Category: Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak takes action to stop disruptive protests [January 2023]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 16 January 2023.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is backing the police to clamp down on highly disruptive and dangerous protests, under plans announced today.
Through an amendment tabled to the Public Order Bill, the Government will broaden the legal definition of ‘serious disruption’, giving police greater flexibility and clarity over when to intervene to stop the disruptive minority who use tactics such as blocking roads and slow marching to inflict misery on the public.

While the Government has already given police additional powers to prevent protesters using guerrilla tactics, police chiefs have told the Prime Minister that there is some uncertainty over what reaches the threshold of ‘serious disruption’.

The changes introduced today will give police officers absolute clarity over when they should step in. In practice, this will mean:

police will not need to wait for disruption to take place and can shut protests down before chaos erupts

police will not need to treat a series of protests by the same group as standalone incidents but will be able to consider their total impact

police will be able to consider long-running campaigns designed to cause repeat disruption over a period of days or weeks

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

“The right to protest is a fundamental principle of our democracy, but this is not absolute. A balance must be struck between the rights of individuals and the rights of the hard-working majority to go about their day-to-day business.

“We cannot have protests conducted by a small minority disrupting the lives of the ordinary public. It’s not acceptable and we’re going to bring it to an end.

“The police asked us for more clarity to crack down on these guerrilla tactics, and we have listened.”

Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Mark Rowley said:

“The Met has a long history of policing protests, responding quickly and effectively to incidents involving crime and where serious disruption is caused, often in challenging situations. We have specialist officers trained to deal with a range of tactics, but this is complex, time-consuming work.

“It is clearly understood that everybody has the right to protest. Increasingly however police are getting drawn into complex legal arguments about the balance between that right to protest and the rights of others to go about their daily lives free from serious disruption. The lack of clarity in the legislation and the increasing complexity of the case law is making this more difficult and more contested.

“It is for Parliament to decide the law, and along with other police chiefs, I made the case for a clearer legal framework in relation to protest, obstruction and public nuisance laws. We have not sought any new powers to curtail or constrain protest, but have asked for legal clarity about where the balance of rights should be struck.

“I welcome the government’s proposal to introduce a legal definition of “serious disruption” and “reasonable excuse”. In practical terms, Parliament providing such clarity will create a clearer line for the police to enforce when protests impact upon others who simply wish to go about their lawful business.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Public Order and Public Safety, Chief Constable BJ Harrington, said:

“We welcome the constructive conversations with government over more clearly defining serious disruption. This will support officers in confidently and quickly taking action and making arrests where appropriate.

“Policing is not anti-protest, but there is a difference between protest and criminal activism, and we are committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives through dangerous, reckless, and criminal acts.

“Police have a responsibility to appropriately balance the rights of the public who are going about their daily business lawfully and the rights of those protesting.”

The College of Policing have confirmed today that they will produce guidance outlining the additional powers given to officers over the last year.

National Highways is also reviewing its guidance, taking learnings from previous protests to ensure that roads are reopened as quickly as it is safe to do so.

Today’s announcement is the latest step in the Government’s continued commitment to tackle the highly disruptive protests that the British public have been increasingly subjected to over the last few years.

Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, the Government introduced a statutory offence of public nuisance and created powers for the police to place conditions on unjustifiably noisy protests and increased the sentences for obstructing the highway. Measures already announced in the Public Order Bill include creating a new criminal offence for interfering with key national infrastructure and for ‘locking-on’.

The Prime Minister also sat down with the Home Secretary and police chiefs in December to give a clear message that the Government expects protesters who disrupt the lives of others to be swiftly removed and arrested.

Further supportive quotes

Matthew Scott, Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner said:

“When Police Leaders were summoned to No. 10 last month, the Prime Minister made it absolutely clear that the law-abiding public must be protected from disruptive illegal protests. The Prime Minister promised to give policing the powers needed to end disruptive protests faster.

“Today, the Prime Minister has delivered on his promise to PCCs and Police Leaders to aid police forces by clarifying the law governing disruptive protests. This is in addition to the steps the Government has already taken to give policing more powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.

“Kent Police was robust in dealing with these activists during last year’s disruption. This new clarity is welcome and should mean no more excuses from any agency for not clearing up disruption effectively.”

Nick Harris, National Highways’ Chief Executive, said:

“The strategic road network is the backbone of the country, supporting the movement of trade, the daily commute and connecting friends and families, so people have a right to expect it to operate efficiently.

“We’ve already obtained civil injunctions to deter reckless and dangerous protests on these busy roads. When they do occur, our guidance will help keep disruption to a minimum by ensuring that the carriageway is opened as quickly as it is safe to do so.”
16/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK trade deal with Australia will create opportunities for the legal profession [December 2021]

The press release issued by the Law Society on 17 December 2021.

A free trade agreement (FTA) was reached last night between the UK and Australia that reflects the importance of market access for services for both economies, as the UK continues to forge new trade relationships after Brexit.

“The UK-Australia FTA provides certainty and creates opportunities for our legal professions to work together towards smoother trade in legal services, which will make doing business easier for clients,” said Law Society of England and Wales president I. Stephanie Boyce.

“We believe that legal and other professional services should be at the forefront of the UK’s forthcoming trade discussions. Services, and in particular legal services, play an important role in facilitating the globalised market directly and indirectly.

“We are delighted to see this reflected in the articles on legal services and welcome the opportunities this agreement creates for both countries’ legal professionals.

“However, ensuring these opportunities are fully realised will take time. We look forward to continuing to work together with our counterparts for the benefit of both our professions.”

Latest figures show the legal sector contributed £29.6bn to the UK in 2019, equivalent to 1.5% of gross value added (GVA), and posted a trade surplus of £5.6bn in 2020.*

This makes the UK the largest legal services market in Europe – valued at £36.8bn in 2019 – and second only to the US globally.

The FTA responds to the Law Society’s key asks for legal services in trade agreements: greater recognition of qualifications, availability of a larger range of business structures – namely the UK LLP – and eased mobility options.

The agreement confirms the existing right for UK and Australian lawyers to advise clients and to provide arbitration, mediation and conciliation services in the other country’s territory, using their original (home) qualifications and title.

I. Stephanie Boyce added: “Enshrining the right to advise on home-country laws and public and private international law where they’re entitled to practise in their home jurisdiction in the FTA is an important achievement as it recognises the specificities of home title practice in international legal practice, without the need for mutual recognition procedures and/or requalification in the host country.

“Many barriers facing legal services providers are ‘behind the border’ and not suitable for an FTA, such as permitted business structures for law firms.

“However, provisions of the agreement establish and drive collaboration between relevant bodies – including the Law Society of England and Wales and the Law Council of Australia – through a bespoke legal services regulatory dialogue, and will help address some of the barriers that can’t be dealt with in the FTA.

“The FTA also creates new opportunities by providing UK law firms with legally guaranteed access to Australian government contracts for legal services that are covered by the agreement.”

The new agreement will also help legal professionals hoping to provide cross-border services, by making it easier for lawyers to train in Australia.

“Mobility is one of the biggest issues facing our firms. We are pleased to see the agreement comes with several eased mobility options for legal service providers. Companies will be able to sponsor visas committed in the FTA without an economic needs test and there will be no limitations on the number of visas granted to business persons.

“Junior lawyers will also be given greater mobility through unprecedented changes to the UK and Australia’s Youth Mobility Schemes – now available to nationals up to 35 years of age for a stay of up to three years, without having to undertake specified regional work in Australia.

“We will also discuss with the UK government what opportunities may be available for the legal sector in the pilot new visa scheme for UK citizens that allows early career workplace exchanges for graduates.”

The FTA also commits to increasing opportunities for digital trade across all sectors of the economy, while ensuring standards for personal data protection and for legitimate public policy objectives.

Digitisation is already one of the most important factors in the evolution of the legal profession and legal services and will continue to become more so, as reflected in how the profession moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I. Stephanie Boyce added: “Currently, lawyers, law firms and workplaces operating internationally must deal with a regulatory patchwork of data and digital provisions.

“Therefore, provisions – such as those guaranteeing the validity of electronic transactions and contracts – that provide greater clarity and certainty for businesses operating internationally in the digital sector are a welcome development.

“We look forward to continuing to work with government and our counterparts to realise the benefits of the agreement and help our members make use of the new opportunities in the New Year.”

15/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Australia and the United Kingdom Announce Signed Free Trade Agreement [December 2021]

The press release issued by the Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce on 17 December 2021.

The Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce applauded today’s announcement from both Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Dan Tehan MP and Secretary of State for International Trade of United Kingdom, the Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP on the signing of the completed Free Trade Agreement between our two countries.

The Australia – United Kingdom Chamber celebrates today’s historic and remarkable deal which will drive a new era of high-quality, inclusive and expanded trade between Australia and the UK. As the first trade agreement Britain has negotiated from scratch following the announcement of Brexit, today’s signing symbolises the close and trusted relationship between our two countries providing a solid foundation in which businesses and organisations can benefit from the multiplying bi-lateral trade and investment opportunities.

Our Chamber has been highly engaged with both Governments for several years on the deliverance of an Australia – UK FTA. Now that the deal has been finalised, we will continue to work closely on the implementation of the deal with our Members and across our network.

Commenting on the FTA signing, our Chamber Executive Director Joanne Holland said,

“The signing of the free trade agreement is excellent news. The next few months will be devoted to working with our members on how we can effectively implement this historical agreement. We always value your feedback so please do get in touch with suggestions and comments.

We are eager to welcome new businesses to the Chamber network as trade and investment between both nations becomes easier.”

The Chamber has also worked in partnership with our Australian counterpart, the Australian British Chamber of Commerce to ensure the success of the FTA on behalf of our business Members.

Australian British Chamber of Commerce CEO David McCredie OBE said,

“The potential impact is huge. This Free Trade Agreement is one of the most partnerial and ambitious agreements signed by Australia and reflects the strength of historical and ongoing trading ties between the two nations. While we have all heard of the impact on agriculture and trade, our members and I are hugely encouraged by the provisions which address issues of skilled and experienced workers, the growing need to address digital aspects and the potential for cross-border investment.”

15/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK agrees historic trade deal with Australia [June 2021]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 June 2021.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson agrees UK-Australia free trade deal in meeting with Australian PM Scott Morrison in London.
Prime Minister agrees UK-Australia free trade deal in meeting with Australian PM Scott Morrison in London

British cars, Scotch whisky and confectionery will be cheaper to sell in the tariff-free agreement, boosting industries that employ 3.5 million people in the UK

The deal also offers young people the opportunity to live and work in Australia and removes barriers for businesses

PM hails ‘new dawn’ in the UK’s relationship with Australia as leaders also agree to intensify cooperation on security, climate change and science and tech

The UK has secured a trade deal with Australia eliminating tariffs on all UK goods and boosting jobs and businesses across the country, in the first major trade deal negotiated from scratch by the Government since we left the EU.

The main elements of the deal were agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a meeting in Downing Street last night [Monday 14 June]. A final Agreement in Principle will be published in the coming days.

The leaders reaffirmed the enduring partnership between the UK and Australia during their discussion and agreed to work closely together on defence, technology collaboration and tackling climate change – including through a future Clean Tech Partnership.

The new Free Trade Agreement means iconic British products like cars, Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics will be cheaper to sell into Australia, boosting UK industries that employ 3.5 million people across the country. The UK-Australia trade relationship was worth £13.9 billion last year and is set to grow under the deal, creating opportunities for businesses and producers in every part of the UK.

British farmers will be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, using tariff rate quotas and other safeguards. We are also supporting agricultural producers to increase their exports overseas, including to new markets in the Indo-Pacific.

Under the agreement, Brits under the age of 35 will be able to travel and work in Australia more freely, opening exciting opportunities for young people.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Today marks a new dawn in the UK’s relationship with Australia, underpinned by our shared history and common values.

Our new free-trade agreement opens fantastic opportunities for British businesses and consumers, as well as young people wanting the chance to work and live on the other side of the world.

This is global Britain at its best – looking outwards and striking deals that deepen our alliances and help ensure every part of the country builds back better from the pandemic.

The free trade deal will eliminate tariffs on Australian favourites like Jacob’s Creek and Hardys wines, swimwear and confectionery, boosting choice for British consumers and saving households up to £34 million a year.

It will provide benefits across the whole of the United Kingdom, including:

Scotland exported £126m of beverages to Australia in 2020 – this deal will help distillers by removing tariffs of up to 5% on Scotch Whisky.

More than 450 businesses in Wales exported to Australia last year, and life science companies and chemicals manufacturers are set to benefit in particular.

90% of all exports from Northern Ireland to Australia are machinery and manufacturing goods – used extensively in Australia’s mining, quarrying and recycling sectors. Under the new FTA tariffs will be removed and customs procedures will be simplified.

Car manufacturers in the midlands and north of England will see tariffs of up to 5% cut, boosting demand for their exports.

An FTA with Australia is also a gateway into the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region and will boost our bid to join CPTPP, one of the largest free trade areas in the world, covering £9 trillion of GDP and 11 Pacific nations from Australia to Mexico.

Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, said:

This deal delivers for Britain and shows what we can achieve as a sovereign trading nation. It is a fundamentally liberalising agreement that removes tariffs on all British goods, opens new opportunities for our services providers and tech firms, and makes it easier for our people to travel and work together.

The agreement paves the way for us to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a £9 trillion free trade area home to some of the biggest consumer markets of the present and future.

Membership will create unheralded opportunities for our farmers, makers, innovators and investors to do business in the future of engine room of the global economy.

The deal’s ambitious commitments on market access for services professionals, cutting-edge digital provisions and reduced barriers to investment will benefit the UK’s service sector.

The UK exported £5.4 billion worth of services, including £1.4bn of insurance and pension services and £780m of financial services, to Australia in 2020. Red tape and bureaucracy will be torn down for more than 13,000 small and medium sized businesses across the UK who already export goods to Australia, with quicker export times.

Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the agreement in detail once the text is published, along with an impact assessment and explanatory memorandum.

National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, Mike Cherry, said:

A trade deal with Australia will come as great news for many of our members who have long been exporting there as well as those who are hoping to expand their trade ambitions.

As we look beyond the pandemic and enjoy the benefits of post-Brexit growth, deals like this will reap vast rewards to small firms right across the UK. Around 40 per cent of UK small firms who trade internationally do so already with Australia, and a trade deal that could be worth up to £900 million will only increase those numbers.

The inclusion of a small business chapter in this agreement will also ensure that the needs of smaller businesses are fully catered for in the years to come.

CEO of techUK, Julian David, said:

Australia is a key market for the UK technology sector and an important gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region. The free trade agreement announced today has the most advanced digital trade provisions of all the deals the UK has signed so far, opening up opportunities for our innovative businesses operating in emerging technologies, such as AI and cleantech.

The free flow of data provisions and the ban on data localisation will allow our SMEs in particular to explore the market without the cost of having to set up servers. We are looking forward to working with our industry and the government to make sure the sector takes full advantage of these state-of-the-art digital trade provisions.
15/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Improved prison security captures record level of contraband [January 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 15 January 2023.
- even more jails deploy cutting-edge baggage scanners for prison visitors
- measures part of £125 million strategy to clamp down on prison rule breakers and cut crime
Game-changing X-ray body scanners have foiled more than 28,000 attempts to smuggle drugs, phones and weapons behind bars as the war on prison rule breakers picks up speed.

Over the last 2 years, more than 90 new advanced scanners have been installed in all closed male jails, producing high-resolution images of concealed contraband so staff can stop more dangerous items from getting in and causing havoc on prison landings.

This tough new security has captured and confiscated illegal contraband concealed on prisoners including mobile phones, vapes and improvised weapons.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, said:

Our tough new security measures in prisons are putting prisoners back on the straight and narrow. Allied to our renewed drive to get prisoners off drugs for good, we are cutting crime and keeping the public safe.

This new development comes just days after the government announced plans to roll out cutting-edge baggage scanners to 45 prisons across England and Wales. These will check bags brought in by the thousands of staff and visitors who enter prisons every day – cutting off another route of smuggling. Together these measures have kept mobile phones, drugs and improvised weapons out of the hands of prisoners where they would fuel violence and disorder.

The government’s investment of up to £125 million in next-generation prison security measures has also seen the most challenging prisons kitted out with new handheld and archway metal detectors, and more than 150 specially trained drug sniffer dogs.

This investment has created a new team of specialist investigators to clamp down on the small minority of corrupt staff who have no place in the Prison Service.

And to clamp down on the pernicious smuggling of drugs via prison mail, jails have installed over 135 drug trace detection machines that can detect microscopic smears of new psychoactive substances such as ‘spice’ on letters and items of clothing.

These advances deliver on the government’s commitments outlined in the Prisons Strategy White Paper. This will also see the rollout of abstinence-based treatment for prisoners addicted to drugs or alcohol and tougher sentences for terrorist prisoners who break the rules behind bars.
15/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak accelerates Ukraine support ahead of anniversary of Putin’s war [January 2023]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 14 January 2023.
- The Prime Minister has announced the UK will send tanks and self-propelled guns to aid the Ukrainian offensive
- As the first anniversary of the war approaches, the PM has stressed the need for an international strategy to break the stalemate
- This week the Foreign and Defence Secretaries will meet counterparts to galvanise international action
The Prime Minister is set to accelerate the UK’s diplomatic and military support to Ukraine in the weeks ahead in a bid to push Russia further back and secure a lasting peace.

A flurry of UK diplomatic activity will take place across the globe this week after the Prime Minister directed senior ministers to drive international action as we approach the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February.

The Prime Minister has already committed to match or exceed the UK’s defence support for Ukraine in 2023 and he instructed ministers and officials this week to ensure we are being proactive as possible across the full spectrum of our support.

UK defence and security officials believe a window has opened up where Russia is on the backfoot due to resupply issues and plummeting morale. The Prime Minister is therefore encouraging allies to deploy their planned support for 2023 as soon as possible to have maximum impact.

Sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is the start of a gear change in the UK’s support. A squadron of 14 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks after the Prime Minister told President Zelenskyy that the UK would provide additional support to aid Ukraine’s land war. Around 30 AS90s, which are large, self-propelled guns, operated by five gunners, are expected to follow. The Defence Secretary will set out further details of this support in the House of Commons on Monday.

The UK will begin training the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the tanks and guns in the coming days, as part of wider UK efforts which have seen thousands of Ukrainian troops trained in the UK over the last six months.

The Prime Minister has tasked the Defence Secretary with bringing together European allies to ensure the surge of global military support is as strategic and coordinated as possible. The Defence Secretary will travel to Estonia and Germany this week to work with NATO allies and other international partners to this end.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Secretary will travel to the United States later this week to discuss how the UK and US can leverage our position as leading supporters of Ukraine to galvanise further international action.

He will also travel to Canada – another of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters – to discuss closer coordination on international sanctions and our coordinated effort to boost our support to Ukraine.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

As the people of Ukraine approach their second year living under relentless Russian bombardment, the Prime Minister is dedicated to ensuring Ukraine wins this war.

Alongside his closest military advisors, he has analysed the military picture, looked at the strategic impact of the UK’s support and identified a window where he thinks the UK and its allies can have maximum impact.

The Prime Minister is clear that a long and static war only serves Russia’s ends. That’s why he and his ministers will be speaking to our allies across the world in the days and weeks ahead to ramp up pressure on Putin and secure a better future for Ukraine.

In the lead up to the one-year anniversary of the invasion, the Prime Minister will seek to demonstrate the UK’s power as an international catalyst with influence across NATO, the G7, the Joint Expeditionary Force and elsewhere.

He will work with partners to put Ukraine in the strongest possible place to enter future peace negotiations from a position of military, economic and diplomatic strength and secure a strong and lasting peace.
15/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK sanctions Iranian Prosecutor General following execution of Alireza Akbari [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 January 2023.

The UK has sanctioned with immediate effect Iran’s Prosecutor General, following the execution of British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari.

Alireza Akbari was executed by the Iranian regime earlier today – a politically motivated act which underlines this regime’s complete disregard for human life. Iran’s use of the death penalty accelerated in 2022, with a growing number of individuals put to death often after deeply flawed legal processes

Iran’s Prosecutor General, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, is one of the most powerful figures in Iran’s judiciary and responsible for the trial process and the use of the death penalty.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

The Prosecutor General is at the heart of Iran’s barbaric use of the death penalty for political ends. Sanctioning him today underlines our disgust at Alireza Akbari’s execution and our commitment to holding the regime to account for its appalling human rights violations.

While Montazeri has been Prosecutor General, the Iranian regime has also executed 4 individuals in relation to ongoing protests. In response to the brutal crackdown, the UK has imposed more than 40 new sanctions on the regime, including 6 individuals linked to the Revolutionary Courts who have been responsible for prosecuting protestors with egregious sentences including the death penalty.

The sanctions impose an asset freeze and UK travel ban on Jafar Motazeri and send a wider signal on the UK’s commitment to backing condemnation with action.

15/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine [January 2023]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 14 January 2023.

The Prime Minister spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy today.

The leaders reflected on the current state of Russia’s war in Ukraine, with successive Ukrainian victories pushing Russian troops back and compounding their military and morale issues.

They agreed on the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister outlined the UK’s ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems.

The Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Poland’s offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks.

The Prime Minister stressed that he and the whole UK Government would be working intensively with international partners to deliver rapidly the kind of support which will allow Ukraine to press their advantage, win this war and secure a lasting peace.

14/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Far-reaching ban on single-use plastics in England [January 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 14 January 2023.

A range of polluting single-use plastics will be banned in England, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has announced today.

The ban will include single-use plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers. This ban will be introduced from October 2023, allowing businesses time to prepare.

According to estimates, England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery — most of which are plastic — and 721 million single-use plates per year, but only 10% are recycled. If 2.7 billion pieces of cutlery were lined up they would go round the world over eight and a half times (based on a 15cm piece of cutlery).

From October, people won’t be able to buy these products from any business – this includes retailers, takeaways, food vendors and the hospitality industry. Over 95% of those who responded to our consultation were in favour of the bans, the Government’s response, published today (Saturday 14 January 2022), reveals.

Plastic pollution takes hundreds of years to break down and inflicts serious damage to our oceans, rivers and land. It is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, from the production and manufacture of the plastic itself to the way it is disposed.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

We all know the absolutely devastating impacts that plastic can have on our environment and wildlife. We have listened to the public and these new single-use plastics bans will continue our vital work to protect the environment for future generations.

I am proud of our efforts in this area: we have banned microbeads, restricted the use of straws, stirrers and cotton buds and our carrier bag charge has successfully cut sales by over 97% in the main supermarkets.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

Plastic is a scourge which blights our streets and beautiful countryside and I am determined that we shift away from a single-use culture.

By introducing a ban later this year we are doubling down on our commitment to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. We will also be pressing ahead with our ambitious plans for a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and consistent recycling collections in England.

It is expected that banning these items will have a significant impact in reducing plastic waste and littering in England. Plastic cutlery, for instance, was in the top 15 most littered items in the country by count in 2020.

Previous bans, such as banning straws, stirrers and cotton buds, have reduced the damage from these plastics. Before we banned these products, it was estimated straws, stirrers and cotton buds collectively contributed to around 5.7% of marine litter. After our ban, the Great British Beach Clean 2021 reported cotton bud sticks had moved out of the UK’s top ten most common beach litter items.

The Government is also carefully considering further measures around other commonly littered and problematic plastic items, including wet wipes, tobacco filters and sachets, following the call for evidence on this issue.

Future steps that could be explored include banning plastic in these items, and mandatory labelling on packaging to help consumers dispose of these items correctly. A new research project will also look into the impact of wet wipes on blockages in the sewage system, and will inform any future policy actions.

The ban will not apply to plates, trays, and bowls that are used as packaging in shelf-ready pre-packaged food items, as these will be included in our plans for an Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme – which will incentivise producers to use packaging that can be recycled and meet higher recycling targets. For example, this would include pre-packaged salad bowls and bowls filled with food at the counter of a takeaway.

Matt Hood, Co-op Food MD said:

We have been at the forefront of eradicating unnecessary plastic, so it is encouraging to see this ban being introduced and we have already removed plastic cutlery from our food to go, offering wooden forks instead. We were the first retailer to ensure all of our own brand food and drink packaging is 100% recyclable through our in store soft plastic recycling scheme, with all the soft plastics returned being processed in the UK.

I welcome today’s announcement, and believe we must all continue to work together if we are to combat the climate emergency, and have an environment we are proud to pass on to future generations.

Richard Swannell, interim CEO of WRAP, said:

We are in full support of this announcement by Defra, which marks important progress in the wholesale removal of problematic and unnecessary plastics that can end up as plastic pollution. WRAP is working with UK businesses to meet ambitious targets in this important area, and our latest results show an 84% reduction in problematic and unnecessary single use plastics by our UK Plastics Pact members since 2018.

We’re delighted to see these efforts being backed up by regulation, which will accelerate efforts to keep plastic out of the environment.

These plans build on our previous efforts to eliminate avoidable plastic waste, including:
- One of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products announced in 2018
- Restrictions on the supply of single-use plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds in 2020.
- Plastic Packaging Tax in April 2022 – a tax of £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.
Following the huge success of the 5p single-use carrier bag charge, in May 2021 we also increased the minimum charge to 10p and extended it to all retailers, taking billions of bags out of circulation.

Through the Environment Act, the Government is bringing in further measures to tackle plastic pollution and litter. This includes a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers to recycle billions more plastic bottles and stop them being landfilled, incinerated, or littered via a small deposit on drinks products to incentivise people to recycle, and plans for Consistent Recycling Collections for every household and business in England.

Plastic pollution is a global issue and we are committed to working with international partners to tackle it. As such, the UK was proud to support the ambitious resolution at the United Nations Environment Assembly that kickstarted negotiations for a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution.
14/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK supports Ukraine’s initiative for a just and sustainable end to this war [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 January 2023.

Ambassador Barbara Woodward speaks at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Thank you President. And I join others in thanking Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo for her briefing and welcoming among us H.E. Dzhaparova, the First Deputy Foreign Minister, and H.E. Gerwel, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs.

This is our first meeting on Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine since the 9th of December last year. Many of us have spent the time since then resting, recuperating, celebrating with family and preparing for the New Year.

Russia has spent that time bombing civilians, attacking Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, and attempting to seize Ukrainian territory –– as it did for most of last year.

Russia has continued to do this with the assistance of Belarus, and using weapons sourced from Iran and North Korea in violation of Security Council resolutions and with utter contempt for this Council.

President, millions of Ukrainians spent the holiday period sheltering from missile and drone attacks, sitting in the dark and the cold, and living as refugees, displaced persons, and prisoners; many of them thousands of miles away from their homes, families and loved ones.

As the Secretary-General said yesterday, this war has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatised a generation of children and accelerated the global food and energy crisis.

As a result, millions more across the world are facing another year of hunger and hardship caused by Russia’s war.

President, as many of us have said repeatedly, Russia can choose to end all this immediately: by stopping its attacks against Ukraine – not just for thirty-six hours, but for good – and by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine.

While Russia’s assault continues, however, Ukraine has no choice but to exercise its right to defend itself.

But, like the rest of us, what Ukraine wants is a just and sustainable peace. We support Ukraine’s initiative to this end.

We join the international community in again calling for an end to the war, which respects Ukraine’s rights under international law and the UN Charter, so that this year, may be a year of peace.

14/01/2023