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Prison governors will today be able to have their say on a new approach to incentives which encourages prisoners to take responsibility for their own rehabilitation.

A consultation is being launched on the new Incentives and Earned Privileges policy, which would empower governors to design their own programme of incentives tailored to the specific challenges in their prison.

Those who behave well and engage in meaningful activities such as education and employment programmes could receive privileges such as more time in the gym or additional visits.

Crucially, governors will be able to tackle poor behaviour by taking away privileges – returning people to a more basic regime and living conditions – and will have greater freedom to decide how prisoners move up or down privilege levels.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said:

Prisons must be places of safety, decency and purposeful activity to turn around the lives of those in custody.

This new framework will give governors the tools to set clear behavioural standards for offenders under their watch, and the consequences should these not be met.

Research on behaviour change shows positive reinforcement is much more effective at shaping behaviour than punishment and, while sometimes necessary, punishment alone does not effectively change behaviour.

Many consider that the incentives system is not currently as effective as it could be, with governors having too little flexibility to establish incentives that their particular cohort of prisoners value.

We are therefore providing governors with more freedom to design their incentive scheme to take account of the
local needs of their prison population and the facilities available in their prison. This means a prison with a good gym, or a wing with a kitchen area, could better use these in its IEP system in future.

Governors could also choose to increase the amount of time out of cell an individual prisoner receives to engage in recreational activities or exercise alongside education and work programmes.

And to better assist them in preparing for life back in the community, governors could choose to incentivise prisoners by offering additional visits from family and friends, with more flexible timings.

We will retain sensible limitations on governors’ freedoms, so that, for example, no paid for TV channels or other inappropriate incentives are permitted.

And for those who don’t follow the rules, a strict system of adjudications and punishments will ensure that governors are able to deal swiftly with those who refuse to engage. Punishments range from the removal of privileges to harsher measures such as prosecution and additional prison time.

Notes to editors

• The consultation will launch today (3 September) and will run for a period of 28 days.
• The new system will retain 3 privilege levels: basic, standard and enhanced, but remove ‘entry level’ which Governors tell us is bureaucratic and penalises prisoners who are new, setting up an adversarial relationship with staff from the outset.

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns will visit Bridgend-based PCI Pharma Services later today (Monday 3 September) to underline the UK government’s commitment to support the Welsh business community as the UK prepares to leave the European Union.

The visit follows the UK Government’s publication of its White Paper in July, outlining the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Last week, the Government published a series of technical notices with information to allow businesses and citizens to understand what they would need to do in the unlikely event of a ‘no deal’ scenario.

During the visit, the Welsh Secretary will tour the site and speak to senior leaders and members of staff about how the White Paper proposal will ensure a deep and long future relationship with the EU, making sure that Wales and the rest of the UK is best placed to make the most of the opportunities ahead while taking back control of our laws, borders and money.

PCI Pharma Services (PCI) is a full-service provider of specialist outsourced drug manufacturing, clinical trial services, and commercial packaging to the global healthcare industry. PCI’s Bridgend site provides extensive services in support of Clinical investigational medicines, including secondary packaging and labelling expertise, storage and global distribution, coupled with its capability for supporting a considerable range of Cold Chain and Ultra Cold chain product needs, including the expertise and infrastructure to support preparation, storage and global distribution of advanced medicines with cryogenic temperature requirements down to -196ºC.

The company also has facilities in Hay on Wye, Tredegar and Treforest, as well as sites in Rockford and Philadelphia in the US, Dublin, Ireland and Melbourne, Australia. The Welsh Secretary met representatives from the US sites during a three-day visit to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in February this year.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

This Government is committed to delivering a Brexit that promotes jobs and prosperity, keeps our people safe and protects the precious Union between the four nations of the UK, while taking back control of our money, laws and borders.

PCI Pharma is a global leader in the pharmaceutical field, providing packaging and drug development expertise to companies around the world. It is an important employer in this region of Wales and makes a significant contribution to the Welsh economy. My ambition is for this to continue long after we leave the European Union.

Dr Fiona Withey, Vice Present of Global Clinical Strategy at PCI Pharma is a regular contributor on the Secretary of State’s Economic Advisory Board and Expert Panel, to advise on how Wales can capitalise on the benefits of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, as well as opportunities arising from leaving the EU.

Dr Withey said:

PCI has followed the Brexit negotiations with great interest, as have our global pharmaceutical and biotech clients. As a provider of services supporting medicines destined to more than 100 countries around the world, PCI is uniquely positioned to ensure a seamless supply chain to our clients for all potential outcomes. We support lifesaving commercial medicines, as well as those for investigational Clinical studies, to patients all over the world.

We appreciate the time and attention Secretary Cairns has paid to facilitating dialogue and communication with companies like ourselves, as well as ensuring the parties reach an agreeable outcome, with focus on safeguarding the continuity of timely delivery for critical medication to patients.

ENDS

As the Cairncross Review heads to Brussels, polling has also revealed almost half of British adults (47%) believe that the quality of news available has declined in the last five years.

The fact-finding mission to Brussels, as part of the Review’s Call for Evidence, will enable Chair Dame Frances Cairncross to explore threats to the sustainability of the news industry as a Europe-wide problem.

Dame Frances Cairncross said:

The challenges facing the press are not unique to the UK and it is vital that my Review listens to the experiences of other countries. I look forward to learning more in Brussels about the questions industry and policy makers are grappling with and the solutions they are considering to ensure the future of the free press is protected.

The independent review, commissioned by the Prime Minister in January, has been tasked with looking at ways to safeguard the future of the UK’s free, independent and high-quality news in the digital age.

Dame Frances will seek to understand what European governments are doing to protect the creation and consumption of accurate and financially-sustainable journalism and will speak to key stakeholders, including from the European Publishers’ Council and representatives of the Digital Economy in the European Commission.

With her final recommendations to Government and industry expected in the new year, she is particularly keen to gauge views in Europe on the buying and selling of advertising online and whether this could be made more transparent, as well as the appetite in the EU for regulation to counter the disrupting influence of online platforms on the press industry.

An online YouGov survey of British adults’ newspaper habits has found that for the first time, more people are now regularly accessing content from national newspapers online, through apps and websites, than in print (28% to 22%). It also revealed:

• Two thirds (68%) of British online adults regularly access news through the internet.
• Almost half of those who regularly access news (47%) admit they are accessing news in more ways now, compared to five years ago
• Almost a third (31%) of those who regularly access news said they pay more attention to what they read in a printed newspaper than to news they read online, although most (55%) say they pay the same level of attention to both
• TV and Radio remain the most popular platforms for accessing news – 58% regularly access news from TV and 43% from Radio
• This compares with 29% of adults online stating they access news through social media feeds such as Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat

The Review has previously highlighted how a quarter of all regional and local newspapers have closed in the past decade. And while the survey results show local or regional news is important to 76% of those who regularly access news, just 13% of adults said they access news via a printed local or regional newspaper, and 13% saying they access a local newspaper online. However almost two thirds (61%) said enough local news was provided for them where they live. This further emphasises the challenge posed to local newspapers – there is a disconnect between those who think local news is important, and those who seek out such news via a local paper.

The Review is calling for evidence and views from both consumers and the industry itself on the issues under consideration, including how to create and support the conditions that will enable high quality journalism to continue and flourish.

Notes to Editors:

1. Any evidence or information can be submitted to the Cairncross Review Secretariat at Cairncrossreview@culture.gov.uk or Cairncross Review Secretariat, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 4th floor, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ. Responses will be published in full or summary form unless explicitly flagged ‘not for publication’, in which case they will be kept private.
2. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 2020 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23 – 24 August 2018. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

A UK Government spokesperson said:

The Government expresses serious concern at the tragic loss of life in Yemen over the last month. In the first two weeks of August alone, over 400 Yemenis lost their lives, including young children, and many more continue to face egregious violations of their basic human rights.

We are also deeply concerned by the tragic incidents of 2 August, 9 August, and 23 August in which so many Yemenis were killed. We offer our sincerest condolences to the families of the victims.

We welcome the speed of the investigation into the incident of 9 August, and the Coalition’s announcement of regret and action to address the recommendations of that investigation. We are reviewing the investigation’s conclusions.

We welcome the Coalition’s announcement of an investigation into the incident of 23 August and encourage the publication of the outcomes of this investigation as soon as possible. We also call for clarification of the circumstances around the incident of 2 August.

The Government condemns the attacks against Red Sea shipping, and regular missile attacks against Saudi Arabia which have been launched by the Houthis with Iranian support. These attacks have targeted residential areas and shown no regard for civilian life. Coalition countries have a legitimate right to defend their own territory.

The UK urges all parties to the conflict to do everything possible to protect innocent civilians and to demonstrate their commitment to International Humanitarian Law.

This conflict began following a seizure of power in some parts of Yemen by the Houthis, forcing out the legitimate government from these areas. The urgency now is for everyone to enable and support the UN-sponsored political process beginning with talks in Geneva on 6 September.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
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Mark Field, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will travel to Nauru for the three-day (3-6 September) Pacific Islands Forum where climate change is top of the agenda.

The UK is leading global solidarity on action to tackle climate change, and Mark Field’s visit is the second successive year a UK Minister has attended the Pacific Islands Forum, where climate change is threatening the very existence of several island nations.

The Pacific Islands Forum comprises 14 countries, of which 11 are Commonwealth members. The UK will be stepping up its engagement in the region with three additional diplomatic missions in Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. This will enable greater joint working on climate change issues, as well as further regional work to promote the rules-based international system.

Minister Field said:

Britain has proudly led the way on tackling climate change around the world and, as a developed country, we have a moral imperative to help those around the globe who stand to lose most from the consequences of man-made climate change.

The message I am taking to this important Pacific Islands Forum is that unless we work together, with our Commonwealth friends and those who share our values in the region, we risk the very real tragedy of some of these islands literally disappearing off the map.

The UK is among the largest contributors of international climate finance and in the four years to 2020 will be giving developing countries over £5.5 billion to help them mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This will build on commitments made at the Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting in London earlier this year, including the Blue Charter and the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Mark Field @MarkFieldUK
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

This is the first visit by a UK minister to Iran since the United States withdrew from the Iran Nuclear deal in May, and Minister Burt’s third visit to the country. The Minister will have two days of meetings with Iranian Ministers, politicians and NGOs. On Saturday he will meet his counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Minister Burt said:

This is a crucial moment for Iran’s relationship with the UK, and the wider world. Since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal we, along with European and international partners, have reiterated our support for the deal and have underscored this support through mechanisms such as EU blocking legislation. As long as Iran meets its commitments under the deal, we remain committed to it as we believe it is the best way to ensure a safe, secure future for the region.

Our support for the nuclear deal, though, does not prevent us strongly challenging Iran on issues where we disagree. During my visit this week I will stress that Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its destabilising activities in the Middle East must be addressed. I will also use the opportunity of my visit to push for the resolution we all want to see in the cases of the British dual nationals detained in Iran.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt @AlistairBurtUK
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn