Category: Gov Press Releases

• First Civil Society Strategy in 15 years sets out a vision to create stronger communities
• The strategy proposes significant reforms across the public and private sectors to build a fairer society
• People, communities and charitable organisations will be at the centre of decision-making

The first Civil Society Strategy in 15 years will build stronger communities by bringing together businesses, charities and the public sector, the Government has vowed today.

Civil society refers to organisations and individuals working to create social value, enriching lives and building a fairer society for all.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, unveiled the new vision today, which places communities at the centre of decision-making and focuses on five key foundations of social value: people, places and the public, private and social sectors.

The work follows the Government’s Industrial Strategy, published last year. The strategy complements plans to grow Britain’s economy and boost productivity by building a more connected society, where everyone can play their part in a fairer, healthier and more prosperous country.

It creates more opportunities for people to actively take part in community decisions, as well as highlighting ways to harness the power of digital and technology for public good.

As part of the Civil Society Strategy, the Government is:

• Unlocking £20 million from inactive charitable trusts (those which spend less than 30% of their annual income) to support community organisations over the next two years. The work will be carried out in conjunction with the Charity Commission and UK Community Foundations.
• Launching an ‘Innovation in Democracy’ pilot scheme in six regions across the country. This will trial creative ways for people to take a more direct role in decisions that affect their local area. This could include Citizens’ Juries or mass participation in decision-making on community issues via an online poll or app.
• Establishing an independent organisation that will distribute £90 million from dormant bank accounts to get disadvantaged young people into employment. This new organisation will harness the experience of grassroots youth workers, businesses, and other local services, to help young people achieve their full potential.
• Creating an independent organisation to use £55 million from dormant bank accounts to tackle financial exclusion and the problem of access to affordable credit.
• Supporting charities to make their voices heard on issues that matter to them and ensuring that charitable trustees reflect the diversity of the society they serve.
• Strengthening Britain’s values of corporate responsibility, through the launch of a major new Leadership Group, formed of senior figures from the business, investment and social sectors, to put social and environmental responsibility at the heart of company decisions.
• Using digital technology for good to improve the work charities can provide to support healthy ageing, bolster online safety and better connect people in an effort to tackle loneliness.
• Improving the use of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 to ensure that organisations can generate more social value for communities when spending public money on government contracts.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright, said:

Our plans stand side-by-side with the Industrial Strategy, supporting its drive to grow the economy, while creating an environment where people and communities are at the heart of decision-making.

These ambitious plans will harness the expertise of volunteers, charities and business to help people take a more active part in their local areas.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, added:

Civil society is the bedrock of our communities. It is made up of the volunteers, youth workers, charities and innovative businesses that work to improve lives and make areas better for all.

Our strategy builds on this spirit of common good to help create a country that works for everyone. I want people, organisations and businesses to feel inspired to get involved and make a difference.

Through collaboration, we will unlock the huge potential of this incredible sector, help it grow, support the next generation and create a fairer society.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

Our modern Industrial Strategy has set out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK, building a Britain which is fit for the future.

Strengthening the UK’s business environment and growing thriving communities are mutually reinforcing, which is why the Civil Society Strategy is so important in helping to foster further partnerships between government, business, civil society and local communities – bringing improved prosperity across the UK.

The Government’s Civil Society Strategy was formed following an open consultation and has been developed across Government.

Notes to editors:

Funding of £90m to get disadvantaged young people into employment and £55m to tackle financial exclusion is to be taken from a total pot of up to £330 million from dormant bank and building society accounts, which will be used to help the homeless, disadvantaged young people, local charities and other good causes in the UK over the next four years.

Media enquiries: Hannah Thornley, DCMS Press Office: 0207 211 2210

• The UK Government hosted the event, in collaboration with the governments of Australia, Canada, France and the US
• In a speech at Amiens Cathedral, The Duke of Cambridge pays tribute to those who served in the battle one hundred years ago

More than 3,000 people gathered in France today to mark the centenary of the Battle of Amiens and the start of the Hundred Days Offensive, the final period of the First World War.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge joined Prime Minister Theresa May at the ceremony in Amiens Cathedral to remember those who fought in the battle.

Two thousand guests watched the service from inside the Cathedral, including hundreds of descendants of those who fought. A further 1,200 members of the public watched from the Cathedral square.

In a speech, HRH The Duke of Cambridge paid tribute to those who served in the battle one hundred years ago and the cooperation between the Allied nations.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

The Battle of Amiens was the turning point which hastened the final, decisive chapter of the First World War.

A hundred years on, today’s ceremony is a fitting moment to remember those who sacrificed their lives, and reflect on our shared past, present and future.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said:

The Battle of Amiens marked the beginning of the end of the First World War. It was a crucial step in securing the Allies’ victory in November 2018.

Today, we have come together as friends to remember those who fought and to reflect on the sacrifices they made.

On 8 August 1918, the Allied armies, made up of British, Australian, Canadian, French and American forces, advanced over seven miles on the first day of the Battle of Amiens, one of the greatest advances of the war.

The battle demonstrated how the Allies had learned lessons from previous campaigns and combined the use of infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft to devastating effect.

Amiens also marked the start of the Hundred Days Offensive that won the war sooner than had previously been thought possible. The opening day of the battle was described by the German General Erich Ludendorff as the black day of the German Army.

After today’s ceremony, in a moment that reaffirmed the bonds of friendship and peace between nations, His Royal Highness, the Prime Minister, along with representatives from France, Germany, Australia, Canada, the US and Ireland laid flowers in the Chapel of the Allies in the Cathedral. Flags that were presented to the Bishop of Amiens by the Allied nations after the Battle have remained in the chapel ever since.

His Royal Highness and the Prime Minister also met a number of descendants of those who fought at Amiens.

Notes to Editors:

For further information please contact Faye Jackson in the DCMS Press Office on faye.jackson@culture.gov.uk or + 44 (0)7788 345 722

Details of the representatives who attended from the other nations who laid posies:

• Madame Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces
• His Excellency, Mr Joachim Gauck, former President of the Federal Republic of Germany
• The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Canada
• The Honourable Darren Chester MP, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Defence Personnel and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of Anzac, Australia
• Her Excellency Ms Patricia O’Brien, Ambassador of Ireland to France
• Kristina Kvien, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Paris

The welfare code for laying hens has today been updated as part of a programme of reforms to safeguard and enhance the welfare of animals.

Strengthened statutory guidance is now in place for keepers and owners of laying hens and pullets on how to meet the needs of their birds and enhance their welfare.

This welfare code has been updated to reflect the very latest advice from vets and animal husbandry developments, as part of a programme of reforms to safeguard and enhance the welfare of animals, the Minister for Animal Welfare, Lord Gardiner announced today.

Minister for Animal Welfare, Lord Gardiner, said:

We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and are going further in a number of areas, including our plans to raise maximum sentences for animal cruelty to five years and making CCTV mandatory in abattoirs.

This code was carefully consulted on with industry experts, and uses the most recent scientific and veterinary advice to ensure this clear guidance provides the best advice to owners and keepers to help ensure the high welfare standards of their animals.

Animal keepers are now expected to provide a more enriched environment for all laying hens to enable them to display more of their natural behaviours such as foraging, helping to ensure more fulfilled and healthier animals. The user-friendly codes also provide detailed guidance to animal keepers on how to assess the welfare of their animals, as well as on contingency planning to help ensure the welfare of their animals during any emergencies.

The codes will be used by enforcement bodies including Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors and local authorities when investigating allegations of poor welfare to look at whether animal welfare standards are being met.

The full code is available to read online.

New data published by Public Health England (PHE) show that deaths from hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease have fallen by 11% in 2017 compared to the previous year.

A fall has been sustained in 2017 after a continued rise in deaths over the last decade. This fall is most likely due to increased use of new antiviral medications now available on the NHS which have the potential to cure the condition in most cases and have fewer side effects than previously used medications.

More people are accessing treatment than ever before with an increase of 19% on the previous year and of 125% when compared to pre-2015 levels.

The new data also shows there was still an average of 1,974 new end-stage liver disease and cancer diagnoses per year, with the rate remaining stable between 2011 to 2015.

In the UK, around 200,000 people have a long-term infection with hepatitis C virus. People who have ever injected drugs are most at risk of infection, but around half of people living with hepatitis C are unaware of their infection.

PHE is urging anyone who has previously been diagnosed with hepatitis C or who has engaged in activities that may have put them at risk to get tested as they can benefit from this potentially curative treatment.

Two years ago, the UK government committed to a joint ambition with 193 other countries to eliminate the disease as a public health threat by 2030. As well as testing and treatment, prevention through needle and syringe exchange services and opiate substitution therapies need to be sustained to achieve and maintain elimination.

Dr Sema Mandal, Consultant Epidemiologist at PHE, said:

The fall in deaths from hepatitis C related advanced liver disease in the last year suggests that more people are accessing new, potentially curative treatments and shows we’re making positives steps towards reaching our overall goal of elimination of hepatitis C as a major public health threat.

However, more needs to be done. We are urging anyone who has ever injected drugs, even once or a long time ago, had a tattoo or medical treatment overseas where proper hygiene procedures may not have been followed, or has had a blood transfusion before hepatitis C screening was in place, to get tested at their GP, community drug services or sexual health clinic. It could save your life.

If untreated, infection with the hepatitis C virus can lead to liver damage, cancer and even death. It is normally spread through blood-to-blood contact by sharing needles, but even sharing razors or toothbrushes with an infected person could pass the virus on.

The disease often has no symptoms until it causes serious complications many years later. Urgent testing and prompt treatment is needed in order to ensure infected people don’t suffer from serious health complications in the future.

If people aren’t sure about whether they are at risk, they can take a short quiz on the Hepatitis C Trust website to find out if they should get tested.

Background

1. Hepatitis C can be treated with medicines that stop the virus multiplying inside the body. These usually need to be taken for several weeks. Until a few years ago, most people would have taken 2 main medications called pegylated interferon (a weekly injection) and ribavirin (a capsule or tablet). Tablet-only treatments known as direct acting antivirals which have a short duration and fewer side effects are now available. Using these latest medications, more than 90% of people with hepatitis C may be cured.
2. PHE’s hepatitis C Operational Delivery Network (ODN) profile tool provides estimates of hepatitis C prevalence, diagnoses, treatment and severe hepatitis C-related liver disease at local level to help with local planning and delivery of awareness-raising, testing and diagnosis and treatment services.
3. The introduction of widespread needle exchange programmes in the 1980s and 1990s, which provided sterile injecting equipment and opiate substitution therapies, helped to reduce the number of drug-related deaths and blood-borne virus infections. The sustained investment in these services since then has resulted in the UK having one of the lowest rates of hepatitis C among injecting drugs users in the world – but these services must continue for lower hepatitis C rates to be realised.

The International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has today launched the UK’s biggest ever tax partnership programme to help Ethiopia generate more tax during her visit to the country.

The programme will transform Ethiopia’s tax system, helping it to harness the potential of its booming economic growth. This new partnership will also help the country generate revenue so that it can better finance its own services and development, becoming less reliant on aid.

Ms Mordaunt will announce the scheme today before a meeting with Ethiopia’s Finance Minister, Dr Abraham Tekeste. She may also have the opportunity to meet new Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, becoming the first UK Government Minister to do so.

Ethiopia is rapidly industrialising, and with this new partnership the UK will support the country to meet its ambitions to develop its economy. Extra tax revenues will help the country tackle poverty, invest in its own services, boost economic growth and move beyond aid.

During her visit to the country, Ms Mordaunt visited UK garment factory Hela at Hawassa Industrial Park to see how the country’s industrialisation is opening up opportunities for UK business, trade and investment. She marked the launch of the previously announced Jobs Compact which is creating over 100,000 jobs for some of the most vulnerable Ethiopians, including refugees.

Ethiopia is currently host to over 900,000 refugees from across the region. By empowering refugees to get jobs, the UK is helping them to rebuild their lives so that they do not seek dangerous migratory journeys outside the region. This is ensuring Ethiopia remains a force for stability in a volatile region.

She also announced new support to improve the welfare and security of employees at the Industrial Park.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

Ethiopia’s security, development and prosperity matter for the UK – which is why we’re working with the country to help it generate more tax from its rapid growth. This will help Ethiopia fund its own development – and ultimately transition beyond aid.

We’re also helping the most vulnerable Ethiopians, including refugees who have fled neighbouring countries, to find jobs and rebuild their lives, creating the stability which will allow Ethiopia and the region to prosper.

This is a win for Ethiopia and a win for the UK, including British businesses such as Hela which are thriving in East Africa.

During her visit Ms Mordaunt also had the chance to visit a camp for internally displaced people in Ethiopia, where over two million people across the country have been forced to leave their homes. She saw first-hand how the UK’s flexible response is currently providing an uplift in basic lifesaving support for almost a million people.

Amid historic change and optimism in the country, Ms Mordaunt will today also launch a Civil Society Support programme to empower some of the most vulnerable people in Ethiopia, including those with disabilities, to have their say in the changes happening in their country.

Notes to Editors

• The Ethiopia Tax Transformation Programme (£35 million), DFID’s largest bilateral tax programme, is building on progress achieved so far to help Ethiopia increase revenue generation so that it can better finance its own services and development.
• Hawassa is the flagship industrial park in East Africa and represents the vision Ethiopia has to develop its economy. In response to a number of challenges which have emerged as the Park has grown, DFID is working to ensure worker wellbeing and safety is paramount, through a range of worker initiatives (£3 million) including UNWOMEN’s Safe Cities programme and ILO’s Better Work Initiative.
• Through the Civil Society Support Programme (£9 million), the UK is empowering citizens across Ethiopia to influence government policy and hold their government to account – and supporting civil society groups to have their voice heard. This programme will give a voice to the most marginalised groups, including women, young people and people with disabilities.
• In response to a recent increase in need, £27 million additional humanitarian funding is providing vital lifesaving support to up to a million people across the country, most of whom have fled their homes as a result of conflict within Ethiopia. This will include urgently needed supplies of blankets, shelter, hygiene kits, and specially-nutritious food for malnourished children and a variety of much-needed support in the areas of health, WASH (water, sanitation and health), nutrition, safeguarding (protection), and food security.
• As previously announced, DFID is contributing £80 million to the Ethiopian Jobs Compact which will create over 100,000 jobs for Ethiopians and refugees in Ethiopia over the next six years.

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The Forestry Commission is urging industry to be vigilant for signs of ash dieback and report suspected sightings through its Tree Alert reporting system.

The call comes after three new tree and shrub species in the same family as ash (Oleaceae) tested positive for ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) infection at the Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire.

The findings are unlikely to have a significant impact on the environment as the newly infected species are ornamental and are not widespread or native to the UK.

The infection was identified by staff at the arboretum on mock privet, narrow-leaved mock privet and white fringetree – ornamental trees and shrubs from the Mediterranean and North America. The species were found in close proximity to infected ash trees.

Forest Research, Great Britain’s principal organisation for forestry and tree related research, is conducting further tests on the nature of the infection. This includes monitoring other species in the Oleaceae family for susceptibility to H. fraxineus infection. A number of these species have already been tested including Osmanthus and Lilac, but were found to be negative.

UK Chief Plant Health Officer, Professor Nicola Spence, said:

Since 2012, the Government has invested more than £6 million into ash dieback research. These findings highlight the importance of the Forestry Commission’s reporting system, Tree Alert, and of arboreta and other plant collections, which play crucial roles in supporting the UK’s world-leading plant health sector.

Landscapers, gardeners and tree practitioners should be vigilant for signs of ash dieback on these new host species, and report suspicious findings through Tree Alert.

Over the last five years the Government has invested in world-leading research to advance understanding of the biology and pathology of the disease, including sequencing the ash genome and the ash dieback fungus. It has also funded the world’s largest screening trial for tolerant trees, raising the possibility of an ash breeding programme in the future.

In May the Environment Secretary launched the first Tree Health Resilience Strategy – the first major publication to come out of the 25-Year Environment Plan. The strategy sets out a new proactive approach to tree health, with landowners, charities, the public and government working together to take actions to build resilience against pests and diseases to protect the nation’s trees.

As part of this approach, a new senior cross-industry Plant Health Alliance to strengthen biosecurity practices across industry has been established.

Arboreta also continue to play a critical role in supporting work on ash dieback. Research by Forest Research has identified over 30 different ash species being grown in the main arboreta of Britain which will be used in trials to assess tolerance of these species to ash dieback.

Defra and the Forestry Commission continue to work with landowners and local councils, as well as the plant health sector internationally, to share experiences, identify solutions and develop action plans to deal with the impacts of ash dieback.

To report a suspected case of ash dieback in any of these newly identified host species, visit the Tree Alert portal.