Pulse.Assent

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd has today (27 December) announced new rules to crack down on the employment of ‘boomerang bosses’ in England’s fire and rescue services.

The practice has seen senior fire officers retire from their post only to be re-appointed almost immediately and take advantage of favourable pay and pension terms potentially worth more than £20,000 a year.

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said:

This Government is reforming fire and rescue services to ensure they are more accountable and effective in performing their vital duties.

The practice of boomerang bosses is not acceptable, which is why we have taken action to rule it out.

It undermines confidence in the fire and rescue services, who do such a brilliant job keeping us safe and gives the impression there is one rule for rank and file firefighters and another for those at the top.

Following a consultation earlier this year, the Home Office is issuing new rules preventing fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) re-appointing senior fire officers post-retirement other than in exceptional circumstances. Any re-appointments will have to be agreed by a vote of the members of the FRAs and should only be considered where it is necessary to protect public safety.

A long-serving chief fire officer on a typical salary of around £140,000 can potentially access a lump sum from their pension pot of over £400,000 and then avoid employee pension contributions of more than £20,000 a year after being re-employed in the same role.

The new rules are included in a revised Fire and Rescue National Framework for England being consulted on today. The Framework, last issued in 2012, sets priorities and objectives for fire and rescue authorities in England and has been revised to reflect the Government’s fire reform programme.

The Home Office will further review and update the National Framework in due course to ensure that recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the final report of Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety are appropriately reflected.

The revised Framework will:

• outline the role of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service and the National Fire Chiefs Council in England;
• embed the transformation of local governance arrangements where Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners take on responsibility for fire and rescue services; and
• support the ambitious programme for workforce reform including enhancing professional standards, management, leadership, training, equality and diversity.

New guidance on the use of anti-social behaviour powers will help police and councils continue to take appropriate action against nuisance behaviours while ensuring the most vulnerable, including the homeless, are not disproportionately targeted.

The guidance will:

• make sure powers are used as intended – to tackle behaviour which is genuinely anti-social
• help to prevent instances of rough sleepers, buskers or small groups gathering to chat in town centres – without causing a nuisance – being unfairly targeted

Published today (Sunday 24 December), the revised statutory guidance on the use of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 will give police, local authorities and other front-line workers greater clarity on how best to use powers such as Public Spaces Protection Orders.

It follows feedback from charities and other groups who raised concerns that the orders were being used to disproportionately target certain groups in some areas rather than focusing on behaviour that is genuinely anti-social and causing others distress or alarm.

Particular concerns were raised around the use of the orders against the homeless, buskers, dog walkers and, in some cases, people simply gathering together in small groups in town centres who were not engaged in anti-social behaviour.

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said:

Anti-social behaviour harms communities and can severely impact people’s way of life, which is why this government introduced powers to make it quicker and easier to take action against the perpetrators of anti-social behaviour.

We know that these powers are being used to very good effect by the police and local councils across England and Wales, and we are very keen to encourage their continued use. But we are also clear that the powers should be used proportionately to tackle anti-social behaviour, and not to target specific groups or the most vulnerable in our communities.

The revised guidance published today will empower local agencies by providing even greater clarity on where and when these powers should be applied, helping them to keep our public spaces, communities and families safe.

The guidance puts greater emphasis on the need to ensure the powers are used to target specific nuisance behaviours and are not applied in a blanket way against specific groups or behaviour that is not in itself anti-social. It reminds councils that powers should not, for example, target normal everyday behaviour that is not having a detrimental effect on the community’s quality of life, such as standing in groups in a town centre.

The government wants to ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the use of the powers and has actively worked with a number of organisations including charities working to help the homeless in developing the refreshed guidance.

Elements of the guidance include:

• focusing on specific and actual problems rather than blanket bans of behaviour that are not in themselves anti-social – such as rough sleeping
• reiterating that before making a Public Spaces Protection Order councils must consult the police and community representatives to ensure specific groups have the opportunity to comment, including:
  • the local residents association
  • regular park users
  • those involved in activities such as busking
• highlighting how the Civil Injunction and the Criminal Behaviour Order can be used to tackle gang activity
• underlining the importance of local consultation, accountability and transparency in decision making

This latest action builds on the work government is already doing to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping including:

• spending over £1 billion until 2020 to address the issue
• implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act which will make sure more people get the help they need to prevent them from becoming homelessness in the first place
• £28 million of funding to pilot the Housing First approach for entrenched rough sleepers in the West Midlands Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, and the Liverpool City Region
• investing £9 billion by March 2021 to build new affordable homes
• a £20 million scheme to support homeless people and those at risk of homelessness to secure homes in the private rented sector

The government has also confirmed today the membership of the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce lead by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, which brings together ministers from key departments to provide a cross-government approach to preventing rough sleeping and homelessness.

Figures from popular public information site GOV.UK give an insight into what people were thinking about on Christmas Day last year, from taxing their cars to searching for a new job.

Top 10 pages viewed on Christmas Day 2016 were:

1. Bank Holidays – 41k pageviews
2. Check UK visa – 34k pageviews
3. Dartford Crossing charge – 28k pageviews
4. Vehicle tax (taxing your vehicle) – 22k pageviews
5. Check vehicle tax (checking if a vehicle has tax) – 22k pageviews
6. Check state pension age – 18k pageviews
7. Job search – 15k pageviews
8. Check MOT history – 14k pageviews
9. Check child maintenance – 13k pageviews
10. Get vehicle information from DVLA – 13k pageviews

Bin collection – Other popular information over the festive period included details on bin collection day, which hit a peak of over 20,000 visits on 27th December 2016 (compared to only an average of 3,000 visits per day during the rest of the year). For this sought after information, visit https://www.gov.uk/rubbish-collection-day.

Caroline Nokes – Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency said:

“People turn to GOV.UK to check information at the click of a button. From taxing your vehicle, to checking local bin collections and renewing your passport – there are many services now available online, replacing laborious paperwork.

“And we intend to continue adding to the services available, and improving how we set them out clearly and simply – making it even easier for people to access what they need.”

The holiday home where Dame Daphne Du Maurier wrote her first novel has been given Grade II listed status by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.

The Former shipyard was the holiday home of the Du Maurier family where author wrote ‘The Loving Spirit’ and ‘Gerald: A Portrait’.

Originally developed as a boatyard and quayside in the 1800s, Ferryside in Cornwall was bought by the Du Maurier family in 1926 and it was there she wrote The Loving Spirit, which was published to critical acclaim in 1931 and later Gerald: A Portrait, a biography of her father.

She is said to have written the book after discovering the wreck of schooner ‘Jane Slade’, named after a woman who became the inspiration for the main protagonist in The Loving Spirit. Its owner gave Du Maurier the figurehead which she had installed underneath her bedroom window and a replica now resides in the same location. Du Maurier later remembered “The Loving Spirit was inspired by the sense of freedom that my new existence at Ferryside brought”.

The building is a former shipwright’s workshop, yard and quay, constructed of local granite in the early 1800s. It is an important survivor of Cornwall’s maritime heritage and reflects the social developments in the region. The changing needs of the owners of Ferryside are also shown in the alterations and extensions to the building over the last 200 years. At Ferryside the original quay was turned into a domestic garden, the sail loft becoming bedrooms and a bathroom, and the former boat store becoming the family sitting room.

The Du Maurier family’s transformation of the building into a holiday home in the late 1920s reflects a wider trend for second homes which began in the 19th century. These second home buyers formed a crucial part of the Cornish economy in the 20th century. The protection of the house and quay is in recognition of its connection to Dame Daphne Du Maurier and to reflect on its wider architectural and historical significance.

Christian Browning, Dame Daphne Du Maurier’s son said:

My mother adored the house and fell in love with Cornwall which was to be the backdrop of her most famous novels. I feel sure that she would be immensely proud that Historic England have granted Ferryside a Grade II listing.

It was my grandmother, Muriel du Maurier, who in 1926 purchased what was then a run down boatyard called Swiss Cottage and turned it into an enchanting holiday home for her family and renamed the house Ferryside. It was here that my mother wrote her first novel, ‘The Loving Spirit’.

I am most grateful to my friend, Collin Langley and his Team who embarked on the difficult task of researching the history and origins of the building and his book ‘A Cottage by the Sea’ must have been of great help to Historic England in their decision to give the house a Grade II listing, which is much appreciated by my family.

Heritage Minister John Glen said:

Ferryside is the site where Dame Daphne Du Maurier’s love affair with Cornwall began – the region that inspired her works, which are some of the greatest novels of the 20th century. I am pleased that Ferryside and its quay have been listed and I hope that both the building and Du Maurier’s work continue to inspire people for many years to come.

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said:

Ferryside is one of many precious, historic buildings across England which have the power to captivate and delight. The former shipwright’s workshop and its quayside setting inspired Dame Daphne du Maurier and her work, and the building in turn reflects the family’s life there. These places bring our history to life; they give it a personal dimension which transcends time.” ​

ENDS

• Read Jerome Tait, Listing Adviser for Historic England’s blog: A Happy Christmas in Cornwall

For further information and images please contact Faye Jackson in the DCMS press office on 020 7211 6263 or faye.jackson@culture.gov.uk

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

I welcome the unanimous adoption of the UNSC resolution on North Korea.The international community has shown that it is united in its condemnation of North Korea’s reckless behaviour.

This resolution takes vital steps to reduce the export revenues that the North Korean regime diverts away from its people to fund its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

These further measures adopted show Kim Jong-Un that he has the choice of two paths. To either continue the current path of provocation and isolation or to put the wellbeing of the North Korean people first. We urge North Korea to change its course.

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

In a speech at the Plekhanov University, in Moscow, Boris Johnson also took the opportunity to underline the UK’s support for civil society and basic freedoms by meeting a range of civil society representatives and heard first-hand about the state of human rights in Russia.

The Foreign Secretary referenced the restrictions placed on media in Russia – reiterating that the UK believes that an open and free media is essentially to any functioning democracy.

human rights and civil society in Russia

Addressing a room of students and journalists in Moscow, he recalled his own experiences growing up during the Cold War, and praised the benefits of a free, diverse and open civil society, as a way to boost economic growth and productivity.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

If you look at both of our societies today it is obvious that the free market, in which people are free to find a market among the rest of the population for whatever goods they choose – within reason – to sell, and at whatever price they choose to sell them, is a more effective system of furnishing humanity with its desires than any other system. It was that brute fact alone that ensured the demise of communism.

Yet that freedom – free market economics, or capitalism – is simply not enough on its own.

That is why I want to make the case again today for the economic benefits of freedom of expression. I want to argue that the more tolerant a society is, the more supportive of free speech it is, the more likely that society is to be rich and successful.

I am sure that everyone can see that the media have played a crucial role in western democracies in holding politicians to account, and in telling the truth to power.

So a free media is in the interests of taxpayers, of shareholders – and of consumers. So it is in the interests of prosperity. Indeed it is no accident that if you look at the global prosperity index, and then you look at the societies where journalists are free and well treated, you will see that the most prosperous societies are the ones where freedom of speech is most cherished.

Equally if you have a society where journalists are shot because they investigate the business doings of the rich and powerful, then you will tend to find countries that are less economically successful, less equal, and less attractive as places to invest.

We have huge difficulties in our relationship [with Russia] today. We cannot ignore those difficulties and the UK will remain firm in its principles. We are forward looking.

But equally I hope I don’t have to belabour my credentials as an admirer of this country. I not only have Russian ancestry but am the first Foreign Secretary in history to be christened Boris – and may be the last for some time. I look back at that time in the 1990s, when in my conversations with Russian journalists and politicians we seemed to share the same ideals of freedom: free markets, freedom under the law, freedom to speak your mind without fear of intimidation, freedom to express yourself and your sexuality provided you do no harm to others.

And I hope that moment of convergence will seem not to have been a fluke, not an illusion, not a mirage or a false dawn. I hope that time will come again.