Category: Gov Press Releases

The UK is providing fresh support to help tackle the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt will announce today (Wednesday 23 May).

This new UK aid support will help the World Health Organisation (WHO) to monitor the spread of the disease, identify and diagnose cases, trace people at risk of infection, support the vaccination campaign, and treat the sick. It will also strengthen the DRC’s own health systems to treat and appropriately manage the growing number of cases of the disease. This extra £5 million in funding means the UK is currently one of the largest country donors to the response.

Ms Mordaunt will also set out an additional package of support which is strengthening the ability of countries across Africa to prepare and quickly respond to deadly diseases including Ebola, Zika and Yellow Fever, using valuable lessons learned from the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

This support has already led to vast improvements in the speed and effectiveness of the Government of DRC and WHO’s response to the current outbreak.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

The UK has acted swiftly to scale up the response to this outbreak of Ebola, a horrific disease which we know has the potential to cause devastating loss of life.

Our support is vital in helping to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and stop it spreading to other countries – and ultimately the UK.

As part of a co-ordinated international response we have already helped to send thousands of UK aid-funded vaccines to the country and a team of three UK experts is set to deploy.

In addition, the UK is not just waiting for the next outbreak to come along. We’re working to improve the ability of vulnerable and high-risk countries across Africa to detect and tackle outbreaks quickly and effectively. This is keeping us all safe from current and future global health emergencies.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, England’s Chief Medical Officer, said:

Ebola has the potential to devastate a country – that’s why we need an expert and rapid response to this outbreak, led by the DRC government, and in partnership with the WHO and global community to tackle this deadly virus.

The UK government will continue to support the DRC and WHO to halt this deadly disease and make sure it does not cross borders. Our expert Public Health Rapid Support Team is soon to be deployed and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

In addition to this new support, following the Ebola outbreak of 2014, UK aid worked with Wellcome to develop an experimental vaccine for the disease. Thousands of doses of this vaccine are currently being targeted at those most at risk in the DRC.

Three experts from the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team – two epidemiologists and a data scientist – are also being deployed to the DRC to assist our partners in tracking the spread of the disease so that it can be tackled quickly and effectively.

The UK is also helping to fund the rapid response through its major contributions to the UN’s Central Fund for Emergencies, and the WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies, both of which have released $2 million to fund surveillance, diagnosis and treatment operations. The UK is the largest donor to the UN Fund and the second largest donor to the WHO Fund.

Notes to Editors

This £5 million package of new support is taken from DFID’s Crisis Reserve, and is being provided immediately to the World Health Organisation’s response plan for at least the next three months.

Following the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone 2014-2016, the UK focussed on establishing better international global health preparedness and crisis response mechanisms which could be mobilised rapidly. This work has proven effective in this outbreak to date and we judge that WHO’s greatly improved performance is in significant part due to these measures put in place.

The Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme (£40 million) builds on this support to further strengthen long-term preparedness, detection and response to serious diseases in particularly high-risk countries across Africa, including the DRC. Part of this package will support the WHO to improve country health systems and improve surveillance and monitoring of diseases which have the potential to destroy communities. The programme also contains an additional contingency mechanism, to be drawn upon in the event of serious outbreaks, and use of which is allowing the UK to respond swiftly to the current situation in the DRC.

Investing in health systems early is important and good value for money, because it enhances the world’s ability to prevent epidemics, rather than reacting to the next crisis. Evidence suggests that for every £1 invested in preparation a £2 return can be achieved in terms of savings on future spend and investments.

This new funding is in addition to £1 million which DFID made available from its joint research initiative on epidemic preparedness with Wellcome. Wellcome has also made a further £2 million available to deal with the Ebola outbreak, which is being used to help roll out the vaccine campaign.

The Department for Health and Social Care provided an additional £4 million to the World Health Organisation’s Contingency Fund For Emergencies in March 2018. The UK is the second largest donor to this Fund, which has activated to respond to the outbreak.

Public Health England has assessed the risk of this outbreak to the UK as negligible to very low.

The Queen has been pleased to approve that David Rutley MP and Nigel Adams MP be appointed Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government respectively.

Both roles are unpaid and are in addition to their current roles as Government Whips.

Nigel Adams MP has been appointed temporarily to provide support so Heather Wheeler MP can spend more time with her husband who has health issues.

David Rutley MP has been appointed temporarily whilst Thérèse Coffey MP recovers from a period of illness.

A man who attempted to rob a taxi-driver at knife-point has been jailed today after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence for being too low.

Alexander Bell, 26, demanded money from his victim while threatening him with a blade. Even though the victim agreed to pay him, Bell slashed at him with the blade and a struggle ensued.

Bell was originally sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in March, where he was given a sentence of 2 years imprisonment suspended for 2 years. Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 2 years 10 months immediate custody.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

Bell launched an unprovoked attack using a weapon against his victim, and I am pleased that today the Court of Appeal has agreed that the risk he poses to the public warrants immediate custody.

Following the G20 summit, held in Buenos Aires, the Foreign Secretary will travel to the Palacio San Martin, for talks with Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and then later onto Casa Rosada, for a meeting with President Mauricio Macri.

Speaking on the last day of his visit to Argentina, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

I’d like to thank President Macri and Foreign Minister Faurie for hosting me in their vibrant country.

Argentina offers increasing opportunities for British businesses in number of sectors, including oil and gas, agriculture and infrastructure.

The UK and Argentina have been business partners for over 200 years, with a current total of £1.5 billion in bilateral trade in goods and services. This is a number I look forward to help to grow in the future as the UK leaves the European Union.

Mr Johnson will then travel to Chile for the last leg of his five-day tour of Latin America, the first visit to Chile by a UK Foreign Secretary since 1993.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @BorisJohnson and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

To celebrate 100 years of the Royal Air Force (RAF), school and cadet groups across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec are getting an exclusive opportunity to learn about how pilots from the British and Canadian armed forces continue to work together to support peace and security around the world.

With inspiring future generations being such a big theme of RAF100 celebrations, the UK’s Naval and Air Attaché to Canada, Commander Neil Marriott (Royal Navy), called on Ottawa based RAF Exchange Officers, Squadron Leader Drew Anderson and Squadron Leader Andy Wilson, to offer a series of informative and exciting visits for school and youth groups, in partnership with volunteer group Vintage Wings of Canada.

During each session, 30 teenagers are invited to visit Vintage Wings impressive aircraft collection at the Gatineau Airport where they receive an informal presentation on the history of the RAF by current Air Force service members. They also learn about Canada’s role in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War and how the RAF and RCAF continue to cooperate today.

So far, school groups from Carleton Place and Ottawa have taken part and at least five further school and cadet groups have trips planned for the coming weeks.

RAF Squadron Leader Drew Anderson, who is currently on exchange with the RCAF, said:

We’ve got a fantastic opportunity here to help the next generation learn a little bit of our shared history while at the same time maybe inspiring some of them to consider a career in aerospace.

The volunteer staff at Vintage Wings of Canada have been fantastic and everyone is fully supportive of our RAF100 outreach activities. It’s also important to remember that this is not a museum – these aircraft actually fly – and these youth are really excited to get so close to such beautiful and functioning classic aircraft.

Don Buchan from Vintage Wings of Canada said:

As an organization we are all about inspiring young people, so the RAF100 commemoration gave us the catalyst we were looking for to put together an interesting and informative program that we could use to reach a lot of local youths.

The RAF has capitalised on its centenary year to: Commemorate 100 years of extraordinary success, achievement and sacrifice; Celebrate the professionalism and dedication of today’s RAF, which is airborne 24/7 supporting UK and allied interests around the world; and Inspire future generations by telling its unique story.

Commander Marriott said:

The focus of these events is to celebrate the history of the RAF and demonstrate its close relationship with the RCAF over the last century and today, at home and overseas.

We will inform you of the significant scientific leaps in aeronautics that were required to form the modern Air Forces of today, hopefully inspiring you to be Canada’s future scientists, engineers, medical professionals or even pilots.

Public Health England (PHE) has today (Tuesday 22 May 2018) published the first assessment of progress on the government’s sugar reduction programme, measuring how far the food industry has gone towards reducing the sugar children consume through everyday foods.

As part of the government’s plan to reduce childhood obesity, the food industry, including retailers, manufacturers, restaurants, cafés and pub chains, has been challenged to cut 20% of sugar from a range of products by 2020, with a 5% reduction in the first year.

Progress towards meeting the 5% ambition is the focus of this report and is assessed against a 2015 baseline.
The assessment shows an encouraging initial start from retailers and manufacturers, achieving a 2% reduction in both average sugar content and calories in products likely to be consumed in one go.

Whilst this doesn’t meet the 5% ambition, PHE recognises there are more sugar reduction plans from the food industry in the pipeline – and some changes to products that are not yet captured in the data as they took effect after the first year cut-off point.

For the 8 food categories where progress has been measured, the assessment also shows:

• there have been reductions in sugar levels across 5 categories
• yoghurts and fromage frais, breakfast cereals, and sweet spreads and sauces have all met or exceeded the initial 5% sugar reduction ambition
• sugar levels are generally the same across all sectors, however for the eating out of home sector, portion sizes in products likely to be consumed in one go are substantially larger – on average more than double – those of retailers and manufacturers

Retailers and manufacturers have also reduced calories in products likely to be consumed in one go in 4 categories, for example by reducing the size of the product. Of these, ice cream, lollies and sorbets, and yoghurts and fromage frais have reduced average calories by more than 5%.

Due to limitations with the data, PHE is not yet able to report on the progress made in the cakes and morning goods categories for retailer and manufacturer’s products. It is also not possible to report on progress for the eating out of home sector alone as part of this assessment. Progress in these areas will be reported on next year.

As part of the programme, businesses are encouraged to focus efforts on their top selling products within 10 categories that contribute the most sugar to the diets of children up to 18 years of age. They have 3 options to help them do this – reduce sugar levels (reformulation), provide smaller portions, or encourage consumers to purchase lower or no sugar products.

Progress is also reported on the drinks covered by the government’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL). Sugar has been reduced by 11% and average calories per portion by 6% by retailers and manufacturers in response to the SDIL. Data also shows people are buying more drinks that have sugar levels below the SDIL cut-off of 5g per 100g.

With a third of children leaving primary school overweight or obese, PHE continues to call for increased action from all sectors of the food industry to achieve the 20% reduction ambition by 2020.

Steve Brine, Public Health Minister, said:

We lead the world in having the most stringent sugar reformulation targets and it is encouraging to see that some progress has been made in the first year.

However, we do not underestimate the scale of the challenge we face. We are monitoring progress closely and have not ruled out taking further action.

Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive at PHE, said:

We have seen some of the food industry make good progress, and they should be commended for this. We also know that further progress is in the pipeline.

However, tackling the obesity crisis needs the whole food industry to step up, in particular, those businesses that have as yet taken little or no action.

Dr Alison Tedstone, Chief Nutritionist at PHE, said:

This is about tackling the nation’s obesity crisis. Too many children and adults suffer the effects of obesity, as does society, with our NHS under needless pressure. Obesity widens economic inequalities, affecting the poor the hardest.

PHE has also today published new guidelines for the drinks industry to reduce the amount of sugar children consume through juice and milk based drinks.

The drinks categories join the other 10 categories in PHE’s sugar reduction programme. Juice and milk based drinks are currently excluded from the government’s SDIL, but the exemption of milk based drinks will be reviewed by Treasury in 2020.

By mid-2021, the drinks industry is encouraged to:

• reduce sugar in juice based drinks (excluding single juice) by 5%
• cap all juice based drinks (including blended juices, smoothies and single juices) likely to be consumed in one go to 150 calories
• reduce sugar in milk (and milk substitutes) based drinks by 20% and cap products likely to be consumed in one go to 300 calories

Fruit juice alone accounts for around 10% of the sugar consumed each day by 4 to 18 year olds. Current advice is that only one 150ml portion counts as 1 of our 5 a day.

The next progress report on the sugar reduction programme is due in spring 2019.

Background

1. The first year of the sugar reduction programme is August 2016 to August 2017.
2. Single juice (also known as mono juice) products include juice from a single fruit with nothing added to it, for example, 100% orange juice.
3. Blended juice products include juice from multiple juice sources.
4. Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. We do this through world-leading science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and providing specialist public health services. We are an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and a distinct organisation with operational autonomy. We provide government, local government, the NHS, Parliament, industry and the public with evidence-based professional, scientific expertise and support. Follow us on Twitter: @PHE_uk and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland.

On International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May) the UK Government has announced the latest round of successful funding bids from the Darwin Initiative to deliver on flagship commitments set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, awarded a total package of £10.6 million to 52 projects over the next three years from across the globe that will support and enhance biodiversity.

Since 1992, the Darwin Initiative has funded 1,055 projects from 159 countries, with a value of £140m.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove said:

International Day for Biological Diversity offers an important moment for us all to consider how we can help the natural environment thrive on our planet.

Through the Darwin Initiative, we are driving change to protect and enhance international biodiversity. Our 25 Year Environment Plan has set the priorities for funding and demonstrates the UK’s global leadership.

Darwin Initiative

The Darwin Initiative is a grants scheme that helps to protect biodiversity and the natural environment around the globe. Many of the applications reflect the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan commitments to protect the marine environment, to secure the benefits of biodiversity for the poorest communities, and to help prevent the extinction of species.

The fund is administered by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and uses the UK Government’s Official Development Assistance.

Projects receiving funding include:

‘Biodiversity and Agriculture: addressing scale insect threats in Kenya’ and led by the Natural History Museum.

Sir Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum, said:

The role of the Natural History Museum is to inform debate, empower better decisions and lead progress in natural science – sustaining and improving life on Earth. The funding we have received through the Darwin Initiative is allowing us to do just that.

We have participated in 44 Darwin-funded projects to date, from fellowships and awards to major projects. The latest funding is allowing us to collaborate with expert partners in Kenya to help communities better identify, target and respond to invasions of scale insects. These pests damage native trees and crops in Kenya and can cause up to 91 per cent of crop losses but often pesticides are misapplied, damaging both crop yields and the environment. This project will empower communities to improve agricultural practices and protect the nature around them.

Snow Leopard Conservancy has been given support for sustaining snow leopard conservation through strengthened local institutions and enterprises.

Director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy, Dr Rodney Jackson said:

Nepal is adopting the new Federal Constitution aimed at devolving more powers to the local municipality level, thereby giving local communities a greater role in biodiversity conservation.

The Darwin Initiative support comes at the perfect time, enabling the Snow Leopard Conservancy and partners to greatly expand important grassroots, community-driven actions benefiting the snow leopards, known by some as the Ghost of the Mountains, in two of Nepal’s most important mountain protected areas.

Another project is ‘Andean bears and people: coexistence through poverty reduction’ and is being led by Chester Zoo.

Alex Zimmerman, Head of Conservation Science at Chester Zoo, said:

Through the support from the Darwin Initiative we will be able to facilitate human-bear coexistence in the southern Bolivian Andes. Our project links poverty reduction and benefits from biodiversity conservation by improving livelihoods and wellbeing of communities who live alongside this threatened species.

A full list of projects to be supported by the Darwin Initiative is available on gov.uk

Latest support

The Darwin Initiative and the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund have both re-opened for the next round of applications for funding. Projects are being sort that support the commitments in the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.

For the first time the IWT Challenge Fund will provide funding for projects schemes aimed at the illegal trade in certain species of flora around the globe.

• Guidance for applicants to the Darwin Initiative
• Guidance for applicants to the IWT Challenge Fund

Professor Kathy Willis, Director of Science, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew said:

We welcome this announcement on International Day of Biological Diversity of new resources to help address and reduce the illegal trade in important plant species. This trade has been having a devastating impact on plant diversity in many parts of the world.

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants report last year published that 31,517 plant species are currently listed on the CITES appendices and of these 334 are considered critically threatened by international trade. This funding is therefore coming at a vital moment for plant scientists to be able to act and do more to protect orchids, cacti and cycads in particular against this growing threat.

In October 2018, the UK will host a fourth international conference on the illegal wildlife trade, bringing global leaders to London to tackle the strategic challenges of the trade. This follows the ground breaking London 2014 conference on the illegal wildlife trade, and subsequent conferences in Botswana and Vietnam.

The visit to Barnstaple is part of a programme of visits the Low Pay Commission (LPC) is making around the UK during 2018 to gather information on how the National Living Wage is operating (see below for full list of visits). The LPC is also gathering evidence on the idea for a higher minimum wage for non-guaranteed hours, and its upcoming review of the minimum wage rates for young workers.

Professor Richard Dickens and Professor Sarah Brown will meet a number of representatives in North Devon to hear first hand what impact the National Living Wage is having on businesses and workers.

On Wednesday 23 May there will be a drop-in session for anyone who wants to share their experiences of the minimum wage. The session will be from 16:30-17:30 at the Imperial Hotel in Barnstaple. The LPC welcomes anyone to share their experience of the minimum wage, whether as a worker or employer. Commissioners will also be able to explain how the LPC works and how we make recommendations to the Government.

Low Pay Commissioner Sarah Brown said:

Hearing directly from those affected by the National Living Wage and other minimum wage rates is an important part of the Commission’s work and informs our recommendations to the government. Our visits take us around the UK and we welcome the opportunity to hear how the National Living Wage has affected people in the South West.

LPC visits 2018

Date	Location
25-26 April	Kendal and South Lakeland
23-24 May	Barnstaple and North Devon
13-14 June	Newry, Northern Ireland
13-14 June	Perth, Scotland
4-5 July	Anglesey, Wales
8-9 August	Birmingham

Current minimum and previous National Minimum Wage rates

Minimum Wage rate	Old rate (2017/18)	Current rate
National Living Wage	£7.50	£7.83
21-24 Year Old Rate	£7.05	£7.38
18-20 Year Old Rate	£5.60	£5.90
16-17 Year Old Rate	£4.05	£4.20
Apprentice Rate	£3.50	£3.70
Accommodation offset	£6.40	£7.00

Notes

1. The Low Pay Commission is an independent body that advises the government about the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage.
2. The LPC is responsible for: carrying out extensive research and consultation, and commissioning research projects; analysing relevant data and actively encouraging the Office of National Statistics to establish better estimates of the incidence of low pay; carrying out surveys of firms in low-paying sectors; consulting with employers, workers and their representatives and taking written and oral evidence from a wide range of organisations; making fact-finding visits throughout the UK to meet employers, employees and representative organisations.
3. There are 9 Low Pay Commissioners drawn from a range of employee, employer and academic backgrounds. The LPC is chaired by Bryan Sanderson.
4. All the Commissioners serve in an individual capacity. They are supported by a secretariat, which has 8 members of staff and is based in London.
5. If you are are involved in a business, are a worker, or have information you would like to share with commissioners about the effects of the National Living Wage or Minimum Wage, and would like to meet the Commissioners, please contact the LPC secretariat using the contact details below.

The transaction data shows HM Land Registry completed 1,625,098 applications in April compared with 1,688,244 in March and 1,386,147 last April, of which:

• 346,788 were applications for register updates compared with 359,219 in March
• 804,157 were applications to get an official copy of a register compared with 824,859 in March
• 196,560 were search and hold queries (official searches) compared with 211,464 in March
• 28,161 were postal applications from non-account holders, compared with 26,228 in March

Applications by region and country

Region/country	February applications	March applications	April applications
South East	376,385	384,760	373,677
Greater London	313,340	337,656	314,534
North West	185,253	193,405	184,504
South West	158,433	159,147	159,528
West Midlands	143,338	142,764	140,096
Yorkshire and the Humber	122,513	128,654	121,756
East Midlands	115,725	119,374	115,347
Wales	74,301	76,650	75,111
North	71,772	75,246	73,765
East Anglia	71,764	70,448	66,644
Isles of Scilly	75	79	69
England and Wales (not assigned)	70	61	67
Total	1,632,969	1,688,244	1,625,098

Top 5 local authority areas

Top 5 local authority areas	February applications	Top 5 local authority areas	March applications	Top 5 local authority areas	April applications
Birmingham	26,256	Birmingham	26,895	Birmingham	25,990
City of Westminster	21,991	City of Westminster	24,562	City of Westminster	22,505
Leeds	18,730	Leeds	19,505	Leeds	18,630
Manchester	16,972	Manchester	17,708	Manchester	16,698
Cornwall	16,606	Cornwall	17,174	Cornwall	16,343

Top 5 customers

Top 5 customers	February applications	Top 5 customers	March applications	Top 5 customers	April applications
Enact	50,488	Enact	50,160	Enact	48,943
Optima Legal Services	27,904	Optima Legal Services	28,113	Optima Legal Services	26,741
O’Neill Patient	23,851	O’Neill Patient	26,056	O’Neill Patient	25,473
Devonshires	20,684	Infotrack Limited	22,948	Infotrack Limited	24,411
TM Group (UK) Ltd	19,558	TM Group (UK) Ltd	19,320	TM Group (UK) Ltd	18,058

Access the full dataset on data.gov.uk

Notes to editors

1. Transaction Data is published on the 15th working day of each month. The May Transaction Data will be published at 11am on Thursday 21 June 2018 at HM Land Registry Monthly Property Transaction Data.
2. The monthly Transaction Data showing how many applications for new titles, leases, splitting titles, updating existing titles, official copies of the register and search and hold queries (official searches) were received, reflects the volume of applications lodged by customers using an HM Land Registry account number on their application form.
3. We are challenging ourselves to reassess our language to make our terms understandable to both our commercial and citizen customers. This is in line with our commitment set out in the Business Strategy 2017-2022 under the ‘simplicity’ element of our ambition.
4. Completed applications in England and Wales shown by region and by local authority include postal applications as well as those sent electronically.
5. Transaction Data excludes: pending applications, bankruptcy applications, bulk applications, discharge applications (to remove a charge, for example a mortgage, from the register).
6. Transactions for value are applications lodged involving a transfer of ownership for value. For an explanation of other terms used, see abbreviations used in the transaction data.
7. Most search and hold queries (official searches) carried out by a solicitor or conveyancer are to protect the purchase and/or mortgage. For example, a search and hold query will give the buyer priority for an application to HM Land Registry to register the purchase of the property. This can give an indication of market activity.
8. Reasonable skill and care is used in the provision of the data. We strive to ensure that the data is as accurate as possible but cannot guarantee that it is free from error. We cannot guarantee our data is fit for your intended purpose or use.
9. Transaction Data is available free of charge for use and re-use under the Open Government Licence (OGL). The licence allows public bodies to make their data available for re-use.
10. If you use or publish the Transaction Data, you must add the following attribution statement: Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2017. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
11. HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales.
12. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
13. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for some 85% of the land mass of England and Wales.
14. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry
15. Follow us on Twitter @HMLandRegistry our blog and LinkedIn and Facebook

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Human Appeal (registered charity number 1154288). The investigation was opened on 18 April 2018.
The charity’s objects relate to the prevention or relief of poverty anywhere in the world through activities including providing grants, education, healthcare and medical aid to those in need.

The charity submitted a serious incident report, in accordance with best practice, to the Commission in December 2017. Since then, the Commission has met with the trustees on a number of occasions and has been provided with independent reports commissioned by the charity. These raise serious concerns about the administration of the charity, including failures to account for the charity’s funds and operate within the charity’s policies and procedures.

An inquiry has now been opened to further investigate the Commission’s concerns. The inquiry will examine the following issues:

• whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law
• the trustees’ management of relationships and work with other individuals, including donors and organisations and their due diligence leading up to and during such relationships
• the systems and processes in place to ensure that the trustees are informed of matters at the charity and their decision-making
• the financial controls and management of the charity’s funds and accounting procedures

The Commission stresses that opening an inquiry is not in itself a finding of wrongdoing. The purpose of an inquiry is to examine issues in detail, investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been mismanagement and/or misconduct; establish the extent of any risk to the charity’s property, beneficiaries or work and decide what action needs to be taken to resolve the serious concerns, if necessary using its investigative, protective and remedial powers to do so.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

The charity’s details can be viewed on the Commission’s online charity search tool.

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
3. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.