UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2024

  • PRESS RELEASE : Causes of death to be scrutinised in revamp of death certificates [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Causes of death to be scrutinised in revamp of death certificates [April 2024]

    The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 15 April 2024.

    To strengthen safeguards, medical examiners will look at the cause of death in all cases that have not been referred to the coroner.

    • Widely welcomed reforms to the system will provide greater transparency to the bereaved and help protect the public
    • All deaths not investigated by a coroner will be reviewed by medical examiners, from 9 September 2024
    • Cases such as those involving Harold Shipman and Lucy Letby highlighted the need for an extra layer of scrutiny

    Public protection and support for bereaved families are at the heart of a government overhaul of how deaths are certified.

    From September, medical examiners will look at the cause of death in all cases that have not been referred to the coroner in a move designed to help strengthen safeguards and prevent criminal activity.

    They will also consult with families or representatives of the deceased, providing an opportunity for them to raise questions or concerns with a senior doctor not involved in the care of the person who died.

    The changes demonstrate the government’s commitment to providing greater transparency after a death and will ensure the right deaths are referred to coroners for further investigation.

    Health Minister, Maria Caulfield, said:

    Reforming death certification is a highly complex and sensitive process, so it was important for us to make sure we got these changes right.

    At such a difficult time, it’s vital that bereaved families have full faith in how the death of their loved one is certified and have their voices heard if they are concerned in any way.

    The measures I’m introducing today will ensure all deaths are reviewed and the bereaved are fully informed, making the system safer by improving protections against rare abuses.

    Medical examiners are senior medical doctors that independently scrutinise the causes of death. Since 2019, NHS trusts have appointed medical examiners to scrutinise most deaths in acute healthcare settings and some community settings on a non-statutory basis.

    From 9 September 2024 it will become a requirement that all deaths in any health setting that are not referred to the coroner in the first instance are subject to medical examiner scrutiny.

    Welcoming the announcement today, Dr Suzy Lishman CBE, Senior Advisor on Medical Examiners for the Royal College of Pathologists, said:

    As the lead college for medical examiners, the Royal College of Pathologists welcomes the announcement of the statutory implementation date for these important death certification reforms.

    Medical examiners are already scrutinising the majority of deaths in England and Wales, identifying concerns, improving care for patients and supporting bereaved people. The move to a statutory system in September will further strengthen those safeguards, ensuring that all deaths are reviewed and that the voices of all bereaved people are heard.

    National Medical Examiner, Dr Alan Fletcher, said:

    I am delighted that the statutory basis for independent medical examiners is confirmed. This will ensure all bereaved people have a voice, supporting patient safety learning and improvement, including through accurate coroner referrals.

    Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Eluned Morgan, said:

    I am pleased to see death certification reforms are taking a long-awaited step forward today.

    The legislative framework I have laid for Wales will pave the way for greater public protection and an improved service for the bereaved.

    Moving the current medical examiner service onto a statutory basis will also introduce independent scrutiny of all deaths and an increased opportunity for learning and improvement across the health sector.

    Laying the regulations before Parliament today and setting out a timeline for the new system to be implemented means all those involved in the death certification process have the chance to prepare before it comes into force.

    Work is already ongoing across government and the health service to ensure that the appropriate operational processes are in place to deliver the changes, which have the backing of all key stakeholders.

    There will be further communication regarding legislative changes and operational guidance between now and September.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Tunisia [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Tunisia [April 2024]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 April 2024.

    Mr Roderick Drummond has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia in succession to Ms Helen Winterton who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment.  Mr Drummond will take up his appointment during September 2024.

    CURRICULUM VITAE

    Full name: Roderick Ian Drummond

    2019 to 2023 Manama, His Majesty’s Ambassador to Bahrain
    2016 to 2019 FCO, Director of Security for FCO/HMG overseas network
    2013 to 2016 Suva, British High Commissioner to Fiji & Head of South Pacific Network. Also accredited to Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia
    2009 to 2013 Riyadh, Deputy Head of Mission
    2007 to 2008  Doha, Chargé d’Affaires
    2004 to 2007  Damascus, Deputy Head of Mission
    2002 to 2004 Amman, Deputy Head of Mission
    1998 to 2002 UKRep Brussels, RELEX Counsellor
    1996 to 1998   Johannesburg, Deputy Consul General/Trade Director
    1992 to 1995  FCO, Head of Section West/Central Africa
    1988 to 1992 Algiers, Second Secretary Political/Economic/Commercial
    1986 to 1988 SOAS then University of Amman, Arabic Language Training
    1985 to 1986 FCO, Desk Officer for Indonesia and Philippines
    1985 Joined FCO
  • PRESS RELEASE : G7 statement on Iran’s attack against Israel [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : G7 statement on Iran’s attack against Israel [April 2024]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 14 April 2024.

    G7 Leaders joined a call on Sunday following Iran’s attack the previous evening.

    We, the Leaders of the G7, unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel. Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel. Israel, with the help of its partners, defeated the attack. We express our full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its security.

    With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided. We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.

    We will also strengthen our cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas, and deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Anfal Campaign 36th Anniversary – FCDO minister’s statement [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Anfal Campaign 36th Anniversary – FCDO minister’s statement [April 2024]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 April 2024.

    The Minister of State for the Middle East honours the many Kurdish people in Iraq killed and injured during Saddam Hussein’s brutal military campaign.

    On the 36th anniversary, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, said:

    On this sombre day, we remember the men, women and children who were victims of Saddam Hussein’s inhumane, coordinated campaign against Kurdish and other minority groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq between 1986 and 1989.

    The Anfal Campaign saw appalling acts committed, from the forcible displacement, murder, and maiming of 50,000-100,000 individuals to destroying 4,000 Kurdish villages.

    On 16 March 2024, our staff at the British Consulate General in Erbil visited Halabja to pay their respects to the victims massacred during the 1988 Chemical Attack – Saddam Hussein’s most infamous use of chemical weapons against the Kurdish people.

    Today we honour the memory of all those who were killed in this campaign, and my thoughts and prayers are with all their loved ones and survivors who suffer day-in day-out from this tragedy.

    The UK remains committed in its support for the peace, stability and prosperity of the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

  • PRESS RELEASE : £1.5 Million investment to improve in-work health services as part of government drive to tackle inactivity [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : £1.5 Million investment to improve in-work health services as part of government drive to tackle inactivity [April 2024]

    The press release issued by the Department for Work and Pensions on 14 April 2024.

    Reforms to occupational health services will be shaped through a £1.5m innovation fund, through Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), as the government continues its drive to tackle in work sickness and boost economic activity using new technology and artificial intelligence.

    • Five projects to share £1.5 million funding to boost occupational health services for small and medium-sized businesses.
    • Artificial intelligence and new technology at heart of revolution including expansion of remote services, digital health hubs, and Long Covid support.
    • New support comes as inactivity due to long term sickness increases by 735,000 since the pandemic
    • Occupational health reforms part of Government’s plan reduce economic inactivity by helping thousands more stay and succeed in work

    Five projects will receive a share of this funding to develop new and innovative ways to improve occupational health services which will eventually be scaled-up and made available to small businesses to help them support their employees to stay in work.

    One successful company, Kinseed Limited, is developing a revolutionary cloud-based occupational health platform aimed at offering employers’ powerful new tools to help maintain and improve employee health and wellbeing.

    Their new service “MediWork” is breaking ground with AI and uses data to monitor individual health trends and identifies early warning signs of ill health. It will tailor suggestions to improve workplace wellbeing, and help clinicians do their job more effectively and quickly than before.

    The new technology developed through the Fund will help unlock opportunities to improve people’s work and wellbeing as the government boosts health and employment support to drive down inactivity.

    Minister for Employment, Jo Churchill MP, said:

    Time off work due to sickness costs British business £100 billion every year. The innovative solutions developed through this funding will benefit businesses as we harness AI and technology to support a healthier and more productive workforce.

    Delivering through our Back to Work Plan and Occupational Health Taskforce, we are driving down inactivity and helping people reach their potential both in work and their daily lives.

    Pal Bhusate, Chief Executive Officer at Kinseed Limited, added:

    We’re very excited to be working with cutting edge technology in AI and Cloud systems to keep people healthy and safe at work – and this fund has been absolutely critical in helping us do precisely that.

    Supporting small and medium businesses in these areas is the only way that industries like ours can rapidly adapt to and get value from these incredible developments – and it’s brilliant to see such positive and active support from government to encourage that agility and innovation.

    Before the pandemic, inactivity in the UK had fallen by over 850,000 and while it currently remains lower than G7, EU and OECD averages, many people including those from younger generations are out of work due to long term sickness, in large part been driven by mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.

    With long-term sickness now the main reason people of working-age give for being economically inactive, occupational health services can help employers provide in work support to manage their employees’ health conditions and reduce the number of those becoming inactive.

    However, only 45% of workers in Britain have access to some form of occupational health, with an estimated 1.8 million workers reporting work-related ill health in 2022/23. That’s why the government is working with companies to develop new technology to better understand employee health, provide tailored support and tackle long-term sickness to help people stay and succeed in work.

    We’ve introduced reforms to address this through the government’s new WorkWell service and £2.3 billion in extra mental health funding a year in England to ensure people can reach their potential and get the support they need to reap the financial, mental and physical benefits being in work has to offer.

    The Occupational Health Innovation Fund and new Occupational Health Taskforce builds on this, and the government’s £2.5bn Back to Work Plan will support over a million people including those with mental health conditions to break down barriers to finding and staying work through the use of NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support, Restart and Universal Support programmes.

    Minister for Health and Social Care, Helen Whately MP, commented:

    Every year many thousands of people take time off work – or leave work altogether – because of ill health. But at the same time, there are millions of people who are working with health conditions, often supported by occupational health services.

    We want more people to be able to benefit from occupational health support, particularly people working in smaller businesses or those who are self-employed. That’s why we’re investing in these innovative approaches to occupational health. This sits alongside our plans for WorkWell which will help people access support to stay in work, and our fit note reforms.

    A healthy economy depends on a healthy workforce. Making sure people can be healthy and stay in work is crucial for individuals, businesses and our country as a whole.

    Another organisation, Armour Labs Limited, is building a digital health hub for SME’s and the self-employed to reduce the cost of access to occupational health services.

    They will partner with digital healthcare providers and merge these services into health plans for UK employees which they can access through an online portal and future mobile app to help make Occupational Health support more accessible and efficient than ever.

    Aleezay Malik, Chief Executive Officer of Armour Labs Ltd, added:

    Armour Labs is building the digital marketplace for employers to procure and deploy Occupational Health services that cater to their workforce’s diverse and individual needs.

    Through the support of this Fund, we are now in the process of testing and rolling out our solution in the market which we expect will make Occupational Health not only more accessible and affordable for businesses, but also reduce ill health related absenteeism by 30%.

    In February, the government launched a new Occupational Health Taskforce, led by Dame Carol Black, to improve employer awareness of the benefits of Occupational Health in the workplace.

    The Taskforce is developing an occupational health framework to help businesses prevent sickness-related job loss and support employees returning to work after illness. The voluntary framework is expected to be published this summer.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Summoning of the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires – FCDO statement [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Summoning of the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires – FCDO statement [April 2024]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 April 2024.

    The Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office today, 14 April 2024.

    Today, on instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

    A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said:

    The Foreign Secretary summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy today.

    The UK condemns in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel, as well as their violation of Jordan and Iraq’s airspace. At a time of great tension in the Middle East, this was a profoundly dangerous and unnecessary escalation by Iran.

    The UK calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the civilian ship ‘MSC Aries’ and its crew, which was seized by Iranian armed forces yesterday in international waters.

    The Iranian authorities must take meaningful and immediate action to de-escalate and halt its reckless and unlawful behaviour.

    The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and the security of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq. We will also continue to work with our international partners to protect and uphold stability in the region.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK Military Activity in the Middle East [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK Military Activity in the Middle East [April 2024]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 13 April 2024.

    In response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks.

    We have moved several additional Royal Air Force jets and air refuelling tankers to the region. These will bolster Operation Shader, which is the UK’s existing counter-Daesh operation in Iraq and Syria. In addition, these UK jets will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required.

    We will continue to cooperate closely with our regional partners in the interest of de-escalation.

  • PRESS RELEASE : £33 Million of drugs seized by Royal Navy in the Middle East [April 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : £33 Million of drugs seized by Royal Navy in the Middle East [April 2024]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 13 April 2024.

    HMS Lancaster seizes almost £33 million worth of drugs in the Middle East.

    In another blow to drug smugglers, Royal Navy warship HMS Lancaster seized drugs with a street value of nearly £33m as she struck twice against traffickers in the Middle East inside 24 hours.

    Just weeks after HMS Trent struck a blow to Caribbean traffickers by seizing £17 million of illegal narcotics, their colleagues onboard HMS Lancaster pounced half a world away in the Indian Ocean.

    Heroin, hashish and crystal meth were found by Lancaster’s sailors and Royal Marines – with more than two tonnes of the illegal drugs now having been destroyed.

    Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said:

    The fantastic achievements of the crew of HMS Lancaster and Royal Marine commandos in the Indian Ocean shows the important role our Navy plays policing the oceans. Their relentless effort and professionalism have dealt another decisive blow to criminal networks.

    Following HMS Trent’s similar success in seizing a substantial amount of drugs on the other side of the world, the Royal Navy continue to lead the UK’s commitment to disrupting drug smugglers across the globe.

    Operating as part of the Canadian-led Combined Task Force 150, which is dedicated to stopping criminal activity across more than million square miles of ocean in the Middle East, HMS Lancaster was on the very first day of her security patrol following a period of training when her Wildcat helicopter spotted a suspect vessel during a routine sortie.

    In an operation lasting eight hours, Royal Marines from 42 Commando secured the vessel, allowing Lancaster’s sailors to board the vessel. Following an in-depth search, the team recovered nearly 100 packages containing heroin and crystal meth.

    Shortly after this success, the ship’s Wildcat helicopter – from 815 Naval Air Squadron – launched a dusk patrol for another sweep of the Indian Ocean.

    Once again aircrew came across a suspicious vessel, with the ship tracking her throughout the night, before commandos boarded in the morning and secured the dhow before sailors joined them to conduct another search.

    This time, over six hours, they recovered 2.4 tonnes of hashish – bringing the total haul to 3.7 tonnes of illegal drugs seized.

    Collectively the tally from the two drugs hauls had a street value of just under £33m according to the National Crime Agency.

    Commanding Officer Commander Chris Sharp said:

    I am exceptionally proud of the entire team in Lancaster executing these two interdictions on the first two days of our deployment.

    Complex interceptions like these in such a challenging environment require true teamwork across the entire ship’s company. This success is shared with our partners in CTF 150 who provided essential support to the operation.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2024 Statement on the Iranian Attack on Israel

    Rishi Sunak – 2024 Statement on the Iranian Attack on Israel

    The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 13 April 2024.

    I condemn in the strongest terms the Iranian regime’s reckless attack against Israel. These strikes risk inflaming tensions and destabilising the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.

    The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq.  Alongside our allies, we are urgently working to stabilise the situation and prevent further escalation. No one wants to see more bloodshed.

  • Graham Stuart – 2024 Resignation Letter to the Prime Minister

    Graham Stuart – 2024 Resignation Letter to the Prime Minister

    The resignation letter sent by Graham Stuart to Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 12 April 2024.

    Text of letter (in .pdf format)