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  • PRESS RELEASE : Government to ban ‘American XL Bully’ [September 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Government to ban ‘American XL Bully’ [September 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 15 September 2023.

    The Government has announced today that ‘American XL Bully’ dogs will be banned.

    ‘American XL Bully’ dogs will be banned following a series of horrific attacks, the Government has announced today (15 September).

    On the back of a number of shocking ‘American XL Bully’ attacks, the Environment Secretary will urgently convene experts to define the ‘American XL bully’ breed type in the next week.

    This is a vital first step towards adding it to the list of dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

    This group will include police, canine and veterinary experts, and animal welfare stakeholders.

    Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said:

    Dog attacks are devastating for victims and their families and it is clear that more now needs to be done to stop them and protect the public. That is why we are taking decisive action to ban the American XL Bully.

    This is on top of the work the Government has been doing for some time with the police and local authorities to encourage responsible dog ownership and make sure the full force of the law is being applied.

    Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, a definition of the ‘American XL Bully’ breed type needs to be specified – including clear assessment criteria for enforcement authorities – in order to impose a ban. The Government must then lay a Statutory Instrument to add it to the list of dogs banned under the Act. This will make it an offence to own, breed, gift or sell an XL bully. We will do this by the end of the year.

    We need to safely manage the existing population of these dogs, therefore there will be a transition period. Further details on how the transition period will work will be provided in due course. Current XL Bully dog owners do not need to take any action at this stage however, if XL Bully owners do not come forward during the transition period, they will be committing a criminal offence if they are subsequently found to be keeping one of these dogs.

    Owners whose dogs are dangerously out of control are already breaking the law, and we already have a full range of powers to apply penalties to them. Under the Dangerous Dogs Act, people can be put in prison for up to 14 years, be disqualified from ownership or their dangerous dogs can be euthanised.

    Further detail on next steps for developing a ban and information for owners will be provided in due course.

  • PRESS RELEASE : AUKUS Partners update the IAEA Board on naval nuclear propulsion [September 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : AUKUS Partners update the IAEA Board on naval nuclear propulsion [September 2023]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 September 2023.

    The United Kingdom, Australia and the United States updated the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on AUKUS naval nuclear propulsion.

    The below statement was delivered by Australia on 14 September 2023 under agenda item 12: Any Other Business.

    Thank you, Chair.

    I have the honour of speaking on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

    Chair,

    We thank Director General Grossi for his update in his written introductory statement to this Board on Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion program. As the Director General noted, bilateral technical consultations between the IAEA and Australia on Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion program are ongoing, including in relation to the development of an Article 14 arrangement. We remain fully committed to ensuring our approach meets the highest non-proliferation standard.

    Chair,

    Colleagues will recall that, at the previous meeting of the Board, the Director General reported (in GOV/INF/2023/10) that Australia had submitted the required declarations under its CSA, AP, and Subsidiary Arrangements; the IAEA had conducted in-field verification activities, including a design information verification visit; and discussions on the technical aspects of an arrangement pursuant to Article 14 of Australia’s CSA had been initiated.

    Chair,

    The Director General has confirmed the IAEA will develop a robust safeguards approach for Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion program which will enable the Agency to continue to meet its technical safeguards objectives established for Australia.

    Since the June Board meeting, Australia’s bilateral technical consultations with the IAEA have continued. These discussions encompass technical and legal aspects of an Article 14 arrangement for Australia, including in relation to possible verification and monitoring activities and voluntary transparency measures.

    As has been confirmed by the Director General, these ongoing bilateral consultations are taking place on the basis that Australia’s Article 14 arrangement will not remove nuclear material from IAEA oversight.

    Throughout the lifecycle of Australia’s program, the Agency will be able to continue to verify and conclude that there has been no diversion of declared nuclear material, no misuse of facilities, and no undeclared nuclear material or activities.

    Chair,

    We wish to make clear that, contrary to what some delegations have suggested, we do not seek to impose a template or model Article 14 arrangement. When developing an Article 14 arrangement for Australia or another state, the Agency will need to account for state-specific factors.

    The Director General has committed to transmitting the Article 14 arrangement, once developed, to the Board for appropriate action. As we have said previously, we fully support this approach.

    Chair,

    AUKUS partners have already addressed during this Board meeting some of the more egregious disinformation we have heard from other delegations, and I do not intend to go over that again.

    In line with our abiding commitment to transparency, however, we welcome the opportunity to update the Board and, as appropriate, we will continue to address genuine questions from interested delegations regarding our non-proliferation approach through this and other fora.

    Thank you, Chair.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Statement by AUKUS partners to the IAEA Board of Governors [September 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Statement by AUKUS partners to the IAEA Board of Governors [September 2023]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 September 2023.

    UK Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Corinne Kitsell, gave a statement on behalf of Australia, the UK and the US on AUKUS.

    The below statement was made on 14 September 2023 under agenda item 9: Transfer of the nuclear materials in the context of AUKUS and its safeguards in all aspects under the NPT.

    Chair,

    I take the floor on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to respond to comments made regarding Australia’s acquisition of naval nuclear propulsion technology.

    In response to the inclusion of this politically motivated and unnecessary agenda item, we refer Board members to our note verbale dated the 7th of September. In order to support the Board’s efforts to dedicate its limited time to address genuinely pressing issues, we have not taken procedural action against the addition of this agenda item in meetings of the Board. But to be clear, in common with many other Board members, that does not mean we support it.

    As we have done at previous Board meetings, an update will be provided on Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion programme under Any Other Business. We had intended to provide only a short reply under this item. However, due to the serious nature of some of the misleading assertions we have heard here today, as well as having been circulated in a recent nonpaper, it is important that we directly address some of the more egregious claims.

    We recognise that there are genuine questions amongst Member States regarding naval nuclear propulsion in Comprehensive Safeguard Agreement (CSA) states. We will continue to engage in good faith with states, consistent with our approach to maintaining open and transparent engagement.

    Unfortunately, attempts at genuine discussion of this issue continue to be subject to ever-evolving attempts designed to sow mistrust in the Agency or undermine its independent mandate. We have now seen several iterations of political manoeuvring by certain states to misrepresent the AUKUS partners’ responsible and transparent approach to implementing their safeguards obligations. We have heard many differing and often self-contradictory arguments in this effort. Many of these arguments have been abandoned by their proponents when it became clear they carried no weight or did not reflect reality, only to be replaced by new disinformation.

    Chair,

    The Director General has been clear that the Agency already has ‘the necessary experience to develop the arrangements related to the use of nuclear material for naval nuclear propulsion in accordance with the Statute and relevant safeguards agreements’. Australia’s nuclear fuel cycle will remain under IAEA oversight, in accordance with the provisions in Australia’s CSA and AP, throughout the lifecycle of Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion program. The Director General has confirmed that it will be necessary for Australia’s Article 14 arrangement to allow the Agency to continue to fulfil its technical safeguards objectives. Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States remain fully committed to ensuring the IAEA is able to fulfil its mandate.

    Chair,

    Contrary to the disinformation being perpetuated by some member states, the Director General has also confirmed that – for any CSA state acquiring naval nuclear propulsion technology – he will transmit an Article 14 arrangement to the Board for ‘appropriate action’.

    As with the implementation of other provisions of states’ CSAs, the practical arrangements to be applied in Australia under Article 14 are the subject of bilateral in-confidence negotiations between Australia and the IAEA. Once negotiated, the arrangement will be brought to the Board. This is entirely consistent with the exchange of letters between Australia and the Director General in 1978. To suggest that the Board will be bypassed is false. We do not accept attacks on the mandate, independence, expertise or professionalism of the Director General and the Secretariat.

    It is deeply concerning that some states are calling into question the ability of the Director General to perform the functions vested in him by the Statute and by decisions of the Board. The politicisation by some states of this technical issue risks undermining the independence of the Agency – the cornerstone of the non-proliferation regime. As stated by the Director General this is part of the legal framework set out in the CSAs concluded on the basis of INFCIRC/153, which the Board has authorized the Director General to conclude and implement. We have full confidence in the Director General that he will continue to fulfil his mandate with professionalism and integrity.

    Chair,

    Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States continue to oppose proposals for a standing agenda item, a new ‘intergovernmental’ or other parallel process, or any effort that would undermine and politicize the independent technical mandate of the IAEA. We do not accept politically motivated attempts to disrupt the Agency’s implementation of safeguards agreements. We reject any suggestion that the Agency does not have a mandate to engage bilaterally with Member States on issues relevant to the implementation of safeguards.

    All states rely on the rights – and obligations – enshrined in safeguards agreements to engage bilaterally and in confidence with the Agency. To impose new limits or conditions on this right would threaten Member States’ confidence in the Agency’s ability to implement its safeguards mandate and could risk relegating the Agency’s implementation of safeguards to a secondary position. This is completely inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the legal framework and would threaten to send us down a dangerous path.

    Chair,

    We welcomed the Director General’s decision to report to the June 2023 Board meeting on developments related to Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion programme, as well as his separate report on Brazil’s naval nuclear propulsion programme. The Director General has confirmed he will continue to provide reports on naval nuclear propulsion programmes as appropriate, and we support his prerogative in this regard.

    We welcome constructive Board discussions on NNP on the basis of reports by the Director General, including under apolitical agenda items when there are substantive developments to discuss falling within the IAEA’s remit.

    Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States will continue to keep the Board updated on our ongoing engagement with the IAEA, including under Any Other Business at this meeting. We urge colleagues to reject deliberate efforts to disrupt the Agency’s independence and integrity.

    Thank you, Chair.

  • PRESS RELEASE : French couple jailed for smuggling children inside furniture [September 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : French couple jailed for smuggling children inside furniture [September 2023]

    The press release issued by the Home Office on 15 September 2023.

    A French couple have been jailed for almost 10 years after they trapped Vietnamese migrants, including children, inside sofas to smuggle them into the UK.

    Junior Toussaint and Andrene Paul, both from near Paris, were sentenced to a combined 9 years and 11 months at Hove Crown Court today after pleading guilty to assisting unlawful migration to the UK.

    The pair had worked together as delivery drivers in France and used furniture to hide a Vietnamese woman and three children in the back of a hire van.

    They had travelled from Dieppe to Newhaven Port in the early hours of 2 April this year.

    Border Force officers became suspicious when they searched the van and saw movement from inside the adapted sofas, which were buried underneath a mattress and other furniture.

    Shocking images taken at the time of the search show two migrants packed inside with no means of escape without assistance from the smugglers.

    Others were hidden among other fixtures including a chest of drawers. One migrant was found crushed underneath a settee.

    Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said:

    This case is another shocking example of the sickening tactics used by criminals who will think nothing of trapping women and children in appalling conditions to illegally enter our country.

    We are working night and day to stay one step ahead of the smuggling gangs and ensure they are swiftly brought to justice.

    And our landmark Illegal Migration Act will decisively break their business model by removing the incentive to make a dangerous, illegal and unnecessary journey from the safety of France.

    The defendants told officers they had no knowledge of the migrants’ presence in their van and had been driving it to help with furniture removal in London.

    Fingerprint checks carried out by Border Force later proved Toussaint’s involvement in the smuggling attempt. He pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration.

    Paul, who had also denied her involvement, was found to have made a series of suspicious visits to the UK earlier in the year. She pleaded guilty when video evidence of her previous activity was shown in court.

    Chris Foster, Deputy Director of Criminal and Financial Investigations at the Home Office, said:

    Criminals are going to increasingly extreme lengths to smuggle people across the UK border for profit due to our efforts to clamp down on them. This sentence today reflects the severity of their crimes.

    Our teams save lives by identifying and intervening in smuggling attempts like this one. I want to thank my officers who work tirelessly to investigate those responsible and ensure they face the full weight of the law.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Industry to have their say on increasing role of hydrogen in energy system [September 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Industry to have their say on increasing role of hydrogen in energy system [September 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 15 September 2023.

    Industry and consumer groups are invited to offer views on increasing the amount of hydrogen used in the UK’s gas network.

    • Industry and consumer groups to offer views on new hydrogen technology
    • following consultation, hydrogen blended into current gas networks could increase by up to 20%
    • forms part of government efforts to grow the economy and support the future hydrogen market

    The government has, today (Friday 15 September), invited views from industry and consumer groups on increasing the amount of hydrogen used in the UK’s gas network to fuel homes and businesses, in a move to help cut emissions, strengthen energy security and create new skilled jobs.

    Energy Minister Lord Callanan has launched a consultation on the UK pursuing a process of ‘blending’, to accelerate the creation of a new hydrogen industry.

    Hydrogen currently makes up around 0.1% of the gas used in people’s homes and businesses – but proposals could see the volume of hydrogen in the network increase gradually over time, up to a maximum of 20%.

    This blending of hydrogen with natural gas in the network could boost hydrogen production – which would in turn cut carbon emissions and strengthen energy security, helping to stabilise bills for families and businesses by making them less susceptible to volatile gas prices.

    The views from industry and consumer groups – combined with forthcoming advice from the Health and Safety Executive – will help inform next steps on the use of hydrogen, including through blending.

    Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan said:

    We want to capture the full economic potential that comes with using hydrogen as a cleaner, reliable energy source – with the opportunity to create tens of thousands of new skilled jobs.

    Blending hydrogen into our gas supply – through existing gas infrastructure – would open the doors to an expansion of its use as a fuel, one which could help us cut emissions and stabilise bills for families and businesses.

    The consultation launched today marks the next step in government’s plans to reach 10GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 – creating over 12,000 new jobs and putting the UK at the forefront of the growing hydrogen market.

    Already the government has committed to support the design of business models that will help early projects develop new technology – so hydrogen can be used as a cleaner home-grown energy source that will help stabilise bills for customers.

    The energy sector, consumer groups and wider industry have until 27 October 2023 to submit their views to the government’s consultation on ‘Hydrogen Blending into GB gas distribution networks’. The feedback will help inform government’s decision on whether to proceed with blending.

  • PRESS RELEASE : We must deliver justice for survivors of Daesh’s atrocities [September 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : We must deliver justice for survivors of Daesh’s atrocities [September 2023]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 September 2023.

    Explanation of vote by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on UNITAD.

    We recall that the horrific atrocities committed by Daesh shocked the world. This Council was clear in its response: Daesh members had to be held to account, and justice delivered for the survivors and victims of their crimes.

    This is why Iraq and the UK were at the helm of establishing UNITAD through Resolution 2379 in 2017.

    Since it was established, UNITAD has supported the excavation of mass graves and facilitated the return of remains to the families of victims. It has worked closely with Iraqi judges and prosecutors to build their capacity, in particular on evidence collection. It has provided survivors, including of sexual and gender-based violence, with opportunities to provide testimony safely with their rights fully respected, testimonies that have been used in the prosecution of Daesh members around the world. And it has enabled psychosocial treatment in partnership with Iraq’s Ministry of Health, providing real impact for survivors.

    This year, as with every year, we approached this mandate in close partnership with the Government of Iraq, and with the shared commitment of Security Council members to counter terrorism.

    The resolution we have adopted this morning puts us on a course to improve evidence sharing arrangements with the Government of Iraq, and to consider options for UNITAD’s future.

    The UK will work closely with the Government of Iraq, the United Nations, and the Security Council to continue UNITAD’s legacy, both in Iraq and around the world. We are grateful to the Special Adviser and his Team for their dedicated work in pursuit of accountability. And we stand firm in our continued international efforts to deliver justice for Daesh’s atrocities.

    Thank you.

  • Rachel Maclean – 2023 Speech at the National Housing Federation Conference

    Rachel Maclean – 2023 Speech at the National Housing Federation Conference

    The speech made by Rachel Maclean, the Housing and Planning Minister, on 15 September 2023.

    I want to thank all of you in the audience. I know that you all work extremely hard for your tenants and communities during what’s been a uniquely challenging period – starting with the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the pandemic and, now, cost of living pressures.

    In the century since housing was first promoted as a social good, it is important to acknowledge the contribution of the dedicated, visionary people who’ve made social housing such an integral part of our social fabric.

    I do agree with the remark Lewis made earlier in his preface to me coming on the stage, that housing is integral to everything the government is trying to do in terms of levelling up and promoting quality of life for people.

    As we look forward – as we continue to make improvements to people’s quality of life; increase pride and belonging in place; and pave the way to Net Zero – I have no doubt that the sector you collectively represent will once again be leading the charge.

    That’s why we’re all gathered here today, because we all know that the foundations of a good life are ultimately built on having a safe, decent, affordable home. It’s that home that affords security, dignity and the opportunities to get on.

    Those are the principles that underpin your sector’s social mission – and it’s one that this government stands behind you to deliver.

    There’s solid progress to build on.

    Since 2018 this government has delivered the three highest annual rates of new home building for 30 years.

    With more than 860,000 households helped to purchase a home since spring 2010, through government backed schemes such as Help to Buy and Right to Buy.

    And we’re on track to meet our manifesto target of delivering one million new homes in this Parliament. It’s by expanding delivery overall, we are stimulating the market to deliver more affordable homes through the planning system.

    A significant proportion of that new housing supply will be the many thousands of new affordable homes being built across the country.

    This includes tens of thousands for social rent, delivered through our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme.

    This would not have been possible without all of you in the audience, given the significant contribution that housing associations make to housing supply.

    It’s been a big year for the social housing sector.

    Working together, we’ve made significant strides, notably with the Social Housing Regulation Bill passing into law – that’s an important part of delivering a fitting legacy for all affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

    But we know there’s more to do to, much more – not just deliver for people of North Kensington, but for the millions living in social housing who deserve better.

    Long-term housing plan

    I heard Kate earlier speak about and call for the need for a long-term plan for housing.

    We agree. We agree that we need to create a stronger, fairer housing market, and that is exactly what the Secretary of State set out recently. That is what we are developing and implementing.

    It is a plan to deliver more homes.

    More opportunities for people to own their home.

    More homes in the right places.

    More beautiful and greener homes and neighbourhoods.

    That is underpinned by the regeneration and renaissance in the hearts of 20 of our towns and cities through inner city densification and brownfield development.

    Anyone who like me who has spent most of their life in Birmingham, in my case about five decades, in Birmingham, will have seen that progress over time. I personally feel very proud of what Birmingham has done and can continue to do. Especially now with the Mayor, Andy Street.

    But we are also supercharging the growth in our cities including Leeds and Cambridge, which of course is Europe’s science capital.

    We have high ambitions and a long-term plan to achieve them.

    Safe, decent warm social housing

    But, beyond that, we need to get the basics right – ensuring that every home is safe, decent and warm.

    That must be the first priority for landlords.

    The tragic death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale underlined in the starkest terms what is at stake.

    Why we must raise the bar for existing homes and new homes.

    Why we must learn the lessons from the past to build better homes for the future.

    As we deliver more homes and we continue to aim for our target of 300,000 a year, we do so in the right way – prizing quality as well as quantity – ensuring the safety and dignity of residents.

    Starting with getting our existing housing stock up to scratch and improving the lives of those living in it.

    To that end, we’ve reduced the number of non-decent homes by 2.5 million since 2010 and will be updating the Decent Homes Standard and applying it to private rented homes for the first time.

    All social housing should already meet the Decent Homes Standard. The majority does, but unfortunately there’s still 10% of social homes that don’t meet basic standards of habitability, that rises to a fifth for homes in the private rented sector.

    It’s essential that we raise standards across the board – which is why we’re aiming to halve non-decent homes in both sectors by 2030 – with the biggest improvements in the lowest-performing areas.

    Given what it means for residents when things go wrong – the daily misery, health and other problems that go with homes not fit to live in – it’s right that we set this level of ambition and go further to hold social landlords to account – something that I know the sector overwhelmingly welcomes.

    As you’ll be aware, this is what the Social Housing Regulation Act aims to do – to strengthen the Regulator’s ability to take action when standards aren’t met, including through new, unlimited fines.

    The Bill aims to put tenants’ needs at the heart of wider reforms to drive improvements in social housing and, crucially, requires social landlords to respond to serious hazards like damp and mould within new strict time limits.

    We’re bringing a sharper focus to these issues – you can see that through the £30 million funding going to the Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities for physical upgrades to social housing, targeting serious hazards, including damp and mould.

    This all adds up to a more robust approach to ensuring that landlords provide the quality homes tenants deserve and get on with renovating existing stock – and they should prepare for the new regime coming into effect from April.

    I recognise that many social landlords, highly commendably, aren’t waiting for this new regime and are already driving improvements.

    In particular, I welcome the National Housing Federation’s work, as part of the ‘Together With Tenants’ initiative, to strengthen the relationship between housing associations and their residents. It is massively to the sector’s credit that it proactively identified work that needed to be done through last year’s Better Social Housing Review.

    Strengthening relationships between tenants and landlords means rebalancing those relationships so that they’re fair and work well all round.

    And the consultations we’re publishing on the quality of the homes and services that social landlords provide to their residents – spanning the review of the Decent Homes Standard, Awaab’s Law, professionalisation, energy efficiency standards and supported housing – are an important opportunity for you to shape future reforms and improvements to the sector. So we do very much look forward to you all contributing and having your say.

    Of course, I’m well aware that, while we all want to improve the quality of existing homes, this clearly comes at a cost – and that this is an added strain on social landlords on top of a difficult economic backdrop and the what we believe is a necessary step to limit rent increases this year.

    It’s a challenging period for the sector alongside a testing period for public finances more generally and this government will do everything in its power to support you.

    In doing so, I recognise the importance of setting a rent policy for social housing that strikes the right balance between championing our shared ambitions on quality and then what’s affordable for tenants and the welfare system.

    That’s the approach the government took last autumn when weighing up a very difficult set of competing priorities for rent setting this year – and what I’ll be considering again, together with the Housing Secretary, in the round, as we publish our consultation on rent policy from 2025 later this year before making decisions about rents and new requirements in the first half of 2024.

    Delivering more social housing

    Quality matters. Ensuring that existing homes are safe, decent and warm matters.

    But so too does quantity – meeting the significant demand for more social housing.

    As I’ve just outlined, this is made all the more challenging by the need to invest more in existing homes and a more difficult operating environment.

    But I know – and appreciate – that housebuilding remains central to your mission – and we will continue to back that ambition through the Affordable Homes Programme.

    To that end, we have taken a series of pragmatic decisions to ensure delivery continues apace – providing greater flexibility on grant rates, directing a large share of the Programme towards supporting the delivery of Social Rent homes and allowing more funding to be used to acquire and convert existing homes.

    The Affordable Homes Programme also now offers funding for estate regeneration – for providers looking to replace existing homes with new affordable homes – something I know has been widely welcomed, underlining, the important contribution that social housing providers can make to levelling up and regenerating communities across the country.

    We’re determined to use every possible lever to increase the supply of affordable homes and deliver for those who need them most.

    That’s why we’re looking at national planning policy, thinking about changing it to clarify that local planning authorities should do more to prioritise Social Rent homes.

    And it’s why – having listened to your concerns through a number of discussions that I’ve held, your concerns about the new Infrastructure Levy – we have recently amended the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to strengthen the protections in law for onsite affordable housing delivery and have committed to further consultation with you on the detail.

    Like you, we are determined to see that the Levy delivers at least as much – if not more – affordable housing than the existing system of developer contributions.

    It’s also why we’re investing in accommodation for those fleeing war and conflict in Afghanistan and Ukraine, as well as increasing the provision of decent family appropriate Temporary Accommodation, via the £750 million Local Authority Housing Fund.

    I would really like to put on record my gratitude to councils and their social housing partners for the significant contribution they have made in a short space of time to helping those affected.

    Because, when it comes to levelling up, there are few better places to start than by ensuring that everyone has a safe, decent and warm home.

    All of you are at the heart of our efforts to provide this safety net and springboard – and, indeed, at the heart of our long-term plan for housing, for economic growth, for building a stronger, fairer country.

    We have achieved a great deal and, it’s in that spirit, we’re committed to going forward – to supporting you to balance the challenges of improving quality and increasing supply within a difficult economic context and also to provide as much long-term certainty as possible.

    We will rise to these challenges and, I’m sure, grasp these opportunities and I look forward to working with you all in the future.

    Thank you.

  • NEWS FROM 100 YEARS AGO : 20 September 1923

    NEWS FROM 100 YEARS AGO : 20 September 1923

    20 SEPTEMBER 1923

    Following the meeting between the British and French Prime Ministers, they issued a joint statement saying “they were happy to establish a common agreement of views”.

    The new Dail met in Dublin.

    The problems of slums was discussed at the concluding meeting of the British Association in Liverpool.

  • NEWS FROM 100 YEARS AGO : 19 September 1923

    NEWS FROM 100 YEARS AGO : 19 September 1923

    19 SEPTEMBER 1923

    Raymond Poincaré, the French Prime Minister, and Stanley Baldwin, the British Prime Minister, met in Paris.

    At a meeting of the League of Nations Council, Signor Salandra, the Italian delegate, defended the policy of Italy in denying the League’s competence to intervene in the Italo-Greek dispute.

    An earthquake hit Malta and Sicily.

    Speaking to the British Association in Liverpool, Bishop Welldon criticised the attitude of the National Union of Teachers towards the possible reduction in their salaries.

  • NEWS STORY : Dehenna Davison Stands Down as a Government Minister

    NEWS STORY : Dehenna Davison Stands Down as a Government Minister

    STORY

    Dehenna Davison, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has announced that she was standing down from her role due to health reasons. Writing in a letter to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Davison said that she had been “battling with chronic migraine” for some time, and that the condition had made it “difficult, if not impossible” to carry out her ministerial duties. She added:

    “Though I have tried to mitigate, and am grateful to colleagues for their patience at times, I don’t feel it is right to continue in the role. At such a critical time for levelling up, I believe the people of communities like mine, and across the country, deserve a minister who can give the job the energy it needs. I regret that I no longer can. And as my capacity is currently diminished, it feels right to focus it on my constituents and promoting conservatism from the backbenches.”

    Davison was elected to Parliament in 2019, becoming the first Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland in over 100 years. She was appointed to her ministerial role in September 2022 at the age of just 29 and she was responsible for overseeing the government’s levelling up agenda. Davison had already announced her decision to stand down from Parliament at the next General Election.

    RESOURCES

    Speeches by Dehenna Davison