Tag: Cabinet Office

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 2 February 2023.

Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer and DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles visited Hull 4 Heroes today to meet charity staff and volunteers supporting veterans

Charity supports veterans across the City of Hull, North Riding and North Lincolnshire

A charity born out of inspiration from a veterans project on DIY SOS has been praised for helping ex-service personnel in north-east England.

Today, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer and DIY SOS Presenter Nick Knowles visited Hull 4 Heroes.

The charity, which has previously benefited from funding via the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, was founded in 2016 and provides crucial support services to veterans in Hull, North Riding and North Lincolnshire. Services provided by the charity include employment support, training, woodwork, cookery and mental health.

On the visit Mr Mercer met with veterans to learn more about how the charity helps people in the area, including through making large and small scale renovations to existing properties which veterans live in.

The Minister was given a tour of the warehouse facilities the charity runs, which stores personal possessions of ex-service personnel while they are moving or finding a new house. The charity also provided a Virtual Reality tour of their flagship project – a brand new housing development called the Veterans Village.

The Veterans Village will see the construction of a housing and rehabilitation site for veterans as they transition into civilian life. The 22 acre site will contain a residential area, training and support facility and a visitor centre.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said:

It was a pleasure to visit the Hull 4 Heroes team with Nick Knowles today to learn more about the work they are doing to help ensure our veterans enjoy a smooth and successful transition to civilian life.

The valuable skills they are teaching offer a stable platform for those looking to get back into work, enabling employers across the UK to fully appreciate just how valuable our veterans can be.

Hull 4 Heroes was founded by Paul Matson, a veteran himself, who built a successful business following a difficult period after leaving the armed forces. His charity was created on the back of getting involved with the show DIY SOS Big Build on a veterans project in Manchester, called Veterans Street. As a consequence of seeing the success of this project, he decided to establish his own veterans support hub in Hull with the help of other members of the local armed forces community.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs recently announced Op Fortitude, a single referral scheme for homeless veterans to access supported housing and wrap-around specialist care. Along with more than £8.5 million in funding for charity support services in veterans housing units, the scheme will ensure veterans homelessness is ended in 2023.

Following the success of a temporary pathway set up for the Christmas period last year, the referral scheme is being designed, taking forward lessons learned, and will launch in Spring this year.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 2 February 2023.

Leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including the emergency services, have met today to continue to strengthen the UK’s resilience.

• First UK Resilience Forum since publication of government’s strategy on resilience
• Leaders from National Police Chiefs Council and National Fire Chiefs Council, as well as leaders in energy, transport and business, at the meeting

Leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including the emergency services, have met today to continue to strengthen the UK’s resilience; scanning future threats and discussing the work underway as part of the government’s new Resilience Framework.

Chaired for the first time by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Lead Minister for Resilience, the Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden MP, it is the first meeting of the UK Resilience Forum since the publication of the government’s new strategy on resilience which officially makes resilience a national endeavour.

Speaking at the meeting, the Minister said:

I am delighted to Chair today’s Resilience Forum, bringing together leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including our dedicated emergency services, to strengthen our national resilience; scanning future threats and discussing the important work that’s already underway as part of our ambitious Resilience Framework.

Attendees included the Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, Civil Contingencies lead at the National Police Chiefs Council, leaders across  the energy, transport, water and telecom sectors, and representatives from business and the voluntary and community sector.

The Forum highlighted the importance of taking a ‘whole of society’ approach to resilience as outlined in the Framework – empowering individuals, businesses and other organisations to play their part in building resilience across the UK. They also welcomed the work underway to achieve the commitments set out in the Framework which include:

• Delivering a new UK Resilience Academy, making world class professional training available to all that need it
• Appointing a new Head of Resilience, to guide best practice and encourage adherence to standards; making the government more transparent and accountable
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities in the UK government for each National Security Risk Assessment risk, to drive activity across the risk lifecycle
• Significantly strengthening Local Resilience Forums in England
• Developing a Measure for Social Vulnerability as an indicator of socio-economic resilience and how risks impact across communities and vulnerable groups

Civil Contingencies lead from the National Police Chiefs Council, Assistant Chief Constable, Owen Weatherill, said:

We support the government’s ambition to build greater resilience through a national approach, and we recognise the benefits of having resilient communities able to support themselves as much as possible during a crisis – this enables emergency services to focus their response on the most vulnerable people in society.

Policing has a key role to play in resilience planning, both at local and national level and we will work closely with Resilience Forums to ensure the new Framework is successful and helps those most in need.

CEO of the National Emergencies Trust, Mhairi Sharp, said:

The UK Resilience Forum is bringing together the public, private and third sectors to compare perspectives and shape plans in the round to strengthen the UK’s resilience. For the National Emergencies Trust it’s a valuable opportunity to share lived experience and learnings from UK emergency survivors.

Executive Director at the Environment Agency, Caroline Douglass, commented:

I’m pleased to represent the Environment Agency at the UK Resilience Framework – it is vital we work alongside partners to strengthen our resilience to risks, including extreme weather caused by a changing climate. With at least one in six people in England at risk from flooding from rivers and the sea, it’s crucial that we create climate-resilient communities.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 1 February 2023.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 30 January 2023.

Data analytics experts Quantexa have been awarded a new contract to help the government recover fraud against the public purse.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), which was set up last year to help public bodies tackle fraud against the public purse, will work with Quantexa to use new data and cutting edge technology, including Artificial Intelligence, to find and prevent more fraud across the public sector. Quantexa’s technology is capable of processing billions of data points at high speed to identify suspicious activity.

The £4 million contract is part of a wider investment across government to take the fight to those committing fraud against the taxpayer – rooting out fraud and using modern tools and techniques to stop it before it happens.

Cabinet Office Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said:

Fraud against the public purse is unacceptable and we’re stepping up the fight against those who wish to profit off the backs of taxpayers.

Through the use of cutting edge technology, the Public Sector Fraud Authority will use data and AI to help us in the fight against  fraudsters.

The Cabinet Office previously worked with Quantexa to reveal instances of potential fraud within the government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme. This involved analysing an initial set of 250 networks of people, organisations, and places during which more than 100 million data items were processed.

PSFA CEO Mark Cheeseman said:

We know that fraudsters are a capable and committed adversary and the way they commit fraud is diverse and evolving. .

As criminals develop more sophisticated tools, we too must innovate and modernise our approach to prevent fraud.

By bringing together expertise and tools from the public sector and private sector we  will raise our ambition and challenge ourselves to increase our impact on this often unseen and underestimated crime.

The PSFA was backed by £25 million of funding. It will be the centre of the government’s Counter Fraud Function and It has been tasked with modernising the government’s counter fraud response, working with departments and public bodies to improve their fraud defences and using leading practice and modern techniques to protect taxpayer money.

It has set a first-year target of £180 million of recognised fraud benefits, which it is on course to hit.

The Government Counter Fraud Function brings together the c.13,000 people who work in departments and public bodies to fight fraud. This includes those working to understand and mitigate fraud risk within their organisations and those who work in the public sector to fight economic crime.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 16 January 2023.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 16 January 2023.

• New toolkit to help frontline public sector staff identify and signpost support for economic abuse victims
• Victims can have benefits controlled or be forced by their abuser to accrue debt to government
• Around 16% of adults are estimated to have experienced economic abuse

Frontline government staff are to be trained to identify signs of economic abuse,  so they can support vulnerable people and prevent them accumulating debt, the Cabinet Office has announced today.

Economic abuse, which domestic violence charity Refuge estimates 16% of adults in the UK have experienced, is when an individual’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources are taken away by someone else in a coercive or controlling way.

The Economic Abuse Toolkit is made up of clear guidance which can be used by frontline staff, across departments including HMRC and DWP, to help them identify and support vulnerable individuals who are suffering from economic abuse.

This includes advice on spotting the signs and creating an appropriate environment for victims to disclose their experiences.

Staff will be trained on how to handle any declarations sensitively and then ensure victims get access to support, helping to ensure vulnerable people don’t accumulate debt to the government.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said:

Economic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we are determined to use all levers of government to stamp it out.

It is a problem that is often hard to spot and this new toolkit will give staff on the front line the tools to help identify and protect vulnerable people.

Through helping people access the support they need, this toolkit will help us tackle this crime and get victims out of abusive relationships and into safe spaces.

In a public sector setting, forms of economic abuse can include:

• Abusers preventing victims claiming support which they are entitled to in order to make them financially dependent
• Victims being unable to communicate their financial position and therefore not being able to access government support
• Victims being unable to claim for support due to the abuser putting everything in their own name
• Abusers putting bills to government in the victim’s name and then refusing to pay
• Abusers gaining access to financial information regarding the victim without adequate consent

Specialist charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), which was one of the organisations which contributed to the Toolkit, registered an 85% increase in traffic to their website during the pandemic.

SEA research also found seven in ten front-line professionals reported the number of victims of economic abuse coming to their organisation for help had increased since the start of the pandemic. By the end of the first lockdown, SEA found one in five women were planning to seek help around welfare benefits which could put more vulnerable people at risk.

Tackling domestic abuse is a government priority and improving the response to economic abuse is integral to this. For the first time in history, economic abuse is now recognised in law as part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This is in recognition of the devastating impact it can have on victims’ lives.

Minister for Safeguarding, Sarah Dines said:

Domestic abuse can come in many forms, and economic abuse is a particularly insidious one, with significant and complex impacts on victims.

Following the passage of the Domestic Abuse Act and the publication of our Domestic Abuse Plan, I am committed to building on this momentum to improve the response to economic abuse. The public sector and its frontline services have a key role to play in this.

Plans are underway for departments to integrate the guidance into their training for frontline workers, but it’s hoped the Toolkit will be utilised by other parts of the public sector including local councils.

Money Advice Plus CEO Karen Perrier said:

Victim-survivors often find themselves with multiple debts from multiple sources. Given this drastic picture, it is vital that both public and private sectors provide informed support to victim-survivors so they can move forward with economic safety and stability.

The development of the Economic Abuse Toolkit will enable government staff to support victim-survivors with greater confidence and Money Advice Plus was happy to bring their expertise to its development.

The Toolkit was created by the Fairness Group, a collaboration led by the Cabinet Office’s Government Debt Management Function which brings together central and local government, debt advice sector and the debt collection industry.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 12 January 2023.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 9 January 2023.

• Procurement Bill, which will simplify four sets of laws into one, to have Second Reading today in House of Commons
• The simpler, more flexible and less complicated rules will open up more government procurement for small businesses and voluntary and community groups
• Bill takes advantage of post-Brexit opportunities, allowing the UK to shape its own procurement rules, while complying with international obligations

Transformative new rules which rip up bureaucratic EU regulations will be debated in the House of Commons today.

The Procurement Bill, which will have its Second Reading in the House of Commons, will make it easier for small businesses (SMEs) to win more of the £300billion of goods, services and works that the government buys each year.

The Bill introduces new rules to help the government procure in emergency situations, such as during health pandemics, ensuring that contracting authorities can act quickly and transparently to buy vital goods.

These simpler rules take advantage of freedoms now that Britain has left the EU, as well as strengthening the government’s ability to exclude suppliers who may have previously underperformed on government work. The rules will help exclude suppliers, both in the UK and overseas who are involved in modern slavery – further clamping down on this abhorrent practice.

The Bill also confirms that value for money remains paramount during contracting, whilst also encouraging buyers to take into account other relevant wider social and environmental considerations the supplier may bring.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said:

We are making public sector procurement simpler, more transparent and easier to navigate.

This Bill will seize the opportunity presented by Brexit to rip up outdated rules, increase opportunities for smaller companies and deliver better value for public money.

We are determined to deliver the best possible results from the £300billion the public sector spends each year on procurement.

That’s why by ending the complicated web of rules and regulations inherited from the EU to even bid for public sector work, we will ensure smaller companies are better able to bring their drive, ingenuity and innovation to Government.

SMEs

The new, more flexible rules will benefit SMEs in particular, through a number of provisions being written into the Bill to lift barriers for small businesses. These include:

• Greater visibility of upcoming work, giving SMEs more time to gear up for bidding
• A new central platform showing future work in each area. This means for example a new SME tech firm in Lancashire will be able to search for tech opportunities upcoming in their region
• Creating one single website to register on, rather than the multiple and time consuming systems SMEs currently have to register on before bidding for work
• Reducing unnecessary insurance costs before a supplier has even bid for a contract
• A new Competitive Flexible procedure, which will allow contractors to design more innovation into the process, benefiting smaller tech startups
• Strengthening prompt payment, so that businesses throughout the public sector supply chain receive payment within 30 days

To further underline how the Bill will help SMEs, the Cabinet Office is today publishing a document outlining the benefits of the changes for prospective suppliers.

Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burhart said:

We know that complex rules have long been one of the major challenges for SMEs trying to win government work.

And while government spending with small businesses is rising, we want to turbocharge this growth.

This Bill will deliver on that, making it easier for SMEs, who make up 99% of UK businesses, to compete for and win government contracts, through smarter, simpler and more flexible regulations.

Elizabeth Vega, Group CEO of Informed Solutions, said:

SMEs are vital for growth in our economy and vibrant local communities. They are often the largest local employers, the most active members of our local communities, and amongst those businesses most willing to invest in their local communities, train and upskill their staff.

So I am delighted that Government is strengthening the support for this sector in its proposed reforms. In particular, placing a specific requirement on public sector buyers to ensure a level playing field for small and medium sized suppliers by addressing the procurement barriers that these businesses often face in competing for public sector contract opportunities.

Emergency procurement and transparency

The Bill will make procurement more transparent and effective during times of emergency, for example a health pandemic, where government needs to act quickly to buy vital goods and services at speed.

During the COVID pandemic, the UK, along with many other countries internationally, relied on direct awards to ensure that vital supplies, such as life-saving PPE, were bought quickly and to high standards.

The new rules will bring more competition into this process, by encouraging more competitive buying in a quick time frame.

The normal tendering process takes a minimum of 30 days, which is not practical in most emergency circumstances. The Bill will allow faster competition processes for emergency buying, reducing the reliance on direct awards while retaining and improving the government’s ability to act at pace in situations similar to the COVID pandemic. Clearer requirements on the identification and management of conflicts of interest for those involved in and responsible for procurement are also part of the Bill.

Supplier exclusion

The Bill will put in place a new exclusions framework that will make it easier for government to exclude suppliers who have underperformed on other contracts. It will also create a new ‘debarment register’, accessible to all public sector organisations, which will list companies who should be excluded from contracts. The Bill will also strengthen the government’s ability to exclude suppliers from bidding for work if there’s evidence of modern slavery in their supply chain, both in the UK or overseas.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 5 January 2023.

The Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will take place on Saturday 6 May.

In line with His Majesty’s wish for the event to be rooted in tradition but reflective of today, and in accordance with Government advice, a Coronation Claims Office has been created within the Cabinet Office to consider claims to perform an historic or ceremonial role.

This replaces the Court of Claims, which fulfilled a similar role for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953.

When looking at claims, the Coronation Claims Office will consider matters including whether the role or service was performed in 1953 or not, what the basis is for it to be performed now and the claimant’s connection to those who previously performed the role or service.

Officials from the Coronation Claims Office will consult with ecclesiastical experts from Lambeth Palace and ceremonial experts from the Royal Household when considering claims.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden said:

His Majesty The King’s Coronation will be a momentous occasion in the history of our country. The new Coronation Claims Office will ensure we fulfil The King’s wish that the ceremony is rooted in tradition and pageantry but also embraces the future.

All claims must be submitted in writing to the Coronation Claims Office by 5.30pm on Friday 3 February 2023.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 4 January 2023.

• The consultation seeks views on an amendment to existing legislation to make it easier for citizens to prove and reuse their identity when accessing online government services
• The public consultation will run for eight weeks, from 4 January 2023
• Cabinet Office invites the public to review and respond to the consultation

The consultation, which will run for 8 weeks, focuses on amending existing legislation to make it easier for citizens to prove their identity by supporting data-sharing and identity reuse across government. It will do this by strengthening the legal basis for public sector data-sharing for identity verification purposes.

As part of the GOV.UK One Login programme, the Government Digital Service (GDS), part of the Cabinet Office, is collaborating with departments to build a single sign-on and identity checking solution for all public services, called GOV.UK One Login. It will replace more than 190 existing sign in routes and 44 separate accounts. By using GOV.UK One Login, citizens will be able to prove their identity online and then reuse it to access all government services online via a single account.

Inclusion is at the heart of this legislative change. The legislation will mean citizens will be able to use a variety of government-held datasets to verify their identity online, rather than having to rely on traditional identity documents, which many citizens do not have access to.

To help realise this ambition, the Cabinet Office is proposing a new regulation under the Digital Economy Act 2017 to strengthen the ability for departments to share necessary information to support identity verification and reuse.

This update will mean users no longer have to repeatedly share the same details when interacting with public services on GOV.UK. Additionally, it will save taxpayers’ money by preventing duplicate identity checks being carried out across government, supporting efficient service delivery through joined-up working and enabling more users to access online services.

This activity supports the government’s mission to deliver better outcomes for citizens by building one fast, simple, secure way for users to sign in to services and prove their identity through GOV.UK One Login, as part of government’s Transforming for a Digital Future roadmap.