Tag: UK Government

Social media platforms unite to support COVID-19 vaccine drive

Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok and YouTube partnered with UK government to encourage users to get the vaccine

  • Collaboration comes as all adults aged 18 and over invited to get a jab
  • Filters and a range of stickers will be available on Snapchat from today
  • Other platforms will host live question and answers with medical experts providing vaccine advice

Leading social media platforms popular with young people including Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube, are supporting the vaccination programme by encouraging their users to get coronavirus (COVID-19) jabs.

The partnerships come as all adults aged 18 and over are invited to receive a vaccine in England as the vaccination programme continues at unprecedented pace and scale.

Snapchat users can use NHS stickers, a filter, and later this month, an augmented reality lens that all read: ‘I’ve had my vaccine’ for UK users to share on their accounts.

The platform is also hosting a series of question and answers with medical experts on the Prime Minister’s snapchat account. The most recent took place on Saturday (19 June) with Dr Kiren Collison, the interim Deputy Medical Director for Primary Care for NHS England, who answered questions from the public about the vaccine.

Snapchat has also expanded its: ‘Here For You’ feature which provides in-app resources to people looking for more information around health, mental health and wellbeing.

When someone searches for ‘COVID-19’, ‘vaccine’, ‘NHS’ and ‘vaccination’, they will have access to expert NHS resources on the vaccine to make sure they are well informed, build confidence and tackle misinformation.

The activity supports the NHS ‘every vaccination gives us hope’ campaign encouraging younger people to get their vaccine and join the millions of people who have already received their jabs.

The government met its target of offering a vaccine to the most vulnerable by 15 April and is on track to offer a first dose to all adults by 19 July, 2 weeks earlier than planned. NHS England has extended the offer of a vaccine to all adults.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “With the offer of the vaccine now extended to all adults in England, we are leaving no stone unturned to boost uptake and encourage everyone to get the jab when eligible.

“I am delighted that Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok and YouTube – some of the most influential social media platforms – are coming together to support the biggest and most successful vaccine effort in NHS history.

“We’re accelerating our vaccine programme on the road to recovery and I urge everyone to come forward for the offer, roll up their sleeves and join the millions that already have the fullest possible protection from 2 doses.”

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Our vaccine rollout has been a great success story and is now available to all adults.

“We have worked closely with social media platforms throughout the pandemic to promote life saving vaccine information, and this new initiative with popular platforms will help drive take-up even higher.

“We are also tackling misinformation online through our new Online Safety Bill to make sure people are not bombarded by harmful content.”

The community network platform Reddit has hosted 2 live ‘ask me anything’ sessions on its coronavirus forum, featuring experts such as Dr Amalina Bakri answering questions from Downing Street. Reddit will continue to host question and answers over the coming weeks to help people access factual and reliable information from a range of experts.

TikTok’s support for the vaccine rollout includes adding the NHS ‘I’ve had my COVID vaccine’ stickers to its library for users to share, and working with Team Halo – a group of scientists using the platform to provide the latest information on vaccines with entertaining and shareable videos.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “I’m thrilled that some of the leading social media platforms are joining forces to boost vaccine uptake among younger people. This is another incredible asset to our vaccination programme, which is already saving lives.

“The vaccine is our way out of this pandemic and we have made incredible progress so far with more than 4 in 5 adults receiving at least one dose and all adults being invited.

“I encourage everyone to get the jab – it could stop you becoming seriously ill and protect your loved ones.”

Ed Couchman, UK Regional General Manager at Snapchat, said: “With Snapchat playing a key part of the lives of young people around the world, we’re thrilled to collaborate with the government to make sure they have accurate and trusted resources to stay safe, healthy and informed.

“As well as creative tools, it’s great to be expanding our in-app health and wellbeing support portal with NHS resources about the vaccine and to host question and answer sessions with key government officials from the Prime Minister’s official Snap Star account.

“As we enter this next phase of the COVID-19 recovery in the UK, we continue to explore new ways we can collaborate with trusted partners and organisations to help support the health and wellbeing of our Snapchat community.”

In collaboration with the NHS, YouTube has rolled out a video campaign with the tagline: ‘Let’s Not Go Back’ to remind its core 18 to 34-year-old audience of the importance of being vaccinated through messaging that speaks to their personal experiences from a year in lockdown.

The campaign is running on YouTube, and on national billboards and bus stop advertising, and on social media. Collectively, these information panels have served over 400 billion impressions worldwide.

Ben McOwen Wilson, UK Managing Director at YouTube, said: “We are delighted to have been able to support the NHS with our ‘Let’s Not Go Back’ campaign to encourage young people to get vaccinated. From billboards to bus stops, online and off, we reached young people wherever they are to raise awareness of the key role they have to play.

“It has been fantastic to witness the public response to our national initiative and to have seen the rates at which young people have stepped up. We will continue to work to combat the pandemic by using YouTube’s extensive reach among young people to help in this critical national effort.”

Dr. Jessica Ashooh, Director of Policy for Reddit said: “Building bridges between policymakers, industry experts, and online communities is central to how we elevate authoritative vaccine information on Reddit.

“Our partnership with 10 Downing Street has enabled us to promote quality COVID-19 resources for Redditors in the United Kingdom.”

Last year Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden and Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock agreed new measures with social media platforms to limit the spread of false vaccine information and help people find the information they need about any COVID-19 vaccine.

At a virtual roundtable, Facebook, Twitter and Google committed to the principle that no company should profit from or promote false information about COVID-19 vaccines, to respond to flagged content more swiftly, and to work with authorities to promote scientifically accurate messages.

The government has also developed a toolkit with content designed to be shared via WhatsApp and Facebook community groups, as well as Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, to tackle false information about the vaccine.

Earlier this year we announced that Facebook and Instagram are backing a new nationwide social media campaign launched by the government and the NHS for people to show their support for the vaccine roll out.

The initiative allows users to update their profiles with a range of specially-designed profile frames and graphics. People can use these to show ‘I’ve had my vaccine’ or make a pledge that ‘I will get my vaccine’.

The government met its target of offering a vaccine to the most vulnerable by 15 April and is on track to offer a first dose to all adults by 19 July, 2 weeks earlier than planned. NHS England has extended the offer of a vaccine to all adults.

More than one million jabs were booked on Friday and Saturday after vaccinations opened to all over-18s in England.

Covid Vaccination Programme: More than thirty million Britons now have fullest protection

  • More than 30 million people in the UK have been vaccinated with a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, giving them the fullest possible protection
  • More than 79% of people in the UK now vaccinated with a single dose
  • Public urged to come forward for second doses to help protect against the threat of new variants

41,830,546 people across the UK have now been vaccinated with a first dose (79.4%), while 30,204,738 people have had both doses (57.3%).

New analysis by Public Health England (PHE) shows for the first time that 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisation from the Delta (B.1.61.2) variant. The analysis suggests the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after both doses.

The UK government met its target of offering a vaccine to the most vulnerable by 15 April and is on track to offer a first dose to all adults by 19 July, 2 weeks earlier than planned. NHS England has today extended the offer of a vaccine to everyone over the age of 23.

By 19 July, all those aged 50 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable will have been offered their second dose.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Second doses are increasingly vital, so this is an incredibly important milestone. Day after day, our vaccination programme reaches new heights. With over 30 million people across the UK now receiving a second dose, we are giving the fullest possible protection to our loved ones in the face of new variants.

“The strength of the union has never been clearer than in the UK vaccination effort. All 4 corners of this country have pulled together for one common purpose – to get the jab and fight this virus.

“I want to pay tribute to everyone right across the country who has answered our call to arms and rolled up their sleeves to get the jab. I encourage everyone over 23 to come forward and get the jab.”

The vaccination programme is weakening the link between cases and hospitalisations, but the latest evidence shows that 2 doses are needed to provide effective protection against the Delta variant.

To ensure people have the strongest possible protection against COVID-19, second doses for all over 40s will be accelerated by reducing the dosing interval from 12 weeks to 8 weeks. All over 40s who received a first dose by mid-May will be offered a second dose by 19 July.

The move follows advice from the independent experts at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which has considered the latest available evidence and has recommended reducing the dosing interval to counter the threat of new variants of concern.

The government and its scientific experts are monitoring the evolving situation and rates of variants closely, and will not hesitate to take additional action as necessary.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “I am delighted that we have reached another poignant milestone in our vaccines programme, with over 30 million people receiving the fullest possible protection from this virus.

“In the space of 6 months, the UK has made history after not only deploying a licensed vaccine to the first person in the world, Margaret Keenan, but also to tens of millions of others in the largest vaccination programme in our history.

“I encourage everyone to come forward for the vaccine, and for the crucial second dose when the offer comes. It could save your life and protect your loved ones.”

UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: The UK government is supplying vaccines for people in all parts of the United Kingdom and this milestone is further welcome evidence of how effectively we are pulling together to protect ourselves and our community.

“With 30 million people across the UK already having had their second doses, I encourage everyone in Scotland to come forward when the offer comes to get their second vaccination and maximum protection from the virus.”

Vaccinated people are far less likely to get COVID-19 with symptoms. Vaccinated people are even more unlikely to get serious COVID-19, to be admitted to hospital, or to die from it and there is growing evidence that they are less likely to pass the virus to others.

Data from PHE’s real-world study shows the vaccines are already having a significant impact in the UK, reducing hospitalisations and deaths, saving 14,000 lives and preventing 42,000 hospitalisations in England.

Data published by YouGov shows the UK continues to top the list of nations where people are willing to have a COVID-19 vaccine or have already been vaccinated.

ONS data published on 9 June shows that more than 9 in 10 (94%) adults reported positive sentiment towards the vaccine.

Approved vaccines are available from thousands of NHS vaccine centres, GP practices and pharmacies. Around 98% of people live within 10 miles of a vaccination centre in England and vaccinations are taking place at sites including mosques, community centres and football stadiums.

COVID recovery: Easing on hold as Johnson presses pause button

Prime Minister: “We must learn to live with COVID”

  • Step 4 of England’s Roadmap paused for four weeks while vaccination programme is accelerated following significant rise in more transmissible variant
  • Second dose brought forward to 8 weeks for over 40s to provide strongest protection against Delta variant sooner
  • Restrictions to be lifted on weddings and wakes on 21 June

Step 4 will be delayed by up to four weeks in England and the vaccination programme accelerated to respond to the rapid spread of the Delta variant, the Prime Minister confirmed yesterday.

Scotland’s First Minister will give an update on Scotland’s plans later today. At present it’s planned that Scotland would move to Level 0 on 28 June, but concerns over rising numbers of the Delta variant make it likely that the date will be put back.

By 19 July, all adults in England will have been offered a first dose and around two thirds of all adults will have been offered two doses of the vaccine.

Data suggests that the Delta variant is between 40% and 80% more transmissible than the Alpha variant and is rapidly driving up case numbers.

There are currently around 8,000 cases a day, the highest since the end of February, and these are increasing by around 64% each week.

Hospitalisations are starting to rise, with the average number of people admitted to hospital increasing in England by 50% per week, and 61% per week in the North-West.

Our successful vaccination programme is weakening the link between cases and hospitalisations, but the latest evidence shows that two doses are needed to provide effective protection against the Delta variant.

The Roadmap has always been led by data and not dates, and the government’s four tests have not been met. In order to offer two vaccine doses to more people, prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths and protect the NHS, Step 4 will be delayed by up to four weeks to Monday 19 July. If the data rapidly improves this could be brought forward to 5 July.

The four tests are:

  • The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully
  • Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated
  • Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS
  • Our assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern

Two vaccine doses have now been shown to be highly effective in reducing hospitalisation from the Delta variant, with the latest PHE data suggesting this could be up to 96% for Pfizer-BioNTech and 92% for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

All adults aged 18 and over will now be offered a first dose by 19 July, 2 weeks earlier than planned. All adults aged 23 and 24 will be able to book their first dose from tomorrow (15 June).

By 19 July, all those aged over 50 and the clinically extremely vulnerable will have been offered their second dose, and those second doses will have taken effect.

Second doses for all over 40s will be accelerated by reducing the dosing interval from 12 weeks to 8 weeks. All over 40s who received a first dose by mid-May will be offered a second dose by 19 July.

The school holidays in England begin at the end of July, further reducing transmission among the younger age groups. Step 3 restrictions will continue in their current format with the following exceptions implemented from 21 June. No restrictions will be reimposed.

The 30-person limit will be lifted for weddings and wakes. There will be no set limit on the number of attendees, but venues must adhere to covid secure guidance, maintain social distancing and provide table service. All weddings in private settings, such as gardens, must have completed a covid risk assessment to ascertain how many guests they can host safely.

Event pilots will continue, including some Euro 2020 matches, Wimbledon, and some arts and music performances. Attendees will show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test.

Care home residents will no longer need to isolate if they leave their residence. Exceptions will include high risk visits including overnight stays in hospital.

Cases are expected to continue rising due to the transmissibility of the Delta variant, but with the acceleration of the vaccination programme hospitalisations are expected to stabilise.

Additional support is available for areas with high cases rates of the Delta variant, including surge testing, isolation support, and efforts to maximise vaccination uptake.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a statement at a press conference last night:

The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP

When we set out on our roadmap to freedom a few months ago, we were determined to make progress that was cautious but irreversible. And step by step – thanks to the enormous efforts of the British people and the spectacular vaccine roll-out we now have one of the most open economies and societies in this part of the world.

And as we have always known and as the February roadmap explicitly predicted – this opening up has inevitably been accompanied by more infection and more hospitalisation. Because we must be clear that we cannot simply eliminate Covid – we must learn to live with it. And with every day that goes by we are better protected by the vaccines and we are better able to live with the disease.

Vaccination greatly reduces transmission and two doses provide a very high degree of protection against serious illness and death. But there are still millions of younger adults who have not been vaccinated and sadly a proportion of the elderly and vulnerable may still succumb even if they have had two jabs.

And that is why we are so concerned by the Delta variant that is now spreading faster than the third wave predicted in the February roadmap. We’re seeing cases growing by about 64 per cent per week, and in the worst affected areas, it’s doubling every week.

And the average number of people being admitted to hospital in England has increased by 50 per cent week on week, and by 61 per cent in the North West, which may be the shape of things to come. Because we know the remorseless logic of exponential growth and even if the link between infection and hospitalisation has been weakened it has not been severed.

And even if the link between hospitalisation and death has also been weakened, I’m afraid numbers in intensive care, in ICU are also rising. And so we have faced a very difficult choice. We can simply keep going with all of step 4 on June 21st even though there is a real possibility that the virus will outrun the vaccines and that thousands more deaths would ensue that could otherwise have been avoided.

Or else we can give our NHS a few more crucial weeks to get those remaining jabs into the arms of those who need them. And since today I cannot say that we have met all four tests for proceeding with step four, I do think it is sensible to wait just a little longer.

By Monday 19th July we will aim to have double jabbed around two thirds of the adult population including everyone over 50, all the vulnerable, all the frontline health and care workers and everyone over 40 who received their first dose by mid-May. And to do this we will now accelerate the 2nd jabs for those over 40 – just as we did for the vulnerable groups – so they get maximum protection as fast as possible.

And we will bring forward our target to give every adult in this country a first dose by 19th July that is including young people over the age of 18 with 23 and 24 year olds invited to book jabs from tomorrow – so we reduce the risk of transmission among groups that mix the most.

And to give the NHS that extra time we will hold off step 4 openings until July 19th except for weddings that can still go ahead with more than 30 guests provided social distancing remains in place and the same will apply to wakes. And we will continue the pilot events – such as Euro2020 and some theatrical performances.

We will monitor the position every day and if after 2 weeks we have concluded that the risk has diminished then we reserve the possibility of proceeding to Step 4 and full opening sooner.

As things stand – and on the basis of the evidence I can see right now – I am confident we will not need any more than 4 weeks and we won’t need to go beyond July 19th. It is unmistakably clear the vaccines are working and the sheer scale of the vaccine roll-out has made our position incomparably better than in previous waves.

But now is the time to ease off the accelerator because by being cautious now we have the chance – in the next four weeks – to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people.

And once the adults of this country have been overwhelmingly vaccinated, which is what we can achieve in a short space of time, we will be in a far stronger position to keep hospitalisations down, to live with this disease, and to complete our cautious but irreversible roadmap to freedom.

Scotland’s First Minister will give an update on Scotland’s plans later today. At present it’s planned that Scotland would move to Level 0 on 28 June, but concerns over rising numbers of the Delta variant make it likely that the date will be put back.

G7 leaders agree Nature Compact

G7 leaders have agreed commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and tackle deforestation, marine litter and illegal wildlife trade

G7 leaders have agreed commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and tackle deforestation, marine litter and illegal wildlife trade.

At the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Cornwall yesterday, countries came together and agreed a shared G7 Nature Compact.

This is a key agreement which brings G7 countries together to address the most pressing international and interlinked challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change. Leaders have also agreed to review progress against the Nature Compact to ensure delivery of its 2030 vision.

This next milestone marks a crucial commitment to supporting global consensus and taking bold action for the delivery of ambitious outcomes for nature in 2021. Climate change is one key driver of biodiversity loss, and protecting, conserving and restoring biodiversity is crucial to addressing climate change.

The G7 Nature Compact commits world leaders to:

  • Shift incentives and use all appropriate levers to address unsustainable and illegal activities negatively impacting nature, such as through tackling deforestation by supporting sustainable supply chains, and stepping up efforts to tackle the illegal wildlife trade
  • Work to dramatically increase investment in nature from all sources, and to ensure nature is accounted for in economic and financial decision-making – for instance, through drawing on the Dasgupta Review for key actions
  • Support and drive the protection, conservation and restoration of ecosystems critical to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and tackle climate change, such as supporting the target to conserve or protect at least 30% of global land and at least 30% of the global ocean by the end of the decade
  • Hold themselves to account for taking domestic and global action for nature through driving strengthened accountability and implementation mechanisms of all Multilateral Environmental Agreements to which we are parties

Through this Compact, the UK Government is committing to supporting the global consensus and to taking bold action for delivery of ambitious outcomes for nature in 2021 at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 in Kunming and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP26 in Glasgow.

The Prime Minister has also launched the UK’s Blue Planet Fund. The £500 million fund will support countries to tackle unsustainable fishing, protect and restore coastal ecosystems like mangroves and coral reefs, and reduce marine pollution.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “For the first time, the G7 has committed to halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity in the next decade.

“This is a major step forward on the path to CBD COP15 and COP26 and is a sign of the dedication to accelerate action within the G7 – and beyond – to tackle the interdependent crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

“We have seen major progress this weekend and we welcome the collaboration between global leaders to raise our ambition and remain accountable in this critical decade.”

The Compact’s commitments will be embedded in national plans as appropriate, raising ambition wherever possible, and the G7 will hold themselves to account for delivering effective action integrated with that to support climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Through existing G7 mechanisms, including at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in five years, the G7 countries will review options to ratchet up action and ambition, as needed, to ensure delivery of the vision for 2030.

The full G7 Nature Compact can be read online here.

UK launches Blue Planet fund

G7 leaders expected to agree a series of measures to address the climate crisis and protect nature

  • G7 leaders to kick off new partnership on infrastructure investment today to propel global green economic growth, as they commit to increase international climate finance
  • UK launches £500m Blue Planet Fund to protect the ocean and marine biodiversity
  • Comes as the G7 is expected to endorse an ambitious Nature Compact to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030
  • Sir David Attenborough will address leaders on the importance of action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees on the final day of the G7 Summit in Cornwall

G7 leaders are expected to agree plans today (Sunday) to transform the financing of infrastructure projects in developing countries, part of a raft of measures at the Summit to address the climate crisis and protect nature.

The ‘Build Back Better for the World’ plan will bring together G7 countries under the UK’s presidency to develop an offer for high quality financing for vital infrastructure, from railways in Africa to wind farms in Asia.

The new approach is intended to give developing countries access to more, better and faster finance, while accelerating the global shift to renewable energy and sustainable technology. The Government will build on this with other countries ahead of the COP26 Summit in November.

The Prime Minister has also launched the UK’s Blue Planet Fund from the G7 Summit’s ocean-side setting in Cornwall. The £500 million fund will support countries including Ghana, Indonesia and Pacific island states to tackle unsustainable fishing, protect and restore coastal ecosystems like mangroves and coral reefs, and reduce marine pollution.

The G7 will endorse a Nature Compact at this afternoon’s meeting to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 – including supporting the global target to conserve or protect at least 30 percent of land and 30 percent of ocean globally by the end of the decade.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Protecting our planet is the most important thing we as leaders can do for our people. There is a direct relationship between reducing emissions, restoring nature, creating jobs and ensuring long-term economic growth.

“As democratic nations we have a responsibility to help developing countries reap the benefits of clean growth through a fair and transparent system. The G7 has an unprecedented opportunity to drive a global Green Industrial Revolution, with the potential to transform the way we live.”

The G7 are also expected to commit to almost halve their emissions by 2030 relative to 2010. The UK is already going even further, pledging to cut emissions by at least 68% by 2030 on 1990 levels (58% reduction on 2010 levels).

Leaders will set out the action they will take to slash carbon emissions, including measures like ending all unabated coal as soon as possible, ending almost all direct government support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas and phasing out petrol and diesel cars.

Sir David Attenborough, renowned British environmentalist and the UK’s COP26 People’s Champion, will address the leaders of the G7 countries plus guests Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa at a session on Climate and Nature later today and urge them to take action as the world’s leading economies to secure the future of our planet.

Sir David Attenborough, Environmentalist and COP26 People’s Champion, said: “The natural world today is greatly diminished. That is undeniable. Our climate is warming fast. That is beyond doubt. Our societies and nations are unequal and that is sadly is plain to see.

“But the question science forces us to address specifically in 2021 is whether as a result of these intertwined facts we are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet?

“If that is so, then the decisions we make this decade – in particular the decisions made by the most economically advanced nations – are the most important in human history.”

In addition to taking action at home, G7 leaders will commit to increase their contributions to international climate finance to meet the target of mobilising $100bn a year, which will help developing countries deal with the impacts of climate change and support sustainable, green growth.

This is the first-ever net-zero G7, with all countries having committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest with ambitious reductions targets in the 2020s. The Leaders’ Summit is an important stepping-stone on the road to COP26, which the UK will host in Glasgow in November.

Scots recognized in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List

From Dumfries to Edinburgh and from Fife to the Isle of Harris, 33 Scots have been recognized for their services to public life in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021.

Recipients include Glasgow-born singer Lulu for services to music, entertainment and charity, and Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Council (above).

Neil Berkett, Chair of the NSPCC, said: “Congratulations to Andrew for his OBE, his honour is so well deserved for a life time of public service. As an NSPCC Trustee he carries the voice of the child and young person in everything he does. His work as a trustee and as a member of our service delivery committee help us protect vulnerable children.”

Public health expert Prof. Linda Bauld, receives an OBE.

The Queen’s Birthday Honours are awarded annually to recognise the outstanding achievements of people right across the UK.

Commenting on this year’s awards, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours are a fitting tribute to those in Scotland and right across the UK who have done so much to get the country through the pandemic.

“That includes Ian McCubbin for his work on the vaccines taskforce, Professor Michael Barrett of the Glasgow Lighthouse covid testing lab, and former chief nursing officer Fiona McQueen.

“The honours list shows the wealth of talent in Scotland’s public life. From ophthalmologist Carrie MacEwen, to financial expert Anne Richards, and Edinburgh Council Chief Executive Andrew Kerr, a host of Scots are recognised for their contribution to Scottish society.

“Lulu’s award for services to entertainment is very welcome. Nothing short of a national treasure, Lulu has a special place in the hearts of many Scots.

“Her Majesty has also recognised the depth of dedication and commitment in local communities across the country, with awards for the unsung heroes up and down Scotland.

“My sincere congratulations go to all the Scots who have been honoured by Her Majesty.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also paid tribute to the Scottish recipients in The Queen’s Birthday Honours list. She said: “The Queen’s Birthday Honours recognise the outstanding contributions of the people of Scotland to communities throughout the country, and around the world.

“Their exceptional service and dedication in a range of fields including the arts, education, business, charity, community support, and science has provided countless benefits across society.

“I’m also pleased to see that many individuals who have helped our work to tackle the coronavirus pandemic have been recognised. I know we are all hugely grateful to each and every one of them, and it is right that their stellar efforts have been acknowledged in this way

“Our emergency services have always gone above and beyond the call of duty to keep people and communities across Scotland safe, and never more so than during these unprecedented times. I also want to extend my congratulations to those personnel who have been awarded The Queen’s Fire, Police or Ambulance Service Medals.”

‘Caring Nation’ at the centre of Queen’s Birthday Honours List

The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021 demonstrates the extraordinary efforts made by individuals in all four nations of the United Kingdom during the pandemic.

The List includes those who have worked throughout the crisis, putting others before themselves – from caring neighbours, frontline and community heroes, to those supporting the UK recovery.

The Birthday Honours List 2021 is the most ethnically diverse list to date, with 15% of recipients coming from an ethnic minority background.

In a year that has truly tested the resolve and determination of the country, almost 23% of recipients are recommended for COVID-19 service. These include recipients who have given charitable and voluntary support to communities, service in health and social care, and those who have provided critical infrastructure support.

Recognising the world-beating and extraordinary success of the UK’s vaccination programme, a damehood goes to Kate Bingham, lately Chair, Vaccine Taskforce, for services to the procurement, manufacture and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

A damehood also goes to Professor Sarah Gilbert, Saïd Professor of Vaccinology at the Jenner Institute for her pivotal role in developing a COVID-19 vaccine.

A knighthood is given to Professor Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection, University of Oxford for services to Public Health particularly during COVID-19. CBEs are awarded to Ian McCubbin, Manufacturing Expert on the Vaccine Taskforce Steering Committee, Vaccine Taskforce and Mark Proctor, Global Supply Strategy Director at AstraZeneca. Divya Chadha Manek receives an OBE for her work in the research and development of vaccines and the resulting clinical trials.

This Honours List is an exemplary showcase of what a caring nation we are. British Empire Medals go to brother and sister John Brownhill and Amanda Guest, co-founders of Food4Heroes which delivered food from local chefs to those NHS frontline staff.

A BEM also goes to Rhys Mallows, 25 years old from South Glamorgan who repurposed his whiskey distillery to produce hand sanitiser and Mahtab Morovat for her work in supporting vulnerable people during the pandemic.

The majority of awards are for the contributions people have made in their communities. Of those receiving an award, 62% are recognised for their community work.

Leading a number of high impact contributions by younger people, the youngest recipient is 21 year old Amika George, founder of the #FreePeriods Campaign who receives an MBE for services to education. In campaigning against period poverty, she is joined on the List by friends Clegg Bamber and Anna Miles, also receiving MBEs for their work on the Red Box Project which has delivered free period products in schools across the country.

Singer Lulu receives a CBE for services to music, entertainment and charity, as does sport commentator Sue Barker for services to sport, broadcasting and charity, and former manager of Crystal Palace Football Club, Roy Hodgson for services to football.

Damehoods are awarded to Meg Hillier MP and Andrea Leadsom MP for their parliamentary and political service. Tony Lloyd MP receives a knighthood for parliamentary and public service.

In sport, Director of Rugby at Leeds Rhinos Kevin Sinfield receives an OBE for services to Rugby League Football and charitable fundraising for motor neuron disease. MBEs are also awarded to England footballers Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling for services to charity and racial equality in sport respectively.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: The Queen’s Birthday Honours allow us to pay tribute to all those who have gone above and beyond in their service to this country.

“Throughout the pandemic we have seen countless examples of every day heroes. From those using their expertise to help develop life-saving vaccines, which are now being rolled out successfully to all parts of the UK, to the people who have given time and energy to care for their communities.

“We should take heart from the stories of those receiving honours today and be inspired by their courage and kindness. May they be a reminder of all that we can achieve when we come together as a society.”

The honours system ‘strives to be inclusive of all of the UK society’. Of the 1,129 people who receive an award:

  • 986 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level:
  • 323 at BEM
  • 457 at MBE
  • 206 at OBE
  • 695 (62%) of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity;
  • 567 women are recognised in the List, representing 50% of the total (39% of recipients at CBE level and above are women);
  • 15% of the successful candidates come from an ethnic minority background:
  • 6.8% of recipients are from an Asian ethnic group;
  • 4.2% of recipients are from a Black ethnic group;
  • 3.3% of recipients with a mixed ethnic background;
  • 0.7% of recipients come from another ethnic background;
  • 9% of the successful candidates are disabled or have a long-term health condition;
  • 17.3% of recipients considered themselves to come from a lower socio-economic background; and
  • 5% of recipients are LGBT.

A further breakdown of the diversity statistics will be available at the new dedicated honours website honours.cabinetoffice.gov.uk which has been launched to improve accessibility, transparency and inclusivity of the honours system.

The full Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021 can be found here.

PM calls on G7 to help educate every child in the world

Over one billion children in the world’s poorest countries will see a transformation in their educational opportunities thanks to £430 million of new UK aid announced by the Prime Minister today.

  • PM used first session of the G7 Summit to rally world leaders to build back better
  • £430 million of new UK aid announced to get world’s most vulnerable children, particularly girls, into school
  • Next month Global Education Summit will take place in London to raise further funding

Over one billion children in the world’s poorest countries will see a transformation in their educational opportunities thanks to £430 million of new UK aid announced by the Prime Minister today (Friday 11th June).

In this afternoon’s first session of the UK’s G7 Summit, leaders discussed how to build back better from the coronavirus pandemic in a way that creates opportunities for everyone. Ensuring all girls get a quality education is central to that goal.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused an unprecedented global education crisis, with 1.6 billion children around the world out of school at its height. Girls have been hardest hit as the pandemic compounded the obstacles to education girls already face, including poverty, gender-based violence and child marriage.

The support announced by the UK today will go to the Global Partnership for Education, the largest fund dedicated to education in developing countries.

Since it was established in 2002 GPE has contributed to the largest expansion of primary and lower secondary schooling in history, getting 160 million more children into school. In countries where GPE works the number of girls enrolling in school has increased by 65 per cent.

Next month the UK and Kenya will co-host the Global Education Summit in London which aims to help raise $5 billion to support the work of the GPE over the next five years. The funding boost pledged by the UK and other G7 countries will go a considerable way towards achieving this goal.

Getting girls into school is one of the easiest ways to lift countries out of poverty and help them rebound from the coronavirus crisis – a child whose mother can read is twice as likely to go to school themselves and 50% more likely to be immunised. With just one additional school year, a woman’s earnings can increase by a fifth.

Supporting girls’ education is therefore a cornerstone of the UK’s G7 Presidency. Today G7 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to targets set at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in May to get 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more girls reading by the age of 10 in the next five years. The work of the GPE will be instrumental in helping achieve those targets.

Today the Prime Minister called on fellow leaders to make their own major commitments to achieve these targets, as well as the ambition to ensure every girl in the world receives 12 years of quality education.

Italy and the European Commission have already made pledges of €25 million and €700 million respectively to GPE and further announcements on funding are expected from G7 partners in the coming days.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The best way we can lift countries out of poverty and lead a global recovery is by investing in education and particularly girls’ education.

“It is a source of international shame that every day around the world children bursting with potential are denied the chance to become titans of industry, scientific pioneers or leaders in any field, purely because they are female, their parents’ income or the place they were born.

“I am calling on other world leaders, including those here at the G7, to also donate and put us firmly on a path to get more girls into the classroom, address the terrible setback to global education caused by coronavirus and help the world build back better.”

The £430m of new aid funding announced today will go towards GPE’s work in 90 lower-income countries that are home to 1.1 billion children over the next five years. In time GPE aim to train 2.2 million more teachers, build 78,000 new classrooms and buy 512 million textbooks.

This funding pledge for the Global Partnership for Education is separate to the £400m of UK aid which will be spent this year on bilateral efforts to increase girls’ access to education.

UK facing ‘pensions tsunami’

Treasury’s ‘£17bn mistake’ that will take “generations to resolve”

In its report published today the Public Accounts Committee says HM Treasury has “done little to identify and manage the stark differences in average pensions between genders and other groups” and “should have foreseen the age discrimination issue that gave rise to the 2018 McCloud judgment”.

In 2011 and 2015 the Treasury introduced reforms aimed at making public service pensions more sustainable and affordable, but a 2018 Court of Appeal judgement (the McCloud judgement) ruled parts of the reforms unlawful.

The Treasury now wants pension scheme members to pay the estimated £17 billion cost to put that right, despite the unlawful reform having been “its own mistake – a mistake which could have been avoided by listening to advice and which will take many decades to resolve.”

Around 25% of pensioners and 16% of the working-age population are members of one of the four largest public service pension schemes covering the armed forces, civil service, NHS and teachers. The schemes are almost all unfunded, meaning retirees’ pension benefits are paid out of current workforce contributions.

The Committee saw “evidence of public service pensions issues affecting delivery of frontline services, and independent schools opting out of pension schemes because of increasing costs”.

It says HM Treasury doesn’t have the data it needs nor evaluated the impact of its reforms, or whether they are achieving its pension policy objectives – the PAC is “not convinced it is on track”. 

The Treasury also seems “unconcerned about the drop in enrolment by some workers”. The Committee warns on the “a danger of a perfect storm where some young people believe they cannot afford pension contributions because of high costs of living and retire with a reduced public sector pension as a result.

Many younger workers will continue to pay rent in retirement because they cannot afford to buy a home and the cost of supporting this generation will fall on future taxpayers”.

Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “The Treasury’s £17 billion mistake on pensions reform is a ripple compared to the tsunami of costs to the public purse if Government fails to address the growing number of young people unable to afford to plan for a proper pension.

“It’s lack of curiosity about why nearly a quarter of a million workers are not joining these pension schemes is a concern. Pension planning must be long term; mistakes and poor planning have an impact for decades. Short term cost savings can become long term costs to individuals with lower retirement incomes and the taxpayer who may end up supporting them.”

UK to donate 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses

The UK will donate 100 million surplus coronavirus vaccine doses to the world within the next year, the Prime Minister has announced

  • The UK will donate at least 100 million surplus coronavirus vaccine doses within the next year, including 5 million beginning in the coming weeks
  • Donation is in addition to UK work to support Oxford-AstraZeneca’s contribution to fighting COVID and our financial backing to COVAX
  • G7 leaders are expected to agree to provide 1 billion doses via dose sharing and financing to end the pandemic in 2022

The UK will donate 100 million surplus coronavirus vaccine doses to the world within the next year, the Prime Minister has announced today (11 June 2021).

The pledge comes ahead of the G7 Summit, which begins in Cornwall today. Last week the Prime Minister asked fellow G7 leaders to help vaccinate the entire world by the end of next year.

At the Summit world leaders are expected to announce they will provide at least 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to the world through dose sharing and financing and set out a plan to expand vaccine manufacturing in order to achieve that goal.

The UK will donate 5 million doses by the end of September, beginning in the coming weeks, primarily for use in the world’s poorest countries.

The Prime Minister has also committed to donating a further 95 million doses within the next year, including 25 million more by the end of 2021. 80% of the 100m doses will go to COVAX and the remainder will be shared bilaterally with countries in need.

By sharing 5 million doses in the coming weeks the UK will meet an immediate demand for vaccines for the countries worst affected by coronavirus without delaying completion of our initial domestic vaccination programme.

By vaccinating more people around the world not only will we help bring an end to the global coronavirus pandemic, we will reduce the risk to people in the UK. This includes significantly reducing the threat posed by vaccine-resistant variants emerging in areas with large-scale outbreaks.

The UK helped to establish COVAX last year and is its fourth-biggest donor, pledging £548 million to the scheme. COVAX has so far provided 81 million doses to 129 of the world’s poorest countries. 96% of these were the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the development of which was funded by the UK.

With the support of the UK Government, Oxford-AstraZeneca are distributing their vaccines on a not for profit basis the world. Thanks to this commitment, half a billion people have received a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine so far.

The Prime Minister said: “Since the start of this pandemic the UK has led the way in efforts to protect humanity against this deadly disease. Over a year ago we funded the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on the basis it would be distributed at cost to the world.

“This unprecedented model, which puts people squarely above profit, means over half a billion doses have been administered in 160 countries so far.

“As a result of the success of the UK’s vaccine programme we are now in a position to share some of our surplus doses with those who need them. In doing so we will take a massive step towards beating this pandemic for good.

“At the G7 Summit I hope my fellow leaders will make similar pledges so that, together, we can vaccinate the world by the end of next year and build back better from coronavirus.”

At the G7 leaders will also discuss how to expand the supply of vaccines internationally, with the Prime Minister asking the group to encourage pharmaceutical companies to adopt the Oxford-AstraZeneca model of providing vaccines of cost for the duration of the pandemic.

Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have already pledged to share 1.3 billion doses on a non-profit basis with developing countries.

Leaders are expected to discuss additional ways to support countries experiencing acute coronavirus emergencies and put in place mechanisms to prevent future pandemics. This follows on from commitments made at the virtual meeting of G7 leaders earlier this year.

The cost of donating the UK’s surpluses will be classified as ODA. This will be in addition to the £10bn already committed in aid this year.

The doses the UK has announced it will donate today will be drawn from the UK’s expected excess supply. The 100 million figure has been calculated based on the total needed to vaccinate the UK population, factoring in the possibility of future vaccine-resistant strains being detected and potential disruptions to our supply.

Later this year the UK will also host the UN climate change conference, COP26. Today the UK is also announcing that in order to enable more representatives to attend safely we will work to provide vaccines to those accredited delegations who would be unable to get them otherwise. We are exploring with the UN and partners how we can work together to deliver this offer.

This will mean that those countries most affected by climate change are better able to participate fully in discussions about creating a greener future for the planet.

COP26 launches environment education packs for UK schools and students

  • UK schools to promote the environment to students ahead of COP26 climate conference in November
  • Prime Minister visits school in Cornwall as part of school education pack launch
  • Education Pack to encourage student climate leaders to come forward as an inspiration to others

Schools across the UK are being encouraged to start a conversation on climate change with their students, ahead of the UK hosting global climate summit COP26 later this year, as the Together for Our Planet Schools Pack launches today (Thursday 10 June).

The pack, which is hosted on the COP26 website and sent to UK schools, is designed to engage students on climate action, encourage conversations about tackling climate change, and help students learn more about the COP26 summit in Glasgow this year. This will include a guide for running a green assembly, along with ideas like a ‘walk to school’ week and resources that have been created by the likes of WWF and TED Talks to support schools.

Ahead of the G7 Leaders’ Summit, the Prime Minister will visit a school in Cornwall today to see how schools and students are already playing their part in protecting the environment and learning about the fight against climate change.

As part of the pack, there will also be content focused on identifying the UK’s future student climate leaders, remarkable young people who are already contributing to climate action in many ways including recycling, eating seasonal foods and walking to school. The actions that schools and pupils are taking across the country will help inspire others to follow their lead.

On the launch of pack, the COP26 President-Designate, Alok Sharma said: “The role of young people in tackling climate change, one of the greatest challenges of our generation, will be crucial.

“I am delighted to see this school pack being launched today which will be made available right across the UK so that pupils can bring discussion and debate on the environment directly to their classrooms.

“It will be exciting to see young people engage on this pressing issue ahead of COP26.”

The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson said: “When I visit schools around the country, something I’m always struck by is how engaged in environmental issues young people are. Tackling climate change requires action from each of us on an individual and collective basis and this pack helps schools encourage both those things.

“I’m excited to see how schools’ climate leaders bring their passion, creativity and intelligence to help us secure a sustainable future.”

Matt Larsen-Daw, Education Manager, WWF-UK said: “I’m delighted to be involved in the launch of today’s Together For Our Planet Schools Pack and to have been part of its development.

“Young people have the biggest stake in the outcomes of the UN COP in November, and it is vital that they are informed and engaged as this pivotal milestone in the fight against climate change takes place on their doorstep, here in the UK.

“This pack can help educators bring COP and the issues it seeks to address to life for their students and the whole school community.”

Matt Hipperson, Head Teacher, St Luke’s CEVA Primary School said: “The issue of climate change is probably the most important problem of our age. It is destroying opportunities for large areas of our planet to prosper and live sustainably.

“Our most important resource in the struggle against the impact of climate change is our young people who have the bravery to make the changes needed to give the world hope for a sustainable future.

“This resource will help our children access trustworthy information, organise their thoughts and work towards the solutions that our planet is crying out for.”