Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : Lord Chancellor reappoints 2 members to the Tribunal Procedure Committee [May 2023]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 18 May 2023.

The Lord Chancellor, after consultation with the Lord Chief Justice, has announced the reappointment of Philip Brook Smith KC and Susan Humble as members of the Tribunal Procedure Committee.

The Lord Chancellor has announced the reappointment of Philip Brook Smith KC and Susan Humble as members of the Tribunal Procedure Committee (TPC) for 3 years from 4 July 2023 to 3 July 2026.

Philip Brook Smith KC, was appointed to the TPC on 4 July 2020. He has a broad commercial and civil practice and has substantial experience of a wide variety of areas of commercial and civil law, achieving notable distinction in the field of product liability.

Susan Humble was appointed to the TPC on 4 July 2020. She is a partner at RIAA Barker Gillette, Chair of the Taxation Disciplinary Board and a Lay Panellist on the Professional Conduct Committee of the Teaching Regulation Agency. Between 2010 – 2018, Susan was the Chief Executive Officer and Clerk of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Both appointees have declared no political activity.

The TPC was established, on 19 May 2008, under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act (TCEA) 2007 to make rules governing practice and procedure in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals. The TPC is responsible for nine sets of Tribunal Rules, covering 11 Chambers in the Unified Tribunals System. The subject matter of the appeals heard in those Chambers includes immigration, tax, mental health and transport.

These reappointments are made under Schedule 5(21) of the TCEA and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and comply with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.

May 28, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : New funding for farmers to protect the English landscape [May 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 18 May 2023.

Farmers and landowners will receive funding and support for projects to protect and restore thousands of acres of the English landscape.

Farmers and landowners will receive funding and support for projects to create new habitats for wildlife, help protected sites and boost efforts to reach net zero, alongside sustainable food production, the government has confirmed today (Thursday 18 May).

Building on the success of the first round of the scheme launched last year, farmers and land managers are able to bid for a share of £15 million initial development funding, with significantly more investment in the years to come as projects move from development to delivery.

This will help them to collaborate and work in partnership to protect and enhance landscapes in England, delivering environmental benefits on a massive scale while supporting farmers to deliver their world-renowned produce.

The second round of the scheme will support up to 25 projects which will be administered by Natural England and the Environment Agency – the lead delivery partners for the scheme. The projects will be selected based on their environmental and social impact, value for money and suitability for the scheme. In addition, for the first time, we have introduced a food production criterion which will be used to ensure prospective projects take food production into consideration and mitigate any negative impacts on this where possible.

It will focus on projects of at least 500 hectares which could include landscape scale projects creating and enhancing woodland including temperate rainforest, peatland, nature reserves and protected sites such as ancient woodlands, wetlands and salt marshes.

Secretary of State for Food and Farming Thérèse Coffey said:

Landscape Recovery is one of our three Environmental Land Management schemes which provide the funding and support for farmers in England through the biggest change in a generation.

The scheme is already supporting 22 inspiring landscape-scale projects across England with development funding and the second round will help more farmers and land managers take collective action through involvement in bespoke projects that will make a real difference in reaching net zero and supporting valuable habitats, while continuing to support sustainable food production.

Projects selected for the first round last year are demonstrating how food production and environmental delivery can go hand in hand. On the Somerset and Dorset border, the River Axe Landscape Recovery project is bringing together 23 farmers, smallholders and landowners, including dairy, beef, sheep and arable farms, to restore a 23.6km stretch of the upper river. The project will support regenerative farming and extensive grazing on the land neighbouring the river corridor to reduce diffuse pollution, phosphates and sediments entering the river, enabling cleaner water to flow.

Funding for Landscape Recovery will be provided from the government’s £2.4 billion annual investment into the farming sector, which is guaranteed for the rest of this Parliament, with every penny of the reductions to farmers’ direct payments reinvested back into farming.

Dr Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said:

Agriculture has a huge role to play in Nature recovery, ensuring that a thriving natural world is at the heart of sustainable food production. Landscape Recovery encourages farmers and land managers to transform Nature at a landscape scale and Natural England will use its advice and relationships to support them every step of the way.

I hope that through this scheme more farmers and land managers will join forces, making significant progress towards the statutory Nature targets and providing the food and public goods that our society depends upon.

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

I welcome the second round of the Landscape Recovery scheme, which is a key opportunity for farmers and land managers who want to focus more specifically on ambitious land-use change and habitat restoration.

The round one projects – only launched in September 2022 – are already showing great promise, such as the River Axe project in Devon supported by the Environment Agency to improve the habitats and water quality of the Axe.

This second round of Landscape Recovery will take us further down the track toward becoming a nation that is resilient to climate change and rich in ecological diversity.

This new round builds on the success of the first round of the scheme last year, which was oversubscribed with high quality applications. The 22 projects selected for the first round focus on recovering and restoring England’s threatened native species and restoring England’s streams and rivers by improving water quality, enhancing biodiversity and adapting to climate change.

Farmers and land managers, including tenants and upland farmers, are at the centre of all the projects. They will be working closely together to deliver a range of environmental benefits across farmland and rural landscapes. This includes creating and enhancing habitats from chalk streams and temperate rainforest to moorland and wetland, restoring over 600km of rivers, and protecting at least 263 species such as water vole, otter, pine marten, lapwing, great crested newt, European eel and marsh fritillary.

The projects range from the Three Dales project in Yorkshire – where a consortium of ten farmers, landowners and conservation organisations led by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are aiming to restore a large area of the western Yorkshire Dales uplands, creating habitats for species including black grouse, curlew and ring ouzels – to the Darent Valley Farmer Cluster in Kent which is seeing farmers join forces with Kent Wildlife Trust and more local organisations to carry out chalk stream restoration in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Landscape Recovery programme is one of the government’s three new Environmental Land Management schemes, alongside the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship.

The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy disproportionately rewarded the biggest farms, with 50% of payments going to the largest 10% of recipients, which wasn’t fair or sustainable for our long term shared aims to protect the dual role of farmers as food producers and stewards of our national environment.

Outside the EU, our new system sees payments made fairly to all farmers in return for their actions, designed in partnership with the industry, and tailored to the specific interests of British farmers.

May 28, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Trolls who encourage serious self-harm to face jail [May 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 18 May 2023.

New offence for encouraging serious self-harm with perpetrators facing 5 years behind bars.
- offence to apply regardless of whether target goes on to cause serious self-harm
- move will protect vulnerable while not criminalising those who share their recovery journey
Vile trolls who hide behind the anonymity of the internet to encourage others to cause themselves serious harm will face prosecution as part of an overhaul of online safety laws announced today (18 May 2023).

Additions to the Online Safety Bill will make it a crime to encourage someone to cause serious self-harm, regardless of whether or not victims go on to injure themselves and those convicted face up to 5 years in prison. The new offence will add to existing laws which make it illegal to encourage or assist someone to take their own life.

Police or prosecutors will only have to prove communication was intended to encourage or assist serious self-harm amounting to grievous bodily harm (GBH) – this could include serious injuries such as broken bones or permanent physical scarring.

The offence will apply even where the perpetrator does not know the person they are targeting – putting an end to abhorrent trolling that risks serious self-harm or life-changing injuries.

Encouraging someone to starve themselves or not take prescribed medication will also be covered.

Research from the Mental Health Foundation shows that more than a quarter of women between 16-24 have reported self-harm at some point in their life and since 1993 the levels of self-harm among women have tripled. Today’s announcement is the latest step in our work to provide greater protections for women and girls who are more likely to self-harm.

Research also shows more than two-thirds of UK adults are concerned about seeing content that promotes or advocates self-harm while online.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk KC, said:

There is no place in our society for those who set out to deliberately encourage the serious self-harm of others. Our new law will send a clear message to these cowardly trolls that their behaviour is not acceptable.

Building on the existing measures in the Online Safety Bill our changes will make it easier to convict these vile individuals and make the internet a better and safer place for everyone.

The new offence will be created following a recommendation from the Law Commission in 2021 and balances the need to protect vulnerable people while not criminalising those who document their own self-harm as part of their recovery journey.

Justice Minister, Edward Argar MP, said:

No parent should ever worry about their children seeing content online or elsewhere encouraging them to hurt themselves.

Our reforms will punish those who use encourage vulnerable people to inflict serious injuries on themselves and make sure they face the prospect of time behind bars.

This new offence builds on measures already in the Online Safety Bill, which will better regulate social media and ensure that social media companies like Tiktok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and others are held legally responsible for the content on their sites.
May 28, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Government to tackle post pandemic absence rates with new support [May 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 18 May 2023.

Successful attendance programmes expanded by Government to get more children into school.

New plans to support pupils to drive up attendance rates in schools to improve pupils’ attainment and welfare have been announced by the Government today.

These plans include the expansion of the successful sector-led Attendance Hubs programme with nine new lead hub schools, alongside the expansion of Attendance Mentors in areas of the country with the highest levels of pupil absence.

The nine new attendance hub leads will support up to 600 primary, secondary and alternative provision schools in England to improve their attendance by sharing effective practice and practical resources.

Practice shared by hubs may include rolling out automatic text messaging to parents where pupils do not attend school and using data effectively to identify children at risk of poor attendance and in order to intervene early.

The expansion of the attendance mentors programme, delivered by children’s charity Barnardo’s, will see trained mentors work directly with 1,665 persistently and severely absent children and their families across Knowsley, Doncaster, Stoke-on-Trent and Salford to understand and overcome the barriers to attendance and support them back into school.

These new measures build on the Government’s existing attendance strategy which includes: new expectations set out in guidance for schools, trusts and local authorities, a national attendance data dashboard providing more up-to-date attendance data so schools can target the most vulnerable, and the work of the national Attendance Action Alliance.

Improving attendance is key to boosting attainment and evidence shows pupils with higher attendance tend to have higher attainment across all key stages. Education and the social connection that comes with it can also have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of young people. It lays the foundation for growing a strong economy in the future, one of the Prime Minister’s priorities.

Today the Department is also publishing a call for evidence on children missing education – those neither on a school roll nor being suitably home educated. Receiving evidence from local authorities, schools and other agencies on what works to support children missing education and the challenges they face, will play a vital role in allowing the Department to identify existing best practice and inform future policy. The call for evidence is open until 20 July.

Schools Minister, Nick Gibb said:

We know that the best place for children to learn is in the classroom, and the vast majority of children are currently in school and learning.

Though pupil attendance is continuing to recover, the pandemic has still had a real impact on pupil absence in school.

That is why we’re expanding some of our most important attendance measures today – including the attendance hubs and mentoring programmes, to ensure children have the best chance of receiving a high-quality education.

Assistant Director of Barnardo’s North, Emma Ramsay said:

We are very excited to have confirmation from the Department for Education that Attendance Mentor pilot is being expanded into the four new areas after our pilot in Middlesbrough.

We are looking forward to working with schools, local authorities, families and pupils who face challenges with school attendance in Doncaster, Salford, Stoke on Trent, and Knowsley.

We are passionate about helping pupils overcome the barriers they face, and are sure these areas will benefit significantly from the service.

CEO of Northern Education Trust, Rob Tarn said:

It has been wonderful to see the positive professional conversations generated following the creation of the North Shore attendance hub. Securing better attendance always has been, and continues to be, a day to day challenge for schools across the country.

The increase in the number of attendance hubs and the number of schools involved in collaborative work will mean that many organisations need no longer feel alone and will have the ability to share their best practice whilst receiving ideas from others.

The new Attendance Hubs will start supporting other schools from June and mentors will begin working with children and families in the new areas from September.

Findings from the expansion of the attendance hubs will determine whether the approach has the potential to be rolled out to other areas across the country.

The first Attendance Hub was established by Rob Tarn, CEO of Northern Education Trust and member of the Attendance Action Alliance, to provide other schools with techniques, resources and advice on how to improve attendance, as successfully trialled in Northern Education Trust’s North Shore Academy.

North Shore Academy has significantly improved its own pupil attendance rates despite having almost three times more disadvantaged pupils than the national average. Last year the national absence rate in schools was 9% whereas North Shore Academy was 8.2%. As part of the hub, it is extending its work to headteachers running schools in similar circumstances. A number of schools who have participated in the hub have seen significant improvements in their attendance.

As part of the expansion, nine additional schools will join North Shore Academy to lead new hubs to share methods that keep pupils in school.

May 28, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK to join Biden’s emissions challenge as it forges closer energy security links with US [May 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 18 May 2023.

Grant Shapps begins 4-day visit to the US, as Department for Energy Security and Net Zero marks first 100 days.
- Shapps on 4-day US visit to strengthen collaboration to safeguard UK
- Energy Security Secretary is meeting senior members of Biden administration
- UK set to join President’s Carbon Management Challenge to remove and store CO2
- visit comes as Department for Energy Security and Net Zero marks first 100 days
The UK will back President Biden’s drive to remove and store global carbon emissions as it forges ever-closer links with the United States on energy security.

Grant Shapps said the UK will join the President’s Carbon Management Challenge on a 4-day visit to the US this week. The Challenge encourages countries to rapidly cut emissions and develop removal technologies to capture CO2 and store it deep underground.

The UK has one of the largest carbon storage potentials, including under the North Sea, of any country in the world, with capacity to hold up to 78 billion tonnes of carbon – equal to the weight of 15 billion elephants. This will create a whole new industry, worth £8 billion to the UK economy and produce around 50,000 new jobs – supporting the government’s priority to grow the economy.

The Energy Security Secretary’s visit to the US this week will strengthen collaboration between the 2 countries. This includes working closely together on clean and renewable technologies to cut household bills, reduce the need for foreign fossil fuels and further drive tyrants like Putin out of the global energy market.

Grant Shapps is meeting senior members of the Biden administration, including his Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in Washington DC yesterday (Wednesday), and key figures such as California Governor Gavin Newsom today (Thursday).

The visit comes as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero marked its 100th day.

Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, said:

Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine has had the exact opposite effect from what he wanted – rather than wilting in the face of his tyranny, we’ve stood firm and united and are neutralising his blackmail.

Our resolve has strengthened our relationships around the world, and nowhere more so than with the United States, where we are forging ever-closer links to deliver cleaner, cheaper, and more secure energy – ensuring the likes of Putin can never again hold the world to ransom.

We’re world leaders in renewable technologies and by supporting President Biden’s Carbon Management Challenge we are taking a step closer to realising our huge potential and be at the forefront of this exciting industry of the future.

Today in California, the Energy Security Secretary is due to meet Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia. Grant Shapps will point to the UK’s world leading expertise in renewable energy, including offshore wind, and is expected to discuss how the UK and California – the world’s fourth largest economy – can work closer together on clean technologies.

In Washington DC yesterday, the Energy Security Secretary discussed with Secretary Granholm closer collaboration further diminish Putin and deliver cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy for both countries.

In addition to the Carbon Management Challenge, the UK is supporting John Kerry’s First Movers Coalition (FMC) under the Breakthrough Agenda – a UK-led initiative launched by 45 world leaders at COP26. The FMC sees companies around the world make pledges to cut their carbon emissions, such as by cleaning up manufacturing processes and supply chains.

To date, 6 UK companies – PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, the Aveva Group, Rio Tinto, National Grid and Ernst & Young – have become partners. Today, Grant Shapps is calling on other British businesses to consider following suit, and be part of the global effort to clean up the most carbon-intensive industries.
May 28, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister to agree historic UK-Japan Accord ahead of G7 [May 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 17 May 2023.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will agree a landmark new global strategic partnership, ‘The Hiroshima Accord’.
PM set to agree historic ‘Hiroshima Accord’ on UK-Japan economic, security and tech collaboration

UK to step up defence cooperation with Japan to uphold stability in the Indo-Pacific

PM will visit a naval base and host a business reception in Tokyo before travelling to Hiroshima to meet Prime Minister Kishida ahead of G7

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will agree a landmark new global strategic partnership, ‘The Hiroshima Accord’ when they meet in the city later today [Thursday 18th May].

The UK’s relationship with Japan has grown further and faster than with any other international partner, reflecting Japan’s pivotal role in the Indo-Pacific and their centrality to the UK’s security and prosperity. In the last six months, we have completed negotiations to join the CPTPP trade bloc, launched the UK-Japan-Italy Global Combat Air Programme and signed a ground-breaking defence Reciprocal Access Agreement.

The Hiroshima Accord will cement this relationship, with new agreements on defence, trade and investment, science and technology collaboration, and joint work on tackling global issues like climate change.

Arriving in Tokyo on Thursday, the Prime Minister will visit a naval base and confirm new UK-Japan defence cooperation. This includes doubling UK troop numbers in upcoming joint exercises, committing to deploy the Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific in 2025 and agreeing a formal Consult Clause, whereby the UK and Japan commit to consult each other on important regional and global security issues and consider measures in response.

We are also launching a set of science and technology programmes to support UK-Japan collaboration at every stage of the pipeline, from early career researchers through to bringing new innovations to market. It includes a new strategic relationship between Imperial College London and the University of Tokyo, built on collaboration with Hitachi Ltd, to develop a UK-Japan Cleantech Innovation Hub and scale up the rapid development of green technologies.

As part of the new Accord, the UK and Japan will launch a Semiconductors Partnership, with new commitments to pursue ambitious R&D cooperation and skills exchange, strengthening our domestic sectors and bolstering supply chain resilience in an increasingly competitive market.

Later on Thursday, the Prime Minister will host a reception of key Japanese business leaders in Tokyo to reiterate the importance of our trade and investment relationship. He is expected to confirm billions of pounds of new job creating investments in the UK.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

It is a privilege to be visiting Tokyo and Hiroshima at this historic moment in the United Kingdom’s relationship with Japan.

Prime Minister Kishida and I are closely aligned on the importance of protecting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and defending our values, including free and fair trade.

The Hiroshima Accord will see us step up cooperation between our armed forces, grow our economies together and develop our world-leading science and technology expertise. It marks an exciting next phase in the UK and Japan’s flourishing partnership.

The fourth UK-Japan joint ‘Vigilant Isles’ military exercises, taking place in Japan later this year, will be the biggest yet with around 170 UK personnel taking part, including from the 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles and 16 Air Assault Brigade.

The UK will confirm today that its Carrier Strike Group will return to the Indo-Pacific in 2025, following its maiden voyage to the region in 2021. The fleet, comprised of an aircraft carrier, her escorts and her aircraft, will work alongside the Japanese Self Defence Forces and other regional partners to help defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

As part of the defence agreements under the Hiroshima Accord, the Prime Minister is expected to agree a new Cyber Partnership with Japan. This will deepen UK-Japan cooperation on cyber and set a high level of ambition for the future relationship, with Fujitsu UK joining the National Cyber Security Centre’s Industry 100, and the UK and Japan piloting a new Japan Cyber Security Fellowship to develop future cyber leaders.

We will also unveil a new Renewable Energy Partnership, aimed at accelerating the deployment of clean energy in the UK, Japan and third countries.
May 28, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Russia’s repressive campaign against Crimean Tatars must end – UK statement to the OSCE [May 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 May 2023.

Ambassador Neil Holland says following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Tatars have endured ruthless persecution at the hands of the Russian regime.

Thank you, Mr Chair. The United Kingdom strongly condemns the latest wave of attacks on Kyiv, Odesa, and across Ukraine overnight. We commend the bravery and skill of those defending the cities of Ukraine, and our thoughts are with the civilians who yet again suffer due to Russia’s brutal attacks.

The United Kingdom welcomes the news that the Black Sea Grain initiative will be renewed. It is vital that this continues. We applaud Türkiye and the UN Secretary General for their continued efforts to keep the initiative going. But let us not forget that the illegal and unprovoked war on Ukraine has held the world’s food hostage. So once again, we call on Russia to end its use of food as a weapon.

Mr Chair, last weekend, while Europe came together at the Eurovision Song Contest, Russia launched cruise missiles at Ternopil, the home city of Ukraine’s Eurovision contestants. Two people were injured, and several warehouses destroyed. Russia then shelled residential buildings in Kostyantynivka killing two people, including a 15-year-old girl, and injuring ten others. Despite Russia’s attempts to silence Ukraine, the voices of those fighting for freedom are still being heard. Today, we mark the anniversary of Stalin’s mass deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homeland. So today, I will amplify the voices of Crimean Tatars, drawing on the testimonies from a recent event held at the British Embassy in Kyiv.

Since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Tatars have endured a ruthless campaign of persecution for simply existing in their homeland. Russia has imposed a repressive regime of arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances. One victim of this brutal, discriminatory oppression is Leniye Umerova, a 25-year-old Crimean Tatar. She was arrested in December 2022 whilst returning to Crimea to take care of her seriously ill father. Russian guards interrogated Leniye for having a Ukrainian passport, looked through her phone and discovered her support for Ukraine. This was enough to see her transferred to a detention centre in Moscow. When Leniye was eventually released, four men were waiting for her, they grabbed her, put a bag over her head, and left her in an unfamiliar district of Vladikavkaz. Almost immediately, she was detained by police and to this day has not been released. Leniye now faces the additional charge of espionage; if found guilty, she could face up to 20 years in prison.

As part of its repression, Russia is intent on preventing human rights activists from carrying out their crucial work. These include Abdureshit Dzhepparov who is also a Crimean Tatar. On 25 April 2023, armed and masked members of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) broke into Abdureshit’s home, seized his phone, laptop, and Ukrainian passport, and arrested him. Abdureshit was held in solitary confinement – his whereabouts unknown to his family – for 12 days of horrific psychological distress.

Moreover, Russia brands Crimean Tatars who are legitimately politically active as ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’. People like Nariman Dzhelyal, who in 2021 was arrested by the FSB for allegedly bombing a pipeline in Crimea, despite being in Kyiv on the day of the alleged events. Nariman was imprisoned for 24 hours in a basement, without access to food, water, or a lawyer, and was tortured by electrocution. He faces 17 years in a high security prison, based on the supposed testimony of three so-called “anonymous” witnesses. Nariman has no access to medical care, inadequate food, and his health is deteriorating. Several other Crimean Tatars have died from such prison conditions.

Mr Chair, we cannot, and we will not let terror prevail. We call on Russia to release its political prisoners and cease its torture and persecution of Crimean Tatars. Once more, we emphasise that Crimea is Ukraine. The UK remains absolutely committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. Peace can only be achieved after Russia ceases hostilities against Ukraine. And after Russia withdraws all of its forces from all of Ukraine – fully, immediately and unconditionally. As my Prime Minister said during President Zelenksyy’s visit earlier this week: “it is in all our interests to ensure Ukraine succeeds and Putin’s barbarism is not rewarded”. We must not let Ukraine down.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

May 28, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Foreign Secretary in 4-country tour of Latin America and Caribbean to cement partnerships on climate, people and peace [May 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 17 May 2023.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is visiting Jamaica and South America, including Colombia, Chile and Brazil, to renew historic friendships and build new ones.
- James Cleverly to renew UK ties with influential region in visit to Jamaica, Colombia, Chile and Brazil
- he will attend UK-Caribbean Forum and announce funding for region’s security and climate resilience
- in South America, Cleverly will stress British support for upholding democracy and protecting the rainforest
The Foreign Secretary will visit countries across Latin America and the Caribbean over the next 7 days to renew the UK’s relationship with the influential region.

James Cleverly arrives in Jamaica today (18 May), on the first leg of a 4-country trip that will focus on climate, democracy and the links between our people.

In Kingston, he will announce £15 million in funding for a Violence Prevention Partnership to counter serious and organised crime, as well as up to £7million for climate finance – supporting the island’s security and protecting vital sites against flooding and coastal erosion.

He will then travel to Colombia, Chile and Brazil, 200 years after Britain first began establishing diplomatic ties with the independent Latin American republics, to deliver a keynote speech on the future relationship with this important region.

It is the first visit by a Foreign Secretary to the Caribbean since 2017 and the first to South America since 2018 – helping meet a UK foreign policy objective to revive old friendships and build new ones beyond established alliances.

Latin America, home to 660 million people and with combined GDP of over $5 trillion, is also an enormous potential market for the UK. Mexico, Chile and Peru are among the region’s members the UK will be joining in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trading bloc – boosting British jobs, growth and influence.

With more than a quarter of the world’s forests, it is also an essential partner in tackling climate change.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

This is a milestone year in the history of UK relations with countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.

While I look forward to celebrating our close bonds of friendship and family, I am also here to renew and enhance our ties for the years ahead.

It is a partnership that will be marked and strengthened by our shared values of freedom, democracy and concern for the state of our planet.

In Jamaica today, Cleverly will attend the UK-Caribbean Forum to set out support for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), following a reception he hosted in London on the eve of the Coronation. He will then meet with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

From 19 to 21 May, the Foreign Secretary will be in Colombia to announce new UK support and funding for peace and tackling climate change by protecting the Amazon. Cleverly will visit the Amazon frontier region of Guaviare to see how UK-funded projects are preventing deforestation and helping former combatants rebuild their lives through eco-tourism. The UK has contributed over £80 million towards implementation of the landmark 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement.

On 22 May, Cleverly will give a speech in Chile’s capital Santiago setting out the UK’s approach to Latin America and like-minded powers around the world. The speech will launch bicentenary celebrations of UK-Latin America relations in British embassies across the continent – 2 centuries after then-Foreign Secretary George Canning played a pivotal role in guaranteeing the independence of the region’s new states.

The visit will conclude in Brazil, where Cleverly will sign a wide-ranging climate partnership with his hosts on Green and Inclusive Growth and travel to the Amazon rainforest. This will build on the £80 million of Amazon funding announced by the Prime Minister during President Lula’s visit to the UK for the Coronation.

He will emphasise the UK’s support for Brazilian democracy at the national Congress, which was attacked by protestors on 8 January.

The Foreign Secretary set out his personal commitment to deepening UK engagement with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America in his speech on 12 December 2022 – where he said the UK’s future global impact will depend on winning over a far broader array of global partners.

Then in March, the Integrated Review Refresh set out how the importance of deeper, enduring partnerships with influential actors, including Latin America, that will shape the geopolitical environment in the years ahead.
May 26, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK-UAE inaugural Strategic Dialogue 2023 – joint communiqué [May 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 17 May 2023.

The United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates signed a joint communiqué to mark the inaugural UK-UAE Strategic Dialogue, held in London on 15 May 2023.

The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, hosted His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, for the inaugural UK-UAE Strategic Dialogue in London on 15 May 2023.

The Strategic Dialogue builds on the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, in September 2021, during which both countries’ leaders agreed to establish a Partnership for the Future. The ambitious Partnership set the roadmap for collaboration between the UK and UAE, and it was agreed through it that the Foreign Ministers co-chair the Strategic Dialogue to drive progress under the Partnership for the Future.

The Strategic Dialogue underscored the strength of the bilateral relationship, noting the breadth of the collaboration between the 2 countries, their shared history, and enduring commitment to deepening ties and enhancing people-to-people relations. The ministers reiterated their commitment to the relationship and welcomed the growing partnership across a range of sectors, welcoming the inaugural Strategic Dialogue as an important moment in the bilateral relationship.

During the Strategic Dialogue, both ministers agreed on the need for cooperation to tackle global challenges. The ministers discussed the importance of an inclusive and ambitious agenda for the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) to be held at Expo City Dubai in November 2023. Both ministers reiterated the importance of increased ambition and implementation in this critical decade and the need to deliver a robust and unified response to the Global Stocktake to close the ambition gaps in mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and climate finance in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, including keeping 1.5C in reach; and to halt and reverse global forest and biodiversity loss. Together they reiterated the need for accelerating climate action and collaborating on long-term projects that enhance cooperation on clean energy, climate finance, adaptation, nature, and food systems, and agreed to further elaborate these partnerships.

The 2 sides also praised the trade and investment links, as well as aviation relations, that exist between the UK and the UAE. They noted the success of increased trade in goods and services between the 2 countries, currently at an all-time high of £21.6 billion during the 4 quarters to the end of quarter 4 2022. They welcomed the success of the ‘Sovereign Investment Partnership’ signed in 2021 and outlined the UK and the UAE’s support for expanding and deepening trade and investment relations between the 2 countries in areas of mutual benefit.

The 2 sides praised the existing partnerships between the 2 countries in the fields of energy and clean energy, which complement and strengthen the 2 countries’ ambitious climate goals and transition towards a low-carbon future. Both sides expressed readiness to hold the 8th session of the UAE-UK Joint Economic Committee (JEC) this year, while also welcoming the conclusion of the third round of UK-GCC FTA negotiations that concluded in March and noting that they look forward to the fourth round, which will be hosted by the UK later this year.

In this context, the 2 sides agreed to build on the excellent bilateral trade and investment relationship and continue simultaneous bilateral discussions, in the form of annexes or side agreements to the GCC FTA, to explore ways to agree on UAE-UK specific matters. Both sides reiterated full commitment in the work towards solidifying the cooperation in the field of illicit finance, under the umbrella of the UAE-UK Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows signed in September 2021.

The foreign ministers discussed the importance of coordination at the United Nations Security Council and commended the UAE’s leadership on the recent UNSC resolutions on Afghanistan. The ministers also held detailed talks on shared priorities at the UNSC, including advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda, promoting tolerance and counter extremism, and addressing the impacts of climate change on international peace and security, as well as conflict prevention and peaceful solutions, peacebuilding and sustaining peace, and addressing intolerance, hate speech, discrimination, and all forms of extremism. The ministers committed to strengthening the UAE-UK bilateral partnership through robust multilateral cooperation.

The ministers also held detailed talks on regional security and stability, and emphasised the importance of dialogue and building bridges to achieve regional peace and prosperity, including in their discussions on Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. They agreed on the need to work together, including through the UN, to support diplomatic initiatives and channels aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, in line with the principles of the UN Charter. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation across domestic and regional security issues.

Ahead of the meeting of foreign ministers, the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Tariq Ahmad, and His Excellency Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, met to discuss the progress made towards the Partnership for the Future.

While celebrating the progress in the relationship, both Lord Ahmad and His Excellency Dr Gargash underlined their ambition to deepen cooperation and expand bilateral collaboration. The 2 sides discussed the importance of collaboration on energy and climate change mitigation, development, science and technology, security, and consular affairs. Moreover, they agreed on the importance of maintaining regular communication to ensure further progress under the pillars of the Partnership.

May 26, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK calls for secure, unimpeded humanitarian access and funding in Yemen – UK statement at the Security Council [May 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 17 May 2023.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Yemen.

Thank you, President.

Let me start by thanking Special Envoy Grundberg for your briefing, but also for your team’s very hard work. And Ms Wosornu and Ms Al-Eryani for your briefings too.

I would like to start by welcoming the strong progress towards resolving the major threat posed by the FSO oil tanker and the risk of over a million barrels of oil leaking into the Red Sea.

In recent days, both the replacement and service vessels have arrived near the site. And crucially, following the joint UK-Dutch fundraising event earlier this month, the UN has announced it has sufficient funding to start the emergency operation to transfer oil off the vessel.

But as Ms Wosornu said, there is more work to do. I am certain that none of us want to be fundraising for the $20 billion required to clean up if we are unable to avert a catastrophic spill.

The UN requires $43 million to fully complete the operation and we all have a stake in permanently solving this ticking time bomb for the environment, for global trade, for millions of local livelihoods and the delivery of lifesaving aid in Yemen.

President, the UK welcomes the positive work by all parties to build on the truce-like conditions in Yemen over the past year. We call on all parties to continue engaging constructively and creatively and to negotiate in good faith, towards a lasting and inclusive peace for the Yemeni people.

The recent Saudi and Omani delegations to Sana’a represented valuable steps towards reaching a comprehensive ceasefire.

I urge the parties to engage constructively and in a spirit of compromise. Our focus should be on accepting that all Yemenis should have access to all sources of revenue.

An inclusive peace process under UN auspices is the only pathway to ending this dreadful war.

I am also reassured by the unity that this Council continues to demonstrate. I hope that we can continue to work together towards our common goal of finding peace in Yemen.

Finally, I echo the concerns of Ms Wosornu.

In spite of the relative peace in Yemen over the past year, 21.6 million people, or two-thirds of the population, remain in dire humanitarian need.

Although I welcome OCHA’s efforts in securing unrestricted humanitarian access; we continue to see, as we’ve heard, impediments to the free movement of women; to independent monitoring and assessment; and to the fair selection of service providers.

The humanitarian response is already facing severe funding challenges. These impediments pose additional, and entirely avoidable, burdens on the humanitarian effort and ultimately on the people of Yemen.

Thank you, President.

May 26, 2023