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  • PRESS RELEASE : Windsor Framework unveiled to fix problems of the Northern Ireland Protocol [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Windsor Framework unveiled to fix problems of the Northern Ireland Protocol [February 2023]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 27 February 2023.

    The Windsor Framework, agreed by the Prime Minister and European Commission President, replaces the old Northern Ireland Protocol, providing a new legal and UK constitutional framework.

    • Fundamentally rewriting the Treaty with new ‘Stormont Brake’ means UK can veto new EU goods laws if they are not supported by both communities in Northern Ireland
    • New green lane removes any sense of a border in Irish Sea
    • Northern Ireland to benefit from same VAT, food and drink and medicines as the rest of the UK

    A new way forward for a prosperous, stable future for Northern Ireland has been set out today (Monday 27 February), rewriting the Treaty to fix the practical problems for the people and businesses of Northern Ireland, protects Northern Ireland’s place within our Union, and restores the balance of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions.

    The Windsor Framework, agreed by the Prime Minister and European Commission President today, replaces the old Northern Ireland Protocol, dealing with the issues it has created and providing a new legal and UK constitutional framework.

    It delivers free-flowing trade in goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by removing any sense of the border in the Irish Sea for goods staying within the UK. These goods will travel as normal through a new green lane without red tape or unnecessary checks, with the only checks remaining designed to prevent smuggling or crime.

    It protects Northern Ireland’s place in our Union, replacing swathes of EU laws with UK laws and ensuring the people of Northern Ireland can benefit from the same tax policies, food and drink, medicines, and parcels as the rest of the UK.

    It puts the people of Northern Ireland in charge with active democratic consent. The Agreement rewrites the Treaty text with a new Stormont Brake that means the UK can veto new EU goods laws if they are not supported by both communities in Northern Ireland, which goes far beyond previous agreements or discussions on the old Protocol.

    At today’s press conference, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

    “Today’s agreement is written in the language of laws and treaties. But really, it’s about much more than that.

    “It’s about stability in Northern Ireland. It’s about real people and real businesses. It’s about showing that our Union, that has lasted for centuries, can and will endure.

    “And it’s about breaking down the barriers between us. Setting aside the arguments that have for too long, divided us. And remembering the fellow feeling that defines us: This family of nations – this United Kingdom.”

    The Windsor Framework delivers free-flowing movement of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea within the UK:

    • A new green lane (the UK internal market scheme) means traders moving goods destined for Northern Ireland will be freed of unnecessary paperwork, checks and duties, using only ordinary commercial information rather than burdensome customs bureaucracy or complex certification requirements for agrifood. The same type of standard commercial information used when moving goods from Birmingham to the Isle of Wight will be used Birmingham to Belfast. All goods destined for the EU will use the red lane.
    • All requirements have been scrapped for trade from Northern Ireland to Great Britain on a permanent basis, including the requirement for export declarations.
    • The green lane will be expanded to include food retailers such as supermarkets and hospitality businesses, significantly reducing SPS checks and costly paperwork, and ensuring choice for consumers on supermarket shelves. A single supermarket truck who previously had to provide 500 certificates can now instead make a straightforward commitment that goods will stay in Northern Ireland. Retailers will mark goods as “not for EU”, with a phased rollout of this requirement to give them time to adjust.
    • Chilled meats like sausages, which were banned under the old Protocol, can move freely into Northern Ireland like other retail food products.
    • Parcels from people or businesses in Great Britain can now be sent to friends, family, and consumers in Northern Ireland as they are today, without customs declarations, processes or extra costs under the old Protocol. Parcels sent business to business will travel via the green lane.

    The Windsor Framework protects Northern Ireland’s place in the Union:

    • The same medicines, in the same packs, with the same labels, will be available across the UK, without the need for barcode scanning requirements under the old Protocol. The UK will license all medicines for all UK citizens, including novel medicines like cancer drugs, rather than the European Medicines Agency under the old Protocol. NI’s healthcare industry will have full access to both UK and EU markets, supporting jobs and investment through a dual regulatory regime.
    • Pets can also now travel freely with their owners across the UK, without expensive health treatments like rabies or documentation from a vet. Pet owners in Northern Ireland won’t have to do a thing when travelling to GB. Where they’re not moving on to Ireland or the rest of the EU, GB owners with microchipped pets can either easily sign up for a lifetime travel document for their pet, available online and electronically in a matter of minutes, or an equally seamless process built into the booking processfor a flight or ferry.
    • Previously banned iconic plants like English oak trees and seed potatoes will once again move easily within the UK without the bureaucratic checks and costly certification under the old Protocol and instead use a similar process to the Plant Passport scheme that already exists in Great Britain. This will end restrictions that hampered consumer choice and damaged business whilst protecting the long-standing single epidemiological area on the island of Ireland.
    • The legal text of the Treaty has been amended, so that critical VAT and excisechanges will apply to the whole of the UK. This means that zero-rates of VAT on energy saving materials like solar panels and alcohol duty reforms will now apply in Northern Ireland.
    • The UK Government can continue to provide generous and targeted subsidiesacross the UK. The ‘reach-back’ risks under the old Protocol have been addressed with new stringent tests, so there are now almost no circumstances in which the Protocol applies to UK subsidies, providing certainty for businesses to trade and invest in Northern Ireland. We expect more than 98% of Northern Ireland subsidies to be unaffected in practice.

    The Windsor Framework safeguards sovereignty and fixes the democratic deficit by putting the people of Northern Ireland in charge:

    • The new Stormont Brake means the democratically elected Northern Ireland Assembly can oppose new EU goods rules that would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives in Northern Ireland. They will do so on the same basis as the ‘petition of concern’ mechanism in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, needing the support of 30 members from at least two parties. The Stormont Brake has been introduced by fundamentally rewriting the Treaty and goes significantly further than the ‘all or nothing vote’ under the old Protocol every four years at most.
    • Over 1,700 of EU law have been removed, and with it ECJ interpretation and oversight in areas like VAT, medicines, and food safety – so the UK Government can decide and UK courts can interpret. The minimal set of EU rules – less than 3% – apply to preserve the privileged, unrestricted access for Northern Ireland businesses to the whole of the EU Single Market and avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

    The agreement concludes months of intensive discussions between the UK and EU to address real world issues and needs of the people of Northern Ireland.

    Providing reassurance for the future, the UK and EU have agreed to work together to anticipate and deal with any other issues that may emerge and have made a joint declaration to resolve issues through dialogue, rather than formal dispute proceedings.

    Alongside ‘The Windsor Framework: a new way forward’, the Government has published the full range of legal texts that underpin the Windsor Framework. These solutions put arrangements in Northern Ireland on an entirely new footing, with far-reaching changes to the old Protocol to provide lasting certainty and stability for citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland.

    To give businesses and individuals time to prepare, the implementation of the agreement will be phased in, with some of the new arrangements for goods, agrifood, pets and plant movements introduced later this year and the remainder in 2024. In the meantime, the current temporary standstill arrangements will continue to apply.

    The UK Government will no longer proceed with the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, as the UK and EU have come to a negotiated agreement. Similarly, the agreement will mean the EU withdrawing all of the legal actions it has launched against the UK.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK-Indiana Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Delegation [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK-Indiana Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Delegation [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for International Trade on 27 February 2023.

    The UK and Welsh governments will host a delegation of eleven economic development leaders from across Indiana from 26 February to 2 March.

    Under the framework of the UK-Indiana Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on economic cooperation and trade relations, the UK and Welsh governments will host a delegation of eleven economic development leaders from across Indiana from 26 February to 2 March. The programme will focus on the themes of clean energy, women’s economic empowerment, and levelling-up. During their first stop in London, the delegation will meet with key Government officials to discuss UK policies covering the three themes of the visit and participate in a panel discussion on the clean energy sector in Indiana at the Department for Business and Trade’s North America Roadshow. The delegation will then travel to Wales over St. David’s Day and meet with Welsh Government officials and external stakeholders in Cardiff, Swansea and Port Talbot.

    Signed in May 2022 at the Indiana Global Economic Summit, the UK-Indiana MOU was the UK’s first state-level trade and economic development agreement. The MOU builds on well-established cooperation and trade relations, with the aim of strengthening economic development across all regions of the UK and Indiana, with a focus on clean energy and sustainability, prioritising building economies of the future. Through the formalised agreement, both governments aim to enhance cooperation in priority sectors, grow businesses and create jobs.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Stonegate offers to change non-compliant rent review terms in MRO agreements [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Stonegate offers to change non-compliant rent review terms in MRO agreements [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Pubs Code Adjudicator on 27 February 2023.

    Around 70 MRO lessees have received an offer from Stonegate to remove the upward only open market rent review from their agreement when combined with an RPI linked rent review.

    The Issue

    The Pubs Code prevents pub companies from offering tied lessees Market Rent Only (MRO) terms that are not common in free of tie agreements. The terms must also be reasonable.

    Where required in a free of tie lease, an upwards only open market rent review will typically take place every five years, or a Retail Price Index (RPI) rent review will typically increase the rent annually.

    In response to PCA correspondence, Stonegate has acknowledged that it is not, and never has been, common to find these two rent review terms together in the same free of tie lease. Ei Group (before its acquisition by Stonegate) stopped offering MRO agreements with these terms in combination in 2019 as a result of expert evidence obtained in an arbitration. But since the first MRO agreements were completed in 2017, a number of them across different pub companies have entered the market containing both types of rent review.

    Stonegate has written to its lessees on those agreements to confirm it will not be enforcing the upwards only open market rent review and offering to remove it from their agreement. It has also offered a financial contribution towards legal costs for any who take up the offer. It has confirmed to the PCA that no upwards only open market rent reviews have yet taken place where agreements also have annual RPI increase terms.

    This action follows PCA correspondence to all pub companies last year about the use of rent reviews linked to the RPI in their MRO agreements, including where combined with other rent review terms. The PCA wished to understand the extent to which such terms had been in use, particularly in light of the sharp rise in interest rates and inflation. It was concerned to ensure that only common terms in free of tie agreements were included in those agreements. The PCA has made clear to the regulated pub companies that they should not rely on terms which they know or ought to know are non-compliant as evidence of terms which are common in the free of tie market.

    Stonegate is the first pub company to acknowledge to the PCA that there had been previous non-compliance that was still affecting existing MRO tenants and lessees. The PCA considers that Stonegate’s action provides certainty to MRO lessees with RPI rent review terms and welcomes the steps it is taking to put this right. Stonegate will inform the PCA when its intended actions are complete.

  • Leo Docherty – 2023 Speech at the Pledging Conference on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen

    Leo Docherty – 2023 Speech at the Pledging Conference on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen

    The speech made by Leo Docherty, the Minister for Europe, on 27 February 2023.

    Friends and colleagues,

    As we have heard, the humanitarian situation in Yemen is dire.

    Millions of people continue to suffer the consequences of years of conflict,

    And this suffering is made worse by the deteriorating economy, and damaged public services.

    I would like to thank the UN, Switzerland, and Sweden for hosting this conference, and all of those generously pledging today.

    Your contributions will save lives and alleviate suffering, and the United Kingdom will continue to play its part. This includes resolving the immediate threats posed by the Safer oil tanker. We have a chance to get Safer done if donors and the UN are bold and brave in the next few months.

    We have provided more than one billion pounds in aid to Yemen since the start of the conflict.

    Over the next financial year, the UK hopes to match last year’s budget and will pledge up to 88 million pounds.

    This will feed at least 100,000 Yemeni people every month,

    provide lifesaving health care and nutrition services through 400 health care facilities,

    and treat 22,000 severely malnourished children this year.

    In addition to funding, we must also ensure that aid is delivered as effectively as possible.

    The recommendations from the 2022 Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation must be implemented to improve the quality of the response.

    But humanitarian teams working on the ground are facing increasing challenges right now.

    Bureaucratic restrictions are hampering aid delivery,

    And mahram, requiring women to be accompanied by a male guardian, is preventing female aid workers from working. Without them, the response cannot meet the needs of women and girls.

    It is vital that the authorities authorise independent assessments and monitoring to ensure aid goes where it is needed most.

    We must also listen to the voices and views of ordinary people in Yemen.

    This will enable the international response to be accountable to the people we are trying to help.

    A return to full-scale conflict has been avoided in Yemen, which is indeed good news.

    Now, is the time to build a better future for the Yemeni people.

    Parties to the conflict must seize this opportunity for peace, which is the only way to end this humanitarian crisis for good.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Trade-boosting North America Roadshow visits 12 UK cities in 12 days [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Trade-boosting North America Roadshow visits 12 UK cities in 12 days [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 27 February 2023.

    Department for Business and Trade kicks off North America Roadshow, visiting 12 cities across the UK to promote business opportunities in the US and Canada.

    A trade-boosting roadshow will visit 12 UK cities in 12 days to help British businesses up and down the country increase their exports to North America.

    Organised by the Department for Business and Trade, the events will include a series of presentations and interactive sessions run by trade experts and sector specialists, including His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner Emma Wade-Smith who is usually based in New York.

    They will run from Monday 27 February to Friday 10 March and will visit twelve cities across the country, including Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff, to highlight the support available for UK businesses looking to sell to consumers across the pond.

    His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America, Emma Wade-Smith, said:

    The USA and Canada are large and expansive markets offering a wide variety of opportunities for businesses aspiring to export their products and services outside of the UK.

    My team and I look forward to meeting the talented UK companies who are ready to begin their export journey and to giving them the tools, insights and practical guidance they need to take those next steps.

    Andy Burwell, International Director at the Confederation of British Industry, said:

    It is clear the world has fully opened up again and savvy businesses are seeking new revenue streams and relationships to make themselves more resilient.

    This North American roadshow is a fantastic opportunity for UK firms to explore what is happening in the US and Canada.

    Demand for UK products and services is high, and businesses should use the roadshow connections to stimulate their growth.

    Duncan Edwards, CEO of BritishAmerican Business, the largest transatlantic trade association said:

    BritishAmerican Business is delighted to support the UK government’s North America roadshow. It reflects the continued importance of the US as a destination for British companies and products.

    The US is the UK’s largest export market and offers a wealth of opportunity to UK companies of all sizes, across all sectors.

    With the USA, you get 50 countries in one but it’s also important to recognise that each state requires careful research and consideration. Doing business in New York is very different to doing business in say Ohio, Texas or California.

    That is why this roadshow is a great first step for any business embarking on transatlantic growth.

    Each stop will be tailored to the business landscape in that city and include deep dive sessions on key growth opportunities in a range of sectors including finance and technology, creative industries, transport, space, and more.

    The Roadshow forms part of the department’s strategy to reach a trillion pounds of exports a year by 2030, with exporters proven to create jobs, increase wages and boost productivity – all key in helping to grow the economy.

    Already, British businesses operating in the US support over 1.2 million jobs, and US companies employ 1.5 million people in the UK.

    Alongside top tips for exporting, attendees will gain insights into the UK’s North America trade strategy and our work to lift market access barriers for UK businesses.

    With a combined population of around 380 million people, the US and Canada both rank as two of the world’s ten largest economies, presenting a wide range of export opportunities for high-quality British goods and services.

    The UK is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada, and is taking a twin-track approach to trade engagement in the US – our largest trade partner – strengthening ties at both federal and state level.

    We have already signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Indiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and are actively engaging with further states, including California, Oklahoma, Utah, and Texas.  These MoUs can help the UK to unlock barriers, seize investment opportunities, promote UK business – and, through the roadshow, we look forward to showing companies across the UK how they can benefit.

  • PRESS RELEASE : British brands embark on first UK fashion and beauty sales mission to India [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : British brands embark on first UK fashion and beauty sales mission to India [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 27 February 2023.

    A number of top UK brands have embarked on a first-of-its-kind fashion and beauty trade mission to India this week.

    • Lush and John Smedley among UK brands joining India’s Fashion Forum 2023, the nation’s largest fashion retail intelligence event
    • First-of-its-kind delegation looking to capitalise on Indian demand for high-class beauty and fashion products
    • Sales mission comes as UK and India negotiate a free trade agreement to create further opportunities for British brands

    Top UK brands are this week travelling to India on a mission to capitalise on its rapidly growing demand for high-end fashion and beauty products.

    A delegation including British success stories such as Lush and luxury knitwear brand John Smedley will travel to India Fashion Forum 2023, the nation’s leading international trade fair, in Bengaluru.

    The trade mission is the first of its kind and has been organised by the Department for Business and Trade to help British brands showcase their expertise in luxury, heritage and innovation to potential buyers and distributers.

    Business and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch said:

    India’s growing economy and middle class represents an enormous opportunity for enterprising UK companies looking for new markets.

    Removing barriers to business and boosting exports are two of my top trade priorities and I’m eager to make it easier and faster to do business with India through the free trade deal we’re currently negotiating.

    India is set to become the third largest economy by 2050, by which time it will have a middle class of 250 million consumers.

    According to the Robb report, in 2021, the Indian luxury goods market was valued at over $5 billion, and is expected to grow by another 10 percent over the next five years.

    Managing Director, MENA Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Anita Baker said:

    Lush is very happy to take part in this trade mission and we’re confident that in India, with its deep roots in natural cosmetics, we can find a partner that lives our ethics.

    India has the opportunity to be a very sizable market and we aim to give our Indian shoppers the amazing customer experience they expect from visiting our shops around the world.

    Global Sales Director, John Smedley Ltd, Bill Leach, said:

    As India is one of the fastest growing luxury markets in the world, we are very excited to be attending the Fashion Forum as part of the trade mission.

    It is hoped that the UK-India Free Trade Agreement that is currently being negotiated comes to fruition in the coming months, so that a growing number of discerning luxury consumers in India will enjoy greater access to The World’s Finest Knitwear.

    Negotiations continue on a forward-facing trade deal with India, with the nations already enjoying a current trade relationship worth £34 billion to year end September 2022.

    The deal, expected to boost the UK economy by billions over the longer term, is part of the UK’s strategy to forge stronger partnerships with fast-growing economies in the Indo-Pacific.

    The UK wants an agreement that slashes barriers to doing business and trading with India’s £2 trillion economy and market of 1.4 billion consumers, including cutting tariffs on exports for British businesses such as Lush and John Smedley.

    Background

    • The UK and India currently enjoy a strong trade relationship, with bilateral trade at £34 billion (year to Q3 in 2022). Our investment relationship supports over half a million jobs across both economies.
    • India accounts for 1.7 per cent of total UK exports and is the 12th largest UK export market in the four quarters to the end of the third quarter of 2022.
    • The Indo-Pacific region represents 40% of global GDP and has some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
    • Companies attending the fashion and beauty trade mission include:

    Lush – www.lush.com

    John Smedley Limited – www.johnsmedley.com

    Wormser – www.wormsergroup.com

    Raishma Ready to Wear Ltd – https://raishma.co.uk

    Organic Apoteke – www.organicapoteke.com

    Lilly and Sid – www.lillyandsid.com

    Legology – https://legology.co.uk/

    Benny Hancock – www.bennyhancock.com

    VENIA Cosmetic Ltd – www.veniacosmetic.com

    Jennifer Young Ltd – www.beautydespitecancer.com

    ByErim Ltd – www.byerim.com

  • James Cleverly – 2023 Speech at the UN Human Rights Council

    James Cleverly – 2023 Speech at the UN Human Rights Council

    The speech made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, on 27 February 2023.

    Mr President, 75 years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt dubbed our newly adopted Universal Declaration of Human Rights ‘an international Magna Carta’. She was referring, of course, to that Great Charter’s role in laying the first of the many foundation stones on which the concept of human rights has been built.

    In 1215, it established that sovereign power is limited by legal constraint. That States are answerable to their citizens. And that justice requires due process. Inspired by Magna Carta, generations of lawyers and statesmen in the United Kingdom and around the world created what we now call the rule of law.

    But for centuries, the rule of law stopped at national borders. Until 1948, our predecessors took a gigantic step forward for humankind and made the rule of law universal.

    I’m proud of my country’s long role in the struggle for human rights. A struggle that continues today across the world.

    Russia and Ukraine

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and illegal so-called annexations are a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter.

    The Commission of Inquiry, which this Council established last year, has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine. Abuses and violations of human rights have been committed by Russian forces on a systematic scale: torture and killing of civilians, rape and sexual violence, forced deportation.

    The Human Rights Council must condemn Russia’s actions. We cannot allow this behaviour to go unanswered. These barbaric acts must never be repeated. The Ukrainian people must have justice.

    That is why this session must renew the Commission of Inquiry’s mandate.

    We remind Russia of the international human rights obligations, which it has freely undertaken. And of its obligations under the UN Charter.

    We call upon Russia to:

    • enable humanitarian access into Ukraine and safe passage for civilians
    • restore human rights, within its own borders and outside, and
    • to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine

    Russia

    But the Ukrainians are not Putin’s only victims.

    We call for the release of all those detained in Russia on political grounds, including Alexei Navalny. And for those imprisoned for their opposition to Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, like Vladimir Kara Murza, to be freed.

    Together with our international partners, the UK has invoked the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism which evidenced Russia’s repression of its own people.

    We will support the UN Special Rapporteur’s work on human rights in Russia. We will attend the trials of human rights defenders in Russia. And we will use sanctions to hold human rights violators to account.

    China

    Last year, the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report that found evidence of arbitrary detention, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced sterilisation, and the destruction of religious sites taking place in Xinjiang. And it found these abuses may amount to crimes against humanity.

    Surely, such serious and well-evidenced findings merit further and proper discussion by this Council. But instead China has consistently sought to deny these findings and obstruct discussion.

    I now urge China to engage with the Council and uphold the international obligations into which it has freely entered.

    Hong Kong

    Last year, the Human Rights Committee published its report on the implementation of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights in Hong Kong.

    Under the National Security Law, independent media outlets have been closed down. The right to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed in Hong Kong’s Basic Law has been eroded. Those who speak out, including journalists or businessmen like Jimmy Lai, have been arrested.

    We call on the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to uphold the Sino-British Joint Declaration and urge them to implement the recommendations of the HRC Report.

    Afghanistan

    In Afghanistan, curtailment of women’s human rights, including the ban on women going to university, is unacceptable. We will continue to press the Taliban on these issues.

    Iran

    In Iran, the killing of Mahsa Amini last September was yet another shocking reminder of the regime’s callous disregard for the lives of its own citizens. Since October, we’ve introduced 5 separate sanctions packages targeting those individuals and entities responsible for serious human rights violations.

    We reaffirm our commitment to support the fact-finding mission established by this Council in November. We must ensure that the voice of the Iranian people continues to be heard.

    Conclusion

    Mr President, the United Kingdom will always ensure that human rights are upheld around the world and that we hold to account those who systematically violate them.

    To achieve this, we want this Council to succeed. We will work with our international partners to ensure that it does. And we will back up our words with actions.

    Thank you.

  • Leo Docherty – 2023 Speech at the UN Conference on Disarmament

    Leo Docherty – 2023 Speech at the UN Conference on Disarmament

    The speech made by Leo Docherty, the Minister for Europe, in Geneva on 27 February 2023.

    Every member state of this Conference has the responsibility to work towards a more peaceful and stable world, through disarmament. For the vast majority represented here, that is indeed our shared objective.

    But all too often, we see some States doing the opposite.

    It is over a year since Russia launched their illegal invasion of Ukraine.

    It is an unprovoked, premeditated and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state.

    And an egregious violation of international law and the UN Charter.

    We continue to see mounting evidence of horrific acts committed by Russia’s forces against civilians.

    The UK and our allies will continue to support the Ukrainian government in the face of this assault on their existence.

    Russia’s announcement last week that it has suspended participation in the New START treaty further shows their willingness to undermine strategic stability.

    We continue to urge Russia to immediately return to full compliance of the Treaty and engage constructively with the USA on this matter.

    We will continue to explore every diplomatic avenue to uphold international law, and strengthen our collective disarmament architecture.

    In addition to major nuclear armed states willing to flout international norms of behaviour, we collectively face a range of challenges.

    We face continuing proliferation concerns about the activities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran.

    We are concerned with DPRK’s continued escalation of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. We condemn these tests which are in clear breach of United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

    We face Assad’s willingness to use chemical weapons.

    And emerging threats posed by new and disruptive technologies.

    To overcome these we must refresh our thinking, and redouble our commitment to build on the foundations of our common disarmament and non-proliferation institutions.

    The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – or NPT – remains the cornerstone of international nuclear security. And the only pragmatic route to a world without nuclear weapons in our current security environment.

    The UK remains firmly committed to the NPT, and to fulfilling our obligations under all three pillars of the Treaty.

    We remain committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

    And firmly believe the best way to achieve this is through gradual multilateral disarmament, negotiated within the framework of the NPT, including in this Conference.

    Collectively we have the ability to create a safer and more stable world, where countries with nuclear weapons feel able to relinquish them.

    However, the deteriorating security environment means we must remain realistic about what can be achieved in the short term.

    The UK is focused on preparing the ground for what can pragmatically be achieved over the next NPT review cycle and beyond.

    We are working with other States on the verification and irreversibility challenges, which will need to be addressed as part of final disarmament.

    We will continue to play a leading role on transparency, within the limits placed by our non-proliferation obligations and our overarching national security concerns.

    We will continue to develop concrete initiatives on reducing the risk of the use of nuclear weapons.

    And we will continue to press for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

    And the beginning of negotiations, in this Conference, on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty – the logical next step along the road to a world without nuclear weapons.

    Mr President,

    We only have to look to President Putin’s assault against Ukraine…

    and Assad’s on his own people…

    and the lives blighted by the illicit trade in small arms and lights weapons across the world…

    to realise that the use of conventional and chemical weapons remains a present, real and urgent threat.

    The diversion and misuse of conventional weapons – particularly small arms and light weapons – costs hundreds of thousands of lives every year…

    destroys security and sustainable development…

    and fuels conflict, crime and terrorism.

    The effective control of conventional weapons and ammunition should therefore be a goal that unites us all.

    The United Kingdom was proud to sign up to the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas in Dublin in November. I warmly commend the Government of Ireland for its leadership in this endeavour. As Putin’s missiles rained down on Ukrainian homes and civilian infrastructure, the Declaration is a powerful commitment to strengthening the protection of civilians in urban warfare under International Humanitarian Law.

    The UK will continue to play a leading role in tackling the scourge of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war, including as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.

    We must also do more work together to counter IEDs, and prevent non-State actors and violent extremists from obtaining the components to make them.

    The United Kingdom condemns Syria’s use of chemical weapons in Douma and in multiple other attacks.

    It is time for the disarmament community to move from severe condemnation to severe consequences, for those that use them.

    The UK will continue to work for a world free from chemical and biological weapons, and we urge all states to play a constructive part in this process.

    As the Biological Weapons Convention nears its 50th year in force, the UK will strive to make the most of the process we all agreed at last year’s Review Conference to bolster our implementation of this Convention. It represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the evolving threats from biological weapons in the 21st century. We must seize it and endow the Convention with the scientific and technical advice it needs, and explore ways in which new technologies can help assure compliance with its obligations.

    Mr President,

    Just as the threats we face in the nuclear, biological, chemical and conventional domains have evolved, so it is in outer space.

    We are pleased to see progress in the Open-Ended Working Group on reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours.

    All of our societies and economies rely on a cooperative approach to the use of technologies in space.

    So we encourage all states to engage constructively and work towards a consensus report, that can inform next steps in the UN General Assembly.

    This Conference also has a vital role to play in negotiating agreements on preventing an arms race in outer space, whether legally binding or otherwise.

    To conclude, Mr President.

    The UK is firmly committed to playing a full role in advancing the international disarmament agenda.

    And we are grateful for the cooperation of all partners who approach these thorny issues constructively, and with integrity.

    Let me point out that many of those partners are not members of this Conference, and are being barred from taking up their rightful seats as observers by the Russian delegation. We deplore this obstructionism, and call for all UN Member States to be allowed to participate in the work of this Conference as has long been our practice.

    The challenges facing our collective work are monumental.

    We must take a constructive and open-minded approach to finding new solutions to old problems.

    But we must also stand by the frameworks and agreements that we have so painstakingly built.

    And hold all states accountable to agreed norms and standards, and the commitments they have made.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Dame Julie Kenny DBE DL appointed Commissioner of Historic England [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Dame Julie Kenny DBE DL appointed Commissioner of Historic England [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 27 February 2023.

    The Secretary of State has appointed Dame Julie Kenny as a Commissioner of Historic England for a term of four years from 1 February 2023 until 31 January 2027.

    Dame Julie Kenny

    Dame Julie Kenny is a successful South Yorkshire based entrepreneur. Following the sale in 2016 of award winning Pyronix Limited which she built from start up in 1986, Julie continues her involvement in serving business and local communities.

    Founding Chair of Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust which is committed to securing a sustainable future for the largest restoration project in the Country. A true Levelling Up project in the North. Julie also Chairs Robson Handling Technology Limited, a NED of AES Engineering, Chair of Maltby Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust Chair of RISC and Joint Chair of SRGP, two national committees dealing with Security, Resilience and Growth for the Defence, Security and Tech UK Sector.

    Julie served as an Intervention Commissioner with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council between 2015 and 2018.

    Julie was honoured in Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June 2019 with a Damehood for her work with heritage. Julie’s CBE in 2002 and Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 2005 were conferred in recognition of her contribution to business in the region. Julie was awarded Freewoman of Rotherham in 2020.

    Julie has 3 grown-up children and had a successful career as a litigation lawyer in local authority and private practice before changing direction and founding Pyronix Limited.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Commissioners of Historic England are remunerated £4,113 per annum. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Dame Julie Kenny has declared no such activity.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Name of new Yorkshire prison revealed [February 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Name of new Yorkshire prison revealed [February 2023]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 27 February 2023.

    The name of the UK’s first all-electric prison has been revealed today by Prisons Minister Damian Hinds.

    • UK’s first all-electric prison named HMP Millsike by public
    • jail to create over 500 jobs in local community
    • naming marks latest milestone in government commitment to create 20,000 modern places

    The new prison – opening in 2025 – will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners who will spend their time behind bars learning the skills they need to find work on release as part of the government’s drive to cut reoffending and keep the public safe.

    HMP Millsike – situated on land opposite the existing HMP Full Sutton – has been named after Millsike Beck, a local river that runs adjacent to the new jail, firmly embedding the prison into its local community.

    The jail will be the first in the UK to run solely on electricity, with solar panels and heat pump technology meaning it will use approximately a quarter of the energy used to heat traditional Victorian prisons such as HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

    This will slash energy costs to taxpayers by over £1 million a year – ensuring the new prison protects both the public and the public purse.

    Prisons Minister, Damian Hinds, said:

    Naming this site puts us one step closer to our new prison playing its vital role in protecting the public and cutting crime.

    This is a vital advancement towards our goal of creating 20,000 modern, innovative places.

    The new infrastructure project is also playing an integral role in boosting the local economy – creating over 500 new jobs within the prison when completed, on top of hundreds more during construction.

    In addition, over 40 per cent of construction orders fall within 50 miles of the site – filling order books for local supply chain businesses.

    Construction firm Kier, leading the way on the building of the jail, is also employing approximately 50 ex-offenders – helping former prisoners turn their back on crime through meaningful work before the prison has even opened its doors.

    Today’s news follows hot on the heels of the opening of HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, Britain’s first ‘smart’ prison which opened last year. Work is also nearing completion at HMP Fosse Way, the new 1,700-place prison set to open in Leicestershire this spring.

    The government has committed to creating 20,000 modern, innovative prison places that rehabilitate offenders and cut crime as part of its ambitious Prisons Strategy White Paper, published last year.

    Further information:

    • The name was agreed upon by the Deputy Prime Minister, who was presented with a shortlist decided by a panel made up of MOJ representatives and local residents.
    • The final shortlist of options was chosen following a 6 week consultation, which involved asking local residents to submit suggestions for what they thought the new prison should be called.