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  • James Brokenshire – 2017 Speech to British Irish Association Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by James Brokenshire, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, at the British Irish Association Conference at the University of Cambridge on 8 September 2017.

    It’s a great pleasure to address my second British-Irish Association Conference since being appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in July last year and I’d like thank Hugo MacNeill and his team for their kind invitation.

    I would also like to pay a special tribute to Francesca Kay who once again has done such a brilliant job in organising the conference and putting together the programme.

    As I discovered last year, the BIA Conference really is one of the must-attend events of the year for anyone interested in the affairs of Northern Ireland and relationships between the United Kingdom and Ireland more broadly.

    It really is a unique opportunity for politicians, civil servants, journalists, academics, church leaders and people from the business world to come together under the relative safeguard of the Chatham House Rule to exchange views, share ideas and to help shape the political, economic and security agendas.

    And in doing that the I believe that the BIA is as relevant today as it was when you were formed in what was, in terms of loss of life, the darkest year of the troubles, 1972, when over 470 people were killed.

    At that time, Northern Ireland was in the grip of terrorist campaigns that were to last for around another quarter of a century.

    In that year devolved government was suspended and it was to take some 35 years for it to be re-established on anything like a sustainable basis.

    As I was reminded the other day there was no irony intended that the legislation providing for the long years of Westminster control was actually called the Northern Ireland Temporary Provisions Act.

    Also at that time relations between the UK and Ireland were frequently strained, beset by crises over issues like security and extradition, and often characterised by what was described as megaphone diplomacy across the Irish Sea.

    We have, of course, come a tremendously long way since then.

    Today, Northern Ireland is a vastly different place from when the BIA was founded.

    The post Belfast Agreement generation has grown up without the daily threat of large scale terrorism and the security apparatus that was necessary to counter it.

    Until the beginning of this year Northern Ireland had enjoyed ten years of power sharing, the longest period of unbroken devolved government since the 1960s.

    Events that years ago would have been unthinkable now take place in Northern Ireland, including this year the final stages of the hugely successful Womens’ Rugby Union World Cup.

    Relations between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and between the United Kingdom and Ireland, are at their strongest ever.

    And on that note I would like to extend the warmest welcome to the Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, to Cambridge this evening and to recognise Charlie Flanagan for his outstanding contribution previously in that role. Economically, too, Northern Ireland continues to move forward with solid growth, unemployment significantly down on seven years ago and in the past year levels of employment hitting record levels.

    Northern Ireland, which for years against a backdrop of terrorism and instability struggled to attract investment and jobs, is now one of the most popular locations in the UK outside of London for foreign direct investment.

    We have some world-beating businesses exporting right across the globe.

    And just think how much better we could do if we had an Executive in place and could devolve Corporation Tax powers to enable them to lower it to the same levels south of the border.

    All of this paints a picture of a Northern Ireland that would have been unrecognisable a generation or so ago.

    And I’m convinced that we have the potential to do even better.

    But to achieve that we have to get right what I believe are the three great political challenges we face today.

    The need to see a fully functioning, power sharing devolved government at Stormont as set out in the Belfast Agreement and its successors, our support for which remains steadfast.

    The need to address legacy issues by implementing in full the proposals in the Stormont House Agreement and reforming the inquest system.

    And of course the necessity of making a success of Brexit, to which the UK Government is fully committed.

    It’s those these issues that I want largely to speak about this evening.

    Getting Stormont back to work

    First let me deal with devolution and let me be very clear.

    As our manifesto set out at the General Election this year, this Government believes firmly in devolution and the associated political institutions so carefully negotiated in the Belfast Agreement.

    Decisions over local services are best taken by local politicians democratically accountable to a local Assembly. And we believe in the closest co-operation between both parts of the island of Ireland and between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    These are the so-called three strands of the Belfast Agreement.

    Yet after a ten year uninterrupted run of devolved government from 2007, Northern Ireland has now been without a properly functioning Executive and Assembly for the past nine months.

    Throughout that period government has effectively been in the hands of civil servants rather than politicians who are rightly accountable to the public for the decisions they make.

    Under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in the absence of devolved government passing a Budget, civil servants can only spend up to 75 per cent of the previous year’s financial allocations rising to 95 per cent after three months.

    I have sought to relieve immediate pressures by intervening to publish ‘indicative’ budget statements in April and July.

    But this is only a short term fix.

    The longer-term problem is that the fundamental challenges of reform and transformation of critical public services, such as health, education, transport and justice are not taken forward.

    Civil servants cannot provide the political direction to tackle these issues.

    As a result, public services such as health, education and transport are coming under increasing strain with the people of Northern Ireland suffering as a consequence.

    Without devolution other aspects of the Belfast Agreement also cease to function, including North-South bodies and those covering broader relationships such as the British-Irish Council.

    And of course without devolution, there is no Northern Ireland Executive to put its views directly on Brexit.

    The situation simply is not sustainable and if it is not resolved within a relatively short number of weeks will require greater political decision making from Westminster.

    This would have to begin with legislation to give Northern Ireland a Budget.

    That is profoundly not where the UK Government, the Irish Government and I believe the Northern Ireland parties want to go.

    I cannot overstate this point.

    It would be a hugely retrograde step, a massive setback after so many years of progress and hope.

    But in the continuing absence of devolution the UK Government retains ultimate responsibility for good governance and political stability in Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom and we will not shirk from the necessary measures to deliver that.

    At the same time we will need to consider carefully a range of other issues reflecting public concern, including whether it can continue to be justified to pay Assembly members who have not met for several months now.

    If things don’t change we are on a glide path to greater and greater UK government intervention.

    But we can still change course.

    And I have been keen to support the exchanges that have taken place in recent days and which will continue next week.

    On Monday I will be holding further bilaterals with the parties.

    And for the rest of the week further intensive dialogue between the DUP and Sinn Fein will continue.

    You will understand that I am not in a position this evening to give a running commentary on the details of the current discussions.

    But the issues remain relatively small in number and are clearly defined.

    Both the Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney and I believe that a resolution is possible and that with political leadership it can be achieved.

    But there is still work to do.

    For our part the UK and Irish Governments can support and work with the parties towards that end, in accordance with and fully respecting the three stranded approach.

    But ultimately we cannot force an agreement.

    That has to come from the parties themselves.

    So it’s vital that they continue to work together to find a solution to their differences.

    And it is my belief that they are committed to doing so in the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland. And the time to make progress is now.

    Legacy of the past

    I also know that we need to make progress on addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland’s divided past.

    The current mechanisms for addressing the past and helping victims and survivors simply are not working as they should.

    Not least for the victims and survivors of the troubles, whose pain and suffering today is often every bit as raw as it was decades ago.

    That is why, at the election, the UK Government restated its support for the full implementation legacy bodies set out in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement.

    They will operate in ways that are fair, balanced, transparent and crucially proportionate and will be fully consistent with the rule of law.

    We also reiterated our backing of reforms to the legacy inquest system to ensure that the UK Government complies with its international obligations.

    These are clear manifesto commitments and we fully intend to deliver them.

    And as the Stormont House Agreement set out we will provide up to £150 million to help fund them.

    I’m fully aware that it’s a year since I told this conference that the Government said that the process would benefit from a public phase.

    And I deeply regret the fact that it has yet to happen.

    Over the past year we have continued detailed work with the parties and with the Irish Government.

    And much genuine progress has been made.

    Discussions with the parties have been constructive and changes have been made to the detailed structure of the mechanisms.

    The structure has been improved as a result of these discussions.

    Again, we cannot continue this process indefinitely.

    We have also had extensive discussions with victims and survivors. In these meetings, we increasingly hear that victims want us to get on with it – to move debate out from behind closed doors and into a public discussion with the people who will be most affected by how we address the past.

    So I intend to be in a position to bring forward a formal consultation as soon as possible.

    Making a success of Brexit

    The third great political challenge and a key theme of this conference is of course Brexit, and in that context UK-Irish relations.

    As a Government our goal is to secure a deal that works for the whole of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, as we leave the European Union.

    But let me be clear on this point.

    Just as we joined the Common Market in 1973 as one United Kingdom, we will leave the EU in 2019 as one United Kingdom.

    And as the Prime Minister has made clear the United Kingdom will be leaving both the single market and the customs union, enabling us to strike new trade deals with the rest of the world.

    Throughout, however, we have also been clear that we need to recognise and address the particular circumstances of both Northern Ireland and Ireland.

    We might be leaving the EU but we are not turning our backs on our friends and partners in Europe and nowhere is that clearer than with our closest neighbour, Ireland.

    The Article 50 letter itself sets out the absolute priority we give to preserving the unique relationship between the UK and Ireland and protecting the peace process in Northern Ireland.

    This was reiterated in our manifesto at the General Election and in August, as part of a series of position papers, the Government published its paper on Northern Ireland and Ireland setting out in more detail how we might achieve our objectives.

    It makes a series of concrete UK proposals for provisions that should be enshrined in the Withdrawal Agreement.

    Specifically it proposes that we; affirm the ongoing support of the UK Government and Irish Government, and the European Union, for the peace process; formally recognise that the citizenship rights set out in the Belfast Agreement will continue to be upheld; agree to the continuation of PEACE funding to Northern Ireland and border counties of Ireland; agree text for the Withdrawal Agreement that recognises the ongoing status of the Common Travel Area and associated reciprocal arrangements following the UK’s exit from the EU; agree nine key principles and criteria that could be used to test future models for border arrangements, including the need to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and any physical border infrastructure and agree a common understanding of the principles of North-South and East-West cooperation including key principles for the new energy framework in Northern Ireland and Ireland that highlight the need for the continuation of a single electricity market .

    In the Government’s view the publication of this paper marks a real and positive step forward in our negotiations with the EU.

    And it outlines serious proposals for tackling one of the most challenging parts of our future relationship.

    So far as the negotiations themselves are concerned, the Brexit Secretary, David Davis, updated the House of Commons on Tuesday on the two rounds that took place in July and August.

    He was able to report significant and concrete progress the issue of Northern Ireland and Ireland

    In August, there were detailed discussions on the basis of the UK position paper.

    We agreed to work up shared principles on the common travel area, which in the Government’s view is concrete and welcome progress.

    In addition we agreed to carry out important further technical work on cross-border co-operation under the Belfast Agreement.

    As both David Davis and Michel Barnier said at last week there has been real progress.

    The UK also welcomes the publication of the EU Commission position paper yesterday.

    It shows the close alignment between the UK, the Irish Government and the EU on our objectives.

    In particular the clear commitment to avoiding physical infrastructure at the border is very welcome.

    Of course many commentators are still focused on the detail of how we address the critical issue of avoiding a hard border for the movement of goods.

    The UK and EU position papers show that there is alignment on the objectives.

    The UK’s overarching approach to this challenge is clear.

    We are considering first the nature of the border, its history, and the wishes of people in Northern Ireland and living in border communities.

    As the Irish Government have said, technical solutions need to follow from the right political objectives.

    The wrong approach is to focus first on existing customs and other regulations and then try to work out the technical solution within those extremely narrow parameters.

    That would absolutely not represent the flexible and imaginative approach that the UK, Ireland and the EU all agree is required.

    Of course any imaginative approach requires painstaking creative work.

    And I make no apology that the initial proposals the UK has put forward are creative and go beyond existing precedents.

    For example, as we set out in our paper small traders operating across the invisible border that exists now are often engaged in local trade in local markets.

    So the right approach is not to work out how existing template customs rules for ‘third countries’ should apply to those traders, but to protect their trade and livelihoods on both sides of the border.

    The technically easier but entirely wrong approach is to say it’s all too difficult and to get to work applying template regulations and customs laws.

    Or to say that the UK should simply accept all EU customs and single market laws permanently as the solution.

    Or to say that the answer to this issue is to simply create a new border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

    None of those approaches would be acceptable to the UK, and none of them is the ‘flexible and imaginative’ approach that the European Council has mandated.

    But with the right overall approach to this issue, and the clear commitment that we all have to work on flexible and imaginative solutions to avoid a hard border, then I believe that the technical solutions can and should be agreed in a way that can work for the UK, Ireland and the European Union as a whole.

    Of course there is a long way to go and nobody pretends this was ever going to be easy but nobody should be in any doubt about the UK Government’s determination to secure a successful outcome.

    Conclusion

    Next year we will mark the 20th anniversary of the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement, an Agreement intended to herald a new beginning for relationships in these islands, within Northern Ireland, between Norther Ireland and Ireland and between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    And there is no doubt in my mind that as a consequence of that historic Agreement and its successor’s life for so many people has changed considerably for the better.

    The Agreement is the bedrock of the political settlement in Northern Ireland and the political progress we have seen over the past twenty years, which is why it is so vital that through our collective efforts we get it back on track.

    For this Government, as our manifesto stated, our commitment to the Belfast Agreement and its successors remains steadfast.

    That includes the constitutional provisions they set out the full range of political institutions they establish and those matters relating to rights, culture and identity.

    So, in coming days we must grasp the opportunity to make progress.

    To re-establish devolved government.

    To continue the positive progress which has been made over nearly two decades.

    And to build a stronger and more prosperous future for everyone.

  • Sarah Newton – 2017 Speech at Mental Health and Policing Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Sarah Newton, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, on 5 September 2017.

    Thank you for inviting me to join you today.

    First of all, I would like to pay tribute to Mr Herbert, I can’t believe I’m the only person in the room that thought that was an incredibly powerful and moving account, which starkly brings home the devastating consequences for both the person in a mental health crisis, their loved ones and the professionals working in that environment, when systems just don’t get it right and work as we all would wish.

    And also to our keynote speaker, His Royal Highness, Prince William. Both himself, and his brother, have been highly influential in breaking taboos by speaking out about mental health and I think their willingness to talk openly about mental health issues is illustrative of a wider trend in society to tackle misplaced stigmas; helping individuals to seek help; and galvanising all of our commitment to improving responses to all those people suffering mental ill health.

    I also commend the organisers of this event, for their hard work in putting all this together, enabling us to reflect on recent developments and some successes, but clearly as we heard so well this morning, there remains many challenges I know we would all want to face honestly, openly with vigour and work together to take on.

    Now every day I know there are many, many police officers who refuse to turn their backs on those in need. I have seen this for myself out on the beat with officers in my own constituency. They work professionally and humanely to help individuals to the best of their ability – often going well beyond what might reasonably be expected of traditional police

    Sometimes police will have to be involved in incidents involving mental ill health. Mental health conditions, often in combination with other issues such as substance misuse, can cause people to act irrationally and out of character, and it is very difficult for the police in that situation to identify what is going on and that at the root of that behaviour that person is actually very unwell. And it is very difficult for police officers to know what to do for the best in such circumstances both to protect the individual and the community.

    It is not necessary to be an expert in this field to be aware of the very high, and increasing, demand for mental health services of all types. Members of this audience will know only too well, that the police can be asked to deal with a wide variety of cases involving people who are unwell and in distress.

    We have taken a number of steps to better equip the police and criminal justice system in this regard – we’ve heard this morning of improvements to the Liaison and Diversion schemes for example. But the pressures on front line officers to make quick judgements and act appropriately cannot be overestimated.

    As the Prime Minister has repeatedly said – we are clear that the police should not be expected to act in the stead of health professionals. They cannot be expected to do that satisfactorily – and it takes them away from their primary function of tackling crime. Nor can it be in the best interests of the people affected, who need quick access to professional mental health assistance.

    There clearly remains much more to do to get this balance right. However, recent years have seen huge progress in the way in which we respond to those in crisis. In many cases the police have acted as a catalyst for changes that have occurred. And at local level they are often at the vanguard in driving innovation and solutions to local issues.

    We’ve seen for example, seen dramatic reductions in the use of police cells as places of safety in the last few years, and a commensurate rise in the use of health based places and this has largely been achieved through determined, joint working at local level between the police and health partners. According to the 2015/16 police figures on the use of section 136, a handful of police areas have already managed to eliminate entirely, or almost so, reliance on police cells as places of safety and we expect further encouraging progress when the 2016/17 figures are published later this autumn.

    To help maintain this, the government has already provided some £15 million of funding to 88 projects in local areas to invest in increasing the numbers of suitable places of safety. We have committed a further £15m to continue this work, and to explore innovative local ideas for maximising the provision of suitable safe places, working with a range of partners, including community and voluntary groups.

    Changes to mental health legislation in the Policing and Crime Act – which we expect to come into effect before the end of the year – are also designed to further improve our response to those in crisis. They offer local areas greater flexibility to adapt and cater to local needs, while reinforcing good practice. The goal is simply to ensure the most appropriate course of action in each case, and to achieve better outcomes for those in crisis as a result.

    As we have heard today, amongst the more significant changes are the banning of the use of police cells as places of safety for those under 18 years of age, and there will be severe restrictions on their use in the case of adults.

    We are also reducing the periods for which people may be detained pending a mental health assessment. And we are making more explicit the freedom of local areas to work creatively and in collaboration with a range of partners to develop networks of suitable places of safety – including outside traditional health settings.

    We have heard of some great examples today of innovation and all local areas will need to take a careful look at their local provision, in the light of the new legislation, to ensure that it is good enough. They may also need to refresh their local joint working practices to reflect the need to act more quickly and collaboratively to provide the most appropriate help for people in crisis.

    In the meantime, we do not count this as a ‘job done’. The government has made a clear commitment to continuing to improve mental health services – including but not limited to:

    – investing a billion pounds in mental health services by 2020 to improve mental health support in the community; in Accident and Emergency Departments, and in crisis provision and treatment options both for adults and children

    – implementing the recommendations of the Mental Health Taskforce review and its five year forward look

    – and, will be reviewing the Mental Health Act as committed to in the Queen’s speech

    As we all know, legislation alone is not the answer to the complex series of challenges posed by mental ill health. Nor can these be dealt with by any single organisation. In addition to personal health and well-being issues, mental ill health can affect matters as diverse as employment, having a decent home, education and family life. It can also increase an individual’s vulnerability to crime, illness, and social isolation.

    Providing effective interventions and support in that context can be challenging, and they demand a partnership approach.

    Effective multi-agency working is therefore vitally important in seeking to identify and iron out problem issues. Meaningful change is achieved by committed and dedicated leaders at local level being willing to grapple with the challenges, and work collaboratively to overcome them. I have said before that ‘leaders’ are not just the people in charge, not just the people at the top of organisations. Anyone in an organisation can be a systems’ leader and effect change from within, and often in my experience this comes from those closer to the front line.

    Now the Crisis Care Concordat has been mentioned several times this morning, and it has proved to be a really strong way of driving better change and led to far better working between the police and mental health professionals. I can assure you that it remains an important body. We will continue with this work, which is looking at what works locally as well as sharing practice, but also looking at what more we need to do at a national level.

    To conclude, I would like to assure you that I and the government will continue to do all that we can to ensure that you are properly supported in this vital area of work. And that we will move to a future where the response to those with mental health issues are delivered by the right agency at the right time.

    In the meantime, I would like to extend my most sincere appreciation and gratitude for all that you do. Whether responding to individual cases; challenging the status quo; or driving innovation and change – you are consistently setting the highest standards of public service and I thank you.

  • Edward du Cann – 1956 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    Below is the text of the maiden speech made by Edward du Cann, the then Conservative MP for Taunton, in the House of Commons on 23 April 1956.

    I have the honour to represent the ancient and historic constituency of Taunton, in the County of Somerset, which comprises not only the Boroughs of Taunton and Wellington but also their rural districts and the rural district of Dulverton, and which includes some of the most beautiful countryside in Somerset, if not in the whole country.

    The industries in my constituency are many and varied. They range from the production of cider—fortunately not affected by the proposals of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or perhaps I should make a speech rather different from that which I am now about to deliver—to the textile trade; from the manufacture of gloves, shirts and collars to the manufacture of precision instruments; from engineering to withy growing.

    Taunton market is the finest in the West, and the largest single industry in the constituency is farming. Therefore, not only do we earn foreign currency by our work in this constituency, but we also save foreign currency as well. Perhaps I may say, in parenthesis, that one must recognise that for all the support which the farming industry is receiving at the moment from the taxpayer, small farmers and hill farmers particularly eke out a not very satisfactory living.

    The division has been represented in this House by many distinguished men, although it failed to elect the great Mr. Disraeli when he stood as a Tory candidate at a by-election in 1835. Not least among those distinguished men has been my immediate predecessor, Lord Colyton, to whom I owe a great deal—far more than I shall ever be able to repay. I see the hon. Member for Shoreditch and Finsbury (Mr. Collins) in his place, and perhaps I may say that both he and my predecessor the noble Lord represented Taunton with distinction and rendered great service to their constituents. They have both set me a hard example to follow, and I shall do my best to follow it.

    I confess to being in some difficulty in addressing the Committee today because, on the one hand, I understand that by the tradition of this House a maiden speech may not be contentious, but, on the other hand, I recall the turbulent history of the West Country. Names like Monmouth and Judge Jeffreys come to my mind. Perhaps it is just as well that the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. S. Silverman) is not in his place. So we in the West Country are rebels yet, and suffer no Government gladly, particularly when they have their hands in our pockets in which we keep our loose change.

    For all that, it is true to say that my constituents and the majority of the people of this country support my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his grand design and aim to contain inflation, to encourage private, and more particularly Government, saving, to keep Britain solvent and to build up our reserves and keep us paying our way. We recognise, too, that if these things are done we are certain to maintain our standard of living and, perhaps, in the future to build it up. If these things are not done, we shall perish and the result will be tragedy for our people.

    It is with regard to the methods by which my right hon. Friend seeks to attain these aims that there may be differences of opinion. As to the detail of his Budget, I wish to refer, first, to the sensational announcement—for it is that—about the new Premium Bonds and then later to other matters.

    We shall have to wait for details of the Premium Bonds scheme, but it is is, perhaps, appropriate to make four points. The first is, that it is clear that the public imagination has been caught by the idea. That augurs well for its success. It seems to me important, if it can be arranged—as I have said, we do not know the details at the moment—to start the scheme as early as possible. I hope very much that we shall not be kept waiting for as long as my right hon. Friend suggested.

    Secondly, when we have secured the interest of the people, we surely want to maintain it. It occurred to me that it would, perhaps, be better to draw these bonds every month instead of every three months.

    Thirdly, my right hon. Friend announced that the bonds would have a par value of £1 and that the maximum holding would be limited to £250. I agree with the figure suggested for the holding, but I am not so sure about the par value. At a time when investments tend to be cheaper so far as their par value is concerned in order to encourage working and middle-class people to buy them, it seems to me that it would be better to reduce the par value to 10s. or 5s. One recognises the difficulty when a great investment company like Cable and Wireless has to do that in order to attract investors. Therefore, it seems to me important to make the point here today.

    Lastly, bearing in mind a letter in The Times on Friday last which quoted a precedent in Queen Anne’s day, it seems to me that my right hon. Friend might be able to get over the objections of some people—one can sympathise with and understand them—to the speculative nature of these bonds if some small rate of interest were paid on them. The net rate to be paid is 4 per cent. and if we gross it up it is about 7 per cent., which is a very high yield when compared with the ordinary share yield index quoted in the Financial Times, which is just about 5½ per cent. Surely 1 per cent. could be paid on these bonds, since my right hon. Friend has said that registers are to be kept.

    Leaving the subject of the Premium Bonds, I should like to say that I have—and I know that my constituents have—followed the Chancellor’s reasoning when he says, in effect, that this is to be a “hold-the-fort” Budget and that there could be no tax concessions this time. We are also pleased that no severe increase in taxation has been imposed either.

    I should like to register a point for the next time, and talk about two sections of the community, those who receive the most and those who receive the least—the Surtax payers and the old-age pensioners. I am, clearly, not an old-age pensioner, though, pray God, I may be one day, and neither am I a Surtax payer.

    The present initial level for Surtax is the same as it was in 1928–29, and if we take account of the fall in the value of money, it would appear, bearing in mind current values, that Surtax begins at a level of about £600 or £700. In these days, when the middle-class is expanding so fast—and we welcome that expansion—it is surely illogical and out of date to keep the lower limit at that figure.

    I am not suggesting that one should not recognise the social purposes of taxation, as the right hon. Member for Huyton (Mr. H. Wilson) mentioned in his speech, nor am I suggesting that we should not keep the upper limits of Surtax high. I am talking about the middle ranges of Surtax. We must surely recognise that Income Tax and Surtax discourage the people with special skills and trades. They discourage, too, the young and rising managers and executives. They stultify endeavour and kill incentive, and they are morally bad in the sense that they encourage the payer of Income Tax and Surtax to look for his remuneration in indirect ways.

    As to the old-age pensioners—I am sure that my right hon. Friend bears their needs very much in mind—much has been done for them, not least by the present Administration. I think that is a fair point to make, but much more needs to be done for them. On the subject of the tobacco concession, I have found among my constituents dissatisfaction, not because the concession has not been increased by 2d., but because the concession exists at all. Many think that it would be much better to give all old-age pensioners an extra 2s. 6d. a week rather than give one section an extra benefit. Although 50 per cent. of old-age pensioners take advantage of the tobacco concession, one does not know how many of them are habitual smokers. It would be fairer to give the 2s. 6d., or whatever the sum may be, to all of them.

    Another point which has been put to me very strongly, and with which I strongly sympathise, is that it would be a great aid for the old people if something were done to raise the earnings limit for them. I know that that is a matter which is being investigated at the present time.

    Finally, I hope and believe that my right hon. Friend’s language in his Budget speech gives great cause for hope that his second Budget may implement the promise of his first, and that when inflation is mastered and our trade position in the world improves, as we pray may be the case, we may look forward to enjoying the great tax reforms and reliefs of which our heavily burdened nation stands so sorely in need.

  • Theresa May – 2017 Speech in Japan

    Below is the text of the speeches made by Shinzō Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, and Theresa May, the Prime Minister, in Japan on 31 August 2017.

    Shinzō Abe

    Good afternoon. My name is Shinzō Abe. With Prime Minister May today we are able to make this address at this Business Forum between JETRO and DTI of – DIT of UK are to sign this memorandum of cooperation. We’re very happy to be able to witness this.

    For Japan, the UK is freedom, democracy, and human rights and rule of law. We share these universal values with the United Kingdom. We are global strategic partners. Security and economy are the two wheels supporting this relationship. Active trade and investment relationship between the two countries is the solid foundation of our relationship.

    This time around, Prime Minister May, out of her very busy schedule, has come to Japan, and we are very, very pleased to receive her. Yesterday, we met in Kyoto. We had a chance to familiarise Prime Minister May with the tea ceremony, and we had dined in Kyoto, and we had a discussion on a number of issues in front of us.

    Normally, we could have asked her to stay in Kyoto for one night, and I could have had more time – relaxing time in Kyoto, but Prime Minister May took a bullet train back to Tokyo, and this morning, a vessel – Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force vessel Izumo, she went aboard. Initial Izumo was built in the United Kingdom, this vessel, so from the olden times, Japan and the UK had this bond in the area of security. This is something that I want to make mention of here.

    For Japanese businesses, the UK, for manufacturing and sales and R&D in Europe, this is a very important base, this country United Kingdom. And currently in the UK, about one thousand Japanese companies have outlets, and more than 160,000 people are being employed. These activities by Japanese companies with leading-edge technology, innovation is being created, and through technological transfer, domestic skill base is being enhanced and productivity – and export capability is being strengthened. And with the vitalisation of local economies, Japanese businesses are making great contribution to the UK economy, supporting UK systems or society through provision of various systems, including, in the manufacturing sector, annual auto production units. There is by 1.7 million and three Japanese companies’ share is about 50% of this total production.

    In June of this year, Queen Elizabeth – 175 years ago, Queen Victoria for the first time in the royal family took a train trip between Slough and Paddington. High-speed rail, new rolling stock was used for her travel, and that rolling stock was produced by a Japanese company. In 2014, when I visited the UK, Japanese companies manufactured high-speed rail, I took a ride on that high-speed rail, and I was able to appreciate that Japanese companies’ technology into the daily lives of the British people. I witnessed that with great pleasure.

    With the UK leaving the European Union, the UK is in the midst of change, great change. UK’s departure from the EU has to be successful for UK, European Union and global economy. This is going to be quite important that this exit is going to be a successful one. After Brexit, the UK economy, I have trust in the UK economy after Brexit. Many Japanese companies, even after the Brexit vote, they have decided on new investments into the United Kingdom. This is testimony of Japanese companies’ expectation for the United Kingdom.

    From the UK, in the EU exit negotiation, there has to be transparency and predictivity, to minimise any damage on the businesses. We have received that commitment, and we value this greatly. Even after Brexit, the UK, for business people, it will continue to be an attractive place, a compelling place. I am convinced of that.

    So today, in this Business Forum, there are many people attending this Business Forum from businesses both from Japan and the UK. This is a reflection of the high level of interest and expectation in each other. I do hope that this is going to be a great opportunity, under the participation and attendance of Secretary of State Fox. I do hope that there is going to be further development for trade and investment between the two countries, and I do hope that there’s going to be a lot of discussion today in this forum. There’s going to be a summit meeting with Prime Minister May this evening, and I do hope that there’s going to be a strengthened economic relationship between the two countries. We will talk about some concrete matters about such cooperation between the two countries. I look forward to that meeting. Thank you very much.

    Prime Minister

    Thank you. And I am delighted to be here today, together with so many leading Japanese and British businesses whose trade and investment is fundamental to the jobs and growth that underpin our shared prosperity. And I want to thank the Japan External Trade Organization for co-hosting this event, and Prime Minister Abe for his speech and for the deep and continued commitment that he is showing to the partnership between our two countries.

    This is a formative period in shaping the future of my country and as we leave the European Union, so I am determined that we will seize the opportunity to become an ever more outward-looking Global Britain, deepening our trade relations with old friends and new allies around the world. And there are few places where the opportunities of doing so are greater than Japan, the third-largest economy in the world.

    Japanese companies already invest over £40 billion in the United Kingdom, making the UK second only to America as Japan’s top investment destination, while over 1,000 Japanese companies already employ over 140,000 people in Britain. And, as Secretary of State Fox said, the last 12 months have seen our bilateral trade increase by more than 12% and I very much welcome the commitment from Japanese companies – such as Nissan, Toyota, SoftBank and Hitachi – whose investments over the last year represent a powerful vote of confidence in the long-term strength of the UK economy.

    And on Hitachi, I’m very pleased that the Chairman, Mr Nakanishi, is delivering a speech here today. Hitachi’s relationship with the UK, in particular their investments into rail, nuclear and a range of other sectors, are truly impressive.

    So, I am here together with a business delegation representing some of Britain’s biggest investors in Japan because we want to build on that momentum and because I believe that this is a good moment for like-minded partners such as Britain and Japan to be doing more together. For as we become a Global Britain – a European nation still, but one that is outside the European Union – so we will be free to engage more actively and independently, particularly in key Asian markets like Japan. And against the backdrop of a more uncertain world, it is dependable and like-minded partners such as the United Kingdom who will stand with Japan in defending the rules-based international system and the open markets on which so much of our business is based.

    So, I come to this forum today seeking to lay the foundations to take our trade and investment relationship to a whole new level as we leave the European Union, and I’ve agreed with Prime Minister Abe that we will develop an ambitious programme of joint working to help achieve this.

    So, we’re instructing our ministers responsible for trade, investment and business to develop a new framework, to realise our shared long-term vision, to deepen our bilateral prosperity relationship. This will be supported by business-to-government engagement to ensure it serves the needs of businesses like yours, and it will include a new Trade and Investment Working Group to deliver across our trade and innovation relationships.

    Government dialogues will be established on a range of key industrial policies where we share great strengths, such as aviation, space, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. And the UK is also providing £700,000 of new funding to promote opportunities for UK businesses around Japan. And we will continue to collaborate on research and development, deepening our cooperation in this vital area and seeking to spread jobs and prosperity across all regions of our countries.

    During the period before we leave the European Union, the UK will continue to champion the early signature and implementation of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. This will be our immediate priority, but as we leave the EU, so we will also work quickly to establish a new economic partnership between the UK and Japan based on the terms of this EU agreement.

    We will also seek to ensure the freest and most frictionless trade possible between the UK and the EU, and this includes the imperative of a smooth and orderly transition for people and businesses in the UK and in Japan, in the remaining 27 Member States and for all our partners around the world.

    Through all these steps, we will ensure the greatest possible confidence in our economy and we will build the closest, freest trading relationship between our two countries for when the UK leaves the European Union; that is the magnitude of our ambition and the scale of our commitment to it. And Prime Minister Abe and I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead as we strive to achieve it, and with it to secure the jobs and investments that will bring prosperity to our peoples for generations to come.

    Thank you.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2017 Speech on Programme for Government

    Below is the text of the speech made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, in the Scottish Parliament on 5 September 2017.

    Over the past 10 years, this Government has expanded free childcare, removed university tuition fees for students and abolished business rates for 100,000 small businesses. We have invested in the national health service, scrapped prescription charges and protected free personal care. We have built social housing at a faster rate than any other part of the United Kingdom and we have placed Scotland firmly at the forefront of the global fight against climate change. Today, our unemployment rate is close to a record low, youth unemployment is half what it was 10 years ago, our hospital accident and emergency departments are the best performing anywhere in the UK and crime is now at a 42-year low. In addition, as was illustrated by yesterday’s official opening of the new Queensferry crossing, the nation’s infrastructure has been transformed.

    That is good progress, but it is time to take stock of our achievements, refocus our efforts and refresh our agenda. We live in a time of unprecedented global challenge and change, with rapid advances in technology, a moral obligation to tackle climate change, an ageing population, the impact of continued austerity and deep-seated challenges of poverty and inequality, and an apparent rise in the forces of intolerance and protectionism. Those challenges are considerable, but in each of them we must find opportunity. This programme for government is our plan to seize those opportunities and to build the kind of Scotland that we all seek—an inclusive, fair, prosperous, innovative country that is ready and willing to embrace the future. It is a programme to invest in our future and shape Scotland’s destiny.

    Ensuring that we have a highly educated and skilled population that is able to adapt to the needs of a rapidly changing economy is vital to our future prosperity and our wellbeing. That is why improving education—including by closing the attainment gap—is our number 1 priority.

    As of this summer, parents of all newborn children now receive a baby box. The box encapsulates an important principle, which is that all children, regardless of their parents’ circumstances, deserve the best possible start in life. That principle is one that will follow the baby box generation as they grow up. They will be the first to benefit from our next transformation in childcare. We have already expanded early years education and childcare, but by the time the baby box generation reach nursery, we will have almost doubled the amount of free nursery education that children receive.

    Over the next year, to lock in that expansion, we will guarantee a multiyear package of funding for local authorities to support the recruitment and training of staff and the delivery of new premises, and to support private and third sector providers of childcare, we will introduce rates relief for day nurseries.

    The massive expansion of nursery education is the first strand of our transformation of Scotland’s education system. The second is school reform. A new education bill will deliver the biggest and most radical change to how our schools are run that we have seen in the lifetime of devolution. It will give headteachers significant new powers, influence and responsibilities, formally establishing them as leaders of learning and teaching. Our premise is simple but very powerful: the best people to make decisions about a child’s education are the people who know them best—their teachers and their parents.

    Our reforms will be matched by resources. We will build on the early success of the new pupil equity funding so that, over time, more of the money that funds our schools will go directly to those in our classrooms.

    Of course, we know that the whole education system must work together if we are to see the kind of improvement in schools that we all want to see, so new regional improvement collaboratives will be established to provide support to teachers, including access to teams of attainment experts and subject specialists. We will also reform the way in which teachers are recruited and educated throughout their professional careers. We will introduce new routes into teaching to attract the highest quality graduates into priority areas and subjects, and to broaden the pool of talent that is available to our schools.

    Those changes will be underpinned by the new standardised assessments that will be taken by pupils in primaries 1, 4 and 7 and secondary 3 from this autumn. Those assessments will not raise standards in and of themselves, but they will help to ensure that parents, teachers, policy makers and the wider public have access to high-quality and reliable information about the performance of our schools.

    The third strand of the transformation in education comes beyond the school years. We are determined to open up university to all who have the talent to attend. We will therefore take forward the recommendations of the commission on widening access to ensure that young people, regardless of their background, have an equal chance of going to university. To make sure that they get the help that they need, we will set out plans to reform student support based on the findings of the independent review that is due to report in the autumn.

    We will also ensure that those who take vocational qualifications have the opportunities that they need. In particular, we will continue to increase the number of modern apprenticeships to meet our objective of 30,000 a year by 2020.

    Across all three strands of reform—in our nurseries, in our schools and in our colleges and universities—we are driving change. Our clear purpose is to ensure a first-class education for all young people, no matter the disadvantages that they might face. That is my top priority, and I recommit to it today.

    A good education is important for its own sake—it contributes to the health, the happiness and the fulfilment of all of us as individuals—but it is also vital to building a modern, successful, dynamic economy. Last week, I set out our vision for the economy that we want to build. To succeed, Scotland must lead change, not trail in its wake. We must aspire to be the inventor and the manufacturer of the digital, high-tech and low-carbon innovations that will shape the future, not just a consumer of those innovations.

    To support innovation, we will increase Government investment in business research and development by 70 per cent, which it is estimated will generate £300 million of additional R and D spending overall over the next three years.

    To help businesses to increase their exports, we will appoint, this autumn, a network of trade envoys to champion our businesses’ interests in key markets overseas. Our network of investment hubs, currently confirmed in London, Dublin, Brussels and Berlin, will be expanded to include Paris, maximising opportunities in France, our third biggest export market.

    The support that we provide for innovation and internationalisation will be backed up by help for key growth sectors. Scotland has the potential to be a world leader in advanced manufacturing. Right now, we are investing £9 million in a new lightweight manufacturing centre in Renfrewshire to help companies develop a global competitive advantage in the manufacture of lightweight, environmentally friendlier materials such as titanium and carbon fibre. That centre is just the first step. Later this year, we will take the next step by confirming the location and key partners for the new national manufacturing institute for Scotland, with work starting on site in 2018. That is a clear demonstration of our conviction that advanced manufacturing will be central to our modern economy.

    We will also support financial technology—or fintech—as a key growth sector. Our ambition is for this city of Edinburgh to become one of the top 10 global fintech centres, so we will invest in the establishment of fintech Scotland, an industry-led body that will champion, nurture and grow our fintech community.

    We will continue to champion clean energy. The North Sea is potentially the largest carbon storage resource anywhere in Europe, but the UK Government’s withdrawal of support for key carbon capture and storage initiatives risks that potential. As Westminster holds the key levers, we will continue to press for the right policy and financial framework to be put in place, but we will do more than that. I can announce today that we will provide direct Scottish Government funding for the feasibility stage of the proposed acorn project at St Fergus in Aberdeenshire.

    Today’s programme sets out the range of actions that we will take to support other highly successful growth sectors from food and drink to tourism and life sciences that through their determination and innovation are securing jobs now and for the future. However, I want to make specific mention of creative industries, which is a sector that is important both for our economy and our cultural wellbeing. We live today in a golden age of film and television production, and over the next decade, the opportunities for attracting investment to Scotland will be considerable. We have already increased support for the screen sector, and last month I was delighted to announce that the National Film and Television School is setting up a base in Glasgow, the first of its kind outside London. I can announce today that we will go further and do what those working in the sector have asked of us: in next year’s budget, we will provide an additional £10 million to bring screen development, production and growth funding to £20 million a year.

    As well as supporting key sectors, we must support those whose ideas and ingenuity create new products, services, jobs and wealth. The entrepreneurial spirit that forged Scotland’s reputation in the past must drive our success in the future. That means not just helping young innovators start their businesses, but helping those businesses scale up, and organisations such as Entrepreneurial Scotland, Elevator and CodeBase are building the innovative culture and leadership ambitions of our people and entrepreneurs. To complement that work, we will establish and fund a new unlocking ambition challenge. Each year, we will offer intensive support for up to 40 of the most talented and ambitious entrepreneurs to help them bring their ideas to market and create jobs. Candidates will be chosen and supported by established entrepreneurs who will give their time and commitment.

    Across the economy, we are determined to have a supportive business environment. To promote that, we have reformed our enterprise and skills agencies. Next month, we will establish the new strategic board; it will be led by Nora Senior, former chair of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, and its task will be to ensure that the £2 billion each year that we invest in enterprise and skills delivers exactly what our economy needs to grow and succeed. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been successful in taking account of the needs of the north of Scotland, and we will establish a new South of Scotland enterprise agency to champion the needs of that area, too.

    To ensure competitive taxes for business, we will quickly take forward the Barclay review of business rates. Initial steps are included in this programme and an implementation plan will be published by the end of this year. We will also introduce a new planning bill to support the efficient delivery of the development our communities need, including vital infrastructure.

    Of course, a significant—often very significant—constraint faced by many businesses with growth potential is access to long-term, patient capital. The Council of Economic Advisers has made clear the importance to our future economic success of continued infrastructure development, adequate finance for high-growth businesses and strategic investments in innovation. We have already taken steps to improve access to finance through, for example, the establishment of the Scottish growth scheme.

    However, if we are to succeed in raising our ambition even further, this is a challenge that we must do more to address. We believe that the time is now right to take a new approach on capital investment. I can therefore announce today that we will begin work to establish a Scottish national investment bank. Benny Higgins, the chief executive officer of Tesco Bank, has agreed to lead work on developing the bank’s precise remit, governance, operating model and approach to managing financial risk—vital steps that will see the new bank up and running and providing the patient capital investment that the Scottish economy needs for the future.

    Alongside that commitment, we will provide the infrastructure that is needed for Scotland to be a world-leading economy. We will complete the Aberdeen western peripheral route, deliver the electrification of the railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, bring on stream new and refurbished trains and continue to push ScotRail to meet the highest standards of performance. We will also do what Conservative and Labour Governments have failed to do over so many years: we will identify a public body that will be able to make a robust, public sector bid for the next ScotRail franchise. Those and many more transport plans across the country will benefit our people and our economy.

    They will be matched by infrastructure investment for the digital age. Later this year, we will procure the latest phase of our project to deliver, by 2021, next-generation broadband to 100 per cent of residential and business premises—an investment that will be transformational for our economy in general, and for rural Scotland in particular. That is a significant step, but we are determined to do even more.

    To encourage others to see Scotland as the place to research, design and manufacture their innovations—for us to become a laboratory for the rest of the world in the digital and low-carbon technologies that we want to champion—we must also become early adopters of them. We must be bold in our ambitions, just as we have been in renewable energy. Let me set out today one area in which we intend to do just that.

    The transition from petrol and diesel cars and vans to electric and other ultra-low-emission vehicles is under way and gathering pace. We intend to put Scotland at the forefront of that transition. I am announcing today an ambitious new target. Our aim is for new petrol and diesel cars and vans to be phased out in Scotland by 2032—the end of the period that is covered by our new climate change plan and eight years ahead of the target that was set by the UK Government.

    As members are aware, we do not currently hold powers over vehicle standards and taxation. However, we can and will take action. Over the next few months, we will set out detailed plans to massively expand the number of electric charging points in rural, urban and domestic settings; plans to extend the green bus fund and accelerate the procurement of electric or ultra-low-emission vehicles in both the public and the private sectors; plans for pilot demonstrator projects that encourage uptake of electric vehicles among private motorists; and plans for a new innovation fund to encourage business and academia to develop solutions to some of our particular challenges, for example charging vehicles in areas with a high proportion of tenements. We will also make the A9—already a major infrastructure project—Scotland’s first fully electric-enabled highway.

    That is an exciting challenge, which I hope that all members and the whole country will get behind. It sends a message to the world: we look to the future with excitement, we welcome innovation and we want to lead that innovation. That ambition will help stimulate economic activity, but it is also part of our plans to improve our environment and the quality of the air that we breathe. In the coming year, we will introduce a new climate change bill that will set even more ambitious targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that we meet our obligations under the Paris accord.

    Air pollution is a significant risk to public health. It is particularly harmful to vulnerable groups, such as the very young and the very old. We have already committed to the introduction of a low emissions zone in one of our cities by the end of next year and we will confirm its location shortly. However, I can announce today that we will go further. We will work with local authorities to introduce low emission zones in each of our four biggest cities by 2020 and in all other air quality management areas where necessary by 2023.

    We will also do more to support the circular economy and reduce waste. I can confirm today that we will design and introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers as an important part of our determination to tackle litter and clean up our streets.

    For the sake of our environment and our health, we will also take further steps to support walking and cycling—active travel—by doubling the amount spent on it in Transport Scotland’s budget from £40 million to £80 million a year. We will also introduce a new transport bill, which will include measures to improve public transport, from provisions on smart ticketing to giving local authorities a range of options to improve local bus services.

    I have spoken a lot today about measures to support the economy. A successful economy also needs strong public services. The quality of our schools and hospitals, the safety of our streets and communities, the supply of skills, and good housing and infrastructure are just as important as rates of tax in growing our economy and attracting investment to Scotland.

    Our most cherished public service is the national health service. In the past 10 years, the budget of our NHS has increased by £3 billion and its workforce by about 12,000. To equip the NHS for the challenges that are ahead, we will ensure that its budget continues to grow. We will deliver at least a real-terms increase in the revenue budget next year as part of our commitment to increase funding by a further £2 billion by the end of this parliamentary session. We will continue to develop the NHS workforce plan and we will introduce a safe staffing bill to make sure that we have the right staff in the right places.

    Increasing funding for the NHS is vital, but it is not enough on its own; we must also reform how the NHS delivers care. We have integrated health and social care and, during the next year, we will take forward our health and social care delivery plan and continue to support a shift in the balance of care and resources towards primary, community and social services. That will not always be easy, but it is right and necessary.

    We will expand our focus on the prevention of ill health. During the next year, we will deliver a refreshed framework that sets out the next steps in our work to tackle alcohol misuse. We must also match our actions on smoking and alcohol with bold initiatives in other areas. In addition to our plans to tackle air pollution and boost active travel, we will take forward a new strategy to tackle obesity, including measures to restrict the marketing of foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt.

    In the year ahead, we will progress the implementation of our new mental health strategy, with its focus on prevention, early intervention and access to services.

    Part of the challenge for health services the world over is to reduce unnecessary admissions to hospital. Providing more of the care that people need in their own homes or in a homely setting is key to meeting that challenge. One of the Parliament’s flagship policies—free personal care for over-65s—was designed with precisely that purpose in mind. However, some people under the age of 65 also need personal care, such as those who have early-onset dementia or conditions such as motor neurone disease.

    The campaign for what has become known as Frank’s law—named after Frank Kopel—advocates the extension of free personal care to under-65s. The Scottish Government undertook to carry out a study into the feasibility of making that change. That study was published today and I am pleased to announce that we will now begin work to fully implement Frank’s law.

    We will introduce one further piece of health legislation in the next year. The organ and tissue donation bill will establish—with appropriate safeguards—a soft opt-out system for the authorisation of organ and tissue donation, to allow even more lives to be saved by the precious gift of organ donation.

    Keeping people and communities safe is one of the most important responsibilities of any Government. In Scotland today, crime is at a 42-year low, but the nature of crime and people’s expectations of the police are changing. We will continue to ensure that our police and fire services are equipped for the challenges of the future. In particular, we will protect the front-line police budget and support the police as they modernise the way in which they work. During the next year, we will also create a new criminal offence of drug driving, which will come into force in 2019.

    For some people, a period in prison—sometimes a lengthy period—is the only appropriate sentence. However, we also know that community sentences, where appropriate, are much more effective in reducing reoffending. As a result of decisions that we took 10 years ago to reform our justice system and as a result of more community-based alternatives to prison being available, the reconviction rate is now at an 18-year low.

    However, we must be even bolder in our efforts to keep people out of prison and reduce reoffending further. Although sentencing is always a matter for the judiciary, I can announce today that we will extend the presumption against short-term sentences from sentences of under three months to sentences of under 12 months. We will commence that change once the relevant provisions of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill are in force, to ensure proper protection for those who are victims of domestic abuse.

    We will introduce a new management of offenders bill to extend the use of electronic monitoring in the community and to enable the use of new technology where appropriate. In the coming year, the vulnerable witnesses and pre-recorded evidence bill will be introduced to reduce further the need for children and other vulnerable witnesses to give evidence live in a courtroom.

    A further piece of justice legislation that we will introduce this year is the sexual offences (pardons and disregards) bill. I confirm that it will ensure that people who were convicted of offences that related to same-sex sexual activity that is now legal will receive an automatic pardon. The bill will also enable those who have been pardoned to apply to have such convictions removed from criminal records. Above all, the bill will right a historic wrong and give justice to those who found themselves unjustly criminalised simply because of who they loved.

    Ensuring justice for the victims of crime is an essential element of a fair society, and so too is delivering social justice for everyone. Our aim is to make Scotland fairer and more equal. Over the next year, we will continue our work to build a Scottish social security system that is based on dignity and respect. The Social Security (Scotland) Bill will complete its passage this parliamentary year; in the next few weeks, we will confirm where the new social security agency will be based. Next summer, we will deliver the first of the new devolved benefits—an increased carers allowance, with the increase backdated to April 2018. We will also prepare for the delivery of the new funeral expense allowance and the new best start grant by summer 2019. The best start grant is particularly important, as it will provide additional help for low-income families at key transitions in their children’s lives and help to tackle child poverty.

    Our Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill, which sets statutory targets to tackle child poverty, will complete its parliamentary passage later this year. We recently established the Poverty and Inequality Commission to advise and challenge the Government on further actions to reduce poverty. We will now consider options to place the commission on a statutory footing.

    Among other things, we will seek the commission’s advice as we establish a new tackling child poverty fund. The fund will be worth £50 million over the next five years and will enable new approaches to be piloted or scaled up in the short term. Over the next year, we will also introduce a financial health check for low-income families and bring forward a new package of support for young carers.

    Tackling poverty involves many different approaches. I am extremely proud that Scotland is one of the first countries in the world to tackle so-called period poverty through the current pilot scheme in Aberdeen and I welcome the cross-party support for that approach. We will consider further action to help women on low incomes across Scotland in the light of our learning from the pilot, but I confirm today that we will provide free access to sanitary products for students in schools, colleges and universities. Some local authorities have already made that commitment for schools, so we will work through the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and with other partners to consider the options for delivery. The Parliament is providing global leadership on the issue and we should all be proud of that.

    Although we must take a range of actions now to tackle poverty, we should also consider options for more fundamental reform in the longer term. One idea that is attracting interest, not just here but internationally, is that of a citizens basic income. Contemplating such a scheme inevitably raises a number of practical issues and questions, not least around the Parliament’s current powers, and undoubtedly there are arguments for and against. However, as we look ahead to the next decade and beyond, it is an idea that merits deeper consideration. I therefore confirm that the Scottish Government will work with interested local authorities to fund research into the concept and the feasibility of a citizens basic income, to help to inform Parliament’s thinking for the future.

    One of the most important contributors to a good quality of life is housing. Good-quality, warm and affordable housing is vital to ensuring a Scotland that is fair for this and future generations. Over the next year, we will make further progress towards our target of delivering 50,000 affordable homes by the end of this parliamentary session. Our new planning bill will also help to secure the housing development that the country needs.

    We will continue work to improve the quality of our housing stock. A new warm homes bill will set a statutory target for reducing fuel poverty, and we will introduce new energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector to improve the quality of accommodation and help to lower fuel bills for those who rely on privately rented accommodation, many of whom are young people.

    Scotland has a good record on housing. We are building social housing at a faster rate than any other part of the UK and we have protected social housing by removing the right to buy. However, as Westminster austerity and welfare cuts take their toll, we are seeing worrying signs of an increase in homelessness and rough sleeping. We are not prepared to tolerate that. I restate today a conviction that I hope will unite us all: it is not acceptable for anyone to have to sleep rough on our streets. We must eradicate rough sleeping.

    However, in setting that national objective, we must recognise that it requires more than just housing. Every individual has unique needs and challenges. We will therefore establish a short-life expert group to make urgent recommendations on the actions, services and legislative changes that are required to end rough sleeping and transform the use of temporary accommodation. To support the group’s recommendations, we will establish a new £10 million a year ending homelessness together fund, and we will invest an additional £20 million a year in alcohol and drug services to help to tackle some of the underlying problems that so often drive homelessness.

    In tackling the challenges of building a fairer Scotland, national Government can do a great deal, but often the best solutions are found by communities. That is why we will continue work to empower communities across the country. Next year, we will launch a comprehensive review of local governance ahead of a local democracy bill later in this session of Parliament. We will continue to work with local authorities to ensure that at least 1 per cent of council budgets is controlled by communities. We will introduce a Crown estate bill to establish a framework for the management of assets and ensure that local communities benefit from the devolution of the powers.

    We will continue to implement the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 and will shortly approve the first strategic plan of the new Scottish Land Commission, which will outline a programme of research to inform options for future change, such as possible measures to tackle constraints on the supply and cost of land for housing and possible tax and fiscal reforms, including the potential for some form of land-value-based tax.

    Scotland has a well-earned reputation as a leader in human rights, including economic, social and environmental rights. We will therefore oppose any attempt by the UK Government to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 or to withdraw from the European convention on human rights. I intend to seek independent advice to help us to ensure that all existing and, where appropriate, future rights that are guaranteed by European Union law are protected in Scotland after Brexit.

    We will take forward the actions in our strategy “A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People”; publish a new race equality action plan; progress the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill; work with the time for inclusive education campaign to tackle lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer bullying in schools; and consult on reforming the gender recognition laws.

    Next year is our year of young people. Scotland has always taken a progressive approach to the welfare of children and young people in the criminal justice system. The children’s hearings system remains a jewel in the crown. However, in the year of young people, we will go further. We will introduce a minimum age of criminal responsibility bill to increase the minimum age of responsibility from eight to 12, in line with international norms.

    I also confirm today that, although it is not our proposal and parties might give their members a free vote on the issue, the Scottish Government will not oppose John Finnie’s proposal to prohibit the physical punishment of children. It is worth noting that approximately 50 countries around the world—including France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland, to name a few—have already successfully made that change.

    Over the next year, we will consider how to further embed the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into policy and legislation, including the option of full incorporation into domestic law.

    Brexit will provide the backdrop to much of what we do over the next year. We are determined not to allow it to stand in the way of the ambitious programme that I am outlining today. However, we are equally determined to protect Scotland’s interests.

    The UK Government’s European Union (Withdrawal) Bill represents a power grab. It seeks to replace EU law in devolved areas with unilateral Westminster decision making. That is simply unacceptable. The Scottish Government will not recommend to this Parliament that we approve the bill as it stands. We will continue to seek the UK Government’s agreement to amendments that will address our concerns. However, in case that proves impossible, we are also considering the option of legislation in this Parliament to secure the necessary continuity of laws in Scotland.

    We will continue to argue the case for continued UK membership of the single market and customs union. Leaving either will have deeply damaging consequences for our economy and wider society.

    As I said in June, we will consider again the issue of a referendum on independence when the terms of Brexit are clear. In the coming months, we will publish a series of evidence-based papers that set out how enhanced powers for this Parliament in some key policy areas will allow us to better protect our interests and fulfil our ambitions for the country. Those papers will cover immigration and its importance to our economy; welfare; employment and employability; and trade. We will seek to work with other parties and with civic Scotland to build a consensus on the powers that the Parliament needs.

    Later this year, we will publish our draft budget bill. The detail of our spending plans for next year will be set out then. However, I will address two issues today.

    First, I confirm that we will lift the 1 per cent public sector pay cap. The pay cap, although never desirable, was necessary to protect jobs and services. However, with inflation on the rise, it is not sustainable. Our nurses, teachers, police officers and firefighters deserve a fairer deal for the future. The need to recruit the staff on whom our public services depend also demands a new approach. We will therefore aim to secure from next year pay rises that are affordable but which reflect the real-life circumstances that our public servants face and the contribution that our public services make to our country’s overall prosperity.

    The budget bill process will set income tax rates for next year. We will always exercise the utmost responsibility in setting tax rates and will not simply transfer the burden of austerity to the shoulders of those who can least afford it. However, I am mindful that, as a minority Government, we must build alliances across Parliament in support of our budget. For all of us, the interests of our public services, households and economy must drive our decisions. We know that continued Westminster austerity, the consequences of Brexit and the impact of demographic change will put increasing pressure on our public services and our ability to provide the infrastructure and support that our businesses need to thrive. The time is therefore right to open a discussion about how responsible and progressive use of our tax powers could help to build the kind of country that we want to be—one with the highest-quality public services, well-rewarded public servants, good support for business, a strong social contract and effective policies to tackle poverty and inequality.

    Ahead of the budget, we will publish a paper that sets out the current distribution of income tax liabilities in Scotland; analyse a variety of options, including the proposals of the other parties across Parliament; explain the interaction between tax policy and the fiscal framework; and provide international comparisons. The purpose of that paper will be to inform the discussions that we have with other parties ahead of the budget. I give an assurance that the Scottish Government will go into those discussions with an open mind and with the best interests of the country as a whole as our guiding principle, and I invite other parties to do likewise.

    Three bills of a more technical nature—the damages bill, the land and buildings transaction tax bill and the prescription bill—will complete the 16 bills that make up our legislative programme for the year ahead.

    The programme that I have set out today—the policies and the legislation—is fresh, bold and ambitious. Because of that, aspects of it undoubtedly will be controversial. That is inevitable—indeed, it is necessary. No one has ever built a better country by always taking the easy option.

    As we debate the programme in the days, weeks and months ahead, members will focus on and scrutinise individual aspects of it. That is right and proper, but I invite Parliament—and the public—also to see the programme in the round. It is about equipping Scotland not just for the next year but for the next decade and beyond. At its heart is the ambition to make our country the best place in the world in which to grow up and be educated; the best place to live in, work in, visit and do business in; the best place in which to be cared for in times of sickness, need or vulnerability; and the best place in which to grow old.

    I commend the programme for government to Parliament.

  • Sajid Javid – 2017 Speech at Holocaust Memorial Foundation Survivor Consultation

    Below is the text of the speech made by Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on 4 September 2017.

    Thank you all for joining us here today at what is a truly remarkable gathering of truly remarkable people. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with a number of you in the past. And one thing I’ve learned from that is that no two survivors are alike, no two stories are the same.

    But those unique experiences, those unique views, are precisely why you’ve been invited along today.

    There are deeply moving monuments to the murdered Jews of Europe in cities around the world. The thousands of concrete columns that comprise the vast memorial in Berlin. The heart-wrenching bronze shoes that line the banks of the Danube in Budapest. The symbolic glass towers that stand opposite City Hall in Boston.

    They are all ideally suited to the cities and countries they are in.

    But we want a UK memorial that is truly national, one that speaks to the thoughts and feelings and experiences of British survivors.

    And that’s why your opinions – your honest, open opinions – are so important.

    If you think one of the designs is head and shoulders above the rest, don’t be embarrassed about saying so. But if you don’t rate a design, we want to hear that too. And if you can think of ways to improve a design, share those thoughts too. These are just initial ideas, there’s a lot of work still to be done.

    I can’t promise that the jury will pick your personal favourite. I can’t promise that we won’t pick your personal least favourite, for that matter! But I can promise that your opinions will carry a great deal of weight.

    We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a stunning, inspiring, sobering memorial in a jaw-dropping location. And it’s so important that we get the design right.

    It’s not just important to me, or to the jury. But to the whole country.

    Because there are voices out there saying we don’t need another reminder of the Holocaust. That it’s enough to let it be noted in the history books and the museums. That we should move on.

    Such voices couldn’t be more wrong.

    In recent weeks we’ve seen people proudly marching through an American city with swastika flags held high. We’ve seen Jewish children as young as eight being chased through London by a man shouting the foulest anti-Semitic abuse. We’ve read report after report about the steadily swelling ranks of neo-Nazis and their efforts to become almost respectable by denying or belittling the crimes of their predecessors.

    That’s why, as the Shoah slides towards the edge of living memory, it becomes ever more important that we refuse to forget it.

    That we stand up as a nation and say “No, we will not let the past be airbrushed. We will not allow this country forget what happens when hatred and ignorance and bigotry are allowed to flourish unchecked.”

    The UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will stand as a permanent reminder of what happened.

    Constructed right in the heart of our democracy, it will be impossible to ignore or overlook. It will be a lasting tribute both to those who died and to those who survived. And it will be a focal point for reflection and education that will ensure the Holocaust is remembered long after all of us in this room are gone.

    And I hope that, with your help, we can choose a design worthy of the six million men, women and children who must never be forgotten.

  • Alan Duncan – 2017 Speech in Astana

    Below is the text of the speech made by Sir Alan Duncan, the Minister of State for Europe, in Astana in Kazakhstan on 31 August 2017.

    Good morning, and thank you Timur for that warm welcome. It is a privilege for me to have arrived in Astana yesterday in time to mark the 22nd anniversary of adoption of Kazakhstan’s constitution. So I wish you all, one day late, a very happy Constitution Day.

    I am particularly delighted to be speaking to you in this impressive library dedicated to President Nazarbayev, who has done so much to shape Kazakhstan since its independence. Indeed, I think I am the first Foreign Minister to speak in this library, so I am honoured.

    As I look around, I am stunned by the sight of a gleaming new capital city arising from the eternal steppes. Astana is a truly magnificent achievement, which the nation should be rightly proud of. Everything I have seen so far – from the Baiterek, through to EXPO, through to this magnificent library, shows me a country which has made massive strides since your independence just over a quarter of a century ago.

    This year we are also celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom. I am pleased to say that today, that relationship has never been stronger. It is a relationship that our leaders have recognised as an important one and so they have strengthened our ties through engagement between our peoples. Indeed David Cameron visited in 2013, the first visit to Kazakhstan by a serving British Prime Minister, and President Nazarbayev, visited the UK just eighteen months ago. I look forward to our two countries continuing to build on that relationship over the next 25 years and beyond that. Indeed, our bilateral relationship stretches from cooperation on the international stage, through to helping Kazakhstan realise its own ambitious programme of reform.

    Now, I myself had a fascinating meeting with your Foreign Minister yesterday and I look forward to meeting Prime Minister Sagintayev after this speech. During my meeting with Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov, we discussed the cooperation between our two countries and I conveyed a clear message and that message was that the UK remains committed to developing this dynamic bilateral relationship, which has already achieved a great deal in the last five years but still has scope for further development.

    Now, there is no doubt that the biggest policy issuing focusing minds in the UK is our departure from the European Union. But let me be clear, the UK will continue to engage with the world. As we leave the European Union, we are not leaving Europe. We also want to strengthen our relationships and build stronger partnerships with countries such as Kazakhstan as we look to the future.

    So as Kazakhstan and the UK look to the future together, and as the UK looks to develop a new role outside of the EU, both continuity and the future are the themes for my comments. Both Britain’s continuing place in the global community, and looking forward with optimism to a future outside of the EU.

    Some of you may be familiar with the name Alexander Graham Bell, he was the Scottish inventor who invented the telephone. He once said that when one door closes another one opens. We have a word for that in English – opportunity.

    And I think that he was right, not only in saying that when one door closes another opens, but also in his assertion that sometimes we spend so long looking at the door that is closing, we see too late to notice the one that is open.

    And so, as the UK prepares to leave the European Union, we may be closing the door on our EU membership, but there will be many, many more doors across the world opening up.

    Over the next 18 months, we will negotiate the manner, the nature of our departure from the EU, and we will construct a new relationship with our European neighbours.

    Now this will represent a fundamental change in our legal relationship with the European Union, but not to our outward looking view of the world. What you will not see is the UK closing all our doors. We are not leaving Europe and we are not pulling back from the world.

    Instead, we will embrace the opportunities that lie before us and build a truly global Britain. One which strengthens our relationships and reaches out to build new partnerships across the world.

    International stage

    When the British people voted last year to leave the EU, they did not choose to withdraw the UK from the UN Security Council or from NATO. They did not pull the plug on our membership of the G7, the G20 or the Commonwealth. They did not sign away Britain’s long-standing and hard-won commitment to the values of freedom, of democracy, and of the rule of law.

    So we will continue to work tirelessly with our partners, including Kazakhstan, in international organisations to promote and defend global peace and security, and to protect the rules based international system.

    The UK has always been, and will remain, an outward-facing sovereign nation, and, I hope, a force for good, with a diplomatic network that is respected across the world. Looking forward, we will continue to put that network to good use, reaching out to new trading partners and working with our international partners to find solutions to some of the world’s most complex challenges. Our commitment to our extensive security cooperation with our allies remains solid.

    In this, Kazakhstan is an important partner.

    And until the end of next year, Kazakhstan will sit on the United Nations Security Council, as a non-permanent member. I echo the words of your own Foreign Minister, that it was high time that a Central Asian country joined the Council. These two years present Kazakhstan with a unique opportunity to play a major role in tackling the most serious security issues facing the world. It will allow you to bring your unique geographical, historical and cultural perspective to the work of the Council.

    Global challenges

    Now security is just one of the challenges we face together. There are aspects of this we must consider and we can address these challenges as international partners on the UN Security Council.

    Now, consider Syria for instance. The UK condemns the use of chemical weapons, by anyone, anywhere. It is vital that the international community does all it can to rid the world of chemical weapons attacks once and for all.

    Also, the UK is the second largest donor country of bilateral humanitarian aid in response to the crisis in Syria, having committed over £2.46 billion to vulnerable and displaced people inside Syria and to refugees in neighbouring countries. We are also leading international support for the Syrian White Helmets, whose volunteers have saved over 95,000 lives.

    And then there’s Afghanistan – where the UK is committed to creating security and prosperity. In June, the UK announced an increase in its commitment to Afghanistan, with additional troops to support NATO’s Train, Advise and Assist Mission in the country. And that uplift will add to the significant contribution of 500 troops the UK already makes to NATO efforts in Afghanistan. We are proud to work in close partnership with the Afghan Government to help it deliver the economic opportunities and security that the Afghan people are looking for and to create an Afghanistan that is less dependent on external support. I know that Kazakhstan is also committed to finding a solution to the ongoing conflict there. I hope that we can work together to help Afghanistan create and shape its own political settlement.

    And there’s North Korea. It is important to maintain strong international pressure on North Korea, both diplomatically and through sanctions. Their latest missile launch over Japan is a reckless provocation. So I am pleased that both the UK and Kazakhstan supported Security Council Resolution 2371 earlier this month, which imposed the toughest measures ever adopted by the Security Council on North Korea. The focus of both our countries has to be on ensuring that sanctions are rigorously implemented and enforced by all UN Member States so that they are effective at limiting the regime’s ability to pursue its illegal nuclear weapons programme.

    The UK will continue to play its part on the world stage to tackle all of these challenges head on.

    And it is in that same spirit that we welcome Kazkahstan’s vital contribution in developing the Low Enriched Uranium Bank, which was opened this week. It will play an important role in ensuring that there is a safe, secure and assured source of Low Enriched Uranium to generate nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The Kazakh Government has shown great leadership in taking this important issue forward, and I am pleased that the UK was able to make a financial contribution through the European Union to this project.

    Defence / International aid

    So, as we look forward towards our future as a force for good outside the EU, we also have the means and the ambition to play a broader positive role in the world.

    That is demonstrated in our commitments on defence spending and on international aid. The UK is the only country in the world that meets both its NATO pledge to spend 2% of its GDP on defence, and we also meet the UN target of spending 0.7% of our Gross National Income on development. And these together ensure that we defend our values, work to tackle poverty and conflict, and help to protect the most vulnerable people in our world.

    We also remain a passionate advocate for supporting the right and power of women to play a vital role in building a fairer and more just society for future generations. We know that building prosperity for all is vital for long-term stability, and that is why we are working hard to increase women’s participation in all areas of life.

    Peace is vital to that agenda. That is why I am pleased to say that the UK is sixth largest financial contributor to UN Peacekeeping – some 700 British peacekeepers are deployed in six missions around the world. We support Kazakhstan’s commitment to develop its peacekeeping capacity in support of UN operations. We have worked together to sharpen that capacity, through the Steppe Eagle peacekeeping training programme, which is the UK’s largest bilateral defence exercise. I eagerly await Kazakhstan’s first deployment on UN Peacekeeping Operations.

    Values

    So, the UK is, and will remain, a committed and engaged player on the global stage, championing the values we have always held dear, which are the values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

    But, the real test of any partnership of equals is a willingness to be honest with each other. I recognise that Kazakhstan has made real progress on implementing human rights protections, in accordance with internationally recognised standards. As you make ever greater strides to secure an even more prosperous, ever more developed future for your nation, it is important to remember that the foundations for this future rest on a society where human rights and the equality of all citizens under the law is guaranteed and enshrined. So we will continue to take forward our dialogue on reform, including freedom of expression and religious choice.

    Together we have worked closely on the President’s reform programme. One important area of collaboration is judicial reform. In June, the UK Law Society, in partnership with Astana International Financial Centre and the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan, ran a training project to provide Kazakh judges with an understanding of the English common law system and the rule of law.

    I was also delighted that we welcomed a high-level delegation from the criminal justice system to the UK, to learn about how our system works. And I am pleased to announce today, UK investment of about US $100,000 for a new project. The NGO, Penal Reform International will work in partnership with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Kazakhstan Government’s Anti-Corruption Agency to train prison officers to attain international standards in your prisons, thus contributing to President Nazarbayev’s ambitious programme of reforms in the judicial and rule of law sectors.

    Trade

    The UK has a proud history as a trading nation, and we have long been one of the strongest advocates of free trade. Kazakhstan will continue to remain a key partner for the UK. We are currently the sixth largest investor here. Since Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991, we have invested more than £20bn. Once we leave the EU we will look to remove barriers to trade, and so ensure continuity in our trade and investment relationships.

    Kazakhstan remains an attractive market for UK companies. There are now over 500 British companies registered here. Many are active in the oil and gas and mining sectors. But there is also increasing collaboration between the new Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and the City of London. The Lord Mayor of London’s visit in July highlighted our close cooperation in developing the Centre and I welcome Kazkahstan’s decision to use English Common Law as the basis for the Financial Centre including its Court of Arbitration.

    I am also delighted that we are taking part in EXPO 2017. It is an excellent opportunity for the UK to show that it is open for business. I had a fantastic time when I visited yesterday. And whilst, as a British Minister, I am obliged to say that the UK pavilion was of course the best at EXPO, I was amazed and impressed by the scale and imagination of the Kazakh pavilion – which truly captured both the history and culture of Kazakhstan and at the same time, your collective vision for the future.

    EXPO shows too that Kazakhstan is taking its place in the world, with 115 countries and 22 international organisations taking part. I hope that EXPO will open new doors and new opportunities for Kazakhstan – such as modern trading routes along the old Silk Road.

    As this takes shape there will be considerable opportunity for cooperation between the UK, China and Kazakhstan. Our Embassy here in Astana is working closely with the Kazakhstan Ministry of Investment and Development to identify potential joint projects that would be delivered here. We hope to hold an event soon with participants from all three countries, aimed at identifying a new consortium to deliver the first belt and road project in Kazakhstan

    So to end where I started: the UK is not looking, in mood of regret, on closed doors. To quote the famous US astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, a man who inspired generations, including possibly our own British astronaut, Tim Peake, “There are always door openings. And gradually, the opportunities open up in front of you.”

    We will always be a committed and engaged player in the global community, and we look forward, optimistically, to the opportunities brought by our exit from the EU. I personally look forward to building further on the UK’s relationship with Kazakhstan as we open new doors and build a prosperous future together.

  • Chris Grayling – 2017 Statement on EU Transport Council

    Below is the text of the written statement issued by Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 28 June 2017.

    The only Transport Council under the Maltese Presidency (the Presidency) took place in Brussels on Thursday 8 June. The UK was represented by the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU, Katrina Williams.

    The council adopted a general approach on lorry and bus driver training (Driver CPC Directive) as well as council conclusions on road safety and the EU’s maritime priorities. All 3 were widely supported by member states. The UK intervened to support the road safety conclusions, welcoming the elements related to safer road infrastructure and connected and autonomous vehicles, and highlighting the UK’s Safer Road Fund.

    Under any other business, a range of items were discussed. The Commission presented its new mobility package of proposals which aims to modernise the road transport framework and strengthen the competitiveness and social standards of the EU road haulage sector. Some member states supported stronger social standards in the road transport sector while others felt the Commission’s proposals did not sufficiently support liberalisation in the sector. A number of member states called for the political and geographical balance of the proposals to be carefully considered.

    The Presidency provided information on the progress of the trilogue discussions with the European Parliament on a Professional Qualifications in Inland Navigation Directive and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Regulation. Overall member states welcomed the substantial efforts of the Maltese Presidency in negotiations to date with the European Parliament.

    The Commission presented an overview of the ‘open and connected Europe’ aviation package which was published on the morning of the Transport Council. The package includes a proposal to revise Regulation (EC) No. 868/2004, guidelines on airline ownership and control, guidelines on public service obligations and best practice on minimising air traffic control disruptions.

    Sweden provided information on her approach to protection against acts of terror in road transport in light of the terrorist attack that occurred in Stockholm in April. The UK intervened to express its solidarity and emphasise the importance of this issue and of sharing best practice, supported by other member states. Those who intervened offered condolences to the UK following the London Bridge attack on 3 June.

    In addition, the Commission updated the council on recent developments on aviation security and the Netherlands asked the Commission to provide information on their work on social issues in aviation. Luxembourg urged member states to speed up the implementation of the European rail traffic management signalling system (ERTMS) and presented the work she had done to develop a blue-print EU cycling strategy. Germany flagged the high-level dialogue on connected and autonomous driving that would take place in Frankfurt on 14 and 15 September and the Estonian Presidency presented its work programme for its presidency beginning 1 July 2017.

    Over lunch Commissioner Bulc led a discussion on an initial strategy at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships.

  • Paul Maynard – 2017 Statement on Crossrail

    Below is the text of the statement made by Paul Maynard, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rail, Accessibility and HS2, in the House of Commons on 29 June 2017.

    I am pleased to report that earlier this month, the first new Class 345 train entered passenger service on the TfL rail line between Shenfield and Liverpool Street. Although the trains were due to enter service in May 2017 some of the testing, assurance and approvals took a little longer than originally expected. The successful introduction of the train marked the first stage of the 5 staged Crossrail opening strategy. The service will be named the Elizabeth line when the central section opens in central London from December 2018.I am pleased to report that earlier this month, the first new Class 345 train entered passenger service on the TfL rail line between Shenfield and Liverpool Street. Although the trains were due to enter service in May 2017 some of the testing, assurance and approvals took a little longer than originally expected. The successful introduction of the train marked the first stage of the 5 staged Crossrail opening strategy. The service will be named the Elizabeth line when the central section opens in central London from December 2018.

    Stage 2 of the Crossrail opening strategy which will see TfL rail services operating with the new trains between Heathrow Terminals 2, 3 and 4 and Paddington (high level station), is due to start from May 2018. A major step forward in delivering this new service was the installation of new digital signalling in the Heathrow tunnels in April 2017. Testing and commissioning of the new signalling system is now underway, ahead of the new trains commencing testing later this year.

    I am pleased to report the Crossrail project’s health and safety indicators demonstrate strong performance over the year with all the key indicators exceeding the corporate objectives for the year 2016 to 2017.

    In the past year significant progress has been made across the project. The Crossrail programme is approaching 85% complete. In the central tunnel section all platforms have now been completed, track installation is over 90% complete, power and ventilation installation have reached 70% and 30% complete respectively, and installation of platform edge screen doors has commenced at Bond Street and London Paddington. Architectural finishes are being applied and escalator and lift installation has commenced across the central stations. Testing of the new central section infrastructure and systems will commence by the end of 2017, with the new central section stations being completed during 2018.

    The critical works for the stabling facility at Ilford depot was completed in May 2017, to support the introduction of new trains into passenger service. Further work at Ilford depot to support stage 4 (Paddington to Shenfield) opening continues and is expected to be delivered by May 2019. Works continue at Old Oak Common depot to support stages 2 and 3 (Paddington to Abbey Wood).
    Major surface works were delivered by Network Rail on the existing rail network this year. During the Christmas 2016 blockade an unprecedented level of works were successfully delivered on the Great Western and Anglia railways. These works included the entry into service of the new Acton Dive Under and the Stockley Flyover, both of which will improve capacity and reliability between Heathrow and Paddington. Christmas 2016 also saw the start of the remodelling of tracks at Shenfield, which was completed during May 2017.

    Manufacturing of the new trains is progressing. Trains will be progressively introduced over the next few months, with 11 in service by autumn, replacing just over half the existing train fleet. In preparation for the operation of the Elizabeth line services a purpose built facility has been commissioned to simulate the operation of passenger services and ensure key components and software are tested. The Crossrail integration facility is an essential element to support the next stages and success of the Crossrail opening strategy.
    Training of the new operations workforce is well underway. Drivers are familiarising themselves with the new trains and route. There are now circa 700 apprentices who have gained experience across the project. Crossrail’s purpose built training facility, the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy has now become part of Transport for London and will continue to offer apprenticeships and training to support the next generation of skills for rail and tunnelling projects.

    The Crossrail Board forecast that the cost of constructing Crossrail will be within the overall £14.8 billion funding envelope (excluding rolling stock costs). Cost pressures are increasing across the project and Crossrail Ltd is identifying and implementing initiatives to deliver cost efficiencies until completion in 2019. Crossrail’s joint sponsors (Department for Transport and Transport for London) will continue to meet regularly with Crossrail Ltd to ensure that the project is being effectively managed and will be delivered within funding and on schedule.

    During the passage of the Crossrail Bill through Parliament, a commitment was given that a statement would be published at least every 12 months until the completion of the construction of Crossrail, setting out information about the project’s funding and finances.

    In line with this commitment, this statement comes within 12 months of the last one, which was published on 30 June 2016. The relevant information is as follows:

    Total funding amounts provided to Crossrail Limited by the Department for Transport and TfL in relation to the construction of Crossrail to the end of the period (22 July 2008 to 29 May 2017) £10,860,539,046

    Expenditure incurred (including committed land and property spend not yet paid out) by Crossrail Limited in relation to the construction of Crossrail in the period (30 May 2016 to 29 May 2017) (excluding recoverable VAT on land and property purchases) £1,636,471,000

    Total expenditure incurred (including committed land and property spend not yet paid out) by Crossrail Limited in relation to the construction of Crossrail to the end of the period (22 July 2008 to 29 May 2017) (excluding recoverable VAT on land and property purchases) £10,886,978,000

    The Amounts realised by the disposal of any land or property for the purposes of the construction of Crossrail by the Secretary of State, TfL or Crossrail Limited in the period covered by the statement. Nil

    The numbers above are drawn from Crossrail Limited’s books of account and have been prepared on a consistent basis with the update provided last year. The figure for expenditure incurred includes monies already paid out in relevant period, including committed land and property expenditure where this has not yet been paid. It does not include future expenditure on construction contracts that have been awarded.

  • Theresa May – 2017 Press Statement in Tokyo

    Below is the text of the press statement made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, in Tokyo, Japan on 31 August 2017.

    Thank you, Prime Minister Abe, for welcoming me to Kyoto and here to Tokyo.

    The close cooperation between our two countries is particularly important at this critical juncture, with North Korean provocation presenting an unprecedented threat to international security.

    I want to begin by expressing the UK’s strong sense of solidarity with the Japanese people at this time.

    The UK and Japan are natural partners. We share common interests as outward-looking, democratic, free-trading island nations with global reach.

    We are committed to the rules-based international system, free and open international trade and the fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

    And today we have committed to elevating the UK-Japan partnership in a number of areas.

    Security and Defence Cooperation

    As two outward-facing countries with many shared priorities and shared challenges, Japan is a natural partner for us on defence and security issues. We are each other’s closest security partners in Asia and Europe.

    And today we have agreed a “Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation” to enhance our collective response to threats to the international order and to global peace and security, through increased cooperation on defence, foreign policy, cyber security, and counter-terrorism.

    Our defence cooperation is already particularly strong, with our Typhoon fighter jets exercising in Japan last year – the first time that a country other than the US has done so.

    And we are now taking this even further with the deployment of HMS Argyll to the region in December 2018, and UK troops exercising jointly with their Japanese counterparts next year in Japan for the first time ever.

    And we must also tackle new and emerging threats together, from counter-terrorism through to cyber security. And today we have agreed a new programme of cooperation to ensure a safe and secure Rugby World Cup and Olympic and Paralympic Games here in Japan.

    We have highlighted our opposition to any actions on the South and East China Seas likely to increase tension. Stability in this region is of global concern and we encourage all parties to resolve their disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law.

    Of course, I am here at a critical time. North Korea’s missile launch this week was an outrageous provocation and an unacceptable threat to Japan’s national security. We condemn North Korea in the strongest terms possible for this reckless act, which was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

    In response to this illegal action, Prime Minister Abe and I have agreed to work together and with others in the international community to strengthen pressure against North Korea, including by increasing the pace of sanctions implementation and working towards the adoption of a new and effective resolution at the United Nations Security Council.

    Trade and Investment Relationship

    Japan is also a natural partner for the UK on the economy: in building a rules-based international system, and encouraging WTO reform to ensure a global economy that works for everyone.

    Japan is the world’s third largest economy and we benefit more from Japanese investment than any other country in the world apart from the US.

    Japanese companies already invest more than £40 billion in the UK and over 1,000 Japanese companies including Honda, Hitachi, Fujitsu and Sony employ 140,000 people in the UK.

    And we welcome the commitment from Japanese companies to a long-term presence in the UK. Nissan, Toyota and Softbank in particular have made commitments to the UK since the EU referendum, in a powerful vote of confidence in the long term strength of the UK economy.

    I have had the opportunity to meet a number of major Japanese investors here in Tokyo, who have reiterated to me their belief in the strength of the UK economy and their commitment to a mutually beneficial partnership.

    And Prime Minister Abe, it was good to hear you reaffirm your continued faith in the UK economy, including after Brexit, as we addressed business leaders earlier today.

    As we announced earlier this month, our intention is that the UK will be free to sign new bilateral trade agreements with partners around the world in any interim Brexit period.

    And we have agreed here today that we want to see a swift conclusion of the ambitious EU Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. Prime Minister Abe and I have agreed that as we exit the EU, we will work quickly to establish a new economic partnership between Japan and the UK based on the final terms of that agreement.

    We will set up a new joint working group to examine how we can unblock remaining barriers to trade and take steps to build the closest, freest trading relationship between the UK and Japan after Brexit.

    And we have agreed to build cooperation in industrial policy across science, innovation, and energy, to ensure thriving and competitive economies.

    Conclusion

    So thank you, Shinzo.

    My first visit to your country has been a memorable one. I have seen your rich traditional culture and the modern dynamism of Japan.

    And our personal friendship reflects the deep friendship and bonds between our two countries.

    This visit marks a great step forward not only in enriching our existing ties, but agreeing our shared vision of even deeper cooperation in the future.

    And I know that we both believe these steps will not only increase our own security and prosperity, but also see us together playing a unique role as standard-bearers for the open, liberal, innovative and secure world order both our great nations rely upon.