Tag: 2022

  • Greg Clark – 2022 Comments on Thurrock Council

    Greg Clark – 2022 Comments on Thurrock Council

    The comments made by Greg Clark, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 2 September 2022.

    Given the serious financial situation at Thurrock Council and its potential impact on local services, I believe it is necessary for government to intervene.

    I strongly believe that when a council gets into difficulties its local government neighbours should be the preferred source of help in turning it around.

    I know that Essex County Council possesses the expertise and ability to help its local government neighbour. Working together, I believe the councils can deliver the improvements local people expect and deserve.

  • PRESS RELEASE : John Baillie and Catharine Seddon reappointed to the Gambling Commission

    PRESS RELEASE : John Baillie and Catharine Seddon reappointed to the Gambling Commission

    The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 2 September 2022.

    The Secretary of State has reappointed John Baillie and Catharine Seddon as Commissioners of the Gambling Commission commencing 31 December 2022 until 10 April 2024.

    John Baillie

    John is a Chartered Accountant and a former partner of KPMG in Scotland and London. He is a former Chair of the Accounts Commission for Scotland, the Scottish local authority watchdog, and served two, three-year terms. He was Chair of Audit Scotland, the Scottish equivalent of the National Audit Office for several years, and a member of the Reporting Panel of the UK Competition and Markets Authority for nine years. John was also a visiting professor of accountancy at the University of Edinburgh and has previously held similar appointments at other Scottish universities.

    Catharine Seddon

    Catharine Seddon has 14 years of public service as a non-executive director, principally for national regulators. Catharine has been the Senior Independent Director for The Gambling Commission since 2017. She is Deputy Chair and Chair of the Audit and Governance committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Senior Independent Director of the Legal Services Board. She has recently joined the board of the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service.

    Previously, she has held non-executive and committee roles with the Human Tissue Authority and The Pensions Regulator. She sits on tribunals in mental health and employment, as a lay assessor on civil cases in the county courts and she is a presiding magistrate in Central London. Catharine tutors for the Civil Service College and is a member of the Health Service Products Appeal Tribunal and a trustee for CPotential, a special needs charity.

    Catharine spent twenty years as a high-end film documentary maker, at first at the BBC and latterly for C4, eventually setting up her own independent production company.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Commissioners of the Gambling Commission are offered remuneration of £295 per day. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. John Baillie and Catharine Seddon have not declared any significant political activity.

     

  • PRESS RELEASE : Jessica Pulay appointed as Chair of the Wallace Collection

    PRESS RELEASE : Jessica Pulay appointed as Chair of the Wallace Collection

    The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 2 September 2022.

    The Prime Minister has appointed Jessica Pulay to a five-year term as a Trustee, commencing 19 September 2022. As a result of her appointment, the Wallace Collection Trustees have elected Jessica as their new Chair with immediate effect.

    Jessica Pulay

    Jessica Pulay has 35 years’ finance experience in both the public and private sectors, specialising in government and supranational funding from capital markets. She has been Co-Head of Policy and Markets at the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) since 2015 and is an executive member of its Advisory Board. She has responsibility for the UK government’s debt issuance and cash management, as well as the policy, research and business operations areas.

    Prior to joining the DMO, Jessica spent 16 years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, where she was Deputy Head of Funding. Earlier in her career she was an executive director at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and a managing director at Deutsche Bank.

    Jessica’s commitment to the arts and education includes serving an eight-year term as a trustee of the Wallace Collection (2013-2021), where she chaired the Audit Committee.  She currently serves on the ENO board of trustees and has been a board member of the Arts Foundation.

    Jessica has previously served on a number of other charity boards and is a board member of the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), financing Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.  Following her experience in the 2004 Asian tsunami, Jessica helped to establish the Rawatha Orphanage in Sri Lanka.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Trustees of the Wallace Collection are not remunerated. Schedule 4 of the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 sets out that ‘The Board shall consist of at least six members (in this Schedule referred to as“trustees”) who shall be appointed by the Prime Minister; and the trustees shall appoint one of their number to be chairman’. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Jessica Pulay has declared no such activity.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Truda Spruyt reappointed to the Theatres Trust Board

    PRESS RELEASE : Truda Spruyt reappointed to the Theatres Trust Board

    The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 2 September 2022.

    The Secretary of State has reappointed Truda Spruyt to the Theatres Trust Board for 3 years.

    Truda Spruyt

    Reappointed for a three-year term from 7 October 2022 until 6 October 2025.

    Truda Spruyt is Managing director of the culture team at Four, where she heads up integrated, strategic campaigns for a number of cultural clients. She has almost 30 years’ experience in cultural communications, over 20 of them at Four. Clients that she works with include the Booker Prizes, the Baillie Gifford Prize, We Are Lewisham: London Borough of Culture, Jerwood Arts and StoryTrails, part of UNBOXED 2022. Key campaigns she has worked on include the Future Skills League table for Kingston University, highlighting the value of creative study and Centre Stage for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, which led to the creation of Get Into Theatre.

    Truda has extensive experience of managing complex multi-stakeholder projects and of directing strategic campaigns. She works with clients at senior level to define key messages, evaluate brand values and develop integrated communication strategies. Particular specialisms include thought leadership and cultural placemaking. Truda read English Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge and was formerly Chair of the Philosophy Foundation.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Trustees of the Theatres Trust are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Truda Spruyt has not declared any significant political activity.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Ray Macfarlane reappointed as the Scotland Trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund

    PRESS RELEASE : Ray Macfarlane reappointed as the Scotland Trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund

    The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 2 September 2022.

    The Prime Minister has reappointed Ray Macfarlane for a term of two years and six months, commencing 01 October 2022.

    Ray Macfarlane

    Ray Macfarlane is the Chairman of Museums Galleries Scotland having previously served as Chair of its Recognition Committee. That committee was established by Scottish Government to identify and support nationally important collections held by bodies other than the national museums and galleries.

    Ray is also Chairman of the Scottish Legal Aid Board and of the Hopetoun Foundation and is a Trustee of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Her other non-executive roles have included Trustee and Deputy Chairman of the National Galleries of Scotland and Trustee of its Foundation, Chair of Scottish Screen, Deputy Chair of the Scottish Arts Council, Chair of Home Scotland and Non– Executive Director of Home Group, one of the UK’s largest Housing Associations.

    Ray graduated MA, LL.B, MBA from the University of Glasgow and began her career as a commercial solicitor in private practice. She moved on to senior management roles with Bank of Scotland where she was Group Head of Community Investment and Scottish Enterprise where she was the Managing Director responsible for 6 divisions covering Business Development, Sector Development. Training and Skills Development, Competitive Place (involving property development, environmental improvement, and land engineering) Inward Investment and Export Development.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    The Scotland Trustee receives remuneration of £20,749 per annum. Ray Macfarlane was initially reappointed to a second term of six months and this reappointment is therefore to a third term.This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Ray Macfarlane has declared no such activity.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2022 Comments on G7 Statement on Russian Aggression

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2022 Comments on G7 Statement on Russian Aggression

    The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 2 September 2022.

    Since Putin’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine the UK and our allies have imposed hugely damaging sanctions on the Kremlin war machine, pushing the Russian economy into a deep recession and putting the majority of Russia’s $640billion foreign exchange reserves beyond use.

    Following a productive meeting with Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington, and together with our G7 partners, we have agreed to go further. This has been a personal priority for me as Chancellor. We will curtail Putin’s capacity to fund his war from oil exports by banning services, such as insurance and the provision of finance, to vessels carrying Russian oil above an agreed price cap.

    We are united against this barbaric aggression and will do all we can to support Ukraine as they fight for sovereignty, democracy and freedom.

  • G7 Finance Ministers – 2022 Joint Statement on Russia’s War of Aggression against Ukraine

    G7 Finance Ministers – 2022 Joint Statement on Russia’s War of Aggression against Ukraine

    The joint statement made by the G7 Finance Ministers on 2 September 2022.

    We, the G7 Finance Ministers, met on 2 September 2022 to discuss our united response to Russia´s war of aggression against Ukraine and the war’s harmful impact on the global economy.

    We remain steadfast in our support for and solidarity with Ukraine. We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

    We continue to condemn the brutal, unprovoked, unjustifiable and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine by Russia and aided by Belarus. Russia´s war of aggression is causing global economic disruptions and is threatening the security of the global supply of energy and food. The economic costs of the war and consequent price increases are felt disproportionately by vulnerable groups across all economies and particularly by those countries already facing food insecurities and fiscal challenges.

    We underscore our shared commitment to our determined and coordinated sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s war of aggression, which are already having a considerable impact on the Russian economy. The cumulative impact of these measures on Russia will amplify over time and starkly deteriorate its economic potential. We remain committed to fully implementing and enforcing our sanctions and remain vigilant against sanctions evasion, circumvention and backfilling.

    At their summit in Elmau, G7 Leaders reaffirmed a shared commitment to preventing Russia from profiting from its war of aggression, to supporting stability in global energy markets and to minimising negative economic spillovers, especially on low- and middle-income countries. To deliver on this commitment, today we confirm our joint political intention to finalise and implement a comprehensive prohibition of services which enable maritime transportation of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products globally – the provision of such services would only be allowed if the oil and petroleum products are purchased at or below a price (“the price cap”) determined by the broad coalition of countries adhering to and implementing the price cap.

    The price cap is specifically designed to reduce Russian revenues and Russia´s ability to fund its war of aggression whilst limiting the impact of Russia´s war on global energy prices, particularly for low and middle-income countries, by only permitting service providers to continue to do business related to Russian seaborne oil and petroleum products sold at or below the price cap. This measure would thus build on and amplify the reach of existing sanctions, notably the EU´s sixth package of sanctions, ensuring coherence through a strong global framework.[1] We welcome the decision of the European Union to explore with international partners ways to curb rising energy prices, including the feasibility of introducing temporary import price caps.

    In line with our extensive and ongoing engagement with a diverse group of countries and key stakeholders, we invite all countries to provide input on the price cap´s design and to implement this important measure. We seek to establish a broad coalition in order to maximise effectiveness and urge all countries that still seek to import Russian oil and petroleum products to commit to doing so only at prices at or below the price cap. We reaffirm our own measures to phase out Russian oil and products from our domestic markets and underscore that the price cap measure aims to relieve pressure on global oil prices and support oil-importing countries globally by enabling continued access to Russian oil at or below the price cap for countries that continue such imports. The measure has the potential to be particularly beneficial to countries, notably vulnerable low- and middle-income countries, suffering from high energy and food prices, aggravated by Russia’s war of aggression. We will also develop targeted mitigation mechanisms alongside our restrictive measures to ensure that the most vulnerable and impacted countries maintain access to energy markets including from Russia.

    We commit to urgently work on the finalisation and implementation of this measure in our own jurisdictions through our respective domestic and legal processes and with our partners. We acknowledge that, for the EU, unanimity among the 27 EU Member States is required. We aim to align implementation with the timeline of related measures within the EU´s sixth sanctions package.

    The initial price cap will be set at a level based on a range of technical inputs and will be decided by the full coalition in advance of implementation in each jurisdiction. The price cap will be publicly communicated in a clear and transparent manner. The price cap´s effectiveness and impact will be closely monitored and the price level revisited as necessary.

    We envisage that practical implementation of the price cap will be based on a recordkeeping and attestation model covering all relevant types of contracts. We aim to ensure consistent implementation across jurisdictions. In implementation, we would aim to limit possibilities for circumventing the price cap regime, while at the same time minimising the administrative burden for market participants. With a view to final design and implementation, we will continue to engage with a diverse group of countries and stakeholders to enhance clarity and compliance and enable trade to continue to flow at or below the envisaged price cap. We envisage that the coalition establishes a cooperation framework across jurisdictions to ensure compliance and enable monitoring and supervision. Once operational, the coalition may consider further action to ensure the effectiveness of the price cap. The price cap measure will be reviewed and reconsidered when appropriate.

    In line with G7 Leaders´ commitments at Elmau, we continue to encourage oil-producing countries to increase their production to decrease volatility in energy markets, and in this context welcome OPEC’s recent decisions to increase output amid tight supply conditions. We call on them to continue action in this regard. We will increase coordination with partners committed to bolstering efficiency, stability and transparency in energy markets.

  • Priti Patel – 2022 Comments on Removals to Albania

    Priti Patel – 2022 Comments on Removals to Albania

    The comments made by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, on 2 September 2022.

    This flight sends a clear message to those who flout our laws and immigration rules that you will be swiftly removed. Anyone who comes to our country in a small boat or other dangerous, illegal means should not expect to stay in the UK for long.

    We are working closely with the Albanian government to tackle illegal immigration and have this week agreed our joint operational plans to expedite the removal of Albanians who enter the UK illegally via small boats.

    Alongside measures in our Nationality and Borders Act, this will help end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals. We will stop at nothing to remove those with no right to be here as the public rightly expects.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Foreign criminals and illegal entrants to the UK removed to Albania

    PRESS RELEASE : Foreign criminals and illegal entrants to the UK removed to Albania

    The press release issued by the Home Office on 2 September 2022.

    Yesterday (Thursday 1 September) the UK government removed a total of 32 foreign criminals and immigration offenders on a charter flight to Albania.

    Five individuals who entered the UK illegally were removed on yesterday’s flight, including one person who was removed in 24 days after arriving via small boat in August.

    Other individuals included a person who was removed 19 days after being caught by immigration officers working in a restaurant having overstayed as a visitor, and another who arrived hidden in a lorry from May.

    The 27 foreign national offenders removed had received combined prison sentences of more than 87 years and were convicted of crimes including the supply of Class A drugs, facilitating illegal entry and sexual offences.

    Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

    This flight sends a clear message to those who flout our laws and immigration rules that you will be swiftly removed. Anyone who comes to our country in a small boat or other dangerous, illegal means should not expect to stay in the UK for long.

    We are working closely with the Albanian government to tackle illegal immigration and have this week agreed our joint operational plans to expedite the removal of Albanians who enter the UK illegally via small boats.

    Alongside measures in our Nationality and Borders Act, this will help end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals. We will stop at nothing to remove those with no right to be here as the public rightly expects.

    Foreign offenders returned on yesterday’s flight to Albania include:

    an individual sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for intent to supply Class A drugs
    an individual sentenced to over four years’ imprisonment for facilitating illegal entry
    an individual sentenced to over seven years’ imprisonment for intent to supply Class A drugs
    Yesterday’s flight is the 45th operated by the Home Office this year as the government tackles illegal migration and abuse of the asylum system.

    Since signing our returns agreement with Albania in 2021, we have removed nearly 1,000 Albanian foreign national offenders, including some who crossed the Channel illegally to come to the UK.

    The UK has removed 7,638 people via enforced, voluntary and other return types since January 1, including 1,995 foreign national offenders. In August 2022 alone, 220 criminals were removed from the UK on both charter and scheduled flights.

    The Nationality and Borders Act will further deter illegal entry into the UK, breaking the business model of people-smuggling networks and speed up the removal of those with no right to be in the UK.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Three Trustees reappointed to the Victoria and Albert Museum

    PRESS RELEASE : Three Trustees reappointed to the Victoria and Albert Museum

    The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 2 September 2022.

    The Prime Minister has reappointed Jonathan Anderson, David Bomford and Marc St John as Trustees to the Victoria and Albert Museum for four year terms.

    Jonathan Anderson

    Reappointed for a four year term from 01 February 2023.

    Jonathan Anderson is one of the leading fashion designers of his generation, earning both critical acclaim and commercial success with the collections he designs for his eponymous label, JW Anderson, and as creative director of the LVMH-owned Spanish luxury house LOEWE.

    Anderson attended the London College of Fashion and launched his own menswear collection in 2008, under the JW Anderson label. In 2010, he expanded into womenswear and in 2013 was named the creative director of LOEWE. Two years later, in 2015, he became the first fashion designer to be awarded both Men’s and Womenswear Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council. Over the course of his career, Anderson has also collaborated on collections and products for brands including Moncler, Uniqlo and Persol among others.

    Outside the world of fashion, Anderson is a dedicated supporter of art and craft. In 2016, he founded the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize, the world’s first international award for contemporary craft and, in 2017, he curated Disobedient Bodies, an exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire.

    Born in Northern Ireland in 1984 Jonathan is the son of Irish rugby player, Willie Anderson, and Heather Buckley, who worked as a secondary school teacher.

    David Bomford

    Reappointed for a four year term from 31 March 2023.

    After studying chemistry at the University of Sussex, David Bomford went to the National Gallery, London, where he became Senior Restorer of paintings; during nearly four decades there he worked on many important paintings and organised an award-winning series of exhibitions and catalogues on the techniques of European painters, including early Italian artists, Rembrandt and the Impressionists.

    In 2007, David joined the J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles as Director of Collections and then as acting Director of the museum. In 2012, he moved to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as Chair of Conservation and Head of European Art. While in Houston, he was in charge of the design and construction of a new state-of-the-art conservation building and curated exhibitions on subjects including Rubens, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Spanish Colonial painting, the Habsburgs and the British monarchy.

    David has been the Secretary-General of the International Institute for Conservation; editor of the international journal Studies in Conservation; Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford; and has had visiting professorships in conservation and art history in Mexico City, in Sao Paolo, and at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts, National Gallery, Washington. He has many academic interests, including the study of unfinished art.

    Marc St John

    Reappointed for a four year term from 01 February 2023.

    Marc is former head of investor relations at CVC Capital Partners, where he spent 19 years. CVC is a global fund manager with approximately $122 billion of assets under management. Prior to CVC, Marc was at Citigroup in several European corporate finance leadership positions and spent his last two years at Citigroup working directly with the chairman, John S. Reed, on special projects.

    Throughout his career, Marc has lived in New York, London, Paris, and Moscow. Marc is married to Julie Newton, a Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. They have two children who live in New York City.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Jonathan Anderson, David Bomford and Marc St John have declared no political activity.