Tag: Cabinet Office

The following ceremonies and events are taking place today (Monday 12 September 2022) across the country to allow people to pay tribute to the life of Her Majesty The Queen and mark the Accession of His Majesty King Charles III:

England

10:00 – His Majesty The King, accompanied by Her Majesty The Queen Consort, will visit the Palace of Westminster to receive Addresses from both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall.

For more information click here.

Scotland

His Majesty The King, accompanied by The Queen Consort, will travel to Scotland, arriving at Edinburgh Airport.

The King and The Queen Consort will travel to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Ceremony of the Keys will take place.

Following the Ceremony of the Keys, The King will join the Procession of Her Majesty The Queen’s Coffin to St Giles’ Cathedral.

Her Majesty’s Coffin will be borne in Procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral.

15:00 – There will be a service to celebrate the life of Her Late Majesty The Queen and her connection to Scotland at St Giles’ Cathedral.

From 17:00 – Her Majesty The Queen will lie at Rest at St Giles’ Cathedral following the Service before the Coffin’s journey to London. Members of the public who wish to do so will be able to view the Coffin at Rest and pay their respects. This is anticipated to conclude the following afternoon.

The King will receive the First Minister of Scotland, followed by the Presiding Officer, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The King, accompanied by members of The Royal Family, will hold a Vigil at St Giles’ Cathedral.

For more information visit www.gov.scot, City of Edinburgh Council and Traffic Scotland.

Lying-in-State

London Lying-In-State Guidance

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has published new guidance for the public on details around the Lying-in-State and how the public can pay their respects. Click here to read it

Royal Residences

For information on laying floral tributes at Royal Residences, including in London and Windsor click here

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Kit Malthouse has led a meeting of ministers and officials from across government to drive forward preparatory work for tackling pressures this winter.

The meeting follows work over recent weeks to identify key pressure points that will affect the public, including the global rise in energy prices, the cost of living and pressures on the NHS.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has been chairing these meetings throughout the summer to discuss the key operational decisions that can be made to reduce these risks once a new administration is in place.

Ministers and officials have discussed priority areas, such as health, energy, cost of living, supply chain disruption, labour market shortages, and industrial action, that have the potential to compound together over the coming 18 months.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Kit Malthouse said:

“My chief priority has been to make sure that we are prepared for the significant challenges we expect to face this autumn and winter, and I have held regular meetings to make sure departments maintain pace and grip on this essential work now, and in the coming months, as this will be a marathon not a sprint.

The cost of living, driven in part by higher energy prices, is biting for individuals, families and businesses, and the NHS is already under pressure – and that’s ahead of the flu season. These risks have potentially severe impacts, stacking up on the most vulnerable people in society, and it is vital that we develop robust plans urgently to mitigate their impact and come up with solutions.

I’ve tasked departments with identifying the key operational decisions that should be taken without delay across priority risks such as health, energy, cost of living, supply chain disruption, labour market shortages, and industrial action, that have the potential to compound together. They will also map out the key moments over the next 18 months where specific groups of society may be significantly impacted, including the clinically vulnerable, socially and economically deprived, the elderly, the young, and the disabled, and produce further options so that decisions can be made quickly once a new administration is in place.”

Over the coming weeks, the Cabinet Office will work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to continue ensuring that gas and electricity system operators have the right tools to respond to fluctuations in supply and demand. Work is also underway with key international partners to monitor and share information on energy supply and demand.

The Treasury and BEIS will also prepare options for the new administration on possible energy market interventions to lower prices, bringing down bills and helping manage overall supply.

Today’s meeting included ministers and officials from HM Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Transport, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The meeting also builds upon the work already in train ahead of the new administration next week, and the increase of the energy price cap. This work includes:

• Allocating £37 billion of help for households, including the £400 discount on energy bills this winter, and £1,200 of direct support to help with the cost of living
• The Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency are further developing their plans for health resilience, including to boost the NHS and Adult Social Care workforce, including a new taskforce for international recruitment
• The Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy is continuing to strengthen its contingency plans for winter energy security – Equinor and Centrica recently signed a major agreement to shore up Britain’s gas supply over the next three winters, adding around one billion cubic metres of gas per year to our supply

The meeting also follows the recent announcement by Kit Malthouse reforming emergency planning and response in the Cabinet Office. A National Resilience Framework Team in the Planning and Analysis Secretariat will take a deeper look at the government’s approach to risk and how it is mitigated, as well as collecting and analysing live data to improve future responses to emergencies. While the Cabinet Office’s COBR Unit will continue to oversee preparedness and response to emergencies and other moments of acute pressure which might arise this winter.

• New Government Property Strategy to realise savings by selling off property and making buildings more efficient
• Momentum builds for civil service relocation programme, with 7,000 roles moved already from London
• Key commitment to invest more in regenerating derelict public land

More than £2 billion in savings will be realised from property sales and efficiencies, Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has announced.

The savings are part of the new Government Property Strategy, which has been published today (31 August).

As part of the plans, the government will sell £1.5 billion of property assets over the next three years as projects such as the Government Hubs programme sees government staff consolidated into fewer buildings. £500 million of savings will also be made by reducing operating costs, using modern building materials and energy sources, and cutting spend on leases.

Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg said:

“We are cutting the cost of the public estate so that we can return money to the taxpayer.

All spending on government property needs to be justified.

This will also help us deliver the Places for Growth programme, which will allow greater savings and mean the government is closer to the communities it serves.”

The new strategy will accelerate the Places for Growth programme, which is moving 22,000 civil service roles out of London by 2030. The scheme has already relocated 7,000 jobs out of the capital, including 1,389 moved to Yorkshire & the Humber – the most of any UK region.

The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department for Health and Social Care have moved more than 500 roles to Leeds while the Department for Education and Home Office contribute to around 250 Civil Service roles now based in Sheffield.

Other areas have also benefited from the programme, with more than 1,000 government jobs newly based in the North West and 550 moved to the North East.

The strategy also pledges to invest £300 million in grant funding, helping to unlock smaller, brownfield sites across England for housing through the One Public Estate (OPE) programme.

OPE, which is delivered in partnership with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Local Government Association, and has seen numerous success stories, including in Waltham Forest where the site of an old Library is being regenerated so it can be used to build 67 new homes and a central Family & Homes Hub. West Suffolk has also benefited through the ground-breaking Mildenhall Hub, which has brought education, health, employment, culture and leisure services together working collaboratively under one roof, right in the heart of the community.

The government estate is made up of hundreds of thousands of assets, from prisons and courts, to schools and museums, hospitals and health surgeries, job centres, military bases, administrative offices, and many more, spread all around the UK.

It will also ensure the Government estate supports delivery of the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Greening Government Commitments. Progress has already been made in this area with emissions from the government estate having fallen 57% since 2009.

The strategy outlines other successes which have already been delivered. These include reducing water consumption by 14%, and reducing the overall waste products from departments by 51%.

• The COP26 President will lead the UK delegation at the G20 Climate and Environment Ministerial in Bali
• Mr Sharma will continue to urge G20 countries to honour their commitments and revisit their 2030 emission reduction targets this year
• He will also meet key Indonesian ministers as the UK Presidency continues to progress implementation of the Glasgow Climate Pact

COP26 President Alok Sharma will travel to Bali from 30 August-1 September to lead the UK delegation attending the G20. The visit is a critical opportunity to engage with G20 Climate Ministers to maintain momentum and drive action on climate, environment and biodiversity ahead of COP27.

He will use the climate sessions to lobby G20 countries to move faster to limit global temperature increase to below 1.5 degrees. The COP26 President will push for climate action through emission reductions this decade, noting that accelerating energy transitions and building net zero green sectors is crucial to long-term economic security and sustainable development.

Mr Sharma will continue to reiterate that current global crises relating to Vladimir Putin’s illegal, unprovoked and barbaric invasion of Ukraine and rises in the cost of living should increase G20 countries’ determination to accelerate the shift to renewables and deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Alok Sharma, COP26 President said:

“The current energy crisis has demonstrated the vulnerability of countries relying on fossil fuels controlled by hostile actors.

If Countries don’t want the risk of being held to ransom they should do all they can to achieve domestic energy security as fast as possible.

Climate security has become synonymous with energy security and the chronic threat of climate change is not going away.”

He added: “Some Countries have already come forward with great ambition but the science clearly shows our window to act is closing rapidly. Now is the time for the G20 to step up and deliver on the commitments made in the Glasgow Climate Pact.”

The COP President will also meet with Indonesian Ministers to welcome the country’s ongoing work to enhance its climate ambitions, encourage them to submit a 1.5C aligned Nationally Determined Contribution as soon as possible, and to place climate action and energy transition as a central aspect of their G20 Presidency.