pony facing one way, and it is always known that horses become very uneasy if they are on their own. Why don’t we give her a cushion with a horse facing the other way?” So that is what we did. For the second time, I went into the audience, stepped forward three times, bowed with the cushion and handed it forward. Again, a wonderful smile spread across her face. I suspect that we spent rather more time talking about ponies than we did about the Church of Scotland—but that is another matter. This time, she thanked me for it. Later on, it was reported to me that, at the end of the day’s business, she went into lunch clutching the cushion and said to everybody around the luncheon table, “Look what I’ve got”. It was typical of her that she entered into the fun of it. From the very beginning of the presentation of the cushion, there was this huge sense of fun and enjoyment that we had this little private engagement together about ponies and cushions.

    I look back with enormous gratitude to these flashes of her sense of humour and her generous nature—which not many people are given at all, although some of us in this House have encountered it many times. I owe a particular thanks to her for appointing me to that office and for the way in which she received me when it was my turn to report on my duties. Of course we mourn her loss deeply, and we wish His Majesty King Charles III every success in the demanding life that he will now lead. I conclude my speech with the same words that have been mentioned earlier, His Majesty’s own words: “Simply, thank you”.

  • Alexander Scrymgeour – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (12th Earl of Dundee)

    Alexander Scrymgeour – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (12th Earl of Dundee)

    The tribute made by Alexander Scrymgeour, the 12th Earl of Dundee, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, I pay tribute as Her Majesty’s hereditary banner-bearer for Scotland. Along with your Lordships, I send condolences to the Royal Family.

    As has been said, the Queen’s passing yesterday is already noted everywhere to have caused shock, uncertainty and even fear. Yet the corollary of that is the healing strength of what she achieved.

    Whether here in the United Kingdom, in the Commonwealth or elsewhere abroad, there are her priorities for how things should be.

    These may perhaps be summarised by her comments in London in 1969, at the 20th anniversary of Europe’s human rights institution, of which the United Kingdom remains a key member:

    “The Council of Europe provides us with a means to dismantle the barriers to communication, understanding and common effort between the European peoples. For the sake of future generations and for the peace and prosperity of our continent, we should grasp this opportunity with both hands.”

    The Queen’s humour, warm personality, astuteness and concern for others are well known across the world. The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, referred to her corgis and love of animals—an attribute shared with St Francis. Certainly at all times, her wishes were to encourage the prescriptions of harmony within the famous prayer of St Francis.

    I join your Lordships in recognising the enormous benefits that her long reign brought to all of us, both nationally and internationally, with huge thanks; and with appreciation for her remarkable legacy that will endure.

  • Michael Farmer – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Farmer)

    Michael Farmer – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Farmer)

    The tribute made by Michael Farmer, Baron Farmer, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, is getting up and walking out, but I want to pick up on a point that he made in his speech earlier on, which struck a note with me. It was the point about constitutional monarchy, as we have heard from time to time during the speeches today, and how apt this place in particular is to make tributes to Her Majesty. This place, the House of Lords, is where Her Majesty sits on the Throne at the State Opening and calls in the Commons so that they can hear the Queen’s Speech. Here is the place where the constitutional monarchy is on display at its most effective, if you like, at the beginning of every parliamentary year. It struck me very much what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, said, and it is certainly, for me, an honour and a privilege to be able to stand here and say what a wonderful Queen we have had.

    I want to start at the end, in a way, where many other Peers have started, with the photo, this week, leaning forwards and slightly stooped to shake the other Liz’s hand: a little old lady in a cardigan. The new Prime Minister’s dark suit was the epitome of power dressing and her height was accentuated in the foreground of the shot. Yet, despite the optics—and without any disrespect to our Prime Minister—I think, when we looked at the picture, we all knew where the real power lay in that handshake. I actually passed the photograph around our office and said, “Where is the real power?” And it was obvious.

    Soft power, which we have heard about today, was a phrase that could have been coined for the Queen—the ability to co-opt rather than coerce. She would say herself that it came primarily not from her constitutional position but from her utter dependence on God, his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, who so clearly worked through her. Interestingly, I hear that President Biden has today ordered all American flags worldwide to be flown at half-mast until after the funeral. What a display of power—for one British individual to have the American flag flying at half-mast for such a length of time.

    The Queen was a unique expression of God’s grace. In the final words of her last Christmas message, she described Jesus as

    “a man whose teachings have been handed down from generation to generation, and have been the bedrock of my faith.”

    Throughout her reign, in her Christmas messages in particular, she referred to him as her rock. In his Letter to the Galatians, St Paul lists the fruit of the Holy Spirit—a list of the essence of the character of God—as love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience, faithfulness and self-control.

    Let us think of those words. We have mentioned love today: love for her family, the people she served and the nation. We have heard anecdotes in every single speech in which she was so thoughtful and caring to those around her. As for joy, we have heard about her sense of humour—its infectiousness, her smile and her zest for life. As for peace, we have heard also of her work, her shaking that hand in Ireland. We have heard about the peaceful overtures we have seen her make publicly in her family difficulties.

    Then we have the kindness, goodness and gentleness that pervaded her. I will come back to faithfulness. As for patience and self-control, I often remember sitting in the middle of these Benches at State Opening, when the Table was removed. We were all waiting patiently; the Queen had come in and was sitting on the Throne as Black Rod had gone down to bang on the door. We were all looking at the Queen, as she looked over our heads down the Corridor, and you could hear shambling, laughing and casual chatting slowly ambling up towards us. As I looked at her, I thought “There is patience but also self-control.” There was a steeliness in her eyes which I think she was controlling.

    With all humility, coming back to faithfulness, I have made a recommendation that she should have the designation “Elizabeth the Faithful”. We have had Kings in the past, and there have been many Kings of other countries, who have had an adjective following their name to define them. This would be an epigram of her constancy, faithfulness and outworked sense of duty to God and man since she made those promises when she was so young, to make the uniqueness of her reign stand out in the sweep of history to come for future generations and in future centuries.

    Coming back to the present, I mentioned Biden earlier. Apparently Vladimir Putin has acknowledged:

    “For many decades Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed her subjects’ love and respect as well as authority on the world stage.”

    Even those who rule in a contrary spirit recognise and respect the miracle that she was to us. Light has a habit of overcoming darkness. She is a miracle of the modern age.

    I should like to finish by talking about prayer. Noble Lords pray here at the start of every day. You could say we pray by rote, but we pray for our monarch—that God will direct and bless them, and give them wisdom, happiness and health. One must not forget all the congregations and church assemblies, in the villages and towns, that pray for the monarch. In all sorts of gatherings there are people praying for the monarch.

    I say to all who have been praying over the years that your prayers have been answered. Do believe in the power of prayer; it is heard and it does work. Look at the Queen’s life, which I have just described as a miracle. Where can the strength have come from to do what she did?

    I finish with the encouragement to carry on praying and to pray that our new King has a long and glorious life of service. As I say without any doubt, God hears and answers these prayers. We all know it would please her for us to say that we will now lift up those prayers for our gracious monarch King Charles III. May he be blessed bountifully in his reign. We will continue to be faithful in doing that.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Almost 6 million £150 Cost of Living Payments processed for disabled people [September 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Almost 6 million £150 Cost of Living Payments processed for disabled people [September 2022]

    The press release issued by the Department for Work and Pensions on 30 September 2022.

    This follows the government’s announcement on 20 September that those who had confirmed payment of their disability benefit for 25 May will receive the £150 automatically, with the vast majority to be paid by early October.

    The vast majority of eligible claimants who were due to receive the one-off £150 payment from the DWP by early October have now had their payment processed.

    The payment will help disabled people with the rising cost of living, acknowledging the higher costs they often face, such as for care and mobility needs.

    There will be some cases – such as those who gained entitlement to this payment at a later date or where payments were rejected due to invalid account details – who will not be paid by the beginning of October. These will be paid automatically as soon as possible.

    The £150 cost of living payments for disabled people from the government are part of a £37 billion package of support, which will see millions of low income households receive at least £1,200 this year to help cover rising costs.

    This also follows the Prime Minister’s announcement of a new Energy Price Guarantee for the next two winters, saving households on average £1,000 a year on their energy bills.

    Further information

    • The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will apply from 1 October and will discount the unit cost for gas and electricity use. This guarantee, which includes the temporary suspension of green levies, means that from 1 October a typical household will pay no more than £2,500 per year for each of the next two years. This is in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme.
    • On top of the EPG and £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, there is an extra £150 for properties in Council Tax bands A-D in England. On top of this, disabled people on low incomes may also be eligible for the other Cost of Living payments totalling up to £650 – households in receipt of a means-tested benefit received the first of the two automatic Cost of Living payments of £326 from 14 July. The second means-tested payment of £324 will be issued later this year.

    Eligibility

    • Those who receive the following disability benefits may be eligible for the one-off payment of £150 in September: Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Scottish Disability Benefits (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment), Armed Forces Independence Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance and War Pension Mobility Supplement.
    • The majority of those who had confirmed payment of their disability benefit for 25 May have now been paid. For those who have still to be paid, are awaiting confirmation of their disability benefits on 25 May, or who are waiting to be assessed for eligibility to receive disability benefits, the process may take longer but payments will still be automatic.
    • You must have received a payment (or later receive a payment) of one of the qualifying benefits for 25 May 2022 to get the payment.
  • James Cleverly – 2022 Comments on Latest Sanctions Against Russia

    James Cleverly – 2022 Comments on Latest Sanctions Against Russia

    The comments made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, on 30 September 2022.

    The UK utterly condemns Putin’s announcement of the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. We will never recognise the results of these sham referendums or any annexation of Ukrainian territory.

    The Russian regime must be held to account for this abhorrent violation of international law. That’s why we are working with our international partners to ramp up the economic pressure through new targeted services bans.

    What happens in Ukraine matters to us all, and the UK will do everything possible to assist their fight for freedom.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Sanctions in response to Putin’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian regions [September 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Sanctions in response to Putin’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian regions [September 2022]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 September 2022.

    • today Putin has announced the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following sham referendums
    • under new sanctions Russia will lose access to major western services that Russia depends on, including: IT consultancy, architectural services, engineering services, and transactional legal advisory services for certain commercial activity
    • UK also bans the export of nearly 700 goods that are crucial to Russia’s industrial and technological capabilities
    • the Foreign Secretary has summoned the Russian Ambassador, Andrey Kelin, to protest in the strongest terms against the illegal annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory

    New services and goods export bans, targeted at vulnerable sectors of the Russian economy, have been announced by the Foreign Secretary today (30 September) in response to Russia declaring the illegal annexation of 4 regions of Ukraine – violating their territorial integrity and political independence.

    Russian-installed officials in 4 temporarily-controlled regions of Ukraine have conducted sham referendums in an attempt to justify their illegal seizure of Ukrainian land. The Russian regime has now announced the illegal annexation of these regions against the will of the Ukrainian people and in flagrant breach of international law.

    The UK is moving in lockstep with international partners to target key sectors of the Russian economy. The new measures will ramp up economic pressure on the Russian regime by targeting vulnerabilities and disrupting crucial supply chains.

    Russia imports 67% of its services from sanctioning countries. Building on previous action, the UK will prevent Russian access to:

    • IT consultancy services
    • architectural services
    • engineering services
    • advertising services
    • transactional legal advisory services
    • auditing services

    The UK has also sanctioned Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. In her role, Nabiullina has been instrumental in steering the Russian economy through the Russian regime’s illegal war against Ukraine and extending the ruble into the Ukrainian territories that are temporarily controlled by Russia. Nabiullina has been sanctioned and is personally subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.

    The Foreign Secretary has instructed that the Russian Ambassador, Andrey Kelin, be summoned to the department, to protest in the strongest terms against the illegal annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory.

    Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

    The UK utterly condemns Putin’s announcement of the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. We will never recognise the results of these sham referendums or any annexation of Ukrainian territory.

    The Russian regime must be held to account for this abhorrent violation of international law. That’s why we are working with our international partners to ramp up the economic pressure through new targeted services bans.

    What happens in Ukraine matters to us all, and the UK will do everything possible to assist their fight for freedom.

    Russia is highly dependent on Western countries for legal services with 85% of all legal services being imported from G7 countries – given London is an international legal centre, the UK accounts for 59% of these imports. The new legal advisory measures will cover certain commercial and transactional services and hamper Russia’s businesses’ ability to operate internationally.

    IT consultancy services will also be banned, including designing IT systems and software applications. Alongside the UK’s previous ban on quantum computing exports and computing services, and with over 170,000 IT specialists fleeing Russia since the invasion began, these measures will erode further Russia’s ability to maintain technological development with the rest of the world.

    The UK is also working with international partners to cut off Russia from our engineering services and architectural services. Russia imports 77% of these services from the G7 and today’s measures will severely debilitate the future growth of Russia’s key industries.

    These measures will also prohibit Russia’s access to other world-class professional services, including auditing and advertising services. With estimates suggesting that 80% of Russian imports in accounting, audit, bookkeeping and tax consultancy come from the UK, EU and US, these measures will further disrupt and degrade the capability of Russian businesses to keep pace in the international market.

    The export of almost 700 goods from the UK to Russia are also being banned. The list includes hundreds of goods that are critical for production in Russia’s manufacturing sector, with imports from the UK totalling over £200 million last year. In total, £19 billion worth of UK-Russia trade has been wholly or partially sanctioned, based on 2021 trade flows.

    Finally, the UK will suspend the process by which actions taken to manage the orderly failure of Russian banks are recognised under the laws of the United Kingdom, in cases where the bank is a sanctioned entity. This will prevent those Russian actions from taking legal effect in the UK and potentially providing economic benefit to the Russian state.

    Alongside today’s measures, the UK continues to work with the G7 to finalise and implement the proposed price cap on Russian oil.

    Many businesses have already taken significant steps in condemnation of the Russian regime’s illegal invasion – 75% of foreign companies have responded to the invasion with 25% having fully withdrawn – a clear marker of international condemnation.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Defence Secretary meets Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv [September 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Defence Secretary meets Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv [September 2022]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 30 September 2022.

    Defence Secretary Ben Wallace travelled to Ukraine this week for high level talks with his counterpart about the UK’s continued support amid Russia’s brutal invasion.

    The Defence Secretary met with Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov to discuss the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s ongoing offensive to recapture and liberate territory seized in Putin’s illegal war.

    They spoke about how UK equipment has been brought to bear on the battlefield, along with the effectiveness of soldiers trained by the UK and other partners.

    The pair also talked about the next steps in the war as Ukraine battles to free itself from Russia’s occupation, and what further support the UK can provide.

    Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

    I was delighted to have visited my good friend Oleksii Reznikov in Kyiv this week to discuss more military aid and help to Ukraine.

    Our support to their fight against Russian aggression goes from strength to strength and will continue all through 2023 and beyond.

    The visit came in the same week as Russia orchestrated sham referenda in the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk ahead of a plan to illegally annex them, while the Ukrainian offensive continues to take back territory in the north-east of the country.

    The UK is one of the leading donors of military aid to Ukraine, committing £2.3 billion in 2022 – second only to the US – and the PM last week announced that this amount would be matched or exceeded in 2023.

    Just weeks before the Defence Secretary’s visit, the UK committed to donating more than 120 logistics vehicles in the latest tranche of gifted military equipment.

    The UK has also trained more than 27,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2015, including thousands of new recruits in the UK this year, with help from allies and partners.

    The training teaches troops key skills such as weapons handling, first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics, vehicle-mounted operations and trench and urban warfare, which will give them a crucial edge on the battlefield.