The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2022.
The Prime Minister spoke to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this morning, following the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
The leaders spoke about the fondness felt for Her Majesty The Queen, both in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and shared their condolences.
The Prime Minister also expressed her sincere condolences for New Zealand after the capsize of a boat off the coast of the South Island in recent hours.
The tribute made by Andrea Leadsom, the Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.
It was strange to wake up on this first day without our much loved and hugely respected Queen Elizabeth II. There is a sense of personal loss as well as shock. Somehow, her long years of service, commitment and duty felt as if they would never come to an end. As one of the older members of my family told me just this morning, things have changed so much in her and our lifetime, and sometimes we feel hopelessly out of date and rather uncomfortable. She was our figurehead, and for that we are truly grateful.
The Queen’s reign was somehow timeless. I listened back this morning to her first televised Christmas broadcast in 1957, and then to her broadcast to the nation during covid. Queen Elizabeth II provided continuity right from the post-war years, through 15 different Prime Ministers—from Sir Winston Churchill to my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss)—to the extraordinary heart-warming royal digital performances with James Bond and Paddington Bear. For me, her handbag will now always contain a marmalade sandwich.
I always remember being sworn in as a Privy Councillor. It was on the same day as my right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson). We were given the usual briefing on how to kneel on a footstool with our right hand by our side and our left hand holding a bible. My right hon. Friend and I looked at one another and asked, “What! What if you fall off your footstool?” We were told, very straight-faced, “Don’t worry, the Queen will find it very amusing,” which we did not find reassuring, but luckily, it did not happen.
As Lord President of the Council during the hung Parliament of 2017 to 2019, I had the honour of regular audiences with the Queen ahead of Privy Council meetings. On those occasions, I was always struck by the warmth of the welcome and the frankness of the conversation. The Queen was always interested to hear updates on the progress of legislation and on the mood of the House. She was very well informed and quite challenging at a time of extraordinary events, from Brexit and Donald Trump’s visit to behaviour scandals here in Westminster.
Once a year, the Leaders of the Commons and the Lords would be invited to Windsor castle for lunch with the Queen and Prince Philip. Those occasions felt quite overwhelming, but at the same time, after a pre-lunch drink in the sitting room, we got into a conversation about how well the restoration of Windsor castle was going—presided over by Prince Philip—compared with our own efforts to restore the Palace of Westminster, and Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and I were soon distracted as we sought to defend the indefensible.
A happy memory for me is going to Sandringham one January for Privy Council, with log fires burning and the Queen’s corgis pottering around. I recall the Queen saying what a very busy Christmas she had had, and I suggested that at least her family did not need to pause Christmas lunch for the Queen’s speech, at which she told me that they most certainly did. Like all of us, her family had paused lunch to watch the Queen’s speech, and Princess Charlotte had run over to the TV screen and said, “Look, there’s Gan-Gan!”—very heart-warming.
At each audience it would strike me anew that Privy Council meetings were just one of the Queen’s many daily duties, and that her cheerfulness and her twinkling eyes were a constant. Truly, she was a monarch who put the comfort of others above herself, and she never faltered in her promise to spend her life devoted to service. As we have prayed every day in this place that Queen Elizabeth II,
“may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way”,
so I believe we can now pray with confidence that,
“after this life she may attain everlasting joy and felicity, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Queen Elizabeth II spent her life building relationships in our nation, our Commonwealth and across the world. In her achievements we can all take comfort, and know that as the Crown passes to our new King, we will have the example of her legacy to unite us in loyal allegiance to her successor, King Charles III. God save the King.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 September 2022.
The Prime Minister spoke to Taoiseach Micheál Martin this afternoon.
The Taoiseach shared Ireland’s sincere condolences with the Prime Minister following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, and reminisced about her momentous visit to Ireland in 2011.
The Prime Minister thanked the Taoiseach for his condolences, and the leaders agreed Her Majesty The Queen had played a central role in healing divides and bringing people together.
The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.
Following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, all official flags, including the Union Flag, should be half-masted from as soon as possible today until 08.00 the day following The Queen’s State Funeral. Flags may be flown overnight during this period but should remain at half-mast.
Official flags in this instance are defined as national flags of the home nations, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, Ensigns and Ships’ colours.
Any non-official flags flying or due to be flown, such as the Rainbow Flag or the Armed Forces Day Flag, should be taken down and replaced with a Union Flag at half-mast. Other official flags scheduled to be flown can be flown as normal, but at half-mast.
Half-mast means the flag is flown a third of the way down the flagpole from the top, with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the flagpole.
On poles that are more than 45° from the vertical, flags cannot be flown at half-mast and should not be flown at all.
The Union Flag must be flown the correct way up – in the half of the flag nearest the flagpole, the wider diagonal white stripe must be above the red diagonal stripe. Please see the College of Arms website
The Royal Standard is never flown at half-mast even after the death of a monarch, as there is always a Sovereign on the throne and it would therefore be inappropriate for it to fly at half-mast. The Union Flag will be flown at half mast on all Royal Residences.
The only exception to half-masting during this period of mourning is on the day of the Accession Council on 10 September when His Majesty The King is formally proclaimed. The Union Flag and all other official flags should be raised to full mast between the hours of 09:00 and 10:30 and remain at full mast until 13:00 the following day, at which time the Union and official flags should return to being flown at half mast.
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 8 September 2022.
The Prime Minister spoke to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this morning.
The leaders shared their condolences following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, and agreed she had touched the lives of many, both in Australia and the UK.
The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 9 September 2022.
We recognise that many people will travel to Buckingham Palace and other Royal Residences as a mark of their respect. We expect large crowds, which can pose risks to public safety. Those who do travel are asked to follow any instructions given to them by stewards and the police.
We expect significant crowding and delays on some public transport. The public should check ahead and plan accordingly.
As you would expect a number of organisations will now be making practical preparations including contingency planning for the State Funeral and related events. Access to some areas, especially in central London, will be restricted, with road closures and diversions that will cause delays to vehicles and pedestrians.
Those who wish to lay floral tributes near Royal Residences in London, Windsor, Edinburgh, Balmoral, Hillsborough Castle and Sandringham are asked to do so only in designated areas, as directed by stewards. Further details will be made available shortly.
The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 8 September 2022.
The 24th Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference, hosted by the Ministry of Defence and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), has concluded today.
Bringing together representatives from governments across the world, the annual conference enables crucial conversations on the demilitarisation of chemical weapons.
99% of declared chemical weapons stockpiles have been destroyed and the conference brings together global experts to discuss progress, share experiences and lessons, and to co-operate in eradicating existing chemical weapons and addressing outstanding challenges.
Delivering the keynote speech of the conference, Baroness Goldie condemned Russia’s illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, recognising the continued threats around the use and retention of chemical weapons, and the need to hold those responsible to account.
As we mark the 25th anniversary of the Chemical Weapons Convention, it is right to acknowledge the major achievements in that time. However, as recent events have shown, the threat of chemical weapons remains very real, and we must not become complacent.
As we embark on the next 25 years of the Chemical Weapons Convention, we must continue with energy and passion to work together to do all we can to uphold it.
On the progress being made with the Chemistry and Technology Centre and the work of Conference Ambassador and Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fernando Arias, Baroness Goldie added:
The work being led so resolutely by the Director General is nothing short of impressive. From the Verification Regime to the Global Partnership Agenda, we must be proud of these collective achievements.
I am equally pleased with the progress of the Chemistry and Technology Centre, which will enhance the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ technical and scientific capacity and improve facilities for training; the UK has contributed almost £900k to the construction of the Centre and remains willing to provide expert technical support.
A wide range of topics were covered, with sessions focused on emerging risks and potential solutions to combat chemical weapon threats, as well as new disposal systems and neutralisation methods.
Current global events underscore that preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons is an agenda that will always remain open after the end of the period of destruction.
For the sake of future generations, it is our responsibility to build on the gains already accomplished under the resilient multilateral framework of the Chemical Weapons Convention. And in the interest of humankind, it is our further responsibility to strengthen the ban that has proven so robust for so long.
The Minister also acknowledged and applauded the crucial work of scientific, technical and policy experts that strive to make the world safe from chemical weapons.
As joint hosts of the conference, Dstl plays a lead role in support of global demilitarisation and has an ongoing programme disposing of current and historic chemical weapons.
Over the years with combined international efforts and investment in science and technology we have provided the solutions to allow the safe destruction of stockpiles. I’m immensely proud of the role of our world-class experts in Dstl, the Ministry of Defence, and our international partners are playing to create a safer future free from chemical weapons.
The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997, banning chemical weapons, and requiring states parties to destroy any existing stockpiles. In 1998 the first Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation conference was held, and this has continued to be hosted annually by the MOD and Dstl.
The Convention requires global cooperation to affect lasting change, as highlighted by chemical weapon attacks including in Russia on Mr. Alexey Navalny in 2020, in Salisbury in the UK in 2018, and the numerous chemical weapon attacks by the Assad regime in Syria.
I congratulate the conference organizers and participants for coming together at such a critical time globally. The threats posed by chemical weapons continue to grow and the norms against use continue to atrophy. We must come together to reverse this trend.
The press release issued by the Treasury on 8 September 2022.
The Chancellor has asked the Cabinet Secretary to begin the recruitment process for a new Permanent Secretary to the Treasury to succeed Tom Scholar, who has left his post as Permanent Secretary after 6 years, and will leave the Civil Service after 30 years of dedicated service.
During his time in the Civil Service, Tom has advised successive Prime Ministers and Chancellors on international and economic issues, served as the UK representative at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, played a leading role in dealing with the banking crisis of 2007 to 2009, and led the Treasury through the Covid pandemic.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, said:
“Tom has been a dedicated and exceptional civil servant and I thank him for his exemplary service to the Government and the country for the past 30 years.
“He’s helped steer the Treasury and the Government through many economic challenges, from the financial crisis to the Covid pandemic, and he leaves the Civil Service with the highest distinction.”
The Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, said:
“Both personally, and on behalf of the whole civil service, I would like to thank Tom for his remarkable public service and leadership.
“Tom has been a steadfast and loyal colleague to so many of us – and we will be forever grateful for his wise advice, generosity, humour and decency.”
Tom Scholar said:
“The Chancellor decided it was time for new leadership at the Treasury, and so I will be leaving with immediate effect.
“It has been the privilege of my career to lead this great institution since 2016. I wish the Treasury all the best for the times ahead, and I will be cheering on from the sidelines.”
A successor will be appointed shortly. In the interim, Beth Russell (Director General Tax and Welfare) and Cat Little (Director General, Public Spending) will lead the department as Acting Permanent Secretaries.
![PRESS RELEASE : Plans to end the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) programme [January 2011]](https://www.ukpol.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/education-150x111.png)
The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 January 2011.
MPs will today vote on the Government’s plans to end the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for 16- to 18-year-old pupils in education or training. Colleges, schools and training providers will receive an enhanced discretionary learner fund so that they can target pupils most in need of financial support to stay in education post-16.
A Department spokesperson said:
Already 96 per cent of 16-year-olds and 94 per cent of 17-year-olds participate in education, employment or training. We are committed to going further still, to full participation for all young people up to the age of 18 by 2015.
EMA is a hugely expensive programme, costing over £560 million a year with administration costs amounting to £36 million. Pilot evidence and more recent research from the National Foundation for Educational Research found that almost 90 per cent of young people receiving the EMA believed that they would still have participated in the courses they were doing if they had not received it.
Young people currently receiving the EMA will continue to receive it for the rest of the academic year. However, they will not receive it next academic year.
Currently £26 million per year is given to schools, colleges and training providers as a discretionary leaner support fund to enable them to make small payments to those young people who are most likely to drop out of education without support. After the EMA is abolished this fund will be significantly increased.
EMA costs £560 million a year in England and is paid to 650,000 young people – 45 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds in full time education. Around 80 per cent of those receive the highest rate of £30.
In England there were three income thresholds based on household income as follows:
The deeply worrying state of the public finances has meant we have had to make some tough decisions. Having looked at all the facts it was decided at the time of the spending review that the EMA scheme had to be replaced.
EMA costs over £560 million per year with administration costs amounting to £36 million. The Government believes it must target its resources to those most in need.
Research commissioned by the last Government shows that almost 90 per cent of young people receiving the EMA said that they would still have participated in the courses they were doing if they had not received it (Barriers to Participation in Education and Training, the Department for Education, published 24 June 2010). It also shows that finance only stops a minority (four per cent) from doing what they want to do after leaving school.
The same research also showed that the majority of young people (86 per cent) do not face any barriers that stop them from doing what they want to do at the end of Year 11.
We are significantly increasing the £26 million learner support fund to help those most in need. This money is properly targeted to those who most need it and is distributed by individual colleges and schools who are on the ground and know the circumstances of their students far better than the Government does.
We recognise that transport costs in some areas can be expensive. Local authorities have a statutory duty to make sure that no young person in their area is prevented from attending education post-16 because of a lack of transport or support for it. If that duty is not being met then young people and families need to raise this with the local authority in the first instance.
A new root and branch review of all school transport will start shortly and look at all these issues.
The press release issued by the Department for Education on 14 January 2011.
Michael Gove today formally confirmed that Dr Elizabeth Sidwell, the highly respected headteacher and chief executive of the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation of schools, will be the new schools commissioner.
Following this week’s school performance tables there are now 216 secondary schools and 962 primary schools below the floor standard. Michael Gove will now challenge local authorities and schools to build on their current work and produce robust improvement plans to turn around schools which are underperforming. Many will benefit from becoming academies, and Dr Sidwell will engage with schools, local authorities and potential sponsors so that more academies replace schools that are underperforming. Her role will be to:
Welcoming Dr Sidwell to her new post, Education Secretary Michael Gove said:
There are few people in the education world with the pedigree and quality of Elizabeth Sidwell. She has been at the forefront of education policy for over 20 years, first as head of the brilliantly successful Hatcham College, one of the most popular schools in the country, and more recently taking on underperforming schools through the Academy programme.
She will be an excellent schools commissioner, using her credibility and knowledge to go round the country, speaking to local authorities, and challenging them and their schools to come up with robust plans for improving.
I know that Elizabeth will be fair, but not shy away from recommending strong solutions, such as academy status, to those schools who are not making good enough progress.
There are still too many schools below the floor target, and the Government will not blink when it comes to standing up for the rights of children to get a better education.
Dr Sidwell said today that:
It is a tremendous honour to be schools commissioner for England. After 20 years of running schools I am very excited at the prospect of working at a national level to help drive something that all of us want to see – more good schools for all of our pupils, regardless of their background.
I know how great the challenge is in some areas. I know how dedicated and hardworking teachers are across the country – desperately trying to improve their schools. I want those teachers to know that I’m on their side.
However, I will not shy away from confronting failure, and I will be honest when I don’t think schools are improving fast enough. My direct experience of transforming a good school to great, turning round a seriously failing school, transforming primaries and setting up a new school means I am not asking anyone to do what I, and others across the country, have not already done.
The Coalition Government introduced new floor standards for schools in November’s Schools White Paper. These new standards, which are higher but fairer than previous targets, require schools to be above certain attainment levels and also have pupils making at least average progress between Key Stage levels in English and mathematics. For secondary schools the new attainment target is 35 per cent of pupils getting five GCSEs at A* to C including English and mathematics, and in primary schools the requirement is 60 per cent of pupils achieve level 4 in English and mathematics at Key Stage 2.
The schools commissioner post was created in the 2006 Education and Inspections Act, and was formerly held by Sir Bruce Liddington.
Dr Liz Sidwell is currently chief executive of the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation in South London. She was formerly principal of Haberdashers’ Hatcham College in Lewisham, which was rated outstanding by Ofsted. It is also one of the most oversubscribed schools in London, with 12 applications for every place. In 2005 Dr Sidwell led the federation of Hatcham College with the Mallory School, an underperforming school, which became Haberdashers’ Knights Academy. Since becoming part of the federation, results have risen by over 30 percentage points from a start of less than 7 per cent of pupils getting five or more good GCSEs, and Ofsted has said the school is ‘a rapidly improving school that provides a good education for its students’.