Category: Gov Press Releases

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is warning young Brits following in the footsteps of globe-trotting celebs not to fall foul of lesser-known local laws and customs, which could land them in serious trouble.

New research from the FCO shows that one third of 18 – 24 year olds (33%) will be influenced by celebrities when preparing for their holiday this Easter, with nearly one in three (30%) saying stars inspire their travel destination.

However, many of these destinations have more unusual and surprising rules than UK travellers are used to.

As most young Brits don’t have A-listers’ concierge support when planning trips abroad, the FCO is urging British people to be aware of local laws and customs in the destinations they are travelling to by reading up on Travel Advice – something that fewer than two fifths of young people (38%) currently do – if they want to avoid getting into trouble abroad.

FCO analysis of ONS data has found a significant increase in Brits travelling further afield than the traditional European trips, often to popular celebrity destinations that have stricter laws and customs than the UK. Visits to Sri Lanka are up more than a fifth (22%) and the UAE up more than a sixth (17%).

Jack White, celeb content director at Now magazine said:

We’ve all felt the pang of envy that comes from scrolling through a celebrity’s luxury holiday snaps on social media, but if you’re ever lucky enough to end up in Dubai or St Lucia it’s worth remembering different countries have different rules – and sometimes even the stars seem unaware of this.

It’s easy to get caught up the moment on holiday, so it’s worth researching the local laws beforehand to make sure your dream trip doesn’t end in disaster. After all, there’s definitely nothing glamorous about ending up behind bars!

The FCO recommends Brits making trips abroad this Easter join the 16 million people a year who check its Travel Advice before they travel. All sorts of local laws and customs are covered in the travel advice, including the 10 listed below:

1. UAE: Swearing and making rude gestures (including online) are considered obscene acts and offenders can be jailed or deported.

2. Thailand: You can’t bring vaporisers, such as e-cigarettes, e-baraku or refills into Thailand. These items are likely to be confiscated and you could be fined or sent to prison for up to ten years if convicted.

3. Greece: Indecent behaviour, including mooning, isn’t tolerated and could result in arrest and a fine or a prison sentence.

4. Sri Lanka: The mistreatment of Buddhist images and artefacts is a serious offence and tourists have been convicted for this. British nationals have been refused entry to Sri Lanka or faced deportation for having visible tattoos of Buddha. Don’t pose for photographs standing in front of a statue of Buddha.

5. Japan: The use or possession of some medicines like Vicks Inhalers or painkillers containing Codeine is banned in Japan and can result in detention and deportation

6. Turkey: It is an offence to insult the Turkish nation or the national flag, or to deface or tear up currency. If you are convicted of any of these offences, you could face a prison sentence of between six months and three years.

7. Caribbean: Many Caribbean countries, such as Barbados, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia ban the wearing of camouflage clothing, including by children.

8. Spain: Causing a forest fire is treated as a criminal offence in Spain even if unintentional.

9. Australia: Australia has strict quarantine rules to keep out pests and diseases that could affect plant, animal and human health. Breaches of quarantine regulations can result in large fines.

10. Ukraine: Smoking and drinking alcoholic drinks in public places (including transport, bus stops, underground crossings, sports and government establishments, playgrounds and parks) is officially banned.

Julia Longbottom, FCO Consular Director said:

It’s great to see the British people being inspired to travel to new and exciting places. This makes it all the more important to follow our Travel Advice and respect local laws and customs to avoid unnecessary trouble. For instance, e-cigarettes are banned in Thailand and can result in a prison sentence of up to ten years.

Even in places closer to home, disrespecting local laws can have serious consequences – in Greece indecent behaviour, such as mooning, can be punishable with a fine or even a prison sentence. We see many cases each year of people breaking local laws and customs.

It is important that our travellers understand that the UK Government can’t give legal advice or get them out of prison. Instead, we want to do all we can to help British people stay safe when they are travelling, and avoid ending up in these difficult situations.

For more information and to find out about local laws and customs in destinations around the world, visit the FCO’s travel advice pages.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Updated rules to strengthen the government’s powers to scrutinise takeovers that may raise national security concerns in specific areas of the economy will be introduced to Parliament today (15 March 2018).

Under current rules, the government can only intervene in mergers when they meet certain tests related to the target company’s turnover or where the merger causes an increase in the parties’ overall share of supply of goods or services.

However, these rules do not properly recognise the growing importance of small British businesses in developing cutting edge technology products which can have national security applications.

In order to address this change in the market, the government will amend the tests for businesses in the military, dual-use, computing hardware and quantum technology sectors that are most likely to have implications for our security.

Today’s rule change will remove the requirement for a merger to lead to an increase in the share of supply. In the coming weeks the government will introduce complementary measures to lower the test for ministerial intervention in relation to the target business’s turnover to over £1 million, down from £70 million under current rules. Both are subject to Parliament’s approval.

Business Minister Richard Harrington said:

Around 75,000 new jobs were created in the UK last year thanks to foreign investment. However, our economy can only thrive if our national security is protected, so it is right that we keep our powers of intervention under review to ensure the rules keep pace with innovation.

These new measures will allow us to ensure that takeovers in key areas of the economy cannot risk the UK’s national security whilst maintaining our position as one of the most open and modern economies in the world.

The changes follow a consultation launched last year to amend the Enterprise Act to reform and strengthen the government’s powers. Today’s rule changes are the first step in its plans – broader changes will be announced in a white paper later this year.

The government has also published draft guidance for businesses so they can easily identify and adapt to the changes to legislation.

Notes to editors:

1. The National Security and Infrastructure Investment Review green paper, published on 17 October 2017, outlined the government’s plans to take a staged approach through short and long term measures to reform how it scrutinises national security implications of business transactions. Today’s measures are a response to this consultation on amending the Enterprise Act through secondary legislation.

   National security and infrastructure investment review with Part 1 government response and draft guidance

2. The consultation on longer term proposals closed on 9 January. The government will publish a response to this consultation in due course.

3. Under the current Enterprise Act 2002 ministers can intervene in mergers (foreign or domestic) that give rise to specific public interest concerns of national security, financial stability or media plurality. However, for ministers to be able to intervene, the transaction has to meet certain thresholds. These are that the target company has a UK turnover of over £70 million, or that the merger takes the merging parties’ combined share of supply to 25% or more (or increases an existing share of supply of 25% or more). There are limited exceptions to this related to some defence and media transactions.

4. The affirmative statutory instrument introduced today amends the share of supply test to allow the scrutiny of more mergers in three areas: (a) the military and dual-use sector, (b) 2 parts of the advanced technology sector, encompassing computing hardware and quantum technologies. For these areas alone, this instrument amends the share of supply test so that it is met where a merger or takeover involves a target with 25% or more share of supply in the UK, as well as where the deal leads to an increase in the share of supply to, or above, this threshold, which is the current requirement.

5. Subject to Parliamentary approval being obtained for this affirmative instrument, a second, negative statutory instrument will be laid to amend the turnover test to allow the scrutiny of more mergers in the same 3 areas of the economy. The second instrument will lower the threshold over which the target business’s UK turnover must be, from over £70 million to £1 million. We intend that both instruments would come into force at the same time, subject to scrutiny of the House.

6. The changes, whilst made for national security-related reasons, will also amend the thresholds that allow the independent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to scrutinise merger for competition concerns. However, neither the government or the CMA expect that the changes will bring about a material change in the CMA’s approach to the assessment of mergers on competition grounds.

World-leading powers to ensure online sellers pay the right tax, and don’t leave law-abiding high street and online businesses at a disadvantage, have come into force today (15 March 2018). These were first announced by the Chancellor at Autumn Budget 2017.

The internet has revolutionised the way people shop and helped many businesses to sell their products across the UK. Online marketplaces can help those who sell through their platforms to understand the tax rules and therefore avoid fines from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). And, indeed, they have the responsibility to make sure that fraud does not happen on their watch.

These new rules strengthen powers to make online marketplaces accountable for VAT fraud committed by online sellers on their platforms.

These powers are known by the term joint-and-several liability (JSL) for online marketplaces.

If sellers based in the UK or overseas are not paying the correct VAT when selling in the UK, and are not removed from the site following the issue of a notice by HMRC to the marketplace, HMRC will pursue the marketplaces themselves for any future unpaid tax by those sellers.

For any sales made from today onwards, the rules also make online marketplaces liable for VAT where they knew or should have known that an overseas online seller should have been VAT-registered, but was not.

This sends a clear message that businesses in the UK and overseas, online and on the high street, must all play by the same rules, protecting traditional high street and legitimate online sellers who pay what they owe.

Marketplaces must now also make sure sellers using their platforms display a valid VAT number on the site, when they are given one. This will help buyers make an informed choice about buying goods from a VAT-registered businesses with confidence.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mel Stride, said:

Whilst the honest majority pay what they owe, some businesses that sell goods online to UK shoppers are failing to pay the correct amount of VAT.

This behaviour unfairly undercuts businesses trading in the UK that play by the rules, abuses the trust of buyers, and deprives the government of significant revenue that funds vital public services.

We are clear that everyone must pay their fair share of tax, and tackling tax evasion in all its forms is a top priority for the government.

The UK has led the way in tackling this type of fraud and, in September 2016, was the first country to introduce tough powers to tackle VAT evasion by overseas sellers – these have already gone a long way to remove over a thousand non-compliant overseas businesses from selling goods online in the UK and to motivate tens of thousands of overseas sellers to register for VAT.

The new rules go further to strengthen and develop our operational response to online VAT fraud and error from both UK and overseas businesses.

As well as this, businesses can apply to register for the Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme from 1 April 2018. This scheme, which was first announced at Budget 2016, will require businesses that store imported goods for, or on behalf of, overseas sellers from outside the EU to keep certain records and perform certain checks on the goods they are storing.

Taken together, the respective packages of measures announced at Budget 2016 and Autumn Budget 2017 will help protect around £1 billion of tax revenue by 2023, and further enhance HMRC’s ability to ensure everyone is paying their fair share.

Further information

For more detail, read:

• guidance on VAT: online marketplace seller checks
• guidance on VAT: businesses that sell goods in the UK using online marketplaces
• measures announced in Autumn Budget 2017
• measures announced in Budget 2016
• guidance on the Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme

The Defence Secretary has today announced a £3.7 million deal to equip the Army’s next generation armoured vehicle with the latest in automated threat warning systems.

Thales UK has signed a contract with General Dynamics Land Systems–UK for the installation of its Acusonic sensor, a vehicle-mounted acoustic shot detection system, on the £4.5 billion Ajax family of armoured fighting vehicles.

The Ajax Shot Detection System will be manufactured at Thales in Templecombe in Somerset, which employs more than 700 people in highly-skilled manufacturing and technical roles.

Designed to accurately sense and report the direction of incoming enemy fire, the system will give the vehicle’s crew the critical situational awareness to react to the threat. Its innovative sensing system is based on Thales’s world-class sonar technology that provides the ‘ears’ for ships and submarines around the world.

Each Ajax will be fitted with three Acusonic sensors, giving the crew a 360-degree threat-detection capability.

Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said:
> I am pleased to announce today that we will be spending almost £4million with Thales and General Dynamics Land Systems-UK to deliver the Ajax Shot Detection System, which can sense enemy gunfire and protect troops using our next generation armoured vehicles.

Under the terms of the contract, 735 Acusonic systems are now on order for integration onto Ajax. Thales is already on contract to supply the primary and secondary sighting systems on the vehicle.

The six variants in the Ajax programme – Athena, Ajax, Ares, Apollo, Atlas and Argus – are due to come into service in 2020, providing a full suite of medium armoured vehicles and capabilities.

They will be the ‘eyes and ears’ of the British Army on the battlefields of the future.
The new vehicle will give the army enhanced intelligence, surveillance, protection, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities.

Major General Colin McLean, Director Land Equipment for Defence, Equipment and Support, the government’s procurement agency, said:

Ajax will deliver a step-change in versatility, agility and protection for our soldiers. Integrating this new sensor on to our family of Ajax vehicles, which will provide critical situational awareness, is another innovation we are investing in to ensure that British soldiers have the very best equipment to maintain their competitive advantage on the battlefields of today and the future.

Ends

Notes for editors

· General Dynamics Land Systems–UK, as the prime contractor for Ajax, was awarded the contract to provide the Ajax family of armoured vehicles in 2014.

· Thales UK has already been selected by General Dynamics Land Systems–UK to supply the primary sighting system for Ajax, and by Lockheed Martin UK, the sub-contractor responsible for the design and manufacture of Ajax turret, for the secondary sighting system.

· For more information contact the MOD News Desk on 0207 218 7907 or the Defence Equipment & Support Press Office on 01179130537.

· For the latest news follow us on Twitter at @DefenceES and @DefenceHQ.

Parents, caregivers and people with head lice are being reminded to always read product instructions before applying head lice removal products. Some of these products have the potential to ignite when in the presence of an open flame – such as when lighting cigarettes.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a Drug Safety Alert advising pharmacists to tell people about the risk of fires when they discuss options to treat head lice.

With some head lice removal products easily accessible at supermarkets and without a pharmacist’s guiding hand, users need to be aware of the importance of reading the instructions that come with all treatments to make sure they are used safely and correctly.

Speak with a pharmacist to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment option. Alternatively see NHS Choices page on Head lice and nits and the Head lice Clinical Knowledge Summary from NICE for more information on options for eradication.

Dr Sarah Branch, Deputy Director of MHRA’s Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines (VRMM) Division said:

It’s important parents and carers know always to keep away from a naked flame, including cigarettes, when using these head lice treatments. People can continue to use these head lice removal products safely – like all medical products, a simple check of the instructions will ensure safe, easy and effective use.

Patient safety is our highest priority and we encourage people to report any incidents involving head lice removal products to MHRA using our Yellow Card Scheme.

Notes to Editor

• A range of products, which can include products like Hedrin, Full Marks, and Nyda, are used for the eradication of head lice infestations.
• 10 cases of serious burns associated with the use of head lice removal products have been reported to our Yellow Card Scheme since 2007.
• Some products for the removal of head lice can ignite when on the hair and cause serious harm in the presence of an open flame or other source of ignition such as when lighting cigarettes.
• Instructions for use should always be followed, including warnings to keep hair away from naked flame when using these products.
• Pharmacists are encouraged to help the person with head lice and/or their parents or caregivers to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment option (see NHS Choices page on Head lice and nits and the Head lice Clinical Knowledge Summary from NICE for more information on options for eradication).

Measures to improve overcrowded and dangerous living conditions of private tenants in shared homes were laid before Parliament today (15 March 2018) by Housing Minister Heather Wheeler.

Councils are being given tough new powers to tackle the small minority of rogue landlords who rent out overcrowded properties and impose fines of up to £30,000 for those landlords who do not comply.

From October councils will be able to set minimum bedroom size standards and also introduce limits on how many people can live in each bedroom of a licenced multiple occupancy home. Councils will be able to use national minimum standards or apply even tougher requirements in order to address specific local needs.

This move will help ensure tenants have the space they need and deserve as well as reduce health and safety risks they face by sharing cooking and washing facilities with too many people.

The new standards will apply to all landlords seeking new licences. Landlords of existing properties will be given up to 18 months to make necessary changes when re-applying for a licence when it expires.

In a move to stop rubbish piling up outside some shared rented homes, often presenting health risks and blighting neighbourhoods, landlords will also be required to provide adequate waste storage facilities in line with their local authority’s rules. If they fail to do so they could face a fine.

These latest measures build on wider government action to drive up standards in the private rented sector by tackling bad landlords. This includes the launch of a new database of rogue landlords and introduction of banning orders for the worst offenders coming into force next month.

Minister Heather Wheeler said:

Everyone deserves a decent and safe place to live. But some tenants are being exploited by a minority of unscrupulous landlords who profit from renting out cramped and sometimes squalid or dangerous properties.

Today’s measures will mean landlords must provide adequate space for their tenants or face a hefty fine. It is part of a raft of new powers for councils to crack down on rogue landlords and comprehensive action we are taking to improve conditions for private tenants.

Last month new legislation was introduced requiring more landlords to obtain a licence from their council. Landlords of 1 and 2-storey multiple occupancy properties will be brought within scope of mandatory licensing requirements across England, affecting roughly 160,000 additional properties.

Further information

Minimum space requirements

• Rooms used for sleeping by 1 person over 10 will have to be no smaller than 6.51 square metres, and those slept in by 2 people over 10 will have to be no smaller than 10.22 square metres. Rooms slept in by children of 10 years and younger will have to be no smaller than 4.64 square metres.
• The licence must specify the maximum number of persons (if any) who may occupy any room and the total number across the different rooms must be the same as the number of persons for whom the property is suitable to live in.

Extended scope of mandatory house in multiple occupation licensing

• National mandatory licensing currently only applies to houses in multiple occupation that have 3 or more storeys and occupied by 5 or more people. It is being extended to cover one/two storey houses in multiple occupation which are occupied by 5 or more people.

Waste Storage

• The government has re-affirmed the need for councils to provide comprehensive and frequent household waste collections which are free at the point of use. Councils should not seek to impose backdoor waste charging of residential properties, including houses in multiple occupation.

Banning orders and landlord database

A small number of rogue or criminal landlords knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a range of measures to tackle rogue landlords:

• civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution – came into force April 2017
• extension of Rent Repayment Orders to cover illegal eviction, breach of a banning order or failure to comply with a statutory notice – came into force April 2017
• banning orders for the most serious offenders – to be implemented in April 2018
• a database of rogue landlords/letting property agents convicted of certain offences – to be implemented in April 2018

Andrea Gomes da Silva becomes Executive Director – Markets & Mergers. Currently the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Senior Legal Director for Markets, Mergers & Regulatory Appeals, Andrea takes up her new post immediately. The role was made vacant by Andrea Coscelli’s promotion to Chief Executive. In her new position, Andrea will join the CMA’s Senior Executive Team and will sit on the CMA Board.

George Lusty, currently a Project Director at the CMA, is appointed as Senior Director, Consumer Protection, replacing Nisha Arora who has joined the Financial Conduct Authority. He will oversee work on the CMA’s enforcement of consumer protection laws and coordinate relationships with the wider landscape of consumer organisations, joining the Enforcement Senior Leadership Team led by Executive Director, Michael Grenfell.

Welcoming the appointments, the CMA’s Chief Executive, Andrea Coscelli, said:

I am very pleased to be able to announce these two appointments to our senior team from within the CMA, from a strong field of candidates. Andrea and George both bring extensive experience from outside the CMA, combined with a proven track record within it. They strengthen our team as we prepare ourselves for a bigger role following EU Exit, and to ensure consumers are getting a fair deal from a rapidly evolving business world.

Mr Coscelli added:

I am also grateful to Rachel Merelie who has been Acting Executive Director during an important period for the CMA.

Andrea Gomes da Silva said:

I am delighted to be taking up this role at an important moment for the organisation. Ensuring the CMA is fit for purpose for Brexit and remains able to deliver good outcomes for UK consumers through its mergers and markets work matters greatly. I look forward to working with the many excellent colleagues in those areas, and with businesses, consumer groups and a wide range of others to rise to this challenge.

George Lusty said:

Having seen first-hand the difference that the CMA’s work can make, I am incredibly excited to be taking on this role. I look forward to working with my talented and dedicated colleagues, and partner consumer organisations, to tackle unfair terms and practices facing people across the UK.

The CMA will shortly be running an open recruitment for Andrea’s previous role.

Notes to editors

1. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law.

2. Andrea Gomes da Silva joined the CMA in 2015 from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer where she started in 2001, becoming a partner in 2008. In 2013 she was seconded to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to work as part of the team producing the guidance on the CMA’s new powers under the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Her previous employment was at Slaughter and May where she worked in both the London and Brussels office. At the CMA she has led on legal advice and analysis across the whole range of markets, mergers and sector regulation activities, including ICE/Trayport, Fox/Sky, Tesco/Booker and the Energy Market Investigation.

3. George joined the CMA in 2014 as a Project Director, and has led a number of the CMA’s major consumer and antitrust investigations. He led the CMA’s response to its first ‘super-complaint’ from the consumer body Which?, concerning the pricing practices of UK supermarkets, and the CMA’s ongoing investigation into potentially misleading and unfair practices in the gambling sector. George has also led investigations into alleged abuse of dominance by pharmaceutical companies concerning the prices they offer to the NHS. Before joining the CMA, George worked for the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal as a Référendaire on a range of major competition and regulatory appeals and damages actions. A qualified solicitor, George began his career as an associate at international law firm Simmons & Simmons, specialising in civil and criminal antitrust investigations and utilities regulation.

4. The Executive Director – Markets & Mergers appointment was made in accordance with the requirements set down in the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Rt Hon Greg Clarke MP, has made the appointment of Andrea to the CMA’s Board. The SD consumer appointment was made in accordance with the requirements set down in the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.

5. Rachel Merelie, who has been Acting Executive Director, returns to her role as Senior Director, Delivery and Sector Regulation.

6. For more information on the CMA see our homepage or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

7. Enquiries should be directed to press@cma.gsi.gov.uk or 020 3738 6191.

We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, abhor the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK, on 4 March 2018. A British police officer who was also exposed in the attack remains seriously ill, and the lives of many innocent British citizens have been threatened. We express our sympathies to them all, and our admiration for the UK police and emergency services for their courageous response.

This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. It is an assault on UK sovereignty and any such use by a State party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all.

The United Kingdom briefed thoroughly its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack. We share the UK assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia´s failure to address the legitimate request by the UK government further underlines its responsibility. We call on Russia to address all questions related to the attack in Salisbury. Russia should in particular provide full and complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Our concerns are also heightened against the background of a pattern of earlier irresponsible Russian behaviour. We call on Russia to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council to uphold international peace and security.