Category: Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE : Paul Sweeney appointed as Interim Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 7 August 2023.

The Secretary of State has appointed Paul Sweeney as the Interim Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund. This interim appointment has been made while the process for a substantive Chair is completed.

Paul Sweeney

Appointed for a 12 month period from 1st August 2023 or until a substantive Chair is appointed, whichever is sooner.

Paul has a wealth of experience working in the voluntary, community and public sectors in Northern Ireland. From 1987 to 1994 he was the Director of the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, which supported community-based self-help initiatives.

He joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) in 1994, initially on secondment, as an adviser on community development and reconciliation. Throughout his subsequent career in the NICS he held a number of senior positions including Deputy Secretary in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, Permanent Secretary in the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure and Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education.

Since retiring from the NICS in 2017 Paul has undertaken trustee roles in a number of not-for-profit organisations involved in regeneration, culture and young people. On 1 June 2021, Paul was appointed Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund’s Northern Ireland Funding Committee.

Remuneration and Governance Code

The Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund is remunerated at £40,000 per annum. The interim appointment of Paul Sweeney was made by the Secretary of State as an exceptional appointment without competition, following consultation with the Commissioner for Public Appointments, in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.

The Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared; this is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Paul Sweeney has not declared any significant political activity.

August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Secretary of State hails ‘incredible’ work of K9 Search and Rescue Team [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Northern Ireland Office on 7 August 2023.

The Secretary of State met the K9 Search and Rescue dogs and their handlers at the Northern Ireland Office’s headquarters in Belfast.

Secretary of State, Chris Heaton Harris MP, has praised the efforts of the K9 Search and Rescue dogs and their handlers following a meeting at the Northern Ireland Office’s headquarters in Belfast.

Mr Heaton-Harris personally thanked the team for the work they do to highlight the issue of missing people in Northern Ireland and further afield, and heard more about the services they provide to those in need.

The Secretary of State hailed the “incredible” and “vital” actions of the dogs and their handlers.

August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 7 August 2023.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has burst onto Edinburgh Castle’s famous esplanade this weekend, for another August full of music and spectacle.

The world-famous military show, which started on Friday, this year features the Royal Air Force as the lead military service, with two RAF bands, the King’s Colour Squadron and a large contingent of RAF personnel in support of the show – front and back of house, and a series of flypasts on eight nights of the show’s three-week run, which ends on 26 August.

As always, the spectacular backdrop of the ancient garrison of Edinburgh Castle allows the cast members to perform at their very best in front of the 8,800 audience members who will see the show live every evening this year.

The perennial favourites at the Tattoo, which is a complement to the military bands in the show, are the Massed Pipes and Drums, which this year is made up from The Pipes and Drums of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the 1st Battalion The Irish Guards, The Royal Air Force Pipes and Drums and those of The Combined Scottish Universities’ officer Training Corps, along with some civilian Pipes and Drums from Australia.

The military bands of the Royal Marines (Scotland) will join the RAF bands this year.

As well as the UK contingents, there is a good showing of acts from around the world including the Band of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, The Swiss Armed Forces Central band, His Majesty the King’s Guard Band and Drill Team from Norway and the United States Air Force Band.

The Tattoo also provides a backdrop for essential military engagement with other militaries and governments. This year will also see a wide range of NATO and other allied military guests who will have the honour of taking the salute from each of the acts, as they finish their performances. Guests this year include military personnel from Germany, Japan and the USA.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is the oldest and most famous military show in the world and has been an annual fixture at the ancient castle since 1950, when it was originally designed to be the Armed Forces in Scotland’s contribution to the Edinburgh International Festival. It has since become a “festival” in its own right, with a live audience of 230,000 and a global television audience of over 1 billion viewers in 40 countries, including China, the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Taxi driver’s attacker, Georgia Nicholson, jailed after court intervenes [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 7 August 2023.

A woman who permanently blinded a taxi driver in one eye after a frenzied attack with her high heels has been jailed for three years.

Georgia Nicholson (23) from Coleshill, West Midlands, has had her suspended sentence quashed by the Court of Appeal after the Solicitor General referred the original conviction as being unduly lenient.

The court heard that on 15 December 2018, the victim was driving Nicholson and a group of her friends home following a night out.

The group had been drinking heavily and when the victim stopped the car as a passenger felt sick, he was subjected to racial abuse before being violently attacked.

Nicholson, who was 18 at the time, repeatedly tried to hit the victim with her high heels before rupturing his eyeball – leaving him permanently blind in his right eye. Members of the public had to intervene to stop Nicholson’s assault.

The Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC MP said:

The victim has suffered life altering injuries and lost his livelihood following the offender’s frenzied and unprovoked attack against someone who was just doing his job.

The court has rightfully recognised the offender’s brutality in this case and by upgrading the original suspended sentence to jail time should serve as a warning to others that violence like this will not be tolerated.

On 30 May 2023 Nicholson was sentenced to 24 months’ custody, suspended for 2 years, with 10 days of rehabilitation activity after she was charged with Causing Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent.

On 4 August 2023, the Court of Appeal increased Nicholson’s sentence to 3 years’ imprisonment after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Art from Wales and the Midlands to be showcased around the world [August 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 7 August 2023.

Works of art by contemporary artists from Wales and across the Midlands are to be displayed in embassies and government buildings around the world.
- Government Art Collection acquires more than 30 new pieces of art
- Artists include Jason Wilsher-Mills, Marlene Smith and Iwan Lewis
- Part of Art X-UK programme to collect works by exciting British artists for display in more than 125 countries
Works of art by contemporary artists from Wales and across the Midlands are to be displayed in embassies and government buildings around the world.

More than 30 new pieces have been acquired by the Government Art Collection (GAC) this year as the first instalment of a five-year drive to ensure it reflects creative talent from across the entirety of the UK.

The new works showcase the diversity of talent in Wales and the Midlands, including the work of Jason Wilsher-Mills from Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

Wilsher-Mills uses digital technologies such as iPads and Wacom tablets to allow him to produce large-scale detailed paintings, despite the physical challenges he faces living with chronic polyneuropathy.

He is well-known for leading community projects and has worked collaboratively with thousands of children and adults around the country to produce his work.

GAC has acquired two photographic pieces from Birmingham’s Marlene Smith and is discussing the acquisition of work from Keith Piper. Both are founder members of the Blk Art Group in Wolverhampton in 1979.

It has also collected prints by Farwa Moledina, who is based in Birmingham, which explore Muslim identities by creating rich patterns that often take the form of large, cloth-based installations.

One of the Welsh artists to be showcased is Iwan Lewis whose paintings draw on his experience of moving back to Ynys Môn, the island of Anglesey, North Wales, after living in London for 10 years. His work explores the history and mythology of these ancient landscapes as well as the impact of tourists to the region.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said:

We benefit from an incredible breadth of artistic talent in this country, and I’m delighted that more works from Wales and the Midlands are being added to the Government Art Collection as part of our drive to include the work of talented artists from every part of the UK.

Being in the Government Art Collection means these works can be admired and enjoyed by a global audience — sharing the artistic brilliance of the UK with people all over the world.

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies said:

It’s great to see the work of Welsh artists showcased around the world in the Government Art Collection. We have a rich heritage of Welsh artists stretching back to the wonderful landscapes painted by Richard Wilson in the 18th century, to the art of Augustus and Gwen John, and into the 20th century with celebrated artists such as Kyffin Williams.

And that tradition is being continued with our vibrant contemporary art scene in Wales. Congratulations to Manon Awst, Nigel Hurlstone and Iwan Lewis whose work will now be seen by a new diverse global audience.

Last year, GAC, which is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), launched a five-year acquisitions programme to procure works from exciting talent and showcase the best of British creativity – promoting further interest in the country’s globally renowned creative sector.

The Art X-UK project initially ran as a successful pilot scheme in 2020–21 when more than 90 pieces by 45 contemporary visual artists were acquired for the Collection.

These works are now on display in government buildings around the country and internationally in British embassies and residences including Paris, Ankara, The Holy See in Rome, and 10 Downing Street.

Later this year GAC will work with the Contemporary Visual Arts Network in the North East of England and the Scottish Contemporary Art Network to identify more talented artists from these regions to be featured in the Collection.

Paula Orrell, CVAN England, National Director said:

CVAN is delighted to be working with the Government Art Collection over the next five years. Art X-UK is a significant opportunity to support the profile of artists across England. Our networks are especially concerned with putting forward artists that perhaps curators may have yet to encounter.

Marlene Smith, artist said:

It means a great deal to me to have these works, which celebrate my Windrush-era parents, enter such an important collection for the nation.

Farwa Moledina, artist said:

I’m really delighted to be part of such a respected and recognised collection, and to represent Britain’s Muslim population through my work.

Notes to editors

In 2022–23, GAC worked in partnership with the Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN) in East and West Midlands, and Visual Arts Group Wales (VAGW). Each network convened a panel of artists and curators who proposed a shortlist of artists from the region or nation for the GAC team to research. Artists whose work was acquired are:

West Midlands:
- Abdulrazaq Awofeso
- Vanley Burke
- Farwa Moledina
- Marlene Smith
- Keith Piper
Wales:
- Manon Awst
- Nigel Hurlstone
- Iwan Lewis
East Midlands:
- Jason Wilsher-Mills
- Miranda Smart
X-UK acquisitions programme 2022–27:
- 2022/23 – Wales, East Midlands and West Midlands
- 2023/24 – Scotland, North East
- 2024/25 – Northern Ireland, North West
- 2025/26 – Wales, Yorkshire, East
- 2026/27 – Scotland, South East, South West
August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Tripling of fines for those supporting illegal migrants [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Home Office on 7 August 2023.

Fines are to be more than tripled for employers and landlords who allow illegal migrants to work for them or rent their properties.

Fines are to be more than tripled for employers and landlords who allow illegal migrants to work for them or rent their properties, in the biggest shake up of civil penalties since 2014, the Home Secretary announced today (Monday 7 August).

The civil penalty for employers, which was last increased in 2014, will be raised to up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach from £15,000, and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches from £20,000.

For landlords the fines will increase from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier for a first breach to up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier. Repeat breaches will be up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier, up from £500 and £3,000 respectively. The higher penalties will come in at the start of 2024.

Later this year the Home Office will consult on options to strengthen action against licensed businesses who are employing illegal workers.

Since the start of 2018, almost 5,000 civil penalties have been issued to employers with a total value of £88.4m. Meanwhile, landlords have been hit with over 320 civil penalties worth a total of £215,500 in the same period.

Minister for Immigration Robert Jenrick said:

Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings. Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue.

There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties.

Illegal working and renting are significant pull factors for migrants crossing the Channel, where people smugglers will often use the promise of jobs and housing to lure people into making these journeys. Increasing fines will deter employers and landlords from engaging in these illegal and dangerous practices, further deterring people from attempting to come to the UK illegally.

It also undercuts honest employers, puts vulnerable people at risk of exploitation, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment and defrauds the public purse as the businesses and workers do not pay taxes.

Employers and landlords should already be checking the eligibility of anyone they employ or let a property to. There are a number of ways to do this, which are not changing, including via a manual check of original documentation and a Home Office online checking system. The online check takes only 5 minutes.

Today’s announcement follows the government’s crackdown on illegal working and renting after it launched a taskforce and re-introduced data sharing with the financial sector to stop illegal migrants from accessing bank accounts earlier this year.

The cross-government ministerial Taskforce on Immigration Enforcement ensures every available power across government is utilised to support law enforcement activity to identify and reduce illegal migrants in the UK, and ensures only those eligible can work, receive benefits or access public services.

Immigration enforcement activity has been stepped up with visits including those targeting illegal working, now at their highest levels since 2019, up 50% on last year. We have already arrested more people in 2023 than during the whole of 2022 as a result of this activity.

August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : New Permanent Secretary appointed to Northern Ireland Office [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 7 August 2023.

Julie Harrison confirmed as the new Permanent Secretary to the Northern Ireland Office.

The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister, has announced the appointment of Julie Harrison as the new Permanent Secretary to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO). Julie Harrison replaces Madeleine Alessandri who left the post in July to become the new Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee and Head of the Joint Intelligence Unit.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, said:

I am delighted Julie has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary to the Northern Ireland Office. She is an outstanding civil servant, has a passion for the place and will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the post.

The NIO has some of the most dedicated and hard working civil servants I know, all of whom are committed to making a positive difference and to delivering for all the people of Northern Ireland.

Julie will play a central role in supporting them and in guiding the department to realise its vision for Northern Ireland: to make it a better place to live, to work and to invest. I look forward to welcoming Julie to the NIO and to working together.

The Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, said:

I would like to congratulate Julie on her appointment. Julie brings a wealth of experience from her time in the Northern Ireland Civil Service and I look forward to working with Julie in her new role as Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office.

I would also like to thank Madeleine Alessandri for her excellent leadership of the department over the last three years and Dominic Wilson for steering the department over recent weeks.

Commenting on her appointment, Julie Harrison said:

I am looking forward to working with the Secretary of State, the team in the NIO and a wide range of community, business and political voices to create solutions that enable Northern Ireland and the people who live here to prosper”.

Ms Harrison is expected to take up her new post in September.

August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Natalie Daniels appointed as a Board Member to Sport England [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 7 August 2023.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Natalie Daniels as a Board Member of Sport England for a term of three years.

Natalie Daniels

Appointed from 07 August 2023 until 06 August 2026.

Natalie has been committed to building sustainable and inclusive communities throughout her career. As an urbanist, Natalie has worked in the UK, the USA, Africa and Asia delivering a variety of major programmes, and has won multiple awards for this work. Currently a senior public servant in regional government, Natalie is proud to lead a team committed to improving the lives of Londoners through housing delivery, specialist and supported housing services, and housing policy. An experienced board member, she has had the privilege of serving charities working across housing, homelessness and international development.

The leadership, energy and collaborative spirit Natalie brings to all her work she believes was built through her sporting escapades. She had the pleasure of playing – and coaching – football, rugby league and rugby union to respectable levels. As well as having the scars to show for her sporting experience, it has also given her a deep understanding of the immense benefits of exercise to individuals and communities.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Remuneration for these roles is set at £218 per day. 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. Natalie Daniels has not declared any significant political activity.

August 8, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Launch of Alderney Occupied website [August 2023]

The press release issued by the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation on 7 August 2023.

Launch of website to accompany the review of evidence into the number of prisoners who died on the Channel Island of Alderney during the Nazi occupation.

Today (7 August 2023), the United Kingdom’s Post Holocaust Issues Envoy and Head of UK Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Lord Eric Pickles announced the launch of a website detailing the Nazi occupation of Alderney.

The website www.occupiedalderney.org is an accompanying part of the review, launched on 27 July, of evidence into the number of prisoners who died on the Channel Island of Alderney during the Nazi occupation.

The website will showcase the latest cutting-edge research and will in due course highlight key documents relating to the Nazi occupation of Alderney which are residing in archives.

The website will also be the place where the latest research and evidence can be found on the number of people, including Jews, Spanish, Ukrainians and Russian prisoners of war, who died through the Nazi policy ‘extermination through labour’ (Vernichtung durch Arbeit) in the construction of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall.

The launch of this website reiterates our commitment to transparency. It contains information on prisoner biographies and the latest research on the camps, their regimes, and their histories. We encourage those with additional archival material and estimates of the numbers of dead to contact us at ukhmfsecretariat@levellingup.gov.uk

The website is supported by the University of Cambridge, Staffordshire University, and the UK government.

Lord Pickles said:

The website is part of our commitment to transparency. It gives a good overview of the latest published evidence and provides a further opportunity for people who have evidence to contact us. It is a work in progress with new entries planned. The website also offers an opportunity to read the latest research and documents related to the occupation of Alderney.

I thank Professor Caroline Sturdy-Colls and Kevin Colls from Staffordshire University for sharing their latest research on the Nazi occupation of Alderney and getting the website off to such a strong start. I also thank Dr Gilly Carr from the University of Cambridge for seeing through the project from IHRA recommendation to the development of the website.

Professor Caroline Sturdy-Colls and Kevin Colls MSc, Staffordshire University said:

We hope that this website will provide an important resource for anyone interested in the history of the Nazi Occupation of Alderney and the places that were connected to the forced and slave labour programme. Most importantly, we hope that the website will help to increase awareness of the stories of some of the people who lived, worked, and died there between 1941 and 1945.

Dr Gilly Carr, University of Cambridge said:

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to see one of IHRA’s recommendations for Alderney, made in 2019, come to fruition. It is enormously important that local people and visitors to Alderney, as well as researchers further afield, have reliable and peer-reviewed sources of information about the island’s German occupation heritage.

Nearly all information about these sites is either scattered in archives across Europe or is under the soil, accessible only through archaeology. This website brings all these things together and provides cutting edge research to all. It also provides lesson plans for schools. I am sure it will prove to be a valuable resource.

August 7, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : New tech partnership to stop the boats [August 2023]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 6 August 2023.

Partnership with social media companies to clamp down on people smugglers’ operations online.
- Illegal crossings remain down on last year and returns are at their highest level since 2019
- Extra funding and resources for law enforcement to tackle harmful content
A voluntary partnership between social media companies and government will accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online, such as criminals sharing information about illegal Channel crossings, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced today [Sunday 6th August].

It comes as new figures show the government continues to make progress on the Prime Minister’s plan to stop the boats: crossings remain down on last year, the legacy asylum backlog has been reduced by a third since December 2022, and enforced returns of people with no right to be in the UK are at their highest level since 2019.

While figures from the NCA show that over 90% of online content linked to people smuggling is taken down when social media companies are notified, the partnership between tech firms and government will drive forward efforts to clamp down on the tactics being used by criminal gangs who use the internet to lure people into paying for crossings.

This content can include discount offers for groups of people, free spaces for children, offers of false documents and false claims of safe passage – targeting vulnerable people for profit and putting people’s lives at risk through dangerous and illegal journeys.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

To stop the boats, we have to tackle the business model of vile people smugglers at source.

That means clamping down on their attempts to lure people into making these illegal crossings and profit from putting lives at risk.

This new commitment from tech firms will see us redouble our efforts to fight back against these criminals, working together to shut down their vile trade.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

Heartless people smugglers are using social media to promote their despicable services and charge people thousands of pounds to make the illegal journey into the UK in unsafe boats.

They must not succeed.

This strengthened collaboration between the National Crime Agency, government and social media companies will ensure content promoting dangerous and illegal Channel crossings doesn’t see the light of day.

The partnership will build on the close working already in place between government and social media companies, and includes a range of commitments to explore increased collaboration.

Under this initiative, social media companies will look to increase cooperation with the National Crime Agency to find and remove criminal content and step up the sharing of best practice both across the industry and with law enforcement.

The voluntary partnership also includes a commitment to explore ways to step up efforts to redirect people away from this content when they come across it online. This approach is already widely being used successfully by platforms, for example around harmful content promoting extremism or eating disorders, where people are presented with alternative messages to displace, rebut or undermine the damaging content they searched for – diverting them away from harmful messaging and misinformation.

Alongside the partnership, the government will also set up a new centre led by the National Crime Agency and Home Office to increase the capacity and capability of law enforcement to identify this content on social media platforms.

Known as the ‘Online Capability Centre’, backed by £11m funding, its work will focus on undermining and disrupting the business model of organised crime groups responsible for illegal crossings and using the internet to facilitate these journeys by intensifying efforts to combat their online activity.

The centre will be staffed by highly trained technical specialists alongside law enforcement officers and will work by building a clearer picture of the scale of illegal immigration material online. They will work with internet companies to identify more of this material, notifying platforms so they can take the appropriate action. The centre will also focus on developing and building a bank of intelligence around the criminal networks who are promoting people smuggling services online, which will help improve law enforcement’s ability to identify content and in turn help drive investigations.

To harness the potential of new technology such as AI to clamp down on criminals’ content, government will also hold a ‘hackathon’ event with industry experts in order to develop innovative new tools which will better detect people smugglers’ publicly available content online, to help social media companies take it down more quickly.

Government will also intensify the existing work taking place with social media companies ahead of the Online Safety Bill coming into effect.

Once in force, under the Bill social media companies will be required to make sure their systems and processes are designed to prevent people coming into contact with illegal content created by people smugglers, minimise how long this content is available online and remove it as soon as possible once they become aware of it.

Alongside this, the Bill also requires major platforms to publish annual transparency reports setting out what they’re doing to tackle online harms. This could include information around how content around illegal migration is spread across platforms, how frequently it is uploaded, and what systems and processes companies have in place to deal with this kind of content.

The partnership confirmed today also builds on the work of the “Social Media Action Plan”, a voluntary agreement between the Home Office, National Crime Agency and five major social media platforms in 2021 to increase understanding of how organised criminals used their platforms to promote illegal services.

To date, this cooperation has seen more than 4,700 posts, pages or accounts have been removed or suspended as a result, increasing disruption of organised crime groups’ activity, and today’s partnership will drive further progress.

Stopping the boats is one of the Prime Minister’s top five priorities and the government is fully focused on delivering his whole system plan to tackling illegal migration. This includes:
- stepping up law enforcement activity, with 50% more illegal working visits carried out in the first half of this year compared to the first half of last year
- tackling the legacy asylum backlog, which has reduced by nearly a third since the end of December
- passing the Illegal Migration Act which will ensure that people who come to the UK illegally will be detained and swiftly removed.
Working with international partners to tackle this global challenge is another key strand of efforts to stop the boats, and since taking office the PM has secured new agreements with allies, including strengthened partnerships with France and Albania which will see 40% more patrols on French beaches, and have resulted in a 90% drop in Albanian small boat arrivals in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
August 6, 2023