Pulse.Assent

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister Theresa May hosted Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands for a working lunch at Downing Street this afternoon.

Mrs May began by welcoming the new Eurostar route between the UK and the Netherlands, noting that this will bring the two countries who already share close ties, even closer.

She then gave an update on Brexit negotiations with both leaders agreeing on the importance of concluding the terms of the implementation period in March and the terms of the future partnership as soon as possible.

The Prime Minister set out her vision for a bold future economic partnership with the Netherlands and the whole of the EU after the UK leaves, stressing that we should all be optimistic and flexible to achieve a trading relationship which is as frictionless as possible, which Prime Minister Rutte welcomed.

Finally, both leaders discussed the importance of the role that the UK and Dutch forces were both playing in the Baltics and expressed their wish to continue to work closely together on their shared security issues.

Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said:

I am concerned about the five year sentence handed down by the Higher Criminal Court of Bahrain today to Mr Nabeel Rajab, in addition to a two year sentence given in July 2017. I understand that Mr Rajab now has the right of appeal against this latest sentence. The UK urges Bahrain to protect freedom of expression for all of its citizens, in line with its international obligations.

Further information

• Follow the Alistair Burt on Twitter @AlistairBurtUK
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
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Czero Developments will build 9 serviced plots for custom build homes – the first ever custom build homes in Shropshire.

The scheme, which already has 6 of its 9 plots reserved, will be delivered at Lavender Bank in Bishops Castle, Shropshire.

Using its development facility from the Home Building Fund, Czero will provide the necessary infrastructure such as roads, drainage and utilities to deliver serviced plots for purchasers. Plot purchasers will be able to customise their homes under a design code agreed alongside the Planning Permission, before either commissioning Czero to build the home or employing their own contractor.

The local authority, Shropshire Council, is one of only 11 local authorities to have been granted Custom Build ‘Vanguard’ status by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This project will be the first custom build scheme in the county.

Simon Linford, Director of Czero, summed up the advantage of the Home Building Fund:

Homes England uniquely understands the custom build model and the role it can play in housing delivery, particularly on smaller sites like Lavender Bank. The Home Building Fund has met a real need with this form of lending.

Chris Raybould, Senior Manager at Homes England, said:

The Home Building Fund is specifically designed to support small builders and custom builders as well as larger builders and developers. Given that custom build schemes remain scarce in number, Czero Developments had found traditional development finance difficult to obtain so we are pleased to have been able to work with them to help make this project a reality.

Homes England’s Home Building Fund helps unlock or accelerate the delivery of residential and mixed-use housing developments. For more information on how the Home Building Fund can help to grow your business or accelerate the delivery of schemes in your development pipeline visit our website.

For media enquiries contact the press office.

The Environment Agency is reminding anglers of the importance of having a rod licence after successfully prosecuting fourteen men last month.

The anglers were caught committing the offences in 14 separate incidents across the North East in July, August and September last year, including three in Hexham, and one each in Bellingham, Harlow Hill and Wylam. They received combined fines of £3,749, including £1,784 in costs and £300 victim surcharge. All pleaded guilty with the exception of two who were found guilty in their absence.

Rachael Caldwell, Enforcement Team Leader at the Environment Agency, said:

We’ve started the year as we mean to go on – taking strong action against illegal fishing.

The majority of anglers fish legally and purchase a rod licence. Those that don’t are cheating their fellow anglers and endangering the future of the sport. In addition rod licence cheats risk a criminal conviction, a significant fine and could lose their fishing equipment.

The Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round. Fisheries enforcement work is intelligence-led, targeting known hot-spots and where illegal fishing is reported.

All income from rod licence sales is used to fund Environment Agency work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries, including improving habitats for fish and facilities for anglers, tackling illegal fishing and working with partners to encourage people to give fishing a go.

Buying a rod licence is quick and easy – you can buy them online at Gov.uk.