Month: May 2018

The Queen has been pleased to approve that David Rutley MP and Nigel Adams MP be appointed Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government respectively.

Both roles are unpaid and are in addition to their current roles as Government Whips.

Nigel Adams MP has been appointed temporarily to provide support so Heather Wheeler MP can spend more time with her husband who has health issues.

David Rutley MP has been appointed temporarily whilst Thérèse Coffey MP recovers from a period of illness.

A man who attempted to rob a taxi-driver at knife-point has been jailed today after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence for being too low.

Alexander Bell, 26, demanded money from his victim while threatening him with a blade. Even though the victim agreed to pay him, Bell slashed at him with the blade and a struggle ensued.

Bell was originally sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in March, where he was given a sentence of 2 years imprisonment suspended for 2 years. Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 2 years 10 months immediate custody.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

Bell launched an unprovoked attack using a weapon against his victim, and I am pleased that today the Court of Appeal has agreed that the risk he poses to the public warrants immediate custody.

Following the G20 summit, held in Buenos Aires, the Foreign Secretary will travel to the Palacio San Martin, for talks with Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and then later onto Casa Rosada, for a meeting with President Mauricio Macri.

Speaking on the last day of his visit to Argentina, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

I’d like to thank President Macri and Foreign Minister Faurie for hosting me in their vibrant country.

Argentina offers increasing opportunities for British businesses in number of sectors, including oil and gas, agriculture and infrastructure.

The UK and Argentina have been business partners for over 200 years, with a current total of £1.5 billion in bilateral trade in goods and services. This is a number I look forward to help to grow in the future as the UK leaves the European Union.

Mr Johnson will then travel to Chile for the last leg of his five-day tour of Latin America, the first visit to Chile by a UK Foreign Secretary since 1993.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @BorisJohnson and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

To celebrate 100 years of the Royal Air Force (RAF), school and cadet groups across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec are getting an exclusive opportunity to learn about how pilots from the British and Canadian armed forces continue to work together to support peace and security around the world.

With inspiring future generations being such a big theme of RAF100 celebrations, the UK’s Naval and Air Attaché to Canada, Commander Neil Marriott (Royal Navy), called on Ottawa based RAF Exchange Officers, Squadron Leader Drew Anderson and Squadron Leader Andy Wilson, to offer a series of informative and exciting visits for school and youth groups, in partnership with volunteer group Vintage Wings of Canada.

During each session, 30 teenagers are invited to visit Vintage Wings impressive aircraft collection at the Gatineau Airport where they receive an informal presentation on the history of the RAF by current Air Force service members. They also learn about Canada’s role in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War and how the RAF and RCAF continue to cooperate today.

So far, school groups from Carleton Place and Ottawa have taken part and at least five further school and cadet groups have trips planned for the coming weeks.

RAF Squadron Leader Drew Anderson, who is currently on exchange with the RCAF, said:

We’ve got a fantastic opportunity here to help the next generation learn a little bit of our shared history while at the same time maybe inspiring some of them to consider a career in aerospace.

The volunteer staff at Vintage Wings of Canada have been fantastic and everyone is fully supportive of our RAF100 outreach activities. It’s also important to remember that this is not a museum – these aircraft actually fly – and these youth are really excited to get so close to such beautiful and functioning classic aircraft.

Don Buchan from Vintage Wings of Canada said:

As an organization we are all about inspiring young people, so the RAF100 commemoration gave us the catalyst we were looking for to put together an interesting and informative program that we could use to reach a lot of local youths.

The RAF has capitalised on its centenary year to: Commemorate 100 years of extraordinary success, achievement and sacrifice; Celebrate the professionalism and dedication of today’s RAF, which is airborne 24/7 supporting UK and allied interests around the world; and Inspire future generations by telling its unique story.

Commander Marriott said:

The focus of these events is to celebrate the history of the RAF and demonstrate its close relationship with the RCAF over the last century and today, at home and overseas.

We will inform you of the significant scientific leaps in aeronautics that were required to form the modern Air Forces of today, hopefully inspiring you to be Canada’s future scientists, engineers, medical professionals or even pilots.

Public Health England (PHE) has today (Tuesday 22 May 2018) published the first assessment of progress on the government’s sugar reduction programme, measuring how far the food industry has gone towards reducing the sugar children consume through everyday foods.

As part of the government’s plan to reduce childhood obesity, the food industry, including retailers, manufacturers, restaurants, cafés and pub chains, has been challenged to cut 20% of sugar from a range of products by 2020, with a 5% reduction in the first year.

Progress towards meeting the 5% ambition is the focus of this report and is assessed against a 2015 baseline.
The assessment shows an encouraging initial start from retailers and manufacturers, achieving a 2% reduction in both average sugar content and calories in products likely to be consumed in one go.

Whilst this doesn’t meet the 5% ambition, PHE recognises there are more sugar reduction plans from the food industry in the pipeline – and some changes to products that are not yet captured in the data as they took effect after the first year cut-off point.

For the 8 food categories where progress has been measured, the assessment also shows:

• there have been reductions in sugar levels across 5 categories
• yoghurts and fromage frais, breakfast cereals, and sweet spreads and sauces have all met or exceeded the initial 5% sugar reduction ambition
• sugar levels are generally the same across all sectors, however for the eating out of home sector, portion sizes in products likely to be consumed in one go are substantially larger – on average more than double – those of retailers and manufacturers

Retailers and manufacturers have also reduced calories in products likely to be consumed in one go in 4 categories, for example by reducing the size of the product. Of these, ice cream, lollies and sorbets, and yoghurts and fromage frais have reduced average calories by more than 5%.

Due to limitations with the data, PHE is not yet able to report on the progress made in the cakes and morning goods categories for retailer and manufacturer’s products. It is also not possible to report on progress for the eating out of home sector alone as part of this assessment. Progress in these areas will be reported on next year.

As part of the programme, businesses are encouraged to focus efforts on their top selling products within 10 categories that contribute the most sugar to the diets of children up to 18 years of age. They have 3 options to help them do this – reduce sugar levels (reformulation), provide smaller portions, or encourage consumers to purchase lower or no sugar products.

Progress is also reported on the drinks covered by the government’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL). Sugar has been reduced by 11% and average calories per portion by 6% by retailers and manufacturers in response to the SDIL. Data also shows people are buying more drinks that have sugar levels below the SDIL cut-off of 5g per 100g.

With a third of children leaving primary school overweight or obese, PHE continues to call for increased action from all sectors of the food industry to achieve the 20% reduction ambition by 2020.

Steve Brine, Public Health Minister, said:

We lead the world in having the most stringent sugar reformulation targets and it is encouraging to see that some progress has been made in the first year.

However, we do not underestimate the scale of the challenge we face. We are monitoring progress closely and have not ruled out taking further action.

Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive at PHE, said:

We have seen some of the food industry make good progress, and they should be commended for this. We also know that further progress is in the pipeline.

However, tackling the obesity crisis needs the whole food industry to step up, in particular, those businesses that have as yet taken little or no action.

Dr Alison Tedstone, Chief Nutritionist at PHE, said:

This is about tackling the nation’s obesity crisis. Too many children and adults suffer the effects of obesity, as does society, with our NHS under needless pressure. Obesity widens economic inequalities, affecting the poor the hardest.

PHE has also today published new guidelines for the drinks industry to reduce the amount of sugar children consume through juice and milk based drinks.

The drinks categories join the other 10 categories in PHE’s sugar reduction programme. Juice and milk based drinks are currently excluded from the government’s SDIL, but the exemption of milk based drinks will be reviewed by Treasury in 2020.

By mid-2021, the drinks industry is encouraged to:

• reduce sugar in juice based drinks (excluding single juice) by 5%
• cap all juice based drinks (including blended juices, smoothies and single juices) likely to be consumed in one go to 150 calories
• reduce sugar in milk (and milk substitutes) based drinks by 20% and cap products likely to be consumed in one go to 300 calories

Fruit juice alone accounts for around 10% of the sugar consumed each day by 4 to 18 year olds. Current advice is that only one 150ml portion counts as 1 of our 5 a day.

The next progress report on the sugar reduction programme is due in spring 2019.

Background

1. The first year of the sugar reduction programme is August 2016 to August 2017.
2. Single juice (also known as mono juice) products include juice from a single fruit with nothing added to it, for example, 100% orange juice.
3. Blended juice products include juice from multiple juice sources.
4. Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. We do this through world-leading science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and providing specialist public health services. We are an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and a distinct organisation with operational autonomy. We provide government, local government, the NHS, Parliament, industry and the public with evidence-based professional, scientific expertise and support. Follow us on Twitter: @PHE_uk and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland.

On International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May) the UK Government has announced the latest round of successful funding bids from the Darwin Initiative to deliver on flagship commitments set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, awarded a total package of £10.6 million to 52 projects over the next three years from across the globe that will support and enhance biodiversity.

Since 1992, the Darwin Initiative has funded 1,055 projects from 159 countries, with a value of £140m.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove said:

International Day for Biological Diversity offers an important moment for us all to consider how we can help the natural environment thrive on our planet.

Through the Darwin Initiative, we are driving change to protect and enhance international biodiversity. Our 25 Year Environment Plan has set the priorities for funding and demonstrates the UK’s global leadership.

Darwin Initiative

The Darwin Initiative is a grants scheme that helps to protect biodiversity and the natural environment around the globe. Many of the applications reflect the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan commitments to protect the marine environment, to secure the benefits of biodiversity for the poorest communities, and to help prevent the extinction of species.

The fund is administered by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and uses the UK Government’s Official Development Assistance.

Projects receiving funding include:

‘Biodiversity and Agriculture: addressing scale insect threats in Kenya’ and led by the Natural History Museum.

Sir Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum, said:

The role of the Natural History Museum is to inform debate, empower better decisions and lead progress in natural science – sustaining and improving life on Earth. The funding we have received through the Darwin Initiative is allowing us to do just that.

We have participated in 44 Darwin-funded projects to date, from fellowships and awards to major projects. The latest funding is allowing us to collaborate with expert partners in Kenya to help communities better identify, target and respond to invasions of scale insects. These pests damage native trees and crops in Kenya and can cause up to 91 per cent of crop losses but often pesticides are misapplied, damaging both crop yields and the environment. This project will empower communities to improve agricultural practices and protect the nature around them.

Snow Leopard Conservancy has been given support for sustaining snow leopard conservation through strengthened local institutions and enterprises.

Director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy, Dr Rodney Jackson said:

Nepal is adopting the new Federal Constitution aimed at devolving more powers to the local municipality level, thereby giving local communities a greater role in biodiversity conservation.

The Darwin Initiative support comes at the perfect time, enabling the Snow Leopard Conservancy and partners to greatly expand important grassroots, community-driven actions benefiting the snow leopards, known by some as the Ghost of the Mountains, in two of Nepal’s most important mountain protected areas.

Another project is ‘Andean bears and people: coexistence through poverty reduction’ and is being led by Chester Zoo.

Alex Zimmerman, Head of Conservation Science at Chester Zoo, said:

Through the support from the Darwin Initiative we will be able to facilitate human-bear coexistence in the southern Bolivian Andes. Our project links poverty reduction and benefits from biodiversity conservation by improving livelihoods and wellbeing of communities who live alongside this threatened species.

A full list of projects to be supported by the Darwin Initiative is available on gov.uk

Latest support

The Darwin Initiative and the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund have both re-opened for the next round of applications for funding. Projects are being sort that support the commitments in the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.

For the first time the IWT Challenge Fund will provide funding for projects schemes aimed at the illegal trade in certain species of flora around the globe.

• Guidance for applicants to the Darwin Initiative
• Guidance for applicants to the IWT Challenge Fund

Professor Kathy Willis, Director of Science, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew said:

We welcome this announcement on International Day of Biological Diversity of new resources to help address and reduce the illegal trade in important plant species. This trade has been having a devastating impact on plant diversity in many parts of the world.

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants report last year published that 31,517 plant species are currently listed on the CITES appendices and of these 334 are considered critically threatened by international trade. This funding is therefore coming at a vital moment for plant scientists to be able to act and do more to protect orchids, cacti and cycads in particular against this growing threat.

In October 2018, the UK will host a fourth international conference on the illegal wildlife trade, bringing global leaders to London to tackle the strategic challenges of the trade. This follows the ground breaking London 2014 conference on the illegal wildlife trade, and subsequent conferences in Botswana and Vietnam.