Tag: 2022

PRESS RELEASE : Hundreds of young Londoners removed from Met’s Gang Violence Matrix after Mayor’s latest review [November 2022]
Mayor’s latest review of Met’s Gang Violence Matrix
Number of people on Gang Violence Matrix down to lowest total ever

Matrix database now more transparent than ever before

Majority of individuals assessed as low risk now being removed from database as Mayor and Commissioner take decisive action to tackle disproportionality affecting Black Londoners

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced that the number of young Londoners on the Met’s Gang Violence Matrix has been halved to its lowest ever level since the database was set up a decade ago.

Following the latest annual review of the matrix by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), the Met has taken the decision for all those deemed to be low risk – more than 1,200 people – to be removed from the Matrix database, which was created in the aftermath of the 2011 riots and is used by the Met to identify those at risk of committing, or being a victim of, gang-related violence in London.

New figures reveal that there are now 1,933 individuals on the Matrix – the lowest number since the database was set up in 2012. This represents a decrease of 49 per cent from August 2017, when the number of individuals on the Matrix peaked at 3,881.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has committed to a complete redesign of the Matrix, in consultation with MOPAC, academics and communities as part of his action to rebuild public confidence and trust in the Met.

The Mayor ordered a wide-ranging review of the database in 2017 following concerns in the Lammy review* around how many young Black men were on the Matrix compared with their likelihood of offending or their chances of being a victim.

Communities also had deep reservations about how the Matrix operates, including concerns that young Londoners listed could face sanctions relating to housing and other public services, and inconsistencies in how data on the gangs list was being used and shared.

The scrutiny of the Matrix fulfils a Mayoral commitment to carry out the largest and most comprehensive review of the database and swiftly implement nine recommendations to ensure it is as effective and efficient as possible. Following the 2017/2018 review, a Disproportionality Board was established by the Mayor as part of his Action Plan launched in November 2020 to look at a wide-range of policing issues, including the Matrix and ongoing work to improve trust and confidence in the Met. This has resulted in clearer processes and better oversight of how the Matrix is being used, increasing transparency and ensuring a robust case is made before individuals are added to the database and that they are removed when there is sufficient evidence they have exited a gang lifestyle.

There has been a sustained reduction in those individuals on the Matrix who had previously been assessed at low risk of causing gang-related violence but were registered on the database due to a previous link with a gang. The Met has now committed to removing this category – known as being in the ‘green banding’ – from the Matrix, so that it can focus resources on those most at risk of being impacted by gang-related crime.

But the Mayor is clear that more must be done to tackle disproportionality and he is committed to working closely with the Met Commissioner to make sure the Gang Violence Matrix is used fairly and effectively.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The fact Black Londoners have less trust in the Met should concern us all. That is why the comprehensive overhaul of the Gang Violence Matrix is so important – increased scrutiny and transparency will help increase the degree of confidence all of London’s diverse communities can have in the Met.

“As a direct result of the police acting on the recommendations, the Matrix database is now more effective and more evidence-based than ever before.

“We know that gang-related violence still accounts for a significant proportion of the most serious crime in London and the Matrix is a necessary enforcement tool as well as a means to support and intervention, but it’s vitally important that the police continue to evaluate how it is used. It’s something the new Met Commissioner and I have committed to improving together in order to build a fairer and safer London for everyone.”

Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said: “The Met does need to use intelligence and data-led tools in order to help protect the public from perpetrators of violence. The Gangs Violence Matrix was set up in 2012 with the intention of reducing gang-related violence, safeguarding those exploited by gangs and preventing young lives from being lost. We recognise that to prevent crimes and protect the public, the police have extraordinary powers. It is our duty to use these responsibly and right that our methods are scrutinised. We acknowledge that the Gangs Violence Matrix does need to be redesigned, taking into account improvements in statistical methods and technologies.

“We know that young men; and in particular young black men, continue to be over represented on the Matrix. Sadly, there is a reality that levels of violent crime do disproportionally affect young Black men – both in terms of victimisation and offending and our tactics do need to be targeted so we can protect those most at risk. However, it is not appropriate that the Matrix further amplifies this disproportionality. As an immediate response, we are removing all the lowest risk individuals. This represents 65 per cent, or more than 1,100 people.

“We have worked closely with MOPAC over the last few years to strengthen how we use the Matrix and have almost halved the number of people on it, from a peak of more than 3,800 in 2017 to under 2,000 now. We are committed to the complete redesign of the Gangs Violence Matrix, informed by further academic research, and will be engaging closely with community groups and partners on this in the next few months.”
November 6, 2022
Keir Starmer – 2022 Article on Rishi Sunak and the Environment

A section of the article written by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, in the Observer Newspaper on 6 November 2022.

Sunak is the latest person to attempt to govern an ungovernable party. He is unable to focus on Britain’s future because he’s plastering over the mess the Tories have made. Just this weekend, he used his first interview as prime minister to shrug his shoulders and say he can’t fix the problems we face. This tired, fatalistic, outdated approach is a recipe for more of the same. It has no chance of grasping a fairer, greener future.

It is time for a fresh start. One that recognises the crises we face are linked and will only be solved by a new approach.

The UK’s energy bills disaster was exacerbated by Putin’s grotesque invasion of Ukraine. But it was caused by 12 years of failure by Tory governments to unhook Britain from its dependence on fossil fuels.

At the same time, we have an accelerating climate crisis, illustrated most recently by the devastating floods in Pakistan and Britain’s first 40C days.

The truth of our age is that the solution to both of these calamities is adopting cheap, clean, homegrown power as fast as we can. We are lucky; our island nation has abundant natural resources of wind, water and solar. It is an act of national self-harm not to prioritise them over more expensive gas. I wouldn’t be dragged to Cop27 as prime minister, I’d be leading the way. My first objective would be to persuade world leaders that we need to get to clean energy as quickly as possible. It’s why I have set a world-leading commitment for Britain to be the first major economy to reach 100% clean power by 2030. The ambition of those plans is matched only by my determination to deliver them. Under my Labour government, the UK will become a clean energy superpower.

November 6, 2022
Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on Rishi Sunak’s Appointment of Gavin Williamson

The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Chair of the Labour Party, on Twitter on 6 November 2022.

Rishi Sunak was warned about Gavin Williamson’s threatening texts and appointed him to the cabinet anyway. The very next day the new PM promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability”. They’re laughing at you – again.

November 6, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Hunger and malnutrition being driven by climate crisis and conflict in South Sudan [November 2022]

The press release issued by UNICEF on 3 November 2022.

Hunger and malnutrition are on the rise across the flood, drought, and conflict-affected areas of South Sudan, with some communities likely to face starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained and climate adaptation measures are not scaled-up, the United Nations warned today.

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), released today, shows about two-thirds of the South Sudanese population (7.76 million people) are likely to face acute food insecurity during the April-July 2023 lean season while 1.4 million children will be malnourished.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warn that the proportion of people facing high levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 [crisis] or above) and malnourishment is at the highest level ever, surpassing levels seen even during the conflict in 2013 and 2016. The decline in food security and high prevalence of malnutrition is linked to a combination of conflict, poor macroeconomic conditions, extreme climate events, and spiralling costs of food and fuel. At the same time, there has been a decline in funding for humanitarian programmes despite the steady rise in humanitarian needs.

“We’ve been in famine prevention mode all year and have staved off the worst outcomes, but this is not enough,” warned Makena Walker, Acting Country Director for WFP in South Sudan. “South Sudan is on the frontlines of the climate crisis and day in, day out families are losing their homes, cattle, fields and hope to extreme weather. Without humanitarian food assistance, millions more will find themselves in an increasingly dire situation and unable to provide even the most basic food for their families.”

The unprecedented, multi-year flood sweeping the country is exacerbating already high levels of hunger caused by ongoing conflict and the global food crisis. Central parts of the country, which are the most heavily impacted by multiyear flooding, are the areas with the highest levels of food insecurity.

“Livelihood support is particularly needed to facilitate South Sudan’s self-reliance in food production. We know the potential exists as about 840 000 tonnes of cereals were produced in 2021, during a difficult year with climate change, floods, conflict and other factors. With the current cereal deficit of 541 000 tonnes, urgent investment in rural livelihoods is needed to increase production and self-sufficiency,” said Meshack Malo, FAO Representative in South Sudan.

While there have been marginal improvements in food security across some parts of the country, the nutrition crisis across South Sudan is deepening. All counties except one are showing a deterioration in their nutrition situation through June 2023, including 44 counties where the situation is deemed critical.

“Over the past three years, floods have dramatically affected an increasing number of people across South Sudan,” said UNICEF Acting Representative in South Sudan Jesper Moller. “Among those impacted, we find a growing number of food-insecure and malnourished children, which the international community cannot ignore. To effectively protect children from the effects of climate change, we must ensure we reach the most vulnerable children with an essential package of multi-sectoral social service interventions.”

“The IPC report is the product of months of data collection and analysis, with participation from Government, UN agencies, NGOs, and other partners,” added Sara Beysolow Nyanti, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan. “Quality data like this is critical to formulating humanitarian response plans to help meet the needs of people in the country, and these figures show the people of South Sudan need support more than ever. It’s vital we receive commitments from donors for 2023 so we can prevent a worsening of the humanitarian situation across the country.”

Resourcing for the 2023 humanitarian response in South Sudan is urgently needed within the next few months or agencies will be unable to preposition humanitarian assistance in time for the next year, leaving millions of families at risk of spiralling deeper into hunger.

November 6, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Increasing handover delays contributing to growing ambulance waiting times [November 2022]
The press release issued by the Health Foundation on 4 November 2022.

Increase in handover delays – the time an ambulance spends waiting outside a hospital before transferring a patient – is a major cause of the decline in ambulance response times, new analysis finds.
- In July 2022, more than 1 in 10 ambulances waited over an hour with patients outside hospitals – up from 1 in 50 in July 2019.
- Patients with the most critical calls are waiting 18% longer than in 2018/19. For less urgent cases, waits have doubled to an average of 3 hours.
- The Health Foundation calls for urgent ‘whole system’ focus ahead of a challenging winter for the NHS.
A sharp increase in handover delays between ambulance services and hospitals has resulted in patients waiting longer than ever for ambulances to arrive, new analysis warns.

Analysis by the Health Foundation on ambulance service performance in England has found that the percentage of handover times exceeding 60 minutes was seven times higher in July 2022 than in 2019.

The analysis also shows that patients are facing record-breaking ambulance waiting times, with patients in April to March 2021/22 waiting 18% longer than they would have waited in April to March 2018/19 for the most critical calls. For less urgent cases that still require an ambulance response, waits have more than doubled to an average of over 3 hours. Because ambulance services are stretched, the increases in handover times are magnified, leading to far greater increases in average response times.

Long ambulance handover times signal system-wide challenges and have devastating consequences for patients and their families. Rising times suggest different parts of the system – from social care to hospitals – are under severe strain, putting patients’ lives at risk.

The increase in ambulance handover delays is largely being driven by the lack of hospital bed capacity and delays in discharging patients. To ease this pressure there needs to be greater investment in social care and community services.

To address increasing ambulance waiting times, the Health Foundation is calling for a whole system approach with greater investment in:
- hospital capacity and flow through hospital with more beds and more staff
- out of hospital care, including social care
- community services, such as mental health services, which can prevent health conditions becoming crises.
Charles Tallack, Director of Data Analytics at the Health Foundation, said:

‘The sharp increase in handover delays is a major cause of the increase in ambulance waiting times. The cumulative effect of demand returning to pre-pandemic levels, the need to catch up with backlogs, and the ongoing impact of COVID-19 has resulted in the pressures we are now seeing right across the system – putting patients’ lives at risk.

‘Delays at the front door of the hospital are a consequence of wider challenges hospitals are facing in discharging patients. Getting a handle on this must be a priority for the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Tackling ambulance performance will require further investment in NHS and social care capacity and a comprehensive, funded workforce plan to ensure services have the staff they need.’
November 6, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Chief Operating Officer appointed new RIBA Chief Executive [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Royal College of GPs on 1 November 2022.

The College has today announced that Chief Operating Officer Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick MBE will be leaving in January 2023 to take up the role of Chief Executive Officer at the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Dr Vaughan-Dick has had extensive leadership experience in central and local government, and in the public and voluntary sectors. She joined the College as Executive Director, Planning and Resources in 2014 and has been the College’s COO, the equivalent of Chief Executive Officer, since 2017.

She reports to the Chair of Trustees and Chair of Council and is responsible for 300 staff supporting GP teams to raise standards of patient care. During her time at the College, she has overseen significant transformational change whilst ensuring stability for the organisation during the pandemic years.

With College Chair Professor Martin Marshall, she has led work to promote equality, diversity and inclusion within the College and general practice, and developed a strong focus on employee engagement.

She has also raised the profile of the RCGP’s international work, including speaking at World Health Organization and United Nations conferences.

She was awarded an MBE in Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022 for her services to general practice and to ethnic minority communities.

The College’s Chair of Trustees Professor Mike Holmes has convened a panel of College Officers and Trustees to address interim arrangements and begin the process for appointing Dr Vaughan-Dick’s successor.

Professor Holmes said: “Valerie’s calm, collaborative and compassionate leadership has steered the College through significant transformational change, while delivering ‘business as usual’ to our GP members during the turbulence of the pandemic years. We will be very sorry to see her go but wish her the very best in her new role.”

Dr Vaughan-Dick said: “Being Chief Operating Officer of the RCGP has been a highlight of my career. It has been a privilege to work with such a dedicated team of GPs and staff and I am proud of all we have achieved in supporting the College’s 54,000 members and the patients they care for.”

November 6, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Plea for Welsh NHS to do away with fax machines once and for all [November 2022]
The press release issued by Welsh Conservatives on 4 November 2022.

The Welsh Conservatives have re-iterated their call on the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay to do away with fax machines in the NHS to modernise the ageing digital systems in the health service.

The call comes as the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom consults on changes to telecoms rules that could formalise its obsolescence.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said:

“Wales has longest NHS waiting times in Britain and one of the aspects holding us back is the lack of modernisation – we are an analogue being in the digital age.

“Behaviours and lifestyles have changed significantly since devolution and it’s about time we had a health service that reflected this through innovation, which is why we should use Ofcom’s consultation as an opportunity to make what is quite a modest leap into the future.

“That does not just mean doing away with outdated fax machines but adapting digital systems wholescale, as we have outlined in our NHS tech bundle. This will level-up the delivery of Welsh healthcare with other UK nations as well as make it more efficient in its own right.

“It is essential the Labour Government get on with this so that NHS Wales can better serve the patients and staff in ways it should have been doing for years.”

In September, the Party called on Labour ministers to ramp-up efforts to modernise NHS digital systems after its outdated nature is damaging efforts to deliver effective healthcare in Wales.

In addition to abolishing the use of fax machines to move to a fully digital system, the NHS Tech Bundle would include:
- Requesting another UK nation for an ‘off-the-shelf’ software system to replace the increasingly unreliable Cancer Network Information System Cymru (CaNISC), so outdated it has caused outages where doctors couldn’t access cancer patient files;
- Fully rollout e-prescribing across NHS Wales, something that was already introduced in England and Scotland since 2005 and 2009, respectively; and
- Develop an NHS Wales app so, like patients in England, people in Wales can access health records, order prescriptions, contact a health professional, and manage appointments.
In 2022, fax machines are still being bought because of a lack of progress in sharing electronic patient records. The Health and Social Care Committee heard the following evidence as part of its report into hospital discharges:
- “We have just bought a fax machine for the new hospital. For heavens’ sake. What are we doing? GPs fax referrals into the emergency unit. I never see it. Why is that not e-mailed to me? Because I can’t deal with the emergency information if the emergency information doesn’t get to me” (Dr Karl Davis of the British Geriatrics Society)
- “In other parts of the UK, they’ve now given care providers NHS e-mail addresses, which enables records to be transferred more easily and more securely. It’s something we’re in conversation about in Wales, but it hasn’t happened yet. So, it might be something that you want to recommend as part of the system changes.” (Mary Wimbury, Care Forum Wales).
November 6, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Just how bad were Wales’ worst-ever ambulance waits? [November 2022]

The press release issued by 3 November 2022.

Ambulance response times have reached life-endangering heights as new data shows just how long Welsh patients are having to wait for one.

A Freedom of Information request from Senedd Conservatives uncovered a breakdown in ambulance response times for September 2022, revealing that 73 red-calls for life-threatening emergencies took over half an hour to be reached, with one taking over an hour.

30 of these occurred in North Wales’ Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board (HB), which is also where the hour-long wait occurred. Dyfed’s Hywel Dda HB had 17 patients waiting between 30 and 60 minutes.

That month saw only 50% of red-calls reach their patient within eight-minutes – the worst on record – against a 65% target set out by the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay, not reached for two years.

However, there was worse to come in relation to amber calls. These are not classified as life-threatening, yet include very serious conditions such strokes.

4,046 amber patients had to wait over three hours to reach the scene for ambulances to reach the scene. Of these, 1,310 took over five hours, meaning 9% of amber calls in Wales took over 360 minutes to arrive at the scene.

This was most acute in North Wales, with 1,169 waiting over three hours, 423 of these waited over five hours. For other health boards, Gwent’s Aneurin Bevan HB recorded 753 amber calls taking over three hours, while four of the other five had 400-600 such waits.

The revelations come after a Welsh Conservative debate where they called for an end to the system where strokes are not considered for red-call ambulances dispatches.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said:

“The crisis affecting Welsh hospitals extends far beyond the buildings themselves as a shortage of beds and staff means overcrowded A&E departments and queues of ambulances outside, resulting in unacceptably long waits for emergency vehicles, something people do not ask for lightly.

“None of this is the fault of hardworking ambulance technicians but poor planning from the Labour Government – do not forget that the last health minister said it would be ‘foolish’ to publish a plan for recovery while the pandemic was still on-going. Now we are all paying the price.

“To generate faster ambulance responses, we must tackle the causes of the delays at source – this means less congested A&E departments and making progress on the treatment backlog, where one-fifth of the Welsh population lie – with winter war rooms and surgical hubs.

“This is the cost of Labour, and now Mark Drakeford needs to get a grip on the NHS and stop breaking all the wrong records.”

November 6, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Call for disclosure of ministerial WhatsApp in Covid inquiry [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 1 November 2022.

The Leader of the Opposition has called for private messages between Labour Government ministers and officials in Cardiff Bay to be disclosed to the UK-wide Covid inquiry.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS said:

“In order for the inquiry to achieve its purpose of delivering answers to those who lost loved ones, lost their businesses, and lost valuable hours of education during the pandemic, it is essential that we get as much transparency as possible.

“This must extend just beyond decision-makers in Westminster, so that people in Wales can hold leaders in Cardiff Bay accountable too. We need to see how ministers interacted with civil servants, the health boards, and Public Health Wales to get the full picture.

“We always wanted a Wales-specific inquiry as there would be no doubt this would happen as there would be no threat of Welsh Government actions being overshadowed, but without one we are writing to the Chair to ensure our joint ambition of equal scrutiny across the UK is maintained.

“I look forward to hearing back from Baroness Hallett on the assurances we have sought.”

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS has written to inquiry Chair, Baroness Hallett, asking her to ensure demands made of the UK Government are also made to the devolved administration.

It was reported today that the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and some of his senior officials will be required to submit some of their WhatsApp messages to the inquiry. Davies has asked if similar requests will be made of ministers and officials in the Welsh Government.

He added: “this would ensure that the four governments within the United Kingdom are scrutinised on a level-playing field and that people in the devolved nations see accountability being applied equally, principles I know you [Hallett] are passionate about upholding”.

The call comes as the UK-wide coronavirus inquiry begins its evidence collection. The Welsh Conservatives have long backed calls from the Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru group for a Wales-specific inquiry given concerns that the Labour Government’s actions will be overshadowed.

November 6, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Civil Liberties Organisations Demand Scrapping the Public Order Bill [November 2022]

The press release issued by Big Brother Watch on 1 November 2022.

The return of the dangerous Public Order Bill in the House of Lords was met by calls to drop Protest Banning Orders by civil liberties organisations.

Only last December, the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill was debated in parliament, and its draconian powers that clamp down on protest rights were contested. The Public Order Bill takes these powers one step further by allowing police to stop and search innocent protestors on grounds of suspicion. The Bill places emphasis on protestors “locking on” and causing “severe disruption”. Normal everyday activities like taking your bike lock to work or walking arm in arm can also be seen as deviant and dangerous.

Big Brother Watch, the civil rights group, said: “It is vital that peers act to protect civil liberties and force the home secretary to ditch the worst of her anti-protest plans.” The organisation’s legal and policy officer, Mark Johnson, stated that these powers “could come straight from the pages of a dystopian novel”.

November 6, 2022