Category: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Foreign Secretary in first bilateral visit to Switzerland for more than 20 years

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has arrived in Switzerland for the first bilateral visit by the UK’s most senior diplomat since 1996.

Both the UK and Switzerland are renegotiating their relations with the EU, with both seeking to protect national sovereignty whilst holding high ambitions for close co-operation with the EU across a broad range of areas.

The UK and Switzerland enjoy close ties through trade, culture and shared values, and work closely together to tackle many global challenges of the present day.

The Foreign Secretary said:

Both the UK and Switzerland are proud, independently-minded nations, but we both understand the value of having a deep and close relationship with the EU.

While our own EU exit negotiations progress, we are also working hard with our friends in Switzerland to ensure our bilateral relations continue to flourish for many years to come.

Trade between our two countries is worth more than £30 billion a year; together we host all of the ‘top 10’ universities in Europe; and we continue to unite in tackling many global issues, including modern slavery and cyber crime.

This visit will allow me to continue important discussions with the President and Foreign Minister on the huge potential for greater co-operation between two great European nations.

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Link: Press release: Foreign Secretary in first bilateral visit to Switzerland for more than 20 years
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Latest ONS figures show exports in services continue to grow

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show demand for British services continues to grow, as exports swelled to £286 billion in the year to 2018 Q2.

The data indicates UK service exports to the world rose by almost £19 billion – an increase of 6.9% compared to the same time last year.

Figures released today (24 October 2018) reflect an increase in exports to important trading partners including USA, Australia and South Korea.

The latest services surplus in the year to 2018 Q2 has also reached a new high, increasing to £117 billion – up 11.3% on last year. Other main points from today’s release include:

  • Service exports to Non-EU countries have increased by 4.5% to 167 billion. A fast-growing contributor was South Korea where the total value of exports in services increased to £2.4 billion.
  • The USA remains the UK’s top services destination, with exports increasing to £59 billion, accounting for 20.6% of total exports.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said:

Today’s trade figures show demand for UK services overseas continues to soar. Overall services exports have risen to £286 billion – up 6.9% on this time last year, while the trade services surplus has also increased to £117 billion.

There is clear appetite for British services further afield, as the US and Far East offer some of the greatest growth prospects of the 21st century. As we formulate an independent trade policy for the first time in more than 4 decades, my international economic department will continue to make sure British companies are not only seizing these opportunities, but also thriving from them.

The news comes after the launch of the government’s Export Strategy, which sets out a new ambition to increase exports as a proportion of UK GDP to 35%, making the UK one of the G7’s most successful exporters.

Link: Press release: Latest ONS figures show exports in services continue to grow
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: PM call with King Salman of Saudi Arabia: 24 October 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister spoke to King Salman today (24 October) to reiterate the UK’s grave concerns about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Prime Minister said the current explanation lacks credibility so there remains an urgent need to establish exactly what happened. She strongly urged Saudi Arabia to cooperate with the Turkish investigation and to be transparent about the results. It is important that the full facts are established.

The Prime Minister also reiterated that all individuals bearing responsibility for the killing of Mr Khashoggi must be properly held to account.

She said the Home Secretary is taking action against all suspects in the murder of Mr Khashoggi to prevent them entering the UK. If these individuals have visas, they are being revoked.

Link: Press release: PM call with King Salman of Saudi Arabia: 24 October 2018
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: PM meeting with PM Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic: 24 October 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

Prime Minister Theresa May met with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš this afternoon in Downing Street for bilateral talks. The visit came as the Czech Republic celebrated its independence centenary, marking the foundation of Czechoslovakia.

The two Prime Ministers reflected on the strength of the bilateral relationship and the importance that this continues after the UK leaves the EU. They noted their close cooperation on defence and security matters, and on trade. Prime Minister May thanked Prime Minister Babiš for his support following Salisbury and offered her condolences on the death of a Czech soldier in Afghanistan on Monday.

Prime Minister May offered an update on Brexit negotiations, outlining work being done to finalise the withdrawal agreement and agree an ambitious future partnership.

Link: Press release: PM meeting with PM Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic: 24 October 2018
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Local government finance settlement date confirmed in government response to Hudson review

Local authorities will have more certainty to plan their budgets as government confirms it will aim for set dates each year for the provisional and final local government finance settlements, the Minister for Local Government Rishi Sunak MP confirmed today (24 October 2018).

The minister outlined the move in a response to an independent review into the department’s oversight of the business rates system.

The review, led by former Director General at HM Treasury Andrew Hudson, found the department has managed the increasing complexity of the business rates and associated systems well, but its processes for managing the local government finance system should be strengthened further. This is in anticipation of future challenges from the forthcoming Fair Funding Review, the 2019 Spending Review and the changes to business rates and their retention by local authorities.

The review also found the timetable for announcing both the provisional and final local government settlements has over the past few years moved to later in the year, allowing less time for scrutiny and for local authorities to set their budgets. It recommended that future provisional settlements be on or around the 5 December and the final settlement no later than the 31 January.

In a letter to the Chair of the Housing Select Committee, the Minister for Local Government Rishi Sunak MP confirmed the department will accept all of Andrew Hudson’s recommendations and outlined the department is aiming to publish the provisional settlement for 2019 to 2020 on Thursday 6 December 2018. The letter also outlines the need to make sure each year that the settlement timetable aligns with fiscal events and Spending Reviews.

See the full report and letter to Clive Betts MP.

Minister for Local Government Rishi Sunak MP said:

I thank Andrew Hudson for carrying out this thorough review. We accept his recommendations, and have already taken steps to ensure their implementation.

We recognise taking a more planned approach towards the provisional local government finance settlement in future will be fundamental to ensuring local authorities are given more certainty, and the time and space to consider their financial positions for the coming year.

With this in mind we will aim to publish the provisional and final settlements on or around the same dates every year from this December.

As part of the review’s recommendations the department confirmed it is working with local government to design reform to business rates retention to make it simpler and this work will continue to be overseen by the joint MHCLG and Local Government Steering Group

Further information

Andrew Hudson’s review was commissioned by the department’s former Secretary of State the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP in April 2018 in response to a data error which gave an overpayment of £36 million to local authorities at the provisional settlement for local government in December 2017.

The review was built on the principles set out in the Macpherson review of 2013 of the internal processes and procedures which underpin MHCLG overseeing the business rates system, including policy decision-making and analysis and modelling.

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Link: Press release: Local government finance settlement date confirmed in government response to Hudson review
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Continuity of planning (environmental) requirements when the UK leaves the European Union

The government has today (24 October 2018) published statutory instruments in relation to environmental assessments and the planning regime.

These instruments make no substantive changes of policy, but when the UK leaves the European Union (EU) these instruments will ensure the continued smooth operation of the following regimes relating to the environment and the planning system:

  • Environmental Impact Assessment – which aims to ensure that environmental considerations are taken into account at the development consent stage of the planning process

  • Strategic Environmental Assessment – which aims to ensure that environmental considerations are taken into account at the strategic plan-making stage of the planning process

  • Hazardous Substances Regulations – these ensure that the objectives of preventing major accidents, and limiting the consequences of such accidents, are taken into account in land-use planning

These instruments also make a small number of amendments to other planning legislation, for example where there are references to obligations in EU law which are redundant or no longer appropriate.

The amendments in these instruments:

  • will ensure that these regimes will continue to operate as they did before the date we leave the EU
  • will not be retrospective, and so there will be no need to re-examine any decisions made before our EU exit purely as a result of these changes

We have also taken this opportunity to bring up to date some references to other legislation. Those provisions come into force on 31 December 2018. All other provisions come into force at the point the UK leaves the European Union on 29 March 2019.

Before these statutory instruments are formally laid in Parliament, they have to go through a sifting process. A new committee in the House of Commons and the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee in the House of Lords will consider the suitability of the relevant procedure.

The UK government is committed to maintaining the highest environmental standards after we leave the EU, and will continue to uphold international obligations through multilateral environmental agreements.

Further information

See the statutory instruments that the government has laid:

The UK government has also laid a statutory instrument which applies in Northern Ireland.

The negative parliamentary procedure is proposed for these statutory instruments. Negative SIs do not need active approval by Parliament. They will automatically come into effect as law unless either House stops (annuls) them within a fixed period after they have been laid (usually 40 sitting days).

The UK will leave the EU at 11pm on 29 March 2019.

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Link: Press release: Continuity of planning (environmental) requirements when the UK leaves the European Union
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: FCO statement on UN action against breaching sanctions on North Korea

An FCO spokesperson said:

The UK welcomes the announcement by the UN’s 1718 Committee that it has listed three vessels for engaging in sanctions evasion. The vessels, the Shang Yuan Bao, New Regent and Kum Un San 3, are subject to deflagging and a port entry ban. Their activity demonstrates that North Korea continues to flout UN sanctions through prohibited ship-to-ship transfers.

The UK is contributing to the enforcement of UN sanctions through monitoring and surveillance activities to detect and prevent illicit ship-to-ship transfers in partnership with Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.

We are also concerned that recent US assessments indicate that North Korea has breached the UN-mandated cap on imports of refined petroleum through illicit transfers and we therefore call on all Member States to halt all sales and transfers of refined petroleum to North Korea.

Full enforcement of UN sanctions is vital to ensure we achieve the goal of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea as agreed by the UN Security Council.

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Link: Press release: FCO statement on UN action against breaching sanctions on North Korea
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Rapist has sentence increased following Solicitor General’s referral

A man who sexually assaulted a woman celebrating her 19th birthday in Falmouth has had his sentence increased today after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

Joseph Ahmed, now 32, forced his victim to have unprotected sex with him after they met at a house party. He ignored her pleas for him to stop. The victim was estimated to have been twice the legal drink drive limit at the time of the assault.

Ahmed was originally sentenced at Truro Crown Court in August, where he was given 5 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of 3 years. Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 7 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of 3 years.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

“Ahmed put his victim through a terrible ordeal, showing a complete disregard for her clear protestations. I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has today agreed that Ahmed’s sentence should have been higher, and hope it will bring some comfort to the victim.”

Link: Press release: Rapist has sentence increased following Solicitor General’s referral
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Independent Governor of WFD appointed

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has appointed Mark Babington as Independent Governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD).

Mark Babington has 20 years’ experience in the public sector and in policy and standard setting as a qualified FCA accountant. He brings with him strong audit experience in developing UK audit policy through his current role in the Financial Reporting Council, as a former Director in the NAO, and an Independent Co-Opted member of WFD’s Audit and Risk Committee since 2017.

WFD is the UK public body dedicated to supporting democracy around the world. It is run independently of the UK Government, though works closely with it. WFD partners with political parties, legislative assemblies and electoral bodies and is active in over 30 countries. WFD’s initiatives include the political engagement of vulnerable groups in 18 Commonwealth countries, building trust in democracy across the Western Balkans and combating violence against women in the Middle East and Northern Africa. On behalf of the UK Government, WFD also recruits UK nationals for international election observation missions.

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Link: Press release: Independent Governor of WFD appointed
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Business Secretary hosts first cross-government working group on future regulation

  • Business Secretary outlines commitment to ensuring regulators are active, forward-thinking and ready to ensure UK is at the forefront of future industries
  • Move reflects government drive to transform regulation to support innovators to bring new ideas to market

Business Secretary Greg Clark has outlined his commitment to building on the UK’s exceptional reputation for regulation by ensuring UK regulators are ready for the industries of the future, at the first Ministerial Working Group on Future Regulation.

The Group, which convened for the first time yesterday, is a key commitment in the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy and is responsible for ensuring the government can shape the right regulatory environment to put the UK at the forefront of future industries, from driverless cars to artificial intelligence. It will also take forward recommendations by the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology on how to make the UK regulations more favourable to innovation.

The Council’s recommendations have been published, together with the government’s response. These include establishment of a new horizon-scanning function to ensure that regulation keeps pace with emerging technologies and better access to regulatory advice and support for innovators.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

We have a world-beating regulatory environment in the UK which has set standards that have been exported around the world. But we can’t move forward by standing still and we must prepare for the technologies and industries of the future.

I am grateful to the work done by the Council and for their recommendations on how we can put the UK at the forefront of these industries. Through the Working Group on Future Regulation we are going to build on our exceptional foundations, ensuring our regulations keep pace with the technological advances that will reshape our economy.

By being the ‘prime mover’ in reforming regulation to support technological innovation, the government will be able to grow domestic industries and attract investment from the rest of the world.

The new group reflects the government’s drive to transform regulation to support innovators to bring new ideas to market. In early October the government announced that it would invest in £10 million in 15 projects through the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund. Projects will help regulators keep pace with technological advances of the future from virtual lawyers to flying cars.

Members of the Ministerial Working Group on Future Regulation are:

  • Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Rt Hon Greg Clark MP (Chair)
  • Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP
  • Secretary of State for Transport – Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP
  • Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – Rt Hon Jeremy Wright MP
  • Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth – Rt Hon Claire Perry MP
  • Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation – Sam Gyimah MP
  • Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury – Robert Jenrick MP
  • Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Better Regulation) – Rt Hon Lord Henley
  • Government Chief Scientific Advisor – Dr Patrick Vallance FRS, FMedSci, FRCP
  • Chair of the Regulatory Policy Committee – Anthony Browne
  • BEIS Director General for Market Frameworks – Jaee Samant
  • BEIS Director for Better Regulation – Carl Creswell

This group, which will meet on a quarterly basis, will be responsible for:

  • Strengthening the Government’s horizon scanning for emerging regulatory challenges arising from innovative products, services and business models
  • Commissioning departments to develop regulatory reform proposals to enable innovative products, services and business models
  • Promoting action by regulators to develop innovation-enabling regulatory approaches
  • Seeking to resolve complex regulatory issues that cross sectoral, departmental or regulator boundaries; and
  • Driving the exchange of best practice in innovation-enabling approaches across Whitehall

Link: Press release: Business Secretary hosts first cross-government working group on future regulation
Source: Gov Press Releases