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Tag: 2018

  • Philip Hammond – 2018 Speech at Davos

    Below is the text of the speech made by Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in Davos on 25 January 2018.

    Over the years, Professor Schwab has had a knack of expressing the tone for the year ahead with his Davos theme.

    In 2010, ‘Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild’ was apt as countries and companies looked to move on from the financial crisis.

    Last year, in the aftermath of the American Presidential elections and the referendum results in the UK, we convened under the banner ‘Responsive and Responsible Leadership’.

    And this year, as the global economy gains momentum, but societal divides and geopolitical uncertainty remain, we discuss how we go about “creating a shared future for the fractured world”.

    Because the fact is the global economy enters 2018 with more momentum than I can remember for a decade.

    The IMF has yet again revised up its global growth prospects.

    Equities are hitting new highs.

    Business confidence is buoyant.

    And we are seeing the broadest synchronised global recovery since 2010, with the IMF estimating that 120 economies saw a pickup in growth last year.

    But despite this, political uncertainty persists.

    And there is an abiding sense that the benefits of economic growth and technological advances are not being shared by all.

    So in the past, where Davos has been the place to proclaim the rewards of globalisation and the fruits of free trade and open borders.

    Today, as winners and losers are more polarised than ever before.

    World leaders and business people have a duty not only to make the case all over again.

    For the societal benefits of the continued cross-border flow of ideas, goods and services, people, and capital.

    Of the technological revolution.

    And for sound money and the modern market economy.

    But to help to ensure that those benefits are genuinely delivered to all our people.

    In the UK we have heard this debate loud and clear.

    It was a feature of the election campaign last year.

    And of course it was a key driver behind the Brexit vote in 2016.

    I’ll say a few words about some of the challenges we face this year to ensure we get Brexit right.

    And then I’ll say a bit about how we look beyond Brexit and make a success of the opportunities provided by the new economy.

    When I spoke at this lunch last year, the UK was yet to trigger Article 50.

    The idea of a transition period had hardly surfaced.

    Since then, we have made significant progress in the negotiations, on issues from citizens’ rights, to our financial settlement.

    And in December, we reached that magic point of “sufficient progress” that has allowed us to move onto the second phase of the negotiations.

    But yet, two weeks ago, when I was in Berlin addressing leaders from across business, government and the media.

    I was surprised to find myself still being asked whether Britain’s decision to leave the EU was reversible.

    So let me be clear.

    Britain will be leaving the European Union on 29th March 2019.

    This decision is not going to be reversed.

    That’s a statement of political reality.

    The challenge now is not to debate the merits or otherwise of that decision.

    It is about how we forge a new relationship between Britain and the EU, that best supports the interests of the British and the European people.

    That backs business, and safeguards jobs.

    And preserves the shared European values that we all hold.

    And that’s where we need people to focus their energy now.

    I welcomed Carolyn Fairbairn’s speech on Monday this week.

    For the contribution it made to the ongoing debate.

    And its focus on securing the closest possible future relationship between the EU and the UK, post Brexit.

    Because while economies across the EU are recovering, this is no time to be complacent.

    None of our European economies are so strong that we can afford to be exposed to any unnecessary economic, fiscal, or financial stability risks.

    And despite the enormous progress that we have made, it right to recognise that the process of the UK moving from membership of the EU to a future and different relationship with the EU, has the potential to present such risks.

    And, notwithstanding the progress that we’ve made, there is still a residual risk of an outcome that does not deliver what we want – to promote jobs and prosperity across this continent.

    The EU27 exports more goods and services to the UK than to any other country, and 43% of UK exports go to other countries in the EU.

    More than twice as many Euros are traded in the UK as in all the 19 Euro area countries combined.

    60% of all UK trade with the EU is conducted through the ports of Calais and Dover.

    Which underlines the importance of a customs arrangement with the EU, that protects free and frictionless trade.

    And avoids significant disruption at the choke points that the ports of Calais and Dover represent.

    And avoids any physical border infrastructure on the island of Ireland.

    Because I agree with Carolyn that those who have suggested the Irish border can be kept open by establishing a customs border in the Irish sea are only shifting the issue, rather than solving it.

    I also agree with Carolyn that an off-the-shelf deal – whether “Canada” or “Norway” – is not the right option for either Britain or the EU.

    The existing models won’t work; because we are trying to do something which is literally unique in the history of trade agreements.

    Because we start from a position of high levels of bilateral trade in goods and services.

    Deeply interconnected economies and supply chains.

    Highly aligned regulatory systems.

    And unparalleled cooperation in security and defence.

    So instead of doing what we’re normally doing in the trade negotiations – taking two divergent economies with low levels of trade and trying to bring them closer together to enhance that trade

    We are taking two completely interconnected and aligned economies with high levels of trade between them, and selectively, moving them, hopefully very modestly, apart.

    And so we should be confident of reaching something much more ambitious than any free trade agreement has ever achieved.

    Something that properly reflects the 45 years that we have spent as members of the EU bringing our economies closer together, and the common regulatory starting point that follows from that experience.

    But, as I know people in this room are very much aware, the UK will leave the EU on 29th March 2019. That’s in just over 14 months time.

    And businesses and people in the UK and across the EU need to know very soon how we get to the end state.

    They need to have confidence that there will be a smooth and orderly path to the new arrangements, rather than a disruptive and dangerous cliff edge.

    That is why we agreed in December the principle of a time-limited Implementation Period of around two years after we have left the European Union.

    Where Britain will be outside of the EU Customs Union and the Single Market, but during which we will replicate the effects of both.

    With reciprocal access to each other’s markets.

    And harmonised customs arrangements, ensuring a frictionless border.

    So that business can continue, pretty much as before.

    And so that businesses only have to make one set of adjustments during the whole process of the UK’s departure from the EU

    Recognising, as we clearly do, the obligations that will continue during such an implementation period.

    And we should look to the March European Council to confirm the detail of this agreement.

    Giving further clarity and certainty to UK and European businesses.

    Of course, achieving progress on the Implementation Period and the future partnership negotiations is of vital importance to the UK economy in the short term.

    And it is my current absolute priority as Chancellor…

    But the long-term future of Britain’s economy is about much more than Brexit.

    As you have heard me say before, and will hear me say again.

    We are on the brink of a technological revolution.

    And you don’t have to be in Davos to experience it.

    Artificial intelligence is transforming our hospitals.

    Robotics is remodelling our supply chains.

    Big data is revolutionising our public services.

    And this time it isn’t just British Universities doing the inventing and the discovery, it is British business and industry.

    Leading the innovation, the development, and the commercialisation.

    Pioneering a revolution that will transform the global economy and the way we live and work.

    And that has the potential to dramatically increase people’s living standards – through delivering a significant upgrade in our productivity.

    This is critical to the future of the UK economy.

    And it’s critical to addressing the societal challenges to which I have already referred.

    Because it cannot be right that it takes a British worker until Friday evening to produce what a German worker has produced by Thursday afternoon.

    And the technological revolution we are embarking upon gives us the perfect opportunity to change all that.

    It is said that robotics in manufacturing and IT have already improved global productivity by 0.4 to 0.6% per year.

    Other studies have suggested that artificial intelligence could double economic growth rates in advanced economies by 2035.

    And this isn’t all about virtual reality and driverless cars.

    Ocado already uses AI to forecast demand for 50,000 items.

    Meaning the suburban middle classes is already blazing the trail for artificial intelligence – the fourth industrial revolution in Britain.

    But there are those who watch this gathering technological revolution with some concern.

    Where people in this room see driverless cars and robotics as opportunities, others, perfectly rationally, see them as threats to their living standards and their employment prospects.

    And our job, as leaders in government and industry, is to ensure that individuals, firms, and the whole economy are able to reap the benefits of this the new technology, and manage the disruption that it will bring.

    At the level of the individual, people must feel that technological change will make them better off, not unemployed.

    So not only must we ensure that people have the skills to maintain their employability through the change, we must ensure that they benefit from it in higher earnings.

    In other words – returns from the greater productivity delivered through new technology cannot just go to capital, they must flow to labour too.

    So that, as this year’s Davos theme implies, the “proceeds of technological change” as we might call them, are spread to the many – not just concentrated in the hands of the elite few.

    And it is not only workers who will be challenged.

    At the firm level, new technology will have significant implications as intermediaries become redundant and business models are challenged.

    Technology-enabled platforms will bring consumers and suppliers together directly in delivering services from finance to communications, to healthcare, and disrupting existing market structures and supply chains.

    And at a macro-economy level, this technological revolution will connect billions of people and businesses around the world.

    Rendering geographical distance an increasing irrelevance for the delivery of services.

    While at the same time reducing the significance of labour cost (and perhaps the significance of economies of scale).

    Allowing manufacturing, once again, to be located close to the point of consumption.

    And like the revolutions that have preceded it, this technological revolution has the potential to raise global income levels, and improve the standards of living of people around the world.

    But to realise this potential we will have to overcome profound new challenges, from the labour market to taxation, from regulation to income distribution that it will bring.

    This won’t all happen overnight.

    And as we saw this week with a robot assistant getting fired from its job in a supermarket in Edinburgh, it won’t all be smooth sailing.

    But it is happening around us already.

    And it is not going to be stopped.

    So our choice is simple.

    Embrace it.

    Meet the challenges and reap the benefits.

    Or hide from it and awake to find the world has moved on and left us behind.

    I am clear, and certainly for an open economy like Britain, we must embrace this challenge.

    Run towards it and champion the benefits it brings to our people.

    And it is incumbent on all of us – governments and businesses around the world – to work closely together to demonstrate to our societies that we harness this potential to deliver a high wage, high growth economy.

    Confident that together we can drive prosperity for all of our citizens.

    Thank you.

  • Penny Mordaunt – 2018 Speech at Kenyan Chamber of Commerce

    Below is the text of the speech made by Penny Mordaunt, the Secretary of State for International Development, at the Kenyan Chamber of Commerce on 19 January 2018.

    Thank you.

    Principal Secretary, Professor Low, Mr Chairman, members of the Chamber.

    I am delighted to be here today to contribute to your discussions on the future of Global Britain and to celebrate the UK’s flourishing economic relationship with Kenya.

    I want to begin by thanking the Chairman and members of the British Chamber of Commerce Kenya for hosting us here today; for the enormous contribution you make to the economies of Kenya and the UK; and the inspiring example that you are setting here in East Africa.

    As members of the British business community here in Kenya, you have a unique understanding of the strong economic ties between our countries.

    You see the potential for these ties to grow and develop.

    You understand that the UK must move away from a relationship with Africa that is dominated by aid, and towards one that embraces the power of economic growth and delivers mutual prosperity.

    And you understand that sustained, job-creating growth will play a vital role in lifting people out of poverty, and allow Kenya to realise its ambition of economic independence.

    You know that great changes are underway, both here in Kenya and at home.

    This is a really exciting moment for the UK’s partnership in Africa and around the world.

    As we prepare to leave the EU and enter a new phase of international engagement, we will renew our focus on our African relationships.

    There are abundant opportunities across the continent, and nowhere more than in Sub-Saharan Africa. These opportunities will only grow over the next twenty years.

    We want to ensure complete coherence on our approach, and we are determined to ensure that our efforts across the continent become more than the sum of their individual parts.

    We are also determined to ensure that our renewed focus on Africa’s economic development delivers jobs, investment and trade.

    For both the UK and Kenya, this presents a tremendous opportunity.

    When we talk of growth in Africa, we risk limiting our outlook to the large economies at either end of the continent. But Kenya should not be overlooked.

    In recent years, it has dramatically improved its ‘ease of doing business’ rankings, rising 30 places in the last three years on the World Bank’s global index.

    The country has an impressive growth rate – greater than most of its neighbours and many developing countries.

    It has an immense appetite for economic expansion and diversification. It acts as a critical regional hub, providing trade access to 200 million people across seven countries.

    And Kenya’s reputation for innovation spreads across the continent. It is leading the charge in sectors, such as mobile money, and transforming lives across Africa.

    As with all growing economies, we know that there are still hurdles to jump. But no one can deny that Kenya is a profound success story – the largest and most diverse economy in East Africa. Throughout this journey, the UK has stood beside Kenya every step of the way.

    The British government’s support has driven essential policy and regulatory changes that have helped Kenya and its neighbours power ahead in recent years.

    We have delivered transformational reforms to the country’s ports, borders and infrastructure; to facilitate trade across the region; and have helped harness the use of technology to improve services and help businesses to reach their customers, including those who might otherwise have been left behind.

    Our commercial impact in Kenya is without equal.

    The UK is the largest cumulative investor in Kenya, and the fourth exporter of goods.

    British companies, both local and global, rank among Kenya’s most successful and respected firms.

    We contribute an enormous proportion of tax revenue to Kenya; seven of the top ten corporate tax payers in this country are British companies, and the revenue they generate delivers investment across the breadth of the Kenyan government’s priorities, changing the lives of Kenyans as their country grows.

    British companies directly employ a quarter of a million Kenyans and are growing the job market. Just recently, Chamber member East African Breweries Ltd / Diageo announced a new site that will bring over 100,000 jobs to the Kenyan economy and shows that British investment is not limited to the major cities.

    Our investment travels through Kenyan society more than other countries, because our firms reinvest significant revenues in their local communities and value chains.

    Unilever, which was recently rated Kenya’s top employer for the fourth time in a row – an incredible achievement that demonstrates the company’s commitment to its workforce.

    And GSK, which has reinvested 20% of profits from its African interests to train community healthcare workers and combat childhood mortality.

    These are just two examples of the tremendous work of members of this Chamber.

    These companies represent the best of British investment. They set a gold standard with their business practices, and in doing so they send a powerful message about British standards and our commitment. They demonstrate the real impact of British commercial engagement on the country’s economic and social progress.

    Across the UK government, we are determined to ensure that we support British companies abroad in every way possible, to boost the economies of both countries and the lives of Kenyan people. On the way here from the airport this morning, I was delighted to visit the Hela garment factory.

    Opened just 18 months ago it already employs over 4,000 people. It has invested heavily in corporate social responsibility, introducing a safe water programme, child care facilities and free lunches for its staff. Other companies in the export zone now follow their example, and Hela’s team already provides training and support for its fellow companies to deliver their own CSR programmes.

    Hela is a world leader in responsible manufacturing and sets the standard for others in East Africa to follow. They are working in partnership with the British government to advise Kenya on how it can grow the manufacturing sector to deliver the best conditions, not just for businesses like theirs, but for the Kenyans who work for them.

    To ensure that this ripple effect is also felt beyond the manufacturing sector, UK aid is also partnering with the government to create more comprehensive Special Economic Zones, allowing companies – not only those who export – to flourish and grow, bringing jobs and wealth to Kenya.

    We want British commercial and government expertise to play its part in preparing Kenya’s economy for its next phase of growth.

    We will continue to invest and scale up our trade initiatives like Trade Mark East Africa, to tackle barriers and to increase the potential for trade success across the region. And we will continue to grow CDC.

    We will increase our infrastructure development funds, building the crucial pathways for trade and investment and removing obstacles to the economic expansion we all want to see.

    We will launch our five-year urban programme to unlock both development and commercial opportunities at the sub-national level, responding to the opportunities that Kenya’s devolution brings.

    And we will enhance our modern partnership with the Government of Kenya to strengthen the bilateral economic relationship and long term prosperity of both countries.

    We are building a great team to do this work, including experts on trade policy, export finance and investment.

    I am delighted that many government colleagues and implementing partners are here with us today, demonstrating our commitment to a whole of government approach on this important issue.

    I hope you will take the opportunity to talk to them about opportunities to partner in your areas of expertise. You are part of the team too. We cannot do this without you.

    The support of the British business community will be crucial to the success of a new, modern UK-Kenya partnership.

    We need you to keep doing all that you are doing. Keep growing the economy, keep creating jobs, keep setting world class standards.

    Please share your success stories. The British are famously bad at ‘blowing our own trumpets’ – but I ask you to promote your successes. This will build confidence in Kenya’s potential and show others what can be achieved. And tell us what you need. If there are changes that need to be made or areas where you need support, talk to our team. They are there to help.

    We have a huge opportunity to shape the health, wealth and prosperity of the nation in a way that grows and protects the economy of the UK too.

    Our development, diplomatic and commercial investment here has helped to create a self-sufficient economy and a powerful trading partner for the future. The UK should be enormously proud of that.

    Kenya now stands strong and we must transition our relationship to a new, modern footing, for the mutual prosperity of our two great nations.

    Thank you for the part that you are playing in that and the part you will play in the future.

  • Theresa May – 2018 Speech at Davos

    Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, at Davos on 25 January 2018.

    Last year, on this platform, I argued that the benefits of free trade were not being felt by all. And I warned that the failure of political and business leaders to address this threatened to undermine popular support for the entire rules based system on which our global security and prosperity depends.

    But I also argued that we could change this. Not by turning our backs on free trade or the global rules based system – which together have delivered the greatest advances in prosperity we have ever known. But rather by doubling down on them and acting to ensure that the global economy works for everyone.

    One year on, I believe there are grounds for optimism. Global growth has continued to strengthen, with the IMF estimating that global output last year grew by 3.7%. The populism of the Far Left and Far Right has not made the progress that some had predicted.

    And in the UK, we have seen productivity rising, unemployment at its lowest rate for over 40 years and more and more examples of government and business working together to bring new jobs and opportunities to communities across our country.

    We have also seen important progress on global trade. The UK has been at the forefront of championing new trade deals, including the EU’s deals with Canada and Japan. The G20 has agreed commitments to tackle overcapacity in steel and the World Trade Organisation has made progress towards launching plurilateral discussions on digital trade.

    And as we leave the European Union, the UK will continue to be a global advocate of free trade. Pushing for progress on WTO discussions; seeking to bring new partners to the table – and, of course, after we have left the EU, developing new bilateral deals with countries across the world.

    But there is much more to be done by the whole international community. And, frankly, too often our rhetoric in support of free trade here in Davos is not matched by our actions.

    The commitments on steel must be implemented.

    Like the UK, other big aid donors should support developing countries to ensure they can harness the benefits of global growth.

    And the World Trade Organisation still needs to go much further in its reforms, ensuring its rulebook keeps pace with developments in the global economy.

    For example, services make up 6 per cent of global GDP – yet while some recent trade negotiations are achieving more ambitious outcomes on services, the Trade in Services Agreement remains stalled.

    And while the likes of eBay, Amazon and Alibaba have grown into global giants, taking on a central role in the lives of billions around the world, the WTO has been struggling to remove barriers to e-commerce trade for almost twenty years.

    Progress on these issues really matters. Because technological advances continue to revolutionise the possibilities for humanity and we must have the international frameworks in place to ensure everyone can benefit from them.

    Already, access to the internet has been estimated to have the potential to generate over $2.2 trillion in additional GDP and more than 140 million new jobs in developing countries alone.

    While nearly 35 per cent of the adult population in Sub-Saharan Africa has a mobile money account, the highest percentage in the world.

    And now the impact of technology is growing in ways that even a few years ago we could not have imagined.

    Just last week, a drone saved two boys drowning off the coast of Australia by carrying a floatation device to them.

    The use of Artificial Intelligence is transforming healthcare. In one test, machine learning reduced the number of unnecessary surgeries for breast cancer by a third.

    The development of speech recognition and translation is reaching a level where we will be able to go anywhere in the world and communicate using our native language.

    While British-based companies like Ripjar are pioneering the use of data science and Artificial Intelligence to protect companies from money laundering, fraud, cyber-crime and terrorism.

    In all these ways, harnessing the power of technology is not just in all our interests – but fundamental to the advance of humanity.

    But this technological progress also raises new and profound challenges which we need to address.

    For example, many fear that because of technology they and their children will lose out on the jobs of the future.

    And they worry too about how new technologies might be exploited by those with malevolent intentions; and what that could mean for the safety and wellbeing of their families and children.

    So today I am going to make the case for how we can best harness the huge potential of technology.

    But also how we address these profound concerns. So that technology is the force for progress that we all know it can be.

    Right across the long sweep of history – from the invention of electricity to the advent of factory production – time and again initially disquieting innovations have delivered previously unthinkable advances and we have found the way to make those changes work for all our people.

    Now we must find the way to do so again.

    Industrial Strategy

    Let me start with how we can embrace technology.

    Key to this is channelling the power of government and business in partnership to seize the opportunities of technology and create high-quality, well-paid jobs right across the world.

    That is why in the UK I have put the development of a Modern Industrial Strategy at the heart of the government’s agenda.

    It is a new long-term approach to shaping a stronger and fairer economy – and it understands what government and business each bring to the table.

    Because I understand the power of business as a force for good.

    I know that it is free and competitive markets that drive the innovation, creativity and risk-taking that have enabled so many of the great advances of our time.

    But I also understand the good that government can do, creating the conditions where successful businesses can emerge and grow, and helping them to invest in the future of our nation.

    So the message of our industrial strategy to the world is clear: Britain will be one of the best places in the world in which to start and grow a business.

    The strategy gets the fundamentals right.

    It drives investment in infrastructure at a local as well as a national level.

    And it equips our people with the skills they need – and the skills business needs – to be successful in a changing global economy.

    For if we are to retain popular support for the rules based system, we have to stop and understand – sitting up here in these mountains in Davos – what it can really feel like for someone who has worked for twenty years and who now finds that the job they know how to do today is not going to be a job that needs doing in the future.

    And the answer isn’t to pretend we can sit back and leave it to the labour market alone to resolve.

    We need to act decisively to help people benefit from global growth now.

    That is why as part of our industrial strategy, there is a focus on supporting new jobs and industries that build on the strengths of local communities.

    For example, on our East Coast, Hull is getting behind offshore wind, generating hundreds of jobs in partnership with Siemens.

    And just as we act to help support new jobs today, so we also need to help people secure the jobs of tomorrow.

    So we are establishing a technical education system that rivals the best in the world, alongside our world-class higher education system.

    We are developing a National Retraining Scheme to help people learn throughout their career.

    And we are establishing an Institute of Coding – a consortium of more than 60 universities, businesses and industry experts to support training and retraining in digital skills.

    And I know from my conversations with tech companies how seriously they are taking their own social responsibility to contribute to the retraining that will help people secure new opportunities in the digital economy.

    But this strategy and partnership with business goes further than getting the fundamentals of our economy right.

    It also seeks to get us on the front foot in seizing the opportunities of technology for tomorrow.

    We are delivering the UK’s biggest ever increase in public investment in research and development, which could increase public and private R&D investment by as much as £80 billion over the next 10 years.

    We are at the forefront of the development, manufacture and use of low carbon technologies.

    We are using technology to support the needs of an ageing society, for example by employing powerful datasets to help diagnose and treat illnesses earlier.

    And we are establishing the UK as a world leader in Artificial Intelligence, building on the success of British companies like Deepmind.

    For I believe we have only just seen the beginning of what AI can achieve.

    Imagine a world in which self-driving cars radically reduce the number of deaths on our roads.

    Imagine a world where remote monitoring and inspection of critical infrastructure makes dangerous jobs safer.

    Imagine a world where we can predict and prevent the spread of diseases around the globe.

    These are the kinds of advances that we could see and that we should want to see.

    Already the UK is recognised as first in the world for our preparedness to bring Artificial Intelligence into public service delivery.

    We have seen a new AI start-up created in the UK every week for the last three years. And we are investing in the skills these start-ups need, spending £45 million to support additional PhDs in AI and related disciplines and creating at least 200 extra places a year by 2020-21.

    We are absolutely determined to make our country the place to come and set up to seize the opportunities of Artificial Intelligence for the future.

    But as we seize these opportunities of technology, so we also have to shape this change to ensure it works for everyone – be that in people’s jobs or their daily lives.

    Technological change in the workplace

    Already technology is changing the nature of our workplaces and leaving many people with less predictable working patterns.

    So we need to make sure that our employment law keeps pace with the way that technology is shaping modern working practices.

    Take the example of Uber – a ground-breaking use of technology that has radically changed how people move around in cities across the world. But also a company that has got things wrong along the way – with safety issues and concerns over the protections for its workers.

    The answer isn’t to shut Uber down but rather to address those concerns, and to establish and enforce the standards and protections that can make this technology work for customers and employees alike.

    So employment law needs to preserve vital rights and protections – and the flexibilities that businesses and workers value.

    But we must make sure those flexibilities really do work for everyone, and don’t become a one-sided deal that can become exploitative.

    And that is at the heart of the Review that Matthew Taylor conducted for the UK government last year.

    And we will be working to deliver on it – from exploring the case for reforms to make our employment status tests clearer, to identifying a set of metrics against which to measure job quality.

    Making the internet work for everyone

    Just as people need to feel that technological change in the workplace is to their benefit, so we need to ensure that they have faith that the increasing role of technology throughout their lives is enhancing the opportunities they have and the world in which they live.

    Technologies like the internet were developed with a philosophy that connecting us together would improve people’s lives.

    And in many ways they have. But so far, that hasn’t been completely true for everyone.

    Just this week, a survey in the UK has found that 7 in 10 people believe social media companies do not do enough to stop illegal or unethical behaviour on their platforms, prevent the sharing of extremist content or do enough to prevent bullying.

    The loss of trust is hugely damaging. And it is in all our interests to address it.

    In some areas that means we will need new rules and legislation.

    In others, such as online hatred and bullying, we need norms and expectations of how civilised people should interact in ways that can’t be achieved through legislation.

    The Digital Charter we are developing in the UK sets out the principles of our approach to agree the rights and responsibilities of the online world and to put them into practice.

    It is profoundly pro-business because it seeks to support digital businesses in securing the trust and public confidence that they need.

    At its heart is a set of principles.

    That the same rights people have offline should be protected online;

    That the internet should remain free, open and accessible;

    That people should understand the rules that apply to them when they are online;

    That personal data should be respected and used appropriately;

    That protections should be in place to help keep people safe online, especially children.

    And that the social and economic benefits brought by new technologies should be fairly shared.

    And underpinning all of this is our determination to make the UK a world leader in innovation-friendly regulation.

    Regulation that will make the UK the best place to start and grow a digital business – but also the safest place to be online.

    But when technology platforms work across geographical boundaries, no one country and no one government alone can deliver the international norms, rules and standards for a global digital world.

    Technology companies themselves, investors, and all our international partners need to play their part.

    First, technology companies still need to do more in stepping up to their responsibilities for dealing with harmful and illegal online activity.

    Companies simply cannot stand by while their platforms are used to facilitate child abuse, modern slavery or the spreading of terrorist and extremist content.

    We have made some progress. Last September at the UN, I joined President Macron and Prime Minister Gentiloni in convening the first ever UN summit of government and industry to move further and faster in reducing the time it takes to remove terrorist content online, and to increase significantly their efforts to stop it being uploaded in the first place.

    But we need to go further, so that ultimately this content is removed automatically.

    These companies have some of the best brains in the world. They must focus their brightest and best on meeting these fundamental social responsibilities.

    And just as these big companies need to step up, so we also need cross-industry responses because smaller platforms can quickly become home to criminals and terrorists.

    We have seen that happen with Telegram. And we need to see more co-operation from smaller platforms like this.

    No-one wants to be known as “the terrorists’ platform” or the first choice app for paedophiles.

    As governments, it is also right that we look at the legal liability that social media companies have for the content shared on their sites.

    The status quo is increasingly unsustainable as it becomes clear these platforms are no longer just passive hosts.

    But applying the existing standards of liability for publishers is not straight forward so we need to consider what is most appropriate for the modern economy.

    We are already working with our European and international partners, as well as the businesses themselves, to understand how we can make the existing frameworks and definitions work better – and to assess in particular, whether there is a case for developing a new definition for these platforms. And we will continue to do so.

    Second, investors can play a vital role by considering the social impact of the companies they are investing in.

    This is fundamental to the proper functioning of markets, choice and competition.

    Shareholders should care about these social impacts because the business model of a company is not sustainable if it does not command public support and consent.

    And they can use their influence to ensure these issues are taken seriously.

    For example, earlier this month a group of shareholders demanded that Facebook and Twitter disclose more information about sexual harassment, fake news, hate speech and other forms of abuse that take place on the companies’ platforms.

    So investors can make a big difference here by ensuring trust and safety issues are being properly considered.

    And I urge them to do so.

    Third, in a global digital age we need the norms and rules we establish to be shared by all.

    That includes establishing the rules and standards that can make the most of Artificial Intelligence in a responsible way, such as by ensuring that algorithms don’t perpetuate the human biases of their developers.

    So we want our new world-leading Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to work closely with international partners to build a common understanding of how to ensure the safe, ethical and innovative deployment of Artificial Intelligence.

    And I am delighted that the UK will also be joining the World Economic Forum’s new council on Artificial Intelligence to help shape global governance and applications of this new technology.

    Conclusion

    Many leaders this week are setting out defences of globalisation, open economies, free trade and technological progress – while grappling with how to ensure these operate fairly for all our countries and all our people.

    The test of leadership, however, is what action we take. And I am clear about three things.

    First, the critical nature of international co-operation within the global rules based system – for every country must support and shape the rules for free and fair trade and investment. We cannot pull in different directions.

    Second, that we have to do more to help our people in the changing global economy, to rebuild their trust in technology as a driver of progress and ensure no-one is left behind as we take the next leap forwards.

    But third, above all, we have to remember that the risks and challenges we face do not outweigh the opportunities. And in seeking to refresh the rules to meet the challenges of today, we must not miss out on the prize for tomorrow.

    For the forces of free trade and technological progress which have brought us to this point are as nothing in comparison to their potential to enrich the lives of our children and grandchildren.

    The United Kingdom has a proud history of stepping up, seizing the opportunities of our time and shaping the international rules and partnerships that can deliver progress for all.

    We stand ready to do so again.

    So together, let us renew our commitment to co-operation across governments, business, investors and society at large.

    And let us set ourselves on a path to deliver prosperity and growth for the benefit of all our people, now and for generations to come.

    Thank you.

  • Chris Grayling – 2018 Speech on Aviation

    Below is the text of the speech made by Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 24 January 2018.

    Good evening.

    Thank you for that introduction and welcome.

    It’s a real pleasure to join you for tonight’s (24 January 2018) annual dinner.

    And if it’s not too late, to wish Airlines UK and all its members a prosperous new year.

    In fact 2018 marks the 99th anniversary of a momentous event in airline history, the launch of the first regular, international, passenger air service in the world.

    Like so many transport ‘firsts’, it happened here in Britain.

    Pioneering British airline AT&T began operating daily flights from Hounslow Heath aerodrome to Le Bourget.

    With a maximum capacity of 4 passenger, a journey time of 2 and a half hours and the pilot exposed to the elements.

    Conditions aboard the de Havilland biplane may have been somewhat primitive.

    But it was the start of something big.

    Within a few months, there were converted WW1 bombers flying scheduled flights from Cricklewood to Paris, new services from Croydon Airport to Amsterdam, the first opportunity for cargo as airmail flights began serving European destinations and if you were lucky enough to get a ticket on the new London to Brussels route, you’d be served the world’s first in-flight meals.

    From this modest beginning, our commercial aviation industry grew.

    Within 5 years, Imperial Airways had been formed.

    Linking Britain with its vast global empire.

    And suddenly it was possible to travel to the other side of the world in a fraction of the time it would take by ship.

    Aviation importance

    Why do I mention this?

    First – to explain how quickly commercial aviation became critical to the fortunes of Britain after World War One.

    And second – despite almost a century of economic, social and technological development – to show how little has changed.

    How air travel and the prosperity of our country remain inextricably linked today.

    Just as airlines benefit from a strong UK economy the whole of the UK benefits from a flourishing aviation sector.

    Without the £52 billion that aviation adds to our GDP, the million jobs it supports and all the inward investment it generates, we simply could not have reduced our deficit by three quarters over the past 7 years or achieved the record employment levels which we see in Britain today.

    It’s because we have the largest aviation network in Europe and airlines competing to give the customer a wide choice, and a great deal that so many multinational firms invest in Britain.

    And it’s because we have a fundamentally strong economy that demand for air travel has grown so fast in recent years.

    Aviation strategy

    It’s against this background of success that the government is now working on a future strategy for aviation.

    And I’m delighted that Baroness Sugg – who is attending her first Airlines UK dinner tonight – will be spearheading that work at the DfT.

    Liz is going to be a fantastic Aviation Minister.

    Some of you will already have met her, but I know that over the coming months she’ll be getting around the industry, and listening to what you have to say about the strategy.

    After our call for evidence last year, we will publish our response next month.

    Once the response is out there, we want to test policies with different partners.

    We want practical feedback on the measures we’re proposing.

    And if you think they can be improved, then we want to work with you to make them better.

    It’s crucial we get this right.

    As Britain prepares to leave the European Union and as we develop plans for the new north-west runway at Heathrow, it’s right that we all focus on long-term prospects for British airlines and airports.

    We want a strategy that will support growth across the country while tackling aviation’s environmental effects.

    And we want to be ambitious.

    Ambitious to be the best.

    To lead the world – as we’ve led the world in the past.

    So this will be far more than ‘just another statement of intent’ from government.

    There have been enough of those over the years.

    Instead it will be a wide-ranging blueprint for the sustainable growth of aviation over the next 30 years and beyond.

    And it’s not just the government’s strategy.

    I want it to be yours too.

    A shared plan for how we can make best use of existing capacity, how we can create new capacity.

    How we can improve surface access to airports.

    How we can modernise airspace to tackle flight delays and reduce the need for stacking.

    How we can further reduce noise.

    And how we can put the passenger at the heart of everything we do.

    I’m grateful to everyone in this room who has contributed so far.

    After the call for evidence response, there will be 3 more consultation phases.

    So please, continue to engage.

    Because we need your voice, your insight and your understanding of the market to design a policy framework that reflects our common priorities in the decades ahead.

    Heathrow

    I also welcome your continued contributions on expanding capacity in the south-east.

    We are currently considering responses to the draft Airports National Policy Statement.

    Plans remain on track for a vote in Parliament in the first half of this year.

    This is a particularly important few months for the project, a project that will deliver immense benefits for aviation in Britain.

    So we need to work together to support it.

    A new runway at our biggest hub airport would offer significant growth opportunities for UK airlines and keep Britain plugged in to a rapidly changing global economy post Brexit.

    In fact the case for the new runway capacity in the south-east is even greater than we thought.

    After consulting on new evidence last autumn, updated forecasts showed that passenger numbers are growing much faster than we predicted even a few years ago.

    Specifically, the new evidence reinforced the case for expansion at Heathrow supported by a world-class package of measures to limit the effects on local communities.

    Compared to all other proposals, a north-west runway at Heathrow delivers the greatest benefits soonest.

    More choice for passengers.

    More business for airlines.

    And more jobs for Britain.

    Heathrow already handles more freight by value than all other UK airports combined.

    That’s partly because its accessible to the rest of the country.

    In this way, Heathrow drives growth in regional freight.

    For example, helping fishermen in Scotland to sell their fresh produce to Japan.

    An expanded Heathrow would also be better served by transport connections – for example to HS2 and Crossrail.

    But I’ve been clear that landing charges should be kept as close as possible to current levels something I know is close to many of your hearts too.

    Heathrow charges have increased substantially over the past decade.

    So that needs to be factored in to future plans.

    I welcome the £2.5 billion savings to the scheme already announced by the airport.

    I also welcome that progress that’s been made in discussions between airlines and Heathrow.

    The CAA’s section 16 commission has been helpful here.

    We must maintain the momentum after it expires in the spring.

    So I shall announce an appropriate replacement in due course.

    Because we have to make further progress.

    I expect airlines and Heathrow to reach a deal on landing charges that will keep the airport competitive so extra costs are not ultimately passed on to the customer.

    However, I also want to stress that now is not the time to undermine the scheme in any way.

    Until the Parliamentary process is complete and the vote in Parliament has been delivered, we need the whole aviation industry to support the new runway.

    With such manifest benefits for airlines, other UK airports, and the wider economy, we need to keep focused on the prize to come and work together as an industry to deliver the right expansion programme at the right price.

    Brexit

    The next 12 months will also be instrumental in setting a future direction for aviation after we’ve left the European Union.

    Brexit remains at the top of the government’s agenda for 2018 and securing a good deal for UK airlines, with the best possible access to European markets, remains one of my biggest Brexit objectives.

    No other transport sector will have such a key role to play when we leave the European Union.

    I remain confident that we’ll get a good deal, and that UK airlines and airports will continue to flourish.

    This confidence comes from knowing that it’s in the interests of all European countries and everyone who travels between them that we seek an open, liberal arrangement for aviation following Brexit.

    Now, I know that the aviation industry wants certainty, and quickly.

    So does the government.

    So does the rest of the EU.

    On the 15 December the European Council confirmed that sufficient progress had been made.

    This is an important milestone.

    The guidelines published by the Council point to the shared desire of the EU and UK to make rapid progress on an implementation period.

    Formal talks will begin very soon.

    This will provide reassurance for both industry and consumers.

    And then talks will start on the future economic partnership.

    The future framework for aviation will of course be a central part of those discussions.

    And we are ready for those discussions.

    As we move forward it is important to be clear that it is in everyone’s interests to do a deal quickly and to make it a good deal.

    Let’s remind ourselves why:

    The UK is the largest aviation market in Europe and remains one of – if not the – most important markets for EU member states.

    Good aviation connections between the UK and Europe are critical for tourism, business, and trade – in both directions.

    And of course the UK will see significant extra valuable capacity at one of Europe’s main hub airports – Heathrow – which airlines from all countries will want to make good use of.

    A few days ago, the Article 50 Taskforce in the European Commission published a paper noting that, in the event of an overall ‘no deal’ scenario, it would be essential to agree a deal to ensure flights continue.

    This shows how important it is for both sides to ensure aviation market access continues uninterrupted.

    And the demands of airlines across Europe to access Heathrow means we have strong cards in our hand for the negotiations.

    With that need to ensure ongoing connectivity in mind, we are working hard to deliver another priority – to quickly replace EU-based third country agreements, with countries like the US and Canada.

    I can confirm that discussions on replacing these agreements have begun and are progressing well.

    We will be meeting with US officials for a further round of talks in the coming weeks – many of you in this room will be involved in those discussions

    And we are confident that these arrangements will be ready for exit.

    But whatever the final deal, measures to support UK industry after 2019 are well developed.

    And looking beyond Brexit, we have to make sure we capitalise on our new position in the world.

    So we will continue to work with other countries to expand our aviation connections.

    And through the aviation strategy, we will also look at how the UK can open up more long haul routes to markets like China, India and South America.

    Monarch

    Despite the healthy demand for flights I spoke about earlier, I know it’s tough out there.

    Sadly Monarch was unable to stay afloat.

    But today I can announce that Peter Bucks has been appointed Chair of the independent insolvency review set up after Monarch’s demise.

    I welcome the regulatory and finance experience he’ll bring to aviation.

    The review I’ve asked him to carry out will help us explore options for a new framework to deal with the failure of airlines and travel companies so that airlines can be wound down in an orderly fashion, and passengers repatriated or refunded with minimal or no government intervention.

    Today I’d also like to thank everyone across the industry who helped bring back Monarch passengers who could otherwise have been stranded abroad.

    It was a massive effort, with government working alongside airlines and airports to deal with a complex and difficult logistical challenge.

    I’d also like to thank British Airways, Virgin, TUI and Thomas Cook Airlines for assisting the Hurricane Irma relief operation last September.

    Both responses reflected the airlines industry at its very best.

    Conclusion

    So in conclusion.

    Nearly a century of history has shown the importance of a thriving, sustainable, commercial aviation sector to this island nation.

    Whatever success we’ve had over that period, it’s been won by being proactive.

    Innovative.

    By taking risks.

    And by working together.

    We’re certainly not sitting around waiting for things to happen this time round either.

    Through the aviation strategy, Heathrow expansion and Brexit planning we will stand side by side with our partners in the airline industry.

    Because Britain needs the connections you provide.

    The jobs you bring.

    The growth you support.

    99 years after that first flight, aviation remains absolutely critical to the national interests of Britain.

    That’s why we can be confident about the future.

    A future we will build together.

    Thank you.

  • Matt Hancock – 2018 Speech in Davos

    Below is the text of the speech made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, at Davos on 25 January 2018.

    Thank you for the introduction and for inviting me here today.

    It’s a real honour to have been asked to close this session on ‘Reimagining policy making for the fourth industrial revolution’.

    We are in the midst of fundamental change, as the cost of storing and transmitting information plunges, perhaps faster than at any time since the invention of the printing press.

    Technology is constantly changing how we live, how we work and how we vote and campaign.

    Governments now have an opportunity to create an environment that supports digital businesses and creates appropriate norms and rules for the online world.

    My case is that responding to populist concerns can’t be done by neglecting technology but only through harnessing it for the good of citizens.

    I want to set out three proposals which I believe will apply to governments who want to do this successfully across the world.

    1. Adopt digital transformation

    Firstly, Governments that put technology at the heart of all their interactions with citizens will thrive.

    I worked at a tech business before I became an MP and then a minister. So I’ve long seen how technology can help provide solutions to long-standing policy issues.

    In the last decade, getting services online was critical to government efficiency and serving citizens in a way that worked for them.

    Our award winning Government Digital Service set the standard for usability online, which was then replicated by other governments across the world.

    It transformed the relationship between citizen and state, whilst the digitisation of government has saved billions for taxpayers.

    The lesson was loud and clear – put the user journey first and encourage people to adopt technology that will make their lives easier.

    Now the task is the next generation of emerging technologies, like the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and Blockchain.

    You could call it the fourth industrial revolution for Government and it will be those that adopt this digital technology that will thrive.

    2. Make smarter regulations

    My second proposition is that economies that make sure regulations are fit for the digital age will also thrive.

    Digital transformation cannot take place with outdated legislation, written when if you wanted to tackle ‘trolls’ you’d need to look underneath a bridge.

    Just ask startups, who can often find their early years difficult due to compliance requirements written long before the digital age.

    Modern businesses require modern regulation – and the UK is leading the way in embracing change.

    Our Financial Conduct Authority has adopted what they call a ‘regulatory sandbox’. This allows businesses to test products with real consumers without them having to meet usual requirements for compliance.

    This provides a space to do real world trials and engage regulators from the start of development.

    It’s win-win; start-ups benefit from better market testing whilst consumers benefit from the safeguards that are built into new products. It is one of many reasons why the UK has now established itself as a FinTech world leader.

    Our Information Commissioner is adopting the same approach for big data, and so is our Civil Aviation Authority for drones. The CAA has been engaging with private sector firms on autonomous drone testing and have even been praised by Amazon for their pioneering approach.

    We’ve brought in a Regulators’ Pioneer Fund, to incentivise regulators to develop more approaches to support emerging technologies.

    This is about innovation friendly regulation. Regulation must support innovation right across the board; this should be a mantra for any Government or regulator.

    Only then can a country harness the opportunities of new technology and therefore thrive.

    3. Get ethics right

    The third and final principle that I want to talk about is the importance of developing strong ethical frameworks.

    Because societies that have strong ethical frameworks will thrive.

    Digital technology is a powerful force for good. Combined with new technologies such as artificial intelligence, it is set to change society perhaps more than any previous technological revolution – growing the economy, making us more productive, and raising living standards.

    But as we all know, alongside these new opportunities comes new challenges and risks.

    The internet can be used to spread terrorist material; it can be a tool for abuse and bullying; and, it can undermine civil discourse, objective news and intellectual property.

    The digital revolution has changed the way that people behave and interact.

    Instead of a piecemeal response to each issue separately, our response is the Digital Charter, which the Prime Minister will be setting out in her speech later today.

    This is a rolling programme of work to agree a consistent set of norms and rules for the online world and put them into practice.

    In some cases this will be through shifting our expectations of behaviour; in others we may need new laws or regulations.

    Our starting point will be that we will have the same rights and expect the same behaviour online as we do offline.

    The Charter’s core purpose is to make the internet work for everyone – for citizens, businesses and society as a whole.

    It will move the philosophy we apply to the Internet from libertarian to liberal values – to cherish freedom, but not the freedom to harm others.

    The Charter brings together a broad, ongoing programme, with priority areas including protecting people from online harms, sorting out platform liability and leading on data ethics.

    And I want us to practise what we preach about agile governance. It will be a ‘living’ document that sits online – and as technology changes, the Charter will evolve too.

    Conclusion

    The Governments that thrive will themselves harness the best new technologies.

    The governments that thrive will themselves harness the best new technologies.

    The economies that thrive will have innovation friendly regulations for the digital age.

    And the societies that thrive will have strong ethical frameworks to make the internet a force for good.

    Now our task is to get on with it and make it happen.

    Thank you very much.

  • Amber Rudd – 2018 Statement on UK / French Migration

    Below is the text of the statement made by Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 19 January 2018.

    The UK and France share a special relationship. The operation of juxtaposed controls, provided for by bilateral agreements, is an essential element of our border strategy. Since the juxtaposed controls were introduced, the number of asylum claims made in the UK has decreased dramatically. Before the controls were in place, asylum claims reached over 84,000 a year, three times higher than the 26,617 claims in 2016-17. The reduction in claims we have seen has significantly reduced the impact on public services and the UK taxpayer—with every reduction by 10,000 asylum claims saving the UK at least £70 million in costs.

    Juxtaposed controls play a hugely important role in protecting our national security and have significant economic value for both the UK and France—creating a smooth border and making trade more efficient. Having UK border controls based in France allows Border Force officers to check passengers and freight destined for the UK in France, ensuring we can take action against illegal migrants, those trying to smuggle people into the UK and criminals attempting to bring illegal goods into the country, before they reach British soil.

    Yesterday, we signed a supplementary agreement that demonstrates the UK and France’s long-term commitment to the future of the juxtaposed controls, recognising that they are in the common interest. This treaty with France—the treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the French Republic concerning the reinforcement of co-operation for the co-ordinated management of their shared border, recognising the importance of cooperation at the juxtaposed controls—is established to sit alongside the Le Touquet and Canterbury treaties and will come into force on 1 February 2018. In securing the future of juxtaposed controls in this way we are able to strengthen operational co-operation, both in northern France and further upstream, to reduce the illegal flows into France. The treaty will not affect the operation of our juxtaposed controls, but demonstrates the UK and France’s long term commitment to their successful operation, and secures some of the mechanisms that we need to further strengthen our joint capabilities to prevent the formation of any new migrant camps.

    Building on the successful co-operation of the clearance and relocation of the migrant camp in Calais in 2016, the UK and France have now agreed a comprehensive “whole of route” approach to migration. The aim is to reduce the number of migrants making the dangerous and illegal journey to northern France and manage the pressure on our shared border from those who do travel. The elements are to:

    jointly work upstream in source and transit countries to discourage migrants who do not have any lawful basis for doing so from making the dangerous journey to northern France;

    invest in strengthening our shared border through investment in port security and infrastructure and further improving operational co-operation with France; and,​

    work to ensure that migrants who have travelled illegally to Northern France are able to quickly claim asylum in France so we can meet our international obligations.

    The UK has a shared interest in co-operating with France to manage migratory pressures. The support announced as part of the UK France Summit will help ensure migrant camps do not reform and that those willing to engage with the asylum system in France can claim asylum there. It also includes working with France to facilitate the return of migrants with no legal right to be in Europe to countries further upstream where they can be lawfully admitted.

    Our co-operation with France on migration and our shared border is a long-term commitment. Just as we invest in our borders around the rest of the UK, it is only right that we constantly monitor whether there is more we can be doing at the UK border controls in France and Belgium. Signing the treaty yesterday ensures a continuation of operational co-operation in a number of ways. It reaffirms both parties’ commitments to the operation of procedures for determining the member state responsible for an asylum claim under the Dublin III Regulation. It establishes a new co-ordination centre for operational co-operation at our shared border and strengthens co-operation on returns. It sets up a strategic dialogue and commits both countries to working towards joint practical measures in countries upstream, further demonstrating our commitment and leadership on this agenda. These practical measures will help to reduce flows to northern France and underpin our joint commitment to fight modern slavery and human trafficking.

    In addition, the UK and France recognise their humanitarian responsibilities towards unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children. In 2016, the UK transferred over 750 unaccompanied minors from France as part of our comprehensive support for the Calais camp clearance. We have also announced a number of further measures in respect of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children:

    France, Greece and Italy will now be able to refer unaccompanied children who arrived in Europe before 18 January 2018 to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. The Government had previously insisted on the previous eligibility date of 20 March 2016 to avoid establishing an open-ended relocation scheme from Europe, as this would increase the pull factor that puts children’s lives at risk. After extensive discussion with France, Greece and Italy, we have agreed to amend the eligibility date on an exceptional basis to ensure we can transfer the circa. 260 remaining unaccompanied children and meet our obligation under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. Over 220 children are already here and we are fully committed to transferring the specified number of 480 children as soon as possible, in line with our published policy. The specified number of 480 under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 remains unchanged following the UK France Summit.

    The allocation of a £3.6 million development fund, as part of the UK’s overall £45.5 million funding commitment, which the UK intend to use to work with France to identify projects which support genuine claims through the Dublin process and ensure that those with no prospect of transferring to the UK are informed of their options.

    The strengthening of co-operation with France on the operation of the Dublin Regulation, including shorter timescales for decisions and transfers. These commitments apply whilst both the UK and France are participants in the Dublin Regulation.​

    The deployment of a UK Liaison Officer to France by 1 April 2018.

    The Government have not agreed to any new obligations to take more unaccompanied children from Europe. The commitments set out in the treaty and this Written Ministerial Statement will improve joint working with France and support the delivery of existing obligations.

    The deal that we have done yesterday recognises the importance of the juxtaposed controls for both the UK and France, and seals confirmation by President Macron to ensuring that we work together to operate them as efficiently as possible, and sets up a new phase of co-operation that will enable us to break the cycle of camps forming in northern France.

    We have a shared interest in co-operating with France on our whole of route approach to migration and the commitments set out at the UK France Summit, and in this Written Ministerial Statement further underline the value of our enduring strategic relationship.

  • Anne Milton – 2018 Statement on Presidents Club Charity

    Below is the text of the statement made by Anne Milton, the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, in the House of Commons on 24 January 2018.

    Mr Speaker, I am sure you have seen the papers this morning. It has been reported that last Thursday, the Presidents Club—this is the first time I have heard of the club—[Interruption.] I am just saying, I had not heard of it before. This club hosted a charity dinner to raise money for causes such as Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. I understand from reports that there are allegations of inappropriate and lewd behaviour at this event.

    It is quite extraordinary to me that, in the 21st century, allegations of this kind are still emerging. Women have the right to feel safe wherever they work, and the type of behaviour alleged to have occurred is completely unacceptable. I have recently taken on ministerial responsibility for the board of the Department for Education and was previously Minister for Women. As hon. Members will know, David Meller has been a non-executive board member in the Department for Education and chair of the apprenticeship delivery board. The Government expect board members to adhere to the code of conduct for board members of public bodies, which clearly states that they should adhere to the seven principles of public life.

    David Meller is stepping down as a non-executive board member for the Department for Education and as a member of the apprenticeship delivery board. I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is absolutely clear that that is the right thing to do. In case right hon. and hon. Members or you, Mr Speaker, are in any doubt, the event was absolutely nothing to do with the Department for Education.

  • John Manzoni – 2018 Speech on Civil Service Transformation

    Below is the text of the speech made by John Manzoni, the Chief Executive of the Civil Service, at the LSE on 24 January 2018.

    Welcome – and thank you to the LSE for giving me the opportunity to address this audience on a subject that concerns us all.

    The founding aim of this institution was to understand the causes of things and work for the betterment of society, so I could hardly be speaking in a more appropriate place.

    Let me start with a clear statement of intent: we aim to be the best Civil Service in the world. A brilliant Civil Service producing 21st-century solutions that make a real difference to the lives of the people we serve.

    We are already world-class, and rank very high among the world’s administrations. But to stay there we cannot afford to stand still.

    Advances in technology, fiscal pressures, changes in society – and in what people expect from their government in accessibility and convenience – have already provided the impetus for major change programmes across our Civil Service.

    But we have added exiting the European Union to those demands.

    And because what we’re already doing is vital for the long term, we have to find a way to integrate Brexit into that change.

    To me Brexit is an accelerator, a spur; not a distraction.

    We are already making fundamental – and necessary – changes to how we work, right across the organisation.

    The only way to handle Brexit as well, is to deepen and accelerate those changes.

    In other words, as Britain exits the EU, we have a moment to forge ahead. A moment when ambition, necessity and opportunity have converged.

    Last week, we faced just such a test in the collapse of Carillion. I will return to this later – and describe how the government’s response underlines the argument for transformation and at the same time as it shows how far we’ve already come.

    But we must go further, faster.

    We must seize the moment to push us on to greater efficiency and effectiveness.

    And the whole of the Civil Service has a role to play in ensuring we continue to innovate and improve our public services to rival any in the world.

    I’m not talking about cosmetic adjustments but profound, lasting, transformational change.

    This has three main components. We need to transform:

    how we work
    where we work, and
    the expertise we bring to bear on our work

    First:

    how we work

    We have to collaborate more – because citizens expect government to be joined up around what they, the customers, want.

    What they don’t want, when they engage with us, is to get on a bureaucratic merry-go-round, where the only options are going round in circles or bailing out.

    We must make full use of technology and data to modernise the design and delivery of services, and to inform more robust policies that meet people’s real needs.

    And we must be open to new, smarter ways of working, and doing things differently.

    Which merges with the second element:

    where we work

    Throughout the UK, we need modern, flexible workplaces that encourage us to work differently: sharing space with other departments, making it easier to work across boundaries, with a regional and local focus, and giving our people the most up-to date equipment for the job. Because ‘smart working’ is about maximising the potential of IT and more adaptable use of premises.

    And, lastly:

    change in the expertise we bring to bear on what we do – because, ultimately, a brilliant Civil Service is about people, what they bring to the job, and how we get the best from them

    Greater diversity and inclusion are an important part of this. We have set an ambition to be the most inclusive employer in the UK by 2020, which will help to give us the talented individuals we need – with all their contrasting experiences and insights – and the supportive environment in which to fulfil their potential.

    But it means something more.

    It is about developing professional excellence in key areas to complement and build on the world-class policy-making, legal and diplomatic skills we already have.

    And it’s about engineering a fundamental shift in the balance of experience and skills of civil servants; and doing this by diversifying the shape and trajectory of the careers of the next generation of Civil Service leaders, so they’re equipped to tackle the wider demands of the modern world.

    This last point is critical to the change we’re undertaking. Because a great prize is in view – one that holds out opportunities for our people to acquire new skills, build new careers, and be part of sustaining a world-leading Civil Service.

    We will win this prize by underpinning improvements with strategic changes in the three areas I’ve already identified.

    These deeper changes depend on:

    – embracing advances in technology and data
    – on reshaping the workforce around new career pathways and the core government functions, to make us as effective in execution, services and procurement as we are in policy-making; and
    – on working smarter for greater efficiency and effectiveness; and
    – finally, on a more inclusive and delivery-focused approach to leadership

    We’ve made significant progress in adopting new technology. We’re plugging in digital government, from back-office to frontline services.

    We’re making fundamental changes through innovative services such as Universal Credit and the Personal Tax Account, where the end-to-end process of delivery is being transformed, as well as the interface with the customer. Or the biggest courts reform programme in the world, introducing virtual hearings and digitising the entire end-to-end process.

    In all of these cases, changes beneath the surface show themselves in changes to physical locations: fewer, more efficient courtrooms, fewer tax offices, and fewer, bigger, service centres hosting the back offices.

    Each will bring lasting and profound change to the Civil Service and how we interact with citizens. Each is a multi-year, multi-million pound change programme, absorbing huge management effort and focus.

    On a smaller scale, but just as visible and important, are the many examples of technology-driven change improving how users experience government services:

    – DVLA has moved many of its services online – I expect many of you here today have seen the benefit
    – the Passport Office aims to have 90% of all passport renewals fully digital by 2020
    – if you want to, you can now get a divorce online, or, curiously, find out how to import a ferret

    In fact, by 2020 we expect nearly 100 government services to be available digitally.

    At the same time, we anticipate that many of our services will begin to benefit from the huge potential of robotics – or, more accurately, robotic process automation (RPA). In speed and accuracy of response, RPA could transform the experience of citizens registering for services, or applying for grants or benefits.

    For civil servants, too, process automation is something to embrace rather than fear. It’ll create more time to spend on customer-facing work; enhancing jobs by making it easier to navigate and work with data. We already see this in the way technology enables DWP work coaches in Jobcentres to help their clients.

    HMRC is at the forefront of the RPA revolution. It has already automated its system for registering new employers. And we have set up a Centre of Excellence to accelerate the take-up of RPA across government. There’s ground to make up on other clerically intensive industries. But we can learn from their experience and from local government, and we will accelerate our efforts.

    Increasingly, these digital services rely on access to data.

    Government has always had great stores of information.

    Now we need to focus on better use of this data to continuously improve the services we provide, and spend less time developing those that ultimately don’t work. We need to target those who need our services more specifically, and to tailor those services more accurately, instead of asking citizens for the same information multiple times.

    There’s a great deal to do, and there are genuine sensitivities to the free flow of data across our boundaries. Citizens will rightly demand that we use their data responsibly, safely, and only for the public good, never for profit. And that we store it securely and don’t expose them to risk.

    The data access and sharing provisions of the 2017 Digital Economy Act will help us do this while retaining public trust in how we handle their information when there is clear public need or benefit.

    We recently announced the creation of the Geospatial Commission. This will allow us to exploit the huge and diverse data we hold on geography and location, which is currently handled by more than 70 disparate bodies.

    It will establish a set of common standards to make the data easier to find, access and link up with other data sets – fuelling new insights and innovation.

    Making this information more easily available and usable is potentially worth more than £10 billion per annum – boosting the UK economy and generating new jobs.

    This is just the start of the data journey. We have many other initiatives across government to drive better use of data, and I’m excited to see how we can accelerate them.

    To make the most of the opportunities we are upping our skill levels across the Civil Service.

    The Digital Academy is training up to 3,000 civil servants a year in the skills they need (in data and technology as well as digital) to transform the way government designs services with users’ interests at their heart. And it’s expanding nationwide.

    Our Data Science Campus in Newport, now a year old, will eventually produce up to 500 qualified data analysts for government.

    The campus is a state of the art facility that will help us to attract and nurture the brightest talents to work on some of government’s most complex issues.

    When I visited the campus last year, I met a wonderfully diverse group of apprentices; of different experiences and ages, from different parts of the country – all excited to push the boundaries of data measurement and application.

    And, before I move on, I have to say I sense that the new status of data, and of those working with it, is mobilising a shift in the centre of gravity for analysis in Whitehall.

    With data analysis and its supporting technologies increasingly a factor in new digital services, analysis is gradually moving from being a preserve of policy to powering decisions made in the moment by civil servants on the front line. The upshot of this is not only greater efficiency, but a more personalised experience for citizens.

    The second area of major change we are undertaking is in the shape of the workforce.

    The Civil Service is brilliant at policy. The best in the world,according to the first International Civil Service Effectiveness Index.

    And there’s a good reason for this: everything in the way we organise ourselves as a workforce: our systems and structures – our career paths – how we reward people – the skills and experience we value – the rationale for promotions, all are geared to nurturing policy experts.

    This is a vital strength. It has served the Civil Service well for at least a decade. But to meet the challenges ahead, we need something more – and that is deeper experience in delivery – in particular commercial, technical and project execution skills.

    This is increasingly clear as we tackle the challenge of exiting the EU, for which we must design new UK policies and institutions, and build new systems to execute them.

    To achieve this transformation means breaking the mould of the traditional Civil Service career and casting a new one. Because experience matters; and it requires staying in one job long enough to gain that experience, rather than moving from job to job at the rate some of our our current structures encourage.

    In a few years’ time, my vision is that the leadership of the Civil Service will have a blend of skills and experiences, supplementing the predominant policy or economics background of today with delivery experience gained within the organisation.

    This is perfectly achievable – we can offer fabulous experience to delivery-orientated young people across a vast range of challenging projects.

    Already, all the Government Functions are building their own career paths, and the graduate Fast Stream offers opportunities in 15 different schemes for new and existing civil servants: from Digital, Data & Technology, to Project Delivery and Commercial.

    We are delving deep into the existing structures to change them – changing career paths; what we value; how we remunerate; how and why people progress. The aim is to create a new cadre of Civil Service leadership, blending the strengths we already have – and must preserve and protect – with what we need to add – which is about experience-based delivery capability.

    This is what I mean by breaking the mould and ‘reshaping’ the workforce – producing civil servants, leaders and managers of judgement – the sort of judgement that comes from deep experience. Those who, in a procurement, say, use accumulated, wider experience and insight to select the best option rather than reflexively choosing the cheapest – they won’t necessarily be the same.

    There is growing evidence of this ‘reshaping’ in action.

    We’re resetting our relationship with IT suppliers so that we can bring inside the expertise we previously used to have to contract out. And we’re disentangling ourselves from expensive, inflexible contracts that tie us in for the long term.

    HMRC has successfully exited the Aspire IT contract, which ended on 30 June last year and cost £10 billion. Reshaping this contract is creating more opportunities for UK-based SMEs, the kind of firms that fuel growth at the heart of our economy. HMRC is now working with a more diverse range of suppliers to deliver a modern, agile IT capability that is on target to save around £200 million a year by 2021 – a saving of 24%, on a like-for-like basis.

    We have brought to bear more sector-specific expertise in property deals, such as the renegotiation of 900 Jobcentre leases; and in improving major project management, through initiatives like the Major Projects Leadership Academy, which has trained more than 300 senior project leaders and seen experts in project delivery and finance deployed to major capital projects, such as the Thames Tideway Tunnel, Crossrail and HS2.

    We’re adopting the best private sector practice to collect debt, which has added several hundred million pounds of debt repayments in the last financial year – debt that would otherwise have been left uncollected.

    And while we’ve already created one of the biggest shared services centres in Europe, we are going even further: implementing a new, cross-government strategy for shared services that will touch all departments, and make use of best practice from all industries. This approach will unlock hundreds of millions in savings for government and drive efficiency and effectiveness across Whitehall.

    None of these would be possible without deep expertise. We will bring in external know-how as necessary – but the emphasis is on developing our own talent in a sustainable way.

    Take the Commercial Function.

    Government needs the right capabilities to manage every aspect of commercial arrangements with third parties, who account for around half of central Government’s service delivery capability. We spend around £45 billion each year on commercial contracts.

    The collapse of Carillion last week shone a hard light on the importance of building strong functions. And the way we reacted showed what such functions, operating as flexible cross-government professional networks, can achieve.

    Obviously, the last thing we want to see is a major supplier going into liquidation. In the fullness of time, inquiries will look at how it happened and the lessons we should take from it.

    Our first priority was to maintain key public services. This was only possible by utilising the cross-government capability we have built up in the commercial function. If this had happened two years ago, we would not have had the expertise or cross government structure to manage it.

    But of course it has opened up broader questions:

    – whether we were watching closely enough
    – why we awarded contracts after the profits warning, and
    – how the government should contract with the private sector for the provision of public services

    We were watching – as we do with all suppliers – and the response of officials to the profits warning in July 2017 was immediate. Commercial teams across government were alerted, professional advisers retained, and a special project team set up.

    We remained in regular contact with the company throughout this period, and were closely tracking the company’s efforts to restructure.

    I should say that the vast majority of government service contracts were profitable for the company and we were ensuring that nothing the government did during this period exacerbated the difficulties it faced.

    In such a situation, any company is of course more watched and more sensitive than in normal circumstances. So the government has a balance to find: it must be careful, on the one hand, not to award contracts if we feel the company cannot fulfil its obligations; but, on the other, it must not precipitate problems by signalling to the market that the company is unfit to continue to tender for government business.

    Of course, following a profits warning, as happened in this case, we undertook additional due diligence – including asking for external views as to the capacity of the firm to undertake new work.

    The majority of the large contracts are let to joint ventures, primarily to mitigate the risk of single point failure. And we also revisited those arrangements to ensure that all parties were comfortable with the joint liability arrangements within the joint ventures.

    I am pleased to say that in the majority of cases so far the joint venture partner has stepped in exactly as provided for, to ensure the continuity of the service and employment.

    Of course, this case raises the question of how government should use the private sector in the delivery of public services.

    First, let me say again that the whole basis of building – in this case – commercial capability inside government via the commercial function is to enable us to have intelligent dialogue and to structure intelligent relationships with the private sector. Without it, we are left relying on transactional, price-based relationships which can be sub-optimal for both parties in the long run.

    And some of those contracts still exist today, from before we began rebuilding our commercial skills. Here we should be open to a discussion with industry about how best to proceed.

    We want both to ensure good value for the taxpayer and to have a healthy, profitable, and diverse private sector, competing for government business. Where that balance isn’t working well, we need to sit down and discuss it. For that to happen, we need sufficient expertise and skills inside government .

    I believe that the right answer is a more sophisticated relationship that puts risk in the place where it can be managed best and provides sufficient margins, commensurate with the risk, to ensure value for the taxpayer and a healthy, competitive market.

    That should be within our grasp.

    And that is precisely because over the last two years we have made real progress in strengthening our commercial capability.

    In 2016 we launched a rigorous Assessment and Development Centre to assess the skills and capabilities of individuals against commercial professional standards and to set out the expertise they need to progress in their careers. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) and the International Association for Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM) have both endorsed our People Standards for developing and recruiting experienced and commercially astute professionals.

    Within the next week or so, the centre will have assessed 1,000 people for development purposes, a third of them existing civil servants. These assessments have real teeth: if you’re good, we’ll give you the support you need to grow – coaching, secondments, stretching assignments. If you’re not as suited, we’ll help find you something for which you are.

    And having piloted the assessment centre across the big central departments, we’re now rolling it out to Arms Length delivery bodies, too.

    As well as assessing commercial staff in their current roles, we’ve used the assessment centre as part of a recruitment drive. This has filled over 110 senior commercial roles across government in under two years.

    Our third strategic transformation goal is to work ‘smarter’ for greater efficiency and effectiveness

    It’s pointless having the best people, with excellent skills and relevant experience if we don’t put them in environments where they can flourish and make the best use of their talents. So smarter working must start with modern, flexible workplaces, with up-to-date facilities and technology, in the right places and focused on delivery and outcomes.

    We are creating around 20 strategic hubs in major cities across the UK, spreading operational centres of government out from Whitehall. Those already announced are in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, London’s Canary Wharf, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool and Stratford in east London.

    Last month we broke ground on on our latest hub in Cardiff city centre; where we will house more than 4,000 public servants by 2020. This brand-new, city centre building will not only save millions of pounds in running costs, but will also see the UK Government have a consolidated presence in Wales, encouraging collaboration and joined-up working.

    By 2020, these ten hubs will accommodate around 35,000 civil servants; and, by 2023, our plans will have reduced the number of government buildings from around 800 to just 200.

    Hubs allow us to locate teams from different departments in the same offices – sharing expertise, bringing people together from different professions and disciplines, encouraging collaboration and flexibility.

    In moves enabled by Universal Credit, DWP is already delivering more efficient services by concentrating resources in service centres, co-locating with other departments and local government, and in 6 regional corporate hubs.

    And by 2021 HMRC will set up 13 regional centres as part of transforming itself into a smaller, more collaborative, better equipped and more highly skilled operation for the digital age. These modern centres will replace the department’s ageing network of 140 offices, which are expensive to run and create isolated pockets, doing a narrow range of work.

    Changes of this sort are generating new opportunities for civil servants. And they’re changing how we think about work – raising our sights above departmental boundaries, and enabling more collaborative behaviour.

    Taken together, these are the instruments of greater efficiency and effectiveness – of greater productivity.

    Which brings me to the last area of strategic transformation – in leadership.

    All over the country, civil servants at every level are doing brilliant work; getting on with the job of adapting to changes in how, where and when we work; unwaveringly focused on the best outcomes for citizens.

    As we execute the changes I’ve described, the requirements of Civil Service Leadership are increasing.

    Change on this scale doesn’t just happen.

    And the demands on our workforce are increasing – owing to the legitimate expectations of citizens in an increasingly digital age, but also as we embrace the substantial task of Exiting the European Union.

    Not only are we trying to fix the aircraft in mid-flight, we’re re-engineering it too, while it’s flying faster and faster.

    And that takes leadership.

    Leaders who know enough about how to set a project for success, or where commercial exposure may lie, or what a digital sprint to build a new service in an agile way looks like – as well as knowing the policy case for that service.

    Policy expertise is not enough.

    We need leaders with empathy, who can manage their teams through transformation and encourage continuous improvement. Leaders with broader experience, who are effective in a complex, multidisciplinary world, who lead with their hearts and their guts, as well as their heads, who see the big picture.

    Leaders whose instincts – developed through experience – are collaborative; who are used to working across boundaries, confident beyond their own professional area, and inspire and empower their teams – building on the commitments in our Leadership Statement.

    The new Civil Service Leadership Academy embodies this ambition. It will strengthen the ability of leaders from more diverse backgrounds – initially at senior level, but later through programmes open to all grades.

    It is setting out to do this in quite a new way, combining what is known about leadership and learning with practical insight from first-hand experience.

    With a ‘leaders teaching leaders’ approach, we will use immersive case studies to learn from real projects, and examples of governance both good and bad, from the very people who were involved in them. And to produce leaders who connect, the academy will teach the human and emotional lessons – as well as the operational ones – of what’s worked and what hasn’t.

    We launched the Leadership Academy in October.

    Our plan is to deepen and strengthen the learning it offers; to build an institution that sits at the heart of the Civil Service that embodies and promotes our deeply held values; the place where knowledge is held and experience shared, and that becomes the benchmark for leadership development.

    So we are developing a new model of leadership for the Civil Service. One that builds on the strengths we have, adding depth of experience in execution, technology and commercial, and one that, importantly, is more diverse than today.

    Conclusion

    So, to conclude, we have a moment, a window of opportunity to accelerate the changes we are making to the Civil Service, using developments in society and technology to propel a transformation in every aspect of the organisation – and the urgency of exiting from the EU to spur us to more rapid action.

    It means changing our mindset, how we think about our careers, how we work together and design and deliver services in user-centred ways.

    We must seize that opportunity. Some of the changes I’ve mentioned are longer term, and won’t be visible immediately. Others we can see already contributing to a more efficient and effective Civil Service.

    But we must pursue both short and long changes with equal vigour and resolution. We’ve got the shape; we’ve got the structure – built around a core of essential functions – and we know our destination. And we have the triple imperatives of Brexit, fiscal constraint and citizens’ increasing expectations to force the pace.

    If I may, for a moment, directly address my fellow civil servants: seeing what you do every day – I know we are not standing still.

    We are already one of the best public service organisations in the world. And we should have faith in our ability to be even better. The times demand it. A Civil Service without belief in itself is inevitably a less effective one.

    Despite the pressures I see no sign of such negativity.

    Equally I see no complacency. We are changing where we must; adding strength where we’re already strong; and getting on with the job of implementing government policy.

    The challenge of Brexit is very substantial.

    We have all seen and heard the headlines in the media. But behind those headlines we have thousands of civil servants working to prepare for and then implement what comes out of the negotiations.

    This task would overwhelm a lesser organisation. But it will not overwhelm the UK Civil Service.

    We are already undertaking significant transformation in many dimensions, and we will now accelerate those changes to encompass our Brexit work – working together, innovating and always looking to improve so that we can face the future with confidence, and continue to build a Civil Service that the whole country can be proud of.

    Thank you for listening.

  • Anne Milton – 2018 Speech at Bett Show

    Below is the text of the speech made by Anne Milton, the Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, at the Bett show in London on 24 January 2018.

    Welcome. It is fantastic to join you all for this conference marking both the opening of Bett 2018, and the closing of the Education World Forum (EWF).

    I’m sorry that our new Secretary of State couldn’t make it but some of you will hopefully have heard his speech at the EWF earlier this week on preparing students for success in our fast-changing world – for what has been called the fourth Industrial Revolution.

    Our lives are becoming inextricably linked with technology. From the health and fitness trackers or smartwatches that many of you are probably wearing to some of the amazing innovations on display here today.

    And yet – in 2017, Lloyds Bank reported that 11.5 million people in the UK lacked basic digital skills, and the Office for National Statistics estimated 9% of people had never used the internet.

    Many of our best and brightest companies are telling us that they are struggling to recruit the specialist digital talent they need.

    I want to focus on what we are doing at every stage in education to develop the digital skills we need to help us address these challenges.

    Starting in schools. We recognise that EdTech can play a vital role – as a tool for teachers in our schools, colleges and Universities. And as a study in itself for students.

    Technology should reduce teacher workload. It should be another way of making education more accessible and inclusive. It should allow educators and students’ access to share content through cloud based services.

    The UK is at the forefront of Edtech – and many great British companies are represented here today. The UK is a global EdTech hub at the forefront of technological developments and discoveries; constantly developing innovative new learning methods and technology. Half of Europe’s fastest-growing education technology companies are based in the UK, and there are more than 1,000 EdTech ventures spread across the UK, with 200 in London alone.

    At the same time technology can keep people awake at night! Many feel they lack the budget or the expertise to use it.

    So what can government do?

    Proper implementation is key; as with any intervention, the most successful changes are led locally with the sector to make sure you have the information and skills you need to make the right decisions for you and your institution. We want to support classrooms and institutions up and down the country to harness its potential effectively. But connection is critical so we announced in the autumn budget that children from 100 schools would be the first to benefit from the local full fibre programme, using poorly serviced schools as a marker for where to focus expansion of the national full-fibre network.

    90% of new jobs require digital skills, so children need to grow up as more than just digital consumers but practitioners and creators.

    Also, we announced in the Autumn Budget that we would invest £84 million of new funding over the next five years to improve the teaching of computing and drive up participation in computer science qualifications, particularly amongst girls.

    This includes increasing the expertise of up to 8,000 existing computer science teachers and a new National Centre for Computing Education.

    This additional investment builds on the curriculum reforms we have already made. This is a step-change from the previous approach, and includes challenging new content such as coding and algorithms, providing students with the basic building blocks they need to move on to successful further study or work.

    We are currently implementing major systemic reforms in vocational education. Improving our digital skills sits at the heart of these reforms – already exciting plenty of interest and enthusiasm from students and employers alike.

    For example, we have introduced new innovative digital degree apprenticeships which were designed by employers and universities working in partnership to create relevant, high quality curricula to provide the much needed skills that industry needs.

    July 2017 saw the first degree apprentices’ graduate, with 11 gaining a BSc (honours) in Digital and Technology Solutions.

    We also have in place a suite of new apprenticeship standards to address employers’ digital skill needs at intermediate and technician levels.

    Our technical education reforms will see the creation of 15 prestigious technical routes that encompass all employment-based and college-based training.

    New T level programmes will sit within these routes and will provide a genuine technical option, equal in esteem to A levels. They will give young people a path to skilled employment or higher level technical study.

    There will be a specialist digital route, and in November we announced the membership of our industry panels who are already working to define the knowledge, skills and behaviours that individuals require for employment; we’ve lined up a strong mix of individuals from across the sector, with input from Fujitsu, IBM and Accenture. Government will also work with industry professionals to ensure relevant digital content is included in all routes.

    Our commitment to reforming technical education is underlined through our investment in this area. In last year’s Spring Budget, we allocated an additional £500 million per year for T levels, which will help us to match the excellence of our world-leading higher education system.

    But this is a fast moving sector so apprenticeships and T levels will need dynamic content that constantly keeps up with changes and innovation.

    Whilst our global reputation for digital technology is richly deserved, we will work hard to keep up.

    So we are determined that the new specialist institutions will play an essential role in training the digital leaders of tomorrow.

    Ada is one. A new specialist further education college that works with industry to design and deliver an education that empowers all students, women, those from low-income backgrounds – to progress into highly skilled digital roles.

    The college opened its 6th form in September 2016 and took its first apprentices in May 2017. Over its first five years Ada is aiming to train up to 5,000 students in higher level skills for a wide range of digital careers, such as software and database developers, user experience designers and tech entrepreneurs.

    The target is that 50% of these students will be women and 50% will be from low-income households by 2021. In December, we launched a competition for areas across England to bid into a £170m fund to establish a network of 10 to 15 prestigious Institutes of Technology. They will be a new type of institution involving FE providers, HE providers and employers working together.

    The Institute of Coding is an initiative to establish an institute to serve as a national focus for improving digital skills provision at levels 6 and 7. In the Autumn Statement 2015 the Government announced a new £20 million fund to improve higher level digital skills. The fund will establish joint collaborations between universities and businesses and focus on computer science and digital skills in related disciplines that employers need. The winners will be announced shortly.

    But we need to make sure that the enthusiasm our students have for digital skills and learning is translated beyond the classroom and into the workplace.

    We aim to tackle some of the misconceptions around jobs in the digital sector by improving the quality of careers advice our young people receive.

    We published a new careers strategy in December 2017, which included proposals to increasing young people’s contact with employers, especially in relation to STEM subjects – allowing them to see how enjoyable and fulfilling these jobs can be first hand.

    The careers strategy needs to be more than a document. We need to dramatically expand, the breadth and effectiveness of current careers provision in schools and colleges on all subjects but specifically STEM. We have produced a ‘what works’ and a toolkit for use in schools and colleges.

    Digital exclusion is a huge challenge. Those 11.5 million people without basic digital skills need to get them. This is why I am delighted to confirm that we will introduce full funding for basic digital training for adults from 2020.

    Adults will have the opportunity to undertake improved digital courses based on new national standards. This will set out the skills and capabilities people need to get on in life and work. We will consult on these new standards in the autumn.

    Technology is also key to distant learning for those whose geographical location makes it difficult or for those for whom learning digitally is more intuitive.

    In the Autumn Budget, we announced that will invest £30 million to test the use of AI and innovative EdTech in online digital skills courses so that adult learners can benefit from this emerging technology, wherever they are in the country.

    This Government wants everyone to get the digital skills they need.

    The country needs them to have those skills. Our economy depends on it. We can’t do this alone so your support, your input is vital.

    The Digital Skills Partnership Board is a way of feeding that information to us. But DFE officials will be here at the conference all week.

    We need to hear your ideas, answer your questions so we can make this happen.

  • Earl Howe – 2018 Statement on the Devonport Collection

    Below is the text of the statement made by Earl Howe in the House of Lords on 22 January 2018.

    I have today laid before Parliament a Ministry of Defence Departmental Minute describing a gifting package which the Department intend to make to the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

    Devonport Dockyard had a museum known as the Adelaide Gallery in the first half of the 1800s comprising a number of artefacts including figureheads and items such as flags from ships that served at Trafalgar. Sadly a fire in 1840 destroyed the majority of the collection. However, with the help of volunteers the museum was opened, within the Naval Base estate, in the disused Old Admiralty Fire Station in April 1969. Since opening, the “Devonport collection” has been enhanced by a group of willing volunteers who have accumulated artefacts of both local and national significance.

    The current collection is made up of over 100,000 artefacts spanning the period 1588 to the present day. The collection includes naval stores, uniforms, medals, badges, personal kit and also model ships. It also includes silver, china and kitchenware, weights and measures as well as larger items such as figureheads. The total cost of the proposed gift is estimated at approximately £650,000.

    The expansion of the collection is such that artefacts are now displayed in eight galleries across three buildings and is managed by a group of over 30 dedicated volunteers and uniformed staff. Currently, members of the public can only visit the collection by appointment.

    Given the changes to the Naval Base site and the wider area under the Plymouth and south-west peninsula city deal and the complexities associated with supporting such an extensive collection of historical material, I propose the gifting of the Devonport collection to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in order that it can be suitably conserved and more widely displayed in Plymouth for current and future generations allowing greater access to the public.

    The Departmental Minute, which I have today laid before Parliament, describes a gifting package to the National Museum of the Royal Navy that will comprise a number of historical items which need the continued support of the professional services that the Museum can provide.

    Gifting is expected to be undertaken as soon as possible after the completion of the Departmental Minute process.