Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : Government launches new campaign to boost aviation recruitment [October 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 31 October 2022.
- new recruitment and engagement campaign will encourage the next generation into aviation
- forms part of government strategy to create a more sustainable, open and diverse aviation sector
- campaign will help deliver training, outreach schemes and opportunities for anybody looking for a career in the industry
People across the country will be encouraged to kick-start a rewarding and exciting career in the aviation sector as the government launches a brand new recruitment campaign today (31 October 2022).

Generation Aviation is part of the government’s 22-point plan to support aviation as it recovers from the pandemic and forms part of the wider aviation strategy ‘Flightpath to the future’. The recruitment campaign builds on £1.5 million announced by the government over the summer to boost recruitment into the sector.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the air transport and aerospace sectors contributed at least £22 billion to gross domestic product (GDP) each year and provided at least 230,000 jobs across all regions of the country directly. However, there are several challenges ahead, from decarbonisation to changing travelling patterns following the pandemic.

The new campaign will help to boost recruitment into the sector by:
- raising awareness of aviation careers, such as through our £700,000 Reach for the Sky programme which will fund outreach programmes and events to educate young people from all backgrounds on the opportunities on offer in aviation
- signposting training, careers and opportunities to people looking to enter or move up in the industry, including through the relaunched Aviation Skills Recruitment Platform (ASRP), which have already received £600,000 in funding
- championing the sector to celebrate its successes and promote it to a wider audience, including through the incumbent and new aviation ambassadors inspiring representatives of the aviation sector and its breadth of opportunities
- driving research and data to articulate the issues facing the sector and inform decision-making on its future resilience
For the sector to successfully adapt, it requires new skills and a robust pool of talent across a wide range of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and other critical roles. This campaign will see government and industry work together to build a workforce that is open, diverse and accessible.

The campaign is being launched today at London’s Heathrow Employment & Skills Academy, where in an opening address Transport Minister Baroness Vere said:

The aim of Generation Aviation is quite simply, to build an aviation workforce fit for the future – a future that can only be realised by a new generation of aviation workers, from all corners of the country, representing the rich diversity of modern Britain.

This will be followed by several events over the coming days aimed at students, those already in other careers looking to make a future in aviation, and those already in the industry keen to progress or seek new skills and roles. Tuesday will see webinars and panels on how people can enter the industry through education pathways. Wednesday will look at early career opportunities. Thursday will look in more depth at life in the sector, and Friday will focus on accessibility, diversity and inclusion.

Heathrow’s Learning and Inclusion Director Jason Knight said:

A successful aviation sector connects countries and continents. It acts as the global gateway for leisure, commerce, and families and is a central pillar for local communities and the national economy.

Generation Aviation is a timely celebration of everything this sector provides and the opportunities we can create through career opportunities here. To support this, Heathrow has set two major targets, creating 10,000 jobs and apprenticeships and 15,000 ‘experience of work days’ by 2030.

Marcus O’Shea from Aerobility said:

We change lives by providing anyone, with any disability with access to the magic and wonder of flight. We do this because taking the controls of an aircraft drives a focus on capability and encourages our flyers to ask the question ‘If I can fly an aeroplane, what else can I do?’

It is our mission to ensure as many people as possible can access the benefits and opportunities provided by the aviation industry, which is why we are delighted to announce the Equal Skies Charter as part of the week’s activities. Equal Skies will work with the aviation industry to increase accessibility and deliver a more diverse workforce.

The week will conclude with an interview with Mike Miller-Smith MBE, the CEO of Aerobility, a charity helping people with disabilities get into flying, led by DfT Director of Aviation, Ben Smith. The government is working with Aerobility to help ensure the industry is as accessible as possible, providing over £200,000 in funding for the Virtual Aerobility programme.
October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Mayor of London warns of rough sleeping ‘crisis’ as cost of living pressures bite [October 2022]
The press release issued by the Mayor of London on 30 October 2022.
- New City Hall analysis shows the number of people seen sleeping rough in the capital has increased by 21 per cent year on year
- Despite a record 13,500 people having been helped by City Hall rough sleeping services since 2016, when Sadiq became Mayor, London’s services are working at capacity
- Unless Ministers act now, the progress City Hall made helping people off the streets during the COVID-19 pandemic could be reversed
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is urging the government to take immediate action to tackle the cost of living as rising bills and housing costs force growing numbers of people to sleep rough on London’s streets. Alarming new statistics released by City Hall from the GLA-commissioned Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) show that despite record numbers being removed from sleeping rough in London, between April 2022 and the end of September 2022 5,712 people were seen sleeping rough in the capital, an increase of 21 per cent on the same period last year.

Reports from those within the sector suggest this rise is in part due to cost of living pressures. The rate of consumer price inflation (CPI) rose rapidly in the first half of 2022 to 10 per cent in July. The cost of renting has also risen dramatically – analysis from Hometrack suggests that annual London rental inflation had risen to almost 18 per cent by July. Households are also likely to face further financial challenges in the coming months from higher energy bills and borrowing costs.

Today Sadiq is sounding the alarm on this growing homelessness crisis which risks reversing the progress made since 2016 and particularly during the pandemic when more than 10,000 people were helped off the streets and into hotels by City Hall and London boroughs.

The Mayor is calling on Government to:
- Immediately freeze private sector rents
- Reinstate the social security safety net which prevents people from becoming homeless. This must include lifting the benefit cap, unfreezing Local Housing Allowance rates and suspending the habitual residence test, which can restrict access to benefits for European Economic Area (EEA) nationals with rights to live in the UK.
- Give local authorities the funding needed to meet their duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act and properly providing local support services which are vital to preventing and ending homelessness, such as drug and alcohol treatment.
- Deliver the promised reforms to the Private Rented Sector, including ending Section 21 evictions.
- Take measures to stop refugees and asylum seekers being pushed into homelessness. This includes extending the move-on period for newly recognised refugees from 28 days to 56 days, in line with local authorities’ duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act.
- Suspend the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, which puts many people with NRPF status at serious risk of destitution and homelessness.
Throughout his mayoralty, Sadiq has made addressing London’s homelessness crisis a personal priority. Pioneering services set up by the Mayor include his Rapid Response outreach team and his pan-London trigger for emergency accommodation when temperatures fall below freezing, as well as City Hall’s country-leading response to accommodating rough sleepers in the face of COVID-19.

Sadiq is doing all he can to offer support to Londoners and is spending more than £80m this year to help those struggling with the rising cost of living. That includes more than £50m to tackle fuel poverty through the Mayor’s Warmer Homes programme and energy advice services, more than £20m to improve security for private renters and house Londoners who are rough sleeping or homeless, more than £5m to connect Londoners with welfare advice, and £400,000 to tackle food insecurity.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “Since I was elected Mayor, around 13,500 people have been helped off our capital’s streets with eight in ten staying off the streets for good. Our outreach workers, charity teams, healthcare professionals and council staff are not only vital partners in this work but unsung heroes and deserve our heartfelt gratitude.

“Despite this progress, extraordinary financial pressures are putting the poorest Londoners at growing risk of homelessness with the number of people sleeping rough already up by a fifth year on year. We continue to see a revolving door of people ending up homeless as a result of this escalating cost of living crisis.

This cannot be allowed to continue, this new Government must act now to prevent the circumstances that lead to people sleeping rough before thousands more are forced to face a winter on the streets.”

St Mungo’s Interim Chief Executive Rebecca Sycamore, said: “As a leading homelessness charity whose teams are trying to get people off the streets every day, St Mungo’s sees the very real and very harsh reality of this financial crisis all of the time. And with more price increases it is very likely many of those currently just scraping by will no longer be able to manage, and could be at real risk of losing their homes and experiencing a very harsh winter.

Action is needed now. We want to see the government uplift benefits in line with inflation, increase the benefit cap and unfreeze Local Housing Allowance rates. We urge the Prime Minister and his ministers to act as a matter of urgency to prevent more people ending up homeless this winter.”

Rick Henderson, CEO at Homeless Link, the national membership charity for frontline homelessness organisations in England, said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to live and the support they need to keep it. But the rising cost-of-living is exacerbating the long-term drivers of homelessness in London, such as a lack of genuinely affordable housing and a poorly funded welfare system.

“In light of these statistics, the Government must uplift homeless services’ funding in line with inflation to help them respond to the rising demand, as well as tackling the immediate root causes of homelessness such as reforming the private rental sector and uplifting benefits. In the long-term we also need to see action on creating many more genuinely affordable homes, otherwise this crisis will continue to spiral.”
October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Government to take no further action under the National Security and Investment Act (2021) on Royal Mail share acquisition [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 31 October 2022.

The government has today (Monday 31 October) decided to take no further action under its national security powers on the proposed increase in shareholdings by Vesa Equity Investment in Royal Mail.

The proposed acquisition of increased shareholdings in Royal Mail by Vesa Equity Investment was called in for a full national security assessment by the previous Business Secretary on 25 August 2022.

The government has powers under the National Security and Investment Act (2021) to scrutinise and, if necessary, intervene in qualifying acquisitions on national security grounds.

Following careful consideration, the government will take no further action on the acquisition of increased shareholdings by Vesa Equity Investment in Royal Mail and a Final Notification has been issued to parties.

The government will not hesitate to act to prevent risks to the UK’s national security where we judge action is necessary.  Under the National Security and Investment Act (2021) acquisitions are assessed on a case-by-case basis, so any future acquisition could be subject to a separate assessment under the Act if deemed necessary.

October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Trussell Trust Top Priorities for New Prime Minister [October 2022]
The press release issued by the Trussell Trust on 27 October 2022.

Over recent weeks, opinion polls about the popularity or otherwise of our political leaders have animated debate, shaped decisions and filled many pages and screens of media content.

As Rishi Sunak takes up the role of Prime Minister, we are calling on him to turn his attention to the public’s opinion on a different matter, and one which is of critical importance at this time.

Eighty-five percent of adults in the UK agree that ensuring everyone has enough money for basic needs should be a high priority for the UK Government.¹

And in a period when the cost of essentials including food and fuel are spiralling, only 20% of UK adults believe our benefits system is doing a good job of protecting people from poverty.

We urge the new Prime Minister to take action on this. Protecting people from destitution, which means not being able to afford the essentials we all need to stay warm, fed and dry, clearly matters to the UK public, and we know this is a concern for MPs across all parties too.

Sadly, this isn’t just a matter of opinion. Our data on food bank use over recent months give us reason to expect this will be our network’s busiest ever winter, worse even than the levels of need we saw during the pandemic. Food bank use data is a barometer, and what it tells us is that hundreds of thousands of households across the UK are already struggling or unable to afford the essentials, often going without meals in order to make ends meet, and that many more will fall deeper into poverty this winter if further action is not taken.

“I want to build a country where ideally nobody needs to use a food bank”

Rishi Sunak, speaking to the media during the summer leadership contest.

As Chancellor he remarked that it was his job to ensure that people didn’t need to turn to food banks for support. As Prime Minister he now has the opportunity to make this aspiration a reality.

Measures introduced during Sunak’s time as Chancellor, including the £20 uplift to Universal Credit and the Cost of Living payments being made to people who are entitled to certain benefits or tax credits, have had an important impact for people on the lowest incomes. But with 40% of people on Universal Credit reporting in August that they had skipped meals during the previous three months to keep up with other essential costs, much more support is needed to protect people from destitution this winter and beyond.

The circumstances are undoubtedly extremely challenging, globally and domestically. But in the face of very difficult choices, this government must place a high priority on protecting people most at risk of harm in this crisis: namely people on the lowest incomes who are at risk of being unable – or indeed are already unable – to afford the essentials.

Three areas we urge the new Prime Minister to take action on as a priority are:
1. Guarantee that the promise to uprate benefits in line with inflation in April will be kept.
2. Act to limit deductions from benefits, to ensure that the repayment of debts to the Department for Work and Pensions does not leave people unable to afford the essentials.
3. Make the Household Support Fund a long-term commitment, and work with local government to ensure that this is effectively meeting the needs of individuals and families facing financial hardship.
We stand ready to work with the Prime Minister and his government, and with politicians of all political parties, to make our vision of a UK where nobody needs to use a food bank a reality.

As the Prime Minster himself said, in September last year:

“Everyone should be able to afford the essentials and we’re committed to ensuring that’s the case.”

He must honour this commitment.

¹This survey was conducted by YouGov Plc UK. The survey was completed online. The total sample size for this survey was 12,338 UK adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th August and 13th September 2022. The figures have been weighted by age, gender, social grade, ethnicity and UK region, and are therefore representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : 559 million children currently exposed to high heatwave frequency, rising to all 2.02 billion children globally by 2050 [October 2022]
The press release issued by UNICEF on 25 October 2022.

559 million children are currently exposed to high heatwave frequency, according to new research from UNICEF. Further, 624 million children are exposed to one of three other high heat measures – high heatwave duration, high heatwave severity or extreme high temperatures.

During a year in which heatwaves in both the southern and northern hemispheres broke records, The Coldest Year Of The Rest Of Their Lives: Protecting Children From The Escalating Impacts Of Heatwaves highlights the already extensive impact of heatwaves on children and reveals that, even at lower levels of global heating, in just three decades, more regular heatwaves are unavoidable for children everywhere.

The report estimates that by 2050, all of the world’s 2.02 billion children are expected to be exposed to high heatwave frequency, regardless of whether the world achieves a ‘low greenhouse gas emission scenario’ with an estimated 1.7 degrees of warming in 2050 or a ‘very high greenhouse gas emission scenario’ with an estimated 2.4 degrees of warming in 2050.

Produced in collaboration with The Data for Children Collaborative and launched in partnership with UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Vanessa Nakate and Africa-based Rise Up Movement, these findings underscore the urgent need to adapt the services children rely on as unavoidable impacts of global heating unfold. It also makes a case for continued mitigation, to prevent the worst impacts of the other high heat measures, including sustained and severe heatwaves and extreme high temperatures.

“The mercury is rising and so are the impacts on children,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said. “Already, 1 in 3 children live in countries that face extreme high temperatures and almost 1 in 4 children are exposed to high heatwave frequency, and it is only going to get worse. More children will be impacted by longer, hotter and more frequent heatwaves over the next thirty years, threatening their health and wellbeing. How devastating these changes will be depends on the actions we take now. At a minimum, governments must urgently limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius and double adaptation funding by 2025. This is the only way to save children’s lives and futures – and the future of the planet.”

Heatwaves are especially damaging to children, as they are less able to regulate their body temperature compared to adults. The more heatwaves children are exposed to, the greater the chance of health problems including chronic respiratory conditions, asthma, and cardiovascular diseases. Babies and young children are at the greatest risk of heat-related mortality. Heatwaves can also affect children’s environments, their safety, nutrition and access to water, and their education and future livelihood.

The report found high heatwave duration currently impacts 538 million, or 23 per cent of, children globally. This will rise to 1.6 billion children in 2050 at 1.7 degrees warming, and 1.9 billion children at 2.4 degrees warming, emphasising the importance of urgent and dramatic emissions mitigation and adaptation measures to contain global heating and protect lives.

Millions more children will be exposed to high heatwave severity and extreme high temperatures depending on the degree of global heating reached. Children in northern regions, especially Europe, will face the most dramatic increases in high severity heatwaves and, by 2050, nearly half of all children in Africa and Asia will face sustained exposure to extreme high temperatures.

Currently 23 countries fall into the highest category for child exposure to extreme high temperatures. This will rise to 33 countries by 2050 under the low emissions scenario and 36 countries under the very high emissions scenario. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan are among the countries likely to remain in the highest category in both scenarios.

“The climate shocks of 2022 provided a strong wakeup call about the increasing danger hurtling towards us,” said Vanessa Nakate, climate activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. “Heatwaves are a clear example. As hot as this year has been in almost every corner of the world, it will likely be the coldest year of the rest of our lives. The dial is being turned up on our planet and yet our world leaders haven’t begun to sweat. The only option is for us to continue to turn up the heat – on them – to correct the course we are on. World leaders must do this at COP27 for children everywhere, but especially the most vulnerable children in the most affected places. Unless they take action, and soon, this report makes it clear that heatwaves will become even harsher than they are already destined to be.”

UNICEF is calling on governments to:
- PROTECT children from climate devastation by adapting social services. Every country must adapt critical social services – water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, education, nutrition, social protection and child protection – to protect children and young people. For example, food systems must be strengthened to withstand hazards and ensure continued access to healthy diets. Increased investments must be made in the early prevention, detection and treatment of severe malnutrition in children, mothers and vulnerable populations. At COP27, children and their rights must be prioritized in decisions on adaptation.
- PREPARE children to live in a climate-changed world. Every country must provide children and young people with climate change education, disaster risk reduction education, green skills training and opportunities to meaningfully participate and influence climate policy making. COP27 must see countries strengthen the focus on children’s climate education and empowerment in the ACE action plan, adopt it, and implement previous commitments to build youth capacity.
- PRIORITIZE children and young people in climate finance and resources. Developed countries must deliver on their COP26 agreement to double adaptation funding to $40bn per year by 2025 at a minimum, as a step to delivering at least $300bn per year for adaptation by 2030. Adaptation funding must make up half of all climate finance. COP27 must unlock progress on loss and damage, placing the resilience of children and their communities at the center of discussions on action and support.
- PREVENT a climate catastrophe by drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and keep 1.5 degrees Celsius alive. Emissions are projected to rise by 14% this decade, putting us on a path to catastrophic global heating. All governments must revisit their national climate plans and policies to increase ambition and action. They must cut emissions by at least 45% by 2030 to keep heating to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : The Far Right Response To Rishi Sunak, Britain’s First Hindu Prime Minister [October 2022]

The press release issued by Hope Not Hate on 26 October 2022.

Aside from any political considerations, Sunak’s appointment as the first British Asian Prime Minister – and the first Prime Minister from any ethnic minority since Benjamin Disraeli in the 1870s – is a historic moment for the UK. That Britain now has a Prime Minister who is Hindu and a Mayor of London who is Muslim is certainly a sign of progress.

However, minority representation in high places does not in itself solve the very real experience of racism and oppression faced by people of colour in the UK. It does not, as some have claimed, mean that Britain is now a post-racial society and it also does not mean that this new Conservative government won’t make things worse. Sunak’s reappointment of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, who has described deporting refugees to Rwanda as her “dream” and “obsession”, is yet another depressing reminder of that.

Nevertheless, the decision of so many Tory MPs to endorse Sunak for leader is something that could not have occurred in previous decades, when it was often taken as a given that the electorate would reject non-white candidates at constituency level, let alone as Prime Minister.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, there remains a section of British society who very much reject Sunak on the grounds of his ethnicity and religion. Many on the UK’s far right have made clear that, aside from any political considerations, Sunak’s ethnic and religious identity alone should be enough to disqualify him from office.

For overtly race-focussed fascist groups like Patriotic Alternative and the British Freedom Party, the selection of the UK’s first Asian Prime Minister is a useful illustration of their central platform: that white people in the UK are being “replaced” by minority groups.

A Telegram post from former BNP leader Nick Griffin

Emphasising his belief that no non-white person can ever be British, even if born in the UK, PA’s leader Mark Collett claimed that “white Britons are so terrified of discussing race and ethnicity that they dare not even confront the fact they are now officially and openly under foreign rule”.

Yet others on this wing of the far right were also quick to downplay the significance of the event, which they see as just another example of the “anti-white” ideology of the Conservative Party. As PA’s deputy leader Laura Towler put it:

“As a nationalist, perhaps I should be angry at the thought of a non-British PM but I actually feel nothing […] Rishi Sunak epitomises the Conservative Party. He’s a rich child of immigrants. He is exactly what his party wants for this country: to replace the British people and generate more wealth for the wealthy.”

For supporters of Collett and Towler, Sunak’s Indian heritage and Hindu religious beliefs are largely irrelevant – they see the entirety of the UK’s non-white population as being unwelcome and dangerous, and often dismiss the efforts of less committed racists to distinguish between “good” and “bad” minority.

The issue of Sunak’s ethnicity is more complicated for the UK’s anti-Muslim activists, who from the late 2000s onwards moved away from the explicit racism of the British National Party and attempted to portray themselves as solely concerned with fighting Islamic extremism and other issues within the Muslim community.

For groups like Britain First and the now-defunct English Defence League, the UK’s Hindu and Sikh populations were often held up as a “model minority”, which could be praised in order to denigrate the Muslim community and also deflect accusations of racism. In response to the recent violence in Leicester, Britain First’s deputy leader Ashlea Simon asked “where are the marches to protect the Hindu community?”

It is for that reason that Britain First felt unable to condemn the first Hindu Prime Minister in explicit terms, instead inviting their followers to make their own racist comments by posting two references to his Hindu faith along with an Indian flag emoji:

Their supporters delivered exactly the response in the comments that you’d expect. While one commenter responded that “Hindus are good guys”, others quickly laid bare their bigotry: “A pagan in No.10. It will need a future exorcism” said one, while another called it “the end of our judeo Christian country”.

Similar sentiments were on display from supporters of Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), with comments on his Telegram including “Disgusting that a Indian is the pm of my beautiful England” and “all planned and fixed INDIAN PM IN ENGLAND couldn’t make this **** up unbelievable”.

Yet Lennon himself, who has recently courted far-right media outlets in India, has levelled his own criticism of Sunak not on ethnic or religious grounds but wider conspiratorial allegations, sharing links that claim his wife’s family own “a China-linked, World Economic Forum partner company pushing digital ID and social credit scores”.

This conspiratorial view – in which all current events are blamed on a shadowy global coup by woke/globalist/remainer elites – is not limited to those on the extreme fringes of the right. It is one that has had considerable airtime on GB News since its inception, with most of its hosts in seeming agreement that the self-inflicted political wounds suffered by Johnson and Truss were in fact part of a conspiracy to impose a “WEF-endorsed” candidate.

HOPE not hate has documented the efforts by the established far right to influence and recruit from the protest groups and online communities that developed in opposition to lockdowns and vaccines. We will doubtless see continued efforts to convert hostility to the premiership of Sunak, whether on the grounds of his actual policies or conspiracy theories about his role in a “globalist coup”, into a wider paranoia and hostility towards ethnic minority representation in politics.

October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Public health underspend starves England’s most deprived areas of vital services [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Health Foundation on 26 October 2022.

Analysis published today by the Health Foundation reveals that the public health grant has been cut by 24% on a real-terms per capita basis since 2015/16.

The cut falls more heavily on those living in the most deprived areas of England, who also tend to have poorer health. For example, in Blackpool – the most deprived local authority in the country – the per capita cut to the public health grant has been one of the largest at £42 per person per year.

The public health grant is used to provide vital preventative services that help people to stay healthy. The reduction in overall funding for the public health grant affects some services more than others. Stop smoking services and tobacco control have seen the greatest real terms fall in funding, with a 41% reduction. There have also been significant real terms reductions for drug and alcohol services (28%) and sexual health services (23%).

The authors argue that a whole-government strategy to improve health and reduce health inequalities is desperately needed. A commitment to a health disparities white paper by the new Secretary of State for health would be an opportunity to set out a strategy to reduce health inequalities that considers the role of every department.

The way in which the public health grant is administered should change. Allocations have been made just before the start of the financial year for the past three years. On top of the significant real-term reductions in the grant, the lack of certainty can make it difficult for local authorities to effectively plan and implement services for the longer term.

Reinvesting in public health is also vital to ensure that services can meet increased needs arising from both historic trends of worsening health and increased risks to health due to people’s experiences of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

Jo Bibby, Director of Health at the Health Foundation, said: 

‘The UK is in the midst of an economic crisis that has significant consequences for the nation’s health. As the government scrambles to balance the books ahead of the fiscal plan, there are worrying signs that public services could face further cuts. Any more cuts could have long-lasting impacts on people’s health and further entrench health inequalities. There is a 19-year gap in the number of years a girl born in the most deprived 10% of areas can expect to live in good health compared with a girl born in the least deprived areas.

‘Opportunities to prevent the early deterioration of health are being missed. If the government fails to fund vital preventive services, people’s health will continue to erode, and the costs of dealing with this poor health will be felt across society and the economy.’

October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : RSPB Charity calls on Scottish Government to deliver on nature ambitions [October 2022]

The press release issued by the RSPB on 21 October 2022.

A new report, A World Richer in Nature: where nature and people can thrive, was released today charting how each of the UK’s nations can be Nature Positive by 2030. The report highlights that there are huge opportunities to achieve this target across the UK but that it will take a vast amount of work and calls for a ‘Decade of Action’.

RSPB Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to heed the recommendations and actions outlined for Scotland in this report and ramp up delivery on its ambitions for nature. The charity says the first step must be a redrafted Biodiversity Strategy that is ambitious with clear, specific outcomes and actions for ecosystems and species.

This call comes ahead of global leaders gathering at the COP15 biodiversity summit in Canada in December to agree new targets for addressing the nature emergency.

In response to announcements by the UK Government at the end of September, that have been labelled as an Attack on Nature, the Scottish Government reaffirmed its commitments to maintain environmental protections and restore nature in Scotland.

RSPB Scotland welcomed these reassurances and said it supports the Scottish Government in doing all it can to ensure the UK Government’s actions do not damage nature or undermine efforts to restore it in Scotland. However, the charity is calling on the Scottish Government to ensure its strong words are transformed into meaningful actions. It raised concerns about the recent consultation on the Biodiversity Strategy, which the nature charity says fell woefully short of having the actions needed to turn ambition for nature’s recovery into reality.

The World Richer in Nature report includes sections on species recovery, protected areas, food and farming, fisheries, climate change, finance and people. Each section includes a summary of the current situation, a vision for the future, what actions are needed to get there, along with case study examples of successes.

RSPB Scotland believes by implementing the recommendations in the report and taking inspiration from what is possible, the Scottish Government could create a future Scotland where nature and people thrive.

Anne McCall, Director of RSPB Scotland, said: “Nature is in crisis around the globe. We need COP15 to deliver a strong, ambitious deal for nature’s recovery. However, there’s plenty of things the Scottish Government can do right now to tackle the nature crisis at home. The stated ambition to do this has never been higher, but this needs to manifest in real action. The recent draft of the Biodiversity Strategy fell short of what’s needed at this critical moment. There are four big gaps: species recovery, ecosystem restoration, the role of protected areas, and clear, specific outcomes.

We also need an ambitious Seabird Strategy particularly as we face the aftermath of the catastrophic impacts bird flu had on seabirds this year, an ambitious plan for delivering the target to protect 30% of Scotland for nature by 2030, and there is a big opportunity to transform agricultural funding to help nature and our climate.”

“We believe Scotland should and can be nature positive by 2030. There are incredible opportunities over the lifetime of this parliament and particularly the next 12 months for the Scottish Government to put us on that path and we’ve outlined how that could work in our report through a Decade of Action. Let’s hope those opportunities are taken for all our sakes.”

October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Good news PM has scrapped missed appointment charging plans – he must now address GP pressures [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Royal College of GPs on 28 October 2022.

Commenting on the news that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has abandoned his proposal to charge patients for missed GP appointments, Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We’re pleased to hear this development. Charging patients for missed appointments would not have worked, would have disadvantaged some of our most vulnerable patients, and would simply have been tinkering at the edges given the scale of the crisis facing GPs and our teams.

“The latest NHS figures hammer home how GPs and our teams are working harder than ever whilst the number of fully-qualified full-time equivalent GPs has fallen since the Government made its manifesto promise of 6,000 more GPs by 2024 – a manifesto that the new Prime Minister has said he is committed to delivering.

“We’re pleased that the Prime Minister has listened to our concerns around charging for appointments. We now hope that he will listen to us about how to address the intense workload and workforce pressures GPs and our teams are working under, and the impact these are having on patients, and act.

“First and foremost, the Government must address the workforce crisis in general practice by devising and implementing a recruitment and retention strategy that will go beyond the 6,000 GPs promised, and make GP workload more manageable by reducing unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy. We must also see a return to 11% of the total health spend in general practice, and investment in our IT systems and premises, so that GPs and our teams can deliver the care our patients need and continue to keep the NHS sustainable.

“While we do not agree with fining patients for missing appointments, we would urge patients who are able to who no longer need their appointment to let their surgery know as soon as possible that they won’t be attending, so that consultations can be offered to other patients.”

October 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : New PM must act fast to address intense workload and workforce pressures in general practice [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Royal College of GPs on 27 October 2022.

Responding to the latest NHS general practice workforce and consultation data, Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs said: “It’s important that the new Prime Minister and Health Secretary take note of today’s general practice data and urgently act to address the intense workload and workforce pressures facing our profession, and the impact this is having on patients.

“The figures show that GPs and our teams are working flat out to ensure patients receive the care and services they need, consistently delivering more consultations every month then before the pandemic. More than 29m appointments were delivered in September – almost 3m or 11% more than the same month pre-pandemic – with 41% of those carried out on the day they were booked, and more than two thirds delivered in person.

“Yet, while GPs and our teams work harder and harder, the number of fully qualified, full-time equivalent GPs has fallen since the Government’s 2019 manifesto pledge to build the workforce by 6,000 by 2024.

“General practice is the bedrock of the health service, making the vast majority of NHS patient contacts and in doing so alleviating pressures elsewhere, including in A&E, but it is a service at breaking point. GPs and our teams are burning out, struggling to manage a workload that is escalating both in terms of volume and complexity.

“If the new Prime Minister is serious about delivering his Government’s manifesto, as he has this week said he is, then he needs to act fast and take heed of the College’s calls in our Fit for the Future campaign. First and foremost, he must address the workforce crisis in general practice by devising and implementing a recruitment and retention strategy that will go beyond the 6,000 GPs promised, and make GP workload more manageable by reducing unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy. We also must see a return to 11% of the total health spend in general practice, and investment in our IT systems and premises, so that GPs and our teams can deliver the care our patients need and continue to keep the NHS sustainable.”

Commenting further on the Prime Minister’s plans to charge patients for missed appointments, Prof Marshall said:

“It’s always frustrating to hear about missed GP appointments, particularly at a time when we have nowhere near enough GPs to meet increasing need for our services, as these could have been used for other patients. But charging for appointments is not the answer. It would fundamentally change the principle that the NHS is free at the point of need and would likely impact on our most vulnerable patients most – and it would add another layer of bureaucracy to a GP service already drowning in red tape.

“While we do not agree with fining patients for missing appointments, we would urge patients who are able to who no longer need their appointment to let their surgery know as soon as possible that they won’t be attending, so that consultations can be offered to other patients.”

October 31, 2022