Author: Pulse Assent

Following the meeting held in London on 22 January 2018, a Foreign Office spokesperson said:

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hosted US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

During their meeting, which took place at the Foreign Secretary’s official London residence in Carlton Gardens, the two ministers discussed a full range of bilateral and international issues, underscoring the strength of the UK/US relationship. Today’s meeting followed on from Secretary Tillerson and Foreign Secretary Johnson’s meeting in Vancouver last week.

On Iran, they reflected on recent developments and discussed the UK and US’s respective views on the Iran nuclear deal. The Foreign Secretary emphasised that the UK believes the Iran nuclear deal is working, and that the UK would work closely with US, European and international partners to tackle Iran’s disruptive behaviour in the region.

On Syria, the Foreign Secretary expressed his support for Secretary Tillerson’s recent speech on the Syrian crisis. The Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary discussed how to move towards a political process that would lead to the end of the Asad regime.

On Yemen, they agreed on the importance of moving forward towards a political solution that would end the humanitarian suffering.

The Foreign Secretary and Secretary Tillerson will meet again in Paris tomorrow for discussions on Syria and Yemen with their European and Middle Eastern counterparts.

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

The Charity Commission has been awarded funding from the Government of £5 million per year to help it respond to significant increases in demand on its core regulatory functions, including registration and compliance.

This funding has been awarded as a interim solution, while the Commission considers longer term, more sustainable funding models.

This includes the regulator consulting on whether the largest charities should make a modest contribution to the Commission’s enabling work, aimed at helping over half a million trustees across England and Wales manage their charities effectively and efficiently. The Commission now plans to launch a formal consultation later in the year.

Tracey Crouch MP, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, says

The Charity Commission does vital work regulating this vibrant sector and ensuring the public can support charities with confidence.

I am delighted that this funding will mean the Commission can meet the increasing demands for its services and help charities continue to improve lives up and down the country. It is important that the sector continues to innovate, and this includes the Commission considering a range of funding models for the future.

William Shawcross, Chairman of the Charity Commission, says:

I am pleased that the additional transitional funding from Government acknowledges the unprecedented rise in demand on the Commission’s services in recent years. The new money will help us continue to increase the effectiveness of our core regulatory functions in the short term, as we explore this longer term solutions.

It is right that we consider whether those in the sector with the broadest shoulders should make a contribution towards aspects of our work, and I am pleased that we will shortly be publishing a consultation on whether and how we do this. We would plan to use these funds to increase and improve the services and support we offer and want to encourage charities to step forward and feed in their thoughts.

The Commission is now working on detailed proposals, including whether to charge large charities. It expects to launch a consultation that will ask for charities’ views on:

• The practicalities and implications of a system for charging the largest charities.

  The details are under consideration by the Commission, but it expects to consult on proposals that would see it receiving around £7.5million a year through contributions from the 2,000 largest charities on the register, namely those with annual incomes of over £5million.

• The enabling work charities and trustees would like to see the Commission expanding or developing.

  The Commission will be keen to hear from charities of all sizes and types about their current and future needs for support and enabling work from the Commission. This element of the consultation is likely to focus in particular on smaller charities. Recent research revealed that 80% of trustees are responsible for charities that do not have paid staff; they consequently look to the Commission for authoritative advice and guidance on managing their charities effectively and efficiently.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.

Scots from a variety of business sectors, food and drink suppliers, educational institutions and politics will join the Prime Minister and Mr May, the Secretary of State for Scotland and others for a three-course meal in the State Dining Room.

Glasgow-based ‘MasterChef: The Professionals’ winner Gary Maclean will take over the Downing Street kitchen for the day to prepare the menu, made up of fresh produce from a range of Scottish suppliers.

Guests will be welcomed into Downing Street by a piper from the Scots Guards.

The Prime Minister, who will give a welcome address to guests this evening, said:

Scotland is a greatly valued part of our United Kingdom and its contribution to the UK is immense – economically, socially, and culturally.

And Robert Burns is a great example of that, as one of our finest poets, famous world-wide.

I’m very much looking forward to this evening and the chance to celebrate a great poet, a great nation and an enduring Union.

Some of the courses being prepared by the head chef, who is also a senior lecturer at Glasgow City College, are the very ones that impressed the judges during the BBC2 cookery show.

Mr Maclean said:

I’m incredibly honoured to cook for the Prime Minister and showcase the best Scottish produce, sourced from local farms and dairies for this evening’s Burns Supper.

A Burns Supper is an institution in Scottish life and it’s wonderful to be able to be part of such a celebration of the works of our national bard in Downing Street.

Mr Maclean will be joined in the kitchen by his team, which includes his fellow MasterChef contenders, Matthew Healy and James Villiers, and James McGuire, who works for Braehead Foods.

Issued on behalf of Dame Judith Hackitt

Around 50 senior industry figures met today (22 January 2018) to inform the next phase of the Independent Review into Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

Dame Judith Hackitt today hosted a summit kick-starting the next phase of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

At the summit, Dame Judith issued a ‘call to action’ to all those involved in the building system to bring about changes that will enable residents to be assured that their buildings are, and will continue to be, safe to live in.

The event was attended by around 50 senior industry figures, reflecting the full scope of the Independent Review which was commissioned in July 2017 following the Grenfell fire.

At the summit, industry leaders committed to work aimed at creating a new system that will work effectively and coherently. Working groups will be established to develop innovative solutions in the following key areas:

• design, construction and refurbishment – establishing what industry and regulators need to do to fully embed building safety during the design and construction phase
• occupation and maintenance – identifying what building owners, landlords and regulators need to do differently to ensure that building safety is prioritised when a building is occupied and throughout its life cycle
• products – determining how the product testing and marketing regime can be improved
• competency – establishing how competency requirements for key individuals involved in building and managing complex and high-risk buildings should change
• residents’ voice – determining the best way for residents to be given a clear, quick and effective statutory route for raising concerns on fire safety
• regulation and guidance – resolving whether central government ownership of technical guidance is the most appropriate model for complex and high-risk buildings

Hackitt review summit of industry leaders

Speaking at the summit, Dame Judith Hackitt said:

I have been greatly encouraged by the wide ranging support which my Interim Report received. I can now say with confidence that there is widespread agreement that the current system of regulation for high-rise and complex buildings is broken and that we need a radical overhaul and a change in culture.

I was greatly encouraged by the positive tone at the summit and the recognition of the common challenge. We now need to agree both the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of delivering the transformational change which is needed.

Today we have invited people from a wide range of organisations to join with us not just in agreeing the way forward but in making it happen.

Further information

The government announced an independent, forward-looking Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety on 28 July 2017.

The Review is being led by Dame Judith Hackitt, an experienced engineer, and is looking at current building regulations and fire safety, with a particular focus on multi-occupancy, high-rise residential buildings.

The Review’s final report will be published in the spring.

Organisations and experts wishing to contribute proactively to this next phase of work should contact the Independent Review at BuildingRegulationsandFireSafetyReview@communities.gsi.gov.uk.

Members of the Chester Cycling Campaign were among the first to ride along the new cycle path through the busy Two Mills junction, where the A550 meets the A540 in Cheshire.

The Highways England project involved creating a new 320 metre cycleway through the junction, which is used by more than 37,000 vehicles every day, with new traffic lights and crossings also making it easier to cross the A550.

The project is among 24 cycling schemes completed in the North West over the past two years, as part of a £100 million government investment across England to make it easier for cyclists to cross motorway junctions and use major A roads.

They include a new 1.5 mile shared cycle path along the A585 near Fleetwood; a new 700 metre shared cycle path by the A5117 at Dunkirk near Chester; and a new 600 metre shared cycle path near junction 21 of the M60 alongside the A663 in Oldham, along with improvements to footbridges, signs and road markings.

Work is also due to start later this month on a new 400 metre shared cycle path under junction 9 of the M53 at Ellesmere Port, providing a cycle link from the town to the National Waterways Museum and canal towpath.

Phil Tyrrell, Project Manager at Highways England, said:

We’re committed to significantly improving safety across our road network, and the new cycle path as well as the wider and longer right turn lanes at Two Mills will make it much easier and safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to cross the junction.

We want to provide cycling facilities that give people a genuine choice about whether to travel in their car or to get on a bike instead. If we can encourage more people to use their bikes for local journeys then this should also improve the flow of traffic for drivers travelling longer distances.

The A540, which runs between Chester and Hoylake, is popular with cyclists and group rides set off from a cyclists’ café near the Two Mills junction during most weekends throughout the year.

The new cycle path, which is shared by cyclists and pedestrians, runs along the southbound A540. The route crosses two new islands on the A550 at the Two Mills junction before continuing along the A540, and a new high-friction road surface has been laid to reduce the risk of collisions.

Peter Williams from Neston is a member of the Chester Cycling Campaign, which campaigns for new and improved cycle routes. He said:

The new cycle lane and other improvements at Two Mills make it much safer and easier to cross the junction and a lot of the cyclists I’ve been speaking to think they’re wonderful.

There have been several accidents involving cyclists at the junction over the years and the new layout means you’re now much more protected.

We’re all aware of the health benefits of cycling and improvements like these help to create safe cycling routes as well. I’d definitely encourage anyone interested in taking up cycling in 2018 to join their local Cycling UK group and to explore their local cycle routes.

Highways England also opened a new three-mile route for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders in Cheshire last year following the completion of the new A556 link road between the M56 and the M6. The old A556 has been converted into a B road with a shared cycle path.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.