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PRESS RELEASE : United Kingdom Minister David Rutley MP visits Belize [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 September 2023.

The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Minister for the Americas and Caribbean visits Belize.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Minister for the Americas & the Caribbean, David Rutley MP, will arrive in Belize on 4 September 2023. This visit underlines the strong bilateral ties and values shared by Belize and the United Kingdom.

During his visit, Minister Rutley will meet the Prime Minister of Belize, Honourable John Briceño, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration, Honourable Eamon Courtenay.

The Minister will also visit BATSUB (British Army Training Support Unit Belize) to see their jungle training and attend meetings with civil society to discuss gender, women and girls and climate.

The Minister’s visit will culminate with Coastal Plain Highway, where he will see the recently completed climate-resilient infrastructure supported by the UK, through UKCIF (UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund) funding.

Acting High Commissioner to Belize, Kate Reynolds, welcomes the Minister’s visit and stated:

I am delighted to welcome Minister Rutley on his first visit to Belize, where he will be engaging with some of our partners as we continue the work towards shared goals on climate change, protection of biodiversity, security, gender and investment.

04/09/2023
NEWS STORY : Education Secretary States that “Others Sat on Their Arse” on School Concrete Crisis

STORY

Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, has said following an interview that “does anyone ever say you’ve done a good job because everyone else has sat on their arse and done nothing? Any sign of that, no?” Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has earlier denied responsibility for the crisis and stated that he made funding available when Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The BBC reported that Downing Street condemned the conduct of the Education Secretary, starting that she was “completely wrong”. Keegan has yet to issue a statement on the comments from Downing Street.

RESOURCES

Rishi Sunak Interview with Sky News on Concrete Crisis

EXTERNAL LINKS

BBC News Story

04/09/2023
NEWS STORY : List of Culture Ministers in the UK (1997-2023)
- Chris Smith (1997-1999)
- Tessa Jowell (1999-2001)
- Chris Smith (2001-2004)
- Tessa Jowell (2004-2007)
- Andy Burnham (2007-2009)
- Ben Bradshaw (2009-2010)
- Jeremy Hunt (2010-2016)
- Karen Bradley (2016-2018)
- Matt Hancock (2018-2018)
- Jeremy Wright (2018-2019)
- Nicky Morgan (2019-2020)
- Oliver Dowden (2020-2021)
- Nadine Dorries (2021-2022)
- Michelle Donelan (2022-2023)
- Lucy Frazer (2023-present)
The current Culture Secretary of State is Lucy Frazer. She was appointed on September 6, 2023.
04/09/2023
NEWS STORY : PSNI Police Chief Constable Simon Byrne Announces Resignation

STORY

The BBC has reported that Simon Byrne, the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has announced his resignation. He was appointed to the role in June 2019, but there have been a number of controversial events which have taken place in the force including a substantial data loss and two officers being unlawfully disciplined. Byrne had refused to stand down over recent days, but his resignation was accepted today following a meeting of the Policing Board.

Despite the recent challenges, Byrne has been praised by many for his commitment to policing in Northern Ireland. He has spoken out against sectarianism and violence, and since taking over the role, he has worked to build relationships between the PSNI and the communities that it serves. He has also been a vocal advocate for the rights of victims of crime. Byrne will leave the role on December 31, 2023.

EXTERNAL LINKS

BBC News Story

04/09/2023
Rishi Sunak – 2023 Interview on Failing Concrete in Schools

The interview broadcast by Sky News with Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 4 September 2023.

RISHI SUNAK

New information came to light relatively recently and it’s important that once it had that, the Government acted on it as swiftly as possible. Of course, I know the timing is frustrating, but I want to give people a sense of the scale of what we’re grappling with here. There are around 22,000 schools in England and the important thing to know is we expect that 95% of those schools won’t be impacted by this. Around 50 schools have already been mitigated, another 100 are in the process of being so and our expectation is that in a matter of weeks the bulk of the remaining schools that will have this issue will be identified as well. Also, important context to know that in many cases, this could be limited to as a single classroom, for example, and so people should have a sense of the scale of what might be happening as well.

INTERVIEWER

The former Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education has said this morning that when they wanted to put more money into repairing schools, you as Chancellor didn’t allow that to go ahead and, in fact, cut that budget. Are you to blame for what’s happening now and you want to apologise to parents?

RISHI SUNAK

That is completely and utterly wrong. Actually one of the first things I did as Chancellor, in my first spending review in 2020, was to announce a new 10 year school rebuilding programme for 500 schools. Now that equates to about 50 schools a year that will be refurbished or rebuilt. If you look at what we’ve been doing over the previous decade, that’s completely in line with what we’ve always done, about 50 or so schools a year, refurbished or rebuilt. That’s what I announced as Chancellor in my first Spending Review. On top of that, I also invested 5 billion pounds to help our kids catch up with lost learning from COVID, the education recovery programme, that you’ll remember at the time, that was rightly a priority of the country to help our kids who’ve been disrupted by COVID with extra tutoring, for example, to help them catch up and that cost 5 billion pounds, which I invested in as Chancellor.

INTERVIEWER

But the former Permanent Secretary said 50 schools a year, yes, but they asked that they had funding initially for 100. They thought the total number that needed to be done per year was 300 to 400. Prime Minister, you talk a lot about trade offs, but isn’t this simply a trade off that if you choose to save money in this area and don’t put as much money into repairing schools as senior officials ask, then you run the risk of them having to shut down because of a risk of them falling down?

RISHI SUNAK

Well, if you look at what we’ve been doing over the past decade, we’ve been rebuilding or refurbishing about 50 schools a year. As Chancellor, I announced a new 10 year programme to refurbish and rebuild 500 schools over the decade, completely aligned with what historically we’ve done in this country. On top of that, I announced record funding for schools not just to help catch up our children with lost learning, 5 billion pounds it was an enormous amount invested in the largest ever tutoring programme that this country has seen, that was seen rightly at the time as the priority. Our kids’ learning had been hugely disrupted by COVID, it was important that we helped them catch up, particularly the most disadvantaged pupils were the ones that were impacted the most. So I thought it was right also to invest in that, as alongside just increasing the day to day schools budget back to the record levels that we had seen previously. Taken together there has been a very strong investment in schools and now we’re getting on with mitigating the issues that we’re seeing today in a way that will help children quickly get back into the classroom.

INTERVIEWER

And just finally on those mitigations. Can you promise that schools will get all the money they need on things like transport to new classrooms, or other costs to make sure that in the schools that are impacted, kids can go on learning in person and we won’t have a return to remote learning that we saw during the COVID pandemic?

RISHI SUNAK

The Chancellor has been crystal clear that schools will be given extra money for these mitigations, it won’t come from their existing school budget, there will be extra money to the school so the school budget won’t be impacted by this. They will be given the extra money to deal with the mitigations, and again, just for context is our expectation is 95% of schools won’t be impacted by this and then the 50 or so schools that have already been mitigated. What we’ve seen is in the majority of cases, children continue to go to school, they’re taught elsewhere on the school estate, and for those that do have to be home that on average, it’s been just for about six days or so. So hopefully people can get a sense that we can work through this relatively swiftly and we want to minimise disruption on kids’ learning.

04/09/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Statement following Transport Secretary’s latest meeting with aviation industry on air traffic control disruption [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 1 September 2023.

Transport Secretary meets with aviation industry ahead of next week’s NATS report into air traffic control failure.

This afternoon (1 September 2023), the Transport Secretary Mark Harper chaired another meeting regarding Monday’s air traffic control failure with NATS, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), airlines, airports, trade bodies and Border Force.

He thanked the sector for their work to get operations back to normal and fly affected passengers to their destinations following the incident.

He noted the failure came during one of the busiest weeks of the year for aviation and that airlines have taken every step possible to increase capacity where possible, including adding extra flights and putting on larger aircraft.

Speaking after the meeting, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

Airlines have reported that most customers affected by Monday’s air traffic control failure have reached their destinations and I’m grateful for the steps taken by the industry to help make this happen. The government continues to support those efforts in any way we can.

On Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority will receive NATS’ initial report into the incident, which the Aviation Minister and I will study with interest. Any next steps will be set out after the initial findings are published later in the week.

All parties are working hard to understand the incident and make sure passengers don’t face this kind of disruption again, and I will be supporting them in this effort.

NATS is currently undertaking a preliminary investigation into the technical failure. In line with the established regulatory processes, a report will be sent to the CAA on 4 September 2023 and shared with the Secretary of State for Transport shortly afterwards. The findings will be published by the CAA later in the week.

04/09/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Communities urged to apply for funding to save local institutions [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on 1 September 2023.

Community Ownership Fund opens again for applications, giving local people the chance to seize back control of prized community assets.

Pubs, community halls, gardens, sports clubs and other treasured locations across the UK can benefit from up to £2 million in government funding each through the Community Ownership Fund, which is open again for applications.

The fund gives local people the chance to save prized community assets that are at risk of being lost forever, and keep them open for future generations to enjoy.

To encourage as many applications as possible and make the process easier, the money available for applicants has doubled to £2 million, and the amount organisations need to match fund has decreased from 50% to 20%.

Minister for Levelling Up Dehenna Davison said:

We want to ensure that the community institutions which are a vital part of our social fabric, like pubs and sports clubs, can continue to play a central role in towns and villages across the UK.

By doubling the funding that organisations can receive, we are giving communities better opportunities and safeguarding the incredible local assets that are at their heart.

The Department for Levelling Up’s £150 million fund has already helped 150 community assets get back on their feet since it launched in July 2021. Recently, Bury FC played their first game since 2019 at the historic Gigg Lane stadium after fans were given £1m from a previous funding round to help them buy the ground.

Another project which benefited from £240,000 investment from the fund is Zion Bristol, a community hub that provides spaces for local people to meet and for groups to deliver vital services such as mental health and dementia support groups. Since receiving funding, the centre has been bought by a group of local residents, and now has seven paid staff members as well as a group of dedicated volunteers.

Emma Moore, Zion Bristol Centre Manager, said:

We’re proof that you can save an asset. We’re an area where things are always being taken away and not being replaced.

It’s a big boost for the local community that we can affect change and save assets – it’s an empowering thing.

So far, the Community Ownership Fund has awarded £36.9m to projects across the UK, with £25.5m allocated to 97 projects across England, £5.2m allocated to 24 projects in Scotland, £3.2m to 15 projects in Wales and £3m to 14 projects in Northern Ireland.

Applications for the latest window are open until 11.59am on 11 October 2023.

04/09/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Grant Shapps appointed as new Defence Secretary [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 1 September 2023.

The Rt Hon Grant Shapps has been appointed Secretary of State for Defence by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said:

It’s a huge honour to be appointed as Defence Secretary. I pay tribute to my predecessor, Ben Wallace. His steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine is matched only by his ongoing commitment to our own brave armed forces, and their families.

I look forward to continuing the government’s unwavering support to Ukrainians at this important time for European and global security, and working with our armed forces who closely defend our nation’s security.

Permanent Secretary David Williams said:

On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, I was pleased to extend a warm welcome to our new Secretary of State for Defence, Grant Shapps MP. He brings extensive knowledge and experience from his previous Cabinet roles, including as a Foreign Office Minister, and most recently the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and from his membership of the National Security Council.

The department and I look forward to working with the new Defence Secretary on his priorities for defence as we uphold our commitment to protecting our nation and contributing to its prosperity.

Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said:

I welcome our new Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. My message to him is that the nation is safe thanks to the extraordinary commitment of our servicemen and women, and our place within NATO, the world’s largest and strongest defensive alliance.

This Coronation year has demonstrated how much the Armed Forces contribute to our nation, and we are ready to do more. I look forward to working with the Secretary of State to both learn and implement the lessons from Ukraine, and to continue our journey to become more lethal, faster at deploying, and to embrace technology at scale.

The biography for Grant Shapps can be found on gov.uk here.

04/09/2023
PRESS RELEASE : £15 million funding to strengthen health workforce in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 September 2023.

UK delivers multi-million pound boost in Africa to strengthen health workforce and build resilience against global threats.
£15 million from government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget allocated to support healthcare workforces in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana

Funding will help upskill staff and improve health outcomes through improved administration, data collection, and training and retention opportunities

Supporting a strong international health workforce better equips UK to tackle global health challenges

The UK will provide a multi-million pound boost to support healthcare staff recruitment and retention in 3 African countries – Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana – supporting resilience against global health challenges.

Fifteen million pounds from the ring-fenced Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for 2022 to 2025 will be committed to optimise, build and strengthen the health workforce in the 3 African countries. Recognising the importance of the health workforce in lower and middle-income countries in improving health outcomes and achieving universal health coverage, the funding will give people in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana access to the full range of health services they need, when they need it.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for the UK to co-operate closely with international partners to tackle global health threats, which put considerable pressure on the NHS. The pandemic also resulted in workforce retention pressures around the world, while the demand for healthcare staff has increased. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a shortage of 10 million health workers globally by 2030, which threatens achieving global universal health coverage and could worsen worldwide health inequalities.

Addressing critical workforce challenges is key to strengthening health systems and building global resilience against future pandemics so people across the world – including in the UK – can be protected.

Health Minister Will Quince said:

Highly skilled, resilient staff are the backbone of a strong health service, so I’m delighted we can support the training, recruitment and retention of skilled health workforces in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

This funding aims to make a real difference in strengthening the performance of health systems in each of the participating countries, which will have a knock-on effect on boosting global pandemic preparedness and reducing health inequalities.

The pandemic showed us that patients in the UK are not safe unless the world as a whole is resilient against health threats, and this will help us in delivering on that ambition.

Six million pounds from the ODA funding pledge will support WHO to deliver health workforce planning and capacity-building work – such as improved administration systems, and training and retention opportunities – in collaboration with local governments and health system stakeholders.

As part of this package, the Department of Health and Social Care will also run a £9 million 2-year competitive grant scheme for a not-for-profit organisation to co-ordinate delivery of partnership work in participating countries.

The partnership programmes for the health workforce include linking UK institutions with local health systems, promoting skills exchanges, and improving the curriculum, regulation and guidance in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

The delivery co-ordinator will be responsible for setting up, funding and overseeing this work to drive improvement in quality and retention of healthcare staff in the 3 countries, and ultimately help to ensure better outcomes for patients.

The funding builds on £5 million previously committed as part of the Building the Future International Workforce ODA programme in Ghana, Uganda and Somaliland, which aims to improve health workforce planning and management, provide training opportunities for refugees and displaced people, and link NHS institutions with country health institutions.

Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana were chosen for the ODA award as they showed a clear need for workforce support, evidenced by high population mortality rates and low staff numbers, as well as unemployment among their trained health workers.

Update 1 September 2023

As part of the £15 million Global Health Workforce Programme announced on 19 May 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care ran a £9 million 2-year competitive grant scheme for a not-for-profit organisation to co-ordinate delivery of partnership work in participating countries.

The partnership programmes for the health workforce include linking UK institutions with local health systems, promoting skills exchanges, and improving the curriculum, regulation and guidance in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

The grant competition closed on 23 June 2023, and 3 applications were received and assessed. The Department of Health and Social Care is pleased to announce that the grant has been awarded to the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET).

The Tropical Health and Education Trust will be responsible for setting up, funding and overseeing this partnership work to drive improvement in quality and retention of healthcare staff in the 3 countries, and ultimately help to ensure better outcomes for patients.

About the Tropical Health and Education Trust

THET is a global health organisation with a vision of a world where everyone has access to healthcare. For 35 years, it has been working to achieve this by training and educating health workers in Africa and Asia in partnership with organisations and volunteers from across the UK.

Founded in 1988 by Professor Sir Eldryd Parry, it is the only UK charity with this focus. From reducing maternal deaths in Uganda to improving the quality of hospital care for injured children in Myanmar, they work to strengthen local health systems and build a healthier future for all. In the past 10 years alone, THET has reached over 100,000 health workers across 31 countries in Africa and Asia in partnership with over 130 UK institutions.

For more information, visit the THET website.
04/09/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Lord Chancellor calls on graduates to become prison officers [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 1 September 2023.

More than 750 graduates have now swapped university halls for prison walls as demand for the Unlocked Graduates scheme reached new heights.
- demand for prison officer graduate scheme soars
- 750 graduates recruited through Unlocked Graduate scheme
- Lord Chancellor met new recruits as largest ever recruitment drive gets underway
Unlocked Graduates, which encourages the best and brightest university leavers to become prison officers, is now receiving 30 applications per place on average. Since the scheme launched in 2016, successful candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds have worked with 20,000 prisoners in 37 prisons across England and Wales.

Speaking at the Summer Institute event for trainees at Leeds Trinity University on Tuesday (29 August 2023), the Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk, thanked new officers for their hard work which will help protect the public and drive down the £18 billion a year cost of reoffending.

The rise in applications is in part due to the positive reputation of the programme – 100 per cent of participants who complete feedback surveys rated the training as good or above and 100 per cent of Governors that Unlocked work with want another cohort.

Earlier this month new statistics showed the overall number of prison officers has increased by 700 since June last year. They will join up to 5,000 extra officers in private and public prisons by the mid-2020s being recruited through the Prison Service’s largest ever recruitment drive and a major campaign beginning later this year.

The campaign comes on top of a recent 7% pay rise for frontline officers to reward current staff for their vital work. The increase adds to a major boost in starting salaries in recent years, which now stands at £30,902 compared to £22,293 in 2019.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk KC, said:

Becoming a prison officer is a hugely important and rewarding career, protecting the public and changing lives for the better.

It is encouraging to see so much talent joining our prison service, and we will build on this by continuing to improve pay and by launching our largest ever recruitment drive.

A brand-new cohort of more than 100 aspiring prison officers attended the event marking the end of a 6 week intensive training programme, preparing them for their first day on the prison wings. This is the first step of a wider two-year Graduate Development Programme.

When they arrive on prison landings the recruits will be doing more than just ensuring safety and security, many will support prisoners into employment which is vital in breaking the cycle of crime. Thanks in part to the hard work of prison staff, the number of ex-offenders who have been successfully steered into jobs within 6 months post release has more than doubled from 14% to 30% since April 2021.

As a result of programmes such as Unlocked Graduates, being a prison officer is an attractive graduate profession in the UK alongside more traditional careers such as teaching or law.

Natasha Porter OBE, Founder and CEO of Unlocked Graduates, said:

Since 2017, Unlocked Graduates has recruited, trained and supported over 750 high-flying graduates to become prison officers relentlessly focused on reducing reoffending.

High quality prisons with excellent prison officers make our streets and society safer. We want to make sure the best people join the prison service. Through our graduate programme, top talent can develop incredible leadership skills while working to reduce crime. It’s fantastic to see so many people are competing for a place on Unlocked Graduates, and I continue to be very excited about the impact the incredible people who join our programme are able to have. We can only achieve this level of success thanks to the support of the Ministry of Justice, and we are hugely grateful to the Lord Chancellor for visiting our training.

Former Unlocked Graduate Kat Gartland added:

Before I came across Unlocked, I’d never considered a career in the prison service. Now, I can’t see myself doing anything else.

Every day I know I am contributing towards breaking cycles of reoffending and helping those in my care. Applying for Unlocked Graduates was the best decision I’ve made – I got the chance to develop as a leader from day one, alongside a master’s and lifelong friends. I’d encourage everyone to apply.

Participants in the programme are supported and developed through intensive mentoring and a programme of study that results in a Master’s degree. They complete this while taking on the full duties of a frontline Band 3 Prison Officer. Graduates also have the opportunity to input into policy and create lasting change across prisons.

To learn more about the Unlocked Graduates scheme and apply, visit Unlocked Graduates (unlockedgrads.org.uk). For wider information on the role of a prison officer, go to https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/prison-officer.
04/09/2023