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Tag: 2023

  • PRESS RELEASE : Employment support launched for over a million people [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Employment support launched for over a million people [November 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for Work and Pensions on 16 November 2023.

    New Back to Work Plan to help up to 1,100,000 people with long-term health conditions, disabilities or long-term unemployment to look for and stay in work.

    • Additional support comes alongside tougher sanctions for people who don’t look for work, as part of the next generation of welfare reforms.
    • Includes exploring reforms of the fit note system, expansion of available treatment and employment support, and formal launch of the WorkWell service to help people start, stay and succeed in work.

    The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride have unveiled their Back to Work Plan – a package of employment focused support that will help people stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work – as part of the Autumn Statement.

    Building on the ambitious £7 billion employment package from Spring Budget the Chancellor is using his Autumn Statement to outline a new Back to Work Plan, which will expand the employment support and treatment available and reform the ways that people with disabilities or health conditions interact with the state.

    Getting more people into work and ensuring work pays remains a key priority for the government. It is important for growing the UK economy, managing inflation, controlling spending, and improving living standards. Getting more people into good jobs is also good for those individuals and the best route out of poverty.

    The government is boosting four key programmes – NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support, Restart and Universal Support – to benefit up to 1.1 million people over the next five years and help those with mental or physical health conditions stay in or find work.

    The new WorkWell service as announced at Spring Budget and delivered by the Departments for Work and Pensions and Health and Social Care is also being formally launched today and will support almost 60,000 long-term sick or disabled people to start, stay and succeed in work once rolled out in approximately 15 areas across England. The prospectus that will be launched in the coming weeks will provide information for all Integrated Care Systems across England to develop their localised work and health strategy.

    Ministers are also planning to trial reforms to the fit note process to make it easier and quicker for people to get specialised work and health support, with improved triaging and signposting. Since the pandemic the number of people inactive in the UK due to long-term sickness or disability has risen by almost half a million to a record high of 2.6 million, with mental health, musculoskeletal conditions and heart disease being some of the main causes.

    Stricter benefit sanctions will also be enforced by the Department for Work and Pensions for people who are able to work but refuse to engage with their Jobcentre or take on work offered to them. Benefit claimants who continue to refuse to engage with the Jobcentre will face having their claim closed. The latest published data shows that there were 300,000 people who had been unemployed for over a year in the three months to July.

    The announcement today forms part of wider plans to grow the economy expected in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November. The Chancellor is set to reveal a raft of changes to get the UK economy growing including getting people back into work.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said:

    We’re serious about growing our economy and that means we must address the rise in people who aren’t looking for work – especially because we know so many of them want to and with almost a million vacancies in the jobs market the opportunities are there.

    These changes mean there’s help and support for everyone – but for those who refuse it, there are consequences too. Anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers will lose their benefits.

    Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, said:

    We are rolling out the next generation of welfare reforms to help more people start, stay and succeed in work. We know the positive impact work can have, not just on our finances, but our health and wellbeing too.

    So we are expanding the voluntary support for people with health conditions and disabilities, including our flagship Universal Support programme.

    But our message is clear: if you are fit, if you refuse to work, if you are taking taxpayers for a ride – we will take your benefits away.

    The plans announced today set out how the government will tackle long-term unemployment by supporting Universal Credit claimants to find work while strengthening work search requirements for job seekers through all stages of their Universal Credit claim. As a result of these reforms, no claimant should reach 18 months of unemployment in receipt of their full benefits if they have not taken every reasonable step to comply with Jobcentre support.

    The plans to tackle long-term unemployment include:

    • Testing Additional Jobcentre Support in England and Scotland – testing how intensive support can help claimants into work who remain unemployed or on low earnings after 7 weeks into their Universal Credit claim.
    • Extending and expanding the Restart scheme in England and Wales for 2 years – expanding tailored, intensive support to people who have been on Universal Credit for more than 6 months rather than 9, helping them to tackle barriers to entering employment through coaching, CV and interview skills, and training. The scheme will be extended for two years until June 2026.
    • Introducing a claimant review point – Universal Credit claimants who are still unemployed after the 12-month Restart programme will take part in a claimant review point: a new process whereby a work coach will decide what further work search conditions or employment pathways would best support a claimant into work. If a claimant refuses to accept these new conditions without good reason, their Universal Credit claim will be closed.
    • Rolling out mandatory work placement trials – through the claimant review point, claimants who have not yet moved into work by the end of Restart will be required to accept a job or to undertake time-limited work experience or other intensive activity to improve their employability prospects. Failure to do so at this stage will lead to a claimant’s Universal Credit claim being closed.
    • Stricter sanctions for people who should be looking for work but aren’t – including targeting disengaged claimants by closing the claims of individuals on an open-ended sanction for over six months and solely eligible for the Universal Credit standard allowance, ending their access to additional benefits such as free prescriptions and legal aid; rooting out fraud and error using the government’s Targeted Case Review to review the Universal Credit claims of disengaged claimants on an open-ended sanction for over eight weeks, ensuring they receive the right entitlement; digital tools to track claimants’ attendance at job fairs and interviews.

    Plans set out also include expanding key health and employment programmes, to benefit over half a million people over the next five years and help those with mental health conditions stay in or find work:

    • NHS Talking Therapies – increasing the number of people benefitting from courses of mental health treatment by an additional 384,000 people over the next five years and increasing the number of sessions available. NHS Talking Therapies provides evidence based psychological therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), for treatment of mild and moderate mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders.
    • Individual Placement and Support (IPS) – aiming to help an additional 100,000 people with severe mental illness to find and keep jobs over the next five years. IPS is an employment support programme integrated in community mental health services. IPS employment specialists: work with people accessing the service to find them employment that matches their aims, interests and skills, and offer continued support once they are in post; integrate with the mental health team to support the individual with any issues that affect their work and recovery; build relationships with employers to negotiate job opportunities.
    • Universal Support in England and Wales – matching 100,000 people per year with existing vacancies and supporting them in their new role, an increase on the 50,000 people outlined at Spring Budget, also helping people with disabilities and from vulnerable groups. Participants will access up to 12 months of personalised ‘place and train’ support. The individual will be supported by a dedicated keyworker who will help the participant find and keep a job, with up to £4,000 of funding available to provide each participant with training, help to manage health conditions or help for employers to make necessary accommodations to the person’s needs.
    • WorkWell – The service announced at Spring Budget 2023 is being formally launched to Integrated Care Systems across England and will help support people at risk of falling into long-term unemployment due to sickness or disability, through integrated work and health support. Integrated Care Systems across England will be supported to develop a localised work and health strategy, and then services will be provided in approximately 15 pilot areas.

    Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins, said:

    We know that tailored work and health support initiatives can help break down the kinds of barriers that can make finding and staying in a job more difficult for those with mental health conditions.

    Backing them with further investment means they’re more widely available, enables personalised help and will get thousands back to work by overcoming any issues that may be preventing them from fulfilling their career potential.

    Kate Shoesmith, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Deputy Chief Executive, said:

    Today’s announcements will help the Restart scheme keep making a real difference to people’s work and life chances. It contributes to efforts to overcome our labour and skills shortages and to further growing our economy. Bringing public and private employment services together is vital to get people into work and not look back. Our own award-winning Restart scheme, which sees recruiters work with employability services provider Maximus, has helped place 1700 long-term unemployed people into work since 2021.

    Additional information

    Over next 5 years the following policies will have increased spaces of:

    • Talking Therapies: 384,000
    • Individual Placement and Support: 100,000
    • Universal Support: 187,500

    The extension of the Restart Scheme will also result in around 500,000 additional spaces over the two years.

    • The Back to Work Plan includes £2.5 billion of investment over the next five years – including over £300m of additional investment next year – and builds on the £7 billion package announced at this year’s Spring Budget, which included investment targeted at services for mental health, musculoskeletal conditions and cardiovascular disease.
    • The Barnett formula will apply in the normal way for the devolved administrations over the next five years.
    • Fit Note reform. The government will explore reforms of the fit note process to provide individuals whose health affects their ability to work with easy and rapid access to specialised work and health support. Rollout will begin with trailblazer trials in a small number of Integrated Care Boards, offering better triage, signposting and support to those who have received a fit note for a prolonged period of time. This will inform the launch of a consultation on reforms to improve the fit note process, better integrating it with easy and rapid work and health support. Primary care (GP surgeries) will continue to play an important role in supporting working age people where their health presents a barrier to work. But there is often pressure on the time and expertise needed to hold the work and health conversation effectively and direct people to the right support, which is why we are exploring reforms.
    • Sanctions measures. The government is announcing several measures to strengthen the current UC sanctions regime, to incentivise claimants to comply with their work search requirements and move into work.
    • Under the current Universal Credit sanctions regime, claimants subject to an open-ended sanction will have a deduction applied to their standard allowance until they re-comply with their requirements (e.g., attend a meeting with their work coach). If a claimant continues to dis-engage they will remain on the UC system and continue to be sanctioned.
    • The government is announcing two measures to address and penalise disengagement, and incentivise claimants to re-engage with Jobcentre support: closing claims of disengaged claimants after 6 months. Claims will be closed of individuals who are solely eligible for the standard allowance, meaning they are not receiving additional child, housing or disability Universal Credit payments. This means parents claiming the child element and receiving additional benefits like free school meals are not in scope of this measure and will not lose out. This is also the case for disabled claimants in receipt of the disability element of UC and receiving any additional benefits derived from their UC eligibility; investigating positive claims of disengaged claimants after 8-weeks through the existing Targeted Case Review. These claimants have a positive UC award, meaning they are in receipt of additional Universal Credit payments for childcare, housing, or disability. If a claimant is receiving an incorrect UC payment, their award will be corrected retrospectively and closed if appropriate. Suspected cases of fraud are shared with Counter Fraud teams for follow up.
    • In addition, to improve the existing sanctions process, the government is delivering a new function in the Universal Credit service that allows a work coach to track a claimant’s attendance at DWP organised job interviews or job fairs. This tool will provide work coaches with better evidence on a claimant’s work search activities and ensure that claimants who do not attend mandatory appointments without a good reason, are sanctioned.
  • PRESS RELEASE : Terrorist groups and non-state actors pose a persistent and significant threat to international peace and security: UK statement at the UN Security Council [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Terrorist groups and non-state actors pose a persistent and significant threat to international peace and security: UK statement at the UN Security Council [November 2023]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 November 2023.

    Statement by UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at the UN Security Council meeting on the subsidiary bodies of the Security Council.

    Thank you, President, thank you for the Chairs for this briefing, and for your combined leadership of our counter-terrorist efforts. The Council has been lucky to have such effective and dynamic chairmanship, and chairwomanship, from the UAE, Malta, and Ecuador through the course of the year.

    The UK is particularly grateful to the new Chair of the 1540 Committee for his drive since Ecuador took on this role at the start of the year. We commend the Chair for securing Committee agreement for a programme of work to take forward the actions agreed in Security Council Resolution 2663 and we welcome the Chair’s intention for the Committee to develop voluntary guidelines.

    However, despite the best intentions of the Chair and the constructive approach by the majority of Committee Members, progress and provision of support to States has once again been impeded.

    It is disappointing that two members have maintained their hold on the process to replace the 1540 Committee Group of Experts since April of this year, and that a Permanent Member is now blocking the Committee’s external engagement activities.

    This situation severely undermines our ability to support states to implement a resolution that is designed to prevent chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and related material getting into the hands of non-state actors, including terrorists.

    It is hard to understand why any country – let alone a Permanent Member of this Council – would want to stymie those efforts.

    The UK appreciates the continued efforts of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Chair to tackle the global scourge of terrorism and protect all of our citizens. The terrorist threat is evolving and remains with us.

    Terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda and Daesh affiliates, continue to seek to spread hatred and fear around the world using new technologies and taking advantage of regional instability. The work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee has to evolve to stay ahead of this. For our work to be effective, the perspectives of technical experts, civil society, and the private sector are invaluable.

    We also commend the work of the 1267 Committee and its Chair. The Monitoring Team’s analysis of the evolving threat and effectiveness of sanctions remains a crucial resource for Member States. We welcome work by the Chair, Secretariat and Ombudsperson to uphold transparency and due process. These are critical to ensure that the 1267 regime retains the broad support and legitimacy that it needs.

    President, despite the distinct mandates for each of the Committees, they share a common purpose – to tackle the persistent and significant threat to international peace and security posed by terrorist groups and non-state actors.

    Only through the effective and coordinated implementation of the mandates of these three Committees can we address the threat together. We must redouble these efforts.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Baroness Neville-Rolfe speech at Import Export Show [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Baroness Neville-Rolfe speech at Import Export Show [November 2023]

    The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 15 November 2023.

    Speech delivered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, at the Import Export Show on 15 November 2023.

    Good morning, everyone, it’s a pleasure to be here with you all today…

    …and may I thank the Institute of Export for organising this: their inaugural Import Export Show.

    We should be encouraging forums like this…

    …forums where businesses can openly discuss the opportunities and the challenges of trading in the 21st Century.

    As the Prime Minister has said, we are determined to take the long term decisions needed to change this country for the better.

    The Government has been clear that we want the UK to have the most effective border in the world…

    …and recently, the UK was presented with an opportunity to improve our borders…

    …which resulted from two simultaneous events – Brexit and the rise of innovative technology.

    Leaving the European Union presented us with an opportunity to scrutinise our entire trading system…

    …not just how we organised trade deals, but the practicalities of that trading.

    We wanted to design a system that was as minimally burdensome as possible without compromising our security.

    At the same time, the computer systems and software we used for shipping and trading could be improved by emerging technology…

    …all positive changes which could make trading smoother and more straightforward.

    We are seizing this joint opportunity to improve everything about borders…

    …not just what comes through them, but how those goods enter and leave our shores.

    Of course this is just as much about building on what works already, as it is introducing innovations.

    Just look at the last twelve months, we’ve traded four-hundred-and-thirty-two-billion pounds worth of goods…

    …that’s more than ever before.

    At the same time, any innovation we bring to our borders must recognise just how complex an operation the borders are…

    …dozens of Government departments are involved…

    …there’s over one hundred inspection points…

    …thousands employed to keep the border safe…

    …and tens of thousands more throughout the supply chain.

    There are conflicting considerations…

    …but we know that we must have a system that both encourages the free-flow of trade…

    …and provides security from smuggling, weapons, drugs and plant and animal diseases.

    I believe that we have struck that balance in our Border Target Operating Model.

    It’s an integral part of the Government’s 2025 Border Strategy…

    …and it is this Model which will make a lot of the aspirations in that Strategy a reality.

    It both adheres to the Windsor Framework – ensuring that Northern Ireland benefits from the same VAT and duty rates as the rest of the UK…

    …and it builds on Brexit freedoms to make trading more straightforward than ever before.

    The new Model will use new technology to reduce paperwork for UK importers, saving businesses over five-hundred-million pounds a year…

    …it will introduce a new global regime for security and biosecurity…

    …as well as bring practical changes to the way trade is managed through our borders for the benefit of businesses and customers.

    First, I will focus on safety.

    We have all seen and heard the horror stories of when trade comes with some unforeseen risks attached to it.

    Right now, many countries are dealing with the fall out of African Swine Fever…

    …which is a blight not only on livestock but the livelihood of the international agricultural sector.

    I witnessed with horror the foot and mouth outbreak at the turn of the century. That cannot be allowed to happen ever again.

    But how do you police these risks?

    Well, we want to support global trade and have one set of regulations for businesses importing into the UK…

    …whether or not they’re from the European Union.

    That’s why the Operating Model includes a new global risk-based model.

    It focuses on what food and plant goods are actually at risk – what kind of products they are, and where the risk is geographically located…

    …and assigns them a risk factor.

    This replaces the old model of subjecting some products to costly, rigorous controls and checks that were overburdensome relative to their risk.

    We will also be trialling an ambitious ‘trusted trader’ scheme for animal and plant products…

    …where specific traders will provide guarantees and – through greater access to new data and technology – this will help form trusted relationships…

    …all decreasing the burden on individual traders.

    Our safety checks will not significantly hinder trade, nor will they add to inflation…

    …in fact, our current modelling shows that the new Operating Model would have a negligible impact on food prices.

    But what would have an impact is a major disease affecting our food and vegetables…

    …I mentioned foot and mouth earlier – if that occurred today, it would have an impact of over thirteen-billion pounds.

    That’s a cost we cannot take, and it’s a cost which our Operating Model will help avoid.

    The second part of this work is being more strategic – using technology and new ways of working to streamline trade…

    …and ensure that when goods are imported, that they are handled in an efficient way.

    Technology is the foundation that the Operating Model is built on…

    …and we’ll be using new tech to reduce the volume of paperwork for UK importers.

    We have partnered with industry to test the whole border process…

    …to see how we can use technology to cut costs and save time.

    Whether that’s using ledger technology to ensure that everyone – from trader to border staff – are quite literally on the same page…

    …or using GPS trackers on goods to ensure that anything lost becomes found.

    We are also addressing the fundamentals of trade…

    …as the new operating model will not only introduce new routes into Liverpool ports…

    …but also help resolve delays in goods travelling through Heathrow.

    We are also solving one of the most long-standing complaints that new traders have…

    …that when they apply for licences or submit other trade data to the government, the system can be multifaceted, repetitive and, frankly, confusing.

    That’s why we’re introducing the new UK Single Trade Window.

    When fully operational, it will provide one digital gateway for users…

    …one where they can provide all the data needed to trade, as well as apply for licences and authorisations for trusted trader schemes.

    All of the changes I’ve described today will be introduced steadily throughout 2024.

    It will begin at the end of January…

    …with the introduction of health certification on imports of medium risk animal products…

    …as well as plants, plant products…

    …and high risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the European Union.

    By the end of April, imports of sanitary and phytosanitary products from the rest of the world will benefit from the new risk based model.

    And, by the end of October, safety and security declarations for EU imports will come in to force…

    …as well as introducing a reduced need for data for imports.

    Ladies and gentlemen, these are significant positive changes…

    …and I believe we can look forward to this future with great confidence.

    The Government wants nothing less than the most effective border in the world…

    …one which embraces innovation to keep citizens and businesses healthy and robust.

    I believe we can bring major benefits to our trading communities so well represented here today…

    …and I look forward to working with you all to increase UK trade throughout the world.

    Thank you very much.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Defence Secretary will support UK industry and back firms globally [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Defence Secretary will support UK industry and back firms globally [November 2023]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 15 November 2023.

    UK Defence firms will be championed as positive ambassadors for the UK, in the face of investment threats, the Defence Secretary has told industry leaders.

    • Commitment made to defend the industry from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investors trying to immorally defund British defence.
    • Defence Secretary highlighted the importance of boosting exports and backing business as global champions for Britain.
    • Importance of delivering programmes on time and on budget emphasised.

    UK Defence firms will be championed as positive ambassadors for the UK, in the face of investment threats, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has told industry leaders today.

    Maintaining national security and the continued supply of cutting-edge equipment to British Armed Forces and allies were also highlighted in a meeting with key defence sector organisations held at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in London.

    The Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF) brought together senior government personnel with more than a dozen of the UK’s key defence suppliers. These ranged from UK SMEs and trade associations to some of the world’s largest international defence and aerospace companies, with experts convened from military domains covering everything from the ocean’s depths to outer space.

    With global security challenges increasing, the forum, which convenes twice a year, was an invaluable opportunity to deepen ties between industry and government. It ensured the short, medium, and long-term plans of government and industry align around the collective objectives of equipping the UK’s Armed Forces and simultaneously deterring international adversaries.

    Addressing this influential network, the Defence Secretary made clear he would always champion British industry, particularly in the face of concerns around ESG investing, ensuring they have the financing needed to maintain vital supplies to our Armed Forces and allies, keeping the country safe and protecting our way of life.

    Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps said:

    Investment in defence is the morally right thing to do, without which the atrocious activities of tyrants like Putin would go unchallenged and undeterred.

    A strong UK defence industry is the bedrock of our national security, continuing the supply of equipment that our service personnel use to protect our nation, the weapons we need deter our enemies, and the ability to support our allies’ Armed Forces.

    There is no doubt about the critical role that industry plays in our defence and that’s why I will back the firms that protect our nation and help us prosper.

    The DSF Main is the primary collaborative forum for the Defence Secretary to engage with a range of senior leaders from across the UK defence sector on strategic issues of mutual interest. Key aims of the DSF include:

    • Creating a new and closer strategic alliance between the MOD and industry, delivering the ambitions set out in the recent Defence Command Paper Refresh.
    • Delivering more agile, secure, sustainable, and resilient supply chains by improving visibility of fragility and maximising opportunities for all suppliers, including SMEs.
    • Forging closer working on defence exports to champion British manufacturers on the global stage.

    BAE Systems Chief Executive and DSF Co-Chair, Charles Woodburn said:

    In today’s heightened global threat environment, it’s important for the UK’s defence industry and Government to come together to sustain our sovereign capability to deliver the equipment our armed forces need. Investment in our defence industry is vital to ensure our continued ability to support national security and economic prosperity.

    Improving the way the government supports UK exports and growth opportunities was also high on the agenda. With more than 200,000 British jobs supported through the Defence industry, the sector is crucial to the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy, while also furthering international opportunities for the sale of high-quality British technologies and services to our allies.

    Kevin Craven, Chief Executive, ADS said:

    Our defence industrial base is a vital pillar of our society, protecting our way of life. Our industry needs to be highly innovative, agile, and responsive to ongoing requirements.

    The UK defence financial and operating environment must be grounded in a collaborative approach to strategic planning, that enables the development of the technologies of tomorrow. ADS is a proud convenor of industry, working tirelessly with the DSF and Ministry of Defence to secure UK strategic advantage.

    The Defence Secretary also outlined the importance of delivery, stating that while he would be holding the Department to account to avoid unnecessary programme delays and costs, industry partners must play their part in meeting agreed timelines and budgets.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Putin fears the emergence of Ukraine as a modern, democratic state: UK statement to the OSCE [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Putin fears the emergence of Ukraine as a modern, democratic state: UK statement to the OSCE [November 2023]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 November 2023.

    UK military advisor, Nicholas Aucott, says Putin’s regime has long sought to rewrite public memory and manipulate history.

    Thank you, Madam Chair. Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine is a constant reminder to this Forum of the difficult and dangerous times in which we live. It is all the more tragic that a member of this Forum, Russia, has wilfully threatened security in the region through the illegal invasion of another nation state. This week, we were again confronted with the horrendous consequences of this war in which Russian strikes on Kherson have killed further civilians, including a three-month old baby.

    As Russia prepares for its third wave of assaults around Avdiivka, it does so following heavy rain in the area, where the ground has become muddy and in which conditions are difficult to operate. Russia continues to demonstrate a lack of regard for the lives of its own soldiers. In the face of a resolved Ukrainian defence, we can expect further Russian losses on top of the quarter of million casualties Russia has already sustained in this misguided military venture.

    Conversely, the Ukrainian military has registered successes in Luhansk striking Russian SA-21 long-range Surface-to-Air Missile launchers, exposing Russia’s struggle to respond to modern precision strike weapons. Ukraine has damaged a newly-built Russian naval corvette in Kerch. It has also diminished Russia’s ability to replenish its forces through the destruction of Russian landing craft, containing armoured vehicles, off the western coast of Crimea. At the same time, Ukraine continues to exert pressure on Russian forces by conducting operations on the left bank of the Dnipro. Ukrainian’s strategic gains stand in stark contrast to Russia’s woeful performance on the battlefield.

    Symbolic of Russia’s isolation on the global stage, Russia has turned to other authoritarian regimes in North Korea and Iran for the provision of weapons, violating UN Security Council resolutions including resolutions Russia itself voted for.

    We condemn Russia’s repeated violations of international law, including the UN Charter. Russia’s illegal invasion of another sovereign state is also in direct contravention of the Helsinki Final Act and the Budapest Memorandums on Security Assurances.

    Madam Chair, Putin’s regime has long sought to rewrite public memory and manipulate history. And has been seeking to persecute and silence all those, including Russian individuals and organisations, that for over 30 years have sought to expose Soviet era atrocities. Most recently, Putin has issued a revisionist history published as a collection of documents entitled, “On the historical unity of the Russians and Ukrainians”. It is a backward-looking narrative because Putin fears the emergence of Ukraine as a modern, democratic state. The United Kingdom and its allies will work to counter such efforts at disinformation. Our resolute conviction and intensity in our support to Ukraine will not falter. We will continue to enhance Ukraine’s long-term security and strengthen its defence while Ukraine fights to regain territory. In the face of Russia’s self-inflicted strategic calamity, we will stand with Ukraine until it prevails. Thank you.

  • Robert Halfon – 2023 Speech to the Committee of University Chairs

    Robert Halfon – 2023 Speech to the Committee of University Chairs

    The speech made by Robert Halfon, the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, in London on 15 November 2023.

    Good morning and thank you for that introduction. The Committee of University Chairs promotes the highest standards of governance across the UK’s higher education sector. I am delighted to join you today to talk about lifelong learning, and how our reforms will open up your courses to new students like never before.

    From my travels around the country, I know that education is not and cannot be for young people only. Indeed, the definition of lifelong learning, it being the continuous, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge, expertise, and skills, alludes to that fact that learning is not restricted to childhood or young adulthood but occurs throughout working life. Lifelong learning is therefore an essential part the education offer in this country. As a component of the ladder of opportunity, it contributes to education’s true purpose: to provide a route for people of all backgrounds to gain valuable skills and well-paid work.  And it has never been more relevant than to today’s workforce. With an ageing population, an ever-increasing demand for skilled professionals, big data, and automation and artificial intelligence generating what is set to be, a technological revolution of unparalleled proportions, it is apparent to all that individuals will need continuous access to education and retraining throughout their lives.

    That is why the Lifelong Learning Entitlement will, truly, be transformative for both further and higher education. The entitlement will be equivalent to four years of higher education funding – £37,000 currently – and will galvanise people to train, retrain, and upskill across their working lives. This could be through a full-time degree, or individual modules, or other courses like higher technical qualifications or HTQs. HTQs are designed in collaboration with employers, so students can be confident that they will gain the skills needed to get on in their chosen career. HTQs lead to prestigious, sustainable jobs such as software developer, quantity surveyor and nursing associate – the jobs that employers are crying out for people to fill. So, from the 2025 to 2026 academic year, the LLE will be available for:

    • Full courses at level 4 to level 6, such as a degree or higher technical qualifications.
    • Modules of high-value technical courses at level 4 to level 5.

    This will allow people to adapt to the ever-evolving demands of the world’s sixth-largest economy. The LLE presents solutions and offers answers to this multitude of changes and opportunities.  It only takes a spark to start a fire, and the trailblazing initiative that is the LLE will revolutionise this country’s landscape of education and opportunity and alter for the better people’s perception of possibility in adulthood.

    Education is, without doubt, society’s greatest leveller. Firing the imagination, it opens new doors and ensures nobody is left behind. The Prime Minister has described education as the closest thing we have to a silver bullet: the best economic, social, and moral policy. Widening access to higher education this century has transformed our nation, but we need to do more. And so, we are. With the LLE, we are lighting a fire to forge an ambitious future and provide pathways for everyone, whether that be through education or employment, reskilling, or upskilling.

    So, the LLE will level-up access to later-life learning. It will bring FE and HE together to create a new universal student-finance system. It will enable the configuration of funding around modular, flexible provision, allowing learners to study at their own pace and in a way which suits them. It will expand maintenance support to all eligible learners and all targeted support grants are being extended to part-time courses for the first time. We will be expanding support for living costs to technical courses at levels 4-5, which remain pressing, whatever and however you study. It will remove the restrictions on students taking courses at the same or a lower level to ones they’ve already done. This will allow both new and retuning learners the freedom and the funding to upskill or retrain as best serves the next step in their careers. It will offer people regular start dates, opportunities, as they’ll be able to pick up a module at any time and move more seamlessly between institutions. And finally, it will allow learners to see their loan balance through their very own LLE personal account so they can make informed choices about the courses and learning pathways available.

    This is what is unique about the LLE. This change to student finance will offer diverse educational opportunities, enabling students to learn at a pace that suits them, fitting study around work, family, and personal commitments. Because whether through full-time degrees, individual modules or higher technical qualifications, we want learners to have a real choice in life. They should not feel limited to just one path or one shot at success.

    We have already made tremendous progress at pace on the LLE. Most recently, for example, and something of which I am particularly proud, the Lifelong Learning (HE Fee Limits) Bill became law in September. It has created a new system for applying fee limits, ensuring that the fee cap is calculated on the same basis, whether a learner is studying individual modules separately, or studying them together on a typical full-time course.

    During the passage of the act, I committed to provide further information on fee limits so providers could prepare for the LLE’s introduction. I am pleased to announce that this information is today being published on gov.uk. In this, we are setting out the list of chargeable numbers of credits for every course type, as well as the number of credits that can be charged for in any single course year.

    Of course, not all programmes are credit-bearing courses. Courses such as medicine, veterinary science and dentistry are exceptions, and their fee limits will be set using a default number of credits.

    The publication also includes the list of course types to which this default system applies, to give providers and learners all the information they need to prepare for 2025.

    It also gives me great pleasure to say that we are also setting out further detail today on learner entitlement. The LLE will be available to both new and returning learners.  Whilst new learners will be able to access the full entitlement (equivalent to 4 years full-time tuition), those returning to higher-level education will be able to access their residual tuition loan entitlement. They can use this to access any LLE course, whether a full degree, short course, or a module. This opens up the entitlement to people of many different educational backgrounds, allowing them to refresh their skills or seek brand-new qualifications.

    Details of how we will calculate residual entitlement are also being published today. We will consider both the cash value of loans taken out by learners, and the modern equivalent cost for those who studied under previous funding regimes. In doing so, we have prioritised value for taxpayers, and ensure that learners who want to use the LLE to retrain or upskill can do so on an equitable basis.

    The Lifelong Learning Entitlement represents a significant leap forward in providing accessible, adaptable, and inclusive education. It embodies this government’s commitment to empower individuals to furnace their own education pathways, adapt to change, and contribute to a stronger and healthier economy. Truly, I am so excited to be consistently making great strides on the LLE and its plethora of constituent parts. And I am so enthusiastic that this once-in-a-generation reform of our higher-education sector will enable people to move seamlessly between further education and higher education, taking the opportunities that best serve their career stage and fit around their commitments.

    However, this can’t happen without your support. I hope that the higher-education sector will embrace the burning ambition of the LLE. It has the power to light the proverbial fire, to benefit learners, employers, and universities alike.

    For learners, the LLE will kindle a desire for personal and professional development, allowing them the opportunity to learn, reskill or upskill. For universities and colleges, the LLE will spark discourse about efficient and effective education delivery, inspiring them to think differently, more radically, and to trigger spirited and significant collaboration and co-operation between higher and further education. For employers, the LLE will ignite the talent foundry and cast a stronger and larger labour force. This will allow them to bridge skills gaps in their workforce, encouraging staff to upskill via modular learning and progress professionally in a way that is responsive to their needs.

    I hope I have painted an exciting picture of the developments to come. Together with other DfE initiatives like skills bootcamps, apprenticeships, and our adult learning offer apprenticeships, the LLE forms part of our blazing desire to enhance human capability and productivity, so that every person in this country can pursue the education that they need and deliver on their full potential. I hope you see the possibilities that this landmark reform will present to the sector, and I look forward to working with you to make those possibilities a reality for universities, colleges, and students.

    As we move forward, therefore, let us embrace this revolutionary reform and transformative journey together. Education should inflame curiosity and creativity. It should fuel a passion for learning and a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. Just as a fire spreads and grows, so should education spark a desire to explore and discover new things. With the LLE, we hope that lifelong learning will become the norm. Even more so, we hope students catch a spark and light a fire. We want our education system to be about those fires. So very many of them.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : William Hogarth’s satirical painting ‘Taste in High Life’ at risk of leaving the UK [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : William Hogarth’s satirical painting ‘Taste in High Life’ at risk of leaving the UK [November 2023]

    The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 15 November 2023.

    A temporary export bar has been placed on William Hogarth’s painting Taste in High Life.

    • The painting is valued at almost £2.5 million
    • Export bar will allow time for a UK gallery or institution to acquire the painting for the nation

    Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay has placed an export bar on William Hogarth’s satirical painting ‘Taste in High Life’.

    The work, valued at £2,468,000  (plus VAT of £93,600 which can be reclaimed by an eligible institution), is at risk of leaving the UK unless a domestic buyer can be found to acquire the work for the nation.

    The 18th-century painting provides an important insight into public sentiment during the period, notably the ambivalence and tension that emerged with Britain’s growing commercial and consumer culture, as well as female patronage of the arts.

    ‘Taste in High Life’ holds an important position in Hogarth’s body of work, helping to elevate satire in the painted form to a high art. Hogarth became prominent in the 18th century for his satirical commentary on the upper classes, which would also feature in his celebrated series ‘Marriage A-la-Mode’.

    The painting was commissioned by Mary Edwards (1705–43), an English heiress said to be the richest woman in England at the time. The painting is based on her own experience of high society and is therefore shaped by her personal disenchantment with fashionable life, particularly expressing her scathing attitude to contemporary tastes.

    Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said:

    Hogarth’s Taste in High Life provides us with extraordinary insights into eighteenth-century society with his famously biting satirical edge.

    As one of Britain’s most celebrated artists, it is right that a UK buyer has the opportunity to purchase this work so it can continue to be studied and enjoyed as an important part of our history.

    The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

    Committee Member Mark Hallett said:

    William Hogarth’s Taste in High Life is a pivotal picture in the career of one of Britain’s greatest artists, prefiguring as it does the extraordinary achievement of his famous Marriage A-la-Mode series, now housed in London’s National Gallery. The picture is also the product of the unique, highly collaborative relationship Hogarth enjoyed with one of eighteenth-century Britain’s most important female patrons of the arts, Mary Edwards. Packed with the satirical details so closely associated with the artist, and at the same time expressive of the wider anxieties and prejudices of the Georgian age, it is a picture that fully deserves to stay in the UK and to receive further investigation and research.

    The Committee made its recommendation on the basis that the painting met the first and third Waverley criteria for its outstanding connection with our history and national life and its outstanding significance for the study of art history, the history of 18th-century British cultural life, and female patronage.

    The decision on the export licence application for the painting will be deferred for a period ending on 14 March 2024 inclusive. At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase the painting at the recommended price of £2,468,000 (plus VAT of £93,600 which can be reclaimed by an eligible institution). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for six months.

    Notes to editors:

    1. Lord Parkinson discussed the Waverley criteria in a speech.
    2. Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the painting should contact the RCEWA on 02072680534 or rcewa@artscouncil.org.uk.
    3. Details of the painting are as follows: William Hogarth (1697-1764) Taste in High Life 1742. Oil on canvas, 63.5 x 76.1 cm. Inscribed ‘THE / MODE / 1742’ on the pedestal of Venus. The work is unglazed and appears to be in fair and sound condition.
    4. Provenance: Commissioned from the artist by Mary Edwards (1705-1743) for £60; her sale, Cock’s, London, 28-29 May 1746, lot 49 (as ‘Mr. Hogarth, Taste a-la-Mode’), 5 guineas; bought by Mr. Birch; with John Birch, surgeon of Essex Street, Strand, by 1782 until 1814 or later; the Revd. Robert Gwilt (1811-1889) by 1843; sold by his executors, Christie’s, London, 13 July 1889, lot 95, 215 guineas; bought by Davis for C. Fairfax Murray; Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919); Louis Huth (1821-1905), 28 Hertford Street, Mayfair and Possingworth Park, East Sussex; his sale (‘Catalogue of the Highly Important Collection of Fine Pictures and Drawings of Louis Huth, Esq. Deceased’), Christie’s, London, 20 May 1905, lot 104, 1,250 guineas; bought by Agnew, on behalf of Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh; thence by descent; Old Master & 19th Century Paintings Evening Auction, Sotheby’s, London, 5 July 2023, lot.34.
    5. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by Arts Council England (ACE), which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.
    6. Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Its strategic vision in Let’s Create is that, by 2030, England should be a country in which the  creativity of everyone is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. ACE invests public money from the government and the National Lottery to support the sector and deliver the vision. Following the Covid-19 crisis, ACE developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90 per cent coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. It is also one of the bodies administering the government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund.
  • PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak call with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak call with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda [November 2023]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 November 2023.

    The Prime Minister spoke to the President Paul Kagame of Rwanda this morning.

    While he welcomed the Court’s confirmation that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country is lawful, the Prime Minister expressed his disappointment at the overall outcome and recognised that there are challenges we must overcome.

    He thanked President Kagame for his Government’s work over the last 15 months and the extra assurances we have already agreed as they said they would continue to work together to address the Court’s concerns.

    Both leaders reiterated their firm commitment to making our migration partnership work and agreed to take the necessary steps to ensure this is a robust and lawful policy and to stop the boats as soon as possible.

  • PRESS RELEASE : 44th Universal Periodic Review of human rights – UK statement on Cameroon [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : 44th Universal Periodic Review of human rights – UK statement on Cameroon [November 2023]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 November 2023.

    The UK delivered a statement during Cameroon’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council.

    Thank you, Mr President,

    The United Kingdom welcomes the government’s publication of an annual human rights report as an important way to raise awareness and increase transparency.

    We encourage the government to further strengthen this reporting, including by providing more detail on efforts taken to hold perpetrators to account.

    We recommend that Cameroon:

    1. Develop effective measures to prevent and address acts of violence, including attacks and threats against civilians, medical personnel or patients, particularly in the Northwest and Southwest Regions, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2286.
    2. Introduce stronger legal protections for persons in marginalised and vulnerable situations, including by reinforcing legislation to ensure accountability for acts of violence against persons belonging to ethnic minority groups.
    3. Amend the 2014 Law on the Suppression of Acts of Terrorism to align it with international human rights standards and guidelines issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister’s statement on Supreme Court judgement [November 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister’s statement on Supreme Court judgement [November 2023]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 November 2023.

    The Prime Minister issued a statement following the Supreme Court’s judgement on the Rwanda plan.

    We have seen today’s judgment and will now consider next steps.

    This was not the outcome we wanted, but we have spent the last few months planning for all eventualities and we remain completely committed to stopping the boats.

    Crucially, the Supreme Court – like the Court of Appeal and the High Court before it – has confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful. This confirms the Government’s clear view from the outset.

    Illegal migration destroys lives and costs British taxpayers millions of pounds a year. We need to end it and we will do whatever it takes to do so.

    Because when people know that if they come here illegally, they won’t get to stay then they will stop coming altogether, and we will stop the boats.