Pulse.Assent

The UK has today (Wednesday 25 July) committed to increase its support to help people in grassroots organisations keep HIV on the agenda in countries around the world.

International Development Minister Alistair Burt made the announcement at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, also attended by HRH Duke of Sussex and Sir Elton John.

He pledged that DFID will step up its support for the Robert Carr Fund – an organisation dedicated to supporting community networks across the world which help people with HIV to realise their human rights, tackle stigma, and advocate for policy change.

International Development Minister Alistair Burt said:

People affected by HIV should be able to live without fear of stigma and discrimination. That’s why it’s important that through UK aid we continue to support vulnerable people to access the HIV prevention and treatment services that they have a right to.

The UK is already the second largest funder of HIV prevention, treatment and care in the world. UK aid is preventing people from being infected, providing lifesaving support for those living with HIV, improving access to medicines and leading innovative research.

The work of the Robert Carr Fund and civil society networks mean that people with HIV get access to the health services that they need and live without fear of stigma and discrimination.

The investment from DFID will support the following groups who are most vulnerable to HIV infection – men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, prisoners, sex workers and transgender people, among others – in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Projects and campaigns supported by the Fund include:

• The ‘Gay Star News Digital Pride’ project empowers LGBT voices across the Middle East and North Africa to celebrate Pride online in a safe environment.
• AMSHeR supported workshops to campaign for human rights when people with HIV were arrested in Tanzania. This group also developed an African Key Populations Scorecard; this is an index to hold governments to account for their performance, against global guidance, for people living with HIV.

Notes to Editors

• The UK government is the second largest donor to the global AIDS response and to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
• This £6million announcement brings the DFID’s support to the Robert Carr fund to £15million up to 2021. In 2016 globally 19.5 million of the 36.7 million people living with HIV had access to treatment – up from 5.2 million people on treatment in 2010.
• Around 76% of pregnant women living with HIV have access to antiretroviral medicines up from 47% in 2010.
• New HIV infections among children have halved.

There is more to do:

• In 2016 AIDS killed over 1 million people.
• AIDS remains the biggest killer of women of reproductive age (15-49) worldwide.
• Although more people are on treatment, we are not having the same success in bringing new infection rates down.
• Globally, in 2016 nearly 2m adults per year were infected with HIV, with no statistically significant drop in new infections in adults since 2008.

UK spend on HIV:

• DFID is the second largest international funder of the HIV response behind the US, spending £1.56 billion.
• Our investments are through multilateral organisations such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS and Unitaid given their greater reach and scale. These are key players in the global response on HIV.
  The UK sits on the boards of all three organisations.

A meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) took place at the Cabinet Office in London on 25 July 2018.

The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was represented by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rt Hon David Lidington MP, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP. The Government of Ireland was represented by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Simon Coveney TD, and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr Charles Flanagan TD.

The Conference was established under Strand Three of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement “to promote bilateral co-operation at all levels on all matters of mutual interest within the competence of both Governments”.

The Conference discussed the following:

Legacy

The Conference reviewed the overall progress towards implementation of the Stormont House Agreement legacy framework.

Both the Irish and UK Governments re-asserted their commitment to the legacy bodies set out in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement as the best means of addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past. The UK Government updated the Conference on the consultation currently being held on the Stormont House institutions which runs to 10 September. The Irish Government updated the Conference on the legislative measures being brought forward within its jurisdiction to implement and support the Stormont House Agreement legacy framework and raised other legacy issues.

Security co-operation

The Conference reviewed the current security situation, and discussed the continuing threat posed by Northern Ireland Related Terrorism in the United Kingdom and in Ireland.

The Conference expressed its rejection of all paramilitary violence and all other forms of paramilitary activity. The Conference reiterated its strong support for the efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána, along with other agencies, in keeping people safe and secure across both jurisdictions.

Both the UK and Irish Governments recalled commitments in the 2015 Fresh Start Agreement to ending paramilitarism and looked forward to the first report of the Independent Reporting Commission established under that Agreement.

East-West matters

The Conference considered the strength of the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland and welcomed the high levels of bilateral cooperation across a range of important policy areas.

The Conference agreed that this level of bilateral co-operation needed to be maintained and, where possible, strengthened following the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

Officials were asked to take forward work in this area with a view to coming forward with proposals for future East-West cooperation, including at Cabinet and Ministerial level, for consideration by the Irish and UK Governments at a future meeting of the Conference.

Political stability

Both the UK and Irish Governments reiterated their strong support for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements which have underpinned the progress made in Northern Ireland over the past two decades and which provide the framework for the political process in Northern Ireland.

The Irish and UK Governments re-affirmed their shared commitment to all of the political institutions established by the Agreement and to securing the effective operation of power-sharing, devolved government in Northern Ireland and the consequent resumption of the North/South Ministerial Council and Northern Ireland participation in the British Irish Council at the earliest opportunity.

Both the UK and Irish Governments agreed to continue working closely together in accordance with the three-stranded approach as set out in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

Future meetings

It was agreed that the Conference would meet again in the autumn.

The Queen has been pleased to appoint Mr Edmund Anderson DL as Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire to succeed Dame Ingrid Roscoe DCVO when she steps down on 1 September 2018.

The Department for International Development (DFID), Public Health England (PHE) and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have worked alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN mission MONUSCO, the Wellcome Trust, GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance) and others to halt the disease’s spread.

Today, the DRC’s Ministry of Health declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola, while insisting it would remain on the alert and continue to prepare for future outbreaks.

DFID has provided funding to tackle the outbreak, including supplying vaccines, in the DRC.

UK aid also funded the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, made up of three health experts who flew to the DRC to work as part of an international team fighting Ebola.

International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt said:

The UK’s swift and robust response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo helped to stop it spreading to neighbouring countries, and ultimately to the UK. Our response shows how seriously we take such health threats around the world.

UK aid support and expertise were key to containing this deadly outbreak, helping to prevent a repeat of the widespread death toll from the 2014-15 West Africa epidemic. We have learned from this epidemic which resulted in Britons infected with the disease returning to the UK.

Our contributions are helping to limit the spread of Ebola and other deadly diseases, making the world – including the UK – a safer place.

In May, DFID provided £1m (in addition to £2m provided by the Wellcome Trust) to support key science and research elements of the Ebola response. This included support for the roll-out of an experimental Ebola vaccine, which was developed with support from UK aid funding following the 2014-15 West Africa Ebola outbreak.
Later in the month DFID provided a package of support to the WHO to aid their response plan. This helped WHO and the DRC Ministry of Health to monitor the spread of the disease, identify and diagnose cases, trace people at risk of infection, support its vaccination campaign, and treat the sick.

In July, DFID provided fresh support to WHO to ensure Ebola did not spread to any of DRC’s neighbouring countries.

The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, made up of two epidemiologists and a data scientist was sent to DRC in late May. Jointly delivered by Public Health England and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the team worked under difficult conditions in a remote rainforest area. They helped develop an alert system for early warning of possible cases, assisted in the training and supervision of field teams, and tracked the spread of Ebola.

Dr Olivier le Polain, epidemiologist and member of the team, said:

Community surveillance strategies were put in place in remote villages, which were bolstered by teams undertaking active case finding. These teams were travelling to remote areas by motorbike, to ensure that suspect cases were identified, tested, and appropriately managed. Early identification and isolation of cases of Ebola Virus Disease are critical measures that limit onward community spread, and help contain the outbreak.

The focus of UK aid will now move towards preventing future outbreaks. Investing in health systems is important and good value for money, because it enhances the world’s ability to prevent epidemics, rather than reacting to future crises. Evidence suggests that, for every £1 invested in preparation, a £2 return can be achieved in terms of savings on future spending and investments.

Notes to editors

Summary of DFID’s funding contribution to tackling Ebola in DRC

• On May 18, 2018, DFID announced it had provided £1 million, alongside £2 million to the Wellcome Trust from its joint research initiative on epidemic preparedness. This supported the science and research elements of the response, including evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Ebola vaccine
• On May 23, DFID announced £5 million in funding from its Crisis Reserve Fund for the joint WHO-DRC Government Ebola response plan
• On July 3, DFID announced £1.5 million in support for the WHO’s Regional Preparedness Plan, to support countries neighbouring DRC in preparing for and managing the risk of of Ebola spreading into their territory

Key statistics

• There were a total of 54 cases in this outbreak (38 confirmed and 16 probable). In total, 33 people died. (source Government of DRC Ministry of Health)
• 3,330 people were vaccinated by MSF and WHO teams
• 1,706 contacts of infected people were identified, registered, and followed-up with for a 21-day period following their possible exposure (Ebola has a 21-day incubation period)

Calculating the end of the outbreak

• The DRC’s Ministry of Health officially declared the Ebola outbreak over today, following technical guidance from WHO. This states that if no other cases are confirmed, the outbreak is over after two full incubation periods (21 days each) have passed, starting from the day after the last Ebola patient was released from care
• The last patient was released after having tested negative for the virus twice, on June 12. The 42-day period ended on July

Modussur Khan, 32, from Oldham, was the sole director of Manchester Autospares Limited (MAL) throughout the life of the company. The company was incorporated in December 2011 and sold scrap parts for the motor industry from premises in Failsworth, Manchester.

The company ceased trading on 3 May 2016 and went into liquidation on 18 May 2016, owing creditors £61,374.

An Insolvency Service investigation, which followed the company’s liquidation, found that MAL operated a merchant services account whereby it received card payments from customers.

But the company took unauthorised payments from customers’ cards between 5 April and 25 April 2016 totalling at least £72,887. These payments were not related to genuine purchases and led to increased receipts into the company’s bank account.

And then between 8 April and 22 April 2016, the company made payments totalling at least £71,816 from its bank account using the fraudulently obtained funds, which Modussur Khan used to make personal purchases, a bureau de change withdrawal and other cash withdrawals.

Furthermore, MAL’s customers applied for refunds to the merchant services provider as they had not authorised payments to MAL. This led the merchant services provider to suffer a total loss of £56,791.

On 31 May 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Modussur Khan, in which he did not dispute making payments of £71,816 from the company’s bank account when he knew or ought to have known that at least some of these funds were obtained fraudulently.

His disqualification became effective from 21 June 2018 and lasts for 12 years, where he is banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the management of a company without the permission of the court.

Robert Clarke, Group Leader of Insolvent Investigations North at The Insolvency Service said:

This is a serious case of misconduct by the director. The disqualification of Modussur Khan sends out a clear message that where a corporate vehicle is used to facilitate actual or potential fraudulent activity, action will be taken to remove the directors from the corporate arena for a lengthy period of time.

Notes to editors

Modussur Khan resides in Oldham and his date of birth is March 1986;

Manchester Autospares Limited (Company Reg no. 07892144) was incorporated in December 2011. The company went into liquidation on 18 May 2016, with a deficiency as regards creditors of £61,374.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

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