Tag: UK Government

Cash boost for millions of workers as government backs new law to ensure all staff keep their tips

UK Government backs new reforms making it unlawful for employers to withhold tips from staff

  • New legislation to make it unlawful for employers to withhold tips from staff
  • it means customers will know for certain that all tips will go to hard-working employees, who will take home more money
  • the Tipping Bill will benefit more than 2 million workers and, for the first time, will give them the right to see an employer’s tipping record

Millions of UK workers will be able take home more of their hard-earned cash under new legislation, backed by the government yesterday, banning employers from withholding tips from their staff.

Despite most hospitality workers – many of whom are earning the National Minimum Wage – relying on tips to top up their pay, there are still sadly too many businesses who shamefully fail to pass on service charges from customers to their staff.

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill, introduced by Dean Russell MP and backed by the government, will ensure that all tips go to staff by making it unlawful for businesses to hold back well-earned service charges from their employees.

This overhaul of tipping practices is set to benefit more than 2 million UK workers across the hospitality, leisure and services sectors – who tend to reply on tips the most – and will help to ease pressures caused by global inflation and an increase to the cost of living.

Business Minister Jane Hunt said: “At a time when people are feeling the squeeze with rising costs, it is simply not right that employers are withholding tips from their hard-working employees.

“Whether you are pulling pints or greeting guests, today’s reforms will ensure that staff receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work – and it means customers can be confident their money is going to those who deserve it.

“I particularly want to tip my hat to the work of Dean Russell MP and all the campaigners who have helped make the Tipping Bill a reality.”

Through the Bill, a new statutory Code of Practice will be developed to provide businesses and staff with advice on how tips should be distributed. On top of this, workers will receive a new right to request more information relating to an employer’s tipping record, enabling them to bring forward a credible claim to an employment tribunal.

Dean Russell, Conservative MP for Watford, said: “I am delighted that my Tips Bill has passed second reading in Parliament. It is fantastic that we are on track to securing a fair deal for millions of people working in hospitality across the country.

“It has always felt wrong that some employers have retained tips intended for their staff. This new legislation will halt this practice, particularly given the current challenges around the cost of living. I would like to thank all of the businesses and stakeholders that have got in touch to voice their support.”

The move towards a cashless society has exacerbated the problem of companies keeping card tip payments for themselves, and today’s measures, once in law, will ban that practice.

UK Hospitality Chief Executive, Kate Nicholls, said: “Tips and service charges provide a significant and welcome boost to hospitality employees’ take-home cash. So we’re delighted to see this proposed legislation recommend that employers can set a fair distribution policy for staff, meaning they all benefit.

“This should also reassure prospective hospitality sector workers at a time when the industry is seeking to fill vacancies.”

The reforms follow a range of UK Government action to support people with the cost of living and help those on lower incomes keep more of what they earn.

Most notably, earlier this year the government increased the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour – equivalent to an extra £1,000 a year for a full-time worker – with a full campaign which encouraged workers to check their pay.

In addition, the government recently announced a widening of the ban on exclusivity clauses, giving the lowest paid workers flexibility to top up their pay and work multiple jobs if they wish.

The government helpfully adds: ‘reforms come at a time when there are more employees on payrolls than ever before – and unemployment has reached an all-time low’.

Six of the best?

SECOND ROUND OF VOTING TAKES PLACE TODAY

RISHI Sunak has emerged as the front-runner in the race to become the next Prime Minister. The former Chancellor was the clear winner following the first round of voting by MPs yesterday.

Sunak topped the poll with 88 votes, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt was a strong second on 67 and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who launches her campaign today, third on 50.

New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt were eliminated from the race, both failing to attract suffiicient support.

First Round Voting was:

Rishi Sunak 88

Penny Mordaunt 67

Liz Truss 50

Kemi Badenoch 40

Tom Tugendhat 37

Suella Braverman 32

Nadhim Zahawi 25*

Jeremy Hunt 18*

Eliminated *

The six remaining hopefuls – Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Tom Tugendhat – face another round of voting today when another candidate will be eliminated.

The field is expected to be narrowed down to two by the end of next week, then over the summer around 160,000 Conservative Party members will have their say on who they want as their next party leader – and our prime minister.

The result will be announced on 5 September.

One in four families will receive first Cost of Living Payment from today

Almost one in four families across the UK will get £326 sent directly to them from today, with the second instalment of £324 sent later this year as part of the UK Government’s £37 billion support package.

  • £326 – the first of two cost of living payments – will automatically hit seven million bank accounts between today and 31 July 2022 as part of the government’s £37 billion support package
  • Second instalment of £324 will follow from the autumn, with separate payments for pensioners and disabled people also coming later this year
  • Tax credit claimants will receive their first cost of living instalment by autumn

Over eight million households on means-tested benefits will automatically get the first instalment of £326 from this month.

This means that, combined with other support, millions of low-income households across the UK will receive at least £1,200 from the government by Christmas to ease Cost of Living pressures.

On top of that, nearly one in ten people will get the £150 disability payment this Autumn, and over 8 million pensioner households could get an extra £300 from Winter Fuel Payments in November and December.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Just as we looked after people during lockdown, we will help them get through these tough economic times.

“Today’s payment is the signal to millions of families that we are on their side and we have already promised more cash in the autumn, alongside other measures – including our Help for Households – to support the vulnerable and ease the burden.”

Work and Pensions Secretary, Thérèse Coffey said: “Our help for households will begin landing in bank accounts today as we make sure those on the lowest incomes get the support they need in the face of rising costs.

“This first instalment of £326 should reach all eligible low-income households by the end of July.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi said: “It’s great that millions of the families who are most in need are starting to receive their Cost of Living Payments, which I know will be a massive help for people who are struggling.

“Alongside tax cuts, changes to Universal Credit and the Household Support Fund, these payments are a vital part of our £37 billion support package to help people deal with rising prices.”

Most people entitled to the first instalment of the Cost of Living payment will receive it between now and 31 July 2022. Households who are eligible because they receive tax credits and no other eligible benefits will receive their first instalment from HMRC in the autumn, and the second instalment in the winter.

DWP will administer payments for customers on all other eligible means-tested benefits, and customers do not need to contact the government or apply for the payment at any stage.

In addition to the £650 Cost of Living Payment, all domestic energy customers in the UK will receive a £400 grant to help with energy bills, and those in Council Tax bands A-D in England will get an extra £150, which has already been sent to many households. This brings support for millions to £1,200 by the end of the year.

The disability and pensioner payments come in addition to this, as does any support from the Household Support Fund, which was recently extended through to March 2023 with £421 million additional funding.

It is now worth £1.263 billion, and combined with £237 million for devolved nations, means this support package now stands at £1.5 billion. The Household Support Fund is designed to help low-income households in England with food and energy bills, and is distributed by local authorities, who know their areas best.

Total UK Government support this year for low-income families stands at £37 billion, a figure which includes a recent rise to £12,570 for the National Insurance starting thresholds. This will benefit 30 million working people and is worth £330 to a typical employee.

And then there were eight …

Outsider falls before the first hurdle as race to become Conservative Party leader gets underway

EIGHT candidates will battle it out to become the next Conservative Party leader – and our new Prime Minister – as voting gets under way this afternoon.

Each of the candidates was able to get the minimum twenty signatures required to take part in the contest and the competition now gets under way in earnest.

One hopeful who didn’t make it was little-known backbencher Rehman Chishti, who failed to get the required number of nominations.

Cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps chose not to stand, instead attending Rishi Sanak’s campaign launch. Other big names not putting themselves forward to be the next Prime Minister are Priti Patel, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, although all three will be keen to influence the outcome of the contest.

The candidates are: Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi.

They now have to secure 30 votes in the first round today to stay in the race. Voting opens at 1.30pm with the result expected just after 5pm.

Further votes will then take place over the coming days to whittle the number of candidates down to a final two. Conservative Party members across the country will then choose between this final pair over the summerand the winner is expected to be announced on 5 September before parliament resumes after the summer recess.

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak seems certain to be one of the final two, but at this stage it is far from clear who his final opponent is going to be.

5pm UPDATE:

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and current Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi have been eliminated after today’s vote.

The six remaining candidates will do it all again tomorrow.

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New poll finds 7 in 10 adults want social media firms to do more to tackle harmful content

Ipsos study finds over 4 in 5 adults are concerned about harmful content online

  • 68 per cent want more action from social media firms on racism, homophobia and misogyny on their platforms
  • Comes as the Online Safety Bill moves to Report Stage in the House of Commons this week

A clear majority of the public want social media companies to do more to protect their users from harmful content, according to new research published today.

Polling by Ipsos shows over four in five (84 per cent) adults in the UK are concerned about seeing harmful content – such as racism, misogyny, homophobia and content that encourages self-harm – with two in five (38 per cent) reporting having seen it in the last month. This comes as the Online Safety Bill moves to Report Stage in Parliament this week.

The government commissioned study found strong public support for the measures contained in the Bill. For instance, seven in ten adults (68 per cent) believe social media companies should do more to protect people online.

Four in five adults (78 per cent) want social media companies to be clear about what sort of content is and isn’t allowed on their platform.

In a stark warning to social media companies, 45 per cent of respondents also said they will leave or reduce the amount of time they spend on their platforms if they see no action.

Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Online abuse has a devastating impact on people’s lives, and these findings definitively show the public back our plans which will force social media companies to step up in keeping their users safe.

“It is clear people across the UK are worried about this issue, and as our landmark Online Safety Bill reaches the next crucial stage in Parliament we’re a big step closer to holding tech giants to account and making the internet safer for everyone in our country.”

The survey also found that women have high levels of concern about legal but harmful content, with 45 per cent feeling unsafe when talking to people on dating or messaging apps.

Most women (65 per cent) agree there should be limits to the types of content people can post online. Nearly half (47 per cent) of those living in households with at least one child report having seen abusive content in the last month.

The safety of women and girls across the country is a top priority. The measures we’re introducing through the Online Safety Bill will mean tech companies have to tackle illegal content and activity on their services, women will have more control over who can communicate with them and what kind of content they see on major platforms, and they will be better able to report abuse.

In addition, we are continuing to implement our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy to bring about real and lasting change offline as well as online.

The Online Safety Bill was introduced to Parliament in March and is a major milestone in the government’s mission to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. The new laws will protect children, tackle illegal content and protect free speech, as well as requiring social media platforms to uphold their stated terms and conditions.

If they don’t, the regulator Ofcom will work with platforms to ensure they comply and will have the power to fine companies up to ten per cent of their annual global turnover – which could reach billions of pounds – to force them to fulfil their responsibilities or even block non-compliant sites.

When the Bill comes into force, firms will be required to identify and implement solutions to protect their users. Firms hosting content that is harmful to children such as pornography, will have to prevent them from accessing it, for example by using age verification.

Social media platforms will also be required to safeguard people’s free speech, and their access to journalism and content that is democratically important. The poll follows the announcement of a series of amendments to the Bill last week to strengthen protections for freedom of speech, including tougher protections to guard against the arbitrary removal of articles from recognised news outlets shared on social media.

Last week the government published the list of legal but harmful content social media companies will need to address under the Online Safety Bill.

The categories consist of types of online abuse and harassment which can fall below the threshold of a criminal offence, but which still cause significant harm to adults online such as misogyny, homophobia and content that encourages self-harm.

This threshold is important to ensure that the online safety framework focuses on content and activity which poses the most significant risk of harm to UK users online. 

Free speech within the law can involve the expression of views that some may find offensive, but a line is crossed when disagreement mutates into abuse or harassment, which refuses to tolerate other opinions and seeks to deprive others from exercising their free speech and freedom of association.

Bank branch closures causing cash crisis for half a million Scots

Half a million people across Scotland who are dependent on cash risk being forgotten by banks due to the unprecedented rate of closures. Since 2015, 53% of Scotland’s bank branches have closed, which represents the highest percentage loss across the UK’s four nations.

From difficulties adapting to a society built on digital payments, to older people on lower and fixed incomes using it as a budgeting tool, many people opt to use cash for a number of reasons.

However, Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee raises concern that not enough support is being offered to support these individuals as the UK transitions to an increasingly digital society, nor has adequate research been undertaken to understand the full implications of such a move.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s introduction of its Financial Services and Markets Bill, which includes added protections on access to cash. The then-Treasury Minister John Glen, when appearing before the Committee, recognised the need for a more detailed picture of cash usage in Scotland.

The Committee is concerned that the rapid rate of bank branch closures may be as a result of banks rushing to close branches before legislation can take effect to protect access to cash and banking services.

In addition to Government legislation hoping to support access to cash, there have also been a number of voluntary agreements championed within the sector. This includes LINK’s Financial Inclusion Programme, which provides free access to cash via free-to-use ATMs in the most rural and deprived areas of the UK.

The Committee is of the view however that this should not be left to a voluntary agreement which leaves it vulnerable: future legislation should complement industry-led initiatives to guarantee free access to cash.

While access to cash in Scotland paints a deeply concerning picture, the Post Office has filled the void of many banking services within communities. It is deeply disappointing that Scotland has seen the highest percentage of Post Office closures anywhere in the UK, yet its resource and the service it offers appears to be steady.

In recent years, its offering of banking services has grown, and now offers customers more services than ever before, with the recent renewal of the Banking Framework Agreement. The Committee recommends that a long-term commitment is sought from banks to maintain appropriate banking services for their customers using the Post Office network.

Scottish Affairs Committee Chair, Pete Wishart MP, said: “Access to cash across Scotland has been decimated in recent years, leading to Westminster Committees investigating the issue multiple times.

“While the move to digital banking and payments has offered a method at which to do transactions that many of us enjoy, we cannot forget the 500,000 people in Scotland who rely on cash in their day-to-day lives. With the cost-of-living crisis deepening, many people are using cash for budgeting.

“But what is deeply worrying is that bank branches are closing at a record rate with very limited research or thought conducted of the possible widespread implications.

“Since the predecessor Committee’s inquiry considering this very issue, it is welcome that the Government is legislating to protect access to cash. However, this positive announcement is beset by the risk that banks may close their doors before legislation on this matter comes into force.

“We are aware of the commercial considerations affecting banks, which has played a role in the recent increase of branch closures. We welcome the effort taken by the banking industry to protect access to cash, although we still feel that there is a clear need for legislation.

“In our report today, we are calling for more research into the implications of a cashless society and more secure and longer-term agreements to ensure the continued access to cash. The Government appears to be in listening mode on this issue, and I look forward to its response in due course.”

Recommendations

The Committee’s recommendations are:

  • The UK Government should consider asking the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate and monitor cash acceptance levels across the UK.
  • If the FCA find a substantial number of retailers refusing to accept cash, the UK Government should introduce additional protections to ensure that consumers reliant on cash are not disadvantaged.
  • The UK Government should clarify how the Financial Services and Markets Bill will interact with pre-existing industry-led solutions such as LINK’s Financial Inclusion Programme.
  • We recommend that the UK Government consider legislating in the Financial Services and Markets Bill to mandate the membership of LINK for card issuers and ATM operators to ensure that the Financial Inclusion Programme can continue to provide free access to cash for as long as it is needed.
  • Attempts to introduce deposit-taking ATMs for both consumers and SMEs have been constrained by a considerable lack of progress from both the banking industry and the UK Government. Considering the strength of the evidence to support their introduction, we repeat our predecessor Committee’s recommendation that the UK Government set up a working group with industry to introduce network-wide deposit-taking ATMs.
  • Building on the structure and objectives of the Banking Framework Agreement, we recommend that the UK Government seek a long-term commitment from banks to maintain appropriate banking services for their customers using the Post Office network, to guarantee access to cash and basic banking services for all communities in Scotland.
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Defence Secretary Ben Wallace visits Armed Forces of Ukraine as training programme starts across the UK

The first cohort of Ukrainian soldiers taking part in a major new UK-led military programme, which will train up to 10,000 Ukrainians over the coming months, have arrived in the UK.

The programme is part of the UK’s enduring commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s unprovoked invasion, which so far amounts to more than £2.3 billion in military aid and includes more than 5,000 NLAW anti-tank weapons and M270 multiple launch rocket systems.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who visited the training this week, said: “This ambitious new training programme is the next phase in the UK’s support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in their fight against Russian aggression.

“Using the world-class expertise of the British Army we will help Ukraine to rebuild its forces and scale-up its resistance as they defend their country’s sovereignty and their right to choose their own future.”

Mr Wallace announced yesterday that he will NOT be a candidate in the election to become the next Prime Minister.

Around 1,050 UK service personnel are deploying to run the programme, which will take place at MOD sites across the North West, South West and South East of the UK. Each course will last several weeks and will be conducted by elements from 11 Security Force Assistance Brigade.

The training will give volunteer recruits with little to no military experience the skills to be effective in frontline combat. Based on the UK’s basic soldier training, the course covers weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics and the Law of Armed Conflict.

The Government has rapidly procured AK variant assault rifles for the training programme, meaning Ukrainian soldiers can train on the weapons they will be using on the front line. This effort was supported by the Welsh Guards, who tested more than 2,400 such rifles in 17 days to ensure they were ready for the Ukrainians to commence their training.

The UK has also gifted clothing and equipment to support Ukrainian soldiers in their training and deployment back to Ukraine. Each soldier will be issued with:

  • Personal protective equipment including helmets, body armour, eye protectors, ear protectors, pelvic protection, and individual first aid kits
  • Field uniforms and boots
  • Cold and wet weather clothing
  • Bergens, day sacks and webbing
  • Additional equipment required for field conditions including ponchos, sleeping bags, and entrenching tools.

The UK has a long history of supporting Ukrainian service personnel through Operation ORBITAL, which trained 22,000 Ukrainians between 2015 and 2022.

The new programme will build on this success and demonstrate the UK’s continued leadership in responding to Ukraine’s military requirements as the war evolves.

Crisis? What Crisis?

UK government rebuild under way as Tory candidates line up for top job

The Queen approved the following appointments yesterday as outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson assembled a new government after a tumultuous 48 hours that saw more than fifty resignations:

  • Rt Hon Greg Clark MP as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • Rt Hon James Cleverly MP as Secretary of State for Education
  • Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland QC MP as Secretary of State for Wales
  • Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • Shailesh Vara MP as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  • Andrew Stephenson MP as Minister without Portfolio. He will attend Cabinet.
  • Johnny Mercer MP as a Minister of State (Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) at the Cabinet Office. He will attend Cabinet.
  • Graham Stuart MP as a Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
  • Stephen McPartland MP as a Minister of State (Minister for Security) at the Home Office
  • Tom Pursglove MP as a Minister of State jointly at the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice
  • James Heappey MP as a Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence
  • Will Quince MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Education
  • Maria Caulfield MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Health and Social Care
  • Paul Scully MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He remains as Minister for London.
  • Marcus Jones MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • Matt Warman MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
  • Trudy Harrison MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Transport
  • Edward Timpson CBE MP as Solicitor General

Mr Johnson plans to stay on as PM until a successor is elected by the autumn, but many Tory MPs want him to leave office straight away. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab – who has ruled himself out of the race to replace Johnson – would seem like the obvious person to hold the reins during this transitional period.

Opposition leader Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer has said he will call a vote of no confidence, forcing a general election, if Johnson doesn’t go now, For that to succeed, though, Starmer would need the support of Tory MPs – and even in these turbulent times it’s pretty unlikely that turkeys will vote for Christmas!

While the Prime Minister throws together this patchwork interim government the race to succeed him has begun in earnest after Johnson was finally forced to quit as Tory leader yesterday.

Respected backbencher Tom Tugendhat is the latest MP to throw his hat into the ring, joining Attorney General Suella Braverman and Brexiteer Steve Baker who have both indicated an interest in standing for the top job. They will be joined by plenty more candidates stepping forward over the coming days, however.

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, former Health secretary Sajid Javid, transport secretary Grant Shapps and new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi are all likely to stand, as is photo-opp queen, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (above).

Defence secretary Ben Wallace is seen as a steady pair of hands and is popular with the Tory faithful and Trade minister Penny Mordaunt is also expected to put her name forward. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is very likely to stand, but his successor Matt Hancock has wisely ruled himself out. There will be many more who see themselves as the perfect candidate to be our next Prime Minister, though.

Spoilt for choice?

Infamy, infamy … defiant Boris says goodbye – but not just yet

PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON statement 7th July 2022:

Good afternoon everybody,

It is now clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new Prime Minister, and I have agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week

And I have today appointed a cabinet to serve – as I will – until a new leader is in place so I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019 – many of them voting Conservative for the first time.

Thank you for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979 and the reason I have fought so hard for the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was not just because I wanted to do so but because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019.

And of course I am immensely proud of the achievements of this government from getting Brexit done and settling our relations with the continent after half a century reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown and in the last few months leading the west in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.

And let me say now to the people of Ukraine that I know that we in the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes and at the same time in this country we have at the same time been pushing forward a vast programme of investment in infrastructure, skills and technology – the biggest for a century – because if I have one insight into human beings it is that genius and talent and enthusiasm and imagination are evenly distributed throughout the population but opportunity is not, and that is why we need to keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential of every part of the United Kingdom. And if we can do that in this country, we will be the most prosperous in Europe.

And in the last few days I have tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we are delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we are actually only a handful of points behind in the polls even in mid term after quite a few months of pretty unrelenting sledging , and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally and I regret not to have been successful in those arguments.

And of course it is painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself but as we’ve seen at Westminster, the herd is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves and and my friends in politics no one is remotely indispensable.

And our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times not just helping families to get through it but changing and improving our systems, cutting burdens on businesses and families and – yes – cutting taxes, because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay for great public services.

And to that new leader I say, whoever he or she may be, I will give you as much support as I can and to you the British people I know that there will be many who are relieved but perhaps quite a few who will be disappointed and I want you to know how sad I am to give up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.

I want to thank Carrie and our children, to all the members of my family who have had to put up with so much for so long

I want to thank the peerless British civil service for all the help and support that you have given our police, our emergency services and of course our NHS who at a critical moment helped to extend my own period in office, as well as our armed services and our agencies that are so admired around the world and

[Political content omitted]

I want to thank the wonderful staff here at Number Ten and of course at Chequers and our fantastic protforce detectives – the one group, by the way, who never leak .

And above all I want to thank you the British public for the immense privilege you have given me and I want you to know that from now until the new Prime Minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.

Being Prime Minister is an education in itself I have travelled to every part of the United Kingdom and in addition to the beauty of our natural world I have found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways that I know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden.

Thank you all very much.

With so much still uncertain, there’s no doubt those will NOT be Boris Johnson’s last words as Prime Minister …

Online Safety Bill amendment: No hiding place for child sex offenders

Greater powers to tackle child sexual abuse online will be introduced through an amendment to the Online Safety Bill, the Home Secretary announced yesterday (Wednesday 6 July 2022).

The amendment will give Ofcom extra tools to ensure technology companies take action to prevent, identify and remove harmful child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) content.

Ofcom, the UK’s regulatory authority for telecommunications, will be able to demand that technology companies such as social media platforms roll out or develop new technologies to better detect and tackle harmful content on their platforms. If they fail to do so, Ofcom will be able to impose fines of up to £18 million or 10% of the company’s global annual turnover, depending on which is higher.

Home Secretary, Priti Patel said: “Child sexual abuse is a sickening crime. We must all work to ensure criminals are not allowed to run rampant online and technology companies must play their part and take responsibility for keeping our children safe.

“Privacy and security are not mutually exclusive – we need both, and we can have both and that is what this amendment delivers.”

The National Crime Agency estimate there are between 550,000 to 850,000 people in the UK who pose a sexual risk to children. In the year to 2021, there were 33,974 obscene publications offences recorded by the police, and although some improvements have been made, it is still too easy for offenders to access harmful content online.

Access to such content online can lead to offenders normalising their own consumption of this content, sharing methods with each other on how to evade detection, and escalation to committing contact child sexual abuse offences.

Digital Minister, Nadine Dorries said: “Tech firms have a responsibility not to provide safe spaces for horrendous images of child abuse to be shared online. Nor should they blind themselves to these awful crimes happening on their sites.

Rob Jones, NCA Director General for child sexual abuse, said: “Technology plays an extremely important part in our daily lives and its benefits are undeniable.

“But it is also a fact that online platforms can be a key tool in a child abuser’s arsenal. They use them to view and share abuse material, seek out and groom potential victims, and to discuss their offending with each other.

“Identifying these individuals online is crucial to us uncovering the real-world abuse of children.

“We are taking significant action in this space and, alongside UK policing, we are making record numbers of arrests and safeguards every month.

“While this will always be a priority, we need tech companies to be there on the front line with us and these new measures will ensure that.”

Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “We need urgent action to protect children from preventable online abuse. Our latest analysis shows online grooming crimes have jumped by more than 80% in four years.

“The Online Safety Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure children can explore the online world safely.

“This amendment will strengthen protections around private messaging and ensure companies have a responsibility to build products with child safety in mind. This positive step shows there doesn’t have to be a trade-off between privacy and detecting and disrupting child abuse material and grooming.”

The amendment will support innovation and the development of safety technologies across the technology industry and will incentivise companies in building solutions to tackle CSEA which are effective and proportionate.

The government-funded Safety Tech Challenge Fund is demonstrating that is it is possible to detect child sexual abuse material in end-to-end encrypted environments, while respecting user privacy.

You can also read the Home Secretary’s op-ed for the The Telegraph.