Category: 0 Reviewed

• Ministers welcome move by regulator to protect more vulnerable consumers
• Move will now see a total of 5 million consumers protected by safeguard cap this winter
• Government’s new energy price cap legislation will be introduced later this year

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry today (7 February) welcomed the protection that 1 million more vulnerable consumers will get this winter from the extension of the energy regulator’s safeguard tariff cap.

With the cap in place, these consumers will only see an increase of around 3.7% in their bills compared to an average 8% increase of dual-fuel standard variable tariffs of the Big Six last year.

Ofgem’s extension of the current prepayment meter cap to those who receive the Warm Home Discount means 5 million people are now protected from unfair energy price rises.

The move comes as the government’s own energy Tariff Price Cap Bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament shortly. The Bill will extend the price cap to the highest tariffs.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said:

It is a positive step that a million vulnerable consumers are now being protected from unfair energy price rises through the energy cap.

But energy tariffs are still too high – customers of the Big Six energy suppliers are overpaying by up to a staggering £1.4 billion a year. This is totally unacceptable and why government will continue to go further – including by bringing in new laws in the forthcoming energy Tariff Price Cap Bill to put an end to rip-off standard tariffs.

Notes to Editors:

1. More information on Ofgem’s safeguard tariff cap can be found here
2. Based on Ofgem’s current typical domestic consumption values the new prepayment meter dual fuel cap will be £1089 from April 2018 compared to £1050 in April 2017, an increase of 3.7%. All figures include VAT.
3. In 2017 the six largest energy suppliers increased their standard variable tariffs by an average 8% (based on a simple unweighted average).
4. The latest figures from Ofgem show that 57% of the ten largest energy firms’ domestic customers were on standard variable tariffs and that the average customer could save over £300 by switching to a cheaper deal.
5. The energy Tariff Price Cap Bill will give delegated powers to Ofgem to amend industry licences for the purposes of implementing and managing the price cap. The Bill will require Ofgem to place a price cap on all poor value standard variable tariffs.
6. The government is committed to an energy market that works for all which is why we have put in place a series of measures, in addition to the planned introduction the Tariff Price Cap Bill. These include:

• The rollout of smart meters, which will put consumers in greater control of their energy use and will save £300 million off bills in 2020 alone
• ECO: Help to Heat which was launched in April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of more than 300,000 homes a year, tackling the root cause of fuel poverty. This includes installing measures like including solid wall, cavity wall and loft insulation
• Under the Warm Home Discount Scheme, 2 million low income and vulnerable households will be provided with a £140 rebate off their energy bill each winter
• These proposals combined will see £770 million of support for low income and vulnerable households each year in 2017-2018.

• New review launched into online laws
• Code of practice will set new standards for online platforms
• New guide for teachers to develop children’s online safety skills

The Prime Minister has announced plans to review laws and make sure that what is illegal offline is illegal online as the Government marks Safer Internet Day.

The Law Commission will launch a review of current legislation on offensive online communications to ensure that laws are up to date with technology.

As set out in the Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper, the Government is clear that abusive and threatening behaviour online is totally unacceptable. This work will determine whether laws are effective enough in ensuring parity between the treatment of offensive behaviour that happens offline and online.

The Prime Minister has also announced:

• That the Government will introduce a comprehensive new social media code of practice this year, setting out clearly the minimum expectations on social media companies
• The introduction of an annual internet safety transparency report – providing UK data on offensive online content and what action is being taken to remove it.

Other announcements made today by Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Matt Hancock include:

• A new online safety guide for those working with children, including school leaders and teachers, to prepare young people for digital life
• A commitment from major online platforms including Google, Facebook and Twitter to put in place specific support during election campaigns to ensure abusive content can be dealt with quickly – and that they will provide advice and guidance to Parliamentary candidates on how to remain safe and secure online

DCMS Secretary of State Matt Hancock said:

We want to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online and having listened to the views of parents, communities and industry, we are delivering on the ambitions set out in our Internet Safety Strategy.

Not only are we seeing if the law needs updating to better tackle online harms, we are moving forward with our plans for online platforms to have tailored protections in place – giving the UK public standards of internet safety unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

Law Commissioner Professor David Ormerod QC said:

There are laws in place to stop abuse but we’ve moved on from the age of green ink and poison pens. The digital world throws up new questions and we need to make sure that the law is robust and flexible enough to answer them.

If we are to be safe both on and off line, the criminal law must offer appropriate protection in both spaces. By studying the law and identifying any problems we can give government the full picture as it works to make the UK the safest place to be online.

The latest announcements follow the publication of the Government’s Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper last year which outlined plans for a social media code of practice. The aim is to prevent abusive behaviour online, introduce more effective reporting mechanisms to tackle bullying or harmful content, and give better guidance for users to identify and report illegal content. The Government will be outlining further steps on the strategy, including more detail on the code of practice and transparency reports, in the spring.

To support this work, people working with children including teachers and school leaders will be given a new guide for online safety, to help educate young people in safe internet use. Developed by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS, the toolkit describes the knowledge and skills for staying safe online that children and young people should have at different stages of their lives.

Major online platforms including Google, Facebook and Twitter have also agreed to take forward a recommendation from the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) to provide specific support for Parliamentary candidates so that they can remain safe and secure while on these sites. during election campaigns. These are important steps in safeguarding the free and open elections which are a key part of our democracy.

ENDS

Note to editors:

Included in the Law Commission’s scope for their review will be the Malicious Communications Act and the Communications Act. It will consider whether difficult concepts need to be reconsidered in the light of technological change – for example, whether the definition of who a ‘sender’ is needs to be updated.

The Government will bring forward an Annual Internet Safety Transparency report, as proposed in our Internet Safety Strategy green paper. The reporting will show:

• the amount of harmful content reported to companies
• the volume and proportion of this material that is taken down
• how social media companies are handling and responding to complaints
• how each online platform moderates harmful and abusive behaviour and the policies they have in place to tackle it.

Annual reporting will help to set baselines against which to benchmark companies’ progress, and encourage the sharing of best practice between companies.

The new social media code of practice will outline standards and norms expected from online platforms. It will cover:

• The development, enforcement and review of robust community guidelines for the content uploaded by users and their conduct online
• The prevention of abusive behaviour online and the misuse of social media platforms – including action to identify and stop users who are persistently abusing services
• The reporting mechanisms that companies have in place for inappropriate, bullying and harmful content, and ensuring they have clear policies and performance metrics for taking this content down
• The guidance social media companies offer to help users identify illegal content and contact online, and advise them on how to report it to the authorities, to ensure this is as clear as possible
• The policies and practices companies apply around privacy issues.

Education for a Connected World: A framework to equip children and young people for digital life is available on the UKCCIS page of GOV.UK.

• Guidance is given on eight different aspects of online education: self-image and identity, online relationships, online reputation, online bullying, managing online information, health, wellbeing and lifestyle, privacy and security, and copyright and ownership.
• The Framework has been developed by members of the UKCCIS Education Working Group.
• UKCCIS is a group of more than 200 organisations drawn from across government, industry, law, academia and charity sectors working in partnership to help keep children safe online.
• The UKCCIS Education Working Group brings together ten leading organisations in online safety in education:, Barnardo’s, CEOP (the child protection command of the National Crime Agency), Childnet, Department for Education, Kent County Council, the NSPCC, Parent Zone, the PSHE Association, South West Grid for Learning and the UK Safer Internet Centre. It focuses on how education settings in the UK are responding to the challenges of keeping their pupils safe online.

Supportive statements:

Jonathan Baggaley, CEO of the PSHE Association said:

We’re delighted to have supported the development of the UKCCIS framework. Education plays a critical role in preparing young people for the opportunities and challenges of this rapidly changing digital world. The UKCCIS framework provides an invaluable tool for teachers, supporting them to plan a developmental curriculum which will help children to thrive online.’

Ken Corish, Online Safety Director at South West Grid for Learning said:

Children and young people use technology in empowering and sophisticated ways in online environments that have become increasingly complex. Our approach to educating in this area requires a sophistication to match; it should resonate; be relevant and prompt the outcomes that affect cultural change.

This UKCCIS framework has been designed to identify those opportunities for anyone shaping their teaching in this area from very young children right through to young adults. It brings the current online technology landscape into one document and maps those opportunities against age/developmental stage.

We think it is both challenging and relevant and hope it assists in creating online technology education that makes a difference.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan said:

Barnardo’s welcomes this framework for educators to help children and young people of all ages stay safe and have a positive experience online.

The fast-moving digital world puts increasing pressures on children which can affect their self-image and make them vulnerable to potential bullying and grooming online.

This UKCISS framework should be used by the tech industry to incorporate age appropriate safeguards into their apps and platforms to help prevent abuse happening.

The UK has always benefited from a strong, well established and diverse press sector. However over the past decade the way in which people consume news has been transformed.

Many UK newspapers have a strong online presence but falling print circulations and changes to advertising trends have caused the press sector to experience declining revenues. Latest figures show that around two thirds of local authority areas don’t have a daily local newspaper.

The review will investigate the overall health of the news media, looking at the range of news available and how the press is adapting to the new digital market – including the role and impact of online platforms such as Facebook and Google, and the digital advertising supply chain.

DCMS Secretary of State Matt Hancock said:

Robust high quality journalism is important for public debate and scrutiny – but as print circulations decline and more readers move online, the press faces an uncertain future.

This review will look at the sustainability of the national, regional and local press, how content creators are appropriately rewarded for their online creations, and ensure that the UK has a vibrant and independent and plural free press as one of the cornerstones of our public debate.

A key focus of the review will be the local and regional press, who face an uncertain future. The review will also assess the operation of the digital advertising supply chain including funding flows and its role in creating or reducing value for publishers. It will also look at ‘clickbait’ and low quality news and if there is more that can be done to tackle this issue and undermine any commercial incentives associated with it.

Also within the review’s remit will be an examination of how data created or owned by news publications is collected and distributed by online platforms.

A panel of experts will be appointed in the coming months to lead the review.

As well as identifying challenges, the review will make recommendations on what industry and government action can be taken, with a final report expected in early 2019.

David Dinsmore, News Media Association chairman, said:

The NMA welcomes this announcement today on behalf of the national, regional and local news media industry. This review acknowledges the importance of journalism in a democratic society, the vital role that the press takes in holding the powerful to account and producing verified news which informs the public.

Viable business models must be found that ensure a wide variety of media are able to have a long and healthy future. Through digital platforms, news content is more widely consumed than ever before but the revenues to sustain the investment in that quality content are challenged. This review on a sustainable future is very welcome.

Notes for Editors

1. Recent estimates suggest that current average annual revenue per digital media user is only c.£15, compared to c.£124 per print media user: “UK News Media: an engine of original news content and democracy – A study on the economic contribution of the UK news media industry”, Deloitte, December 2016
2. An estimated two thirds of Local Authority Districts in the UK now not served by a local daily newspaper: “Monopolising local news: Is there an emerging local democratic deficit in the UK due to the decline of local newspapers?”, Gordon Ramsay and Martin Moore Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power, May 2016
3. Panel members are yet to be decided and will be made up of individuals with experience in some of the core sectors under review, bringing a range of voices and expertise to the process.
4. The review will not address politically motivated disinformation and propaganda.

• Science Minister Sam Gyimah attended the Research Day of the Competitiveness Council to exchange views on research and innovation developments
• The UK is a world leader in research and innovation, and sharing this knowledge and expertise internationally is vital to address global challenges

The importance of international collaboration was reinforced on Friday 2 February by Science Minister Sam Gyimah at the Research Day of the EU Competitiveness Council in Bulgaria, where he outlined his desire to see the principles of excellence, competitiveness and openness to the world to remain the guiding principles of European science and innovation, and for the UK to play a leading role in shaping these principles, both now and in the future.

He further stressed these messages in bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other member states while discussing the concerns of British and European researchers. The Minister reiterated the government’s desire for an ambitious science and innovation agreement with the EU, and the UK’s commitment to guarantee competitive EU funds bid for while the UK is a member of the EU.

The informal Council provides a forum for European Research Ministers to discuss EU policy on research and innovation, and this time around the Council had a particular focus on boosting innovation and investing in people. During the meeting, the Minister highlighted how the UK’s ambitious Industrial Strategy has science and research at its heart, as well as outlining the contribution that British knowledge and expertise is making to the UK helping tackle global challenges and the UK’s commitment to developing the technologies of the future.

Following the Council, Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

The Competitiveness Council provided a fantastic opportunity to discuss the importance of working together for the advancement of research and innovation, ensuring UK researchers can continue collaborating on European programmes.

The UK has world-leading academic institutions and an internationally recognised science and innovation base, with some of the best minds from across world coming to research here.

Through the government’s ambitious vision for an Industrial Strategy we are committed to ensuring the UK remains a ‘go to’ destination for research and innovation for years to come.

That’s why it’s in all our interests to pursue a deep and special partnership with the EU recognising our shared interest in maintaining and strengthening research collaboration and driving innovation.

The work is taking place at 21 sites in Devon and Cornwall and involves the planting of 10,000 native trees and shrubs to fill or reduce gaps in hedgerow and woodland along the roadside.

In total the planting will provide around three extra miles of vegetation and connect over 105 miles of habitat on the verge and land adjacent to the A30 and A38.

The scheme is being delivered under Highways England’s national Biodiversity Plan which is being supported by a £30 million national investment programme over the next five years.

The plan recognises road verges and associated land can be managed to provide areas of habitat, relatively free from human access, that may be scarce in the surrounding landscape.

These road verges can also be used to connect fragmented habitats in the wider landscape, enabling plant and animal populations to move and interact, and so become stronger and more resilient.

Ecologist Leonardo Gubert said:

Highways England is committed to protecting the environment through its biodiversity plan and improving the connectivity of habitats along our roads is one of our top nature conservation priorities.

The main aim of this improvement scheme is to reconnect wildlife habitat and ecosystems on a significant scale across our road network in the South West allowing species to move between core areas.

The work is expected to have a huge benefit for a wide variety of species of animals including insects, birds, and mammals, such as butterflies, bees, flies and dormice, suitable places to forage, shelter and breed.

Tree and shrub species being planted include oak, maple, holly, willow, honeysuckle and rose at locations between Pocombe Bridge and Pulsack on the A30 and Wrangaton and Bellamarsh on the A38.

The programme runs from Monday 5 February until Friday 16 March 2018.

The majority of planting will not require any traffic management but a few schemes may require lane closures at times and no delays are anticipated.

Highways England has also been undertaking a lowland heathland conservation scheme in Devon and Cornwall and has plans to expand its species rich wildflower meadows in the South West as part of a future improvement programme.

The lowland heathland is a priority for nature conservation because it is a rare and threatened habitat which supports a variety of scare birds, animals and plants.

There are several areas on the Highways England network in Devon and Cornwall where road verges are either suitable for heathland species or are located adjacent to sites where heathland is present or has been historically recorded.

Work has included the planting and management of new heathland areas and aftercare at eight locations covering over 26,000 square metres across the Highways England network. Location sites are along the A30 and A38 including Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and Goss Moor, and Haldon Hill.

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