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  • George Osborne – 2013 Speech at Offshore Europe Conference

    gosborne

    Below is the text of the speech made by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in Aberdeen on 3 September 2013.

    Good morning.

    I’m delighted to be here in Aberdeen at such an illustrious gathering of the oil and gas industry – an industry that is of vital importance to Britain’s economy.

    But let us first remember Duncan Munro, Sarah Darnley, Gary McCrossan and George Allison.

    Four brave professionals who ten days ago, tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash off Shetland.

    Our thoughts are with their families, friends and colleagues at this difficult time – and the book of condolences here today shows the depth of feeling for those four brave professionals.

    And we should also remember that 25 years ago, 167 people lost their lives in the Piper Alpha disaster.

    A tragedy that leaves an indelible mark here in Aberdeen on the industry, and the whole community.

    Let us pay our respects.

    To the brave professionals who lost their lives last month, and on that terrible night 25 years ago.

    To their families and friends in whose memories they live on.

    To those who survived and the rescue teams who helped them do so.

    The whole of the UK owes a massive debt to the thousands of men and women who work in what is an inherently dangerous environment – delivering enormous benefits to every family in the country.

    I know that as an industry you sometimes feel taken for granted.

    Well, I want you to know this: you are not taken for granted.

    You are very much appreciated.

    And my personal message to you is this.

    First, I recognize the vital role the oil and gas industry plays in the UK economy – and will continue to play for many many years to come.

    Second, I also recognize that the oil and gas remaining in the UK Continental Shelf will be increasingly difficult and more expensive to extract – but that this Government commits to play our part in delivering the investment that’s needed.

    And third, I believe that the best way to support this industry and maximize the returns from this great national asset is:

    – by working together across the UK;

    – through mobilizing all the UK’s resources; and
    by pooling our risks to provide stability across the whole UK.

    On Sunday, I was on the Andrew Marr TV show.

    In his book, the History of Modern Britain, he says that the oil and gas industry’s story is one of the most remarkable and under-discussed in the entire history of our country.

    It’s a tale of pioneering geologists, seismologists, roustabouts and rough-necks.

    He said that: “The discovery and exploitation of huge oil and gas fields far out under cold, stormy and turbulent waters … is a modern epic of technical skill, bold finance, endurance and individual courage”.

    And he is right to compare the feats of North Sea civil engineering with the building of the railways by the Victorians.

    I’ll never forget my first visit to a North Sea platform, the Elgin Franklin platform, six years ago.

    The long helicopter flight across the bleak, open sea – and then, the pinprick in the distance of the platform looming ever larger – until you land on the enormous construction.

    I remember that first, powerful emotion you get when you step out onto a North Sea platform: what an extraordinary achievement of the human spirit and ingenuity.

    Later today I will travel out to Talisman Sinopec’s Montrose platform and I know I will feel the same pride in what our country can achieve when we work together.

    For from the day 38 years ago, when the first oil was piped ashore in Cruden Bay, the oil and gas industry has brought huge benefits to the whole of the UK.

    And it continues to do so today.

    Oil and gas still meets around 70 per cent of the UK’s primary energy needs – with more than half of UK demand for oil and gas met by UK production.

    The heat and light for our homes;

    power for our businesses;

    and fuel for the transport for our people and goods.

    Directly and indirectly, the industry employs nearly half a million people – almost half of them here in Scotland.

    It’s the largest industrial investor in the UK – and it’s investing more than ever before.

    And while the expertise for the initial development of the North Sea was largely imported, a world class home-grown industry has sprung up on the back of it.

    Over 1,000 companies in and around Aberdeen alone.

    Businesses which are now leading an export charge from Azerbaijan and Russia, to Brazil and the Middle East – with international sales of nearly £8 billion from Scotland alone.

    As all of you know, subsea technology is a sector where the UK is a global leader – and it’s one of our fastest growing industries.

    And I’ve spoken to the subsea’s industry conference here before in Aberdeen to celebrate its success.

    Today we capture more than a third of a global market – a market that’s set to double over the next five years.

    Growth at home and abroad.

    Growth that I want to help you deliver.

    Of course, I understand that your industry has changed hugely since the early days of North Sea extraction.

    Then, the North Sea was dominated by a handful of ‘majors’ – the BPs and Shells, the Occidentals and Exxons.

    Now, there are over 50 oil companies operating in the North Sea – with smaller independents and national state-owned oil companies rubbing shoulders with the original ‘majors’.

    New names to conjure with: Apache, KNOC, Petrofac, Talisman, Sinopec, JX Nippon.

    While the pattern of ownership today has changed from 30 years ago, the nature of the development opportunities is different too.

    Companies are operating in a mature basin.

    And that brings me to my second point.

    The fact is that the oil and gas remaining in the UK Continental Shelf will be increasingly difficult and more expensive to extract.

    You know well that the ‘big’ strikes are fewer and farther between.

    The opportunities are often smaller, technically challenging or both – with the oil either in deeper waters or just harder to reach and extract.

    In the central North Sea, companies are drilling at water depths of 100 metres.

    In the planned Rosebank field West of Shetland, Chevron will be operating at 1,100 metres in waters more than ten times deeper.

    New entrants are bringing fresh thinking and impetus, making viable even the most marginal fields.

    Normally when politicians visit platforms, they visit the newest field.

    But the Montrose field I’ll be visiting is one of the oldest in the North Sea.

    I’ve deliberately chosen to go there because I want to see how Talisman Sinopec and Marubeni Oil and Gas’s £1.6 billion investment is extending the life of five fields by 14 years – which means that these fields will be producing the equivalent of an additional 100 million barrels of oil until 2030.

    This project alone will be creating and securing 2,000 jobs throughout the UK supply chain. But there are also challenges.

    We need to develop a North Sea regime that keeps pace with the changing structure of the basin.

    The Montrose project is a case in point.

    Its economic viability depends on a complex mix of factors: targeted tax breaks, and bundling a number of older fields with two undeveloped ones.

    So, as we think about the future of the North Sea, what can we be certain about?

    We can be certain that:

    – our reserves aren’t infinite;

    – the costs of extraction are rising;

    – and North Sea tax revenues are in long-term decline.

    But we can also be certain that the ingenuity of the industry will secure its long-term future and that we’ll still be recovering oil from the North Sea and West of Shetland in the 2050s.

    We can’t know the precise level of recoverable reserves.

    The future is about volume and value.

    So nothing can – or should – be taken for granted – and we know that.

    The British government’s objective is simple: we want to work with you to maximise the North Sea’s recoverable reserves.

    So we’ve put in the place the first ever national Oil and Gas strategy.

    The PILOT programme is identifying ways to remove barriers to development.

    And, working through the Fiscal Forum, we’re putting in place tax reliefs to support the industry as extraction becomes more difficult.

    In my Budgets, I’ve doubled the value and extended the scope of the small field allowance.

    I’ve put in place a £3 billion allowance to support investment in and exploration of large and deep fields like those West of Shetland.

    And I’ve introduced a £500 million allowance for large shallow-water gas fields and a brownfield allowance to encourage incremental investment in older fields.

    Perhaps most important of all, I’ve provided the industry with long-term stability, by providing certainty on tax reliefs – worth upwards of £20 billion over a 30-year period – on future decommissioning costs.

    Funded by the whole of the UK, that’s equivalent to £3000 pounds for every man woman and child in Scotland – being used to support investment in the North Sea.

    The UK government will enter into contracts with industry setting out what relief companies can expect to receive in future when decommissioning assets.

    And if the actual amount turns out to be less, the government will make up the short-fall.

    This means assets will be easier to transfer and the climate for investment improved.

    I can tell this Conference today I’m unveiling the final decommissioning deed.

    A concrete example of the tax certainty this government is providing.

    Never before has any government entered into legally binding contracts with individual companies to guarantee the tax relief they can expect decades into the future.

    No other place in the world provides such a guarantee.

    And your industry – not the Treasury – estimates that this decommissioning certainty will drive at least £17 billion of increased investment, extending the life of the North Sea basin with an additional 1.7 billion barrels extracted.

    It’s the culmination of 18 months of hard work and close collaboration between you and government.

    Thank you for that.

    Now let’s get the deeds signed and get the investment.

    And we’re already seeing results from this new tax regime.

    Oil & Gas UK are forecasting record levels of investment of £13.5 billion for 2013, helping to stem the decline in production of recent years.

    And look at the projects already announced.

    Statoil are investing £4.3 billion in the Mariner heavy oil project, creating 700 jobs.

    EnQuest, the UK’s largest independent oil producer are investing £170 million in the Thistle field, safeguarding 500 jobs and creating nearly 1,000 more in the supply chain.

    CNR International are investing £300 million to extend the life of Ninian field and produce 5 million additional barrels.

    And following the introduction of the large shallow water gas field allowance, GDF Suez, Centrica and BayernGas UK are investing £1.4bn in the Cygnus gas field, creating 1,200 jobs.

    We want to build on this success.

    Sir Ian Wood is currently reviewing how we can improve future economic recovery of oil and gas from the UK Continental Shelf.

    He is looking at what further powers the government should have to ensure the North Sea remains a prime location for new investment and that government ensures companies are operating their licences effectively.

    Government and industry have a shared interest in maximizing the economic production of the UK’s oil and gas reserves.

    I want to see far greater collaboration from industry on production and exploration.

    Because the fact is, production efficiency is down.

    When ownership of North Sea assets is more widely spread than ever before, collaboration is often the only way to improve the economic viability through economies of scale.

    Like:

    Access to critical infrastructure.

    Keeping in play older infrastructure hubs, so that recoverable reserves aren’t lost forever.

    Sharing the benefits of new technologies and extraction methods.

    Above all, deploying the best talent to the North Sea so the basin can flourish.

    Government and industry pulling together to maximise both of our returns from the North Sea – volume and value.

    Let me turn to the bigger picture on energy.

    Your message, which we’ve heard and listened to, is the need for predictability so you can plan for the long-term.

    That’s what our decommissioning tax certainty is all about.

    But this is just one part of our support to the energy market.

    We are seeking, from companies like yours and others, tens of billions of pounds of investment to secure Britain’s energy in the decades to come.

    And we want a mix – oil and gas are vital, but so too are renewables and nuclear.

    My ambition is that when you look across the western world, you see the UK as the best and most stable place to invest – and we’re creating the tax and regulatory regime to achieve it.

    Last year, we published our Gas Strategy which set out our expectation that gas generation will be an essential part of our energy supply.

    In June, we published draft strike prices for renewable energy generation – providing the certainty needed to make investing in new technologies less risky and more attractive.

    We’re introducing ambitious and radical reforms to the electricity market – a new way of paying for generation will bring forward up to £110 billion of private sector energy investment.

    We’ve set up a Green Investment Bank to invest in green energy projects and leverage further investment from the private sector.

    We’ve already committed to invest up to £3.8 billion through the Bank.

    On Shale, let me say this, because I know it’s an issue that has been in the news a lot recently.

    Of course, we want exploration of our shale resources to be safe, to avoid environmental damage, and be done in a way where communities get the benefit of what’s happening in their backyard.

    That’s why we got the industry to commit to generous community benefits.

    But let me also say this.

    Britain led the way in finding new sources of energy – coal in the 18th and 19th centuries, oil in the 20th century, and renewables at the turn of the 21st century.

    If we turn our back on new sources of energy which countries like China and the US are exploiting, then:

    – we’re saying to British families: you pay energy bills that are higher than those paid by families elsewhere;

    – we’re saying to British companies: you’ll face costs higher than companies face elsewhere;

    – and we’re saying to our country: we’ll have fewer jobs, less investment and higher costs of living – and I’m not prepared to say that to the British people.

    Britain is not going to turn its back on the energy sources of the future.

    So we’ve set out a generous new tax regime for shale gas and removed the bureaucratic obstacles to its use onshore and offshore.

    And when I talk about Britain I mean a United Kingdom.

    I’ve talked about predictability in this speech, but I know that one issue that has created uncertainty is the possibility of Scottish independence.

    We determined to end that uncertainty by holding a referendum that will reach a decisive outcome next year.

    The question of whether Scotland’s future lies within the UK or without needs to be answered.

    As an Englishman, I passionately hope people in Scotland vote to stay within the UK in just over a year’s time.

    This hope is, I know, shared by the great majority of people living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The reason is simple: we’re better together.

    For those tempted to think that the rest of the UK would be better off without Scotland, let me be clear.

    Separation would bring consequences for not just Scotland.

    We would all suffer.

    The rest of the UK is by far the most important market for Scottish goods and services.

    Scotland’s trade with the rest of the UK is almost double its entire trade with the rest of the world – and it’s a share that’s growing.

    This trade benefits companies and employees the length and breadth of Scotland.

    And it’s a two-way street: Scotland benefits from being a strong part of the UK, and the UK also benefits from Scotland’s place within it.

    As our economy recovers, I want Scotland to lead the way.

    All achieved within the UK, not outside.

    So let’s lay to rest some myths once and for all.

    Independent European countries of similar size don’t out-perform Scotland.

    In fact, Scotland performs well against comparable European States.

    Introducing an international border between Scotland and the rest of the UK would reduce business and trade across the border.

    You don’t need passport controls and customs officers for there to be a negative effect.

    It’s the gradual growing apart of institutions, policies and regulations;

    It’s the slow unpicking of the unified labour market, an integrated infrastructure and a single tax system – the possibility of different currencies.

    Today, we’re publishing clear analysis that shows the value of Scotland being part of the UK, in terms of extra trade and economic activity over the coming generation.

    As the paper says: Scottish GDP could be 4 per cent higher in 30 years if it is part of the UK. £2000 for every family in Scotland.

    Put it another way: separate from the UK, create an international border, and the loss to every Scottish household will be £2000.

    So, we should think very hard before Scotland exchanges a UK domestic market that works well for a new foreign export market that won’t work as well.

    If it ain’t broke, don’t break it.

    Your industry is a great example of how we’re better together when we work together, when we are together.

    Oil & Gas UK talk about the “need for fiscal predictability and long-term planning to optimize recovery of the country’s offshore oil and gas resource”.

    Today all of the major tax revenues, whether it’s from oil, or retail, or consumption, or income or duties are pooled across the UK.

    This provides Scotland with secure and stable funding; the Scottish government with budgetary predictability and Scotland’s public services with the stability to plan for the long-term.

    As part of the UK, Scotland doesn’t have to cope with the challenge of managing volatile oil revenues.

    This is no small challenge – Scottish tax revenues from oil can fluctuate from year to year from £2 billion to £12 billion.

    They are the most volatile tax revenues that exist.

    Finance ministries are always at risk of being over optimistic about how much revenue they’re going to get in.

    That’s why we created the Office for Budget Responsibility.

    It is totally independent.

    And it now provides for us independent estimates of tax revenues – including from oil and gas.

    So when you hear big numbers bandied about that aren’t impartial, and it sounds too good to be true – it probably is.

    The UK government can provide the oil and gas industry with a long-term commitment to decommissioning relief.

    This commitment represents around 1 per cent of UK GDP.

    It would represent around 12 per cent of Scottish GDP.

    It’s for the Scottish government to explain how they would pay for that.

    The UK’s approach looks at the wider economic contribution of oil and gas, not just at tax revenues.

    We’ve been prepared to take the long-term decisions needed to unlock investment.

    We accept that’s cost us in lower tax receipts in the short term – but its worth it for the benefits over the long haul.

    We’ve been able to pursue this course because the UK has broad shoulders – a big domestic market, a diverse economy, a wide tax base and a broad energy mix.

    Look at the facts.

    Oil and gas is an important national asset, but revenues from oil and gas are just 2 per cent of our total tax receipts.

    Renewable energy is an increasingly important part of the energy mix.

    Many of the companies represented here today are also leaders in renewable energy.

    Last year over £1.5 billion was invested to develop Scotland’s abundant sources of renewable energy, which now supports over 11,000 jobs and generates nearly 40 per cent of Scotland’s electricity.

    This is made possible by over £500 million a year of UK support, with the costs spread amongst 26 million households across the UK, keeping average electricity bills in Scotland lower than they would be if funded by Scottish consumers alone.

    How likely is it that this kind of subsidy would be provided to the energy market of a foreign country?

    As I’ve said many times before, Scotland could go it alone.

    But to suggest that spending can be increased; tax bills cut; an oil fund established; household energy bills kept down and investment in renewables increased simply doesn’t add up.

    Texans played an important part in the early exploration of the North Sea.

    So you’ll recognise the well-known Texan phrase – “all hat and no cattle”.

    I hope those who advocate Scottish independence will offer a little less hat and a bit more cattle.

    Let me end by saying this.

    How we manage our country’s natural resources goes to the heart of the solidarity between the peoples and nations of these islands.

    Whether we are realising the assets from the dark waters of the North Sea or West of Shetland, or shale gas reserves in Lancashire, or coal in Yorkshire or renewable energy in the Thames Estuary and the Firth of Forth.

    You have my total commitment to your remarkable industry.

    I will work with you to get the tax regime right, to support more investment, to create the climate for more production and more jobs.

    My door is always open to hear what you have to say and to help you.

    Volume and value.

    Valuable and valued.

    We know that when we:

    – pool our resources

    – share our advantages

    – and join forces to tackle future challenges

    – we achieve far more by working together

    Industry and government.

    Scotland and Britain.

    The whole is so much greater than the sum of the parts.

    Thank you.

  • Gregory Barker – 2013 Speech on Low Carbon Technology

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    Below is the text of the speech made by Gregory Barker, the then Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, at Carlton House Terrace in London on 3 September 2013.

    Good morning, it’s a real pleasure to be here today to talk about the opportunities and challenges in commercialising new low carbon technologies.

    Thank you to the NPL Centre for Carbon Measurement and the Energy Technology Institute for organising a forum on this important topic.

    Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit NPL and witness first-hand some of the amazing research they do.

    Such as new ways to measure carbon emissions and spot leaks from fracking and carbon capture which will be critical for building trust and public acceptance.

    Both NPL and ETI are working directly with SMEs and large industrial companies supporting them to bring their innovations to market.

    There are three key points I would like to make in my speech today:

    Firstly, that low carbon innovation is a huge opportunity for the UK – both for growth and for greening our planet.

    Secondly, there still remain several challenges to overcome to capitalise on innovation.

    Thirdly, collaboration between Government and innovators will be key.

    To my first point, UK innovation in low carbon technologies is a fantastic opportunity for the economy.

    A key driver of future growth.

    To quote comments made by the Prime Minister earlier this year, he said:

    “Make no mistake, we are in a global race and the countries that succeed in that race … are those that are the greenest and the most energy efficient.”

    Indeed, recent growth figures show that green investment is paying back in spades and helping the UK to stay ahead in this global race for jobs and growth.

    According to the CBI last year at least one-third of the UK’s recent economic growth was likely to have come from green business.

    In 2011/12, the UK enjoyed a £128 billion share of the low-carbon and environmental goods and services sector, LCEGS.

    Where the international market is worth £3.3 trillion.

    The UK is sixth in the global LCEGS market and the sector employs close to a million people.

    The key to this progress has been our unrelenting focus on driving innovation up while driving costs down.

    We must capitalise on this and continue to innovate to maintain our competitive advantage.

    In addition, meeting our 2050 carbon targets will require rapid and large-scale changes in energy efficiency, electricity generation, heating, transport and industrial processing.

    But equally the Coalition understands the pressure rising energy bills are putting on hardworking families up and down the country.

    Cost savings through innovation are helping to cushion consumers against the upward trend in energy prices.

    Over the next 40 years, the ETI’s ESME model suggests that savings to the UK economy could be up to £600 billion .

    So the opportunity is there.

    But how do we ensure the UK takes it?

    This brings me to my second point, that by understanding the challenges we need to overcome, we can capitalise on our innovation.

    The 3 key challenges we face are:

    – Skills

    – Finance and

    – Risk.

    To take the first of these, skills:

    The UK has a world class research base built on the skills of our scientists and engineers underpinned by a yearly 6 billion pound research budget.

    We need to capitalise on the opportunity this investment in our research capacity brings.

    A few months ago a report published by Shell Springboard and the Carbon Trust showed that small businesses account for more than 90% of the UK’s low carbon sector!

    We can help these businesses grow and benefit from the jobs they will create.

    A second challenge innovators face is securing financing at the right time and throughout their development journey.

    This is a particular challenge for smaller businesses who are not generating sufficient revenue to borrow from banks and the complexity of their technology is unlikely to be widely understood.

    It is in our interest to ensure companies can find the help they need within the UK so that we can benefit from their innovation.

    The final challenge, which is closely tied to costs, is risk.

    New technologies have inherent risk.

    They are untested; trust needs to be built through the generation of a track record or through independent performance verification and certification that a technology will work.

    A good example is technologies trying to break into the notoriously non-innovative domestic and non-domestic buildings efficiency market.

    If we can help reduce this risk we will speed the uptake new technologies.

    And encourage further private investment .

    To my final point, collaboration between government and innovators is essential.

    Programmes all across government aim to help transform small businesses into high-growth businesses.

    The Department for Business Innovation and Skills runs a ‘Growth Accelerator’ programme providing coaching support to businesses from every sector.

    And DECC’s Energy Entrepreneurs Fund provides incubation support alongside project grants to ambitious high growth potential companies.

    Under the first phase of the programme we are funding 30 projects to support young innovative enterprises develop low carbon products.

    Two examples are Radfan and Ultramo.

    Radfan is being funded to develop and market a radiator mounted fan to make room heating more efficient.

    Ultramo is being supported to develop a new type of highly efficient engine.

    The second phase of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund has recently closed and we will have a whole host of exciting new projects to announce soon.

    Overall, DECC schemes are contributing to growth in more than 100 entrepreneurial companies.

    And in the past year alone, I have announced DECC funding for a number of innovative technologies including £6.3 million for offshore wind components £19 million for energy storage £5 million to integrate UK nuclear research infrastructure the world’s first Renewable Heat Incentive. And £10 million for energy efficiency technologies through the ‘Invest in Innovative Refurbishment’ programme,

    In addition, the ETI have helped build a 15 megawatt drive train testing facility at the National Renewable Energy Centre near Newcastle.

    And Samsung will soon be the first manufacturer to use the facility.

    These last two programmes are great examples of government support to help companies test and demonstrate their products specifically to reduce that ‘new technology’ risk and help them enter the market.

    We are also working across government and all the public sector funders of innovation have come together to form the Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group, LCICG.

    Together we will provide 1 billion pounds between 2011 and 2015 to directly support energy innovation.

    To identify how best to identify and target our support the LCICG has published a series of Technology Innovation Needs Assessments, TINAs.

    These reports cover technologies from domestic buildings to energy storage and new nuclear with the 11th report on hydrogen to be published shortly.

    The LCICG are now building on the TINAs to develop a strategy, due to be published later this year which will lay out a shared vision of public investment principles approach and technology improvement priorities between now and 2020.

    The strategy will deliver greater confidence to the energy sector supporting de-risking and alignment of investment.

    And we will work with innovators and private investors to build development pathways and flexible finance so companies can secure the help they need to grow.

    These are just a few examples of where Government is collaborating with industry and I hope that today we can learn more from innovators and investors about particular challenges in this area.

    In conclusion, low carbon innovation is a huge opportunity for the UK there are challenges we need to overcome and collaboration between business and Government will be central to this.

    This Government plays a key role as an enabler.

    But it is our scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs that are the sources of innovation.

    It is your ideas that will reduce energy costs, create jobs and stimulate growth.

    It is a diverse landscape and transforming our economy is a broad and complex challenge but to borrow another quote from the Prime Minister:

    “Together we can make Britain a global showcase for green innovation and energy efficiency”

    Thank you.

  • Owen Paterson – 2013 Speech to the LGA Rural Conference

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    Below is the text of the speech made by Owen Paterson, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 4 September 2013.

    Thank you for the invitation to join you this morning.

    Last year, this event was my first opportunity as Defra Secretary to talk about my four key priorities. These are to boost the rural economy, improve the environment and safeguard both plant and animal health.

    It’s great to have a conference dedicated to talking about rural communities and businesses. I’m pleased that this year you have decided to focus on rural growth.

    The rural economy is worth £211 billion a year. Rural areas are home to one fifth of the English population, yet they support nearly a third of England’s businesses.

    That’s around half a million businesses. Small and micro-enterprises employ around 70 per cent of employees in rural areas. We need to get the conditions right for all these businesses to thrive.

    In rural England, tourism accounts for 14 per cent of employment and 10 per cent of businesses. It contributes £33 billion a year to the economy. It creates employment and growth opportunities for business where opportunities are sometimes limited.

    Businesses are diversifying. For example, they are offering accommodation like boutique campsites. They are using historic properties as wedding or corporate venues. A great local example is Ragley Hall, which as well as catering for big events, also hosted this year’s CLA Game Fair. Tourism allows rural businesses to maximise their potential.

    One of the most important sectors of the rural economy is food and drink. This sector supports 3.7 million jobs and contributes nearly £90 billion a year to the UK economy.

    We’re working hard to make sure that food and drink businesses have a wide range of opportunities to expand. This summer I’ve been to agricultural shows across the country – from the Royal Cornwall to the Royal Highland. I spoke to dozens of small businesses about the barriers to growth. The more we know about what’s holding businesses back, the better we’ll be able to target our actions.

    UK food and drink exports were worth £18.2 billion in 2012. This is an enormous opportunity for a huge number of rural businesses.

    That’s why I’ve been going abroad banging the drum for British products. In the last year I’ve been to China and the United States. In ten days’ time, I’m off to Russia. Later in the autumn I’m going to Anuga in Germany, the world’s largest food and drink fair.

    The aim of all these trade missions is to help businesses make the most of all the available opportunities and to capitalise on the growing demand for high-quality British food.

    As well as promoting exports, we need to make a significant dent in the 22 per cent of food that’s imported but could be produced here. I recently hosted a meeting with farmers, manufactures and retailers to discuss this. We’re now looking at how we can work with the industry to make it easier for businesses to grow in the UK market.

    Businesses alone won’t make a big enough impact, we in Government need to play our part. The Government has set public procurement standards for food through the Government Buying Standard. I believe that local government has a huge part to play in supporting, and benefitting from, this agenda.

    The Cornwall Food Programme, which supplies the Royal Cornwall Hospital as well as St Michaels and the West of Cornwall Hospital, is a great example. They have increased the amount of fresh, local food they use. This has boosted the local economy, reduced environmental impacts and improved the quality. These improvements have been made with no additional cost. As we seek to spread best practice across the country, I’d love to hear from you of any similar examples.

    Imagine the impact if every school, care home and leisure centre were buying from their local area.

    There are some amazing opportunities available to businesses in all sectors of the rural economy. It’s our job in Government to make sure that businesses can take advantage of them.

    That’s why we set up the £60 million Rural Economy Grant. This money is supporting a range of businesses and activities. For example, some of the funding has gone to a fruit producer, D.C. Williams in Essex, enabling them to use their own fruit to produce juices and purees. This creates a new product using their poorer quality fruit. It has also created 3 new full-time jobs and reduced waste. This is exactly the kind of innovative business I’d like to encourage.

    Most rural businesses are small. So, we’ve established five Rural Growth Network pilots, which focus on small businesses. These pilots expect to create up to 3,000 new jobs and support up to 700 new businesses, offering a local approach to local problems.

    These pilots are progressing well. They are tackling local barriers such as a shortage of work premises, slow internet connectivity and fragmented business networks.

    This morning I opened the Stoneleigh Rural Innovation Centre, which will provide business development advice to local businesses. This has been made possible by funding from the Warwickshire Rural Growth Network and LaSalle.

    The Rural Development Programme to date has invested over £400 million in projects to grow the rural economy. Completed projects have created over 8500 new jobs and safeguarded a further 9700.

    Valefresco Ltd in Warwickshire is a local beneficiary of RDPE. It grows leafy salads and specialist vegetables. It has got a grant of around £38,000 to support a wider investment of nearly £1.5 million. This investment will create 11 jobs.

    Over a third of the jobs that the Rural Development Programme has helped to create are as a result of the 64 Leader Local Action Groups. This is something I know many Local Authorities here today work hard to support. I am extremely grateful to you for this.

    The next seven year Rural Development Programme is a major opportunity to continue to invest in rural growth and the environment. We are working together with interested groups to design this. We will be consulting formally next month and look forward to hearing your views.

    To ensure that businesses can take advantage of all these opportunities, they need to be able to communicate quickly and reliably. I share your frustration that many rural communities and businesses do not yet have access to reliable and fast broadband.

    This is essential for homes throughout the country to benefit from online services, and for UK businesses to access global markets. In fact, I believe that nothing will have a more spectacular impact on the rural economy than the roll out of superfast broadband. For the first time, we have a technology that can truly bridge the gap between urban and rural.

    In my first week in the job, I visited an old barn at the top of a Cumbrian fell. I was amazed to find an architects’ business designing golfing villas for Nasiriyah in Iraq. That’s the transformative power of broadband.

    The current public investment of £1.2 billion means that 90 per cent of the UK should have superfast coverage by early 2016. This programme will benefit over 4 million rural homes and businesses. We are currently connecting 100,000 properties a week.

    An extra £250 million of investment from the TV licence fee has been committed to reach 95 per cent of premises by 2017. We are now exploring with industry the use of more innovative fixed, wireless and mobile broadband solutions, so that we can reach at least 99 per cent of premises by 2018.

    Our £20 million Rural Community Broadband Fund is providing opportunities for some communities in the most hard to reach locations to get superfast broadband sooner.

    We also need to address poor mobile phone coverage. The current situation is beyond dire.

    Through the Mobile Infrastructure Project we are investing £150 million to deliver a sustainable solution for people living and working in rural areas with no mobile coverage. We estimate that this will have an economic benefit in excess of £375 million. The first new sites are due to go live this year.

    Improving broadband and mobile access isn’t just about supporting businesses. It’s key for rural communities and improving resident access. It will enable central and local government to deliver services, such as healthcare, education and community care, more efficiently and directly.

    I have often said that I see my role as getting out of people’s hair. We are making steady reductions to the amount of regulation that all businesses face as part of the Red Tape Challenge.

    Over the next 5 years we will reduce costs to businesses by at least £1 billion. We have introduced a three-year moratorium on new regulation for micro-businesses. We’re providing certainty by only introducing new regulations on two specific dates a year. And, of course, we’re reducing the overall regulatory burden by removing two regulations for every new one introduced.

    The Better Regulation Framework Manual has also been updated to provide a specific rural proofing test. This is the guide for government officials on making and changing regulations. Rural considerations will now be a key part of our work on improving regulation.

    A key part of what Defra does is to ensure that rural communities’ interests are recognised by helping to rural proof other department’s policies. It will be no surprise to you that in recent years money has been channelled towards inner cities. This is despite the cost of delivering services in rural areas often being much higher. We are working to address this so that rural areas do get a better deal.

    Education will be a key priority for many of you. I represent a rural constituency and I am committed to ensuring that the best education is available in rural areas. That’s why I fully support the Department for Education’s announcement in June that it would allow local authorities to use a new sparsity factor when allocating funding, in recognition of the needs of remote rural schools.

    Defra has also worked with the Department of Health to produce the Rural Proofing for Health Toolkit, launched in November 2012. This is an on-line reference point for those commissioning health services in rural areas.

    Affordable and reliable transport is essential to people living in rural areas. It provides access to local services, enables people to be economically active and avoid social isolation.

    That is why my department is working closely with the Department for Transport (DfT) who share our ambition to understand the specific impacts of their policies on rural transport provision. For example, we are supporting programmes like Wheels to Work which help young people in rural areas to get access to education, employment and training.

    Flooding is another area where local government’s role is crucial.

    In June the Government announced the first ever six year commitment for investment in new and improved flood defences up to 2021. This, together with Defra’s new approach to funding, has improved the situation for rural areas by creating opportunities for joint funded projects where previously access to central funding was not available.

    Early indications suggest that Defra’s Partnership Funding approach will enable up to 25 per cent more schemes to go ahead in the coming years. £148 million of additional funding has already been attracted. Many schemes, which would never have seen the light of day, are now being delivered more cost-effectively through joint decision making with local councils.

    Local Authorities are central to these partnerships. You can identify the needs and long term aspirations of communities and assist in funding, both directly and through your influence with local partners.

    Turning to surface water flooding, we aim to implement sustainable drainage systems – SuDs – for new-build and re-developments. We hope to start with major developments in April 2014. Of course, local authorities can continue to encourage SuDS today through the existing planning regime.

    No speech to the LGA would be complete if I didn’t touch on housing and planning.

    The National Planning Policy Framework lets communities decide where homes, businesses and facilities should go, alongside reinforcing environmental safeguards.

    The new Growth and Infrastructure Act has measures designed to stimulate growth and reduce planning burdens. Since the 30th May, existing redundant agricultural buildings can be converted to a variety of alternatives uses such as offices or shops without the need for planning consent.

    We are currently consulting on allowing existing agricultural building to be changed to residential use without planning permission. The consultation closes on 15 October and I would urge you to contribute your views.

    As well as this, DCLG launched a consultation on 6 August looking at greater flexibilities around permitted development rights. These proposals would support high streets by allowing shops which are no longer commercially viable to be converted for residential use.

    I know that many of you in this room will have firsthand experience of the concerns of local communities about inappropriately-sited wind farms. Only last week, on visits to Shropshire, Northumbria and Yorkshire, I saw for myself the passions that such developments can arouse. That is why the Government has recently amended the planning guidance to give greater weight to issues such as landscape and heritage. It now makes clear that the need for renewable energy should not automatically override local environmental protections or the concerns of local people.

    We have committed to ensuring that there will be early community engagement on significant onshore wind projects. This will be before the planning application is made. We have also ensured that those communities which welcome such projects are able to enjoy a greater share of the benefits.

    Looking to the future, my Department is working with DECC to look at the impacts of wind farms and other energy infrastructure on the environment and rural economy. This will form the basis of a report which will be published to help inform our understanding of the scale of impacts and future energy choices.

    This does raise a broader issue. For too long we have allowed the lazy assumption that the environment and growth are incompatible objectives within the planning system. Whereas I believe that in many cases it is possible to have both.

    This is why I am particularly interested in Biodiversity Offsetting. The purpose of offsetting is to ensure that where the planning system requires compensation for biodiversity loss, it is delivered in a fair and effective way.

    Offsetting gives us a chance to improve the way our planning system works. It gets round the long-running conundrum of how to grow the economy at the same time as improving the environment.

    The concept has been around for some time now. I’ve seen it working well in Australia. And we can learn from other countries such as the United States and Germany.

    In the UK pilots are underway in 6 areas. I am very grateful to all those have worked on these pilots that range from Devon to Doncaster and, of course, here in Warwickshire. I’ve visited the Ryton Pool Country Park where they are offsetting for a nearby development. I was impressed to see the benefits that offsetting is bringing.

    The time has now come to broaden the discussion. I am launching a consultation very shortly to seek a wide range of views on what offsetting has to contribute. We shall be running a number of workshops alongside this consultation. I do hope that the LGA, and those of you with specific responsibility for planning, will join this important debate.

    There are amazing opportunities available to rural businesses and communities. My role as Secretary of State is to make sure that the conditions exist for people to take advantage of them.

    You play an invaluable role in ensuring that businesses and communities get the support they need. Thank you for your tireless work.

    We want to see successful businesses and thriving communities in a living, working countryside. The countryside is not preserved in aspic, nor would we wish it to be. It is shaped by the communities who live and work there. And by those, like you, who represent it.

    I look forward to working with you to achieve this.

  • Norman Baker – 2013 Speech on Low Carbon Vehicles

    normanbaker

    Below is the text of the speech made by Norman Baker, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, on 4 September 2013.

    Introduction

    Thank you Brendan and good morning ladies and gentlemen.

    Today is one of the days when I really enjoy being a minister. I am out of the office talking to the people who are actively involved in helping to deliver the department’s twin key objectives – to create growth for the British economy and to help reduce our environmental footprint.

    Looking around the exhibition I see the very best of what the UK automotive industry has to offer, the result of technical and engineering brilliance, business acumen and foresight.

    I would like to take this opportunity to spell out the value the government places on your industry and to tell you about the world leading package of support the government has put in place to ensure a thriving future of UK’s automotive sector.

    Automotive strategy

    The automotive strategy that we recently published shows that we – industry and government – have set a clear path for what our low and ultra-low emission R&D goals are – supported by the creation of the £1 billion Advanced Propulsion Centre, which will be jointly funded by the government and industry.

    We have also laid out our plans on long term support for automotive manufacturing. This includes the government working with industry to ensure that we have the right work force with the right skills, and by the industry making public its recruitment intentions for more apprenticeships and more graduates.

    And we have said how we will support further investment into the supply chain through the new Automotive Investment Organisation.

    ULEV strategy – scene setting

    Today I want to talk to you about another significant milestone…our ultra low emission vehicle strategy – Driving the future today.

    Before I get into the detail I would like to thank those of you who provided advice, evidence and insight to the Office for Low Emission Vehicles as our strategy was shaped and developed.

    We know that successful strategies take full account of the views of the experts – in this case those that take on the engineering and design challenges, those that squeeze every last efficiency out of the production line and those who know the amount of effort necessary to close a sale in the showroom.

    The recent spending review announcement confirmed the coalition government’s strong support for the ultra low emission vehicle sector. Five hundred million pounds to support the market to 2020. But behind this figure lies a political consensus, across departments, between the coalition partners and right to the highest level of government.

    Our approach is based on solid foundations. The partnership between the automotive industry, the recharging equipment suppliers, the energy companies, the vehicle users, and government.

    We have a common understanding of the direction of travel. We have robust discussions and dialogue about the many issues. And most importantly we have a collective will to deliver a clear vision.

    First let me recognise the huge strides made by industry in reducing carbon emissions from petrol and diesel cars. Progress has been very impressive and continues. There is clearly a lot of life left in the internal combustion engine.

    But our strategy is about preparing for the long term. We are driving the future, today. By 2050 effectively every car and van in the UK will be an ultra low emission vehicle.

    The cars that were rolling off the production line in the mid-1970’s were a very different beast to the cars of today – the Ford Cortina was king of the road.

    Your innovation, supported by government policy will continue to transform the cars we drive. And in another 3 decades, zero emissions will be the norm.

    ULEV strategy – the detail

    We have collected evidence from more than 5000 recharging posts installed through the PIP schemes, from over 5000 vehicles that have benefited from our plug-in car and van grants, from the 340 vehicle low carbon vehicle trial and from numerous government funded R&D projects.

    And of course UKH2Mobility is also examining the role that fuel cell electric vehicles can have in an ultra low carbon future.

    So we have the expert opinion and the robust evidence – now what does the strategy say?

    We have identified 5 work streams which we believe will support the UK’s ambition to become one of the global leaders in the design, production and use of ultra low emission vehicles – driving growth, delivering jobs, cutting carbon. These 5 workstreams are:

    – supporting the early market for ULEVs

    – shaping the required infrastructure

    – securing the right regulatory and fiscal measures

    – investing in UK automotive capability

    – preparing the energy sector

    I would like to outline our thinking for each of them.

    Supporting the early market for ULEVs

    Coming from a retail background myself I understand the importance of the sales and marketing effort involved in shifting new products – I was in music retail as the compact disc was released – a complete paradigm shift in music formats, higher spec and higher price than both cassette and vinyl.

    In the strategy we have set out our thinking on market issues relating to the price premium that ultra low emission vehicles attract. In addressing these barriers the government’s track record is good – we have grants towards purchase, we have put in place a tax and duty regime that encourages their purchase by both private and business motorists and we recognise the importance of local measures such as the congestion charge discounts, parking benefits and in some cases low or zero cost charging.

    And we also recognise that automotive manufacturers are playing their part. Currently there are 14 cars and 7 vans eligible for the grant – and there are many more in the pipeline. More cars and vans, covering more market segments, with a range of price points and imaginative ownership options. These are making the decision to switch easier for consumers whilst reducing their risk.

    But we recognise that we need to make the case to a wider section of the motoring public – part of this will be through the word of mouth of ULEV drivers, but we are also aiming to reinforce this with other communications. Industry partners and government are currently working together to explore how best to do that.

    Together we need to address the situation where the opinions of some ill informed keyboard warriors are given more credence than those of the engineers and business brains who have invested billions to help secure sustainable personal mobility for this and future generations.

    Our second strand concerns infrastructure

    Our plugged-in places programme has resulted in the installation of well over 5,500 recharging points with over 65% of them publically accessible. Through our £37 million infrastructure package, we have provided funding to deliver 1000 domestic points. And Michael Fallon – the BIS Minister – and I recently announced the winning bids for the first round call for proposals for rapid chargers, and chargers at train stations and wider public estate which will see £12 million allocated to support over 75 projects. We are also now open for second round bids. The closing date is 31 October – and I fully expect to see a large number of high quality and innovative bids.

    Of course infrastructure is not only about the absolute numbers, it’s also about the type of charger, their location, and meeting the requirements of drivers.

    Here I would like to mention the recent successful TEN-T project supported by Nissan BMW, VW and Renault, Charge Your Car North and the UK and Irish governments. This scheme will see rapid chargers installed in up to 70 sites on the UK and Ireland’s strategic road network – and these chargers will be multi-standard systems having 3 connector types.

    I would also like to mention the newly formed UK EVSE –the trade body for those organisations involved in the manufacture and installation of charging infrastructure. I look forward to working with them closely on a wide range of issues, including technical standards where their expertise will be invaluable in ongoing EU negotiations, interoperability and improving the customer experience – for example through better signing and information.

    Our third area of focus is securing the right regulatory and fiscal framework. In my 3 and a half years as a transport minister, I have been able to meet a large number of businesses of varying shapes and sizes. And all of them, without exception, have a common refrain. Let us get on with our work in a stable and long term regulatory and fiscal environment – don’t keep moving the goal posts. We have heard and got this message.

    So the strategy says we will give you the stability you require, to make your long term design, investment and production plans and the associated financial commitments. We will consult early and fully with you in the event that any changes are really necessary and we will apply this approach fully in engaging with Europe on emerging regulations.

    Our message to industry is clear. We are in this for the long-term. We welcome those who share our vision of the future and we are backing this with serious money and a commitment to work shoulder to shoulder with you to ensure that the UK reaps the dividends that this exciting opportunity offers.

    So, and this is our fourth strand, we have identified supporting the UK ultra low emission supply chain as one of the key elements of the strategy. This is essential to support the UK’s economic recovery, creating jobs and encouraging growth.

    For every new job on the assembly line multiple jobs are supported in the associated supply chain.

    We have already seen our policies bear fruit, attracting the Euro LEAF and battery production by Nissan at Gateshead, The Auris production by Toyota at Burnaston, and BMW producing their i8 powertrain at Hams Hall.

    All testament to the high quality of the UK’s workforce and, I like to think, the coalition government’s business friendly environment.

    We also recognise the importance and excellence of the UK’s automotive R&D sector with more than £1.5 billion annual investment driving technologies forward.

    On R&D, £80 million of OLEV funding, combined with Technology Strategy Board funding, has generated over £350 million total investment in well over 170 projects with very tangible results – some of which I saw a few moments ago. And I understand that there will be an announcement of the winners of the latest 2 integrated delivery programme competitions during the conference.

    The fifth priority highlighted in the strategy is preparing the energy sector. We need to ensure that the grid is able to cope with the load created by a large number of vehicles plugging in to it.

    We need to ensure that it decarbonises so that environmental benefits are maximised and we need to look to technologies such as smart grids and smart meters to ensure that the each and every ULEV owner can help us achieve our ambitious carbon reduction targets. We are working closely with DECC on this vital strand.

    Principles

    The strategy also sets some key overarching principles about how we are intending to take this agenda forward: a technology neutral approach, a focus on intervening to address market failure, and a commitment to always work in Europe on the basis that regulations should be ambitious but realistic. These principles are important. They reflect what industry has been telling us over the last few years and they will continue to underpin our activities from now on.

    Conclusion

    Finally I would like to engage your active help, We will shortly be putting out a call for evidence. We have a clear investment commitment out to 2020. And so we want to hear from all sectors, car, vans, freight, buses as well as powered 2 wheelers.

    We want to talk to the charging manufacturers and installers, hydrogen gas producers, the wider energy sector, the fleet industry –everyone who will have a role to play in ensuring that our ambitious growth and environmental goals are met.

    These discussions will inform how we will achieve the best value for our £500 million investment and ensure that we are working with those whose knowledge, drive and technical excellence will deliver ultra low carbon transport.

    The strategy is available online, there are a few printed copies available here as well as summary versions. Please read them and then talk to us.

    Officials from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles are here in force and would much rather talk to you about the strategy than test drive the fantastic array of vehicles on display here. At least they would now.

    Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for listening. Ministers and officials across government are prepared for the hard work ahead and I know that you are all up for the challenges and opportunities that delivering low carbon road transport offers.

    Thank you and please enjoy the rest of your conference.

  • William Hague – 2013 Speech on Business and Human Rights

    williamhague

    Below is the text of the speech made by William Hague, the then Foreign Secretary, on 4 September 2013.

    Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure to join the Business Secretary and our distinguished guests to launch the UK’s Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, and I can think of no better place to do it than here at the Institute of Directors – an organisation which does a great deal to promote the corporate integrity which is at the heart of this Plan.

    You are here because we all share the same goal, which is to ensure that British companies succeed and that they do so in a manner that is consistent with this country’s deeply held values of human rights and individual dignity.

    In 1948 the UN General Assembly called on “every individual” and “every organ of society” to respect the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    Today, the duty to uphold those rights cannot be the responsibility of governments alone. We live in a world where open markets and more equitable trading rules mean that British companies – large or small, public or private – are increasingly transnational; where it’s not unusual for our companies to purchase materials from Bangkok manufacture products in Bangalore, sell them in Bogota; and we live in a world where legal standards and practices for working conditions and the treatment of staff may differ from country to country.

    hmgb

    Today, business and government have to work together. The vast majority of companies, I believe, understand the moral imperative of respecting human rights, and they are active in ensuring that they do exactly that. This isn’t about imposing burdensome bureaucracy on them; it’s about Britain leading the way and the British Government helping our businesses to enhance their international reputations even further.

    The truth is that incorporating human rights properly into business operations across the world matters:

    It matters to companies, as weaving human rights deeply into corporate cultures not only protects and enhances reputations, but it also reassures shareholders, attracts investors, and increases the attractiveness of their brands.

    It matters to the reputation of this country and the prosperity of its people.

    And, perhaps most of all, it matters to the health, safety and livelihoods of employees, and the communities to whom they belong.

    That is why I believe that promoting business and respecting human rights are two sides of the same coin, and which determined that the UK will show leadership on this issue, and which all the ambassadors here will be telling their countries we did so, I am sure.

    So I am proud that we are the first country to present a National Action Plan for implementing the UN Guiding Principles developed by former Special Representative of the Secretary General, John Ruggie, who I am delighted to have with us this evening.

    This Action Plan responds to calls from business for greater clarity by setting out explicitly what the Government’s position is on business and human rights.

    It details this Government’s plans to implement our obligations to protect against human rights abuse by business enterprises within UK jurisdiction; to support our companies in meeting their responsibility to respect human rights throughout their operations at home and abroad; to provide access to effective remedy for victims of human rights abuse; to promote understanding of how addressing human rights risks can help build business success; and to ensure policy consistency across the British Government and all its departments But the plan also outlines the Governments expectations of business, such as complying with all applicable laws; honouring the principles of internationally recognised human rights when faced with conflicting requirements; adopting appropriate due diligence policies; consulting those who may be affected at all stages of project design and implementation; emphasising to supply chains in the UK and overseas the importance of behaving in line with the UN Guiding Principles; and participating in effective grievance mechanisms that are transparent, equitable and predictable.

    Launching the Plan today is just the beginning. We now need to take on the more challenging task of ensuring that it’s implemented with consistency.

    To do this, we need business leaders to work with us and to highlight challenges, and I urge companies to use the expertise that we have in our Embassies, High Commissions, and Consulates, who are standing ready to help you enact the Plan.

    We need those civil society groups who have contributed so much to developing this Action Plan to continue holding us to account and to lend your expertise to the companies that need it.

    We need our partners overseas to follow the UK’s lead and to develop their own Plans, so that we can generate real international momentum behind improving the rights of all people affected by business activity in all countries.

    And, for our part, we are determined to continue showing leadership by lobbying and influencing other states to follow this example, and by working together with British businesses to ensure that we achieve nothing short of comprehensive implementation of the UN Guiding Principles.

    That’s our objective, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, its Ministers, and its overseas network will do everything to ensure that this Action Plan lays a strong foundation for the long-term success and sustainability of British business.

  • Nicky Morgan – 2016 Speech at Lord Glenamara Memorial Prize Giving

    nickymorgan

    Below is the text of the speech made by Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, at King’s College in London on 2 February 2016.

    Thank you Professor Byrne [Professor Edward Byrne, President and Principal, King’s College] for that warm welcome and to King’s College too for hosting us today.

    My lords, ladies and gentlemen, what a pleasure it is to be here at the Lord Glenamara Memorial Prize giving, to honour amazing young people from the north-east of England.

    Honouring them for their excellent academic achievement and outstanding contributions to their schools and communities – things really embodied by the man for whom this prize is named – Edward Short, the Lord Glenamara – one of my predecessors as Secretary of State for Education.

    And I am so pleased that we have with us this afternoon Lord MacGregor and Baroness Williams – two former Secretaries of State for Education; and we are also joined by Lord Beecham, another famous son of the north-east and friend to the Short family.

    It was in the north-east that Lord Glenamara was a student at the Venerable Bede College, Durham University; a teacher and head at Blyth; a councillor on Newcastle City Council; a Member of Parliament for Newcastle Central; and later named a Member of the House of Lords, taking Glenamara of Glenridding in the county of Durham, as his title.

    I think it is fair to say that the prize is awarded in the very spirit of a man who loved the north-east and worked tirelessly throughout his life on behalf of the region.

    As Lord MacGregor, Baroness Williams and I can tell you, being the Secretary of State for Education is a huge honour but an enormous responsibility too.

    Lord Glenamara was the first former headteacher to take up the role and is said to have regarded leading the Department for Education as his greatest achievement.

    He displayed a high regard for academic rigour and early years provision as well as a commitment to education as a tool to achieve social justice – all things on which we agreed, despite hailing from different political traditions.

    He was a deft politician, helping to steer his party through times of tribulation and was, at one time, regarded as a potential leadership candidate.

    That wasn’t to be, but as a parliamentarian he gave us Short Money and the Register of Members’ Interests – 2 things which are now ingrained in our modern legislature.

    I think it is fair to say that he was one of the north-east’s most famous sons and a true giant of British politics.

    His commitment to academia, his contribution to the region and his huge presence in the mainstream of British public life are undeniable.

    When he passed away in 2012 at the age of 99 this memorial prize was established to celebrate his achievements and to ensure that his legacy inspires younger generations to come.

    Now in its fourth year, the number of high-quality candidates this time made it really tough for the judging panel to pick a winner.

    The nominees’ hard work and commitment to their communities make them shining examples to their peers and they should all be congratulated.

    And I believe there is something that sets these young people apart.

    During my tenure as Secretary of State for Education I’ve talked a lot about character.

    I think there are many attributes that make up great character, including perseverance, determination and having a strong sense of community – to name just a few.

    These traits so often set apart the people who succeed in life from those who don’t.

    I believe it is vital that our young people are helped to grow and develop their character and I think Lord Glenamara would have agreed with me on that.

    What is obvious is that the young people here today have character in bucket loads.

    I’m talking, of course, about the school councillors, the charity volunteers and fundraisers, the prefects, the head girls and head boys, the Members of the Youth Parliament, the mentors and coaches, the youth group leaders and so much more.

    It takes great character to offer so much to your community knowing that often there will be little thanks or praise for it.

    It’s clear that all the nominees have exciting futures ahead of them and that the north-east will be enriched by the many things they will no doubt go on to achieve.

    And our winner – George Hunter – President of his school, elected by his peers and his teachers from a strong field of candidates.

    A volunteer, willing to give up his free time, not just to 1 but 2 charities.

    A campaigner, taking on one of society’s most taboo subjects, mental health, and encouraging people to engage with it.

    An academic, so committed to learning that he has not only won awards himself but tutored other students too.

    So it comes as no surprise that despite his heavy workloads both in and out of school, he was able to achieve As and A*s across the board in his GCSEs.

    What an exciting future he has ahead of him.

    I look forward to welcoming him to my department for his work experience placement very soon.

    It has been a delight to be here today – to celebrate these amazing young people from across the north-east.

    I would like to thank all of the schools who nominated their students and I really look forward to next year’s prize.

    Professor Byrne will now read out the runners-up in alphabetical order and I will present them with their certificates.

    Then we will ask the winner to come up so I can present the Lord Glenamara trophy.

  • Matt Hancock – 2016 Speech on Addressing Inequality in the Public Sector

    Matt Hancock
    Matt Hancock

    Below is the text of the speech made by Matt Hancock, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on 2 February 2016.

    Today, I want to talk about inequality in the public sector – and beyond – and why it matters for building a society in which all can reach their potential.

    We meet as guests of Mary Ward House – in the room that a hundred years ago was the site of the famous debate on women’s suffrage between Mary Ward and Millicent Fawcett.

    And while we celebrate the advances they secured – we are still very far from being the fair society we need to be.

    A hundred years later indefensible inequalities still exist in this country.

    Inequalities of income, inequalities of opportunity, inequalities rooted in prejudice, inequalities imposed by social injustice and we see the consequences of these inequalities in the professions, the media, the arts, sport – and in public service.

    The specific nature of the problem we face in public service is laid out in the Bridge report into inequality in the Civil Service Fast Stream published today. The Bridge report is a call to action on my part as Paymaster General.

    But the fight against inequality is a struggle that engages us all across government.

    The brute facts of inequality demand a strong and united response.

    In Britain today around 13% of people are from an ethnic minority.

    Yet only 7% of judges, 6% of FTSE 100 leadership, and just 4% of the Senior Civil Service are.

    On another measure, only 4.4% of successful applicants to the Civil Service Fast Stream are from working class backgrounds, in comparison to the third of the population in employment who are working class.

    Money can’t buy me love, but it still buys a golden ticket into the heart of the establishment. And that’s just not fair.

    And why am I speaking out about this?

    After all, I’m white and male, I went to both Oxford and Cambridge, I’m from the north, and even then I’ve lost my accent.

    But the reason I’m in public service now is because I believe that everyone should have the chance to reach their potential, whatever their background.

    That no one should be defined by the circumstances of their birth, no one should be held back by poverty, or ethnicity or culture.

    And that each individual has something precious to give, and it is our task to unlock that gift.

    For me, a commitment to making opportunity more equal isn’t just an ethical imperative. It makes sound business sense.

    All the evidence shows that organisations work better when they are diverse.

    Publicly traded companies with male-only executives perform worse than those with both male and female executives, and higher ethnic diversity is linked to increased earnings.

    We need to think about diversity not just in terms of legally protected characteristics – gender, sexual orientation, race, disability – but in terms of making sure institutions are full of people from different backgrounds, experiences, and attitudes, who approach the same problem in different ways.

    That way you get better decisions, more interesting solutions, and ideas you simply don’t have in a monochrome team.

    In the most dynamic societies, there is a fluidity between bottom and top, and talented, hard-working people have the chance to get on, whoever they are and wherever they come from.

    So should inequalities – of race and gender and income – should they bother us?

    My answer is emphatically yes. We should care about people getting filthy rich. Why?

    First of all, because we care deeply about social mobility, and there is clear evidence that countries with higher income inequality have lower levels of social mobility.

    As Miles Corak has eloquently put it, there is a ‘Great Gatsby Curve’ that links inequality and social mobility.

    It’s harder to climb the ladder of opportunity if the rungs are further apart.

    We’ve got to put more rungs in that ladder.

    Second, because we should care that rewards for effort are fair. When 2 people with the same talent work just as hard, isn’t it fair they get the same reward?

    Fairness, of course, is different to equality. The pursuit of equality of outcome alone can be deeply unfair, and lead to an unjust, something-for-nothing system.

    Rather, fairness is about just rewards: the idea that what you get out should be proportional to what you put in. After all, society rests on consent, and social solidarity is good in itself.

    Everyone should get a fair crack of the whip.

    But even on this basis, inequality matters, because, yes, in a fair society individuals should face the consequences of their choices and efforts; but, no, people should not be punished or held back for circumstances beyond their control.

    And we are making progress.

    In Britain, according to the ONS, looking at the numbers, inequality is falling.

    Our relentless focus on supporting people who want to work hard and get on – with 2 million extra jobs and apprenticeships, nearly 4 million of the lowest paid taken out of income tax altogether, and incentives to make sure it always pays to work – has helped to ensure inequality has fallen. In fact the Gini coefficient, the standard measure of inequality, went down from 33.2 to 32 over the last Parliament.

    And our radical reforms to drive school standards up will help in the longer term.

    Across the world, the story is the same.

    In his inaugural speech, President Kennedy said that “man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life”.

    Much of Kennedy’s presidency was taken up with trying to avoid the latter, but more recently we have been making extraordinary progress on the former.

    In the last quarter century, the number of people living in extreme poverty around the world has fallen by half, from almost 2 billion to less than a billion, and the proportion of the world’s population in absolute poverty has collapsed by 3 quarters in my lifetime.

    The proportion of the world’s population that are illiterate has fallen from around half in Kennedy’s time to just 18% today.

    In fact, the extension of the free market economy and the extension of free education has brought billions of people out of poverty. It is the most progressive policy with the biggest impact on the well-being of humanity in history.

    But while incomes between the bottom and the middle have become more equal, asset price rises and increased returns on skills to mean the gap in wealth between the very top and the rest have risen.

    When Kennedy entered the White House, the share of income going to the top 1% in the UK was around 3.5%.

    By the time of the financial crisis in 2007 to 2008, it had reached 8.3%.

    In the UK, we have taken steps to make sure the broadest shoulders bear the greatest burden. Our overhaul of the Stamp Duty system ensures those at the very top pay their fair share. And we are abolishing permanent ‘non-dom’ status.

    The top 1% of earners now pay a higher share of income tax – projected to be 27.5% this year.

    But there is more to do. So we should continue to act, in a way that tackles injustice and protects people’s economic security from those who would use this concern to practice the destructive politics of envy.

    I want to see an end to inequalities in the public sector too.

    The Civil Service

    The Civil Service is engaged in a mission to improve the lives of the entire country.

    In my very first speech as Minister for the Cabinet Office, I said that to govern modern Britain, the Civil Service must be more like modern Britain.

    The Bridge Group report we commissioned then pulls no punches.

    Yes, the Civil Service has improved. And it compares favourably to many other organisations in the public and private sectors.

    The proportions of people from ethnic minorities or declaring a disability are at historic highs; and women represent 54% of the Civil Service.

    But the representation of all these groups at senior levels is still far too low.

    And when you look more broadly at social background, this is where we find the most glaring inequality.

    It finds the Civil Service Fast Stream – still the most prestigious route in – is ‘deeply unrepresentative’ of the lower socio-economic groups in our society.

    One in 3 people employed in Britain today are working class.

    But only 8% of applicants to the Civil Service Fast Stream are from working class backgrounds, and only 4% actually receive offers.

    This makes the Fast Stream less diverse than Oxbridge, where the equivalent figure is 7.2%.

    In fact in every group of universities from which the Civil Service recruits, Fast Steam applicants are less likely to come from lower socio-economic groups.

    This amounts to a huge pool of talent that we are not tapping into. And this must change. As the report says, we are ‘losing out on many other talented individuals, who would flourish if given the opportunity’.

    We need to cast the net wide – not fish in a small pond.

    The Civil Service can set this example for others to follow.

    It would not be the first time it has done so.

    Until 1855, access to the Civil Service was riddled with cronyism and corruption. Following the blunders of the Crimean War, the case for reform was unanswerable.

    So in 1855 the Civil Service Commission was set up to oversee recruitment on the basis of fair and open competition, and drag Whitehall kicking and screaming into the 19th century. It would oversee a new system of recruitment based on fair and open competition. This was the beginning of a permanent Civil Service: a meritocracy, guided by the vital principles of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality that have sustained it ever since.

    If that was the birth of the modern Civil Service, then another modernisation is long overdue.

    We have to deal with the perception that the passport to public service is stamped with privilege.

    So what are we going to do about it?

    The report

    The independent research by the Bridge Group was commissioned by me and Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

    We commissioned it because we, and the whole senior leadership of the Civil Service, are determined to tackle the issues it exposes – head on.

    I think it’s a tribute to the Civil Service that far from being defensive about these concerns, the Civil Service is embracing the challenges it faces.

    The response

    We will be setting out our full strategy on boosting social mobility in the Civil Service in the spring, but I want to sketch out some of the action we are taking.

    The report calls for a root and branch overhaul to the way the Civil Service recruits talent.

    And we need to make promotion fair and based on talent not time serving.

    I want to end inequalities of access and progress.

    Some of this has started, and needs rocket boosters.

    Other parts will be new.

    First, we need to measure the problem.

    We will collect postcode and school-attended data so we can measure the problem real time.

    And from this year we are giving permanent secretaries specific social mobility objectives within their single departmental plans.

    Next, whether we are recruiting from outside or promoting from within, we need to make the selection process as transparent and fair as possible. There must be no barriers that might exclude talented people from underrepresented groups.

    So, we are tackling bias, conscious or otherwise. We have this autumn introduced name-blind recruitment across 75% of the Civil Service, on the way to name-blind as standard across the public sector.

    We want a more porous boundary between public service and private endeavour, so it becomes the norm not the exception to have a career switching between.

    Today we commit to publishing pay ratios in the Civil Service for the first time.

    And crucially, we’re changing the way people apply to join the Civil Service, so we spot potential not polish.

    The report finds barriers in the application process, including its intimidating length and London-centric focus. Yes, our grand buildings in Whitehall are splendid and spectacular, but they aren’t exactly designed to make you feel comfortable. So we’ll change how and where selection is done. We are shortening the application process and wherever possible, aligning apprenticeship and graduate recruitment.

    The report finds a lack of adequate outreach on university campuses. We’re going to send out existing Fast Streamers to campuses across Britain, so we look for talent at a wider range of universities.

    The report also finds ‘minimal outreach to schools’. So we will radically increase mentoring.

    Earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced the launch of a new national mentoring campaign in schools.

    We’ll lead by example, sending people to mentor pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds over an academic year. They aim to raise aspirations, increase confidence, inform and encourage. We’re already supporting in 20 schools, but I want to see that expanded to at least 200.

    Apprentices too are central to our task.

    In 2013 we launched the Apprenticeship Fast Track. It has proven hugely successful. Almost 1,000 have come through so far, with all the verve, diversity and energy that apprentices represent.

    In the Civil Service I want to see, future leaders are as likely to come from the ranks of Fast Track Apprentices as they are from Fast Stream graduates.

    I want the Cabinet Secretary of 2050 to be someone who came into the service as an apprentice. You may be sitting in this room.

    So I can announce today that we will radically expand our apprenticeship scheme. We will recruit at least 750 new Fast Track Apprentices in September – and 200,000 across the public sector – by 2020.

    All these measures together add up to the most significant shake-up of Civil Service recruitment in a generation.

    Yes, the public sector can provide leadership. But as the Bridge report says, its findings ‘have implications for the way all professional firms could recruit for diversity and excellence’.

    So today, I’ve written to the 200 companies who signed up to our social mobility business compact, and I’ve urged them to read the Bridge research and consider its lessons for their own businesses.

    Conclusion

    This is our goal: a Britain, fair to all, where effort is rewarded.

    Where all have the chance to succeed, and to serve their country.

    Where we fulfil that dream held by the seekers of equal opportunity here a century ago.

    That every one of the citizens we serve has the opportunity to reach their God-given potential.

  • Patrick McLoughlin – 2016 Speech to Rail Delivery Group

    Patrick McLoughlin
    Patrick McLoughlin

    Below is the text of the speech made by Patrick McLoughlin, the Secretary of State for Transport, at the Rail Delivery Group annual conference on 2 February 2016.

    Opening remarks

    Thank you.

    And good afternoon everyone.

    It’s a pleasure to be here – and to have this opportunity to address an expert rail audience.

    20 years ago this Thursday, the 05.10 early morning service pulled out of Twickenham station on its way to London Waterloo.

    As far as train journeys go, it was unremarkable.

    But it was in fact a landmark in the history of the British railway.

    The first scheduled service run by a private operator in this country for almost half a century.

    Looking back, not even the most fervant advocates of privatisation could have predicted its impact on the railway.

    20 years in which passengers have doubled.

    Investment’s increased.

    Costs come down.

    And in which standards have improved to such a degree that we now have the safest railway in Europe.

    Something we never take for granted.

    And something we always have to guard and watch.

    Continued progress

    But as you’ve heard this morning, things are going to change even faster over the next 20 years.

    We’re only at the start of a unprecedented construction and modernisation programme, which will make Britain the leading rail investor in the western world.

    Who would have thought that a few decades ago.

    And it’s in this Parliament when we really get cracking with that programme.

    Finishing Crossrail.

    Starting HS2.

    Completing Northern Hub.

    Getting rid of old train like Pacers.

    And introducing new ones – like Intercity Express on the Great Western and East Coast lines.

    All evidence of how we’re investing to transform journeys for passengers.

    But building a better railway is not just about investment.

    It’s also about changing poor public perceptions.

    Being more transparent.

    And treating passengers as valued customers, like the very best service providers do.

    The challenge is to create a culture that’s relentlessly focused on the customer.

    It’s also about controlling costs more effectively.

    Delivering more for less.

    Like industries across the economy were forced to do in one of the longest and deepest recessions in our history.

    And it’s about joined up thinking.

    The railway coming together.

    Speeding up and improving long term planning.

    Setting clear objectives.

    And being accountable for achieving them.

    The industry is at a stage in its evolution where there are huge opportunities to do all these things.

    But it needs better leadership and direction.

    And the Rail Delivery Group is absolutely fundamental to that process.

    The Shaw Report may provide some answers.

    But we need to face up to the fact that there may still be challenges ahead.

    And we need to be ready to meet them.

    Learning lessons

    Some of these issues came to a head last year.

    For example when we had to pause the electrification of the Midland Main Line and Transpennine.

    But then we worked together, with particular credit going to Sir Peter Hendy and his team, to get Network Rail’s infrastructure programme up and running again.

    Delivery of that full programme on time and on budget is crucially important.

    Not just for rail users.

    But for the industry itself.

    This is about making the railway more professional and answerable.

    If challenges crop up, then the industry must confront and tackle them.

    My first job as Secretary of State was to sort out the West Coast franchise mess.

    The first step was to accept responsibility on behalf of the department.

    The next was to take swift action.

    And 3 years on, franchising is in a much better place.

    In fact it’s at the heart of improving our railway.

    So the key objective now for us all I hope is to learn lessons, and make the railway more resilient.

    That’s why we’re looking at regulation and structure.

    Network Rail has a capability plan, which reflects the changes made to the enhancement programme.

    And which will take into account feedback from Colette Bowe’s review, and the ORR.

    We’re currently consulting on that.

    And in the light of the Bowe Review, it’s also a timely chance to consider the duties of the ORR again, to make sure they’re appropriate for regulating Network Rail – so improvements can be made reliably.

    We’ll consult with the industry again on options for structural change after the Shaw Report is published.

    And we’ll provide clarity on our plans as early as possible.

    Supply chain and skills

    Improving resilience takes many forms. But there are 2 I’d like to highlight today, which I believe are immensely important to Network Rail’s programme, and in which the Rail Delivery Group has a direct interest.

    First, the supply chain.

    Yesterday I attended the launch of the Rail Supply Group’s sector strategy, the first agreed plan for how the supply chain will grow as we modernise the railway.

    I know the RDG has excellent links now with the Rail Supply Group and the wider supply chain.

    And that relationship is going to get stronger as we progress.

    Second, the skills challenge.

    Training the workforce is the single biggest construction and engineering challenge of this age, with huge implications for the railway.

    We need a new generation of rail engineers, designers and construction professionals.

    And highly skilled people to operate the networks once they’re open.

    That’s why last week we announced our transport skills strategy.

    Led by Terry Morgan, chairman of Crossrail, the strategy sets out how we’ll provide 30,000 apprenticeships in roads and rail up to 2020, and I hope leave a legacy of skills for the next generation.

    We’re also investing in new training centres like the National Training Academy for Rail and the National College for High Speed Rail as well.

    And in 2018, to coincide with the finishing of Crossrail, we’re going to have a period of celebrating engineering, to excite a new generation of brilliant minds.

    Franchises and ticketing

    I’ve spoken mainly about the big rail issues today.

    But we must also keep focused on the things that matter most to passengers in their daily journeys.

    And one of the areas where’s there’s massive potential for improvement is ticketing.

    Frankly, the process is still impossible to fathom out.

    The railway is still light years behind other industries on this issue.

    Though some good progress has been made.

    For example on smart ticketing through the South East Flexible Ticketing programme.

    What’s important is that we’ve now reached a point where future development can be led by the private sector.

    Now we need to see more operators coming together.

    Getting different IT systems to talk to each other.

    Providing a seamless travel experience across boundaries.

    That’s why we made smart ticketing an integral part of franchise competitions.

    So we can expect to see some exciting proposals from bidders in the months and years ahead – starting with the competition for Southwestern and the West Midlands in the spring.

    We cannot claim to have truly modernised our railway if we don’t also transform ticketing.

    And I know that’s something the Rail Delivery Group is working on.

    Conclusion

    So to sum up.

    Two decades since the railway entered a new era of enterprise and competition – yet also 2 decades in which rising demand has tested the capacity and resources of the industry like never before – we are now in a position to complete the job of modernising the railway.

    For an industry that was in decline for so long, our objective is to make Britain’s railway the equal of any in the world.

    It will take several Parliaments to achieve.

    But it will be this Parliament.

    And this period of opportunity.

    When the future course of the railway is irreversibly set.

    So now is the time to show the industry is changing.

    Controlling costs.

    Putting customers first.

    Conquering problems every day.

    Uniting as one industry, but serving the public in different areas.

    In partnership with government. Inspired by the leadership of the Rail Delivery Group.

    Grasping the opportunity together.

    Thank you.

  • Eric Pickles – 2013 Speech on United in Britishness

    ericpickles

    Below is the text of the speech made by Eric Pickles, the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London on 5 September 2013.

    I want to start by thanking you for work most conscientiously done.

    This is a unique group to be addressing – as senior officers and senior councillors many of you have direct experience of walking the streets of your city or town, not knowing if you would be there the next day. Or whether it would have gone up in flames. Whether just one careless incident would undermine years of painstaking work.

    If you’ve experienced that I don’t think it ever leaves you.

    As councillors you instinctively understand the importance of the clean up operation: sweeping up the glass and cleaning up the graffiti to minimise the impact.

    But you also understand the effect such incidents have on individuals and the community.

    These are attacks on our very way of life.

    We are fighting something entirely un-British – something utterly alien – and for me there is a fundamental test. If a woman cannot pop down to the shops for a pint of milk or a bag of rice because she’s worried about getting lewd threats; because she’s afraid she might be jostled and jeered; because she’s scared she might be spat on – no matter how many committees we set up or programmes we run or reports we write, if there are people in our communities too frightened to venture beyond the doorstep, hesitating simply because they are wearing a headscarf, then we have failed.

    Before the election I had great pleasure in going to Paris with Caroline Flint, Vince Cable and Rita Chakrabati to address a conference of European students.It was around the time the French were debating banning face veils in public. I said to the students that this was an absurd thing to do.

    I can see circumstances in which covering the face might be unsuitable to the situation, but people going about their private business should be left to do so.

    I have to say that many of these young people including the French were rather shocked by my view and wanted me to justify it.

    I can be a little blunt sometimes and I simply said, look, we’re not far from the Champs-Elysees and it’s not so long ago that the Gestapo strode through the streets of Paris seeking out Jewish people.

    How can the nation of liberty, equality and fraternity have forgotten where intolerance leads and be prepared to contemplate such a restrictive view?

    Here in Britain tolerance, decency and respect for others are embedded deep within our psyche.

    Our warmth and hospitality, our willingness to welcome other views and embrace other ways of life are what has made Britain a beacon of hope around the world.

    Now a few voices from the fringes try and challenge those values:

    – whether Islamist preachers of hate peddling a twisted and distorted version of a peaceful faith

    – or whether malicious trouble makers on the far left – a rent-a-mob only interested in stirring up trouble

    – or those on the far-right who try and claim that being a Muslim and being British are incompatible

    Each in their own way attempting to corrode and destroy from within with lies, aggression and violence.

    These purveyors of hatred are anti-British.

    We try in various ways to counteract their efforts and I think the work of this group has been very helpful in trying out new ideas:

    – going online to challenge the myths being spread on social media

    – using the legal powers you’ve got to stop marches disrupting people’s lawful business

    – and on a couple of occasions rightly sending the EDL a bill to clean up the mess they make

    We also undermine them by encouraging communities to come together around solemn occasions such as Remembrance Sunday or what we’re about to do to commemorate next year, and honour those from around what was then the Empire who fought and died for our country.

    Or to work together to tackle local social problems as in the near neighbours programme or Together in Service.

    Because when people work collectively together the emphasis is on what we have in common – shared values and shared goals – not on difference or division. And we also undermine the extremists by encouraging our fellow Muslim citizens to engage in the wider community, ensuring that everyone has the English they need to play a full part in their community. And through initiatives like the Big Iftar where mosques threw open their doors.

    After the horrific murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich – a young man in the prime of life wearing a ‘Help for Heroes’ t-shirt – Muslim communities were united in revulsion and shouted the loudest of all of us to say not in my name.

    In the wake of this senseless death there were a number of attacks on mosques, but still the community was resilient. Still they refused to be cowed or put in the corner – instead they said firmly: we will open our doors, we will welcome in our neighbours and we will work with our community to build a better nation.

    We saw that in York where the Muslim community responded to EDL provocation as any Yorkshireman would do – with a cup of tea.

    Showing compassion and courage and generosity – a very English gesture and an act of pure genius.

    Meeting hatred and anger with friendship – completely defusing the situation.

    What a gesture of sincerity, which did so much more good than the self indulgent and pompous posturing of groups like the UAF who are more interested in stirring up further trouble than in actually solving problems.

    In Muswell Hill you will recall that their community centre had been burned down, but when I went to take part in the Big Iftar with the local Somali community, there they were inviting in their neighbours to show what Ramadan is all about and showing true British grit.

    Not just integrated but an integral part of the community.

    And I also saw it in Gillingham when after another grotesque attack on a mosque other community leaders including councillors all came out not only to condemn those actions entirely, but also to support the Muslim community.

    I went to share in their Eid celebrations. It was a true privilege to see people of different faiths standing shoulder to shoulder together.

    That is where we gain strength – by working together to solve common problems and including everyone so that the faces of our neighbours become familiar and their customs become understood.

    It’s especially important for young people – so they grow up open-minded with a strong sense of personal accountability and social responsibility. This is why we are backing the work of Youth United – giving young people a positive place to belong and creating more places in our great British institutions whether the scouts, the sea cadets or the St John Ambulance.

    The work we are doing together – the work that each of you do, every day, wherever you live will lead us on the path to a stronger society. But the alternative route – the route offered by the extremists – ultimately ends in the villages of Srebrenicia.

    The old century was riven by discord – scarred and despoiled by the Holocaust – but we have a chance in this century. We can be determined to learn the lessons, to set aside hatred and ensure all people of goodwill work together.

    That instead of those who preach hate, or those who shout slogans, we will listen to the voices of peace and hope.

    Of a people comfortable with differences – accepting of others and united in Britishness.

    Thank you very much.

  • Matthew Hancock – 2013 Speech to OFSTED Conference

    Matt Hancock
    Matt Hancock

    Below is the text of the speech made by Matt Hancock, the then Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, at the Novotel in Hammersmith, London on 5 September 2013.

    Thank you very much for the invitation to speak to you today. I’m particularly keen to come here because I have a simple message: you matter. The job you are doing matters, and it’s vital you do it right. You are a vital part of our ambitious reforms across academic and vocational courses. You matter to me, to pupils, to the future of our nation no less – and I want to take a few minutes to explain why.

    Half of 16 year olds enter the vocational education system but in the past the need for vocational education to be inclusive has removed the focus on the need for quality.

    We need a vocational education system that is rigorously high quality, motivating people with any level of prior attainment to get the skills they need to reach their potential and prepare them for working life, so that it becomes the norm for school leavers to go to university or into an apprenticeship.

    This drive for quality is an enormous challenge for the skills system.

    While the top students in colleges are as well served as the top in academy sixth forms, the average is lower and the tail of poor performance much longer.

    90% of young people who leave school without a C or higher in both English and maths have still not reached this level by the age of 19.

    Businesses cannot find young people with the right skills. Just today James Dyson set out how he could employ more young people if they had the right skills. Our reforms will and must rise to that challenge.

    We are doing this through a relentless focus on improving rigour and responsiveness to employers needs.

    We need rigour to improve the quality of vocational education, which has been ignored for too long. The academic reforms that this government has implemented are essential to ensuring GCSE and A levels give young people the right skills and knowledge. We now need to bring that same resolve and ambition to vocational education, driving up quality and with it the esteem in which technical qualifications are held.

    And we need providers to be responsive to employers needs, not to central command and control. We have given colleges the freedoms and flexibilities they need but this is not enough. Autonomy for providers must be matched with accountability.

    So our vision is rigour and responsiveness, delivered by autonomy and accountability.

    And that’s where you come in.

    There are three ways to hold providers to account:

    First, we are giving learners the information they need to make the right choices. By providing high quality and timely information to learners about schools, colleges and training providers, students can make an informed choice about which providers suit their needs and aspirations. We are focusing more on progression and value added – on where a course gets you – instead of completion rates so that providers put their time and energy into helping learners progress onto the next stage of their career.

    Second, we are implementing new and tough minimum standards. These minimum standards will force providers to drive up the quality of their classroom provision, workplace provision and apprenticeships. Alongside these minimum standards, we are taking a much closer interest in the financial performance of colleges to ensure that learners are protected.

    Third, we are using a tougher intervention regime across the sector. I am delighted to see Sir Michael Wilshaw and yourselves taking an ever-increasing interest in the quality of skills providers. Within skills there is some outstanding provision, as your inspections have already shown, but there is still too much provision that is falling short of what is required. So I am increasingly using Ofsted grading to determine access to funding. You cannot access funding for our new traineeships unless you are rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. I believe that this puts the right incentives in place for providers. The new Further Education (FE) Commissioner, who reports to Ministers, will challenge failing FE colleges and institutions over their capacity and capability to improve, and in cases where the college or institution cannot deliver, we will take tough action. Your role in providing evidence to support action, whether from inspections or monitoring visits, will be crucial.

    So our three core accountability tools – high-quality information, minimum standards, and tougher inspections – rely on the ability accurately measure quality. This becomes even more critical as we begin to base our funding decisions on the judgements of Ofsted.

    So it falls to you to deliver tough but fair judgement on vocational courses.

    Tough in that you don’t let up on need for high quality and high expectations in vocational provision.

    Fair, recognising that excellent vocational learning can be different in nature from academic.

    We know that government itself must also deliver on its promises if we are to promote successful and aspirational vocational education.

    We have removed poor value qualifications at 14 to 16, and are now removing them at 16 to 19. Our new qualifications, including Tech Levels, will be more rigorous, developed according to standards set by employers and have widespread recognition and transferability. The new Tech Bacc will be a central feature of our future accountability system.

    Excellent vocational education and training must keep pace with, and actively develop, new learning technologies. We look to you to support the skills system to embrace these technologies, and to understand the value they bring to learning and the learner experience.

    We are redesigning our apprenticeship system following Doug Richard’s review earlier this year. Our upcoming reforms to apprenticeships will lead to higher quality employer-led provision in the workplace, while Nigel Whitehead’s review will ensure adult vocational qualifications are fit for purpose.

    Alongside our major reforms to apprenticeships, we have recently launched traineeships for those who cannot yet hold down a job, but are within six months of being able to. We expect traineeships to play a major role in tackling NEETs and supporting Raising the Participation Age (RPA).

    I believe that these reforms together with the work of Ofsted can genuinely transform FE into a rigorous and responsive sector.

    I would like to thank all of you for the dedication and commitment that you put into your work in FE and beyond. I know that the role of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) is demanding and requires a special range of qualities, so thank you for the professionalism and commitment that you bring to this role and I look forward to seeing the impact of your work in the coming months and years.