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• Cultural Development Fund marks a new government approach to cultural investment in England.
• Fund is a commitment in the government’s Industrial Strategy.
• Towns and cities across the country will benefit from a new £20 million fund for culture, heritage and creative industries, launched by Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Michael Ellis today.

Areas will be able to bid for up to £7 million for a number of projects in a certain area to help regeneration, create jobs and maximise the impact of investment. This could be for new spaces for creative businesses, bringing historic buildings back into use or redeveloping museums and art galleries.

The investment will help to grow local economies and increase access to arts, heritage and the creative industries.

The Cultural Development Fund marks a new approach for government investment in culture and creative industries. Rather than investment going to a specific venue or artform, the funding will go to geographical locations, including cities or towns in rural areas.

The fund also supports the Government’s Industrial Strategy by aiming to boost productivity in towns and cities across England and use creativity as a catalyst to make places more attractive to live, work and visit.

Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said:

Cultural investment can have a transformative impact on communities. Creativity, culture and heritage is what makes places special for local people and visitors alike. But it also helps attract inward investment, with businesses drawn to vibrant, exciting towns and cities.

This fund gives more places the chance to harness the unique power of culture to regenerate communities, create jobs and boost tourism.

The initiative comes after the success of Hull 2017. Since Hull was awarded UK City of Culture in 2013, it attracted over £3 billion of investment and created 800 new jobs.

The Cultural Development Fund also builds on the success of creative hubs launched by the Government and developed through growth and city deals, such as Bristol’s Temple Quarter. This has delivered thousands of jobs in design, media and music businesses in the West Country city.

The Government anticipates that this approach will allow smaller towns and cities to replicate the huge success of Hull and other creative hubs established across the country.

The Cultural Development Fund comes one day before the Great Exhibition of the North launches in Newcastle-Gateshead. It is part of the landmark Creative Industries Sector Deal, which will see more than £150 million jointly invested by Government and industry to help the country’s world-leading cultural and creative businesses thrive.

The Fund will be administered through Arts Council England (ACE). Bids from local areas must maximise potential economic growth and productivity, strengthen local leadership in culture and the creative industries and help to enhance creative skills.

Details of successful projects will be released in due course.

Notes to editors

• Calls for expressions of interest will run from 3 July to 15 August, with full applications sought from 9 September to 19 October.
• For further details on the application process, including how to apply visit Arts Council England’s website
• Nine things to know about the Cultural Development Fund.

Darren Henley, Arts Council Chief Executive said:

Our world leading Creative Industries benefit from centres of production excellence up and down the country. The Cultural Development fund will help to build on the creativity that’s at the core of our arts, heritage and tech organisations in these towns and cities. We’re looking forward to working with DCMS to spark a real difference in people’s lives through this new investment.

Sir Peter Luff, Chair of HLF, said:

Culture, and heritage in particular, are central to a strong sense of identity and place. Our research has shown that tapping into that distinctiveness can provide a significant boost not just to tourism but also to broader local economic prosperity and all the jobs that means. So we welcome this new fund, which will open up opportunities to even more communities.

Sir Peter Bazalgette, Author of the Independent Review of the Creative Industries, said:

This is one piece of a promising jigsaw envisioned in the Sector Deal: creative clusters taking root and growing, yielding both a cultural and an economic dividend.

• government intervened to push through the measures
• offenders will face up to two years in prison with the most serious placed on the sex offenders register

A new law making ‘upskirting’ a specific criminal offence will move a step closer today (21 June 2018), when a Government Bill is introduced in Parliament.

The move was confirmed by the Prime Minister earlier this week, after a government backed Private Members Bill (PMB) did not pass its second reading last Friday (15 June).

Theresa May made clear that the government will get the new law on the statute book, and ministers have acted decisively to bring through the changes as quickly as possible.

Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said:

The support for this new law from the public, campaigners, and across parliament shows just how seriously this crime is being taken.

Upskirting is a humiliating and degrading practice. We will ensure this Bill becomes law as soon as possible to protect more victims and properly punish offenders.

It follows the work of campaigner Gina Martin, whose tireless efforts contributed hugely to this action:

Gina Martin on ‘upskirting’ campaign

The highly intrusive practice – colloquially known as ‘upskirting ’ – typically involves offenders taking a picture under a person’s clothing without them knowing, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks.

Currently, this behaviour is being successfully prosecuted under the offence of Outraging Public Decency. However, following concerns that potentially not all instances of ‘upskirting’ are covered by existing criminal law, the government decided to act.

Initially, ministers supported legislation brought forward by Wera Hobhouse MP to create a specific ‘upskirting’ offence. However, that PMB failed to progress in Parliament, following objections raised Sir Christopher Chope MP.

Ministers therefore decided to intervene and adopted the measures as a Government Bill, in order to make sure there will be no delay in getting this new law onto the statute books.

The Government Bill will build on Wera Hobhouse’s proposals, by ensuing that the most serious offenders are placed on the sex offenders register. The new law would bring the punishment for ‘upskirting’ in line with other existing voyeurism offences, and will see offenders face a maximum of 2 years in prison.

The second reading of the Bill is expected to take place before Summer Recess.

Notes

• In recent years the government has made tackling sexual abuse and sexual violence a priority, and keeps laws in this area under constant review. After listening carefully to the concerns of victims, stakeholders, and MP’s from across the House, Ministers decided a change in the law is necessary.
• Currently, ‘upskirting’ does not go unpunished in England and Wales, and there have been successful prosecutions under the Outraging Public Decency (OPD) offence. Recent examples of successful prosecutions for ‘upskirting’ under OPD include someone who was convicted in January for taking photos up women’s skirts on trains and on a beach, and a student who was convicted in March for taking photos up women’s skirts in Oxford.
• However, existing criminal law does not necessarily cover every instance of ‘upskirting.’ Creating a specific ‘upskirting’ offence would strengthen the law in this area, as it doesn’t have the same limitations as existing offences. It would also allow this intrusive behaviour to be treated as a sexual offence and, ensure that the most serious offenders are made subject to notification requirements (commonly referred to as the ‘sex offenders register’).
• The Bill would insert a new offence under Section 67 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The changes will cover England and Wales; ‘upskirting’ is already a specific offence in Scotland.
• It would capture instances where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification or cause humiliation, distress or alarm.
• A summary conviction would carry a sentence of up to one year in prison and/or a fine. And a more serious offence, tried in the Crown Court, would carry a sentence of up to 2 years in prison.
• Follow #UpskirtingBill on social media.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister hosted Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha of Thailand for talks at Downing Street earlier today.

They welcomed the long history of friendship between the UK and Thailand, agreeing on the importance of reinvigorating our strategic partnership on issues of mutual interest, such as trade and security.

On trade, they agreed that as the UK leaves the EU our bilateral trade and investment relationship would continue to go from strength to strength. The PM welcomed the work of the UK-Thai Business Leadership Council in identifying areas where bilateral trade could be further liberalised.

They discussed the importance of continuing to cooperate on a range of shared international security challenges, including how we can work together to tackle the scourge of modern slavery, and how to strengthen the ability of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to attribute chemical weapons attacks. They also discussed the importance of the international community continuing to come together to counter violent extremism and enhance cyber security, and to take forward efforts to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

The Prime Minister urged continued progress towards free and open elections in Thailand in line with international standards, including restrictions on political parties being lifted at an early stage.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has published its annual report and accounts, revealing it provided £2.5 billion in support for UK exports in 2017 to 2018.

Rt Hon. Dr Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, said:

As an international economic department, our priority is to do all we can to support UK businesses as they seize the opportunities of global trade. UK Export Finance is at the heart of our offer to help them do so, and this report shows that it has been a landmark year for the UK’s award-winning export credit agency.

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

UKEF’s results for 2017 to 2018 once again show that when companies take advantage of its support, the effects on their business can be transformative. By providing innovative and flexible finance and insurance, the government is helping British businesses, big and small, realise the value they bring to the international marketplace.

The range of exports supported by UKEF demonstrates that the UK’s exporters have a truly world-class export credit agency behind them – and that’s why the government’s forthcoming Export Strategy will deliver on our commitment to put UKEF at the heart of trade promotion.

The report revealed UKEF has supported £4.1 billion in export contracts through its trade finance products since 2011, which were introduced to help give smaller businesses an exporting edge.

During 2017 to 2018, UKEF was also awarded ‘best export credit agency 2017’ by Global Trade Review magazine and Euromoney’s Trade Finance.

Background

UKEF’s other business highlights included:

• UKEF confirmed increases in, and in many cases doubled, its capacity to support UK exports to over 100 markets worldwide.
• UKEF added 22 new currencies to its list of pre-approved local currencies in which UKEF can lend or guarantee loans to overseas buyers of UK goods – taking the total to a world-leading 62 among its international counterparts.
• UKEF expanded eligibility for its short-term trade finance to include UK suppliers of exporters, enabling even more countries to benefit from UKEF support even if they’re not yet themselves directly exporting.
• UKEF secured at least $250 million of UK exports in support of the construction of two power plants in Iraq, led by Enka UK and General Electric.
• UKEF guaranteed a 1 billion Mexican peso loan in support of Scottish bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis’ major export contract to Mexico City – UKEF’s first ever deal in the currency.
• UKEF provided a €270 million loan to the Ugandan government to finance the construction of a new international airport in Kabaale by Colas UK, with further supplies and services for the project expected to be sourced from the UK too.

To find out more about UKEF, or see if finance and insurance from UKEF could give you an exporting edge, visit great.gov.uk.

Communities across the UK are being urged to back their local high streets by entering them into the Great British High Street Awards 2018.

The awards, run by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and sponsored by Visa, recognise and celebrate local achievements on our high streets, supporting the communities they serve.

The Great British High Street awards will not only celebrate the best high streets across the nation, but will also champion ‘Rising Stars’ – the most ambitious high streets which are taking a lead and working together to revive, adapt and diversify.

By shining a light on great examples of how high streets can meet the challenges of changing consumer behaviour and a changing retail environment, the awards will provide all communities with top tips for success.

Speaking ahead of the competition launch on Lower Marsh, Waterloo, a former finalist, Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said:

The Great British High Street Awards acknowledge how vital high streets are to our nation. They are crucial in creating jobs, nurturing small businesses and driving local and regional economies. We want to celebrate the best examples of high streets, as well as those individual businessmen and women playing a leading role.

The government is committed to ensuring high streets continue to thrive and I’m delighted to support this brilliant competition.

The awards, first held in 2014, have been simplified for 2018 with winning high streets to be named in England, Scotland, Wales and for the first time, Northern Ireland – across 2 categories: Champion High Street and Rising Star High Street.

High Streets Minister Jake Berry MP said:

The Great British High Streets competition this year will celebrate the creativity of the many businesses in the UK which are providing the shops and services so vital to our economy.

The previous awards were hugely successful, proving the Great British public really cares about the centres of their cities, towns and villages. I’d urge everyone to get involved in this important competition.

The 26 shortlisted entries in the Champion High Street category and 12 Rising Stars will be announced in October. They will then go through to a public vote and be visited by a judging panel made up of industry leaders from across retail, property and business.

Britain’s best high street will be announced in November, with the winner receiving a £10,000 cash prize for a local community project. Winners from each of the remaining nations will receive a £5,000 contribution to a street party or community project.

The competition was last held in 2016. Blackburn in Lancashire was crowned the Great British High Street overall winner that year thanks to the determination of the community and local businesses who worked together to overcome the challenges their high street was facing.

The government is committed to helping local business communities and has introduced over £9 billion worth of business rate support so that many small businesses now pay no rates. This sits alongside a reduction in annual rises, worth a further £4 billion, and helping shops and restaurants across the country.

Through the Future High Streets Forum, the government is also working closely with retail leaders and industry experts to support high streets and town centres to adapt and compete in the face of changing consumer and social trends.

Further information

There will be 26 short-listed entries in the Champion High Street category, 13 for England, 6 for Scotland, 4 for Wales and 3 for Northern Ireland. There will be 12 short-listed entries for the Rising Star category.

High Streets are changing, and the government is committed to helping communities adapt. By delivering on our commitment to give councils more control over the business rates they raise locally, they have never had a better reason to support their shops and restaurants.

We have introduced over £9 billion worth of business rate support so that many small businesses now pay no rates and we are reducing annual rises which is worth a further £4 billion, helping shops and restaurants across the country.

In 2017, we launched a £300 million discretionary relief scheme over the next 4 years, which local authorities can use to grant relief to businesses.

With our Future High Streets Forum, we are working closely with retail leaders and industry experts so we can develop new solutions to the current challenges we are facing

We are reviewing the wider taxation of the digital economy, including ensuring international corporate tax rules deliver fair results across different businesses and that sellers operating through online marketplaces pay the right amount of VAT.