Bill strengthened with new list of criminal content for tech firms to remove as a priority
List includes online drug and weapons dealing, people smuggling, revenge porn, fraud, promoting suicide and inciting or controlling prostitution for gain
New criminal offences will be added to the bill to tackle domestic violence and threats to rape and kill
Flagship UK laws to protect people online are being toughened up with new criminal offences and extra measures to force social media companies to stamp out the most harmful illegal content and criminal activity on their sites quicker.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries has announced extra priority illegal offences to be written on the face of the bill include revenge porn, hate crime, fraud, the sale of illegal drugs or weapons, the promotion or facilitation of suicide, people smuggling and sexual exploitation. Terrorism and child sexual abuse are already included.
Previously the firms would have been forced to take such content down after it had been reported to them by users but now they must be proactive and prevent people being exposed in the first place.
It will clamp down on pimps and human traffickers, extremist groups encouraging violence and racial hate against minorities, suicide chatrooms and the spread of private sexual images of women without their consent.
Naming these offences on the face of the bill removes the need for them to be set out in secondary legislation later and Ofcom can take faster enforcement action against tech firms which fail to remove the named illegal content.
Ofcom will be able to issue fines of up to 10 per cent of annual worldwide turnover to non-compliant sites or block them from being accessible in the UK.
Three new criminal offences, recommended by the Law Commission, will also be added to the Bill to make sure criminal law is fit for the internet age.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “This government said it would legislate to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online while enshrining free speech, and that’s exactly what we are going to do.
“Our world leading bill will protect children from online abuse and harms, protecting the most vulnerable from accessing harmful content, and ensuring there is no safe space for terrorists to hide online.
“We are listening to MPs, charities and campaigners who have wanted us to strengthen the legislation, and today’s changes mean we will be able to bring the full weight of the law against those who use the internet as a weapon to ruin people’s lives and do so quicker and more effectively.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “The internet cannot be a safe haven for despicable criminals to exploit and abuse people online.
Companies must continue to take responsibility for stopping harmful material on their platforms. These new measures will make it easier and quicker to crack down on offenders and hold social media companies to account.”
The new communications offences will strengthen protections from harmful online behaviours such as coercive and controlling behaviour by domestic abusers; threats to rape, kill and inflict physical violence; and deliberately sharing dangerous disinformation about hoax Covid-19 treatments.
The UK Government is also considering the Law Commission’s recommendations for specific offences to be created relating to cyberflashing, encouraging self-harm and epilepsy trolling.
To proactively tackle the priority offences, firms will need to make sure the features, functionalities and algorithms of their services are designed to prevent their users encountering them and minimise the length of time this content is available. This could be achieved by automated or human content moderation, banning illegal search terms, spotting suspicious users and having effective systems in place to prevent banned users opening new accounts.
New harmful online communications offences:
Ministers asked the Law Commission to review the criminal law relating to abusive and offensive online communications in the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003.
The Commission found these laws have not kept pace with the rise of smartphones and social media. It concluded they were ill-suited to address online harm because they overlap and are often unclear for internet users, tech companies and law enforcement agencies.
It found the current law over-criminalises and captures ‘indecent’ images shared between two consenting adults – known as sexting – where no harm is caused. It also under-criminalises – resulting in harmful communications without appropriate criminal sanction.
In particular, abusive communications posted in a public forum, such as posts on a publicly accessible social media page, may slip through the net because they have no intended recipient. It also found the current offences are sufficiently broad in scope that they could constitute a disproportionate interference in the right to freedom of expression.
In July the Law Commission recommended more coherent offences. The Digital Secretary today confirms new offences will be created and legislated for in the Online Safety Bill.
The new offences will capture a wider range of harms in different types of private and public online communication methods. These include harmful and abusive emails, social media posts and WhatsApp messages, as well as ‘pile-on’ harassment where many people target abuse at an individual such as in website comment sections. None of the offences will apply to regulated media such as print and online journalism, TV, radio and film.
The offences are:
A ‘genuinely threatening’ communications offence, where communications are sent or posted to convey a threat of serious harm.
This offence is designed to better capture online threats to rape, kill and inflict physical violence or cause people serious financial harm. It addresses limitations with the existing laws which capture ‘menacing’ aspects of the threatening communication but not genuine and serious threatening behaviour.
It will offer better protection for public figures such as MPs, celebrities or footballers who receive extremely harmful messages threatening their safety. It will address coercive and controlling online behaviour and stalking, including, in the context of domestic abuse, threats related to a partner’s finances or threats concerning physical harm.
A harm-based communications offence to capture communications sent to cause harm without a reasonable excuse.
This offence will make it easier to prosecute online abusers by abandoning the requirement under the old offences for content to fit within proscribed yet ambiguous categories such as “grossly offensive,” “obscene” or “indecent”.
Instead it is based on the intended psychological harm, amounting to at least serious distress, to the person who receives the communication, rather than requiring proof that harm was caused. The new offences will address the technical limitations of the old offences and ensure that harmful communications posted to a likely audience are captured.
The new offence will consider the context in which the communication was sent. This will better address forms of violence against women and girls, such as communications which may not seem obviously harmful but when looked at in light of a pattern of abuse could cause serious distress. For example, in the instance where a survivor of domestic abuse has fled to a secret location and the abuser sends the individual a picture of their front door or street sign.
It will better protect people’s right to free expression online. Communications that are offensive but not harmful and communications sent with no intention to cause harm, such as consensual communication between adults, will not be captured. It will have to be proven in court that a defendant sent a communication without any reasonable excuse and did so intending to cause serious distress or worse, with exemptions for communication which contributes to a matter of public interest.
An offence for when a person sends a communication they know to be false with the intention to cause non-trivial emotional, psychological or physical harm.
Although there is an existing offence in the Communications Act that captures knowingly false communications, this new offence raises the current threshold of criminality. It covers false communications deliberately sent to inflict harm, such as hoax bomb threats, as opposed to misinformation where people are unaware what they are sending is false or genuinely believe it to be true.
For example, if an individual posted on social media encouraging people to inject antiseptic to cure themselves of coronavirus, a court would have to prove that the individual knew this was not true before posting it.
The maximum sentences for each offence will differ. If someone is found guilty of a harm based offence they could go to prison for up to two years, up to 51 weeks for the false communication offence and up to five years for the threatening communications offence.
The maximum sentence was six months under the Communications Act and two years under the Malicious Communications Act.
Professor Penney Lewis, Commissioner for Criminal Law, said: “The criminal law should target those who specifically intend to cause harm, while allowing people to share contested and controversial ideas in good faith.
“Our recommendations create a more nuanced set of criminal offences, which better protect victims of genuinely harmful communications as well as better protecting freedom of expression.
“I am delighted that the Government has accepted these recommended offences.”
During yesterday’s session of the Joint Executive Committee (JEC) with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes outlined some of the challenges needing to be addressed as part of the forthcoming joint review of the Scottish Fiscal Framework.
Chairing the meeting in London, Ms Forbes highlighted the need for further collaboration on fiscal flexibility, including consideration of further financial powers as part of the forthcoming Fiscal Framework review.
The meeting follows the UK Government’s Council Tax Energy Rebate announcement and the consequential funding for the Scottish Government.
The Spring Budget Revision has also been published showing that the Scottish Government has spent almost £15 billion on measures to respond to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. It represents the final decisions made in the Scottish Government budget allocations for this financial year despite the challenges due to late notification of consequentials.
Speaking following the JEC, Ms Forbes said: “I have had a constructive conversation with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury this afternoon, where there was a frank exchange of views on what is quickly required from the Fiscal Framework Review and the need for further fiscal flexibility for Scotland.
“Our experiences of dealing with both the health and economic impacts of the pandemic and supporting those struggling with the cost of living crisis clearly demonstrate how difficult it is to take actions we deem vital without sufficient fiscal powers and often with late notice or lack of engagement when further funding is coming.
“This has been proven once again today. Whilst I will always welcome funding, the net change to our budget isn’t clear yet – we are awaiting urgent clarity on this from the Treasury and how it will impact our final settlement for the current year.
“As the First Minister has said, we will pass on the full consequential funding to support people struggling with the current costs of living. Council Tax is already lower in Scotland and our current support such as the single Council Tax Reduction Scheme protects 470,000 lower income households.”
And the UK Government’s take on yesterday’s meeting:
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke held talks with the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy Kate Forbes yesterday to discuss the upcoming review of the Scottish Government’s Fiscal Framework.
The ministers agreed they were close to finalising arrangements for an independent report on the Scottish Government’s Block Grant Adjustment arrangements which will inform the review.
They shared the ambition to get this first stage launched as soon as possible.
The Chief Secretary and Cabinet Secretary also agreed that the Fiscal Framework review should be guided by principles set out in the Smith Commission agreement. They discussed the importance of several principles, including fairness and consistency, as well as the need to have a framework that is implementable, sustainable and operates effectively in practice.
Both ministers expressed a desire to avoid unnecessary delays to starting the Fiscal Framework review, and agreed to continue a dialogue and joint preparations for the review while the independent report is underway.
Ministers also discussed financial impacts relating to the income tax personal allowance.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke said: “Today was an enjoyable and productive meeting. We are working closely with the Scottish Government and engaging in regular discussions on the Fiscal Framework review, making good progress on our approach to the Scottish Government’s future finances.”
Prices are rising at the fastest rate in 30 years, and energy bills alone are expected to rise by 50% in April. We are all feeling the pinch but the soaring costs of essentials will hurt low income families, whose budgets are already at breaking point, most.
There has long been a profound mismatch between what those with a low income have, and what they need to get by. Policies such as the benefit cap and benefit freeze have left many struggling. Families are still reeling from the £20 cut to Universal Credit last October. And, though benefits will increase by 3.1% in April, inflation is projected to be 6% by then. This means yet another real terms cut to incomes.
The government must respond to the scale of the challenge. Immediate targeted protection to prevent serious hardship is essential, but short-term support will not be enough in the face of ongoing inflation.
The government should increase benefits by 6% in April and ensure support for housing costs increases in line with rents. All those struggling, including families affected by the benefit cap, must feel the impact.
Much more is needed for levels of support to reflect what people need to get by. But, in taking these first steps, the government will prevent the gap from getting wider and lay the foundation to further strengthen our social security system that protects us from poverty.
Signed by:
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group
Graeme Cooke, Director of Evidence and Policy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Emma Revie, Chief Executive, The Trussell Trust
Imran Hussain, Director of Policy & Campaigns, Action for Children
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director, Age UK
Sarb Bajwa, Chief Executive, British Psychological Society
Joseph Howes, CEO, Buttle UK
Leigh Elliott, CEO, Children North East
Laurence Guinness, Chief Executive, The Childhood Trust
Paula Stringer, CEO, Christians Against Poverty (CAP)
Niall Cooper, Director, Church Action on Poverty
James Plunkett, Executive Director of Advice & Advocacy, Citizens Advice
“We know this rise will be extremely worrying for many people, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet”
Record increase in global gas prices sees energy price cap rise of 54%
Ofgem knows this rise will be extremely worrying for many people
Customers struggling to pay their energy bill should contact their supplier to access the help available
The energy price cap will increase from 1 April for approximately 22 million customers. Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year (difference due to rounding). Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.
The increase is driven by a record rise in global gas prices over the last 6 months, with wholesale prices quadrupling in the last year.
It will affect default tariff customers who haven’t switched to a fixed deal and those who remain with their new supplier after their previous supplier exited the market.
The price cap is updated twice a year and tracks wholesale energy and other costs.
It stops energy companies from making excessive profits, ensuring customers pay no more than a fair price for their energy.
The price cap allows energy companies to pass on all reasonable costs to customers, including increases in the cost of buying gas.
Since the price cap was last updated in August, the current level does not reflect the unprecedented record rise in gas prices which has since taken place.
Under the price cap mechanism, energy companies will be allowed to pass on these higher costs from April when the new level takes effect.
This is because energy companies cannot afford to supply electricity and gas to their customers for less than they have paid for it.
Over the last year, 29 energy companies have exited the market or been put in special administration in the wake of soaring global gas prices, affecting around 4.3 million domestic customers.
Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said:“We know this rise will be extremely worrying for many people, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet, and Ofgem will ensure energy companies support their customers in any way they can.
“The energy market has faced a huge challenge due to the unprecedented increase in global gas prices, a once in a 30-year event, and Ofgem’s role as energy regulator is to ensure that, under the price cap, energy companies can only charge a fair price based on the true cost of supplying electricity and gas.
“Ofgem is working to stabilise the market and over the longer term to diversify our sources of energy which will help protect customers from similar price shocks in the future.”
Ofgem will tomorrow announce further measures to help the energy market weather future volatility by increasing financial resilience and have the flexibility to respond so that risks are not inappropriately passed on to consumers.
The further measures include enabling Ofgem to update the price cap more frequently than once every 6 months in exceptional circumstances to ensure that it still reflects the true cost of supplying energy.
Help available for customers:
If customers are struggling to pay for energy bills, they should contact their energy supplier as soon as possible. Depending on their circumstances, customers may be eligible for extra help with their energy bills or services, such as debt repayment plans, payment breaks, emergency credit for prepayment metered customers, priority support and schemes like the Winter Fuel Payment or Warm Home Discount rebate.
Breathing Space Scheme: This is a scheme to give households time to receive debt advice and find a solution to sort out their debt problems. Breathing space will last for 60 days as long as applicants remain eligible during which time all creditors who have been included will be informed and must stop any collection or enforcement activity. Once the breathing space ends, creditors will be able to collect the debt in the usual way. Call the National Debtline on Freephone 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.org
The Citizens Advice consumer service can provide advice on how customers can resolve problems with their energy provider. You can contact Citizens Advice via webchat, or by calling 0808 223 1133. For complex or urgent cases, or if a person is in a vulnerable situation, they may then be referred onto the Extra Help Unit.
2. Ofgem will announce further measures tomorrow including:
Introducing an uplift in the wholesale cost allowance in the price cap: after reviewing the evidence, Ofgem has decided that the existing price cap methodology did not appropriately account for the additional wholesale energy costs energy companies have incurred during the current price cap period following the unprecedented scale of wholesale energy prices and volatility. This adjustment represents less than 10% of the overall price cap increase.
Changing licence conditions to give Ofgem the more flexibility to change the price cap level if needed in between the regular six-monthly cap updates: Ofgem has set ourselves five tests which mean we will only expect to use the power in exceptional circumstances.
Further reforms to the price cap from October: In December we set out three options to make the price cap more robust to high and volatile wholesale energy costs while preserving as far as possible the benefits of the price cap for consumers. The consultation published tomorrow will include all three options, with quarterly updates as our preferred option
Breakdown of costs in the energy price cap
Dual fuel customer paying by direct debit, typical energy use (GB £)
*Network costs: The main driver of this increase is the recovery of Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) levy costs (£68). A supplier acting as a SoLR can make a claim for any reasonable additional, otherwise unrecoverable, costs they incur. These levy claims are paid to energy companies by the distribution network companies and recovered from consumers via their charges.
5. The charts below show the wholesale prices that are used to determine the wholesale cost allowance within the price cap from spring 2018 ahead of the introduction of the price cap in January 2019.
Wholesale costs make up the majority of a customer’s bill. An efficient supplier will purchase energy for their customers on the wholesale market in advance of when they need to supply that energy.
This purchasing strategy is reflected in how the wholesale allowance is calculated within the price cap. We observe the forward-looking energy contracts that energy companies typically purchase over time and combine these to determine the wholesale cost allowance within the price cap.
We do this twice a year when we update the price cap in August for the winter period (October – March) and in February for the summer period (April – September) based on the price of these forward-looking energy contracts over the previous six months.
The fixed horizontal line shows the average wholesale cost allowance for each 6 month price cap period based on the price of the relevant forward looking energy contracts (the jagged line).
The recent spike in the prices of relevant forward looking energy contracts over the last 6 months can be clearly seen. The scale and pace of wholesale price increases has resulted in a big increase in the wholesale cost allowance for the price cap level for summer 2022.
Wholesale gas price costs in the energy price cap
Pence per therm
Wholesale electricity price costs in the energy price cap
Pounds per megawatt hour
Data sets behind these graphs are proprietary and can be sourced from ICIS.
Chancellor’s statement – Energy Price Cap
Statement, as delivered by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, on 3 February 2022:
Mr Speaker,
The UK’s economic recovery has been quicker and stronger than forecast.
In the depths of the pandemic, our economy was expected to return to its pre-crisis level at the end of 2022.
Instead, it got there in November 2021 – a full year earlier.
Unemployment was expected to peak at nearly 12%.
Instead, it peaked at 5.2% and has now fallen to just over 4% – saving more than 2 million jobs.
And with the fastest growing economy in the G7 this year…
Over 400,000 more people on payrolls than before the pandemic…
And business investment rising…it’s no wonder Mr Speaker, that borrowing is set to fall from £320bn last year …
… the highest ever peacetime level …
… to £46bn by the end of this Parliament.
As we emerge from the depths of the worst recession in 300 years, we should be proud of our economic record.
The economy is stronger because of the plan we put in place; because of the actions we took to protect families and businesses.
And that plan is working.
But for all the progress we are making – the job is not yet done.
Right now, I know the number one issue on people’s minds is the rising cost of living.
It is the independent Bank of England’s role to deliver low and stable inflation – and the Governor will set out their latest judgements at midday today.
And just as the government stood behind the British people through the pandemic…
… so we will help people deal with one of the biggest costs they now face – energy.
The energy regulator, OFGEM, announced this morning that the energy price cap will rise in April to £1,971 – an increase of £693 for the average household. Without government action, this would be incredibly tough for millions of hardworking families. So the government is going to step in to directly help people manage those extra costs.
Mr Speaker,
Before I set out the steps we are taking, let me explain what’s happening to energy prices, and why.
People’s energy bills are rising because it is more expensive for the companies who supply our energy to buy oil, coal, and gas.
Of the £693 increase in the April price cap, around 80% comes from wholesale energy prices.
Over the last year, the price of gas alone has quadrupled.
And because over 85% of homes in Britain are heated with a gas boiler, and around 40% of our electricity comes from gas, this is hitting households hard.
The reasons gas prices are soaring are global.
Across Europe and Asia, a long, cold winter last year depleted gas stores.
Disruption to other energy sources like nuclear and wind left us relying more than usual on gas during the summer months.
Surging demand in the world’s manufacturing centres in Asia…
… at the same time as countries like China are moving away from coal…
… is further increasing demand for gas.
And concerns about a possible Russian incursion into Ukraine are putting further pressure on wholesale gas markets.
And so prices are rising.
Mr Speaker,
The price cap has meant that the impact of soaring gas prices has so far fallen mainly on energy companies.
So much so, that some suppliers who couldn’t afford to meet those extra costs have gone out of business as a result.
It is not sustainable to keep holding the price of energy artificially low.
For me to stand here and pretend we don’t have to adjust to paying higher prices would be wrong and dishonest. But what we can do is take the sting out of a significant price shock for millions of families … by making sure the increase in prices is smaller initially and spread over a longer period.
Mr Speaker,
Without government intervention, the increase in the price cap would leave the average household having to find an extra £693.
The actions I’m announcing today will provide, to the vast majority of households, just over half that amount – £350.
In total, the government is going to help around 28 million households this year.
Taken together, this is a plan to help with the cost of living worth around £9bn.
We’re delivering that support in three different ways.
First, we will spread the worst of the extra costs of this year’s energy price shock over time.
This year, all domestic electricity customers will receive an upfront discount on their bills worth £200.
Energy suppliers will apply the discount on people’s bills from October.
With the government meeting the cost in full.
That discount will be automatically repaid from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over the next five years.
This is the right way to support people while staying on track with our plans to repair the public finances.
And because we are taking a fiscally responsible approach, we can also provide more help, faster, to those who need it most – the second part of our plan.
We’re going to give people a £150 Council Tax rebate to help with the cost of energy, in April – and this discount won’t need to be repaid.
And I do want to be clear with the House that we are deliberately not just giving support to people on benefits.
Lots of people on middle incomes are struggling right now, too – so I’ve decided to provide the council tax rebate to households in Bands A to D.
This means around 80% of all homes in England will benefit.
And the third part of our plan will provide local authorities with a discretionary fund of nearly £150m…
… to help those lower income households who happen to live in higher Council Tax properties…
… and households in bands A-D who are exempt from Council Tax.
We’re also confirming today that we’ll go ahead with existing plans to expand eligibility for the Warm Home Discount by almost a third…
… so that 3m vulnerable households will now benefit from that scheme.
And that’s not all we’re doing to help vulnerable households.
We’re providing £3bn over this Parliament to help more than half a million lower income homes become more energy efficient, saving them on average £290 per year.
Increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour in April, a pay rise of over £1,000 for 2 million low paid workers.
And providing an effective tax cut for those on Universal Credit, allowing almost 2 million households to keep an average of £1,000 per year.
The payment through energy suppliers will apply across England, Wales and Scotland.
Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland, with a different regulator, and the government does not have the legal powers to intervene.
So we will make sure the Executive is funded to do something similar, with around £150m for Northern Ireland through the Barnett formula next year.
And because the Council Tax system is England only, total Barnett consequentials of around £565m will be provided to the devolved administrations in the usual way.
Mr Speaker,
I know that some in this House have argued for a VAT cut on energy.
However, that policy would disproportionately benefit wealthier households.
There would also be no guarantee that suppliers would pass on the discounts to all customers.
And we should be honest with ourselves: this would become a permanent Government subsidy on everyone’s bills.
A permanent subsidy worth £2.5 billion every year – at a time when we are trying to rebuild the public finances.
Instead, our plan allows us to provide more generous support, faster, to those who need it most, providing 28m households with at least £200, and the vast majority receiving £350.
It is fair, it is targeted, it is proportionate – it is the right way to help people with the spike in energy costs.
Mr Speaker,
Today’s announcements are just one part of the government’s plan to tackle this country’s most pressing economic challenges.
A plan for growth – with record investments in infrastructure, innovation and skills.
A plan to restore the public finances – with debt falling by the end of this Parliament.
A plan to cut waiting lists and back the NHS with £29bn over three years and a permanent new source of funding.
And, with the measures I’ve announced today – a plan to help with the rising cost of energy with £350 more in the pockets of tens of millions of hard working families.
That’s our plan to build a stronger economy – not just today but for the long term.
And I commend it to this House.
Commenting on the energy cap rise, interest rate rise and the Chancellor’s measures to address the cost of living crisis, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The Chancellor’s announcement is hopelessly inadequate. For most families it’s just £7 a week and more than half must be paid back.
“It’s too little, it’s poorly targeted, and it’s stop gap measures instead of fixing the big problems.
“Britain needs a pay rise. The best way to help families is to get wages growing again. But this government has no plan to end pay misery.
“Ministers should be getting urgent help to families that need it most through raising universal credit. And we need a windfall tax on the excessive profits from North Sea gas to cut bills and boost investment in affordable energy.”
Responding to today’s announcements on energy costs and the cost of living, Katie Schmuecker, Deputy Director of Policy and Partnerships for the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation said: “The Chancellor has offered cold comfort to families in poverty, who are already rationing what they can spend on essentials such as heating and food.
“These families are now expected to find at least half of the eye watering increases in energy bills, when many are already getting into debt to keep their houses warm and food on the table.
“Three quarters of those who can claim the enhanced support are not in poverty. Meanwhile inflation is set to rise at more than double the rate of benefits. This support will not get people through the next few months and it will not protect those most at risk of hardship.
“People in poverty are hit hardest by all these pressures because our social security system is simply not offering adequate support, and until that changes they will continue to be exposed to every economic shock.
“The Chancellor has made his choice, the harder choices will now be coming for those who still can’t afford essentials for themselves and their families.”
University of Birmingham’s Harriet Thomson on the rise of energy price caps: “This news comes at a time when families across Great Britain have already been facing years of rapidly increasing energy prices, as well as chaotic energy market conditions with the collapse of around 20 energy supplies since January 2021 alone.
“Just last month, ONS data found that 2 in 3 adults said their costs of living had gone up in the past month, with 79% of those attributing blame to gas and electricity prices.
“We know from the extensive body of existing evidence on this topic that lower income households will be disproportionately hit by the price cap increase, risking pushing millions more into a situation fuel poverty.
“This will have serious consequences for physical and mental health, social isolation, and educational attainment, with households forced to make difficult everyday decisions over whether to ‘heat or eat’.
“Moreover, these price increases are likely to push more people into using risky and/or polluting alternative energy sources, such as DIY candle heaters that have been linked to house fires, burning scrap wood and other flammable materials, and digging up peat. As well as the obvious risks to human life, these approaches will also exacerbate climate change.
“It’s clear that energy companies are reeling from the potent combination of cash flow reductions due to pandemic-related economic pressures on families who are building up more energy debt, and the global gas crisis.
“But the answer is not to burden households with yet more costs. The energy market is broken and needs radical reform – now is the time for the UK government to show ambition and commitment to the nation by investing in deep retrofits of our old and leaky housing stock, and to rollout decentralised renewable energy systems at scale.”
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove has written to the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland following the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper.
In the letters the Secretary of State for Levelling Up:
calls for the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to work with the UK government to overcome shared challenges
The Scottish Government is yet to respond.
LEVELLING UP: REACTION
Responding to the publication of the levelling up white paper, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “If we don’t level up at work, we won’t level up the country.
“But the government has failed to provide a serious plan to deliver decent well-paid jobs, in the parts of the UK that need them most.
“Insecure work and low pay are rife in modern Britain. And for far too many families hard work no longer pays.
“With the country facing a cost-of-living crisis, working families need action now to improve jobs and boost pay packets – especially after more than a decade of lost pay.
“Ministers should have announced a plan to get real wages rising – starting with a proper pay rise for all our key workers and the introduction of fair pay deals for low-paid industries.
“And they should have delivered the long-awaited employment bill to ban zero hours contracts – as well as new, meaningful investment in skills and good green jobs of the future.
“Without a plan to deliver decent work up and down the country, millions will struggle on, on low wages, and with poor health and prospects.”
Recent polling published by the TUC found the British public’s number one priority for levelling up is more and better jobs.
The TUC polling, conducted by YouGov, reveals that the most popular priority for levelling up, chosen by one in two Britons, is increasing the number and quality of jobs available.
Increasing the number and quality of jobs is popular across the political spectrum. Half (49 per cent) of those who voted Conservative in the 2019 general election picked it as their top priority, along with more than half of Labour voters (56 per cent) and Lib Dem voters (54 per cent).
Matthew Fell, CBI Chief Policy Director, said:“The Levelling Up White Paper is a serious assessment of the regional inequalities which have hamstrung the UK’s economic potential for generations.
“It offers a blueprint for how government can be rewired and an encouraging basis for how the private sector can bring the investment and innovation to start overcoming those deep-rooted challenges, and power long term prosperity for every community, wherever they live.
“The picture it paints of a reinvigorated 2030 UK can inspire public and private sector partners to unite on shared missions for improving health, wealth, growth and opportunity across the country.
“Crucially, it accepts the CBI view that business-driven economic clusters – enabling every region and nation to build its own unique competitiveness proposition – can be a catalyst which brings levelling up ambitions to life.”
University of Birmingham’s John Bryson on the Levelling Up announcement: “The UK has always suffered from uneven development and this is reflected in all measures of well-being – from salaries to place-based differences in mortality rates and morbidity.
“There is no country on this planet that does not suffer from some form of uneven place-based outcomes. The implication is that any attempt to remove place-based uneven outcomes will and must fail. The policy outcome might mean some alteration in the extent or degree of unevenness, but unevenness will continue to persist.
“No political party will be able to develop effective solutions to create a level playing field. Nevertheless, this does not mean that policies should not be designed to support and facilitate some form of more even development. However, the outcome will still be the persistence of uneven outcomes.
“The key to any levelling-up agenda is to accept that every place is different and that there are multiple alternative place-based pathways; London can never become Newcastle and Newcastle can never become London.
“The levelling-up agenda needs to be positioned around a debate that is not based on closing the gap between the richer and poorer part of the country, but instead must be framed around facilitating place-based responsible inclusive prosperity.
“This must be the focus as any policy targeted at economic growth can never be sustainable. The levelling-up policy initiative ultimately must be designed to encourage inclusive carbon-light lifestyles. One implication is that levelling-up might also require some degree of levelling-down.”
Campbell Robb, Nacro chief executive said: “We know tackling poverty and inequality is key to levelling up. For over 50 years Nacro has been embedded in communities helping some of our nation’s most vulnerable people through our housing, education, and justice services.
“We see a huge amount of unmet need in our country. We need radical change to the systems that support people and significant funding to address this need, not just ambitions and slogans.
“Until there is right support, opportunity, and funding in place for everyone to succeed regardless of the circumstances, we cannot truly claim to be levelling up”
Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “We now know what levelling up is – George Osborne plus New Labour.
“The White Paper is all about combining the devolution of the former Conservative Chancellor, with the bigger and more activist state focused on deprived areas of the last Labour government.
“There is a strong case for both. Whether they can be delivered very much remains to be seen.”
Responding to the publication of Government’s Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper, Social Mobility Commission Chair Katharine Birbalsingh and Deputy Chair Alun Francis said:“We welcome the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper, and the fact that it gives a clear framework to address disparities between regions and communities.
“These communities are full of talented individuals and we must do everything we can to empower them to thrive. Each of the missions the paper sets out are hugely important, and it is crucial that checks and balances are in place to ensure that local government bodies, both existing and new, are held to account for their delivery.
“The Commission has been clear that social mobility must be a core objective of levelling up. We are pleased to see that equipping young people with the tools they need to succeed in life is at the heart of this strategy, and that it includes measures that can contribute to social mobility through every stage of a young person’s journey, from early childhood through education, training and employment.
“The missions are aspirational and pose the right questions, but are also hugely ambitious. The test will be in the detail and the implementation – not just boosting skills, but which skills will be taught and how; not just aiming for essential literacy and numeracy, but defining the most effective ways to achieve them.
“Ultimately, levelling up will be judged on how well it creates opportunities in places they did not exist before. A key test will be how we help those with the fewest opportunities find decent work – this is not just about stories of rags-to-riches. More still needs to be done to stimulate the creation of much-needed quality private sector jobs in the most deprived areas.
“As the Social Mobility Commission we stand ready to work with the government to flesh out that detail, advise on the best ways to make these missions a reality, and ensure that levelling up empowers people up and down the country to stand on their own two feet.”
Finally, after months of delays, the levelling up White Paper is out! So was it worth the wait?
Levelling Up White Paper leaves low paid workers behind
As the TUC has argued, you can’t level up without levelling up at work. In-work poverty, driven by the prevalence of low-paid and insecure work, is sky-high in every region and nation of the UK. This reflects the fact that low-paid sectors, such as retail and social care, are major employers in every area of the country (writes TUC’s JANET WILLIAMSON).
And more and better jobs is the public’s top priority for levelling up, with recent polling for the TUC conducted by YouGov finding that increasing the number and quality of jobs is seen as a priority for levelling up by one in two people from right across the political spectrum. Does the White Paper deliver this?
The White Paper sets out 12 missions – or aims – spanning living standards, R&D, transport, digital connectivity, education, skills, health, well-being, pride in place, housing, crime and local leadership. There is not a specific mission on work, but the living standards mission is “By 2030, pay, employment and productivity will have risen in every area of the UK, with each containing a globally competitive city, and the gap between the top performing and other areas closing.”
So, what is the plan for achieving this?
In a nutshell, it is to grow the private sector and improve its ability to create new and better paid jobs. There are five strategies to support this aim, all of which fall under a typical ‘industrial strategy’ umbrella: improving SME’s access to finance; boosting institutional investment, including from the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and the recently established National Infrastructure Bank; attracting foreign direct investment and using trade policy, in particular freeports, to boost investment; improving the diffusion of technologies and innovation; and supporting and growing the manufacturing sector.
There are some important questions to be answered in relation to some of these strategies; for example, it is vital that the LGPS is invested in the long-term interests of its members, without its funds being diverted towards other purposes. And each deserves proper examination in its own right.
But what they have in common is that all of them aim to create a better distribution of well-paid and highly skilled jobs around the country. This is needed – but what about the jobs that people are already in? There is no plan to address inequality within the labour market and nothing to level up work that is low paid and insecure.
The experience of London shows that the prevalence of high-paid jobs does not automatically lead to rising incomes for the wider community. Indeed, London has the highest rate of in-work poverty in the country, with people in low-paying service sector jobs priced out of housing and local amenities.
To level up, we must tackle low pay and insecurity head on, and focus on those sectors that need it most.
We need to strengthen the floor of employment protection for all workers by raising the minimum wage and tackling zero hours contracts. And the government should lead by example, giving public sector workers a proper pay rise and reversing the devastating cuts that public services have suffered in the last decade. Decent jobs should be a requirement of all government procurement, so that the power of government is used to drive up employment standards.
But we also need to change the way our economy works to hardwire decent work into business models and economic growth. Relying on the private sector to level up without changing how it works will fail. We need corporate governance reform to rebalance corporate priorities and give working people a fair share of the wealth they create. And we need a new skills settlement to give working people access to lifelong learning accounts and a right to retrain.
Levelling up at work means addressing the imbalance of power in the workplace
Working people need stronger rights to organise collectively in unions and bargain with their employer. Collective bargaining promotes higher pay, better training, safer and more flexible workplaces and greater equality – exactly what we need to level up at work. Unions should have access to workplaces to tell people about the benefits of unions, following the New Zealand model.
And to level up we must tackle entrenched low pay and poor conditions within sectors head on, bringing unions and employers together to set sectoral Fair Pay Agreements for low paid sectors, starting with social care.
Creating new and better jobs is important; but this Levelling Up White Paper has left those in low paid, insecure work behind.
Government finally unveils ten year plan that ‘will transform UK’
Twelve bold national levelling up missions, given status in law, will shift government focus and resources to Britain’s forgotten communities throughout 2020s
Biggest shift of power from Whitehall to local leaders in modern times announced – every part of England to get ‘London style’ powers and mayor if they wish to
Starting gun fired on decade-long project to level up Britain, with radical new policies announced across the board
Domestic public investment in Research & Development to increase by at least 40% across the North, Midlands, South West, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
Today (2 February 2022) the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the government’s flagship Levelling Up White Paper. This document will set out a plan to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and prosperity to all parts of it.
The White Paper will set out a complete ‘system change’ of how government works that will be implemented to level up the UK.
At the heart of this new way of making and implementing policy will be 12 ‘bold, national missions’ – all quantifiable and to be achieved by 2030.
These missions (in full below) are the policy objectives for levelling up, and thus form the heart of the government’s agenda for the 2020s. They will be given status in law in a flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
These missions will be cross-government, cross-society efforts. The first mission, for instance, will see pay, employment, and productivity grow everywhere, and the disparities between the top and worst performing areas narrow. This is the first time a government has placed narrowing spatial economic disparities at the heart of its agenda before.
The Research & Development (R&D) mission will see domestic public R&D investment outside the Greater South East increase by at least 40% by 2030, with these funds leveraging a huge increase in private investment in these areas too.
By 2030, other missions will see:
the rest of the country’s local public transport systems becoming much closer to London standards
the large majority of the country gain access to 5G broadband
illiteracy and innumeracy in primary school leavers effectively eliminated – focussing the government’s education efforts on the most disadvantaged parts of the country
Other missions will see: hundreds of thousands more people completing high quality skills training every year, gross disparities in healthy life expectancy narrowed, the number of poor quality rented homes halved, the most run down town centres and communities across the country rejuvenated, a significant decrease in serious crime in the most blighted areas, and every part of England getting a ‘London-style’ devolution deal if they wish to.
The UK government will do whatever it can to achieve these missions. Government’s resources, energy, and focus throughout the 2020s will be re-oriented around achieving them – and thus squarely focussed on helping the people and parts of the country most struggling. Whilst the missions are UK-wide ambitions, in the many instances where they are driven by devolved policy levers, the UK government wishes to work hand in hand with the devolved governments to achieve them.
The missions will be underpinned by a suite of public metrics to track progress and monitor the evolution of spatial disparities. The UK government will legislate such that it has a statutory duty to publish an annual report updating the public on the progress of these missions, with a new Levelling Up Advisory Council including members such as Sir Paul Collier, renowned economist at Oxford’s Blavatnik’s School of Government, providing further support and constructive analysis.
Other parts of the ‘system change’ include: all policy across Whitehall being aligned with the levelling up agenda and therefore subject to spatial analysis, and a transformation of the government’s approach to data and evaluation – with a new independent body created to improve transparency of local government performance.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said:“The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story. We have one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic economies. Ours is the world’s most spoken language. We have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any country other than America.
“But not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.
“Levelling Up and this White Paper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.
“This will not be an easy task, and it won’t happen overnight, but our 12 new national levelling up missions will drive real change in towns and cities across the UK, so that where you live will no longer determine how far you can go.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:“From day one, the defining mission of this government has been to level up this country, to break the link between geography and destiny so that no matter where you live you have access to the same opportunities.
“The challenges we face have been embedded over generations and cannot be dug out overnight, but this White Paper is the next crucial step.
“It is a vision for the future that will see public spending on R&D increased in every part of the country; transport connectivity improving; faster broadband in every community; life expectancies rising; violent crime falling; schools improving; and private sector investment being unleashed.
“It is the most comprehensive, ambitious plan of its kind that this country has ever seen and it will ensure that the government continues to rise to the challenge and deliver for the people of the UK.”
‘Huge shift of power’ from Whitehall to local leaders
The UK government recognises that if it tries to level up the UK alone, it will fail. That is why the White Paper will detail the largest devolution of power from Whitehall to local leaders across England in modern times.
The government recognises the strong local leadership mayors like Andy Street, Ben Houchen and Andy Burnham have shown, and wishes to replicate this success across England.
Fundamental to this ‘devolution revolution’ will be a new model for England with more mayors for those areas that want one.
The UK Government will invite the first 9 areas to agree new county deals and seek to agree further MCA deals, extending devolution across England. The first 9 areas invited to begin negotiations will be Cornwall, Derbyshire & Derby, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull & East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire & Nottingham, and Suffolk.
The White Paper announces negotiations for a new Mayoral Combined Authority deal for York and North Yorkshire and expanded Mayoral Combined Authority deal for the North East, as well as negotiations for ‘trailblazer’ devolution deals with the West Midlands and Greater Manchester to extend their powers – with these deals acting as blueprints for other Mayoral Combined Authorities to follow.
By 2030, every part of England that wishes to have a ‘London-style’ devolution deal will have one.
The local devolution mission is relevant in England only, but the wider policy programme will see decentralisation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to local areas in Scotland and Wales.
‘Radical new policy’ to level up announced
The White Paper represents a long term plan to transform the UK, but it also sets out the first steps the government is taking to achieve this:
Boosting pay and productivity, especially in places where they are lagging
To contribute towards domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East increasing by at least 40% by 2030, the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have committed to invest at least 55% of their domestic R&D funding outside the Greater South East by 2024/5. Commitments to increase public investment have been made by DHSC, MOD, DfT and Defra. For instance, the Department for Health and Social Care will be increasing their medical research investment outside London, Oxford and Cambridge.
The White Paper also announces 3 new Innovation Accelerators, major place-based centres of innovation, centred on Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and Glasgow-City Region. These clusters of innovation will see local businesses and researchers in these areas backed by £100 million of new government funding to turbo-charge local growth, learning from the MIT-Greater Boston and Stanford-Silicon Valley models.
The document further sets out the government’s intention to mobilise £16 billion of the Local Government Pension Scheme for investments in local projects – recognising that too much at present is invested outside the UK.
The government will fund ambitious plans for bus improvements in areas where this can make the most impact, including the mayoral city-regions, Stoke-on-Trent, Derbyshire and Warrington.
Spreading opportunities and improving public services, especially where they are weakest
55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) will be designated in local authorities in England where school outcomes are currently weakest. These areas, 95% of which are outside London and the South East, will benefit from intensive investment and support. This will ensure the worst off schools of the North, Midlands, South West and East of England receive the most support over this decade. They will be supported by the Department for Education (DfE) offering retention payments to schools in these areas ensuring they can retain the best teachers. And will be prioritised for new specialist sixth form free schools that will ensure talented children from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to the highest standard of education this country offers.
Local Skills Improvement Plans will be rolled out with funding across England, giving local employer bodies and stakeholders a statutory role in planning skills training in their area, to better meet local labour market needs.
The government will set out its strategy to tackle the core drivers of health inequalities through a new White Paper on Health Disparities published this year.
Recommendations will be taken forward from Henry Dimbleby’s review towards a National Food Strategy. DfE will work with the Food Standards Agency to pilot measures to ensure greater compliance with the school food standards. The government will pilot the Community Eat Well programme, enabling GPs to prescribe exercise and healthy food.
Restoring local pride
The government will support 20 of our towns and city centres, starting off with Wolverhampton and Sheffield, undertaking ambitious, King’s Cross-style regeneration projects, transforming derelict urban sites into beautiful communities. This work will be spearheaded by Homes England, which will be repurposed to, in addition to its existing functions, regenerate towns and cities.
The ‘80/20 rule’ which leads to 80% of government funding for housing supply being directed at ‘maximum affordability areas’ – in practice, London and the South East – will be scrapped, with much of the £1.8 billion brownfield funding instead being diverted to transforming brownfield sites in the North and Midlands. The Metro Mayors will be allocated £120 million of this funding.
The government will announce a plan that for the first time ever, all homes in the Private Rented Sector will have to meet a minimum standard – the Decent Homes Standard. Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will further be abolished, ending the unfair situation where renters can be kicked out of their homes for no reason. We will consult on introducing a landlords register, and will set out plans for a crackdown on rogue landlords – making sure fines and bans stop repeat offenders leaving renters in terrible conditions.
Home ownership will be boosted due to a new £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund being launched, which will provide loans to SMEs and support the UK government’s wider regeneration agenda in areas that are a priority for levelling up.
The government will further commit to building more genuinely affordable social housing. A new Social Housing Regulation Bill will deliver upon the commitments the government made following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017.
The White Paper will commit the government to significantly increasing cultural spending outside the capital, and commit that 100% of the Arts Council England funding uplift agreed at the latest Spending Review will be spent outside London.
A new National Youth Guarantee will be launched so that by 2025 every young person in England will have access to regular out of school activities, adventures away from home, and opportunities to volunteer.
A review of the Community Ownership Fund will occur so that more fans can take control of their vital local assets such as football club grounds. A £230 million investment in grassroots football will be delivered, with funding this year to deliver 850 pitches in England alone with further funding to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
£44 million will be unlocked from the Dormant Assets Scheme to support charities, social enterprises, and vulnerable individuals. With a consultation on the best causes for a further £880 million later this year, which will include a community wealth fund, youth and social investment.
The White Paper will announce 68 more local authorities to be supported by the High Streets Task Force to transform their town centres.
The government will give local authorities the power to require landlords of empty shops to fill them if they have been left vacant for too long.
£50 million from the Safer Streets Fund will be invested every year to give Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, and also certain civil society organisations in England and Wales the resources they need to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
To ensure those who transgress repair the damage they cause, £93 million will be invested in scaling up the amount of unpaid work that offenders to around 8 million hours per year – 1.75 million hours higher than any time since records began in 2015. Police officers will also gain the power to deal with noise nuisance.
Building on investment from the 10-year Drugs Strategy, the government will work intensively with the local authorities of 10-20 areas most affected by prolific neighbourhood crime.
Empowering local leaders
In addition to the policies announced above, such as offering a ‘London-style’ devolution settlement to every part of England:
Announcing for the first time a new devolution framework which sets out a clear menu of options for places in England that wish to unlock the benefits of devolution, whether that is moving towards a London-style transport system to connect people to opportunity, improving local skills provision, or being able to act more flexibly and innovatively to respond to local need.
The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be decentralised to local leaders as far as possible, with investments set to regenerate communities, boost people’s skills, and support local businesses.
A commitment to vastly simplify the local growth funding landscape to allow local leaders to drive tangible, visible change in their communities.
Stephen Phipson, Chief Executive of Make UK, said:“Manufacturers will enthusiastically embrace this strategy which is a vital building block in spreading growth to all parts of the UK.
“The sector has a significant presence in exactly the areas which need levelling up and is playing a vital role in delivering high value skills. While there is substantially more to be done, this focus on skills and innovation, together with an emphasis on infrastructure and place, is the right starting point and one that industry will back.”
The 12 Missions to Level Up the UK
1. By 2030, pay, employment and productivity will have risen in every area of the UK, with each containing a globally competitive city, with the gap between the top performing and other areas closing.
2. By 2030, domestic public investment in Research & Development outside the Greater South East will increase by at least 40% and at least one third over the Spending Review period, with that additional government funding seeking to leverage at least twice as much private sector investment over the long term to stimulate innovation and productivity growth.
3. By 2030, local public transport connectivity across the country will be significantly closer to the standards of London, with improved services, simpler fares and integrated ticketing.
4. By 2030, the UK will have nationwide gigabit-capable broadband and 4G coverage, with 5G coverage for the majority of the population.
5. By 2030, the number of primary school children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths will have significantly increased. In England, this will mean 90% of children will achieve the expected standard, and the percentage of children meeting the expected standard in the worst performing areas will have increased by over a third.
6. By 2030, the number of people successfully completing high-quality skills training will have significantly increased in every area of the UK. In England, this will lead to 200,000 more people successfully completing high-quality skills training annually, driven by 80,000 more people completing courses in the lowest skilled areas.
7. By 2030, the gap in Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) between local areas where it is highest and lowest will have narrowed, and by 2035 HLE will rise by 5 years.
8. By 2030, well-being will have improved in every area of the UK, with the gap between top performing and other areas closing.
9. By 2030, pride in place, such as people’s satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community, will have risen in every area of the UK, with the gap between the top performing and other areas closing.
10. By 2030, renters will have a secure path to ownership with the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas; and the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have fallen by 50%, with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas.
11. By 2030, homicide, serious violence, and neighbourhood crime will have fallen, focused on the worst-affected areas.
12. By 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution and a simplified, long-term funding settlement.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR SCOTLAND?
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, will write to the leaders of the devolved administrations to invite them to work together to deliver for people across the UK.
Proposals will include using the new structures created in the landmark Intergovernmental Relations Review to drive collaboration to overcome geographical disparities and the creation of a new body to share evidence and analyse success in devolved policy areas across the UK.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “I welcome the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper and urge the Scottish Government and local partners to work closely with us improving lives across Scotland.
“Initiatives such as the Glasgow City-Region becoming an Innovation Accelerator, unlocking access to a share of £100 million of new funding, will help Scotland continue its vital role in keeping the UK at the forefront of global science and research.
“Thanks to locally led partnerships working closely with the UK Government, the region will become a major innovation cluster delivering high end jobs. This, along with the UK Government’s commitment to invest £20 billion research and development budget outside the Greater South East of England, is great news for Scotland and the wider UK as we deliver on our levelling up commitments.”
Amongst the UK-wide policies the UK Government will drive are:
A 40% increase in domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East of England by 2030. The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have committed to invest at least 55% of their domestic R&D funding outside the Greater South East by 2024/5.
Decentralisation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to local areas in Scotland and Wales.
Nationwide gigabit-capable broadband and 4G coverage across the UK and 5G coverage for most of the population.
‘The United Kingdom is proud to be stepping up to take the lead in defence of freedom and democracy’ – Foreign Secretary Liz Truss
Moscow’s campaign against Ukraine and fellow democracies is undermining the very foundation of European security. And so, it is vital we face down the clear and present threat posed by Russia (writes Foreign Secretary LIZ TRUSS).
The Prime Minister will spearhead diplomatic efforts by talking to President Putin and travelling to the region in the coming days. Today, the UK will join talks at the UN Security Council to apply pressure on Russia to pursue the path of diplomacy. I will be flying out to Moscow within the next fortnight.
The stakes are high. Over 100,000 troops are now massed on Ukraine’s border. Russia has attacked Ukraine before, illegally annexing Crimea in 2014 and bringing war to the Donbas region, so the danger is real.
This malign activity goes beyond the borders of Ukraine. Russia is using its influence to fan the flames of discord in the Western Balkans. Russian forces are continuing to arrive in Belarus for a so-called “joint exercise” close to NATO’s borders. In recent days, Russia has intensified its brinkmanship by planning naval exercises off the Irish coast and increasing its naval presence in the Baltic Sea, prompting Sweden to send troops to reinforce one of its islands.
That is why we are reinforcing our diplomatic efforts with deterrence. We are offering NATO additional fast jets, warships and military specialists. We are doubling troop numbers to Estonia and have the HMS Prince of Wales on standby to move should tensions rise further. We are NATO’s biggest spender in Europe on defence and prepared to deploy our forces in line with that.
The United Kingdom is proud to be stepping up to take the lead in defence of freedom and democracy through credible deterrence and diplomacy. Even at the height of the Cold War, we were able to agree on the principles of a more secure Europe. Over more than four decades, we made huge advances towards a freer and safer world through agreements ranging from the 1975 Helsinki Final Act to the 1995 Dayton Agreement and the 2014 Minsk Protocol.
Yet Russia is jeopardising this hard-won progress with its reckless behaviour and unjustified aggression. It could not be more important for Russia to engage diplomatically rather than on the battlefield.
That is why we have said many times, alongside our allies in NATO and through the G7 Presidency, that any further Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs, including an unprecedented package of coordinated sanctions with our partners.
Our quarrel is not with the Russian people, but the policies pursued by their leaders. They repress freedom and democracy, seeking to silence courageous organisations like Andrei Sakharov’s ‘Memorial’, which has fought for decades for human rights. And now they risk landing ordinary Russians in an intractable quagmire to rival the Soviet-Afghan war and Chechnya.
There is a way out of this situation. It lies in respecting our past achievements and sticking to our longstanding commitments to respect each other’s borders. That can only start with Russia de-escalating, ending its aggressive campaign and engaging in meaningful talks.
We are serious about improving security for all. In the last week, the US and NATO have presented substantive proposals on areas for discussion that would increase transparency and reduce risk. Together, we are urging Russia to sit down for proper negotiations, based on the key principles of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. The alternative can only end in tragedy: with an incursion leading inevitably to huge suffering and severe economic consequences through sanctions.
The ball is in Russia’s court. I will continue to make the case with our allies and directly to Moscow for a diplomatic solution. But I am also ready to take the necessary steps to spell out the consequences of continued belligerence.
Ukraine has the right to determine its own future. However, President Putin made clear in his manifesto last summer – “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” – that he believed “the true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia”. We cannot turn a blind eye to any attempt to impose that partnership by force.
What happens in Europe matters for the world. Over 30 years ago, we joined our partners in Moscow, where we agreed that fundamental freedoms like human rights are “matters of direct and legitimate concern to all”. That same principle drives us today to stand steadfast with Ukraine in support of its future as a free democracy.
At this critical time, we are joining forces with our allies to show that there can never be rewards for aggression. By standing up for our ideas and ideals, we will together ensure the world is a freer, richer and safer place.
The changes were made to The Highway Code on Saturday 29 January 2022.
Here are 8 of the changes that you need to know about.
1. Hierarchy of road users
The introduction section of The Highway Code has been updated to include 3 new rules about the new ‘hierarchy of road users’.
The hierarchy places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy. It does not remove the need for everyone to behave responsibly.
It’s important that all road users:
are aware of The Highway Code
are considerate to other road users
understand their responsibility for the safety of others
There is new guidance in the code about routes and spaces which are shared by people walking, cycling and riding horses.
People cycling, riding a horse or driving a horse-drawn vehicle should respect the safety of people walking in these spaces, but people walking should also take care not to obstruct or endanger them.
People cycling are asked to:
not pass people walking, riding a horse or driving a horse-drawn vehicle closely or at high speed, particularly from behind
slow down when necessary and let people walking know they are there (for example, by ringing their bell)
remember that people walking may be deaf, blind or partially sighted
There is updated guidance for people cycling about positioning themselves which includes:
riding in the centre of their lane on quiet roads, in slower-moving traffic and at the approach to junctions or road narrowings
keeping at least 0.5 metres (just over 1.5 feet) away from the kerb edge (and further where it is safer) when riding on busy roads with vehicles moving faster than them
People cycling in groups
The updated code explains that people cycling in groups:
should be considerate of the needs of other road users when riding in groups
can ride 2 abreast – and it can be safer to do so, particularly in larger groups or when accompanying children or less experienced riders
People cycling are asked to be aware of people driving behind them and allow them to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when it’s safe to do so.
People cycling passing parked vehicles
The updated code explains that people cycling should:
take care when passing parked vehicles, leaving enough room (a door’s width or 1 metre) to avoid being hit if a car door is opened
You may cross a double-white line if necessary (provided the road is clear) to overtake someone cycling or riding a horse if they are travelling at 10 mph or less (Rule 129).
There is updated guidance on safe passing distances and speeds for people driving or riding a motorcycle when overtaking vulnerable road users, including:
leaving at least 1.5 metres (5 feet) when overtaking people cycling at speeds of up to 30mph, and giving them more space when overtaking at higher speeds
passing people riding horses or driving horse-drawn vehicles at speeds under 10 mph and allowing at least 2 metres (6.5 feet) of space
allowing at least 2 metres (6.5 feet) of space and keeping to a low speed when passing people walking in the road (for example, where there’s no pavement)
Wait behind them and do not overtake if it’s unsafe or not possible to meet these clearances.
People cycling passing slower-moving or stationary traffic
The updated code confirms that people cycling may pass slower-moving or stationary traffic on their right or left.
They should proceed with caution as people driving may not be able to see them. This is particularly important:
on the approach to junctions
when deciding whether it is safe to pass lorries or other large vehicles
The code has been updated to clarify that when turning into or out of a side road, people cycling should give way to people walking who are crossing or waiting to cross.
There is new advice about new special cycle facilities at some junctions.
Some junctions now include small cycle traffic lights at eye-level height, which may allow cyclists to move separately from or before other traffic. People cycling are encouraged to use these facilities where they make their journey safer and easier.
There is also new guidance for people cycling at junctions with no separate facilities.
The code recommends that people cycling should proceed as if they were driving a vehicle where there are no separate cyclist facilities. This includes positioning themselves in the centre of their chosen lane, where they feel able to do this safely. This is to:
make them as visible as possible
avoid being overtaken where this would be dangerous
People cycling turning right
The code now includes advice for people cycling using junctions where signs and markings tell them to turn right in 2 stages. These are:
stage 1 – when the traffic lights turn green, go straight ahead to the location marked by a cycle symbol and turn arrow on the road, and then stop and wait
stage 2 – when the traffic lights on the far side of the junction (now facing the people cycling) turn green, complete the manoeuvre
People cycling have priority when going straight ahead at junctions
The code clarifies that when people cycling are going straight ahead at a junction, they have priority over traffic waiting to turn into or out of a side road, unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise.
People cycling are asked to watch out for people driving intending to turn across their path, as people driving ahead may not be able to see them.
7. People cycling, riding a horse and driving horse-drawn vehicles on roundabouts
The code has been updated to clarify that people driving or riding a motorcycle should give priority to people cycling on roundabouts. The new guidance will say people driving and or riding a motorcycle should:
not attempt to overtake people cycling within that person’s lane
allow people cycling to move across their path as they travel around the roundabout
The code already explained that people cycling, riding a horse and driving a horse-drawn vehicle may stay in the left-hand lane of a roundabout when they intend to continue across or around the roundabout.
Guidance has been added to explain that people driving should take extra care when entering a roundabout to make sure they do not cut across people cycling, riding a horse or driving a horse-drawn vehicle who are continuing around the roundabout in the left-hand lane.
The code recommends a new technique when leaving vehicles. It’s sometimes called the ‘Dutch Reach’.
Where people driving or passengers in a vehicle are able to do so, they should open the door using their hand on the opposite side to the door they are opening. For example, using their left hand to open a door on their right-hand side.
This will make them turn their head to look over their shoulder behind them. They’re then less likely to cause injury to:
people cycling or riding a motorcycle passing on the road
people on the pavement
Using an electric vehicle charge point
For the first time, the code includes guidance about using electric vehicle charging points.
When using one, people should:
park close to the charge point and avoid creating a trip hazard for people walking from trailing cables
display a warning sign if you can
return charging cables and connectors neatly to minimise the danger to other people and avoid creating an obstacle for other road users
The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that boosters significantly reduce the risk of death with Omicron
The findings show that around 6 months after a second dose of any of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, protection against death with Omicron was around 60% in those aged 50 and over. However, this increased to around 95% 2 weeks after receiving a booster vaccine dose.
The data continue to show high levels of protection against hospitalisation from the booster. After a Pfizer booster (after either primary vaccination course), vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation started at around 90%, dropping to around 75% after 10 to 14 weeks.
After a Moderna booster (mRNA-1273) (after either primary vaccination course), vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation was 90% to 95% up to 9 weeks after vaccination. Longer follow-up data is not yet available and these figures may change with time.
An initial analysis of vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant sub-lineage known as BA.2 (designated VUI-22JAN-01 on 19 January), reveals a similar level of protection for symptomatic infection compared to Omicron (BA.1).
After 2 doses, effectiveness was 9% and 13% respectively for BA.1 and BA.2, after 25+ weeks. This increased to 63% for BA.1 and 70% for BA.2 from 2 weeks following a booster vaccine.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at UKHSA, said: “The evidence is clear – the vaccine helps to protect us all against the effects of COVID-19 and the booster is offering high levels of protection from hospitalisation and death in the most vulnerable members of our society.
“The pandemic is not over yet and the vaccine is the best way to increase your protection against the serious consequences of this virus – please book your appointment for your first, second or third vaccine without delay.”
Vaccines minister Maggie Throup said: “A booster vaccine is absolutely crucial to topping up your immunity against the Omicron variant.
“More than 80% of eligible adults in England have already received their booster and this has allowed us to ease COVID-19 restrictions.
“You can book online, visit a walk-in or one of our many pop-up vaccination clinics – please get boosted now.”
A new target to move half a million people into jobs by the end of June launches today under UK Government plans to ‘turbo-charge’ our national recovery from COVID-19.
As we move out of the pandemic, with restrictions lifted and life returning to normal, the ‘Way to Work’ campaign will focus on getting job-ready people off Universal Credit and into work, rapidly filling vacancies which are at a record high.
Targeted predominantly at those in the intensive work search group on Universal Credit, Way to Work will support people back into work faster than ever before and filling vacancies more quickly. Latest figures from the ONS show that the demand for workers is there, with a record 1.2 million vacancies to fill, 59% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
To support people into work faster those who are capable of work will be expected to search more widely for available jobs from the fourth week of their claim, rather than from three months as is currently the case.
This clearer focus will ensure that, if people are not able to find work in their previous occupation or sector, they are expected to look for work in another sector and this will be part of their requirements for receiving their benefit payment.
For the vast majority of people who are already engaging fully with Jobcentre Plus, this could be the extra support they need to secure a job. However, for the small minority who do not engage, the sanctions regime will operate as usual.
They will be supported in this with more time spent face to face with a Work Coach to receive better, tailored support. We know work is the best way for people to get on, to improve their lives and support their families because people are at least £6,000 better off in full time work than on benefits.
Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said: “Helping people get any job now, means they can get a better job and progress into a career.
“Way to Work is a step change in our offer to claimants and employers, making sure our jobcentre network and excellent Work Coaches can deliver opportunities, jobs and prosperity to all areas of the country.
“As we emerge from COVID, we are going to tackle supply challenges and support the continued economic recovery by getting people into work. Our new approach will help claimants get quickly back into the world of work while helping ensure employers get the people they and the economy needs.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said: “It’s important that everyone has the opportunity and support to find a good job to help them get on in life.
“That’s why we’re doubling down on our Plan for Jobs with this new campaign to harness the talent of jobseekers and support employers to fill vacancies, find work and create new opportunities.
“Together we will boost this country’s jobs-led recovery.”
Building on the ‘success of the flagship Kickstart Scheme’, DWP will work with a wider range of employers to cement positive relationships and show them the good quality of candidates coming through jobcentres.
This includes through direct engagement with employers across booming sectors like construction, haulage and logistics and social care, and over 350 jobs fairs mobilised across every region in the coming months.
Major employers including Balfour Beatty, Whitbread Group, TalkTalk, Bourne Leisure, Ocado and Kier are already throwing their weight behind the campaign.
Ian Nicholas, Global Managing Director, Reed said: We’ve been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions for a number of years and in the drive to get people into work, this is now more important than ever.
“Working closely with the DWP has provided us with valuable access to people looking for work. Those not already working closely with the department should consider the benefits it can bring both for business and the UK economy.”
Tony Ellender, Head of Professional Development, Balfour Beatty said: “Balfour Beatty is delighted to be working with DWP to promote our wide range of opportunities in construction.”
Lisa Taylor, Head of Resourcing, Whitbread said: “Many of those who have joined us from the jobcentres during our time working closely together have gone on to build a successful career with us or maintain long term employment.
“At Whitbread, we passionately believe that by working together with Jobcentre Plus we can make a real difference to the lives of jobseekers in this country through our no barriers to entry and no limits to ambition approach, as well as being a force for good in our local communities.”
Daniel Kasmir, Chief of People and Procurement at TalkTalk said: “We are happy to be working with DWP in exploring all recruitment solutions to look to fill our vacancies and will continue to do so with this push for jobs.”
Bleu Stessia, Kickstart Manager, Haven.com said: “Work Coaches have enabled us to link with over 50 jobcentres across the UK supporting our parks from Scotland to Cornwall.
“Understanding the great opportunities in hospitality, the DWP has also provided extensive support for our recruitment programme referring candidates and providing, support for interviews, for assessment days and job fairs.”
