Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : Long-term strategy launched to fix children’s social care [February 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 2 February 2023.

Government to transform children’s social care, with ambitious plans that put families at the heart of reform .

Vulnerable children will be better supported to stay with their families in safe and loving homes, as part of an overhaul of children’s social care.

Backed by £200 million over the next two years, a new, ambitious and wide-ranging Children’s Social Care Implementation Strategy will transform the current care system to focus on more early support for families, reducing the need for crisis response at a later stage.

The plan responds to recommendations made by three independent reviews by Josh MacAlister, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel into the tragic murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The findings revealed the current care system is often fragmented, siloed, and struggling to meet the needs of children and families across England.

Families will receive local early help and intervention with challenges such as addiction, domestic abuse or mental health, to help families to stay together where possible and overcome adversity. This will start in 12 local authorities and is backed by £45m to embed a best practice model that will then be shared more widely.

Children who grow up in loving, stable homes tend to have better outcomes, which is why the proposals put relationships at the heart of the care system and prioritise family-like placements where a child can no longer live with their parents. Kinship care, where a child is placed with a relative or close family friend, will be prioritised by simplifying the process and providing more support to extended families, such as grandparents, aunties, uncles and others. Recognising the transition within a family can be challenging for all involved, the government will also provide training and support to kinship carers.

Foster carers will also see an above-inflation increase in their allowance to help cover the increasing costs of caring for a child in their home, in recognition of the brilliant care they provide to children. This is alongside £25 million over the next two years on a recruitment and retention programme, which is the largest investment in recent history, helping to attract more people to offer a loving home for children in need. Depending on local need, foster care recruitment will focus on areas where there is a particular shortage of placements for children such as sibling groups, teenagers, unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), those that have suffered complex trauma or parent and child foster homes.

Today’s announcement echoes the Prime Minister’s intention to better support all families, as evidence shows that strong, supportive families make for more stable communities and happier individuals.

Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Claire Coutinho said:

Children in care deserve the same love and stability as everyone else. Yet we’ve seen from the two tragic murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson that more needs to be done to protect our most vulnerable children.

Our wide-ranging reforms will put strong relationships at the heart of the care system. From supporting our brilliant foster carers, kinship carers and social workers to getting early help to families and improving children’s homes, we want every child to get the support and protection they need.

Measures announced today in the strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, include:

Introducing more effective, joined-up family help for those that are struggling.

Up to 12 local areas will get over £45m to test a new approach to Family Help to provide increased, evidence-based support for families to overcome issues to prevent problems from escalating. In a welcoming and non-judgemental way, the new service will help families with issues such as domestic abuse or poor mental health, giving them access to local support with the focus on the help they need rather than bureaucratic boundaries and assessments between services and professionals.

Where a child is at risk of harm, experts will intervene swiftly and decisively to protect them.

A new Child Protection Lead Practitioner role will have advanced, specialist training, and will work in a fully joined up way with other services such as the police, to better identify and respond to significant harm. The change will mean services work more effectively to protect children from harms that happen outside of the home, such as criminal exploitation and serious violence.

Harnessing the value of family networks by supporting the kinship care system.

There will be a focus on improved support and reducing barriers to kinship care, including investing £9 million in a kinship care training and support offer for all kinship carers. The government will explore the case for a new financial allowance, possible additional workplace entitlements and options for an extension of legal aid for kinship carers who become Special Guardians or who hold Child Arrangement Orders.

Transforming the experiences of children in care and care leavers, by prioritising children in care living in homes close to their family, friends, communities and schools.

In addition to the recruitment programme and the above inflation increase to allowances, the government is investing £30m in family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes to support children in care and care leavers to find and maintain loving relationships.  The government will also increase the leaving care allowance from £2,000 to £3,000 from April this year, an above inflation increase to help them set up home independently. For care leavers undertaking apprenticeships, there will be an increase to the bursary available from £1000 to £3,000.

Expanding and strengthening the children’s social care workforce.

Local authorities will be supported to recruit up to 500 new child and family social worker apprentices and there will be consultation on proposals to reduce over-reliance on agency social workers. The government will also introduce a new Early Career Framework for social workers that will make sure that social workers have the knowledge and skills they need to support and protect children.

Setting clearer direction for everyone who works in the system, through a new Children’s Social Care National Framework and Dashboard.

The National Framework, published today for consultation, sets out clear outcomes that should be achieved across all local authorities to improve the lives of children and families, raising the quality of practice across the country.

The government has now reached its target to reduce the number of children’s social care services judged to be ‘Inadequate’ to 10% or lower. This collective effort from government and the Children’s Social Care sector, has halved failure rates across the country within five years, bringing improved standards for thousands of children and families across the country. The strategy builds on this work, to support more children within the care system.

February 2, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : New research hub to help tackle decarbonisation and improve transport resilience [February 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 2 February 2023.

Government pledges £10 million to support innovation in transport decarbonisation.
- new research hub, backed by £10 million in government funding, to boost innovation and decarbonise transport
- organisations are invited to host the new centre and provide expertise to fuel a low-carbon transport revolution that will help deliver on net zero targets
- new hub will support resilience across all transport modes and boost UK skills, jobs and innovation
A new research hub is being launched to boost innovative measures to decarbonise and improve transport, as the country works towards its net zero goals.

Decarbonisation Minister Jesse Norman has announced applications are open today (2 February 2023) for organisations to host the new hub, with the government pledging £10 million in funding for the centre, which will establish a UK centre of excellence for transport innovation.

Currently, transport accounts for 27% of the UK’s emissions and the Net Zero Transport for a Resilient Future Hub will drive decarbonisation solutions, such as greater use of recycled materials and reducing the carbon footprint of repairs and maintenance.

The hub will also develop and implement innovative ideas to ensure future transport is resilient and meets the challenges of climate adaption, such as changes to weather and water levels.

It will focus on the UK’s transport sector’s needs over the next 25 years as the government works to meet its 2050 net zero goals, helping to ensure the sector can build UK skills, jobs and innovation.

Decarbonisation Minister Jesse Norman said:

Innovation is key to the growth of the transport sector, and the creation of high-skilled jobs and business opportunities across the UK.

This new UK research hub will build a centre of excellence for the future development of low-carbon transport.

By working to develop real-world solutions across a wide range of academic disciplines, such as architecture and design, computing and behavioural sciences, the hub will help support innovation in the UK which could lead to high-skilled jobs across the UK.

It will aim to provide a link for early-stage innovation and later stage demonstration across multiple transport modes to create, develop and test climate-resilient solutions that recognise how different places and types of transport will require different answers.

By researching the challenges of the transport sector in adapting to climate change and securing UK innovation, the centre will look to offer responsive, practical, evidence-based support to transport decision-makers and develop and implement sustainable, low-carbon solutions across existing and new infrastructure.

Some of the areas the hub will be expected to research include:
- solutions for resilient transport infrastructure – researching ways to improve the design of transport related infrastructure to better cope with potential climate impacts and reduce emissions, for example increasing use of recycled materials, increasing biodiversity in projects, or ways to use fewer materials
- streetscape – designing streets to minimise carbon emissions, improve drivers’ and pedestrians’ mental health and wellbeing, and ensure their resilience to potential climate impacts
- localised climate modelling of temperature, sea-level and weather – gaining a better understanding of potential climate impacts on specific areas, in part, to prioritise those places most in need for possible adaptive measures and projects
- bridge the gap between infrastructure research and policy – researching ways to shorten the time between developing innovative solutions and their wider adoption
UK Research and Innovation Building a Green Future lead, Professor Sir Duncan Wingham, said:

A partnership between the Department for Transport and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Net Zero Transport Infrastructure for a Resilient Future Research Hub will lead the cross-UK research that is needed to effect transformational change in the transport sector.

It will lead future developments to decarbonise our transport sector, a crucial component of achieving the UK’s net zero 2050 target.

It will also help to ensure our transport systems remain resilient to hazards caused by extreme weather events and climactic changes that are already apparent.

The hub will be funded through UKRI’s Building a Green Future strategic theme to accelerate the UK’s transition to a secure and prosperous green economy by 2050. This theme is a partnership between government departments, industry and UKRI to fast-track the development of innovative solutions needed to meet the UK’s net zero goals, keeping the UK at the forefront of the green industrial revolution.

Over 80% of the funding for the hub will come from government through the Department for Transport, UKRI (via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), and organisations in the Transport Research and Innovation Board, with the remaining coming from the winning research centre, which will become the home of the hub.
February 2, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Problems being caused to medicines supply by Protocol “indefensible” – Doug Beattie [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Ulster Unionist Party on 6 January 2023.

UUP Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA said:

“The report from the Nuffield Trust confirms what we have been warning – that the Protocol is affecting the availability of certain medicines in Northern Ireland that are accessible in the rest of the United Kingdom.

“We have long said that medicines should not be included within the scope of the Protocol. It is indefensible that people in Northern Ireland do not have equitable access to medicines available in other regions of the UK. There needs to be a lasting solution found that provides equitable access and gives manufacturers certainty.

“The problems flowing from the Protocol are already starkly manifesting here in medicines but will only grow as the divergence between the United Kingdom and European Union increases. We need to have confidence that the UK Government is tracking divergence, so these problems aren’t only being dealt with once they have already arisen.

“The Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland wrote to the Foreign Secretary on 6 December 2022 asking what, if any, work was being taken by the Foreign Office to track and log these divergences. To date there has been little clarity on how this is being handled, if at all.

“This latest revelation is further evidence of the need to deal with the Protocol. Obviously, the best way is through a negotiated outcome that provides lasting solutions and removes the Irish Sea Border. However, the UK Government must be robust in defending equality of access to medicines for citizens in Northern Ireland.”

February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Ulster Unionists remember Kingsmills Massacre [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Ulster Unionists on 5 January 2023.

Ulster Unionist Councillor David Taylor said:

“My thoughts are with the Kingsmills families and sole survivor Alan Black today on this 47th Anniversary of the Kingsmills Massacre. We remember the 10 innocent Protestant men murdered by the IRA as they returned home from their day’s work. This was one of the most shocking and cruel incidents carried out by Republicans during the troubles and left a lasting impact on the Protestant community in South Armagh.

“I was privileged to attend a service at the Kingsmills roadside memorial organised by FAIR this morning to mark the Anniversary.”

February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Foreign Secretary’s meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong [February 2023]

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

The UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong met in London.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:

The Foreign Secretary and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong had a warm and productive meeting in London today.

The Foreign Secretary highlighted the UK’s commitment to work alongside Australia to support Pacific Island states’ priorities, particularly on the climate emergency and economic development. He looked forward to visiting in the coming months.

The Foreign Secretary also welcomed Australia’s recent sanctioning of leading figures in the Iranian and Myanmar governments, alongside similar sanctions imposed by the UK.

He and Foreign Minister Wong agreed that these were a clear illustration of the UK and Australia as staunch defenders of freedom and democracy.

Both looked forward to continuing discussions alongside their defence ministers tomorrow. They agreed the summit in Portsmouth would cement the UK-Australia relationship as modern and forward-looking, in the face of growing global challenges.

February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Aid delivery without the participation of women cannot be normalised, and impairs the entire population [February 2023]

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

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Member States Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan.

Thank you, Martin, and thank you to your IASC colleagues for this important briefing.

The UK welcomes your mission to Afghanistan just as we welcome that of the Deputy Secretary-General previously. We believe that regular senior UN level engagement, in close coordination with NGOs, will be important in the weeks and months ahead as we navigate a way forward.

As you have told us, the consequences of the Taliban’s edicts on the humanitarian community’s ability to tackle one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises are painfully evident.

Female humanitarian workers play a critical role in accessing Afghan communities in need: they reach populations their male counterparts cannot.

The consequences of the edicts will not be limited to our ability to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. They will also have a wider impact across our collective interests – across counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and regional stability.

The Taliban’s systematic attempts to erase women from society will have clear costs on Afghanistan’s economy, stability and security. We are clear there can be no movement on recognition until the Taliban meets the expectations of the international community which have been set out repeatedly in successive Security Council resolutions.

We must remain united, firm and unequivocal in our message to the Taliban: aid delivery without the participation of women cannot be normalised, and impairs the entire population – not only women and girls.

So the UK calls on the Taliban to guarantee the safety and status of all humanitarian staff, female and male, international and national. Their critical role needs to be understood at all levels – from national representatives to provincial security forces and district level officials.

As we continue to monitor development in Afghanistan, the international community needs to listen and respond to the voices of Afghan women. Their voices must be heard at all levels of the humanitarian response. That means high levels of transparency from humanitarian partners on the challenges they are facing in ensuring that women are able to access and participate in the delivery of assistance.

We should continue to use evidence-based arguments to demonstrate to the Taliban the impact of their edicts.

So Martin, to close, the UK calls on the Taliban to reverse their damaging edicts and take action to ensure all communities have access to aid and basic services.

And we, the UK, will continue to support the humanitarian community as you engage the Taliban on these challenges in the weeks and months ahead.

Thank you.

February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : PwC comments on the company insolvency statistics for Q4 2022 [January 2023]

The press release issued by PWC on 31 January 2023.

According to the Insolvency Service’s latest quarterly data, in Q4 2022 there were 5,995 registered company failures driven by 4,891 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 720 compulsory liquidations, 359 administrations and 25 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs).

Annual snapshot

22,109 companies failed in 2022, according to the Insolvency Service, the highest number since 2009 and 57% higher than 2021. Year-on-year CVLs increased by 49% to 18,821 ( 12,656 in 2021 to the highest annual number since 1960. These accounted for 85% of all company insolvencies.

Catherine Atkinson, director in PwC’s Restructuring & Forensics practice, said:

“The Insolvency Service’s report that 2022 saw the highest number of company failures since 2009 is a stark reflection of the challenges businesses have been and will continue to face in the first quarter of 2023. Financial headwinds caused by trading costs, rent, interest rates and utility bills alongside other operational pressures are causing increasing amounts of drag on companies weathering working capital pressures as they wait for payments to come in for goods and services.

“Creditors appear nervous, as reflected by the fourfold increase in winding up petitions in 2022 compared to 2021.

“The next few months will be a critical time for business resilience. Encouragingly, we have seen that many companies who have survived a challenging three years are talking to their key stakeholders to work through a solution. It’s vital that management teams facing financial challenges don’t put off these conversations as early engagement is essential.”

David Kelly, Head of Insolvency in PwC’s Restructuring & Forensics practice, said:

“The number of company insolvencies was 30% higher than in Q4 2021 with the number of CVLs remaining close to the highest quarterly level in more than 60 years.

“Given the spike in creditors’ voluntary liquidations, it’s a clear sign that many directors are taking the difficult step to accept they have reached the end of the road. They are engaging with advisers to take the appropriate steps to close businesses on their own terms and ideally preserve value for creditors, rather than roll the dice and potentially face a more distressed wind-down and expose themselves to personal financial risk.

“Annually the construction, retail, accommodation and food services sectors were the hardest hit industries, a telling sign of the impact of rising costs and shift in consumer habits and the continued challenges certain sectors are facing getting and retaining staff.

“We are seeing many companies putting themselves in the shop window for a possible merger or acquisition, which is a sensible move in this environment helping redistribute capital. However, during the current challenging market conditions where values and appetite are uncertain all options need to be considered including contingency planning for restructuring.”

February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Three-quarters of UK consumers concerned about mortgage and rent payments [January 2023]
The press release issued by PWC on 26 January 2023.

Our PwC Research practice is conducting a fortnightly online survey of 1,000 UK consumers and monthly qualitative focus groups. The results of this research are collated in our new Cost of Living Tracker, which shows how attitudes and behaviours are changing across the UK as a result of the increasing cost of living.

This month’s research shows that:
- Three quarters of UK consumers are concerned they will not be able to keep up mortgage or rent payments if interest rates continue to rise. 18% of those questioned this month said they were extremely concerned about this, similar to the proportion before Christmas. A further 20% are very concerned about their ability to meet mortgage or rent payment if rates continue to increase.
- Research carried out on 24th January shows that 41% of consumers polled across the UK are very or extremely concerned about their personal finances, with just 18% not concerned. However, this is an improvement on pre-Christmas sentiment when 45% were very or extremely concerned.
- More consumers are taking action on non-essential purchases while more than half of consumers have switched to a cheaper supermarket in the last six months in a bid to cut their costs, while 63% have switched to cheaper brands.
- Energy costs remain a particular concern and are undoubtedly impacting how people live. 54% of those surveyed said they were not turning on heating when they normally would, while more than two-thirds (68%) have turned down their thermostats or limited the hours they heat their homes. 48% have said they are showering or bathing less often to save on water charges.
- 70% of consumers are conserving energy by turning off lights and unplugging devices. This comes as the Government promotes its Help for Households initiative to spread energy saving tips.
- Around one-third of parents (32%) are cancelling extra-curricular activities for their children in a bid to keep outgoings under control.
- The hospitality industry is expected to come under increasing pressure as non-essential spending is cut back – 75% of people are staying home more often at times when they’d previously have gone to the cinema, or a bar. Further to this, three-quarters (76%) are eating at home rather than going to a restaurant or getting a takeaway.
Jonathan House, Partner at PwC UK, comments:

“There is no question that the current pressures on the cost of living are impacting the vast majority of UK households, but what we’re seeing is that pressure has alleviated a little since Christmas – possibly due to the spending expectations in December.

“The scale of the challenge facing consumers is starkly revealed in our research, which shows that households in all parts of the UK are concerned about their ability to make their mortgage or rent payments in the event that interest rates increase.

“January is traditionally a month of moderation, however our research shows how far that is going this year. With three-quarters of households choosing to do their socialising at home, pubs and restaurants will only see their own cost pressures increase. And it’s not just the hospitality sector that is feeling it – everyone from gym groups and travel agents to the TV streaming giants are being impacted by consumer cutbacks. How businesses deal with this will have an impact on the wider economy.

“The data also shows us that there’s an opportunity here to make permanent changes to the way we use energy – if the 70% of people who are turning off lights and unplugging devices get into the habit, not only is it good for them financially, but it could positively impact our Net Zero ambitions.”

Research was carried out on 17th December 2022 and 24 January 2023 with a representative sample size of 1,000. For more information on PwC Research, please visit www.pwc.co.uk/pwcresearch
February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : New code to prevent employers using fire and rehire tactics – PwC comments [January 2023]

The press release issued by PWC on 24 January 2023.

Commenting on the new code published today by The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Chris Perkins, UK and International Employment Law Partner at PwC, says:

“The plan for a new statutory code proposes strong action against employers who use the controversial dismissal practice of ‘fire and rehire’. This strategy for changing employment terms and conditions is already high risk for employers, with the potential for employees to bring unfair dismissal and other claims against the organisation. Not only can this potentially result in financial claims, but the reputational impact of the ‘fire and rehire’ practice can be detrimental to an organisation as an employer.”

“The code proposes a rigorous process of communicating and consulting on changes to contracts of employment, along the lines of the familiar requirements for undertaking collective redundancies and transfers of undertaking. Employers will need to introduce more formal, and well documented procedures to demonstrate compliance with these new guidelines; as if employers fall foul of the new code, there will be major financial consequences.”

Alastair Woods, Workforce Transformation Partner at PwC, comments:

“The proposed statutory draft code provides clear guidance for employers that reinforces the need for them to take a strategic and holistic approach to managing their workforce in a tough economic climate. PwC’s recent CEO survey highlights how seriously business leaders are taking the shortage of skilled and talented workers alongside the tough conditions they are operating in. As such, employers need to continue to focus their approach on better workforce planning, upskilling and acting as a responsible employer in a labour market that continues to be tight.”

February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Global economy to avoid recession in 2023 but most advanced economies set to face house price fall in response to higher interest rates – PwC [January 2023]
The press release issued by PWC on 26 January 2023.
- Global GDP set to expand by around 1.6% in market exchange rates in 2023, with G7 economies growing by a marginal 0.1% in annual average terms
- India is expected to be fastest-growing G20 economy (5.4%) followed by China (4.7%) and Indonesia (4.5%) while Ireland (2.3%) and other peripheral economies set to record relatively higher growth rates in the Eurozone
- UK set to see largest contraction (-0.8%) in G7, alongside Germany (-0.5%) and Italy (-0.4%) while US set to slow to 0.2% but potentially avoid a technical recession. The Eurozone economy will flatline.
- Housing market across most advanced economies set to fall or flatline, with Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Canada facing greatest exposure
The global economy is due to face a slow-down but avoid recession in 2023, as many advanced economies grapple with above-target inflation, energy price pressure and rising interest rates, according to the latest edition of PwC’s Global Economy Watch.

In PwC’s main scenario projections, the UK is set to record the largest contraction (-0.8%) across the G7 closely followed by Germany (-0.5%), Italy (-0.4%) while France may report modest growth of 0.1%. US growth is also expected to slow to 0.2% but will probably avoid a technical recession (defined as two successive quarters of negative growth).

India is set to see the highest growth (5.4%) across the G20, Indonesia (4.4%) will be the fastest growing Southeast Asian economy and Ireland (2.3%) will record the highest growth in the Eurozone. China’s economy is forecast to expand by 4.7%, although this will be highly dependent on the progress of the re-opening of the country from Covid-19 measures.

Barret Kupelian, senior economist at PwC, says:

“The global outlook for 2023 is of slow growth but not recession, as the real economy adjusts to tighter financial conditions. Many advanced economies, particularly the UK and Eurozone, will continue to be heavily impacted by higher prices of natural gas driving above-target inflation and cost of living pressures.

“Nonetheless, we are increasingly becoming more confident that lower spot and future natural gas prices and the weaker US Dollar, particularly when compared to other advanced economies, is likely to reduce import-led inflation and help limit the damage to economic activity, particularly for large energy-importing economies. If this scenario materialises, it will be good news for businesses and consumers across the board and we could see inflation surprise on the downside and growth surprise on the upside.

“The big unknown is the uncertainty around China’s growth rate, given the challenges involved in emerging from strict zero-Covid measures. Tourism is expected to rebound across North America and the Middle East this year, with air passenger levels set to return to 85% of pre-pandemic levels. Chinese tourists made up a tenth of tourism globally pre-2020, so a successful re-opening would have a notable economic impact.”

Housing market set to fall

Across most advanced economies, house prices will fall or flatline. Risks to the housing market—the pace of increase in mortgage interest rates, the level of household debt and the size and duration of fixed-rate mortgages—are higher in markets such as Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

By contrast, risks are lower in peripheral European markets such as Ireland and Spain, where house prices took a more sizeable hit during the 2008/9 crisis and subsequent Eurozone crisis which meant that household debt levels remain relatively low, thus reducing risk.

Jake Finney, economist at PwC says:

“Many advanced economies saw substantial increases in house prices during the pandemic, as buyers took advantage of low interest rates and higher savings accrued during lockdowns. For the countries facing the highest exposure, it is possible that they could see double digit percent falls, reversing most of the pandemic gains. For others the fall is likely to be more modest – but the housing market will be one of most obvious indicators of the new era of higher interest rates globally.”

In addition, PwC expects that crude oil prices will bottom out at around $80 per barrel by the middle of 2023, while half of all electric vehicles on the road globally will be in China by the end of the year.
February 1, 2023