Day: March 28, 2018

As a result of the bravery and determination of the women who brought this challenge, the experience of victims will be better and there will be much simpler ways to challenge our decisions in the future.

Here is a link to the full judgement

It was clear before the Worboys case arose that there was a compelling case for major reform of the parole system. This judgment will now open up the decision making of the Board which we have been calling for.

The Parole Board are not seeking to challenge the outcome of this case and the Worboys case will now be re-referred to the Parole Board. The court acknowledged that this was an unusual and complex case and we want any decision to be made on the best possible evidence.

The Chair Professor Nick Hardwick has since resigned from the Parole Board.

Chief Executive Martin Jones said:
“Parole Board members make incredibly difficult and complex decisions every day that can have a devastating impact on victims and the case of John Worboys is no different. The courts have decided we must go back and look at this case again in light of additional information that wasn’t before the original panel and we will do just that.

“Nick Hardwick and I have always been clear that we will support our members when they face criticism in making these important decisions. I am deeply sorry that Nick Hardwick has decided to resign, he is a man of real integrity, and I have been proud to work with him.”

Notes to Editors

Professor Nick Hardwick’s letter of resignation is attached here.

The Parole Board are not seeking to challenge the outcome of this case but are still working through the wider implications of the judgment.

The Worboys case now need to be re-referred to us by the Secretary of State and an oral hearing will likely take place in the next few months. It will be chaired by a senior member of the Judiciary.

The court was clear that the Parole Board is the best people to make decisions of this nature. Our serious further offence rate is less than 1%, that shows we are affective at making these difficult decisions.

As Rule 25 still stands at present and the case is now under consideration again, we are not currently able to comment on the details of the case.

Chief Executive Martin Jones will not be available for interview.
For more information, please contact comms@paroleboard.gov.uk or 020 3880 0809

We met this afternoon to consider the implications of the judgment in the Worboys case.

I want to repeat my admiration for the courage and tenacity of the women who brought the judicial review. Their success will have consequences that go far beyond this individual case and will benefit victims and the administration of justice for years to come.

I am very pleased that the court declared the Rule that prohibits the Parole Board from explaining its decisions should go and that the judgment recognised that this was something I had been calling for. I am pleased too that as a result of Dame Glenys Stacy’s investigation into victim communication in the case, these processes will be improved in future and that she made no criticism of the Parole Board’s actions in this matter. I am also confident that as a result of this case a much simpler system for reviewing Parole Board decisions will be established and, as I have already made clear in my submission to you, this is something I would very much welcome.

Consistent with these principles, I have been clear throughout the legal processes that followed the decision in the Worboys case that I welcomed the scrutiny to which it was subject. I instructed that there should be no procedural moves to prevent such scrutiny, as the judgment indicated could have been made, and that our disclosure of material relating to the case should be as full as possible. I am as anxious as everyone else that the correct decision should be made.

The court was critical of some aspects of the panel’s decision-making processes although it did not overturn the panel’s decisions on these grounds. It could not, no more than you or I, put itself in the place of the expert and experienced panel members who heard the evidence and made the decision. The court did however find that the panel’s understanding that it could not go beyond the offences for which Worboys was convicted was mistaken in this “difficult, troubling case with many exceptional features.” I shared the panel’s misapprehension in this matter and this was supported by the advice I received. We were wrong.

You told me that you thought my position was untenable. I had no role in the decision of the panel in the case and believe I am capable of leading the Parole Board through the changes, many of which I have advocated, that will now be necessary. I am sorry for the mistakes that were made in this case but I have always made it clear that I will support the members and staff of the Board in the very difficult individual decisions they make and I will accept accountability for the work of the Board. I will not pass the buck to those who work under me. In these circumstances I inform you of my decision to resign with immediate effect.

In conclusion, I want to state my concern about the independence of the Board. I believe this matter raises very troubling questions about how the Board’s independence can be safeguarded. I hope Parliament will consider what structural changes are necessary to ensure this independence is protected in future.

Innovate UK has announced the opening of a new collaborative competition between the UK and China to develop solutions that address the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will invest up to £10 million in UK businesses and academia. This will be delivered through Innovate UK. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology will invest up to 60 million Renminbi to fund the Chinese partners.

Health Minister Steve Brine said:

This investment cements the UK government’s commitment to combating drug-resistant infections through innovative research and development projects. By operating together, the UK and China will represent a formidable force against one of the most dangerous global crises facing the modern world.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer said:

Drug-resistant infections are already killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world. If we act in isolation against this threat, we will fail.

The opening of this research funding competition is a vital step forward. It builds on critical activities that have and will continue to take place to build UK and Chinese academia and industry partnerships to combat antimicrobial resistance. This competition aims to deliver cutting-edge research and have global benefits, particularly for the world’s most vulnerable.

We must continue to do more, in every sector, and in every country, to stay ahead of this intensifying threat.

Dr Ruth McKernan, Chief Executive of Innovate UK said:

The threat posed by AMR could cause 10 million extra deaths a year and cost the global economy up to £75 trillion by 2050. This is a challenge for the whole world and the partnership with China is an important opportunity to face that threat together.

The aim is to support novel projects that neither country would be able to conduct within the same timeframe without the other’s expertise. These should develop new products or services against AMR where there is a significant threat to human health. Where appropriate, they should include clinical evaluation.

Addressing the threat of drug resistance

It has been estimated that failure to tackle AMR will lead to at least 10 million extra deaths a year by 2050. This would cost the global economy up to $100 trillion US Dollars. A substantial research and innovation effort is needed to address the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, and to speed up the development of new and alternative antimicrobials and supporting technologies.

What is in scope

In this call we will be looking for projects that:

• explore opportunities from traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment or prevention of infectious bacterial diseases in humans or animals
• advance the discovery of new agents to prevent or treat drug-resistant bacterial infection in humans or livestock. New agents could include small molecule drugs, vaccines, antibodies or other biological products
• identify new agents that will increase the feed energy conversion in livestock. This should be done without use of antibiotics or hormones
• use modelling and prospective and retrospective clinical studies to maximise the clinical utility of current antibiotics. Focus especially on those against drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Projects must aim to improve the prognosis of patients with extensively drug-resistant infections
• improve capabilities for the diagnosis, treatment selection and surveillance of bacterial infections and antibacterial resistance

All projects must comply with Official Development Assistance criteria.

Competition information

• this competition will be open 3 April 2018 to 6 June 2018
• to lead a project you need to be a UK-based business of any size. Additionally, there must be at least one academic partner from the UK, one Chinese business and one academic from China in a project team
• projects should last no more than 3 years
• up to £750,000 is on offer per project on the UK side. On the Chinese side, funding of up to 5 million Renminbi will be made available
• you could get up to 70% of your project costs
• there will be a webinar for UK and Chinese bidders to find out more and to meet potential partners

Notes to Editors

• This competition was announced in Summer 2017, following a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and China signed by the Secretary of State during the high-level people to people dialogue in December 2016. Since then, partnership building activities have been taking place to strengthen connections between UK and Chinese industry and academia
• The UK-China partnership is aimed at scientific innovation which benefits people in low and middle-income countries. It is a project of the UK’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) and the DHSC Global Health Security Programme
• DHSC in the UK and the Ministry of Science and Technology in China are funding joint projects. The UK will fund UK researchers and China will fund the Chinese researchers. This approach is based upon the Newton Fund model, managed by the UK’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but is a separate project established and funded wholly by DHSC
• The Newton Fund has already demonstrated success that shows the impact these partnerships can have. For example, in November 2015, Professor Tim Walsh (Cardiff University) and his collaborators in China jointly discovered the MCR-1 gene which confers resistance, in humans and animals, to the last-resort antibiotic colistin. The researchers were able to show the transmission pathway (horizontal gene transfer) of this particular resistance gene from pigs to humans. This ultimately led to the Chinese Government banning the use of colistin as a growth promoter in animals in China (effective from April 2017)

WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will take on WBO title-holder Joseph Parker in front of an 80,000-strong crowd at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday evening (31 March).

Fans have been warned to plan their travel in advance, and the Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns has been in discussion with the major transport operators to ensure a smooth operation on the night.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

This is a fantastic event coming to Cardiff, and the city is quickly underlining its credentials as a first-class host for several major sporting events.

However it’s important that fans plan in advance and consider all the travel options before travelling in order to make the most of the experience, and enjoy what our capital city has to offer.

I’d like to thank all those people who put in the extra hours to make sure the extensive travel planning processes that these major events require are in place.

Network Rail is organising full crowd management operations, and travel information has been sent out to all ticket holders. More taxis and night buses have also been arranged to ensure queues are minimised after leaving the event.

GWR and Arriva Trains Wales have been working together to plan services and more services will be provided between Cardiff and Swansea. But fans are warned that the last train to London leaves at 21:25, meaning alternative arrangements should be made by those wishing to return on the night.

A large section of the Bristol rail network will be closed due to planned engineering work to reduce congestion and cut journey times from January 2019. For more information, visit GWR’s website.

A full city centre road closure around the stadium will start at 4pm and the roads are expected to open at 1am the following morning.

For more information on accessing the stadium, road closures and park and ride facilities, visit Cardiff Council’s travel advice page.

ENDS

Thousands of long-term empty properties across England could be brought back into use as the government introduces new legislation to allow councils across England to charge double the rate of Council Tax on homes left empty for years.

Whilst the number of homes empty for 6 months or longer remains substantially lower than when records began in 2004, councils will be handed powers to levy additional charges on homes standing empty for 2 years or more.

The move is one of a range of measures introduced by the government to fix the country’s broken housing market, and councils will be able to use funds from the premium to keep Council Tax levels down for working families.

Through an ambitious package of long-term reform and targeted investment, the government is ensuring communities have the homes they need.

Local Government Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:

It is simply wrong that, while there are 200,000 long-term empty properties across the country, thousands of families are desperate for a secure place to call home.

This new power will equip councils with the tools they need to encourage owners of long-term empty properties to bring them back into use – and at the same time tackle the harmful effect they have on communities through squatting, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

There are currently just over 200,000 long-term empty dwellings in England, compared to 300,000 in 2010.

The number has reduced dramatically since 2013, when councils were given powers to charge a 50% premium on Council Tax bills. The vast majority of councils currently apply a 50% premium on long-term empty homes.

Further information

The Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill will be introduced on 28 March 2018.

The number of homes empty for 6 months or longer remains substantially lower than when records began in 2004, when the figure was 318,642. As of October 2017, the number had fallen to 205,293. The lowest number recorded was in October 2016, when there were 200,145.

Councils already have powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus scheme introduced in 2011, councils earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as for building a new one. And since 2013, councils have been able to charge a 50% premium on the Council Tax bills of owners of homes empty for 2 years or more. 291 out of 326 councils applied an empty homes premium in 2017 to 2018.

The government has published guidance that makes clear that the premium should not be used to penalise owners of homes that are genuinely on the market for rent or sale.

There are exemptions in place for homes that are empty due to the occupant living in armed forces accommodation for job-related purposes, or to annexes being used as part of a main property. Also, the Council Tax system provides statutory exemptions for properties left empty for a specific purpose – for example, when a person goes into care. Councils also have powers to apply discounts in cases where homes are empty due to special circumstances – for example, hardship, fire or flooding.

There is a Council Tax exemption for homes which are empty due to probate.