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His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex, arrived in Sri Lanka today. Their five day visit will focus on the long-standing UK and Sri Lanka relationship, the Commonwealth, education and young people.

During the visit Their Royal Highnesses will meet young people overcoming challenges from a variety of communities across Sri Lanka. During their visit to the Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana, they will meet able and differently-abled young people following the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme, and witness how the scheme helps the communication impaired integrate into society in meaningful ways.

The Royal couple will also meet with young athletes and para-athletes who will represent Sri Lanka at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris said:

We are delighted to have The Earl and Countess of Wessex in Sri Lanka to celebrate the strong links between our two countries, young people and the Commonwealth. Their visit comes just two months before we host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London and allows us to celebrate our Commonwealth links and the important role young people will play in developing its potential.

His Royal Highness The Prince Edward is the youngest child of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. Their Royal Highnesses will represent Her Majesty The Queen at the 70th anniversary celebration of Sri Lanka’s independence on Sunday.

The Earl and Countess will also travel to Kandy where they will visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Chinese students already constitute the largest single source of overseas students in the UK, with 155,000 students currently in the UK worth an estimated £5 billion annually.

There are also now some 9,000 young British people studying and interning in China, with numbers up 60% since 2013.

Visiting the Chinese city of Wuhan today, which has the largest student population of any city in the world, the Prime Minister will announce details of a new approach covering pre-school through to post-grad education. It includes:

• a new commitment to extend the UK-China Maths Teacher Exchange primary school programme for a further two years to 2020. This will enable an additional 140 primary teachers in England to benefit from further training in China. We will also expand the exchange programme to include up to 45 teachers in English secondary schools. The pioneering scheme involves English teachers visiting China for two weeks and Chinese teachers visiting England for two weeks, enabling schools to experience world-class maths teaching in English classrooms. The exchange programme also supports our work to take the total number of English schools benefitting from the East-Asian style maths Teaching for Mastery programme to 11,000 by 2023
• an agreement to facilitate joint training of pre-school staff in the UK and China
• improved UK-China information-sharing on vocational education through more study exchanges
• the launch of a new “English is GREAT” campaign, promoting proficiency in English for more people in China. There are over 300 million people learning English in China. The campaign will support individuals in improving their language proficiency as a means to achieve their own professional and personal ambitions – and to provide significant commercial opportunities for the UK by opening up a market worth over $2 billion a year. This will echo the UK-Mandarin Excellence Programme, launched in 2016 and which aims to have 5000 secondary school pupils in the UK fluent in Mandarin by 2020

The Prime Minister will also welcome a major new package of commercial deliverables in the education sector – reinforcing the UK’s position as a global leader in this field.

Education deals totalling more than £550m will be announced as part of the visit, creating over 800 jobs in the UK.

They include a £75m export win for the UK’s biggest childcare provider Busy Bees, who will open 20 new nurseries across China along with their Chinese stakeholder, Oriental Cambridge Education Group.

The Prime Minister said:

The close ties between the UK and China are reflected in our relationship on education. More than 150,000 Chinese students study at the UK’s world-leading institutions and make a significant contribution to our academic life.

The agreements we have signed today will build on that and enable more children and more young people than ever to share their ideas about our two great nations.

And by teaching children to speak our languages we will ensure that our Golden Era of co-operation will endure for generations to come.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

Standards are rising in our schools, with 1.9 million more children in good or outstanding schools than in 2010 and nine out of ten schools given this rating at their last inspection. We want to build on this success, to ensure all pupils can access a world-class education that inspires them to make the most of their lives, no matter where they live or their background.

Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world, so this partnership will play a crucial role in teaching pupils the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in an increasingly global economy. By opening up these opportunities to more young people, we can help to build a Britain that is fit for the future.

Historically, football memorabilia can go for hundreds of thousands of pounds. The most expensive item sold in the UK was an original FA Cup, dating from 1871, which went under the hammer for £420,000 at Christie’s in 2005¹.

The most expensive items of World Cup football memorabilia ever sold include²:

1. Jules Rimet Trophy replica £254,500
2. Nobby Stiles’ 1966 World Cup medal £188,200
3. Alan Ball’s 1966 World Cup medal £164,800
4. Pele’s 1970 second-half World Cup final shirt £157,750
5. Gordon Banks’ 1966 World Cup medal £124,750
6. Geoff Hurst’s 1966 World Cup final shirt £91,750
7. Ray Wilson’s 1966 World Cup medal £80,750
8. Pele’s 1958 World Cup final shirt £70,505
9. Pele’s 1970 first-half World Cup final shirt £66,500
10. Alan Ball’s 1966 World Cup final shirt £51,755

Football fans looking to secure a memento on a smaller budget could pick up a World Cup 2018 inspired personalised registration from DVLA.

Fans of the beautiful game can use the website’s search facility to find the perfect football-themed plate for them with WO18 RLD, WE18 WON and FR18 NCE currently available.

Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Senior Sales Manager, said:

Football memorabilia clearly has a market and this top ten highlights how much people are willing to spend on commemorating the game. But with more than 50 million registrations available on our website there are almost endless possibilities for football fans to celebrate their passion for the sport and their team, from just £250.

Motorists can get into World Cup fever straight away with 18 registrations now available.

Notes to editors:

Personalised registrations can be bought 24 hours a day online. A dedicated team can also help customers find the registration they want over the phone by ringing 0300 123 0883. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 4.30pm.

¹ Guinness World Records

² Wikicollecting

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) aims to grow its Edinburgh contingent to around 25-30 employees, with ambitions to grow further, so it can build its talent base and prepare for the UK’s Exit from the EU.

While the CMA has always had a small presence in Scotland, it is now building on that to ensure it has the talent to truly promote competition and ensure consumers get a fair deal right across the UK.

The expansion will also be a big part of the organisation’s preparation for Brexit. This is expected to increase its merger reviews and investigations into cartels and other anti-competitive behaviours as work previously led from Brussels comes to the UK.

It will allow the CMA to build even stronger relationships with consumer and business groups, other regulators in Scotland as well as the Scottish Government and Parliament, and increase its capability to carry out UK-wide projects from Scotland.

Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said

It is essential that the Competition and Markets Authority has a presence right across the United Kingdom, so we can make sure competition is working for people, businesses and the economy in every corner of the nation.

Though we already have a great team in Scotland, by expanding our numbers we can go further to understand the concerns and issues affecting ordinary people.

He added:

And as we prepare to leave the European Union, it has never been more important for the UK’s competition authority to grow its talent base.

Although the new roles will not focus exclusively on Scottish cases, the CMA can and does address Scottish competition and consumer issues.

As a result of the CMA’s work, for example, Glasgow University no longer stops students from graduating because of unpaid rent in student accommodation fees. In a separate case, the CMA fined Aberdeen based Balmoral Tanks £130,000 for illegally exchanging price information. The CMA has also recently investigated major mergers in Scotland like the deal between North Sea oil companies Wood Group and Amec Foster Wheeler and the purchase by Standard Life of Aberdeen Asset Management.

Beyond specific investigations, people right across the UK are benefiting from the CMA’s wide-ranging examinations of certain industries. Last year, it issued a record £84.2 million fine to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and a £5.2 million fine to Flynn Pharma, after finding that each charged excessive and unfair prices in the UK for anti-epilepsy drug phenytoin sodium capsules. And the authority’s call for reforms in the care home sector aim to make sure people in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland get the support they need in their old age.

Keith Brown, Economy Secretary for the Scottish Government who will meet the CMA Board in Edinburgh on 30 January, commented

The CMA’s expansion in Scotland is a clear sign of its commitment to taking action and making the market fair for consumers and businesses.

It’s a move I’ve championed and provides real opportunity to benefit Scotland’s economy by identifying and tackling the problems faced here by our consumers and businesses.

This will support our on-going work around the collaborative economy and ensure that we continue to develop our approach to consumer, competition and regulatory policy.

Notes to editors

1. The CMA board will meet in Edinburgh on 30-31 January. Minutes will be published on the CMA website.
2. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial department of the UK government with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law.
3. Media queries should be sent to press@cma.gsi.gov.uk or journalists can call 020 3738 6337 or 07774 134814.

Plans for a national memorial to honour the contribution Sikhs made to Britain and her allies has today (30 January 2018) received backing from Communities Secretary Sajid Javid.

He confirmed government support for campaign to erect a Sikh war memorial in London.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said:

The part played by Sikh servicemen really stands out – a contribution that’s all the more remarkable when you consider that these brave men travelled thousands of miles to fight for a country that wasn’t their own.

We are indebted to all those servicemen who volunteered to serve and fought to defend the freedoms we enjoy today.

That’s why a Sikh war memorial in our nation’s capital will honour their sacrifice and ensure that this part of our shared history is never forgotten. So I’m delighted to get behind this campaign and ensure its success.

Sikh servicemen in the British Armed Forces have displayed extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice in the service of Great Britain and her allies. Hundreds of thousands of Sikh soldiers saw active service during the First and Second World Wars and in subsequent conflicts. More than 83,000 turbaned Sikh soldiers gave their lives and more than 100,000 were injured during both Wars.

Despite making up only two per cent of the Indian population when the First World War broke out, Sikhs accounted for more than 20 per cent of the Indian Army’s manpower. Sikh soldiers from the Punjab and surrounding states saw action in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, most notably on the Western Front and at Gallipoli.

On the Western Front Sikhs fought and died alongside their British, Indian and Commonwealth counterparts. Their contribution was essential to the war effort and of the twenty-two Military Crosses awarded to Indian soldiers, fourteen went to Sikhs.

As part of marking the final year of the First World War centenary commemorations, Government has extended support for a campaign led by Slough MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi to help set up a Working Group and support the campaign to find a suitable location. Once an appropriate site has been identified and a memorial agreed on, the Government has agreed to provide funding towards the project.

More information on government activity for the First World War Centenary.

The contracts with the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq, valued at $220 million, will see GE Global Services UK upgrade and repair existing turbines across 10 sites to deliver an improved, more secure power source. The project will sustain 6.5 Gigawatts of generating capacity, powering millions of homes across Iraq.

This is the second project supported under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2017 between the UK and Iraq Governments, in which UK Export Finance (UKEF) affirmed its commitment to support Iraq’s infrastructure development.

Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion, said:

I’m delighted that UK Export Finance will be supporting this project under the recently signed infrastructure Memorandum of Understanding between our two governments. This project demonstrates the UK’s commitment to supporting Iraq’s continued economic development, and through Government support we are laying the groundwork for future UK-Iraq trade.

GE Global Services UK will deploy Advanced Gas Path (AGP) solutions and controls software, a technology that will improve gas turbine performance and enable power plants in the Baghdad, Karbala, Kadisiyah, Babil, Najaf and Basrah regions to operate more dynamically.

UKEF, in partnership with the Swiss export credit agency SERV, will provide the Government of Iraq with $210.8 million in support for the project. UKEF will provide $105.4 million of this support as a direct loan, with the remaining $105.4 million given in the form of a guarantee on a loan from JP Morgan Chase, for which SERV will reinsure UKEF.

This is the second of three phases of a wider turbine maintenance programme as part of the Iraq Power Up Program, where GE Global Service UK has been contracted to deliver in the period from 2017 to 2019. It follows support for a GE and Enka UK contract to construct two new power stations, agreed last year.

Notes for editors

1. UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, working alongside the Department for International Trade as an integral part of its strategy and operations.
2. It exists to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for want of finance or insurance from the private market. It provides finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and ensure they get paid for export contracts.
3. Sectors in which UKEF has supported exports include: aerospace, construction, oil and gas, mining and metals, petrochemicals, telecommunications, and transport.
4. UKEF has a regional network of 24 export finance managers supporting export businesses.
5. Find the latest information on UKEF’s country cover positions.
6. UKEF supports exporters with a range of products that include:

• Bond insurance policy
• Bond support scheme
• Buyer & supplier credit financing facility
• Direct lending facility
• Export insurance policy
• Export refinancing facility
• Export working capital scheme
• Letter of credit guarantee scheme

Image credit: General Electric

The pilot scheme means someone who wants a divorce can apply online – making the process easier to understand and removing some of the stress during a difficult time for families.

Launched last year, the pilot initially allowed people seeking a divorce to use an online system which offers prompts and guidance to assist them in completing their application. They would then print off the form and send it to the court. This month HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has extended the service so that the application is now fully digital – submitting the form, sending the relevant documents, and payment. In the first week we have received 130 online applications.

The online system has drastically cut the number of applications being returned because of errors – showing a 90% improvement from paper forms. It has already gained positive feedback from people welcoming the simplified, streamlined and easy to understand system which delivers their application instantly – without the worry of it being lost in the post.

The next stages will include making the system available for use by legal representatives.

These changes are part of an over £1 billion programme to transform the court system – making it quicker, more accessible and easier to use for all.

Susan Acland-Hood, CEO of HMCTS, said:

We are investing over £1 billion to reform and modernise the justice system.

These measures are drastically cutting the number of applications returned because of errors – streamlining the process and ensuring we are best supporting people going through a difficult and often painful time.

Other examples of the government’s court reforms which are making access to justice easier for everyone include:

• A paperless system, in operation at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court, which means thousands of offenders caught dodging fares or using fraudulent tickets can now be punished more swiftly and effectively.
• A service which allows people to submit their tax appeals online – drastically cutting the number of applications being returned as incomplete or inaccurate.
• A digital programme which will allow defendants, victims, witnesses and professional users to share legal documents and cases online.