Month: April 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting with the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Downing Street earlier today.

They agreed the bond between the UK and New Zealand was unique and enduring, based on friendship and shared values, and underpinned by strong security, prosperity and people-to-people links.

The Prime Minister said New Zealand was an indispensable partner for the UK, noting the relationship has always been important, but is arguably even more vital today, given our shared commitment to free trade and protecting the rules-based international system.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Ardern for New Zealand’s support over the attack against the Assad regime, and following the chemical nerve agent attack in Salisbury. They agreed it was essential to reassert the international norm against chemical weapons use.

They agreed that part of reinvigorating the Commonwealth was about fostering more intra-Commonwealth support, and to explore the possibility of working together on development assistance in the Pacific region.

They also discussed the bilateral trade and investment relationship, agreeing that UK-New Zealand trade working group discussions were progressing well and confirming our shared ambition to form a new bilateral UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement once we have left the EU. They welcomed the approach agreed at the March European Council to provide continuity during the implementation period for international agreements, which could be swiftly transitioned into new bilateral agreements once the implementation period ends.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Downing Street earlier today.

They agreed that Canada’s G7 Presidency was coming at a crucial time, and would be an opportunity to build on themes discussed at CHOGM and to show the world the value of a multilateral approach.

Prime Minister May thanked Prime Minister Trudeau for Canada’s strong support for the UK in response to the use of a nerve agent on the streets of Salisbury.

They agreed the decision by the US, UK and France to take action against the Assad regime’s ability to launch chemical weapons attacks was the right thing to do, and necessary to uphold the global prohibition on chemical weapons use. They agreed to continue standing side by side to uphold international norms and the rules which keep us safe.

They agreed the bilateral trade and investment relationship would continue to go from strength to strength, welcoming the approach agreed at the March European Council to provide continuity during the implementation period for international agreements such as CETA, which should be swiftly transitioned to form a new bilateral arrangement between the UK and Canada once the implementation period has ended.

Prime Minister Trudeau said he believed that, post-Brexit, the UK and Canada Governments would be able to move in rapid fashion towards a new trade deal that will be particularly beneficial to both countries.

The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister, has today announced that Helen MacNamara, currently the Director General for Housing in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, will be appointed to the role of Director General, Propriety and Ethics Team in the Cabinet Office.

The role oversees the provision of advice to all government departments on standards and ethics issues, corporate governance in public bodies, and manages public appointments. The purpose of the role is to ensure the highest standards of propriety, integrity and governance within government.

Helen will take on the role in May when Sue Gray, the current Director General for the Propriety and Ethics Team, moves to the Northern Ireland Civil Service to begin her role as Permanent Secretary.

Speaking about the appointment, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary said:

I am delighted to announce Helen’s appointment to the role of Director General of the Propriety and Ethics Team. She is a highly experienced civil servant who has worked in many senior roles across government. Her appointment will bring a wealth of knowledge and understanding of how government works, that will assist her in this crucial role.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Sue Gray for her outstanding contribution. She has shown extraordinary commitment and integrity in this challenging role. She has earned huge respect and admiration across government for her wise counsel, strong leadership and excellent judgement. I wish her all the best in her next position.

Helen MacNamara said:

I am delighted to be returning to the Cabinet Office to take on this important role. I’m looking forward to building on the excellent work of Sue Gray, and supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary in upholding the highest standards of integrity and propriety within government.

This appointment has been agreed by the Prime Minister, and follows an extensive recruitment competition.

Helen MacNamara has been Director General, Housing in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government since July 2016.

The UK’s Special Envoy for post-Holocaust Issues, the Rt Hon Sir Eric Pickles and the former Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, the Rt Hon Ed Balls, have today (18 April 2018) been appointed by the Prime Minister as co-chairs of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation Advisory Board. They replace Sir Peter Bazalgette chairman of the Board since 2015.

The advisory board is supporting the delivery of the UK’s new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre that is proposed for Victoria Tower Gardens beside the Houses of Parliament.

Co-chair Sir Eric Pickles said:

It is an honour to follow Sir Peter, who has done outstanding work with the Foundation. I am very much looking forward to working alongside Ed. Together we will work to produce a memorial and a learning space that will enhance and complement existing work by government and organisations supporting Holocaust remembrance. Its location next to Parliament emphasises the importance the UK places in remembering mass murder that defined the twentieth century.

Co-chair Ed Balls said:

We all share a great responsibility across society to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten, and over the last 4 years, as a member of the Holocaust Commission and then the Foundation, I have been inspired by the survivors I have met and deeply moved by their testimonies. I’m therefore honoured to be appointed co-chair of the Foundation with Sir Eric.

It is our task to ensure that Britain’s national memorial and learning centre serves both as a permanent record of the past and a clear warning for the future. There is much excellent work already going on in the UK, which we will build on, and around the world, which we can learn from, and like Eric, I am hugely grateful to Sir Peter Bazalgette for all he has done to date, and to the Prime Minister for putting her trust in us to see this vital project through to completion.

Welcoming their appointment, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said:

Congratulations to Sir Eric and Ed Balls on becoming co-chairs of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation Advisory Board. They will both bring their valuable insight to building the vision for this vital project. I look forward to working with them to deliver a world class memorial and learning centre. It will not only honour and remember all victims and survivors of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, but educate future generations on the importance of fighting prejudice and persecution in all its forms.

Under the chairmanship of Sir Eric and Ed Balls, the advisory board will help define the overall vision for the Memorial and Learning Centre and deepen understanding of the facts and lessons to be learnt from the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.

They will work with the Housing and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government which has overall responsibility for the completion, design and build of the Memorial and Centre.

In October last year, Adjaye Associates, Ron Arad Architects and the landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman were announced as the winning team to design the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. They were selected by a jury that included the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Mayor of London, the Chief Rabbi, experts from architecture, art and design, and both first and second generation Holocaust survivors.

With cross-party support, the government has committed £50 million for the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre which will be supplemented through fundraising.

The other members of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation advisory board are:

• The Rt Hon Alex Salmond
• Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
• Natasha Kaplinsky OBE
• Gerald Ronson CBE
• Alice Greenwald
• The Rt Hon the Lord Feldman of Elstree
• Lord David Alliance
• Baroness Dido Harding
• Peter Freeman

On 16 April 2018, Telford Magistrates’ Court fined the 55 year-old £16,000 and ordered him to pay £20,000 in costs, along with a £170 victim surcharge.

The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008 and Sections 24(1) and (4) of the Water Resources Act 1991.

The Environment Agency discovered that between May 2015 and April 2017, the Defendant had abstracted on average over 20,000 litres of water per day from a borehole on the farmland without an abstraction licence.

Between October 2016 and April 2017, Mr Fair was abstracting an average of 67,000 litres of water per day, more than three times the legal limit. This water was being used in farming activities but was also being supplied to eight nearby tenanted properties.

Evidence gathered by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council between December 2014 and May 2016 revealed that the water supplied to these properties was failing quality standards for nitrates.

A formal notice was served on Mr Fair on 13 October 2015, requiring him to notify the residents of the supplied properties advising them that the water was not fit for consumption due to high nitrate levels. The notice was withdrawn in May 2016, as a result of improvements made to the supply infrastructure by Mr Fair, including installation of a chlorination dosing pump.

Mr Fair’s farm lies in an area designated a nitrate vulnerable zone. Farmers practising within these zones are required to plan and record their farming activities, including the application of manures and fertilisers, in a manner prescribed under the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008. The purpose of these Regulations is to protect the environment by reducing nitrate pollution.

In April 2015, the Environment Agency carried out an inspection of farming activities at Peatswood Farm. Mr Fair failed to produce records showing that in 2014 he had carried out the necessary planning and recording of his farming activities under the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008.

As a result of his failure to comply with the Regulations, Mr Fair was reported to the Rural Payments Agency and received a 28% reduction in his Single Farm Payment for the year 2014. The Single Farm Payment is a subsidy designed to help farmers to meet their environmental, public, animal and plant health standards.

In mitigation, Mr Fair’s barrister stated that Mr Fair had no previous convictions and was a man of previous good character. He admitted that Mr Fair had failed in his obligations under the legislation but that he had sought out new professional advice and was working to improve his farming practices. Mr Fair’s barrister stated that the high nitrate levels in drinking water had been caused in-part by his tenants removing nitrate filters installed within the properties because they caused a reduction in water pressure. He further stated that Mr Fair had suffered family bereavements in 2015 and 2016.