Tag: 2022

PRESS RELEASE : Minimum Unit Pricing reducing alcohol consumption in Scotland [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Scottish Government on 22 November 2022.

Minister welcomes research which concludes measure has cut sales.

Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) “is achieving one of its key aims” according to Ministers after a new report concluded that it has been effective in cutting alcohol consumption.

Looking at the first three years since introduction, new research by Public Health Scotland and Glasgow University has concluded that the policy is reducing overall sales.

The level of minimum unit pricing is currently under review and a consultation on restrictions on the marketing of alcohol to help drive down hazardous consumption is also underway.

Public Health Minister Maree Todd said:

“I welcome this report which shows that minimum unit pricing has been effective in creating a 3% net reduction in total alcohol sales in the first three years of implementation. This important conclusion takes account of other factors such as the impact of the pandemic on alcohol sales, seasonal variations, existing trends, household income and comparison with England and Wales where MUP was not in place.

“Minimum unit pricing is achieving what it set out to do – a reduction in sales overall with a focus on the cheap high-strength alcohol, which is often drunk by people drinking at harmful levels. Further studies on MUP, including a final evaluation report, which is due next year, will examine how MUP has impacted on alcohol harms.

“Our focus is not only on MUP – last week, we launched a consultation on restrictions on the marketing of alcohol to help drive down hazardous consumption, and we are reviewing Scotland’s Alcohol Brief Interventions Programme which aims to motivate people to cut down on drinking.”

December 5, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Royal Marines Band Scotland delights Rome crowds [December 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 December 2022.

On 1 December HMS Albion set sail from Italy after a five day visit during which the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland performed at iconic sites across Rome, including the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, and the Pincio Terrace.

The ship had a packed programme, which included a visit from the Secretary of State for Defence, a function for leaders in industry, as well as hosting a group of diplomats in support of Ukraine.

The Royal Marines Band Scotland’s performances were the highlight for the Italian public. Large crowds of locals and tourists gathered around the twenty-six musicians during each spontaneous performance at iconic venues across the city. The first performance took place at the Colosseum, with the crowds parting as the band, under the cool autumnal sun, marched on against the spectacular backdrop of the Eternal City. The band delighted the crowds with a ‘Beat the Retreat’ and a selection of famous music, which included a rendition from the film Gladiator. The band also played the national anthems of Italy and the United Kingdom, marking the friendship between the two NATO allies.

Moving to their second venue at the iconic 18 Century Spanish Steps, they walked across the Piazza di Spagna and assembled at the foot of the steps opposite the Fontana della Barcaccia. Passers-by quickly congregated in anticipation of the music ahead. As well as traditional sea shanties, a highlight of this performance was a James Bond medley, including the iconic theme tune. The Corps of Drums then conducted their dramatic synchronised routine at unusually close quarters for the watching public, with the four drummers displaying their impeccable timing and choreography.

The band saved the best piece ‘til last, as bagpiper Lance Corporal Frank Rochford stepped forward and began a short introductory solo in anticipation of St Andrew’s day celebrations the next day. This evolved into a perfectly pitched riff, with the rest of the band joining in to create a brilliant Scottish cover version of the song “Wake Me Up” by Avicii.

The third and final public performance was at the Pincio Terrace, a viewpoint overlooking historic Rome and set within the extensive Villa Borghese gardens. It was a slightly more traditional repertoire featuring a selection of sea shanties, and the band displayed their skill with various marching formations.

It has been an amazing experience for the band to perform in Rome, the reception from the local crowd has been great,” said Lance Corporal Rochford. “I particularly enjoyed playing the bagpipes at the Spanish Steps which displays the unique capability of the Royal Marines Band Scotland, and just before Saint Andrew’s day too!

His Majesty’s Ambassador to Italy, Lord Edward Llewellyn, OBE is also HMS Albion’s Honorary Captain and has spent several short periods at sea with his affiliated ship. Now that Albion was in Italy the Ambassador took the opportunity to host members of the ship’s company at his residence, in recognition of their efforts on the Op ACHILLEAN deployment.

He said:

It was a huge honour to be able to welcome members of the Ship’s Company of HMS Albion to my Residence – and to thank them for their dedicated service. I was very proud to welcome Albion to Italy – not just as the British Ambassador but also as the ship’s Honorary Captain. Watching the Royal Marines Band Scotland play in front of the Colosseum and the Spanish Steps was an unforgettable experience – not just for me, but I think for many Romans and many tourists too. Thank you, HMS Albion: fair winds and following seas as you head home.

Berthed alongside in Civitavecchia, the ship supported several high-profile events for the British Embassy during its stay. These included a lunch function for British and Italian industrial leaders, an Ambassadors’ dinner with Baltic and North American diplomats in support of Ukraine, and a visit from Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who was in Italy to meet the Italian Defence Secretary Guido Crosetto.

Reflecting on the visit, the Commanding Officer of HMS Albion, Captain Simon Kelly, said:

I am very grateful to the Italian public for their warm welcome to our sailors and Royal Marines. Being able to bring the Royal Marines Band Scotland to the beautiful city of Rome has been a career highlight for me, and I am very proud of how they have performed across a series of performances.

Over the past three months HMS Albion has been leading the Royal Navy’s amphibious task group in an operation across the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and the Levant region. The visit to Italy is to be one of the last stops before the ship returns to its home port of Devonport, Plymouth.

December 5, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : New investigative unit launched to handle serious criminal offences across defence [December 2022]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 5 December 2022.

A new, tri-service and independent body has been launched to investigate criminal offences within the Armed Forces, including rape and sexual assault, the Defence Secretary has announced.

The Defence Serious Crime Command (DSCC) and Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) has the jurisdiction to investigate the most serious crimes alleged to have been committed by persons subject to service law in both the UK and overseas.

The unit, based in Southwick Park, replaces the existing Special Investigation Branches (SIB) and in its place forms an independent crime capability for Defence as part of its commitment to reforming the Service Justice System (SJS). This includes implementing the recommended changes to improve the experience for victims, who will be at the heart of the investigative process.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

This Unit is a step change to improving the quality and capability of the Armed Forces to investigate serious crimes. Fully independent, it will create a critical mass of experience and personnel to ensure our investigations are thorough, high quality and timely.

Lieutenant General James Swift, Chief of Defence People said:

All members of the Armed Forces should have the confidence to report a crime and know that it will be fully investigated.

The Defence Serious Crime Unit becoming operational today will be completely independent of the Chain of Command. This will give our Service men and women reassurance that their concerns will be taken seriously, investigated independently and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Colonel Mark John, Provost Marshal (Serious Crime) said:

This marks a significant improvement for Defence Policing and an opportunity we have seized. We have taken onboard key learnings, best practice and insight from civilian police forces to ensure that victims are central to the investigation. We will continue to work closely with a wide array of partners to maximise the effectiveness of this unit.

The new unit will deliver a more effective policing service staffed by officers trained to the same standard as their civilian counterparts.

All DSCU investigators will be sexual offences investigator trained as standard; special investigators will be sent on the Sexual Offences Liaison Officers courses delivered by the College of Policing, as well as to the Family Liaison Officers Course, the Senior Investigating Officers Course and the Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) interview course.

The unit operates as part of the DSCC which was established in April this year and will also see a new Victim and Witness Care Unit (VWCU) being set up. This will ensure victim care is central to every stage of the investigative and judicial process. This has been done in consultation with specialist external organisations, such as the Survivors Trust and the office of the Victims Commissioner and is expected to be fully operational in early 2023.

The DSCU is further proof that the SJS is fit for purpose, as recognised in the judge led ‘Henriques Review’ in 2020. The SJS will continue to support and provide justice for our personnel wherever they are in the world, which isn’t possible in the civilian justice system. All of this has been implemented alongside work to raise awareness of sexual offending, reporting mechanisms and implications to ensure that service personnel know that they will be believed and that we will act upon any allegation of an offence.

December 5, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Government kickstarts £2.6 billion investment in communities as UK takes back control of EU funding [December 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 5 December 2022.

People across the country will benefit from £2.6 billion of investment as the UK approves spending plans for funding previously run by the European Union.
- UK Government approves local spending plans for UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
- UKSPF matches and succeeds EU funding in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and gives local leaders greater say in how the money is spent.
- Funding will turbo-charge levelling up: supporting local businesses, boosting skills, reviving high streets and improving local pride.
People across the country will benefit from £2.6 billion of investment in skills, improved high streets, support for local business and more green spaces as the UK takes back control and approves spending plans for funding previously run by the European Union.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund succeeds EU structural funding but instead of Brussels deciding how and where the money is spent, the UK Government has been working closely with local leaders in every corner of the UK to direct funding where it is most needed.

Under the spending plans approved today, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all receiving at least as much as they did before, while also being free from bureaucratic EU processes and having greater say in how the money is used.

Councils in England, Scotland and Wales have drawn up the plans with a wide range of local partners that deliver for people in their areas. They have chosen to spend the money on a range of initiatives, such as supporting people into decent jobs, helping local businesses to grow and fighting anti-social behaviour, and can now begin to deliver these. In Northern Ireland, DLUHC is managing the Fund and has developed a plan in close collaboration with councils, businesses and the community and voluntary sector.

Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison said:

“We are taking full advantage of being outside the European Union and unlocking billions of pounds of investment to help level up communities and spread opportunity across the UK.

“The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will have tangible benefits for people up and down the country, from a young entrepreneur in need of a helping hand or those who want to gain the skills they need to secure a decent, well-paid job.

“The UK government has worked closely with local leaders across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, giving them a greater say in how this money is spent and ensuring funding is directed to where it is most needed.”

Across the UK, the money will be spent on levelling up in three key areas:
- Communities and place: projects could include improving parks and green spaces, sports facilities and access to arts and culture to foster a greater sense of pride in place.
- Supporting local business: this include support for entrepreneurs, as well as research and development grants for local businesses to help develop innovative products and services.
- People and skills: projects could include specialist support for people with a health condition facing additional barriers into decent jobs. This may include basic life skills, digital training and education in English and maths. As part of the Fund, a multi-million pound adult numeracy programme, Multiply, has been allocated across the UK to support people with no or low-level maths skills to improve their economic and life prospects.
The UK Government’s flexible approach also means that councils and local partners will have the opportunity to adapt each plan to reflect new economic priorities over the period to 2025.

Today, the UK Government is publishing the UKSPF Investment Plan for Northern Ireland, which set outs how the fund will be delivered. This has been designed to improve pride in place, increase life chances and support growth by investing in key priorities for Northern Ireland.

Funding for the UKSPF will be £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025, with this figure reaching £1.5 billion per year by March 2025, delivering on the UK Government’s commitment to match EU structural funds for each nation.

Local areas across England will see £1.58 billion, Scotland £212 million, Wales £585 million and Northern Ireland £127 million made available under the fund.
December 5, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Government explores national initiatives to boost the British semiconductor industry [December 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 5 December 2022.

Research project launched to explore ideas to build on UK semiconductor sector’s strengths in design, compound semiconductors and advanced technologies.
- Study, as part of the government’s upcoming semiconductor strategy, will consider how to grow chip design start-ups and testing facilities as well as bring together industry, customers and government to address shared challenges
- Semiconductors underpin almost every electronic device on the planet with the UK among world leaders for chip design
A new national institution could be established as part of plans to boost the infrastructure underpinning the UK’s industry through the government’s upcoming semiconductor strategy.

The strategy will aim to unlock the full potential of British microchip businesses, support jobs and skills to grow the UK’s domestic industry and ensure a reliably supply of semiconductors.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is today commissioning a research project to look into the feasibility of new national initiatives to bring the nation’s industry together to tackle shared challenges and help businesses scale up.

It will look at whether better access to prototyping and manufacturing facilities for chip firms is needed to tackle barriers to innovation and grow the industry. It will also cover opportunities to make specialist software tools more available for start-ups and ways to develop cutting-edge packaging processes, the point in the supply chain where chips are prepared for use.

Semiconductors are materials which conduct electricity more than insulating substances like glass, but less than pure conductors, like copper, and can be altered to meet the electrical needs of a circuit or device. They are found in almost every electrical circuit powering device from phones and cars to ventilators and power stations.

The UK’s semiconductor industry has expanded rapidly over the last decade, with global revenue increasing by 95 per cent between 2012 and 2021. The UK has established a number of major industry strengths, including in chip design, research and compound semiconductors.

Digital Secretary Michelle Donelan said:

We rely on semiconductors – they are in everything from our smartphones, kitchen appliances, and cars all the way through to the supercomputers that support our weather reporting, energy sector and countless other areas of our economy.

In the UK we are leading the world in areas including design and research. We want to build on these successes and keep our semiconductor sector on the cutting edge.

This study will help us meet our ambition and could lead to a new national institution and greater research facilities.

The study will consider how to improve infrastructure in five key areas: industry coordination, silicon prototyping, open-access manufacturing for compound semiconductors, advanced packaging and intellectual property.

The results will inform how the government could deliver on some of the ambitions set out in the forthcoming semiconductor strategy, which will be published as soon as possible and is not dependent on the completion of the feasibility study.

The proposed initiative is one of many options under consideration and does not represent the full breadth of the strategy.

The study will set out the delivery model a national initiative could take to have the most positive impact on the industry, including whether or not the different infrastructure capabilities are centralised in one organisation.
December 5, 2022
Keir Starmer – 2022 Comments on Labour’s Plan for the Constitution

The comments made by Sir Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on Twitter on 5 December 2022.

My Labour government will place power in the hands of cities and regions across Britain.

We will match the ambitions of people across the country to reignite our economy and build a better future.

December 5, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Constitutional arrangements in Sudan: Quad and Troika joint statement [December 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 December 2022.

Statement from Norway, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the USA:

Members of the Quad and Troika (Norway, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States) welcome the agreement of an initial political framework. This is an essential first step toward establishing a civilian-led government and defining constitutional arrangements to guide Sudan through a transitional period culminating in elections. We commend the parties’ efforts to garner support for this framework agreement from a broad range of Sudanese actors and their call for continued, inclusive dialogue on all issues of concern and cooperation to build the future of Sudan.

We urge all Sudanese actors to engage in this dialogue urgently and in good faith. We acknowledge the military has made clear it is ready to step back from politics and engage constructively in the ongoing dialogue. We call on all parties to put Sudan’s national interest above narrow political ends. We also fully support the UNITAMS-AU-IGAD (the Tripartite Mechanism) role in facilitating these negotiations and call on all parties to do the same. Quad and Troika members support this Sudanese-led process and condemn spoilers attempting to restrict political space and undermine Sudan’s stability and democratic transition.

A concerted effort to finalize negotiations and reach agreement quickly to form a new civilian-led government is essential to address Sudan’s urgent political, economic, security, and humanitarian challenges. This is the key to unlocking the resumption of international development assistance and deeper cooperation between the government of Sudan and international partners. We are working with partners to coordinate significant economic support to a civilian-led transitional government to help address the challenges facing the people of Sudan.

December 5, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : British High Commissioner, Dr Christian Turner CMG, to leave Pakistan [December 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 December 2022.

The British Foreign Secretary, The Rt. Hon. James Cleverly MP, has announced the appointment of Dr Christian Turner CMG to a senior diplomatic position in London as Director General Geopolitical (Political Director) at the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). This is a position equivalent to Under Secretary of State.

Currently serving as the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, a position he has held since December 2019, Christian Turner is expected to depart the country and take up his new role in London by mid-January 2023. This follows the end of a standard three year diplomatic posting.

Over his three years as High Commissioner, Christian Turner oversaw the UK’s COVID-19 repatriation efforts, welcomed a UK Foreign Secretary visit, lobbied for and secured direct flights from the UK to Pakistan, initiated a drive to double UK-Pakistan trade by 2025, ensured that the UK was at the forefront of the international Pakistan flood crisis response and played a pivotal role in the promotion of sports diplomacy and the return of the England Men’s cricket team to Pakistan following a 17 year absence.

The British High Commissioner, Christian Turner, said the following:

The last three years have been some of the most rewarding of my life, both professionally and personally. I will continue closely to follow Pakistan’s future in my new role in London.

December 5, 2022
Brendan O’Hara – 2022 Statement Calling for Suspension of Michelle Mone

The statement made by Brendan O’Hara, the SNP spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, on 4 December 2022.

Rishi Sunak pledged when he took office that he would lead a government with integrity.

It is now only right that he matches that rhetoric with action and suspends the whip from Baroness Mone and addresses the serious questions hanging over this entire shameful episode.

Of course perhaps the reason the Tory government doesn’t want to talk about Baroness Mone’s millions is that she is only the tip of a very large iceberg of its politically connected pals who benefited like this.

That is why there should be an independent investigation into the full extent of this profiteering at a time of national crisis.

I think most fair-minded people would agree it is obscene that people were able to make such vast profits from a government PPE contract while the country suffered through the pandemic.

December 5, 2022
Matt Hancock – 2022 Comments on the Personal Integrity and Conduct of Michelle Mone (Baroness Mone)

The comments made by Matt Hancock, the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, serialised by the Daily Mail on 5 December.

Baroness Michelle Mone has sent me an extraordinarily aggressive email complaining that a company she’s helping isn’t getting the multi-million-pound contracts it deserves. She claims the firm, which makes lateral flow test kits, ‘has had a dreadful time’ trying to cut through red tape and demanded my ‘urgent help’ before it all comes out in the media.

‘I am going to blow this all wide open,’ she threatened.

In essence, she’s not at all happy that a US company called Innova has secured so many contracts while others ‘can’t get in the game’. She claims test kits made by the company she’s representing, and by several others, have all passed rigorous quality control checks but only Innova is getting the business.

December 5, 2022