Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : UK updates Travel Advice for Lebanon [October 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2023.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against non-essential travel to Lebanon and against all travel to south of the country.

The British Embassy in Beirut has announced updated Travel Advice for Lebanon. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against non-essential travel to Lebanon and against all travel to some areas in the south of the country.

This means that British nationals should only travel to Lebanon if their travel is essential. We now advise against all travel to the area south of the Litani river which includes the main Naqoura-Tyre-Saida-Beirut highway and areas to the west of it. In addition, we continue to advise against all travel to the Hermel Area, including the towns of Arsal, Ras Baalbek, Qaa, Laboué and Nahlé, Palestinian refugee camps or within 5km of the border with Syria.

We keep our Travel Advice under constant review. The situation is unpredictable and could deteriorate without warning.

British Nationals in Lebanon continue to have access to 24/7 consular assistance. Please call +961 (0) 1 960 800 for inquiries.

We encourage all British nationals to stay up to date with our Travel Advice in full at Lebanon travel advice – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 54 – Statement on Cambodia [October 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2023.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Cambodia. Delivered by the UK at the 54th Human Rights Council at the UN.

Thank you, Vice President.

The UK thanks the Special Rapporteur for his update on the human rights situation in Cambodia and welcomes the conclusions and recommendations in his latest report.

We recognise that Cambodia has made progress on economic, social and cultural rights. In particular, we commend Cambodia on its response to COVID-19, including on social protection, as well as its commitment to climate, education, and healthcare.

The UK remains committed to working constructively with Cambodia in its efforts to advance all human rights, including by supporting the implementation of the benchmarks and recommendations set out in the Special Rapporteur’s report.

Following Cambodia’s national elections earlier this year, the UK supports the Special Rapporteur’s call for the new generation of leaders to open up civic and political space; engage in constructive dialogue with civil and political actors; and guarantee an open political environment.

Advancing freedom of speech, association, and thought would also serve to support Cambodia’s economic sector by encouraging greater innovation through the open sharing of ideas and information.

Special Rapporteur,

What are the most important measures that you believe the government of Cambodia needs to take to ensure an open civic space?

Thank you.

October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Report highlights impact of UK contribution to the Gaia mission [October 2023]
The press release issued by the UK Space Agency on 10 October 2023.

UK funding for scientists working on a mission to map the Galaxy has helped advance the frontiers of human knowledge, according to a new report, published today alongside the latest Gaia data release.

The UK Space Agency commissioned space economics and strategy consultancy know.space to study the impact of the UK’s national funding to date for the UK’s role in contributing to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (Gaia) mission.

Launched in 2013 and expected to be in operation until 2025, Gaia is undertaking the ambitious task of providing a 3D chart of positional and velocity measurements of up to 2.5 billion stars, quasars, exoplanets, comets and asteroids. The mission’s aim is to construct by far the largest and most precise 3D map of the Galaxy ever made.

The report found that Gaia publications since 2014 have been cited more than 200,000 times, and UK authored papers are cited significantly more than average. For example:
1. Papers with UK involvement constitute 46% of total citations, while accounting for 31% of publications
2. UK first authored papers constitute 15% of total citations, while accounting for 10% of total publications
3. The average number of citations for a UK-authored publication (first-authored or contributing author) is 35, compared to 23 for a Gaia paper without UK involvement
Among the findings the report also shows that by partnering with the Imaging and Molecular Annotation of Xenografts and Tumors laboratory at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and others, the UK’s Gaia team has employed star map analytical techniques to study cancers and tumours. This novel approach, aiming to develop the world’s first virtual reality cancer map could redefine diagnosis and promote more personalised cancer treatments.

Dr Caroline Harper, Head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency, said:

Gaia is a groundbreaking science mission, in terms of both the quality and richness of the scientific data and the advances in ‘big data’ processing that it has stimulated, and which can be applied to other areas such as medical diagnostics.

It’s fantastic that the UK is a core member of the international Gaia consortium and has been making such important contributions to the mission. This study has provided a timely and valuable insight into the positive outcomes of UK Space Agency funding for space science missions like Gaia.

The UK has a key role in developing the processing and analysing of data in the mission. This enables the UK space science research community to play a central role in ongoing data processing and scientific discovery.

The Impact Evaluation, which comes as new Gaia data is made available today (10 October), analysed the work to date across the four core themes of science, UK competitiveness, collaboration inspiration and innovation to identify the outcomes of national funding to date.

The report highlights the instrumental role played by the UK in developing Gaia’s spectrophotometry instruments, which has allowed the observatory to study around 2.5 billion celestial bodies, revealing deep insights into our Milky Way and the stages of stellar evolution.

It also reveals that many PhDs have been made possible, both through research projects exploiting data from Gaia, of more specifically through Gaia related doctoral training networks, supported by UK and/or EU funding, such as the current MWGaia Doctoral Network.

Will Lecky, Co-founder and Director at know.space, said:

There can be little doubt that Gaia is a scientific success story. Our report highlights how UK funding has enabled the processing and release of high-quality data that is of huge value to the global scientific community, helping to advance the frontiers of human knowledge. The impact is also set to continue for years and decades to come.

Our analysis also shows how funding has helped to expand the reach and reputation of the UK space sector, develop sought-after data skills, inspire the next generation, and lead to widespread ‘spillover’ benefits as new advanced statistical methods, algorithms and capabilities are applied elsewhere in the space sector and beyond.

Scientists and engineers from around the UK also played key roles in the design and build of Gaia. UK participation in the mission is funded by the UK Space Agency which has invested £23 million to date, with an additional £2.4 million from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

Dr Colin Vincent, STFC Associate Director Astronomy, said:

The UK Space Agency and STFC have jointly supported data centres in the UK that are essential to the exciting science from this unique international mission to explore the evolution of our own galaxy.

By developing and applying advanced data extraction and processing techniques UK experts have enabled the maximum science to be extracted from the raw data science to deliver new insights.

Release of the latest Gaia mission data

The mission’s latest ‘focused product release’, provides many new unexpected and exciting insights which includes the revelation of half a million new and faint stars in a massive cluster, 380 possible cosmic lenses, and the pinpointing the positions of more than 150,000 asteroids within the Solar System.

Dr Nicholas Walton, lead of the UK Gaia Project team and ESA Gaia Science Team member, said:

This release will open up new insights across astronomy, from the precise orbits of asteroids in our Solar System, to quasar discovery in the distant cosmos. A truly wonderful release demonstrating the breadth of science enabled by Gaia. This release represents but a small taster of the riches to be revealed with the publication of the next full release, Gaia Data Release 4.
October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Michèle Dix appointed to the National Infrastructure Commission [October 2023]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 10 October 2023.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has appointed Michèle Dix CBE – a former managing director of Crossrail 2 and director of planning at Transport for London – to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).

The NIC provides impartial, expert advice to government on major long-term economic infrastructure challenges and Michele Dix will bring years of experience in transport, engineering, and planning.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:

“We need high quality infrastructure to deliver growth and boost productivity. Michèle will help ensure that the National Infrastructure Commission has the right skills and talent to help deliver the infrastructure we need.”

Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said:

“Michèle brings a wealth of knowledge of the transport and planning spheres, and she joins us at an important time just as we publish the second National Infrastructure Assessment.

“Michèle’s experience in developing world class public transport systems will help inform the Commission’s ongoing work advising government on how best to promote economic growth across all regions.”

Michèle Dix BSc, PhD, CEng, FICE, FCILT, FCIHT, CBE is currently Non-Executive Director of Crossrail International, Non-Executive Director of the Major Projects Association, and visiting professor at Bartlett School of Planning at University College London.

At Transport for London, Michèle had been Managing Director of Crossrail 2 until October 2021 and had previously been Managing Director of Planning. Michèle started her career at the Greater London Council after completing her PhD in transport and land use planning.

Dr Dix has confirmed she has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.

October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : British nationals released from Afghanistan [October 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2023.

UK welcomes the release of 4 British men detained in Afghanistan.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said:

We welcome and appreciate the release by the current administration of Afghanistan of four British nationals who were detained on allegations of breaking the laws of Afghanistan.

On behalf of families of the British nationals, we express their apologies to the current administration of Afghanistan for any violations of the laws of the country.

We remind all British nationals of the requirement to comply with relevant UK counter-terrorism legislation when overseas and abide by all laws of the country of destination. Where appropriate, we will pass information to the relevant authorities in the UK for consideration.

The UK Government regrets this episode.

October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Statement on violence in Afghanistan [October 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2023.

The UK does not support anyone seeking to achieve political change through violence in Afghanistan.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said:

The UK Government does not support the use of UK territory by anyone, including Afghan nationals, to plan, recruit for, incite or finance terrorism in Afghanistan, or to seek political change through violence. We strongly discourage others from doing so. Political change sought through armed violence or incitement of violence that amounts to an offence in UK law can be subject to investigation.

Violence of any kind is not in the interests of Afghanistan, or the international community, and we deplore violent attacks of all kinds.

To promote peace and stability, to deliver essential humanitarian support to the Afghan people, and to address shared concerns on security, there is no alternative to engaging pragmatically with the current administration of Afghanistan, and this is what we are doing.

October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : £196 million to support new trainee teachers [October 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 10 October 2023.

Teacher recruitment will see a huge boost this academic year with £196 million to attract more teachers across key subjects.

Teacher recruitment will see a huge boost this academic year with £196 million to attract more teachers across key subjects. This will fund scholarships, bursaries and salary grants to help thousands of candidates through their initial teacher training (ITT).

Scholarships for those training to teach mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing will now be brought up to £30,000 tax-free, in order to attract more talented teachers in these key subjects to support the delivery of the advanced British standard (ABS), announced by the prime minister last week.

The ABS is a new single qualification for 16- to 19-year-olds that will bring together the best of A Levels and T Levels, giving students the freedom to take a mix of technical and academic subjects, boosting their skillset and giving students more flexibility over their future career options. Students will also spend more time in the classroom, increasing taught hours to a minimum of 1,475 hours over two years.

In his speech, the prime minister committed an initial investment of £600 million over two years to lay the groundwork for delivering the advanced british standard, which would double the levelling up premium, helping retain talented teachers in priority subjects.

This means that, existing teachers, who are in the first five years of their careers teaching priority subjects in disadvantaged schools will receive £6,000 tax-free per year. This will include for the first time further education colleges and will recognise and reward the valuable jobs that teachers play in our society.

Overall, the next recruitment cycle will see a £15 million increase on the financial support available to trainee teachers compared to the last cycle, which will encourage the brightest and the best into teaching, helping support the delivery of the ABS and beyond.

As part of the increase existing bursaries for biology and design & technology will also be brought up to £25,000 and additional bursaries for subjects that are compulsory to the curriculum have been introduced, including one in music. This means those applying to train to teach music will receive a £10,000 bursary. This brings the total number of eligible subjects available for financial support to 12.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:

Last week the prime minister set out a new vision for our education system. The new advanced british standard will expand the range of what our 16 to 19 year olds learn and finally end the artificial divide between academic and technical education.

We know teachers will be key to its success – just as they have been to raising standards since 2010. That’s why we need the best and the brightest teaching throughout our schools. These bursaries give trainee teachers even more choice and support to help them start their journey into the classroom.

Since its launch the department has made considerable progress delivering its teacher recruitment and retention strategy to attract, retain and develop the highly skilled teachers needed to inspire the next generation.

Recent data has shown that schools in England now have more teachers than ever before nearly 470,000 teachers in the workforce, a 27,000 increase on 2010.

To help tackle teacher and school leader workload, the workload reduction taskforce has been established, which will help support the government’s ambition to reduce working hours for teachers and leaders by five hours per week.  In addition, we have created 12 flexible working ambassador multi-academy trusts and schools (FWAMS) this year to support schools with flexible working and have published our flexible working toolkit, which provides resources to help implement practices like job shares, part-time working and ad-hoc flexibility, such as the occasional personal day.

To further attract teachers to the profession, the international relocation payment (IRP) pilot will continue for a second year, supporting the highest-quality candidates to teach priority subjects and ensuring that England remains an attractive teaching destination worldwide.

More great teachers in classrooms helps build a world class education system for children and builds on the government’s work to drive up standards. This follows on from England’s recent success in the progress in international reading literacy study (PIRLS), which saw it placed 4th in the world for reading among primary school children.

This winter, the department will publish a strategy update that builds upon its commitment to give every child a world class education delivered by great teachers.

October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Downing Street celebrates Visual Arts to mark 20 Years of Frieze London [October 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 10 October 2023.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer will today champion the arts at Number 10 Downing Street to mark the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking Frieze London Art Fair.
- A day of events championing the visual arts to be held at Number 10 Downing Street
- Comes as Frieze London Art Fair turns 20 years old
- Events to focus on providing pathways into the arts for young people and supporting regional museums
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer will today champion the arts at Number 10 Downing Street to mark the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking Frieze London Art Fair.

The event demonstrates the government’s support for the visual arts as a key part of the success of the wider arts sector as a major contributor to the UK economy. The UK is the second largest art market in the world, just behind the US with 18% of sales globally. It is larger than the rest of Europe combined.

The arts are an important part of our thriving creative industries, which were worth £108 billion to the economy in 2021 and supported over two million jobs across the country last year. The creative industries were recognised as a priority growth sector by the Chancellor and in June the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which sets out how the Government will work together with industry to support growth and prosperity.

Also attending the event will be Minister for Arts and Heritage Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, British art market leaders and representatives from art galleries and museums across the UK.

The full day of events at Downing Street will start with an award ceremony in the morning unveiling a new print commissioned for the Robson Orr TenTen Award 2023 by the Government Art Collection, hosted by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay.

The Robson Orr TenTen Award is a ten-year scheme, which commissions a unique limited edition print by a leading British artist each year. Fifteen editions are gifted to the Government Art Collection to put on display in UK government buildings around the world while the sale of eleven editions help raise funds for the Government Art Collection to support emerging British artists and those currently underrepresented in the Collection. The award is presented by the Government Art Collection with Outset Contemporary Art Fund and sponsored by leading philanthropists Sybil Robson Orr and Matthew Orr.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:

We are in a golden age for British arts and culture and the government will do all we can to continue to maximise the potential of our creative industries, which boasts talent the length and breadth of the UK.

The Robson Orr TenTen Award is a fantastic initiative that gives a platform to this talent, providing much-needed opportunities for underrepresented artists.

Later in the day, a Youth Leaders Networking Lunch will take place in the State Dining Room at Number 10 to highlight innovative programmes across the UK that support young people in the arts. Discussions at the lunch will centre on creating pathways for under-represented groups and providing opportunities for young leaders to meet and share experiences.

Attendees at the lunch include renowned artist Alvaro Barrington and young people who collaborated with him on designing a community basketball court in Bethnal Green, that was then represented in his work Change the Game, Frieze (2022), recently acquired by the Government Art Collection.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay will also host a roundtable together with the Government Art Collection and Contemporary Art Society to highlight the Contemporary Art Society’s work with the Collections Fund at Frieze, acquiring major new works at Frieze London for regional collections in the UK. Recipients of the fund over the past seven years, including the Fitzwilliam Museum, will discuss the positive impact of the scheme on their collections and local communities.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said:

The UK is a world leader in the arts and it is vital that we continue to provide access to culture and creative opportunities for everyone – as our Creative Industries Sector Vision and our work on a new Cultural Education Plan will do.

I look forward to meeting cultural leaders from around the country to discuss the great work they are doing to develop collections around the UK, ensuring people have access to world-class culture on their doorstep no matter where they live.
October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Joint Statement from Quint Leaders on Israel [October 2023]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 October 2023.

Today, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America released the following joint statement following their call:

Today, we — President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom, and President Biden of the United States — express our steadfast and united support to the State of Israel, and our unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism.

We make clear that the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned. There is never any justification for terrorism. In recent days, the world has watched in horror as Hamas terrorists massacred families in their homes, slaughtered over 200 young people enjoying a music festival, and kidnapped elderly women, children, and entire families, who are now being held as hostages.

Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further emphasise that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage.

All of us recognise the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed.

Over the coming days, we will remain united and coordinated, together as allies, and as common friends of Israel, to ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region.

October 10, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Labour announces new ‘tough love’ youth programme to tackle knife crime, youth violence and address the crisis in young people’s mental health [October 2023]
The press release issued by the Labour Party on 10 October 2023.

In her speech at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will announce Young Futures, a new cross-government national programme aimed at giving Britain’s young people the best start in life, with a specific strand of activity targeted at those young people at most risk of being drawn into violent crime and delivering support for young people struggling with their mental health.

This will be a key part of achieving Labour’s mission to halve knife crime and youth violence in a decade.

The Shadow Home Secretary will set out how reforming services for young people will be the focus of a major cross-departmental initiative if Labour wins the next election.

Its intention is to bring together support for young people in a radical new, co-ordinated way to better address the new serious challenges facing teenagers and their families, from the rise in knife crime, youth violence and county lines exploitation through to growing mental health challenges and the longer-term impact of social media and the pandemic on young lives.

She will argue that, under the Tories, services supporting teenagers have become badly fragmented and neglected, with local partnerships stretched and struggling to coordinate activity. The Commission on Young Lives, Hidden in Plain Sight, described how: “the experience of parents [of at-risk children and teenagers] told a consistent tale of missed opportunities, unmet need, and a confused tangle of services. When there is contact with services, families say that they are too-often met with a conveyor belt of assessments, churn of professionals and early closure of cases.”

Cooper will point to a range of devastating statistics showing worsening outcomes for young people, including a record number of children and young people seeking mental health support from the NHS, analysis from the think tank Crest suggesting over 200,000 children are vulnerable to serious violence, a record number of children as victims of crime in 2021/2022, and last year seeing the highest number of people killed with a knife for over 70 years, with the biggest increase amongst young boys aged 16-17.

Labour’s new Young Futures programme will draw on up to £100 million a year, based on combining existing commitments to fund new youth mentors and mental health hubs in every community, youth workers in pupil referral units and A&E, and a programme of public sector reform to deliver:
- A targeted programme in every area to identify the young people most at risk of being drawn into violent crime and build a package of support that responds to the challenges they are facing. This will be achieved through bringing together services at a local level to better coordinate delivery of preventative interventions around the young person, rooted in a strong evidence base.
- Develop a national network of Young Futures hubs to bring local services together, deliver support for teenagers at risk of being drawn into crime or facing mental health challenges and, where appropriate, deliver universal youth provision.
- Youth workers in A&E units, custody centres, pupil referral units and communities to target young people who are starting to be drawn into violence.
- Ensure existing enforcement measures are effectively utilised, including family interventions, the use of curfews, enforcement of penalties, drug and alcohol interventions, community work, and stronger action against the criminal gangs that are drawing young people into crime.
The programme will be a major reform to focus on prevention rather than just sticking plaster policies, and will mean government departments, schools and local services working together so that at local level services operate around young people and their families rather than in separate silos. Local partnerships will draw together mainstream services with the work of Violence Reduction Units and voluntary sector organisations and will help deliver Labour’s mission to halve knife crime in the country within the next ten years.

The Young Futures Programme will be developed with local government leaders, experts, and young people themselves, and local partnerships will be measured against a national outcomes framework to allow for local innovation in delivery. The initial focus of the programme will be knife crime but once the programme is demonstrating results Labour will look to expand the remit beyond youth violence and into other mission objectives such as educational attainment.

The programme also aims to increase access to universal provision of youth services to help all young people thrive and get ready for work and life. This element of the programme will initially be boosted by Labour’s plan for new youth hubs and staff, but in time could be supported by the outcomes of a review in government of funding for support for young people to ensure it is effective and evidence based.

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, will say:

“Young people have been totally let down by this Tory Government, who have failed to recognise the growing vulnerability of many teenagers – be it because of the rise of county lines gangs, impact of damaging content on social media or the pandemic.

“Whether it’s addressing knife crime, violence in teenage relationships, or the record number of young people seeking mental health support, this floundering government have never sought to grip the issue and support teenagers and families at a tough time in their lives.

“We need urgent interventions to stop young people getting drawn into crime or exploitation in the first place. For too long, teenagers have been pushed from pillar to post between local authorities, mental health services, the police and youth offending teams. That’s why we are setting up a cross-Government ‘tough love’ initiative, with new youth hubs and proper local plans to identify those most at risk and help them access the support they need.

“And for those who repeatedly cause trouble in their community or are found carrying knives, there also need to be stronger interventions and clear consequences to stop their behaviour escalating and to keep other young people safe.

“A Labour Government will give young people their future back.”
October 10, 2023