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Press release: PM call with Prime Minister Trudeau: 18 May 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke this afternoon with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of the G7 summit next month.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Trudeau for his support at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April in London. They reflected on the positive work done at the summit and both agreed they were looking forward to continuing this momentum at the G7.

Prime Minister Trudeau welcomed the significant commitment made at the summit by the UK to girls’ education in developing countries. He noted this would be a key area for Canada at the G7, to which the Prime Minister offered her support.

The leaders had a broad discussion about the upcoming G7, including the importance of the G7’s rapid respond mechanism to hostile state activity. They reflected on the common ground their countries shared on security matters.

They agreed that coordination between members states would be key across the G7, with Prime Minister Trudeau reiterating his ongoing support to work begun by the UK at CHOGM on ocean plastics.

Link: Press release: PM call with Prime Minister Trudeau: 18 May 2018
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: David Lidington in Madrid for positive talks on UK-Spain relationship post-Brexit

The Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington MP visited Madrid today, where he met the Spanish Foreign Secretary Alfonso Dastis to talk about the deep bilateral relationship between the UK and Spain and to reiterate the UK’s commitment to forge even greater ties after the UK leaves the European Union.

The Ministers discussed the practical implications of the UK’s departure, including for Gibraltar where the priority remains to provide certainty to the thousands of people and businesses affected. Mr Lidington reiterated that the UK is confident that by engaging in regular conversations with the Government of Gibraltar and our EU partners – including Spain – we will find a way forward that benefits everyone living and working in the region.

The discussion also covered current foreign policy issues including Russia, the Iran nuclear deal, and the situation in Venezuela. The two Ministers recognised that the people of Spain and the UK have close ties, and that the two nations are major partners in trade. Mr Lidington underlined that the British Government is committed to maintaining existing levels of close cooperation in the future and said that we will also continue to work together to keep our citizens safe.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington said:

Today I had a constructive meeting with Spanish Foreign Secretary Alfonso Dastis. The UK and Spain are friends and allies with a long history together, and we are looking forward to tightening those bonds even further.

We have made significant progress in our negotiations to leave the EU so far, and we are confident that we can find a way forward together that is to the benefit and shared prosperity of both ourselves and the European Union.

We want to be ambitious about the future relationship with the EU we are seeking, in both our economic and security partnerships. I am convinced that with our shared goodwill, creativity and focus, we will overcome the challenges ahead.

The United Kingdom and Spain are close partners in NATO and United Nations, among numerous international organisations, and the commercial relationship between both countries rose to 43 billion pounds in 2016. Nearly 19 million British tourists visited Spain in 2017 and around 300,000 British people are residents, while almost 200,000 Spanish people live in the UK.

Link: Press release: David Lidington in Madrid for positive talks on UK-Spain relationship post-Brexit
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Queen confers Peerages: 18 May 2018

The Queen has been graciously pleased to signify Her intention of conferring the following Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life:

Nominations from the Leader of the Conservative Party

  1. Diana Barran MBE – founder and lately chief executive of SafeLives
  2. The Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Garnier QC – lately Member of Parliament for Harborough and former Solicitor General
  3. The Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst – lately Member of Parliament for Saffron Walden and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons
  4. The Rt. Hon. Peter Lilley – lately Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden and former Secretary of State for Social Security
  5. Catherine Meyer CBE – founder and lately chief executive of Action Against Abduction
  6. The Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles – lately Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar and former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
  7. The Rt. Hon. Sir John Randall – former Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Treasurer of HM Household and Deputy Chief Whip. Vice-Chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister
  8. Amanda Sater, JP – lately Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. Chairman of StreetGames and of The Queen’s Club Foundation
  9. The Rt. Hon. Andrew Tyrie – lately Member of Parliament for Chichester and former Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee

Nominations from the Leader of the Labour Party

  1. Martha Osamor – campaigner on immigration, employment rights and racial discrimination
  2. Pauline Bryan – author and campaigner
  3. Iain McNicol – lately General Secretary of the Labour Party

Nomination from the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party

  1. Dr. William McCrea – lately Member of Parliament for South Antrim

Privy Council Appointments

The Queen has been pleased to approve that Baroness Chakrabarti be sworn of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.

Knighthoods

The Queen has been pleased to approve that the honour of Knighthood be conferred upon The Rt. Hon. David Evennett MP.

Link: Press release: Queen confers Peerages: 18 May 2018
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Devious duo sentenced for the import of potent meds

Following an investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), two million doses of potent drugs were seized, the Agency’s largest ever seizure at the time.

Both Gaffar and Patel pleaded guilty to multiple counts of conspiracy to sell potent anxiety pills, cancer drugs and powerful painkillers such as tramadol. London-based Patel was assisted by Gaffar who made regular trips from Leicester to transport unlicensed medicines and help Patel with his illegal business.

During a 2015 operation, an undercover operative instructed by MHRA, met with Gaffar, who claimed he had ‘a present from India’ and as he passed over the parcel of unlicensed medicines, exclaimed “with me you get better stuff”.

Gaffar and Patel received 21 months and 3 years immediate custody respectively.

Alastair Jeffrey, MHRA Head of Enforcement said:

Medicines purchased outside the regulated supply chain can be dangerous, and there is no assurance of quality and standards. There can be devastating consequences to your health.

We are cracking down on perpetrators to make sure this type of crime does not pay.
MHRA is currently running the #FakeMeds campaign to warn people against buying potentially dangerous or useless unlicensed medicines sold by illegal online suppliers.

Visit http://www.gov.uk/fakemeds for tips on buying medicines safely online and how to avoid unscrupulous sites.

Media enquiries

News centre
MHRA

151 Buckingham Palace Road

Victoria
London
SW1W 9SZ

Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm. For real-time updates including the latest press releases and news statements, see our Twitter channel at https://www.twitter.com/mhrapress

Link: Press release: Devious duo sentenced for the import of potent meds
Source: Gov Press Releases

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Press release: Homes England to launch new framework to help speed up the a delivery of new homes

The frameworks will provide direct access to professional, technical and design services, building the strong working relationships needed with these service providers to prepare land for housing development and disposal to the market.

The frameworks will provide Homes England, and other public sector bodies, with an OJEU compliant and efficient means to procure technical and design services, helping support the government’s ambition to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the middle of the next decade.

Stephen Kinsella, Director for Land at Homes England said: “This will be the fifth generation of our multidisciplinary framework and our biggest yet, demonstrating Homes England’s expanded role in bringing together land and expertise to speed up the building of new homes.

“We want to create strong working relationships with a wider range of companies who can provide valuable technical advice and design expertise to help accelerate housing development, deliver value for money and great places to live.”

Valued at £150m, the new frameworks with replace Homes England’s current framework that expires in November 2018.

Homes England will make the frameworks available to other public sector bodies, for example local authorities, to help them procure specialist technical services and develop homes for their residents. Our frameworks have been used by over 300 other public bodies.

The new frameworks will have an underpinning Multidisciplinary Framework, which will act as a one stop shop to procure a range of integrated technical and design services from a single source. Homes England has operated this arrangement successfully in the past, which will enable the organisation to continue to work with companies and their specialist sub-consultant teams.

The Multidisciplinary Framework will also be supplemented by a range of specialist frameworks to meet specific future needs and enable Homes England to engage directly with a broader range of companies. These specialist frameworks will consist of:

  • Five regionally based frameworks to provide planning, masterplanning and consultation services to help us obtain planning permission on Homes England sites. This will enable Homes England’s regional delivery teams to engage directly with consultants with sound regional knowledge and experience.
  • A project, cost management and development monitoring framework which will support Homes England’s investment activities and also provide more general project and cost management advice aligned to housing development and regeneration.
  • Specialist site survey and asbestos frameworks to provide very specific services to enable Homes England to quickly prepare brownfield land for development.

The Multidisciplinary and Technical Frameworks supplement the services provided by Homes England’s £150m Property Framework and our £8bn Housing Development Framework Delivery Partner Panel 3 (DPP3).

Ends

Notes to Editors

Homes England is the new housing delivery organisation that has been created to adopt a more commercial approach to respond to the long term housing challenges facing this country. The new, expanded agency will play a far bigger role in investing in supply and intervening in the market to help deliver 300,000 homes a year by the middle of the next decade.

Homes England will act differently from its predecessor, bringing together money, land, expertise and planning and compulsory purchase powers to accelerate the supply of new homes and address affordability issues in areas of highest demand.

For more information visit our website or follow us on Twitter.

Link: Press release: Homes England to launch new framework to help speed up the a delivery of new homes
Source: Gov Press Releases