Month: December 2017

The Government company has let the contract for the next generation road communications network which will help reduce congestion, make journeys more reliable, and help drivers who get into difficulty.

The National Roads Telecommunications Service (NRTS) connects the company’s seven regional control centres, the national traffic operations centre and the 30,000 roadside technology assets including message signs, CCTV cameras and emergency roadside telephones.

Today, 18 December 2017, Highways England has announced the award of the £450 million second NRTS contract, to telent Technology Services Ltd.

Chief Information Officer at Highways England, Tony Malone said:

Safety is at the heart of everything we do and this network, the central nervous system for England’s motorways, enables us to operate safe roads. We are pleased to be working with telent Technology Services to deliver the reliability, resilience and innovation that will enable us to keep drivers safe and informed on our roads.

The 30,000-plus items of on road technology equipment for which Highways England is responsible, include 3,327 CCTV cameras, 3,774 message signs, 229 weather stations and 7,155 SOS phones. The network enables traffic information services to provide accurate, real-time travel information to drivers and travel news providers. The message signs help warn drivers of potential hazards and display real-time journey information.

The new service will renew equipment and deliver a service that will provide an open, flexible and scalable telecommunications network to meet the future needs of the business; it will also enable and support Highways England in the development of innovative services such as ‘connected vehicles’ and 5G.

Additionally the technology will continue to underpin the development and operation of the smart motorway and expressway programmes that are central to the modernisation of England’s motorways and will help ensure the network continue to drive economic growth and prosperity.

The new contract will run from 16 March 2018 for 7 years.

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The review, which looks at past, present and future workplace pension saving, confirms that automatic enrolment’s harnessing of inertia has worked, and that the financial behaviour of millions of people has changed, so that they now view pensions as a normal part of their pay package.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Gauke, said:

This government has rebuilt the UK’s savings culture. For an entire generation of people, workplace pension saving is the new normal. And my mission now is to make sure the next generation of younger workers have the same opportunities.

We are committed to enabling more people to save while they are working, so that they can enjoy greater financial security when they retire.

We know the world of work is changing, so it is only right that pension saving does too. This ambitious package will see more people than ever before helped onto the path towards building a secure retirement.

The review’s recommendations, which will now be progressed and legislated for where necessary, will see:

• automatic enrolment duties continuing to apply to all employers, regardless of sector and size
• young people, from 18 years old, benefiting from automatic enrolment, introducing 900,000 young people into saving an additional £800 million through a workplace pension
• workplace pension contributions calculated from the first pound earned, rather than from a lower earnings limit – this will bring an extra £2.6 billion into pension saving, improving incentives for people in multiple jobs to opt-in, and simplifying the way employers assess their workforces and calculate contributions
• the earnings trigger remaining at £10,000 for 2018/19, subject to annual reviews
• contribution levels reviewed after the implementation of the 8% contribution rate in 2019
• the government testing a series of ‘targeted interventions’ – including through opportunities to work with organisations who act as ‘touch points’ for the 4.8 million self-employed people, such as banks and those who contract labour – to explore how technology can be used to increase their pension saving

Ruston Smith, Trustee Director at Peoples’ Pension who led on the theme of engagement, said:

Automatic enrolment has been a game changer – helping bring millions more people into pension saving. As we look to the future there’s clearly a challenge for both the pensions industry and for government to help and encourage people to engage with their retirement savings and to plan ahead. Creating a much simpler language and conversation around retirement savings is just one important step we need to take.

Jamie Jenkins, Head of Pensions Strategy at Standard Life, who led on the theme of coverage, said:

The measures we are announcing today will ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to start to build up pension savings. Since this policy was introduced it has enjoyed huge success and it is right this is extended to include young workers, and those who might not have a standard employment set-up.

Chris Curry, Director at Pensions Policy Institute, who led on the theme of contributions, said:

We all want to be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement and to maintain our standard of living. However the review has shown that one of our greatest challenges remains that many people are still actually under-saving. By removing the lower earnings limit we’ll be enabling people to contribute towards their pension savings from the first pound of savings.

Since its launch in 2012, automatic enrolment has transformed the way people save for retirement, with more than 9 million people now enrolled into a workplace pension, with a large number of new savers under the age of 30. However the review estimates there are still around 12 million individuals under-saving for their retirement, representing 38% of the working age population. Of this 12 million, some 6 million are ‘mild under-savers’.

The government is committed to normalising pension saving among workers; helping lower earners build financial resilience for retirement; to supporting people, predominantly women, in multiple part-time jobs, and to simplifying automatic enrolment for employers. Today’s announcement will deliver an additional £3.8 billion of pension contributions, taking the total to £24 billion per annum.

We will be working towards introducing these reforms in the mid-2020s in partnership with employers and the pensions industry, learning from the contribution increases in April 2018 and April 2019. This will ensure that businesses and savers have time to plan for the changes and that we continue to build on the foundation already in place in an effective way.

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International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt today sets out how UK aid will help tackle the root causes driving people to migrate. This includes a lack of job opportunities, conflict and instability at a time when 65 million people around the world have been driven from their homes – more than the entire population of the UK.

She today unveils a major package of support to address the needs of refugees and migrants, and in the long term provide people with the credible choice to stay close to their homes. While many of the poorest people safely migrate for work to neighbouring countries, others put their lives at risk.

Forced displacement causes misery around the world and has contributed to the current migration crisis. Last year alone saw more than 5,000 people die at sea while attempting perilous crossings into Europe, and many others die crossing the Sahara desert. In Libya, for example, migrants face dangerous circumstances, exploitation and even modern slavery. Migration driven by conflict and instability overseas will affect us in the UK.

The package includes:

• Sudan – Supporting at least 450,000 refugees, migrants and community members every year in Sudan affected by conflict and lack of food, by providing long term access to food, water, shelter and protection, enabling them to stay in their country and reduce the risk of being forced to flee. This support will help those returning to the region and ensure communities are able to cope, including by replanting crops destroyed by conflict.
• Tanzania – The UK will provide support for over 460,000 refugees and migrants in Tanzania to meet emergency needs and identify ways for people to find work, so that they can stay where they are and either return home or not be forced to migrate elsewhere. This package will also provide access to land and livelihoods offering long term stability to people and their families.
• Libya – The UK is confirming an additional £5 million to provide humanitarian aid and protection to migrants and refugees, some of whom are in detention, as part of the Prime Minister’s announcement at the June European Council. Migrants and refugees in Libya are extremely vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation and slavery.

Announcing the UK’s package of support, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

The sheer scale of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean makes it one of the most pressing global challenges we face, and behind the numbers are millions of individual tales of both hope and tragedy.

That’s why UK aid is working to help address the root causes of mass migration by creating jobs and providing education, whilst also supporting vulnerable migrants whose lives are at risk due to a lack of food and medicine, or whose freedom is at risk from traffickers and criminal thugs.

The UK will be directly affected unless we take action now. There is no silver bullet and this approach will take time, but as we continue to create jobs, educate thousands of children and save lives, the benefit of our support for the poorest people and the UK will become increasingly obvious.

The UK is already addressing the root causes which lead people to risk their lives through dangerous journeys through a series of initiatives.

These include:

Creating Jobs

We are giving people more opportunities to find work and build a decent life at home so that they do not feel compelled to leave, whilst simultaneously boosting the economic prospects of the host countries accommodating large numbers of refugees. We are working to secure support for refugee hosting countries and are driving a new “Jobs Compact” with Ethiopia to create 100,000 new jobs for Ethiopians and refugees. In Jordan, UK support has led to 70,000 work permits being issued to Syrian refugees.

Helping those who want to return home

Some people will leave their homes under deception and false promises, and then find themselves in difficult situations, such as in Libya. We are helping these people return home and to reintegrate into society when they get there. UK aid has helped to return 2,200 people from Libya and Niger alone.

Ending modern slavery

Some migrants are at risk of falling into the hands of ruthless human traffickers, for example in the slave markets in Libya. They face forced labour or sexual exploitation. We are supporting victims of these crimes, such as in Nigeria where we are supporting safe houses, victim support and counselling. Across South Asia we are protecting women and girls, stopping exploitation, providing jobs and increasing public awareness of the risks of trafficking so that potential victims are aware of the dangers and better protected.

Education

We are ensuring children, even in conflict, have the chance to go to school and do not miss out on an education. Our support to the Education Cannot Wait fund will provide education to more than 4.5 million children in emergencies such as Chad, Ethiopia and Syria. In Lebanon and Jordan our work to provide education opportunities for those affected by the Syria crisis has enabled over 700,000 children to go to school.

Life-saving humanitarian assistance

When famine and conflict breaks out we provide life-saving assistance, such as shelter, water and sanitation, food, medical care, and protection for vulnerable people so that they can stay close to home. We know that sometimes the most vulnerable need to leave their homes. The UK has also committed to resettle 20,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees and 3,000 of the most vulnerable children and family members by 2020.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Photos and videos are available here
• The support to Sudan totals £121 million over 5 years (2017-2022). It is an allocation from the DFID Sudan country budget. The package includes:
  • Providing 1,300 vulnerable migrants with health and psychosocial assistance per year through partners including the International Federation of the Red Cross. This constitutes £6 million.
  • Providing 425,000 vulnerable people each year with access to food through cash- and voucher-based assistance through the World Food Programme. This constitutes £45.5 million.
  • Supporting returnees and host communities who have fled violence and are now returning to Sudan so that they are more resilient against conflict and other shocks. Constitutes £24 million. It will achieve this by:
  • preventing malnutrition in 30,000 households
  • giving 200 villages improved food security, and improved ability to manage natural resources by helping communities improve their agricultural resources and manage their environmental resources such as soil or water conservation
  • funding 150 local community groups to resolve local disputes so that they do not lead to conflict
  • helping 2,500 displaced households integrate back into their communities.
  • providing three local NGOs with increased operational capacity to support returnees
  • Funding the Sudan Humanitarian Fund with a total of £45.5 million to:
  • Provide 115,00 people with shelter and non-food items per year;
  • Provide food security and livelihoods assistance to 120,000 people per year;
  • Provide 400,000 people with access to health services per year;
  • Support 110,000 people with treatment and prevention of malnutrition per year;
  • Provide 300,000 people with access to emergency water and sanitation per year;
  • Provide 100,000 people with humanitarian protection per year.
• The package of support to Tanzania totals £55 million over 4 years (2017-2020). It is an allocation from the DFID Tanzania country budget. The package includes:
  • Supporting over 300,000 refugees to live safely and with greater self-reliance;
  • Work with the Government of Tanzania to provide more sustainable support to refugees and the communities that host them;
  • Help integrate 160,000 Burundian refugees recently granted Tanzanian citizenship including through completion of citizenship registration; securing land title;
  • We will also explore opportunities to help manage irregular migration between Burundi and Tanzania.
• The support to Libya represents £5 million of the £75 million commitment the Prime Minister made at the June European Council, to be funded from 2018-2020. It will provide humanitarian assistance and protection to migrants and refugees vulnerable in detention centres and the community through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and NGOs. So far this year, DFID has supported more than 20,000 emergency interventions such as healthcare, funding psychosocial support, hygiene kits and safe shelter to migrants and refugees in Libya.