Day: March 26, 2018

More than 200 relatives of 90 recently identified Argentine soldiers who lost their lives in the 1982 Falkland war visited the Falkland Islands today (Monday 26 March) to visit their newly marked graves.

As part of a joint project between the UK, Falkland Islands and Argentine Governments and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a forensic team exhumed, analysed and documented the remains in each of the unidentified graves in the Argentine cemetery at Darwin in the Falkland Islands.

Argentina’s Secretary for Human Rights, Claudio Avruj, will accompany the families. Retired British Army Colonel Geoffrey Cardozo, who was responsible for burying the Argentine dead with sensitivity and respect immediately after the conflict, will also accompany the group.

Minister of State for Europe and the Americas, Sir Alan Duncan MP said:

I welcome this visit to the Argentine cemetery at Darwin by family members of the recently identified Argentine soldiers. This important humanitarian project, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, will provide some comfort to the families of the deceased. When visiting the cemetery the families will find their loved ones properly identified and in a place of great dignity.

I am grateful to the Falkland Islands Government who coordinated the visit, in cooperation with the Argentine Families Commission, and with support by the UK and Argentine Governments. It marks an important development in the UK-Argentina relationship and demonstrates what can be achieved with a positive and constructive relationship.

Notes for Editors:

• The visit will include a religious ceremony jointly conducted by Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires, Bishop Eguia Segui, and the Right Reverand Abbott Hugh Allan from the United Kingdom.
• Brigadier Baz Bennett, Commander of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands, will deliver military honours for the ceremony. A Scottish Piper and a British military guard will be present.
• The DNA identification project was funded by the UK and Argentine Governments. This is a humanitarian initiative that we support in line with our wider obligations under international law.
• In the UK-Argentina Joint Communique of 13 September 2016, both countries expressed their full support for a DNA identification process in respect of unknown Argentine soldiers buried in the Falkland Islands.
• Over a seven week period (7 June – 20 August 2017), an ICRC forensic team exhumed, analysed and documented the remains of each of the unidentified soldiers. 90 Argentine soldiers were positively identified.

Further information

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A campaign to raise public awareness of the Sheffield City Region Mayoral election starts today (26 March 2018).

The campaign will give residents in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield information on the election and how to vote in it. The campaign will run across social media, in radio advertisements and in posters at numerous locations across the Sheffield City Region.

Similar awareness campaigns ran across the UK ahead of Mayoral elections in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Tees Valley regions last year.

The campaign will end on 11 April with the election taking place on 3 May.

Once elected, the Mayor of the Sheffield City Region will become a major figure in the political life of the South Yorkshire region, acting as an ambassador promoting the region as a great place to live, work, visit and invest in.

Dave Smith, Managing Director of the Sheffield City Region said:

I urge all residents in South Yorkshire to make sure you are registered and able to vote in the election of a Sheffield City Region Mayor on the May 30.

See more information on the Sheffield City Region Mayoral election and how to vote.

Further information

The Sheffield City Region deal was agreed on the 2 October 2015 between the government and civic leaders from South Yorkshire.

Sheffield City Region was one of 38 towns, cities, counties and regions which submitted ambitious proposals to Westminster to take control of how public money is spent in their area.

The mayor will oversee a range of powers devolved from government including responsibility over transport budgets; franchised bus services and strategic planning while the deal also includes additional devolved powers for the area’s Combined Authority.

This includes a new gain share deal within an envelope of £30 million a year for 30 years – giving Sheffield the power to use new funding to boost local growth and invest in local manufacturing and innovation.

The new mayor will act as Chair to the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority and will exercise a range of powers devolved from central government including:

• responsibility over the region’s transport budget, with a multi-year settlement to be agreed at the Spending Review
• responsibility for franchised bus services, which will support the Combined Authority’s delivery of smart and integrated ticketing across its councils
• responsibility for an identified Key Route Network of local authority roads that will be collaboratively managed and maintained at the city region level by the Combined Authority on behalf of the mayor
• powers over strategic planning

The Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, working with the mayor, will also receive the following powers:

• control of a new gain share deal, like that agreed with Greater Manchester and other areas, within an envelope of £30 million a year for 30 years – giving Sheffield the power to boost local growth and invest in local manufacturing and innovation
• responsibility for chairing an area-based review of 16+ skills provision and devolved 19+ adult skills funding from 2018 to 2019
• joint responsibility with government to co-design employment support for the harder-to-help claimants, many of whom are currently referred to the Work Programme and Work Choice
• more effective joint working with UKTI to boost trade and investment, and responsibility to work with government to develop and implement a devolved approach to the delivery of national business support programmes from 2017
• 17 July and 18 September 2017 – at meetings of the Combined Authority, Barnsley and Doncaster did not give agreement to progress with the consultation – the next stage needed to implement the devolution deal
• in order to have these powers transferred to them the 4 South Yorkshire councils need to do all that is necessary to fully implement the Sheffield City Region as soon as possible; this would require them to first undertake the consultation on these devolved powers

Thousands of women from across the UK will benefit from £15 million from the latest round of the Tampon Tax Fund, the Minister for Sport and Civil Society Tracey Crouch announced today.

Projects that tackle sexual violence, address social exclusion among BAME women and improve mental health and wellbeing will receive funding over the next two years. The money will also be used to make grants to smaller organisations so they can deploy services that support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged women and girls in the country.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

The money generated from sanitary products is being invested in good causes that tackle the serious issues that women of all ages face. It will be used to support vulnerable women and girls and help build a Britain fit for the future.

The ten projects receiving funding from this round of the Tampon Tax are:

UK Community Foundations £3,400,000 – The Tribewoman project will support vulnerable and excluded women by making onward grants to smaller charities across the UK

Arhag Housing Association £1,040,000 – The BME Women Hub project will alleviate poverty and social exclusion among women in England

Brook Young People £1,500,000 – The ‘Let’s Talk. Period.’ project will aim to address period poverty in England.

Rape Crisis England & Wales £1,400,000 – This digital transformation project is a new approach to tackling sexual violence delivered through member Rape Crisis Centres In England

Women’s Aid Federation of England £1,509,850 – The ‘Ask Me’ project will improve the community response to domestic abuse across the UK and includes onward grants opportunities

Hestia Housing and Support £1,000,000 – The ‘Tools for the Job’ pilot project aims to transform the way that employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland deal with domestic abuse, by improving their HR policies and delivering awareness raising for staff.

The RCJ & Islington Citizens Advice Bureaux £1,090,488 – The FLOWS project will provide online-tools to improve the capacity of front-line domestic-violence agencies in England to provide legal support to women and children

Mind £1,785,554 – This project will increase the provision of mental health peer support for women experiencing, and at risk of, mental health problems and includes onward grant programme in England and Wales

St. Giles Trust £1,077,158 – The ‘Footsteps’ project aims to improve service provision to women in the Criminal Justice System in England with mental health and complex support needs

One Parent Families Scotland £1,049,590 – This Scotland only project will offer a free support and counselling service for the most disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised women most in need.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

1) Over 70 charities are already receiving grants through previous rounds of the fund, with a total of £32m of funding having been announced since Autumn Statement 2015. This latest funding brings the total investment awarded from the Tampon Tax Fund to £47m.

2) The government is committed to continuing the fund until EU rules allow a zero rate of VAT to be applied to women’s sanitary products. A decision will be made on the future of the Fund once this has been achieved. Current EU laws prohibits any Member State from applying a new zero rate of VAT. We therefore currently apply the lowest rate we can to these products (5%).

A welfare code for meat chickens has been updated today as part of a programme of reforms to safeguard and enhance the welfare of animals.

Strengthened statutory guidance is now in place for meat chicken keepers on how to meet the needs of their animals and improve their welfare.

This welfare code has been updated to reflect the very latest advice from vets and animal husbandry developments, as part of a programme of reforms to safeguard and enhance the welfare of animals, the Minister for animal welfare, Lord Gardiner announced today.

Minister for Animal welfare Lord Gardiner said:

We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and are going further in a number of areas, including by raising maximum sentences for animal cruelty to five years and introducing mandatory CCTV in abattoirs.

This code was carefully consulted on with industry experts, and uses the most recent scientific and veterinary advice to ensure this clear guidance provides the best advice to owners and keepers to help ensure and enhance the high welfare standards of their animals.

The updated meat chicken code incorporates guidance to reflect new regulations in force since publication of the previous code, including:

• Specific provisions on staff training
• Stocking density, and
• Follow-up at slaughterhouses

Máire Burnett, Technical Director from British Poultry Council, said:

We welcome the new statutory code of practice for welfare of meat chickens and meat breeding chickens that reflects the high welfare standards followed by British poultry meat farmers, breeders and veterinarians. The new code is intended to help all those who care for meat chickens and meat breeding chickens to practise good biosecurity and maintain welfare standards required to comply with legislation.

The British poultry meat sector is committed to continuous improvement and will carry on following welfare science as it progresses. We look forward to continue working with Defra to further enhance welfare codes for turkeys and ducks to reflect industry best practice.

The updated code also provides more detailed guidance on biosecurity, leg health and enriching the environment for chickens.

The code will be used by enforcement bodies including Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors and local authorities when investigating allegations of poor welfare to look at whether animal welfare standards are being met.