Author: Pulse Assent

Boris Johnson discussed the contribution at the Ukraine Reform Conference – a year after the UK hosted the inaugural summit in London.

Since then, Ukraine has made great strides in tackling corruption and improving transparency across Ukrainian institutions, and important progress on decentralisation and healthcare reform.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

“With Russia continuing its efforts to destabilise Ukraine, and the occupation of Crimea ongoing, Britain must help to lead the way on ensuring Ukraine has a bright, stable and prosperous future

“That’s why we continue to provide support, which will help Ukraine to build on the progress it has made since 2014 and on key reforms since the inaugural London Reform Conference last year

“We do all this because it is essential for Ukraine’s future security and prosperity, and because it is essential for upholding our European values, our security and our prosperity.”

The funding will provide practical support to strengthen Ukraine’s sovereignty and resilience, and ensure the reform momentum continues. It includes help for projects in Ukraine to bolster further reform across the country’s institutions, eliminate corruption, and increase independent oversight of state organisations.

The UK is already doing pioneering work in Ukraine to help tackle Russian disinformation. This includes support to Ukraine’s public broadcaster, a project to help Ukrainian schools to build resilience against disinformation, and funding for an NGO network across Europe to debunk fake media stories.

The Foreign Secretary also held talks with Danish foreign minister Anders Samuelsen while in Copenhagen.

NOTES:

Funding includes:

• £13.4 million on conflict, security and stability projects to bolster Ukrainian defence reform, promote peace-building, eliminate corruption and increase civilian oversight
• £11 million to support reform in Ukraine through the Good Governance Fund with a wide range of programmes to help Ukraine drive forward governance, economic and political reform. Through this, we are supporting key institutions like the Business Ombudsman and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
• £6 million in humanitarian aid.
• £5 million this year to help Ukraine counter Russian disinformation.

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

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The remarkable achievements of 61 young global leaders were celebrated on Monday (25 June) at a Downing Street reception hosted by Prime Minister Theresa May.

Hailing from 38 Commonwealth countries including Ghana, Malawi, New Zealand, Canada and Dominica, the inspirational group of young people, aged between 18 and 29, have all completed the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme which aims to celebrate and support young people who are leading the way in transforming their local communities.

They spoke to the Prime Minister about their pioneering work across a broad range of fields including healthcare, women’s rights and equality, STEM and climate change, and Theresa May reiterated her continuing commitment to the Commonwealth and to delivering a fairer, more sustainable, and more prosperous future.

Among the leaders were 21 year-old Ghanian Derick Omari, founder of Tech Era, a programme which introduces underprivileged children in Ghana to technology; 24 year-old Malawian Chikondi Mlozi, whose counselling service Youth Net helps to free girls from forced marriages; 20 year-old New Zealander Ezekial Raui, who set up a peer-support programme offering information to young people about mental health in their local area; and 19 year-old Dominican Lakeyia Joseph, who was named Dominica’s Youth Champion last year for her work to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

The inspirational young people I met this week show what a powerful force for good our Commonwealth can be.

I was delighted to hear about the wonderful work these future leaders are doing, serving their communities, helping others and improving the life chances of other young people.

The UK is committed to a fairer, more sustainable and more prosperous Commonwealth, and at the heart of that vision must be its young people.

That’s why the voices of youth representatives were given such a high priority when the Heads of Governments met earlier this year; and why I will continue to ensure young people take centre stage as we shape the Commonwealth of the future.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

The common thread which binds together all the young people I’ve met is a deep desire to help others. There is a strand of altruism that runs through all of them and I hope they build on the opportunities they’ve been given, and go on to inspire a new generation of young leaders.

The new Change4Life Train Like a Jedi programme uses the excitement of Star Wars^TM and its characters – alongside Double Olympic Gold medallist Jade Jones – to encourage children to Train Like A Jedi and is designed to increase levels of physical activity amongst children in England.

It is recommended that children do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day, yet just 23% of boys and 20% of girls aged 5 to 15 years currently meet this recommendation.

This year marks the fifth year PHE and Disney have worked together to inspire children to move more, with an estimated 300 million minutes of activity inspired to date.

A new survey from PHE and Disney found that over 4 in 5 children (82%) would be inspired to move more if they saw their favourite characters being active. With Star Wars characters ranking as key favourites amongst UK children aged 7 to 11, the programme aims to make physical activity fun and inspire children to move more.

In addition, the survey from PHE and Disney looking at the factors that influence children to be more active found:

• 59% of children say they would be more active if exercise felt fun
• children (58%) and parents (55%) ranked friends as the most influential figure in encouraging children to be more physically active
• 99% of children say they enjoy doing physical activity or sports with their parent or carer

Building a new generation of ‘Resistance’ recruits, British taekwondo athlete and double Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones, alongside a special appearance from BB-8, leads children through a series of Jedi-inspired moves in an exciting new play-along video.

Taking inspiration from the traits of iconic Jedi such as Luke Skywalker and Rey, Train like A Jedi helps children learn and master 6 key skills – technique, strength, stamina, speed, agility and mastery. The sequence of moves has been specially designed to increase children’s heart rates and benefit health.

The video is designed for children to play along anywhere – either in groups, with their friends, family, or by themselves – and will help children meet the daily recommended physical activity guidelines they need for healthy development and to maintain a healthy weight. The Train Like A Jedi activity can be done in 10-minute bursts throughout the day.

In addition to the video, the campaign will include regional events, advertising, social media activity and a free Star Wars themed pack with mini active challenges for the summer holidays. Packs will be made available through primary schools before the summer holidays.

Eustace de Sousa, National Lead for Children at Public Health England said:

Children’s physical activity levels are alarmingly low and are having a major impact on their physical and mental health – both now and into adulthood.

Getting into the habit of being regularly active will have lifelong benefits. Our Change4Life Train Like A Jedi programme is a great way for children, their friends and the whole family to get moving throughout the summer.

Double Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones comments:

Inspiring kids to get active is something I’m really passionate about, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to help kids across the country with Change4Life and Star Wars.

It was great fun to create the Jedi-inspired moves which can be done anytime and anywhere – both at school and home. I hope that through this new programme we can inspire a new generation to move more by showing kids that physical activity can be really fun.

Mark Hamill, the actor best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker, offered his support to children taking part with some video messages, saying:

If you want to become a Jedi like Luke Skywalker or Rey, then you need to be fit, healthy and strong.

This summer, Change4Life can help you Train Like A Jedi. May the Force be with you.

Marianthi O’Dwyer, Vice President, Healthy Living, The Walt Disney Company UK, comments:

Using Star Wars characters and storytelling, we can help encourage children to be active by making it fun. With the huge popularity of Star Wars amongst UK kids aged 7 to 11, we believe this campaign will encourage children to get out and move like Jedi!

This is another great example of Disney’s healthy living commitment in action, where we use Disney’s characters and stories to encourage families and children to be more active together.

Last year, PHE and Disney helped more than 2 million children aged 3 to 11 get active with the 10 Minute Shake Up programme. This year, the Change4Life Train Like A Jedi programme will build on this success with all-new ways of getting children’s hearts pumping.

In the same way that mentorship plays a pivotal role for Jedi, schools have a major influence on children’s physical activity levels. Change4Life will provide schools with curriculum-linked teacher resources, including a Train Like A Jedi training video, to encourage their pupils to learn the Jedi-inspired moves and be active both in and outside the classroom.

The Change4Life Train Like A Jedi programme is also supported by Sport England.

Background

The Opinium survey for Public Health England and Disney questioned 1,263 parents of children aged 5 to 11 in England and 783 children aged 5 to 11 in England about their attitudes to physical activity and took place in April 2018.

About Change4Life

Change4Life is PHE’s flagship social marketing programme which aims to help families to eat well and move more. PHE exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. It does this through advocacy, partnerships, world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health. Follow us on Twitter @PHE_uk.

About Disney’s Healthy Living Commitment

In 2006, The Walt Disney Company made a global commitment to support parents and create healthier families by using its stories and characters to make healthy living simple and fun. Since 2006, Disney has been offering different ways to support families to live more healthily. This includes introducing robust nutritional guidelines for food and drinks as well as their advertising, offering content that positively focuses on healthier lifestyles such as Disney Channel’s First Class Chefs, The Lodge and Aim High, and inspiring activity and healthier eating through programmes such as Change4Life ‘10 Minute Shake Up’, PHE, Disney and Swim England ‘Just Keep Swimming’ Finding Dory programme, the partnership with the Football Association and Girls’ Football Week, and Disney’s #HealthilyEverAfter marketing campaign.

About The Walt Disney Company UK & Ireland

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $55.1 billion in its last fiscal year (FY17).

The Walt Disney Company has operated in the UK and Ireland for over 80 years, employing more than 3,300 people, and is dedicated to creating innovative, entertainment experiences for children and families. The Disney brand is experienced in a number of ways across the UK and Ireland including in cinemas, on stage, via its streaming app DisneyLife, on TV screens with Disney-branded channels and through a wide range of consumer products that are sold at mass market retailers and in Disney Stores. Now in its fifth year, Disney’s partnership with Public Health England and the ’10 Minute Shake Up’ campaign has seen over 2 million kids get active with an estimated 300 million extra minutes of physical activity being completed.

About Sport England

Sport England is a public body and invests more than £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active – like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.

Applicants for the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme have one extra month to complete their application and send it off to Natural England. The deadline has been extended from 31 July to 31 August, allowing extra time for farmers to fill out their forms during the busy summer months.

Over 10,000 farmers and land managers requested an application pack ahead of the 31 May deadline earlier in the spring, and more time has been granted to allow these customers the opportunity to complete their forms and send them off for an agreement offer by 31 August.

Whilst the majority of applicants issued their requests for an application pack in the days up to the 31 May deadline, Natural England is on track to issue all application packs to farmers and land managers by the end of June. This leaves two months to complete the form around other commitments on the farm, which should lead to more farms enter into Countryside Stewardship agreements in 2019.

Entering a Countryside Stewardship agreement can bring multiple benefits to soil health, water quality and create habitats for wildlife on farmland. This can improve the quality of the food that is produced, reduce the risk of pollution from farming, and see the return of cherished species such as the curlew and lapwing to farmland.

The government has outlined an ambition for farming and environmental enhancement to work more closely together when we leave the EU. Entering into a CS agreement is an excellent way for farmers to start changing the way they manage their land ahead of new agricultural policy being implemented outside the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

For the 2018 application window, four new simplified “wildlife offers” have been introduced for upland, lowland, mixed farm and arable, with a shorter form to fill out and a streamlined selection of options depending on farm type. New entrants to CS, or farmers coming off the ELS scheme, are guaranteed an agreement with as few as three options. Applicants who wanted to apply for a wildlife offer, but received the incorrect pack, should contact Natural England about their application.

• FTSE 100 firms on track to reach government-backed target of 33% of board positions going to women by 2020 but FTSE 350 may fall short
• halfway point of Hampton-Alexander Review shows quarter of FTSE 350 board positions are held by women, but there remain 10 all-male boards
• online portal opens for FTSE 350 to submit 2018 gender diversity leadership data

More women than ever before are on the boards of the UK’s largest companies but they still have some way to go to meet the target of 33% women by 2020, according to new data revealed today (27 June) to mark the halfway point of a government-backed review.

Figures released today by the Hampton-Alexander Review, which aims to ensure that talented women at the top of business are recognised, promoted and rewarded show 305 positions – 29% of FTSE 100 board positions – are held by women, up from 12.5% in 2011.

Launched in 2016, the government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review set FTSE 350 businesses a target of having 33% of all board and senior leadership positions held by women by the end of 2020. Today’s statistics show that if progress matches the same gains made over the last three years, then FTSE 100 companies are on track to meet the 2020 target.

However, today’s announcement also revealed that while the number of women on boards has increased to 25.5% in FTSE 350 companies, around 40% of all appointments need to go to women in the next 2 years for the FTSE 350 to achieve the 33% target.

While some FTSE 350 companies are on track to meet the government-backed targets for women on boards, others are lagging behind. These have today been urged to emulate success stories of the 80-plus companies already at or beyond the 33% such as hospitality company Whitbread, alcoholic drinks company Diageo, and fashion retailer Next.

Sir Philip Hampton, Chair of the Hampton-Alexander Review said:

It is good to see progress of women on boards continuing with the FTSE 100 likely to hit the 33% target in 2020. However, nearly half of all available board appointments in the run up to 2020 now need to go to women if the FTSE 350 are to meet the target.

Far too many companies still have no women – or only one woman – on their board.

Meanwhile, progress in executive and leadership positions is eagerly awaited as the portal for companies to submit their gender data opens today.

We’ll be analysing the data on women in executive leadership roles and hope to see increasing numbers of women joining Executive Committees, or reporting to ExCo members, in the FTSE 350.

Business Minister Andrew Griffiths today called on businesses to prioritise their commitment to tackling gender inequality, saying:

While it is great to see there are more women at the top of Britain’s largest businesses than ever before and I applaud those businesses who have made great strides, it is clear there is still a long way to go and I urge businesses to keep stepping up and championing diversity.

The Hampton-Alexander Review is highlighting the benefits of everyone having an equal opportunity to reach the top, and I commend their effort in driving this important initiative.

Minister for Women Victoria Atkins said:

This government is absolutely committed to increasing diversity in business, and we are leading the way in supporting the work of the Hampton Alexander Review to make sure FTSE companies support and develop their female talent pipeline.

Women are good for business: they bring valuable perspectives and experiences to the decision-making process. FTSE 350 companies need to do their bit and accelerate progress. There is no excuse for having an all-male board.

The online portal for FTSE 350 companies to submit their 2018 gender leadership data also opens today. Progress made on women in executive and leadership roles will be revealed in November.

Melanie Richards Deputy Chair at KPMG, sponsor of the Review said:

These figures are a significant step in the right direction and reflect the efforts and change in emphasis businesses have placed on tackling the gender gap. But it is undeniable that there is more to do to achieve equality in the Boardroom.

In order to achieve these ambitious targets significant change is required, which will not happen overnight. It will take systematic focus on all aspects of recruitment and retention.

The progression of women remains key, coupled with an emphasis on creating environments in which talent can thrive, leadership stereotypes are challenged and individuals are valued for their skills and capabilities.

The Investment Association (IA) is working with investors to achieve better gender representation in the boardroom. In April 2018, the IA and the Hampton-Alexander Review wrote to 35 FTSE 350 companies who were falling short on their gender diversity targets.

Chief Executive of the Investment Association Chris Cummings said:

The dial has shifted: gender diversity is now front and centre of investors’ minds. Firms with a diverse management team and pipeline make better decisions, so this is a business-critical issue.

Companies must demonstrate that they have diverse management teams or have concrete plans to increase diversity, or face possible shareholder revolt.

Last month, the team behind the Hampton-Alexander Review revealed shocking explanations from sexist FTSE bosses for not appointing women to their boards, which showed that some companies are still refusing to move with the times.

Tackling the gender pay gap is part of the Industrial Strategy, government’s long-term plan to build a Britain fit for the future, with the ambition to help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs and ensure everyone can be successful in the workplace.

Bridging the gender pay gap could add £150 billion to the UK economy by 2025. Many companies reporting their gender pay gap earlier this year explained that the pay gap was due to insufficient women in senior roles, and/or a predominance of women in lower paid work. Ensuring women are selected in more equal numbers for senior roles, significantly helps to reduce the pay gap.

Under new laws, all companies with 250 or more employees were required to report their gender pay gaps. Over 10,000 public, private and voluntary sector businesses have now reported.

Notes to editors

Figures for women on boards of FTSE companies published on 1 June by BoardEx, a business intelligence provider, show:

• FTSE 100 is at 29% up from 27.7% in October
• FTSE 250 is at 23.6% up from 22.8% in October
• FTSE 350 is at 25.5% up from 24.5% in October
• 10 FTSE 350 all-male boards

The 10 FTSE 350 companies with all-male boards are:

• Baillie Gifford Japan Trust Plc
• Daejan Holdings Plc
• Herald Investment Trust Plc
• Integrafin Holdings Plc
• JP Morgan Japanese Investment Trust Plc
• On The Beach Group Plc
• Sports Direct International Plc
• Stobart Group Ltd
• TBC Bank Group Plc
• Ti Fluid Systems Plc

The 2018 Hampton-Alexander Report will be published on the 13 November 2018, a year after last year’s report.

The Hampton-Alexander portal is open for FTSE 350 companies to submit their 2018 data on women in leadership – ie the number of men and women on the Executive Committee and the Direct Reports to the Executive Committee from 27 June to 31 July 2018 https://ftsewomenleaders.com.